S E O U L D I V A

Confession: I was REALLY not going to do the New York Fashion Week Makeup Challenge (#NYFWMUC) this season.  It’s been a very challenging and stressful summer and work has been particularly excruciating, so I didn’t think I had the creative gumption to do it this season.

But I woke up this morning, and it was like the Fashion Week Fairy had sprinkled her magic on me overnight.  I was filled with the spirit of Fashion Week!  Yes, it’s a full week of exhaustion, running around in painful heels, long days & nights of being super smiley and “on”….but at the end of the day, it’s a full week of CREATIVITY and being around the most incredible makeup talent in the world.

SO, bishes…#NYFWMUC is ON (like popcorn!)!!!!!!

DAY 1: Fabulous Feline!

Today’s suddenly cool weather puzzled me. So I pulled out my sleeveless turtleneck shirt…which lead to the hair being slicked up in a “femme fatale” sorta way…which lead to a cat-eye…NATURALLY.

• MAC Face & Body in C3
• Strobe Cream (obsessed)
• Superslick Eyeliner in On The Hunt (from Fabulous Felines)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in By Candlelight (on the cheeks)

Let #NYFWMUC begin!

I’ve always held a high respect for traditional healings and medicines.  Maybe it was because I was raised by my grandmother who, every time I told her something was wrong with me…would give me a strange bitter chewy medicine that tasted like dirt & herbs, cased inside a wax ball.  Herbs = the Asian Aspirin.

As I get older, I realize how much I shy away from Western medicine. If I’m experiencing pain, I’m much more apt to go to an acupuncturist or a Chinese masseuse before a chiropractor.  The same applies for my sense of wellness.

WHAT IS AYURVEDA?

A few years ago, through a random encounter at a dinner party, I was introduced to Ayurveda. Ayurveda literally translates to: “Science of Life”.  It’s a traditional Indian science of wellness that is both physical, emotional and psychological.  At the heart of Ayurveda is the customization of a wellness program, based on your prakruti — your disposition.

Ayurveda stresses the balance of 3 primary elements: Pitta (fire & water), Kapha (water & earth), and Vata (air & space / wind).  Depending on your physical and psychological disposition, people usually are dominant in one or two of these elements.  The element that is dominant is considered your “dosha”. Sometimes, people are tri-doshic, which means they have equal amounts of all 3 elements.

These days, the concept of Ayurveda has spread as a marketable adjective: there’s Ayurvedic skincare, Ayurvedic facials, Ayurvedic nutritionist, Ayurvedic food, etc.  These days, Ayurvedic “nutritionists” and “advisors” are a dime a dozen.

Call me “old school”, but I always crave authenticity and REAL things.  IE: I like my acupuncturist to have studied acupuncture IN CHINA.  Not at some New England school for Acupuncture.  The same for my Ayurvedic advisor.

I was introduced to Ayurveda’s Beauty Care by 2 people I met at a dinner party over 5 years ago.  It doesn’t sound fancy or uber-authentic, but there are special people behind it.  Yes, it has the word “beauty” in its name…yes, they also offer ayurvedic facials and massages.  But…at the foundation of everything they do, lies the true tradition and essence of Ayurveda behind it.

Nearly 6 years ago, I went for a Ayurvedic Nutritional Consultation.  It was then that I met Amita.  Amita is 2nd-in-command at Ayurveda’s Beauty Care and she is a very gifted healer.  I had gone with my boyfriend at the time (it was my Christmas present to him), and I was blown away by how intuitive she was — she seemed to SENSE what was ailing us without even having to ask us.

She ended up helping my ex-boyfriend to lose 20 lbs without any exercise –  JUST by adjusting his diet to his dosha.

I never forgot her.  And this past week, nearly 6 years later, I went back to visit her in the hopes she would serve as a guide in my quest for personal wellness.

More to come on my visit….

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a nail design post…and that’s because I have no fun news to report!  Since my last nail sparkly design, I haven’t had time to visit any of my Calgel haunts.  I think I’ve decided it’s time for a…NAIL DESIGN SABBATICAL!

Here’s what my nails look like now…

←gasp!

I know…I’ve been adorning my nails with wacky designs for nearly 18 months — it’s a little strange for me to have bare AND short nails.  But there are a few plus sides to it:

• I can type faster!
• no “gunk” removal from under my nails… (ew)
• I’m $50 – $120 richer every paycheck, since I’m not splurging on my nail addictions
• I can now practice the piano and get my keys game to a place where I can play & sing my songs for my own gigs…. YES!

Do I miss the crazy designs??  Absolutely.

But I think for the next few weeks, I’m going to let my nails breathe and air out.  But rest assured, I’ll do it up for Fashion Week again!!

CONFESSION:  I’m a beauty care racist.

