Last night’s girls night out was one of the craziest in recent memory.

I won’t go into too much details, but suffice it to say that I stumbled home at an unreasonable hour and spent a good portion of the morning hugging the toilet.

Although we had made dinner plans, my friend E told me to meet her for $10 manis & martinis at Beauty Bar. I had read about this establishment before but it had seemed a bit too “girly” for my tastes.

In addition, I hadn’t had a manicure in about a decade – I have an issue with strangers touching me (I even refuse to get facials or massages) and I was a bit nervous.

However, I was in dire need of some girl-on-girl time. Well that, and the $10 price tag for a drink and a manicure won me over.

Perhaps it was the strong liquor coursing through my veins (on an empty stomach, no less).

Perhaps it was the dark, slightly goth but utterly chill environment (not girly at all).

Or maybe it was all the comments about how a dark color will look great on my white hands (flattery goes a long way).

Whatever the reason, the bartender, the manicurist, and E convinced me to choose a bright and shimmery shade of red.

I had to take a picture because painting my nails in this attention-grabbing red is so uncharacteristic of me. Who knows when I will do this again?

However, I have to admit that red nails did give me a shot of adrenaline and a boost of confidence. I felt like a vixen, and found myself using my hands more often throughout the night. Gesticulating during conversations. An added touch here and there to prove a point.

Who knew how much influence a little nail color can have over me?

Harro! Remember me, the girl with the non-existent eyelashes?

Last year I tried eyelash extensions and loved the look. I had long, sexy lashes for the first time in my life! It was a miracle!

After a few courses, however, I decided that the treatments were making too big a dent in my wallet. Back to short stubby lashes for me.

I still had hope, and rightfully so.

A couple of months ago my mother called me up and said she had just read all about a “revolutionary” eyelash conditioner called RevitaLash that will help me grow longer and thicker lashes. I was tempted, but the $100+ price tag deterred me. My mother, however, proceeded to go ahead and buy a tube for my younger sister (who, btw, has naturally longer lashes than me. Why?).

When my sister came home for winter break, she gave back the tube to my mother, proclaiming that her eyelashes were too long now. So long that they were becoming a nuisance.

It was then that I noticed her new lashes. Holy crap! They looked like she was wearing falsies!

My mother gladly handed me the leftover tube and I happily skipped through the rest of the day.

I did some research on RevitaLash, because I remembered reading about a similar product that had been banned by the FDA for containing the same ingredients as a glaucoma drug, with possible side effects on vision and even the color of the eyes.

After the Jan Marini eyelash conditioner was pulled from the market, RevitaLash was reformulated as well. However, it still contained the same ingredient that may cause irritation and change the color of your eyes.

I weighed the pros and cons, then decided the heck with it – my vision is already pretty bad and my irises are a boring brown color. If my eyes change color I honestly think it’ll be interesting and a nice conversation starter at the very least. Besides, I had done much worse stuff to my eyes in the past.

I started the treatment on Sunday. I forgot to take a “before” picture, but here’s one from 2007 for reference:

I’ll take a new picture every week so you can follow along on my quest for longer, fuller lashes!

Ever since I watched the first two seasons of Bravo’s Blow-Out, I’ve wanted to try the Jonathan line of hair products.

A couple of months ago, I picked up a sample jar of Jonathan’s Dirt at my local Sephora. It was the most popular product in Jonathan’s product line and I was tempted to try my hand at the “day-after” look.

I really liked it. The smell was pleasant but not overpowering, and it really allowed more control and better styling without weighing down my hair.

I liked it so much that when my shampoo & conditioner ran out, I decided to turn to the Jonathan line again.

I quickly decided upon the Serious Volume shampoo and conditioner because my hair tends to go flat by the end of the day. I didn’t expect much, because I’ve tried plenty of salon-quality products only to find that they weren’t too different from drugstore brands.

But you know what? I loved them.

The shampoo smells like citrus & honey tea. I’m very sensitive about smell so I was pleased to find the scent to be light and not overwhelming.

The texture of the shampoo is unlike that of any other shampoos I’ve tried. It is a bit runnier than other shampoos right out of the bottle. However, once the stuff makes contact with your hair, it becomes thick and a bit sticky…like maple syrup. For this reason, you need to make sure that your hair is really wet before applying the shampoo.

After rinsing for the first time, I was in bit of a shock, because not only was my hair squeaky clean, it felt like wet straws. I thought to myself, “Great, that was a waste of money….”

…until I applied the conditioner.

I really do think that the shampoo and conditioner were formulated to work together, because as soon as I smoothed on the conditioner the straw-like texture went away and I was left with soft and clean hair.

And the smell! The conditioner smells like sweet pina colada. I couldn’t help but keep sniffing my hair afterwards.

Jonathan’s Serious Volume shampoo and conditioner really does add body to my hair without over-drying. My hair is left soft and bouncy…and smelling delicious, to boot.

I know it’s not just me, because I discovered that J started using them too! He usually uses his own hair products, but this time he’s been dipping into my supply.

Great products. I wholeheartedly recommend them. In fact, I’ll be purchasing new bottles later today!

