NOTD: Orly Calypso Breeze

I really only got Orly Calypso Breeze because it was on clearance, LOL. That's just how I am. I'll buy just about anything if it's super cheap ... anyway, I like it a little more than I thought I would! What really shocked me was that I could have gotten away with 1 lone little coat if I wanted to. I couldn't believe a blue like this would be so opaque in just one coat. Bravo Orly! I still used two because I usually work in low light (it's just a fact of life in my living room, LOL), so I wanted to make sure I was covered.

Without further ado ... the pics. 2 coats color, 1 coat Nail Envy under and 1 coat SV (newly thinned and SO. MUCH. BETTER again) over.


I really should have taken a pic indoors or in lower natural light too, but I didn't. This is VERY dark inside, kind of like a greyed out navy blue, and nice and bright outside. Hey, check out that broken index finger!

Here's a better pic of that:



Do you SEE how far down it broke??? OWWWIE!!! OW OW OW OW!!! I just clipped it down to what had already torn, and didn't bother to try to even it out. It's going to have to grow 3 full millimeters before I will be able to even out the tip of the nail. It SUCKS! Adding insult to injury, this happened AFTER I shortened all my nails!! *grumble grumble*

NOTD: OPI DS Chiffon

OPI DS Chiffon

Making my way through my DS shades.... this is so pretty! I was in a hurry last night and was watching The Bachlorette so I needed something I could slop on while I watched. This fit the bill- smooth, easy to apply, and fast drying. Love it!

What kind of heels???

Why, Lubu Heels, of course!! This stunner is by China Glaze. Now, let me just say that I am NOT into glitter polishes, well, at least I haven't been into glitters. My first experience with glitter polish was a HUGE let down, but it was also circa 1991 or so ...

Picture it: Middle School aged girl gets her first bottle of nail polish with her own money. It is Wet ~n~ Wild brand. It is a clear loaded with multicolor glitter. So glam! Girl paints nails. First coat nets her approx 3 flecks of glitter per nail. 2nd coat nets about the same. Girl's hopes and dreams are crushed ... LOL!

Apparently, things have changed in the glitter polish arena, and Lubu Heels is just one example. I think I'll start treading lightly back into this world, but will probably only try out salon brands with glitter.

Anyway, here it is: the coolest black jelly polish loaded with red glitter! I used 2 coats color with 1 coat Nail Envy under and 1 coat SV over (check out my shrinkage! Eek! I'm not very good at wrapping the tips though, and the last time I tried, it didn't help the shrink, so I decided to forgoe the mess).


Under overcast skies

Full sun: I left this one big so you can see the detail. I have NO idea how to make it medium sized in the post and then get big when you click it, so, sorry if the format looks wonky.



And just for fun, this is in low light with flash. Weird, huh? It looks totally burgundy even in the bottle.

OPI Color of the Week: DS Illuminate

OPI DS Illuminate


This is like a darker Charmed By A Snake.

Two coats minus the top coat as I haven't gotten to that yet. :)

What are "plates"?

In reading through one of the other nail blogs linked to this blog, they mentioned something called "Konad M(and a certain number - i.e. M69 or M19) plate". What is this? I assume from the context it's some sort of detail or decal for your nails. All the pics that referenced these plates seemed really cool and trendy.

Thanks in advance for humoring the me, the new blogger and nail polisher!

Ann
AKA 'One Very Busy Mommy'
ann@sitannsit.com

I was supposed to have a day at the beach ...

But I had to settle for an OPI Day at the Peach. This beauty is from the Summer for Shore collection circa 2003. This is 2 coats of color with 1 coat nail envy under and 1 coat SV over.

NOTD: OPI DS Design

OPI DS Design

As close I could get to Smoochie's suggestion.....

Forgive the redness on my pointer cuticle... getting nervous for my trip, and I tend to revert back to my old nail-biting ways when I am nervous!

Hopefully this polish choice will last until Sunday. I'm hoping for very little noticable tip wear since it's such a forgiving shade. I really like it and it's goregous in the sun. As with all DS shades, it applies beautifully.

Just Joined

Hi All,

I just joined this blog and love all of your suggestions and great ideas...hopefully I can conribute some of my ideas and pics soon! I love to do my own mani/pedi's because it provides me "me time" - when my nails are wet my family knows that they have to leave me alone (even my dogs get it!) and I win a few brownie points with the hubby for not spending $$$ at nail salons!

OPI Color of the Week: Royal Flush Blush

OPI's Royal Flush Blush


This is one of those colors that you think will look good
based on how it looks in the bottle. Yeah, not so much.

To be more exact, I hate it.

You're looking at 2 coats with a base and top coat as well.

