31 Day Challenge, Day Two: Orange

So I finally did half moons, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the result. It's clean and classy and leaves enough wiggle room for you to throw in a little extra something. For this design I used regular paper reinforcements (Which I own in clear but would def recommend using white so you can actually see what you are doing), China Glaze- "Peachy Keen", Nail Tape (For my ring fingers) and Studs; along with my fabulous Julep- Ingrid.

Have I told you recently how much I enjoy being a Julep Maven?! I'm only about three months in, but getting two polishes monthly that has great color and brush quality along with free products for manis and pedis- how can you pass that up!? Take the quiz, it'll tell you what kind of maven you are, and then you can be well on your way for have your only personal care package waiting for you at home on a monthly basis.

Any-hoo, back to Day Two:

Thanks for reading!

31 Day Challenge, Day One: Red

So I have decided to finally take the leap and do my first 31-day challenge!

What I used: OPI- "Big Apple Red", OPI- "Be-Claus I Said So", and Konad- "Black" along with my Konad nail plate.

I love the look of glitter trapped under the fishnet nail plate, gives the design lots of depth.

One layer of "Big Apple Red" and two coats of "Be-Claus I Said So"

What's the deal with Nail Foil?!

So i think nail foils r glorious- simply because they look brilliant and it's and easy way to get a glorious sometimes intricate design. That being said i have to say i am truly disappointed with the longevity of the wear.

First try:
Base coat: Essi- "Blanco"

I used two top coats, Sally Hansen- "Invisible 100" and then a layer of Seche Vite. Seche Vite by itself led to wrinkling and Sally Hansen by itself just doesn't last. 

the Nail Foil

Second Try:

Base Coat Julep- "Teresa Boho Glam"

Day one, I actually prefer this base coat to the stark white

Day two!

Day Two!

I usually change my polish so frequently I don't care if  they last long, but I definitely expected more than a day,  maybe another print would be better. Until next time!

Green Machine!

So I want to start off by saying I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this color by Julep (Fiona- Boho Glam), I also LOVE Julep. Because I have so many polishes it just helps to get my polishes mailed to me randomly monthly. Check out Julep

The application if this polish is perfection, it's smooth and absolutely even.

From Bundle Monster 2012 

China Glaze- "Flyin' High" and "Heli-yum"

Tape Me Up

I decided to start if the new year with some tape manicures, LOVE tape manis! The first was actually inspired by my boyfriend, who although he makes fun of nail obsession he does ask me questions that force me to see my colors differently- sometimes less is more. My second look is inspired by packapunchpolish, I just LOVED this manicure the moment I saw it.

Look #1
What I used:

Essie- "Angora Cardi"
Nails Inc. - "Black Taxi"

Look #2

What I Used:

"High Hopes", "Grape Pop", "Four Leaf Clover", "Heli-Yum", & OPI- "Havana Dreams"
the Glitter used but not shown is OPI- "Spark-Tacular! Top Coat"

Using nail tape to create the boxes and then fill them in randomly did take time, but it was definitely worth it!

::Dots or Hearts <3

So this time around i tried out two new polishes. I'm not overly fond of polishes with too much character, i prefer to create my own character in designs... But when in a rush interesting polishes can give you and easy out. The two polishes I used were: Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquer, Love Your Life and Channeling Coco Nail Polish.

Please forgive my less than stellar cuticles!

What I love about this polish is the smooth application and the quick drying effect it had even before the top coat!

iPhone iNspiration

The title alone speaks for itself. Im trying to work up the courage to begin the 30-day nail challenge, so to kick of the New Year I had this idea to replicate my iPhone's case.

As a by product of this post I've 100% decided I'm going to stick with Seche Vite as my go-to top coat. I decided to give Orly a try and as you can see on my pinky, smudges galore. Which is pretty similar to what happened when I tried Essie's top coat. So word to the wise, when you want to keep it clean- stick with Seche Vite.

What I used

The culprit