Christmas Haul

This year, my peeps and Santa were very good to me! I wanted to share the polish part of it all with you.

It all started at school. I have two TAs who are young, beautiful, and love to paint their nails. I should've taken pictures of their gifts, but I didn't. I got them each the following: China Glaze set of Naughty And Nice, Mrs. Claus, and Peppermint Cuticle Oil; a complete manicure starter kit with cuticle nippers, toe separators, a couple of files and orange sticks, clippers, dotting tool, nail brush, small scissors, and tweezers; Orly set of Bonder, top coat (I can't remember which), and some drying drops, I believe; 8 strips of Incoco dry polishes in a variety of colors; some candy; and some vanilla hand lotion. They loved their hauls. I know I would've!

My 6th period TA surprised me. She gifted back! It was lovely! This girl knows that I like purple, sparkles, and nails. Can I just say: BEST TA EVER! She's awesome!

L-R: Orly French Polynesian Hand Treatment, Orly Sec N Dry, and a cool jungle-inspired nail file

L-R: Orly Gorgeous, Nina Ultra Pro Purple-xing, and China Glaze Avalanche

Gorgeous is a bright fuchsia with electric/neon ultraviolet color micro-shimmer running throughout (hard to capture in the picture). It really is "gorgeous." Purple-xing is a royal purple base that is very thick with small holographic glitter and light purple and pink micro-shimmer. It is completely opaque in two coats, covered totally with close to solid glitter, and dries matte. Avalanche is a very silvery lavender metallic with a sort of chromey foil finish. The finish is very pretty but brush strokes are visible with this one. I haven't tried the Sec N Dry or the hand treatment, but I will definitely do a write up about both when I do.

So that all started the holiday season off right, and things just ended up being awesome. Here's the haul for Christmas day:

Total Haulage



2400 rhinestones in 2 sizes and assorted colors



2400 rhinestones in stars and olive shapes in assorted colors



dotting tool and art brush




Misa Mattifier Top Coat, China Glaze Matte Magic Top Coat, and Bundle Monster Stamping Plates



mega jug of OPI Expert Touch Remover

Poshe Cuticle Care Cream

L-R: CG Peppermint Cuticle Oil, OPI Show It and Glow It!, CG Mrs. Claus, and CG Naughty and Nice

L-R: CG Sci-Fi, CG Metallic Muse, CG Millennium, and CG Hi-Tek

L-R: CG Robotika, Orly Space Cadet, Orly Rage, and CG Heli-yum

L-R: CG Sugar Rush, CG Four Leaf Clover, CG Flyin' High, and CG Light as Air

L-R: CG Grape Pop, CG Atlantis, OPI Ski Teal We Drop, and Essie Ruby Slippers (see "Total Haulage" picture for a more accurate coloring of these four polishes; they came out either too bright or too dark when I tried to take a close-up of them).



I know, right? I experienced massive haulage, and it was good. Oh man, it was good. Obviously there was an emphasis on art with this fulfilled wish list. After my Konad triumph, I promptly added the Bundle Monster plates, dotting tool, rhinestones, China Glaze's Khrome collection (all but one that couldn't be found), and China Glaze's Up & Away collection (the colors I liked, of course). I read that these two collections were excellent stamping polishes, and since the Konad special polish collection lacks really awesome colors, these were a must-have. I also got some things I needed (cuticle cream and remover) and wanted (the other polishes, cuticle oil, and matte top coats).

All in all, it was an AWESOME Christmas, especially in the nail department! I just wanted to share with you, and now I'm off to go play with my stamps! Enjoy your holiday!

Konad Starry French Tip with Konad Special White Polish and China Glaze Fairy Dust

My nails have grown really long and even for a while now. They're perfect. They're all the same length, strong, smooth, and ready for a french tip!

I've had the professional huge Konad case for years now. I'm ashamed to admit this, but it took me YEARS to figure out how to Konad correctly. It was really upsetting because I practiced a LOT, read a LOT of instructions, watched a LOT of tutorials, and just could never get it to work for me. It made me sick because the kit was a really expensive gift from my parents, and I just couldn't get it to create the art I saw other people making with these stamps. I put the kit away for a couple of years and often looked at it, reminded of my failed attempts at stamping.

I got the itch to try again just a couple of weeks ago and hauled out the kit. It didn't go well, again! I went back to the internet checking out forums and videos looking for any tips or information that I hadn't already employed. Now, I know I'm not the only person who has trouble with Konad stamps - there are way too many tutorials and instructions out there with all kinds of advice for that to be the case. I tried everything: using all the different Konad special polishes; using tons of other brands of polish; using the metal and plastic scrapers; trying out four different stamping surfaces (all of which came with the kit); using remover in between each stamp and not; scratching the stamp's surface with a fine grit file; varying the time and ratio of polish, scrape, and stamp; varying the amount of polish used; varying the pressure I applied to the stamp at all parts of the stamping process; changing my scraping angle; etc. You get the picture. I tried anything and everything I could think of or read/watched. It was really frustrating because it seemed like once you figured out the magic behind it all, it was easy to create intricately detailed designs.

