nail polish – the Spiff

Beauty, nail polish, nails, OPI, this weeks nails

Mani Monday

September 29, 2014 2 Comments

You can say things like “gray is the new black” or, “orange is the new black”, but the fact remains, black still dominates. When you’re the color all other colors are trying to replace – you are boss. Think about it, does, “gray is the new yellow” work? No. It doesn’t.

I thought black nails would be a fitting mani color for the first week of fall. But I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to liven it up with a mattifier and give it that cool flat black edge – not that black needs more edge, but you get my drift.

The mattifier I use is Essie’s Matte About You. OPI makes a version as well. The trick is to wait until your mani is completely dry because sometimes the mattifier can make it malleable. Ha. Then you end up with a malleable matte mani Monday.

….aaaand I’m out of “M” words to add to that.

Try this with one of your favorite nail colors. It gives it a whole new look and really adds dimension…or I guess in this case, takes it away!

Beauty, nail polish

For All You Polish Lovers

September 2, 2014 No Comments

Last week I became acutely aware of how much I love having painted nails. I took the week off from color, and it made me realize why I love wearing nail polish.

First of all, I love that it distinguishes my hand. Not only is it another chance to show off my personality and likes, but it also gives my fingers a bit of feminine edge. A well polished hand is just another detail that helps make you feel beautiful. And you don’t have to have long pointy nails to feel that way either. I like to keep mine short and square, so do what makes you feel most comfortably you!

That being said, I wanted to let you all know about the Julep box I received in the mail. Back when I did the segment on subscription boxes, I had contacted them about sending me a box. Unfortunately it didn’t arrive in time to be on the show, but I did want to write about it so you’d know the great things they have to offer…

In their box every month comes $40 worth of product whether it be a beauty product or a nail polish. The upside to that is you’ve only paid $25 for it (or $20 if you pay in 3 month chunks). What I got in my box was two full size nail polishes and a full size eye liner. Not bad. (You can upgrade to Maven Luxe for $60 worth of products for a little bit higher monthly fee).

Plus, their nail polish has oxygen technology that helps your nails still get air, as well as green coffee extract that delivers antioxidants. Not bad at all.

One of my favorite things about their box is that during a specified window of time each month, you can get online and see what it is you’re getting and change something if you don’t like it. No other box offers this kind of customization and I think that’s worth noting.

If you’re not an adventurer when it comes to picking colors but you still want to build up your collection – this box is for you. Here’s a link to get started!

nail polish, organization, this weeks nails

Nail Polish Clean Out

April 11, 2014 No Comments

For as long as I hold the resolve, I’m going to use Fridays as a day to help you clean something out.

It is spring time, after all, so it’s a great time to get rid of what you don’t use.

Last Friday I took you through how I cleaned out my underwear drawer. So glam, I know. This Friday, it’s time to clean out your nail polishes.

And even if you don’t have strong feelings (aka: an obsession) for buying a few nail polishes (aka: over $300 worth) that I do, you still have a stash and my bet is you haven’t looked at them all together in a while.

Let’s hunker down together and whip our collection into shape!

That’s not even all of them…

First: Gather them all up.
If this means cleaning off your custom made shelf (my husband is so handy), or digging through random drawers and crannies throughout your house, doesn’t matter. Just be sure you’ve gathered every single polish you own. That way you can see what all you’ve got.

Second: Peel off the colors you’ll never wear.
Right off, you can see which ones are “so last year” or just so old you’ll never use them. Quickly whittle down what you know you wouldn’t use next week.

Third: Out with the old.
Old nail polish is THE WORST to paint with. It’s terrible for painting on, and takes forever to dry (even when you think it’s dry…it’s not). The test I use for immediately knowing if a polish is going to be worth keeping or not? Shake it. If you can still hear the ball easily moving around, then it hasn’t thickened up. If I don’t hear the ball, or if it’s only audible every once in a while? Toss it.

Fourth: Organize by color.
Unlike your closet, it would do you some good to organize your colors by shade. That way you can immediately see what color you tend to buy, and if you have multiples (a lot of OPI shades, I’ve noticed, are barely just barely different from one another).

Fifth: Buy something new.
The fact that I own this many polishes, but still think of buying new ones is a true testimony to the fact that I have a problem (<— see there, I admitted it. Ok, so I’m not doing so bad ;)
However, now that we know the great polishes we’ve enjoyed from Crabtree & Evelyn won’t be so accessible anymore, it would be a good time to stock up on their cute colors for spring/summer.

Take yourself shopping for a new color as a reward for being so good and cleaning them out! I know my husband was just thinking that I needed some more ;)

Have a wonderful weekend!

nail polish, this weeks nails

This Weeks Nails

January 23, 2014 No Comments

The first time I ever wore black nail polish, I did so because I was playing a demon in a church play.

I remember feeling so scandalous as I stood looking at my nails in guest services at Target (where I worked at the time). It was a thrill (I was a really good kid, so other things I considered thrilling were, and not limited to, the following: returning library books at midnight of their due date, wearing white the morning after Labor Day but not in the afternoon, and Brussels sprouts).

Fast forward 12 years and admittedly the thrill is gone, but it’s been replaced with effortless cool. Black nail polish has certainly come a long way and not just in my world.

It really hit the scene hard several years ago when the fashion world started wearing it, making it way less goth a lot more fashionable.

I feel like a simple coat of shiny black polish is akin to donning some shiny black patent leather pumps. Classic. Cool. Goes with everything.

It’s still a bit edgy, sure, but it’s not so edgy that people are going to look at you like you sacrifice squirrels in your back yard. If you are one to often wear bow rings or mounds of pink, I would suggest a little black polish to balance the whole picture out.

This version is from Maybelline’s Color Show line. And just an FYI, I painted my nails last Saturday night and today they still look this good. For three bucks, that’s not a bad deal. Try it! All the cool kids are ;)

nail polish, product review

The Greatest Nail Polish Remover You’ll Ever Use. Ever.

October 23, 2013 No Comments

I look forward to removing nail polish like I look forward to peeling potatoes.

I know the end result is going to be good, but the work I have to do to prep everything isn’t pretty or fun.

We all know removing nail polish is annoying work. You’ve got to stand there and scrub for what seems like a really long time, and you have to go through several cotton balls full of liquid to get them completely clean.

Oh and after you do that you’re left with dry nails, so that’s always a nice ending.

It was just one of those annoyances I was planning on living with until I tried Crabtree & Evelyn’s nail polish removing wipes.

Sweet mahogany brown, these things are amazing.

It’s a wipe that when you first feel it you think there’s no way this dry little square is going to adequately remove all of this polish.

Then you scrub a little bit, and you realize it does actually work. A few glorious minutes later, you look down and see that you were so distracted by the pleasant aroma and ease of use, you didn’t even realize you’re now out of nail polish to remove.

I honestly found myself wishing I had more nail polish to take off!

And should I mention the fact that the wipes leave behind oil, so you’re nails are now moisturized!?

Get a five pack for 4.95 (that’s a dollar a week well spent) at your nearest Crabtree & Evelyn and revel in the greatness of these wipes. I know I will-every. single. week.

Plus the fact that they’re portable-you’ll never have a public nail polish problem again! Read more about these wipes and some great fall polish shades, here!