Tuesday, February 28, 2017

prototype polishes are great!

OK.

HOW is it already the LAST DAY of February?!  I don't know.  Time just slips away from me and I still think I am 25 years old. 

Anyway.. since it's still February and it's the month of Valentine's manis.. I have a cute berry/red polish to show you today.  This comes from Polish 'M.  It's a prototype polish, so she had been toying with the idea of releasing it as part of a collection.  It didn't make the cut for any number or reasons.. maybe the texture didn't match the others in the line up.. or maybe the color was just not quite right.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad she still offered these prototypes up for sale!  I picked out 4 and today I'm going to show you prototype 28.

Isn't it super cute?!  I don't like red on me very much at all, especially the primary color red tone.. but add a little coolness to it and I love it.  I love how this looks against my skin and the tiny glitters in contrasting colors really make the polish special!

Application notes, since you must be wondering: easy peasy.. 2 coats here, but it was fairly opaque in one.  No issues with application!  I cleaned up around the edges because I was a bit heavy handed with the top coat (I really wanted that glassy look!). 

This polish is currently still available in the shop, but I don't know how many, so if you like this, go now!  If you miss it, no worries.. there are some other polishes on SALE from the Holiday collection, including a few red/berry shades.  Also, just check the shop again later!  If you want to be the first to know about any restock events then I encourage you to join the Polish 'M group on Facebook.

Gosh, folks.. so sorry about the LONG break!  Work got the best of me I suppose and now that I have time I was a little ashamed to notice how long it had been since I wrote!  Gasp!

You can find Polish 'M here:
shop: http://www.polishm.com
IG: @creativenailchick
Facebook group: Polish 'M Fans

Until next time (hopefully not too long!)..
XO,
Vanessa

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Wednesday Water marble

Easy nail art?

So.. I'm cheating a little bit.. I did this water marble over the weekend, but.. it's ok, right? First of all.. let me just say that I am far far from being really good at this technique.  I've been practicing and it's gotten easier, but it's still very intimidating, no matter how many tutorial videos I watch!  I am determined, though, to perfect my technique and get more consistent.

The water marble I'm showing you took a few tries to get to where I liked it.  First, I had to experiment with the polishes themselves.  I was dead set on using a particular cream color, but it just wasn't cooperating as well as the others.  It never really spread out well and that made my bullseye really small.. this makes it difficult to do any kind of dragging.  I changed out that polish for a white and that was the trick!  So.. then I was ready to try again.  Here is the outcome...  what do you think?


I had intended to do 2 fingers, but I didn't like how my pointer turned out, and then to make it worse, I accidentally bumped it when removing the latex barrier.  I do like how this turned out, though.. a skittle mani.  The polishes I used are all from Polish My Life.  Shown are: 50's Mint Fridge (thumb), Breakfast on Fifth (pointer and pinkie), Reject Club Pink (ring).  The water marble was done using those polishes plus Stripped.  Which one is your favorite color?  I really like Breakfast on Fifth!

I wasn't done yet.  Since I wanted to try a slightly different pattern, I put Cinderella to work.  This was pretty challenging because of the latex barrier!  I prepped pointer and middle, which meant I had to use my left hand to do the dropping (so nervous!!).  The ring and pinkie weren't too bad.  My nail beds are so much shorter on my pointer and middle, so she doesn't like to show off very often.  But.. I like how these turned out (especially the pinkie!).. what do you think?

If you are new to water marbling I highly recommend watching some tutorial videos!!  I really like the ones by Tiffany (Mrswhite8907 on YouTube) and Colette (My Simple Little Pleasures on YouTube).  The tool I use for creating my designs is a regular pointy toothpick, but you can get specialized tools or maybe use a small dotting tool.  To make clean up easier I do recommend protecting the skin with something like tape or a latex barrier.  I use Bliss Kiss Simply Peel.

Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Vanessa

Friday, February 3, 2017

Jamberry sparkle nail wraps

Sparkles, you hate me!

Hey, all!  So, I did a little experiment/test for myself, but maybe this can help you, too, if you are considering Jamberry nail wraps. 

So, as I've said before, nail polish is definitely my first love.  But, sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the choices!  Maybe that means it's time to cull my collection to limit my choices.  Or, maybe it is like anything else.. now and then you need a little vacation. 

When my nails get any bit of length on them I feel like I'm an accident waiting to happen.  That's why I like to always have either polish, a base coat, or nail wraps on.  No, that doesn't mean that it's fool-proof insurance against breaks, but it helps for sure!  I will always be in awe of longer nails because I just don't ever get past 2 or 3 weeks of growth.  Seriously, mad props to all you who can wear longer nails.. I just get them caught on ANYTHING and everything! 

Whenever I want or need a break from polishing I turn to my nail wraps.  Lately, though, I made a conscious choice to use only nail wraps so I could try to grow out the staining on my nails.  I found recently that applying a base coat underneath the wraps helped with my wear time (and no snagging whenever I did things like fold laundry).  I hadn't tried it with a full set of sparkle finish wraps yet, so now was a good a time as any!  My goal was to get through the work week, applying the wraps Sunday night and making it to Friday morning without major issues.  In the past I've applied sparkles on my bare nail and within 2 or 3 days I'd have some serious lifting at the cuticle line and/or the edges.  ugh!  Of course.. that could be due to my application process, or maybe my use of nail oils.  In any case.. it was a little frustrating because they are so cute and I actually wanted them to stay on.

For this manicure I made sure my cuticles were in decent shape (no extras or hidden ones) and that my nail was free of any oils (I do this anytime I apply wraps anyway).  For my test, I applied one coat of Zoya naked base and let that dry before applying my wraps.  My thumb isn't showing on these photos (but check my IG @ace_vanessa to see it!), so the names of these wraps are: Seaside sparkle (the fishtail braid pattern) and Fountain of Youth.

Application day (Sunday)

Friday morning

Hey, I made it!  You can see some tip wear, which I normally get no matter which finish I use.  I avoided nail oils for about 24 hours, but after that I went back to my normal use (usually 3-5 times a day).  I didn't get any lifting at my cuticle!!  YAY!  This is the worst.. that's the BEST place for my hair to get caught when washing or combing.  Didn't happen this time so I am really pleased!  There is a little bit of lifting on the edge/tips of the ring finger wrap, which I trimmed.  That may be due to my application or the fact that it's an older wrap (over a year old).  I just received the Seaside sparkle, so it seems like Jamberry may have improved the finish a tiny bit (more flexible?  thinner?).

What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Vanessa