It’s my 28th (ugh) birthday tomorrow on Monday! I went out with my friends yesterday and had a really nice casual dinner. I didn’t really plan anything this year because I had no idea what I wanted to do or even what I wanted to get for a present. My boyfriend James always has a hard time finding me a present, so now he includes me in the decisions. I had looked for a long time but never really fell in love with anything. I normally ask for jewelry, but my taste has gotten a bit more sophisticated over the past couple of years. I now prefer real 14K gold or sterling silver to fashion jewelry.

My boyfriend decided to take me to Tiffany’s on 5th Ave. He got a Tiffany’s heart bracelet, and a Tiffany’s heart necklace. These are two great classic pieces that are timeless and will be great everyday jewelry. I’m very happy with my birthday presents and grateful to have such a generous boyfriend.

I had been seeing a lot of ads for Glossier makeup on Pinterest and on the NYC subway. I caved and decided to purchase the Glossier phase 2 makeup set which includes their Boy Brow, Stretch Concealer, and Generation G sheer matte lipstick. I really like two out of the three products that are in the set. The lipstick is pretty amazing. It goes on super sheer, and builds the color as you apply it to your lips. I honestly don’t know if I would consider it a “lipstick” because I used it more like a tinted lip balm. The Boy Brow is a great product for the women on the go. It just takes a couple of quick swipes with the wand, and your brows look naturally full. The concealer is the only one that I’m still on the fence about. Its pretty light coverage, so I have the tendency to want to add more product to my undereye area, but doing that makes the product crease really badly. Its ok when you use a very small about to conceal scars or blemishes on your face.

My mother and father went on a romantic trip to Paris. My mom brought back this gorgeous Saint Laurent scarf for me. She is an outrageously generous person and always brings back gifts for everyone.

I have been having some serious acne problems. I’m really getting to my breaking point. I got a lot of drug store products, but a lot of them were way to harsh on my skin, and my skin ended up turning red and even peeled. So I decided to go to Sephora and try out the Glam Glow cleanser and mask. They were outrageously expensive, so I sorta regret it. But so far so good. The cleanser is awesome, and I would highly recommend it. The mask leaves your skin with this tingling feeling that I like, but may be too intense for some people. It does not leave my skin agitated or red, and I really like the mask.

I highly recommend the Peter Thomas Roth Acne-clear invisible dots. When you do have a pimple, it helps cover the pimple so it doesn’t spread bacteria.

My very generous mother bought my boyfriend, James, and I a Celebrity cruise vacation!! Our first cruise together was an Eastern Caribbean cruise, so this time we did a 7-night Western Caribbean trip that visited Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in Grand Caymen, Falmouth in Jamaica, and Labadee in Haiti. We had sailed on the Celebrity Reflection previously, so we experienced the best boat that Celebrity had to offer at the time. We decided to save a little money this time and go on the Celebrity Silhouette, which was almost identical and had all the features of the Reflection that my boyfriend and I loved. It was an easy decision to make. We got a better room in the concierge class, the premium beverage package, unlimited Internet, and were still able to afford some excursions.

I got my first gel manicure today! I’m going on a cruise for a whole week, and I don’t want to bring nail polish with me, or spend the whole week chipping off my manicure. I actually never intended to get gel until I saw my downstairs neighbor at the nail salon. We didn’t recognize each other at first (I think this happens a lot in NYC) but we eventually said hello and started to chit-chat with each other. She said that her little treat to herself is getting a manicure every month. She said to me that she always gets gel because its lasts so long. I then asked her, “Doesn’t it ruin your nails?”
I once asked my mom about gel because regular manicures never stay on my nails. My nails are extremely weak and bend no matter how much biotin I take. My mother is very particular with what I do with my outside appearance. My mother has grown to accept my tattoos and piercings, but still cringes at the idea of dying my hair another color. My mother told me to never get a gel manicure because it would completely ruin my nails.
My neighbor replied to my question, “No! I think it actually makes my nails stronger.”
I said, “Really???” While giving her a very skeptical look.
“Yes, the nail polish is so strong that it protects my nails from breakage. I’ve been doing gel for a couple of months now, and I think my nails have gotten stronger. You just have to get it removed correctly.” She said.
I was so surprised and now extremely curious to try it out, which I obviously did. The manicure lasted about two weeks before I went and got it removed. During that time I went on a cruise and used my hands a lot. The nail polish started to peel away from the tip of my nail, and dirt started to get in between the gel and my nail. I used a light color polish so the dirt was showing through. My advice is to go to a reputable place that has done gel before, and use a dark opaque color.