Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 9 - Valentine Candy

These did not come out how I pictured them in my manicure perfect mind, but they have kind of a cutesy-kid thing going on that I kind of like. They are at least happy and playful, unlike the crapola nails I did for the LAST day.

I won't lie, though.... I'm excited to try again for something better. I used a variety of CG polish for these, many of which from the Up and Away collection. I'm not with my polishes currently, so I can't say the names for sure. Just let me know if you're curious about a specific one. :)

This was "inspired" by conversation hearts... so it is definitely a CANDY manicure, and not a heart one. ;)

My hand looks weird here.

 

Little blurry...

Next up... Roses! Ha... that should be interesting!

Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 6

Okay, I am behind in posting this! I was having issues with my camera (*ahem* phone).  I promise I did have the manicure done on the correct day, though. :)

I am very unhappy with how it came out. It is just ugly and doesn't look like lips at all. Oh well, you win some, you lose some! I disliked this so much I only did it on one hand. The other just had a glitter gradient.

For this manicure, I used Orly's Red Haute for the lips, a cheapo red glitter by Heavenly, Orly's Tiara, and Fingerpaint's Where Art Renoir? (Which I LOVE, by the way!)

Next up, Valentine Candy!

Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 1-3

Okay, this time I'm actually PART of the group in the challenge! I decided to wait for this one to start instead of lagging behind the previous challenge I started. Also, I've been really busy....

I know everyone else is probably going to use really beautiful pinks and reds, but I figured I'd probably be sick of those by the end of the month so I went with citrus colors! I think my left hand came out way better. I'm right handed, so all my good ideas get used up first. By the time I'm on nail 8 I'm starting to reach for something new!

Left Hand

Right Hand

As usual I also couldn't decide on just ONE design, so I had to do a different one for each nail. For this I used China Glaze Neons (2012) and CG Liquid Leather. I also threw in some fimo canes, rhinestones, glitter, and caviar. They are pretty crazy but since I'll only have them a few days I'm digging them!

Next up, Lips! I'd like to do something different than just stamping lips on every nail. Hmm...

Cuticle Transformation

Transform your cuticles!

I found I was gazing longingly at the lovely cuticles of The Polish Addict. She has beautiful hands! Mine looked so dry and calloused, so I decided it was time to do something about it. This was two days after I started my experiment, which was showing little to no effect. (I'll still review it, as promised.)

I noticed a difference in my fingertips and cuticles after doing this only once, and saw a wonderful difference after several days. See the before and after pictures at the bottom of this post!

To transform, you will need:

1) Soaking agent
2) Scrub
3) Moisturizer
4) Some kind of oil (I suggest using safflower or cuticle oil.)
5) Consistency

1) Good Soaking Agent:

To transform my hands and cuticles, I used a lot of products made for feet. My hands were not as rough as feet tend to get, but I had it on hand (Haha! Get it?) and figured if it works for feet, it surely must work for the softer skin on hands.

Bath and Body Works: True Blue Spa Collection

This soak is very nice, in my opinion. It is the color of blue raspberry Kool-aid and has a pleasant, fresh scent. BBW often runs a buy two, get one free sale, and that's when I snagged it. It claims "This super-fizzy spa bath is like champagne for your feet." I don't know that I'd go THAT far, as it doesn't fizz at all.... The granules dissolve quickly and leave a thin white froth at the top of the water, reminiscent of the foam on a latte. When I think of something that is "effervescent," I think of Airborne. This does not fizz like that at all.


I soaked my hands in this for as long as my attention span allowed (so, probably about 2-3 minutes).

Rinse.

2) Scrub

I used another BBW product here. I have several sugar scrubs that I like a lot, but I decided to go more hardcore and use a walnut concoction. Why not?

Bath and Body Works:
True Blue Spa Collection

I picked this up at the same time as the soak above. It doesn't feel as coarse as some of my "gentler" scrubs, surprisingly enough. I like the consistency of this, and it has a bright peppermint scent to it.

Scrub hands, especially around cuticle areas, for at least a minute.

3) Moisturizer

There are tons of great moisturizers out there, so I would just use whatever you prefer. Plenty are marketed specifically for softening hands and cuticles, and have received fantastic reviews. I didn't have any of those, though, and didn't want to spend money on them, so I used a very floral souffle I got on sale at Victoria's Secret last summer.

Victoria's Secret: Summer Freshes
Vibrant Peony

I like how soft this makes my skin, but it is a bit too smelly for me so I usually reserve it for body parts that are FAR away from my nose, like my calves and feet.

It kind of gave me a headache.

4) Some kind of oil

Safflower oil is great for your skin. I always use it post-waxing and am thrilled at how soft my legs are once it is all soaked in/rubbed off.

Cuticle oil is made with a variety of things, depending on what type you buy. It often has avocado, tea tree, almond, or jojobo oil in it. Manufacturers may also add vitamins.

Massage oil onto cuticles, nailbeds, and tips of fingers throughout the day.

Keep in mind that topical oil often merely acts as a barrier, locking in moisture. A good way to use this strategy is to do this before bed, put on a pair of cotton gloves, and go to sleep, essentially soaking your hands overnight.

5) Consistency

As with any beauty or health regimen, this is the most important ingredient. You can vary your beauty products, diets, exercises, etc, but if you are not consistent you'll see little to no results. Anything worth having takes work!

I suggest, depending on the harshness of your product choice, doing this 1-2 times a day.

