Wicked Polish Review

I recently purchased Wicked Polish polishes. I absolutely loved them!
I bought Pox and Gangrene. They are milky jellies with translucent hex glitters. The application was beautiful. I did have to fish for glitters, but I really didn't mind! They are absolutely stunning!!!

Here's what I did for both:
1 coat Nail Magic
1 coat NYC French White Tip
2 thin coats Wicked Polishes
1 coat Seche Vite.

Hope you all enjoy!

Until next time...

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Birthday Dots

Hello all!!! Yesterday (Aug 6th) was my 26th birthday! Naturally I had to have some pretty spiffy nails when I went to enroll my eldest into Pre-K. (That is literally all I did for my birthday...getting old stinks.)

Summer is almost over, and I really wanted to take advantage of my bright colors before they look weird in the colder months.

Here's what I did:
1 coat Nail Magic
1 coat Growth Spurt
1 coat Gelous
2 coats Julep Alicia
And I used a small dotter to make my polka dots with Hard Candy Frenzy, Wet N Wild I Need a Refresh-mint, and Konad Special White.
 1 coat Seche Vite

I love love love this manicure. I formed a circular pattern off to the side of my nail, rather than in the middle of my nail. I think it made it look a bit more abstract. I love the color combination, and  Julep Alicia will always be one of my favorite polishes. I adore it.

Application was beautiful, and drying time wasn't that bad. It did take me like an hour to do each and every nail...but let me just say: I was 100% worth it!

As you can see, my nails are crazy short. I had them growing so nicely, then they all broke. It really stinks to have short nails, but I have faith that they will be coming back stronger and hopefully will stay longer. One of my Instagram friends suggested Nail Magic...so we shall see how well it works. This is week one for me. It says it takes up to 8 weeks for stronger nails to come in...so I am testing them!

I have been trying to get good use out of my dotting tools lately. I forget how much I really love polka dots. I must remember this!!

What do you all think of this manicure? Is it too busy? What color scheme would you do?

Also, I would love to hear from you guys about Nail Magic. Have any of you used it before? Did it work for you? I would really like some input on this base coat!!

Until next time....

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Party Rockin

Good morning all!!!

My contest will be ending soon!!! So please enter if you haven't already!!! You can find the post HERE!

Today I have a gorgeous manicure to share with you all! I used an unnamed Hot Topic polish and Lush Lacquer's Party Rockin. I love love love the colors in Lush Lacquer's glitter polish!

Here's what I did:
1 coat Seche Retain
1 coat Gelous
2 coats Hot Topic polish
1 coat Party Rockin
1 coat Seche Vite

The Hot Topic polish was a bit of a pain to work with. The consistency is great, but while applying it, it creates bald spots on itself. So I sort of had to goop it on. Other than that, I really do like this polish. It is a nice dark purple with lots of shimmer that changes from purple to blue. It really is gorgeous. I'm in love with the bottle too. I love me some skulls.

Lush Lacquer is one of my favorite indie polish companies. I love all their polish, and I have never had a single problem with them! The shipping to get to you does take a little while, but trust me, it is WORTH the wait!!! They retail at $8.75 a 15ml bottle. Which is very reasonable, considering the quality you are getting! The polish always glides on like butter. I never have to fish for any glitters, nor do I ever have clumping problems with the glitter. I never have to adjust the glitter on the nail! All I do is paint and go. Seriously.

Party Rockin is a gorgeous polish that is LOADED with glitter. There are smaller glitters, medium sized hex glitters, and bar glitters. The color combination is to die for. It is bright and summery. I decided to pair it with purple to really bring out the blues, oranges, and yellow/golds. I know this polish would look amazing on blacks, pinks, and greens! I can't wait to try this glitter with other colors! I also can't wait to try a jelly sandwich!

You can find Lush Lacquer's Etsy shop HERE! I really suggest checking out what they have to offer! They never disappoint! They have great customer service, and once you do receive your package, you will be shocked that this is an indie polish seller. Their quality is very very professional!!!

I hope you all enjoy this manicure as much as I do!

Do you own any Lush Lacquer products? What do you think about them? Have you ever bought Hot Topic polish? Did you have the same problem I did?

Until next time...

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Under Your Spell

Good evening! Sorry for the few days absence. We started my youngest daughter on seizure medication, and I've had to keep a close eye on her. Which meant, no nail polish for me. At least not while they were awake. But things seem to be doing great. I feel like my Zoey is different. Which is a good thing!! :)

So I have some fun colors to share with you! First:

Here is my swatch of Wet n Wild's Haze of Love.

