OPI Liquid Sand- Stay The Night

So sorry it took so long to get this post up, both my son and I have been sick the past week so not much has gotten done :( I did this mani friday morning 2/22 and am posting it 2/27 so I had to touch up a bit. Anyways, here it is...

I have been incredibly uninspired this week.  So after being up ALL night trying to come up with a design/color combination, I gave up and went with a swatch.  Here is OPI Stay the Night, a liquid sand polish.  For anyone who doesn't already know , a liquid sand/texture/concrete etc polish is one that feels like a fine grade sandpaper of a gritty glitterbomb.  It doesn't pick clothes or scratch you, it's just not glossy.  You can also add topcoat but be prepared to add 2-4 coats depending on the brand.  This is two coats STN, accent nail also has two coats Gelous and one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat. 

Stay the Night, Natural Light

Stay the Night, Natural Light, 6 days of wear

keep in mind this is my left, non swatching hand

and also i broke my index finger and glued it back in the dark, hence the crack

The formula was a bit thin but good, and was much more pleasing than I expected.  The roughness was definitely different but I really enjoyed it.  This polish did seem to wear quicker than a glossy polish though.  After 6 days of wear, I noticed some of the pink glitters had turned silver (which still looked good), there was some tip wear (mostly my index & middle fingers) and one TINY chip from the tip wear on my right index.  Not bad in my book for 6 days of decently rough wear (not being gentle with nails, handling a 1 year old, cleaning house, showering, opening packages etc.) with no topcoat :)


coming up i have my prize package from Spellbound Nails that I won, my Sweetheart VoxBox, and as always my weekly nails :)

 *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Cosmar Quik Nails- Brush On Gel Kit

Today I have a review on Cosmar Quik Nails Brush On Gel Kit, an at home gel kit from CVS.This is a kit that doesn't required a light to cure the polish, just the polish.  I have been fighting with my crazy thin nails a lot lately and I and tired of it.  They were pretty normal before pregnancy, hard as rocks during and now they're like paper.  I have tried Nail Tek Intensive therapy, 3 Minute Artificials, I've been taking Biotin for two weeks, trying to use cuticle oil, balm and lotion as often as I can remember, and have done EVOO soaks. The brush on products seem to work a little, or for a short time and I know Biotin will help but I don't have the patience (I'm still taking it, but needed something in the mean time).  I think a lot of the problem is me being dehydrated constantly, I can't seem to remember to drink constantly lately.  Long story short, nails that bend when I scratch my leg.  That's just not okay anymore, enter Cosmar...

 Excuse the orange fingers, had to lighten the picture up

Naked Nails

 Ok so included in this kit is a nail file, 4 wheels of nail tips, a bottle of nail glue, a bottle of gel overlay, a bottle of brush cleaner, and a bottle of gel activator. The basic run down is that you find a tip to match your nail, glue it on, and twist it off the wheel.  You then add a line of glue where the tip meets your nail (smile line) to seal it off then file it all down to blend it in and prevent humps.  These are a weird shape tip, but they also have french kit, or you can buy tips in bulk on eBay/amazon.

Tips glued on, trimmed and shaped

Next is the actual gel part. you spread the gel overlay on your nails just like a thick polish, and before it dries, take the brush out of the cleaner bottle and dip in it, then apply, the gel activator.  The key seems to be using equal amounts overlay & activator to prevent tackiness.  They dry to a high gloss and if done right, are smooth as glass.  

Gel Nails Done!

The only problems I had were fully user error, but really not bad results for a first time user with no experience, just following the directions.  At first you could see my smile line through the gel and I had some brush strokes but since I was painting them anyways and gloss didn't matter, so I buffed the surface smooth.  I also had a bit of yellowing near my cuticles but only on my right hand, i think due to too much activator.  My only complaint would be I think the glue is not good. I had lift on nearly all tips a few days later and I but reglued them and they still look good.  I picked up some Beauty Secrets glue at Sally's today recommended by the associate, and I'm going to get some regular tips from eBay/amazon.  I still have plenty of gel but not enough tips because a few of my nails are the same sizes, but the packaging does state enough for 2 manicures.  I think there's enough gel for more than that though.

