Nelliel Nail Potion

UPDATE – 5/12/26 The recipe has been removed but you can still read the blog post. If you’re interested, please place an order with me. ♥️

I’ve been on a “crunchy” beauty kick for most of my life. Face masks made from Avocados, lemons, and blueberries were an important part of my childhood. Honey and egg hair masks were always my thing.

As I’ve gotten older, I have purchased from many big name beauty brands but still have a heart for homemade products. The efficacy is questionable but I’m pretty sure that this combination works. Maybe not quite as well as I would like, but I think it is the start of something quite good. Nail health and skin health combine here: – instead of my nails being short and stubby, they now grow out to medium length without much breakage. Please note, eating healthy and being healthy is also very important when it comes to beauty maintenance. When I was younger, my nails were so thick and my playmates used to complain about me scratching them on the playground. How my nails transformed into such brittle little things, I don’t know. Give this recipe a try if you are having similar issues. This works well as a hair serum, too, with a few modifications.

Same thumb, after a week and a half/two weeks of growth – 11/25/25

My sweet kitty loves snuggles!

Humanrace Skincare by Pharrell Williams

I think of this brand as a lower budget alternative to La Mer. Not only do the products contain similar ingredients but they are much, much more cost effective. I tried this skincare a little over two years ago, and I’ve watched them as they have updated the line little by little. And let’s be honest, Pharrell has truly great skin. Who would not want skin like his? I do think that I have pretty nice skin, but his is amazing! I hope to see it in person one day.

As I am aging, I thought about getting La Mer, however, the prices for the products are so high that I shopped around for alternatives. I do, truly like the products, however, I truly think that the real secret of La Mer’s efficacy lies in moisture and fermentation.

I think that Pharrell’s products in the Humanrace skincare line are good alternatives to La Mer. (I have tried La Mer, I think that the products are wonderful – just a note, if you decided to spring for La Mer, try the mattifying cream, that is my personal favorite. I do really love the HumanRace moisturizer, it does not make me overly greasy. I was a terrible oil slick during puberty, Niacinamide has changed my life.)

I tried this part of the line when it first launched and I was really pleasantly surprised and quite happy with the results. In fact, I am pretty sure that the moisturizer is meant to be a dupe of the La Mer moisturizer. The cleanser is not drying and I feel as though the products pair very nicely with other products in my skincare regime. I like to use the Retrograde gel cleanser as a full body cleanser as well. Have any of you tried Pharrell’s products line or do you think that he’s just trying to profit from his lovely skin and crazy slow aging?

Here is a video he made during covid speaking about the product launch:

Another of him and Tyler speaking about the products and how they take care of their skin:

Love him – both he and the products are Nelliel Approved!

Gimmick or the real deal? Face Sculpting/Wrapping

I think it is real. I say this from personal experience and use. There are a number of ways to do face sculpting – face yoga, gua sha, lymphatic drainage, which generally includes fingers and oil, and one of my favorites, just because of the ease, face wrapping. I think that this trend started in Korea, but I am not really sure. There is evidence that this is mostly related to post-op care, and Korea is VERY big into plastic surgery, but I’m all for anything that makes taking care of myself (both internally and externally, easy).

Reusable face wraps went so viral when SKIMS released their version earlier this year, but I found mine at Marshalls many years ago. I’m gonna be honest, doesn’t seem like many doctors are in favor of these. I like the one I have, however, the wrap has loosened over the years from hasty application prior to bed. I think that when combined with eating healthy, working out, and lymphatic drainage, it has great benefit.

What do you all think? Trendy accessory or beneficial? I got mine for about 4 dollars – I think it is time for a new one as it has stretched out over the years. I don’t want to spend 50+ dollars on this type of item, so I’ll do more research before a splurge like this one. One thing that I really like about the Kardashians is that they do their best to make parts of their lifestyles more accessible to the public when it comes to the beauty arena. There are similar ones on Alibaba and Shein. I’ll probably give this one a try soon.

I’m going to give this a thumbs up as a Nelliel Approved beauty tool.