And here is a swatch of Wet n Wild's Under Your Spell.

So here is my manicure:

I used:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
2 coats Wet n Wild Haze of Love
1 coat Wet n Wild Under Your Spell
1 coat Seche Vite
Then I stamped on the pattern with Konad m57 using my awesome Color Club Gingerbread Man.
I topped it all off with another coat of Seche Vite.

Under Your Spell by itself is actually really really sheer, and appears to have a black base. But I thought it would look really nice with the brownish red of Haze of Love. And I was right. I really like the combo. As usual, I do not like the ManiCurve brush of Under Your Spell. But I can get around these brushes, now that I'm getting used to them. I really enjoyed the application of Haze of Love. It is such a creme-alicious color, and formula.

After painting on my two Wet n Wild polishes, I left it like that for a day. Then I decided I needed to add SOMETHING to it. So I added the stamping. I think it was a good choice. I had a hard time deciding if I should do gold, black, bronze. Deciding on gold was a good move. As always, I love Gingerbread Man. It is by far the best clearance find I have found to date.

I am excited to get back to blogging again, now that I don't have to watch Zoey's every move. I am SO happy to be able to paint my nails, and have time to photograph them and post post post!!! I am hoping to get better at tape manicures. I've been using scotch tape, and I've also tried masking tape. But neither work well for me.

Any advice? Tips? Tricks? I really want to do a nicely done stripped manicure...but mine always seem to look so sloppy!!!

What do you all think of the color combo?? Love it or hate it?

Again, I'm so happy to be back! And I can't wait to hear from my readers! I need some nail-support! <3

Until next time...

Christina



Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Gradient Stripes

Good morning! I have a fun manicure to share with you all!!! I entered into a contest on Instagram, which required stripes. I plan on entering as many times as possible, while improving my striping skills. So expect several striped manicures. Lol.

So here's what I did:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
1 coat Orly's Bonder base coat
I sponged on:
Wet n Wild Through the Grapevine
Wet n Wild On a Trip
L'oreal Jet Set to Paris

Then with tape, I taped off my mani and added Pure Ice Black Rage. And topped it all off with Orly's No Chip top coat

I'm still not very good at the whole taping things off, and painting over them. My tape never ends up even, and I had a huge issue with paint coming off when I removed the tape. I just then took a paint brush and fixed the problem spots.

The colors sponged on great though! It was cake! And of course, my Black Rage glided on like jelly.

My ring finger did get a little messed up, but I really don't think it was that bad. It could have been worse, that's for sure!!

What do you all think of this manicure? What would you like to see in my next stripe manicure? Ideas? Suggestions? I value all of your input, so I will try whatever you guys throw at me! :)

Until next time...

Christina




Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Support

Today is a huge day. Obama announcing he supports gay marriage and gay rights. I cannot explain how happy I am to hear this. I hope states will start allowing same sex marriages. I know, being in Oklahoma, that being gay is looked down upon...but I support same sex marriages! If you are in love, it shouldn't matter the sex! 



I support gay marriage and rights. Do you?

I want to see your manicures supporting gay marriage!

Until next time...

Christina





Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Club Havana

GOOOOOOOOD afternoon!!!! My awesome neighbor/awesome friend gave me a set of Wet n Wild polishes last night at our spaghetti dinner. I am sooo excited to share one of these polishes with you! (Thanks Jessi!! I love them all SO much!! <3)

In the Sassy set, the polishes included are:
Club Havana
Haze of Love
Red Tape
Hush Hush
Tropicalia

These all appear to be creme polishes, but sometimes polishes can surprise you, so I won't know until I swatch them all!

Today I have Club Havana to share with you.

Here it is in its orange glory without flash. It is a creamy orange sorbet creme polish that glides on like butter, and looks good enough to eat. Oranges usually do not look good on my nails, but this one looks amazing. It makes me look so much more tan than I am, which is my goal when it comes to polish. Lol.

Flash flash flash! Makes it look a tad bit brighter than it actually is. But isn't the color GORGEOUS??!! The brush was a bit of a pain, but not as bad as their crazy salon flat brush crappity crap. It was so easy to apply. It was a bit streaky, but I could see this polish being completely streak free in three thin coats.

