Complex Nail Design

Wow! Right?? DETAILS COMING SOON!

New Nail Design I call, Sunset Boulevard

Instructions on how you can create this design on your own, coming soon!

YURADICHE BOUTIQUE: The Spirit of a Woman

YURADICHE BOUTIQUE: The Spirit of a Woman
By Nikki J

When you think of finely tailored suits and coats, denim that fits to perfection, intricate and interestingly knitted tops, embroidery and craftsmanship, and highly fashionable garments, what places comes to mind? Spain, Italy, France or even New York for sure! No one ever thinks New Jersey, right?! Well, think again! Right off the highway of route 70W in Cherry Hill New Jersey, you will find Yuradiche Boutique. An intimate boutique who’s name means the spirit of a woman in African, carries woman’s evening, business, casual, and resort wear, including accessories and shoes, all with a feel of coming from abroad. Plenty of “off the radar” designers such as, Yoana Baraschi, Olivia Rose Tal, Cecilia de Bucourt can be found amongst the selection, along with some independent merchandise as well. Owners Melissa Feliciano, Tyra Belford, and Toni Allen, pride themselves on showcasing garments from fabulous obsure designers, as to breath life into an otherwise saturated market of some of the more commercial names. At Yuradiche, a maximum of three or four items of any one style is purchased at a time—and then it’s gone. This is the ideal atmosphere for the young or mature adult who loves fashion, who loves to make a statement, who loves to discover, and wouldn’t be caught DEAD in the same ensemble as Franny Fashion-Don’t up the street! You can expect to find classically sophisticated silhouettes such as the hourglass, to the more trendier silhouettes such as the triangle, the exclamation point, and even the Popsicle! A girls gotta have options right?! Leopard print is a must and bold, attention grabbing accessories is a mainstay here. Still, aside from all the hype, one would think you would have to spend a pretty penny to receive this type of exclusivity and flare, however just the opposite is true. Appealing to customers of every pocket book, Yuradiche’s price point ranges from $10-to $200! No more trips to Tar-jeay for this Friday night fashionista! lol Customers can even request shop by appointment head-to-toe beauty consultations, or their very own private trunk show to shop comfortably in the location of their choice! The spirit of a woman? I think so! All in all, this boutique is grade A when it comes to assortment selection, customer service and price/quality ratio. Watch out world, New Jersey has much more to offer than amusement parks and beaches!

www.yuradicheboutique.com
www.yoanaburaschi.com
www.oliviarosetal.com

Insider on this 2010 Summer's Shoe Trend

BANANA REPUBLIC "Rosita" Wooden Clog, $98

Fashion is stepping back a decade this summer, away from fall's 1980s-style acid-washed denim and power shoulders to a season full of 1970s influences, including sun-bleached colors, fringed accessories and the "it" shoe made popular on the Chanel runway: Clogs. Here a few different styles @ different price points that stood out to me. Of course, there will always be even less expensive ways to indulge in this trend. Check it out in my "Ways to pull of the Spring/Summer 2010 Clog Trend!" HAVE FUN!

CHANELClogs $1795

                                                                               

Jimmy Choo "Unity" suede clog sandal, $450                                         

STEVE MADDEN "Daynty" clog, $89.95

New Nail Design: Jungle Kitten!

Well ladies, this is my latest, and I call it, JUNGLE KITTEN! (not to be confused with "Here, Kitty,Kitty!:) Anyhow, I started out by painted all my nails yellow because it is the lightest. Then, I made a thick black strip across the middle of all my nails with the black polish, right over top of the yellow nail polish. The yellow is called "Lets Meet" by Sinful Colors and you can pick up any black nail color brand. I then went over the tip of my nails with a green color, also by Sinful Colors,called. By this point, you should have three colors on your nails, first the green color, then the black, then the yellow should be left showing through, on the bottom. It does NOT have to be perfect at this point, you will even have some nail color on your cuticles-we will clean all this off at the end! Your black lines dont have to go straight across, you can do them diagonal or whichever way you feel! Be creative! Anyhow, take a black polish with the striping brush and make horizontal, tiger-like lines going across the green area at the top. Your motions should be quick, sweeping motions. With the same quick sweeping motions, take a white polish with a striping brush and do the same tiger-like lines on top of the black area. Take the black with the striping brush and then do the tiger lines on the yellow at the bottom. If you only have room for three or four alternating lines, that is FINE! When you are done, apply any high shine top coat, I used Super Shine by Sally Hansen... Take a Q-tip and clean all around your cuticles is need be!

