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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Nude Leopard

Hello, Polishists!

How are you all doing? I hope that you have been able to enjoy the wonderful spring weather where you are and you're showing off the hottest spring colors with your new pedicure! Here in NYC, spring just keeps passin' us by! Today I wore boots AND a coat! Hopefully soon things will warm up soon... they better, because I have a pedicure appointment on Thursday :)

On to the polish!

This week I met a woman wearing a beautiful scarf. I don't remember too much about what was said in the meeting, but I do remember that scarf! I knew the pattern would make a beautiful manicure. Guess what? I was right ;)


I love the combinations of beiges, browns, and nudes that was pretty popular last year and the year before. The scarf looked exactly like this: dusty rose with khaki and brown leopard print.  I legit almost asked her for the scarf. Real talk.

To recreate this look, I used Eternal Optimist by Essie as the base color. A friend gave this color to me for my birthday two years ago and it's been one of my favorites ever since. Even though it's kind of old lady-ish, I find that it's really versatile and pretty close to a nude for my skin color. Opaque and two coats.


I used Essie's Case Study and China Glaze's Mahogany Magic to create the leopard markings. I somehow misplaced my dotting tool, so I subbed the head of a bobby pin instead!



Overall, I enjoy this manicure! It's subtle but still kind of out there.



What about you, Polishists? What has inspired your mani lately?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

'Nolia Nails

Hello, Polishists!

Apparently, it is spring in NYC. While the weather has yet to catch up, all of the plants are in full bloom and everything is gorgeous! I took a trip to Brooklyn's Prospect Park last week to enjoy the beauty of being in nature. Despite the cool temperatures, it was quite a busy scene- people sick of being cooped up all winter enjoying the freeness of the great outdoors.

One of the most beautiful plants I have been seeing all over the city is the Rustic Rubra Magnolia.


Gorgeous, right?

I was inspired by this Magnolia plant for this week's manicure.


A simple and delicate gradient, featuring pink, my favorite color!

For my base, I used L'oreal's Satin Sheets, a sheer ivory color with glass flecks. I applied three coats to achieve opacity.



I sponged on Wet n' Wild's Candy-licious to create the gradient effect. Candy-licious is a dusty rose color from Wet n' Wild's Megalast collection. I've sung Megalast's praises in the past, and it has proven to be an excellent low cost polish option.


To capture the magic that spring brings, I topped my artwork off with Orly's Love Each Other, a shimmery, mystical top coat. Unfortunately, this topcoat didn't really add anything to the mix :(


I quite like this combo. I think it would be something cool to wear on one's wedding day... I guess if you're dreaming of an ombré pink wedding dress a la Gwen Stefani (like me!).


Here's a macro of the gradient.

What do you say, Polishists? Ombré nails for weddings: yay or nay?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Clouds Tutorial

It's been a long time...

... shouldn't have left you...

... without some dope nails to ... paint to? I dunno. I thought I had something there, but I've failed.

How are you, dear Polishists? I hope you are all doing well. Life is getting pretty crazy in this Polishist's world... but all good things! Like this tutorial!


By popular demand, I am very excited to bring you my first tutorial!

Step 1: Gather your cast of characters.


Left to right: Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer Base Coat, Seche Vite Top Coat, and New York Color in Midtown Mimosa. When these powers combine, they become your supporting base!


Gap Ocean Teal and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Heat Flash: these will be the colors that form the clouds and will become the protagonists of this nail art. Be sure to pick colors that are not too similar to each other- contrast is more interesting to the eye.

Step 2: Base for your face.


Create your base by using your base coat, base color, and top coat. Peruse Instagram while you patiently wait for your base to completely dry. I used Midtown Mimosa for this step. It's an orange-juice yellow polish with a jelly finish. I am head over heals in love. I almost didn't want to do anything to do any more art on my nails because I think this color looks so good on me (if I may be so bold).

Step 3: Wanna be starting something.


Now, we start with the cloud shape. It's quite simple. First, create one stroke by starting it near the bottom of the nail. Make sure there is not too much polish in the brush, lay the tip down, let it linger for a second so that the polish drips off in a rounded tip at the edge of the brush, then slowly pull it back.

Step 4: Hit me, baby, one more time.



Repeat the first step, beginning the tip of the second stroke a little shorter than the first. Do that one or two more times, depending on your preference. Peruse Facebook while you wait for this coat to dry.

Step 5: Gimme, gimme more.


Do this again with your third color. Feel free to apply more than one coat if the color isn't poppin' like you want it to. Don't forget your top coat!

Step 6: It's clean-up time...


