Tiger stripes! Grrr~

Howdy,

I suck at post titles. Anyway, the other morning, I texted my best friend a picture, and he noticed I had no polish on my fingers. What? Crazy! So, I asked him to decide what my next manicure should be. His suggestion? Tiger stripes. I seem to recall that tigers are his favorite animal, so maybe there's a connection...? Haha, so I obliged and painted tiger stripes on my nails.

In a nutshell, I painted my nails orange, mixed the orange with white and applied it horizontally across three fingers, then applied the white horizontally on the middle finger. Then, I painted on the tiger stripes. Photos are helpful resources! But mostly, I just painted whatever lines I felt like painting.

I did not expect to love these like I did! Ah, they were so much fun and super easy to do. I wore them longer than I usually wear any design. Much love. Here, enjoy some more pictures. (I couldn't narrow it down, so y'all just get lots of photos!)

Do you like tigers? What's your favorite animal or animal print?

Until next time,
Kasey xo

Extending your mani!

Howdy,

I've been visiting my parents' house for about a week now. My little brother is graduating from high school, and I have to see that!

I finally got some time to sit down and type up a blog post, so I thought I'd talk about cool ways to extend a manicure. My nails were painted pink, OPI Kiss Me on my Tulips. (Just as a short note, this is two weeks' growth from my baby nails, and I'm so excited to be letting my nails grow again!)

When you start to get tip wear or tiny chips, one way to cover them up and extend your mani is to add a gradient. (And some glitter - why not?) So, now you've got this fun, summery gradient mani!

And you can extend still further from here! A v-gap is a cool way to cover tip wear and chips, even some bigger chips toward the outer corners of your nails.

And your nails look like new every time! Even if you don't do your own nails, these are cool ways to keep looking fresh until your next nail appointment.

What are some ways you like to extend a manicure you're not ready to take off?

Until next time,
Kasey xo

Born Pretty Store "Ivory Soften Lotion" Review

Howdy,

I've got a little review today! A while back, when I won that gift card to Born Pretty, I bought a set of three nail care products - a base coat, a cuticle softening lotion, and a cuticle oil. I'm reviewing the Ivory Soften Lotion today since I couldn't find any reviews of it when I bought it and took a chance on something new.

(The above image was borrowed from the Born Pretty Store website, and is the property of Born Pretty Store.)

I've been using this for a little over two weeks now, and I think I can finally make a good call on it.

Firstly, my cuticles are really not bad. It doesn't take a lot of care for my cuticles to stay in good shape. That said, I often forget to take care of them like I should and they do get pretty ragged. When I bought this, I was under the impression that it was a cuticle remover, so when I first used it, I was a little disappointed. I have a couple problem spots in my cuticles that are hard and very difficult to remove, and this had almost no results on them. Upon this discovery, I revisited the site and realized that it was marketed as a "softening lotion", which gives less implication of removal and more of moisturization. However, it does say it "make the dead skin throw away easily," so I still expected some kind of ease in removing the cuticle.

Using this was simple - apply to the cuticle area and rub in. In my use, I apply it to one hand at a time, rub it in to each nail, then push back my cuticles. It has a milky consistency with white flecks of product that rubbed in easily. It gets filmy very quickly, but doesn't feel slimy or greasy when you rub it in. It took a week before I really felt that I saw results, but with consistent use, even my problem spots were looking a little better. With longer use, I'm sure it would continue in this pattern.

This really isn't for me, honestly. Maybe I'm spoiled on my Sally Hansen gel cuticle remover, but this milky texture really throws me for a loop and doesn't really give me the results I want. Like I said, I have problem spots that really look great after using the gel remover, and they just don't look anywhere near as nice after using this. It requires me to work a little faster than I want because of the filminess, and the results aren't as long lasting. It's really not a bad product, and for someone who wants a less harsh cuticle solution, this could be a good one. It's just not to my taste.

What do you think? What cuticle removers, softeners, and moisturizers do you like?

