Textured Sunset

Hello all!  Here I am, back with more nail art - and I have to say, it's nice having time in the summer where I can paint both my hands and not just my left hand!  During the semester, I would usually only paint my left hand so that I could still do homework with my right hand and not have my blogging lifestyle be a hindrance to my academics.  But that lifestyle is on hiatus for now.

Here's the design I came up with today:

I'm so happy with this set of nails - I was out all day today, and I couldn't stop staring at them!  Just look at how crisp those lines are...DAZZLING.  MM. 

Read on to find out how I painted these nails! :)

Julep May Maven Bombshell Box Review

Hello all!  Today I will be reviewing my May Maven Bombshell Box from Julep.  The Maven box is a monthly subscription, and for $19.99 a month, you get a box of either two full-sized nail polishes and another full-size cosmetic item of their choice, or you can opt for just three full-sized nail polishes, or you can just get the cosmetic items.  They're also letting customers customize their own boxes now, and I believe that costs $24.99 a month.  For each box you purchase, you earn reward points, which you can use to purchase other Julep products or the next Maven box.  I paid $19.99 for my box, so this review isn't a paid review.  I dished out money for this.

This is what came inside my box:

The feature item of the month was their Plié Wand.  According to the Julep website, this wand is supposed to help you paint your dominant hand by giving you more accuracy and more control.  The longer handle improves leverage, comfort, and control, and leaves the user with a better manicure.  It also twists and turns to accommodate the user's grip and angle.

I attached the Plié Wand to my nail polish bottle, and you can either have the handle stick straight out like so:

Or you can have the handle bent, like so:

It really depends on the way you prefer to hold your brushes.  I painted my dominant hand using the straightened Plié Wand.  I must say though, this Plié Wand is really something.  Normally, even I hesitate for a little bit when I paint my dominant hand, but since the Plié Wand is so freaking long, it really lets your entire non-dominant hand grip around the handle, which does lead to increased stability and control.  I painted my dominant hand and did even less clean up than I would normally have to!  I would definitely recommend you trying this new Plié Wand, but only if you own Julep polishes...because at the moment, they're only Julep-polish compatible.  But if you're sick and tired of having a really awesome non-dominant hand and an okay-ish dominant hand, give this wand a go.  You'll see big improvements in your manicure :)

And this is what my dominant hand looks like:

Even I'm not the best at painting my dominant hand, but I'd say this was a pretty good job.  Read on to find out more about these lovely polishes! :)

Borderline Roses & Winstonia Brushes Review

Hello all!  Yes, I'm popping out posts like a crazy lady here (but I'm not crazy, trust me), and first of all, I'm excited to announce that I've recently partnered with Winstonia to do product reviews!! :D I think that's exciting news.  You should be excited too.  Now keep in mind that these product reviews will have my most honest opinion on said products, and these products were sent to me for free, and I'm NOT getting paid for my opinions.  No money was exchanged between my hands and theirs.

The product I'll be reviewing today is a set of 4 nail art brushes.  Here is a link to the brushes, and this is what they look like:

This set of brushes comes with three striper brushes (each is a different length - short, medium, and long), and a square brush.  I used all four brushes to create this awesome manicure:

Read on to find out more about these brushes, and about this manicure! :)

How I Do It: Cuticle Care

Hello all!  Sorry I haven't been posting frequently - I had been caught by the fervent storms of finals, packing, moving, unpacking, and organizing.  Now that I'm finally settled down again, I can breathe for a bit before I'll have to repeat that cycle all over again...

But when I first started this blog, my first request was for a post on how I take care of my cuticles...and this request was made back in January, so obviously I'm very good at time management.  Ha.  Anyways, I'm here to let you all know that even I sometimes slack off in the field of cuticle care.  This is what my hands look like when I haven't taken care of my cuticles for at least a week:

BOOM.  SCARY PICTURE OF MY NAKED NAILS.  But now you can see how bad my cuticles are when I get lazy, and how stained my nails are because I'm painting on them all the time...such is the life of a nail artist.  You thought I had perfect nails?  Now you're wrong.  Eat that.  With a side of Nutella.  And fries.

But don't worry about me.  I fix my cuticles often enough :) but if you want to learn how I take care of them (and maybe get a few tips and pointers along the way), then read on after the jump!

Nail Snap: Peace

Hello all!  I have two finals today and one on Wednesday, and even during this time of mess (wait, I also have to mention that I'm packing up to move out of my apartment), I still had to paint my nails.

But these nails are a reminder for you! :) If you're worried or stressed out like I am/was, then remember to maintain your inner peace, and it may be a different method depending on the person, but that's okay.  I maintain my inner peace by painting my nails:

The Chinese characters together say "peace", and should be read from left to right in the picture above.

For this manicure:

Polishes used:

• Base Coat - Base Coat by Finger Paints
• Base Colors - I Gotta Blush on You by Sephora by OPI & Monet Money by Finger Paints
• Stamped Colors - Myrtle by Julep & White by Konad
• Top Coat - Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Stamps used:

• SH 210
• SH 215

Approximate Completion Time: 1.5 hours

I will probably leave you with another set of nail snap art pieces before I fly home, but until then, I hope you have a wonderful day! :)

Nail Snap: Sushi

Even though finals are upon us all, I still had this one great idea in my mind for nail art:

Sushi!!!  With a filigree border :)

For this manicure:

Nail polishes used:

• Base coat - Base Coat by Finger Paints
• Base colors - Fiore by Julep & Bess by Julep
• Stamped color - Avalanche by China Glaze
• Sushi colors - Snow Me White by Sinful Colors, Mellow Yellow by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Marjorie by Julep, & Ruby Ruby by Sinful Colors
• Top coat - Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Stamps used:

• SH 211

Approximate Completion Time: 1 hour

I will have lots of free time this summer (because no classes), so I was wondering, would a post on how to do a basic manicure be helpful to you guys?  One of my friends requested a post on cuticle care, so I'll have that up too.

Let me know what you guys think!  And happy studying :)