30 Days of Untrieds - Day 2

Today is Day 2 of the 30 Days of Untrieds, and I'll be using another NYC Quick Dry nail polish, this time in "Chinatown".  There will be plenty of the NYC's being used - I bought them in a pack at Dollar Tree, 2 for $1. 

Before I post the pictures of my nails, I feel as though I should warn you.  They look terrible.  Typically, each time I do my nails, I'll do two layers of polish and no more. 

With this specific polish, I did at least three layers on each nail, and a few even ended up with four coats. 

I have no complaints about the brush or the color itself.  However, the formula/consistency of the polish had me incredibly frustrated.  It almost wanted to come out of the bottle 'gloopy', even though it's a brand new bottle.  It was ridiculously uneven when applied, leaving 'bald' spots on my nails.  The OCD portion of me was just not having that. 

The complaining out of the way, I do enjoy this polish.  It's a great color, that is either dark blue or dark purple, depending on how you look at it.  It dries almost like a matte polish, but it retains a bit of sheen.  For these nails, I did the accent finger in (yet another) NYC polish, shown below.



30 Days of Untrieds - Day 1

I've decided to embark on a new challenge: 30 Days of Untrieds.

As I was going through my polish stash, I saw so many polishes that I don't think I've ever used.  I bought them, thinking that they were pretty and I would wear them soon.  I think I opened the bottle long enough to swatch it onto my nail wheels and that's as far as it went.

Today is Day 1 - and I'm starting off with NYC Quick Dry Nail Polish in "Fifth Avenue".

This polish is a nice, chocolate-y brown color - which enough of a shimmer that it could be used on its own.  However, as I have extremely pale skin, it came out looking not-quite-right for me.  Personally, if it is going to be used alone, I would recommend this to someone who has more of a tan.  To dress it up a bit, I added two layers of China Glaze "Fairy Dust".

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge - Day 5 (and Day 6)

Day 5: Gotta Love Chick Flicks 

and

Day 6: Who Inspires You?

I decided to do a two-for-one today. 

For the 'chick flick', I chose Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  During one part of the movie, James Garner's character is talking to his daughter, Sidda (played by Sandra Bullock) and calls her the 'Patron Saint of Sunflowers'.  Granted, the flowers on my nails aren't sunflowers - but they're what I picture everytime I see that scene. 

The person who inspires me: my mom.  I know, I know - cheesy and overdone.  In all honesty, however, she does inspire me.  She has never once thought I was crazy for making some of the choices that I make, but will not hesitate to call me out if she thinks I'm acting a fool.  I didn't really get along with her until I was in my late teens.  We still have our minor disagreements to this day, but Mom is definitely someone I'd want in my corner at any given time.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is one of the first movies I remember going to see with just my mom.  We do not live as far south as the women in the movie, but we do like to keep in touch with our country roots.  As it is one of her favorites (and mine), I'm also using this manicure for Day 6.    

Base color: Essie "Barefoot in Blue" (Free, won in a contest)
White dots: NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel "French White Tip" ($1 from local Wal-Mart)
Yellow dots: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Color "Lightening" ($2 from local Wal-Mart)

Check out these other awesome bloggers who are/were participating in the Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge:

Robin, Erin, and Anna - Polished Cousins
Ashley - Follow the Yellow Polish Road
Jodi - Captivating Claws
Danielle - Rock N Polish
Elly - Polishable
Olivia - Unprofessional Nails
Kate - This Charming Kate
Bethany - A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy - The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia - Talon-ted
Johanna - Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda - Nox Nails
Ashley - Smashley Sparkles
Sarah - See Sarah Swatch
Emily - The Lacquerologist
Jess - LuvMyLacquer
Tressa - O' Natur Nail
ChiChi - I'm just me...ChiChi
CR - Color Me Silly
Amanda - Berry Polished
Bonny - Over Stuffed
Taylor - REJOICE!
Jess - Nearly Natural Nails


ALSO: Big shout-out to Lacey from Lace & Lacquers for 'awarding' me the Liebster Award :)

 

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge - Day 3

Day 3: Delicate and Elegant

Dotting tools: God's gift for people like me, who have 'the shakes' like a meth addict itching for their next fix. 