Again, feel free to add your own style to it, you can change up the colors, you can add sparks, be creative and be You!! No one else is more qualified!! Comment and post photos to show me what you did!!!!
P.s Notice that my nails are A LOT shorter in this post than my other ones. That proves that your nails dont have to be super long to still be FABULOUS! lol
Much Love!

"HERE KITTY KITTY!!"

Why pay ten or twenty bucks for a manicure when you can create something as fabulous as this??? lol Save your wallet the damage and try to re-create this nail look I call, Here kitty kitty!! lol

I started out with Sinful Colors (Walgreens:) nail polish in Let's Meet, which is the yellow color. To create the leopard/cheetah design, I just took a tooth pick, dipped it in black nail polish and alternated between the letter c, u, squiggles and like an off set parenthesis motion. After that, I dipped the same tooth pick in Sinful Colors polish in All About You, which is a gold glitter polish, and filled in the leopard print with it on the middle, thumb, and pinky fingers. I then took nail art paint in a tourquoise color and filled in the leopard print on the index and ring fingers! Exciting right?? lol I know! For those two fingers I went over the entire nail with a multi-colored glitter top coat to bring out the blue! Finished it off with Sally Hansens Super shine top coat on all the fingers! Hope you likey! I wanna c your pictures when you try it so be sure to post them in my comment box!! Much love! 

Cute Nail Design Idea!

Well, it was four in the morning and who wakes me up?? Harmoni. Thats right, my lovely daughter explaining to me that she spilled juice all over herself and the bed......lol I could get mad...That's right I could. But that's the risk you take when leaving a cup of juice by your five year olds bed side lol....soooooo after cleaning her up and the bed, at 4:30am, I decided what else was there to do, other than MY NAILS lol. So below are some pics I took of what I did. Pretty cool if ya ask me! lol

TRY IT! 

I started out with Sally Hansen Quick Color Pen in Silver Chrome. Then I took Rimmel 60second vinyl shine in Denim Dreams (blue), and swiped it across my nail on an angle from about the middle left corner to the outter most tip of the right corner of my nail. On the right hand I did the same, starting from about the middle right corner to the outter most tip of the left corner. I took a nail art striping brush in white and lined the bottom edge of the blue color about half way. I then took Wild n Crazy brand polish in Belly Up (black) and did the same angular stripe motion in the opposite direction, painting right over the blue in order to overlap it.

I made another white stripe at the bottom of the black color from edge to edge. That gives it the "geometrical" feel you see above. For a little something extra (as if the design isn't extra enough lol), I took the black color and just dabbed three dots following the angle of the line on my index finger. You can be creative and add your own "little something" to it, but I decided to go with that. To finish it off, I put a layer of Sally Hansen's Super Shine top coat to make it sparkle. lol

As you can see I use a lot of different brands of polish, i like different ones for different things, Motives Nail Candy is a good one, it will run you about 5 bucks. If you you wanna go with an even less expensive brand, I'm really fond of Sinful Colors, which you can get at the drug store for like 2 bucks.

Anyhow, I hope you like my design, comment and Enjoy!

I Design My Own T-shirts and Sneakers!

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Check me out! I design t-shirts and sneakers by Keds brand! My sub brands are called Encourage Yourself T-shirts, and Encourage Yourself Sneakers--all printed quotes featured are written by me! Find out more under the "products" tab at the top of my home page, or click the panel above to get your original New Creations design today!

Why I Use/Love Motives Cosmetics!

Motives Cosmetics......Where do I start?! The line is Fabulous! Show-stopping creme and pressed eyeshadows, bold gel liners, vibrant paint pots and lustrifying lipsticks. With these products, quality definitely out weighs price! I have been a makeup artist for years and have yet to find a cosmetics line who's quality out weigh their price--until NOW! I know I'm sounding all overly excited, lol, but I'm telling the truth!

