Goddess Granny is henceforth naming this Summer 2012 as the "Summer I sat on my hands a lot!" I gave up my artificial acrylic nails a few weeks ago and let me tell you,it's been an eye-opening experience! I've worn the fakes for years on and off because my own nails simply aren't one of my more outstanding features but after hearing "So sorry" one too many times as the hastily-applied drill was burning my nails, nipping into my tender cuticles, and having the general feeling of nastiness no matter which salon I visited,I figured it might be time to try just ONE more time to grow a set of chic, short, healthy nails on my own…no small feat! 

At first, my nails were literally jello-like: soft, uneven, and just plain unattractive.I tried to fake it with lots of filing and topical treatments, polish looked too amateur when I tried to apply on my own so kept them as light and clean and non-obvious as possible! THEN I got the bright idea (and many have great luck with the process and results!) of getting the new "gel polish" applied when I was in San Francisco and yes, they looked "better" for a couple of weeks until I had to remove the color: OMG…after soaking my hands in pure acetone and filing and buffing, my nails were yet again BURNING, swollen and red! Not thinking that pure-acetone for any length of time is my BFF? The UV light also caused me more burning and itching and I was left with hands than not only had regressed to the initial pathetic state but that also felt horrible…

I decided then and there that I would dedicate the entire Summer to the health of my hard-working nails and hands: I protect them with sunblock, treat kindly with creams, and am happy that my hands haven't yet let me down in the war against aging but my nails needed a break from all the chemicals and drilling, the harsh formulas of some polishes and that devil acetone for sure! I resigned myself to nightly warm olive-oil soaks and gentle chamois buffing and figured it was my punishment for falling prey to the lure of nail salons for so long!

Browsing "Country Living" magazine one afternoon in hopes of a paint inspiration for my guest room, I noticed a little article about "Scotch Naturals": in 2009, stay at home Mom, Ginny Cardenas' two young daughters loved to "dress up" like we all do but when Ginny actually noticed the ingredients of even "play" nail polish, she was appalled at the toxins and chemicals her sweet little girls were painting on their fingers so she designed a line of nail color for KIDS names "Hopscotch Kids" and using her MBA skills, was able to develop and market this niche-product with amazing results to many high-end kid's stores! She realized many adults were also impressed with her water-based, totally non-toxic shades and were buying them for themselves so her "Scotch Naturals" line of AMAZING natural nail colors and treatments was born! 

An eco-friendly alternative to traditional nail color, Scotch Naturals is TOTALLY with the usual "3-free" ingredients but they're also without ethyl acetate,butyl acetate,have metals, they are gluten-free and vegan and contain no ACETONE and are TRULY non-toxic! What drew me in was the formula, which rivals the highest-end salon quality shades in 34 of the most stunning, original, outrageously-chic, and gorgeous colors I've even seen offered in a nail color! Everything about this nail color is elegant: the bottles are perfect, the brush is flawless, and again, the colors and formula are brilliant and make me WANT to take care of my tender nails in the best possible way by wearing only these shades! Application and removal is simple: buffing your nails with a drop of oil prior to application and taking a bit of time soak in warm water prior to removing without any irritation! 

Meg here! I hope all of you checked under the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain Post from a couple days ago to see if you won! Just send me you address if you are one of the first 10 to comment under the post so Revlon can get your Balm Stain off to you!

Today Revlon is doing a give away on the Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick. The think tank must be burting over there at Revlon because they've come out with another new product! These chubby, dual sided sticks are perfect for a smoky eye on the go! They're dual ended, creamy (creamy without a pull or tug, I love that, sometimes these "crayons" can go on so drying. It's also perfect for travel. It's not going to break in your bag and I've even used mine to apply a smoky eye in the car! That's convenience.

Speaking of convenience, I've put together a video with my main gay Denny on all of the perfect Revlon beach essentials. You just need sunscreen ladies! Don't worry about the sun's harmful rays with Revlon Bronzer! You can acheive a sculpted, sun kissed look without aging your skin!

Stacy B here! In the past 5 or so years, I think I've been to more than 25 weddings. There was a time in our late 20s when my husband and I (we were one of the first of all our friends to tie the knot) had five to seven invites a year. At first we tried to get to them all but we had to cut down our wedding travel and overnight stays as we got older, bought a house and had kids. Plus, a new dress, shoes and accessories per wedding were getting expensive! And yes, I HAD to get a new outfit each time, they were usually the same circle of friends invited, I couldn't repeat!

