31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Fashion

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Here are fashion inspired nails. This manicure worked a lot better in my mind, but was executed poorly. Inspired by a dress from Jason Wu's 2011 Fall/Winter line, I think if painted well, this could have been stunning. Instead, I spent lots of time trying to fix mistakes until it got too late for me to do anything else to fix the manicure. But sometimes that is the way these things go.

Polish Stunt Double: NOT Girly Bits Eggnogoholic

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 You've heard of nail polish dupes, but that's not what this is. A polish stunt double is a polish that has some prominent features in common with a loved or lusted after nail polish, but on even the most basic examination, the two won't be confused. Think of it as really wanting a strawberry milkshake, but getting a strawberry smoothie instead. It is still good, will satisfy your craving for something fruity and creamy for a while, but you will eventually want to get your hands on that strawberry milkshake. Allow me to show you a polish that I really want and how I am curbing my craving for that nail polish.

Illamasqua Nomad

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Hello, Dearies. I fell in love with Illamasqua Nomad the moment I saw it. It is a vivid green, that has an almost candy appearance to it. But this polish is more than just looks. It was an absolute dream to apply. It looked decent with one coat, but perfect with two coats. It was smoother and more even than most of the polishes I own.

I could have worn Nomad by itself, but I have been trying to show some simple nail art recently and it is just about strawberry season in New York, so I thought that these stickers would be the perfect touch on this candy color. These stickers applied smoothly to the nail, but the full nail sticker freaked out and wrinkled when I applied a fast drying topcoat. I have since experimented with the stickers using Gelous instead of the fast drying topcoat and the wrinkling did not occur. Next time I use the full size stickers, no fast drying topcoat; lesson learned.

I removed the polish after six days of wear. The manicure looks pretty bad, but I spent a lot of time pulling weeds while wearing the manicure. Wearing gardening gloves does not protect nail polish all that well, in my experience. To be honest, even if this really bad chipping had not been in part due to my being really hard on my nails, I would still love and be willing to wear this polish often. It was so incredibly easy to apply that it was a joy!

So, what do you think of Nomad? Did the stickers work with this manicure?

Five of my favorite things over the past week:

1. Lemon Eating Contest:  My nephew's birthday party was this past weekend and a lemon eating contest could be the very best kids' party game ever . . . at least for the adult audience. The kids make hilarious face, but keep eating. Lemon doesn't stain. Kids sometimes don't have the best breath, but lemon helps to freshen their breath. Awesome!

2. Preschool Graduation:  My little girl's preschool graduation was this week. And while I tend to be a bit of a pragmatist and find it a little silly to make a big deal out of such things (kind of like placing your flag triumphantly after climbing the first 1,000 feet of Mount Everest), the look of pride on my daughter's face told me that it wasn't just a silly ceremony.

3. Chicken Fajitas:  My husband grilled the most delicious chicken fajitas for dinner this week. Cooking outdoors kept the kitchen cooler on a warm day and grilling means that my husband did most of the work. Really good with a lemon garlic marinade and he said it was simple too.

4. Finding the last bottle of polish at Sally's:  I went into Sally's with my list of must-haves. Number 1 on that list was China Glaze Surfin' for Boys. I rushed over to the China Glaze Neons display and looked under several bottles feeling sure that none of them were the right color. It was not there. However, there was just what I wanted in the storeroom, so yay!

5. Stepping out of my comfort zone:  I am a little bit shy. It's not a debilitating shyness, but I am most at ease with my closest friends. When I talk with or spend time with people I don't know well, I am always afraid that I will just sit there with nothing to say and no way to easily leave the situation, that everyone will feel the awkwardness. My husband convinced me to go over and hang out with our neighbors last weekend and I was apprehensive, but I went over. I knew they were nice people already, but I had such a good time and got to meet a couple of their friends and play a silly board game. Good times.

Have a fabulous weekend! And wish all the wonderful dads an extra Happy Father's Day!

~Alexis

Illamasqua Load done matte with subtle stamping

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Hello, lovelies. Do my nails look like embossed velvet? Because that was what I was going for. Let me quickly tell you about this manicure. I painted a three layer base of Illamasqua Load followed by Essie Matte about you. It took a very long time to dry (but I do usually use INM Out the Door fast drying topcoat). Load's application felt a little sticky or stringy, but I did end up with even coverage. I dinged up the polish a bit before stamping the image. I used Revlon Buttercup on Bornprettystore's m60. I then painted some of the details on my left ring finger with Sonia Kashuk Golden Ticket, Revlon ColorStay Rich Raspberry and Bare Bones. I didn't use a topcoat over the stamping or it would have eliminated the matte finish on the base polish.

I did not take this polish off after four days, but it was starting to look a little tired. Oils from my hands and lotion had eliminated a lot of the matte finish and I was left with more of a satin finish. I ended up with one chip on my left middle finger that was easily patched. I was actually very impressed with how well Illamasqua Load fared. All fingers had only the tiniest bit of tip wear and they still looked quite presentable, especially surprising with such a light colored polish and after using a matte topcoat instead of a more protective topcoat.

Do you wear matte polish? What kind of wear time do you get out of a matte topcoat?

I tried to liven this manicure up by topping it with Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I'll show you the results next week. I also plan to do a comparison between Julep and INM Out the Door fast drying topcoats. One of these topcoats already has a big lead in terms of shine, but that's a topic for later.

Check out all the manicure fun at The Nail Files-Week 17. Have a good weekend.

~Alexis