Copy Cat

It's been trendy in the nail blogging world to do glitter tips, especially for the last couple of weeks. I'm usually not a joiner, but this is one trend I can get behind.

My base color is by Cosmetic Arts and has no name that I can determine on the bottle, and they don't appear to have a website. The color in the bottle is a super dark teal, which I love. Once applied it's somewhere between that and a forest color, so dark that it could easily be mistaken for black in some light.

For the glitter, I used Essie "Set in Stones."

I really like this manicure, but then I love all applications of "Set in Stones." It is mesmerizing. I might do another glitter tip mani next week, using one of my China Glaze glitters. They're more subtle, but the effect might be nice.

A Very Important Issue

Clearly, I need to go shopping. I've discovered I'm missing two very important colors in my polish collection: navy and green. Yes, I have navies and greens, but what I need are non-shimmery versions, and the green needs to be somewhere between true green and forest, whereas all of mine are either spring green or leaning more towards teal. Oh, the problems of polish.

For now, I will just have to suffer through with the shimmery navy blue that I got as a stopgap a few months ago, but is really closer to royal blue, which isn't the same color AT ALL.

Yes, I'm being ridiculous. I know. But the color just isn't right.

Which means, of course, that I simply must make my way to Sally's a some point this week. Oh, woe is me.

At any rate, here is the first of two snow-themed manis I have planned, using the substitute color:

For the designs, I used the dotting tools that my roommate got me for Christmas.
Colors used:
Revlon--I have lost the name of this one, sadly.
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Ivory Skull"
Essie "Set in Stones"
Pop Beauty "Metallica"

I was going for a "gently falling snow" look, but I forgot just how densely packed "Set in Stones" is, and I ended up with a blizzard instead! I still like the way it turned out though--it's fun to look at.

Happy Holidays!

Pretty in Pink

Are you getting sick of the PSAs? I promise I'll make this one short, since a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

 

 

P.S. A handful of those thousand words would read something like this: "My great aunt is an amazing woman who has been battling a very rare and aggresive form of breast cancer called Inflamatory Breast Carcenoma, or IBC, since the late 90's. She has a book about her experiences available here." 

Just Glitz

 Just a quick post today before I head to work.  Two coats of Essie "Smooth Sailing" and one of "Set in Stones" on the accent nail.

 With all that glitter, I know this mani will be a pain to take off, but it's so pretty, I don't really care right now. Next time I will remember to do the white glue peel off base coat everyone was talking about a week or two ago. You know, when I actually have white glue in the house.

Happy hump day!

My new favorite base coat

Where has this week gone? I haven't had any time for nail art, it seems.

I've also kind of been avoiding blogger, since they finally did away with the old dashboard layout. I'm not crazy about the new one, but they seem to have made SOME improvements since I tried it when it first rolled out earlier this year.

But that is neither here nor there, and you're here for the nails, aren't you?

 Doesn't look so interesting, does it?

That right there is Essie "Grow Stronger." Pretty much since I started this blog, I've been talking about how bad my nails are peeling. I've had bouts with peeling nails on and off for years, but this had been, by far, the worst, most stubborn case of it I've ever had, and resulted in me trimming my nails way back.

The above shot shows my let hand (the better of the two) with one coat of Grow Stronger. On the package, it says that you can see results in five days, and you certainly can. I've worn this every day for three weeks, and have seen a vast improvement. Unfortunately, my line of work keeps undoing all of that progress, but I know that it keeps happening, and I know that my nails would be much worse without it.

Here you can see my right hand--the worse off of the two--before the base coat. Let me reitterate: This is what my nails look like after improvement. I did have tears that went at least a quarter of the way down my nails.

Every time I get to that point of almost, almost--I bang my hand or tear a nail or something gets stuck and I have to use my nails to pry something open, and then they get torn up again. But between constant moisturizing and this base, my nails are noticeably stronger (even when completely bare) and growing much more quickly. I think that once the stained bits grow out, I should be back to healthy, strong nails. Anyway, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Grow Stronger is a pale pink in the bottle, but goes on clear. I did experiment, and after three coats you can kind of see a bit of milky color, but there really isn't enough to show up or affect a polish color.

Even if you don't have a bad case of the peelies, I would recommend this for anyone with weak nails, or who would like to grow them longer. I noticed that my manicures lasted on average 1-2 days longer with minimal damage--which is one reason why I don't have nail art today. I'm loath to take off my polish until it starts to chip (the slightest chip, however, and all bets are off!).