Here's what I did:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
1 coat Orly's Bonder base coat
2 coats Wet n Wild Club Havana
No top coat.

I only did 2 coats because I knew I would be layering other polishes on top. Wanna see what I layered??

BAM!

Here I added 1 thin coat of my Spectraflair top coat. (I purchased Spectraflair powder HERE! And added it to some top coat I never use.)
Then I added 1 coat of Essie's Shine of the Times and 1 coat of Orly's No Chip top coat.

Look at that rainbow goodness!!! <3

I love that Shine of the Times is the main star in the shade, but once that sun hits my nails, the holo goes rainbow crazy! I am in love with this combo!!

Look at those flakies! YUM!

Here's another sun shot.

What do you all think of this manicure? The orange? Have you tried any of these Wet n Wild polishes? Would you rock this mani??? Have you tried Spectraflair??

I just want to say a huge and special thank you to all of you who read my blog, comment, and inspire me to continue with this blog! I love all of my readers, and I try hard to read all of your blogs! Sometimes I can't get to them every day, but I promise..I am reading!!!

Until next time....

Christina



Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Salt n Peppa

Good morningish!!! I received a polish the other day via mail that I have been wanting for a very long time now.

Every single blog that I have read, or at least a huge majority of them, there is one polish that connects them all. (Yes, that's a pun...you'll see.) The coveted Lynnderella Connect the Dots. It's on everyone's wish list. I didn't even include it on mine, mainly because it is nearly impossible to find it without having to spend about a billion dollars.

So I have been searching for dupes. I found one for $8.75 with $3.00 shipping, and it is fairly close. So without further ado: Wet n Wild On a Trip with Lush Lacquer's Salt n Peppa.

Now. What makes this polish different:
There is a TON of tiny little square, I think, holo glitters. There is also large square white and black glitter, smaller black and white squarish glitter, and white bar glitter.

Here's what I did:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
1 coat Orly's base coat
2 coats Wet n Wild On a Trip
2 coats Lush Lacquer Salt n Peppa

 My review:
Wet n Wild's On a Trip is a fantastic color. The photos make it look much more blue than it actually is. It is a pastelish purple. The photos are SO close, but just imagine a little more red in the color to make it purple. It is a very nice color.
The application was great. It could have gone on in one coat, but I had a few bald spots. I think the bald spots could have been avoided if they hadn't included their awful Manicurve Pro Brush. Blegh. I DO NOT like the brush on this polish. And I've noticed while using this line of Wet n Wild, I have a huge problem with the cap. And it is a silly problem...so please, laugh at me. I feel like I have to turn it way to many times to open it. When I unscrew this line of polish, when I come to a point where I think it should be open now, I have like 1 or 2 more turns to turn before it is actually open. And every time this happens, I always say to myself, "Gah! I have to turn this so much to open it! It could use a few less turns. They forget how lazy some of us are...." Seriously. I say that verbatim to myself every single time.

Other than the stinkin brush and the too many turns cap, I love this polish.

Lush Lacquer's Salt n Peppa is a great idea. I DO like this polish...but I felt like there are too many holo glitters, and not enough black and white glitters. It is really lacking in the bar glitter. So I was just slightly disappointed. I've been searching and searching for a black and white glitter polish, and when I found this one, I was like "YES! I'M SO FREAKING STOKED!" and now...I'm happy I have it...I just have the small disappointment. It also was a pain to apply. Not that it was HARD, but I had a tough time controlling the glitter. It is a bit goopy, but their package included a disclaimer that said some people find it goopy, and to add polish thinner. So I'm not even upset about the goopy-ness. They knew it, and told me, the customer, about it. So that was awesome!! I will be adding a bit of thinner, and trying it again. I also felt like it dried CRAZY fast. Which is a huge win in my book! I really do love this polish...I just would have changed a few things had I been making it. I'm not going to go give them a bad feedback post, because I don't have anything BAD to say. They gave me the black and white glitter polish that I have been searching for! I'm one happy momma!!!

Flash!

No flash!

All in all, I really love this manicure. It really makes me think of a Jackson Pollock painting. And being a huge art nerd, it brings a smile to my face every time I look at my nails.

I will be buying more from Lush Lacquer. If you want to buy polishes from them, you can find their Etsy shop HERE!
I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want the following polishes from them (which I will be adding to my wishlist ASAP!):
Dreamsicle
Party Rockin
Chubby Checker
Birthday Cake
Hottie Tottie
Mint Madness
Sea Breeze

I accept gifts at any time. ;) HEHE.

