NOTD: Making your Manicure Last Longer

      Today's Nail Of The Day's all about making your manicure/paint job last longer. When I put a color on, I kind of want it to last me a good four days…but really, who am I kidding? They barely look fresh for 3 days. Usually not only are my tips grown out but the top part of my nail or shall I say the nail bed where the cuticles are have also been chipped away.
      My approach was so that I could redo my tips in the red shade, and my nail beds with a fun glitter polish! Who can say no to glitter?

      Getting the glitter to the nail beds is pretty tricky. What I do is, when I go back to take off the excess polish on my brush I do-not rub the brush off all the way. I stop almost close to the bristle tips of the brush and pull away from the edge and lift my brush up. So that way, all my polish has now gathered onto the tip. This makes it easier to apply a slightly thin to medium coat on the nail bed. The rest is all about maneuvering your brush.
      Another easier way to go about is to get a small paintbrush or liner brush and use that to rim your nail beds. Either way will work fine.

If your wondering what colors I've used: 

**Zoya: Janice…. buy here

Sephora by O.P.I: Sparkling Personality (part of the betsy johnson collection) 

& Its on Sale!!! buy here

** Note about Zoya: If your picky about the brushes different brands have. I can honestly say Zoya has one of the best brush application ever. 

xX

Mar

NOTD: OPI's Call Me Gwen-ever

I have been trying to find the perfect orange polish for me all year. Who would have thought I'd find it in OPI's Spider Man collection? Call Me Gwen-ever is my perfect orange, not too bright, but still clearly orange.

What makes me love it even more is that it's so great as a transition color into fall! While being great for summer it is also (as my friend so aptly described it) a "Starbucks fall season decorations orange." I can't wait to wear this polish on thanksgiving!

I hope you all are enjoying these transition months! What are your favorite orange polishes?

Iman

NOTD: Mod About You + A Cut Above

This manicure is a bit more girly than my normal taste but every one loves a little glitter so I thought I'd share it with you all. As the base I have OPI's Mod About You, a bright cool tone pink color. It is a part of their permanent collection so you should be able to find it where ever OPI is sold.

This is one of the first times I was slightly disappointed by the formulation of an OPI polish. I found it a bit goopy compared to their normal perfection. Still, the color is fun! I thought a little pink glitter would go nicely so I added some of Essie's A Cut Above in a slightly fade away style.

This Essie polish was from the Luxe Effects Top Coat collection and is still available where Essie is sold. I love this collection and I really want to add the silver version of this polish, Set in Stone, to my collection. Hope you enjoyed this!

Iman

Ode to Deborah Lippmann

       I'm sure you all recognize the photo above; it's Twitter. But more specifically, it's THE Deborah Lippmann twitter. On the auspicious day of Labor Day ( monday that just passed, for some us under the NYFW stress) she retweeted a tweet from yours truly Acetone Anonymous! Thats right, RETWEETED. I know I maybe a little too excited, but I am a HUGE fan of Deborah Lippmann. I liked her way back when her nail polishes used to say Lippmann Collection, instead of her today revamped collection: Deborah Lippmann.

      I know some of you may think that paying almost $20 for a nail polish is absurd. However, your not paying for the bottle, your paying for quality, color and the dimensions of the glitter ( if your purchasing glitter polish.) My best friend is a real stickler. She will look high and low for a cheaper version of anything. She did almost come close to one of Deborah's "Superstar" nail polish, but the quality was crap and the shimmer/metallic color was separating. 

     Now I'm not saying that you should own every nail polish bottle by Deborah Lippmann (seriously though... if you do, BRAVO!) But when the right color comes along, you can bet your whole nail polish collection that your not going to find something like it anywhere else. 

L-R: Daytripper, Dancing in the Dark, Just Walk Away Renee, Across the Universe

      This is my collection ( not all of it, but just the Deborah Lippmann one's), I know it's not cohesive. But I love these colors. I can't find anything similar or close to it in any brand.  So this past weekend, I wanted to wear Daytripper which is a neon/coral color. Anyone who knows me, knows that coral is my favorite color, like I'm obsessed with coral. So it doesn't come as shock that I love this nail polish. It is a little brighter than normal coral colors, but it looks phenomenal in the sun/summer time!  Usually 2 coats does the trick. 

      Unfortunately I also have major commitment issues, and I can't really commit to one nail polish color for a whole week. I also happen to be obsessed with Glitter+Sparkle, literally anything that shines like a million diamonds. A while back I came up with this B-E-A-U-tiful combination. The OPI color is "The One That Got Away" which is the from the Katy Perry collection. If anyone is familiar with this polish, it's a gorgeous pink maroon color with shimmer mixed into it. I do love this color on its own, but I decided to pair it with Deborah Lippmann's "Dancing in the Dark". Now this color was originally in a set of 3 mini bottles over the last christmas holiday (circa 2011 & only available through Nordstrom). I'm so happy she decided to make it into a full sized bottle, because it's kinda THE BEST gunmetal glitter polish out there. 

Here's my formal for this gorgeous combo:

• 3 coats Opi-Katy Perry "The One That Got Away"… Let it dry fully.
• 2 coats Deborah Lippmann "Dancing in the Dark" …  I only apply in the middle of the nail, I like how the OPI color shows through.
• Topcoat it, I usually use Seche Vite, but right now this Orly Super Shiny top coat is working it's magic on me. 
• & Voila! You have one insane sparkle-tastic manicure!

      

Hope you discover your love for Deborah Lippmann polishes as I did. 

xx

Mar

A New Method for Newspaper Nails

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share with you my personal way of creating the newspaper nail. :) Every tutorial I read when this trend first came out told me to dip my finger in alcohol for two minutes and then transfer the newspaper image. Unfortunately, I found this method took too much time and, more importantly, didn't even work! Read on to see how I changed things up.

To create this look you need white nail polish (I used OPI's Alpine Snow), rubbing alcohol, a little cup (I used a shot glass) to put the alcohol in and some newspaper cut into finger nail sized pieces (see images 1 & 2). Begin by painting your nails with two coats of your white polish (see image 3) and allow this to dry completely. You will be pressing the newspaper against your nail so you should make sure they are perfectly dry. Then dip your strip of newspaper into your rubbing alcohol (see image 4) for 7 seconds. Shake off the extra alcohol and press the wet strip very firmly against your nail for 10 seconds (see image 5). Let dry and finish with some top coat! Make sure you allow the ink to dry because it runs pretty easily under top coat.

Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve the newspaper nail look?

-Iman

NOTD: OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape

Today I was feeling extra summery so my nail of the day is OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape!

 A newer purchase for me, this polish is a minty green polish, however I find that it has a pretty heavy dose of a lime green it. I also feel it is a lot more neon than most. The photos don't really pick up on it, but I definitely find it different from my other mint greens (Essie's Mint Candy Apple and Orly's Jealous, Much?).

I had to apply 3 coats but the result was very smooth. OPI rarely disappoints in terms of consistency of polish. These photos are taken in sunlight without flash or top coat.

Excuse my fading henna! I hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know, what's your favorite minty green polish?

-Iman