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.*

Folly

Good morning!! Sorry that I have been MIA. My husband left for deployment on Friday. So it has been a little rough around my house. My eldest has been acting out negatively from this deployment...so it has been pretty hard on momma!

I do have a pretty cute manicure for you all today. This manicure is a few days old, so I do have tip wear and a chip and broken corner on my index finger, all thanks to peeling potatoes.

Here's what I did:
2 coats of Sinful Colors Folly
Then I took every orange/coral/salmon/light pink/yellow I owned and used my dotter tools to add the dots.
Then I did a thick coat of Seche Vite.

I wanted the dots to be flat..and not look like paint over paint. I think I achieved that with the thick coat of Seche Vite.

I really like Folly. It could have gone on in one coat...which is a win in my book!!

I have never done polka dots before. I wanted them to be different sizes...and I think I did a pretty good job for my first polka dot job. :)

What do you all think? Do you like the color combo? The dots? Folly??

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.*

Galaxy

I am sure you all are SO sick of seeing Galaxy nails...but I have never tried it...so here we go!

I would have loved to take photos with all the polishes I used...but I would end up with a lot of photos. If you are interested in the colors, I can photograph them together, and list them. But for now we will just call them by their color. Any combination of these colors will work!

Here's my process:
1 coat Sally Henson's Double Duty base coat.
1 coat Orly's base coat.
2 coats Pure Ice Black Rage.
I sponged on the design.
1 coat of Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty
1 coat of Seche Vite

 I used a white, yellow, pink, teal glitter, and a little bit of Hard Candy Beetle. I used my dotter for the white stars. Then added the silver glitter on top for more stars.

I learned how to do this manicure on Youtube. The link to the tutorial is HERE.

It was SOOO easy! Easier than I thought it would be. And I think it turned out beautifully! :D

And the surprising part of it all, this manicure does not feel thick at all. I was worried it would feel like I had a billion coats on...but not at all!!!!

I also found a new cure all for my yuck cuticles. As my readers, you know I have been fighting with them for about a month or so now. I found my cure!!!

Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover! This stuff is STRONG, so I only use it MAYBE once a week. I don't like to be harsh on my skin...so I try for once every other week. I love it! I follow the directions on the bottle, and this stuff just takes away all the cuticle grossness. I love it! I wash my hands after use, and then apply Solar Oil and lotion. I am so so so happy I found this stuff!!!



Since it is like 10am here in Oklahoma, I thought I would share my morning routine with you all.

I literally sit in front of this computer reading the 70 blogs I am subscribed to. I drink my coffee, and read everything on my reading list. I make breakfast for my munchkins, and then get to work on planning my next manicure, looking at nail polishes, searching for the coveted Connect The Dots polish (which can be bought on ebay for a low price of $89.95!!!), and read read read, comment comment comment. I try so hard to cheer on other nail blogs, comment on new discoveries or awesome manicures, and give any advice if it is asked for. I am working very hard to get this blog going. So I hope all the people I follow do the same thing. Because what I have found in searching for nail blogs: The people with the smallest number of followers always have awesome stuff! No lie. I'm not saying people with a billion followers have lame blogs. They have AMAZING blogs, which is why they have a billion followers. I'm just saying that people like me, who have a few followers, usually have very interesting blogs.

To all you small blogs out there in interweb world: Keep on blogging!! I know I am! Keep up with the dedication and great work! If I have found you, I'm reading!!! If I haven't found you....I WILL!!!

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.*

Something I like.

Ok, after the last post, I HAD to do a manicure that I would like, and immediately post it!!

So here we go:

About a billion years ago, I bought this China Glaze Shocking Pink. It is still one of my favorites in my collection. It is literally shocking. It is the brightest color I own. It is a neon pink. I love love love love it. Like a lot.

This shot was done with the flash. It is so bright, it hurts your eyes.

Here is my application process:
One coat of Sally Hansen strengthening base coat.
One coat of Orly's base coat.
Two coats of China Glaze Shocking Pink.
I used Konad's special black polish. With Bundle Monster Plate BM-203(I caved and bought it. I'm glad I did, this black polish shows up SO much better than any other polish I've used for stamping.)
A coat of Seche Vite.

Have I already mentioned how much I love this color?

I LOVE  this pattern too! So mod! ;)

The only problem I had with this manicure is: The Konad Special Polish smeared a little when I applied my top coat. Nothing too crazy, but just a little warning to you Konad stampers out there. I think using a thick coat of polish helps the special polish not smear so much. And a delicate hand.

You can kind of see the smear on my middle finger. No biggie though. I will say the clean up with this Konad Polish is a pain. It was tough to get the black off my cuticles and skin. I still have a little bit of black residue on my right hand. But I'm sure that'll come off with washing my hands and such.

Also, I cannot express my love for my Bundle Monster plates enough. I still have yet to find a stamp that didn't work. I'm sure there is one out there...but I haven't found it. I think they are such a great deal!!

Another flash shot.

What did you guys think of this manicure? Would you ever try it?

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.*

I fail.

Ok, so I totally fail at not polishing my nails. :( Boo.

