Staying at home means avoiding the nail salon, and as someone who always smudges regular nail polish (seriously, how is it possible that they can still be ready to smear by the time I go to bed?), I have a newfound appreciation for the variety of modern manicure solutions available. I previously reviewed Ohora's at-home gel strips , which are a great option for hassle-free designs. Another option that I really like, even though I am far from a pro, is dip powder. Dip powder is essentially an acrylic powder that contains pigments or glitters. You purchase a set of liquids that can be used with the powders of your choice for a quick and clean manicure that requires very little dry time. Dip powder is easily accessible, and if you're new to dip nails in general, I'd suggest a reasonably priced option for practice. I started with the Lavender Violets brand on Amazon, which comes with a set of powders + all the liquids you need for a beginner. I did find that the l...
This week, I was tasked with creating a birthday cake. But not just any birthday cake-- oh no-- a magical mermaid and unicorn birthday cake! Now, my experience with fondant is limited. And by limited, I mean, this was my first attempt at making fondant for any reason. I had taken the day off of work already, and thank God I did, because this took hours. Maybe it's just because I'm truly a beginner, but never again will I balk at the price of a professionally made cake. I used a few different recipes for the cake, frosting, and fondant. I wanted a bright pastel color scheme, so I used Neon Food Coloring . Perfect Buttercream Frosting by Chef in Training Milk and Cookies Cake , cake recipe only, using gluten free baking flour as a substitute, by Liv for Cake Marshmallow Fondant by the Bearfoot Baker I needed about 3/4 of the whole marshmallow fondant recipe (or a little over the 1/2 batch), 2 rounds of the cake batter, and 3 ba...