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Hello and happy Wednesday, Loves! Today I wanted to bring you some nail candy...

The idea is really cool... Each of the 6 unique top coats creates a different "effect" and changes the look of your ordinary polish. From changing the finish, to adding a layer of glitter, sparkle, or shimmery overlay that actually changes the color. They're really fun.

Here's a better detail shot of each shade...


*Not to confuse "the sparklicious" with my beloved L'Oreal "sparklicious" (an actual glitter polish PACKED with gold glitter). I have a feeling that will create some confusion...haha.

Here are swatches of each shade over a dark navy blue polish with no shimmer (I used Dior Blue Label).


Products provided by L'Oreal with no agreements or obligations to feature or review.

The 4th is almost here! We're having a cookout at our place tomorrow so today I'm running around getting all the food and everything we need. So while I may not feel like that's totally together, at least my nails are. :)
So this is my nail look for the 4th. Nothing super complicated. Just a result of me playing around with my favorite red, white, and blue nail polishes and glitters.


For a great tip on how to make white nail polish go on evenly and opaque, check out my blog post- "No Streaky Nails...EVERRRR" here.

I've never been the type to really enjoy getting my nails done. I used to get manicures here and there, but always was too impatient or felt a little grossed-out, even at the cleanest of places. I just like doing my nails myself. Over the years, I've discovered some awesome products to keep them looking their best. It's SO quick and easy and my nails have never looked better!

For all the details on how and when I use the products, check out my video below!

I really hate it when I have a gorgeous shade of nail polish that looks gorgeous in the bottle... Only to have it look majorly streaky once applied. I think it's safe to say that nobody has got time for that.

A few of the top culprits... bright or light cream formula (no frost or shimmer) nail polish shades, and white. Even the best whites can look a bit streaky.  I discovered a mind-blowing solution.  Sounds a bit dramatic, I know, but the results are crazy good.

I love my nail polish to look super even and opaque, true-to-color, and majorly glossy.

Like this...



Hard to believe that this is only with two thin coats of the actual white. I used Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear in White On... One of THE BEST whites, but still a bit streaky unless you do like 3-4 coats, which then can be a bit thick and cause issues like peeling. Not to mention taking forever to dry.

Here's my secret...

 So do your base coat (if you're into those, I skipped it for this manicure), one coat of your nail polish, one thin coat of a matte topcoat, then one more thin coat of your nail polish followed by your top coat. The matte coat just helps the last coat of color go on evenly and opaque with no streaks. It doesn't effect the glossiness of the end result at all. They're just as shiny as always!

I'm LOVING this trick! I've tested this with other colors as well and it works every time!

Have you guys tried this trick? What do you think?

The name "Gel Coat" just sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Like it just has to be great, right?
Well, before I get ahead of myself, this one one of the products that mainly sparked my recent Sephora/Chanel Haul. I knew I HAD to try this stuff because Dior makes some of my absolute, all-time favorite nail polishes (Blue Label, Bikini, and Beige Safari). The formulas are AWESOME- think great coverage and amazing wear. So I knew I had to have this topcoat.
After mentioning it in that video, I knew I needed to start testing it out so I could let you all know my thoughts because I immediately started to get a LOT of questions about it.
Heck, I had questions about it. I was curious.

Dior Gel Coat, $24

Here's the description of the product (from Sephora.com):

"What it is:
A top coat that imparts the look of a gel manicure. 

What it does:
Recreate the look of a gel manicure. Smoothed over with a brilliant lacquered effect, Dior Gel Coat makes nails appear stronger and thicker. While it extends the life of your manicure, it is simple to take off: just use nail polish remover when you’re ready for your next polish change!"



So my first go with this product was with my new Chanel Bel-Argus. You may remember this post about it.




I applied it a little thick as it says you can do in the instructions to get a shinier, more gel-like result. First thoughts? Looked pretty good! It applied and dried exactly like a typical thicker top coat (think Seche Vite). Looked super thick, shiny, and gel-like (similar to any thicker top coat) for a day. By the second day, it looked similar to anything else. Still shiny, but definitely not "gel-like".
After the second day? Chip city. USA. Times ten. So I thought it could be the nail polish. There's NO way it could be this $24 bottle of "gel-like" wonder...

So I went to remove it. TOOK FOREVER. I'm talking I almost gave up.

Being the scientific person that I am (yeah, I'm scientific), I decided to test it with a different nail polish shade, brand, and formula.  Because, hey, it could have totally been the Chanel. Which I was reallllly hoping wasn't true.

So I tried it out with Essie's Funky Limelight. I applied it a bit thinner this time, about the same as you would a typical top coat.