What do you all think of this combo? Do you have any Lush Lacquer polishes? What do you think of Salt n Peppa?? Would you buy this polish?

Until next time...

Christina

Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Buffy the Violet Slayer

Good morningish! I have a very difficult to photograph polish to share with you today! Plus some exciting new polishes to list!

First, the polish.

Here I have Buffy the Violet Slayer by Wet n Wild. First, let me just tell you, this is not the true color of this polish! It is one of those purples that is IMPOSSIBLE to photograph. The truest color is the back of the bottle, in the shadows. It is a deep grape color. But almost a neon grape. It is stunning!!! The application of this polish was cake!

Here's what I used:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
1 coat Orly's base coat
2 coats Wet n Wild Buffy the Violet Slayer
1 coat Orly's Won't Chip top coat.

These photos make this color look SO much more blue than it actually is. And you can't see how insanely glossy this polish is! It honestly looks like I have colored shiny plastic on my nails! It is so pretty! I love love love this color/polish!!

It went completely opaque in just two coats! And even though you can kind of see brush strokes in the photos, there are NONE in sight in real life. I wish I could have each and every single one of you come visit me via teleportation just for one day so you could see the true beauty of this polish!

Again, this is SO much bluer in the photos. Bummer.

So, last night, my neighbor/friend came over to drop off some polish! I am doing her nails once a week and I told her she can pay me in nail polish! I think that's a great deal!! ;)

Any who, she gave me 8 polishes that she's had and isn't using any more. I felt like it was Hanukkah in April!!! Here's what she brought over:
Sally Hansen's Burgundy Bungalow
NYC's Wing it Wine Creme
Petites Cranberry
NYC's Black Lace Creme
Sally Hansen's Flawless
OPI OPI on Collins Ave
OPI Big Hair, Big Nails

AAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDDD

The coveted
OPI My Private Jet!!!! I have been wanting this polish for a long time! And she had the right formula with the holo sparkles! YUM YUM YUM!!!!

So, of course I couldn't wait to use My Private Jet for my first time ever! I added it to one nail of this manicure.

 Look how gorgeous it is! And the crazy part....The purple on my ring finger is VERY close to what BTVS looks like in real life!! Weird, huh? In real life, MPJ one top of BTVS is much darker than this. But crazy gorgous! I think I will have to add MPJ to all my nails!!! <3 <3 <3 I am in LOOOOOVE!!! So thank you Jessi!!! <3 <3 <3

What do you all think of this manicure? Do you own OPI My Private Jet? Which formula do you have???

Until next time....

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

9.0.2.1.Orange

Good afternoon!! I am continuing my swatches of the Wet n Wild Summer Getaway collection. And I must say, this one I am about to show you is a favorite.

9.0.2.1.Orange is the name of this polish, and I must say, I am loving it. It is a glitter jelly polish, so it is extremely sheer. Luckily this only took three coats to become pretty opaque! I love love love the color, and I love love love all the glitter. You all really need to see this one in real life. It is sooo sparkly.

(Excuse my boo boo on my pinky. I covered it up, cause it looks kinda yuck.)

Yum yum yum! Glitter! It is such a fun shade of orange, and I felt like I was ready to go to the beach....if there was a beach near me.....which there isn't.....cause I live in Oklahoma. *Sigh*

Here's what I did:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty top coat
3 coats 9.0.2.1.Orange
No top coat seen here.

It is pretty gritty, so I did later on add some Seche Vite. I have a feeling this polish is going to be a pain in my behind to remove! Glitter always is.

As of right now, I am in love with only one of the polishes out of the collection...and this is it. I still have three more to try, so maybe my mind will be changed. (I wish I could say I love two of these polishes...but that green just does NOT look good on me. *cries*)

What do you all think of this color? The glitter? Do you like glitter polishes, or do you avoid them purely because the pain of removal??

Until next time...

Christina



Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

FuchsiaRama

Good afternoon! I have an interesting polish to share with you all.

As you know from my previous post, I am swatching Wet n Wild's Summer Getaway collection.

Here is FuchsiaRama:

 Ok, so I do not like this polish at all. I'm not sure if they were trying to go for a matte finish or not. It dries really weird. And it doesn't dry all that fast, once you have a few coats of it on. This is:
1 coat Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat
1 coat Orly's base coat
3 coats FuchsiaRama
And no top coat.

