The Week in Nails, November 10

Water Marble

Base of Julep Alexandra, marbled with China Glaze Riveting, Essie Bordeaux, and Julep Charlie.  Julep Polymer top coat.  I wore this for two days.

Julep Lynn

2 coats of Julep Lynn and Polymer top coat.  I had to give a work presentation and didn't want my water marble to be distracting, so I went with my usual standby for demure nails.  I wore this for two days.

Orly Rock-It

Two coats of Orly Rock-It and no base or top.  I wore this for 3 days.  

This is the first time I have worn this polish, and I love it!  It has so much depth to the color.  My picture isn't the best, but it's a ruby color with a gold foil effect.  It wore really well, and I really like this brand's rubberized grip for the brush.  I bought this at Marshall's for $4.  Good deal!

This post contains items purchased by me.  All thoughts and opinions are my own and no special consideration or compensation was received.

My First Water-Marble

Preparation

First I used two coats of Julep Alexandra on all nails and let it dry. Next, I taped off all around my nails to make clean-up easier. 

Into a cup of water (stir first to break surface tension so the polish disperses) I dropped Essie Bordeaux, China Glaze Riveting, and Julep Charlie. For the first practice nails I also dropped in Julep Alexandra, to make it look like only parts of the nail were marbled. 

Starting off

Swirl the polish with a tooth pick until you get a pattern you like. Dip your nail into the patterned part of the polish that you like. With your finger still in the water, clear all of the excess polish away with a toothpick. 

Clean up and the final product

Pull your finger out of the water, remove the tape, and clean up any stray polish. Seal with a top coat and that's it!

Right Hand

Left Hand

This was easier than I expected, but it took a few tries for me to get the hang of it. I kept smudging the polish one way or another. 

The Week in Nails, November 3

Julep Cleopatra with China Glaze Marry a Millionaire on Tips

Matte Black and Sparkles, no top coat, for the 3 days leading up to Halloween.

NCLA Dracula's Bride Nail Wraps

Halloween: Dracula's Bride Nail Wraps.  Everyone asked if I did this myself, and were all disappointed when I said they were nail wraps.  I guess they have come to expect great things from me? 

Julep Aisha (berry) and Cynthia (microglitter)

The final two days of the week (my nails were naked today) I wore two of my November Julep polishes.  Aisha was on my thumb, pinky, and first finger, and Cynthia on my middle and ring.  I should have used a top coat over Cynthia at least, it is semi-matte and chipped pretty easily.

The Week in Nails, October 6

Julep Hoch from the Trina Turk Fall 2012 Collection.  Grayish teal creme.
Accent Nail China Glaze Deviantly Daring.  Green/teal duochrome.

Shades of Teal

In person this was a subtle accent nail.  I liked it.  I wore this for 1 day.


My October Julep Maven box came, so I tried out my new polishes (Cleopatra, black, and Valerie, green).

Julep Colors

Then, I decided to add Essie Luxe Effects in Shine of the Times over everything.  I wore this for like 4 days and got a lot of complements on it.

Perfect for October!

Naked nails for a day :( and then I bit them all off because life is stressful at the moment.

Nailtini in Mai Tai from Ipsy. 2 days.

This polish lasts a long time without chipping!

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

The Week(s) in Nails, September 29

I was away last weekend (Vegas, baby!) and didn't have internet access to post anything. So, with my apologies, here are the past two weeks in nails.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Red Velvet

Two coats.  No top coat, no base.  I wore this for 2 days, I like it a lot.  It's not as uniform of a texture as OPI's Liquid Sand, and it's not glittery either, but it's still a nice polish.  Not bad for getting it on clearance at Target ;)

China Glaze Dress Me Up and Julep Jane

China Glaze Dress Me Up was part of the Hunger Games "Colors from the Capitol" Collection.  I believe this was the color that was originally to be named after Prim.  It's a dusty mauve color that gives almost enough coverage in 1 coat, so I did two.  Juelp Jane is a full coverage gold and rose gold glitter named after Julep's founder.  Two coats, wore it for 2 days.

China Glaze Dress Me Up, Zoya Jules, and Julep Jane

A few of my nails had chipped after 2 days, so I replaced one of the glitter nails on each hand with two coats of Zoya Jules.  It's a shimmery champagne color, and I probably should have done another coat.  I wore this variation for 2 more days.

While I was in Las Vegas, I wore Julep Lynn.  It lasted 5 (!) days without much noticeable chipping.  No pictures, sorry.

