Modelones Dip Powder Kit Review

Hey Guys!

Trying to get back into this blogging thing with the current lock down situation we're all experiencing in NYC. It's definitely been tough, literally all we do here is sit at home. But because everything is closed, that means that our precious hair and nail salons are also closed. And while I would love to be a person that can use regular polish to paint my own nails, it just doesn't work. Less than 24 hours later, it never fails that my nails have chipped.

Lately, I've been on a dip powder kick at the salon. SNS #5 (at least at my salon) has been a favorite of mine. It's a beautiful neutral pink with a little bit of shimmer in it.

But now that we're on lockdown here, and I wasn't using regular polish I figured I'd try and dip my own nails. If for no other reason, it would last better than regular polish for the time that we're all sheltering in place. So I took to Amazon, gathered all of the supplies and went on my way. I did both my mom's nails, and mine. And it didn't come out half bad! I'll provide an update a few weeks from now on how they lasted (right now we're at 5 days, so we're doing way better than standard polish).

The kit that I bought came with all of the necessary equipment (clear, 5 colors, base, top coat, and activator). The one thing I did notice though, was that the clear and the 5 colors came in such a small container. While I think it'd be a great starter set to use, I think you'll probably have to buy a kit with more product pretty soon down the line. Link to the kit here: Link

I felt like the kit was really easy to use. My only issue is that there are certain nuances that in your first time doing it that you would really have to learn with practice. For example - the activator has to dry completely for approximately 2 minutes. If it's not, you'll end up scraping off some of the polish when you try and buff the nail out. The other piece is just trying to make the nails as thin as possible.

The Verdict: I'd use it again! I think if some of the other big name brands like Rossi and Kiara Sky are having a sale on their starter kit, I'd consider purchasing one of them if the price is right. I think the other thing is definitely learning how to do it.

Would you guys be interested in seeing a video of me doing my own nails the next time I do them?

Love from NYC!

Celia

Luxsio Sonic Brush Review

So let's start out here. I like the idea behind a Foreo. I've always wanted one and I hear the other beauty bloggers I follow absolutely rave about them. But I can't justify a $200 price tag. It was the same reason I never got a Clarisonic.

But the more I heard people raving about the Foreo I wanted to try it. But I still couldn't justify the price tag. So that is where Amazon comes in. When you search Foreo Dupes - there's a BUNCH. Now while I'll happily let you choose whichever one you'd want. I'm here to talk to you about the Luxsio Sonic Brush. Linked it here so you guys can purchase it if you so choose.

Now, none of these are direct comparisons to the Foreo as I haven't tried one. But this is just my feelings about

Price Point: $39.00 and comes with a 5% off coupon. The pink also comes in at $37.95. Now this is a price point I can get behind. It gave me a chance to try it without breaking the bank.

Shape: I actually prefer the shape of this one over the Foreo. The tip allows for me to get closer to my nose and make sure that everything is as clean as possible.

Charging: I've been using this for about a month now and thankfully I haven't had to charge this at all. The charging for this seems to be

Overall Use: The one thing I have to say that I don't love about this versus the Foreo, is that there doesn't seem to be a timing function on here. It just vibrates steadily for a while. The other thing that I have noticed is that certain soaps don't suds the way that I personally would want them to when washing my face. I've noticed that the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel has been the best one for me and washes my face the way that I want it every time.

Would I recommend?: Yes. After every use my skin feels baby smooth and for someone who has been lucky to have fairly clear skin, I think it looks brighter.

Recent Reads: February 2020

Hi Guys -

Welcome back to recent reads. I know I've been a little distant over the past couple of weeks on here because I was studying for the LSATs but figured I'd get back in one of my favorite things! As I mentioned, I was taking the LSATs on 2/22, so I didn't do as much reading this month. If you guys are interested in hearing my feelings on the LSATs let me know.

Just as a reminder, here is the star scale that I go by.

5 Stars: I absolutely loved it
4 Stars: I really liked it
3 Stars: I liked it
2 Stars: It was okay
1 Star: I disliked it

5 Stars

• Lock Every Door - Riley Sager. This books was recommended to me by @booksandlala on YouTube. I am always looking for a thriller and this one really hit the spot. I actually finished it in 2 days it was so good. The one thing I have to say I liked about this thriller was that it actually surprised me. A lot of thrillers don't necessarily keep you guessing until the end  (you can usually figure it out somewhere along the way) and this one absolutely did not. So Jules is dead broke (welcome to NYC, where we're all semi broke) and she sees an ad for a house sitter in an Upper West Side Apartment. But when she gets there she finds out that there are a ton of rules, No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. But Jules meets Ingrid, one of the other house sitters. And then the next day Ingrid is missing. It's a gripping story that kept me intrigued until the very last page

4 Stars

• The Broken Girls - Simone St. James. This one was weird, it was a thriller, but was also paranormal, but also told in more than one timeframe. Fiona's sister was found murdered on the ground of Idelwild Hall. And now they want to rebuild it. You also hear from a group of 4 students who are currently students at Idelwild in the early 1950s. I really enjoyed this book, but it wasn't quite a 5 star for me. 