OK, well maybe the “racist” phrase is a stretch…but I like to say that I have an “Asians Only” fly zone when it comes to my face & hair.  Meaning: you gotta be Asian to touch it.  (clearly, that’s not 100% the case, since the fabulous Keri Blair actually does my makeup for all my photo shoots)

But when it comes to hair, the Asian pre-requisite is a MUST.  I’ve gone out of my comfort zone many times and I’ve NEVER been able to find someone who understands the ethnic nuances of my locks. (believe me, I’ve tried!)

I used to make a Hair Pilgrimage all the way out to Bayside Queens to visit a Korean Salon out there called Hair Club IB. But when I had short hair & had to get frequent cuts, it became too cumbersome to haul ass over there.

My homegirl Helen has been going to a mysterious Chinese guy named “Gary”.  After hearing her rave about how amazing he was for years, I finally went to him and I’ve been devoted ever since.

Nestled in the heart of Chinatown (Mott & Hester), is Mess Salon.  They’ve recently undergone a heavy renovation to the salon, but the same hairstylists are there.

Admittedly, the clientele are predominantly Asian, but I do see several non-Asians in there for cuts & perms.

Now, meet Gary:

←hi, Gary!

Doesn’t seem like there’s much to him, but don’t let the appearance fool you! Yes, his English is a little broken, but despite that, the most important thing is that he LISTENS TO YOU!!!!   He takes direction SO well — he does exactly what you ask him to do (which is such a relief — how many times have you been butchered by stylist who takes “creative license”?)

A few other things about him:

• his cuts get better and better as they grow out
• he’s honest (he dissuaded me from getting short bangs once, and I’m forever grateful)
• he respects your hair goals and helps you reach them (I told him I wanted to grow out my hair and he suggested I go for a layered cut as opposed to an angular bob so that it would require less “trims” to maintain the shape)

Here’s my before:

and AFTER:

COST: $30!!!!  (can’t beat that!) + tip

They also offer a full range of Digital and Regular Perms.  (you know I’ll be hitting that up as SOON as my hair is long enough!!)

So if you’re like me and have an “Asians Only” Policy (or if you just want to try someone great, who is SO affordable)….go visit Gary @ Mess Salon.

In preparation for my album cover photo shoot, I had to be strategic about my nails.  But because the direction of the shoot was so ornate & edgy, I wanted to keep my nails rather simple this time around (rather than go over the top with too much).

So I decided on a simple Glitter Gradation at Marie Nails.  I asked Sayo to mix a combination of #31 & #32 glitters.

She mixed it with Clear Calgel, but instead of making a more liquid consistency, she made it very pasty & chunky/”dry”.

When I asked her why, she said it was so that she could have more control over the glitter coverage, so that it would be really saturated at the tip of the nail, and she could thin it out towards the middle.  (interesting)

For a rather “simple” design, I had TWO very interesting discoveries:

1)  SUPER Clear Calgel.  “Wait — what is this?” you may ask yourself….apparently exactly what it says it is!  Sayo used it as my “top coat” of clear.  The result was extra shininess!

2) A Permashine Gelacquer Top Coat:  Instead of the usual nail polish top coat, Sayo whipped out this new bottle.  She explained it was a gel topcoat that added more protection.  This was applied after my “Super Clear” Calgel.

The result?  SUPER shininess all around!

Total price:  $40

It’s been about 5 months since I started using Lilash.  I use it pretty regularly — just one swipe of the wand across my upper lash line at night, every night.  (ok, maybe I occasionally forget a night or two)

Over the past 5 months, not only have my lashes gotten CONSIDERABLY longer, but fuller, more voluminous.  Unfortunately they didn’t make my lashes curl upwards — they’re still stick-straight, just like they’ve always been.  If I don’t curl them with an eyelash curler, they still look like awnings!

I’ve heard from my friend using Latisse, however, that their lashes get long and curl up.  But it looks like my Lilash lashes are definitely a more dramatic, longer length.

Look at the results!

My Lashes BEFORE:

My lashes NOW!!!!

←curled with mascara

Saturday, I ventured back down to Marie Nails for the 2nd time.  Some quick observations from my last visit:

• Despite the fact that Marie Nails didn’t have Biogel available for a base, my nails held up pretty well.
• I only had slight lifting on one nail (my thumb)

As far as design, I didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I wanted white.  It’s hard for me to commit to a color on my nails, so for winter it’s usually black…but maybe for summer, it’ll be white!  I thought “maybe I’ll go simple this time” (yeah right!).

I remembered this design from my last visit.  It was one of Sayo’s original creations:

So we went with it!

But first we had to remove my old set. **Reminder: Removal is FREE at Marie Nails, provided you got them done there.  Before wrapping my nails in the Calaway foils, Sayo used this machine to file the top layer of the nails off first:

←fast!

