Tag Archives: acrylics

Jan13

Black & Neon Green Nails

Posted on January 13, 2017 by lifewithlilred

Hi everyone and TGIF! Yesterday was crazy busy for me but because I always get my nails done on Thursdays when I need a new set of nails or a fill, I just had to make time to see my beloved nail tech, Vinny, so he could get me right. I usually get my nails filled every three weeks for twenty bucks and honestly it’s the best money that I spend all month. To me, there is nothing better than taking a breather and being pampered before you have to step back into the real world. And, of course, it is always so fun hanging out with Vinny and the salon gang for an hour or two!

Last fill, I was loving the hot pink accent nails that I picked and I decided to go bright or go home again this time with neon green and a coat of sparkles over top of it. As always, the rest of my nails were black with an airbrushed cross on each middle finger. I’m thinking of upgrading to gemstone crosses next fill, though! I’m so obsessed with how my nails turned out yesterday and they might just be my favorite fill yet. Check it out:

LOVE!!!!!

After a delightful rendezvous at the salon, I went to get myself some Starbucks with a Christmas gift card before heading to the skating rink to coach for the Special Olympics. As I was being rung out, the barista asked for my name and when I told him it was Sarah he checked to see if it was with or without an H (I love when people do that!). After I told him that it was with an H (the best way), he told me that he’s “always told that the H is for ‘high maintenance'”. I guess that has to be true, considering that I was just coming from getting my nails done!

What is your favorite nail polish shade right now? What color should my accent nails be next fill? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec23

New Hot Pink & Black Nails

Posted on December 23, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hiii everyone and TGIF! Yesterday, I had a little pampering party to get myself perfect for the holiday weekend. I got my nails filled in the morning and then spent the evening dyeing my hair to get it nice and bright red for Christmas. As always, my nail tech, Vinny, did an amazing job shaping and sharpening my nails. I opted for a color for the accent nail that I rarely pick but am actually loving right now. Hot pink! It is far from your classic, run of the mill highlighter hot pink but more like a bright fuchsia and I think it is so fun! Take a look:

The color looks admittedly red in this picture because poor camera quality but you get the point! Normally, when I am picking an accent nail color, I go with red or shades like grey, beige, or white. This new accent nail color is definitely out of my comfort zone considering I don’t own one pink item in my wardrobe but I’m glad that I went for it! Small changes to your daily routine are always fun and the little things like a new nail polish color or lipstick can really set yourself up for having an amazing day. Make sure that you find time to TREAT YOSELF this holiday season!

I hope everyone has a fab Friday and a great Christmas Eve Eve! What accent color should I pick next time I get my nails filled? What is your go to shade of nail polish? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec5

Pampering Party (Wahhh!)

Posted on December 5, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and happy Monday! This past week has been not the best at Chez Red because I have literally been sick for seven days straight. I have had an absolutely miserable cold complete with cough, body aches, headaches, sore throat, the chills, and night sweats. On top of feeling like DEATH, it is now finals week at school which is super stressful which seems to just make me sicker!

I am feeling very bitter about this bug because it completely ruined the pampering that happened last week which I was so looking forward to. I was scheduled to dye my hair, get my nails filled, and get a haircut. These are all things that I freaking love to do and unfortunately, I felt miserable to the point that I couldn’t enjoy any of it during each pampering activity.

My hair dying sesh resulted in a bloody nose and massive chills. Thanks to frequent nose blowing and an accidental stab from my talon acrylics, I was left with a bloody nose worthy of sticking a tampon in. Then, the cold water shower which was a necessity to washing out the dye and maintaining a lustrous shade of red left me in shivers in my skivvies for days. In hindsight, dying my hair and doing a cold water hair wash while sick was just plain asinine but damnit, my hair needed it real bad!!!

Later on in the week, I needed to get my nails filled so that they could be perfect for my graduation ceremony next week. Probably not the best idea either. The strong nail polish smells at the salon went straight to my head and not even my beloved nail tech, Vinny, could help me feel better. The worst, though, was when my nails were put in front of a fan to start the drying process. I instantly began to sweat and get clammy and I like to think of myself as a not sweaty person. I left the salon a big blubbering ball of phlegm and damp clothing but my nails looked fabulous, darling.

And finally, this weekend it was time for a haircut. I was so looking forward to getting my hair styled for my big day and wanted nothing more than to sit comfortably in the chair and let my stylist work her magic. Naturally, this didn’t happen. My week long nightmare left me feeling so achy and irritable that everything made me want to scream, or cry, or BOTH. So best believe when those little bitty microscopic hairs got snipped from my head and wound up down my shirt I was about to have an emotional breakdown. I’m telling you guys, it’s hard out there for a pimp.

