My Must Have Mani-Pedi Items

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I don't talk about it on the blog so much, but I'm a mani-pedi girl. When I have the time (which isn't super often, given I have 2 young girls), I love to have my nails done. I don't go out for a professional mani-pedi. Instead, I do it myself at home. I like the convenience, I know where the tools have been (and how they've been cleaned) and I have polish at home that I can easily touch up with later.

I thought I would share my favorite products to use when doing an at home manicure and pedicure. The products do get swapped in and out as I try new things, but I've found that these are the tried and true. The products that I keep stashed in my office polish area, that I rebuy, and that give me the best results.


1. Cuticle Remover: Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover (available at ULTA, Amazon)
Before starting, I love to put a thin bead of this around my cuticles, move it around a bit with my fingertip. I push back my cuticles with a fingernail and then just wash my hands. It takes under a minute and makes a big difference in how my cuticles look!

Alternatives I Like:
• Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Remover (at Nordstrom, Sephora, or Amazon)
• Blue Cross Cuticle Remover (at Amazon): Note that this one isn't as fast on my hands, but I've found that it works really well on my feet! It comes in a huge bottle, and I actually will sit down in the shower and put this all over my toe nails and my heels. I push back my cuticles, use a pumice stone on my heels, and sometimes use a foot scrub all over. It makes my feet super soft without needing to do something like the baby foot peel. Which I'm not going to lie, kind of freaks me out.


2. Base Coat: Orly Bonder (at ULTA or Amazon)
I just don't even use others now. Bonder is so much better for me! I have longer lasting manicures, my nails don't get stained by polish... you get the idea.


3. Polish
I have thousands of bottles of polish. This is not an exaggeration. After all of this polish buying and wearing, I've limited myself to a few favorite brands of polish that I use. Others just don't seem to work as well.

• OPI (from ULTA or Amazon), pictured in It's a Girl
• Essie
• Nails Inc
• Chanel: Note, the wear is only about 3-5 days for this brand, but the colors are so great that I don't care. Shown in Particuliere.
• China Glaze
• Zoya: When I wear Zoya I need to pair with their top coat.

"Long Wearing" Formulations:
• Chanel Long Wear (at Chanel or Nordstrom) with Le Gel Topcoat (at Chanel or Nordstrom)
• OPI Infinite Shine (from ULTA or Amazon) with Infinite Shine 3 Gloss Top Coat (from ULTA)
• CND Vinylux (at Amazon) and CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat Nail Polish (at Amazon)
• Essie Gel Couture (from Amazon) and Gel Couture Top Coat (from Amazon), shown in Make the Cut


4. Top Coat
My go-to top coat is always Seche Vite (from ULTA or Amazon). It dries quickly, is thick enough to cover up imperfections in polish (but isn't so thick that it looks strange), and is super shiny. I have found that it gets thick quickly, but a few drops of any polish thinner will fix that.

If I'm using a longer lasting polish that has a top coat to make a "system", then I'll use that special top coat instead of Seche Vite.

Alternatives I Like:
• Poshe (from Amazon)
• Nails Inc 45 Second Top Coat (from Sephora)


5. Hand and Cuticle Cream
I have a huge collection of lotions, oils, balms... you name it and I've tried it to keep my nails and cuticles looking smooth and hydrated. No matter what product I'm using, the key really is regular use. I keep lotion in my pocket at the hospital and reapply it frequently throughout the day. We have a bottle of lotion next to the kitchen sink at home, and I even keep some on my bedside table. I apply lotion a lot, and that's really what keeps my hands soft and hydrated. My favorite hand cream for years is the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve (from Kiehl's or Nordstrom)


6. Polish Remover
I know it dries out your nails, but I admit that I use 100% Acetone to remove my polish. Non-acetone polish removers always seem to leave just a little polish behind, or they take a very long time and I get frustrated.

For my fingernails, I prefer one of those plastic jars of remover (like this one on Amazon). I can put each finger in, swirl it around and my polish comes off right away. If I need to clean up after applying my polish I can also just use a brush dipped into the jar.