Yesterday, my daughter Seyhan and I went to Walgreens, and she helped me pick out some new polish! We got four polishes, but I'm saving two of the names for future posts. ;)

The two I just COULD not wait to try were: Sinful Colors: Big Daddy and Savage.

Oh my golly goodness. I freaking LOVE these colors!

Doesn't that look like some summer yummy goodness??? MMMM. After purchasing these two, I knew I HAD to try something. I loooove love love looooved my manicure I posted yesterday...but can you blame me? Really? Who could resist these beauties?

This photo is with the flash. The pattern and colors kinda make my eyes go bonkers...but I think that is why I love it so much!

No flash.

Here's what I did:
A coat of Sally Hansen's Strengthening base coat.
A coat of Orly's base coat.
Two coats of Sinful Colors Big Daddy.
I used my Bundle Monster plate BM-201 for the pattern. (Isn't it amazing?)
For the pattern: Sinful Colors Savage.
 Then I did a coat of Seche Vite.

 Again, with the flash. Isn't Savage goooorgeous????

No flash.
I am so happy I did this manicure. And I cannot express how much I love these polishes. The application was amazing. The brush is just perfect. And Big Daddy could have gone on in one coat, I just did two to even out any bald patches. I love how opaque both polishes are. It is hard to find solid colors that aren't too sheer these days.

Would you guys try this manicure? What do you think of the color combo?? I want to hear from ya!

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.*

Konad

Saturday I received my Konad stamper and two plates (m57 & m60) that I ordered!! I cannot explain how happy I am to finally have this awesomeness!! It is uber easy to use, fast, and it looks awesome. I will say that you do need to practice practice practice to get the stamps to look okay.

I got the double stamper, mainly because of my children and their tiny fingers. I did some dots on my daughter, Seyhan's nails last night, and it looked so awesome. The best part, it dried crazy fast. So I didn't have to worry about her little fingers getting polish all over my house.

Last night I tried out different polishes, and different designs on my nails. I will admit that I was getting very frustrated. It is hard for me to get the pattern straight onto my nail. The stamps aren't big enough for my fat thumbs, so I need to figure out what to do there. (Any suggestions?)

ALSO, I did not buy the Konad special polish. I'm thinking that I might HAVE to at least buy the white and the black. My white polish isn't goopy enough, and doesn't show up as well as I'm sure the special polish would. I was trying to avoid buying the special polish, because it is kind of expensive. $6.00 for polish that is goopy like old polish? Sheesh. So maybe I will have to goop up my black and white and see how that works.

After receiving my Julep polishes, I could not wait to use them! So here is Alicia. I think it looks great with my skins. I used a basecoat (Orly), two coats of Julep Alicia, the pattern, and a coat of Seche Vite.

Now, with my cuticles, I have been having one heck of a time getting them used to all the pampering that I have been giving them. They've been peeling and cracking. And I have been using oils, lotions, and scrubs. I think they're just like "whoa, we had no attention for years, and now all of a sudden you want to love us again???" I think they're rebelling. Typical.

For this look I used the dot pattern on my m60 plate. I think these nails turned out adorable. I will for sure be doing it again.

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.*

Being a gardner is tough.

Tough on my nails. Seriously. I painted my nails yesterday...I went out in the garden, and they were completely ruined after. I know I should be wearing gloves when I garden, but there is something magical about digging my bare hands into the earth. I love all things plants and nature. So, I'm willing to ruin my nails a bit for beautiful flowers.

Excuse my cuticles in these photos, I have been in the garden for the past few days, and it has just ripped my hands apart. So pretend like they're perfect. :)

First I did two coats of Finger Paints Tiffany Imposter. I love this color. It is actually pretty opaque, which I thought was impressive! I did two coats only to take care of any "bald" spots.

Then I added Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty on the tips and a little further down. I wanted to do a sponged effect, but I just didn't have time to do it. I thought it looked nice anyway. It did take a little while to dry, but that is partly my fault. I had been searching for seche vite and didn't find it till last night.

I really do love this manicure. A lot. I even did my toes like this. And I rarely ever do my toes.

So since that manicure was destroyed last night, I redid my nails today. I am attending a wedding this evening, so I wanted a color that looked good with my skin, but wouldn't stand out as much as that blue. So here is what I did:

I did a coat of this Sally Girl polish. Sadly, my label doesn't have a name. :( So if any of you know what the name of this color is, I would love to know! It isn't as opaque as I would have liked, but I already knew I was going to be layering, so one coat was plenty.

I then added two coats of Pure Ice Dreamy. I love love love this polish. It is very thin, so you have to do a few coats if you're just using this color. I love the glitter, and I loooove how it matches the Sally Girl color perfectly. Coral/salmon/pinks always look really good with my olive skin tone, so this would be a go to polish for me. It also makes me look a little more tan. ;)

I am hoping to receive my Konad stamper in the mail today...so maybe I will add to this manicure. OH! Also, let me just tell you how much I LOVE Seche Vite's fast drying top coat. It is glossy, yummy, and it really does dry crazy fast. With having two small children, this is always something that I appreciate! THANK YOU Seche Vite! I was able to do my manicure, take some photos, and have my nails be completely dry. Hopefully it will help me avoid being clumsy about my polish!

Well, until next time. <3

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.*