Overall:

I LOVE this kit, it's decently cheap, good quality and easy to do. I paid $9.99 for my kit at CVS (packaging in link is different but lists same items) but even better, I scored some kits on ebay for 3.75 a piece.  I definitely recommend the kit! 

 *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Valentine Ruffle Mani

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

The manicure I did today is a ruffle manicure based on Chalkboard Nails tutorial. This started with a China Glaze White on White base, then i did the ruffles with Orly Rock It!, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Ruby Sequin, Pure Ice Strip Tease, & Zoya Kimber, and topped it off with one coat China Glaze Fairy Dust, a holographic fine particle glitter. I used the largest dotting tool I have, a straight pin, and just placed dots right next to each other in a row, overlapping slightly with each row. I finished this up with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.  It's not perfect but I love it, I only wish I had used one coat polishes because strip tease was a little sheer.  For some reason my camera would not show the colors right so I took pictures on my phone also so y'all can get the right idea :)  Also this mani is on my new gel nails, which I will have a review of by Monday.

Natural Light 

Left: Blurry shows holo, Right: Macro

 Sunlight

Shade

Sunlight, See the holo?

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Haul Pics

First up this is my polish I won from Well Nails, The Gentlemen!

Here is what I got at Sally's 50% off Red Tag sale last weekend, I added everything's original price and my total should have been $58, I paid $11 after all coupons and sale prices. Here's what I got!

 China Glaze Ahoy!, Grape Juice, & Def Defying

 China Glaze Ingrid, Finger Paints Merry Mistletoe & Sparkle Top Coat

Orly Nite Owl

These are the polishes I got today with my $5 off a $5 purchase (FREE!) coupon, plus my free Orly

China Glaze, Flip Flop Fantasy, Glam-More, & Immortal

Orly Royal Velvet



This is my new remover pump!  I saw someone post about one at cvs (i think) but could find  the post.  My cvs didn't have then in so no way to know if it's what i was looking but family dollar had them, and it was cheaper! It has acetone remover in it, but I'll probably fill it with acetone instead.

Family Dollar Twist Lock Pump Nail Polish Remover: $2.75

I have also updated nail wheels, tab is at the top!

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Valentine's Nails- Dotticure

Happy Early Valentine's Day Y'all!

Here is my first of two Valentine's themed manicures this week, along with a fail nail.

First the fail, this is two coats Zoya Kimber with two coats Jindie Nails Be Someone Cute on the accent, no top coat.  I got this finished and just didn't like it :( BSC  is small pink, black, and white glitters, and it throws a purple iridescent flash.  Kimber is a hot pink glass fleck with gold shimmer. I love both colors, I just didn't like the warm toned Kimber with the cool toned BSC, so I changed it up...

With Flash, missed some glitter in clean up :/

Here is the second mani I did, a dotticure accent mani.  This is two coats of Zoya Kimber, and two coats China Glaze White on White on accent nail.  The polishes used on the accents, in order of dark to light, are: Orly Rock It!, Zoya Kimber, Pure Ice Strip Tease & LA Colors Bashful. One coat is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat. 

Natural Light

 Natural Light, Accent Close Up

Natural Light

Later this week I will have my Valentine's Day Mani and my Sally's haul from their 50% off Red Tag sale this weekend. Hopefully I can also get a Glitzology post up soon, as soon as I receive my polishes! 

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)***

Revlon Blue Lagoon Swatch

When i got this color i was looking for Sinful Colors Cinderella but Walgreen's didn't have it and this was pretty close. The only difference I've noticed from swatches is that Cinderella has a lovely pink shimmer flash that Blue Lagoon does not.  Blue Lagoon is a baby blue with a silver shimmer. Its  sheer, this is 3 coats, and formula is a really thin, as you can see by my hideously flooded cuticles.  The glitter on top is Sinful Colors Ice Dream. Ice Dream is a cheaper dupe for China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara and Sally Hansen Gem Crush. There's small differences but hardly noticeable. Check out a comparison post at Hooked On Polish.

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)