Well, I was in the thick of tutorials and such when I came across a quick piece of information. For the life of me, I can't even remember if it was a video or typed instructions and tips. I couldn't direct you to the specific site if my life depended on it, but whoever you are out there, THANK YOU! It was simple, took out all the other advice I've read, and got to the point. There was one tiny piece of information about pressure that changed how I understood the process; I promptly tried it, and it worked!!! I was freaking out. My husband was thrilled for me (I had complained about it.. what a sweetheart, he tried to help me with my problem.. he saw all the frustrating practice... he knew); I immediately called my parents and told them about it; they were thrilled; and I promptly decorated a large pile of nail tips, using all the different colors and stamping EVERY SINGLE STAMP! It was so much fun; I had a blast! They looked so cool. I should have chronicled it all in pictures, but honestly, I didn't have much faith it'd work for me. Once it did work, I could focus on nothing else. This opened up a whole new nail world for me - one that I had only seen before in other people's videos and on other people's blogs and forum posts. I had the secret to the magic. I will definitely be making a video tutorial that will be posted soon; I will also take you on a tour of the big kit.

Anyway, I decided I would use one of the oh-so-awesome French tips since I hardly ever have nails long/even enough to do this and because I can't really do one on myself well. I used the star Frech tip with the white Konad polish (I'll include a full write up of these in my tutorial post). It went on pretty easily and I think it turned out incredible for my first try (things working and all). I also tried stamping a different holiday design on each nail, alternating red and green, but decided it was too much (I know, me?) and just kept the tips. I also covered my whole nail in China Glaze Fairy Dust, you know my obsession, before topping it off with Poshe. I did not use a basecoat. I don't know why.

You can see that there's definitely a learning curve with the stamp positiong, but once I figured it out, it was SO SIMPLE! This was a really cool variation on a traditional look that wasn't obvious. Several people commented on how I did a boring mani until they looked closer. Then they wanted to know how I did it. I told them magic, no joke.

This mani lasted for days and days. It was sparkly, rainbowy, and it had stars! It also beautifully showed off my perfect long nails. (I only brag because it never happens; the stars were definitely aligned (pun intended)!) I think I had it on for five days. It suffered minimal tip wear and didn't chip until after a marathon dish washing session. Even then, only one chipped a little on the side, and I could've easily touched the whole thing up to look fresh if I had wanted to. But five days is a long-wear mani for me, so I was ready to move on.  More Konading soon to come! I loved this look!

Sally Hansen Laser topped with Sally Hansen In the Spotlight

Christmas doesn't always have to be about red and green. Blues are nice around the holidays and all year, for that matter. Blue reminds me of winter, cold, snow, and all things chilly. I think it is completely appropriate to represent this time of year on my nails, so I decided to try and create an icicle look by topping Sally Hansen Laser with Sally Hansen In the Spotlight. Laser is a bright royal blue flecked with really tiny blue, lavender, and fuchsia glitter. It has a color-changing quality with the overall base being the blue covered in a purpley-pink sheen over top of it. In the Spotlight is a chunky, loose, rectangle, silver holo glitter. It really catches and bends the light, and the unusual shape of the glitter reflects the light in big pops as light passes over it. I got SO MANY compliments on this combination, and several of my students said it reminded them of icicles - effect achieved!

The goods:

L-R: OPI Chip Skip, OPI Original Nail Envy, Sally Hansen HD Laser, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear In the Spotlight, Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat, and OPI Drip Drops.

Side note: I've been using Chip Skip on and off. I think it is actually helping my manis to last a little longer.

It's hard to catch the complexity of either of these colors. You can't even see the glitter shimmering in Laser, and the holo effect in this picture isn't even close to what it looks like in real life. It's much more rainbowy and pops the light.

This looks pretty, doesn't it? Indoor, flash. I feel like a broken record, though, when I say that these pictures just don't capture how glittery, shimmery, and reflective this mani was.

This mani was so much fun to wear and was really hard to take off, both figuratively and literally! I went through quite a bit of felt, and after this mani I decided that it would be a good idea to invest in some decent polish remover (instead of using up all this old remover of unknown origin). Using felt helps (I just used some regular white felt I got at Jo-ann's), but I think a better remover would have made taking this off infinitely easier. Since then, I've put in an order and added some expensive remover to the mix. I'll let you know about it when it arrives.

Additional side note: I'd suggest only using white felt. I don't know how color dye would react with remover (if it would do anything), so I'd stick with white to be safe.

