Confessions of a Nail Addict

Mermaid Inspired Nails

2014-07-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, its been about 2 years since I have been on here....

YIKES!!!

But just because I have not been on here doesn't mean that I have stopped doing my nails.
If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram you are fully aware of that.

But here is my latest creation that I put together just for y'all!
Enjoy!!

I started off by prepping and priming my nails with the "Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat".

Once they had dried, I used 3 coats of OPI's "Alpine Snow" in Matte.
I had to use 3 coats because as a matte polish they tend to be very streaky for me, and I wanted a nice opaque base.
But, since it was a matte formula, it doesn't take long to dry.

I then picked two colors that would blend nicely for a gradient.
I picked "Turquoise & Caicos" by Essie, and "Mint Sorbet" from the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line to be applied with a makeup sponge applicator.

After three coats of this gradient affect I applied another clear coat to smooth out the colors.

Naturally my nails were a mess and needed to be cleaned up.

Once they were all cleaned up and dry, the fun began.

I took "Disco Nap" from the Color Club and used a toothpick to make "scales" on my nails.

It was easy to do in little connected "u" shapes throughout my nails.

Once they were done I added a final top coat to protect my design, and give it a smoothing shine.

And thats it!

I hope this inspires you to recreate this look.
I think it's super cute for the summer!

Sunshine Nails

2012-05-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

Why hello there! Its been a while since I have been on here posting. But I promise I will won't take that long of an absence again.
While my posts may have stopped months back, I have not stopped painting my nails. My collection has expanded too! Any who, on to my current nails!

First I took off all my polish, filled and buffed my nails.
Then I put on a clear base coat. I am using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear.

I've had this for years! I love it! But like always, any clear nail polish will do.

After my nails have dried, I painted 2-3 coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Buttercup.

I think that this is such a pretty yellow! Perfect for spring and summer.

Now it wouldn't be a complete without something special added to it. I thought of polka dots, but I was not happy with how they were looking. So instead, I picked my ring fingers to be different than the rest and made a simple design on them.
I have some nail strippers from Kiss. I used a white one and a silver one.

First I started with the white striper, and made 3 "swoops" on each sides of the nail from the outside going in and up.
Then I outlined it with the silver striper since I felt that it needed a bit more color.

Once they were dry, I put my clear coat of polish on top.

When my nails were 100% dry, I cleaned them up with polish remover and a q-tip.

And there you go!

Hoping that they bring sunshine to you on a rainy day ...
Jess <3

Do you know Jacques??

2011-11-25T18:50:00.001-08:00

Another favorite nail polish of mine has once again found coverage on my nails.
OPI's "You Don't Know Jacques".

Before I owned this polish I probably had my local nail salon paint my toes this color at least 5 times in one year! Yes I am that much in love with the color.

So obviously when I saw it months ago at an Ulta store, obviously, I snagged a bottle :)

I feel like this is a great color for the fall. Granted I will wear this color all year round, but its one of those colors you know was created for the fall.

Some people say it reminds them of "mud". But I think of the North East during the fall, when it had just rained heavily the day before and the tree bark is so dark and deep. Thats what this reminds me of.

And little tidbits of these things, make the distance from NYC just a tad bit more tolerable.

With the feeling of fall on my nails......
Jess <3

Rave of Rubies!!!

2011-11-23T21:42:00.001-08:00

If it was not for the fact that I have another color lined up ready to be worn I would repaint my nails this color AGAIN!!!!

Essie's "Wrapped in Rubies" is by far one of my favorite colors that I have come across on my nail addiction.

(Pardon the chip on the nail.... I never took a picture of this when I first painted them its been 5 days)

When you look at the bottle the only thing I thought was "oh its like a red rust.... it might be cool to try". I was so wrong! After I put on 2-3 coats my nails looked majestic!! Not rustic!!! My husband says that it is FSU red (Florida State University, obviously we are FSU fans), or garnet as he calls it, and that all I need is to get gold and I'll have FSU nails.

Well looking at the bottle you would think that you would have a gold hue to it, but I was wrong. It doesn't look like the red/gold color the bottle portrays.

Its like red berries in the fire! Thats how my mind thinks of it. When I think of a "ruby red" I think brighter red than this.