On my toes, I use an acetone nail polish pad. I prefer the Cutex pads (my faves on Amazon), which come individually packaged (making them great for travel), and are a thick felt. It doesn't take much work to remove polish with these pads.


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1

My Quick Winter Pedicure Routine

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As much as I love going to get a pedicure, it isn't often that I have an hour to spare for such a luxury! I have everything that I need at home to do my own pedicure. I have to admit that I've developed my own "lazy" system to get a pedicure done in the shower. The whole thing probably takes at most 10-15 minutes.

0

Easy Negative Space Manicure Tutorial

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I'm not a big nail art person. A glitter accent nail is about the most I usually wear with my manicure, much more than that takes me too long and is a bit too much for my conservative day job. But, the new trend of "negative space" nail art is much more streamlined than previous nail art trends, and it is so easy that even I can't mess it up! I've started doing very simple designs on my ring finger as an accent and have gotten a lot of compliments!



The look is pretty easy to do yourself at home! I started with my basic manicure already done, only my accent nail was left. I first applied my favorite base coat, ORLY Bonder. I let it fully dry and then applied a small piece of painter's tape to my nail. Sally Beauty has different colors of nail tapes, but I wanted a wider stripe. I then painted two thin coats of OPI's Hello Hawaii Ya? I didn't wait for the coats to dry in between applications and I removed the tape while the nail polish was still wet. You can see that because I used a thicker piece of painter's tape there was a little bit of bleeding in the line of polish. I cleaned this up with a little acetone and a cotton swab for my final look!



When picking up my polish at Sally Beauty for this look, I was amazed at the new Nail Studio wall at my local Sally Beauty! You can see that it just goes on for forever, the selection of shades is huge, over 750! I loved the little screen in the middle of the display, it shows tutorials.

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2

Something Different: Buffed and Shiny Nails

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Now that it is 2015, it's time to try something different! And also... to admit a bit of defeat. Why is that? I'm a girl with thousands of nail polishes. Yes, you read that right. I have thousands of nail polishes. They live in plastic drawers in the closet of my home office. (Yes, I have a bit of this going on. I have hundreds of dark purples and bright pinks. They're not the same!)

This is the admitting defeat part. I love my polishes. I really do. But it is very difficult to find time to change my polish with a newborn. Even with quick dry products, there isn't enough time to get them dry before the baby needs my attention. Because she knows when mommy has wet nails. Oh yes, she really does!

So, for the next few months I'll be sporting natural nails, sans pretty polish colors. This is a defeat of sorts (all of my pretty colors!) but it's also somewhat liberating! No more worrying about chipped polish! Don't worry about wearing a shade that looks a bit crazy with my outfit of the day!

But, no polish doesn't mean unkempt. Instead, it just means no polish. I've decided to really commit to no polish, which means buffing my nails to a pretty shine!



Here's a quick peek at most of the products that I used to get this look. Yes, that is a lot of products! But, you'll really have almost no daily/weekly upkeep. This really is a polished look without much upkeep. I bought everything at my favorite store for nail supplies, Sally Beauty.



To start, I get my nail surface ready for everything! These are the same steps as when I do a regular manicure.

First, I remove all of my polish. I love using a polish remover pad, they're no fuss and get the job done quickly without a mess.

Next, I wash my hands, being sure to get under the ends of my nails. While my hands are still wet, I'll apply a little cuticle remover to my cuticles, rubbing it around to make sure everything is covered. I like to run the nailbrush over my cuticles, and I'll also use my thumbnail to push my cuticles off of the nail surface.

Products Used:
• Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Remover Pads
• YCC Clear Plastic Cuticle Pusher
• YCC Handled Manicure Brush
• Dr. G's 3-in-1 Antimicrobial Callus & Cuticle Remover



Once my hands are dried off, it's time to make sure my nail shape is how I want it and that any left over hang nails are taken care of. I only use the Cuticle Remover shown here on hang nails, not on the cuticle itself. You don't want to cut into the cuticle bed itself, this is setting yourself up for a nasty nail infection. So, just get rid of any hang nails and you'll be all set!

