White Polish - Plain or Art?

White nail polish is a hot trend right now. Frankly, I'm not sure if I like it or not. I'm planning a little mani tonight to try out the trend but I thought I'd get your input.  Do you like your white polish, plain, with art, or not at all? Here are some designs for thought.



Click the photos abover for more details.

 

I thought I'd try plain first and then go for a few other options.  I'd love to add glitter, or a simple design or work using my trusty Sharpies. I coulsd also try out some fun designs using my new dotting tools or striping tape.

What do you think I should try first?

Blue and Gray with some 4th

This week we celebrate the 237th birthday of our country.  In the midst of all of the hot dogs, beer, potato salad, fireworks and fun, many times we forget what we are truly celebrating. The freedoms we enjoy in the United States were won by people who sacrificed so much and also by those who continue to sacrifice. This week also marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War was a dark time in American history. I grew up in the south and my mom and lots of my family live very close to Appomattox, Virginia.  I was raised on Civil War stories. If the war had ended differently, we would not be living in the same country we live in today. We would likely not be living in the United States of America.  During this week, I will pause to think of those who built our country. Those who fought hard to give us all the life and freedom we enjoy today. Now enough of a history lesson and onto a little fashion in the form of a manicure.

essie Stroke of Brilliance, Maybelline Color Show Audacious Asphalt

I wore this version over the weekend and early in the work week.

Using my Martha Stewart glue pen, I drew two lines on my ring finger nails.

Then I sprinkled the nails with red glitter, cleaned up each nail and added a top coat.

The finished mani for my 4th of July fun.

If you've been following Real Girl Runway on Google Reader, you can keep following on bloglovin'.

Just click on this link and start following. http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/1672084/real-girl-runway

Sheer Pink and Gold Manicure

My DIY post last week was a little preview of my upcoming mani.  I've been dying to try striping tape. I found a striping tape and dotting tool bundle through Amazon and took the plunge.  It wasn't much of a risk since the entire kit cost less than $3.50, including shipping!  It arrived yesterday and I had to try it right away.

Laying down the striping tape was a little awkward and tricky.  I had to get {msL} to help me cut it to fit my nails.  Next time, I think I will use a flat blade cutting tool that will make it easier to cut the tape myself.  The first few nails took forever. Then I got the hang of it.

My base coat is essie Mademoiselle. It's a very pale, sheer, pink.  It was the perfect base for my gold french manicure.  I wanted simple and pretty.  After the base coat dried, I cut a small strip of tape and applied it to my nail, then trimmed it to size.  I did this for each nail.  After pressing the tape down to make sure the seal was tight, I applied two coats of top coat.

There will be other striping tape manicures coming.  I have lots of ideas and colors.

Racing Stripe Manicure - Using a Sharpie

A few months ago I discovered a fun new way to add art to my nails...metallic Sharpies! I've done a few different manicures using my metallic Sharpies. I just pick a solid base, I prefer creamy colors, instead of frosted colors but I am going to try lots of options.

I chose L'Oreal Paris, Not a Cloud In the Sky as my base. The pretty aqua color is perfect for spring. Then I grabbed my silver Sharpie. I also have a gold and a bronze version.  The gold would have been great too. I snagged my Sharpies at Target in a 3 pack, one with each color.

The reason I love using a Sharpie instead of polish to create art, is the F#@! factor.  If you screw up and say F#@!, all you need to do is wipe your nail with alcohol and start over. You don't have to repaint your base color!

I decided to only do one nail this time.  I wanted racing stripes and I had a few extra cups of coffee, so my hands weren't as steady as they should be.  Two tiny stripes on my ring finger completed the look. I added top coat and I was finished.

 

As you can see the ridge in my nail, creates a bit of a wave but I still like the effect.  I've also done bronze hearts on a nude nail and gold dots on navy nails. The possibilities are endless. 

