My First Attempt at Nail Decals, or Hi, I'm In 6th Grade!

Ok, so it's no secret that I like to experiment. Well, unfortunately I've seen all sorts of fabulous manicures that incorporate nail decals, but no real tips and tricks as to how to do them well. I think I need those tips and tricks. Let's look at the damage, shall we?

The good news is that it's not horrible, totally. It's just a bit much. I used decals from the Little Fing'rs Girlie Nails Nail Art Variety Pack, the one with cheerleading decals, various animals, and these cute punkish skulls and hearts. I absolutely love them on the sheet, but I think I went a bit overboard with them.

I was hoping to add a touch of whimsy to my Deborah Lippmann Between the Sheets manicure. What I ended up with was more like a 12 year old girl putting Lisa Frank stickers on everything she owns. It's not bad, exactly, it's just not what I was hoping for.

Now, that being said, I have to admit that I love these decals. The little skulls and crossbones are so, so cute, and I adore the bit of iridescent glitter in the white middle of the bigger hearts. So CUTE!! And even if this was a bit over the top, well sometimes you simply need to go over the top with your manicure!

I learned some important lessons while working on this manicure, as well. First off, it's very, very important to make sure the edges of the stickers are away from the edges of your nails. If you don't, then those edges just might stick WAY THE HECK UP, and refuse to stick once you get your topcoat on. Then they will catch on absolutely everything until you've lost your mind, pulled the sticker off, and totally redone that nail.

Also unfortunate- stickers don't remove with nail polish remover. Instead, the nail polish remover will remove the polish all around the edge, letting the edge of the sticker come down enough to make a seal all around it, so that you then have a small raised sticker on your nail that refuses to come off, no matter how much acetone you throw at it. Those of you with some sense might be able to figure out a way to get that sticker off your nail without causing damage.

I, however, am not that sense-bearing person. I ended up scraping the sticker and the remaining polish off in one solid chip that left very angry, flaky, awful place on my pinkie nail. I then wanted to call a do over so that I could try again without being stupid. But it's life, and it's just nails, right?

When I took the rest of this manicure off, I did it in stages. I took off the clear topcoat just until I could see the sticker raised above the surface of my nail. Then, I used my pinkie nails to scrape the stickers off, and once they were gone I removed the rest of my polish. It took me an hour and twenty minutes to do this, and I am positive there's got to be a better way. I just haven't figured it out yet.

So, those of you who use nail decals... what did I do wrong? Is removing these little bundles of adorableness really that annoying? Is there an easier way to accomplish this? Help me, because right now I'm ready to never use a decal again!!

Polish was provided by PR for evaluation.
See my disclosure statement for more information. 

What Makes You Really Happy?

I saw this meme at KellieGonzo's blog, Also Known As , and realized I wanted to do it too! So, the premise is this- you list 10 things that make you happy, then tag 450 of your closest friends, blah blah... yea, you get the drift.

1. Snuggling with my family. We're big snugglers, and we can often be found watching a movie in a snugglepile. I wouldn't trade my husband and son for anything!
2. My filtered water pitcher. For years, I hated to drink water, and would drink everything else, especially milk. I also had kidney stones partly because of this. Now I drink anywhere from 1-3 liters of water a day, and I love it. When I'm really thirsty, nothing tastes better than cool water.
3. Penguins. I have no idea why, but I have loved penguins since I was little. I think it might have something to do with Mr. Popper's Penguins, but I don't know for sure. Doesn't matter- if I see a penguin unexpectedly, I squee. If I see live penguins, I go nuts. Always have, probably always will.
4. Making things. I've been creative since I was born, and I've been making things since I could hold a paintbrush. I love painting, sketching, doodling. I worked with polymer clay for years (yes, I've made canes just like the ones we use on our nails!), I've crocheted/knitted, I've sculpted (badly). I even went to art school for a couple of years. Basically, if I'm actively working on something, I get frustrated and grumpy!
5. Babies. Have you ever noticed the woman who, while out doing errands, sees a baby and goes nuts over it? She squees and coos, and makes faces at the baby hoping to make it smile. She makes an utter fool of herself just to hear a baby giggle. That's me. Say hi next time. :D
6. Nail Polish. There's something about the colors, the finishes, the versatility of nail polish that absolutely makes me giddy. I could have 1000 bottles, and I'd still find a new one that made me smile. Note- I don't even have to put the polish on to be happy with it, which leads me to...
7. Organizing things. I find organizing things to be meditative. I focus my will, and then things around me become sorted, arranged, and ordered. I don't even need a method, really. Just counting and sorting and putting things away neatly makes me feel calm and happy. So yes, rearranging my nail polishes makes me happy. :D
8. My uber-squishy hypoallergenic memory foam mattress topper. It makes my hurty parts less hurty, which makes me a happy, happy Laynie!
 9. Office Supplies. Is it Back-to-School time again?? YAY! I could spend HOURS looking at pens and pencils and paper and notebooks and notepads and highlighters and staples and... hang on, I need a second to collect myself...

