Tiffany Blue Sparkle Gradient

Hi!

I was in a glittery mood, and then this happened..

I'm kinda obsessed with both of these polishes, and wanted to attempt a gradient glitter effect instead of just glitter everywhere. I did 3 layers of the glitter, and made it get denser and denser as it got closer to the cuticle. I love this so much! I want to do this sort of thing again but with a super tiny and opaque glitter instead of a chunkier one like this.

Products used:

Base Coat - Sally Hansen Nail Protex Vitamin-Fortified Strengthener

L'Oreal - Not A Cloud In Sight

Pure Ice - Over You

Top Coat - NYC Grand Central Station

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Have fun with iOS7 today, iPhone users! I'm super excited.

Simple Tape "French" Manicure and Planning Ahead

Hi!

I quickly wanted to mention that I want to start a "schedule" to my posts - this is barely a real schedule, but heres what I have in mind:

- I will post at the very minimum one post on Sunday. I have been busier due to my job and Sundays are a good day for me to post and do blog related things.. so this seems like a good fit! These posts will almost always be nail related.

- I will try to do an additional post at some point during the week. I have a sort of regular schedule but sometimes I will have Tuesday off, sometimes it will be Friday, etc. Depending on my life goings on, I will do my best to do an additional post then. Plenty of these will be nail related, but this is when I'm more likely to do a makeup/off topic sort of post.

Thats out the way, now for what you came here for!

This is a simple french manicure using scotch tape to get crisp, defined lines. I always jump at pinks and purples, so I wanted to throw some lesser used colors in! Really easy manicure to do, very cool effect! 

Products used:

Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nail Protex Vitamin-Fortified Strengthener

E.L.F. - Nude

NYC - High Line Green

China Glaze - Shower Together

Top Coat: NYC Grand Central Station

Thanks for reading!

Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover Review

Hi!

I have to admit, while I have always loved polishing my nails, I can't honestly say I've taken care of them. Not that I abuse them or anything, I actually have mild eczema so I've always been pretty good with skincare - but I haven't particularly had a routine for nail care. I would say my biggest issue is cuticle care. Honestly, my cuticles have not been a pretty sight. You can probably tell from pictures I've posted up to a week or two ago. 

I purchased Sally Hansen's Cuticle Remover from Target for $4.99 plus tax. I needed something that would be wallet friendly and still work. 

I wanted to give this a good trial before I made judgments about it, so here's how my experience has been. 

The idea is that you squeeze this gel onto your cuticles, let it sit for a short while (the box says 15 seconds, I gave it 30 seconds) and then scrape off the dead skin with an orange stick. My first experience was a good one - using this did get off a good amount of the excess cuticle - but it wasn't all gone. I was using a soft cuticle pusher that is on the end of my The Body Shop Almond Oil Cuticle Treatment which isn't nearly as solid as a regular old orange stick, so I decided to wait a week and give it another go.

The second time I used it a week later, mostly dry skin came off the sides, but my cuticle is still a little bit not right. However, I used the same "stick", so I honestly think before I try again I'm going to pick up some real orange sticks and that will enable me to really get my cuticles to go away!
Also, note that a little goes a long way, so this bottle will last me a long time.

I encourage you to give it a try, and thanks for reading!

The simplest dotted manicure ever!

Hi!

So sorry that I haven't posted this week - I just started a new job and not only have I been busy, but I've been exhausted! Also, fair warning - this manicure was done and photographed during this tiring week, so the pictures aren't fantastic. Anyway, enough disclaimers!

I started with a base of Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet (#340). This is my first true mint color - I have a few that come close, but are really more regular greens and teals. This one is a real subtle mint pastel. It looks a little lighter in person, and these pictures were also taken at night. I took these in case it chipped before I got a chance to take daylight pictures, and boy did it chip! Don't worry though, this was due to working, not due to bad polish.

Next I created dots with Color Club - Dreamin'. This is a pretty warm pink color. Over the Mint Sorbet, it looked a bit orangey. I made the dots with a pin, since I lost my dotting tool a few moves ago. I really should grab a new one.

I thought this looked cool, and then my boyfriend commented that it "looks like fungus in a good way". I decided today was just not the week for color choices, I guess.

Thanks for reading!

No Sponge Gradient (Essie Lilacism and Essie Pop Art Pink)

Hi!

It feels like its been a week since I've posted, but its been more - sorry about that.

Today I have a simple manicure inspired by this post on the Chalkboard Nail blog that illustrates a no sponge gradient manicure! I haven't had the greatest success when trying sponge gradients, so I was super excited to give this a try!

First I applied Essie's Lilacism, a beautiful lilac/lavender color. This polish takes 3 coats for full opacity.

Next, I did 3 coats (and a little extra for touch up) of Essie's Pop Art Pink, and painted less of the nail each coat to create a gradient effect.. I hope that makes sense! I topped it off with Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps.

I love these colors together, I'd been wanting to do something interesting with them for ages. 

If you decide to try this, here are a few things to keep in mind that I learned with this manicure. Make sure you use very thin coats to make the manicure less thick. I would also recommend waiting a few minutes between coats to help with it drying. The top coat makes it look much more seamless! Once I was finished I wasn't happy with the results, but after a top coat - magic!

Unfortunately, once it fully dried, I noticed it got all bubbled up!

Its hard to see here - you can tell mostly on the middle finger, but all of my nails are pretty bubbly. Sadface!

Thanks for reading!