Tag: Toenails
Jamaican Gold
Sorry, but I’m gonna force you to look at my foot for a second.
For my birthday last weekend, my wonderful children got me a pedicure…and my husband got me a Shari! Somehow he secretly arranged for my friend Shari to come spend the weekend with me. I must be kind of oblivious, because he did it for my birthday 6 years ago and I still didn’t recognize the signs. She was more than happy to accompany me on my pedicure adventure.
The shop had an even better match for my car – Dare to Wear “Jamaican Coffee”. I’ve never heard of that brand before, but they had it and OPI, so I assume it’s similar?
I could just stare at my toes for hours…
I’m a Mermaid!
Since I am going to be in the water all day at Schlitterbahn tomorrow, I wanted mermaid nails. For this, I grabbed an old favorite. I’ve had Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure “Mermaid’s Tale” forever…long before I started this blog. Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever worn it alone on my nails. (This is the closest I’ve been.)
“Mermaid’s Tale” did not disappoint. Full coverage glitter in just two coats! I started with Orly Bonder…and I had to give up on Dream Polish Gem Glam and go back to the “HK Girl”. It dries so much faster and doesn’t pick up color. My bottle is nearly empty, so it was a struggle to get it on my nails. Immediately afterwards, I had a panic attack and ordered two more bottles.
“Mermaid’s Tale” matches my “Teal Toes” – Julep “Marion”. I don’t remember what base coat I used, but I do remember that I used Sally Hansen Diamond Flash for the top coat. That bottle is also almost empty. ARGHHHHHHHH!
I’m pretty sure that Julep “Marion” is one of the first Julep polishes that I got – I think it was in the November 2013 Diamond Mystery Box. That seems like a million years (and polishes) ago…
Bruise Violet
I couldn’t NOT try out Julep “Logan” first.
Julep’s site describes the color as sultry aubergine shimmer – I would replace sultry with earthy. There’s a vegetable like brownish undertone – this color feels very organic.
Well, duh – aubergine is a fancy word for eggplant. It’s not as inky as “Padma” and has a subtle shimmer, but could still be mistaken for black at first glance.
I went back to the Revlon Quick Dry Base and Top Coats. There’s something about Julep polish that doesn’t mix well with base coats – bubbles, no matter what brand I try – even Julep’s own base coats. I only got 2-3 bubbles this time, but each one is like a pinprick to my soul.
I also painted my toenails with “Logan” last night…right before I broke my pinky toe, tripping over my daughter’s metal lawn chair.
(Yeah, we keep metal lawn chairs in our living room. That’s normal, right?)
I was astounded at how well the polish matched the violet bruises – I couldn’t have planned it better!
The last time I broke a toe was during Hurricane Ike, stumbling around in the dark. As clumsy as I am, that’s a pretty good record.
Pink Flaming-toes
Ba DUM dum…
I know, I know, it’s a really bad pun.
I just wanted to show off Julep “Vicki” next to some REAL pink plastic flamingos. I used Sally Hansen “Fruit-Ta-Ta” as an accent on my middle toes. Pretty good match, huh?
I actually just took “Vicki” off my toenails. It was too thick around the edges and the Sally Hansen Diamond Flash left ragged edges. I couldn’t go on vacation with my toenails looking all raggedy. I went back to Zoya “Sooki”, my new favorite toenail polish.
A Good Red is Hard to Find
A good red is hard to find…but I’ve found the best red fingernail polish ever created – Zoya “Sooki”.
This is a single coat of “Sooki”, topped with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. Absolute full coverage in one coat. It was very shiny on it’s own, but the top coat makes it look like glass.
Plus…it was FREE.
Mother Daughter Salon Day
I don’t normally get pedicures – I’ve had maybe 2-3 in my entire life. The last time I got a pedicure, Lily was with me, too – because I was 8 months pregnant with her. But when my BFF suggested a salon day with her & her daughter and Lily & I, I jumped at the chance to have someone else scrape the dead skin off my feet.
My BFF and her daughter regularly get their nails done. I tried it once in high school and it was a horrifying experience. I slammed my thumb in a door during PE and the damn thing cracked in half, horizontally across my thumb. Never again.
I played it safe and chose OPI “You Only Live Twice” from the 2012 Skyfall Collection. It is an insane magenta/fuchsia shimmer. Lily surprised me and chose Color Club “Almost Famous” – bright yellow. The lady painting them asked if she wanted a design on her toes and of course, she picked the one thing the poor lady couldn’t do – a heart. She tried several times, but she kept having to repaint and start over. Eventually, another lady came over and did it and she had a hard time, too! NOTE TO SELF: Never tried to freehand paint a heart on a 6 year old’s toe.
My feet are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Lily was spoiled rotten, getting to sit in a massage chair for an hour and get her toes done. We had a wonderful day.
Red Ruby Tootsies
Ruby Red slippers…Ruby Red Toenails.
I was a bit disappointed in Julep’s “Ruby Slippers” – I guess I was expecting a full coverage glitter, but this is more sheer. I got decent coverage with 2 coats, but as my husband put it – “subtle”. Next time I use it, I’m going to try it as a topcoat over a plain red. Maybe that will give me the technicolor pop I’m looking for?
…and don’t give me shit about that one random toe hair – I didn’t think to groom before I took the pic.
Monkey Toes
See how I grip the bottle with my toes?
I have the prehensile toes of a monkey.
I painted my toes on Sunday with Maybelline Color Show Holographic in “Mystic Green.” Rather than anything mystic, this color reminds me of a crushed velvet sofa from the 70s. I look at my toes and I think of mothballs…
I wish I could think of where I saw that sofa…or maybe was it a chair? Maybe my sister’s old apartment?
This is going to eat me up until I remember…
I’m a Bad Influence
As she was painting my toenails, my daughter Lily told me that she “wants to be a fingernail painter when she grows up.” Sigh. Way to aim high. To be fair, I’m fairly certain that she thinks that my job is being a fingernail painter. That’s pretty much all I do these days.
But before she painted my toes, Lily painted her own toenails and fingernails.
She picked out Julep “Kristy” and “Lindy” for her toes.
She picked out Julep “Libby” and “Geo” for her fingernails.
She has picked that combination before – she really likes turquoise-y fingernails.
That girl knows what she wants.
I hope she gives me a discount when she is a famous fingernail painter.
Grenade
My son was having a sleepover for his birthday last night, so I threw myself on the grenade of trying to keep Lily out of their hair all evening. I decided on a Mani/Pedi Party in my bedroom. She did her nails…and then started looking at me.
Not only did I let her pick the polishes…I let her paint my toenails, too. She chose Julep “Joanna” and “Rosa” – Amethyst for February. Good job, Lily!
She did a pretty decent job for a 5 year old. To be fair, I did scrape off most of the extra in the shower this morning – there was half an inch or so extra around the edges of my toenails…but those who know me, know that they look like that when I paint them, too.