Guilty pleasures

Ok, so maybe my nail fetish isn't "quite" close to ending just yet lol.  Ever since I started back doing my nails, I have become addicted to all of the uber-cute nail polish stickers, gorgeous colors available, etc.  This is just a quick post with some pics of what I have been doing with my nails lately. The polish stickers have also allowed my nails to grow out quite a bit, which is exciting considering my nails have been looking a hot, raggedy, deep-fried mess since before my munchkin was born 2.5 years ago.  **WARNING** This post is PIC HEAVY...Enjoy!

This first one is the Sally Hansen Salon Effects mani strips in "Noir Boudoir".  In other words, French manicure w/the black tip.  I absolutely loved the manicure and they lasted until I got bored, which was about a week later.  They didn't chip or anything.  These are the most expensive of the SH brand of strips, but I would say they are worth it.  I didn't buy these retail, I found this set on ebay for $7.99.  This pack comes w/16 tips, but as we all know, once you open the airtight package, they immediately begin to dry out being that they are real nail polish.  The pack also comes with 2 packs of 8 clear strips (similar to the 14 day nail shields, but clear).  I used one 8 pack for this set and just cut a couple of strips in half and was able to use the other clear pack later as a nail overlay (which was awesome!).

Just playing around one day and trying out some of my new colors. Pinky finger - Color Club Holographic in "Blue Heaven", Ring finger and thumb - magnetic polish by Claires (I think it was kind of green).  Middle and index finger - Magnetic polish by Wet n Wild, "Bad for credit cards" I think that was the name, don't quote me on that lol. These magnet polishes weren't as strong as my SH ones, but I think I forgot to shake the bottle before applying the second coat. Oh well, they were on clearance so no love lost.

This was a 2 day old manicure where I painted my nails with my Essie "In the Cabana" and was tired of the blue so I used my paper edgers and cut some scotch tape to make this funky design.  I used a regular black polish to get this effect. :)

This is the elusive "holographic" polish effect that folks have been after for the past few years.  I hopped on the bandwagon and bought this one by Color Club.  It's gorgeous in the sun!  My ring finger is painted w/ Essie's "beyond cozy" as an accent nail.

You'll see this design twice because I loved it so much, I had to do it again.  This was about a month ago, I used Kiss nail dress in "Lovebirds".  I am digging the french tip look in different colors. I put a SH nail shield on first, then the stickers.  This is when I want a quick change and I don't have to use nail polish remover. This is the THIRD manicure I have done with this design.  Remember, Kiss nail stickers come in packs of 28 so the possibilities are endless (well, at least 28 times) on how many times you can use one pack!  I have done the french tip two times, I have done all 10 of my toes (and they have been on for 2 weeks!) And I still have about 12 full strips left!  Yes, Kiss stickers are definitely worth the $6.99(Kmart, Kroger, CVS price) - $7.79(Walgreens) price tag.  I have seen these at Dollar General for about $3 (not as wide of a variety of designs) and they come in a pack of 18.  The second set is the 2nd picture (see different colors on different nails)

 
I know you have seen these before, but this is a different color of the Dollar Tree brand of nail strips that change color. These are the blue ones.

I used a different patten of my paper edger scissors to cut the design on the bottom, which defeated the purpose due to the black design already on the nail. Duh.

This next one isn't my favorite design of SH nail strips but it's doable.  It's called "Checker out".  I didn't use my half moon paper edgers and used one that is more of a diamond shape.  I didn't like it but rocked it for a couple of days.

This next one is a Jade green SH brand of polish underneath the "Toppings" collection top coat by Wet n Wild.  It's duo-chrome and it made the green look like dark blue. It also flipped to a purple color under natural light and sunlight.

 Ok, I absolutely LOVED the design of this next one...HOWEVER, I didn't like the sticker/application.  These were on clearance at Walgreens for $1.74 and they are the Studio 35 beauty brand.  It's a new brand that Walgreens is carrying and they retail for about $6.99 ( I think?) I got this design and a green and white polka dot.  I left these on for about a day and a half and then pulled them off. They were "ok" but I would say they would probably work better on a shorter nail.  They didn't stretch well or mold to the shape of the natural nail very well. They came in a pack of 16 and I will probably use the other 6 strips as a french mani.

This last design is one of my FAVES.  I got this set for my birthday from one of my friends and I love it!  I have always wanted to do newspaper nails and these are wonderful.  The set came with two nail polishes, a dark gray and light creme/eggshell color.  The kit also came with 3 water decal designs.  One is the newspaper look (on my nails), one is a paper stationary design and the other is a map design.  

Paper edgers and nail stickers, oh my!

Hi all!  Ok, so I have been in experimentation mode with my nail stickers.  I have been eyeing these at Kmart lately because I love how you can use the strip two different ways:


I can'tjustify paying $6.99 for these, simply because there are so many cheaper options available out there.  Considering that I have a plethora of nail stickers that I am so anxious to use, buying these just because they have the french half moon on the bottom is not practical.

So I got to thinking, why don't I just use a pair of scissors and cut a set of my nail stickers and my make own?  Well, it sounded like a good idea until I really thought about my unsteady hands and the half moon would probably end up looking like a lop-sided v-shape or something.  I thought about using a pair of toenail clippers, nail clippers, razor blade, etc. Then I thought, hmmm, why not try some crafting scissors/paper edgers?

The paper edgers I am speaking of look like this:


This is thecloud pattern, which is the closest to the traditional french tip half moon.  I have 5 pairs of these scissors that are probably 7 or 8 years old.  Hey, they still cut so who cares how old they are, right?  I have the colonial, alligator, clouds, seagull and majestic patterns. 

So then I thought, I don't want to mess up my Sally Hansen nail strips so let me roll with my cheapie Dollar Tree Donna Michelle Nail Stickers.  This next pic is not the pattern I used because I didn't start blogging about this until I finished my nails (because honestly, I didn't think this was gonna work). But I was able to show a quick cut of one of the strips for you guys.  This is the Donna Michelle packaging:








This is how I cut the strips to make the half moon shape:

And this is the end result!

I absolutely love them! Yes, they are a little narrow but for $1, what do you expect?  I can't wait to do the other flower pattern above because I am addicted!  I know cutting them wastes a lot of the strip but I can justify it a little better because they were only a buck.  I think with these stickers, you can also use them a 2nd time w/out them drying out, unlike the SH, because those are real nail polish and once you open the air tight package, you have to use them immediately.

Hope you enjoyed!


**Photos courtesy of Kissusa.com, google images and my own