Now that I am feeling about eighty percent better, I can finally fully admire the work that was done on me. My hair looks gorgeous and my nails are fierce. But at the time, nothing made me feel happy or attractive which is surprising considering I tried to surround myself with all things pretty! A Pampering Party did happen but it was not fun or relaxing in the slightest. I can only hope that the next time I need to throw some paint on the old barn that I am feeling in tip top physical condition!

Who is suffering from a winter cold or flu right now? What are your go to remedies for easing the yucks and aches? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov11

They’re Baaaack

Posted on November 11, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and TGIF! Okay, so this week’s Monday Update involved me freaking out because I broke one of my natural nails that I have been trying so freaking hard to grow out in lieu of getting acrylics. Well, two days after that, another nail broke so I said “fuck it” and went to get my claw babies back on Thursday. After about a year of being talon-free, it felt so good being back in the trusted and true hands of my beloved nail tech, Vinny.

As I mentioned before, asides from dying my hair, getting my nails done is my absolute favorite way to pamper myself. I love being able to sit back, relax, and let Vinny work his magic and make my nails look pretty. One of the things that I love the most about long nails is how they make my hands look. Naturally, my hands are quite small and stumpy but lengthy nails make my hands look elongated and beautiful. When I had to cut my natural nails after two of them broke, I was so sad to see my hands shrink down to their bitty size right before my eyes. But now, everything is as it should be and having janky nails is one less thing for me to worry about. Take a look:

The other main reason that I wanted to get my nails done was for my graduation which is coming up on December 15th. I told myself that if I can’t get my natural nails how I like them, then I would treat myself to my acrylics and I am so glad that I did! I do wish that they were a little bit longer but they will do for now and Vinny said he’ll take care of it when I get them filled – he’s such a gem! :*)

Now my graduation ceremony beauty check list for looking fab as I strut across the stage looks something like this:

Get nails filled.
Dye hair.
Get a hair cut.
Put together a graduation ceremony worthy outfit!

I am so happy to have my nails back but it has been a doozey of a twenty-four hours while I get used to living my life with talons again! So far, everything is going just fine minus a small scare with my car door. Other than that things are A-okay – especially now that I can put my babies to work on my laptop keyboard again! LOVE IT! ❤

I hope everyone has a super fun and relaxing weekend! What kind of outfit do you think I should wear for graduation? Who else has a passion for long nails? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov7

Monday Update: NAIL HELP!!!

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hey everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fab weekend. So as you guys know, I was beyond obsessed with my stiletto style claws back when I was wearing acrylic nails. But, because I am ballin on a budget as a college kid, I decided to cut back on my favorite way to pamper myself besides from dying my hair. I haven’t been wearing acrylics for about a year but in the past four months I have been attempting to grow my nails out because I’ve been missing them badly.

So far, my nails have been doing pretty good. I began a regimen of taking Biotin and Calcium vitamins and I really think that they have been helping. I have also started soaking them in olive and coconut oil as a moisturizing treat. My nails are now quite strong as opposed to the brittle, flimsy mess that they were before. I am a little less than halfway to the length that I would like them to be at but then…the unspeakable happened. The nail on my thumb broke clean off yesterday. 😦

I am genuinely at a loss of what to do. There was no salvaging the nail and now I have nine long and beautiful nails and a mere stump on my right hand thumb. What do you guys do in a situation like this? Do you cut the rest of your nails and let everything start fresh? Or do you just wait it out and let the broken nail grow again? I suppose it’s a matter of preference but I have no clue what to do and I feel like I would benefit greatly from hearing what all of the amazing beauty gurus out here have to say.

As a reminder, this is where I last left my nails in acrylic land and I am a little less than halfway to that length now. Ironically enough, I’m wearing those exact same colors right now! All I need are my middle finger crosses and I’ll be all set! #thosewerethedays

I am in desperate need of advice and also some comfort because I am so upset about this nail breaking. The worst thing, though? About an hour before the nail broke I literally told my mom “wow, it sure would suck if one of my nails broke now”. FML!!!

As of now, I’m leaning towards letting my little thumb stump grow out because it is not as noticeable as say, if the break happened on a pointer or middle finger. However, this is subject to change! So what do you do when a beloved nail breaks? Let it grow or hack off (so violent!) the rest? I want to hear from all of you, so PLEASE leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

^^^ Acrylic nail jams! 😉

Mar12

Beauty Bloggers: HELP!!