Essie Grow Stronger is $8, and you can find it anywhere Essie is sold. I got mine from Giant Eagle, but I have also seen it at Target and I think at Walmart.

Black Rainbow

This is the layering manicure I talked about on Wednesday. I wanted to play around with all of the polishes that I use only for layering, because they don't do well on their own.

To start with, I used put down one coat of Pure Ice "Touch Me Here." From pinky to thumb, I added one coat each of:

Essie "Sequin Sash"
Cover Girl 3-in-1 "Rose Quartz"
Maybelline Color Show "Plum Paradise"
Orly "Mysterious Curse"
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear "Night Lights"

I really love the way this came out. There isn't much difference between three coats of "Mysterious Curse" and one coat over black, and it's so much easier to get nice coverage. With "Plum Paradise," I couldn't see any of the streaky, uneven application I had when using it on it's own. The color is richer and more vibrant, and the opacity is perfect.
I was really shocked that "Rose Quartz" turned nearly metallic and silver, whcn it's such a pale pink. It was slightly warmer in real life than it showed up in the photos, but there was barely any pink visible at all.

For once, "Night Lights" gave a nice amount of coverage. Normally I would do two coats of that, but this time I could get away with one. Same with "Sequin Sash."

What are your favorite colors to layer? Any unexpected surprises?

Friday Finds?

Okay.

Um. So...yeah.

What happened to Friday? Because you know, I could swear it was just Tuesday and I was talking myself out of prepping this post because it was "too early." Seems I should have listened to myself.

But, nonethless, here's the rundown. I included the Essie I bought last week, since I realized I hadn't shared it with you yet.

Left to right:
Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom kit, including lotion, and shampoo and conditioner for dry/color treated hair. (Free!)
Burt's Bees Tips and Toes Kit ($12.97, Walmart)
Finger Paints "Tiffany Imposter" ($5.99 regularly, $4.49 w/Sally card, Free with gift card! Sally's Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl [unnamed pink polish] ($.99 regularly, $.94 w/Sally card, $.43 with gift card. Sally's Beauty Supply)
Essie "Exotic Liras," "Sequin Sash," and "Luxedo" ($3.99 each, Marshalls)

The bath kit was given to my mom by a friend, and since it's one of my favorite scents and one of the few that I'm not allergic to, she passed it on to me. I really can't wait to try it and see how the shampoo/conditioner stacks up against some of the others I've used, since I've only ever used the lotion/bodywash from B&B. In fact, I haven't even used those in ages, because of my fragrance allergy, with the exception of the White Tea and Ginger lotion I got eons ago and keep having to cut with unscented lotion. I can't be the only one out there with this problem, can I? Please tell me that I'm not the only person who is in danger of not breathing every time they walk past the perfume counter at Macy's.

I've already broken into the Tips and Toes kit, and so far I love it. I think I'm officially a fan of Burt's Bees, and this after years of just not being impressed by their stuff. Obviously, my friends were holding out on the good stuff when they were kept handing me things to try. Later this week I'll give you the full details on this kit--or you can skip ahead now and get one of your own!

I'm toying with the idea of doing nail art involving "Tiffany Imposter" and that little bottle of pink....We'll see what I come up with.

Toodles!

Lux

I meant to post yesterday, but things kind of fell apart on me. I wound up spending twelve hours at my parent's house (sans laptop) doing laundry (normally it takes 6-8). No blogging or nail polish-ing, but I did do a lot of reading and finished a knitting project.

I had to trim my nails way down earlier this week, so to make myself feel a little better, I painted what was left with some new Essie:

These are two of the colors I found at Marshalls last week: "Luxedo," and then I went against my natural inclination and got "Sequin Sash."

Normally I'm not one for anything in the sheer, gold, or shimmer families, but I like this one for layering. I should have done two coats of it though, to make it pop just a little more.


"Luxedo" is a deep, dark grape-plum color in the bottle. On the nail, it can look anywhere from dark purple to burgundy to black depending on the lighting.

It went on pretty easily, but I discovered that some nails required a third coat to even them out (in this case, the middle and index fingers). Two did a pretty good job in most cases, but I hate having any inconsistencies in the color.


"Sequin Sash" is warm, sheer gold shimmer with just a pinch of microglitter thrown in. It's not as intense of a shimmer as the Cover Girl "Rose Quartz" that I used on my tropical drinks mani, but that doesn't bother me.

Hopefully, now I can get back on track. I'll probably skip a couple of the Summer Fun challenges, though, because honestly I've been drawing a blank on the last couple of prompts.

But never fear, I've got other stuff planned.

P.S. Have you signed up for the Geek Challenge yet?

