Perfectly Polished Tips 264 - Catch Up

This time of the year is always busy, my nails get neglected, my stash goes mostly untouched. The sun is rare for photo taking, and I usually acquire way more polish than I could ever possibly keep up with. :) I am considering doing the Advent Calendar Nail Art Challenge that Kristi from Happy Hands Nail Polish made.

I am not great at nail art or challenges but I will try.

Even though I have not been polishing my nails I have been trying to keep them safe from the cooler weather. NC is weird, it hasn't actually been cold here yet. Or well not cold to me, I will take these 63 degree days all winter long. I know using Lansinoh for keeping cuticles nice has been very popular among the nail community. I just got a tube of my own to see what the hype was. It actually works really well and quickly. I had a few rogue cuticles that I had been picking at and after one application of the Lansinoh they were looking a lot better. They had softened up enough for me to forget they were there, so I stopped picking and chewing them. I will definitely be adding this to my nail care routine.

See you soon with my first manicure from the Advent Calendar Nail Challenge!

Perfectly Polished Tips 128 - Sephora by OPI On Stage

First please let me apologize for my lack of posting. I have been busy with school and mostly just lazy with my nails. I have a ton of photos to share, I just need to edit them and get them posted! I am working on it and will have new stuff up by the weekend for sure.

Here is a recent NOTD of mine. Sephora by OPI On Stage. I really love this brand of polishes, they are nothing like OPI's main brand. I haven't used Sephora's brand before so I can't compare there. They apply wonderfully, no crazy thick or too runny formula. The best part is the brush is a normal size. I know a lot of people love OPI's Pro Wide brushes but I hate them. I have small nail beds and I make a terrible mess every time I use one. On Stage is a smokey purple but more purple than smokey. I wasn't really in love with it, in most lights it looked like dirty dish water on me. I only did two coats and have a (hopeful) suspicion that it will look nicer with three coats of color. Sephora by OPI also has great staying power and durability.

I have also been trying out a new base coat. European Secrets Rock Hard base coat, it can be found at Sally Beauty. It is a nail hardener, so it can be used alone or over polish. The directions are basically the same as Nail Tek, apply one coat and reapply daily for one week, remove, and start over. I'm just using it as a base coat and so far so good. My nails aren't peeling anymore and I think it's helping prevent staining. If you are looking for a new base coat to try this is a good one. I believe Sally's has it on sale right now as a Buy One Get One, but I think you have to buy the top coat to get the base. I haven't tried the top coat out though so I don't know how well it works.

Perfectly Polished Tips 67 - Lippmann Collection Base Coat & Cuticle Remover

This is Lippmann's Cuticle Remover, it contains lanolin oils to help soften your cuticles while the chemicals do
the removing. I like to use this weekly after I scrub with Sally Hansen Cuticle & Nail Refiner. The SH scrub loosens everything and then this stuff gives it the last push to detach from my nail beds. It has a brush like the nail colors but it also comes with a dropper. You can either brush it on, drop it on, or put a few drops in warm water and soak your nails. I've done all except the last. It's not messy at all and it has no smell. I think it's pretty moisturizing. My cuticles definitely do benefit from it.

This guy over here is Lippmann's Rehydrating Base Coat. It contains aloe to help nails stay well hydrated. I know their nail colors have bitotin in them but I could not find anything that said if this did or not. I've been using this as a base for all my manicures for about 3 weeks now. My nails are definitely stronger (except for the one I jammed and it now has a tear very low down) and they aren't at all stained from all the dark shades I've been wearing. I always see a "Do not get on skin" caution on nail polish and I never understood why. Well now I do, this is super drying to my cuticles and the skin around them. I have to be very careful to make sure I leave a gap or else I am plauged with dried out yucky looking skin for a couple of days. The upside to that though is that I remember to use my CND Cuticle Eraser and LUSH Lemony Flutter.

I would reccomend both of these products. I am sure that there are cheaper alternatives to them though. For cuticle removers I really like Orly Cutique and a lot of ladies over at MUA rave about a Sally Hansen one in a blue bottle. I haven't tried that one. As for the base coat, Sally Hansen makes a hydrating base coat call Nail Quencher, I actually picked it up at Wal Mart for $2 the other day. These two products are worth it for me but since everyone is different you really have to try different things to see what works for you.