All in all, this was a hit. Hubby liked it, Mom and Dad liked it, students liked it (one of my students thought I did a Hanukkah mani in his honor...), and I LOVED it! It was eye-catching and full of sparkling rainbowy goodness!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps and China Glaze Fairy Dust

Holiday nails are fun. Bright colors, lots of bling, and cheerful pops of color on my fingertips! I decided to go with a given in choosing China Glaze Ruby Pumps. This polish is a classic bright red given incredible depth and dimension by its tiny bright red glitter. I LOVE this polish; it's part of China Glaze's core, as it should be, so I use it liberally knowing that I'll never run out. I wear this polish throughout the year, but it's particularly festive around Christmas and Valentine's Day. To add an extra layer of sparkle (I can never get enough), I topped it with China Glaze's Fairy Dust - one of my favorite glitters. It's a subtle, yet noticeable, layer of tiny holographic glitter that takes any polish to the next level without being gaudy or totally obvious.

I didn't even think to take pictures of the process, but I did get some of the final result.

Indoor, flash. Here you can really see how jelly-ish the finish of this combo looks.

Christmas tree in the background! The tiny holo flecks look like lint here.

The holo becomes more visible as the picture becomes more blurry; however, this still doesn't do it justice. This is very sparkly and twinkly.

Still wearing this after several days, as is evidenced by the visible tip wear. However, I wanted to show you this because the sunshine really does give a pretty good representation of Ruby Pump's red. 

Trying to blur it up so you can see the holo; alas, I just can't seem to capture it's reflective, rainbowy awesomeness.

More tip wear, but another nice shot of the red's shade.

I really did enjoy this combination and got a TON of compliments on it. I think it's a blingy take on a classy look, but it's not so over the top that it couldn't be worn all year. Red and sparkles are always "in" to me. The sprinkling of Fairy Dust just gives a rainbowy twinkle to the already sparkly red of Ruby Pumps. Rainbows on my finger nails. I like it!

China Glaze Jolly Holly Topped With China Glaze Party Hearty

Christmas is fast-approaching, and for some reason this year, I've been really looking forward to it - the food; the cold weather; the warm, snuggly clothes; the hot beverages; the twinkling lights; the presents, of course; and the bright, sparkling, festive nail polish combinations! I've really liked some of the winter collections that have come out, especially China Glaze's. I've already worn several Christmas manicures, and I'm currently sporting the very merry China Glaze combination of Party Hearty layered over Jolly Holly.


So here are the products I used for this manicure:

L-R Acetone polish remover in a small bottle, OPI Chip Skip, OPI Original Nail Envy, Poshe Top Coat, and OPI Drip Dry

Polish remover: I've had lackluster results with non-acetone remover, so I stick with the hard stuff. I don't have a preference for a brand at this point. For some reason I have had a bunch of nail polish removers for a long time. I don't know where they came from; they're just there. So I've decided to use them all up before considering the good stuff. They're cheap drugstore brands. I like to put them into a tiny bottle because it makes using q-tips and orange wood sticks so much easier. I don't use a dapper dish because I like to be able to lightly cap the remover between nails. I've had WAY too many accidents with remover; my tabletops are scarred for life.

OPI Chip Skip: I believe I got this in a kit at some point or as a bonus gift. Anyway it's supposed to, obviously, keep polish from chipping. I almost never use it, but last night when I was preparing my mani, I thought I'd go for it. To me it seems just like putting a bit of nail polish remover on the nails with a wonky little nubbin brush. In the past, I can't remember being wowed by this or it creating noticeable results. Typically, I don't leave my manicure for more than a few days (tip wear... nemesis) unless it's just wearing like beautiful, glittering armor - OPI Sparkleicious for me. But I figured I'd give it a try and put it on before my base coat. I'll keep you posted. Pun'd.



OPI Original Nail Envy: So I'm not in love with this base coat but am trying to use it up; it's kind of pricey for something no one can see. Lately, though, this base coat has really been irking me. I think it's actually contributing to my nails staining because they're stained (genius, I know), and isn't part of a base coat's job to prevent stains? Also, it seems like several polishes that I've tried to apply lately HATE making contact with this base coat. The polishes are new; the base coat is old. When I put on polish, it glops and smears and makes a mess. I don't know if polish goes bad (I thought it was way too toxic for that), but the base coat can be quite irritating to work with. It makes the first color coat look horrible and uneven. The second color coat goes on better, but depending on the polish, it can still look uneven. So I'm looking for a switch.