I'm Obsessed Thank You Very Much - Navy Nails

Even though spring is trying to come around (not working so well in DC, it's 25 degrees tonight). I can't help but keep thinking about navy nail polish. I'm not sure why I'm stuck on it except that it's a prettier cousin to a standard black mani. Besides, navy goes with almost everything.  I stripped off my sad, chipping polish and my nails are bare right now.  Hopefully I'll have time for a manicure, in the next day or two. Navy is on the bill. I'm sure I won't be satisfied with just plain navy polish.



Click photos for sources.

Navy polish isn't very forgiving, so precision is key.  The blogger ladies and the photos on Pinterest make it look easy. There are tricks of the trade.  My all time favorite nail polish/manicure guru, Jennifer of Fab Fatale posted this great tutorial last year.  Be sure to check it out and while you're at it, check out her blog.





Check out my other "I'm Obsessed" posts here, including the very first post and the explanation of the title.

MonoChrome Polka Dot Mani

I can't resist doing Google searches for fun new manicure ideas and new manis are always popping up on my Pinterest feed. I've seen lots of polka dot manis lately and wanted to try out doing one with my silver Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen.  I bought this pen a while ago and frankly, I haven't used it very much. What did I have to lose? If it looked terrible there is always polish remover nearby.  A subtle design was needed, since I have to work with clients this week (government clients).  I decided to go for a  monochromatic look with gray and silver.

 I started with Revlon Colorstay basecoat.  Then added three coats of Maybelline Color Show in Audacious Asphalt.  After that dried I drew in the polka dots with the Sally Hansen pen.  My left hand definitely looks better than my right.  But the right is pretty good.  I'm sure I could get the same look with nail stamping but I don't have a great polka dot stamp. Then I finished with two coats of top coat.

Natural Light

Office Light

It turned out great and I love the monochromatic look.  It's fun but subtle. More colors are definitely in order.

Holographic Polish Manicure

The day after my birthday I opened to mailbox to find a package. In the package was Layla Hologram Effects nail polish in Purple Illusion and a Layla file.  It was sent from sneekpeeq.com (a new social shopping site).  There was a sweet note inside but the person who sent the gift didn't sign the card so I can't even thank them for the gift.  Thank you, whoever you are. I was thrilled because you know how much I love to try new nail polish.  I'd seen and read about holographic polish but I hadn't tried it myself.

This polish instructs you not to use a base coat.  You use the accompanying file to smooth the ridges on your nail and buff them. I followed the instructions but decided to add a top coat for longer wear.

taken with a flash

The effect was fantastic.  I couldn't stop staring at my nails.  I loved the way they looked in the light and that they look like they are painted with average polish at first glance.  Then you see the cool light reflection.

taken in direct sun

Even in low light they looked great.  By the time I got to work the next morning, I already had a chip!  I was less than pleased.  I love painting my nails but I want my manis to last at least a day.  By the time I got home that night three of my nails were bare.  The polish popped off completely!  Because I wasn't using a base coat, I made sure my nails were clean and free of any oils or residue.  Buffing my nails with the file made the polish look great but also kept if from sticking. I decided to try again using a base coat. 

with a base coat

The polish over the base coat was very streaky and didn't stick well.  I had to use three coats to get solid coverage.  As you can see in the photo above, the holographic effect isn't nearly as brilliant.  The polish has lasted almost a week and still looks good but not as pretty.  I've read that using Orly Bonder base coast works pretty well with this polish. Most of the nail polish blogs recommend an aqua base coat like Make Up Store Aquafix or   Nfu Oh Aqua Base. Since the aqua bases aren't available in stores, I may try Orly Bonder first.  I love this polish and want it to last. 

Needing Some Sparkle

With a few exceptions (down trees, limbs, debris, power outages and a little flooding), most of us in the DC area weathered Sandy pretty well.  My thoughts are with my friends and family in the New York and New Jersey areas hardest hit by the storm.  I know this is a difficult time for all of you. Our pre-storm prep of tying down our deck furniture and bringing things into the garage gave me some peace of mind. Due to my job, I didn't even get a day off to do fun crafts or projects. On Monday night I took some Me time and did a mani and read a fashion magazine. Sparkle was in order due to the dreary weather.

