First Attempt Using a Nail Stamper. :D

FINALLY!

I mean, I've only been telling myself for months I'm going to get one. I picked up one of the Salon Express kits (I got mine from Walmart.) The kit comes with 5 image plates, image plate holder, scraper, and a double ended stamper. 

I'd say this looks pretty damn good for my first time stamping. I ended up using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Navy Baby for the dark blue base, and used Essie in No Place Like Chrome for the stamping. I added a bit of Pure Ice's Spitfire for the glitter. 

What has you experience with stamping been? I'm eager to do more stamping soon!

Don't forget to.....

Keep Calm and Lacquer On!

Matte-ly in Love With My Geometric Nails!

Finally tried my hand at Geometric Nails. While they did take me two separate nights to complete I absolutely love how they turned out. I used two polishes by Sinful Colors, HD Nails and Ciao Bella as well as using one polish by Spoiled, Shrimp on the Barbie. For the Matte effect, I used Hard Candy's Matte-ly in Love.

Here they are, what do you guys think?

I think they look pretty spankin' if I do say so myself. ;) 

Now you must be saying "Two nights!? How the hell could this have taken that long?" 

Well let me tell you....

I started with a base coat (Cause I don't want some yellow dagger nails...), Then I painted each nail one of the three colors I used I gave that about an hour or so to dry before breaking out the tape. I used tape portion off half my nail diagonally and then painted which ever color I wanted to use out of the three on to that particular nail. However once these were dry my bed was calling my name... So I went to work with some funky half finished nails the next day. Once I was off work, I completed them by using the tape to create triangles in different directions on my nails and painted them with the final color. 

As always - 

Keep Calm and Lacquer On. :)

Fixing a Break

Not too long ago, I got a break on my thumb nail. I'd just gotten my nails to a likable length so I decided to try to patch my nail. I consulted Google. Found some information from a few different sources, and now I'm sharing with you my method.


That's it, the broken nail. I know, it's really not that bad. However, it could have been if I wouldn't have patched it.

I ended up using a generic tea bag and super glue. I probably should have used super glue, but it hasn't seemed to have had any adverse effects.

I then started by cutting the tea bag open and making one flat piece. From the larger piece, I cut a piece the width of my nail.

What I should have pictured was how I rounded the edges of the tea bag so that it fit the curve of my cuticle. Oops. 

Now you're going to want to apply a layer or super glue, nail glue will also work, over the entire nail and fit the piece of tea bag on the nail. Use a toothpick to smooth out all the bubbles of  air. 

Once the super glue is dry you want to trim the edges with scissors. Now you can finish off with a buff and a file and call it a day. I actually waited to file and buffed, did a second layer of super glue. Once the second layer was dry I did another buff and then shaped them with a file.

The final result, it's not the prettiest thing ever.It was much stronger than the rest of my nails and looked just like the rest of my nails once painted.

To finish this post off, I leave you lovely lacquer addicts with a recent manicure of mine. :)

Revlon Moon Candy - Galactic on the thumb, pointer, middle, and pinky

Matte accent nail.

Keep Calm and Lacquer On. :)

My Cousin's Nails For Her Very First Day of School.

I was over at my Aunt and Uncle's house last night when their daughter said "Sousin, I really like your nails." (I was wearing Supernova from the Moon Candy Collection, and Sousin is a term for sister/cousin because I used to live with them.) Lucky enough I had brought a lot of my polishes with me in case anyone wanted me to paint their nails or toes. So my mom and I just go crazy painting her toes and nails. She even went and got her own nail polishes that she keeps in a cosmetic bag that has her name on it.We forgot that her first day of school was the next day and had painted them pretty dark on her finger nails and her mom noticed, and I believe her exact words were "I mean, she's starting Catholic School tomorrow." 

I took that as an opportunity to re-do them for her (of course.) She usually doesn't let me pick out the colors for her nails, but this time she did. My choices were, Essie No Place Like Chrome, Essie A Cut Above, and Revlon Popular. These are the results.

2 coats No Place Like Chrome, 1 coat A Cut Above, 2 coats Popular on her pointer.
I did use a base and top coat as well as cuticle oil on her. She loved the whole thing.
Bonus: You can kind of see Supernova on my nails here.

I love her tiny fingers.

I'm was so excited for her to have gone to school with these nails. Especially since she has to wear a uniform, I'm glad that she gets to stick her own personality into something that she can show off. I do have to say that I just love doing this girl's nails. She always loves them and is always complimenting me on my nails. 

I even loved them so much, that I went home and did my nails exactly (almost) like hers, only difference is I did a glitter gradient and she just had a regular top coat of A Cut Above. Here are my results. 

I just love how shiny and sparkly this manicure is.
I used a base coat then applied 2 coats of No Place Like Chrome before starting my gradient.

This was my first attempt at a glitter gradient. :)

Keep Calm and Lacquer On!

My 'Just In Case' Stash I Have At Work!

Ok, so I've been doing some searching on this magical Internet for healthier stronger nails, which has led to this conclusion: KEEP SUPPLIES EVERYWHERE! Seriously. Today's all about preparing for the inevitable peels and snags I know I'm going to get at work.

First off, I always keep this cream on hand, I used to carry it in my purse, but I recently got a HUGE bottle of Cuticle Oil that I keep at home so I decided to keep this at work for now. 


I only use this about once a day, only because it can make a cake-y consistency if I add too much to my nails but it really helped stop my hang nails once I started using it to moisturize! I got this at Wal Mart for a decent price.

