Monday, December 31, 2012

Cult Nails New Year's Seduction nails

Happy New Year Dahlings!
 
After much debate, including a 10 polish over night skittle test mani, I finally decided what I wanted to ring in da New Year with on my nails.
 
My New Year's Eve line up: Ruby Kisses Whiter Than White & Snow White, L.A. Colors Live & Black Pearl, & last but far from least...the star of this mani...Cult Nails Seduction! Cult Nails is having a SALE today that runs until Midnight EST US! All limited edition Cult Nail Colors are $8 while supplies last & this includes Seduction! Starting tomorrow, their prices will be going up, so get yours NOW! Back to da nails:
 
This is 2 coats of Whiter Than White with 1 coat of Snow White on top, followed by a sponged gradient of Black Pearl, Live & Snow White.
 
Ta Da! This is 2 coats of Seduction over the gradient. You can just see the flakie goodness that is Seduction in this pic, but in day light I can see not only violet & red flashes, green & gold come out to play.
 
Mr Inky & I are way beyond the wild NYE party life, so we'll be hanging out with friends & watching movies all night while we knosh on yummy British noms. (Bob is the God King!)
 
Thanks for stopping by & please be safe while you have fun tonight!
~Inky
 
 
 
 

Sunday, December 30, 2012

I Grew 1" Nails!

Hello Dahlings!
 
A few of you have asked how da heck I grew my nails so long, so I'm going to tell you. I didn't do anything uber amazing, but there are a few things I do that seem to have helped & that you can do to encourage nail growth & protect your nails from breaking easily.
 
MOISTURIZE!!! Not once in a while when you bother to remember, but EVERY day! I aim for 3-4 times a day & it does help my skin & nails look & feel better.
 
1) I start with Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser & Balm in the morning while I blog hop. You only need a tiny bit rubbed on the skin around your nails. This product contains a mild acid & your skin will tingle a lil after you apply it. If you use too much your skin will itch & you need to go wash it off or risk your skin getting red from the slight burn that can happen from over doing it.
 
2) Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream is my all time fav skin moisturizer! I use it at least once a day on my hands plus on my elbows, feet & even a wee bit around my eyes when needed. It's not the cheapest porduct out there, but it isn't outrageously expensive either & it lasts for quite a while. The full size is in their catty, but the lil ones are sample sizes that you can only get from a Mary Kay rep. My rep orders the samples by the bag for me so I can keep them all over the place for ease of use. I have the big tube in the bathroon for after shower use & minis in my purse, at my desk, in the drawer next to my TV chair etc. If you have to go looking for your moisturizer, you're less likely to use it as often as you should.
 
3) Cuticle oil is the most intensive moisturizer I use & I apply it after every mani. I paint it on the back side of my nails & let it ooze down the sides to the cuticle, then rub it in. 
 
These are the products I use most, but you don't have to use what I use. You can use any lotion, creme or oil you like as long as you use it daily! LOVE4NAILS has a great video on how she takes care of her long nails that is well worth the time to watch it.
You can see it HERE.
 
The one thing I do that I haven't seen on any blog is use Orly's Nail Rescue Kit (also known as Nail Mender & Nail Repair, I've seen all 3 names used) as an under coat to protect & reinforce my nails without adding bulk to the top of the nail. 
 
I paint the underside of each nail with the nail glue (the bottle shown here is not the one that came w/da kit. That one eventually glued itself shut as nail glue generally does & I replaced it with the Kiss brand cuz it was cheap & had a brush) then dip it into the lil jar of acryllic powder. I brush the excess off my skin & top of that nail back into the jar. I do maybe 2 nails at a time then go back & scrape the glue/powder mix off the skin on the underside of the base of the nail so the glue doesn't bond there & leave a ridge. I use the pointy end of the metal nail file shown above to do this. I clean the glue off the file with acetone.
The underside of my nails are a bit rough after applying the glue & powder, so I use files I bought at the craft store that are for distressing chip board. They usually come in sets & I use the round one most for smoothing out the underside of my nails so they don't snag on fabric. I use the metal file to smooth the rough edges of my nails right after application, but a regular multi-sided filling block between applications. I usually do a new mani every other day & acetate will slowly wear this undercoat off. I reapply it about every week to 10 days & I don't remove the old layer, just file it down a smidge with the round file if it starts looking too bulky.
 
