Happy April everyone!! We've passed the first day of spring (with a supermoon, even!), and are into cherry blossom season in some parts of the country. (Not quite my area yet, though. It's still a little too chilly. Hopefully I'll see the pretty pink and white blossoms in a week or so.) The weather's nicer, though - I've been able to get out and go for longer walks (3-5 miles) a few times in the past two weeks. I have a bit more energy when I can start my day out with a walk.

Up and Coming

Bundle Monster is coming out with a brand new set of image stamping plates!! Like other nail stamping companies, Bundle Monster sells disks with half a dozen recessed images for nail stamping...except instead of being upwards of $6 per plate, you pay $18 and get 21 plates. I bought their first set last summer, and while there are a few images that are the same as the big-name plates I have, there were far more unique images. The disks are the same size, the images seem a little less deep than Konad...but other than that, you work with them the same way you use your Konad plates. So if you've already bought the stampers, plate holders, or special polishes from Konad, you can just use those items with the Bundle Monster plates. If you're interested in checking out the first Bundle Monster nail stamping collection, you can purchase it on Amazon (note: that's affiliate link). Bundle Monster's new image plate set, which will include 25 plates, is due out in April 2011. (Bundle Monster doesn't just sell these image plates, though: they also carry nail decals, rhinestones and beads, 3D design canes, false nails, and more. I'm almost surprised that they don't carry nail brushes or dotting tools...)

Good Reads

Leanne's blog has shown me all kinds of interesting nail tricks to try out: water marbling (haven't tried that yet), nail stamping (done that, but need more practice), gradient-sponging (tried it, like it, need to do more), Kelier non-shredded-looking crackle polish (tried it, but don't love it)...and now, newsprint nails. She sometimes finds these techniques elsewhere and then shows off her own version of the technique, and links back to the source site or video in question (which is good because otherwise I'd be totally unable to duplicate any technique she showcased.) I don't have the steady hands for freehand design - at least not to my own exacting standards of "make things symmetrical" and "no messy lines". I'm almost my own worst enemy when it comes to nail art, at least in terms of doing anything freehand. But this...this I can do! (As soon as I actually go out and get a newspaper.) Thanks to Dominika for the excellent tutorial, and to Leanne for showing Dominika's tutorial to a wider audience!!

Wendy reviews the Physician's Formula Custom Eyes Gel Eyeliners. I'd seen these when getting the eyeliner trios, but I had very little experience with the brand, and so wanted some other input on how these performed. Sounds like I should watch for these on sale in my local drugstores..!

Cindy at Prime Beauty is hosting a giveaway for Stages of Beauty skincare!! Skincare tailored to your particular age, to help your skin as it changes as you age...which is definitely the trick, isn't it? Aside from "keep it clean" and "use sunscreen", there seem to be extra little tricks to learn for every different skin type. Stages of Beauty looks to make that a little easier with their age-targeted kits. The deadline for entering Cindy's contest is April 8, 2011.

Ambarina polls folks on what beauty must-haves...have they never ever tried. I think I might be a beauty hipster because I seem to reflexively shy away from products that everyone else raves about. (Actually...if a person proclaims their undying devotion to a product but then goes on to state exactly why they love it so, and their reasons make logical sense, I'm more inclined to give it a go. I know, I'm weird.) What OMGWTFBBQgottahaveits have you not tried?

Kaz, from Pretty Random, bids the beauty blogging world adieu and begins divesting herself of her immense polish collection. Full details on the blog. Be sure to read carefully.

Items of Note

The Zoya summer-collection promotion last week has ended...and yep, I caved. I got myself four polishes (Apple, Faye, Reva, and Breezi), got two more for a friend, and took advantage of Zoya's still-ongoing B2G2 promotion on the large bottles of Remove+. This stuff is more expensive than Sally Hansen or Cutex or anything you'll find in a drug store...but having used Sally Hansen polish remover and Cutex polish for years, I feel that Remove+ is definitely worth the greater price tag. When I've used drugstore brand remover, after four or five sequential uses my cuticles feel tighter and look drier, and can actually start shredding. My nails seem a little more prone to peeling, as well. Remove+ takes off any nail polish I've used - crackle, microglitter, flakie, regular - but doesn't dry my cuticles out, and while I do still have nail peeling from time to time, it's much less frequent and far less severe than when I'm on a "diet" of inexpensive drugstore polish remover. The current promotion just began the week of March 21st, and their promotions are bimonthly - so either this promotion has another month and a half to go, or this will be teh last week it's available. (Online dictionaries don't seem to agree on what "bimonthly" means!!) Pay $50, get one gallon (four 32-ounce bottles) of Zoya Remove+...which works out to 39 cents an ounce, which is actually about on par with the drugstore brands.

I've got a friend who's just getting into makeup. She is at the same place I was about five years ago, in that she has a vague idea of what to do, but no "basic core" of knowledge. Starting this weekend I'm going to write up a basic series of tutorials for makeup and basic routines, posting one every two weeks (or possibly every week - haven't quite firmed up the schedule yet.) Everyone's welcome to tag along; and if you've got bits of knowledge, feel free to share them in the comments of each post!! I'm sure I'll find them interesting, and others may find them valuable as well. I plan to cover skincare, primers, foundation, eyes, blush, lips, nails, tool and kit care. Initially I'm not going to focus on tutorials to create this or that look or style (smokey eye, winged liner, water-marbled nails) but just start out by focussing on the basics, as I've learned them. My biggest problem trying to learn how to use makeup was that while there were - and are - plenty of blogs and videos that show you the what, they don't necessarily go into the why. For me, learning the what without the why means that I can't improvise, I can't as effectively build on what I've learned...and when something doesn't look right when I follow a given tutorial, I don't know why it looks wrong for my face shape / eye shape / skintone. (And thus, the series of tutorials.)

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