Of course we made it to all the local ones and last weekend was no exception. We had a great time, got out and away from the kids for a night (thanks Mom and Dad!) and got to see a lot of good friends who we hadn't seen since before the baby was born in April. Since I wasn't going to buy a new dress that won't fit as soon as the rest of the baby weight is gone, I splurged on some new makeup. And by splurge, you know I mean drugstore buys with coupons. Like under $10 total.

Thank you again, Wet n Wild for your product makeover without the price hike. I bought myself a really nice peach-y brown neutral lip color, Mega Shield Lip Color Spf 15 -in Peachy Keen. For only $3!

 I know, I know, sometimes you get what you pay for. This is not a miracle stick. It will not last for days, create the perfect Angelina pout, get all your drinks paid for, or even last through dinner. But, it was $3. It promised to 'glide on buttery-soft'', deliever moderate coverage, and condition with Vitamin E, amino acids, avocado oil, and rice bran oil.  It did all three, so I was happy. It was like I paid $1 for each claim.

 It did go on really smoothly and blended perfectly with my gloss. It was not chalky or heavy and felt more gloss-like than a heavy lipstick. The color was perfect and the pigment was just right. On my lips the color looked just like the stick so I know now that if I buy another color, I won't have to debate in the store whether or not the color will be the true when I get it home.

It did not dry out my lips at all and I had no flaking or smudging. I can't speak to the SPF-ness of it, but I'm not one to wear lipstick to the beach so I'd be OK with whatever's in there.

The only gripe I have is that it promises to last for hours...not so much. I barely got through the cocktail hour before I knew I had to reapply. And then again after dinner. But, that's not a big deal to me. After a few open bar cocktails, I usually have to go to the bathroom a few times anyway, so a little touch up is not a nuisance at all. I loved the color so I accept that trade off.

Meg here! I mean, who were you expecting? Diana Ross? I felt like a Supreme this week though! Props and gratitude to my friends at Schick Quattro and Lippe Taylor (Hi Maureen!) Andrea Halpern and Sloane Berrent (Hi Taylor!) Really knocked my socks off! It's a good thing my legs were all nice and smooth with the fabulous Schick Quattro's they provided.

I am very lucky and I don't take it for granted. Well, sometimes I do. I try not to though. I'm human and every once in a while I can be a bit Eeyorish, usually it's around the 28th day of each month, I digress. Take this post with a grain of salt. I had a fabulous week! Not all weeks are like this. Look back around my posts around Christmas time where I sound like a walking ad for someone needing Prozac.

When you write your own site, or when you write for a living or read for a living, sometimes the things that use to bring you so much joy get classified as "work" in your head. It's not that I'm so silly to think www.megsmakeup.com is the only one worth reading. I don't think that. It's just there are a million blogs out there and in my free time, I try to surgically remove myself from my laptop and try to do this thing called "real life."

Schick put together a great media trip where everyone got to travel to Los Angeles, or, if you're me, travel down the street. I've been logging so many air miles lately that this was actually a relief.

The Mad Women from the Ad/PR world brought together a group of writers. There was the young whippersnapper style expert Erika Sheffer, better know as StyleActivist. There was the hip Chicago based Mom that writes the TV fashion beat, Dana Weiss, or to her many fans Possessionista. Kristin Booker also joined our myriad group, she writes about fashion, beauty, lifestyle and how to achieve it on any budget. She also is inspiring and kicks ass and celebrated her birthday with us, you can find her at FashionStyleBeauty. I rounded out the group. I'm assuming you know me at this point. I'm the one in the glasses on the end.

I don't know Andrea and Sloane did it, but they managed to bring together women from all different backgrounds and cities and points of views and no one left crying! It was like The View but interesting! I'm being a smart ass about the "crying" bit. Quite the contrary, these ladies were not only cool but really insightful and helpful and accomplished and I was all ready to Roar! Check their sites out. I'm going to. If we could all get along and work together the way we did than they're really is no reason for a boys club to exist. 

