Day 57: Nail art brushes - reviews - comparison

Hello everyone! Today's post is about BRUSHES! Exciting stuff, eh? :) For those that dabble in nail art, you know all too well the necessity for brushes that are small enough and easy enough to work with on such a tiny canvas (nail beds are teeny weeny compared to an actual canvas).


I would like to share with you brushes i use for nail art and the pros and cons of each one. Let's begin

Wanna know anything else? comment below and follow via email :)

Until next time,"Have a grand day and dont forget to Glaze!"

Day 56 Nail swatch sticks - nail wheels - nail sticks

Hello everyone! Today's post is ALL ABOUT nail swatch sticks and nail wheels. Many people ask me where I get my nail sticks and  nails wheels so i figured, "I will make a post all about what kind of nail sticks i use and provide you the links to purchase them."

I hope you find this as informative as i do.

 I use the cream colored nail sticks  to swatch indies and glitter polishes. Click here for the link to the cream colored nail swatch sticks 

These are the difference between the clear and cream colored nail sticks. The holes on the bottom of the sticks are for putting the sticks on a silver ring. Click here for the link to the clear acrylic sticks

 

These flower nails swatch sticks are just adorable! That's why i got them. They're great for nail art or swatching special polishes. They come in a pack of 10 flower shaped wheels, equaling 120 total nail plates to work with. Click here for the link to the flower shaped nail swatch sticks.

The flower nail swatch sticks are very presentable and can be used to show clients colors, to swatch your personal stash and keep your desk organized and cute.

Above is the difference in acrylic clear nail wheels and cream colored nail wheels. 

click here for the clear nail wheels

Click here for the cream colored nail wheels 

                                      Above is the pack of cream colored nail swatch sticks that come in a pack of 50 

So these are the various nail swatch sticks i use. There are many more out there and you can choose whichever ones you're more comfortable with. 

   MY ADVICE:

• Do not attempt to use nail polish remover with any of the ABOVE nail swatch sticks. 

• Nail polish remover eats the acrylic and you'll end up with a gunky mess.

• BUY  more swatch sticks/wheels NOT less. You will be surprised how quickly they are used up. 

• Apply a topcoat on the nail plate BEFORE applying the polish. 

• Applying a topcoat creates a sealant and protective layer so your colored polish doesn't get sucked into the acrylic nail stick/wheel. 

• You will understand this MORE once you swatch with topcoat and without. You'll SEE the difference

• LABEL, LABEL,LABEL your nail sticks/wheels if you're swatching your polishes. A fine tip permanent marker like SHARPIE works best

• If you have a LARGE polish collection (50 plus) i suggest creating an excel spreadsheet to organize it. I have a spreadsheet to label and number my nail swatch sticks for all the indie polishes i have. It helps immensely! 

If you find this helpful, have questions, have a particular way you swatch or practice nail designs, PLEASE COMMENT below. I love comments, i need feedback lovelies.

Until next time,

"Have a grand day and dont forget to Glaze!"

Day 55: Nail polish DO's

Hello again everyone! Today I will be discussing part two of the nail polish series. The first part was titled: NAIL POLISH DONT'S and can be found here . When I think about the many months I have been immersed in the polish world, i find myself still learning and growing in the do's and dont's of nail polish maintenance.

I want to share with you all, some tips that you may already know, but also some tips I have personally come up with (while tinkering around) that I hope you will find useful. Let's begin.

NAIL POLISH DO'S :) :)

1. Always, always, always, make sure your nail polish is closed securely. Now i understand that when you close your nail polish and turn it till it feels snug, you many think, " its closed" BUT if you have nail polish around the neck of the bottle, this can prevent it from closing completely. If  your nail polish is not 100% closed, air will slowly,but surely,work its way into your nail polish bottle.

 What can air do you may ask? A LOT OF THINGS. For one, air that gets into your nail polish bottle can thicken your nail polish, make it gunky, cause a ton of air bubbles (you will only see them when you apply the polish on your finger) and reduce the life of your precious lacquer baby.

