mint apple refresher (=

Hello ladies (= as mentioned in a previous post, I have some extra time on my hands so I hope I can update and post as well as view, read and share with all of you!  It is official though: got all my grades back and I have my associates degree, should be arriving in February!

This next NOTW (Nail of the week!) has been one of my favorites because it didn’t start out as a NOTW, more like a NOTD.  But I have continually added onto it so much that its actually lasting a long time but each new addition gives it a little bit of a refresher so a) it looks fresh and b) I don’t get bored of it!

The layering goes as follows;

Sinful colors: Mint apple

ORLY: liquid vinyl

Art Club: Black

Art Club: Silver Glitter

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top coat

China Glaze: Matte magic

It started out with two layers of mint apple, and then I added one more for total opacity.  I am out of basecoat and haven’t had the thought cross my mind to purchase any new ones, so I didn’t use one, lol.  I then sealed it with one coat of the Sally Hansen topcoat.

It wasn’t until the next day that I added the flowers on the thumb and ring finger with a little bit of sparkle.  Being the awful disorganized mess of a person I can be, I actually misplaced the fauxnad plate I used so I don’t even know which number it is! M24!  I used the Art Club polish for it though, the thick formula works great with konad and fauxnad!  Two days later I decided to give another try on a French tip.  (My favorite concept yet worst execution! Love the classic look but haven’t been able to get it down just right.. until now!)

I used this tape that I bought for Christmas presents from Five Below for a dollar xD  I will definitely be investing in some French manicure strips because this tape is a double edged sword. 

Pros:

leaves the CLEANEST lines I’ve done yet

perfect amount of sticky that doesn’t pull off base coats

Cons:

Is 100% clear and VERY hard to place straight.

Not meant for nail care so leaves the tiniest little gaps on the edges (that I fixed with Art Club)

I loved the final look!

A day or two later, I decided to mattify my mani and loved it even more!  I am not sure WHAT caused this problem, but about half and hour after applying Matte Magic, the edges of my nails were really white, looked like a bad case of dry cuticles.  They still are and I don’t know how to get rid of it )=  My cuticles were just oiled and lotioned before I took these pictures, so I don’t think it was the actual dryness of my cuticles.  I really don’t know what caused this chemical reaction!  Anyways, the final product;

thanks for viewing (= i love to hear comments and feedback so let me know what you think!
(ALL images are clickable!)