The Chip-Free Manicure

Those of you who know me or have been reading the blog for a while may know that I am absolutely terrible when it comes to manicures. Not only am I terrible at applying polish myself, my nails just seem to repel the stuff. (Seriously, I've had manicures done that chip within the day!) 

After chatting with Gummy on multiple occasions, she pushed me to add a few more steps to my manicure routine - a primer that tempted us both and her favorite topcoat.  

So, I grabbed the Deborah Lippmann 2 Second Primer, newly available through Sephora and dabbed each nail with a drop of the stuff. Meant to really clean the nail to prep it for your manicure, this stuff really seems to work. I followed it with a coat of my trusty Nail Tek Foundation II base, and my glossy nails were ready for color. The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat is brilliant too - a shiny, hard coat to protect, and boy does it keep that manicure on. When I talked about Essie Full Steam Ahead in this post a few weeks ago, I was wearing this bulletproof combo, and my photo is from TWO DAYS after I did my nails. EPIC I tell you. 

Have you tried any of these for your manicure? What manicure secrets really work for you? I'd love to know!  

All products in this post were purchased by me. This post contains affiliate links.  

A New Favorite: Essie Full Steam Ahead

A few weeks back, I was desperate to buy a few shades from Essie's "Naughty Nautical" summer collection. The pretty lavender shade Full Steam Ahead immediately caught my eye, as Essie Lilacism has been a long standing favorite and this was just a richer, more sparkly version of it in my eyes!  

I have to say that this is probably the best manicure I've given myself, perhaps ever, though it is still not very good and no where near the quality work of a seasoned nail blogger. So my apologies, if you object to my manicure but I just had to show you guys this lovely color. (ALSO, this photo is after TWO DAYS which is epic for me. More on the stellar primer/base/topcoat combination coming soon) 

Pale at first, this color is quite pretty at two coats. Compared to other Essie polishes I have, this was a lot easier to work with - nearly streak free with my pathetic skills and just applied so smoothly.  

I love the color, and while I couldn't capture the very fine shimmer, this shade is a definite winner in my book. Did you grab any shades from Essie Naughty Nautical? What do you think of this shade?? Isn't it just perfect for spring and summer? :) 

Essie Full Steam Ahead was purchased by me. Affiliate links included. 

On My Nails: Deborah Lippmann Sweet Dreams

FYI: I have posted a blog sale which can be accessed here or by clicking the "Blog Sale" link in the header. I hope you guys will take a look at it!  :)

I've had this little mini sized polish since the Barney's beauty event in February, and I've FINALLY gotten around to using it. (Yes, I know, that was 6 months ago and I am horrible for leaving my pretties alone for so long!)  

I can't tell you why it has taken me so long to use it, and I sure regret not trying it sooner! This hot pink shade with glitter flakies is right up my alley, and I have always meant to try Deborah Lippmann too!  

Opaque in two coats, even with my poor nail polishing skills, I am quite a fan of this formula so far. Generally, my nails chip really fast, not to mention that so many nail polish formulas just go on streaky to start with. This one looks good, and is holding up well. Wohoo!  

I definitely want to try more Deborah Lippmann polishes, and I'm totally kicking myself for not trying this sooner. For those of you who are Sephora shoppers, there is a Deborah Lippmann 100 point perk at my local stores. I imagine it is one of the new perks for August, and I bet it will go fast! 

EDIT: I spotted a WWD headline today that says Sephora will be carrying an exclusive collection of Deborah Lippmann polishes starting in September!!  Some of the brand is already available on Sephora.com, which notes that the full collection will be available online August 12th and in stores September 5th.

What do you think of Deborah Lippmann Sweet Dreams? Do you have a favorite shade from the brand that I must try? I'd love to know! :) 

Deborah Lippmann Sweet Dreams appears to be a LE shade, however it is still available for purchase on HSN and Zappos. (Affiliate Link)

Nail Polish Review: OPI My Very First Knockwurst

Meet Kimmi here. :) 

First of all, I want to send a huge thank you to Joyce for offering me the opportunity to contribute to her blog.  I have been curious about the blogging world for a while now, and I am beyond excited to share my thoughts on a polish from the new OPI Germany Collection with her readers. I must admit, I am not too sure which aspect of the polish I find to be the most interesting: that it is a shade I really like or where I bought it at.

In my neck of the woods, OPI is primarily sold at Ulta stores and stand alone nail salons.  However, I stumbled across OPI at the hair salon inside of a Walmart.  Finding the popular brand in Walmart was only the first half of my shock.  The salon had a special sale going on for the polishes: Buy One, Get One Half Off.  Half off!!  My boyfriend knew I was not about to let a deal like that slip through my fingers.  Not only did the salon have the "basic" OPI shades, but they also had polishes from the Shatter line and the brand new Germany Collection.

From the preview pictures I looked at online, the Germany Collection did not interest me that much.  When I saw the collection in person, however, the neutral nude shade My Very First Knockwurst caught my eye.  I did not have a single nude shade in my polish stash, so I figured I would give this one a shot.

I apologize if the watermarks are annoying.  I also upload the images to my Instagram account, and I watermark them in case they are stolen by another account.  A lot of pictures stealing has been going on lately and I would rather be safe than sorry.

I must admit that I love this shade!  It is very professional looking and a safe color choice to go with for the work environment.  The pinkish nude kind of reminds me of the NARS lipstick in Cruising.  The polish is of the excellent OPI quality, but it did streak a bit on a few of my nails.  However, it was more than likely my fault.  Before this manicure, I had to remove some glitter streaks I had on my nails and it probably left a few of them "roughed up."  I fixed the streaking by using my Avon Smudge Corrector to smooth it over and applied a third coat of the color on the nails that needed it.

What are your thoughts on the latest collection from OPI?  Have you found high end products at surprising locations as well?