what I’m wearing and my poll results

Just a quickie post today to show you what I’m wearing on my nails.  But also to give you a little update on that poll I put together last week.

I kinda wish I was still wearing those peacock nails from my last post.  They were epic.  But the base coat I was wearing made the design peel right off.  Boo freakin hoo!  I will have to fill you in on this lamo calcium-building base coat soon.  But anyway, since the work week is in full effect now… I went with a quick mani sans nailart.  It’s a nice purple holo that I swatched only once here and have been wanting to wear again.  It’s called Aurora by AVON and it’s from their special Cosmic Collection.  I have been obsessing over every AVON polish I’ve gotten recently.  Their formulas are great, and the brushes?  I dunno what it is about their brushes, but I love them, especially when it comes to painting my dominant hand.  My AVON manis come out looking so clean and professional, even on my “Cinderella hand”.

Originally I wore two coats of Aurora and got perfect coverage.  It dried so fast that I was able to go to bed afterwards without seche vite on top, and still, I got no sheet marks in the morning!  That is unheard of for me.  I think I must lay directly on top of my hands or something because sleepy Jacqui can be a real manicure wrecker!  That’s why I cannot live without seche vite.  But this quickie dry polish was a nice surprise.  AND THEN…. then today I broke two nails!  Whhaaa?  Yup, two.  I think that calcium builder I’ve been using really sucks. So I had to file my nails down, to get them to all match.  But I’m okay with it, they don’t look too short.  So after filing them down I added another coat of Aurora to nicen it up.  So these photos are: one crappy base coat, and three coats of AVON Aurora, and no topcoat.  But really, you should only need two coats of this one.

Now, on to my poll results.  Remember last week I asked your opinion on changing my font?  Well, the results are in and it’s been a really close call between B and C!  Initially after posting this poll I got cold feet about changing my font… I thought I was really gonna miss my little hearts from my current Craftynail logo.  But you know what, my readers have spoken and it’s time for change!  I’m going balls to the wall and taking it one step further too!  I’m changing the whole look of my blog!  I’m keeping the shabby chic appearance, but I’m doing a full re-vamp.  So stay tuned.  Within the next week I should be unveiling my new and improved Craftynail blog !

And I just wanted to say thanks for all your support.  I love you guys. 😀

 

Pastel Peacock Nail Art using OPI Sheer Tints

Here’s another great way to use your OPI Sheer Tints…

Start with a white or light neutral base color.  Then do some nail stamping over top.   When that’s dry, light sweep some OPI Sheer Tints over top of your stamps to get this awesome effect!  One of the cool things about Sheer Tints is that they are so translucent you really don’t need to be neat or accurate when you apply them.  Yet the finished product makes people go “hmmmm how did you do that?”

Udderly Smooth Hand Cream Review

When it comes to hand creams I have a few faves, but I also like to try new brands.  So when I ran out of the AVON cream that I keep at my desk at work I picked up this new stuff at Dollar General.  It’s called Udderly Smooth Hand Cream and it was around $2.50 for a 4 oz. tube.

The tube says it was developed for dairy cows, I’m assuming to care for their udders that are always getting tugged at.  Poor babies’ boobies!!  But I’ll be honest, the fun cow print on the packaging is what motivated me to buy it.

The formula is much more runny than I expected.  When I flipped the cap I squeezed the tube to get some of the product to come out.  Turns out, squeezing isn’t necessary.  It’s very runny, so it oozes right out of the tube on its own.  Initially, I was turned off about how thin it was, but I have gotten used to it.  There’s an emblem on the tube that states NON GREASY, but doesn’t practically every cream say that?  In this case though, it’s true.  It absorbs very fast and doesn’t leave an ooey gooey feeling on my hands.  It feels much more squeaky clean than other lotions.  Also, it has a very mild scent, similar to baby lotion.  I like that although it’s not thick and greasy, it does seem to leave my skin soft and smooth.  So I’d say this stuff works just fine.

Usually I prefer thicker lotions, and I don’t mind a greasy feel since in my head I figure greasy = moisturizing.  But in comparison, Udderly Smooth has a nice light formula.  I’d assume that this could be great for people who dislike greasy formulas.  And could also be good if you wash your hands multiple times a day, and therefor have to re-apply lotion a lot.  This stuff’s convenient since it absorbs fast, has a clean feel to it, and you won’t be leaving moisturized fingerprints all over everything.

