Nail Polish Tag

I was tagged by Natasha from Clouds and Cuticle Oil to do the Nail Polish Tag! Feel free to post a comment with your personal answers and link your own blog URL below.

1) What's your favorite nail polish brand?
I really like Butter London and MAC polishes, but as far as generic brands go, I LOVE Essie, OPI, and (when my wallet is a little more hungry) Pure Ice.

2) Glitter or no glitter?
I don't really like the look of chunky hand-applied glitter, but glitter nail polish is fine.

3) OPI, China Glaze, or Essie?
I've only tried China Glaze once or twice, so I can't judge it; but between Essie and OPI, Essie all the way. (And not only because of it's name!)

4) When or how often do you change your nail polish?
I've got into the good habit of just removing the polish completely after it starts chipping and wearing my natural nails for a couple of days before re-painting them. You can view my Nail Care 101 post here.

5) What's your favorite nail color?
Oooh, toughie! It really depends on the season and my mood. Some of my favorites include "Pink Ribbon" and "Trout Pout" by Butter London; "A Crewed Interest", "Starter Wife" and "My Way" by Essie; and the "Pink and Silver Lace" manicure by OPI.

6) Darks or brights?
Usually brighter; I really like pastel colors!

7) What are wearing on your nails right now?
Deborah Lippman "Daytripper".

8) Matte nails: In or Out?
I feel like some shades (lighter, pastel ones) are prettier in matte than others (darks and blues). Personally, I think that some people can definitely rock the matte nails. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people!

9) French manicures?
Yes! LOVE French manicures.

10) Favorite summer colors?
I feel that every color (besides black, deep blues and turquoise, and dark purples and violets) are appropriate for summer! Especially love oranges and yellows during the summertime.

I tag YOU!

Rosy In Blue: A Nail Tutorial

A lot of people asked me about painting roses on my nails when I shared my previous nail care and design posts. I thought I'd address this topic today because it seems like a lot of people think it's extremely difficult to paint your own roses manicure, but in contrary, it's really not! I put together this beginners post for anyone who's been curious about my floral nails and is looking to create the manicure themselves. Enjoy!

You will need various nail polish colors, an object with a little 3-D rose, a toothpick, and a bobby pin.

1) Paint on a base coat, then your base color. As I always tell my readers, the Mac Lacquer Under Base is my all-time favorite lacquer base coat! Allow to dry.

2) Using the 3-D rose (you can find one on the knicks and knacks section of Anthropologie, or for a cheaper solution, go on a scavenger hunt at the dollar store; it's actually where I found mine in the picture above!) paint a thin layer of nail polish on half the rose in the color you desire the flowers to be. Carefully and gently press down the rose on a 45 degree angle onto your nails for 10 seconds, then remove. Paint on a layer of nail polish on the other half of the rose, and press down directly adjacent to the pattern you just imprinted.

3) Allow roses to dry, then using the circular tip of the bobby pin, paint dots on the under-layer of the rose to create buds.

4) Use a toothpick at a 30 degree angle to paint on leaves and stems.

5) Once all is completely dry, paint on a clear UV top coat. (I use the one by Sally Hansen!)

You're done! Keep in mind: practice, practice, practice! Practice always makes perfect, and this is no different. Upon first try, the roses looked extremely messy and I never got one half of the rose to match up with the other. It took me about 3-4 tries to get it perfect! So, keep practicing and never give up on something you look to. Hope this little tutorial helped!

5 Tips: Painting Nail Designs

Painting nail designs and embellishing little details has always been a toughie for me, especially on my left hand. Here are 5 tips I discovered that helped me a little...

1. Use the plastic, circular tip of a bobby pin to paint dots or little details. Toothpicks never worked for me, and cotton swabs were just a little too cotton-y. The tip of a bobby pin was kind  of the 2 in 1, best of both worlds deal.
2. Base coat does wonders. As stated in my previous Nail Care 101 post, my favorite base coat - ever - is the MAC Under Lacquer Base. When painting a pastel nail color, be sure to apply a base coat for the color to show through to it's max.
3. Add a layer of white nail polish, especially when painting neon colors. There's no need to apply two coats of the same color when you can easily pull the same shade off with a thin layer of white!
4. Don't go anywhere near a cotton ball. Cotton balls have always been the big, bad wolf whenever I painted my nails! Somehow, I would always touch one while my nails were still wet and they would COMPLETELY destroy my design - a total downer.
5. Tape works. If you're thinking of color blocking your nails, tape is the best way to go. Stick on when your first coat is dry, paint on your second color, and peel off when the second coat is completely dry. Also, make sure the tape is 100% secure! There's nothing worse than lifting off the tape and finding that your stripes are more zig-zagged than straight.

Nail Care 101

This isn't a topic I hear about often anymore, so I decided to address it in this blog post today: Nail Care! It's actually really, really important to keep your nails in tip top shape, even when you can't see them behind a manicure. Believe it or not, your nails can show signs of aging and an unhealthy diet way before your skin does. And anyways, who wants a ruined nail underneath a nice manicure?! Here are 5 tips to help your nails stay healthy and fresh...

1. Don't overdose on the polish. We've all been guilty on this - applying, removing, and reapplying nail polish x10 because it doesn't look right, painting nails without a base coat, or giving ourselves a manicure more than 3 times a month. The number one rule of healthy nails is always not to overdose on the polish. Too much nail polish can cause staining which leads to yellowing of the nails and also sensitive nails; neither is better than the other. To avoid this, limit your manicures to 2-3 times a month and apply a base coat to your nails every time you paint them. My personal favorite is the MAC Under Lacquer Base; it's more expensive than other drug store base coats, but definitely worth the investment.

2. Nail polish remover alert! Drugstore polish remover is absolutely fine, but next time you take a trip to CVS seeking a nail polish remover, ditch the dollar deals and opt for the more expensive - I use the Sally Hansen Polish Remover. Hey, it's only a dollar more.

3. Don't bite your nails. I know how hard it is to break this habit. Trust me, I was once a nail-biter myself. For me, it wasn't an effect of nervousness or unsettlement - I would find myself biting my nails at the oddest times, like when I'm updating Twitter. It took me an official 7 months to break (I still remember the day I realized I don't bite my nails anymore!) but it was well worth it. There are lots of ways out there, but the one that worked for me was the reward system. Everytime I didn't bite my nails for a week, I would go out to Pinkberry. For a month, I would go to the salon and get a fresh manicure. Just a little warning; make sure that the process doesn't accidentally empty out your wallet. (;

4. Take showers. Lots of them. And apply lotion directly after you get out of the shower, onto your nails (while they're still slightly damp). I have no idea why this works, and am too lazy to go research it, but it works. My nails always feel refreshed and renewed after an hour or two (these are times when my nails are bare and natural). I like to use Aveeno, although it doesn't really matter - just avoid strong-scented lotion. Oh, and one more thing: make sure you don't apply nail polish within 24 hours of your shower-lotion-healthy nails campaign. The feel-good refreshment disappears like poof, I warn you.

5. Grow them long, clip them short. Okay, so you obviously don't want uber long nails, but you also don't want super short, stubby nails, either. Grow out your nails (this will take a long time if you currently have stubby nails, but be patient - it's worth the wait!) and once they're pretty medium-long, clip them short again. Use your own preference for the length, but I recommend clipping them so you can still see a strip of grown nail. The picture at the very top of this post shows a super gorgeous floral manicure - pretty nails don't necessarily have to be long!