Summer Fun: Tropical Drinks

I'm a little late on this one. I didn't know what to do for a summer drink at first, mainly because I don't drink and I don't get the whole drinking for relaxation and socialization thing. I'll occasionally do a virgin strawberry daiquiri, but that's about it.

I do love my fancy drinks, though. It's just that I tend to go more for the kid-friendly side of the spectrum: smoothies, flavored teas and lemonades, and my favorites: Milkshakes.

Now I don't do plain old vanilla or chocolate, oh no. I like things like mint chocolate chip, or my favorite, banana-chocolate. I already did mint chocolate for this challenge though, and brown and yellow are really not my colors. So I went with my second favorite flavor: strawberry chocolate

For my base color, I used Essie "Exotic Liras," and while it was a great pink, it was a little too bright to invoke the color of a strawberry milkshake. So I put a coat of my least favorite polish over top: Cover Girl Continuous color 3 in 1 "Rose Quartz."

I've had this polish for years, and I've used it maybe once. It's a super pale pink in the bottle, with almost no color whatsoever on the nail. It's heavy on the shimmer, not so much in the opacity. This was a color that I bought back when I wasn't allowed to wear bright colors on my nails, and I hated it from the get go. Not because there's anything wrong with the formula itself, but because I couldn't stand the color on me. Even four coats isn't enough to make it opaque.

But it was just right to make "Exotic Liras" go from come-at-you bright to frosty and ice-creamy.

I don't think I've ever layered this color before, and I'm glad I did. It's given me a new appreciation for it. Even the polishes I least like in my collection have a place, if used correctly. Like "Plum Paradise" and my glitters, I think that this is a color best suited to layering, rather than trying to use it all by it's lonesome. It's a codependent sort of polish, and that needs to be addressed in order to use it to best effect.

I freehanded the swirl pattern using S•X•Y "Dreamy Cocoa" and a toothpick (really wishing I had a set of stamping plates right now!). And of course, I topped it all off with Seche Vite.

Lust Objects

Mash Nails Dried Flowers
I love what ChitChatNails did with her new set of Mash Nails dried flowers. So pretty! And the price isn't bad either, considering the amount of pieces you get and the convenient, sturdy looking packaging.

Essie
My local Marshalls just started carrying Essie, and at $3.99 a bottle, I really had to pick up at least a few. I think these are from past collections (well, it is Marshalls. It's unlikely anything brand new would show up), and it was mostly neutrals and pastels. I did find a couple of nice bold colors to bring home, though, which makes them my first real Essie polishes (I do have Set in Stones, but it's just a clear base with glitter, not a "real" polish). I keep hoping they'll bring in something newer; right now I really want Overboard.

Konad Basic Kit
I don't remember who pointed out this kit earlier this week. I've been wanting to try stamping for a while, and this seems like a good way to get started.

Mei Mei’s Signatures SueSa Nail Polish S02 and Gosh Holographic
As seen on Chit Chat Nails/Polish Insomniac. It's silver. It's holo. You know the drill.

Once Upon A Polish
Imperfectly Painted recently reviewed "Scuttle" from Once Upon a Polish's Little Mermaid line. This was my favorite movie as a kid and Prince Eric is still my idea of the ideal man (What? Handsome, brave, rich, likes dogs and music, responsible but spontaneous, fights for what he believes in...I should just stop there). While it's sold out now, you can click through her sold items to see the rest of the collection. I love "Ursula" and "Flotsom and Jetsom."

Summer Fun: Favorite Summer Memory

I want a manicure.

I'm not talking a, "Oh, look, I put pretty pictures on my nails." I mean a hand over hard-won cash so the cute Asian man with the indecipherable accent will massage things that smell nice onto my hands, make the peelies go away and give me pretty nails with pictures on them that I don't have to paint myself and won't break/tear/chip off in twelve hours. That kind of manicure. (Yes, it's a stereotype. Must most of the manicurists in my area are Korean. The one I went to when I had money was an engineer before the economy tanked, and he did lovely work. He's also one of only a handful that I've been to that I could understand more than one word in three.)

I kind of destroyed my hands at work today. I was moving fixtures and merchandise all day, and tore up my knuckles. At the moment, it's not too visible, but I sure felt it when I was washing dishes. My hands are so bad right now that I took that Burt's Bees Lemon Butter I talked about last week and rubbed in all over my hands in the hope that it would help with the dry skin, hang nails, and cuts and scrapes. And the peeling nails I've been fighting for about two or two and a half months have decided to come back with a vengeance, despite all I've been doing to prevent them (cuticle treatments, nail hardeners, conditioners and strengtheners). I actually can't cut my nails any shorter. I've tried. But they just keep peeling.

