Hello Gals and Pals,

Spring is in! err...was... for a few lovely weeks we had nice sunny weather here in Central California. I don’t usually look forward to spring just because I love the rain so much, but this year… winter is just dragging! Or is it just me?

Either way, Spring is almost on its way back :)

This week I have a new nail polish tutorial to share, but I have a minor disclaimer. There is a slight mistake I knew I should probably fix, but I ended up loving the look so much that I just didn't want to bother retaking and reediting the photo. 

The mistake? 

I'll let you take a minute to spot it....
(click on the picture for a close up view)

Did you catch it? 

Yup! The first picture on the Right shows FOUR polish bottles, but the final look only uses 3.

 I was going to go for silver glitter tips but ended up just liking the simplicity of the mint and pink instead.

So glitter tips? Next time!

Products Used:

As with this and in the future I will post the prices or deals I got for the products used. 
The purpose of Cheap and CharmingBlog is to get you thinking that you really can buy cheap and still look like a million bucks!

Rimmel - Base/Top coat pro

1.25ish (essentially)

 (Walgreens- Originally 4.00ish dollars on its own but came attached to another Rimmel polish that was on sale for 2.49.)

Wet N Wild – Refreshmint

1.00 (essentially)

 ( Kmart- Originally 2.00 but purchased during a buy one get one free with in store coupon sale!)

Sinful Colors – Spring Coral

.99 cents

(Walgreens- Originally 1.99 but Purchased during the 99 cents sale. This sale comes at least  twice a year and I do my best to stock up!)

Doesn't this look just make you want to go to the beach, fall in love with a handsome, tan, six-packed lifeguard and live out the rest of your life in a hut by the shore?

me either, but close!

Hope you enjoy, 

~Karen

I thought it would be very fitting for my first REAL Cheap & Charming  blog to be about Nail Polish!

my favorite obsession is Nail polish!

I have to tell u straight off the bat, I do not own any nail polish over 3 dollars...yet. yes... but somehow as a nail addict... I've still managed to collect over 100 nail polishes! More on that in an upcoming post :)

But now... GOLD GLITTER TOES!

I have been CRAVING gold glitter toes for at least 3 months now! I knew craft stores had loose micro glitter but i just never felt like I wanted to spend the 4 dollars on generic colors, so on a trip to Sally's last week I picked up the Sally Girl Sparkle Effects glitter and decided that after at least 2 months of avoiding buying that darn glitter I finally went for it. 

What could go wrong? its only 99 cents!

I actually do most of my Makeup trials, Nail stuff, and crafts late late into the night so I don't have step by step pictures. 

But there is only 4 real steps, so hopefully you'll be able to follow along with ease.

Products Used:

As with this and in the future I will post the prices or deals I got for the products used. 

The purpose of Cheap and CharmingBlog is to get you thinking that you really can buy cheap and still look like a million bucks! 

Sally Girl Sparkle Effects.

.99

(Sally's Beauty- Come in different colors and are always 99 cents a bottle)

Random bottle of Gold glitter polish (optional)

1.00

(Dollar tree- often has discontinued polishes)

Rimmel - Base/Top coat pro

1.25ish (essentially)

 (Walgreens- Originally 4.00ish dollars on its own but came attached to another Rimmel polish that was on sale for 2.49.)

Here are the Steps:

1. Coat all your nails with one layer of clear Top/Base coat.

2. Before your base coat dries lightly sprinkle the Sally's Sparkle Effects on your toes generously.

 The awesome thing about this glitter bottle is that its got small holes at the lid so dispensing isn't quite that big of a hassle and u dont have glitter flying everywhere.

 Tip : DO NOT BLOW the excess glitter away! Instead, try flicking your toes (gently of course!) this removes loose glitter to your surface below. 

Tip: Use a piece of scratch paper under your feet. This not only helps ease clean up but also helps recycle glitter which you can use again and again on the same foot, after all you WANT lots of glitter on the actual nail!

3. Now this part is really up to you, you can always just skip to #4. I did not want glitter flecks stuck to my new Base/Top Coat Nail polish, so I opted for a thin layer of the random bottle of gold glitter polish on top of the Sally's Sparkle Effects I had just sprinkled on.

4. I ended this short uncomplicated process by topping off with my same Base/Top coat polish.

TA DA! you have beautiful gold flecked nails!

I love how mine look! they sparkle and shine in the sun and look so expensive! 

Now all we need is a red carpet invite from say ...hmm... Ryan Gosling? to show off our luxurious new toe nails!

Hope you enjoyed,

~Karen

In a few small words.. Welcome to my blog!

 Who ever said being cheap means looking poor?

Cheap & Charming will be my new outlet and a personal record keeper of my love and luck with sales, clearances, and just plain being cheap. I love cosmetics just as much as the next girl (if not slightly more) but I simply cannot do with paying extraordinary amounts of cash for all the things on my wishlist, so what do I do? I keep my eye on the target... low prices are my demise.

I want to share with you how to work with CHEAP and make it  BEAUTIFUL.