I decided on a sparkly french mani.  I used one coat of essie ballet slippers as my base and then added essie luxeffects in a cut above for the tips and accent nail. I finished with two coats of top coat.  I used Revlon Colorstay base coat and top coat.

I love the sheer pink, almost bare nails with the sparkly pink tips.  The accent nail is just an added bonus. This mani definitely brightened my day and it was so easy to do.  No taping required. The jagged edge of the glitter gives it a pretty randomness.

If you were affected by Sandy, what did you do to make yourself smile?

Jamberry Nails - My Review (and Giveaway!)

Last year I started seeing nails adorned with nail strips everywhere.  I fell in love with a set of mirrored silver nails that I later found out could only be done in a salon.  The cost was more than I wanted to spend and I started looking for a less expensive alternative.  I couldn't find anything close, until now.  I was contacted by Noel Giger, a Jamberry Independent Star Consultant.  Noel offered to send me a set of Jamberry Nail Shields.  I was thrilled to find out that Jamberry had the coveted silver mirrored nails I had been dying for!  This is a photo and video heavy post. Click below to check out the full post and enter the giveaway!

Olympic Style 24/7

There is always a ton of discussion about Olympic uniforms, how they look, where they are made, who is designing them, and on and on.  The uniforms are interesting but I am always fascinated by the personal style of the athletes, in and out of competition. Even though uniforms are the order of the day during competition, many still find a way to express their personal style.

Natalie Coughlin kept dry with this stylish hooded leather jacket and in the process toughened up her super girly dress and heels. Michael Phelps and his girlfriend looked polished on the red carpet.  Ryan Lochte showed off his gold medal and his diamond grill while receiving his medal.  Sanya Richards-Ross wore printed arm warmers, a patriotic manicure and Chanel earrings as she ran for her gold medal.  Missy Franklin sported a pretty red, white and blue mani, in the pool and on the medal podium.



photo credits: zimbio.com

Nail Art for the Time Crunched and Polish Challenged

There are lots of ladies out there who don't have time or the inclination to do nail art (including me, many days).  I have to admit that crystal and flower laden nails aren't for me. When I refer to nail art, I mean an interesting pattern or a little glitter.  There are products out there that can give you a nail art look easily.

Nail Polish Strips
Lots of companies are making nail polish strips but my personal favorite are by Sally Hansen.  They are easily found at your local drugstore, they come in tons of colors and patterns and they're affordable.  I've occasionally found coupons for them as well.  The bonus is that they last for about 7 days or more.

Incoco, Sephora, and Kiss also make strips. I've tried Incoco and Sephora.  In fact Incoco were the first strips I tried.  The Sephora strips are more like stickers. There were think and I didn't like them as much as the Incoco and Sally Hansen versions.

Magnetic Polish
One of the latest nail polish trends is magnetic polish.  The polish has metal particles in it. While the polish is wet, you hold the magnet cap over the polish and it creates a design.  The magnets with each brand have a different pattern (star, wave, stripes).  This post by Scrangie has details and shows the designs you can get with the China Glaze magnet.  The Sally Hansen version has a wave design.  The difference is the way you paint your nails.  You'll put a light base coat on you nails.  Then you'll need to paint a single nail and hold the magnet over the wet nail (without touching it). Then move onto the next nail.  The Sally Hansen version dried quickly.

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color in Silver Elements

Glitter Polish
With a single swipe of glitter polish, you can turn a basic nail color into a fun, artsy manicure.  Almost every brand has glitter polish. I always go for the budget brands like Wet 'n Wild. They have lots of options and the polish costs 99 cents to $1.99 per bottle.

Spoiled by Wet n' Wild - Jewelry Heist over Show Me Some Skin

These are my quick ways to get a better than basic manicure without spending tons of time.  Do you have any quick manicure tricks?

Have a great Tuesday!

