Neon Ombre/Gradient Nail Tutorial

I have been really wanting to try out ombre nails and since I'm on vacation and my manicure is going to last more than a day it's the perfect time. I chose neon yellow and orange because every time I flip on the Olympics inevitably someone is wearing those neon yellow Nike's. Guess the colors are stuck in my head.

If your inept at nail art like me this is a really easy way to spice up a manicure. It's a technique that can be easily done on short and long nails.

imPRESS Press-on Manicure Review

www.impressmanicure.com

Introducing imPress Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails, the revolutionary way to apply polish! Featuring advanced nail technology, you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds – simply peel off, press on, and you're done. There's no drying, a killer shine and a manicure that lasts up to a week! And, imPress is so easy to remove, you can change it up to match your mood as often as you want. Check out all 36 colors and patterns, including trendy brights, classic darks and animal prints. With imPress, your nails will always be your best accessory.
Description from Influenster.com


I received this product complimentary to test through Influenster’s VoxBox program and surprisingly  I am loving these! I can never manage to grow my nails and these are the perfect solution. It makes it look like I have long nails in minuets. They were really easy to use match the size and peel off the backing and press them on. I would recommend going for a size sightly smaller rather than slightly bigger if it's not a perfect match one was a bit bigger and looked and felt funny. you get 24 nails so it should be easy to find the right match. I also would recommend when sticking them down to slide along with the edge of the nail till you hit the cuticle then press down to get the perfect fit. I found them a bit rough on the ends so when I was done applying them I filed them a bit and added a top coat to the end to smooth them out. 

One thing I was really liking was the design. They had a cute animal print design with a glitter background, and glitter is so hard to remove but with these all you have to do is peel them off. There are lots of cute designs which is a plus for a nail inept like myself. 

I found they only lasted a few days. As a cake decorator I work with my hands a lot, and find myself with my hands in water doing dishes, so I think that played a big part in the longevity of the manicure. These would be great for short term use like a night out or the weekend. For the price it's a great deal $5.99- $7.99 considering a full set of acrylic nails at the salon can run $40-$50. 


I will defiantly be trying these again the next time I'm in the mood for long nails and a cute and easy manicure. 

Disclaimer: All of the products shown in this post were sent to me, but my opinions are not influenced in anyway and I am not being paid by showing these products. All reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

NOTD Pool Boy With Snowflakes

OCC Pool Boy

 So I recently got my order from OCC's black friday sale so I decided to try it out. Wow what a color! It will be a great color for summer by the pool but it's also a great winter baby blue. I had seen a tutorial on how to do snow flakes and wanted to try them out and they make the perfect combo. The polish is so opaque and would be fine with one thick coat. I think I found a new favorite color!

 Here is the video that inspired the snow flakes. Thanks Iris for such an easy nail art tutorial that even the nail art challenged (me) can do.

Review: Incoco Nail Polish Appliqué

I had received these in my September Birchbox and finally got around to trying them. and I would just like to say I am in love with these! I’m really bad at nail art so this was the perfect solution. I loved the chaetae design. They were easy to apply; it was just like putting a sticker on your nails. I have really short nails so I found that one strip could do a finger on each hand, which means one packet was is like 2 manicures for the price of 1. I just cut it a bit above the nail and applied the remaining strip to the other hand. Normally I can only get 2 maybe 3 days out of a normal manicure if I’m lucky. I’m really hard on my nails. But with these I got 5 days before I started to see small chips and it was about 7 before they really started to peel off in bigger pieces. I did add 2 layers of a clear top coat to protect them and seal the edges.

I checked the site and the strips range in price from $7.99-$10.99 with the patterned designs costing more. Which I think is a good deal seeing as they last longer than nail polish for me. I do think I will try these again, I did see some cute Christmas and winter designs on the site that I would like to try. 
 incoco.com
 

Picture from Birchbox.com

 

Birchbox Breakdown: Let’s be honest—it’s annoying to wait for your nails to dry. These nail polish strips make it easy to get a flawless manicure without worrying about smudging or streaking. They come in a range of styles, from simple solid colors to out-there designs (leopard, anyone?). Best of all, the strips last up to two weeks and comes off with regular polish remover.

How it Work: They might look like stickers but these nifty strips are actually hyper thin layers of real nail polish. When you place them on your nails, they bend and conform to fit the contours of your nail. Plus, they’re actually better for your nails than regular polish because they contain less solvent and have small pores to let your nails breathe.

How to Use: Take off any existing polish and buff nails thoroughly to get a smooth surface for application. Each package comes with about 16 nails so you have some wiggle room if you mess up. Find the strips that fit your nails the best, and remember that you can stretch them to fit even better. Peel off the backing to the nail strip and place it on your nail, stretching it to fit. Use a file to get rid of the excess and continue to the rest of your fingers (or toes!). Watch our video for tips on perfect.

Description from Birchbox.com Bottom of Form

NOTD Acid Washed Jeans

I am not someone who is good at nail art or painting my nails neatly for that matter so when I come across an interesting and easy technique I can't wait to try it. Last night I came across a video on how to do an acid washed jeans look on nails.

What you'll need

• Base coat
• Clear Top Coat
• Dark Blue Nail Polish (I used N.Y.C 115A Skin tight Denim cream)
• Light grey polish (I used Essie's Absolutely Shore)
• An Opaque White Polish (I used Sally Hansen's 120 white tip nail-growth miracle)
• Q-Tips
• Nail polish remover

What to do

1. Paint nails with base coat
2. Paint nails with dark blue and let dry well.
3. Paint nails with light grey.
4. Paint nails with white.
5. Take Q-Tip and wet it with the nail polish remover
6. Wipe Q-Tip over painted nail in small sections until blue stats to show through, you will want to move around to different spots on the nail to give it that random patter. remember to not remove too much of the white.
   
7. Repeat for the rest of the nails.
8. Apply a clear topcoat and let dry.

NOTD Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Rare

While In New Your City last week I picked up some things at Sephora. I had never tried anything from Illamasqua and then I saw this color and couldn't resist. I was immediately draw to the bright neon construction worker yellow. The color however looks best in white or daylight, it doesn't look as neon under incandescent light bulbs, but out in the sun light it is full neon day glow.

The finish of the polish is a satin finish, which i wasn't too much of a fan of so I just added a glossy topcoat. I have been wearing the polish for about 4 days now and it wears very well, with little peeling or chipping, and I am hard on my polish with my hands in dish water a lot at work, and home.

I tried the polish with an accent nail with white crackle over it but it only seemed to wash out the bright vibrancy of the yellow. I think next time I will try it with a black or deep blue crackle.