Category: Nails
Nails on a Blackboard
I was strolling through Target and I came upon Sinful Colors “Blackboard” – Limited Edition Demi-Matte from The Chalkboard Diaries Collection. I had heard it was a Walgreen’s exclusive shade, but I guess not? I was never able to find it at Walgreen’s, but I accidentally find it on a clearance end cap at Target for 58 cents. 58 cents!
It’s just like the blackboards of my youth – something I’m fairly certain my children will never experience. It’s similar to Zoya “Dovima”, but blacker. And smoother. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat – no top coat.
Unfortunately, “Blackboard” still suffers from the same fatal flaw as the Zoya Mattes – heinous edge wear. I washed a frying pan and I already have white half moons at the tips of my nails…
Purple Haze All in My Brain
Back to normal nails – no stamping, no glitter – just purple.
This is Sinful Colors “Purple Haze”. It’s got a swirl of silver shimmer to it – can you see it in the bottle? After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats. It was a thick polish and I had to smoosh some off my brush. I was shocked to find a few bubbles – this is Sinful Colors, not Julep polish! Thankfully, my trusty “HK Girl” hid the evidence.
I think the lens on my phone must be filthy – it was cloudy out, but certainly not enough to cause the aura around my nails in the pic. It kinda fits though, doesn’t it?
My First Attempt at Stamping
I couldn’t wait to try out my new stamping gear from moYou. I used Sinful Colors Base Coat and RUFFIAN “Naked” as my base – I wanted to try the french manicure plates to see if I could get a clean line.
Things I learned…
1. Work FAST – the polish dries quickly on the stamper
2. Make sure your nails are DRY and not sticky
3. ROLL the stamper and do not just press down
4. The French manicure strips are impossible to get on right
5. Small designs like flowers are infinitely easier than french tops it whole nail patterns – see my pinky
6. Be very careful with your nail polish remover when cleaning up – the pump on my Zoya Remove+ splashed all out the sides and dotted my nails
7. I have no idea how you’re supposed to clean your plates after stamping without ruining your nails
All things considered, my first attempt at stamping didn’t turn out too badly. I have the deepest admiration for the girls who can get the stamp to cover their entire nails cleanly – I failed at getting full nail coverage. I do have huge, long fingernails – but still.
I’ll keep on trying – practice makes perfect.
Vegas Recap
So…I already shared my Sephora Makeover, but I thought I would share a few other highlights from my Vegas trip.
First, I’ve gotta talk about my nails. I had no idea what I was going to wear, so I picked a neutral polish – Julep “Rachael”, graphite shimmer. I accented “Rachael” with Julep “Kirby” – silver jagged glitter top coat – on my thumb and ring finger. I had to use the Chandelier Bar at our hotel, The Cosmpolitan, as a background – it was just too perfect. I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and ended with “HK Girl” – and my nails looked pristine the whole weekend.
Next up…I made the mistake of letting myself get pulled into a skin place at our hotel called Skins 6/2. Before I knew what was happening, some chick was putting crap all over my face. Turns out it was SNAKE VENOM and according to her, it was like all-natural botox. I’ve gotta admit, it momentarily seemed to work. Of course, they were having a one day sale on their Forever Flawless Snake Venom Serum – just $500 instead of $1,500. Really? Did she really think I was going to fall for that shit? My bullshit scam meter was on high alert, so I high-tailed it out of there. A quick google gave me this and this and this. Looks like I managed to avoid a really nasty rash at the very least. Oh…my wrinkles were back by that evening.
Fast forward to the next day…walking through the Miracle Mile shops and a girl at a kiosk tries to get my attention to sample something. I am still irritated by yesterday’s snake oil, so I ignore her and keep walking until my slightly alcohol addled brain realizes that it was a moYou kiosk. I immediately take two steps back and say, “Is this THE moYou?” Yup, it was moYou nail stamping. I’d been wanting to try nail stamping and moYou London is the Cadillac of nail stamping, but I was under the impression that it was only available in the UK. Well, not anymore – they even have a US website now.
I picked up the starter kit + french manicure kit and the saleslady even threw in a free corrector pen and black polish, all for $90. So brace yourselves…nail stamping is coming!
