Nail Challenge Survival Tips

Hello Everyone, This is a bit of nail maintenance for last month and how I got through it without constant breaks, splits or peeling nails.

Polish Remover: First a good, gentle non-acetone nail polish remover. I’ve been using zoya because it takes less scrubbing to remove polish, its also great at removing glitter. The one I usually use that’s just as awesome is Up & Up Non-Acetone remover from Target the 16oz costs about $3, great value and not stinky either.

Peel of Base Coat: OPI Glitter Off, is a primarily a peel of base coat for natural nail but I use it to protect my cuticles so I minimize the daily use of acetone for clean up that dries them out. Cuticles can become ragged or split, and my have to be trimmed. You can also make your own, just  put some Elmer’s glue in a empty polish bottle and add a few drops of water (or not). I don’t use this method when I water marbling to protect my fingers because when the glue gets wet it gets a bit too messy for me, so I stick with tape.

The downside is it doesn’t work well on nails with gel on them, i’m not sure about acrylics. It slides away from the areas with gel patches and leaves bald spots, it can be made to work, but repeatedly going over it can cause the surface to become bumpy or take forever to dry. But it’s a great way to cut down on the amount of polish remover used on your hands.

An alternative is Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A Peel, this is an indie brand that I’ve used once and it didn’t work for me, but the problem may have been I used a thin coat and I didn’t allow it to dry completely before applying polish, so i’ll give it another try. And of course you can use your regular basecoat.

Cuticle Remover: To If you end up with ragged cuticles you may need a cuticle remover, I use Blue Cross Cuticle Remover (which i’ve had forever, it’s so worth it) or soak nails for about 5 mins, then apply some cuticle oil and and use a cuticle pusher to gently push back your cuticles.

Cuticle Oil, lots and lots of cuticle oil, your nails will need it to keep the cuticles healthy and supple. If you have natural nails and you’re using regular base coat you can massage a small amount into your nails before applying your base coat, sounds crazy but it works to help keep you’re nails moisturized.

Nail Yellowing: I’ve noticed a bit more yellowing than normal but that’s the norm if you wear polish regularly, it’s not an issue for me but I can lightly buff my nails to remove it (note – If you do this you may weaken your nails, do not overbuff I can get away with this cause my nails are really thick.) I normally double up on base coat and it prevents yellowing but to try to get some decent sleep at night, i’ve been skipping it.

I have a little bit of a patch left on my pointer that’s almost all grown out, but my nails held up well.

Thanks for Reading!

-Kerri

#31dc2014 Honor Nails You Love

Well crap, I thought I was done then I realized it was 31 days not 30, so last night was an interesting scramble to get this done so…..night photos.

Day 31 – Honor Nails You ❤️ #31dc2014  I chose @ohmygoshpolish’s (Instagram) bright dotted manicure, she has tons of beautiful designs.

I’m a dark green, dark red, dark any spectrum of any color i’m wearing (except blue), NOT a hot pink person, but I found this one really cute and since it was late, easy to do.

Polishes used Milani Cupid’s Touch, Wet N’ Wild Vengeful Bride, Wet N’ Wild Werewolf Vision & Wet N’ Wild Matte topcoat. Missing from the pic Zoya Raven and Purity.

For gradient I used Milani Cupid’s Touch and Wet N’ Wild Vengeful Bride. The base for the dots is Zoya Raven, I then added white dots to make the other colors to be dotted on more vibrant.

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri

#31dc2014 Nail Challange – Week 5

Hello Everyone, I survived ya’ll! I gotta say coming up with something need everyday was tiring but at the same time fun, I can’t promise i’ll ever do this again but who knows.

Day 27 – Inspired by Artwork, more info.

Day 28 – Inspired by A Flag, more info.

Day 29 – Inspired by The Supernatural, more info.

Day 30 – Inspired by A Tutorial  Honor Nails You ❤️, more  info.

 

Day 31 – Honor Nails You ❤️, more info.

 

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri

 

#31dc2014 Inspired by A Tutorial

Hello Everyone it’s time to do the snoopy dance, it’s the final day!

Day 30 – Inspired by A Tutorial #31dc2014 – Ali from Fixintofaff did the very imaginative and awesome 3D mani posted on her blog, I love it, I love dragons, hell I have two dragon tattoos.

This needs some pre-prep, but the only trouble I had was getting the rhinestones to stay still when I was painting them. I opted for dripping polish on them and kinda using the brush to whisk the excess polish off and with the help of a pin to hold it still when applying the second color.

