So I'm very sad to say that when my Internet crashed I lost the post I had written up for #MintmaniforTaliaJoy. I still wanted to share with you the manicure I did that day in her honor so here is a quick post about it.

     I have to say that I am not familiar with Talia Joy and have yet to watch any of her videos. I have heard so many positive things about this beautiful angle that I wanted to participate in the mint manis last Friday with everyone else.

     I decided to break out my craft scissors and do a tape mani. I also was able to knock out 2 of my untrieds which is always a bonus. For this manicure, I used Essie First Timer as my base color and layered Sinful Colors Tidal Wave on top using a funky wave pattern. Sinful Colors Tidal Wave is actually a sheer blue polish but when I layered it over the green it took on a mint hue that helped pull the whole look together.

indirect sunlight

     Having the wave off to the side is a new look for me and I really kind of like it. It's fun and funky without being too out there. The tape look alone looked kind of blank to me so I added a little flower on the ring finger to sort of liven it up a bit. I actually got quite a few comments on this manicure from coworkers which gave me the opportunity to tell them about Talia Joy. A few of them had heard the news already and 2 of them showed up at work on Saturday wearing mint on their nails! I thought that was really kind of awesome.

Direct Sunlight 

     Here is just one more shot of the manicure in direct sunlight and from a different angle. The thumbnail really shows off the funky wave pattern the best. I think I'm going to have to try a few more of my craft scissors for future tape manicures. They are an easy way to add a fun twist.

Be sure to check out the other Blog posts in Honor of Talia Joy

     Hello everyone and Happy 4th of July. I have a quick NOTD post for you in honor of the Holiday. This is my first manicure for the 4th and I was stumped on what to do. I was browsing Pinterest looking for inspiration when I came across the perfect pin from Wacky Laki.

The photo is the property of Wacky Laki

     I knew I wanted to recreate the look. I'm glad I took the time to click through to the original post because I think it helped me more than just the pictures.  For some reason, I thought steps 4 and 5 involved a toothpick to wipe away the red glitter when I first saw this. And as you know I have a tendency to rush through my manicures and then am unhappy with the results. So reading the post forced me to slow down, take a deep breath and really focus on what I was doing. Ok let's be honest I can never really focus with my 3 kids in the room asking me to open chip bags or put a new movie in which they always seem to want the minute I finish with the first coat of polish. Anyway, I've started rambling and should probably just show you my results so, here's my picture......

     Hello Everyone. Today I have a fun post from Steph from At Peace with Polish that brought a smile to my face. I hope you enjoy it and a big thanks to Steph for letting me share her story.

     Today's NOTD post is a beautiful Layla Ceramic Effects Color. To be completely honest I'm not sure what the name or color number of this polish is. There is no actual name on the bottle, the lid has number CE61 on it and the sticker on the bottom shows EL23. Either way, I love this and am so glad I snagged it from Ulta's clearance rack a month ago.


  
     I knew this would be a sheer polish so I layered it over an unnamed bright yellow/green and applied 2 coats of EL23. Tiny glimpses of gold can be seen when the sun hit this polish and I love it! But knowing me I couldn't leave it as is. I had to add a little something to it and I'd just gotten my Konad stamping polishes in the mail.  (I found a set of black and white on Amazon for $14.99) Obviously, I had to see if the Konads were worth the hype and set to stamping.

      A little while ago I was given the opportunity to review Jamberry Nails. Shea the force behind omgwaitwhatpolishisthat sent me a sample pack to play around with. I have to offer up my sincerest apologies to Shea because this review is long overdue.  To be honest I was a little intimidated with the application process and that's why I've put this off. (Turns out I had nothing to worry about) The sample pack contained 6 wraps in various sizes and designs. Each wrap is long enough that I was able to cut it in half and use it on 2 fingers.