I had naked nails for a day when I got back, and then wore this for the next 3 days:

OPI Russian Navy and Julep Erica

2 coats of OPI Russian Navy, with one coat of Julep Erica (the New Years Mystery Box surprise glitter) over my ring finger.

The Week in Nails, September 8

First day of school

I did this last Sunday and it stayed on until Tuesday. 3 days. 

Julep Florence with Padma stamped and on accent nail from this month's Classic with a Twist Julep box.

Princess sparkles

I wore this for 2 days. 

3 coats Essie Lion Around and 2 coats China Glaze Prism on accent. No base, Seche on top. 

My first finger on this hand split down the middle! I have no idea why, but I cut it as close as I could and there is still a little that is split beyond that.  I'm going to try to be careful, and not have it split more, but I have a feeling this nail will be a short little nub for a while.  

Sweater weather

I barely got 2 days out of this before I was sick of it. I really want to like the fuzzy coat polish I bought.  I just don't.  

2 coats Revlon Scented in Cotton Candy. 2 coats Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in Wool Lite. Seche in between the two glitter coats.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

The week in nails, August 4

I started with Color Club in "he loves me" with Julep Jane as an accent. No base coat, 3 coats CC, 1 coat Jane over 2 coats CC, topped with Seche Vite. 

The problem with CC polishes is that they chip so fast! I got two days out of this before some of my nails got bad enough for me to change the worst of them. 

I did 3 coats of Spoiled "my button fell off" on three nails of each hand (thumb included) and topped them with Seche. 

This lasted another two days. 

I then switched it up completely and did 2 coats of China Glaze "Stone cold" from the Capitol Colors Hunger Games collection. Matte polishes always chip very fast, so I tried to mitigate that by doing a coat of Julep base coat, a coat of Sally Hansen Black Diamond, and then the CG. 

This lasted about an hour before chipping so I sealed the tips and did a French mani with Black Diamond. This lasted 3 days. 

S

My Quest for the Perfect Coral Nail Polish

Spring, summer, fall... even winter... there is not inappropriate time to wear coral nail polish. I've become obsessed with finding the perfect shade. It needs to be bright, not dull, and shiny, but without shimmer. It has to apply easily without streaks and not take forever to dry. Not too pink and not too orange, and not too expensive. This polish has become my white whale. I couldn't rest until I found it. Every time CVS or Rite Aid got a new seasonal polish display I pounced... and usually ended up disappointed. However, I have amassed a collection of every variation on the coral theme, and will now review them in all of their sunset-y glory. I did the hard work, so you don't have to. Sorry for the random polish splotches. 

 My 10 candidates: 

My first 5 Candidates- the darker ones

American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Sunset Blvd. $6 

This is orange.  2 Coats.

Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color in Three D (discontinued color) $8.95 on Amazon

Orange with a flash of pink.  3 coats.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Pink Ladies $6

Non-neon bright pink

Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Color in Tropicalia $1.99 (I have an older bottle, not the new re-styled one)

This is pink and streaky and has a terrible brush. 3 coats isn't quite enough here.

Sinful Colors Professional in Boogie Nights $1.99

Orangey jelly.  3 coats.

The second half- the lighter shades

Color Club Professional Nail Lacquer in Reign in Spain $2 (as part of the $8 Wanderlust collection) The winner! Right in the middle of pink and orange, nice and bright; perfect for summer! 2 coats and my love forever.

Yes! This is the best! 2 coats.

eChina Glaze Nail Lacquer in Flip Flop Fantasy $5.99 (new version) I wish my camera could catch how bright this is.

Neon, semi-matte, very bright and a little too pink.  3 coats.

Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in Strawberry Cream $4.99.  The print doesn't stay on this bottle! Smells great for the first day. Super pretty, a hair darker than Alicia, but STREAKY and with a very thin brush.

This is my bargain pick, but it comes with poorer quality than the others. 3 coats.

Julep Nail Vernis in Alicia $14 or $11.20 for mavens They call this a salmon creme. If it wasn't so expensive I would have backups!

Not quite bright enough for summer; Winter pick.  3 coats.

NYC in a Minute Quick Dry Polish in Peach Sparkle (discontinued color) $1.99

Definitely a peach, and sparkly, but a little too light. 3 coats.

All 10 polishes

The lighter 5

The darker 5 compared to Reign in Spain

Almost ombre nails?