London 2012 Olympics Nail Tutorial

I have been loving the 2012 summer Olympics thus far - especially a certain Ryan Lochte!  #LochteNation ... (;  My favorite events are swimming, cycling, gymnastics, and beach volleyball, but any event is enjoyable to watch!  So, I wanted to show my love for the games through nail art!  I couldn't find any designs that tickled my fancy, so I made my own!  Here's how you can recreate it yourself!  

1. Paint your ring finger white.

2. Paint the upper half of your index, middle, and pinkie fingers white.

3. Paint your thumb a true blue.  

4. With a dotting tool, place blue, black, red, yellow, and green dots in the appropriate positions as shown in the Olympic rings symbol.  I suggest starting with the black as it is in the center.  

Finish the top section with blue and red, then move down to add yellow and green.  

5. With a slightly smaller dotting tool, dot white onto each color dot to create a ring.

6. Now let's start on the Union Jack, which will be located on the ring finger.  With a red striper, create a thick cross on your entire nail.

7. Create four thinner stripes coming from the center and moving towards the outer corners of your nails. These stripes should be slightly off-center to leave room for the imaginary white stripes that will become noticeable in the completed design.  I suggest looking up a picture of the flag to replicate.

8. Taking care to avoid areas where white stripes belong, begin filling in the blue sections with a striper.

9. Finish off with a top coat and you're ready to cheer on your country with some rockin' nails!

Thanks so much for checking out this nail design!  Be sure to send me a picture if you decide to try it out.  -Ali

July 2012 Birchbox

So this month's Birchbox theme was the five senses.  As listed on the box (shown above): See it, hear it, taste it, touch it, smell it.  Birchbox teamed up with Glamour for July.

List of Products (starting in row two and moving left to right)

1) Oscar de la Renta - "live in love" perfume sample

• Smells good, like a standard perfume.
• "This elegant floral layers notes of hyacinth and orchid over a rich base of sandalwood and cedar." - Birchbox

2) stila - lip glaze in "lights" from the limited edition It's Go Time Lip Glaze Trio

• So pretty!  Very natural bronze-y gloss that just helps make your whole complexion more glowy
• I've never owned a stila product before!

3) LARABAR - uber (dried nut and fruit bar)

• I'm not a huge fan of these types of bars in general.  This was very nutty and a bit sticky.  There's nothing wrong with that though, it's just a description.

4) Alterna - BAMBOO UV+ Color Protection Fade-Proof Fluide

• Basically sun-screen for hair.  I think it's typically used on color-treated hair though to prevent the sun from fading color. Probably won't use this since I don't dye my hair.

5) Birchbox Exclusive - Earbuds

• I love these neon buds!  So fun!  

6) Jouer - Luminizing Moisture Tint

• I got this in my box a while back in the correct shade, but unfortunately they sent this second sample in  a way-to-dark color.  I'll just give it to a friend.

Overall I loved this box - as always!  I'm not too picky about these things.  I got two great items - the lip gloss and the earbuds!  That's good enough for me!  

Stay snazzy,

Ali

Book Talk: DIVERGENT

Plot Summary:

This is the first book in the Divergent Trilogy.

Divergent by Veronica Roth is a novel that can be categorized in the "Dystopian future" genre.  This world occupies present-day Chicago, and is split up into five factions.  These five factions developed based on their opinions on what went wrong with the world/the cause for our country's downfall.






The five factions are:

• Abnegation (the Selfless) - believe selfishness was the problem
• Erudite (the Intelligent/Knowledgeable/Intellectual) - believed ignorance was the problem
• Amity (the Peaceful) - believed violence/war/aggression was the problem
• Dauntless (the Brave/Courageous) - believed cowardice was the problem
• Candor (the Honest) - believed dishonesty/untrustworthy behavior was the problem 

Everybody is born into a certain faction (whichever faction his/her parents were a part of).  At age 16, children must take a simulation test that will tell them which faction they are best suited for.  However, their decisions don't have to be made based on the results of the test.  It's just a guideline.  The next day, the 16 year-olds attend a Choosing Ceremony where they decide which faction they would like to be a part of.  They may either stay with their family in the faction of which they were born into, or leave their family forever and switch to a different faction.  After the ceremony all of the choosers - now called initiates - go off with their chosen faction to begin the initiation process.  Certain factions - like Abnegation - have a relatively simple initiation, where most initiates will be guaranteed a spot as a member.  Others - like Dauntless - have a more difficult initiation process, sometimes result in death, and, more commonly, a great number of failed initiates.  Initiates that don't complete initiation (or are not chosen to become a member) become factionless (basically, homeless).  

Divergent follows the story of Beatrice Prior, a born-Abnegation, as she encounters difficulties throughout her Choosing and Initiation processes.  

What do I love about Divergent?

About two years ago, I discovered a love for novels centered on the theme of a "Dystopian" future.  After hearing high praise of Divergent from several sources, I finally decided to give it a try.  I am so glad that I did!  The Divergent Trilogy has become an obsession of mine.  Easily taking the spot of "Ali's favorite book series," the Divergent Trilogy has completely occupied my thoughts!  Veronica Roth writes in a way that fills me up, but, at the same time, leaves me wanting more.  The complex plot and first person narration allows me to solve the problems along with Beatrice, as if I am the main character of the trilogy.  This sort of writing style makes everything feel "in the moment."  Despite the many differences between Beatrice and myself, I find empathy for her as well as a relation between the two of us.  To sum up my feelings towards this book series, I would say that my love for the Divergent Trilogy comes from the emotions evoked through Veronica Roth's writing as well as the quality of her work and complexity of her plots.

My general opinions:

I find that I can relate to the main character, Beatrice, despite our many differences.  It really feels as if I am the main character.

Four is so amazing, and it's so easy to find empathy for him.  On the other hand, he does have flaws, but they do not occupy my entire vision of him, which is great.

This story isn't just another on-the-edge-of-your-seat adventure.  Rather, it is also a book of intellect.  More often than not, I find myself trying to piece clues together to solve the problems along with Beatrice.

I am a huge fan of Matched and Hunger Games, but Divergent is by far my favorite book series yet.  I highly recommend it to any fans of Matched, Hunger Games, sci-fi, or Dystopian futures in general.

Spoilers/Fan-girling:

Oh my golly goodness.  SUCH A GOOD BOOK.  And Insurgent is great too, but we'll get to that some other time in another Book Talk.

GAHHH.  I love Four, and Tris can be frustrating, but I still love her too.  And Will!  Oh, I love Will!  I also really like Caleb.  Oooh and Uriah!  Ahhh.  I kinda like Peter too, more so in the next book.

When Tobias was put under the improved simulation for Divergent, I was so sad!  I freaked.  Good thing that didn't last long.

Four's family background is so heart-wrenching but it makes the story, really.

Thanks so much for reading this Book Talk.  I'd love to hear any book recommendations you may have, as well as any thoughts you'd like to add to this talk.  

- Ali