Tag: Fingernails
Ants? Spiders? Babies? Skulls!
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I don’t consider myself dim…but when I bought Sinful Colors “Skele-bration”, I thought that the tiny glitters were spiders or maybe ants. Once I got it home, I realized they were supposed to be tiny skulls – like a skull & crossbones. Then again, they also could be mistaken for a baby – those glitters are a dead ringer for the baby emoji on my phone.
Notwithstanding the confusing glitter, this polish kicked my ass. I was expected more coverage, but it is exceedingly sheer. I’m wearing three coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. On top of that, I had to play ‘Go Fish’ to get them out of the bottle. They sink to the bottom, so I had to shake the bottle every two nails. Even so, I like the zombie-ish green cast. The polish by itself tends towards matte, so I topped it with “HK Girl”.
So these tiny black things on my nails are driving me nuts. I’ll catch one out of the corner of my eye and think there’s a bug on my finger. Do you know what it’s like to have a freak out every 30 minutes or so? My heart can’t take all that adrenaline!
Oh, did I mention that it glows in the dark? So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice…
Punk Pirate
I feel like a gosh danged ole punk rocker pirate!
I decided to jazz up Julep “Michaela” with the NEON yellow skull and crossbones nail decals in this month’s Julep box. First off, these decals are VERY delicate. I only got one or two of them on my nails in one piece. Luckily, it was easy to match up the skull bones to make it look like one piece.
To keep it from peeling up, I topped with “HK Girl”. One coat was not enough – I did two thick, sloppy coats…and there were still a few edges that stick up – but they are frozen in place from the goop!
My husband says it looks like wallpaper. I usually hate wallpaper, but I would LOVE wallpaper like this!
Raisin Rave
Julep “Michaela” reminds me of the California Raisins…at a rave. Julep describes it as blackcurrant microglitter shimmer – aren’t all currants black? Currents are baby raisins, right?
“Michaela” is so purple that it appears black, but the shimmer is green! I’m dying!
This is a smooth polish – it went on like a dream…and NO bubbles. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, with “HK Girl” on top. This is a GREAT Halloween polish.
I Fixed It!
I was so unhappy with my not-NEON nails…but instead of taking it off and starting over, I decided to make the best of a bad situation and experiment…
I started with OPI “Super Bass Shatter” on my thumb. (Yes, I own a Nicki Minaj Collection nail polish – wanna fight?) OPI makes the best shatter/crackle polishes and this one is the best of ALL. It looks AMAZING with the yellow. Next, I tried Julep “Shoshanna” on my index finger. The yellow holo glitter really brings out the NEON. I also used “Shoshanna” on my ring finger, underneath a coat of “Super Bass Shatter”. I used Julep “Rita” for polka dots on my middle finger – I love this finger the best! Finally, I went glittery with Orly “Bubbly Bombshell” on my pinky.
I finished all of my nails with another coat of “HK Girl”. So between the base coat, three coats of “The Bright Thing” and the toppers, there are 7-8 coats of polish on each of my nails. Either they will go a week without chipping, or I’ll try to take it off and it’ll take FOREVER.
I absolutely LOVE how my nails look now. All it took was a little fuchsia.
The Highlighter is a Lie
I’m not big on neon polishes, but I figured I’d give Sinful Colors NEON “The Bright Thing” a chance. The bottle makes you think that you’ll be getting polish the color of a yellow highlighter – the bottle is a lie! The polish inside is Big Bird yellow! So disappointed…Logan says I have Simpsons fingernails.
To be fair, I probably should have started with a coat of white polish…but still.
The polish was also sheerer than I expected. This is three thin coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and you can still see my nail line. On the positive side, it dried rather quickly. I finished with “HK Girl”, but I got it too thick around the edges of my nails and I have crusties.
I’ve gotta do something about this…I can’t look at these any longer.
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.