Gems

I swear, I must have nail polish ADD or something...I couldn't stand to go a day without adding something else to Purple Diamond! So, I used one of the stickers from the Nailene Bedazzled pack*, outlined it in Orly Luxe to match the stripes on my thumb, and added a coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment. In the process, I used far more top coat than was really necessary, so I got some shrinkage on my ring fingernail. But I think I had three coats of Rush on that nail in total, so I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen normally.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, artificial light (it looks cooler than normal in this...not sure why)

outdoors, sunlight

I ended up pretty happy with this. I think "luxe" would be a good descriptor for this whole mani...pearls, gold, bling. Yep. :) Unfortunately, my index finger chipped, so I'll be taking this look off. You can't see the chip in the pictures because it's along the side of the nail, but it's enough to bother me. Ah well, every good thing must come to an end! Until next time!

*The Nailene Bedazzled pack was provided to me for honest review.

Nailene Couture Nails in Safari

I got these nails in my to-review package from Revlon and Nailene some time ago, but I was waiting to try them until I had a week where I would be too busy to paint my nails because I didn't want to put them on and take them off again a day or two later like I did with the Revlon nails. However, I realized earlier today that when I got tired of the design, I could simply file off the design and paint them like my regular nails, so that's what I'm going to do. Here's a picture:

I did a lot better this time in that I didn't get quite as much glue all over my fingers, but I did get just as much bubbling...I'm not sure how to get prevent that, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. These particular nails are medium length and square shaped. I like the length, but I prefer a rounder shape and will probably file them when I file the design off. I really like the zebra print design, though - it's one of those designs that I would love to be able to do myself. It was easy to find the right size nails for my fingers and to apply them straight, and I think they look fairly natural aside from all the bubbling.

Now on to some blog-related manners...I'll be starting school this Thursday. Unfortunately, this means I probably won't be able to post every single day anymore, and I will be doing significantly less commenting on other blogs - I'll have homework, volunteering, extracurriculars, and college applications (which I should have already started) to attend to. However, I will still be posting several times a week, and occasionally I may even post every day of a week - it will all depend on how busy I am in a given week. Also, you'll probably be seeing more layering manis, which I hope you don't mind. :) Anyway, that's all for today! Have a great rest of the weekend!

*This product was provided to me by the manufacturer for review. However, this has not influenced and will never influence my review(s) - I will always say what I truly think about a product.

Rimmel Rapid Ruby + Nailene Bedazzle Stickers

Rapid Ruby is an old, OLD polish from Rimmel's 60 Second polishes. I've had it for nearly ten years, so I did have to add several drops of nail polish thinner, and I think I may add a bit more. I added crown stickers from my Nailene Bedazzle* pack to my thumbnails and rhinestones from the same pack to my ring fingers, and I'm loving the combination! In these pictures I'm wearing base coat, two coats of Rapid Ruby, the stickers and rhinestones, and top coat.

my left hand, shade

my left hand, sun

my right hand, shade

my right hand, sun

All these pictures are pretty color-accurate. While Rapid Ruby doesn't look quite that bright in sunlight, it's close, and the pictures taken in shade are nearly spot-on. I love the combination of a classic red and a bit of royal bling - I may start asking people to address me as Your Highness (but not really). :)

The stickers were very easy to apply. I placed the stickers with the end of a toothpick and pressed them down with my fingers. I think I got them fairly well placed, though the one on my right thumb is slightly wonky. The stickers look really perfect - I can't see the edges of the stickers, there aren't any bubbles, and it looks like I actually painted the designs on my nails (excepting the fact that my designs wouldn't be that neat). The rhinestones are fairly bumpy, but they and the stickers have lasted through my morning hair-washing, so I'm pretty confident that they will last. I can't wait to use some of my other nail stickers! Here's what's in the rest of the pack:

clockwise from top left: rhinestones; butterflies and stars; flowers and butterflies; crowns, stars and royal-looking designs

*This product was provided to me by the manufacturer for review. However, this has not influenced and will never influence my review(s) - I will always say what I truly think about a product.

Nail Mail!

Recently I received an email from Melissa Sakamoto from the marketing department at Pacific World Corporation, which owns the Nailene and Revlon companies. Ms. Sakamoto offered to send me nail and false eyelash products from Revlon and Nailene for me to review, and I accepted. The package came in the mail today just as I was leaving for a movie, so I didn't get to open it until I got back...at which point I pretty much tore the box apart in excitement. ;) Here's what I got:

The Revlon products: Revlon Runway Collection Medium Length nails, Revlon Intensifying Fantasy Lengths eyelashes, Revlon Defining Fantasy Lengths eyelashes, Revlon Long Volumizing Beyond Natural eyelashes, Revlon Precision Adhesive nail glue:

The Nailene products: Nailene Couture Runway Designs nails, Nailene So Natural nails, Nailene French Manicure with tip guides and polishes, Nailene Bedazzle Nail Art Super Star stickers, Nailene miscellaneous fourth-of-July themed nail stickers, Nailene Perfect Tips & Toes French Polish Guides:

I am super excited to try all of these! Fake eyelashes and fake nails are not really products that I buy - I feel like fake nails are, well, fake and I already have astronomically long eyelashes - so it'll be interesting to see how I like them. I already use and love Nailene's French tip guides (they're what I used for my matte tips with Orly Luxe) and I was about to run out, so I'm happy to have more of those, and I can't wait to go sticker-crazy! :)