Happy 4th of July to all of my American friends. My manicure is kind of kooky as I have purple glitter over turquoise polish with red on my tips. The red turned out purple, so I left it. My pedicure is
the typical 4th of July colors.
I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend with family and friends.
It’s funny as I was channel surfing the other night and Pulp Fiction was on. It was the part that Uma Thurman was in. Remember how crazy everyone got over her nail polish? It’s been a few years ago, (okay like 20) since Pulp Fiction came out, but I remember her part vividly. I loved that polish. Was I going to pay more than $20 for a bottle of Chanel polish, um no. I found a dupe that looked just a good.
So I made a trip to Dollar Tree today and bought a bunch of nail polish. I was showing my husband what I bought, and telling him that it’s amazing how much ladies spend on nail polish. One blogger I follow says she has 900 bottles! Wow! I have about 50, and I thought that was way too much.
Do you really need to spend a lot on nail polish? I’ve been using drugstore brands and Ulta’s own brand for years. I don’t think I’ve paid more than $6 for a bottle of nail polish. I’ve found that as long as you use a good base and top coat, you don’t have to spend a fortune on polish.
Here’s an article I found on the most expensive nail polish in the world. Crazy!
What do you find works the best for you?
Happy Sunday!
Happy Saturday! It’s finally Summer here in Wisconsin. Everything is so green and beautiful. Thought this mani was very appropriate for a sunny Summer day!
Base color is Revlon Colorstay in Bonsai, tip color is Pure Ice in Wild Thing. Paid $3 for both. Colors are discontinued.
What’s your favorite Summer manicure colors?
Thanks for stopping by!
Stacy
Happy Memorial Day! I wanted to do something patriotic for the holiday, so I decided to try my hand at doing my own acrylic nails. I know this has nothing to do with the holiday, except the nail art and color I used. My own nails are brittle and take forever to grow. Plus I have man hands, and need longer nails to not look like said man. I looked at some stick on nails, but they were too short and too small. I thought about going to one of the many nail salons in town to get a full set done, and decided that I’m too cheap, and I bet I could do them myself.
So after reviewing Pinterest and YouTube, I decided what the heck, I can do this. So off to Sally Beauty I went. Salons in my area charge anywhere from $35 to $70 for a full set. I paid less than $45 for the complete nail kit, nail form kit and better brush.
First off I have to give the staff at Sally Beauty props. Whenever I have shopped there the staff is beyond helpful and very knowledgeable. I’ve never done acrylic nails before, so I had a lot of questions. Plus I have a short attention span and didn’t want anything to difficult or too expensive. I have a tendency to buy beauty products, then they end up under my bathroom sink, then given to my 20 year old niece six months later.
Let’s get started. I purchased this kit Beauty Secrets 4 in 1 Extension Kit. Buy here. for $17.59 with my Sally club card. It had everything I needed. I also purchased these Form a Nail Nail Forms Form a Nail Nail Forms. for $7.79. This is the product which really sold me on doing the nails myself. It is super easy to use. The nail forms are reusable and make for a smooth finish.
I prepped my nails, and off I went. I have to say the brush that came with kit was really crummy. Given how crummy it was, I was surprised at my end result. I bought another brush that worked way better for $9.29 at Sally. Beauty Science #8 Pro Sculpt Brush . Again the staff at Sally was so helpful. One of my nails had popped off, so I needed to do a repair. Using the Nail Forms makes it a breeze. I also purchased Terrific Tips Nail tip cutters for $6.49 at Sally Beauty. Nail tip cutters
After I put the tips on and filed them I used this Gelous Advanced Gel coat to smooth things out. Gelous Advanced Gel Coat at Sally Beauty. I use this all the time when doing a regular manicure, and it makes my nails look like I’ve had a gel manicure. Next I used Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail enamel in Indigo Night. Nail color Here it is on Amazon. I bought mine at Dollar Tree for $1. I also used L.A. Colors Art Deco in Silver L.A. Colors Art Deco in Silver another Dollar Tree find at $1. To finish things off I used my go to favorite top coat, Sally Hansen Insta Dry Top coat Best top coat ever! I’ve been using this top coat for years. I have not found any top coat that works better. It’s $5.99 at Ulta. This stuff is so good that I can paint my nails before I go to bed, and they end up perfect the next day.
One last note, after the one nail popped off, I put nail glue in the crack between my natural nail and the tip on the back of my nail. They feel much more secure now.
I hope you enjoyed my first DIY nail post. Thanks for stopping by.
Nothing like a daisy manicure to brighten your summer day. Didn’t turn out quite like the Pinterest photo I had, but I’m getting lots of compliments just the same. I misplaced my dotting tool and used a bobby pin. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
I truly love the fact that Dollar Tree is next to my local grocery store. On my visit to Dollar Tree this week I found some great Revlon nail polish. I had to dig through a lot of stuff, as the kid who worked there was putting stuff away all over the place. I picked up five Revlon Top Speed fast dry nail enamels. They are Fire #510, a true red shade, Espresso #840, a deep shade of brown, Grape #660 a dark amethyst color, Vintage #570 a lovely fuchsia color, and my favorite Varnished #360, a shimmery pewter.
I change my nail 
polish every few days. Last week I went to a wedding and had on twelve coats from the previous weeks. I just keep painting over the old color, and no one is the wiser. I get compliments on my nails all the time. I tried finding the colors I bought online and found out they were all discontinued. Who cares?? I got them for a buck each. I did find the polishes on Ebay and Amazon for much more. The total price elsewhere $31, I paid $5! Revlon is a good brand of polish, and stays on much better than really cheap polish like LA Colors.
The polish was repackaged, so they seem pretty darn fresh. And like the name says, they dry superfast. I do my nails before I go to bed, as I don’t want to waste any prime time I could be watching something stupid on TV. Or surfing the internet for new and exciting information. I actually do my nails in the bathroom as the lighting is good, since I don’t wear my glasses while applying. I guess I’m lucky any of it gets on my nails, as I’m blind as a bat without them. Oh wait, I’m hunched over with my eyeballs six inches away. Man, its hell getting old.
I also got a Sassy & Chic 3N1 Nail Art pen in Blueberry. I’m having all kinds of fun with nail art these days. I got a Sassy & Chic 7 Way Nail Buffer. Not a bad haul for $7, wait no $8 counting the Tootsie Rolls I got, which lasted for two whole days. A girl’s gotta have some candy while she’s doing her nails.
Just picked up these Maybelline Colorshow Nail Tattoos at Dollar Tree a few days ago. They are so flipping fun! Super easy to apply, and they look cool. Of course they are discontinued, but I did find them on EBay for $5. Score one for me. The fact that I’m a bean counter makes these even more fun.
Happy Thursday! I came across this manicure on YouTube, and just loved it. I did all my nails last year, but I’m just going to do my ring fingers this time. It’s super easy to do.
cornfedcontessa 