Color Club - Out in The Open

COATS:
2
SOURCE:
Walmart
COMMENTS:
This was my first manicure after a vacation where I wasn't able to paint my nails, and I just wanted something simple and sweet.

Color Club - various neutral/nude shades

COATS:
2
SOURCE:
Walmart
COMMENTS:
I saw these on clearance at Walmart and figured they'd make great neutrals. It was difficult to choose just 10 to come home with me, but I managed it, lol. Of the shades I got, I wore 4 of the 5 darkest ones and one of the lighter ones in my manicure.

I found it interesting how different the shades looked in flash photography versus natural lighting.

Golden Rose - #305

COATS:
2-3
SOURCE:
goldenroseusa.com
COMMENTS:
I wanted something sheer for a change and liked the fact that this looks different depending on lighting and viewing angle.

A break from color - Nail Tek Foundation III

COATS:
1
SOURCE:
Sally Beauty Supply
COMMENTS:
I find that I need to protect my nails with something even when I don't want to wear polish. I like using Nail Tek Foundation III because it dries matte so leaves my nails looking like they have nothing on them.

Avon - Barely There, Cystallized Pink

COATS | CAPAS:
2
TOPCOAT? |CAPA FINAL?:
No
SOURCE | ORIGEN:
Www.avon.com

Swatch: China Glaze - Fast Track

COATS | CAPAS:
2
TOPCOAT? |CAPA FINAL?:
No
SOURCE | ORIGEN:
Sally Beauty Supply / Nail Supply House

Zoya Flynn, with more stamping

Zoya Flynn

COATS | CAPAS:
2
TOPCOAT? |CAPA FINAL?:
See photos ** Mira las photos
SOURCE | ORIGEN:
www.zoya.com
Stamping plate = Cici & Sisi plate #12

No topcoat:

With topcoat:

Discoloration and cut

COMMENTS | COMENTARIOS:
My nails got discolored by the Savvy Purple Shock nail polish. It's a little better, but after wearing the Nabi I decided to trim them a little bit.
**  Mis uñas quedaron descoloridas por el esmalte de uñas Savvy Purple Shock. Es un poco mejor, pero después de usar el Nabi decidí recortarlas un poco.

Got a long overdue trim...

As much as I liked my nails really long, they just were too long to be practical anymore. I took them down a bit, with a nail file. I haven't been doing anything special to them since my surgery in mid-August. I stopped taking Biotin back then.

Here they are after the filing to cut down the length - you can't see it because of the curvature of my nails, but the corners are sharp since I filed straight across. I sat outdoors to file since I was generating quite a bit of nail dust!

I accidentally scraped the nail file over my thumb nail as you can see in the photo below. I leave the surface of my nails alone - no buffing or anything. 

And after final filing with the finer side if the file and adding some curve to the corners. They're ready for a quick wash and scrub followed by lotion and on to the next mani!

I can't decide!

Does this ever happen to you? You've taken off your previous mani and are prepared to put on a base coat when you realize you don't know what's going on after the base coat... That was me two days ago. I simply couldn't decide what color to wear! So I spent the day without polish. These are my bare nails with just some hand lotion on.

So much potential! Too bad my collection is so large that it hinders my decision-making ability!

Just Nails

Chi-Chi from The Phalanges Files asked how I take care of my nails. That's a tough question for me because I don't do the same thing all the time. Here's a few of the constants in my nail care regime:

1. I always have my nails polished. Leaving them bare for more than a day is extremely rare. If I have no time, it's just the quick base coat - as pictured above.
2. Every hand washing episode is followed by the application of lotion, which includes making sure I massage some lotion into my cuticles. Yes, this means I have a bottle of lotion at my desk at work.
   
3. I always use a base coat - but I have so many and just randomly pick one usually. For example, the base on my current mani (China Glaze 2Nite) is a nail hardener that I got last week as part of a set of 9 polishes by Elle LDL. Lately I've been alternating between Sally Hansen Nail Quencher and an old one from my college days that I'm trying to use up.
   
4. I used to use pure acetone to take off my polish. I recently switched to using two scrubby tubs - one for each hand. It's faster, and I don't have to bother with cotton balls. In both cases I follow up immediately with a hand wash and lotion.
5. I do take prenatal vitamins and 2000mg of Biotin everyday. However, I've never been a regular pill taker, so there are days I forget to take them.

I can't think of anything else I do regularly. I file when I need to, clean up my cuticles when I need to (maybe not as much as I should, but I'm comfortable with that). Does this help? Let me know if you have more specific questions or need photos please.

Sation Bumpin Beige

Application: Smooth
Coats: 2
Source: Victoria Nail Supply
Comments: I guess this is my "mannequin hand" color. It really does look like you're seeing my nail beds instead of my nails. Speaking of nails - had to chop them a few tips were peeling and I have a split in the middle of my right thumbnail. Yuck. Doesn't stop me from enjoying my polish though! I may have to get a backup of this color...



In this last pic I'm comparing the color on my nail to Color Club Best Dressed List. They look pretty similar. Will have to wear it to really find out though.

Blank Canvas

My nails with nothing on them...