Manic(ure) Monday!

It's Monday again, folks!  This is seriously the highlight of my day.  I mean, Monday's in the pharmacy are rough!  But I look forward to when I get to come home and do my nails (if I haven't already which is usually the case) and then post about my endeavors.   

Last week I got some Nutra Nail Gel Perfect.  This stuff is normally like $13.99.  Uhm, no thanks!!  But (!!!) I picked up this specific color on clearance for $3.99.   It comes in a few different colors but only four of them were on clearance and none of them were a color I'd normally pick.  (I'm partial to purple and glitter.)  I finally settled on Flame, you'll see here soon enough but it's basically a bright orange-red.  I figured that the stuff was cheap enough and would be a good mix up on the blog because I could do my manicure AND a product review at once!

This is what the package looks like.  See that bright red?!

So it's a 3 part process.  Once all your nails are prepped they way you normally would for any polish you brush on the activator.  It's that white bottle on the far right.  Now, this stuff is basically nail glue.  Seriously, check the ingredients.  Then while your nails are still wet from the activators brush on a thin layer of the color (middle bottle).  The color mixes with the activator and I'm guess that's what makes it so hard.  When you are done with the first hand, wipe the brush off on a paper towel and put it in the third bottle, take the brush from the third bottle and but it in the color.  The third bottle is just a cleaner, because we are working with pretty much nail glue, this step is crucial to keep the brush clean and soft.  Repeat those steps with the next hand then wait a few minutes.  This stuff sets up pretty quick.  Do all those same steps again for your second coat, including the activator!  And switch your brushes from color to cleaner after every hand.

And there's the finished product.  I actually really like the color too!  So far I'm impressed.  The box says "Sets rock solid in 5 minutes" and I believe it.  For the sake of testing the product, I haven't been nice to my nails since I painted them 45 minutes ago and there are no smudges or chips yet.  My only complaint is the clean-up.

I'm pretty messy when I paint my nails (see above picture) but I'm pretty good at the clean up so it works for me but because of the nail glue activator it really sticks to the skin.  I spent quite a bit of time with my nail polish remover and q-tip and got hardly anything clean.  I then decided to use the cleaner.  Yup, the same cleaner that came with it that we're using to clean the brushes.  It was kind of a DUH! moment when I thought of it.  Here I am putting these brushes in all the same stuff that's on my fingers and that cleaner cleans them COMPLETELY.  Well, my duh! moment paid off.  It cleans it up as quick as nail polish remover does with regular nail polish.  So I'd suggest using that if you get any (or all of it, like me) on your skin.

The real test starts now though.  I'm rough with my nails.  A normal manicure only lasts me a couple days before it's chipping.  This is supposed to last longer.  I'll keep you posted and let you know when I get my first chip.  

And on that bombshell, it's time to end. Goodnight!!!

(I know, I'm ripping off Top Gear [UK, of course] but that show is so good.  Even if you're not totally in to cars, I suggest it.  My grammie even watches it.) 

Manicure Wednesday?

Woah, hey there!!!   How has the internet been treating you?  I found more funny cat pictures but I'll save them for a rainy day.

I realized today that I forgot about Manic(ure) Monday!  I am soo deeply sorry... Jk, I'm not sorry.  

So to play catch up, it's now Manic(ure) Wednesday.  Deal with it.

This weeks look was inspired by the Christmas tree.  It didn't quite turn out how I had pictured it but I still got a lot of compliments.

I started with the green which is called Happy Ending by Sinful Colors then made colored dots as my "ornaments".  I then put on a coat of glitter because all Christmas trees have glitter, at least mine does, then I used my Sally Hansen nail art pen in Pearly White to make my "lights".  

There ya have it folks!  

I got a few new nail polishes that I'm pretty stoked to try out including a Sally Hansen Gem Crush called Be-Jeweled.  It's basically a purple super glitter.  I have good ideas for that one. 

Now, on to regularly scheduled programming- how was everyone's Christmas?  Mine was pretty fantastic.  I got to spend time with almost all of my family and that's what is really important.  I have a fantastic family that I married into and they kind of spoiled me this year.  Some items I got- a new blender (like the magic bullet ones that do single serve in a to-go cup), a Vera Bradley bag and matching coin purse, and an iPad!! (and I happen to be writing to you today from it!)

 I have plans to make some smoothies and then blog about my experiences.  Tonight was my first try and I failed miserably.  Too much Almond Milk.  Way too much.  I'll figure it out...

So that's all I have for tonight.  I just busted out the electric blanket (LOVE!!!) and now I'm going to play some Angry Birds.  

Goodnight!!

Manic(ure) Monday

Welcome to my weekly installment of Manic(ure) Monday.  During tonight's program I will showcase my most recent manicure and give a quick overview as to how I accomplished it.  In last week's post I promised I would get a little fancier, and I did.  Just keep in mind that this week's "fancy" is all my own.  I didn't have a friend here to help me out. 

And there it is!  I used Sinful Colors again, as usual.  The coral type color is called Hazard and the blue is Savage.   I wouldn't normally pair these two colors together but it turned out awesome.  Quick instructions to get this look:  First I did a coat of Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat.  Then I did two coats of color.  Once the was dry it was time for the dots.  Do you remember a few manicure posts back with the confetti nails?  Well I used that same stick to make my dots.  If you don't remember or didn't read it (shame, shame) I took a wooden cuticle pusher with the pointed end on one side and ran that end back and forth real quick on the lid to my nail polish bin to flatten it out a tiny bit.  Then I dropped a little bit of color on a piece of plastic and dipped the pusher into it to make my dots.  My idea here was to start out thick at the bottom by the cuticle and space it out as I got to the tip.  If you're going to try this, let your dots overlap at the bottom and remember, the more polish you use and the more pressure you use, the bigger the dot.  Lastly, I finished with another coat of Sally Hansen Double Duty.

