Nail Haul

Despite my lack of funds I broke down and made a trip to the beauty suppliers today to treat myself to a little early birthday present, or presents. It was a fairly successful haul and only cost me about 65 dollars. 

Essie polishes were having a special: buy 2 and get a cuticle pen free. Confession time. I actually hate Essie polish - but I love their colours. In an attempt to try and change my mind on the subject I bought 2 bottles of a couple of colours that caught my eye. The first is Van D'go and the second is Lilacism. They are beautiful pastel colours perfect for summer. That's not going to stop me from wearing them all fall long though.

The cuticle pen that I got for free is new to me. It promises to moisturize and soften the cuticles. First thing when I got home (after taking all these picture of course) I tried it out and was pretty impressed. It is easy to apply and my cuticles were easy to push back after without even soaking them. I'm interested to see how it does!

I love these three O.P.I. colours. The first, In The Cable Carpool Lane, is almost the exact same as Essie's Bahama Mama, which is very popular for fall. It's a beautiful burgundy shade and I knew my Mom would be a fan of it so I was happy to add it to the cart. 

I have been looking for a new light pink colour for a while and I am eager to try out the second colour pictured above, Mod About You. I've seen a few bloggers wearing it online and I love it every time. 

The last, Don't Pretzel My Buttons, is my new nude colour. I've been looking for the perfect nude for a while and I'm hoping this is the one. 

These 2 China Glaze polishes were a bit of an impulse buy because they were on sale for only $2.99 each! They are nice jewel tones for fall and I am welcoming them into my polish rack happily. The first is Holly-Day and the second is Calypso Blue. 

These buffing blocks came in a pack of 50. For the cost I couldn't say no. They are perfect for disposing after each use, especially when you are doing other peoples nails. 

Finally! Everyone raves about this top coat and I have yet to try it. Well, here it is! Sorry to my Orly Polishield top coat. I'll have to put it on the back burner for a bit while I try this one out.

I find it easy to grow my nails out, but they bend much too easy, which allows my polish to crack and eventually chip away. Manicures don't tend to last long on me. So I'm going to give Nail Envy a shot!

That's it for my haul today. My birthday is tomorrow and my Mom also got me a few things from the store that I am excited to try out too. It should be a fun week of nails for me!

Red Ombre

My Mom is that person who loves one colour of polish and never gravitates to anything different. Her colour is "Wine With Everything" by Revlon, to be specific. Has been for years. In fact, I inherited that colour when I inherited her polishes. 

It is always an adventure trying to get her to wear different colours, or any nail art. She likes red polishes and simple designs. Hence this nail design! I picked a burgundy colour that is darker than her usual and did a subtle ombre with a lighter shade. The ombre was done with some makeup sponges I found at Walmart.

On the ring finger I did a simple design with striping tape. Paint the base colour first and once it dries place your striping tape over it in the design you want. Lastly sponge on a second colour half way up the nail and then peel off the tape. Easy!

The end result are nails that suit her perfect and has earned her many compliments at work (she says the nails look amazing in the light of her computer screen). The colour of these nails would even work nicely for Halloween costume nails.

Orly in Naughty and Terra Mauve.

Pastels

Before the nicer weather goes away and I have to give in to fall colours, I decided to do a design with my two favourite pastels. I love these colours together! The pink takes a few layers so I painted it first as a base and then painted the mint on last. The silver is striping tape that was put on when the paint dried. Simple as that!

Essie in Fiji and American Apparel in Office.

Lil Cupcake

These nails were done for baker who likes all things girlie and pink - a good fit. I keep seeing cupcake nails floating around the internet and I just had to try it out. The fun part is I did these nails while drinking wine! I think I did pretty good? Steady hands is all you need. 

There isn't much to say about them as they were done by hand. The middle fingernail has an ombre effect on it that can be done with a makeup sponge. There are a couple ways to do it and many different tutorials online, but this one by the Nailasaurus is easy to follow.

Orly in French Tips and Lollipop, Essie in Fiji, Sally Hasen Insta-Dri in Blue-Away and Lickety-Split Lime, Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Lacey Lilac.

Set in Stone

I am in love with these nails! The best part? It's so easy to do! To get this effect paint one coat of sparkles 3/4 down your nail and then a thicker 2nd and 3rd coat at the base by dabbing it on instead of brushing it. It creates a pretty gradient affect with the sparkles. Voila! Way too easy.

Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Mint Sorbet and Essie Set in Stones.


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Patterns

Had my friend over to do her nails. She picked out this design! It was all done by hand so it took many hours to complete, especially with all out chatting. First I painted on the triangles as a base and finished with the poka-dots and stripes.

China Glaze in Lemon Fizz and Shocking Pink and Orly in Lollipop, Charged Up and White Tips.

Pretty in Pink

These were some nails I did for my friend. I love them! I used microbeads and placed them all on the nail by hand. This Essie polish takes forever to dry, so I placed the beads on carefully while it was tacky. Gently push them into the polish when you place them on, either with a dotting tool or tweezers. Once you have covered the whole nail put on a good quality top coat. I used Orly Polishield. Melissa has reported back to me that the manicure is lasting very well, despite the abuse she is putting them through. If the polish dries too fast and you can't get the beads to stay on, use a dotting tool to put a bit of clear coat on as glue and place the bead on top.

The ring finger is detailed with silver striping tape I bought off eBay. Make sure the polish dries completely first before pushing the tape on.

Essie in Fiji