There was a lot packed into our 2 days so I'm going to have to break the post up. First off, I would like to again state that ww.megsmakeup.com is not going to promote any company that supports animal testing. I did research and Schick Quattro, the brand and the line is cruely free. If I make a mistake and a brand is not cruelty free. I hope you all don't attack me, but instead, correct me and I will rectify the mistake. In further looking into Schick there was some information that the parent companies brands are not all cruelty free. I asked my friend, Jennifer Mathews, who runs the cruelty free website MyBeautyBunny how she tackles these issues. Here is her response and I think it makes a lot of sense.

"We believe that supporting animal-friendly companies goes a long way toward the eventual elimination of animal testing. If the parent companies see the successes of their brands who do not test, it's a win. It's also a win for the animal-friendly companies to get larger distribution in mass channels by being involved with huge companies. That's our personal opinion here at My Beauty Bunny and we invite you to make up your own mind on the matter!"

Like I said. I'm really trying to do the right thing over here but Mathews common sense rang true. On with the post!

I met team Schick. Or as I will refer to us, Shick's Chic's, at The Montage's Conservatory for lunch. It's a fabulous spot on the 9th floor that look out over all of the ole 90210. I ordered a Pinot Grigio (I'm Meg, what you though I was going for the iced tea) and sat down to learn about my ladies and about the great new Schick products. We posed for the picture above after lunch but before our 90 minute massages at The Spa at the Montage. I know. Don't hate me. It was pretty amazing, so if you find yourself in Beverly Hills with an extra 2 hours then go get it done (and lucky you.)

I'm a bikini waxer. It's gotten to the point where I don't have to be comatose or drugged up to have it done. Here's the tip, you HAVE to be CONSISTENT. Everytime the hair is ripped out, it's weakening the hair follicle. It's no Disneyland but now, it's also no inferno of Hell.

Another tip? Exfoliate everday in the shower to prevent ingrowns and yes, you have to allow yourself to get a little "furry" down there so the wax has something to grab. You may be looking a little rough before your next appointment but I have been a good little solider and resisting the razor. I have been resisting in on the Home Plate. However, it's bathingsuit season so I'm not going to horrify the innocents just trying to catch some rays poolside with me. I need a clean crease for the love of God. This isn't the 70's.

The Schick Quattro Trimstyle Razor and Bikini Trimmer is a GODSEND! And it's easy to find and it's under TEN BUCKS! What is it?

Stacy B here! I have 3 mascaras right now. All fairly new and usable and in rotation in my makeup drawer. I would probably have a few more if I didn't force myself to get rid of the older ones as I keep getting new ones to review for you! I should attend a meeting or something, you know, "Hi, I'm Stacy and I'm a mascaraholic..."

 I've never thought of my self as a mascaraholic, I have far more shadows than mascaras. But the shadows are all different colors, the mascaras are not, so having 3 different ones is a bit hard to justify. However, they do end up serving different purposes, mostly because they have different wands that do different things to my lashes. And supposedly they are all different formulas that either volumize, lengthen or separate.

 The one that I've been using more frequently lately is Maybelline's Volume Express The Falsies in black. This use to be my every day mascara until I switched to another Maybelline mascara, Illegal Length Fiber Extension mascara. I switched to that one becuase it lengthened and separated my lashes really well and gave me a clean, wide-eyed look. Nicely wide-eyed, like a fresh faced girl running through a field of daisies, not wide-eyed like I just saw how many calories are in my favorite Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen.

Post baby, there were many days were no mascara saw the light of my bathroom in the morning until I started to feel good enough to venture out of the house to run errands or take a walk. Then I realized that while the length and separation were great, I needed some more oomph to help me look more awake than I was. So, I went back to Volume Express. This has a much thicker brush that really plumped up my lashes. It was thick but went on smoothly without clumping or smudging. There was a noticible difference in lash volume, particularly at the base of my lash. I could skip eye liner if I wanted and still have some nice definition thanks to a heavy coat of this stuff.

Meg here! I have an item that you probably need. NEED. Scratch "probably". If you're like me, when you find something that works and performs beautifully, you'll havd over your money. More than I would care to admit, I take a deep breathe and just hand it to the cashier and tell her to "just ring it fast please!" Before my inner Susie Ormand voice (luckily I silence it a lot) says "If you put the money that you just spent on that bag/shoes/jacket you would have a healthy IRA." I just want my darn purchase in the bag, that way I can reply "next time! Too late here!" Yes, I'm the picture of financial responsibility.