I've also used this product as intended to repair a vertical split in a nail.
 
My left index nail has this annoying fault line down the middle that as you can see, runs from the tip into the nail bed. Normally it's just a line. I do buff it lightly or it would be a ridge & there is a ridge on the underside. Every couple of years this bugger splits. Sometimes it's a diagonal break that goes thru the layers of the nail across the line, but last time it split clean in 2, right down the line to the nail bed. I'd tried gluing it & using different nail wraps in the past, but always ended up cutting it all off. When it happend again last May, I bought the Orly kit at my local Sally's Beauty Supply. I figured why not? I'd tried everything else. It worked! I didn't have to cut the nail cuz of that vertical split. I was able to cut thru the patch a few weeks later when I broke several nails moving boxes.
 
I've also used the ONR to patch peeling nail tips! It glued those suckers back together no prob. The one type of break I hadn't been able to test it on was a horizontal break.
Well guess what?
 
I broke my freakin' pinky nail today!!! I had taken the ONM off the underside of all my nails cuz I was going to try Orly's Nail Whitener on them & decided to take a shower after the serious acetone bath needed to remove the undercoating ('scuse my arid skin!) before doing the nail soak. I was scrubbing my hand with my bath brush & felt the brush jam into my finger tips & bend my pinky nail back...BAD WORD!!!
 
This is what the ONR looked like right after I applied it, but before I cleaned up the roughness.
 
This is after I used my metal file to remove any mix from my skin as well as any big bumps, then the roughest side of my multi-block, the medium grit on the block, then finally the smoother side of the block. Yes, you can see the edges of the patch in close up, but it should be pretty much invisable under polish, unlike traditional patches. How will it hold up? I don't know. I've never used it this way. LOL
I will let you know how it goes in future posts.
 
The one other thing I do for my nails that isn't often mentioned is:
I LEARNED TO PAY ATTENTION!
I don't use my nails as tools. If I have button to push or a switch to flip, I use my knuckle. If I have a pop top can to open, I use the back of a butter knife, the handle of a spoon or anything but my nails. My kitchen drawers don't have knobs, one is supposed to just grab the edge of the drawer & pull. I now use the side of my hand, not my finger tips, cuz I've broken nails more than once doing it the wrong way. When I lift boxes I make sure I have a good grip using my hands, not my finger tips. Same for handles, levers & anything where using my finger tips could result in my hand slipping & my nails breaking. I do all the stuff you do (house work, yard work, crafting etc), I just do it carefully. It does take conscious thought & practice to learn how to do things w/o breaking your nails, but it is doable. Here's da proof:
 
This is my left middle finger next to a ruler. I have several other that are about the same length & the rest aren't far behind. I am planning on trimming them soon for several reasons:
 
1) They get in the way! I'm used to doing things differently to avoid breakage, but at this length some tasks are awkward & others are almost impossible.
 
2) They hurt! As nails get longer, upward pressure is applied to the nail bed when one picks things up or holds on to stuff. At the end of a busy day my finger tips/nail beds often ache. I don't mean a lil tender...I mean throbbing, where's the Aleve, I don't want to do or even touch anything type of achy.
 
3) I go thru lots of polish & acetone! I know this one is kinda silly, but it is a factor for why having somewhat shorter nails would be nice.
 
Thanks for stopping by & reading all this!
~ Inky
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

I Luv Me Some Sally Hansen Chrome!

Hello Dahlings!
 