Sample pack minus the pink and white striped wrap

     The instructions for this polish seem like a lot of work but, to be honest, it's pretty easy. First off you want to have clean unpolished nails. I used polish remover to remove any oils that are on my nail. Then you need to match up the wrap that best fits your finger or toe. Once you have the wrap you want to use gently peel it off the backing and warm it with a blow dryer for 10-15 seconds. (or until soft and flexible.) Once warm press the wrap onto the nail applying firm pressure around the edges. Use an orange stick or rubber cuticle pusher to seal the wrap around the base of the cuticle. Trim the top of the wrap with scissors, file the remaining wrap using a downward motion to remove the excess. Apply heat and pressure to the wrap again until bonded to the nail.

     Seems like a lot of steps right? I was actually able to apply wraps to 2 fingers in about 2 minutes. That includes filing time at the end. I had a lot of ideas running through my head that I wanted to try with the pink and white striped wrap but in the end, decided that plain polish was probably best.


     Sinful Colors  Bikini Lines seemed like it was made to go with this wrap. I love how it highlights the darker pink stripe of the wrap to tie the whole thing together. I had someone tell me this reminds them of candy.  I'm really glad I opted for just a simple manicure instead of adding art to the other nails.

     On the second day of wear, I started to notice that the wrap was pulling away from my nail slightly at the sides. I was at work and unable to try and fix it for a few hours.


     I had a feeling that if I was able to get my hair dryer on it again I could smooth it back out and everything would be fine. So once I got home I did just that. I wanted to make sure that the wrap stuck really really well because I love this manicure and I'm not ready to take it off.
     Now here's a fun mental image for you... So while holding my hair dryer with my chin, I aimed it directly on the wrap and smoothed out the edges with my cuticle pusher. I got a very funny look from my boys and my daughter laughed extra hard at me, but it worked!



*This product was sent to me for my honest review. All pictures and opinions are my own*

     Today on the blog Hannah from The Dalai  Lama's Nails shares with us how she got started in Nail Art.

   
      Today I'd like to do a quick little review of Simply Smooth base coat from Ana over at Simple Nail Art Tips.  For the last year, I have noticed the ridges in my nails have been getting worse and worse. Sometimes I could still see them through my polish. Not exactly what you want when you're photographing your nails and posting them online. I have been looking at ridge filling base coats for a while but hadn't pulled the trigger. Then Ana announced that she was selling one and I did a little happy dance.  I know a lot of you have heard me gush over her cuticle oil Pure. I just love that stuff! It's so amazing and shows results right away. Knowing the quality of the oil I knew I had to give the base and top coat a try. (the top coat will be a future post) Ordering is quick and easy and the price can't be beat, only $4.99!  You can pick up a bottle for yourself at NailCareHQ Ana's sister site. While you're there you should also pick up the Simply Quick top coat and the pure oil. Trust me, you won't regret it.

     So on to the review. Simply Smooth applies smoothly and easily.  It's a little thinner than the base coat I have been using and I ended up flooding my cuticle on the first nail. But that was an easy fix, you really don't need much on the brush when applying it on the nail. I took a picture of my naked nail to show the ridges. They seem so much more predominant than what I could capture.

     Today's NOTD post is Orly Miss Conduct. Can I say Oh my WOW! Why have I waited so long to use this beauty? I honestly had my first jaw-dropping experience with this polish. I was sitting outside waiting for it to dry when the sun came out from behind a cloud and it was as if the heavens had opened up for me. I may have even heard angels sing! I couldn't wait for it to finish drying so that I could get pictures of this stunner.

     Boy, was this a hard polish to photograph! I had 55 shots to go through to find the best ones! Yep, you read that right 55 shots, and that's not including the ones I deleted right away because I knew they were bad. I bet you can guess that this will be a picture heavy post, so let's get to it, shall we. All pictures are 2 coats plus top coat.



Direct Sunlight

     In full direct sunlight is when Miss Conduct looks it's best. My camera kept freaking out trying to get a good shot and this was the best one I could get. Just look at that sparkle!

Indirect Sunlight 

     This picture is very color accurate. I love the rich deep pink that surrounds all the holo goodness.



Macro shot in Direct sunlight

     I love how this shot captured the holo in the blurred pinkie finger and then slowly gains focus as you go across my hand. I think it helps show the depth that Miss Conduct has.



Macro shot in indirect sunlight