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!!!  No, I know it's not top notch but I liked the way it turned out.  The colors look great together and it's a fun design idea.

Now it's time for me to cuddle up with my blanket and watch Ink Master.  I hate that I just admitted that but it's pretty addicting.  It's on Hulu, you all should check it out.

Manic(ure) Monday

It's Monday again... And the perfect day to announce that I think I'll make every Monday a Manic(ure) Monday!!  I'm going to tell you all now that this requires me actually doing my nails once (or twice) a week and that will be a bit challenging but I'm excited about it!  Now some weeks I'll just do a so-so paint job and show it off and tell you what products I used but then other times I might get a bit fancier and maybe give a little tutorial on how I did it.  Or how Ariel did it...

So let's get down to business.  I've already said it once and I'll say it again, I love Sinful Colors.  It's super cheap and there are tons of colors to choose from.  The solid purple is called Dream On and the glitter is I Miss You.  Dream On dries super fast with a matte finish.  It doesn't look the best if left alone but when you put a top coat on it really pops!  

Sorry today's manicure wasn't more exciting.  My next one will be, I promise!  But now I'm going to relax and enjoy some television and my Christmas lights.

Oh and how cute is my new Starbucks ornament??   Ok.  I'm done, have a good night.

Manic(ure) Monday

Monday is almost over!!!  [Insert collective sigh of relief here] And what a Monday it was.  I swear, this is the worst day of the week to work in a pharmacy.  But this blog is my escape from the daily grind so I'll end my work rant now.

I did my nails finally!  It's been probably 2 weeks and with how hard I am on my nails that is like a week and a half too long!  I have about 20 different nail polishes and every time I go to paint my nails I get so overwhelmed at the possibilities.  But then I think "HA! Like I can do anything other than a simple polish anyways!"  Luckily for me Ariel came over tonight to catch up on some of our shows (Glee, Gossip Girl, Nashville, etc)  so I had a helping hand in tonight's manicure.  

Cute right?!  We decided to try a confetti theme since my birthday is coming up.  I figured it felt right for the occasion!  I took one of those wooden cuticle pushers and flatened out the pointy end by just rubbing it back and forth real fast on the lid to my nail polish case.  (Super technical stuff right there.)  That process made it into a small circle and she just dipped it in to each color then dabbed it on.  My one suggestion is to be sure to start with the dark colors and work your way to the lighter ones.  The order we used was purple, blue, pink, yellow.  Do multiple dots of each and don't be afraid to let them overlap.  The size of the dot varies based on how much polish you have on your stick and/or how hard you push down.  And, if you need to know every little detail like most of those internet freaks, the polish we used was all made by Sinful Colors besides the pink which is Sally Hansen Kook-a-mango.  The Sinful brand is my favorite!  We sell it at Walgreens for $1.99 and there are SO many colors!  I'm pretty sure they put out a new line of colors every other week too so it's always fresh and on trend.  The Sally Hansen is amazing too but it's one of those dreaded expensive ones.  $7.99 at Walgreens.  Eek!  Lucky for me, we recently clearanced out ALL of our Sally Hansen Complete Manicure line in order to make room for new colors and I bought this one plus a few other colors for like $1.69.  Such a steal!!!  Look at me being all frugal and stuff.  Haha.

Ariel's nails turned out super cute too, I wish I would have gotten a picture.  She painted all but the ring finger on each hand purple and the ring finger was painted pink.  She then topped the pink with a glitter top coat.  When I'm alone the two tone paint job is my fall back.

Now let's talk makeup brushes!!!  I had a question on the last blog post wondering what eye shadow brush I use.  Instead of answering that question I decided to do one better.  I'm going to tell you all about each of the brushes I use.  I can't guarantee that I'm using these brushes correctly but it works out for me!  And to answer your burning question, these are all Ecotools Brushes.

Left to right:

-Eye shadow brush.  This is the one I use on a daily basis for super simple all over coverage.  I tend to stay away from using this to apply colors though.  If I'm applying brighter colors or black and want a more vivid precise look I'll use just the regular old eye shadow applicator that usually comes with the eye shadow itself then I use my brush to blend it out and soften it up.  One tip I have is no matter if your using a brush or an applicator blow on it right before you apply it.  It takes off excess color so you don't end up with it everywhere.

-Angled brush.  I don't know if that's the technical name or not.  I mostly use this for a liner.  Typically I get it wet then dip it in my eye shadow (usually black but sometimes purple or a raisiny purple brown color) and run it across the top lash line.  The water makes whatever color you use a lot more vivid and easier to apply.  Sometimes I use this brush to apply color to the crease when I'm doing a smokey eye.  But then I wipe it off because I haven't mastered applying shadow to the crease or the smokey eye.

-Overall powder brush.  The name says it all.  

-Concealer brush.  I don't use this much.  I actually used this for a LONG time as my eye shadow brush and couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting a soft blended look.  Meh, sometimes I still use it for eye shadow.

-Foundation brush.  I use this to apply and blend my liquid foundation.  Nothing fancy about that. But it kind of hurts to use it.  All of these brushes are very soft but there's something about the way the bristles(?) are cut and sometimes certain strokes kinda stab in to my face.  Oh well.  Pain is beauty right?  Hahahaha no.  I usually call it quits when that happens.

Always remember to blend, blend, blend.  And then clean your brushes regularly!  I don't know if I'm doing it right but I'll usually just wash them with my bath and body works antibacterial hand wash.  It seems to do the trick.

Now I need to go watch Vampire Diaries.  Vampire Diaries trumps blogging any day.  =]