Oldie but Goodie: In the beginning...

Tonight's post is going to be a little bit different as I'm not going to do a review.  Instead, I thought I'd show you guys my transformation as a swatcher, photographer, polisher, and blogger.  These photos are technically part of the Oldie but Goodie series I used to do, but I'm running low on pictures to dedicate a whole post to each polish.  Therefore, I've decided I would just put them all in one post!  Get ready for some heavy picture spam!

Here's a little bit of history to go with these old pictures.  I was always a polish fiend, but I strayed away when I went to law school.  I didn't have time to do them myself, and I certainly didn't have the money to spend on getting manicures.  When I was little, I would go over to my Grannie's house all the time, and every time, we would do our nails.  She had this amazing selection of all different colors mostly from Wet 'n Wild, but including Nina, Sinful, Revlon Street Wear, and some Sally Hansen.  We would always have festive manis (and pedis for me) during each holiday.  Those are times I sincerely cherish since my grandmother has since passed away.  She's who got me started on my road to polish ridiculousness when I was just a young girl.  Even through school, I always had a pretty decently sized stash for a teenager - especially for a teenager during the non-polish mania years.  My nails were horrible, though, and still are to a certain degree, because of all of all of my health issues (Hashimotos thyroid disease, hypoglycemia, and intolerance to several different foods that I didn't know about until recently).  I peeled them.  Not bit them, but peeled them off.  They flaked, they wouldn't grow, and I had ridges.  But I'll be damned if I didn't have paint on them all the time!  Now, I try to have polish on my nails every day.  I typically do a mani every or every other night unless I'm doing a wear test, simply because I went crazy buying last year and am still trying to catch up on wearing them all.  Still nowhere close, though.  Hah!

These photos are from around this time last year when I first started getting back into polish.  Some are before I started the blog and was posting photos on Facebook and another polish forum.  Some are from after I started the blog last summer but before I was very good about moisturizing or using my camera.  At the end, I'll add a photo from a few weeks ago so you can see how I've transformed through this process!  Let's get started!! 

Zoya Minka - hated this polish!  It went on horribly and just wouldn't dry.

Gelish French marble with Tiki Tiki Laranga, Shake it til You Samba,  Stand Out, and Light Elegant.  This photo is taken with the vivid color mode on my camera, but it's pretty close to accurate for the color on my tips.

Playing with my new stamps using regular polishes including NOPI, OPI, and WnW.

More stamping practice pre-cleanup.  I actually attempted a two-tone stamp that came out pretty decently!

Gelish Jet Set.  One of my all time favorite Gelish colors.  Also, one of the few polishes my hubby bought for me.

More stamping.  I'm unsure what the base is (maybe CC Puccilicious?) topped with NOPI Pink Flower Power.  I really like this combo.

Nails by Laura (now Joyful Noise Cosmetics) Bedazzleberry White.  The glitters in this one sank, but they were fine in the regular Beddazleberry.

OPI If you Moust you Moust topped with Dandy Nails Wonderwall.  Not a fantastic combo, but I wanted to give it a shot.  Wonderwall is a bit hard to apply, as you can tell, and the glitters didn't spread very well.  I'll bet it would look awesome over a pale blue like Elevation Alphubel.

Dollish Gym Tan Laundry.  I wasn't sure if I'd like this one when I bought it, but I really really love it.  Good impulse buy!

Rainbow Honey Celestia topped with Sonnetarium Snowfall.  I <3 Sonnetarium.  'Nuff said.

My first water marble.  Not exactly a rousing success, lol.

My second water marble attemp; OPI DS Sapphire topped with Dollish It's a me Mario, and Girly Bits Star Spangled.  There are so many things wrong with this picture...

Rainbow Hone Celestia.  I'm looking forward to trying this again once I've thinned it...

Dollish Sweet Dreams are Made of Glitter.  Mint greens aren't my fave.

Rainbow Honey Pinkie Promise.  Pretty color.  Wore this at Disney World.

Candeo Glacier.  Such a pretty color and the glitters haven't sunk or turned to sludge.  Yay!

Nails by Laura (now Joyful Noise Cosmetics) Alice Who?  Pretty close dupe to Absolutely Alice.

Pretty and Polished Cancer Moon.  Discontinued, but not really my kind of polish.

Wet 'n Wild Diamond in the Rough.  Very gritty, even with two coats of topcoat.

Pretty & Polished Peace Camp.  Applied easily without clumping or pooling.

OPI Thanks a Windmillion topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust and stamped with Nfu Oh 61.  One of my all time favorite manis despite the ridiculous SV shrinkage.