Products Used:
• Colossal Collection Nail File
• Beauty Secrets Cuticle Remover & Pusher



Next it is time to remove ridges! I like to use a buffing block or file, I have both and just grab whichever I feel like that day. The first side is a nail file, it is definitely too harsh to use on your nail surface! I use sides #2 and #3 for this step. Side #4 does do a good job of shining the nail surface, but the chamois and cream do a better job, so no sense in duplicating that work!

Products Used:
• Tropical Shine 4-Way Mini Nail Buffer
• Tropical Shine Mini 4-Way Nail Buffer Block



Using a chamois to buff your nails to a high gloss is a step above and beyond the buffing block. The shine is unreal, so much more than the block alone! Especially when you combine it with the buffing cream. This step is why I can't wear polish now (unless I go and really rough up my nail surface), it is so shiny and smooth that polish just peels right off!

When using a chamois, I put a dot of cream on each nail bed and then start buffing. Note that it does take a while the first time (about 10 minutes total), but the results are definitely worth it! You won't really see the shine until you wash any residual cream off of your hands.

Products Used:
• Winning Nails 7" Chamois Buffer
• Winning Nails Nail Buffing Creme



Once you've washed off the rest of the cream, it's time to moisturize your cuticles! You can use a cream or an oil, it's up to you.

Products Used:
• Barielle Pro Cuticle Renewal Oil
• Orly Cuticle Therapy Creme



To keep up my buffed nails, I'll use the Chamois, without the cream, about once a week. As my nails grow out I'll need to redo the whole process just on the new areas every few weeks. In addition, I moisturize my cuticles nightly during the winter to keep them looking great! I prefer to use the oil first and then I layer on the thick cuticle cream to really lock in the moisture.

When I'm ready to go back to wearing polish I'll buff my nails with the #3 side of the buffing block. That should give my polish enough texture to hold on to the nail bed.




What are you doing this new year to change things up? Sally Beauty is holding a great sweepstakes, the New Year, New You Challenge!

Sally Beauty is challenging shoppers to try something new – daring new hair color, bright new nail shade, fresh new lip color, new hairstyle, new treatment, etc.

Share your New You look to enter to win a trip to New York for a makeover!

To enter, you'll need to share your New Year, New You look on-line.
• Facebook: Visit the New Year, New You Challenge tab on the Sally Beauty Facebook page. Upload an image and complete the entry form.
• Instagram and Twitter: Upload a photo with #SallyBeautyChallenge in your caption. Once you share, you will receive an auto-reply within 24 hours to visit the Facebook tab and complete the entry.


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2

Want Great Cuticles? Here are 12 Great Products To Get You There

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Great cuticles take a lot of work. This isn't a once a week treatment, instead you need to take care of your cuticles multiple times a day to keep them hydrated and looking perfect. There are a lot of cuticle products out there, but which ones are great and how often should you use them?

I thought I would share my favorite cuticle products and tips on how to use them to get perfect cuticles at home. The real secret is to keep up with using the products. Travel seems to always make my cuticles especially dry, I can get on to a plane with perfectly manicured nails and get off a few hours later with dried out cuticles with hanging skin everywhere. I have an answer for that too.

Cuticle Removers

My best tip for great cuticles is the regular use of a cuticle remover. I usually use a remover about once a week, though when the weather gets cold and dry, I will increase my use to every 5 days or so. I usually use cuticle removers around the entire nail plate, since they'll help prevent hang nails and remove dry skin.

1. Aveda Cuticle Control Minimizing Complex: This one uses quite a few plant based ingredients, but it does take about 4 or 5 minutes to do the job.

2. Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Remover: This cuticle remover contains Lanolin to add a little extra moisture.

3. Sally Hansen Nail Treatment Instant Cuticle Remover: Sally Hansen in "the blue bottle" is the one I usually recommend. It works super fast (under a minute) and never irritates my skin by over doing things.