Posted on March 12, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and happy weekend! Once upon a time, I had the longest, fiercest, and sharpest acrylic stiletto nails in the world. I loved them so damn much but unfortunately, the price of upkeep was just getting to be too much. I’ve been without my talons for a solid half a year now and I’m missing them something fierce. But here’s the rub, I really don’t want to pay for acrylics now that I haven’t been shelling moolah out for nail maintenance for six months!

I’ve been trying to grow my nails out to at least get them somewhat lengthy but I’ve been having a really hard time. After the removal of my acrylics, my nails were really brittle and would barely grow. Luckily, I’ve moved past that stage and my nails can and are growing. My nails start out strong in their effort to grow out but then they will reach a certain point and just get flimsy as can be. We’re talking that if I bent them hard enough, they would probably break.

I would really love some suggestions from the beauty gurus on here about how to strengthen and grow out my nails. I’ve been trying to keep my nails hydrated with hand creams like I’ve been told on Facebook. I also recently just applied a hardening base and top coat when I painted my nails over the weekend because my BFF said that that might help. I know that I’ll never get my real nails to be anything like my old claws seen below but I would love to at least have some length to them!

Beauty Bloggers – I need your Help now more than ever so if you have any tips at all it would be so very appreciated! I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb4

Liebster Award #4

Posted on February 4, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and happy Thursday! I was so excited to have been recently nominated for my fourth Liebster Award by my friend, Annette, over at nananettie1969! Her blog is fantastic so much sure you check it out and give her page some love. Lifewithlilred has been receiving a lot of award nominations lately and it is so very much appreciated. I love making these posts – they’re so much fun! As always, there are some rules that come with these awards so check them out and then let’s begin:

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to them.
Answer the questions given to you.
Nominate 15 bloggers and present them with questions of your own.

Q & A:

What is your favorite song?

“Beautiful Day” by U2. So much so that the day I turned eighteen I got lyrics from the song tattooed on my shoulder.

What is your favorite color?

Black and red.

What inspires you the most?

People who work really hard and people who use their time and talents to help others.

What genre do you write?

Oh, a little bit of everything. I’m not tied down to one specific genre. If anything, I just like to write about my day and what’s going on in my sub par life. 😉

What is your pet’s names if any?

Gem is my family’s Golden Retriever and Winston is my sister’s little Yorkie and Shih Tzu mix that we babysit sometimes!

Do you have kids?

No kids! I don’t want children nor do I like them that much.

Do you have a sign or symbol that represents you?

Uhm…not really. Well, actually…Does a cigarette and a lighter count?

What do you like to blog about?

Like I mentioned earlier, a little bit of everything. I like writing about beauty and fashion as well as movies, music, books, and school. You never know what you’re going to end up reading next on my site!

Where would you like to visit?

I would love to travel all over Europe!

What do you like to indulge in?

Cheap wine, new shoes, and really good skin care products.

What type of food is your favorite?

I like all types of food, I’m not picky! I’ve been a vegetarian for a very long so any style of food that gives me a lot of options is always preferred. I just recently had some fantastic Indian food with a few of my friends at a restaurant called the Saffron Patch and I can’t wait to go there again. Otherwise, I like Italian, Mexican, and Chinese food a lot. I also will never say no to Taco Bell EVER.

If you could give a million dollars to charity what one or ones would you choose?

Anything that involves helping animals – whether they be in shelters, on the verge of extinction, or just need extra love and care. I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like animals and I despise people who hunt.

Why do you blog?

I’ve always loved to write and enjoyed journaling a lot when I was in high school. Lifewithlilred is kind of like my online journal. I also really enjoy interacting with all of my readers in over one hundred and fifty different countries!

How many followers do you have?

Almost 2,000!

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

My Questions For You:

Would you rather have a relaxing beach vacation or something more adventurous?
Where is your favorite place to shop at?
How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
What colors of lipstick do you like to wear?
Acrylic or natural nails?
Manicures or pedicures?
What celebrity would you like to spend a day with?
What did you dream about last night?
When you were a child, how would you answer the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up”?
What is your favorite article of clothing in your wardrobe?
If you could raid one celebrity’s closet, who would it be?
What is your favorite kind of junk food to snack on?
Favorite candy?
Favorite non alcoholic drink?
Favorite alcoholic drink?