Use a small brush (I use a flat eyeliner brush) dipped in pure acetone (not pail polish remover! It will not work.) to clean up your stray marks. Follow up with cuticle oil or another moisturizer so your cuticles and surrounding areas don't get dry (like mine)!


And, Voila! You're done!



What do you think, Polishists? What colors are on your clouds wish list?


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Gold Corners

Hello Polishists!!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday! I've been super busy lately, and I apologize for leaving you hanging :(

Today, I bring you a beautiful and simple mani from two drugstore brands. One is an old favorite, and one is a new love!



My "something old" is from NYC- New York Color. I love NYC for many reasons: the bargain price, the myriad of fantastic and fashionable color, the relatively long-wear, and the quirky names! As a New Yorker, I recognize that the names sometimes don't make sense, but they're fun nonetheless. Tudor City Teal is a great dupe of Essie's Turquoise and Caicos. It's Tiffany Blue-esque, and pretty versatile. It goes on pretty smoothly and opaque in two coats. I started out with this as a base and had soooooo many ideas about how to dress it up. In the end, I thought gold would be the perfect complement to the teal. I was right!



I'm still loving tape manis, so I decided to do this subtle, gold corners design. I used my "something new"- 3D from Milani- for the design. I was late on the holographic bandwagon but now I'm hooked! I love how it looks.





Unfortunately, I haven't mastered the technique of how to get the tape absolutely flat, so a little bit of the polish sneaks under the tape, undermining a clean design. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the tape flat?



One more thing- I want to do a tutorial within the next couple of weeks. What would you like to see? Clouds? Gradients? Glitter gradients? Tape manis? Comment and let me know!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spring Fever

Happy first week of spring, polishists!

Here in New York, we are about to sue Puxatony Phil for false advertising! It's currently 44 degrees, and warmer weather is nowhere in sight :( Despite the reality of the situation (it's coooooollldddd!!), it is, in fact, springtime. And I decorated my nails to celebrate its arrival!


I wanted to go for a subtle mani for this week, after the colorful one I had for St. Patrick's Day.


I picked up these Sally Hansen Salon Effects in All A- Flutter nail decals a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure if I would wear them. They looked a little juvenile, but I still copped them. When I was thinking about my manicure for this week... the week before Easter, first week of spring- they seemed completely appropriate.


I decided to pair All A-Flutter with Wet n Wild's Break the Ice. Back when I was just starting my polish habit, I loved Wet n Wild's Megalast formula because they lasted longer than other polishes I was using. I'm changing my polish more often now, but I do still love Megalast! Break the Ice is a pearl off- white that is perfect for professional settings.


I definitely see myself wearing this again.





So, polishists, how's the weather where you are?

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Polishists!!

Sorry for the late posting- my weekend to-do list is about a mile long! I haven't mentioned it on the blog, but I am actually a doctoral candidate who is working part time and trying to finish my dissertation! Whew! A lot is going on. I appreciate your patience and loyalty :) Hopefully this dissertation roller coaster will be over soon!

Anyway, on to my festive nails!



I was trying to keep it simple, but... that didn't exactly work out.

Here is the cast of characters.


I used Essie's Mojito Madness as my main color. It's a vibrant kelly green that goes opaque in two coats. The formula is a little thin, but I like the results.

On my index finger, I toped Mojito Madness with Orly's Sashay My Way. It's a festive glitter with hexagonal and rectangular pieces. It's not my favorite, but it is really unique.


I tried a striping manicure again and am crazy about the results! The underwear is a butterscotch gold from Color Club. There wasn't a name on it, and I bought it at a local discount store (Lot Less, for you New Yorkers). It's a pretty color, but it dries a little streaky. I like it as a base color for a tape mani, and perhaps a good color for stamping...? We shall see.



I used the Color Club polish as the base color for my ring finger and accented it with green striping tape . I sealed the design with two coats of Seche Vite.


Finally, I did a glitter gradient on the pinky finger. I used e.l.f.'s Gold Star over Mojito Madness for this look. I am LOVING the glitter gradients. This will not be my last one :)



I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. Not exactly work- appropriate, but cute nonetheless!

How did you spend your St. Patty's Day?

Monday, March 4, 2013

Ay, Que Rica!


Today I am bringing you something short and sweet :)

This week I kept it simple. Nothing fancy, no special tools, no multiple colors or layers. Just this:


Zoya Rica. And, sí, es muy rica!!

Rica is a tangerine color with a glass fleck overload! I love it!! It reminds me of if tangerine soda existed. Wait, does it?

I just Googled it. It does.

Moving on...


