I thought I’d share a snapshot or two of the DIY manicure I gave myself earlier this week.  I’ve been sticking to pretty basic shades lately, but I had fun switching it up with this gold and coral combo.

To get the stripes, I painted my nail coral and let the polish dry overnight.  (You don’t have to wait that long, but you’ll want to wait at least an hour or two to make sure you don’t smudge your base color.)  Then, I cut tiny strips of washi tape at a diagonal and laid them across the nail.  Washi tape is great because it’s not too sticky and peels off the nail really easily.  I painted two coats of gold over the entire nail and made sure to carefully remove the tape before the gold was completely dry.

Pretty darn easy!

My coral shade is Sally Hansen’s Coral Reef.  The gold is Sally Hansen’s Golden-I.  And the top coat is Seche Vite (which is so much better than anything you’ll find at a drugstore… it keeps nails from chipping for days and creates the perfect shiny finish!)

When I first started wearing lipstick, I felt like it looked weird on my face; I didn’t look like myself.  But the more I played around with it, I realized that even the subtlest shade can add a lot of brightness and depth to your look.  In fact, on days when I’m too tired or lazy to put on makeup, I’ll often fake it with a swipe of lip color.

I’ve been eyeing the Sugar Lip Treatment line by Fresh for ages, but $22 felt like quite the splurge on a single lip color. However, after browsing the aisles at Sephora last week with a 15% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to go for it.  And I’m so glad I did!

As an avid lip balm wearer, I really hate how most lipsticks dry up all the moisture from your lips.  I often find myself layering balm under and over my other lip colors to keep the moisture in.  But the Sugar Lip Treatments are super dewey and non-drying.  The shades are extremely flattering and can be layered for a bold color or dabbed on gently for a subtle tint.

Here’s a quick snapshot of me wearing the Lip Treatment in coral…

A perfect everyday shade, don’t you think?  It’s hand down my new favorite beauty product (with the Naked Basics palette being a dangerously close second…)

Have you tried Fresh’s Sugar Lip Treatment?  Got another lip color fave to share?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

I promise to post a bit later with this week’s baby bump update, but first I want to wish you all a very happy Earth Day!  Obviously, it’s important that we take good care of our planet every day of the year, but I always love this day for reminding me that there’s always a little more that I can do.

Check out this little rundown of some of my favorite earth friendly items (all of which are having sales of some sort to celebrate this weekend!)

1) Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning products are safe for the environment, safe for your family (extra important when you’re pregnant or have little ones!), and come in AMAZING scents, like Geranium.  Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner is a great product to start with if you want to try the line.  Enjoy free shipping all weekend!

2) Head to Target this Sunday and pickup a free reusable shopping bag, filled with coupons and samples of their favorite eco-friendly products!

3) Also at Target, Charlie Banana reusable cloth diapers are 15% off when you buy two.  These are the diapers we plan on using for baby girl… I’ve heard great things and can’t wait to try them.

4) Amazon is holding sales on all kinds of Earth-friendly products this weekend, but I’m especially enamored by the pretty bamboo servingware, which is 15%.

5) I love Zoya nail polish because it goes on evenly and comes in great colors.  Plus, it’s more natural than many other polish brands, free of harsh chemicals like formaldehyde.  This weekend, buy 6-24 Zoya polishes and get them half off when you enter the code ZOYAEARTH2013.  When you receive your order, send them 6 old polishes in your collection and they’ll dispose of them in an earth-friendly way!

How are you celebrating Earth Day?  Plan on taking advantage of any of these great deals?  Got some eco-friendly ideas of your own to share?  Spill in the comments!

Since this blog has the word beautiful in the title, I couldn’t resist sharing this short video with all of you this afternoon.

As a hair and makeup artist, I often notice that my clients say things to me like, “As you can see, I have a huge forehead/double chin/saggy eyes/etc…  Anything you can do to minimize that?”  Nine times out of ten, I would have never described that person with the “flaw” that they used to characterize their face.  Take a moment to watch this video and consider the way you view your own beauty.  I bet you anything that you’re more beautiful than you think you are.

P.S. You can click the YouTube link in the bottom right corner of the video to view it bigger (which I recommend.)

What’s black and white and red all over?  Every single awesome look from The 2013 Grammys, that’s what!  As usual, the red carpet was full of ill-fitted, over-the-top misses.  But these six ladies really stood out from the pack… which do you like best?

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Girls star Allison Williams made headlines for arriving to the bash as Katy Perry’s date, but I’m much more excited by her black diamond-encrusted number by Kaufmanfranco…

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Natasha Bedingfield rocked this Emerson dress by pairing it with a metallic belt and clutch.

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Leave it to Beyonce to ditch a gown altogether and still look fabulous!  Her Osman Yousefzada getup was a modern take on a retro color blocking look (and was undoubtedly way more comfy than the heavy gowns everyone else was wearing!)

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Beyonce’s Destiny’s Child bandmate, Kelly Rowland, showed off her killer curves in this Georges Chakra cutout dress.  For any other awards show, this look might be a little too much.  But it was a perfect choice for the notoriously daring Grammys.

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Taylor Swift looked positively radiant in this Grecian getup from J Mendel.  (I love her hair and makeup choices as well.)

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But my favorite from the night?  Rihanna, who paired her perfect ombre locks with this red stunner by Alaia.  I mean, seriously… she looks RIDICULOUSLY good.

What did you think of the red carpet at last night’s Grammys?  Which look was your fave?  Share your thoughts in the comments!