Wednesday, August 22, 2012

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!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

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!