OPI Cajun Shrimp

I was at a loss of what to wear.  The weather has gotten even warmer, and for some reason, that makes me feel like I should start to move away from nearly all pastels to something more bright and scorching.  I figured since I hadn't worn my bottle of OPI Cajun Shrimp in a while that it would be a good time.

This is a coral red polish.  It isn't 100% red, but it isn't the coral we've seen all over in recent years.  You know what I'm talking about...  the coral that leans more pink or more peachy-orange.  This is a strong red coral.  At times I glance down and see just red.  But, something about this particular polish feels right in the hot weather.

Application is amazing with this one.   It swipes on with such ease.  It isn't too thick and at the same time it is a far cry from being watery and runny.  The pro-wide brush really helps in the application too.  I have said it a dozen and three times, but I'll say it again: I ADORE chunky brushes!

You might be able to tell in my photos, this is almost a jelly polish.  This is one that isn't quite a true jelly, but it isn't a true cream either.  It is somewhere in the middle.  It has a bit of a squishy feel to it, though.  You can kind of see this at my tips.

Julep's Millie & Alice Manicure

I've waited WAY too long to try out the polishes I received in my May Julep Maven Box.  Today actually marks day one of opting in or out (and selecting which box) for June.  So yes, it was about time I slapped these babies onto my nails!

The two colors in my box were Alice and Millie.  I applied Alice as the base for this manicure.  Alice is a lovely micro shimmer, borderline frosty lavender.  Then, I dotted Millie onto a couple of nails to make some accent flowers.  The center of the flowers is Studio M. Caution. Millie is a classic navy blue creme.

Okay, I have a confession to make.  I hadn't planned on adding anything to Alice.  This was going to be a solid color manicure.  However, I was being lazy and impatient between layers and the polish started to ripple under the top coat.  Also, there were several tiny pieces of fuzz stuck in the polish that I didn't bother to clear out.  So....  I applied the flowers strategically to camouflage some of the mess.  HA!

Either way...  Alice applied nicely.  I was actually surprised by the coverage on the first coat.  Out of habit I am wearing two.  I can't comment on the application of Millie because I haven't used it on the entire nail just yet.  Sorry!

You can get your first Julep Maven box for free!!!! by going here: Sign up to become a Maven! and entering FREEBOX into the code field. 

Nearly Nude Nails

I don't know what has come over me, but with all the bold and colorful nails recently, I felt that I should go with something more simple.  This is my breath of fresh air....nearly nude....simple....manicure.  I'm sure once I've had this on for a couple of days, I'll be lusting after something bright again.  I'm fickle I suppose. 

I started by applying two coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails.  Once my nails get to this length, I feel like I need the extra help from Hard as Nails to keep them from snapping.  I will go completely bare for a day or two and baby them with coconut oil, but once it is time for polish, I need help from strengtheners.  My nails are very, very thin. They always have been for as long as I can remember. Off on a tangent!  Moving on!  After the Hard as Nails, I applied two coats of Wet n Wild Sugar Coat.  I haven't worn this polish for what feels like forever!  Then, as a last minute thing, I applied Revlon Minted in a dotted flower pattern and a neon yellow from Studio M. (don't have the bottle near at the moment so I don't know the name...  I want to say it is called Caution, though) for the center.   I sealed everything in with a coat of Seche Vite.

I like Sugar Coat, but I feel like it makes my tips look dirty and stained.  :-(   When my nails are shorter, obviously there is less white, so it doesn't do that so badly.   I will say that I love the brush of the Wet n Wild MegaLast polishes.  It is real chunky and it makes it easy (for me) to brush it onto the nail.  Fat brushes are just my personal preference.  

Looking back, I might have used a different color for the flower.  Something else might have stood out better against the nail.  I almost think Minted blended somehow.  Strange.

Teal Talons

One of my favorite nail polish colors is teal.  I think I first fell head over heels in love with teal back when OPI's Ski Teal We Drop was released.  It was the first time I thought of teal as being a good winter time color...  I already knew I loved it (Not Ski Teal We Drop....just teal in general) in the summer.    When this polish, Fly, came out, I had to add it to my collection.

To jazz up the teal a bit, I added two different kinds of glitter polishes and then some simple white polkadots along the side of the nail.  The polishes I used were:  OPI Fly, OPI Save Me, Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, and Sinful Colors White On White.

I started by applying 2 coats of Fly.  Then, I added Nail Junkie just to the tip area of the nail.  Next, I lightly brushed on Save Me (right in the same area I applied Nail Junkie).  Finally, I used a small(ish) dotting tool and White On White and created dots on the outside edge of the nail.  

As much as I enjoy the looks of Save Me, I dislike that even with a thick topcoat over the top, I can feel little rough patches where the bar glitter won't lay flat.  It drives me nuts because it will snag in my hair, on my clothes, etc.

Oh, by the way...  I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day!    :-)

Bright Dripping Tips

This particular manicure has been in my head for several weeks now.  I believe it was when I was doing my Easter manicure and brushing in the flower stems that it hit me that it could be pretty having multi-colored stripes randomly placed at the tips only.  I was right!  It looks pretty neat!

I used an OPI Pink....  Pinking Of You, to be exact..... for the base color.  Then I selected four neon Studio M. polishes for the stripes. I was going to put a purple in there but thought it might be slightly too much...so I just stuck with four stripe colors.

Have you seen those canvases people create with all of the crayons tacked to the top and then they use some heat to melt the wax down the canvas?  It creates a lovely dripped rainbow, of sorts.  Well, that is kind of what this ended up reminding me of.