Whites are Zoya Goldie with OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs over that, and reds are Zoya Paloma with Essie Shearling Darling as the second coat.

Polishes used OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs., Zoya Goldie, Essie Shearling Darling, Zoya Paloma.

OPI Muppets World Tour, OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs., Zoya Jem, Zoya Godiva.

This is my base pointer and pinky Zoya Godiva, ring finger Zoya Jem topped by OPI Muppets World Tour, middle finger OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs topped by OPI Muppets World Tour.

The next day they were dry and all you had to do is figure out the placement so it will end up close to the cuticle area.

This is my starting point. Place the rest of studs so they overlap (I had a photos of this but it somehow got deleted) so check Ali’s blog if you need the next steps.

Apply a thick layer of topcoat to keep everything in place. I stamped the other nails to make it look like tribal/rune markings, and they’re done.

 

Thanks For Reading and thanks Ali for the inspiration.

-Kerri

#31dc2014 – Inspired by The Supernatural

Day 29 – Inspired by The Supernatural #31dc2014  This was a lazy day mani, but I find some masks downright spooky myself.

I dabbed OPI 18K Ginza Gold, Wet & Wild Megalast Deadly Rose over base color OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs. And simply applied the decals I got from Born Pretty Store

 

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri

#31dc2014 Inspired by A Flag

Day 28 – Inspired by A Flag #31dc2014 – Jamaican Flag. Duh I’m Jamaican, I’ll always rep my counties flag. The End.

Oh wait there’s more ☺️ I’ve done a few  Jamaican themed manicure so this time I decided to go for more muted colors instead of the more vibrant green and yellow, polished are Zoya Raven, Tilda, Pippa. Bolt nailvinyls are from Teismom.

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri

 

#31dc2014 Inspired by Artwork

Hello Everyone, These posts are coming a few days late, but better late than never. Day 27 – Inspired by Artwork #31dc2014 – Wassily Kandinsky‘s Farbstudie Quadrate.

His art works are colorful and lively and he is not one of the artists names that come to mind when you’re asked to think of a famous artist, but he broke from convention and lived the life he wanted to.

“Everything starts from a dot.”
– Wassily Kandinsky

Polishes used:

OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-Go?, OPI Mimosas For Mr. & Mrs, Zoya Shawn, Zoya Midori,

Zoya Mira, Perrie, Charity, Purity,

Zoya Ibiza, Tallulah, Tamsen, Pippa.

Ever had your mani done and and about to do clean up when this happened? The bottle turned over and the brush went flying and I had a splash of white polish across my fingers. I tied to salvage it but it didn’t work and it was almost 1 AM so you can understand why I was annoyed at myself. It all worked out and it went faster the second time.

This is the glossy look.

 

Thanks for reading.

-Kerri

#31dc2014 Nail Challange – Week 4

Hello Everyone, I’m hitting the final leg of this here challenge and I’m running out of steam cause this seems to be the hardest part. I just wanna relax when I get home.

Day 21 – Inspired by A Color #31dc2014 – Blue. More Info.

Day 22 – Inspired by A Song #31dc2014, Purple Roses by John Williamson. More Info.

Day 23 – Inspired by A Movie #31dc2014 – Despicable Me. More Info.

Day 24 – Inspired by A Book #31dc2014 – The Maze Runner, more Info.

Day 25 – Inspired by Fashion #31dc2014, More Info.

Day 26 – Inspired by A Pattern #31dc2014, More Info.

Thanks for Viewing!

-Kerri

#31dc2014 Inspired by Fashion

Hello Everyone, Day 25 – Inspired by Fashion #31dc2014, This is probable the cleanest lines i’ve ever hand drawn, it also my first negative space manicure. Yay!

My inspiration is the David Koma SPRING/SUMMER 2014 Ready To Wear shown during London Fashion Week. Photo credit to this site.  I really do like this designers style cause I would sooo wear this dress.

Polishes used Anise Night Out & Zoya Raven.

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri

#31dc2014 A Pattern

Hello Everyone, Day 26 – Inspired by A Pattern #31dc2014, I actually bought this decal because it reminded me of a family crest, but wanting to break up the look a bit, I did a floral accent nail and then seriously wished I’d gone all floral. I really liked how delicate and subtle it turned out.

I varied the pattern of the sponging using Zoya Darcy, OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-Go?, OPI Alpine Snow, Zoya Shelby.

The decals are bought from Born Pretty Store Crest L216 Silver and Flowers.

Thanks for reading!

-Kerri