The Loch Ness Monster Likes Makeup Too

This blog is a safe space, so I feel comfortable telling you that I have a problem -- a serious problem -- with buying nail polishes for the name. Like, I will not buy a polish -- even if I like the color -- if I don't like the name, and, if I really like the name of a polish, I will buy it even if I don't really like it/ will never wear it. Half the fun of nail polish collection releases is reading the names of all the new polishes. Themed collections are particular fun. Like, somehow or another I manage to convince myself that I need a particular nail polish because I like the name. Any nail polish brand can name any polish of any color after anything in Game of Thrones and I'll just be like, "take my money." For example, I have a polish that's named after one of my favorite characters on Game of Thrones , and I legitimately felt like I would be letting her down if I didn't buy it. Why? I don't know. I know that she's fictional, but I had to ha...

So, today, in honor of the 4th of July, I created a patriotic, red-white-and-blue manicure. I wanted to share it with you, even though I probably should have posted it a few days ago so that someone could actually have worn it for the 4th. Whatever, I don't plan ahead. Patriotic Nails Anyway, this is a very simple manicure because I was in a bit of a rush today, and I didn't want to mess with anything complicated. For this manicure, I used three polishes. You could use any red, white, and blue polishes for this manicure, but this is what I used: 1) Right Said Red by Sally Hansen 2) White On by Sally Hansen 3) Sailor by Zoya When selecting your polishes, I advise picking a blue-toned red (as opposed to an orange or yellow toned red). A red polish that has too much orange in it will look wonky next to blue. Similarly, I advise choosing a nice, deep blue for your blue polish. I picked Zoya's Sailor because it's a lovely, dark navy. I advise avoiding light bl...

Another month, another fifteen or so manicures to share with you. Silver Dollar by Revlon  and  White On by Sally Hansen - I wrote a whole blog about this manicure , which was inspired by Jon Snow and House Stark from Game of Thrones . In case you don't know, I have a whole series of blogs about manicures inspired by Game of Thrones . I created this particular look using a gradient technique. Silver Dollar and White On Fearlessly Alice by OPI and White On by Sally Hansen - I tried to create a very summer-y, nautical inspired look with this manicure. I started out with two coats of White On by Sally Hansen, which is my go to white polish. Then, I used MoYou London's Sailor #1 stamping plate to stamp a starfish onto my accent nail with Fearlessly Alice by OPI (ignore the fact that it's crooked; stamping is still a work in progress for me). Then, I used my dotting tools to paint polka dots onto my other nails (also with Fearlessly Alice by OPI). White On and F...

Last month, I started a series of blog posts about the nail polish I wear every month. So, if you enjoyed embarking on a nail polish voyage with me last month, climb aboard the nail polish cruise ship with me. Ladybird by Butter London and White Out by Sally Hansen - The first manicure I did this month was based on this tutorial I watched about how to create nail art hearts with dotting tools . As you can see, it worked out alright. I struggled a bit to make the hearts neat and they ended up looking a bit like Micky Mouse ears. Ladybird and White Out Black Out by Sally Hansen , Stardust by Butter London , and Petrol by Butter London - This manicure was inspired by Game of Thrones (which is back for Season 6, yay!). I wrote an entire blog about it , but, basically, I wanted to do something that was dark and vampy and inspired by the Night's Watch in Game of Thrones . Black Out, Stardust, and Petrol Honor by Zoya - I picked this polish up on a whim at Ulta (...

So, I recently graduated from Penn State on May 7th, and, in honor of PSU, I created this graduation manicure. Everyone who saw it loved it and thought that I had gotten a professional manicure (I did it myself). So, you too can save yourself some money and do this simple, cute graduation manicure.   Penn State Nails If you don't know, Penn State's colors are dark, navy blue and white, and our mascot is the Nittany Lion. So, for my manicure, I did a base coat of blue and white paw prints for my accent nail. I started off with my blue base coat. I used the shade Sailor by Zoya , which was the best Penn State blue I could find (obviously, you can use any shade of dark blue you want). I like Sailor a lot because it is opaque in one coat , which cuts down on drying time. After your base coat is completely dry, you're ready to do the paw prints. I used a dotting tool to create my paw prints. Dotting tools are very cheap and versatile , and they are an essential tool i...