More Argyle

If my nails were larger or longer, I would do the full pattern.  But they're so little right now, I had to modify.

Shynk!

Argyle

Did an argyle pattern!  Was planning on doing the ring and thumb with a pearly while thin line instead of green to mix it up, but got in the zone and completely spaced it.















And then I messed up the ring on my right hand so covered it up with a gray skull n bones decal but it doesn't look good lol!  Meh, more argyle to come...

Shynk!

Lovely :)

Saw a lady today who had the loveliest shade of lavender on her nails, so I found one similar. Its Rimmel 60 Seconds in Magnetise.

It is a pale lavender from some angles, but has an iridescent sheen that turns pinky-purple at other angles. Very pretty! I did pearly white diagonal stripes then applied a silvery Rimmel color called Insolence to the lower half. Added pink glitter bits (they sparkle in the light, but not really in the photo) and presto! *Lovely nails*



Shynk!

Zend!

It's ZEND's last show tonight at the Underground. Free to come and enjoy :)











Shynk!

Happy Toes :)

It's hard to take decent pictures of toes.  My toes are goofy as hell, but at least now they look happy :)





Hee!

Shynk!

Cuticle Health

Okay, I've never really taken care of my cuticles and in turn have been plagued with hangnails, cuts and dry, ragged cuticle skin.  Not good.  The dry skin often tears up the finger causing very painful hangnails :(  My nails have always kinda sucked too - splitting and weak all the time - which is what happens when you don't take care of your cuticles.

Recently I've been paying extra attention to my cuticles and want to share some tried and true tips:

1. Don't cut your cuticles.  This can be very damaging and lead to infections!  However, if there are flaps sticking up, use a *sharp* set of nippers to nip it off.

2. Push your cuticles back gently after applying a good cuticle remover. A good remover contains AHA which will slough away dead skin cells.  If you want a more natural option, you can do the milk bath soak for your fingertips (lactic acid accomplishes the same thing).

3. Don't paint your cuticles when you paint your nails.  Plus, it's just ugly. 

4. Condition your cuticles often.


I've used many cuticle oils and they are all pretty good.  Mineral oil doesn't penetrate the cuticle skin as much as it sits on top, so stay away from products which use mineral oil.  The best oils are almond, jojoba (which is actually a wax, not an oil), and vitamin E.

For the past 4-5 days, I've been using this:



It's  Tuscan Citrus Herb Complex made by Cuccio.  It contains cottonseed, sunflower, & safflower oils, and vitamins A & E.

So far it's been the best for my cuticles! I really see the difference - my cuticles are supple and soft just from a few days. You can go back in the blog pics and see the difference.

I'll continue to use it daily until my cuticles are healthy.  Or until spring because winters in the high desert are crazy dry :)

Shynk!

Royal Flush

This was fun :)






Right hand not as great but still...

Today I put 2 coats of the Orly Nail Armor on and let each coat dry before the next.  Didn't see any ugly bumps, so I think that solved the problem!

Shynk!

Update

Fixed the stars a bit and added glitter.






The bumps are driving me crazy still! Eeewwww! 

Shynk!

Smell my finger...nail

I got this Revlon polish that's suppose to be scented when it dries. The color is called Grape Icy and it does kinda smell grapey, even though I put a top coat over it.








The color went on like crap though. Really streaky and took 3 coats to get a solid color. I used Pure Ice for the blue. The Bf picked it out. It's called French Kiss ;) Went on very nice! Almost full coverage with one coat. 

For some reason I've been getting a bumpy surface after a few coats of the Orly Nail Armor. Could be because I don't let it dry completely between coats? A bit of experimenting and we shall see :)







And my stars kinda suck but whatever :/

Shynk!