I've got a goopy mess on the middle finger near the cuticle,
it's streaky, I got an eyelash caught under one coat, and I'm
evidentally suffering from some emotional issues as looking at this makes me want to cry.

Don't be surprised if a Zoya makes an appearance by Wednesday. :)

Thank God I saved a DS for next week.
I should be over the issues by then.

NOTD: OPI DS Divine

OPI DS Divine

This has been a crazy week filled with Vacation Bible School, and I am worn out! But of course I found time to paint my nails Sunday night. This picture wasn't taken until Tuesday afternoon, so there is the beginning of some slight tip wear- after all, I shuffle paper all day, so it's bound to happen!

I do like this color- it was a nice change after the mattes I was sporting last week. Very bright and summery. Still haven't met a DS shade I don't like!

OPI Color of the Week: DS Classic

OPI DS Classic

This is a beautiful light brown with TONS of sparkles.

TONS!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

What you see below is two coats of polish
with a base and a top coat as well.
You can still somewhat see the nail line, but I'm okay with it.

Manicure for Mommas Without a Lot of Extra Time

Although I love doing my nails (and I totally wish I was a nail tech) this working mom of two just doesn't have a lot of time on her hands.

But I've found that by following this routine, if I'm done painting my nails by 9 pm, I can go to sleep at 10 and not have any sheet marks at all. Plus, my mani will last 4-5 days with no chips- I usually just have to repaint because of new growth and tip wear.

So without further ado, my nail routine:

1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. I apply this all around my nails, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.

3. Orly Bonder. This is fab- takes any oily residue off your nails and gives your polish something to stick to. Key to a long-lasting mani.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle. Love this as a basecoat. Watch for CVS to have their BOGO or BOGO half off on Sally products and stock up.


5. OPI polish (2 coats). In my non-professional opinion, the best polish there is. One of my faves is I'm Not Really a Waitress.

6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat. This is a super-fast dry topcoat with a fab shine. Expensive, but worth it!

7. Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser. Keeping your cuticles neat and clean is one of the keys to making your manicure last longer. This product is fabulous and I massage this into my cuticles a few times a day to prevent hangnails and prevent cuticle buildup.

With these products, you can achieve a salon-quality manicure at home!

A quick and sloppy French

Ha! Like my title??

So, I enlisted myself to do my soon to be sister-in-law's nails for the wedding this Friday. In preparation I wanted to do a test run on her nails today. In preparation for THAT, I grabbed all the Frenching suitable colors in my basket, and did some quick swatches. Figured y'all might want to see what's what.




From thumb to pinkie, over 1 coat nail envy with Avon's French Tip White as the, well ... duh:

Sally Hansen Glow (Advanced Hard as Nails) 1 coat
OPI Argenteeny Pinkini 1 coat
OPI Aphrodite's Pink Nightie 1 coat
OPI What's Dune 1 coat
Avon Sheer French Pink 1 coat

The bride picked index. Argenteeny Pinkini. It came out nice. How 'bout that yellowing on my nails though? Eek!

Follow the yellow brick road!!

I was going to name this entry "Because everyone knows yellow means speed up" until I saw the name of this polish. Yellow Brick Road (from Claire's, you know, the teeny bopper accessory store in the mall). Fantastic. It's yellow, so, you know, streaky as all get out. I did 3 coats over OPI Nail Envy with 1 coat of SV on top. It could have used another coat, but I get bored after 2 ... 3 is really pushing my patience, LOL! Besides, I did this before work yesterday (that's why it looks so terrible. Yellow really shows every mistake!). I got a couple of nicks and dents because I only really gave it 10 min to set. I wish I could take good pics like others. This polish has a VERY subtle shimmer to it that can only be seen in full sunlight. Looks completely creme indoors and low light.

Link to a fun nail giveaway!

What a fun giveaway! Gwen at Confessions of a Control Freak is having a fun giveaway to celebrate her 1 year Blog Birthday! Head over there and enter.

NOTD: Zoya Matte Loredana

Zoya Matte Loredana

This one applied so much better than the Posh- or maybe I was just more used to it! It seemed thinner and easier to apply. Love love love.

That's two coats over a coat of Orly Bonder that I allowed to dry for about 10 minutes.

How gorgeous is that?

I do these things when my husband goes out of town ...

Q: What do you get when you mix 3 coats NYC Polyester Pink Creme, 1 coat SV, a modified French tip with Avon French Tip White, rhinestones, and a bored, lonely woman??



A:


The Divine Miss M was so enamored that she asked for the same thing:



Her little fingers could only handle bling on the thumbs.


Clearly, I need practice ... LOL!