.... sorry. I get a bit over-excited about office supplies. I don't KNOW why. I wish I did! But going school supply shopping every year was absolutely unbearably exciting, and my parents would inevitably end up shouting at me to just hurry up and PICK something already!! And I would try my hardest, but OMG did you see?? PUPPY NOTEBOOKS!!!
10. Writing. I know, you never would have guessed this one. I'm so terse, so succinct. Pulling words out of me is harder than pulling teeth!

Umm, yea.

Also, I'm not tagging anyone specifically. If you want to do it, consider yourself tagged. I do, however, make an open invitation to everyone to do two things: 1- list 10 things that make you happy in your blog, and 2- thank the people who make you happy for being so fun, for making you smile, or for just making the world a brighter place by being in it. The world gets a little bit nicer when we pass on some happy. :D

Sorry this one doesn't have any pretty photos of nail polish. I have lots of those coming up, I've just had a rough day. Hopefully it won't happen too often, and we can get right back into the polish talk tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, how about a sneak peek?

Deborah Lippmann - Between the Sheets

I'm a simple girl with simple tastes. I've said for years that nail polish is nail polish is nail polish, and that I had no idea what could make a $16 polish so much better than a $1 polish. I've maintained that my Wet n Wild polishes, as long as I use a good base coat and top coat, are just as good as anything that comes with a fancier name and a fancier price tag.

Then I got polishes from Deborah Lippmann. First of all, they come in a sturdy plastic box, clear so that you can see the delicious color inside. The box is strong, and made me feel like I was getting something with a little bit more value. It's a nice touch, and I appreciate it.

After I opened the box, I was struck by just how solid the bottle feels. It's a square bottle with a little pedestal on the bottom, and to be honest, there's a lot of polish in it (.5 fl oz/15 ml). It feels substantial in my hand. At this point, I started talking to my husband about it, how silly I felt. I know I'm easily swayed by packaging, whether it's cute or elegant. But I didn't want to fall for this polish's packaging and be biased about the polish's performance. I wanted to give this polish a fair evaluation, and be willing to tear it to shreds if that's what it needed.

So I waited a day or two to apply it. I've got patience, I don't have to pounce immediately. But as soon as I got that bottle in my hand, I got excited. It doesn't smell quite as strong as other polishes, so that's a major plus. But as I started to apply it, I was absolutely stunned by how creamy and gorgeous this polish is to use. The color was almost opaque after 1 coat. My nails practically painted themselves!

I tweeted about it halfway through doing my nails. My friends laughed at me because I don't normally rave about a polish like this. But this polish was an absolute dream to apply, and as it dried, it didn't lose that wet glossy shine I love so much. Two coats dried quickly, and dried glossy. I had to call my husband in to see!

So today, we went to play cards, and as I was shuffling the deck, my husband noticed that my nails seemed glossier than usual. Nothing changed but the polish, but if my husband notices my nails something has to be different! He said the color looked rich, deep, and they made him think of a custom paint job on a fancy car. I think the color is juicy and inviting, to the point I can't stop looking at my nails.

After wearing the polish for two days, I've got minimal tipwear. No chips, no problems other than the tips, and that happens no matter what I'm wearing. I feel like the only way this polish could get better is if it cleaned my bathrooms for me!

So, I thought to myself... what else can I test? I decided to see if it would work with Konad stamping. Surely it can't be this fantastic and work with stamping too, right?

Wrong. I got the best stamp I've ever done from this polish. It's not quite opaque, and I don't think I'd try it on black. But on light colors, this stuff is a dream.

