Top Summer Nail Polishes

Or more like top essie summer nail polishes. I didn't realize before I picked these out that they were going to be all, save for one, essie. I do own other brands of nail polish, but I guess there's just something about bright, summery essie polishes that I can't resist. 

I chose these not only because I love the colors, but also because the formulas are nice and easy to work with. You don't always get lucky with essie nail polishes - van d'go is the perfect example of a beautiful color, but a crap formula. 

L-R: Essie's borrowed & blue, status symbol, lollipop

I love baby blue nail polish no matter what time of year it is, but it is especially nice in the summer. The one I am currently liking is essie's borrowed & blue, a sky blue that looks great with a tan and against the brighter colors of my summer wardrobe.

Status symbol is probably my favorite magenta pink, because it pulls more pink than magenta. It applies like a dream and makes a bold, girly statement. 

Lollipop is a really vibrant, bright red. I don't usually like red nail polish, but this one is a young, fresh version of a classic color. It looks especially good on short nails.

{The picture isn't doing justice to the color of status symbol}

L-R: Essie's tart deco, boat house, OPI panda-monium pink

Tart deco is a really interesting color. In different lighting it can look anywhere from a salmon-y coral to a bright orange, which makes it impossible to photograph, but pretty nonetheless. I love all the different shades it can be and I get lots of compliments when I wear this =).

I've talked about boat house before, but I couldn't do this post without including it. It is a hot coral color that is ridiculously easy to apply. It is such an appropriate summer color and it just makes me happy. 

Lastly is panda-monium pink, a pinky lilac shade. I really only break this out during the hot weather months - it is a nice change when I want to get away from the pink/coral end of the color spectrum. 

A recently discovered nail product that I will never go without from now on - Sally Hansen's Dries Instantly top coat. I can paint this on one hand, and by the time I am done painting the other one, the first hand is already dry to touch. If you are like me, and cannot sit still after a freshly painted manicure, you need this. It's a lot better than seche vite in my opinion. 

I also recently got a pale yellow polish, Orly's lemonade, that I am dying to try and will most likely be added to this list =).

~Vida

Faking It

Now that I am not in school I can finally do something that I have been craving - I can wear long nails! While I was still in school I worked in a research lab and was around a bunch of science academics - an environment that I would never have felt comfortable wearing fake nails. But now I'm free! And I decided to celebrate with a box of Kiss everlasting French nails. 

I saw this petite version and thought it would be great because I don't like having very long obvious nails. 

They have made these nails essentially fool proof with little numbered tabs that make it easy to apply and track which nails go on which fingers. The glue smells like crazy glue, which is a little scary to put on your nails, but I applied a thin layer of nude polish before putting these on so hopefully that will help to protect my natural nails. 

I really like how they turned out very natural looking, and it took me probably the same, if not less, time that it would have taken for me to paint my nails. They last for up to 7 days, even though I will probably get sick of them before that and want to go back to my brightly colored nail polishes. Overall, these are a nice treat and keep me from going to the salon when I'm in a fake nail fix =).

~Vida

NOTD Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

If you want springtime pastel nails at a really affordable price, get this. 

I love wearing pastels like this on my nails in the spring, and I am always attracted to them when I am shopping for nail polish. I had been lusting after Essie's mint candy apple until I saw this nail polish at Walmart selling for $2. Sally Hansen nail products are generally very good, and this color is exactly what I imagine the Essie one would look like. 

This applies like a dream - the brush is huge compared to many other brands and it goes on opaque and smooth with just one coat. Honestly, this applies much better than many of my OPI and Essie polishes. It also lasts a good amount of time without chipping, considering I am a bit careless with my nails.

The color itself is so pretty in my opinion, it is one of those that appears to be a different color in different lighting. Sometimes it looks like Tiffany's blue, other times it looks bright fluorescent green, but mainly it looks like a light creamy mint color. 

I really like this and am interested in going back and getting more of them in different colors (there was a pastel yellow that I was very intrigued by).

What do you guys think of this nail polish? Any suggestions for good pastel colors?

~Vida

Nail polish of the moment

Recently I have been obsessed with one nail polish in particular and that is Victoria's Secret's "explosive". 

I've had this for so long, but I stopped wearing it after I initially got it because I didn't like how the color looked on me. As I have gotten more experimental with my nail polish colors, I picked it up a few days ago and I am absolutely in love with it now! 

The formula is great, it goes on opaque with just one coat (but I use two for good measure), and it's easy to work with, not streaky or thick. The color is a bright magenta pink, which tends to look different in different lighting, but I still love it. I love how bold it is, and how it contrasts with other colors. 

I know Victoria's Secret isn't available in many countries, but I think there are plenty of versions of this color out there. 

Thanks for reading =) 

NOTD Havana Dreams

Today I decided to wear my newly purchased nail polish, Havana Dreams of Sephora by OPI. 

It's quite strange to have baby blue nails, and it takes some getting used to, but I think I really like it. The color makes your nails pop and look captivatingly cute. It's one of those that look best with really short nails and would look amazing in the summer with a tan. The formula is slightly streaky and I had to use 3 coats to get it really opaque looking, but I guess that's the price you pay for such a unique color. This nail polish is so fun and pretty - OPI never disappoints :)

What do you guys think about my blue nails? What fun colors do you love? 

Beautiful burgundy

Dark nails are so appropriate for the fall/winter season. I picked this nail polish up over a year ago and it still remains one of my go-to cold weather nail colors.  

N.Y.C. LINCOLN CENTER

Best of all its cheap and easily found at drugstores! Its seriously the perfect deep burgundy color, kind of vampire-esque and I don't hate it. The color makes your hands look clean and chic. You do need two coats of this to get good color, but it is not streaky and the quality is quite good. The finish is super glossy, even without a topcoat. 

I think these N.Y.C. polishes are so cute - each of them in the collection is named after an area in New York City. I will definitely repurchase this over and over again =) 

What fall nails have you been loving?

DIY French Mani

I love getting my nails done, especially getting french manicures, and now I've found a way to get them without going to the salon. I've tried other french manicure sets that give you a neutral shade, and then a white - but the white had a normal brush that you use in conjunction with the stencil stickers that they give you. Those ended up a pain in the @$% and just a mess. 

The Rimmel French Manicure pro and the French White Tip pro combo is the first set I've used that gives you the white polish with the thin brush that salons use. 

It took a little practice at first to get the line right, but now I think I've gotten down the right technique to get a nice line. Doing my right hand is still a little hard, but overall the nail polishes are relatively easy to use. With a little seche vite on top, this french manicure has some serious lasting power - sometimes up to a week without chipping, which says a lot because I usually don't go a day without chipping my newly salon-manicured french nails. 

Here's the end result, 

It might not exactly match salon quality, but for eight bucks I can get a pretty, long-lasting french manicure whenever I want, as many times as I want. I really recommend this to anyone who wants to try it, but if you're someone with shaky hands, it might be easier to just go to the salon =).