Red Konad French manicure, carpet catastrophe

Today was my day off. When I woke up this morning, I noticed that parts of my carpet were a little bit damp, but only in a couple places. I brushed it off and kept getting ready, but then I realized that it was getting wetter and wetter each time I walked on it because the carpet pads were soaked. I tried to figure out where it was coming from, but my bathroom, washing machine, and water heater were all totally dry and there were no leaks in my ceiling. We called the handyman for my apartment complex, and he was pretty perplexed as to where it was coming from also. He decided to check the neighbor’s to see if it was coming from there. Lo and behold, the toilet had been clogged and overflowing and there was no one home. So my carpet is covered in, more or less, poop water! Haha, well I’m lucky I was home and it was my day off so that I could get someone to come by to look at it.

My Saturday manicure is a French manicure in Essie Scarlett O’Hara over my naked nail, with top coat. I used Konad stamping plate M19 with 2 stamped layers of the Scarlett O’Hara. Thanks for listening to my rant!

Nail polish swatch – Illamasqua Monogamous

I just started my surgery rotation, so I’m going to be going on a bit of a hiatus. I’ll try to post something about every week and we’ll see how that goes. I have a lot of neutral pink polishes because I can get away with them in every setting. This is Illamasqua Monogamous, which is a semi-matte/satin pinky nude. I love Illamasqua blushes, so I had high expectations for this polish.  I really love the color and finish. The thing that I couldn’t get the cuticle line to look good no matter what I did. If I applied normally, it would drag near the cuticle and get streaky. If I tried using a thicker layer, I would flood my cuticle. I used 3 coats + topcoat for these pictures. I generally prefer colors that I can get away with using as few coats as possible, so this was another downside for me. If anyone has any advice for tricks to use this polish, I’d love to know!

Oxblood and nude ombre manicure with Essie “Skirting the Issue”

I’ve been really into oxblood red this season, so when I saw Skirting the Issue from Essie’s Stylenomics collection, I got it immediately. This manicure was done with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 140 Peachy Keen with Essie Skirting The Issue on the tips. Usually when I do a gradient manicure, I use a makeup sponge to put the second color on the tips. This time I wasn’t going for subtlety, so I just painted Skirting The Issue on the tips. I’d heard some negative things about Skirting the Issue, but the formula worked perfectly for what I used it for. It does have to be layered, but it dries quickly and has a lovely jelly finish. I can’t wait to try it alone.

On the other hand, this Sally Hansen color is a nightmare to apply. It took me 5 coats just to get something that wasn’t streaky! I have some other Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes that I don’t have trouble with, so I think it’s just this color. Either way, I think I’ll have to replace this color with a different polish.

 

Nude and gold manicure with Dior Sienna and China Glaze I’m Not Lion

Today’s manicure is done with Christian Dior Sienna and stamped with China Glaze Passion using Bundle Monster BM 312. I was hesitant to get the Dior polish since it’s so expensive, but I convinced myself that if I got something in a conservative shade I could use it for interviews in the future. Maybe not the most sound reasoning, but I really like the formula. It applies like butter and was opaque in two coats. The brush is thicker than that for your average nail polish. I have mixed feelings about thicker brushes. They help with an even application but are less precise. Unexpectedly, I ended up really liking the brush. The accent nail is with China Glaze I’m Not Lion, which I knew I’d love as soon as I saw it. It is a holographic glitter with a coarse texture once it dries. I had some trouble photographing this manicure for some reason, so these pictures don’t do it justice. I picked up China Glaze I Herd That at the same time, which is a similar glitter polish, but is copper. I can’t wait to try that one out now.

 

I’m not doing any black Friday shopping this year. The one thing I’ve been eyeing is at Zoya. My mom is impossible to shop for. The one thing that I know she’ll use if I get it for her is nail polish. For mother’s day, I got her a boxed set from Zoya that they had as a special. It was three pre-chosen colors in a nice black box. I ended up swapping out some of the colors I didn’t think she would like as much. Now, they’re selling the same boxes with your choice of colors, called dream boxes. I know what I’m getting everyone for the holidays now!

Pink and tan leopard print with China Glaze Kalahari Kiss

I’ve been wanting to try out the leopard print manicure I saw in this post at Swatch and Learn, but I thought it would be really time consuming. I just bought China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, and while I was swatching it, I got carried away and added the leopard spots with a dotting tool in pink using Zoya Gilda and black using A England Bridal Veil. It was so much easier than I had thought, and it was quicker than stamping in my opinion. So take a look at that post I was talking about and don’t be afraid to try it!

Nude and black tribal print stamp – from the Instagram archives

Here’s a mani from a while back that I really want to try again. I love this stamping plate it’s BM 315. The polish is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Peachy Keen