This is two coats, topped with Seche Vite. Lovely.



I may add some art later on this week, but I like how this looks for right now! What do you think?

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

My first glitter gradient

Hello, Polishists!

For this week's manicure, I wanted to try something that I have previously failed at: a glitter gradient. In the past, I tried a method involving painting the nail multiple times. Didn't work. But recently, I stumbled upon this tutorial, and what resulted was magical.

I love glitter gradients with natural-looking polish. In my mind, I envision myself in a rowboat (think the "Kiss the Girl" scene in The Little Mermaid), dipping my fingertips into the water, and gently dragging them as we merrily row along. Did I mention that the water is made of glitter?

Anyway, onto the polish.



For the beige/ nude polish, I used Essie's Allure. It is probably the closest shade to my natural nail bed. It's pretty sheer, even though I used three coats.



The glitter polish is from Ulta's house brand, in Indigo-go Girl. It's a brilliant glitter polish with differently sized glitter pieces.



Overall, I'm pleased as punch with this mani. It's a really easy way to add a little pizzazz to a basic mani.

Do you have any quick mani tricks when your polish job is just meh?

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Happi Nails :-D

Hello, Polishists!

I'm bringing you another installment from my latest Zoya haul. My coworker (a fellow polish enthusiast) brought up the fact that neither of us has worn coral polish in a while. Coral is one of those rare colors that works well for the palest of the pale to the darkest of the dark! So, this week, I turned to my haul for some coral inspiration.

Coral always reminds me of summer, the Caribbean, and the beach... all things that I love to think about this time of year! The weather is pretty miserable in New York today... cold, windy, and rainy :( Good thing I have my nails to make me... Happi!


Happi is a stunning pinkish coral with gold flecks. It is absolutely stunning! It goes on smoothly, and is opaque in 2 coats. I was concerned at first, because the first coat was kind of streaky. But, the second coat masked the streakiness of the first coat, though.


For the accent nail, I used Revlon's Brilliant Strength in Hypnotize. It goes on opaque in one coat.


Just because I wanted to be fancy and do what all the cool kids do, I attempted a striping tape design. I kept the design simple: three vertical lines of varying lengths.


While the design came out pretty clear, I think the colors are too similar to create the desired contrast effect. I love Happy, I love Hypnotize, and I love striping tape manis... but I do not love them all together.



What about you, Polishists? Have you tried a striping tape mani? How did it turn out? Which colors did you use? I'm interested in trying this technique again!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Walking on the Wild Side

Hello, Polishists!

How are you doing? Were you snowed in like me and much of the rest of the Northeast? Thankfully, I was safe and sound. Being cabin-bound gave me loads of time to relax, watch old episodes of The Wire (I had never watched it before... someone write me a late pass! It's soooo good!), and, of course, do my nails.

Cobalt blue has been one of the hottest colors in fashion for a little while now. I LOVE cobalt blue and have several CB clothing items in my closet. I've been seeing the pairing of cobalt blue and animal prints around lately, and I adore the combination. Since I was going to be out of work for a few days, I decided to do an NSFW manicure. No... not like that... just probably not what you would expect from a professional in an office setting. Anyway, enough suspense. On to the nails.



For the zebra stripes, I used Sally Hansen's Salon Effects in Wild Child. The Salon Effects are nail-shaped stickers that you apply to your nails in lieu of painting them. They're pretty cool and pretty easy to use. The Salon pack comes with nail strips of different sizes and a mini orange stick and nail file. You first apply the sticker onto your nail, cut and file the nail down to the correct size, and then finish it off with a top coat. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri No Chip Top Coat.



The cobalt blue is also a favorite of mine. It's good ol' Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Co-Bolt Blue. It's a rich cobalt with silver and blue shimmer. It's opaque in one coat and dries pretty quickly.



The black polish is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Onyx. Onyx is a bit watery, but I was satisfied with its opacity after two coats. It's a no-frills flat black that I recommend as a Polishist staple.

Both Co-Bolt Blue and Onyx dry with a shiny finish, but I wanted to change things up a bit so I used a matte top coat. Now, I've been burned by matte topcoats in the past. But, I figured something out: matte coats are not like your average shiny topcoat that you can just slap on a couple minutes after your second coat. This time, I waited until the polish dried completely, then applied the topcoat. Success!



The topcoat I used was Gosh Matte Effect Top Coat. I love it! It's a little streaky, but matte coats tend to be unforgiving. I did this mani a couple of days ago and there has been minimal signs of wear- even on the tips.

I'm overall quite pleased with my wild side mani! Now, back to The Wire!

Are there any trends that you've been late on?