3 Stars 

• The Other Mrs. Miller - Phoebe Miller is a recluse. She isn't happy with herself, or her life and spends her days looking at the car that consistently sits on her block. But that all changes when a new family moves in across the street. And she becomes more focused on the new family, and not the car that sits on her block. I liked this book, but it wasn't the page turner that the other two were for me. I liked it, but I don't expect that I'd recommend it to anyone. 

I didn't have any 2 star books or 1 star books. I did have one book that I decided not to finish, and that is called the Andalucian Friend. It was a book that based on the description (The Sopranos meets The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) I thought I was going to love. I tried both the physical book and the audio and I just couldn't do it.

Looking forward to hopefully getting a chance to read a bit more in March (I have like 5 I've started).

Love from NYC!
Celia

Recent Reads : January 2020

Hey Guys!

Welcome to the second iteration of my Recent Reads segment for our first month of 2020. As a reminder, this is a way for me to aggregate the books I’ve read for the month.

So my goal for the year is to read 52 books. Hopefully with that I’ll get about 5 books completed a month. At the end of the year, I'll rank everything that I've read and provide a top 10 list of the year, but we've got a long way to go for that.

I'll go through the books I've read based on the Star Rating that I've given them. All links are affiliate links that will help me to run this blog but I will only offer affiliate links for books that I've rated 3+ stars, as those are the only books that I would recommend to my readers.

When I am talking through my star ratings, this is what I'm using as a scale. A quick reminder,  just because I don't love something, doesn't mean that it is a bad book. If it is your fav, that is totally okay!

5 Stars: I absolutely loved it
4 Stars: I really liked it
3 Stars: I liked it
2 Stars: It was okay
1 Star: I disliked it, or I did not finish

5 Stars

• Red, White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston. I loved this book. I heard a lot of people who really enjoyed it, and I had truly never read any M/M Romances before so I didn't know what to expect. But I absolutely loved the story. Alex is the son of the first female president of the United States, and Henry is the second son of England's Royal Family. Henry has been gay for as long has he's been aware, but Alex is still struggling to figure out his sexuality. Alex has also always hated Henry, because the first time that they met, Henry was a straight up jerk to him, so when they see each other at Henry's brother's wedding, chaos ensues. In order to save face, the President and the Royal Family send the two of them together to fake a friendship and their relationship forms from there. I won't give too much away, but I would definitely recommend this, whether you're a fan of YA, Romance, or just a good, enjoyable read. Purchase the book at this LINK. 

4 Stars

• Hurry Home - Roz Nay. The first chapter of this book was tough and I thought I wasn’t going to like it. But as soon as I started to get through it I sped through it because it was so good. It starts with Alex, who is a CPS officer and her boyfriend Chase. And then Suddenly Alex’s sister who she hasn’t seen in 10 years shows up to say she’s pregnant with no explanation. As the story goes on, you see how Alex handles her long lost sister and why they haven’t spoken to each other. As well as a case that she has been handling beginning in the first chapter. It's an interesting story that explores how far people will go to protect someone, or something. 
• Elevator Pitch - Linwood Barclay. I enjoyed this book but I couldn't give it 5 stars because generally when I read books I want to enjoy them in the vacuum of the story that I read. And Elevator Pitch hit entirely too close to home for me. The story begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets. And while it's initially thought of as a fluke, for the rest of the week there are other elevator accidents...so clearly it is. So for someone who lives in NYC, where this is something that could conceivably happen I didn't love that aspect of it. I don't want to be on an elevator in the middle of the city worried about something I read. But overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a mystery that you didn't figure out until the end and kept you engaged. 

3 Stars

• Someone We Know - Shari Lapena. While this wasn’t my favorite thriller I have ever read, I did enjoy this. It comes from the author of The Couple Next Door and surrounds the couples who live in an Upstate NY neighborhood when one of them is found dead, and more than one of the males on the street have had affairs with the dead woman. 