This seriously is a wonderful winter/holiday color! I love the color so much that when I painted my nails, I painted my toes the same color!! I have not done that since.... well.... HS maybe?? I don't count french mani/pedi's.
I've seen this color in my local CVS, so I highly recommend that you check it out next time you are in one!!

Typing with rubies on my fingers....

Jess <3

Prostate Cancer Awareness

2011-11-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

Now this gives the saying "Bearded Lady" a whole new meaning!!!

My friend and I both saw this video on YouTube, about Mustache Nails.
Cutepolish Mustache Nails
I am normally not a fan of facial hair, but these were really fun and cute! So at a recent "Girls Night In" I painted her nails.

This is the first time that someone has let me paint their nails (since doing this blog). Needless to say I am tickled pink that she let me!

First, I put a clear base coat on her nails to protect them.
Then I painted her nails with two coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in "03 Bamboo Shoot".

This is my FAVORITE color for a french manicure. I think I've gone through at least 2 bottles of this color. Sadly I have not seen any of them in stores, so I tend to be afraid to use it. haha!! Its like a prized possession for me.

Next, I put some of Essie's "Licorice" on a paper plate, and used the ends of my bobby pin to make two dots next to each other in the middle of her nail.

Then I used a tooth pick and made a small dot on either side of the nail. I filled in the space to make it nice and curved like handlebar mustache.

Once the nails were dry, I added a top coat to prolong the life of her nails.

In prostate cancer awareness women can proudly strut their mustaches......
Jess <3

P.S. for those wondering November is Prostate Cancer Awareness... or as men are calling it Beardvember.

Shopping Splurge November 6, 2011

2011-11-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

Today we (my little family and I) went to KMart. I was obviously on a nail polish mission (insert James Bond theme song).

First, I spotted this adorable thing!

Granted I am not one to own my own tool set.... I want to but theres only room for one tool collector in this family. But I have so many ideas for this bad girl going through my mind.... Hubby said for me to use it for my nail polish. But I don't think theres enough room for my nail polishes. But maybe some makeup items. Or better yet my crocheting things and scrapbooking things. I can totally use this!! And for $13 I couldn't pass it up. Plus it is pink. Plus its really sturdy!

Then I went a little nail polish crazy. I bought three polishes from Essie, and one from Sally Hansen.

First color I picked up was Essie's "Little Brown Dress".

I've been wanting this color for a while. And surprisingly I don't have any brown colors. This is a nice deep, rich, chocolate brown. And with winter coming so close I can almost taste it, I can see this becoming a favorite really fast!

Second color was Essie's "Licorice". Another color that I have been wanting. Plus, this is my first BLACK color!!! If you read my last blog, I mentioned how I don't have a solid black color. And now I do!!!

Third color is Essie's "Fiji". This color was referred to me by a friend. Plus, I've heard such good things about it. It really is a beautiful pink. And my motto is that you can never have enough pink in your life. So when in doubt, I pink it out!

My last color was from Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in "630 Tough Luck".

I have never seen a Sally Hansen bottle like this. And I only paid about $1.99 for it!!!! So, I'm not sure if this is just at KMart, or just at my KMart. But if you've seen this let me know... I'll paint my nails this color soon and let you know how well it lasts.

Here's a swatch of the colors.

Granted the "Little Brown Dress" looks black... but its so pretty in person!!!

ALSO! I picked these bad boys up for a $1.99!!!

3 nail filers, and they are winter themed!!!! I'll admit, I'm a sucker for details like this. hahaha!!!

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering....

Its been 9 DAYS since I put my nail strips on, and they still have not chipped or cracked!!!! Thats longer than any nail polish that I have or have had painted on my nails (not including wraps)!!! So the $10 investment to me was worth it. But I don't think, I'll be buying them like crazy.

dreaming of winter wonderland, while my feet are in the sand.....

Jess <3

Last Friday Night, I walked on Glitter

2011-11-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

So I will be honest, I was singing the catchy tune "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry while I pained my toes this weekend. I just couldn't help myself.

I'm pretty sure that you would too!

Heres the run down.... I wanted to use the "Last Friday Night" nail polish from OPI that came out in the Katy Perry collection. I happened to snag a bottle of this bad boy at my local KMart a few months back. First, I had no clue that KMart sold OPI
Second, I had no clue that I could still get my hands on this!!
Needless to say, I was one happy girl.