A few weeks ago, I entered the Toms "One for One" Giveaway.  In celebration of One Day Without Shoes, Essie teamed up with TOMS to create a polish for the occasion.  15,000 lucky winners received a bottle of Essie's "Barefoot in Blue" nail polish.  Now, I've heard conflicting stories - It'll be sold in stores, it won't be sold in stores.  I don't think Essie has released an official statement yet, but I'll keep an eye out. 

Anyway, today is day 3 of the Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge.  It was only natural that I'd want to do something with my new polish.  The dots themselves aren't so elegant, but the color adds a touch of sophistication.  I realize that the dots aren't even, even with the use of dotting tools (for real, if you're in the market for a set, I got these M.A.S.H. ones for like $5 on amazon) - but that's half the fun.  In creating an uneven design, you ensure that no one else will ever have nails exactly like yours. 

Tomorrow is Day 4....

Check out these other awesome bloggers who are/were participating in the Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge.

Robin, Erin, and Anna - Polished Cousins
Ashley - Follow the Yellow Polish Road
Jodi - Captivating Claws
Danielle - Rock N Polish
Elly - Polishable
Olivia - Unprofessional Nails
Kate - This Charming Kate
Bethany - A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy - The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia - Talon-ted
Johanna - Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda - Nox Nails
Ashley - Smashley Sparkles
Sarah - See Sarah Swatch
Emily - The Lacquerologist
Jess - LuvMyLacquer
Tressa - O' Natur Nail
ChiChi - I'm just me...ChiChi
CR - Color Me Silly
Amanda - Berry Polished
Bonny - Over Stuffed
Taylor - REJOICE!
Jess - Nearly Natural Nails

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge - Day 2

Day 2: Gimme That Bling

As always, We'll do pictures first and I'll tell you about it afterwards.

The OPI Natural Nails base coat worked okay for me yesterday, and as it is my only option until at least Monday, I used it for the base today.  The black polish is Finger Nails "Black Expressionalism", white is NYC Long Wearing Enamel "French White Tip", and the glitter is Sinful Colors "Queen of Beauty".   The black was 'thick' enough that I only needed to do one coat to get the bottle color.  I normally do two coats to be on the safe side, but this polish frustrated me today.  No matter what brand I use, black polish always makes it seem like my four year old niece (who has yet to learn to color inside the lines) did my nails. 

I tried to pre-draw the white tips using a Sally Hansen nail art pen and then doing the white polish.

Step 1: Draw line where the 'white' party of my nail typically is, using nail art pen
Step 2: Paint over this using white nail polish
Step 3: Decide it looks awful and begin to rage a bit
Step 4: Give up on doing it freehand and use the scotch tape method instead

After I was certain the white polish had finally dried, I applied two coats of the Sinful Colors glitter.  I've had this bottle for quite some time and am sad that it's rapidly approaching its last use.  I'll have to swing by Walgreen's sometime to pick up another - for $1.99, it's not a big deal.  Top it all off with Seche Vite, and you end up with the final product shown above. 

Check out these other awesome bloggers who are/were participating in the GG Nail Art Challenge :)

Robin, Erin, and Anna - Polished Cousins
Ashley - Follow the Yellow Polish Road
Jodi - Captivating Claws
Danielle - Rock N Polish
Elly - Polishable
Olivia - Unprofessional Nails
Kate - This Charming Kate
Bethany - A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy - The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia - Talon-ted
Johanna - Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda - Nox Nails
Ashley - Smashley Sparkles
Sarah - See Sarah Swatch
Emily - The Lacquerologist
Jess - LuvMyLacquer
Tressa - O' Natur Nail
ChiChi - I'm just me...ChiChi
CR - Color Me Silly
Amanda - Berry Polished
Bonny - Over Stuffed
Taylor - REJOICE!
Jess - Nearly Natural Nails

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge - Day 1

Day 1: Think Pink

Upon surfing through a few of the other nail polish blogs, I stumbled across the Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge.

I will post the pictures first, and tell you all about it at the end of this post - so as not to completely bore you ;)

Obvious lack of photography skill aside, I'd say day one was a success.  For once, It wasn't a complete pain to clean up the area around my nails when I was finished.