I had some issues with my cotton getting all over my fingers, which is why my ring and pinky look messed up.

But I didn't know how to react to this polish. The application was ok. A little thin in the formula department. But as it started drying, it started this matte thing. Which I suppose isn't a bad thing...it just wasn't what I was expecting. This photo makes the color look a lot more pink than it actually is. It is MUCH more purple in real person.

I also had a hard time keeping the polish from going bald when applying. The brush was what made it semi ok to do. It is a thicker brush.

I honestly don't know about this. It took a while to become opaque, hence the three coats. And even then, I don't feel like it has great coverage. It is streaky and bald in places. I think if I wear this polish again, I will start with a purple base coat, then apply only one or two coats of this stuff...and probably add a glossy top coat. I just am not crazy with their attempt at matte.

What do you all think???

Until next time....

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

Ruby Pumps

Hello all!!! I have a fabulous polish to share with you!!!

First, let me say this: I do not normally turn to red polish. Why? It is a pain to clean up, it stains your nails, and I tend to think it is boring by itself.

Now....let me tell you why this polish, Ruby Pumps by China Glaze, has changed my mind about red polishes FOREVER.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps is fabulous. The red is such a great shade. The glitter is glitter-tastic! And surprisingly, the clean up was CAKE! I love the formula to this polish. It just glides on. The brush is perfect...even for this tiny bottle! I had picked up this 3.6 mL bottle at Sally's Beauty Supply a few weeks ago. It was in the clearance bin for $1.69. It then was discounted even further, and I got this bad boy for $0.49!!!! Can't beat that price!!! Now that I have tried it, I seriously need to pick up a bigger bottle!!!

Now in the photos, this manicure is a few days old, so I have a few chips, scuffs, and tip wear. But I am happy with how well this polish has held up! I couldn't bring myself to add anything to this manicure, for fear of taking away from this gorgeous polish. I can't even describe how much this polish sparkles.

It appears to be a red jelly polish with lots and lots of glitter. I can't tell if the glitter is actually red or silver....but I am assuming red. Here's what I did:
2 coats Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base Coat
2 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps
1 coat Seche Vite

Can you believe I got this opaque in TWO coats??? Amazing!

This is officially my go to nail polish! I am sooo in love!!! <3

Have you guys tried Ruby Pumps? What do you think of it? I have read mixed reviews on this polish...but people who hate it really haven't explained why. Maybe I need to search better?

Until next time....

Christina


Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*

This is why I don't water marble.

Have you ever wondered why Manicure Mommy has never featured a water marble manicure? Water marbled nails look so cool, so fresh, so neat. But I just have never featured one.

Why, you ask?

This is why.

I have tried this technique SEVERAL times. I can't even count on both hands how many times I've tried to make this work for me. But I just cannot get it to work. It ALWAYS looks like this.

Maybe I use too much polish? Maybe my water here in Oklahoma sucks for this technique. Maybe I am just not patient enough to do this. Whatever the case is....I SUCK AT WATER MARBLED NAILS!

I can't even get all the stinkin blue off my skin. I should now be called Violet, who is turning Violet Violet! I just couldn't stay away from the flavor changing gum...or at least my fingers couldn't.

I cannot even describe how embarrassing this is for me. I am embarrassed that every single time I try to water marble, my nails look like pure A grade crap.

I'm not even going to get into what polishes I used, because it turned out crappy anyway. I will be taking this off as soon as I get off this computer. Barf!

What can I do to improve my water marble manicure?? I NEED HEEEEEEEELP!!!

I'm sure I will post again later, as I can't stand to have naked nails.

Until next time....(which will hopefully be less of a failure....)

Christina

Skin/hand care

Good morning nail bloggers!!!! I want to share something pretty important to me, with you.

My skin/nail moisturizing ritual...if you will. I take keeping care of my skin and nails pretty seriously. Moisturizing your skin can keep you looking young, and makes you feel so much better. I have a few products to share with you all. I know this isn't a polish post..but I find this equally as important.

Here's what I do every day:

I use Solar Cuticle Oil every single day, several times a day. I keep it at my desk, and move it around the house so I have access to it at all times. I would like to buy another cuticle oil to keep in my purse that isn't a liquid, but I just haven't had the time to search for one. Any suggestions?