2 Stars

• The Furies - Katie Lowe. I originally received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and didn’t finish it in time. So when it as released, I got it from my Library. While it wasn’t a bad book, it wasn’t the book I was ever really reaching for when I had to choose one of the ones on my currently reading shelf to continue reading. The other thing I didn't love about this book was the fact that I didn't feel as if it lived up to the description that I was looking for. 
• The Widow - Fiona Barton. I tried to pick up this book multiple times and I never got to it and I have to say now I understand why. This book is told from multiple points of view regarding a woman whose husband died, and how it was ultimately related to the disappearance of a little girl named Bella. 

1 Star 

Love from NYC!
Celia

TBR Book Tag

Hey Guys - 

Saw this Book Tag from Books and Lala on Youtube (Who got it from this link: http://aperfectioncalledbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/tbr-tag.html) and I figured it would be interesting to do. So take a look below!

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
I think I have a bunch of ways, one is just books I get from the library,  one is my Goodreads List (for books that are unpublished), one is all the books I have downloaded on my iPad (books app) and my Kindle.

Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?
I'd say that I have about 95% ebooks. I have about 15 print books that are on my TBR and on the bookshelf in my bedroom/apartment. But more of my reading gets done on my Kindle and iPad because I read really quickly and it is easier to carry more books that way. 

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?
I am very much a mood reader. So whatever I am in the mood for. When I download books on my iPad, it's usually in an order of when I'm most likely to read it so I usually just go in the order that I have on my iPad.

A Book That's Been On Your TBR List The Longest 
 iPad: The Vincent Boys. This was the first book that I ever downloaded on my books app. While I don't know if I'll ever read it based on how I have these ordered and how many there are, it's been on there for a really long time. 

Goodreads: Truly, Madly. I added this in 2016. 


A Book You Recently Added To Your TBR
iPad: Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay. He is the author of the Dexter series and this has to do with a jewel heist. 

Goodreads: Daisy Jones & The Six

A Book In Your TBR Strictly Because Of Its Beautiful Cover
I don't really do that, so I wouldn't say there is anything on there strictly for the cover. While I do initially pick up books because of the cover, I'll put it back down if the description doesn't intrigue me. 


A Book On Your TBR That You Never Plan on Reading
I wouldn't say that I have any books on my TBR that I never plan on reading. Whenever I get them, I have at least some intention of reading them at the time. While my intentions might change, and I might not want to read them in the future, I'll usually delete them from my TBR.  If I had to choose one that I am most likely to not read on my TBR however, it's probably the DaVinci Code. While I love the book, I am not a person who re-reads books. So I am more likely to read everything else on my TBR that I've never read before than re-read the DaVinci Code. 

An Unpublished Book On Your TBR That You’re Excited For 
He Started It by Samantha Downing. I really liked her book My Lovely Wife that I read earlier this year so I am really excited to read this one. I have some ARCs that I'm also looking forward to reading.  


A Book On Your TBR That Basically Everyone’s Read But You 
Where the Crawdads Sing. I downloaded it to read as a part of my work book club, but I actually left the job before the book club ever met, so I never read it. It's been on my list for almost a year at this point and I'm hoping I'll get to it in 2020. 

A Book On Your TBR That Everyone Recommends To You
I don't talk to too many people about books, but my one friend works for Penguin Random House and most recently she recommended to me Ask Again Yes. I'd say that this is probably the only book on my TBR that has been recommended to me specifically. I've gotten some other book recommendations from BookTube, but none specifically for me. 

A Book On Your TBR That You’re Dying To Read
Lock Every Door. Thanks Books and Lala for the recommendation! 

How many books are on your Goodreads TBR shelf?
300 on my iPad, 15 physical books, 50 Kindle Books. 

Love from NYC & Happy Reading! 

Celia

My First 10 Lbs

Hey Everyone -

So I always thought that I would never have a weight and fitness journey to share, but here we are. Over the past 6 months, I've lost 10 lbs. Okay, well 9.5. And I'm excited to share my journey with you! It's been a roller coaster of a journey, but I've finally found something that works for me, and now we're here!

I've always been pretty thin. I played sports in high school and as a kid and worked out a decent amount in my college and career life. But what really killed me was when I used to commute to and from NYC. I spent 2 hrs on the road in the morning and at night, and it made it hard for me to work out as much as I could. But my weight stayed pretty consistent. Until October of 2019. I noticed myself having gained a pretty significant amount of weight and I knew I had to change things.

