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: Rose Petals

Hey there! How was your Valentine's Day/Presidents' Day weekend? Hopefully you had an extra day to relax and to spend time with your special someone! I got to rest up, treat myself to various things I wanted to do and spend quality time with the hubby!

This week's manicure features a nail color I just picked up from TJ Maxx. I love buying polishes by brands like OPI and Essie there because the savings are fabulous! It does not matter to me that they are "past season," as I typically do not keep up with new polish releases nor aim to buy polish as soon as they hit the shelves. I will, however, be making an exception for OPI's Hello Kitty collection that recently came out! Here is a look at my mani:

Base color - Grand Canyon Sunset by OPI; nail stamp color - Black Creme by Wet n' Wild; stamp design from Pueen's Nature Lover Collection stamping plate 01

In the bottle, this OPI polish reminds me of the reddish brown color of the Grand Canyon's rocks, plus a hint of a pearl shimmer. When I applied it to my nails, however, I definitely saw more of the rosy pink undertones this polish has. Either way, it is a beautiful, slightly muted, understated shade; it would be suitable for office wear and all seasons! The polish was opaque after one coat, but I applied two. It does not maintain a shine after it dries (typical for quick drying polishes like this one), so a top coat is a must if you prefer a glossy finish.

This stamp design from Pueen's Nature Lover Collection is a beautiful abstract design of overlapping flower petals and was a breeze to use. I had much more success with this one compared to the last design I used. It took much less effort to transfer the design to each nail. The only difficulty I had was getting the stamper (also be Pueen) completely clean, which I was particular about because I did not want the polish residue to transfer to my nail. I am not sure if I should blame the leftover polish on the stamper or the polish...time will tell. I will eventually post a review on stamping tools once I get more experience in this area of DIY nail art!

Hope your week is filled with love, happiness and fulfillment!

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"