Sephora + Pantone Nail Polish

Hello,

After my debacle with my terrible chipping polish - Here.  I needed to redo my weekly manicure so I pulled out a bottle of polish I hadn't tried yet - I got it from Sephora in their sale section for $5 about a month ago.  It is part of the Sephora/Pantone collaboration and the color is "antique gold". 

The box came a little smushed - but the polish inside was fine.  I really like the packaging I think the white top off sets the color is the bottle.  The brush was nice and flat and the formula was quite nice as well. 

I was worried there would be brush marks but it dried pretty smooth.  The color is very metallic, and it is duo chromatic with a green shift.  it's a little festive for everyday for me personally.  I think it would be good as an accent nail or for a special occasion. 

Do you think some polishes are best saved for certain occasions?

Jasmine

Pixi Classy Cocoa - or not?

Hello,

Today I want to share with you my most recent manicure.  I used Pixi nail polish which I got at Target for $8.00.  Here's what the Pixi site has to say about their polish "Formulated for high definition, super smooth application with a chip-resistant finish and built-in UV protection to prevent polish discolouration."  They also do not test on animals.

The color is called "classy cocoa" and to be honest it is purple, or deep taupe, or brown depending on what light you are in.  I really can't tell if I like it or not!

And here are my lovely nails:

See?  It's really gross brown in that picture - but it looks better in daylight and in fluorescent light - oy!  Now for all their lovely claims that it is chip resistant... you can see from the first picture I used a Sally Hansen top Coat.  I always use a top coat - I can't stand chipped nail polish, one chip and I'm done.  This polish chipped within 12 hours, and I was sitting at home reading and folding laundry!  What! so big fail there.  The brush in normal - I like the skinny bottle, the formula is a little runny.

Here again you can see it looks more grey/tuape - It's not duochrome it just a weird color. And if it chips on me with a different top coat - we are done - because that's not "classy cocoa" at all!

So what do you think?

Jasmine

KB Shimmer - Hex Appeal

Hello,

Today I wanted my manicure using KB Shimmer Hex Appeal and Maybelline Color Show in Sapphire Siren.

I used two coats of Sapphire Siren to create a deep base.

As you can see I didn't worry too much about making it perfect, because Hex Appeal has a navy translucent base I figured would mask flaws.  This particular Color Show polish is rather thin and I had a hard time keeping it from pooling down at my cuticles.  If you were going to wear just Sapphire Siren you would need 3 coats for sure.

Then I added Hex Appeal and the magic began!

 

The translucent base gives it a really neat bit of depth, I used two thin coats and then a top coat of KB Shimmers Clearly On Top.  It is shiny and oh so sparkly!  I didn't have to work the glitters on too much, there was a fair amount in every swipe.  I think this would also be pretty over a deep fuchsia base as there are quite a bit of small fuchsia glitters in there. 

Hope you all are having a great week!

Jasmine

This week's Manicure - Snappy Sorbet with dots!

Hello,

Today I wanted to share my manicure, I got one of the Maybelline Polka Dots polishes in my Cara Box.  So I wanted to check it out.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Snappy Sorbet
 

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Base Coat.  Then I put on Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Snappy Sorbet.  You can see my bottle has a strip of color on the top from my organizing system I talked about HERE. 

 

 

This polish with the base coat wears really well,  I didn't put a top coat on and I have only minor tip wear after 3 days.  It has a wide brush that I find kind of hard to work with, but the formula spreads well and they always have lots of trendy colors.

 

 



Then I grabbed my Maybelline Color Show in Dotty and did an accent nail.

 

 

 The translucent orange base of Dotty made the Snappy Sorbet look "oranger" for sure - and it was hard to place the dots, I couldn't get a lot of the big ones.  I'm not sure how I feel about the polka dot top coat trend.  Maybe it's just because it's orange - but it feels a bit "Halloween-y" to me.

 

What do you think?

 

Jasmine

Manicure feat. BLUE & KB Shimmer

Hello,

This week I did a manicure on my sad, broken nails.  I always think really intense colors look best on a shorter manicure so I painted them a bright periwinkle blue.

This polish is one of the 99cent mini's from Sally's Beauty Supply and it is called "Epic".  The color is actually a lot more chic than I thought it would be - it didn't read garish thank goodness!  This is also a good color for an accent nail.

Then I wanted to try out the Opal Top Coat I got.

I tried and tried, but I couldn't quite catch the sparkles.  It goes on pretty smooth, you have to mess with the foil bits just a bit and it is lovely to look at.

