Awesome Rings on Etsy (Cortney Loves)

 I was browsing one of my favorite handmade shopping sites: Etsy.com and came across these awesome rings. I can’t pick a favorite- they’re all amazing for different reasons. I put a short description for each ring below along with a link to each Etsy shop incase you’d like to purchase one of these beauties.

[Check it Out:  What's in My Bag?]

 

[Related: Best Nail Polish Colors for Summer]

– Red & White Delight by Studio Leanne: This is Chunk-tacular & Made with high quality glass!

– Yellow and Silver Statement Ring by Rachelle’s Jewlery Box: If I could wear rings with wide bands I would love to own this happy piece!

– Vintage Turquoise Ring by Adornments By Debbie: I absolutely adore the detail around the Turquoise center. So chic!

– Lotus Flower in Silver by JaneWearJewelry: This ring is perfect for the minimalist or for the gal who likes a lot of elegance. The detail on this one is amazing!

– Jello Acrylic Statement Ring by StoryBookVintage: This particular listing is for the purple ring and all I can think of when I look at these are the retro/ mod colors from the 60′s. Too fabulous!

– Aquamarine Rose Ring by OpusJewelDesigns: This romantic piece is sure to get lots of attention. You know i’m a sucker for anything that sparkles :)

 

I’m hoping to do some shopping soon. I’ve got a new job i’m starting on Monday and so i’m just dreaming of a shopping spree on pay day ;P

The Best Nail Polish Colors for Summer

While it’s perfectly acceptable to wear any color you want on your nails, I do have a few favorite shades for the Summer time I want to share with all of you!

Yellow

One reason I love to wear Yellow nail polish is the versatility. I can’t think of a color that yellow doesn’t coordinate well with. In the hot summer months, it’s always great to wear a nice sunny yellow and brighten up the day even more :)

Purple

Purple has such personality! There was no way it wasn’t going to make it onto this list. I love to see a nice lilac with a white summer dress <3

Lime

I’ll admit that it can be tricky to make lime green match your outfit for the day, but you can always use a muted shade of green to have less of a “shock” factor.

Bright Blue

Okay so i’m a little biased- blue is my favorite color, but it IS a fantastic color for summer. Perfect for a day at the beach or the fair :)

What are some of your favorite colors for summer?

3-D Nails, the Newest Beauty Craze **Cortney Loves**

3D Nail ArtWith Summer approaching, everyone is looking for the hottest nail polish colors to wear. One manicure trend that seems to be on the rise is 3-D nails. They come in all colors and styles accented with rhinestones, beads, cabochons, and even pearls. Many women who typically go with a simple, standard manicure think 3-D nails are hot this season. Getting a manicure like this one, leaves so much room for creativity. You can do so many color combinations and even show off your favorite animated character like Hello Kitty.

See: Top 5 Lipstick Shades for Spring

And Don’t Forget: Nicki Minaj Fragrance Announced

3D Nails Cosmetics By Cortney

Another fun option is to have just one nail on each hand 3-D while the rest of your nails are left with just color or a more simple non-3-D design. I’m hoping to get a 3-D manicure as soon as my budget allows. I think this is such a fun trend with endless possibilities for design and self expression.

3D Nail Art

Don’t Forget to Check out my Nail Pinboard on Pinterest

Nicki Minaj to Release New Fragrance This Fall

Nicki Minaj is broadening her horizons from rap and expanding into the world of fragrance. According to WWD she will release her new scent this Fall. Minaj has reportedly linked up with Give Back Brands LLC, the same company that created a scent for Justin Bieber.

According to Vibe.com Nicki says:

“I have always been a huge fan of great fragrances. This is yet another extension of my creative expression. I designed the scent and bottle with my Barbz in mind.” 

According to Shine  Nicki says: “I like scents that feel summery, but have a va-va-voom. I want to smell like a sexy and confident woman, not like candy.”

 

Being a fan of Nicki Minaj, i’m pretty psyched to see her bottle design and fragrance choice. something tells me the color pink might be a large element to the design…

 

What do you think of this news? Are you a excited, or could you care less?

Top 5 Lipstick Shades for Spring

Personal Skincare Routines for $5

Sexy Prom Dresses Banned from High Schools

Schools all over are placing new restrictions on their dress code for prom. Administrators are concerned over the increase in provocative attire over the years. They feel that girls in the High School age range should dress more “appropriately” and with more… respect. This new announcement has been met with many positive reviews. Parents and Administration alike are blaming t.v. shows such as Dancing With The Stars for the increase of sexy attire.