Hydroxy Acid Cuticle Creams

Think of these creams as a combination of a cuticle remover and a moisturizer. As you moisturize, the alpha hydroxy acids help to exfoliate the cuticle area, improving cell turn over and preventing hang nails. I've found that they're not a substitute for cuticle remover, but they definitely keep my cuticles looking better and they are essential in the winter.

4. Sally Hansen Complete Treatment for Cuticle Rehab: I started using this cream after Michelle from All Lacquered Up raved about it, and she's right! It is very hydrating and doesn't irritate my skin at all.

5. CND Cuticle Eraser

Other Options:
• Formula X Erase AHA Cuticle Cream
• Poshe AHA Cuticle Care

Cuticle Tools

I don't use actual scissors or nippers on my cuticles, it's best to not cut the cuticles since that increases your risk of infection. However, the Cuticle Pusher shown here really is the only thing that will remove my hang nails when they pop up and are painful. Be sure to only remove the dead skin, don't go into the live skin!

6. target="_blank"Sally Hansen Cuticle Pusher

7. Cuticle Pusher

Cuticle Moisturizers

The real key to great cuticles is moisture. Frequent and intense hydration is really what you need, and under dry conditions (in the winter, when I'm washing my hands a lot, especially when I'm on an airplane). I apply lotion to my hands multiple times a day, and I always make sure to concentrate some of the lotion onto my cuticles. I usually only use cuticle specific products at night, unless I'm having issues (and then I'll use them 2 or 3 times a day). It is really up to you whether you use a cream, balm or oil. However, I do recommend having different options so that you can layer your cuticle treatments for extra hydration when you're particularly dry. I love to use an oil and then a thick cream like the Orly Cuticle Therapy Cream.

8. Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil

9. OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go

10. Lush Cosmetics Lemony Flutter

11. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

12. Orly Cuticle Therapy Creme

Other Options:
• Formula X Quench Cuticle Oil
• CND Solar Oil Skin and Nail Conditioner
• Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil
• Nailtiques Oil Therapy


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2

At Home DIY Pedicure Kit: Everything You Need

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As nice as it is to have a professional pedicure, I don't always have the hour or so needed to stop into my local nail salon and let someone else paint my toe nails. But, I also want to keep my feet looking pretty!

I thought I would share some of my favorite at home pedicure products, you can buy all of them at Sally Beauty. I'm stocked up now for the rest of the summer, I'll keep doing my pedis at home until my bump prevents me from reaching my toes!

1. Scrub Away Rough Spots

For me, the biggest part of pretty feet is having soft feet that aren't full of white, dry areas. Yuck.

I love the Heel to Toe Exfoliating Polishing Foot Scrub, which actually has pumice in the scrub! It's great all over my foot and helps get rid of some of the rougher parts.

Next, I use Dr. G's 3-in-1 Antimicrobial Callus & Cuticle Remover. When applied to my feet to smooth rough spots, I need to give it about 4 or 5 minutes to work. Then I use a pumice stone (I like the Mr. Pumice Extra-Coarse Pumi Bar, though I also keep an "original" strength Pumi bar around as well) to scrub down any rough areas.

Once I've used the Callus & Cuticle Remover on my feet, I apply it to my cuticles and give it a minute or so before using a thumb nail to push down my cuticles and remove any excess.

The Callus & Cuticle Remover works really well, and I do think my feet are even softer than when I get a professional pedicure, but it is something you need to use every week or so. I keep it in the shower! Note that the active ingredients in this one are Urea and Benzalkonium Chloride (a disinfectant), so it is pregnancy safe.

2. Pamper Your Legs

When I have a little extra time, I do like to exfoliate my legs a bit too. It's something they do at my nail salon, and it makes the whole process seem more pampering! While they use a scrub at the salon, I've fallen for Heel to Toe Peppermint Sloughing Lotion.

The Sloughing Lotion is not like any other lotion I've tried! Usually, after using the scrub and callus remover, I rinse off my feet and pat them dry. Then I grab this lotion (it smells amazing, like Peppermint), and start rubbing it into my legs and feet. While you're rubbing it in, you'll actually start to get little pills of dead skin off. It sounds strange, but it looks like Elmer's Glue and isn't a big deal. You can rinse off and repeat as needed. I've found that it takes a long time to work on the rougher areas, but it is perfect for your legs, around the ankles, and top of the feet.