Gorgeosity
I have been dying to try Julep “Mila” – charcoal multi-colored glitter, an add-on to my August Julep Box. Since the base is clear, I decided to use a color underneath it. I chose Julep “Annemarie” – warm cocoa crème, a polish I picked up over a year ago from Julep’s Red Marker sale. It’s just been sitting there, waiting for me. I can’t believe I’ve let it sit there that long!
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I did a single coat of “Annemarie” and a single coat of “Mila”. I used “HK Girl” on all my fingers, EXCEPT my ring finger. I couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like matte, so I used Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. My nails are the height of gorgeosity.
So my husband says that “Annemarie” is skintone. As I tried to argue that it wasn’t, he made me hold the bottle up to his arm…and it matched fairly closely. (He’s a whiteboy, but that 1/16th Cherokee comes out in his – and my kids’ – skin.) I would highly recommend “Annemarie” as a nude for olive and darker skintones.
Blurple?
Is it blue or purple? Blurple? I don’t know exactly what Sinful Colors “Let’s Talk” is. It looks more purple in artificial light, but in sunlight – it is definitely blue.
“Let’s Talk” was recommended to me by two different nail aficionados – Angie (from my Dallas crew) and Rachel (from my Work crew). Great minds definitely think alike…this is a fantastic polish! Luckily, it’s a permanent shade – I didn’t have any trouble finding it.
This is two quick coats of “Let’s Talk” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. (I was watching Impractical Jokers and only half-ass paying attention to my nails – I amazingly didn’t fuck them up.) There’s nothing like breaking open a new bottle of “HK Girl” – I just started my third one! I’m seriously going to look into buying this stuff in bulk – it’s THAT good.
Fool’s Gold
What to pick first from this month’s Julep box…such a hard decision.
I decided to try Julep Boho Glam “Lydia” first. “Lydia” is pyrite stardust. Pyrite is also known as ‘fool’s gold’, as miners would mistake it for gold. To me, it looks like sparkly doo doo mud…pretty, but potentially stinky.
I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat with two coats of “Lydia”. “Lydia” was rather goopy on the brush, but it went on absolutely smoothly. The texture is like an old emery board that’s been used for years – just a hint of roughness. I find that the Julep stardust polishes chip less than the Zoya Pixie Dusts, though they’re not quite as pretty. Julep microglitter though – that shit chips within an hour. I’d love to hear reader experiences with textured polishes…
September Julep Maven Box – Kisses, London Collection
Julep, first again this month!
“Kisses, London” is September’s theme – inspired by London’s fall runways (Whatever that means). I decided to go all polish this month – I didn’t really want more lipstick this month. I chose Wonder Maven “Delores” – iris linear liquid holographic; It Girl “Aubrey” – rosewood shimmer; and Bombshell “Rachael” – graphite shimmer. I also added Boho Glam “Lydia” – pyrite stardust – to my box. All Mavens received “Julep”, Julep’s signature creme, which matches their boxes and logo.
I love how color coordinated my box turned out this month – all purple and metallic. Which one should I try first? I think…”Lydia”?
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a FREE Welcome Box with code FRIEND!
Wicked x 3
I couldn’t try just ONE of my new Deborah Lippmann Wicked polishes – I had to try them ALL.
After Orly Bonder, I painted a thin coat of “Defying Gravity” on each nail. I then did a coat of “Popular” on my thumb and ring finger – who knew that green + pink = purple? I did a coat of “One Short Day” on my index and pinky. I finished my middle finger with another coat of “Defying Gravity”. I topped them all with “HK Girl” for shine.
By far, my favorite polish of the collection is “Defying Gravity”. A single coat reminded me of Jade. (I’ll be trying it with gold glitter for the full jewelry effect). After two coats, it reminded me of the green chalkboards of my grade school days – I also need to try a matte top coat with it. Speaking of chalkboards, schools don’t have them anymore – my kids will never know the horror of nails on a chalkboard. Lucky.
Yup, 5 More…
I couldn’t resist the 99 cent Sinful Colors sale, but I controlled myself and only grabbed 5.
I got “Purple Haze” (the only one that caught my eye from the new “Oh Snap!” Collection), “Let’s Talk” (upon the highest recommendation), “Starfish” (for the name alone); “Gold Medal”, and “Rich in Heart”. Unfortunately, the Walgreen’s by my work didn’t have the “Truly, Madly, Sparkly” display – so I see another trip happening before the sale is up.
You…yes, YOU…have until Saturday at Midnight to snag Sinful Colors nail polish for 99 cents at Walgreen’s.