I topped it all with the KB Shimmer "Clearly on Top" Top coat I just got here's how it's described: "When searching for tops coats, we here at  KBShimmer wanted one that dried quickly, was super shiny, did not cause  shrinkage with glitter nail polish, and did not yellow.  When we found  this top coat, it felt like finding the holy grail and we made the decision to offer it here!" It was only $5 and is a very nice top coat!  They also have beautiful polishes - (I may have snagged 2). 

What's your favorite non-traditional color to wear?  What colors do you think look better with a short manicure?

Jasmine

Nina Ultra Pro - Tangerine Dream - Manicure

Hello,

Today I want to share my weekly manicure - which honestly didn't turn out so well.  I used Nina Ultra Pro in "tangerine dream", I got it at Sally Beauty Supply for under $3.  I believe they have changed the formula since I bought this.

You can see this is one of the bottles that I have taken the time to "categorize" as I have the small swatch sticker on the top. It's a pretty cream coral but application is thick and super streaky.  I did 3 coats over a base coat.

You can see the streaky-ness on my ring finger, and yes my cuticles are terrible.  The color I had on prior to this was a blue that took a lot of remover to get off and I didn't lube up before I re-polished.  I need to get a hit off the Burt's Bees cuticle cream!  

So since I thought it looked bleck - I decided to add glitter!

I added "Rainbow Bridge" and that helped hide the imperfections and give it a little sparkle.  It's already chipping after one day so there will be another change soon!

Happy Monday!


Jasmine

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Hello,

Today I wanted to share another Burt's Bees product.  I have never been a huge fan of Burt's Bees because I feel like it's over priced - there are a lot better "natural" brands to be had for the price.  But I got some Burt's stuff as a gift and I will use it! 

So I have really been trying to keep my cuticles moisturized and I thought this little tin of cream would be perfect to make sure I put it on daily.

Here's what Burt's Bees has to say about it on their website: "Give your cuticles some TLC. Specially formulated, this buttery cream taps Sweet Almond Oil and Cocoa Seed Butter to moisturize and soften your cuticles while Vitamin E and Sunflower Oil nourish brittle nails. Feel pampered and polished from tips to toes.

• Moisturizes and softens cuticles with Sweet Almond Oil and Cocoa Seed Butter
• Nourishes brittle nails with Vitamin E and Sunflower Oil
• Fresh Lemon scent

I really like the texture it isn't to oily but moisturizes my cuticles nicely, and unlike the hand cream that has a terrible smell - this smells so lemony fresh!  I used it for three days straight, once a day, and I noticed my cuticles were definitely smoother and softer.  It's $6 at most retailers.  I still use Cuticle oil at night before I got to bed, but this is a great thing to have in your purse to get you to remember to give your hands some TLC!

Do you have a favorite Burt's product?

Jasmine

4th of July Manicure!

Hello!

So I got out my supplies popped in Breaking Bad Season 5 and started on my 4th of July nails. 

I still am not really good at this but having this blog is making my try and try again!  (I use the Hallmark Crown Rewards card to scrape the plate by the way - I'm not super into greeting cards or something).  I also had a bottle of polish remover near by!

My biggest "challenge" was painting the star plate 3 colors and then stamping 2 of my fingers.  You can see the 3 colors in the background, and the residue from swiping the plate on the paper towel.

And here's how it turned out.  The colors didn't stamp quite as clearly as I would have liked - but it worked!

And here's the rest of my hand I did a star on my pointer finger, and eventually added glitter to the light blue nails.

And here's the final result!  I of course can see a multitude of imperfections.  But from a distance they look good!

Jasmine

NOTD - Snowflakes

Hello!

Today I wanted to share a manicure with nail art I did - which for me is rare! I'm usually a pick a color, do lots of prep work, base coat, polish, top coat and done.  Here is what I used:

Love & Beauty Polish by Forever 21 in Navy, Kiss Nail art paint in white, Kiss Nail art paint in silver

 

I started with all my usual prep work - wash hands, use Orly Primetime, put on a coat of Orly Bonder & 2 Coats of polish in Love & Beauty Polish in Navy.

Then I googled how to draw simple snow snowflakes:

Image Source

 Then I grabbed a toothpick and the Kiss Nail art paint and went to work:

They turned out ok I think!  and it toned down the Navy polish which I wouldn't normally wear on it's own - It just looks garish on me.  So hopefully this will be the first of  many nail art designs...

How comfortable are you with nail art?  Or do you like a traditional manicure?

Jasmine