At this point, I can't think of any other tests to do with it. I'm wearing it with nail decals, and while my poor topcoat has had a time with them, the polish is still in perfect shape. It's official- the packaging, the product, and the performance of Deborah Lippmann polishes really are worth the extra money. If you feel like spoiling yourself, grab one of the creme colors- if you're anything like me, you'll feel like a million bucks!

Polishes were sent to me by PR for consideration.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Simple Nail Art Designs Using Konad Stamps as a Base

Have you ever wanted to do a fun nail art design, but had absolutely no idea how to get started? That's how I felt right before I started this look. I was so excited because I'd gotten a couple of KISS Nail Artist Nail Paints, but I had absolutely no idea what to do with them. I just don't paint all that well. Then I had an idea:  I would look through my Konad/Fauxnad plates to see if anything grabbed me.

Before long, I'd settled on image plate m76. I like the flower design I chose for several reasons. It's fun, it's cute, but most of all it has lots of open spaces. I can paint those open spaces with other colors to make it look much more complex than it really is. Plus, I don't have to worry about drawing the design, or if I'm doing it right. It's like doing a paint-by-numbers kit, only I get to choose what colors go where!

Granted, I only had room for the pink KISS striper, but that's ok. I can use the blue some other time. I know I'll use it because it's a gorgeous shimmery royal blue, and I have a thing for shimmery royal blue!

So, next I had to decide on a background color. I made a somewhat strange choice, but I think it worked out well in the end. I put three coats of Maybelline Express Finish in Golden Plum. This pink is absolutely divine, my lovelies. It's bright, but it's also sheer, so that you can get away with it in lots more places. The glass fleck in this polish is so, so pretty. There's something about the depth that I love! I could have left this as is with just a coat of topcoat, but no...

I wanted more.

That's where the Konad stamping comes in. This part was actually pretty easy, if somewhat nitpicky. First, I stamped my chosen image. (Come on, you're still with me, right? I just showed you that picture. Scroll up if you have to!) I decided to use white for the stamp, so that it would look nice against the pink. It looked cute on its own- my husband actually preferred it without filling in the colors. Oh well.

Then it was just a matter of filling in the various bits with color. I think the animated gif I made explains it a bit better than I could with words. Honestly, isn't that usually the case? I used a variety of polishes for the various colors. The petals were KISS Nail Artist Nail Paint Soft Pink, the flower center was a mixture of Sinful Colors Let's Meet and Love My Nails Hot Tamale, the leaves were a mixture of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Carribean Frost and Sinful Colors Happy Ending, and I put Sinful Colors All About You over the various bubbles and things in the design. Sinful Colors All About You is a gorgeous mix of golden and coppery glitters, so it added an interesting punch of color from the right angles.

As I was painting, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. In fact, up until I put the topcoat on, I was half sure I would hate it. But as I put the topcoat on, I realized that the combination of polishes reminded me of cloisonne, a surface treatment in which compartments are filled with enamels or inlays. Something about the way the flower petals were surrounded by the white of the Konad stamp really reminded me of the way the metal barriers contained the enamels in cloisonne beads. I didn't hate it after all!

I also learned something new with this particular manicure. I'd read about repairing broken nails with a tea bag, but had never actually had to do it. Thankfully I had both nail glue and tea bags on hand, because I was walking through my hallway, tripped over my own feet, and managed to split the nail on my left hand ring finger down the center. I was lucky that it didn't go past the white part and didn't hurt or bleed or anything, but I was so upset. That's my swatching hand!! I've got a lot of stuff to show, what do I do?

Well... I mended my nail using a tea bag, my nail glue, and the sweet KISS manicure kit I've been holding on to. Luckily, it had a sanding/buffing block that let me smooth everything after it had dried, as well as emery boards to smooth the end and file off the extra glue-saturated tea bag. I'll talk more about my manicure kit later, but just know that it saved my butt with this! Can you see the repair in the pictures?

So that's my nail adventures for the week! I learned, I experimented, and at the end of the day I was pretty darn happy! What do you think of this faux-cloisonne look?  Do you think you'd try it?

The KISS Nail Art Paint and manicure kit were provided by KISS's PR company for review.

I used them because I like them, not because I'm being compensated to use them.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Buying Nail Polish On Sale- What Can You Find?