Until next time,
Kasey xo

Nautical nails, and a mini review!

Howdy,

This is gonna be a loooong post. I'm currently out of town, at my friend's ranch for a party. I'm away from all phone and internet signal, and I'm loving it. So, this is a scheduled post to hold you over until I can return to do some nail art. Haha! (Warning, this is picture heavy 'cause I couldn't decide which one or two pictures to use.)

A few nights ago, I wanted to sit down and really do some nail art because I hadn't done that in a while. I have new polishes, new toys, and no idea what do with it all! Finally, I decided to do nautical art, since it's fun and cool and stuff, and I could use all this cool stuff I had. Yeah. Plus, I thought maybe I should use something other than Diosa polish? I've developed an unhealthy obsession with their brand. I want all the colors! Anyway... I love these. Revlon Royal, hand painted ropes and anchor, Hex Nail Jewelry ship wheel, striping tape, studs. So much loveee.

Starting with my thumbs, I used acrylic to paint an anchor and a rope on a red base. ELF Light Red, I think. I think my thumbs are my favorite out of everything! The anchor turned out better than I hoped and the ropes just looked cool. I did have a mishap and nearly ruined it all, but I think I salvaged it well.

On my ring finger (and on the others), I used gold striping tape and studs that I got from Born Pretty Store. I wanna do a separate review for those after I've done more with them. Learning curve, you know? Anyway, I'm not totally sure what I was going for, but it worked. Plus, I loved the texture pre-top coat. The only hard part was applying the studs. I used nail glue and I got it everywhere. Such bad cuticle flooding. I'm terrible at using nail glue. I used top coat after applying, but dishwashing stole most of them from me, despite all my best efforts. Oh well.

And, finally, my index finger featured the "Sailor's Wheel" charm from Hex Nail Jewelry! I thought this was so cool, and being such a sea spirit, it was one of the two charms I bought for myself (the other being a crab, 'cause I'm a Cancer).

I really love the charm. It's smaller on my nail than I thought it would be, but it's a nice fit, actually. The curve was perfect for my nail, so no weird edges. One of the pegs on the wheel was higher than the rest, but it wasn't too bad - just a couple hair snags in the shower. I applied it with a dab of nail glue, but I had to do it twice, because the first time, I applied the glue and placed the charm on my nail then discovered it was way off-center. That just wouldn't do! It came off easily, and it was easy to clean. I soaked it in hot water and soap for about 15 minutes then used an old toothbrush to clean off the glue. Other than a little glue in the spokes, it was like new. I opted not to top coat because they warned that use of acetone would wear the plating faster, and I didn't really want to deal with non-acetone remover to clean off top coat. It stayed really well, though. Even after all my studs fell off, the wheel was hanging on. I eventually picked it off for the sake of not losing it, in case it did fall off. I was so pleased with this charm, and with Hex Nail Jewelry. Fantastic customer support, great contact with their fans, high quality product. I'm definitely getting more of these in the future. What a fun, easy way to spice up a mani right?

Ahhh, I'm just in love with this manicure. I didn't want to take it off. Here, have more pictures.

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! As much fun as I'm having at the ranch, I can't wait to get back to all of you lovelies!

Tell me about what you're doing this weekend, or about your favorite mani you've done recently! 

Until next time,

Kasey xo

Fun with Diosa polishes! (Part III)

Howdy,

The last post in this short series is upon us. Unfortunately, it feels anti-climactic. I wasn't nearly as happy with these designs as I was with the last two. And, I only used "Somethin' Extra" and "Vegas Pool Party" on these, so it feels even less cool.

I'll start by saying that the reason I'm not happy with this hand is that I really, really don't like to wear french manicures. Even funky french manicures. I've tried so many different ones, and I've never liked them on me. But, I thought, "Maybe I'll like a striping tape french." Thus, this was created. In concept, I like it. But, it just fell flat with me. However, Diana at Diosa liked it enough to share it on instagram and tweet about it! That was pretty awesome. I always like to see my work being shared.