3. Super Moisturize

Once you've rid your legs and feet of rough skin, it's time to add moisture! I like super hydrating and non-greasy moisturizers, the Heel To Toe Argan Heel and Foot Treatment is perfect for this. If you get any on your nail, make sure you wipe it off (with rubbing alcohol, acetone or polish remover) before applying polish.

4. Buff Up Your Nails

Finally, it's time to prepare the nails for polish! I have pretty thick ridges on my toenails, so I do buff them down a little with a Buff & Shine Block. I only use the first few buffing sides, not the shine side. If your nails are too slick your polish will slide right off! I also shape the nails with a Beauty Secrets Black Cushion Nail File.

5. Apply A Pretty Color

Everyone has their favorite polish colors for a pedicure, but I'm a bright pink girl. This is Orly in Oh Cabana Boy, and it is perfect for the summer!

I always use Heel to Toe Toe Spacers when polishing my toes. My little toes tend to curl under and smudge the polish on things otherwise. Spacers are worth the 90 cents invested! I use 2 coats of Orly Bonder Basecoat on my toes. I've found that the extra coat helps my pedicures stay chip free for a full 10 days, which is usually when I need to redo my pedicure. After 2 coats of polish, my favorite top coat is Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. I love how shiny it is.




I have a really fun giveaway! Sally Beauty and I are collaborating on one more post in this series, and it will be all about the winner! I'll need your beauty question (hair, makeup, nails?) and a little info. I'll create a post like this one for you, trying to keep my budget about $45. Sally will give you a $45 Gift Card to go and buy everything! (You'll also get a cute tote like the one in the pedicure pic above!)

This is open to any one in the US, you must be over 18 years old. I don't need to publish your name as the winner, but you will need to write me a little paragraph about a beauty dilemma you're having so I can answer it!

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Pinterest Contest!

Sally Beauty is holding a Pinterest Contest!

Here's how to enter:
1. Follow Sally Beauty on Pinterest
2. Create a “Sally Beauty Boho” board
• Repin the contest image
• Add $45 worth of product from SallyBeauty.com to your “Sally Beauty Boho” board
3. Email Pinterest board to social@sallybeauty.com by August 29, 2014

Contest dates: August 1, 2014 – August 29, 2014
Prize: Five (5) Grand Prizes. Five Prize Winners will receive a $45 Sally Beauty gift card
Official Rules here


Finally, I need to call attention to the cute bag at the bottom of the graphic. When you buy $45 worth of products at Sally Beauty in August, you can get a tote for free! There are 3 to pick from, but this one was my favorite.

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5

Nail Art Hack: Laziness With Tape

As much as I love seeing nail art on Pinterest, I fully admit that I am not good at all when it comes to nail art on myself. I can't get the lines straight, nothing looks like I intended it to look, and it's just an epic fail. So, when I saw this great idea for easy nail art over on The Beauty Department, I was all over it!

To pull this off you'll need nail polish, I'm using 4 colors from Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure Line, tape and top coat. I used satin finish tape because I thought the polish was stick better to the tape than a shiny option. I also used the tools I use to get ready for every manicure, my beloved Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover (are you tired of me talking about this yet?), the Push-N-Trim cuticle tool, a Nail Shaper and No More Ridges buffing block.


I start with the Instant Cuticle Remover. This cuticle remover is super fast but still gentle. You can see in the first pic that I put a small bead along my cuticle, then rub it around. I like to use my thumbnail along the edge of my cuticle, but an orange stick would also work. I push back the cuticle on the nail bed and run my nail along the edge of the nail, this cuts back a lot on hang nails.



While the cuticle remover takes care of most issues, sometimes I have a little extra skin hanging around. I love the Push-N-Trim cuticle tool to gently remove the extra skin or any hang nails. Next I shape my nails using the Nail Shaper. I do a basic squoval shape, not too different from the shape of my nail bed.