The line is a huge hit with big name celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Gabrielle Union, Eva Longoria-Parker, Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian and more! T.V Personality and actress, LaLa Anthony is now coming out with her own Line of cosmetics with the help of Motives, that will be geared toward women of color! So that makes Scott Barnes (J-lo's MUA) Kimora Lee Simmons, and now LaLa! These exclusive lines are not available in stores, only online or through a promoter of Motives Cosmetics (me! me!:).

The line has also been the featured cosmetics line of CHOICE on Bravos TV's Project Runway and the Fashion Show.

The best part, ladies is this, the line is totally accessible to us! No more celebs keeping all the goodies to themselves. What really impresses me about the line is that it is totally customizable. You can take an empty eyeshadow, blush, or powder palette, or any combo of the three,  and fill it with the colors YOU want. And the foundation and mineral powders are custom blended to your EXACT skin tone, texture and complexion, which means offering better quality service to my customers, and for you, no more 

buying foundation from the drug or department store only to get it home to find it's too light, too dark, too red, or ashy! lol A Motives Color Consultant (someone trained to supply these products to you) will come out to you and allow you to try before you buy, allow you to see how you look in various makeup looks you may never have tried otherwise, and of course blend up a special foundation just for you. Tinted Moisterizers  Bronzers included! And that is why I love it! It's pampering your clients to the 100th degree!

Try A Motives Product For Yourself

SHAPE UPS!(the "pretty booty" sneakers!lol)

This post was inspired my the infamous Shape ups by Sketchers. They are said to mysteriously shape and tone your butt, legs, and improve posture, just by wearing them. Mmmmm, I don't know but I am quite curious. I tried them on at Macy's and they felt like moon shoes. Like I was walking on a cushiony platform or something-it was weird lol. My sister actually got a pair recently and I told her send me a video and some snap shots so I can post them on my blog and you all can give me your feed back. Have you tried them or know anyone who has tried them? Did they get results or what?! The ones I tried one where not that "visually appealing", in my opinion, but my sister got hers from a Finishline in NC and they are actually kinda cute... Very wearable... My presumption is that they work with the same premise as the high heeled shoe. If you where heals all the time, it visibly tones your calves and heiny because its like you are constantly flexing; like you are on your tippy toes. If you stand like that, it forces you to stand up right and erect. So I would say that they are like high heels, minus the corns, bunions, and back pain LOL.

Tragic Loss to the Fashion World: Alexander Mcqueen

As many of you may know by now, fashion Icon, Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London home this morning. Some sources are not admitting to it, but many sources are saying it was suicide. Not only was it suicide, but it was suicide by hanging.... I am so traumatized because I would never think that someone like him, who seemingly had it all, money, success, friends, health, and such a prominent influence over the fashion world, would take his own life. He was only 40 years old and did not even scratch the surface of what his incredible mind would have offered us. 

From my understanding, him and his mother were really close, and she had just died a week before. The woman who first gave him his start by buying his entire first collection ever, Isabella Blow, committed suicide 3 years prior, after finding out she had ovarian cancer. It was said she tried to commit suicide several times after finding out of her illness, but finally succeeded after injesting weed killer fluid. Mcqueen was totally devastated. Also, pressures from having to reveal his new line in Paris and his secondary line, McQ, was to be presented TODAY as part of New York Fashion Week. KCD, the PR company handling the show, says the presentation is canceled obviously.

The Invitation:

All this happened days before London Fashion week. 

I'm totally speechless. 

All you psychology majors out there could  attest, that this amount of pressure, stress, and grief, is enough to drive anyone insane. But just to try and imagine the state of mind a person must be in to actually take their own life... What hopelessness.  Does this seem like a man that would be hopeless? I dont know.....You just never know anymore...

If you click the link below, you will get to see some of his designs, including his most recent which come off a little demonic in my opinion..... You tell me. 

Alexander Mcqueen Spring Collection 2008-Fall 2010 


"Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs," British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman says in the Daily Mail. "At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern-day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn't."




Very brief picture bio:

Daphne Guiness wearing Alexander McQueen

McQueen's infamous 10'inch stilletos, also can be seen in Lady GaGa's Bad Romance video

Mcqueen and his Mum 2001

Alexander McQueen and Sara Jessica Parker @ the Costume Institute Gala in 2006

McQueen and Isabella Blow 2003

Mcqueen @ Isabella Blow's Funeral in 2007