Poshe Top Coat: I've been a loyal Seche Vite top coat girl for years. I LOVE the shine. It looks like a super shiny resin; it has a cabachon finish. However, I have had looks of shrinkage problems (it depends on the color coat formula). Remember? I don't like tip wear. After some manicures, the tips would look worn within minutes. That was no good. So I've recently swithched to Poshe. I love Poshe's drying time. My nails feel completely dry within 5-10 minutes, even with color coats on the thicker side. This gives me the ability to do late-night mains, which happen often, and not worry about sheet creases. I didn't always feel that way about Seche Vite, even though it, too, claims to dry polish within minutes. I haven't experienced shrinkage with this top coat (maybe the shrinkage is due to my evil OPI base coat); however, it doesn't seem to be nearly as shiny and glossy as Sech Vite. It lacks the bubble-like look, if that makes sense. It's shiny but seems to be a thinner, less voluptuous version of Seche Vite, which is luscious and much more smooth. I've decided to give it a fair try, and the drying time can't be beat.

Opi Drip Dry Drops: I've been using this for years, and I really do feel like it speeds up drying time. I wish it wasn't so expensive, but as long as it's sealed tight, it'll last a while. I can't think of many more ways to poop on my party than to nick, smudge, or crease my mani after all that work and care (especially with those nightmare manis!). I don't know if this is necessary, but I feel like it's just another way to ensure compete dryness in minutes and thus, less risk of ruining my mani.

L-R China Glaze Jolly Holly and Party Hearty

China Glaze Polishes: I like China Glaze. I wish they had better brushes. I prefer a brush that's a bit wider, kind of like OPI's. However, I really hate the squared off, sharp angles of OPI's brushes. I picked up some Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes the other day and when I went to swatch them, I LOVED the brushes. They're wide like OPI's but have more squoval edge corners. I haven't swatched them on my actual nail (I shall do so soon), but I wish all polishes, including China Glaze's, had brushes such as the one I just described. But I digress. I think most of China Glaze's formulas are consistently decent, and I've only ran into a few stinkers. Speaking of which, is it just me or does their winter collection stink something awful? They make some beautiful colors and are reasonably priced - justification for buying more!

Two orange sticks: one naked, one with a tad bit of cotton from a swab wrapped tightly around each tip

For years, I've been wrapping the tips of orange wood sticks with torn off cotton bits that are soaked in acetone for clean up; they allow me to keep sharp edges. I also keep a naked one on hand in case I need it. I've been really wanting to use a brush for clean up, but every one that I've tried hasn't held up well to remover. They melt and leak their bristle color. Orange wood sticks last forever, I re-wrap the tips in new cotton when they get mucked up, and they're dual-purposed. However, I do think the right brush could allow for a smoother clean up.

Tea!

Herbal Tea: Essential to every day, the mug of steaming herbal tea is understated luxuriance. This one was chamomile; my favorite is Candy Cane Lane. I like this mug! Artisan'd.

So I set up all of my products at my desk, turned on the light, and began to relax into the motions of the polish strokes. I think it's the quiet, solitary ritual that makes it so relaxing. The bonus comes at the end when I get to enjoy my dazzling tips, and this mani is definitely dazzling!

After Chip Skip and base coat, the color coat application was streaky, gloppy, and "meh" on the first coat. Again, it could be the Envy. The second coat went smoother, and everything seemed to even out.

Jolly Holly - no flash, just ambient room light.

Jolly Holly - indoor flash.

As you can see, Jolly Holly is a luscious, vibrant, deep jewel-emerald green with a bit of shimma! It's perfect for Christmas time; I think it could also work for St. Patty's Day. I have quite a few greens in my collection, but nothing like this one. It was definitely worth the money.

Next, I added a single coat of Party Hearty. This is a MUST HAVE for the holidays. It's a combination of larger red glitter, with smaller gold, green, and silver. All the Christmas colors are combined into one glitter, with just enough variance in size to make it visually interesting, and again, I think worth the money. It's blingy, Christmas-y, and glitter abounds! Check out the multitude of pics I took. I tried to take pictures with different lighting to capture all the angles of sparkle. Also, I'll just admit it now. I LOVE POLISH PORN. I could scroll through polish pics ALL DAY. So, having said that... let's indulge my addiction, shall we?

I applied this mani on a Sunday, and finally took it off on a Thursday after HARD wear. The tips had worn and there was a chip on one side of one nail. Maybe the Chip Skip worked better than I thought it would... I think that others could have tolerated wearing this mani longer (devil tip wear be gone!), but I get bored easily and decided to remove it.

I got a ton of comments on this combo - mostly positive. A LOT of my students liked it; I teach at a high school. Several of my coworkers liked it, and one said, "It looks like gothic Christmas." I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I thought it was a weird comment because in real life, this is a bright, shiny mani. I tend to associate gothic with dark... maybe she knows something I don't. Even some of my male students liked it. I am always amused when the guys comment on my nails.

I've decided on my next mani. I'm going with something really bright. Pics and post soon to come. For now, I polish!