Thank you so much again to Annette at nananettie1969 for nominating me for my fourth Liebster Award and congrats to my nominees! How would you answer some of the questions that I asked my nominees? What are some of your questions for me? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan18

Monday Update: My Second Beauty Blogger Award Edition

Posted on January 18, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Monday Update: My Second Beauty Blogger Award Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend! On Friday I got nominated by my friend, Kezzie, at: kezziescorner for the Beauty Blogger Award. I was so flattered to be nominated for the second time by such a fantastic blogger so make sure you check out her page! With all of the fun blogging awards comes rules, of course, so take a look and then see how I answered the questions that Kezzie asked her nominees:

The Rules:

Tag and thank who nominated you.
Respond to the questions that your nominator gave you.
Nominate 10 new beauty/fashion bloggers.
Create 10 new questions for these bloggers to answer.
Tell the blogger that you nominated them.

Got it? Good! Now let’s take a look at Kezzie’s questions:

Q & A:

Are you studying? If so what?

Yes, I am! I’m currently working towards getting my Associate of Arts degree at Tri-C in Cleveland, Ohio.

What are you reading right now?

I just started The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. I’m about one hundred pages in and I really like it so far!

What is your favorite lipstick shade?

That’s easy! I love NYX’s Pure Red matte lipstick. It’s seriously the best matte lipstick I’ve ever used and the shade is perfect for Lil Red!

What is your go to outfit for winter?

During the winter, I like to wear my black skinnies (obviously), with a chunky sweater, my Michael Kors booties, one of my many peacoats, and the super warm gloves my boyfriend got me for Christmas.

What is your favorite all time TV character?

This is also an easy one. Elaine from Seinfeld will always be one of my all time favorite TV characters. I want to be her when I grow up.

Do you have a favorite Youtuber?

Not really, I don’t go on YouTube very often.

What inspires you the most in life?

People who are working their asses off to improve their lives and themselves.

What do you do when you are having a bad day?

Hmmm…Before, when I had a bad day I used to use really unhealthy coping mechanisms. Now that I’m clean from that, I like to take bubble baths, write, and binge watch Netflix in bed when I’m having a bad day…So basically what I do every day. 😉

What is your favorite nail polish shade?

Black. Black. Black. I don’t paint my nails often but when I do I always paint them black. Lol, I sound like the Dos Equis guy! When I used to have my talon like fake nails, they were always black with red for an accent nail and a cross on both of my middle fingers. I miss my fake nails so much but they were a lot of upkeep and not having them is a total money saver. Now every time I do something that definitely would have broken a nail, I breathe a little sigh of relief in knowing that I won’t have to rush to the salon to get it fixed!

What is your favorite makeup store?

I love The Body Shop and a lot of my makeup does come from there but honestly, I’m just as happy getting the last odds and ends of what I need at Target. They have a shockingly wonderful makeup selection and I like to use Covergirl and Rimmel. For a treat, I like to use their Pixie brand!

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

My Questions For You:

What is your favorite beauty item that you treat yourself with?
What was one of your worst fashion or beauty moments?
If you could raid one celebrity’s wardrobe, who would it be?
Would you rather wear the same outfit every day for a week or not wear makeup for a month?
Bubble baths or long showers?
Did someone teach you how to wear makeup or did you learn how to do it on your own?
What is your favorite makeup or clothing store to score a bargain?
What was your favorite fashion or beauty moment?
How would you describe your style?
Everyone has a color that just looks perfectly awful on them. What color is that for you? What about the color that looks best on you?

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: My Second Beauty Blogger Award Edition! Thank you so much again to my friend, Kezzie, at: kezziescorner for the nomination! How was everyone’s weekend? How would you answer some of the questions that I asked my nominees? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct12

Monday Update: Liebster Award Edition

Posted on October 12, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Hiii everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! When I returned home from my boyfriend’s house yesterday afternoon I was so excited to see that I was nominated for the Liebster Award by my friend at A Maple Girl! It was such a pleasant surprise so I decided to make a Monday Update out of it! Here are my answers to all of the fun questions provided by A Maple Girl:

Long nails or short? Long – although I’m currently wearing my nails natural and short at the moment. I had extremely long acrylics reminiscent of talons for over half a year but now I’m giving my real nails some recovery time before I get a new set on.
Red lips or pink? Red!! Haha I would be nothing without my red lips and red hair!
Favorite YouTube beauty Guru? I don’t really have one…I’m not a big YouTube watcher and I’m honestly so set in my every day makeup routine that I rarely switch it up.
Favorite season of the year? AUTUMN!!!! I love the fall so much! Fall clothing is my favorite: cardigans, peacoats, fingerless gloves, hats, and cable knit sweaters – I love it all! I really want to get to a haunted house with my boyfriend soon! We actually might be going to Halloweekends at Cedar Point this upcoming weekend. 🙂
First job? I worked as an actor at a haunted house, Carnival Of Horrors. I was fourteen or so and it was so much fun. I also got to do all of my own makeup which was a blast.
If you could only use one makeup brand for the rest of your life, which would it be? The Body Shop, hands down. However, I would have to cheat and use NYX for my lipstick because their matte lippies are the best!!
Dream vacation destination? This is an easy one – traveling through Europe!!
Favorite book you’ve read recently? I just finished rereading one of my favorite books, Night Film, this past Friday. It’s so fantastic and is in production to be made into a film soon! I liked this book so much that I got one of the quotes, “Do I dare?”, tattooed on my inner left arm.
Why did you start a blog? Lifewithlilred originally started strictly as a fashion blog because I had multiple people tell me daily that I should start one. I have a very unique personal style and I was flattered that people recognized that and liked it, so I figured “why not?” Now lifewithlilred is more of a lifestyle blog, covering everything from beauty and literature to silly ramblings and mental health.
Celebrity crush? I have tons! Haha I love Johnny Depp, Jack White, Julian Casablancas, Britney Spears, and Gwen Stefani just to name a few! For more on my celebrity crushes you can tune in to lifewithlilred every Monday and Wednesday for my Man Crush Monday and Woman Crush Wednesday segments!

I nominate:

Here’s how the award works:

Thank the person who nominated you.
Provide a link back to their page.
Copy and Paste the award to your blog
Answer the questions set by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 5 blogs with less than 500 followers
Leave a comment on their blog to inform them of their nomination.

My questions for you are:

What’s the one beauty item you couldn’t live without?
Who are three of your favorite bands?
The best gift you’ve ever received?
The weirdest food you’ve ever ate?
Favorite childhood movie?
Your favorite pair of shoes?
A story of the worst date you’ve ever been on?
Favorite book?
Do you have any pets?
What is your favorite subject to blog about?

Once again, I’m so thrilled that I was nominated for the Liebster Award and had such a blast making this post. To those of you who want more of me, you can friend me on Facebook at Sarah Mushenheim, follow my page, or email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com! How was everyone’s weekend? What is the weather like in your neck of the woods? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun26

Princess Manicure Day!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Helloooo everyone and TGIF! I had a fabulous afternoon yesterday with my beloved nail tech, Vinny!! He crafted my talons to perfection, we ate food, drank Patron, and had a gay old time! Before I went to the salon I went to Starbucks and got Vinny’s usual 4/4 White Lightening for him – it’s the least I can do considering all he does for me. I then headed over to Empress Nails for some princess style pampering! My sweet Vinny spent close to two hours filling, sharpening, and shaping my claws and here’s the end result:

^^^ So in love!!! As usual we did all black with a blue accent nail on each hand. The blue was Vinny’s idea because the last time we hung out “Blue On Black” was playing on the radio and Vinny was amazed that I knew the song and was able to sing along with him! My new thing when I get my nails done is getting a cross airbrushed on both of my middle fingers, which I’m sure is not everyone’s cup of tea – but hey, I like it!

While Vinny was working his magic on my acrylics I asked him if he wanted to go visit my sister, Kristen, with me at the restaurant she works at once he was done at the salon. To my surprise, he said that we can go after he finished my nails! So after my talons were nice and dry we piled into the Vinny Mobile and spent the entire afternoon playing hooky from our responsibilities! We spent the next few hours at Kristen’s restaurant where we hung out with her and the other employees, ate lunch, ate ice cream, drank some Patron, and enjoyed each others company. While we were talking with Kristen, she mentioned how badly she wanted Subway – so once we got back into the Vinny Mobile, Vinny decided that we should get her some Subway and bring it back to her. He’s seriously the sweetest guy with the biggest heart in the whole wide world. We found the nearest Subway and I ordered for Kristen since we both pretty much get the exact same veggie sub from there and then we backtracked to the restaurant to bring it back to her. Kristen was so gracious and so was I because we both have the best friend in the history of EVER!

After we brought Kristen her food, we headed back to the salon so I could collect the Little Red Love Machine and Vinny could work for a bit more. It was a beautiful afternoon and I’m so happy that I got to spend it with my best friend! ❤

^^^ Vinny told me that “Blue On Black” is his favorite song so this goes out to you! I LOVE YOU!!! #teamvinny

I hope all of you are having a great Friday so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? Do any of you have a special friendship with one of your hair stylists or nail techs? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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