April of 2019, I started using the Sweat App. At that point I had the time and wanted to make the change. I had heard so many good things about the BBG program from Kayla Itstines and I had always wanted to try it. The other thing is that I have a gym in my building, but I didn't know anything about

But the thing was, whereas I never really ate poorly but now I had a workout regime, and I walked 40 minutes each way every day to work, I was still gaining weight. I just couldn't understand it. I was so discouraged, I would cry and almost didn't want to keep going anymore. So I was talking to my mom only to find out that something called Hypothyroidism (an underachieve thyroid) runs in our family. And the two main symptoms are unexplained weight gain, which I had, and tiredness, which I also had. I remembered a time I went out to lunch with a girlfriend and I was so tired I had to go to bed at 9:30 PM.

To the doctor I went, only to find out yes, I did have Hypothyroidism. That explained my tiredness and why even working out, I was still gaining weight. And in July I was my heaviest ever. About 25 lbs heavier than July of the year before.

So now that I found out one part, I had to figure out the second part. And that was where Kelsey Wells came in. Her PWR Program as well as her as a trainer and the entire PWR community, helped me to find a work out program that I actually enjoyed doing. That made me sore and helped me build muscle, but I wasn't like "ugh I have to do it." So Kelsey, if you read this, thank you. The PWR community that you've built is something that has become so special to my fitness journey. I added in a little extra cardio here and there, but I love its flexibility.

The other thing that that wasn't health or food related that really helped me in my journey was Rent the Runway. It made it so that I had clothes that consistently fit me and I enjoyed wearing, but  there was no pre-existing stigma that these clothes had fit in the past and didn't fit now. It made me feel more confident in myself, and didn't cause me to overeat or anything because I felt like things just weren't going my way or working the way that they should have.

So after everything, here are the progress photos. Besides the fact that my hair is longer, the other thing you see here is a girl that's more confident, happy in her skin and as an added benefit, down about 10 lbs. While I don't have a goal weight moving forward, my goal is to always be the best version of myself I can be.

Love from NYC!

Celia

Library Haul and TBR

Hey Guys! Wanted to switch things up a little bit here and do something that wasn't quite your regular post. So below you'll see a Youtube Video that I did talking through the books I currently have in my possession from both Book of the Month, and YouTube. While I wouldn't consider this a formal TBR as I don't say "I need to read this in January" but when I go to the Library, I generally pick my books with the intention of reading them.


But for those who aren't interested in watching the video - scroll past the video to check out what I've got below!

• Elevator Pitch - Linwood Barclay: This one hits a little close to home as it takes place in my home of NYC. On Monday morning, 4 people get in an elevator at their Manhattan office, and press the buttons of their destination floors. But instead of stopping, it goes all the way to the top, only to then start going back down and then plummet. While Elevator issues in Manhattan are a fairly normal occurrence, this suddenly happens in other parts of the city on both Tuesday and Wednesday so this is anything but random.
• Lost You - Haylen Beck: Libby Reese has lost her son on Vacation. CCTV Footage is seen of him being lead away by another woman, only to find out that he isn't lost, this woman has actually found him. 
• The Other Mrs. Miller - Allison Dickson: The car down the street has been watching Phoebe Miller for weeks, and only they know why. Vicki moves in down the street, and Phoebe begins focusing on her, and not on the car, when she really shouldn't be. 
• The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown: This is the only re-read on my list. I'm not much of a re-read person, never have been. But there's something about the DaVinci Code that is calling me back.  The curator of the Louvre is found dead one night, only to have Robert Langdon, a Harvard Symbologist called in to take a look at the case. It leads him down the path of what we're familiar with as the Holy Grail and how all of this is ultimately connected. 
• That's What Frenemies are For - Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell: This is a Pygmalion re-telling, which involves Julia, and her posh Upper East Side of Manhattan life, and Flame, who is a gym owner. As goes the story of Pygmalion, Flame becomes a celebrity fitness star, and Julia's life begins to crumble around her. 

These two books I got from Book of the Month. Click this LINK and get your first box for just $5! It doesn't change your price, but I do receive a small commission. 

• The Wives - Tarryn Fisher: How Far Would You Go to Find out the Truth About Your Husband? The main character (who's name we do not know) is a part of polygamist family. She only sees her husband 1x a week, and doesn't know any of his other wives. Until one day, when she tracks down Hannah, a woman she knows is one of his wives. Only to find out that she is being abused by her husband, who is also her husband. So what should she do now?
• The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James: This book might actually not be available yet unless you're a member of Book of the Month. But in 1982 Viv Delaney goes missing at the Sun Down Motel. In 2017, her niece Carly decides to visit the motel and figure out the story of why her aunt disappeared. 

Let me know if there are any other books you think I should read if I like these!

Love from NYC!

Celia