cat eye meow!

This is one of the amazing dynamic gel colors I got last year. The “cat eye” effect is created by placing a magnet close to the polish. You can’t really tell from the photos, but before the magnet is applied the polish color is the orange version of the color (a beautiful color, I might add). Then, when a magnet is applied the color turns to the rose pink and the only orange remaining is what is closest to the magnet. I had to try several different magnet shapes to get an interesting effect. So many of the magnets I had laying around were too big and just flipped the color on the whole nail. Luckily, gel nails aren’t dry until you cure them, so I could try again and again until I achieved a good look.

Holiday Memories

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I thought it would be a great idea to try my nail polish stamps with gel nails. Guess what? It doesn’t work. Like, not at all. It was late at night and I had to do something! I needed easy holiday nails now! I pulled up an old standby, “ruby pumps” by China Glaze. WIth each brush stroke a memory filled my head. How is it I have so many memories with this color? I started to recount all these memories and I realized I’ve had this color for 25 years. 25 freaking years! Unlike other colors, this one is a deep and sparkly red and perfect for the holidays. I tended to wear it for parties and special holidays events. This wasn’t a color for just any day. I guess that’s why I can look back to so many different times I wore this color. I always wore it for something special. And now “ruby pumps” has 25 years of special memories attached to it.

Merry Christmas

Marry Christmas to all and to all a good night. I wanted to go over the top this year for my Christmas nails. I chose a black base and used a makeup sponge to blot intense glitter on the top and bottom of the nails. B helped me decide whether top of the nail should be red or green, and I think he made a good choice. However, after the manicure was finished, he pointed out that my nails look like strawberries! Now that’s all I can see! It took a few days for me to realize thatt it’s not real strawberries they look like, but the strawberry candies that you get in the sausage and cheese gift sets from Hillshire Farms at the mall. Needless to say, I love this holiday manicure, and I got a lot of compliments for it. May your holiday be filled with sparkle!

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Browns and golds and warm sparkly tones mark the start of fall. I always use browns this time of year to welcome falling leaves and warm mugs of hot chocolate. This chameleon tone wouldn’t look right any other season. Even though my nails are short, this color spends more time in the desired half and half; where the tips of the nails are the darker, colder tone and the nail beds are the lighter, warmer tone. I don’t know why this is is. It’s not like my fingers are suddenly warmer now in cold rooms. I’m left to forever wonder if the particular chemistry of this color makes the gel even more sensitive, or if the sensitivity is added because of the way I applied it. Mysteries!

More bright party time

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I chose an alternating neon green and orange because I felt like keeping up the bright colors. Time to shine brightly!

Best Chameleon Nails Ever

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Can you believe that all these pictures are from the same manicure? No, I can’t either. These chameleon nails changed so fast and so vividly it was unbelievable just to glance down at my nails. Take a look at some of the pics in the middle of the gallery- they show how quickly the color changes just when water splashes on them. I never knew a manicure would be so much fun. Yeah, the gels nails take a long time and I wish they lasted longer than the 1-2 weeks. There has to be a way I can get them to last 3 weeks, that would make the effort of the manicure and damage it does to my nails much more worth it. But still, this is too much fun not to do. This manicure is just the red chameleon over a clear a clear basecoat. I added several coats to get the white to show. I’m thinking I’d like to try this over a green basecoat for Christmas. I think that would be pretty fun.

Vaccination Celebration!

The first thing the boy and I decided to do after being fully vaccinated was get a professional pedicure. We went to our favorite place, and were happy to see the salon team remained happy and healthy. We got the brightest, most festive colors in the shop!

Ode to Seattle

You know you’re looking at a Seattleite when they are wearing grey or green. These are the Seattleite team colors. If a Seattleite gets a little crazy they might wear greyish green. If they really go out on a limb they might wear greenish grey. Heard by the legendary Seattle grunge band, Soundgarden, “Looking Seattle, feeling…..Seattle”. Here’s to you, Seattle!

If note, take a look at how much this mani is chipping already. I did it ONE DAY AGO! Get it together, Sephora by OPI!

Removing Gel Polish

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Removing gel polish is not easy.I can soak and soak and soak the polish with double-strong acetone remover with minimal results. Lately I’ve been working the flex shaft tool to sand the top layers off. The hope was to make the polish more receptive to the acetone, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. I then resolved to simply try to remove as much polish as possible with the flex shaft, which feels dangerous. The nail bed gets super hot super fast when the polish layers get thin. It takes a long time as I try to be careful not to grind a whole nail off. Not idea. Hopefully I will find a better method soon. The gel polish only seems to last 2-3 weeks, not long enough considering the labor intensive removal process, especially since the removal damages the nail in the process.

World’s Weirdest Gel Pedicure

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I thought it would be fun to do a pink pedi to celebrate Valentine’s day. I got some new color changing gel polish for Christmas. One of the colors changes to pink when hot and purple when cold. Usually the nail is half and half and looks sort of…diseased. I won’t be doing color changing toes again! While it’s really fun to witness the unexpected temperature changes in my feet (why is that ONE toe warm???) it doesn’t make up for the weird disease look I get every time I step out of the shower. Just to give you an idea, my toes are warm and pink when I step out of the shower, then cold water drips onto my toes making dark purple splotches. It’s just….weird!