List of OPI DS Shades

Most lists I'm finding of the OPI DS shades are incomplete, so I'm compiling my own list. Let me know if I've missed some!

Amethyst 017
Classic 031 - an elegant shimmer of golden beige
Chiffon 008 - a glimmer of lightest pink
Coronation 025 - silvery platinum crowned with diamond dazzle
Couture 004 - sumptuous, shimmering rose
Dazzle 014 - brilliant, sparkling magenta
Design 012 - elegant gold with a soft gleam
Desire 020 - rich, deep, smoldering gold
Diamond 021 - a starburst of silver dazzle
Divine 005 - divinely brillant fuchsia
Elegance 006 - vivid pink with a sprinkling of sequins
Exclusive 002- deep amethyst satin
Extravagance 026
Fantasy 022 - deep, dark blue with a magical shimmer
Glamour 018
Illuminate 033 - a brilliant sparkle of rich, burnished gold
Jewel 023 and 035 - a spectacular sparkle of cabernet
Limited 032 - glistening, glimmering warm peach
Original 003 - gorgeous, glistening plum
Opulence 028 - magnificent mauve drenched in diamond
Passion 019 - precious pink shimmering with stardust
Perfection 015 - rose glimmering with diamond dewdrops
Reflection 030 - rich, glowing ruby
Reserve 027 - a shimmer of vintage pink
Royal 016 - glittering royal purple, as befits a princess
Ruby 009 - rich, jeweled red
Sapphire 010 - true blue twinkling with stars
Sensation 013 - a spectacular shimmer of bright pink
Shimmer 001 - dazzling, radiant platinum
Signature 007 - a marvelous sparkle of mauve
Tapestry 029 - dazzling deep rose
Treasure 024 and 034- a dazzling golden coral
Vintage 011 - the glow of coppery taffeta

Here are swatches of all the DS shades I own.

OPI DS Chiffon (holo)

OPI DS Classic (scattered holo)

OPI DS Coronation (scattered holo)

OPI DS Couture (holo)

OPI DS Design (holo)

OPI DS Divine (holo)

OPI DS Elegance(holo)

OPI DS Exclusive(holo)

OPI DS Extravagance(scattered holo)

OPI DS Illuminate(scattered weak holo)

OPI DS Opulence (weak scattered holo)

OPI DS Original(holo)

OPI DS Reflection(weak scattered holo)

OPI DS Reserve(scattered holo)

OPI DS Ruby(holo)

OPI DS Signature(holo)

OPI DS Vintage(holo)

Shades I don't have:
OPI DS Amethyst (holo)
OPI DS Dazzle (foily dupchrome)
OPI DS Desire (holo)
OPI DS Diamond (holo)
OPI DS Fantasy(scattered holo)
OPI DS Glamour(holo)
OPI DS Glow(foil)
OPI DS Jewel(shimmer)
OPI DS Limited(foil)
OPI DS Magic(foil duochrome)
OPI DS Mystery(glitter)
OPI DS Passion(holo)
OPI DS Perfection(foily weak duochrome)
OPI DS Radiance(foil)
OPI DS Royal (foil duochrome)
OPI DS Sapphire(holo)
OPI DS Sensation(foil weak duochrome)
OPI DS Shimmer(holo)
OPI DS Tapestry(foil)
OPI DS Treasure(foil)

I didn't realize I was missing so many!

Posh: Day 3 (or is it 4?)

Zoya Matte Posh on Sunday night

Zoya Matte Posh on Wednesday afternoon

I'm super impressed with the wear, although you can see the finish has changed a little. I wouldn't call it shiny like normal polish, but it's lost a little of it's super-matte finish. But I have absolutely no chips and just a small amount of tip wear.

I am pretty sure I took both of these in my bathroom in identical lighting.

This is basically day 4 and I've showered three times (each morning) and applied lotion and cuticle cream as usual- no way I can give that up.

I'm satisfied with this polish and can't wait to try the other two Zoya mattes!

Sephora Mattes!

Looks like even Sephora is jumping on the matte bandwagon! I really want Matte Domestic Goddess! They show as "temporarily out of stock" for now.

OPI DS Divine

Here is OPI's DS Divine. It's lovely. Good application, great sparkle. I really love this color, but lately I've been craving pastels and jellys (or a combo of the 2!), so I don't love it right at this very moment. Here are a few pics that show my day 3 tip wear and ragged cuticles! This is 2 coats DS and 1 coat SV. Enjoy ...


(I resized this first pic, but it still looks big to me ... hopefully that corrects itself soon, otherwise I'll remove it)




Tomorrow, The Divine Miss M (my daughter) and I will be doing our toes and nails. I bought bling. This should turn out interesting ... Stay tuned!