Now, let's take a look at a more recent shot: Zoya Pixie Dust Nyx.  I'll have a wear test of this beauty sometime in the near future!

So there you have it!  I think I've come a long way, and if I can do it, so can you!  Just keep moisturizing, figure out the best way for you to handle your cuticles (I love my SH Cuticle Remover Gel), and keep your nails at a manageable length, and you'll be good to go!

How did you get into nail polish?  What's your story?

Before & After: Happy Chinese New Year (a teeny bit late)

Hello!!

Ever since I saw Sonnetarium's Hong Bao, I knew what I was going to do for my Chinese New Year manicure. She even mentions in her description of the polish how much it looks like the Chinese New Year envelopes when you put it over red...so it was inevitable!

I started with China Glaze Red Satin:

China Glaze Red Satin

China Glaze Red Satin

Then I added a coat of Sonnetarium's Hong Bao, a pretty reddish-orange based polish with gold and black hex glitters, including large gold hexes (the large ones remind me of coins!). Then I stamped a dragon on the accent nail, and Chinese characters on the other nails with Drikk plate Drk-C and Barry M Gold Foil, which is my go-to bright gold stamping polish these days:

I am so excited with how it turned out! One of those rare times when what's in your head actually makes it to your nails, lol. :)

Thanks for taking a look!

Xoxox,
M.

Nail Fail: Sonnetarium Edition

I'm still at the beach celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary, but I did have some time to paint my nails.  I say this is a nail fail because I was in such a rush that my Seche Vite got the better of me.  This weekend, I did game-day nails, but I'm saving those for Wednesday as I have a Comparison Thursday related to my game day nails ready to go for this Thursday and wanted the full mani to be fresh in your minds.

Anyway, today, I used ULTA Mint Condition, which is a minty aqua that looks to be a dupe of China Glaze For Audrey, and Sonnetarium Never Glow Up.  You can purchase Sonnetarium from Michelle's etsy store and follow her on facebook for news and updates.

Look at that gorgeous glitter!

I wasn't sure I would like wearing a Tiffany colored polish, but I'm kinda digging it.  Sadly, the ULTA polish didn't apply well at all.  It was thick and streaky leaving bald spots all over the place.  I applied a bit thicker coat than normal on my second coat to try and get better coverage without a million coats, and I think that's what got me into trouble.  If you'll look closely, you can see I have some MAJOR shrinkage as well as smudging.

I had another nail disaster, so you get my right hand again.

After Mint Condition, I applied Sonnetarium Never Glow Up, which is an aqua/teal glitter top coat that glows in the dark.  It also has green/red/blue/gold iridescent hexes and gold flecks.  I seriously love this polish.  Michelle warns that it dries quickly and gravelly, so you need to work quickly so it doesn't drag and apply a top coat to smooth out the consistency.  Otherwise, it's a beautiful polish.  I was so in love, I misguidedly applied two coats of Never Glow Up, which made my mani quite thick and a bit unmanageable.  Needless to say, I will only apply one coat from now on.  One of the things I love the most about this polish are the iridescent hexes.  They shimmer green, blue, gold, and red.  I seriously <3 iridescent glitters!

Another thing I really love is the glow-in-the-darkness of it!  Look how bright it is!  This is in the bathroom without any lights.  So gorgeous!

I woke up this morning to major shrinkage and slight smudging, so I tried to remedy with some touch-ups on my tips.  Now, it kinda looks funny up close.  Luckily, you can't really tell from far away, but it drives my nail-OCD mind crazy.

Also, since I'm on vacation and brought the wrong remover (acetone with nutrients... ugh!), I had the WORST time cleaning up.  You'll see worse pictures from my game-day nails, which were a serious mess.  At least these polishes are light enough to get away with some polish on my cuticles.  I was hesitant to even show these pictures, but I figure I should show you guys the fails as well as the successes.  I think I may get China Glaze For Audrey to see if the consistency is better than the ULTA, but I've definitely decided that I am not a fan of Mint Condition's application.

Since I'm still trying to work through my untrieds, I have decided to extend Low-buy Untried August into Low-buy Untried September.  Both of these polishes are untried, and I have decided to keep Never Glow Up but list Mint Condition on my sale page here.  I'll have my sale page updated by next Monday, so keep checking back for more goodies.

Anyway, I've got to get back to the family and the beach, so I bid you all adieu for today.  Hope you all have a happy and safe Labor Day if you celebrate it!

What was your most disappointing nail fail?