Afterwards, she put 1 layer of clear Calgel as a base, followed by a “Pearl” Calgel:

→ 

Then she pulled out the “Ice” Calgel and the Matte White Calgel.  She applied the Ice first, in order to provide a more stark contrast for the Matte White:

Then, came the fun part!   Sayo basically “blobbed” a few spots of Matte White Calgel on the nail…then proceeded to “swirl” them with her brush:

→

→

COOL, right?!

Then we added the Turquoise stones, mini gold beads and gems on the ring fingers & thumbs.

We decided against doing gold glitter outline, and just keep it simple.  Here’s the final look:

Couldn’t be happier! It was exactly what I wanted: white, clean, simple…but not really!

Here’s the most incredible thing:  TOTAL TIME = 1½ hours. That’s for everything: removal, new set AND design.

COST:  $55 for the Calgel & design + $14 for the rhinestones & acoutrements = $69 TOTAL.

I have been meaning to go back to Sakura to visit my girls there, but I’m really happy with the fact that it is cheaper (I mean, removal is FREE), and also THRILLED with the fact that Sayo is lightning fast.  Time is the most valuable commodity of all, and if I can get in & out in only 1½ hours…then that is Visa Card Priceless.

You know I always like to share the nail art love & inspiration.  During my visit to Marie Nails last weekend, I snapped a few photos of designs that caught my eye.

Enjoy! 

VS

LOCATIONS:

AMBIENCE:

SERVICE:

PRICING:

** ANOTHER DIFFERENCE

When I have a Calgel design, I usually prefer to have a Biogel base coat because I’ve noticed that it prevents my designs from lifting.  (I must be extra-rough on my hands!).  But Marie Nails only has Calgel, so no Biogel base coat available.  I’ll see how my recent Marie Nails design holds up…fingers crossed!

CONCLUSION

If you are debating between the two Calgel Nail Art spots — much like everything else in life — it really depends on what you’re looking for.  I have really enjoyed my visits to Sakura, and I’ve found that as long as I make an appointment with someone whose handiwork I KNOW and TRUST, I am always super-happy there.

Now that I’ve been to Marie Nails also, I can also appreciate the fact that Sakura offers the full “experience”, with the hand massage, the aromatherapy cuticle oils, the tea…it’s truly the little things that all add up, especially when you can spend 2-3 hours for a single nail visit.

I DO love the fact that Marie Nails is SUPER-DUPER fast with their application (my last design only took 1.5 hours!!).  While I haven’t been there enough to speak about the rest of their technicians, Sayo (the manager) is unbelievably experienced, fast and her work is impeccable (no bubbles, no heaviness).

OVERALL, Marie Nails is a little cheaper than Sakura.  But if you’re going to get super fancy with crazy Flat or 3D Nail Art…it can actually be a little more expensive, depending on what you get.  So if you’re going to be a standard “glitter gradation” or one-color calgel type of gal — Marie Nails will be the better bargain. But if you ARE going to get crazy with the art, Sakura might end up being a little cheaper.

Hope this post was somewhat helpful — and if there’s anything else you want to add & share…please do!!

www.nailspasakura.com

www.marienails.com

Saturday, I finally got to go to Marie Nails Soho for my first appointment there.  It’s been nearly 1½ months since I’ve had any calgel on them, so I was ANXIOUS and excited!

I’m going to be doing a FULL comparison between Sakura vs. Marie Nails in a separate post, so this is just a post for my nail design.

Being that Spring has Sprung…I wanted to try a colorful design (as opposed to my normal black & whites).  So while browsing, I peeped this cute “hipster”-ish design:

I looked to Sayo and after a few seconds of contemplating…she was OFF!!

FYI about Sayo: She’s been doing Calgel for over 5 years (3 in Tokyo, then 2 in LA), so she is a PRO.  My entire design took about 1.5 hours — impressive! She never second guessed herself, she just did it. It was pretty incredible to witness.

First, she filed & trimmed my cuticles, but she used this cute little machine to groom them…(unfortunately, I don’t think my cuticles came out as “clean” as they normally do when they’re just cut with clippers)

Then, after the Calgel base, she did 2 coats of white in the middle, then 2 coats of pink calgel (#14) on the tip.

Then came the “intricate” part.  She used acryllic paints to mix a lavender, light pink, dark pink and mint green shades for the middle section:

She filled the “mosaic” sections in one by one…

Then went in afterwards and applied the Glitter Liner for definition! Here’s the final look:

Overall, I was super-impressed with Sayo’s handi-work.  She never hesitated, never faltered — she just went in there and rocked it out.  There were little things that she did without me even asking — like making sure the final top coat of Calgel was thick enough so that none of the “graininess” of the Glitter Liner could be felt.

I am definitely going to give Marie Nails another try — especially since the removal when I go next time will be FREE!