Manicure Of The Week

I present my super-dry-hands-and-cuticles manicure of the week! This week a resurrected a favorite from last holiday season, Sephora by OPI 212-Sephora. This is a smokey black shade with copper flecks and rainbow shimmer. It's very festive and pretty on short nails without being a typical seasonal metallic red. It's different and pretty and always elicits positive comments.

Manicure of the Week

This is Rimmel London Steel Gray, a shade similar to Sephora by OPI Metro Chic and OPI You Don't Know Jacques. The Rimmel polishes have these amazing flat, wide brushes that allow you to coat the nail in one stroke. I think they're genius!

Manicure of the Week

Now that fall is decidedly in the air, I've switched to darker nail colors. I have a real issue with nail polishes chipping given how often I wash my hands, but I've discovered that layering a glitterly polish over top helps extend the wear time of my manicure. Plus it just looks so gosh darn pretty. This week I'm wearing Sephora by OPI A Little Dangerous (a deep shimmery eggplanty purple) with Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me (clear with chunky and micro gold sparkled suspended inside) over top. I've already gotten a number of compliments and will definitely be repeating this combination.

Manicure of the Week

This week I have a combination of Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in Stormy Blue topped with Sephora by OPI Just a Fairy-Tail. Unfortunately the Sephora doesn't photograph well--it's a sheerish silvery holographic shimmer. The combination is beautiful in the sun!

Manicure of the Week

I picked up OPI for Sephora's Iris I was Thinner ($9) last week and finally got around to applying it. It's a total Grimace purple shade. Shimmer-free and opaque with two coats, this is adorable for summer on short nails and like most of this brand's polishes, applies easily. This is going on my toes as soon as OPI's My Chihuahua Bites starts to chip!

A Few Quick Corals

Hello, all! I know that I've been somewhat MIA this week. Work has been so stressful that I've just been coming home and basically crashing! I'm hoping that the long weekend will do me a world of good, but you can't start summer without a manicure and pedicure! To me corals just scream summer, and these are the ones I'm really loving lately.

Sephora by OPI How Cute is That- this is a pinkish coral with a pink pearl.

SPARITUAL Miss World looks pink in the bottle but has a definite coral undertone.

Essie Carousel Coral is a gorgeous melon. It makes a great pedicure coral on my pale skin but would definitely offset deeper tones nicely.

OPI My Chihuahua Bites is a hot coral color. It's the perfect shade for those who admire this season's neon nail trned but aren't quite ready to go that bold.

Manicure of the Week

I haven't done one of these in a long time since my nails have not been in the best shape. Even though I had to take the pictures on my iPhone since my new digital camera won't arrive for about a week, I find this color so interesting I couldn't help but share! I normally stick to softer nail shades, but after seeing repeated raves for the color I caved and picked it up!

This is Sephora by OPI Nail Colour in Read My Palm, a light jade green. The first coat was a bit sheer and streaky but the second coat made the polish opaque and uniform. I'm still undecided on whether I really love it or not and it garnered mixed reactions at the office (with my 20-something coworkers being fans and the older set thinking it ridiculous). As I said it's a different look for me, but I was in the mood for a change! I'm a pretty classic, conservative dresser (mostly J.Crew) and this is an easy, subtle way to be a bit rebellious.

What do you think of the color? Fun for a change or a definite don't?

Manicure of the Week

This week I used my brand new OPI for Sephora Nail Polish in Set the Mood, which Sephora describes as "metallic dark pink" but I think is closer to a warm iridescent pinky plum. When I bought it I kept thinking what a pretty and unusual color it is, but after going through my nail polish collection I'm finding it quite similar to Zoya Pru. I also bought a new base and top coat in the hopes of extending my manicures past 48 hours! I opted for Creative Nail Design Sticky Base Coat and Duri Miracote Super Fast Dry Through Top Coat at the recommendation of the salesperson at the beauty supply store. Has anyone tried either of these?

New to Me Nail Polishes for Fall

I have a love-hate relationship with nail polish. I really prefer to have my finger and toe nails polished at all times, but can't stand the chipping! My typical-for-New-York-City apartment has no dishwasher *gasp* which forces me to wash dishes by hand, and because I'm always on the subway/touching icky NYC things, I'm constantly washing my hands, all of which is murder on a manicure. I've tried every base and top coat, OPI Chip Skip, wearing gloves when doing the dishes and more, all to no avail. I can only get polish to last 2-3 days and so I've decided to forgo professional manicures (and pedicures) and do them myself! I've amassed quite a nail polish collection since I made that fateful decision, and here are two I picked up for fall.
The polish on the left is the Sephora by OPI nail polish ($9) created exclusively for the opening of the new Times Square Sephora and only sold in New York City stores and online. The shade is unique and right on-trend for the season. It's a deep charcoal black with multi-colored sparkles and copper shimmer. Two coats makes the polish totally opaque, the glitter keeps it from being goth and the copper shimmer adds a bit of sophistication that keeps the glitter from being teenybopper. I've never seen another color like this before and it's worth getting even if you'll only wear it on your toes! Click on the image for a close up of the color.

The polish on the left is Jan by Illamasqua ($14), the UK brand known for drama. Their nail polishes have developed a cult-like following for their fresh shades and different formula. The polish goes on quite thick and somewhat streaky, but it is almost self-leveling. You start doing the first coat and thick "this looks awful" and by the time you go back for a second the polish is even and looks great! Very neat! Jan is a grayed pink or light smoky lavender. It's not the typical buff pink, but not so outrageous that it would be unprofessional in an office. The lasting power was just average for me, but your mileage may vary as I've read others rave about how long-lasting the Illamasqua polishes are.