Autumn Gold

So after fabric week, I wanted to do something a little different, less literal, and more stylized. I was looking at the polishes that are currently on my table, (which I procrastinate cleaning off and putting away polishes from until there is literally NO workspace left), and liked the look of a couple of the colors together, so I thought that I'd do a reverse moon manicure with them.

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with a mixture of American Apparel Cotton and American Apparel Manila for the butter colored moon, with a moon of L.A. Girl Army Green at the base of the nail closest to the cuticle. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Neck is getting better, hurts a little still, but getting more manageable. I've been resting as much as possible to take the strain off it. Thanks again for your concerns and suggestions!

No time to paint your nails?

Sometimes I run into stuff... wow! These bad ass gloves are designed by London based designer Dominic Jones.

Founded in late 2008, London based Dominic Jones Jewellery is fast becoming hot property amongst the fashion elite. The new "It Boy" for celeb jewelry, designer Jones' Tooth And Nail collection consists of rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, belts and gloves embellished with fangs, thorns, teeth and claw-like accents.

Aren't these awesome? Probably not something I would dare to wear (and I'm cutting down on real leather as it is), maybe I'd give these a spin if I'd ever reincarnate as Lady Gaga herself!
These would be perfect to cover up any nail art fails/chips/stained nails, don't you think? ;-). They only cost 682 EUR, quite a bargain. Riiiight.

Price aside: Fashion of Faux-pas?

Online store

quote credits go to ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com

How To: Make your manicure last

Hi guys! For today another how to post! Normally I change my polish a lot, but there are times when you want to make your manicure last! Maybe because you're busy or maybe because you're going on vacation, you name it. It isn't all that hard, take a look at the following tips:

1	Prep the nail Make sure you're starting off with clean nails. Get rid of any nail polish you might have on. By using a nail polish remover before you're starting your fresh manicure, you will clean the nails. If your remover leaves a greasy residue grab some alcohol on a cotton pad and wipe your nails with that. Any oils or residue on nails makes it more difficult for polish to adhere to the nail. Do your cuticles so everything is neat and out of the way.
2	Base & Top Coat A good base coat is really important. You're not walking around commando style either, are you? Or maybe you do, but erhm, anyway! A good base coat does not only prevent staining, it also bonds your nail polish to your nails. A top coat is to give shine, but also to keep everything sealed and in its place. You can also refresh your manicure daily with a layer of top coat, I don't do this often, but it does work.
3	Wrappin' it When applying polish, sweep a bit across the edge and under the nail tip. I usually just tap my brush, with some nail polish on it, against my tip before I start with the first layer. The polish wil melt together when you're done with your whole nail. By doing this you're wrapping the end, so it seals your nail polish onto your nail and it won't chip that easily. You can do this with your top coat as well!
4	Would you like a sandwich with that? Now this is something I've just started doing recently! Certain kinds of nail polish chip easily, maybe it's the texture, maybe the fact that a top coat ruins it all, but I've found this to work. You can use this trick with regular polish too. It is recommended to use sticky base coats when you're doing this so called sandwich. Think Orly Bonder or CND Stickey. If you don't have these: I had pretty good results with using top coat in between! Just make sure it doesn't give you shrinkage (like Seche Vite can do).
	Matte nailpolish Some brands that make matte nail polish advice against using a base coat. Ignore that, because some colors WILL make your nails yellow. Or green. Or blue. Obviously, if you're going for that crazy matte effect, you can't seal your mani with top coat. To make it stay: I apply a base coat, a layer of matte polish and then another layer of base coat. On top of that I'm just applying another layer of matte polish. Et voila, a nail polish sandwich! You can also do this if you're just mattifying with a matte top coat! Holographic nail polish I don't like to use a top coat on these either. It can really dull the effect so I do the same thing: base coat, holographic nail polish, base coat, holographic nail polish. Is this sandwiching making you hungry yet?

Image credits: www.fedoraonline.it