What do you guys think of this stuff? Anyone else tried it? What is YOUR favorite topcoat??

Blue has always been my favorite color. Deep, (yet bright) royal beautiful-ness. Blue has always made me feel happy and calm. I love blue. Especially on nails.
Oh, and I love Chanel.
When I saw Chanel's new Bel-Argus shade in their Summer 2013 collection, I was in love. Had to have it. Immediately.
So I placed an order (and picked up quite a few other Chanel goodies in my latest haul) and danced around when this baby hit my doorstep. Also ordered that day? A new top coat I've been super curious about... The Dior Gel Coat. *Review on that will be coming to the blog soon... Can't exactly review something like a top coat right away. I want to see how it affects the actual wear of the nail color for a few days.


So here it is! Beautiful, blue, and gorgeous.  The color applied perfectly. Chanel shades, in my experience, can be very hit or miss. So I'm so excited that this one is a keeper!  With two thin coats, it came out gorgeous.


My biggest tip where this shade is concerned... Don't be afraid of it! WEAR IT. With everything.  Blue can be scary to some, but while this one is still really fun, it's surprisingly very classic and wearable.

It's definitely my new go-to blue. Have you guys tried this shade? What are your favorite blue nail polishes?

Gotta love accidental nail-art.
Today I was feeling a navy and gold look. When trying to create a sort of "ombre" gold-on-navy effect, I totally failed and when trying to fix it, came up with this...


I seriously impressed myself.
Seriously enough to create a quick tutorial sharing this easy nail art goodness with you all.

Hope you love it!

Happy Saturday Loves!! I'm really excited to share this video/tutorial with you all today because nails have been a bit of an obsession for me lately. All the fun nail art ideas, crazy colors, and glitter...  So many possibilities to express yourself.

You can have all the nail polish in the world, but when it comes to really getting your nails looking like those Instagram/Pinterest photos (yeah, you've seen 'em), things can get tricky.
It's not just about a steady hand or good quality products, it's mostly about how you care for your nails.  I've discovered some great products and simple tricks to get nails looking Pinterest-worthy.  For a super easy and fool-proof painting technique, check out my video below as well.
Nail salons... who needs them? ;)
Hope you guys enjoy!

I have a huge nail polish collection. So the idea of choosing 20 favorites was a difficult thought. Surprisingly, when I actually started choosing my stand-out shades, it wasn't as hard as I had imagined.
It's actually pretty funny how it turned out. I hadn't really planned on choosing specific favorites from certain color families, but naturally, my selections included a wide range of shades.
From the most conservative, classic shades to super crazy glitter and bold colors, all of my all-time favorites are represented in one place!  Kind of exciting.
I just really love nail polish...
So be sure to check out my video for all the nail polish eye candy and a list of all my top picks below.



Essie Damsel in a Dress
Essie Fiji
Dior Beige Safari
Essie Licorice
Orly Dayglow
Essie Mink Muffs
Butter London Yummy Mummy
China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway
Butter London Lady Muck 
Butter London Marrow
Butter London Primrose Hill Picnic
Zoya Vanessa
Orly Cotton Candy
Orly Lemonade 
Essie Going Incognito

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Decals

Glitters:
Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop
Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe
Sally Hansen Gem Crush Big Money
Sally Hansen Gem Crush Glitz Gal
Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me

Seche Vite Topcoat

Yellow is probably the color least-worn on my nails. My opinion has always been:"Yellow and nails just don't mix".

Until I saw this color by Chanel and caved.



Spending $25 on a nail polish is usually a practice I reserve for the crazies (you know you're reading this...), but I've been known to lose my mind from time to time.

Mimosa by Chanel is a lemon-yellow with a golden frost to it. The frost isn't too intense though. From a distance, you wouldn't even notice it. I'm not too crazy about the formula. Of course, two coats is the way to go. However, with two THICK coats, it still looked a bit streaky in spots and the whites of my nails still show through a bit.

Overall, if you have a little patience with the formula, it's a fun and unexpected twist on nail color for Spring!

I've always had issues with nail polish storage. For years, they rested (unhappily) under my bed in shoeboxes. Then I got in on the nail polish wall rack craze. Then I realized that I wasn't running a nail salon. So several months back while perusing the organizational-containter-thingies aisle at Target, I discovered these babies.
SNAPWARE CONTAINERS! They come in sets of two, with one lid. Each compartment acts as the other's lid. So you could technically stack lots and lots! However, when filled with nail polish (which makes them quite heavy), it is definitely NOT a good idea to lift these by the handles if you have to move them. But it's no big deal. They're awesome, so I can get past that one flaw. Which isn't technically a flaw, as I don't think they're actually made for storing nail polish... ANYWAY, that's beside the point. Did I mention they're awesome??
They're the perfect depth for typical nail polish bottles. The only ones that cause a bit of trouble are the Sephora by O.P.I brand. They're a little tall, so you'll have to store those on the very top compartment. The blue lid fits perfectly on top of them, but another section will not stack on top of that particular brand. Check out the picture below to see what I'm talking about. The Sephora by O.P.I colors are in the back left.