Inspiration - Summer Evenings at the Ballpark

My Uncle Tommy loved baseball.  He loved it so much that he took his vacation every year during the World Series.  He wanted to have time to devote to the watching the games.  My Dad had fond memories of traveling to Washington, DC with Uncle Tommy to attend Washington Senators baseball games.  The Senators are no longer an MLB team but now we have the Washington Nationals.  I occasionally catch part of a televised game if {msL}or my soon to be brother in-law are watching but I don't watch games on my own.  When I was in college I attended my first major league game at the ball park and was hooked. I love watching sports live.  I'm not a true fan, I don't know stats or even the name of every player.  I understand most sports and love the excitement of watching a game live.  Being at the ballpark is like nothing else.  We love attending Nationals games and I was inspired to pick some of my favorite ballpark attire.

1) Stella & Dot Heiress Hoops, $44
2) Stella & Dot Moondance bracelet, $39
2) Stella & Dot Nugget Wrap bracelet, $31
3) Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses, $97
4) Washington Nationals Hubris MVP Adjustable Cap, $19
5) Baseball Manicure via Pinterest
6) Washington Nationals Women's Practice T-Shirt, $28
7) Converse winter white shoes, $50

There is nothing like a summer evening at the ballpark.  The weather is always warm. A cool comfortable outfit is a must.  I always go casual to the ballpark.  I wear jeans or capri pants, tennis shoes or flat sandals, simple but stand out jewelry, and great sunnies. I already own a Nats ball cap and awesome silver Ray-Ban Aviators but I'd love to get a Nats t-shirt.White Converse are also on my list. When I spied this baseball manicure on Pinterest, I was truly inspired.

If you've never been to a pro baseball game, I highly recommend it.  Even if you don't have a MLB team close by, you could catch a minor league game.  They are so much fun!

Have you ever thrown a fistfull of glitter in the air?

You know I'm loving pastels this season. Revlon ColorStay nail polish in Provence is the perfect lavender color.  Of course I had to add a little glitter.  Two coats of Provence, one coat of Essie luxe effects in Pure Perfection on every nail, except my ring finger and one thick coat of Ulta polish in Starstruck. Of course I followed with Revlon ColorStay top coat.

 

The title of this post is a line from the song "Glitter In the Air" by Pink.

Dripping Dots Mani

I've gotten so many great manicure ideas from Pinterest that I don't know if  I'll ever be able to try them all.  Recently I pinned a great tip from The Beauty Department. To make polka dots on your mani just push a flat head pin into a pencil eraser and dip it into the polish you want to dot. It makes a perfect dot tool.

My love of Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel continues. For this mani I used Sequin as the base and Stiletto for the dripping dots. I painted two base coats of Sequin. I dripped a small amount of Stiletto onto a disposable plate. Then I dipped the pin head in and created a dotted line across the tip of each nail and added random dots dripping down each nail. I found that bending the pin gave me more control of the dotting tool.

They turned out better than I'd hoped. The sparkly sequin base is a perfect backdrop for the black dots. Using the pin dotting tool was surprisingly easy. The best tip I have is to dip lightly. You only need a small amount of polish on the pin head to create a dot. Too much makes a glob. It also helps to clean off the pin head occasionally with some polish remover. You can use any color combo to make fun polka dot nails. If you try it with different colors, I'd love to see your mani.  Please post it to the Real Girl Runway facebook page.

This Mani is Just Peachy!

The other day I went to CVS to get a few things. The first thing I do when I walk into CVS is to scan my Care Card at the kiosk. I do this because many times I get a discount I can use on my purchase that day. Sometimes I get ECBs and other times I get a discount coupon on certain products.  When I scanned my card that day, I got a coupon for a free bottle of Essie nail polish! With my coupon I purchased a bottle from their spring collection, a pastel peach called, A Crewed Interest. It's such a pretty color and since I usually go for dark colors, metallics. or brights, I thought I'd grab something different.