I hope you've recovered from your shock at seeing what polish Ho I can be! LOL Many of you have expressed an interest in the Sally Hansen Chromes I showed in my last haul post. I LOVE Sally Hansen's Chromes!!! Alas, they retired the line about 10 years ago. Da good news is you can still get many of them thru one of my all time fav eBay sellers. Cassie Cosmetics carries not only retired SH Chromes, but SH Prisms & Opals as well as many many other brands of retired polish, make up & accessories, much of it offered at BELOW the price those items sold for in stores. They don't carry everything, no one store can, but they have a lot of hard to find retired products & are always worth checking when you're looking for something specific or want to take a trip down make-up memory lane. The customer service is excellent too! (Harry ROCKS & has the patience of a saint!) Now onto da nails...
 
I'd like y'all to meet Sally Hansen Royal Purple Chrome 10 & Fuchsia Sapphire 53! The polish across the volume info on the label is my doing. The SH Chrome bottles are painted in a shiny metallic finish that doesn't always match the exact color of the polish in da bottle, so I swatch the polish on the outside. The bottle finish is also prone to chipping & scratching. If your bottles arrive looking like they've had a bit of rough handling, even tho some of them come in plastic bubbles on card board & haven't been touched since they left the factory 10+ years ago, don't panic & contact customer support. The polish is fine, the paint on the outside was a bad idea, hence SH doesn't do it any more. LOL
 
This is 2 coats of Royal Purple with an accent of Fuchsia Sapphire on my left hand.
 
This is the reverse on my right hand. Yes, I can paint both hands decently. A side benefit of being left handed. lol Neither hand has top coat at this point & notice how smooth the finish is! The lil smudgie spots near the cuticle are my fault! This line of polish dries uber fast & instead of leaving the 1st coat be & covering any self inflicted flaws with the 2nd coat, I tried to putz with it & left swirlies. Blerg.
 
I then attempted to stamp with the contrasting color & French tip the gap using Cheeky XL Plate B.
 
The polish stamps just fine if I move fast enuf & shows up well in person. Reality check: I need more practice with my stamping! Ironically, both accent nails came out well tho most of the others have missing patches.
 
Here's a close up of my left hand, so you can see how well these polishes stamp both light over dark as well as dark over light colors.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky
 
 

Friday, December 28, 2012

Merry X-mas to ME! ~ Haul post

Hello Dahlings!
 
As promised, I'm doing a show & tell of my holiday haul. Mr Inky & I have gotten to the point of not buying for each other as it's more practical to just buy for ourselves & know we'll both get what we want. If you're not in da mood for lots of pics of polish bottles...go do something else now, cuz I have 15 pics of polish to show you. On to da showing off...I mean show & tell...of bother, I'm listing stuff as it arrived at my house.
 
I have a total polish lust for Sally Hansen's retired Chrome polishes! They dry to a nice satiny, virtually streakless, metallic finish & can be used for stamping. In this pic are: Platinum Chrome 02, Moonstone Chrome 14, White Gold Chrome 16, Rhodolite Chrome 23 & Tanzanite Chrome 30.
 
Followed by: White Pearl Chrome 39, Fiery Pink Diamond Chrome 46, Lilac Diamond Chrome 49, Silver Diamond Chrome 50 & Myan Ruby 72. You can buy these fantabulous polishes from Cassie Cosmetics on eBay.
 
I also got in on JennaFroggy's (from I'm Still Thinking) Mystery Box Blog Sale! I got that big padded envie on Monday & it was packed full of Froggy goodness! In this pic: Essence Glamorous Life, Glimmer by Erica Christmas Wishes and Boxes & Bows mini indies, Sally Hansen Quick pens in metallic purple & metallic pink, green & silver holo loose glitter in lil pots, 4 lil bottles of pink & purple fish eggs plus shiney gold striping tape.
 
Followed by: Magnetix blue/purple w/2 magnets, LCN blue, Layla Ocean Rush holo, Klean Color Teal Marble, Revlon Posh & BB Couture Grasshopper.
 
Followed by: Berry M Gold Mine Glitter, Bb Couture Orion's Belt, Claire's Venomous, Nabi Clear Round Glitter & Santee Icy White.
 