2. Always roll the nail polish between your hands or on a table/hard surface. Rolling the polish helps all the pigments and solvents to mix properly and guarantee you the best polishing experience and the most accurate color. I would say roll it for 10-30 seconds, UPSIDE DOWN (especially if you're working with glitter polishes). Trust me, if you do this, you WILL NOTICE a big difference in the polish application and formula.

3. last but not least, AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE, turn your polishes upside down in a container the DAY BEFORE youre going to use them. Yes, this takes some planning, BUT it will save your wrist, your elbow, and your precious sanity :)

For myself, i use alot of different polishes at one time, depending on what nail art/designs im working on.
 I sometimes found myself rolling like 7 or more polishes at one shot! Talk about wrist cramp. UGH! My goodness, my poor wrist and inner palm would ache after all the rolling, leaving me NO DESIRE to even finish my manicure.

So out desperation, because as the saying goes, "NECESSITY IS INDEED THE MOTHER OF INVENTION," i developed this handy dandy technique.

The above picture is some nail polishes I was getting ready to swatch, placed in a simple candy dish upside down. This UPSIDE DOWN technique is especcialy CRUCIAL for those that:

• Swatch multiple colors at once
• Use indie glitter polishes
• Use polishes that have texture
• ETC.

Basically, if YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR WRIST, ARM, ELBOW AND SANITY, turn the polishes upside down the night before or at least 6 hours before use. Then you dont have to worry about the rolling technique because your polish babies will be completely mixed together and ready to be used. 

This container is a wonky ceramic doodad that i had to make to fulfill the pinching technique for my college ceramics class. I was seriously going to toss it after it was graded,because Im just not crazy about it but something told me to hang onto it. Then the other day, i found myself staring at it AND A LIGHTBULB went on that said, 'USE FOR NAIL POLISH!" And voila: THE PERFECT container to hold my nail polishes upside down. 

The colors ARE really different than normal glaze cause i fired this ceramic, flower shaped thingy, raku style. Wanna know more? ASK BELOW IN COMMENTS :) 

Nice CLOSE UP so you can see how nice and snug the petals hold the neck of the polish bottles. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS TECHNIQUE and you will be too. Try it, and let me know how it goes for you :)

I hope you enjoyed this post. PLEASE, PLEASE leave comments, questions, etc. BELOW. Is there a technique you use that you find helpful or would like to add to the POLISH DO'S series? If so, COMMENT LOVELIES. I do like blogging but i dont do it for just myself or my health, but for you all. So talk to me and let me know what you think.

Until next time,

"Have a grand day and dont forget to Glaze!"

Day 54: GIVEAWAY PRIZES - 3 WINNERS - ENTER NOW

Hello lovelies! Today its all about the PRIZES. Let's begin

1ST PRIZE PACKAGE

• BRAND NEW Betty boop hobo style bag with tags
• revlon 3d nail art polist strips
• Revlon Marcheesa manicure essentials package
• NYC Smooth Skin bronzer in: SUNNY (BEST SELLER)
• Sally Hansen Vita Surge Cuticle Gel
• Be a bombshell Eye Shadow in: Bora bora
• Handmade blown glass heart necklace
• OPI drip dry drying drops
• Funky Fingers nail polish in: Berried Treasure
• Funky Fingers nail polish in: Jawbreakers
• Milani 3D Holographic Nail polish in: Cyberspace
• OPI Nail envy nail strengthener (#1 best seller)
• Burts Bees Cuticle Cream
• 2 brushes for nail art etc.
• 3 mini bottles of nail decoratives: confetti, sprinkles, flakes
• Jamberry nail polish strips

