My Buoyfriend + Jamberry

Woah. I think this is my first blog in months! (This is Nik, by the way!) As you may or may not know, I had a baby girl in April, so things have been a little crazy around here with a 3.5 year-old-boy, 1.5 year-old-boy, and a one month old girl.

I did find time to do matching Mommy & Me pedicures last week though, We used a mini OPI Strawberry Margarita that Desi sent us!

But that is all an aside, and not the real focus of this post.

One of my August Momma friends (from a group I meant while pregnant with Collin in 2012) started selling Jamberry Nail wraps, and she sent me a sample! I guess that makes this a partial-sponsored post.

I couldn't wait to use it, so I dug through my polish box and found the perfect match for the sample she sent- Sinful Colors "My Buoyfriend."

That blue is GORGEOUS. The formula is wonderful. It really coated perfectly in one coat, but then I smudged my nails changing a diaper (go figure) so I added a second coat.

So, the Jamberry Wrap. It was easy to apply, which is great, and took all of about one minute. The sample was enough for two accent nails. Unfortunately, my particular sample was on the small side, so it was a little small for my pinky nails. 

I tried it on my left hand over a bare nail and over a freshly painted nail on my right hand. I noticed no difference in ease of use.

Fast forward four days...

The wraps are pretty darn durable, which is great on my somewhat flimsy nails. I did approximately 4 loads of hand-washed dishes each day, played outside, and changed a million diapers. They didn't chip or tear.

Today, I am sad to report, I am removing my manicure. Each of my painted nails are super chipped. And it's been hot and muggy here this week and I noticed the wraps slide with pressure so my left nail was getting crooked, but was easy to slide back. My right nail however, is a lost cause. The wrap slid nearly off at the park this morning and when I slid it back, it loosened the polish and peeled away. I guess I don't recommend applying over polish even though they say you can.

Jamberry Nails wraps run for $15 a sheet on the regular, and I am told you can do multiple full manicures (or pedicures) with them!

My friend started her new business at:

http://milasjammies.jamberrynails.net

Someday, when I have some extra cash (not on maternity leave), I would like to buy some more. I probably won't use th during muggy season though. Not sure.

Ellagee - Get Away From Her, You B*#@€!

The third and final polish that Laura of ellagee sent me to review is finally swatched! I had broken a nail on my swatching hand and had to patch it. Can you tell which?

Anyway, this and all other ellagee polishes can be purchased at:

http://www.ellagee.com

Today, I bring you Get Away from Her, You B----!

As described on the site:

Get Away From Her, You B----! is a green jelly base glow in the dark with a lighter green glass fleck shimmer. Inspired by the colors of the Alien movie poster and named for Ripley's fight with the queen alien in the final scene of Aliens.

I will be upfront, my glow in the dark photos suck. I don't know if my camera just didn't like trying to pick up the green or what, but I PROMISE YOU, this polish glows. In fact, I fell asleep waiting for it to fade, and it glowed at least 20 minutes.

Like the others, the base is fabulous and needed no shaking or anything. It went on like a dream. It dried super fast, which was impressive, because I put three coats over two coats Greenwich Village by OPI.

I left it without topcoat because I liked the semi-gloss finish. It looks so quirky and made me think of mermaid fins!

It glows green. I am so disappointed in my photographs!

It was definitely my favorite of the trio!

Be sure to head to ellagee.com and check out all of the beautiful polishes that are offered!

Thanks again, Laura, for choosing me to review. 

Hot Pink and Purple Gradient

I did this manicure with polishes I purchased.

I guess I could have done this as a picture tutorial... But I didn't. And I did it yesterday so the photos show tiny chipping on a few nails.

Goodness, was this more of a process than it needed to be. Started with spilling acetone in my coffee. And then using the wrong color for the base and needing to remove it and then smudging it immediately and needing to reapply the base. And then dripping polish on my shirt.

What on earth?! So... It took hours from start to finish. But, I persevered.

I used:
Finger Paints (a hot pink color I forget the name of but will hopefully remember to look)
OPI - Casino Royale
OPI - Road House Blues
Sinful Colors - Pinky Glitter

The correct method I used (correct for my standards), was:
Two coats hot pink FP. Let it dry.
Soak a makeup wedge in water and squeeze it out. Helps keep it from absorbing all the polish.
Brush three lines of polish onto a plastic cottage cheese lid (it's what I had on the counter anyway)- hot pink, dark pink, dark purple. Sponge it up with the wedge, and press firmly against the nail a few times. Repeat as necessary.

When that was dry, I used the smallest amount of the glitter I could get on the ring nail, because its a hot pink and using a lot was screwing with the visual of the gradient and I only wanted slight sparkle.

Two coats if Sally Hansen Insta-Dry top coat sealed it off.

The last photo was post sponging before any clean-up. Haha.

NOPI OPI Gold & Glitter Ombré

Awkward preface: I purchased these myself! No one gave them to me! Well... Except Desi gave me the Revlon. So I guess it's sponsored in part by Desi. Haha. Oh, and I think a friend gave me the OPI too. Can't remember.