See how they're a bit taller?? No biggie. Just store them inside the top container and you're good to go. I also love how you can easily find the color you need by looking into the containers. No digging. I love it.

When you're done, they stack neatly out of the way under a bed, in a closet... wherever.


They also sell smaller versions that come with three stacked containers that are great for storing nail files, clippers, cuticle balms, etc.
I was unable to find these on the Target website, but they sell them all sorts of places, and in actual Target stores if you are interested. Also, if you want to search for them online, the brand is Snapware and they're called "Snap-N-Stack" containers.
Check out my video below to see more about these containers and my nail polish organization and a peek at my nail polish collection.

xoxo- Tiffany

So I've decided to officially jump on the one-glitter-nail bandwagon. Problem with this for me in the past is that if I wanted an "accent" glittered nail, I wanted it to be mega, super, ridiculously glittery. If you've ever searched for a nail polish to do that with, you feel my frustration. To get that solid, super ridic glitter effect from a glitter nail polish, you might need a few coats. Resulting in what normally turns out for me to be a super thick, messy, lumpy, (still not glittery enough) nail. So I have found a perfect way to get a super pretty, solid-glitter, perfect accent nail...using.....actual glitter. You can get super fine or chunky glitter at the craft store which can be an affordable option that works perfectly, or you can do what I did and use those MAC glitters that you bought because they were super pretty but they've ended up in the back of your drawer because you never use them. Sounds messy, but I swear it's not. And it's easier and faster than using tons of coats of glitter nail polish. And did I mention the results are insane??
Here's what to do:
1. Paint all of your nails a normal non-glittery color.
2. Pick an "accent" nail for the glitter (Or go crazy and do all of them...your call.)
3. Use a thick top coat like Seche Vite and paint that over the nail to be glittered.
4. Working over a paper plate or bowl, gently dip the nail into the glitter or sprinkle the glitter directly over the nail (like I did in this case because the container was too small for dipping action).
5. Let the glitter "set" for a minute or two, giving the Seche Vite or whatever you've chosen time to dry.
6. Rinse the nail under cold water to get any excess glitter off the nail. Don't worry, if it's cold water, it won't mess anything up.
7. Paint another coat of the Seche Vite or topcoat of your choice over the glitter.

The process seriously takes as little as a couple minutes. It's my new favorite trick! Here's another tip though... If you're planning on doing this a lot, invest in another bottle of Seche Vite or whatever type of topcoat you like that will be designated just for glitter. Occasionally, a fleck of glitter can find it's way into the bottle of topcoat and will most likely end up back on your nails when you don't necessarily want that random glitter flecked look. It'll be worth it, trust me. :)
Hope you guys try this out! It's so fun!

-Tiffany

Happy 4th of July everyone! I'll be sporting this color on my nails while cooking out and seeing a fireworks show to celebrate our Independence Day. Looks very cute with my blue romper! :)

Ok, so enough of that- about the color... Red is not my favorite color and I usually despise the hassle of glitter nail polish, but this combo is actually quite nice. This shade is a very dense glitter, which is sometimes hard to find. However, if you want that nice opaque, similar to the bottle look, you'll need to invest some time in this and apply 3 coats. And also a genius tip from my friend Lorraine-- Apply a coat of clear nail polish first, before applying the glitter so that removal is much easier. Also, don't forget a top coat to finish the process. ...Yeah, so that's a good 5 coats of nail polish right there. Yeah, they're a little thick and clumpy, but the glitter disguises it pretty well and looks really fun. :)

-Tiffany

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a very happy Easter! So I'm getting back to doing nail posts regularly, as I've totally neglected my poor nails over the past month. Not kidding, haven't painted them in about four weeks.
Some of you know that I've been on the hunt for the perfect opaque, pale pink. All the colors I've tried just haven't cut it. Either they're too streaky or not the right shade of pale pink. To my surprise, after all my searching, my husband Brad picked this one up out of nowhere on a recent bored-out-of-his-mind trip to Ulta with moi. He said "this one looks good." Only words spoken by him the entire time...haha. He's such a gem... Anyway, it's the perfect pink. Super opaque with two thin coats and the perfect shade of pale pink. Looks like the perfect Easter color to me. I have a feeling I'll be reaching for this shade a lot!