2ND PRIZE PACKAGE

• Image essentials nail polish remover pads
• Revlon nail polish in: Smoldering
• Sally hansen hard as nails polish in: Steely Gaze
• Sally Hansen Nail art pen in: Silver Argent
• Pretty double finger flower ring
• Physicians formula baked eyeshadow in: baked smores
• Nicole by OPi in: Rainbow in the Skylie
• Desginers guild note book
• 2 nail brushes
• China Glaze polish in: travel in colour
• Milani 3D holographic in: Hi-RES
• French Nail tip guides (for that prefect french mani)
• 2 handmade cards from the lovely Pragmatic Princess (via instagram at: @thepragmaticprincess)
• Minnie mouse compact mirror 
• Burts Bees Cuticle cream

3RD PRIZE PACKAGE

• Mini Clipboard pad (magnetic back)
• Physicians formula blush in: Rosy Organics
• Handmade necklace and earring set in: purple and rose pearl accents
• KISS top coat trio
• Milani 3D holographic in: 3D
• Silver cute change purse
• Foam wedge brush (perfect for gradients)
• Nail brush 
• Nail polish remover pen
• Handmade hair ties by @thepgragmaticprincess (follow on instagram)
• Pink Sleep mask: Breathe
• China Glaze crackle polish in: oxodized aqua
• Rimmel double pack nail polish in: Steel Gray and Basecoat
• Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in: Bubble plum
• Mead brand photo brag book
• Sally Hansen nails and cuticle hand cream

With all the AWESOME PRIZES being given away, GO ENTER. Go on now. No time like the present.

Click HERE to go to giveaway blog post and complete RAFFLECOPTER requirements :)

Day 53: Liquidsquidnails HUGE GIVEAWAY + plus LOTS OF EXTRAS

HUGE GIVEAWAY HAS BEGUN!!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 52: DIY Nail Swatch cards - painters swatches

Hello darlings! I promised to make a blog post on nail polish swatching tips, if you responded to my original pic via instagram. You all graciously responded, and many thanks for that. Here is the awaited HOW-TO on nail polish swatching and organization.

I wont waste any time, im gonna jump right into it. :)

STEP ONE: one 3X5 note card

 STEP TWO: Fold in thirds and cut or tear in equal pieces

 TURN CARD OVER

YOU will need nail polishes you want to swatch, by color, brand, etc, whatever way you prefer swatching your collection. I PREFER by color because its just makes it even more organized and if i need a pink, for example, i can go to my swatch cards in the PINK section and find all the pinks i own. I would think swatching them by brand would not be as organized or efficient but its your choice lovelies. MOST IMPORTANT: you have to like the swatch cards, to use them, so do what FLOATS  your boat :)~

STEP FOUR: APPLY 1-2 good coats evenly across the note card. Most people use 2-3 coats of polish on each nail to get that perfect color their after. With swatching, if you use ONE thick coat of polish and swipe across gently, it should give you that 2 coat on the nails look. 

CAUTION:  swiping too many coats of nail polish on the notecard will result in color inaccuracy because it would be like applying 5 OR MORE coats of polish on your nails. Do you understand what i mean? IF NOT, COMMENT AND I WILL CLARIFY. :) 

 STEP FIVE: Let your lovely swatch dry completely. Once you get the hang of it, you can swatch 4-5 polishes on ONE card, leaving the right amount of space between each swatch to label THE polish.

STEP SIX: LABEL, LABEL, LABEL! 

AND Voila, you can now make TONS of nail polish swatch cards and keep organized. 

BELOW is how i store my nail polish swatch cards. AKA Painters cards :) :) 

 Bought this little photo book at a thrift store for 99 CENTS! This is not an expensive DIY :)

 The clear plastic is perfect to PROTECT your nail polish swatch cards. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND a photo book like this, that opens long ways and the sleeve opens at the top NOT the side. I tried the tradition 4X6 photo book but, oh what a pain to organize little swatch cards and move them around in the plastic to get them just right.  :/ 

 This is how my cards look, all wonderfully colored with my reds and ORGANIZED. Thats the whole point of a DIY, to help your life and STAY organized. PLEASE let me know in the comments below if this helped your life, even if just a little.