Knowing this fact about me is going to hopefully, get your butt in gear and get you to your local drugstore where you can often find Revlon on sale! The great news, you can get it even cheaper than that! Just leave in the comments below why you need a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain and Revlon will mail you one! The first 10 commenters win!

If you find yourself to be comment 11, don't fret. These amazingly affordable, Kissable bam stains are so reasonably priced, you can buy three for the price of a similar product!

You're going to want at least three.

I have always had a love affair with lipstains, I adore the staying power! What I don't adore? The "lip drying" factor. SUre, the color will stay for hours. It's like the color has deeply permeated into my flesh and not in a moisturizing way. I've actually used some that felt like a Sharpie. In the name of beauty and time, I've just dealt with it. Someday, they will "build a better man trap!" Or "mousetrap," whatever works.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain is a huge winner! A chunky, crayola inspired crayon that's comes in an array of flattering shades. The staying power is fantastic, it lasts a long time-hours! The best part, it goes on creamy and moisturizing. There's zero "tightness". I'm glad Revlon elected to add "BALM" in the title because that's exactly what it feels like. My lips are being nourished all the while touting a fabulous colored sheen.

My go-to has been a berry colored shade called "Adore". We're talking some serious summer loving, it has made its way into the coveted purse cosmetic bag. Here is something that I do. I know it is shallow and stupid and ridiculous, but hey, I never claimed to be anyone's hero. I like to put my pricier items in my purse. I like to grab a $25 lipstick out of it and put the fabulously expensive package on display. I am superficial and a poser like that. This item is under $8. I proudly pull it out with enthusiam and glee like it's $80. I know, I need my head examined.

Meg here! I'm so happy to be in one spot right now. I've been going so much that as soon as it's time to unpack my suitcase I have to pack it up again. I have a few days in LA and then back up in the air again. Thankfully, I have a few days to unwind and this weekend's weather has been absolutely gorgeous!

We've always been huge fans of Classified Cosmetics and their drugstore Aero Minerale line so it was no shock to see Classified Cosmetics ERA spray in platinum featured in this weeks US Weekly.

Now that our limbs are on full summer display, any added help to create the illusion of skin perfection is going to be in full demand! 

Nothing looks sexier on a tan! ERA Platinum is amazing. So is the Aero Minerale in Girlie or Gloden.  Quick shake and spray and your arms, legs and cleavage have a sexy sheen, it's not a teenage glitter.

Stacy B here! Some things just bring you straight back to your childhood, like when I bought Mr. Bubble bubble bath for my son a few months ago. I knew I used it when I was little but the second I opened it up and smelled it, I was immediately 6 or 7 years old and back in my tub at my parents house playing in the bubbles. We didn't get bubbles every time, only when we had time to play, so these bubbles meant a lot to my childhood self! I think I need a retro Mr. Bubble T-shirt or something.

I'm sure you all have something like that that brings you right back to a certain place, time or situation. It could be the smell of a product, the tune of a toy or just a memory of using something that stuck in your head as a significant moment. When I was in second grade, I wanted a beauty birthday party, which consisted of some cheap make up, dress up clothes, my mom's heels and nail polish. Wet 'n Wild make up to be specific. We had so much fun dressing up like grown up ladies and putting make up on each other. My mom had bought several glitter nail polishes and I LOVED them. I layered them on top of each other to get the max glitter effect (huh, even as a child I knew how fun layering products can be!) and kept redoing them over and over.

I kept those bottles for so long. I'm sure they were totally dried up after a while, but I just couldn't let go. Then I started getting older and I grew out of Wet 'n Wild products. They always seemed sort of like a starter kit for make up. Good for young, inexperienced make up experimenters with little money. I think everything was $1 or something. I graduated to the expensive stuff and left Wet 'n Wild to the younger girls.

Until now. Enter new Wet 'n Wild Megalast Nail Polish. Wet 'n Wild grew up a bit and got a make over!

 These colors are great and they are so cheap, you can't not buy them, there's no risk! Prices vary by store but I looked around and didn't see any listed for more than $3 in my area. Totally worth it.

I tried a really cute light purple-taupe color called Bite the Bullet. I skipped the base coat, I am still home taking care of a newborn so it's not like I have an hour to dry multiple layers of polish! I used two coats and it went on thick, smooth and even. If you've seen or tried Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure polishes (at $8-10 each!), this is the poor man's version. Or in my case, the poor mom's version...diapers are expensive!!