Using the No More Ridges buffing block, I just follow the numbered sides to buff my nail bed. The goal isn't perfect smooth nails with the initial steps, you just want to make ridges less obvious and then buff your nails to a pretty shine. This shouldn't thin your nail much at all, just even things out a bit. When buffing before a manicure I stop at the second to last step, going on to the last buffing step gives you super shiny nails, but they're too smooth to hold on to polish.



Next, I polish the tape! Since I'm so great at messing things up, I opted to polish a pretty decent strip of tape so I would have extra. After trial and error, I discovered that putting the tape between 2 stationary objects (in this case, 2 square lip glosses that can't roll away) works best. 1 coat of polish is all you need if you want a bit of a "watercolor" and translucent effect. Go for 2 coats if you want more solid color.

I polished 3 strips in all, I used Jaded, Back to the Fuchsia and Kook a Mango. While they were drying I painted a base coat on my nails, I wanted something light so the bright colors would pop. I used Arm Candy, 3 layers.

Once your tape strips are dry you can cut them! I'm planning to experiment with different hole punches, but for now I've just been using scissors to cut out some basic shapes. You can make abstract designs, a few lines or something simple. I made flowers for spring, I'm celebrating the warm weather we're finally getting here in Michigan!



When using tape, you'll be better off with very simple designs. Here I've used a 1/8" hole punch to create perfect circles, I used a Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Green to add stems and create flowers on the right. If you're cutting out shapes rather than using a hole punch, I suggest using small scissors when cutting the tape, you'll have more control. I also used a pair of tweezers to place pieces exactly where I wanted them.

Once your shapes are on the nail, you'll want to even everything out with some top coat. It will smooth down any bumps from the tape pieces on your nail. Removal is the same as any other manicure, though you'll need to push the pieces of tape off of your nail bed mid-removal. No special removers are needed!


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This post was sponsored through a collaboration with Sally Hansen and Style Coalition, but all opinions are my own!

6

Top 10 Tuesday: My Favorite At Home Manicure Products

Bought It Myself



Today for Top 10 Tuesday we're sharing our favorite manicure products. If you read my blog regularly, you'll likely recognize many of these products, they were most recently featured in My Quick and Easy Manicure Routine. I'll discuss why I like each product here, but if you want a real step by step for an at home manicure you should head over to that post instead.

1. Cutex Nail Polish Remover Pads: I love these pads for removing toe nail polish! They're just felt soaked in polish remover, so if I run out I'll grab some craft felt and remover, but I always seem to make a mess on my own. These pads are also great for travel.

2. Acetone Jar: This is my usual method of polish remover. I love these jars! It's super easy to just dip your finger in to remove polish. I use pure acetone jars for glitter polish (this one is the in house Walmart brand) and Cutex non-acetone jars for regular polish.

3. Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover: I use this at least once a week on my cuticles to keep them looking neat, but it also does a great job of helping my feet looking soft.

4. Orly Cutique: Similar to the Sally Hansen product, except I use this one primarily for removing stains from my nail. A light layer for a minute or two, then scrub with a nail brush.

5. Sally Hansen Push 'n Trim: Yes, you aren't supposed to cut your cuticles. But even with regular cuticle remover use, I get those little hang nail things off to the side of my nail that just hurt like crazy every time you bump them. This is perfect for removing just that bit of skin and leaving everything else around it intact.

6. Orly Bonder Base Coat: My favorite base coat.

7. Seche Vite Top Coat: My favorite top coat.

8. Dappen Dish: I clean up a manicure with one of these cheap little dishes. Fill with pure acetone, then using a little stiff angled brush (a cheap eye liner brush is perfect) I brush the acetone along the edges of the nail. The brush is stiff enough to pull off the excess nail polish but it can go under the nail plate edge as well.

9. Orly Cuticle Therapy Creme: I love this thick creme! I use it at night right before bed. In the summer it goes mostly on my cuticles, but during the winter I'll use it on my entire hand.

