Why I started this blog:
I first got started in the online nail polish world around Christmas of 2010. I was looking for some flashy Christmas nail art designs. I then dove deeper into the nail art world and became enveloped in all the art and designs. I found myself taking more pride in my nails and taking care of them.
I have a handful of blogs that I really REALLY read and to those I am thankful. I want to give back to the online polish community by sharing what I come up with and what I have learned. I am also posting this for all the armatures out there like myself. Without blogs similar to mine, I would be lagging behind in the nail art world. Welcome to my contribution to it all!
About My Nails:
I have short, peeling, ridged, curling, thin nails. The cuticles look like dog poo because I am a self professed cuticle picking freak! I am working on it slow but sure but I would say that is my big nail issue, is cuticles.
Are Those Your Real Nails?
Yes ma'am they sure are. Only one manicure on record for me has artificials. I do not like to use them because they are so so hard on my nails and nail beds. The one thing I have to stress to you so severely is this-IF you do go with artificial nails, be it glue on or acrylic, you MUST soak them off. Never pick at them. That will do so much damage to the nail plate! It will not be the same until the WHOLE length of the nail bed grows completely out. I have actually had damage to my cuticle from a nail and it grew out in a dent. Just be cautious with the removal.
Nail Care:
I don't do too much in the way of actual care for my nails. I just started taking Biotin as a supplement per recommendation from some fellow nail bloggers. Every time I do a new manicure, I use cuticle oil and push back my cuticles. I also trim the cuticles a little when they need it. That is just simply to keep myself from damaging them from picking. The main thing is pushing back the cuticles and keeping them moisturized.
Top & Base Coat:
I used to not use a base coat and rarely used a top coat. Only if it was a multicolor design would I use a top coat at all. I recently fell in love with top coats because of the shine and protection they offer with a good manicure. I JUST started using a base coat. The reason I do now is because of staining of the nail from highly pigmented polishes. As far as what I would recommend, well I think any base coat will do the job. Look for one that suits your specific needs. For example, Seche has a good ridge filler base coat. As far as the top coat goes, well as far as I am concerned, there is only ONE top coat to buy. That is Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat! I will never use anything else. You will hear a lot about that one. But let me tell you it makes all the difference in a manicure. On the topic of top coats, I do have to suggest a matte as well. I use Essie's Matte About You. It is a little expensive to buy and I hear a little hard to find but it is worth it when you figure you can make any nail polish you own a matte by adding this top coat.
Filing & Trimming:
As far as filing goes, all I can tell you is what I have learned by cruising other blogs and reading about nail care. I can tell you that you should never use nail clippers on your nails to shorten them. This is especially bad for people who have nails that like to peel and crack. This blunt "chopping" of the nail is not good. Also, even though it takes forever, do not use a really rough file. This will kind of tear at the edge of the nail opening it up for cracks and peeling. I use a Ruby Stone crystal nail file. A lot of ladies also swear by glass files. Not many use the traditional sandpaper style any more. Those tend to be too rough.
Avoiding 'Messes':
There is no real tip or trick that I can give you for preventing a mess. Some people use lotion or cuticle oil just around the cuticle avoiding the nail. I have never been an advocate for this method because I am afraid I will get it on the nail itself and mess up a good manicure. I just try my best to be careful and just remember, it is paint, you can remove it. After some practice and time, you will polish like a pro! Have faith!
Fixing Smudges:
I call them "dinks". You know how it goes, you just did a wonderful manicure, you are marveling, taking photos, messing with the lighting, angles and trying to get the photographic color to match real life when all of a sudden, WHAM. You have dented the surface of the manicure or even scraped it. Good news, it may be able to be fixed. If the polish is still there you have a good chance. All you need is saliva! Yep, Saliva! It may sound strange or even gross, but at the risk of a good manicure, it all seems worth it. What you do, is use either your tongue or tons of saliva on your finger and gently glide over the surface of the polish. It should push things back into place. If you have kind of gouged the paint and it is missing, this may sort of work to camouflage the problem but chances are you are going to have to repair the polish on that nail. All you can hope for is you are wearing a polka dot design and you can just hide it under a dot! Hope that helps with those frustrating dinks!
Cuticle Oils:
I do use cuticle oil frequently. This is partly because I have such horrible cuticles. You may not and can get away with using the oil almost never. Currently I am using either Sally girl cuticle oil or Essie's The Cuticle Pen--cuticle oil in a pen with a brush on the end, awesome! I always always use it when I am going to push back my cuticles and after a manicure. Just remember to use it after a manicure because the polish remover you use can be very drying.
Polish Stash:
Well, like I have said, I am an amateur. I currently-3/30/11- have 94 polishes. That is not including the one duplicate I have or any clear coats, top coats or base coats. My absolute FAVORITE nail polish brand is China Glaze. Many many of my purchases are China Glaze. Another of my faves is ORLY and Kiss Nail Art sets. Most of my purchases either come from Walmart, Sally's Beauty Supply and Beauty Brands. I will get some other polishes from other stores from time to time but these are the major ones.
Stubborn Stuck On Glitter:
I have to say, glitter may be fun to wear, but it is a pain in the you know what to get off. Glitter forms a kind of protective wall between the polish remover and your nail and is hard to get off. The best method I have found is either to soak your nails in a soaking bowl or, to use the 'Foil Method.' The Foil Method is where you soak a cotton ball in pure acetone and stick it onto your nail and wrap the whole end of your finger in aluminum foil to hold it on there. That also prevents it from drying out before the job is done. Acetone evaporates rather quickly. After it has set for about 5 minutes on each nail, begin by grabbing the whole foil wad and pulling it off. As you pull it off, close your hand around the foil tightly as to kind of wipe the glitter off as the ball comes off. Acetone is really harsh, so especially after this, use some moisturizer.
About My Photos:
I use an 8.0 mega pixel Olympus FE-370 with 5x optical zoom. I got it on sale at a Circuit City going out of business for 80% off! Heck of a deal! I add my watermark on a free program called Serif Photo Plus SE. I usually don't do any editing to the picture itself other than to add the watermark.
About Watermarks:
At the advice of some fellow bloggers, I did start adding a water mark very shortly after starting in the blog world. Not because I want to stamp my pretty pics or waste my time. But because I am proud of my work and I want it to stay known as mine! I will try my darnedest to keep the watermark off the art and out of the way while making sure it cant just be cropped out. In Serif Photo Plus SE I use the font Jester for both watermarks. The larger one is at 250pt and 50% opacity. The smaller one is at 120pt and 100% opacity. Both are color number #C41132.
Places I Shop:
Thus far, all of my shopping is done locally. I did receive one Konad plate from BornPretty.com as part of a promotion but have never ordered anything off the internet. Usually I shop at the following:
Beauty Brands
Sallys Beauty Supply
Walgreens
The Dollar Tree
Abbreviations:
This will be an ever evolving list!
- NOTD: Nails Of The Day
- SV: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
- SH: Sally Hansen
- Skittles: A nail design where each nail is a different color. Mimicking the popular candy Skittles.
- Lemming: A highly desired nail polish or item.
- Haul: The goodies you just hauled home!
- Stash: The goodies you have hidden away.
- Franken: A home made polish usually by mixing colors you already have.
- MUA: Make Up Alley- abbreviation for the website www.makeupalley.com. A frequent for all things cosmetic.
- Nubbin: This is enough to make a nail blogger cry. Nubbins are short nails, often broken off at the behest of the owner.
