Thanksgiving Manicure!

This holiday season, I'm rocking a themed manicure!

I started with OPI "Rising Star":

Which is so pretty on its own, but I wanted to really get some festive fall coloring in there, so I added Finger Paints "Holly Good Time", which is a gold and red glitter:

I swear, that's not glitter on my cuticles. It's just the shine off the quick dry drops.

I'm going to rock this tomorrow, and it will probably entertain me more than the parade!

I suggested a similar look to R.E.I.T., but she was happier with Studio M "Frenzy" again. She's very in love with that color.

When layering attacks!

This year there were sooooo many lemmings for me in the holiday collections everyone rolled out. My number one? "Mistletoe Kisses" by China Glaze. Usually, I get super bored of the red and green Christmas polishes, but "Mistletoe Kisses" rose ahead of the pack. It's a minty green glitter in a sheer green base, and it looks exactly like green Christmas lights on your nails:
I was so in love with this last night that I kept staring at my nails. But this morning, one of the other lemmings in the pack was calling to me... OPI "Simmer & Shimmer". The mad scientist part of my brain wondered what would happen if I layered the two glitters... would there be some shine-related explosion? Would the sheer amout of sparkle blind someone?

The end result as nothing short of fab!
One coat of "Simmer & Shimmer" and Seche Vite (though I should have used two) and no clean up. I know the second photo is blurry, but it was the best way to show how much it cools down the already cool shade of "Mistletoe Kisses" and adds color and sparkle.

I loved it on my left hand so much, I decided I just had to try layering OPI "Sparkle-icious" over "Mistletoe Kisses" on the right!Again, one coat "Sparkle-icious" and one coat Seche Vite over "Mistletoe Kisses" with no clean up (because I'm not really intending to walk around with two different manicures today).

This will be my Fat Tuesday NOTD, because the colors are so suited to Mardi Gras! Where "Simmer & Shimmer" cooled things down, the gold and purple in "Sparkle-icious" really warmed things up.

So there you have it! Tons of sparkle to be had this holiday season!

Mommy Manicure Monday and MORE!

This Mommy Manicure Monday is more of a guest-starring manicure. This lovely set of acrylic nails is the handiwork of Lisa, owner of L.A. Nails in Delton, MI. Lisa has been doing nails for, gosh, at least fifteen years now, and she is a pro. The best part about getting my nails done by Lisa? All the nail gossip (she has a Konad stamper! I got to look through the kit and everything!)

Now, the color you're looking at is O.P.I. "Lucky, Lucky Lavender," which is just a fantastic color on all accounts. What's really special, though, is underneath. Friends, I have exciting news. I got to experience, first hand, CND Shellac. I know, I know, settle down now. Lisa used a CND Shellac base coat between the acrylic and the polish. The end result is, I can take this polish off and still have a gorgeous French manicure beneath that is shiny and protected. And I can apply more polish over it, provided that I use only non-acetone nail polish remover.

Now, because acrylic nails and I only get along for a short time (I have an attention span like a gnat), when I remove them, I'm going to try out a full CND Shellac manicure on my natural nails. Lisa recommends a clear CND Shellac manicure for people who have a tough time growing out their natural nails, because it offers a layer of protection you can't get from regular polish, and because it is lighter and more flexible than acrylic or gel nails. Between manicures, a client can file away the tell-tale growth line and apply clear polish over the entire nail to blend, though she does warn that people wishing to grow their nails very long will need to have the Shellac completely removed and replaced at some point in the process, because the weight of the Shellac on the nail tip will cause a break. CND Shellac isn't what professionals call a "fill" product, meaning it can't be touched up for regrowth.

Another miracle product she used were "magic drops" or O.P.I. "Drip Dry" lacquer drying drops. They are amazing, and I'm dying to add some to my collection. They dry the polish to the touch almost immediately, and your nails dry hard in five minutes. This is a must have product for us, because R.E.I.T. doesn't like waiting for her polish to dry with her hands in front of the fan!

R.E.I.T. has her own opinion of this Mommy Manicure: "A hands! I want! Put hands! Want paint!"

Expect to see more nail tips from Lisa right here on this blog, as she has graciously consented to let me pass them along!