Last, but certainly not least: Essie Skirting the Issue, Savvy Miami Mauve, Wet N' Wild Through the Grapevine, Sweet Color metallic pink & Ciate Wait Until Dark. None of these polishes duped anything I have & quite a few are brands than I haven't tried before. All in all a rousing success!
 
Arriving at the same time was my order from UNS on Amazon. They had great prices on Nubar polishes & even with da s/h, they still cost less than full retail. This pic: White Polka Dot, Absolute, Treasure, Brilliant & Essence. Yes, Wes, the non-polka dot polishes are all scatter holos.
 
Followed by: Prize, Black Polka Dots, Spark, Jewel & Gem. Yes, Wes, the non-polka dot polishes in this pic are also scatter holos.
 
My last order to arrive that day was more practical stuff from Cosmetic Central on Amazon. Seche Vite Pro Refill Kit, Orly Nail Armor base coat, Seche Restore polish thinner, 2 pks of Orly Nail Whitener & Orly Cuticle Oil.
 
Last Monday was a bonzer postal day! My prize from Miss Kristine of Pink & Polished arrived too! I won the mini set of Color Club's scented holiday polishes (Snowflakes, Berry & Bright, Ho-Ho Holly & Gift of Sparkle) & China Glaze Glistening Snow. (all on sale now at Sally's Beauty Supply!)
 
Also in my Pink & Polished prize pack was the Elf Mini Polish Cube! This pic: Smokey Brown, Taupe of the World, Blushing Beauty, Glamour Girl, Desert Haze & Gold Star. (Gold Star is a regular chunky glitter & doesn't contain any star shaped glitter.)
 
The other Elf Cube polishes: Green Machine, Dazzle Diva, Sea Escape, Violet Velvet, Cherry Bomb, Red-y or Not, Misty Haze & Chic Confetti. Thank you so much, Miss K! <3 font="font">
 
I made a trip to my local Sally's Beauty Supply last week. You know you're going somewhere a lot when they greet you by name as you walk in the door! Sally's is having a 'buy 2 get one free' Orly sale this month so I picked up: Orly Sheer Nude, Ingenue & Orly Platinum. I also grabbed a bottle of Seche Vite's Collage Overlay.
 
And then I made a 2nd trip to Sally's today cuz the end of month/year uber clearance is happening this week. I only found 1 uber discounted polish I wanted, but all the holiday polishes are on sale plus the Orly sale is still going on. So I got more Orly's! This pic: Royal Navy, Fantasea, Close Your Eyes & La Vida Loca.
 
The last 2 Orly polishes: Va VaVoom & Berry Blast plus Finger Paints Holly Dazzle & China Glaze Magnetix Bond-Tastic. (Bond-tastic was the 1 uber sale polish down to $1.99 from like $7ish originally.)
 
I have 5 Cult Nails polishes in da mail (due to arrive Monday), but I wanted this post to be about what I got this week. FYI: Cult Nails will be raising their price from $10 each to $12-$15 each starting Jan 1st. There's more info on their blog, but don't wait too long to check it out!
 
Thanks for stopping by & sticking around to the end of my gluttonous show & tell! 
~ Inky
 
 
 

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Rainbow Challenge ~ Pinks

Hello Dahlings!
 
It seems a bit strange to be doing a regular blog post! LOL My last Rainbow Challenge post was a comparison of purple neons. Tonight's post is all about PINK NEONS!
 
Tonight's line up: L.A. Colors Energy Source, China Glaze Shocking Pink (neon)
& Life's a Beach, Nina Ultra Pro Punky Pink, Ruby Kisses Pink Hot Pants
& China Glaze Whirled Away.
 
I started with 2 coats of Energy Source tho' if it were showing, I'd have used 3 for opacity. I then added 2 coats of Shocking Pink. Dayglow cotton candy anyone?
 