I start every manicure off with an OPI Natural Nails base coat. It has worked not-so-good for me lately, so this is it's last chance.  The last polish I used was a blue, and before that, a red.  It stained my nails so horribly, to the point where it looked like I slammed my fingers in a car door and they were all bruised up.  I refuse to let my fingernails without polish look like that any longer ;)  Since day 1 is 'Think Pink', I chose two bottles from my latest haul. Both are NYC In a New York Color Minute - the solid is Midtown and the glitter is Big City Dazzle. In reality, the glitter is meant to be a top coat, but to err on the side of caution, Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat was added afterwards.   Anytime you use multiple coats of polish, I'd suggest you also use Seche Vite.  For the longest time, I put off buying it due to the hefty price tag at my local beauty supply stores, but it's definitely worth it. 

Up tomorrow is 'Gimme that Bling'.  I'm kind of excited to see what I come up with...


Meanwhile, check out these other wonderful beauty bloggers who are/were also participating in the GG Nail Art Challenge:

Robin, Erin, and Anna - Polished Cousins
Ashley - Follow the Yellow Polish Road
Jodi - Captivating Claws
Danielle - Rock N Polish
Elly - Polishable
Olivia - Unprofessional Nails
Kate - This Charming Kate
Bethany - A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy - The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia - Talon-ted
Johanna - Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda - Nox Nails
Ashley - Smashley Sparkles
Sarah - See Sarah Swatch
Emily - The Lacquerologist
Jess - LuvMyLacquer
Tressa - O' Natur Nail
ChiChi - I'm just me...ChiChi
CR - Color Me Silly
Amanda - Berry Polished
Bonny - Over Stuffed
Taylor - REJOICE!
Jess - Nearly Natural Nails


UPDATE: You really, really have to wait for each layer to dry before doing the next.  All layers need to be dry before doing Seche Vite (or whatever top coat you are using).  Every single one of nails are no longer polished less than six hours after painting them - all of the polish peeled off in one big piece :(

Three Colors and a Glitter

Three colors and a glitter

Purple Gradient

*While not shown, I start every manicure with my Sinful Colors base coat (found at Walgreens for $2.50).  For this manicure, I used a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails top coat ($1.50 at Dollar General)

For the 'base' color, I went with a very light shade of purple.  I can't read the name off of the bottle, but it was purchased at Dollar Tree in a 2-for-1 combo pack.

Pros: It comes with a nice brush, albeit thin, that makes application quick and easy.

Cons: The polish is really sheer, so you'd need many (3-4, maybe more) layers to get the full effect of the color.

Using the end of an eyeshadow application (the kind that typically comes with a new eyeshadow), I applied a thin layer of NYC In a New York Color Minute (in "Prince Street" - $1 at Walmart) from the tip of my nails to about 3/4 of the way down.

Don't worry if it's not perfect.  That can be fixed later by the glitter layer.

After the second layer has had a chance to dry a bit, you apply the next color.  The third layer should be the darkest of the nail polishes.  I choose a deep, rich purple; Wet 'n Wild's Wild Shine (in "Eggplant Frost" - paid $1 on amazon.com). 

Pros: It has a metalic-y (and that's the technical term, lol) sheen to it that sets it apart from other dark purples.  One or two coats would be enough.  The color goes on smoothly, and with a consistency that is not too thick and not to thin. 
Cons: I have nothing bad to say about this polish.

Again, don't worry if it's not perfect.

To finish off the look, I added a glitter layer for the little extra 'oomph'.  This step is also to help blend the three colors together and make the differences not-so-obvious.  I used my current favorite, Sally Hansen's Gem Crush (in "Bejeweled" - paid $5 at Walgreens).

No two gradient manicures will look the same; That's half the fun. 

Final Verdict: For less than $10, you get a manicure that is both pretty and unique to the person wearing it.  It's my newest favorite design. 



NYC - Long Wearing Nail Enamel - Big Money Frost

I've had this color in my 'arsenal' for awhile now, but never got around to using it.  I think I got it for free at Wal-Mart (it was $1 to begin with, but I had a coupon).

Base coat & top coat were both by Sinful Colors.  (paid $2.50 for each at a local Walgreens)

Pros: The brush allows for easy application; it's one of the thinner brushes, but it doesn't 'clump' like others tend to.  In terms of color, what you see is what you get.  It was very cheap, $1 without coupon.

Cons: Polish is a bit thin, so it does like to run - but is remedied by quick application.  To get full effect of the color, you'll need to apply 2-3 coats. 

This shade is with two coats, and probably would've worked better with one more.  Still, the 'minty' green color would work for any occasion - work, school, or home.