I have to say that we’ve been pushing the limit on “over sexualized” for years now. Although, I will mention that some of the photos shown aren’t quite as bad as I was expecting. To be completely honest, every girl wants to feel beautiful at prom. While I do agree that women are WAY overly sexualized to an insane degree in the media, I don’t see anything wrong with showing  a little skin on prom night. I.E: Strapless Gowns or Dresses with Slits around mid-lower thigh level. It’s a whole different ball game if we are talking about a thin, tight dress that only extends to the very bottom of a girls butt or one that has less coverage than a bikini on top.

Girls- particularly those in High School  have so much in their face constantly reminding them that they need to exude a sexy or sexual image… I can see why they would feel a desire to wear a skimpy dress. It’s up to the parents, older siblings, and close mentors of teenage girls to promote a positive and healthy self image  and show girls how easy it is to be sexy without being sexual.

Hopefully the administrative staff of these schools will play fair. Many times administrators will go over-board with rules to the point of it being ridiculous. As i’ve stated above, I don’t think that a dress should be banned because it is strapless… just use common sense people.

 

See: Top 5 Lipstick Shades for Spring

*Be sure to check out my: Pinterest Pinboard for Prom Dresses

See: My latest On-The-Go Fruit Facial

What’s in My Bag? #2

It is so fun to do another “What’s in My Bag” video and blog post. It seems like it’s been forever since i’ve done one! Oh wait. It has. lol

I always enjoy seeing this TAG go around and getting the opportunity to see what everyone else carries in their bag. It’s basically a voluntary invasion of privacy and I love it. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from these TAGs also. Find out innovative ideas to save room in your bag or learn why some people prefer to carry a trash bag on them at all times. There’s always SOMETHING interesting in someones bag. I’ll be posting my video showing everything in my bag first thing tomorrow here.

You can tell by my eclectic style choices that i’m into a lot of different looks and patterns. Below is the list of things pictured here, i’d love to know what’s in your bag!

 

The Goodies:

  • Harajuku Lovers makeup bag
  • Watermelon change purse via Modcloth.com
  • Empanada Change purse (gift)
  • Sephora face powder (older than i’d like to admit)
  • Sephora 2 in 1 travel mirror and hairbrush (SO convenient!)
  • Leather Wallet via Fossil
  • Car Keys/ Regular Keys
  • Galaxy Tab 7.5″
  • Galaxy Tab Case (not actually made for that, but it works for me perfectly!:)
  • Great Quotes From Great Women book (I love to carry a book around with me whenever I can. This is the perfect size too!:)
  • Sony Headphones for my phone (I just haven’t made the bluetooth leap yet)
  • *Phone not pictured here. You’ll have to watch the video to see it, I forgot to put it in the photo ;/ (Motorola Photon 4g)

 

Levi Jeans Outrageous Definition of “Curvy”

The new ads for Levi’s Curve ID jeans were released last week. Despite my best hopes- they were a little more than disappointing. When I look at the models of these jeans, the last words I think to describe them are “curvy”. In fact, I think the only person who’d actually consider these girls curvy is Jiminy Cricket. It’s time to face the music, the average woman is a size 14- NOT a size 4. 

Though the attempt may have been with the best intentions, Levis Jeans has a while to go before they realize what America means by “curvy”.  With the  print ad boasting: “Hotness comes in all shapes and sizes” I would call Levis Jeans outrageously bold. The women shown could only be a size or two apart…. and many sizes away from curvy.

While advertisers are having great difficulty these days, merchandisers seem to be profiting well. Many companies providing a wider selection of sizes for women to choose from are seeing  an increase in sales. This really comes as no surprise to me. If people can actually fit into your jeans, why wouldn’t they be more inclined to buy them?? Unfortunately magazines, posters, and billboards still see clothing as something to be “one size fits all”.

French Elle Says “yes!” to Curvy Girls

This month’s cover of French Elle features Tara Lynn, a full figured American-born model. She is shown sporting hot pants, a lacy top and a pair of adorable black high heels. Speaking as one of the curvy girls, it’s refreshing to see some of the bigger magazine names introducing more voluptuous models to their pages. Tara Lynn has appeared on one other cover for Elle Magazine and she has also appeared in Italian Vogue’s June 2011 issue. She is currently signed with Ford Models

The popular idea of  what a model should look like seems to be changing. If things keep going in this direction, we might see a lot more diversity in magazines and media alike for years to come. Maybe this is a big step for the modeling industry to begin a more realistic approach to modeling and fashion. Plus size celebrities in general seem to be a popular topic lately. Karl Lagerfeld commented on how he thinks singer Adele is “A little too fat” (A look of disgust shadows my face, but he has since apologized; So that does count for something… or not). Vogue doesn’t seem to agree with Karl Lagerfeld however. Adele will be featured on their March 2012 cover.

Comment and let me know what you think!

Content copyright Cosmetics by Cortney