White Owl Lacquers Kittens and Teacups

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Quick post today. But lots of pictures. I wore this skittlette for a couple of days and then traded out the index fingers and middle fingers for different colors just for a bit of a change.

Green Ombre Gradient Manicure

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Hello there. I put a lot of effort into this manicure. I used the tutorial  for gradient nails from The Nailasaurus and transitioned between Revlon Bare Bones to China Glaze Fast Track, Julep Sofia, Sinful Colors Irish Green, Sonia Kachuk Fairy Princess, and concluded with Sally Hansen Emerald City from index finger to pinky. I then stamped Emerald City over all the nails and dotted them with Bare Bones and Emerald City. The manicure was my entry in Midnight Manicures Green nail art for Lyme Disease Awareness and Mental Health month contest. You can see all the entries on the Midnight Manicures facebook page. There is one nail art manicure that I think is fabulous and I really want to try out something similar. See which ones you like the best.

The next time that I try out that gradient, I'll use polishes that differ in color a bit more for a more pronounced effect.

By the second to last day wearing this manicure, I wanted something a little different, so I added a coat of Matte about You. I think it looked pretty matte. I find that my sponged manicures tend to hold up pretty well and this one was no exception. There was a little bit of tip wear and chipping at the edges of index and middle fingers after five days. My favorite nail color was the Irish green with Fairy Princess sponged over the top of the polish. Someday I'll do a full manicure with that combination.

I liked my middle fingers a lot too, just because I think it is so cool that Julep Sofia glows in the dark.

Check out the Nail File:  Week 20. Look at great nail polish finds, fun manicures, and join the link-up yourself if you have some eye candy to share!

Next week, is a Fairy Princess manicure. I can't wait to show it to you all! Have any of you tried out the gradient tutorial from The Nailasaurus? I'm also curious, how long does it usually take you to do your manicure?

Take Care.

~Alexis

Matte mani without matte polish

Pin It A couple of weeks ago, I went to five shops in search of a matte topcoat. After failing to find it at the fifth shop, I tried to discover if it was possible to gain a matte finish without a matte nail polish. I found advice on The Adventures of Goddess Gorgeous. She suggests that a matte finish can be achieved simply by breathing warm, moist air onto regular nail polish.
I went home to test this method and found the finish to be much more matte than when I did not breathe on the polish. The finish is not as smooth as you get when using a matte topcoat like Essie Matte About You.

These are completely dry swatches of Revlon Midnight Affair; on the left are two coats of polish without topcoat. It is definitely shiny. In the middle, I breathed on two coats of wet polish on and off for about 30 seconds. It has a matte finish, but you can notice along the side, where the breath wasn't as even that there is a little cloudiness. It almost looks like salt stains in the polish. On the far right, the polish was topped with Essie Matte About You. It has a bold, even matte finish.

In my opinion, it is worth it to get a matte topcoat for the very defined matte finish, but if you don't have a matte polish available, you can try out the look by simply breathing warm, moist air over the wet polish for a few seconds.