NOTD : First Time to Try Gel Nail Art

Hey loves!

Only a week left in my US vacation! During my stay in Los Angeles last week, my best friend, Rica, treated me to a nail pampering session at Nail Gardens!

I had a gel nail art manicure and a regular pedi. It's my first time to try gel polish even though it's been popular in the Philippines for months now. I am used to changing my nail polish color weekly so I thought that it wasn't practical to use gel polish. But since I will be in the US for 3 weeks, gel-polished nails are perfect—I won't be worried with my nail polish chipping off.

So this is what my nails currently look like right now.

I got my inspiration from this website. 

I was a bit worried that the art design would be a bit complicated since the design is lace-like. But I think they did an excellent job with my nails. I can't remember the name of the person who did my nails though (I'm so sorry). But I'm very thankful that he was so nice and he even gave me a $5 off after. 

It's been a week and half now since I got my nails done and they still look perfect! 

For my pedi, I got the color Eiffel In Love With This Color from OPI. Super cute name right? And yeah, I got chubby toes and little toe nails. Lol

And here's a BFF photo after we got our nails done!

Rica got a pink and orange combo gel nail art. It's perfect for the summer in Cali! :D

So that's all for now. I'm excited to share with you my makeup hauls from this trip. I think I bought TOO MUCH makeup. LOL

Cheers,

DAWN

My Firsts

I made a list of the first makeup I've ever used (well, those that I still remember). It's actually fun doing this post but it involved a lot of thinking and remembering... it somehow tested how good my memory is. haha! Some of my firsts were from way back in high school but most were bought when I was an incoming freshman in college during our summer vacation in the  US. Of course makeup is a lot cheaper there so I splurged my shopping money on makeup besides clothes. :P

 FIRST MASCARA

 Maybelline Lash Discovery Waterproof Mascara

This is probably the best "first" makeup if I have to rank them in order. Lash Discovery Mascara of Maybelline is very easy to use. It doesn't clump, it's long lasting, doesn't smudge and not too heavy on the eye lashes. I was quite disappointed when they discontinued this. Good thing they produced other great mascaras. :)

FIRST BLUSH

Cargo Blush in Gotham

I like this blush. It's not those usual pink tones that you commonly see in every brand. It has a bit of dark peach and has a sheer blue shimmer when light touches your cheeks. I remember buying mine for $22.00. Great deal considering how big it was. :)

FIRST LIQUID EYELINER

Ever Bilena Dip Liner in Black

I was somehow satisfied with this liner's performance. It doesn't crease on my oily lids, long lasting, very intense and fast drying. My only problem was the hard brush. I find it hard to control. But it's very affordable! I remember I bought one again before trying other brands.

 FIRST BRONZER

NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder

 I've always planned on buying a bronzer so that my face would look thinner. So I bought this one, NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder, to try it out. It's a drugstore brand so it was less expensive than the others. I did like its performance. It didn't have the copper-ish tone that I try to stay away from that most bronzers have.

 FIRST LIP GLOSS

Bloom Lipgloss in ???

I can't really remember the specific shade. Among the glosses I browsed, this one called "Kissable" is the closest shade to the one I used to have. I really like Bloom's Lip glosses. I dunno why I never bought another one from them after. Maybe I will sometime soon. :P

FIRST/ SECOND EYELASH CURLER

 Shiseido Eyelash Curler

My first one was actually bought in a tiangge which actually cost me around Php30. It was really a horrible experience. When I used it, I saw my lashes fall. I almost cried that time. Haha. After that I swore to buy the best curler so that this won't happen again. So I got this one. Shiseido Lash curler has amazing reviews and I personally like it as well. Although, I exchanged mine with my sister's Shu Eumura Eyelash Curler because it can't get all of her lashes while the Shiseido one can. The Shu Eumura works perfectly on me anyway. In fact, I still use it until now!

FIRST FOUNDATION

Sephora Liquid Foundation in ???

I can't remember which shade I got. I didn't use this much anyway. It was too sheer and I needed one with heavy coverage because I have a lot of dark spots from acne that I need to cover up. 

Well, these are all that I could remember for now. Made me realize how simple my makeup routine was before my collection grew. So, what are your firsts? Care to share them with me?  :)

Btw, my sister, Tracy, is back from her trip in Germany! Yayy! I missed her so much!

♥♥♥

Cheers,
DAWN