Category Archives: nailart

manicure monday: sleek sticks

Essie is one of my favorite beauty brands. Even before their pretty polishes started showing up on my drugstore’s shelves, I searched the sale bins for marked down bottles at specialty stores. I love their highly pigmented colors, and I can make an all-Essie manicure last at least a week.

So when I spotted a glossy ad for Essie Sleek Sticks in a magazine a few months ago, my heart pitter-pattered. I didn’t know where to find them, so I filed it away in my mental wish list and went about my business.

{seriously, how’s a girl supposed to choose?!}

Late last week, while cruising Walgreens for toothpaste and deodorant for the mister, I breezed down the beauty aisle and there they were!! I wanted. them. all. I stood, mouth agape, for a good five minutes trying to decide which pattern to buy. As if it was a permanent and unalterable choice. Weirdo.

One agonizing decision and about $11 later, I was on my way. Like other polish strips, application was easy breezy and took about five minutes start-to-finish {and no dry time, FTW!}.

{ Essie Sleek Sticks in “Glam it On” }

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manic[ure] monday: falling stars

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stars

Ever since I saw Emily’s pretty sparkly mani on Cupcakes and Cashmere, I’ve been drawn to glittery nails like a magpie to a shiny sequined handbag (that one’s for you, Lisa). I’ve seen lots of bloggers’ takes on how to do them yourself, and the easiest I found was using glitter polish and a small sponge — like an eyeshadow sponge or makeup triangle — to apply the glitter in an ombre pattern; sparsely on the nail and more concentrated toward the tip. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Beige Blast as a base with an inexpensive glitter polish from the drugstore. I’d recommend a good top coat when everything dries, otherwise the glitter will snag on everything {speaks from experience}.

manic[ure] monday: gradient effect

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I fell in love with gradient manis last year, when photos of Lauren Conrad sporting them started popping up all over the style interwebs. The good news: you don’t need five different bottles of polish to pull this look off. Keep reading for a simple how-to!

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manic[ure] monday: “something borrowed”

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Last night I ~~suffered through~~ watched Something Borrowed on DVD. I heard all the terrible reviews, but being the big Kate Hudson fan I am, I thought I needed to see it for myself. Unfortunately, I can’t get those two hours back, but I did spot a cute mani on Kate in one scene. It was a modern french manicure with a beige base, black tips, and a little bit of gold.

Cue the lineup!

: Essie all-in-one base | Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Beige Blast | Essie polish in Devils Advocate | Sinful Colors nail art polish

Start with clean nails and a thin coat of base.

Next, apply two coats of beige polish to the entire nail. I used a fast-drying formula to try to save a little time. Letting the polish dry completely is crucial. When you think the beige is dry, give it 15 more minutes, just to be sure. Trust me on this one.

After the beige polish is bone dry, apply french manicure strips to each nail. I’ve seen a lot of bloggers use scotch tape, and I’m sure that works, too! I just like the shape of these strips — a little more rounded than straight across. Then carefully apply the black to the tips above each strip.

More drying time! Give your pinkies lots of time to dry completely, otherwise your tips won’t be straight when you remove the strip. And then all that time you spent letting the first two coats dry will all be in vain. When the dark polish is no longer tacky, oh-so-carefully remove each strip. Don’t panic if some of your beige base comes off with the strip — just touch it up.

Adding the gold line is the trickiest part. My hands shake like a leaf when I try to do any kind of close detail work, and the perfectionist in me had a tough time accepting that an immaculate hairline gold detail just wasn’t in the cards. Instead, I used the old liquid eyeliner trick: Make small dashes across the nail right underneath the black tip, then connect all of the dashes together to make a smooth line. Voila!

I sealed everything up with two good coats of the all-in-one base (which actually helped mask some of the imperfections). In all, this manicure took almost as long as sitting through the movie. But unlike the latter, I had something to show for it when I was finished!