Martha Stewart glitter in Coral, essie polish in A Crewed Intereset and my arsenal of fashion magazines to read while my mani is drying

I've been dying to use some of my Martha Stewart glitter in a mani. The color choices are amazing. I chose the coral shade as a darker compliment to the peach polish. 

Inspiration - Manicures for a Monday

Lately, I've really enjoyed playing with neutral bases and glitter in my manicures.  My cousin and I even had a fun girl's night recently with our glitter manis.  We drank wine, created our own glitter mani's and watched The Bachelor.  It was fantastic!  I'm still in love with Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel and I've been adding glitter to their neutrals. A few weeks ago I tried Bones as my base with Nicole by OPI glitter tips.

This week I tried Stormy Night, covered about half of each nail with Essie Luxe Effects in Pure Perfection and then added Spoiled, I Have No Reception to the tips.

These nails, from my Pinterest boards were my inspiration. To get the details for each of these manis, go to my page and click on the picture.

My own glitter inspired mani turned out like this...

left to right - Revlon ColorStay  Stormy Night, essie luxe effects Pure Perfection, Wet n Wild Spoiled I Have No Reception

Finished Product - Fun but neutral enough to pass at work!

Frugal Fashion Friday - Last Minute Gifts for a Bargain

Have you ever gotten a gift from someone you didn't expect and felt the need to return the favor?  Or left someone off your Holiday list? Or just waited until the last minute to buy a gift and had to scramble? I have and it can throw even the most seasoned shopper into a panic. The thought of running to the store at the last minute, giving a terrible gift or going empty handed is the worst.  Gift cards can be a good solution. They are sold in every grocery and drugstore. But I think that with a little creativity a quick trip to the grocery or drugstore can yield a more personal gift. .

Clockwise from Top Left - For the Reader, For the Wine Lover, For the Traveler,  For the Movie Lover, For the Beauty Girl

• For the Reader - A Subscription to a Magazine: Pick up a magazine they will love from the store. Fill out the pre-paid card and drop it in the mailbox.  Wrap the magazine and attach a little card letting them know they will getting a gift subscription.
• For the Wine Lover - A Great Bottle of Wine and a Corkscrew: Pick their favorite bottle, red or white and grab a corkscrew.  Even grocery stores sell corkscrews.  
• For the Traveler - A Travel Case and Travel Size Toiletries:  Every drugstore has a nice selection of travel bags and sample size shampoos, lotions, and fragrances. Pick a pretty bag and pack it with all of their favorite items or new things they could try. Then the next time they hop on a flight, they'll think of you.
• For the Movie Lover - A Bag Filled with a DVD, Popcorn, Candy and Sodas: Grab a container or gift bag and pack it with a fun cult movie, like Rocky Horror, microwave popcorn, their favorite candy, and their favorite sodas.  
• For the Beauty Girl - A Container Filled with Everything they Need for a Manicure: Grab a cute bag or bin and fill it with fun nail polish, nail files, cuticle cream, polish remover, clippers, and any other manicure goodies you can think of. 

All of these items can be found at your corner grocery or drugstore.  With just a little thought, you can come up with a fun gift for anyone.  It will be a personal gift and you won't spend a fortune.

Happy Holidays and Happy Last Minute Shopping

Real Girls!!

Brights and Sparkle to Warm Your Winter - OPI Nicki Minaj Collection

OPI is partnering with flamboyant singing sensation Nicki Minaj for their January collection.  Nicki's style is bright, sparkly and over the top. She has a penchant for brightly colored wigs and crazy costumes.

The collection suits her style well and will bring some brightness to those dark winter months. It contains six shades, including two glitter shades and a new shatter shade.

Purple Shatter

Did It On 'Em

Fly

Metallic 4 Life

Pink Friday

Save Me

My personal favorites are the Purple Shatter, Fly, and Metallic 4 Life.  I love the idea of layering the Purple Shatter over silver.  The charcoal glitter of Metallic 4 Life will be a staple in repertoire and Fly is a fun new take on the teal/aqua trend.