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St. Patrick’s Day Nails

topcoatit — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:00:27 +0000

I didn’t do anything spectacular for my St. Patrick’s Day mani this year. I wasn’t as ambitious as last year I guess.I really don’t have much by way of green clothes to wear to avoid the dreaded pinching, so my manicure had to serve that purpose. I polished my nails with Kleancolor Green Grass then added my little “pot of gold” accents with Shimmer Carmen.

Glad You’re Back!

topcoatit — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:51:00 +0000

Welcome back followers! Most of you probably didn’t even realize that you were gone. The hubs and I have been making some changes to the back end of my blog and you were all lost for a couple days. Scroll through the last few posts to see what you may have missed.

Another Juelp Post

topcoatit — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:17:32 +0000

Check me out on Julep’s blog!

Flashback: Battle of the Top Coats

topcoatit — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:00:24 +0000

Last year on this very day, I posted my Battle of the Top Coats experiment. It wasn’t a pretty mani, but it was functional. I learned a lot about what to look for in a top coat and how to properly apply them to get optimal protection of your mani and to keep yourself from ruining the design your just worked so hard on.

Not all top coats are created equally, so if you’re not thrilled with the one you’ve been using, try another one. Check out my comparison, don’t be afraid to ask questions and tell me your thoughts. Hopefully you’ll learn something useful too.

→Check out the Battle of the Top Coats←

Shameless Self Promotion

topcoatit — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:02:18 +0000

I’ve debated about posting this for a while now. I pride myself in keeping my blog about nails only and I try to keep my personal information very private. I just feel like I need to share the love. I’ve lost 50 pounds this year and feel better about myself than I have in years! I knew I was unhealthy. I didn’t have health problems that required a doctor’s intervention, but I didn’t feel well. My body ached, I had no energy, I wasn’t sleeping well. I was just unhappy with my body. I knew I had to fix it, but didn’t know how and was overwhelmed by all the different information out there. My friend introduced me to this program and I’m sooo happy I decided to give it a try. I’ve got my confidence and energy back and I have to tools to live a healthy lifestyle and instill those healthy habits in my daughter. I didn’t want to sentence her to an unhealthy, overweight future. I’m now a coach for this program and am looking forward to sharing with others who are ready to change their lives too. Please use the contact tab at the top of the page to email me if you want to hear more.

*This program is currently only available in the USA.

Twinsie Tuesday: Triple Layer Experiment

topcoatit — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:00:32 +0000

This week is exactly as the title says, an experiment. Layer three polishes and see what you end up with. I started with the idea of doing three different shades of pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month, but bagged it because I just didn’t think it was going to work.

I started with OPI Pink Friday anyway. Then decided to go with a couple different colors. After Pink Friday, I added OPI Sea Ya Later Sailor a sheer shimmery blue then added OPI Sit Under the Apple Tree a sheer shimmery green.

You can still see the pink through both top layers in the finished product, but the top polish is definitely the predominant color. On my ring finger, I again laid them out Ruffian style so you could see them each step of the way.

Notice in my pictures that my middle finger shows a little more green while my index finger is bluer. Overall it looks like a soft yellow.

What do you think of my experiment? Kind of like creating a Halloween potion, right?

Be sure the check out all the other manis today:

Amanda of Amandalandish
Anna of Going to the Showing
Anne of Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley of Art Evolve
Brandi of The Collegiate Nail
Chelsea of Nailed Blog
ChiChi of I’m Just Me…ChiChi
Cordia of Seriously Swatched
Elizabeth of Did My Nails
Jenn of All That is Gorgeous
Jenna of I’m Still Thinking
Katherine of Haul of Fame
Maribeth of Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!
Marisa of Polish Obsession
Meredith of Polish and Charms
Nory of Fierce Make Up and Nails
Sarah of See Sarah Swatch
Tara of Polishy of Truth

The Mummy Returns

topcoatit — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:00:40 +0000

The mummy returns! I haven’t seen the movie, but it made me laugh anyway. My mummy was one of my favorites last year so I decided to try it again.

2012′s mummy is slightly different than 2011’2 mummy, but you can tell they’re related. Last time, I added the eyeballs after the fact, this year I did them before the striping. I think doing them before makes them look like they are actually peeking out from behind the wrapped cloth. I think my photos are markedly improved as well.

For my mummy’s underbelly, I used Color Club Nouveau Vintage. Can I just tell you, I have to look up how to spell nouveau every time I do a post using this polish. I struggle with that word. Anyway, my black stripe and the white stripes were done using nail art polishes (you know, the ones that come with the tiny little brushes already) and for my eyes I used whatever black and white polishes I had in reach. I also did this with my left hand so I’m extraordinarily happy with the results being that it was done with my non-dominant hand. Really, really easy design people. Even those nail art virgins or fraidy cats out there could pull this off. Give it a go!

Twinsie Tuesday: Glitterbomb

topcoatit — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:00:52 +0000

Thumbs down. Way down. Today we’re doing glitterbombs. I’m not a fan of glitterbombs. I don’t like how rough they can be and I hate taking them off! Even cleaning up after a glitterbomb is difficult. Glitter just sticks to everything!

To top it off, I just don’t like my results. I wanted to go with Halloween-ish colors. I did a base of Sinful Colors Innocent. It’s a very slime colored green that stains baaadly! Like, wow bad! My layered glitters are Sally Hansen Glitz Gal which is a black-ish colored glitter and Shimmer glitters Carmen (orange) and Caroline (purple).

All layered one on top of another, they just look muddy and the orange, Shimmer Carmen (which I put on last), dominates. To switch things up a bit, on my ring finger I layered them Ruffian style. It’s a bit hard to see, but it’s actually pretty cool. I would probably have liked this mani better if I’d done all my nails Ruffian style. Because I didn’t want to have to soak this baby later, I took it off as soon as I was done snapping the pictures. Yes, I had it on for only an hour or so and had horrible staining from Sinful Colors Innocent. Not so innocent are we?

Be sure the check out all the other manis today:

Check Me Out on Julep Today

topcoatit — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:00:37 +0000

I’ve got another post publishing on Julep’s beauty blog today! It should publish around noon pacific standard time. Head on over and check me out!

Squares

topcoatit — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:36 +0000

I love geometric shapes and lines. I see manis that are squares that I want to try, but they’re usually stamped and I don’t stamp. I don’t have anything against stamping, but I really enjoy the satisfaction of doing it freehand.

Anyway, this is my quick (possibly halfhearted) attempt at the squared stamped manis I’ve seen that I love. There’s definitely room for improvement, but I did do it with my non-dominant hand so I guess I have an excuse.

My base color for this design was Wet ‘n Wild On a Trip and my lines were Wet ‘n Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint. I topped it off with Jordana Quick Shine.