I have been there, done that with nail polish sticks, wheels, nails, stickies, THE WHOLE NINE. This has to be, by far, the EASIEST, NICEST, and MOST EFFECTIVE way i have found to organize a LARGE nail polish collection.

Until next time,

"Have a grand day and dont forget to Glaze!"

Day 51: Nail polish DONT'S

Hello fellow Nail polish lovers!

Today i have a post on some issues you are probably ALL TO aware of, BUT i promise that it is worth the read.So keep reading :)

We all love our nail polish babies, take care of them, use them graciously and do our best to keep them stored for maximum life capacity. But what happens when the Nail polish gets gunky and too thick? Or when your favorite indie glitter polishes need 2-5 minutes of vigorous movement in order to remix glitters into pigment? Or how about those wonderful AIR bubbles that make a fresh manicure look like cheap china made flip flops?

WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT CAN YOU DO?

There are some solutions to fix and maintain PROPER life and formulation of you nail polish. There are also some HUGE DONTS that you ought to be aware of.

I will start with the NAIL POLISH DONTS

1. DON'T EVER shake the nail polish Up and down. This creates air bubbles and makes your manicure look like those cheap china made flip flops at the dollar store...eek!! All the work of properly doing your nails so they can look like cheap china made products is, TOTALLY NOT WORTH shaking your nail polish up and down.

2. Do NOT, i repeat, DO NOT use acetone to THIN down your nail polish.So what if your grandma did it or your mom and it seemed to make the polish come back to life. Truth is, we as woman spend a good bit of hard earned MONEY, especially if you buy indie polishes or HIGH END brands, to be killing our nail polish with acetone.

LITTLE 101 ON NAIL POLISH THINNER VERSUS ACETONE

Nail Polish Thinner
Nail polish thinner is formulated first and foremost, to IMPROVE VISCOSITY of the nail polish and help it flow better.
Thinner helps repair your gloppy, gunky, thick nail polish back to its original store bought smooth consistency.
Both nail polish thinner and nail polish remover contain similar ingredients BUT thinner does NOT contain acetone or water, 2 ingredients found in most nail polish removers on the market.

ACETONE aka Nail polish remover
WATER does not mix well with nail polish AT ALL (there are always exceptions but majority rules)
ACETONE is created to break down the nail polish on the nail bed and remove it. Get it, remove.
Acetone removes nail polish so why would you pour it in your cherished bottle of ____________ (fill in blank for one your favorite polishes) and not think there will be severe consequences?

what CAN happen when you add nail polish remover into your lovely nail polish
original photo found here

Adding nail polish remover/acetone to your nail polish can also:

- cause nail polish to chip more easily
- take an eternity to dry and
- over the long run, will create a nail polish that is super gunky and has to be tossed, leaving you back at Square one.

SO PLEASE TELL ME WHY, would you try the acetone method if its only going to result in having to toss your beloved nail polish away in the, not too distant, future? So please, for my sanity and all of us who want our polishes to last indefinitely, DO NOT USE ACETONE/ nail polish remover AS A replacement for nail polish thinner.
Would you add add vegetable oil into your car, hoping it would provide the same results as motor oil? So DON'T do this to your lovely nail polishes, PLEASE. Buy nail polish thinner. It's so worth it and lasts a long time.

oK OFF that soap box now :) thanks for hanging in there.


I will leave you with the lasting image of Yucky, bubble filled nails cause by shaking the polish up and down and or not using long brush strokes but rather short quick ones

Now tell me after all the hard work, wait time, and clean up, would you let your manicure turn out like this? 
original photo found here

and last, but not yucky least, epic bubbles....kinda looks like fish eggs or something.... yuckers!

Original photo found here 

Stay tuned for nail polish DO's. You don't want to miss this one, I PROMISE YOU THAT. 

Until next time,

"Have a grand day and dont forget to Glaze!"