I moisturize with EOS ( evolution of smooth) nourish revitalizing care; hand and body lotion. I found this lotion at Walgreens one day. It was on sale, and I had heard great things about EOS, so I gave it a shot. I love this stuff. First, it smells amazing. I love love love the scent. I put it on all over my body every morning after showering. I wish I could find a body spray that smells exactly like this lotion. I also use it through out the day as needed. I like to have soft hands, so I tend to use a lot of lotion. 

Every night, I use Julep's glycolic hand scrub before bed. I really like this product. It exfoliates my hands but it isn't too rough. Too much exfoliation can be bad for your skin. This has the right grit to it. It is a great great product. I've had it for a little while, and I totally suggest it. It is safe enough to use for every hand washing, but I like to save my product, so I only use it once a day. At night is the best time for me. I wash with it before I put on my nightly oils and lotions.

Every night, after scrubbing with Julep's glycolic scrub, I use Creativespa massage oil. I have had this oil for a long time. It came in my Creativespa pedicure and manicure kit. The kit includes a lot of products, that I will share with you in a future post. I only use those products every other week. They're a bit harsher in the exfoliation department for me to use every day. Back to the oil, I love love love this oil. As you can see, below, I still have a lot left! I use maybe a drop or two on my hands every night before bed. It is oil, so it will make your hands feel oily, but it really does moisturize your skin very very well. When I use this oil, I skip my cuticle oil. Mainly because I don't feel like need to double oil up my hands. This oil will moisturize your cuticles as well as all of your skin. I use my EOS lotion right after the oil. I only do this at night, because I don't want to leave oil smudges all over my house. And it does make your hands slippery. Plus I like that this stuff will work while I get my beauty rest.

This is my daily routine. It has helped my skin and my cuticles so much! I really swear by all of these products. I can't promise that all of these products are available to public purchasers. My Creativespa supplies were purchased at State, back before I let my cosmetology license expire. I really should go back to school for the X amount of hours to reinstate my license...but I just don't have time right now. Maybe one day...but I do not want to work in a salon again...it just wasn't my cup o tea.

I hope this has helped all of you. If you try it and it works for you, let me know! If it doesn't work for you, let me know! But please remember, it is SO important to moisturize your skin and nails. Especially if you use 100% pure acetone!

Until next time....

Christina

Jacket Buttons

Good evening fellow nail bloggers! I have a fantastic manicure for you!

I asked my daughter, Seyhan, what she thought my nails looked like, and she said jacket buttons. :) I think she's right.

I really really really like this manicure! Here's what I did:
1 coat Sally Henson's Double Duty base coat
1 thick coat Pure Ice Black Rage
I used Color Club Gingerbread Man for the dots with my dotting tool
1 coat Essie Matte About You

I love love love my Pure Ice Black Rage. If you use enough the first time, you don't need to do a second coat! The application is always a breeze, the brush is perfect, and the formula is amazing. I use Black Rage more often than any other polish in my stash of 70.

I only have flash photos to share with you all. I didn't get a chance to take photos this afternoon. My daughter, Zoey, has a therapist who comes to our house to work with her. And that took up a lot of our time today.

I am really happy to report how well the Gingerbread Man polish did with Matte About You. I was afraid it wouldn't look good, since it is more of a foil type polish. It took on the matte, but stayed glittery...which is the only way I can explain it. I think I will have a hard time taking this polish off.

I really wanted something more edgy, but to stay with the dots, since my dotting tools are being severely neglected.

I am a huge fan of black and gold combos. Something about the two together makes me wanna dance. Lol.

I also have yet to run into any problems I've read about online about Matte About You. I read the reviews on Amazon.com before purchasing it, and some people say that the matte doesn't last long, and ends up shiny in a few days...I haven't had that problem. Others said it chipped within hours...Again, no problems here. I also have two kids, and I'm currently the only parent...and mine holds up pretty well. I never expect a manicure to stay perfect more than two days. I expect tip wear and chips. I'm really rough on my hands. Another reviewer said that it started peeling from the middle?? Whaaat? Maybe they got a bad batch, cause I've never ever ever seen it do that!!! Maybe I'm not that picky about my nails...so if it does end up shinier...I don't notice it at all.

I hope I have given you a good reason to go out and buy a matte top coat! I know I don't regret my purchase! <3

Until next time....

Christina



Disclosure *I was not paid for this review. I was not given the polish for this review. I paid for the polish with my own money. This is purely my own opinion, thoughts, and suggestions about this polish.*