10. CND Solar Oil: When I need extra moisture in the winter I'll apply a layer of Solar Oil to my skin first, let it sink in for a minute or two and then seal it in with the Creme.


What are your favorite products? I'm always looking for new ones!

9

Ombre Manicure DIY with Sally Hansen and U by Kotex from Target!

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There's a really great deal going on right now over at Target, and you need to get to your store to take advantage! When you buy 3 U by Kotex products, you can get a free Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Nail Polish. Since I use #UbyKotex (yes, TMI, but this is my preferred brand), and I like the #SallyHansen Salon Manicure formula, this is a great promotion!




I thought I would share some #nailart with you. I'm not a big nail art girl, I'm not talented enough to draw tiny snowmen or polka dots on my nails. I usually just opt for an accent nail on one hand, or I might add a little shimmer gradient. Today I'm going all out and doing an ombre mani with a gradient of shimmer on top! This is a fun way to add a little glam to an every day winter manicure.




Here's everything that I used to create this look. I have 4 polishes that are in the same color family. I also have a really pretty shimmer polish and a clean makeup sponge.




I start by painting my nails! I typically use 4 polishes when doing an ombre manicure, for some reason having a 5th color on my thumb always bothers me. The great thing about this formula is that it has base coat, and top coat built right in to the formula. It also lasts for 7 days on me without a problem.




Once my nails are dry, I get ready to apply the shimmer on top. I like to have a little gradient of shimmer, with more concentrated at the tip. There are a lot of tutorials on how to do this, but I've found the key for me with this technique is to load the sponge correctly. I start with putting a top coat on the sponge roughly down to the line shown. Then I apply the shimmer on top (this is #130 Gilty Party) with more at the end of the sponge. Mixing it a bit into the top coat helps to space out the shimmer.




Now you gently press the sponge onto your nails. I do 5 nails and then reload, but note that when reloading you don't need to apply even half as much polish. A lot soaked into the sponge. Even with the top coat, you'll sometimes get lines like you see on my right thumb (ignore that Super Glue on my finger, I had to emergency repair some Princesses right before the manicure), just go over those spots very lightly at the end when the sponge has almost no polish left.

Finally, I did apply top coat over the shimmer once it had dried. Tapping on the shimmer like this leaves a bumpy surface, and without adding top coat to smooth things over my manicure lasts only 2 or 3 days instead of 7 days.




Here's the finished look! An ombre manicure with a pretty gradient of shimmer over the top.

U By Kotex
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5

My Quick and Easy Manicure Routine

I haven't been writing as much about nail polish and manicures lately, though be assured that yes, I am wearing lots (and lots) of nail polish. Despite being super busy with my toddler, my "real" job, the blog and all of my other writing, I do manage to squeeze in manicures! It's been a while since I wrote my Manicure 101 series, and my original My Manicure Routine post (I still can't believe how long that thing is) is still one of my most popular posts. I thought it was well past time for a little update.

I've streamlined my manicure process, and start to finish it is well under 20 minutes, usually under 10 minutes. To be truthful, the variable seems to be how long it takes me to locate all of my tools (you'd think I'd keep them in the same place, but they seem to always move around on my due to a little "helper") and picking my polish color!

I've put all of my manicure essential products in a collection, where you can follow me.


My first step is always cleaning up. I remove old polish, making sure to get all of those bits that like to cling around the outer edges. While I'm really good at using lotion after washing and I apply cuticle cream every night, all of the hand washing and foaming and gel using that we do in the hospital definitely takes its toll on my cuticles! I start with my favorite cuticle remover, the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. It's really fast and easy to use, I wet my hands, put a little bead of remover on my cuticles and rub it around. Then I run my thumbnail along the edges and wash my hands. The whole process is only a minute or two, but it makes a huge difference! I then use the Sally Hansen Push-n-Trim tool on any hang nails, neveron my cuticles.

Now I'm ready to shape my nails! I'm not allowed to have my nails long at work, so I just use a crystal nail file to shape them a little rounded but short. I prefer crystal over a regular emory board because it helps prevent splitting in my nails.

