The Monday Mani

Pictures are taken on Lauren Conrad's 'Beauty'

One of the perks of acrylic nails is only having to paint them once a week, as colours seem to last a lot longer on thin sheets of plastic that just don't move. So with the habit of my doing my nails three times a week now changing to a once a week event, I tend to reserve a little more time for it. 

I start with removing my old polish with any old acetone free remover before applying some cuticle remover. I have a super fast acting one that only takes about twenty seconds before it's ready to be wiped off. I then treat my suffering cuticles to a bath of OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil. I'm still using this nifty 'on-the-go' version, but I'll be purchasing the full size when it runs out. 

I rub my hands with a thick layer of Lush Dream Cream, which has a funky scent but great moisturizing properties. Then I put on some cotton gloves and sit around waiting (or watching YouTube) for about ten minutes before taking off the gloves. As a result my hands and cuticles are perfectly moisturized and soft. I take a tissue and clean the nails. Greasy nails makes it harder for polish to adhere, so clean nails are a must. 

For this week's manicure I chose Muchi Muchi by Essie. One of my all time favourite shades. The soft pink looks great against most skin tones and gives the hands a feminine, elegant look. It's also really easy to combine with other colors, so you'll never have to deal with your nails not matching your outfit. Because it is such a light colour, two layers are needed to achieve nice coverage. 

On regular nails I'd apply a top coat to help last the polish longer, but I have found that that is not necessary with acrylic nails. Polish lasts much longer and looks better, because there are absolutely no imperfections on the nail. Little disclaimer, I am not claiming that acrylic nails are good for your nails. You are essentially shielding the nail from taking in any oxygen, making the nails soft and brittle over time. I do not recommend to always wear acrylics. I usually wear them a few months and then have one recovery month. 

And that is my once a week hand pamper moment. It's great to just reserve some time during the week to relax and paint your nails. Every girl should do it.

The Summer Polish Edit

Clockwise (almost): Essie Watermelon, Catrice Meet Me At Coral Island, ANNY Summer Love, Essence Redvolution, Essie Lights, Essie Fear or Desire

Summer, endless tanning, road trips with your best friends and listening to the season's hottest tunes. And if you're lucky an escape to some tropical paradise to lounge on a stretcher with a fruity drink in hand. But even if any of the above don't apply to you, you can still decorate your nails with the finest shades of the summer. 

I tend to drift towards brighter shades. Although I am not quite adventurous with colours, I stick to pinks, corals and reds, I love them nice and bright. Miss Essie Weingarten still takes the throne with her summer selection of shades, and her formulas are nail polish miracles. But essence, Catrice and ANNY still know how to how to make a sunny stunner. 

There are only a few months in the year where it seems permissible to wear these bright feminine shades, and I take advantage of this time. What are your favourite shades for the summer?

So I went a little Essie crazy

 

The other day I was just casually popping into a drugstore to pass some time waiting for an appointment when I stumbled upon probably the best Essie display I have ever come across. Instead of the usual vertical display that is in all the Dutch etos stores, this particular DA drugstore had a gorgeously bright lit built in display. And the best part, I saw some bottles from my favorite nail polish brand with a nice red little sticker saying '50% off'.

I checked out the bottles and to my joy I saw that they were colors from previous collections that I had actually wanted to buy, but it had proven to be impossible, because they were always sold out.

I bought five essie polishes, because I totally needed them, right? From the older collections 'Poppy-razzi' and 'Bikini so teeny'.

Clockwise, starting at 9:45.

Lights / Cascade Cool / Fear or Desire / Camera / Action

Each of them brilliantly bright summer shades, that I personally cannot wait to wear around town. (I might be going against the winter rules by wearing Lights right now). You can tell from Lights and Action that the pigment has seemed to drop down a little bit. This worried me at first but after a good shake of the bottle before application the colors have mixed and it still applies beautifully to the nail. As do all of Essie polishes. 

Mrs. Weingarten sure knows how to design her colors and I'm so glad her hybrid brand has come to drugstores across the world.

Essie Stylenomics Fall Collection Swatches

Essie is quick on its way to becoming my favorite nail polish brand. Their colors and collections are spot on and super feminine. I have yet to find a formula that I did not like. The polish dries quick and the darker colors have excellent coverage in just one coat. I also own their 'good to go' topcoat which is my absolute favorite. 

Their 2012 fall collection is named after style and fashion, and the current economy. Essie shows that you can be stylish and live on a budget with these rich jewel toned shades. The six shades are perfect for fall, I wish I could own all of them. Down here is a description of each of the six polishes. 

Stylenomics - Get rolling in the deep, opulent green that's the new black.

Recessionista - Smart & savvy millionheiress ups the ante with color and style that's priceless.

Miss Fancy Pants - Greige under pressure. Refined chic & executive privilege never looked so pretty.

Skirting The Issue - An a-line of gorgeous saturated burgundy.

Don't Sweater It - Lavish in warm, cashmere mauve, that goes with anything and everything. 

Head Mistress - This take-charge red out-classes the competition.

I ordered two of the polishes from this collection for myself. Recessionista, look at the (unfocused, damn you camera!) pictures below.

Recessionista is a dark burgundy red, aiming towards purple. To me this is the quintessential fall nail polish color. However, it is not really that unique. I love it nonetheless and it will be adorning my nails many a time this autumn.

Stylenomics is a really dark green that aims toward black in some lighting. It's the namesake of this collection and I can see why. It's gorgeous and unique, I own nothing like it. I adore this color and will definitely be wearing this a lot. 

Essie Bikini So Teeny Collection

Essie is an American salon nail polish brand that's been around since 1981. They're the expert on fun fresh colors, in my opinion. And they certainly don't stray from that with their Summer 2012 collection titled 'Bikini  So Teeny'. The collection holds six fresh shades that are all limited edition. 

- bikini so teeny is a sparkling cornflower blue

- cascade cool is a creamy, sweet dusty pink

- all tied up is a rustic bronze with subtle golden shimmer

- off the shoulder is bold, hot pink

- fear of desire is a bright orange crush

- mojito madness is a fun-loving lime green

images and shade discriptions from essie.com

I myself own the shade 'off the shoulder', the shade spoke to me most when I stood in front of the overwhelming display filled with polishes. I wanted to buy them all, but I contained myself and purchased just one. 

'offthe shoulder' is a nice enough hot pink. It's isn't exactly spectacular, and it certainly isn't bland. I really enjoy this polish. It covers pretty well in just one coat, but I applied two for good measure and a completely even coverage. The essie nail polish brush is pretty darn huge, using it on my tiny pinky nail was almost impossible to apply neatly. The polish spreads nice and streak free, and it dries to a nice smooth shiny cream finish. 

As I said, not the most spectacular pink I have seen, but it is the first one like this in my collection. A perfect color for a nice fresh and fun summer manicure. So let the sun shine!