I then painted a narrow piece of sponge with all 4 pinks to do the gradient. From the cuticle down: Shocking Pink, Life's a Beach, Punky Pink & Pink Hot Pants. I topped it with Whirled Away. I have had a lemming for a black & white chunky polish for awhile now & while this one works, it won't be my last chunky in this color combination. I did have to fish for the sparse white hexes & dab it all about to get it somewhat evenly distributed. This created a rather bumpy surface that even Seche Vite couldn't level out, tho' it tried. All in all I do luv me some eye blinding neon & this mani certainly is that & quite fun on a gray day.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky
 
 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I've Been Nominated for the Liebster Award!

Happy Boxing Day Dahlings!



I've been nominated for the Leibster Award! In fact...I've been nominated for 7 of them by these lovely people:

Claire from Kerruticles
Skeeter from Skeetersyle
Liz from Makeup & Polished Obsessed Girl
Pheonix Nails
Elizabeth at Not too Polished
Wes from Polish Me Manly
Swishie from Swishie's Nail

Thanks you so much for thinking of lil ol' me! I do apologize for taking 2 weeks to get this done, I can only blame the chaos of the holiday season.

To be nominated for the Leibster Award a blog has to have less than 200 followers. Check!

Then said blog has to do the following:

Share 11 facts about the blog author: Check!

1)   I had a cat that got ink on its whiskers & I decided to use that story & a photo of the cat as the basis for my online identity, peeps IRL call me Inky too.

2)   5 adjectives that describe me: whimsical, loyal, unconventional, weird, amusing

3)   In 2013 I want to finish all the projects I have awaiting completion…so I can start new ones, guilt free.

4)   I like spa-pedicures cuz they feel good & I’m a smidge too chubby to comfortably reach my feet, but I’m not as fond of professional manicures. This may sound bad, but they don’t do as good a job on my nails as I do. I always find rough or uneven edges when I get home that I then have to fix & few salons around here offer nail art I’d like to wear.

5)   I’m a left-over 80’s punk rocker. I dye my hair fun colors. I listen to the Ramones & the Clash like every day for sure!

6)   I try to paint my nails every other night. Tip wear & cuticle grow out bug me, but I’ll ignore it if I’m uber busy.

7)   I love to read!

8)   I’m a reformed perfectionist.

9)   I used to bite my nails.

10)  I love cheese, but am allergic to it.

11)  Someday I want to enter & complete a 31 day nail art challenge.
 
Answer 11 questions posed by the nominator(s): (I consolidated the 11 most asked quesions into one list cuz I wasn't answering 77 of them lol) Check!

1)  What's your favorite brand/indie/#1 love/fav color polish ?
I have the most Sally Hansen. Whimsical Idea’s by Pam is my fav indie brand. My #1 polish love is Sally Hansen Chromes. My favorite polish color is violet, I have 125+ polishes ranging from blue-violet thru red-violet (aka purple).

2)  How many polishes do you have in your collection?
Um…725ish, give or take an ish or 2. (this # includes everything like nail art polish, base & top coats)

3)  How many untrieds do you have?
When it comes down to doing a full mani, most of my stash is untried, but I have used many of them for nail art.

4)   Where are you from?
      Ohio. I don’t like it there for many reasons, so I avoid it at all costs.

5)  Why did you start blogging & what's your favorite type of post?
It’s Mistress Mimi from MimiManicures fault! I stated an intent to blog about my nails in June this year, but hadn’t done much about it until Mimi did a shout out in October & I figured I’d better have something for show & tell pronto. After that, I just keep going. My favorite type of post is nail art related. I’m all about the nail art!

6)   Your favorite holiday?
Halloween, the darkness of it appeals to me.

7)   Do you have any Pets?
Yes, we are currently owned by 4 cats.

8)  What's your favorite manicure & what manicure do you want to try?
My favorite manicure is a toss-up between dotticures & braided. I want to try a basket weave soon.

9)   What's your Dream vacation?
I want to go on an Alaskan Cruise. Any cruise really, but as Mr. Inky & I both dislike hot weather, Alaska is probably the best option for an ocean bound adventure.