My current favorite nail color...



Essie's Damsel in a Dress

Such a deep, unusual color. Looks amazing when topped with a super shiny topcoat like Seche Vite. It creates this gorgeous, shimmery depth. Love it.

...Also, I'm a sloppy painter when it comes to dark colors. Don't judge.

1.24.10

It's no secret that pastels are always popular trends in Spring collections, but this year, I'm especially loving the light, bright pinks and corals for the upcoming season. Essie has always been a favorite brand of mine, but I've been especially loving it over the past few months. I picked up a few colors from their Spring collection (which I'm definitely going to add to soon!) as well as a new MAC shade.



First, my favorite...
This is by far one of the best nail polishes I've came across in a very long time. The color, the formula... everything. It's a bit more orange than it actually photographed. When I paint my nails, I like to build the color in thin coats. A lot of the time, nail polish formulas will let me down and it makes me have to glob on too much because it's thin and streaky. With this one, it applies evenly and opaque with one thin coat. If you were in a hurry, you could probably get away with one coat. But with two, it builds to a gorgeous, even peach color that is bright and creamy pastel at the same time. Love it.
When I bought this, I thought the color in the bottle looked a bit too similar to MAC's Coconut Ice, which I was wearing on my nails at the time. I almost didn't buy it. I am SO glad I did, because these two colors are so very different. ...and honestly, the MAC formula in that shade sucks and just doesn't compare to Essie's Tart Deco.

In the bottle, it's an absolutely gorgeous shade. This one is a bit more pink and the color isn't as intense. However the formula is not great. Thin and very streaky, which at this point I kind of always expect from MAC nail polish. But it's a nice color, so when I actually have the time and patience to apply 3 coats, I'll reach for it again. In the picture, I had done two generous coats.



And last, another shade from Essie's Spring collection. Honestly, when I saw the collection advertised in magazines and even in the store when I saw them in person, I wanted this color the most! I'm constantly looking for a nice light, bright, OPAQUE, cream (no frost) pink.

...and after trying this, I'm still looking. I'm disappointed in this one because it's much more sheer than I expected. And I love Essie, but lets just be honest... Do they really need ANOTHER sheer pink? It seems they have an endless range of this exact shade already. So I don't quite get it. You can see how sheer it is in the pictures, and that is with 2 *very* generous coats. It's definitely a shade I'll use when I want a sheer pink and natural look. But I've already got a few of those already, so I was just a little disappointed.

With that being said, I would love for you guys to recommend good pinks to me- Ones that look similar to the shade of this one, but is more opaque. What are your favorite pinks?

-Tiffany

I've got to say, I've NEVER been a fan of red on nails- well, just not my nails. Don't know why, just never liked it. For some unexplainable reason I decided to try red again today. I grabbed my Zoya nail polish in Vanessa which came in my "Dare" sampler set. First of all, red can be super unforgiving around your cuticles so you have to be extra careful (as you can see in the picture). Also, there are so many different shades of red. So finding one that works for you can be a bit tricky in some cases. This one is more of a cooler, blue-toned red. The formula also really stood out to me. Not too thick, not too thin. It also applies very evenly. I can't say this about many nail polishes, but you can honestly get away with only one coat of this stuff. Loved it so much that I had to use it on my toes as well!
I think I've definitely found a new favorite...

I'm a sucker for unusual colors, fashion, and Chanel. So this just made good sense. :)
This color was much buzzed about when the models on the Chanel runway (fall/winter '09) came out sporting this shade. I heard the shade wasn't releasing in stores until October 9th and that some stores even have had waiting lists for the stuff for a while. Well thanks to my lovely twitter followers, I was informed that this shade was available on chanel.com along with another new color, Jade Rose, which I absolutely cannot wait to use. So naturally, I ordered both and I'm so glad I did. I actually did not realize this from the photos online, but both shades have a beautiful opalescent shimmer to them. Absolutely gorgeous. Yeah, Chanel nail polish is expensive, but this formula is no joke, the best I've ever used (judging only by this color). Applied smoothly, evenly, and dried super quick. After only a few hours, the finish is already dried super hard (with 2 coats) and my nails look so smooth-- like glass or plastic! I'm sold. I heart you even more now, Chanel. Hate most of your cosmetics, but love your accessories and nail polish <3

**For those wondering if it's similar to Peppermint Patti-- Yes and no. Jade has a pearl to it. It's not super noticeable, but it does. It's also more green. If you're on a budget and happy with Peppermint Patti, I wouldn't buy it. But if you're like me and LOVE Peppermint Patti, but hate the formula, it's worth it. :)