Rainbow Glitter Snakeskin Nails!

I kinda like to showboat a bit at the Reddit monthly meetups.  I love the attention I get when I make my nails extra sparkly.  So I usually show up late because I'm trying to cram as much glitter on my nails as I can.  Let's take a look at this month's effort!

Yep, the closest thing to hand when I took these photos was my wind-up plastic kangaroo.  That's how I roll.  Anyway, I knew I wanted to do something with rainbow holographic diamond glitter this time but am a bit sick of a black base.  The advantage of using un-needed glitter from an indie polish seller is that it doesn't bleed, colour-wise, so Urban Outfitters Tiny Shirt it is, a wonderful neon pink creme.  After applying three coats (two would have been fine, but you need a thick base for the glitter to sink in to) I went to work using my usual technique.  You have to be careful with this glitter to make sure it's sunk as deep into the top coat as possible, without having it overflow.  You do this, and your glitter isn't going anywhere.  Except on the ends.  Because it's hard to get the half pieces to stay.  But whatever.  And yes, I did trim the glitter for both my cuticles and then ends, but it's worth it and not hard if you have small sewing scissors.

 

The Verdict:  The pictures came out kinda weird because the pink is so neon, and I took these photos the next day.  These were super awesome in person though, and I'm not kidding about the rainbows on my desk.  Mmm sparklies. 

Review: Sally Hansen Gel Nail Strips in Perfect Poison

When I get paid, I find it extraordinarily hard not to just blow money on toys.  Preferably nail toys.  Because that way I can justify it as being for my blog!  Anyway, I've been looking at the Sally Hansen Gel Nail Strips for a while now and when there were on sale at Shoppers the other day, I couldn't resist.  Full disclosure: I tried these around Christmas just gone and they didn't even last a full day.  I had a feeling I did it wrong - I was in a hotel room without all my supplies - so I thought I'd give it another chance, with some fancier nail polish strips, this time in Perfect Poison.  I'm actually going to do this: there's a twist to these pictures...

I had a hunch that my problems last time were a combination of not cleaning my nails well enough before I applied the strips, and that I didn't apply the gel top coat properly.  This time, I followed the instructions, using acetone to remove my previous polish, then the alcohol wipes to remove every bit of residue, ick, whatever.  I think this is the most important step.  Next, I chose each strip to match each nail and applied them, as I would normally with the Sally Hansen Strips.  I paid close attention to rubbing each strip with my finger, heating it up a bit with friction and making sure there were no gaps, no bubbles (heheheh nearly typed buttles.  Butts, hehheheh), and making sure that each edge was folded down and slowly filed off.  This is not a fast process, it's best not to rush.  I then applied the gel top coat to one finger at a time, making sure I wrapped each tip, and covered the edges of the strips in gel without flooding my cuticles.  One go under the lamp for each nail, and another quick wipe off with a wipe and I was done.

The Verdict:  You may be wondering what the twist is here.  Well, the twist is that I applied these Friday night and these photos were taken Sunday night.  I am extremely rough on my nails and I did dishes, cleaned, went about my life being rough on my nails and nothing happened to the strips.  No chips, no wear, nothing.  I only took it off because I wanted something else, no other reason.  I can fully see these lasting, like, a week, and that never happens.  I would completely recommend these, especially if you're rough on your nails and are prepared to just be careful with your application.  I've tried gel polish before and it's a pain because it goes everywhere and then is impossible to clean but look how good these look!

Yay!