I’m pretty cheap when it comes to most items but the three things I splurge on are gadgets, handbags, and anything that goes on my face…aka beauty products. And as a natural researcher by heart (and trade), I research and test items from all three categories to death before making any purchases, especially if a lot of money is involved. While I can go on and on about all three topics, I decided to share my all-time favorite (meaning I never stray from these) beauty products with my readers.

(Before I start, I want to say that I have an extreme case of combination skin. My t-zone is a natural oil well, but my cheeks and chin can become so dry to the point of flakiness. So while some of these products may work well for other people with combination skin, it may not with others.)

My favorite lotions and creams:

Clarins, I believe, has one of the best skincare lines out there. I’ve tried almost all major skincare lines in pharmacies and department stores (aside from the uber-expensive ones) and Clarins beats them all. I alternate lines depending on season, and I usually use one lotion/cream for night and another with SPF in the morning.

Clarins also has a great men’s line. I’ve even converted my father, who’s very picky and sensitive about lotions. He’s tried almost every men’s line out there and swears up and down that Clarins is the best he’s used.

My favorite exfoliator:

The Korean ddae soo gun (exfoliating rag). These are relatively cheap and you can buy them for less than $1 at almost any Korean market. I use this to exfoliate my entire body once a month and my face daily. Since new ones can be rough, I usually rub it across rough surfaces before using to break them in a little. This is not recommended for anyone who has sensitive skin. And although I use it on my face every day, I do it VERY gently with a light hand.

My Favorite Cleanser:

The Prescriptives All Clean Fresh Foaming Cleanser For Normal Skin, $21 for a 6.7oz tube which lasts about 3 months with twice-daily use. I’ve tried soooooo many cleansers out there (practically everything at drugstores as well as Sephora) before finding this one, and I’ve stuck with it for the past 5 years. It has everything I look for in a cleanser: some foaming action but not too much, unscented, and leaves my face squeaky clean without it being too dry.

My Favorite Eyeshadow Primer:

The MAC Paint, $16.50 for a 6.5g tube. Okay so it’s not meant to be an eyeshadow primer. But it still works great as one, even better than the popular Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion! I use it in Bare Canvas, which matches my skintone perfectly. My eye makeup stays put for 18 hours straight with no creasing whatsoever. And although it’s a tiny tube, mine has lasted more than 8 months with daily use.

My Favorite Eyeliner:

The MAC Liquidlast Liner, $16.50 for a 2.5ml tube. I swear up and down that this is the best long-lasting eyeliner out there. It even stays put after you wash your face! I’ve tried all other long-lasting eyeliners, even the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner that my friends love so much, but even that smudged at the end of the day. The only bad thing about this liquid liner is that the brush that is part of the packaging kinda sucks – it’s too long and flimsy. So I use the MAC 266 Small Angle Brush to appy it. And, as with all liquid liners, you need a very steady hand.

What are your favorite beauty products? Also, I still haven’t found THE mascara yet….what do you recommend?

Are you one of those lucky people who are blessed with long, lush eyelashes that never need mascara or even curling? Well, I hate you. I have very short and very sparse lashes that are practically non-existent.

I still remember a couple of years ago when my mother first read about trichotillomania (the disorder where you pull your own hair). She immediately called me and asked me if I have it.

“Of course I don’t have that, why would you even ask me?”

“Because your eyelashes are so short and sparse! Everyone else in the family has long and full eyelashes except for you! You can tell me….is there anything you want to share with me? Do you have trichotillomania?”

Over the years I’ve been trying to make up for this disadvantage with eyeliner, mascara, eyelash curlers, etc. I redefined the word ”irony” when I purchased the ever-so-popular Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler to find that my eyelashes were too short for it.

False eyelashes never worked well for me. The first time I successfully applied a set, J said I looked scary and ran away from me. I tried flares, thinking that it would be more natural looking, but it looked like an army of spiders had died under my eyelids, leaving their legs dangling over my eyelashes.

So when I first heard about eyelash extensions, naturally I was ecstatic. Individual eyelashes are applied between your natural lashes with a semipermanent adhesive. Depending on the life cycle of your natural lashes and other factors, they usually last 3-4 weeks.

I immediately began calling around and received a shock. All the salons I called in the NYC area charged $300 $350!

When I mentioned this to my mother, she exclaimed, “$300?!? That’s ridiculous. My salon does it too – I’ll ask them how much they charge.”

It was $100. Not exactly small change, but definitely a lot better than $300. I asked my mother to set up an appointment.

Normally I shudder at the thought of being the subject of “before” and “after” shots. But I decided to suck it up and share these photos with the world…purely for the sake of research, of course.

My lashes before:

My lashes after:

Wow, I never realized how many freckles I have… Anyway, the closed-eye view looks a little freaky but I have to say I LOVE how my lashes look now!

The procedure itself took about 30-45 minutes. The false eyelash is real human hair (which is a little freaky now that I think about it) that is pre-curled for this procedure, so no more need for eyelash curlers! The lady who did my lashes explained that each false eyelash is placed between my real eyelashes, so if the person has more natural eyelashes the ending result would be fuller as well.

Since this was the first application it cost the full $100, but if I come back every month for touchups she’ll only charge me $50.

If you’re interested, the salon I went to is:

Hye Chung Salon
10 Sylvan Ave
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
(201) 944-0220

They speak some English, but not much so if you don’t speak Korean you may want to ask someone who does to call for you. Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll gladly answer them!