But this blue polish with glitter isn't as blue as you would think. Actually, even if you did two, three coats of this, you still won't get an opaque blue. So I was pretty bummed out, and ended up keeping this in my nail polish container.

UNTIL NOW!

I figured that this polish just needed to be on top of another color. So I had my choices, WHITE or BLACK.
White would give it a lighter color, where as the black would give it a nice deep color.

But the down fall is that I don't have any black polish. So I used to closest thing that I have to black, "Over the Edge" by Essie. This color needs 2 coats to be a nice opaque payoff. But its such a pretty color!

So, after applying my base coat of Sally Hansen- Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in "01 Invisible", I put 2 coats of "Over the Edge" on and waited for that to dry. Then I put two coats of "Last Friday Night", and topped it off with "01 Invisible".

TADDA!!!! You now have glitterfied toes that make each step you take a little bit more sparklely.

Knowing that there is no glitter all over your room and only on your toes

Jess <3

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty!

2011-11-03T01:30:00.000-07:00

AGH! I know its been a while since I have last had a post up here. But things have just been crazy. I've been busy with school, and I found out that we are MOVING!! So this busy Mamma, has a lot to do from now until the end of the month. We are moving in December, but Thanksgiving weekend is when we are moving all of our things to our new home. And then at the end of the month we are moving out of our current home and will staying in the "Aluminum Cabanas" for 10 days until I finish up school. Its almost to the point to where I'd wish that I had a swarm of fairies that can help me with their magic to get everything done for me while I am busy doing other things. HAHAHAHA!
So back to my intended blog!

Last weekend was Halloween. And where I live we have this event called "Fantasy Fest". Basically, its a week long party for Halloween. There are different events at different places each night, and people dress up in costumes, or nothing at all!! SO, this is my first and last Fantasy Fest, and I wanted to make sure that I participated in it and had healthy fun. My costume was going to be a cat. I had a leopard corset with a black tutu and leggings. I know that there are many tutorials out there on how to make a leopard print nail at home, but I didn't have the money to go out and buy the proper colored nail polish. So what was a girl to do??
Then I remembered!!! A few months back I had purchased the Sally Hansen Salon Effects- Real Nail Polish Strips in Kitty Kitty!!

I purchased mine for about $10 at my local CVS... or Walgreens.. either one, I know you can get them at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, KMart, Duane Reade.
They come in a variety of colors and designs. I'd go into more details, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows about them by now :)

If you do not have any they come with 16 different sized strips, a wooden nail tool, an emory board to help file, and smooth your nails and the strips, and instructions. The instructions are pretty self explanitory. BUT, make sure that you read the instructions before you start, just so you have a basic knowledge of what you are doing.

I think in between keeping a toddler entertained, yelling at my dogs, doing homework, and doing my nails, it took me 10 minutes to get these bad boys done.

I also put clear gloss on top of my nails to help protect my design and make them last longer.
The packaging says that they won't chip for 10 days. So far it has been 5 days since I put them on and still no chip!! I am pretty happy with them!

CONS:

They are a bit on the pricey side, so unless you have a special event or occasion that you are going to I would save them for that reason.
When you open up the pouches that the strips are in, I felt like there was an overwhelming aroma of highly concentrated nail polish smell. So note to selves, keep your nose away from the small pouches holding the strips so you don't inhale the fumes.
If you have a design you have to worry about stretching the strip too much that the image would become distorted. For someone who has never done them before it was not that easy.

The above mentioned CONS are not bothersome enough for me that I won't use this product again. In fact I will! I have Skinny Jeans just waiting for me to use them :)

I think that these would be great for if you were going on vacation for a while and needed some type of polish but didn't want to bring your bottles in risk of them breaking or opening and ruining everything else in your bag(s).

Hope you had a PUURRRfect Halloween!!!

with whiskers and nail stickers -

Jess<3

Hello Kitty Inspired Nails

2011-10-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

Today I did a Hello Kitty inspired nail.

**Disclaimer** I am not a professional, and I am still learning. This is just a hobby.

Sadly, I decided to make a blog about my creations AFTER I painted my nails like this. So I don't have any step by step photos on my nails, however, I will show on a piece of paper.