So there ya have it!  Udderly Smooth Hand Cream.

Hey, did you notice my nail art at all?  I’ll be posting these pastel peacock nails tomorrow.  See ya then !

UPDATE on May 5, 2014- So I realized that my cream is much runnier than it should be.  I spotted another tube at a pharmacy and I shook it and it felt solid.  Mine is noticeably very runny!  I contacted the company using the email address on their website about 5 days ago.  I haven’t heard back yet but I will let you know if they respond.  I still have my receipt so I might try to exchange the product at Dollar General.  I think the cream is nice, but it’s making a mess since it squirts right out if you open the tube without being really really careful. Not sure what the deal is there!

 

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend! for #NAILLINKUP

It’s DIAMOND week for the Nail Art Ideas Linkup.  This theme makes me think of Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” and also “Material Girl” by Madonna.  Remember their hot pink dresses with the big bow?  And how they were dripping with diamonds?  That’s the inspiration for my manicure today!

I’m wearing two coats of my favorite hot pink polish- Zoya Ali.  It’s so hot and summery… when I applied it the other day I was actually screaming HOT DAMN! Because I love it so much. Does anyone else get super excited by polishes like me?  So much so that you run around the house waving your hands around hooting and hollering?  Please tell me you do that too.

Now that we’ve established that Zoya Ali is a good base color for me…. then I applied a sheer pink holo over some of those nails.  Bobbie brand Margarita (which I swatched the other day) needed four coats, so I assumed it’s sheerness would be a good topper for Ali to allow the hot pink to shine through, yet still add a touch of holo sparkle to it.  I didn’t apply that holo to my middle or thumb fingers, just because.  And on my middle finger I painted a bow just like on Madonna’s and Marilyn’s dresses.    I used a white and a black striper along with thatleanne’s tutorial to do my bow nail art.  And the funny thing is, I just realized she used Zoya Ali in her tutorial post too!  What are the chances of that?  Such a strange coincidence!

Lastly, I added some diamond-looking bling on a couple of my fingers.  I love this manicure!

Don’t miss the other diamond nails here:

21st – 27th April : Diamonds

 

bumble bee nails

These nails have been in my head for a while now.  So many ideas, so little time!  But I’m glad I finally had the chance to make them happen.  Plus, I’m on a yellow kick since my group of Beauty Buffs posted about yellow yesterday.

I’m wearing Sinful Colors Pull Over then I did some bundle monster stamping in konad black polish on a few of the nails.  I used BM-422 for the full-nail honeycomb look, and I used BM-401 for my busy little bees.  I used OPI When Monkeys Fly! to add some glitter to a few of my nails too. The gold glitters sorta remind me of the chambers in beehives too. I actually applied the glitter under one of my stamps too to see what it looks like.  Here’s a close-up:

I’ve never tried glitter under nail stamping before.  I just did it on one nail per hand.  But I quite like it!

My next post will be some hot pink nails with rhinestones accents for DIAMOND week of our April Linkup.  I hope the pics come out good because I just love how my blingy nails are lookin.  See ya then!

 

#TheBeautyBuffs – my favorite yellows!

Welcome to another Wednesday with The Beauty Buffs! We are discussing YELLOW this week.  I’m always on a quest to find some yellows that don’t need a zillion coats… and today I’ll share my findings with you.  I’m showcasing my top three yellow two-coaters!

Now I know that yellow is not a fave among nail bloggers. The formulas can be disappointing and a lot of ladies find yellow unflattering with their skintone.  But, I happen to love yellow! This stems from my childhood where one year the Easter Bunny gave me two Revlon polishes.  (The bunny never gave me candy.  So sad.  Yet I wonder why I have food issues.)  So one year my easter basket contained two cream polishes- a robin’s egg blue and a pale butter yellow.  I cherished them.  If I got peanut butter cups they’d be gone in two seconds flat.  But my nail polishes… they were the gift that kept giving!  I still remember the exact images of the bottles in my head.  I can’t remember my school teacher that year, but I remember my pastel Revlons.  Oh, Jacqui!!  Anyway, I think those nostalgic feelings about yellow polish carried into my adulthood.  Plus, my mom loves yellow polish and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I don’t know if one-coat yellows exist or not.  But for now, I’ll covet these three yellows which need only two coats each to be opaque:

First up is I Just Can’t Cope-Acabana by OPI.  We’ve all seen a lot of swatches of this one lately.  It’s the perfect true yellow- nice and bright and most similar to the primary yellow on the color wheel.  I thought the formula would be a little chalky since a couple of the other Brazil collection polishes were a wee bit chalky to me. But honestly, the formula is really nice for a yellow.  It dries glossy and you can’t go wrong with OPI !