The next design is what I wore on my Cinderella hand. Since I didn't like the french, I knew I didn't want to go to the trouble on the other hand, so I tried to do something that was a little more me. Graphic, bold, simple. Then, I embellished, and that's when I was disappointed. I thought the pearls would look great, but then I really didn't like them after all. I mean, the pearls themselves were fine, but I didn't like what I did with them. Blah. Plus, I forgot to topcoat the pearls and the finish rubbed off throughout the day. Lessons learned, I guess.

I felt like this was a nail fail. Fun designs in my head, not such a great execution on my part. But! After three designs with all Diosa polishes, I must say that I'm very impressed. Great colors, great application, great wear. A+ in my book! I'm a new fan of this brand, and I'm definitely going to purchase more in the future. Thank you Diosa for these polishes!

Tell me about your nail fails, or how you fixed a nail fail. Does this happen to you a lot, that you think something will be cool until you put it on your nails?

Until next time,
Kasey xo

Fun with Diosa polishes! (Part II)

Howdy,

Here's the second post of this series of three!

This time I decided to play with my new striping tape. I'll do a review soon, once I've played with it a bit more. For now, here was my first fling with this amazing stuff! (Obviously Whitney is always in my subconscious. Any time I think I'm not obsessed with her anymore, she totally proves me wrong.)

Again, this was done with all Diosa polishes, "Fuschia Plans", "Somethin' Extra", and topped with "Vegas Pool Party". In retrospect, I kinda wish I had switched the pink and blue, but that's okay. I really like this. These colors just look so great together!

Using striping tape in this manner was so much easier than I thought it would be. It was a little flimsy and sometimes it didn't want to cooperate, but mostly it was just a dream to use. It creates such clean lines! I am definitely going to do more designs using this technique. (Even my boyfriend was impressed. ;))

Any tips for a striping tape newbie? What do you think of this combination?

Until next time,
Kasey xo

Fun with Diosa polishes! (Part I)

Howdy y'all!

I know I've been a little MIA on the blogging game. If you follow me on instagram, you've seen pictures of what I've been doing, but in recovering from this semester, I just haven't felt up to blogging. But, I'm back and ready to get at it! So, for now, I'll play a little catch up. Yes? Yes, okay. Let's do it.

As I said I while back, I won three beautiful polishes from Diosa. The first polish is "Somethin' Extra", a beautiful holographic glitter. I like it because it's unlike any other holographic glitter I have. It has small, fleck-like glitter instead of large pieces, and it doesn't give a full-coverage, spectraflair effect, which is actually nice. It's definitely a new favorite polish, and I'm going to reach for it time and time again in the future - I already know it. The second is a blue polish called "Vegas Pool Party". It looks a little lighter in the bottle than it did on my nails, but I really like the color it is on my nails. Its application was beautiful, and almost a one-coater. If you tend to paint thicker coats, you could probably just do one. I used two to be safe. Really lovely color. And, the last color is "Fuschia Plans". I chose this one for its name, honestly. How clever is that? Haha, I lucked out because this color is fantastic! It has a semi-jelly quality that dries to a rubbery finish, and it needed two coats for opacity. It's so bright! It's almost a neon, but not quite. These wore very well with minimal wear after a few days.

I created three manicures using only these three polishes over the last couple of weeks, which I'll split up into three blog posts. Here's the first. It started as something simple because I hate to go too long with bare nails, and things were still hectic with finals and such. Thank goodness that's all over!

And then, of course, because I can't leave well enough alone, I added star studs from the wheel they included in my prize. I loved this so much! I didn't want to take it off. I used nail glue to adhere the studs and added a top coat. Those things were anchored! Not one fell off by the time I removed this manicure.

Tell me what you think of these colors! Aren't they lovely? Many thanks to Diosa for their giveaway. They've definitely found a new fan in me.

Until next time,

Kasey xo