How to Build a Wedding Day Emergency Kit
Yesterday my best bud and fellow Neon Bible writer Roni got married! To keep things running smoothly from hair appointment to hora, the other bridesmaids and I made her a Wedding Day Survival Kit, or as we called it a Just in Case Case
Included was:
- Q-tips
- eye makeup remover pads
- aloe vera wetnaps
- body lotion
- mini deodorant - make sure it’s clear!
- bobby pins
- moleskin - very important. we all put this on our feet before the ceremony.
- clear nail polish - to repair cracks and hang nails
- hair spray
- Pepto Bismol
- Gravol
- Advil
- Lint roller with pet hair protector
- Tide to go - very useful, especially after the bride fell down during her “running” photos
- compact mirror
- scissors
If you’re going to make a Just in Case Case for your bride, brainstorm with your bridesmaids and make a list, then figure out who’s going to get what. Don’t forget a cute basket or tote.
Adventures in Nail Art
Sunday June 14th 2009, 7:21 pm
Filed under:
Food,
NailsToday I met my friend and former student, Sachiko to get some Japanese nail art done. She’s an amazing nail artist based out of Kobe and I was thrilled that she finally gave into my constant pestering about getting something done.
She started by giving me a very meticulous manicure and getting on my case about using nail clippers. Apparently they weaken your nails and make them uneven. Then she gave me pink gel nails, which are slightly healthier than acrylic.
For my design I choose tiny fruit slices which are too adorable for words. Since I’m a beginner when it comes to wearing nail art I chose to put them only on my kusari yubi fingers (ring fingers) and my thumbs, which is apparently very popular in Japan. “See, you can look at them when you’re sending text messages” Sachiko told me.
After looking over her work, Sachiko decided that she was going to give me some crystals as a bonus. “Swarovski is my policy.”
The whole process took about 2 hours and afterwards I got a hand massage and a can of Sprite.
I took a photo. It’s not great but you get the idea.
What do you think of Japanese nail art? Have you ever tried it?
Review: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish
Long ago I gave up on drugstore nail polishes. On the most part they’re goopy, streaky, and take forever to dry. But let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of other cheap options for Vancouver girls. OPI (my personal favourite) is readily available but being poor, sometimes I have to choose spending $20 on lunch downtown instead of 2 bottles of polish. Essie is easier to find these days but it’s more expensive and selection is usually limited. And by limited I mean some stores only have 3 shades. Sad.
One drugstore nail brand I don’t totally hate is
Sally Hansen. Their products can be hit or miss but I swear by their
Nailgrowth treatment (wonderful as a base coat) and
Insta-Dri Top Coat. I decided to pick up their new
Insta-Dri Nail Polish. I got the shades Rose-A-Go-Go, a light baby pink with slight silver shimmer and Sonic Bloom, a bright raspberry coral. The bottle shape is kind of fug and the brush is also weird-looking, super flat with a curved brush head. It’s wider than OPI’S Pro-Wide brush. Anyway, according to the display you can paint your nail with this in one stroke. I tried that but it failed. Continuing to paint my nails like normal — 3-4 swipes for even coverage — I found that it was harder to make the polish near the cuticle look good due to the brush’s jagged bristles. And although it says you only need one coat for solid colour, it was a tad streaky for my taste so I did two. It did dry fast, not sure if it was exactly 60 seconds as promised but hey, good enough.
From my experience with drugstore polishes in the past I’d say I like this nail polish enough that I would buy more colours. The colour range is large with a few fun bright shades. I’m eyeing the yellow one (Lightening) for the summer. Points for applying smoothly and drying quickly, but that brush is damn irritating. The strength was excellent for a fast-drying polish; lasted 5 days without obvious chipping.
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart for about $5.99 CAD.
– Jacks
Flashback: Baby-G
1999 is a year that I look back on with great fondness when it comes to fashion and beauty. I remember a lot of sparkly eyeshadows and lip glosses, pastel everything and a whole lot of jelly. The two items that stand out the most to me are the classic Hard Candy polishes with the cute little rings around the top, and the Baby-G watch.
