Nail Flavor of the Week: Blue-Gray Confetti Skies

Hello! I hope all is well on your end of the world. Life has kept me busy, but I had some blog posts on my mind that I knew I needed to crank out!

This week I thought about wearing my creamy gray polish with blue undertones, even though it goes against the bright colors I typically wear in the spring/summer months. I topped the nails on my pointer and ring fingers with a glitter polish with yellow, blue and shiny pink hexagons:

Base color - Zoya in Kelly ; accent color - China Glaze in I'm a Go Glitter

As you can see, I have experienced minor tip wear and chipping after just two days of wearing this polish! This is not typical for me and Zoya polishes. 

Hope you have a great week! Stay tuned for more posts.

Nail Flavor of the Week: Cotton Candy & Sprinkles

Hello and happy Hump Day! Time sure flies when one is not creating blog posts! Work wore me down (literally), which led to me getting sick with something between a cold and the flu, which took till this week for me to completely get over...which happens to be spring break, which I am thoroughly enjoying! 

BLOG LESSON #1 (personal insight - If I may be transparent for a moment): This blogging venture has helped me to realize how, like other things I do from day to day, I have to intentionally carve out time to create posts (perhaps more than one at a time) and be very purposeful about the time I spend on content, especially if I want to post on a regular basis; otherwise, blogging could easily get placed on the back burner. The difference between blogging and some of the other things I am tasked with doing is that I enjoy blogging...I don't always enjoy some of the other things. But just because I enjoy something, doesn't always mean finding creating time to dedicate to it will come easily. I will have to commit to scheduling blogging on my calendar like I do anything else that's important to me. I'm still learning y'all...I hope that serves as a nugget of information for someone who may be contemplating blogging or just starting out. 

Anywho, I am here to share this week's nail look, which features one of the OPI polishes from the Hello Kitty collection. This one is called Let's Be Friends:

Since you get to see the shade of pink in the bottle with the camera flash, I am featuring my nail look without the flash:

base coat - OPI in Let's Be Friends; accent nails - China Glaze in I'm a Go Glitter 

While I have enjoyed this look with my two glittery nails, I am looking forward to wearing this polish all by itself. It is the perfect work-appropriate neutral that will likely compliment a variety of skin tones. This would also be a great color to wear on your toes during the summer! Based on this past week, the wear of this polish is decent, but not the best. I've worn it about 4 days prior to noticing tip wear. We'll see what results it yields when I wear it again by itself.

What are your favorite polishes to wear that might be suitable for any work environment? 

Nail Flavor of the Week: Black with Confetti Glitter

Hey there! How was your weekend? Mine went well but too quickly because I was busy the whole time! This week won't let up either, given the various events on my calendar...a lady's work is never done!

This week's nail look features black polish, which I just got into in the past year. I typically like wearing bright colors (nails, lipstick and certain clothing items)...but sometimes I like to be a bit vampy and edgy and darken things up a bit.

Base color - Maybelline Color Show: Black to Black in Smoky Black; accent nails - OPI in Where's My Blanket???

I bought the Color Show polish during a random trip to Target (I LOVE Tar-jay); the store had several Maybelline items on clearance. I like this shade of black because it has the consistency of a jelly polish. It takes 3 coats to build it up to this level of opacity; fewer layers make it look more smoky, thus the name. The picture doesn't do the shade enough justice, because the shade still maintains its smoky look with the 3 layers. 

The OPI polish has black flecks mixed in with yellow and pink, adding a bit of dimension to the smokiness.

I am so annoyed that my pointer fingernail is so short. It broke last Friday as I rushed to leave work. The nails on my left hand have been on a growth spurt lately. They usually don't grow too long beyond the summer months (when I am on vacation and not using my hands as much). I guess taking Biotin on a consistent basis has helped to build their strength. I recently started using Nailtiques nail hardener as well...guess I need to go back to adding a coat everyday to make my nails even stronger!

Anybody have any special tips, tricks or products that seem to help build strong, long nails? If so, please share! That's all for now...have a great week!

Nail Flavor of the Week: Mauve and Glitter + Teal & Cocoa Stars

Hey there! So I totally skipped posting last week because I've been busy at work, as is typical for me this time of year. I come home feeling a bit run down and often want to just kick up my feet and relax. I am thankful for the couple of snow days I got recently due to Snow Storm Jonas. Uhh, when did meteorologists start naming snow storms? Do we feel better about these weather events if we address them on a first name basis?

Anyway, here's a look at this week's nail design:

Milani in Mauving Forward; accent nail is Wet n' Wild/Fergie in Flossy Flossy

It is a simple yet elegant look. I like the party on my ring finger. Every time I admire it, I am reminded of a festive occasion, like a New Year's Eve party!

Here is a quick look at last week's design:

Base color: Sinful Colors in Rise and Shine; stamp color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Cocoa A Go Go; used Pueen stamping plate #100 from the 24M - Make Your Day collection

For the record, Sinful Colors is one of my least favorite polish brands because I usually experience severe chipping and tip wear only after a day or two! I noticed, however, that the polish lasted longer this go-round...probably because I used two layers of top coat: before and after stamping my nails. I liked the color combination and the stamp design; however, I was not pleased with the outcome of the stamps. It's funny because the polishes I have been using for stamping have worked much better with the small stamping plate by Essence. I may need to order some polishes made specifically for stamping to see better results with the Pueen stamping plates. If you know of any other easily accessible brands beside Wet n' Wild and Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri that are supposedly pigmented enough for nail stamping, please share!

Nail Flavor of the Week: Pink Nails & Blue Floral Stamps

This week I decided to try nail stamping again. I did it once before, but wasn't pleased with the results. Since then I have learned more about techniques to make for a pleasant and successful nail stamping experience...and I am happy with the way my mani came out!

The stamp design came from a cute little kit by Essence I randomly discovered during a shopping trip at Ulta. I recently ordered a "real" stamp set...I am excited to try out more designs!

Base coat: Zoya in "Flora" 
Nail stamps: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Navy Fleet" 
Accent: China Glaze in "Go-Glitter"