Finally, I'm ready to start applying polish! There's always a lot of discussion about which base coat and top coats work best, and while I agree that there are general trends, there is a lot of individuality in which products will work best for you. It is really because everyone has their own nail makeup, some of us have stiffer nails, some are a bit more flexible, and different base coats, top coats and polish brands all have differing amounts of flexibility. Which may or may not last longer or shorter on your own nails. So, it is definitely worth experimenting until you find the combination that works best for you! After years of trying other products, my best combo by far is Orly Bonder Base Coat and Seche Vite Top Coat.

I start with one light layer of Bonder. It dries very quickly and by the time I finish all 10 nails I can start applying polish to the first nail. I prefer to do 3 thin coats of polish over 2 thicker coats, the results are more even and last longer. I start in the middle of the nail, placing my brush tip close to the cuticle but with a small gap. I push the brush toward the cuticle to where I want my polish edge, then pull the brush down the nail. I usually do this 3x, I start in the center of the nail and then do it once on either side. Place, push and pull! After the first coat I do run my brush along the edge of my nail, "sealing" the tip. I personally don't wait long in between coats of polish. You can wait for it to dry, you can apply over still wet polish. I haven't noticed a difference in look and wear for me.

After I'm happy with my polish, I apply top coat. Seche Vite is thicker than other top coats, so it does take a little bit of getting used to using. I use the same Place, Push and Pull technique for applying and I do run my brush along the nail edge to seal the top coat in as well.

The last step is cleaning up mistakes! While I have a lot of practice doing my nails, I'm definitely not perfect. My favorite way for cleaning up mistakes is to pour a little acetone into a glass Dappen Dish and use a stiff, angled brush (usually an eye liner brush works well). The brush is stiff enough to have traction along the nail edge, it can fit under the tip of my nail to get mistakes there and since it isn't a cotton ball there aren't any little fuzzies to trail along and ruin my manicure. I typically clean up as the last step, but if I've made a lot of mistakes I sometimes will clean up earlier in the process.

My typical manicure lasts 5 days chip free despite working in a hospital and having a toddler at home! What are your favorite manicure products and tips?



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Makeup Wars: My Fall 2013 Go-To Manicure

Product Sent for Review I Bought It

Today for Makeup Wars we're sharing our current favorite fall manicures. I have a confession, I'm a girl with hundreds thousands of nail polishes, and I haven't been wearing much. I've been busy running around like a crazy person and really haven't even had time more than than a few manicures!

But, the ones that I've done have all been the same 2 polishes, which you can see here. I've mostly been wearing them separately, but they do work together!

I'm a big purple girl, and my favorite polishes right now are Nails Inc Bond Street and CoverGirl Violet Flicker.

The Bond Street is Gel Effect Polish. This polish is meant to be a little longer lasting with more shine than a usual manicure. I have noticed that I get a day or two of longer wear, though I'm not sure it is any shinier (my normal Seche Vite top coat is already really shiny). There's also a plumping effect, which is apparently the extra layer effect that you'll get on your nails with gel manicures.

The polish is very pigmented and I only need 2 thin coats, so I haven't noticed much plumping. And I have to admit that I find the plumping to be a strange thing to be wanting. I really don't like having such thick nails. It must just be me!


The CoverGirl Violet Flicker is from their new Hunger Games collection. I was lucky enough to see a mini-display at Meijer a few weeks ago right after it was put out, though already only these 2 colors were left. I've only seen empty displays since that time! This is a really pretty color in person, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's a very pretty purple with multi-color shimmer and glitter. I need 3 thin coats to get it opaque and due to the glitter it is hard to get off. I have to use the foil method for nail polish removal to get the glitter off of my nail.

What colors have you been wearing this fall?








Product Sent for Review I Bought It

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Makeup Wars: My Summer Go-To Polish Shade of 2013

Product Sent for Review


Today for Makeup Wars we're sharing our favorite nail polish of the summer. I have to admit that I can't stop wearing this color! It is on my toes or my fingers all the time. I love that it is both pink and coral at the same time.






Product Sent for Review

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