I've also got a serious problem with lotions, if I'm not buying polishes I'm buying lotion! These are just the three that I keep at work. Tahiti, Sweetie has to be hands down (pun intended) my favorite. It has the Monoi Oil so it does have a bit of a greasy feel afterwards, but that's what I like most about it, besides the amazing smell! 


The other two are also great moisturizers, I got Grin and Bare it from my boyfriends mom and the Sheer Infusion came with a larger lotion I got at Wal Mart. The other two can both be purchased at Bath and Body Works if I'm not mistaken.








 I just bought these a week ago, and I'm hoping they help with my nail length and strength. I've been taking them every other day, because I still have a few regular vitamins left to finish and can't take them both because they both have the same vitamins in them. The serving size for these is three pills, but I'm only taking two. I have to take them with meals, but I have to take all pills with meals or I get really nauseous (Except THE pill, that somehow I can take without food or water...) I will have to do a follow up post when I'm done taking this bottle to see if they helped. *Crossing my Fingers*

I use the regular old CVS brand nail polish remover. Non-Acetone of course! (Not to say I don't use acetone on my nails for the clean up process, but I moisturize like crazy after) This one is my favorite so far it works rather quickly and It's not harsh on my nails in the least, I even thought it made my cuticles look softer and nicer when I used this one. 


As you can see I'm almost out, good news is I already have more at home, I'll just take this bottle home and refill it for work! 


I am notorious for picking my nail polish off, so keeping some remover at work will really help me not damage my nails but forcibly removing the polish from my nail.




















This little bag is what I keep my polishes in at work! It's just so cute, and it really was the perfect size for what I needed.

Not to mention the cute little front pocket that fits my cotton balls!

From Left to Right, this is what is in the cute pink bag.


Pink Sparkly Franken I did 
Coral - Color Workshop
Nude - Color Workshop
Iradescent White - Color Workshop
Gunmetal - Color Workshop
Empire State Blue - NYC


To be honest, I don't know what the first three Color Workshop colors are because they don't label their bottles, but Gunmetal is actually Gunmetal. I remember because it's one of my favorites! 

THE OTHER HALF! Left to Right:
Bonsai - Revlon Colorstay
Haze of Love - Wet 'n' Wild Megalast
Sugar Coat - KleanColor
Clear - KleanColor
Hardner - KleanColor
Ink Splatter - Sally Hansen Crackle

I don't like being tied down to one particular product, so I make sure I have a variety of options. Not only in colors but in moisturizing. I even created my own little hand cream with lotions I have at home and my cuticle oil. 

What are some of the things you keep at work, my fellow Lacqueristas? 

Keep Calm and Lacquer On!

Trying out some new polishes I got on sale. :)

These are polishes that I picked up at Sally's Red Tag Clearance on Friday, Spent about $23 there but I also signed up for my membership at the time. 

 From left to right, Beauty Secrets Base Coat, Top Coat, and Cuticle Oil. After that it's Crackle Glaze in Oxidized Aqua, Fast Track, Blonde Bombshell, and Smoke and Ashes. 

Now, this is my first time trying Beauty Secrets, but they were on sale buy 2 get 1 free, and I could not resist. I do have to say that they are one of the best Top and Base coats I've tried. They hardly leave a smell about 10 minutes after the last coat is applies. The Cuticle Oil is fantastic, It smells like coconuts (I can't stop smelling my nails when I put it on) and really helps me from messing up my nails when I'm done with my mani's and pedi's.

I did my boyfriend's mom's nails this weekend with Fast Track. They turned out beautifully; the polish went on so smooth. The color is such a nice beige/tan color with golden iridescent sparkles. I love this polish, and am a little jealous that she's wearing it before I am. 

I just love the golden flecks. This is a super sweet polish that you can really wear anywhere. 

I also gave myself a mani this weekend. I ended up using Smoke and Ashes and Blonde Bombshell. I did 2 coats of Smoke and Ashes with Blonde Bombshell Tips and a white separation line. It's not my best free hand work, and the picture isn't doing Smoke and Ashes justice. It is a really dark color, but it has a lot of tiny green sparkles. Blonde Bombshell is a fantastic glitter, I really only needed 1 coat to get an even coverage, but I added one more just because I LOVE glitter. 

You can see the green sparkles in the Smoke and Ashes on the thumb and ring finger in this pic, but like I said this picture so does not do the color justice. 

Along with Sally's I paid a visit to CVS because I had gotten a coupon for 20% off. I ended up getting 7 polishes by Spoiled. Spoiled is always a reasonable price, $1.99, but with the 20% off and buying a new remover because I was almost out, I only spent $13.50 at CVS. 

Left to right- Club Rat, I Don't Drink Cheap Wine, Pet my Peacock, Good Karma, Jewelry Heist, Pirates Booty, and Cougar Attack.

I just love their names, I already owned a few polishes by them, but these are really cute. So far I've only used Good Karma and Pirates Booty. 

(I'm not going to review Pirates Booty this time, because I actually used it on my Boyfriends toes over a bright yellow. I want to give it a good go on my nails before I decide how I feel about it.) 

Good Karma I used for a pedi and only needed 2 coats to get a nice even coverage, probably would have been fine with 1, but I like to be safe. It's such a beautiful blue I have a hard time describing it. But the pictures are dead on for how it actually looks on my toes. I also used Blonde Bombshell by China Glaze on the second toe for a cute accent. 

(If you don't like feet you can ignore the last 3 pictures.)

Such a good summery color, and the Blonde Bombshell really brightens it up.

Close up, Right Foot.

Close up, Left Foot. 

Thanks for reading, tips are always welcome. 

Keep Calm and Lacquer On. :)