Category: Nails

 
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Happy Birthday to meeee, Part II

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My birthday present from my husband came today!

Obviously, I had some influence on him…it’s the Julep Color Caddy + Well-Manicured Kit. I also picked out 2 polishes, since my last box came with a “Buy 1, Get 1” coupon…I got “Beatrix” (Black polish with gold and multi-color glitter) and “Rosa” (February Birthstone Collection). My husband is so good to me…

It holds 48 polishes and is already halfway full…uh oh.

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Ooooohhh Betty

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Since I took my Julep boxes 3 months in a row, Julep sent me a coupon for a free nail polish. I snatched up “Betty” – Garnet for January, from the new Birthstone Collection. The polish is named for Betty White, a January baby.

If I get a coupon every 3 months…I’ll be a happy girl.

A bit goopier than the usual glitters, it clumped up a little bit on the second coat, but it’s still gorgeous. Red, purple and FUCHSIA glitter – full coverage. A few of the glitter bits are sharp – I could see this polish snagging pantyhose, so be CAREFUL.

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Sucker for Gimmicks

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I couldn’t handle it…I had another coupon burning a hole in my pocket, so I broke down and bought a bottle of Revlon Parfumerie – scented nail polish. I really wanted the “African Tea Rose”, because I LOVE rose scented stuff, but it was creme hot pink and I already have a shitload of hot pink. (I reserve the right to buy it in the future.) I went with “Surf Spray”, a shimmery bright blue.

Since I just did the glitter tips, I talked Lily into letting me paint her fingers and toes exclusively in “Surf Spray.” It was a hard sell – she has a hard time deciding on a single color, so I promised that we could put glitter on in a few days, after the smell wore off. It vaguely smells like a beachy air freshener, but mostly smells like fingernail polish. I fell for the gimmick again. That last time Revlon came out with scented nail polish, I bought a bottle of red glitter that was supposed to smell like watermelon. The Jolly Rancher Watermelon smell lasted for about 30 minutes. We’ll see how long the “Surf Spray” smell lasts…

I thought I was being slick by wearing latex gloves to take off Lily’s old polish, but somehow, it got through the latex and smudged two of the fingernails on my right hand. FUCK. The Walking Dead is back tonight and I don’t have time to redo my nails…I’ve got zombies to concentrate on. Besides, I’ve got a birthday present and a Cupid Mystery Box coming in a few days…

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Glitter Tips

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So Erin requested “Glitter Tips”…

I started with a base coat of Julep “Kristy” – an inky midnight blue/black. Seriously, this stuff reminds me of the India Ink I used for my first tattoo. I wore it for a day and decided to jazz it up by adding glitter tips in Sally Hansen “Mermaid’s Tail.”

I had the bright idea of using blue painter’s tape to make a clean line for the tips. That was probably overkill…next time, I’ll try painting it freehand. Of course, the painter’s tape left a clean line – a little too clean, so I put a coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Topcoat over it to smooth things out.

All in all, I’m happy with the result…I feel all fancy and shit.

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I Love “Love”

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I love, LOVE, love “Love”.

The finish is so dreamy, like gold lamé, flecked with fuchsia glitter.

“Love” is my new favorite polish!

I wish I had more fingers…

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Valentine’s Toes

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Super bowl, shmooper bowl…aren’t my toes cute?

I took a cue from Lily and picked a handful of pinks for my toes…Clockwise from the top: OPI “Animal-istic” (from  their Muppets Collection), Sally Hansen “Hot Magenta”, Revlon Top Speed “Candy”, Sally Hansen “Strobe Flash” (top coat), Sally Hansen “Posh Plum” and China Glaze “Caribbean Temptation”.

I wish it was sandals weather already…

Also…taking pictures of your toes is hard when you’re 6’1. I had to almost get into a pretzel shape.

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February Julep Maven Box

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It’s that time of month…the time of the month when I ask my husband if I got a box in the mail before I even tell him “Hello.”

It’s Maven Box time.

This month’s goodies are called “The Dramatic Collection.” In addition to polishes, the boxes came with a customizable shade of eye sheens – a liquidy pot of eye shadow. I haven’t had luck with these types of shadows before, but I’m willing to try again. Even though my quiz results revealed that I am an “It Girl”, I selected the “Modern Beauty” box for the second month in a row. I couldn’t resist the Ink Gel eyeliner. I’ve been searching for a good liquid eyeliner – one that doesn’t make me look like a hooker or a goth teenager. I hope this is the one.

As a special treat, all of the boxes contain an extra shade of polish – “Love”, a full-coverage gold, pearl & fuchsia microglitter. I’ve been overdosing on microglitter lately, plus, FUCHSIA!

I’m going to hooker myself up now…wish me luck!

Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Your first box is free with code FREEBOX!

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Glinda’s Bubble

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Since I will probably be repainting my fingernails within a day or so (Maven Box!!!), I took a quick pic of my paint job from last Friday. Yup, this paint job is 4 days old and still looks good.

I used Julep “Brenda” – 2 coats. In the bottle it looks like white opalescent shimmer, but it looks like opalescent rose gold on my nails. It reminds me of Glinda’s bubble from The Wizard of Oz, just slightly less pink. I love how it gives the appearance of a french manicure. This may become my favorite “don’t have time to repaint for 2 weeks” paint job.

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Did I just invent the “Petticure”?

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Yes, I totally just invented the “petticure”.

Dottie is a very docile rat terrier, so I decided to start with her instead of tackling the Boxer. I figured speed is important when it comes to pet nails, so I used Revlon Top Speed in “Currant.”

My son, Logan, helped keep her calm and held the bottle of polish for me…and then he went into my room and grabbed the nail dryer. I thought the noise would freak Dottie out, but she was okay with it. I wish I had been able to get a picture, but my husband was on the phone…maybe next time.

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No Rules for Lily

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Like most 5 year olds, my daughter Lily doesn’t follow “rules” – she has her own style. She chose Revlon’s Break-up (their version of Crackle) as the basecoats. Half her fingernails used the basecoat “Fatal”, but she wanted the crackle topcoat “Attraction” as a basecoat. It actually worked okay and didn’t crackle. She then picked two of her own glitters as a second coat. (Santa brought her a cheapo Color Concepts set, so they have no names. I’ll call them fuchsia glitter and turquoise glitter.)

Again, they turned out very cute…is it the fuchsia?

Next project…figuring out how to paint the dog’s nails…