I never owned a Baby-G. My mom had opted for the study no frills Timex as my first watch. But I still lusted after these so-cute-you-could-eat-them watches that all of the cool girls sported. There was also a girl in my class whose parents bought her the entire line of Hard Candy polish, but that’s another story.
So guess what.
Casio has released a whole new line of Baby-G watches for your timekeeping pleasure. They’re big, they’re pastel, and yes, they’re jelly.
For about
$80.00 a pop, these adorable, retro watches are so worth it. I’m going to pick mine up at
Casio.com. The only question is, which one do I get?
Flashback Beauty I: CG Peelers and Crackle Lacquer
Yesterday I was cruising the isles of Shoppers when I saw three little girls no older than seven standing in front of the Bonne Bell display. One of them was playing beauty advisory and the other two were pretending to be customers. The beauty adviser cracked open a few glosses and passed them to the other girls. “Wear these and your lips won’t be cracky. This one is cherry flavor.”
When I got home I started thinking about beauty products from when I was a kid. Back when I was that age I was all about the Lip Smackers and Wet ‘n’ Wild. I even had a lipstick that supposedly changed colour with your mood.
I thought it would be fun to start a little feature that showcases beauty products from my childhood, or more, tweenhood actually. I seem to recall a lot of ridiculous gimmicky makeup was coming about about 10 years ago, a lot of things that changed colour, shape or texture with heat or light. Awesome!
For my first installment may I present to you two gems from Cover Girl circa 2000: CG Peelers and CG Crackle Lacquer.
I definitely was all over these back in grade 8 and I remember that neither of them worked particularly well. The Peelers were gunky as hell and I seem to remember them taking a long ass time to dry. I admit to being a polish peeler even to this day, and few things bring me more satisfaction that peeling off my nail polish in one piece, but it’s no fun when it’s all set up for you. Where’s the challenge? And the Crackle Lacquer, don’t get me started. This stuff came off right away and was all lumpy.
Does this type of novelty beauty even exist anymore? Would it even sell? Did you use any of these polishes back in the day? I would love to know.
If you can remember any hilarious, ridiculous or retarded beauty products from back in the day, please tell me. I’m currently trying to remember the brand of a lip gloss that I was all over in grade 9. It was supposed to look like a lava lamp and came in several less than ready to wear shades like blue and yellow. Also, I recall it smelling pretty funky. If you can remember the name please let me know!
Neon Bible’s Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Part III
While we’re on the subject of men’s skin care, let’s talk a little bit about hands.
My boyfriend is obsessed with nail care… in all the wrong ways. He has one nail clipper, for toe nails, which he uses to trim all the white off of his nails, and then ugh, his hang nails. He always rips them off, and the wrong way too so it just makes them worse. It’s just gross.
If your boyfriend or husband suffers from this same affliction, maybe it’s time for him to have his own… dare I say… manicure kit!
The Body Shop offers a simple little kit for $18 CAD that includes scissors, a clipper, a file and a cuticle pusher. It’s simple, not the least bit overwhelming, plus, it comes in unisex packaging so not to put anyone off.
While you’re at the Body Shop, why not pick up an Almond Oil Nail and Cuticle Pen to go along with your kit. My boyfriend hates the idea of hand moisturizer, so his hands and nails are always incredibly dry. This little stick works wonders on nails and fingertips and drys pretty quickly leaving no goopy residue so your boyfriend will have no excuses not to keep his nails in shape.
For only $12 CAD it’s worth it.
What are you going to be getting your boyfriend or husband for Valentine’s Day this year?
Don't be fooled by the fancy header. Neon Bible is a blog for poor people. Poor people with credit cards and drawers full of MAC. We write about makeup, models, japanese jewelry, vancouver, and stuff you can buy at shoppers drug mart. Besides the internet, you can find us in Fukuoka, Montreal and Vancity.