• You probably don't want to exfoliate more than once a day max, though. If you have sensitive skin, don't exfoliate more than a few times a week. 
• You should moisturize several times a day.  I live in Colorado and it is very dry; I use lotion and oils as often as it crosses my mind. Sometimes I put on lotion 15-20 times a day. 
• It will also help to take B12 vitamins, drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated, and eat your veggies! :)

Before and After Pictures:

Before! Ahhh!

Bit blurry, but you can see definite improvement.
This is after one session.

Happy Painting!

Day 2: Silver

Day 2 of the 31 Day Challenge is silver. I couldn't resist putting a little pink in my creation, though.

I just put on some cuticle oil, so my fingers are a bit shiny!

This is China Glaze: Concrete Catwalk beneath CG Tinseltown and a touch of CG Fairy Dust. I also used a little bit of a Shany silver nail art striper, but that takes FOREVER to dry so I didn't use much. I love how Tinseltown shines in the sun! So lovely. It is much more sparkly in real life; my camera just doesn't do the shine justice.

This one is blurred but shows the sparkle better.

These are admittedly NOT nearly as cool as yesterday's, but they're not bad. They actually look much nicer in real life than they do in these pictures. The rhinestones should be fun to get off...! 

The next one is gold. Hmm...

Happy Painting!

Day 1: Black & White Mani

I have decided to jump on the bandwagon with Crumpet's 31 day nail challenge. I realize I am behind everyone else, but it looks fun so I want to play too.

Day 1 is a black and white mani, and I've never actually done one of these so I was excited to try it out. I really struggle with leaving out pink and glitter!

I used China Glaze: Liquid Leather for the black and the world's crappiest white polish ever (a very old bottle of some Sally Hansen Nearly Nude: White). On top is Seche Vite. Thank goodness it has the magical ability to hide streaks in the white! Here's my base:

I decided to go with a little bit of everything: some stamping, some fimo canes I would probably never use otherwise, AND some rhinestones! I know it's not perfect (my manis NEVER are), but I am very pleased with the results! As usual my hands are different because I couldn't decide.

The first theme is cards. I was surprised that the set of Bundle Monster plates I have doesn't have a single gambling pattern! I decided fishnet would fit it closely enough.... I had Poker Face stuck in my head while I was doing this hand.

I would never choose to put cards on my fingers, (I'm not much of a card player) but hey, they are black and white! I couldn't resist the urge of just a little bit of red sparkle.

The other hand is heart themed. I struggled with the text stamp (this is the second try showing here). I've used this stamp before and had trouble. I don't know what it is about this design, but I love it anyway!

Very exciting! I might even keep these for more than a day! I keep looking at them and getting all excited so I know they're a win. :)

Happy Painting!

China Glaze "Wicked" 2012

The reason I started doing my own nails was to SAVE money. I was tired of having to go to the salon every few weeks to drop at least $40, just so that my hands wouldn't look they had gone through a shredder. (I am terrible about picking at my cuticles if my nails aren't done!)

That was $40-$50 every 3 weeks, on average. Now that I paint my own nails, I spend about $30 a week on nail polish! I am not saving money! It is way more fun, though. :)

Most recently I purchased a small set of China Glaze polishes called "Wicked." It's from Halloween 2012 and has four colors in it:

Rougish Red, Glitter Goblin, Bizarre Blurple, Ghoulish Glow 

These all go on very nicely with no problems. It is China Glaze, after all. :) I had a white base on underneath all of the polishes today.

We'll start with the glitter. "Glitter Goblin" is a coppery glitter that reminds me of fall leaves. It is small, round cut, and set in a clear base, with copper and silver rainbow holo glitters. It goes on pretty sparsely with only one coat, so you'll need several if you want it opaque.

Formula Overview

• True to color on the bottle.
• This glitter can go from sparse to opaque, depending on number of coats. Great for Fall! 
• I would not stamp with this, but as usual, if you do something neat please show me.
• It would go nicely over warm colors (such as the included "Roguish Red").

"Roguish Red" is not really red at all, in my opinion. It is the perfect Halloween orange, though! It looks like the color you picture when you think of orange and black together for the holiday. 

Orange is one of my least favorite colors, (red is my least favorite) so this automatically takes a hit. Not fair, but that's just the way it is for me. I will probably only wear this if I'm excited about Fall, or around Halloween.

Two coats each, over a white base.

Formula Overview:

• True to color on the bottle. 1-2 coats, depending on color desired.
• Thick enough to stamp with.
• Definitely more of an orange than a red!
• Very creamy and glossy. No shimmer.

The purple color is called "Bizarre Blurple." It is a deep purple with blue shimmer, as it should be for the name. It shines nicely and has a lovely sheen to it. It is a common but very pretty color, and I will definitely wear it. It would be fun to gradient with, I think, and is great for colder months. It's nothing special, but a good staple to have.

Formula Overview:

• True to color on the bottle. 1-2 coats, depending on color desired.
• Thick enough to stamp with.
• Lovely shimmer and shine, even without topcoat.
• A good, solid purple. 

The lightest bottle is a glow-in-the-dark polish called "Ghoulish Glow." It goes on pretty much clear (it is over a white base in the picture). It glows really well, actually! I tried to get a picture for you, but it just wasn't working out. I need to work on my picture-taking skills...! If I had a more active night life, I would probably REALLY like this, because it's fun without ruining the color you have underneath. I'm pretty much a homebody with an early bedtime, so this won't see much use. 

Formula Overview:

• Clear, or very close to it. It seemed to dry clear.
• IF you're in the market for a glow-in-the-dark polish, this is a good one. Big IF, though.
• You could stamp with this, but you'd only see the design at night. (That could be really cool, actually.)
• It glows a plastic-y yellow/green, like those Halloween skeleton toys or spider rings.

Happy Painting!