Beauty

[Snow Owl]

I applied Checkmate on Monday night, and took this pic on Tuesday afternoon. This is three coats of polish, with Seche Vite top coat. I should have only used two because that is all that was needed, but I have a habit of using three. No tip wear today. I did stop and get a bottle of the Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat today and will try it when I change. I do love this polish. It's not that I don't want to change more often, I just haven't had time. So it is nice having a polish that I don't have worry about if I can't change every day or every other day. I do plan to get more colors.

[Snow Owl]

Bella, I looked at blog a hundred times when deciding what colors to get next. When I got to the store, I found that a few didn't exactly look like the pics. Take Wild Card, for example. Unless it changes dramatically after application, it isn't anywhere near that beautiful blue in her pic. I do plan to get it because I want it as it is, and will post a pic. My DIL got Dealer's Choice and I'll ask her if I can swatch it. Going to look up your Zoya colors!

Nom, wow what a huge difference in her application of Card Shark, and yours. She only used two coats for complete coverage. Makes me wonder if there is something wrong with your bottle. Both Hot Hand and Checkmate only needed two coats as well. I did mess up one nail with Checkmate and had to do-over, and used two coats on that one. Card Shark is on my list as well. How was the polish, was it thin? I did give these a good shake the day before I used them because I haven't tried any gels and wanted to make sure they were mixed well.

Bella, I'm so sorry about your cousin. Still have you and your family in my prayers. I know you don't want them to go, but you don't want them to suffer any longer either. My condolences.

fourpaws, that color is gorgeous! OPI is my favorite polish.

[Snow Owl]

bella, I have Stassi and Arizona. Love them both! I need Charisma and Ali, they're so pretty.

[Snow Owl]

Here is my other polish. This is 905 Sophisticated by Revlon. It is a beautiful grey with a subtle shimmer that can only be seen in the sunlight once it has been applied. Unfortunately, it was cloudy or raining most of the time I had it on. I'll swatch it again later.

[lulu2]

On 4/22/2015 Snow Owl said:

Here is my other polish. This is 905 Sophisticated by Revlon. It is a beautiful grey with a subtle shimmer that can only be seen in the sunlight once it has been applied. Unfortunately, it was cloudy or raining most of the time I had it on. I'll swatch it again later.

That is a gorgeous color. (I loved your last selection too) The shape of your nails is one of the prettiest I've scene.

There are so many gorgeous manicures since last I posted. I see there are new posters, too.

I've missed a special birthday here, Knit Chick.

bella-luna, I am so sorry for the loss of your cousin. My belief is someday we will see all our loved ones again.

I have a manicure and pedicure tomorrow so my nails are now sporting an OBG (for me) Essie Jazz.

[bella-luna]

Snow - Aw, man. That's too bad the pics of the Revlon colors aren't exactly accurate! That neutral one is SO pretty on you!! I look forward to hearing what you order from Zoya! Can you believe my order has shipped already?! Woohoo!! I had Arizona at one point, but gave it away because I thought it was too similar to Jancyn, but now...I want it - lol! Have you worn Stassi? If so, I'd love to know what - if anything - you paired it with. Charisma is out of my comfort zone, but I thought what the heck... That blue from Revlon is gorrrgeous! Is it similar to butter LONDON Right as Rain? That's what it reminds me of (errr...am I remembering correctly? Didn't you pick it up at TJ Maxx, too? I haven't worn it yet.) Thank you for your sweet comment about my cousin. I appreciate it.

lulu - Another beautiful, classy pick my friend! Thank you also for your kind words. Y'all are THE best!

[nomless]

Snow, you're sure having fun with you new gels. My Cardshark is pretty thick. I didn't shake it before applying. I'm on my third day with a tiny bit of tip wear but it's not noticable. I love that blue gray color. Bella, I can't wait until your new ones arrive so you can give us a report. Lulu, happy mani tomorrow!

[aydinsgma]

Hello All!

I'm a nail polish lover as well and Love seeing the pics you post with all your pretty

polishes. Please tell me, your nails all look Amazing! I can get my nails to look good but

my problem is the cuticles, mine are dry,ragged and ugly. I've tried to use argon oil

and no hand lotion with no help. How do you all get your cuticles to look So Beautiful?

Thanks!!!

[juperier]

bella - I'm sorry for your loss. But I definitely agree that at the same time it has t be a relief that the suffering is over. That's a bright, cheery jelly. It's definitely no fun when you realize in the middle of a mani that you'll need four coats. I'll probably break down and take advantage of the Zoya Earth Day Promotion. But I'm waiting till the end so it will be on next month's bill. I have plenty of untried polishes. And I still have a couple more packages arriving this week...my monthly Mystic Muse box and a bunch of Color Club and China Glaze polishes (plus some other supplies) from head2toe.

Snow - I'm glad you're enjoying your gels. I realize the it's really hard/impossible to get the color accurate with some polishes. And every monitor is different. But I hate it when you can't even recognize it as the same polish.

lulu - That Essie polish is really pretty. On my screen it looks as tho it might have some blue shimmer? You'll have to let us know what color your new mani is.

aydinsgma - Several of the ladies here take and post pictures of their own nails. Others of us mainly used pics we've found online. My cuticles are on the ugly side also. But I've finally gotten to the point where I'm fairly happy with how they look. Much of it is "smoke and mirrors" however. I've gotten much better at cleanup and much better at putting oil around my cuticles frequently. I'll let everyone else chime in with what oil(s) they use. For me it's pretty much whatever I grab. I have several bottles of cuticle oil that have come with indie nail polish orders. I also have little bottles filled with avocado, olive, jojoba, maracuja, fractionated coconut, vitamin e and tea tree oils. I don't have any argon oil or I'd be using that too. I rub some around my fingertips when I think of it. I also try to slather on a bunch of oil and let it sink in for as long as possible between polishes. I quickly wipe off any excess on the surface with high percentage isopropyl alcohol or nail polish remover before putting on basecoat.

Let's see, yesterday I had on China Glaze At Vase Value topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust. Now I have on Virago Varnish Temptress. (Snow - talk about color inaccuracy...this is the closest I could find of At Vase Value...and it's noticeably lighter and bluer than my bottle; the image of Temptress is actually fairly close to what's on my fingers, but my fingers are more sparkly, and the color has more depth)

[Knit-Chick]

I'm in between meetings, so just have a minute to pop in to say hello!

Bella, my condolences on the loss of your cousin.

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had a nice quiet afternoon with my parents -- my dad has dementia and Parkinsons Disease, so we're always thankful for a quiet uneventful day.

I'm heading out to CA next week for a business meeting so this weekend I'll probably be putting OPI bubble bath on to keep them neutral. I'm really looking forward to the warm weather out there! We had a dusting of snow overnight.