A friend of mine IMd me yesterday to tell me she'd finally found the hidden nail polish at her local Walgreens. Turns out she'd been wandering through the cosmetics department without ever thinking about finding the clearance items. That's a great way to miss out on very economical items!

For example, several months ago I was digging through the clearance section and found a little gift package of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure minis. It was very cute, but most of all it was very inexpensive. I think it was selling for $2? Something in that range, while the retail price of the package was $10. However, some of the polish minis had been swapped out. What does that mean?

It's a little easier to explain with photos, I think. Basically, someone had swapped out two bottles of polish they didn't want for two they did, leaving me with a pack of polishes I really like!

So overall, I think it worked out splendidly! I love vampy colors, and I was really wanting some gold and silver polishes. I'd like to get some more metallic colors, but hey, this was a great start, especially for only $2! I've also found Incoco dry nail polish appliques for $1, as well as several other polishes ranging from 25 cents to two-three dollars.

So remember, next time you're at Walgreens, be sure to walk around the aisle or two near cosmetics. There might be an endcap filled with clearance goodies, and there might be a color or three that you want to grab for awesome sale prices!

Tell me, lovelies, what sorts of clearance polishes have you found, and where?

Little Fing'rs "Girlie Nails" Nail Art Variety Pack

I think I'm in love. For years I've had a massive obsession with penguins. Big ones, small ones, real ones, stuffed ones... I don't care, I love them all. So when I saw on Scrangie's blog that Little Fing'rs has penguin nail decals I went nuts! Every time I went to a store that might carry Fing'rs products, I'd check out their cosmetics department, digging through the decals, hoping to find the penguins.

I kept failing.

I found awesome punk rock decals, I found lots of the typical floral decals. But I had checked 5 or 6 stores and still no penguin decals. That is, until I found them. It turns out I'd actually passed them by on more than one occasion, simply because they had cheerleading decals on top. Unfortunately, I'm not sports-inclined, and the idea of doing my nails up to support some sports team just didn't interest me. I never thought to look at the stickers under the top sheet!

But I finally found them, and my husband didn't even complain when I stuck them in our shopping cart! He knows how I am with my penguins...

I love this set even more because of the monkeys. My husband loves monkeys almost as much as I love penguins, so the idea of monkeys and penguins living happily together on the sticker sheet and later on my nails feels like an omen, a sign that we truly are destined to spend our lives together blissfully happy. (Because clearly 17 years of happy marriage isn't enough to show me that!)

The surprising thing is that I really like the other sheets, even the cheer sheets! There are lots of decals I can see myself using, which makes me really happy. (Now to see if I can convince myself to actually USE the decals!) Check them out!

I can't wait to use them and see how they work on. I'm curious- what do you think of them?

Revlon Iced Mocha- like chocolate milk for my nails!

Do you ever find that doing your nails helps you deal with anxiety? I admit it, I have issues with anxiety, and I find that doing things with my hands helps me to channel that nervous energy into something positive, something more beneficial. Take this manicure, for instance.

I was feeling extremely worried about something I had absolutely no control over. Instead of stressing and driving myself crazy, I pulled out my nail polish box and looked for something soothing. I knew I'd found just the right thing when I pulled out Revlon's Iced Mocha. The soft creamy tan is almost the color of chocolate milk, a warm soothing shade that seemed just the ticket.

I was surprised when I started to apply it, because it went on so easily. I only needed one coat, and it covered like a dream. Instead of having to do three or four coats, waiting between them, and worrying about too much polish on my nails I was able to finish my manicure in no time!

The soft shimmer in this polish is really pretty. It feels weird to have such a neutral shade on my nails, though. I've been wearing brights and darks for so long that I feel like I've got the dreaded mannequin hands. I know that I don't, but it's still somewhat unnerving to look at my hands and see this subtle shimmer.

Still, I really, really like it. It's perfect for any situation where I'd need to be more conservative with my nails. I'm tempted to stamp on top of it, but I think I'll betaking the polish off instead. I'm a bit bored with it already!

So what do you think of it? Is this a beautiful shade, perfect for some particular situation? Is it just too darn plain? Is it perfect for stamping, and what would you pair it with? Talk to me, I'd love to hear your thoughts!