Anyway... Today, I will compare two glitters.
Nicole by OPI (NOPI) - Pick of the Glitter
and
OPI - The Living Daylights

Last night, I chipped my pretty blue and white mani (oh darn), so after I showered (yay!), I painted the base for my comparison.

I used three golden metallics. As I mentioned on my St. Patrick's Day post, I didn't have a gold.

So, I used a gift card and bought one.

On my thumb, pointer, and middle fingernails, I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear (it pains my to type that word without the E) in Golden-I. My ring fingernails I used Revlon - Fall Mood. Pinkies are NYC - Fifth Avenue.

On my left hand, I used NOPI - Pick of the Glitter, and the right OPI - The Livung Daylights.

The metallics all went on fine. No issues. Dried quick. Two coats opacity.

The glitters are very similar in color, but because they are the same parent company I'm not surprised. They both consist of copper, gold, silver, and teal hex glitters. The OPI glitters are the same size. NOPI has varying sizes, and a few lilac hexes as well.

NOPI presents more even and filial coverage, but the glitters don't lay quite as flat. The gold are just a tad but curled. Not bad, just a little.

I didn't bother with a glossy top coat, took some macros, and then added a matte to see what that would be like. It didn't look a lot different, possibly due to the super metallic base coats.

I will label each photo to avoid confusion.

Which do you like better?

Suzi Loves Cowboys in Greenwich Village. And Did you Ear About Van Gogh? He went Over The Taupe!

Thanks, Desi, for help with the title! I couldn't think if a clever one or name for this mani, so I asked her help arranging the names of the polishes I used in it.

My mani today is thereby referred to as:
Suzi Loves Cowboys in Greenwich Village. And Did you Ear About Van Gogh? He went Over The Taupe!

All of these polishes are OPI brand.

I love OPI. I love the sturdy brush. I love the formula. The dry time. The shine. The chip resistance. It's my other favorite, next to Zoya, for big brand polishes.

I decided that, since I chipped my nails from yesterday in the shower at 1:00am, I would try a tape/striping tape/dotting tool manicure today. It was quite a process. Took about four hours due to the fact that I screwed up once, and have two little boys to care for. I have actually only completed the left hand fully and will attempt to finish the right hand during nap.

I started with my favorite khaki- Did You'Ear About Van Gogh. I used one coat on each ring and middle finger. While that was drying I applied two coats - Over the Taupe, the yummiest milk chocolate color, to the rest of my nails.

The next time I could steal a few minutes for myself, I taped off the bottom of my khaki nails in opposing diagonals. Gave each a coat of Over the Taupe.


Fast forward. I taped off the tips of all nails, switching directions at the khaki duo, and also added a line if striping tape not far from the other. Then, I gave each nail a generous coat of Suzi Loves Cowboys.

I took out a dotting tool and gave each nail one or two little dots of Greenwich Village, a dark lime-ish color.

Sealed with Sally Hansen Anti-Chip fast dry top coat (red bottle). I am torn between keeping it glossy or going matte.

These colors are very Nik. They complement my skin, my hair, and my eyes. And, I think I'll be wearing these colors to MOPS in the morning, if I ever get my laundry done!

My prize polishes!

Thanks, An Accent Nail, for this prize!

http://anaccentnail.blogspot.com

I entered a massive giveaway hosted by two other nail bloggers, Lace and Lacquers (www.laceandlacquers) and Naked Without Polish (http://nakedwithoutpolish.blogspot.com) back in January. I was beyond surprised to receive an email saying I was one of 40 winners!

My prize arrived today. OPI - DS Mystery and Finger Paints - Flecked.

Had to swatch them together really quick. Of course, I did an accent nail with the Finger Paints. Seemed appropriate given the blogger who donated my prize!

The OPI is a.... Black... Or crazy dark purple.... Polish with gold shimmer. It's pretty! Looks black or brown or something in the bottle but the first coat of polish seemed purple or so... Regardless. It's pretty!

I used two coats of the Finger Paints on my accent nail. The flecks are green and blue in the light. Also pretty.

Not sure about the combo together but I had five minutes to try and run out in the sun before Spencer finished his lunch!

I Have a Herring Problem, Gene.

Just a quick post from me today. Collin has a double ear infection and woke me up at five this morning... So I'm exhausted. But... I had my Zoya - Gemma manicure on from Friday until this morning.

Today, I'm wearing OPI - I Have a Herring Problem. I love this polish. It covers in two coats and has a beautiful shimmer.

Then, I decided to try out Daring Digits (www.ddpolish.com) - Gemma. It is a gorgeous glitter polish.

From the website (because I can't describe this one nearly as well):
Gene is a galaxy polish with gold and copper flakies pink and rainbow flakies and a green teal shimmer! Amazing in different light. Show here 2 coats over a dark purple polish. This polish is a tribute to the amazing Gene Roddenberry, the creator of one of my favorite franchises Star Trek.


This polish went on evenly and smoothly. It dried very fast! I haven't even put on a top coat because it goes on so smoothly. If only my photos could have captured its dimension better. I think I need an iPhone macro lens.