Next I’ve got Pull Over by Sinful Colors.  This mustard shade has a touch of orange to it.  It’s similar to egg yolks, or a school bus.  I like that it’s a little different than your average yellow.  The formula is so fluid and juicy.  It has some jelly-esque qualities too it, but it’s opaque in two coats so it’s definitely not a jelly.  But it looks sorta glassy on the nail and I really enjoy the hue.

Last but not least is Inspire by AVON.  Remember when the 2013 Peter Som Trio came out by Zoya??  The collection contained a yellow, an orange and a mint?  Well AVON sorta copied them and came out with a trio of their own last year.  The AVON shades were darker, but still, very similar in concept.  I jumped on that train and picked up the AVON yellow called Inspire.  Wow, I love it.  How do I describe it?  It’s a bright yellow cream that has a tinge of green to it.  It’s almost a little bit pukey (especially in sunlight), but in the best way possible LOL!  It sorta has a 70’s retro feel to it.  The formula is really good and opaque (but as it ages I notice it’s getting a wee bit string-y).  I love how intense and opaque this yellow is, especially for nail art. I’ve used it tons and tons and now my bottle is getting low.  Good thing I have backup!  Surprisingly, Inspire is THE ONLY bottle in my entire stash that I own a backup of.  That says a lot I think.

My post wouldn’t be complete without a little yellow nail art…

I hand painted some blue triangles on the base of my nails using Orly Sweet Peacock.  I think the metallic blue really looks cool against my AVON Inspire.  I loved wearing this to work yesterday.  It’s simple but a little quirky and definitely bold.  I hope you like it!

After all this, if you still hate yellow-  oh well, I tried.  I look forward to hearing your opinions though!

Don’t miss what the other Beauty Buffs have to say:

 

 

Poshinality Dreamer- Review

Have you heard of this new nail polish brand called Poshinality?  If you’re into socially responsible companies then you’ll be happy to hear that Poshinality nail colors are vegan, toxin-free and they even donate some proceeds to charity.  Another cool thing is that all of Poshinality’s nail colors are named after a fashion style, or a personality trait – so every girl can find a bottle to help her express herself.   Oh wait, and men too, let’s not exclude them now!  My boyfriend’s a painter and I’m gonna see if he’ll let me do his nails with this purple called ARTISTIC.  Wish me luck with that.  Anyway, for my review I was able to select from a few different shades, so I picked the one that matched closest to my personality- DREAMER.  Let’s look at this pretty!

I would always wear a glitter topper over another color, so for the purpose of this review I applied Dreamer over a black polish. Dreamer is a copper chunky glitter.  It’s a clear base with copper hex glitter, tiny copper glitter, and tiny gold glitter.  The addition of the gold specks really kicks it up a notch and in my opinion, gives it a ritzy luxurious effect.

I only needed one coat of Dreamer.  I got really great coverage with just the one coat.  No glitter fishing either.  I think all the tiny glitters in there make the formula nice & fluid so the glitters dispersed evenly on my nail.  The glitters lay flat and are not too bumpy either.  Huzzah!  One coat of seche vite topcoat made it pretty smooth.  No glitter food needed.

I also took a few photos outside so you could see the glitter in natural light.  Just as pretty I think!

I’m really happy with this polish and I look forward to picking out my next bottle.  I’ve been eyeing DRAMATIC since I tend to be a tad bit emotional and dramatic at times.  Just a tad (wink, wink).  But really, look at this bright blurple hue >> DRAMATIC!  Yowza!

If you’d like to find out more about Poshinality check out their site here at http://poshinality.com or track them down on pinterest, twitter or facebook.

Thanks for stopping by!