Week 1

I've been following the same routine all week, with the exception of one thing. I switched the SH Nailgrowth Miracle for Nailtiques Formula 2. This one is specifically for "soft, peeling, bitten, weak, or thin nails". Ummm....ALL OF THE ABOVE PLEASE! It's about $18, but I used this last time I let my nails grow out and it worked wonders. It's pricey, but worth it IME. I also started using Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Butter during the day and Lush Lemony Flutter at night. taking care of your cuticles is important!

I'm glad with the little growth I had in just this one week.

See my starting point HERE.

Tutorial: Penguin

Happy Sunday everyone! Thank you to Aimee for this tutorial request. I was already wearing Kiss Soft Purple (it came from the nail art pens and I just decanted into an old SV bottle).


How pretty is this color?!

 Supplies:

-Acetone
-Dotting tool
-Small, thin brush (this came in a set of art brushes I got at Michael's)
-Heart Rhinestones
-WnW French White Creme
-WnW Sunny Side Up
-Sation Black
-SH Insta Dri Top Coat

I use a Ziploc bag to pour out all the np I will be working with. I poured out about 3-4 drops of the white onto the bag. With the brush I drew the outline of the body

I filled in the rest of the body with the regular brush (I tried to fill in in with the thinner brush, but it was really streaky).

The edges weren't so clean afterwards. I already had a coat of TC before I started so I dipped my brush into acetone and cleaned up the edges. That's really how I get all my lines cleaned up. It's much easier to clean up lines when there is a layer of TC, the color doesn't smear.

Next I poured a drop of the black on to the bag and with the smallest end of the dotting tool (for the eyes)

The smallest end works the best:

I used the brush to make the beak and feet. I just did 3 horizontal lines. 

I applied another coat of TC and cleaned up the white from my fingers with my regular clean up brush. I applied one of the heart rhinestones on my pinky. 

Here is the end result again:

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday! :)

Got Any Suggestions/Ideas???

:::edit::: After some wonderful advice, I am now more than happy to try and recreate any requests that I get from you lovely ladies. I am always up for a challenge :D

I've had sort of a mental block when it comes to nail art lately. I've been browsing for inspiration, so I had an idea and I wanted to get your input/opinions. I was thinking of doing a weekly custom nail set for someone (on press ons obviously, and then just send then out to you). I would just need a picture of your inspiration or a description of what you would want and I would try and recreate that somehow on the nails.

What do ya'll think?? Is this a good idea? My only concern is: who would want fake nails, right?? Should I just recreate them on my own nails?

Ahhh...I've got a case of the 'itis right now and it's not letting me think straight :/

Thanks for reading :)

From the Vault: Nubar Treasure

Happy Friday everyone! So a while back I bought the Nubar Prisms Collection. I think this was the first time I bought an entire set, who could pass up a set of holos? I told myself these would be as amazing as Reclaim. But, unfortunately...they're not. I've tried 3 so far and I like them....I'm just not wowed by them. Here is Treasure. It's a light purple holo.

It's similar to China Glaze Gamer Glam, except a lighter purple shade and holo-ier (is that a word??). Actually, it looks similar to GG indoors, when you go outdoor you can really tell the difference between the two. The purple is a lot more pigmented. So as I'm writing this, I keep telling myself that this color is alot prettier than I'm giving it credit for. Soooo...I take it back. I REALLY like Treasure. I will definitely have to reswatch this to give it a proper description.

What are your favorite holos?

My Uphill Battle

Ok so I've always had a problem with biting my nails. I come from a family of chronic nail biters (it's hereditary, right?? LOL). I may have mentioned this before, but I was a religious acrylic nail applier/wearer for about 10 years...twice a month, every month. I finally kicked the habit last year and managed to grow my own nails...it was one of my proudest moments ever, lol. The stress got to me I guess, now I'm back to nubbins.

I'm gonna start keeping track of my progress. We'll see what works and what doesn't, wish me luck!!

Last time I bit my nails I totally went to town on them. I bit them all the way back and even peeled layers back. The result; not pretty!!

Here is what they look like today:




I will be using these products:
-Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle (I have some left from a few months back, so I'm using this up)
-Nutra Nail Growth Treatment w/aloe vera (this always works for me)
-Orly Nail Armor


Any ideas or recommendations are greatly welcomed!!!!

[xox] L

I'm Soooo Sorry!

Ok, so I have been seriously slacking. I still have no nails, but I'm hoping that by posting I will be motivated to get back on the right track and repair my nails. They're short, uneven, and have been seriously neglected!! Buuut for those of you that remember...my RRs are done!!! The stress is over! Here is a pic of the demolition (I have no before pics unfortunately) and the after.

Before



After


Thanks for sticking it out with me!!!


[xox] L