So I paint them to cover it up.

My favorite summer memory is an internship I did as part of my undergrad. I was a struggling art student, feeling lost and depressed at the end of my second year of school. I didn't like my major and had realized that art--as the administration defined it--wasn't how I wanted to spend my life, but in the back of my head I just kept hearing my dad's voice telling me what a mistake art school was, and what a waste of money since changing majors (and by definition changing schools, since mine only taught art) would mean starting from scratch as far as classes, loans, and grades, not to mention I had no idea what exactly I would major in instead.

At that point, I'd been knitting for about a year and a half. I had discovered knitting blogs, though I didn't yet have one of my own. I'd been designing my own projects, though at that point I don't think any of them were actually written down as patterns. I was scouring the web for more information about knitting--my one creative outlet that didn't involve a critique and a bad grade.

On my way out of printmaking class one day, I saw a flier for the TNNA PiPN Internship Program, which allowed students (primarily fashion majors, but others as well) to intern for various fiber arts companies doing things like sales, making samples, and sometimes even design work. I applied and was sent a list of participating companies. Lo and behold, at the bottom of the list was a single international opportunity: CNS/Mission Falls in Montreal, Quebec Canada.

I'd been dying to go back to Canada since my grandmother's funeral a few years before. I spent several weeks with crossed fingers, waiting to see where I'd be assigned.

The internship began with three weeks of training in Akron, Ohio in knitting, crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, and needle point before we were sent off to our designated locations.

My boss was kind enough to let me stay in his "winter" house, a duplex in the Plateau area of Montreal (very nice neighborhood).

That was my first time truely being on my own and away from home. I fell in love with the city. I learned so much about the world and about myself. I wrote 3/4 of the first draft of what would eventually become my first novel. I picked up sewing and haven't truly put it down since, and I absorbed every knitting technique I could find.

I could time the buses to the second. Public transport was affordable. Produce was fresh and delicious, everything was within walking distance and the things that weren't were easily accessable through the metro.

And then there was the underground city.

Google it. Seriously.

Festivals every week, international culture, buildings from the 1600s, and my favorite uncle an hour away for the only time in my life. I improved my French, met some amazing people, and spent every Sunday on the Mountain, watching LARPers, listening to drum circles, dancing, and shopping handmade goods.

Colors used:
Revlon #460 "Mysterious" (blue, thumb)
Maybelline Color Show "Porcelain Party" (white)
Essie "Exotic Liras" (pink)
Sally Hansen Diamond Strength "Diamonds and Rubies" (red)
Miliani Neons "Rad Purple" (purple)
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Just in Lime" and "Blue By"
Sinful Colors "Happy Ending" (green, sponged on top of "Just in Lime")
Cityscape done by blending S•X•Y "Dreamy Cocoa" with "Porcelain Party" and Pop Beauty "Black"
Claire's nail art pen for details (black)
Seche Vite for a topcoat

I tried doing an alcohol transfer like this one for the map, but none of the maps I had were printed using the right ink. So instead, I took the piece of map I'd softened with alcohol, tore off a small portion, and laid it over top a fresh coat of white polish. I sealed it in with 2 coats of Seche Vite. I used manicure scissors to neaten the edges and trim it to shape.

This happens to be the only time I've wished for those ridiculously long talons that are absolutely useless for everything but nail art. I wish I could have printed more of the map and shown a little more detail with the cityscape.

Just a break down:
thumb: Quebec flag
index finger: one of the yarns I was promoting, Mission Falls Tricolor (it's really hard to see with the topcoat, but there's red and purple on a pink base. The yarn is very pretty and I wish I still had some)
middle: map of the city
ring: cityscape and the mountain
pinky: maple leaf
Fini. Merci de lire.

Lust objects

Polish that helps your nails
I thought I'd gotten over the bad case of peeling nails I've been battling for the last several weeks, but I just can't seem to kick them. I'm currently lusting after the Dermelect polish That Polish Insomniac swatched a while back. My shoestring won't reach far enough for $14 a bottle, so my next option is scouring the internet for a less expensive, comparable product.

Mirror Metallics!
I only just posted this week about Essie suddenly being available in my area, and about my love affair with metallic and foil polishes, and then Essie goes and releases a whole line of metallics!

Purple is the color of Royalty
Can anyone resist this luscious purple? I just adore it. There really isn't anything else to say.