Step one:

Paint all your nails with a clear base coat. I used Seche Clear base coat. Any base coat, clear nail polish will work.

Once your nails are dry you can move on to Step 2:

Chose one nail (I picked my ring fingers) and paint them white. I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in 02- White On.

I used two coats of this. Any white nail polish will do. These two fingers will be Hello Kitty's face.

For the other 8 remaining nails, I painted them in Essie 767- Raise Awareness.

It is a bright bubble gum pink. You can paint your nails in any color, I just happen to feel this is more Hello Kitty-esque (plus, I will be using this color in her bow). I used about 2-3 coats for this.

You want your nails dark and opaque.

Once your nails are dry you can move on to Step 3:

This is where you will start to work on HK's face. If you have a dotting tool, this would be a useful tool. But if you are like me, then you need to think of using something that you have around the house to get the job done. I used 2 bobby pins.

All you have to do is open them out so that they are straight.

Step 4:

We are first going to work on her nose. Its best to start there so you can then gauge how much room you need for her eyes, bow, and don't forget the whiskers!

Take any yellow nail polish. I used Sephora by OPI's Cab Fare.

You are going to need to put some on a scrap piece of paper so you can easily dip your bobby pin, dotting tool into.

Dip the tool into the yellow nail polish, make sure you have just enough.

Its better to have too little than too much. Towards the outer part of your nail (away from your nail bed), make a small oval for her nose.

Step 5:

Take any black nail polish. I am using Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black.

This nail polish that I have is known as a striper, and can make small lines. But, I don't have the best control with it yet, so I am using the other side of my bobby pin with the black paint. Like in Step 4, put some of the paint on paper to dip into to make the eyes and whiskers.

For the eyes, you want to make sure that they are long oval shaped. But not too long! You want them close to her nose. Its going to look like she has a big forehead. But thats okay, we will put a bow there.

For her whiskers, you need to make a total of 6, 3 on each side of her face. Best way to do them is from her nose to her eyes. You're going to put these on the far side of your nail.

Step 6:

This for me was the hardest part. Making the bow. You want to get the bow just right. I ended up practicing on paper for a while. Now the classic Hello Kitty has a red bow, so I made mine with one, and I added some pink to help show that its a bow, and not just a red blob on my nails.

I used Essie 748- First Dance ( red) for her bow.

Again you can use any color you wish.

Like the other 2 steps, put some of the polish onto the paper and use the dotting tool.

First figure out where you want her bow to be, and make sure that the other nail has it following the same motion. I put my bow towards my pinkies.

Second, place a small dot in the corner you chose.

Third, make a small line almost parallel to the dot.

Then draw a diagonal line from the top corner to the dot.

Next follow that same diagonal line in an equal distance from the previous diagonal line.

Then draw a line going up to be parallel to the dot again.

From there, draw a diagonal line that criss crosses with the previous diagonal line to the end of the other straight line.

Fill in the two triangles that are now formed.

From there you can leave you nail as is, but if you want to make the bow stand out more add in the pink (as I previously mentioned).

Take some of the pink nail polish and dab it onto the paper, and use the dotting tool.

You are going to put a dot, in the center of the bow (where you made the first red dot).

And then you are done!

Make sure that your nails are completely dry before putting on a top coat.

I used Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

Enjoy!!

Giddy with pink and kitties- Jess<3

New Beginnings

2011-10-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Jess. I am 23, married, and we have a son.
Towards my Senior year in High School, I started to paint my nails myself. I would buy the nail strips and give myself french manicures while doing my homework... this carried on during my first year/attempt at college. I would paint my nails almost every week (if I remembered). Life happened and I joined the USCG. The CG has a uniform policy that doesn't allow bright, decorated, un-natural colored nails. So I stuck to the basic pail/nude colors on my nails, leaving the neon orange for my toes.
I am now out of the CG and going to school full time (take 2!), while working, and having my family to take care of. Because I now have freedom for my nails, I have fallen in love with painting them fun colors, and doing funky designs. This blog, is a way to show you my cool nails, and give steps on how to achieve them, to the best of my ability on describing it.
I hope you all enjoy!