10) What's your favorite meal?
For our 20th Wedding Anniversary Mr. Inky & I went to McCormick & Schmidt’s in Downtown Seattle & had Steak Louis. Perfectly cooked Filet Mignon with a small perfectly cooked lobster tail on top covered in the yummiest sauce I've ever put in my mouth, plus perfectly cooked asparagus in lemon & garlic. We ate every bite & passed on dessert…we were so full of culinary perfection we didn't dare!

11) What did you want to be when you grew up? 
When I was little I wanted to be Donna Reed when I grew up…too bad I turned out more like Roseanne! Mr. Inky calls me a retired stay-at-home-mom.
 
Nominate 11 blogs for this award & contact them: Check!

Dionne from Glittery Fingers & Sparkling toes
Wendy from M.A.S.P.O.O.S.E.
Fitz from Nail-to-Nail Interpretations
Claire from Nothin But A Nail Thing
Sparkyl!e Nails
Christy from Tissles Nail Therapy
Nicole from Young Wild and Polished
The Little Canvas
The Nail Asylum
Ally from Reach for the Polish
Patty from Once Bitten Nails

Ask the nominees 11 questions: Check!

1)     What is your fav polish color?

2)     What’s your fav brand of polish?

3)     What is your fav type of polish? (i.e. crème, shimmer, glitter etc)

4)     How many polishes do you own & how many are untried?

5)     What is your current polish lemming?

6)     What manicure challenges you the most? (i.e. water marbling, braided etc)

7)     What’s your fav type of blog post? (swatch, comparison, nail art etc)

8)     3 words that describe you?

9)     Do you have any pets?

10)   If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

11)   New Year’s resolution?

I think that about covers it! I hope you enjoyed learning a lil bit about me & thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky















Tuesday, December 25, 2012

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge ~ Santa

Merry Christmas Dahlings!
 
This is it...the last 12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge! While I'm glad to be getting back to 'regular' manis, I think I'm going to miss this challenge a lil bit. When Kristine & Lorene proposed it, some of us jumped on board with loud glee...others quietly signed up, while a few weren't sure they were up to the challenge & may have been dragged into it kicking & whimpering. I've VERY proud of us!!! Most who signed up in the beginning have stuck with it all the way thru. The nail art has been inspiring & the growth of skill & confidence phenomenal to watch!  OK...enuf of da mushy stuff...on to da nails!
 
Here's da line up: Orly Sheer Nude, Essie Pure Pearlfection, Orly Glitz,
Color Club Berry & Bright, Orly Day Glow & Ruby Kisses Steel Magnolia.
 
This is 2 coats of Sheer Nude. A 3rd coat would have made it opaque. I didn't have a nude polish in my stash (Orly Decades of Disfunction doesn't count unless you're a corpse), so this was bought on Saturday as Sally's thru their 'buy 2 get one free' Orly sale.
 
Ta Da! I did Mrs. Claus nails very much inspired by Robin Moses' (the Patron Goddess of Nail Art) Naughty Or Nice Juicy Nails. You can see her video on how to do this design HERE. I changed the fish net color & added a belt, but the core of the idea totally came from Robin. I used a very thin striper brush to do the fish net, belt & buckle. I used a dotting tool to make the white fluff trim & add Pure Pearlfection over the white for sparkle. The Berry & Bright is part of Color Club's scented holiday collection & I was pleasantly surprised at how the berry scent wasn't over powering while I applied it, yet has gently lingered after applying Seche Vite. I did these nails Saturday night & now it's Christmas Day & I can still smell berries if I put my nails right under my nose. Yes, I bought more Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat while at Sally's even tho' I had ordered the Pro Refill kit on line. It hadn' arrived yet & I wasn't going to do another manicure without it! All of my nail mail arrived on Monday & a haul post will be going out later this week.
 
Thanks for stopping by & please visit the other challengers!
Thank You Kristine & Lorene for hosting this most AWESOME of challenges!
~ Inky