It's hot, hot, hot!
Love, Varnish, Chocolate recently posted a mani featuring Nfu-oh: 45 over black, and it looks like you are staring into an active volcano. It's so cool!

True Blood Cosmetics
Okay, you caught me. I'm a fangirl. HSN recently announced that they will be selling a set of True Blood inspired beauty products through their website. They're sold in sets, and are produced by Deborah Lippmann--and of course, the colors have awesome names. They make my inner goth squee (not that a goth would ever get caught mid-squee. But I know it's there).

Birchbox
Being a broke novice in the world of beauty, I can't think of a better way to get to know some of the different products out there than through the Birchbox, but I'm rather torn when it comes to signing up. $10 is well within my budget to at least try it out. BUT, I have a problem: my allergies. I'm allergic to most fragrances and soy. Perfumes can make my tongue swell and my throat close up, and I once passed out in a Bath and Body Works. Maybelline mascara has made my eyes swell shut, and I have to be very particular about the skincare products that I use. Does anyone have a subscription? Do they have an allergy form that you can fill out? I know that a lot of high end makeup includes fragrances, and I just have this idea that if I sign up, I won't be able to use anything in the box. I'm on the fence. Worth a go or not? Leave a comment to weigh in.

Converse x DC
What could be better than pairing my favorite sneakers with my favorite heroes? I especially love these Harley Quinn sneakers. I only wish they had Nightwing.

Summer Fun: Summer Song

I have to admit that even as much as I love this song, I could not come up with a manicure that accurately depicted the imagery it conjures for me. It doesn't help that I thought today was supposed to be the palm tree manicure, and had it all set up and ready to go. Well, you'll just have to wait to see that one (I promise, it's more interesting).

In the end, I went with another layering manicure. I did a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Blue By on every nail except my ring finger, for which I used the same polish in "Lightening." Then I started putting stuff on it that reminded me of the ocean. For my thumb, I used a coat of Orly "Mysterious Curse. My index finger has one coat of China Glaze "Dorothy Who?" and Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in "Calypso Blue is on my middle finger. My pinky has a coat of Essie "Set in Stones" (Can you tell I like that one?).

For the accent nail, I sponged on "Lightening," and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in "Sun Kissed" and "Fuchsia Power."

Today is one of those days when I really wish I had a stamping set. I might order one next week, but I need to compare some of the designs. I've heard that Konad is really good, and then there's Mash plates and Red Angel. I want to try all of them, of course, but what's a good set to start with? Which set has the biggest variety of designs?

Obviously, more research is needed. I might just have to order all of them. :)

4th of July Mani, or, I Have Fireworks on my Nails

Since I did a Canadian themed manicure, I figured I should probably do one for the 4th of July, too.
Two coats of Pure Ice "Siren," three coats of Maybelline Color Show "Porcelain Party," and one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Blue By."

I wasn't too concerned about the solids, since I wanted to dress them up a bit.

What, you didn't think I'd leave it like that, did you?

No, the real attraction is this:
Two coats of China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" with a layer of Essie "Set in Stones;" three coats of "Set in Stones;" two coats of "Dororthy Who?" with one of "Set in Stones."

It's just a simply layering tecnique, nothing to fancy, but it's shiny! Sparkles! And completely distracting when I'm trying to do anything with my hands. I may or may not get any knitting or writing done until after I take it off!


I'll post more details about the polishes I used later, when I get a chance to swatch them. I will say that this mani lasted for several days without any chipping or tip wear. I'm so impressed! Makes me want to replace every color I have with Essie or CG variants!

Friday Finds

Yay! Double post today!

Initially, I wasn't going to do a Friday Finds segment this week because pennies are pretty tight right now, but I picked up a couple of things at Target yesterday and thought I would share.

Essie Set in Stones ($7.79, Target)
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lightening and Just in Lime ($3.69, Target)
Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream ($5.99, Target)

I'm really excited by the Essie. First, I only own one other glitter polish (I know, some of you just gasped in shock), but I really couldn't resist the call of silver glitter. Up until yesterday, the only place I'd ever seen Essie was Giant Eagle, and I didn't even know they carried it until last week. Then it popped up at Target ($. 21 cheaper, I might add). I've been seeing so many Essie swatches around, and I really wanted to try it out. Sometimes I feel like an ad for Sally Hansen, since that's normally all I see around here.

I've used the cuticle balm a couple of times, so I can't give a review of it yet but it smells good enough to eat.

July 1 starts the Summer Fun challenge of at Red Hair and Black Nail Polish, and you'll get to see a bit of the Insta-Dri colors then, as well as my thoughts on them.