Naked Palette Nails

Jordana - "Cabaret"

Sally Hansens - "Golden"

So here are my "Naked" nails.  I have wanted this palette FOREVER! At $50 the price kept me back as well as the fact that I have purchased things that have similar colors.  But after going to the mall maybe 5 or 6 times now drooling over it, I just splurged.  I love the look of this palette.  The velvety matte brown and the sleek gold lines shining through.  So I tried to recreate an abstract look on my nails using Jordana's - Cabaret, Sally Hansen's Golden and Essie's - Matte About You top coat.  This was a hard manicure!! The matte top coat is unforgiving! I started with a coat of the Golden and a quick dry top coat.  Then I used striping tape from KKCenterHK to place randomly on my nail.  Next I applied the Cabaret and let it sit just a couple of minute before I went over it with the Matte About You.  The tricky part was since the matte top coat dried so quickly I have to be fast at removing the striping tape.  And the tape can be a little sticky.  I wound up having to do a couple of nails over but overall a little bit messy but I really liked it.  It was my first time using the matte top coat in this way so, trial and error.  But I get the gist of it.  Since I showed the outside of the palette I might as well show you the inside.  PRETTY right?! I might have similar colors already but they do not compare to the vibrancy of these colors.  They are so smooth to apply as well.  There is a Naked Palette second edition that came out a bit ago but I like this one better.  In my opinion this one has a better color range.  You can do a mean smokey eye with Naked 1 but with Naked 2 the darkest color other than the black is a medium plum you would really have to pile on to get it deep shade.  Anyway before you go check out my giveaway page.  Just send a quick email with your favorite summer manicure attached to enter into the Summer Giveaway.   Thanks for visiting!!

Braid Manicure

Nubar "Hieroglyphics"

NYC "Lincoln Square"

Sally Hansen "Golden"

I saw I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous' fishtail braid manicure and thought it was the CUTEST thing.  She linked the Lucy's Stash blog with a really neat tutorial.  Once I saw how easy the tutorial looked, I had to try it for myself.  I stuck with 3 colors since it was my first time.  It took a while to complete both hands & I had to use Seche Vite (which I despise) because it was pretty well layered once I finished.  But overall I was pleased with the outcome.  And please excuse my scraggly cuticles.  The summer weather is killing them and it seems like no amount of cream is helping.  As I type this, I have slathered on the lanolin to help them heal up.  Working in an office where I shuffle paper all day doesn't help either.  I'd like to ask a favor of anyone who may be reading, if you can please fill out my survey on the front page regarding the quick dry top coat that works best for you.  I want to know what people like most so when I do my giveaways, I know what people prefer.  Thanks for visiting!!

Fourth of July Nails!

OPI "Swimsuit...Nailed It"

    Santee "White"   

Santee "Blood"

Sally Hansen "Golden"

Milani "Gold"

This manicure was fun but took forever.  It's so basic, no real technique besides the striping on my middle finger which is a bit smeared.  I used a different top coat this time and I think I like it.  I want to use it a couple more times before I can really say.  It's Orly's "Sec 'n' Dry".  It doesn't dry as fast as Seche Vite and you can't apply it too quickly after you paint your nails as you can see above, but it doesn't shrink.  I can't take SecheVite's shrinkage anymore.  My manicures look awful after a day because the shrinking gets so bad.  Anyhow this manicure was really fun, I think my best one yet.  Anyway peek back tomorrow - I'm posting the Summer Giveaway.  Thanks for visiting!!