A not so Halloween-ish Manicure

Despite my disappointment with the Julep Mystery Box in September, I am still addicted to them. So I ordered the October box when it came time, as well as a couple add-ons. And I was not disappointed.

However, I do not have a picture of what I got. I did use two of those colors for the manicure, though.

Anyway...

Once again I took inspiration from Pinterest (Link):

And this is what I came up with:

And here are the colors I used (sorry for the bad lighting):

My base is one of my new Julep colors:  Dana (a white with a blue shimmer, that can't really be seen in this picture). The darker stripe is also a Julep color from October: Ledi (a black with a bit of a black shimmer...that cannot be seen in the manicure). I have three other colors in stripes, though you can really only see two:  Ulta - Glam Session, OPI - Brand New Skates, and Kiss Silver nail art.

Now, here's the fun part. I did this mani on Wednesday morning. I am now two full days in and we are still holding strong to the nails!! (if you've been around here long enough, you know that is a big deal for my nails) I even did dishes yesterday!!  HOORAY!!!  I changed up my bottom/top coat and so far so good.

Well, that's it for me this week. I'm back-logged in nail pictures, so I may actually have nail posts the next two weeks! They'll be older manicures, but at least I'll be posting.

And, as always, linking up with the lovely Jennie Shaw and the rest of the lovelies for:


Head on over and show off your digits!

Happy Friday!

The Nail Files

I went into the week with lovely nails with a pink and gold/rose glitter I didn't think I would like...but loved once I put it on (the picture doesn't do it justice - note to self:  work on nail files picture quality).

* I had not cleaned my edges, so forgive the roughness here *

Spoiled: My Silicon Popped; Nicole by OPI:  A Gold Winter's Night (long gold & teal flecks and small rose colored flecks)

But they didn't stay that way. I had to clean the slate on Tuesday. And, since I was in work mode, they stayed clear despite my desire to change that.

So until next week, darlings....

Oh, and as always, I'm joining with the lovely Tara and Vicki for this week's:



Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!

Nail Files - Week 34

I am going to overdose you on nail colors/pictures this week! I finally got to play around with the rest* of my haul from last week:

And let me tell you, I'm not disappointed in my choices!! So...here we go...

First up, OPI Brand New Skates:

I'm not overly impressed. This is with two coats, and it's still very sheer/translucent. It might do better over a a thinker/darker/solid gray or black as it has a bit of shimmer to it too.




Next is the OPI New York City Ballet set:

VERY light & pale. I mean, you can't even tell "Don't Touch My Tutu" and "Care to Danse?" are even there! They look like clear polish in this light while "My Pointe Exactly" adds a gray sheen to my pinky. I didn't try the "Pirouette My Whistle" as it's a clear base with glitter and I didn't feel like wrestling the glitter off my nail. OK, so maybe I'm a little disappointed in how light this set is. But it's a good set to fall back on when an event calls for "clean" nails. Or I just don't feel like going bold colors.

Next is the OPI Dutch Treats set:

This is just a fun set of colors! (I want to go back and get some more from this set!) It's a good mix up in the box as you've got a dark, two brights, and a light shimmer. Ultimately, I chose my colors of the week from this box:

Red Lights Ahead...Where? on my ring fingers, and Kiss Me On My Tulips on the rest.

Oh, and I'm joining up with this, again, to showcase these lovely colors:



Happy Friday!!


* The only color I didn't play around with is the pink bottle. It's OPI Strawberry Margarita. When I was in the store I couldn't decide between this one and the regular sized Dutch Treats Kiss Me On My Tulips. They looked very similar in the bottles. When I found the Dutch Treats set had a small KMOMT, my decision was made - I purchased the regular sized SM!

Nail Files - Week 14

This is 4 days late, but I still wanted to do this.  So here is last week's installment of

Linking up with Tara over at Fabulous but Evil.

Those of you who know me know my struggle with keeping a mani longer than 24 hours.  That's why I don't pay for them (unless it's gel polish).  It's also why I don't usually have color on.  But last week I decided to try something new...actually using a bottom AND a top coat (usually only did a bottom to keep my nails from getting stained).  Well, here are the results from a pain job I did on Monday the 2nd:

Essie "Grow Stronger" for my base
Sinful Colors: Mint Apple is the bottom color (1 coat)
OPI:  Sea You Later, Sailor is a shimmer top color (1 coat)
Essie "No Chips Ahead" for my top coat

This is what they looked like on Thursday afternoon!

Just one chip where I broke the nail hauling luggage.  I was very excited about how long it lasted.  And it was a great color for spring.  Maybe not so much as a professional color, though.

Thursday I tried the process again, but with Essie "Devi's Advocate" for the color (2 coats):

This is what they looked like an hour ago!

I hate to admit defeat, but all of you preaching bottom & top coats were right!  The color lasts longer with both, even if it takes a little longer to dry.  It's all worth it in the end.

So I'm in process of changing out my color again...I got my Julep Maven box in the mail yesterday with two new colors:  Charlotte (which is what I'll be posting on Friday) and Jennifer.

Until Friday...

Something new for Fridays

I think I'm going to attempt to start linking up with Fabulous But Evil for




So here's the first one:

Base coat and one coat of color.

A few hours later, wanting to jazz it up, I added a glitter to the ring finger (you can barely see it).  And I added a top coat (something I rarely do).

The best part...I don't know the name of the color!!  I bought the bottle last year sometime and the label has since peeled off!!

Hugs...