Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliqués!

Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliqués

Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliqués ($9.99 each) are a new, limited edition collection of intricate, textured nail appliqués inspired by couture house Marchesa's signature designs. Available in 8 shades.

I have Royal Burgundy and Silk Rosette. Royal Burgundy is a beautiful deep burgundy with an intricate textured gold design. I love the gothic feel of the pattern and I think the colors are perfect for the Fall. Silk Rosette is a beautiful teal floral design on a clear background.

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Directions

1. Start out by removing any oil or dirt from your nails. You can do this by taking a cotton pad with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and wiping it across your nails. This will allow the appliqués to adhere securely to your nails.
2. Select the best size appliqué per nail by lining it up with your nail bed, making sure it reaches each side of your nail wall.
3. Remove the appliqué from the film and lightly place it on your nail, lining it up with your cuticle.  
4. Press down from the cuticle and work your way to the tips of your nail. Use the enclosed cuticle pusher to secure the edges. 
5. Lightly fold the rest of the appliqué over your nail tip and take the enclosed nail file and lightly buff the edges to remove the excess product. I know it's tempting, but refrain from pulling it off, as it can rip the appliqué. 
6. Enjoy your manicure! To get your manicure to last a couple extra days, you can add your favorite top coat.

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They were really easy to apply and I finished both of my hands in just a few minutes. I don't think you need too much expertise with these.

It's important to take your time with the application to avoid any mistakes such as ripples/folds or not aligning it to your nail properly.

The only problem I ran into was that they didn't fit my nails that well. My nail beds are very curved, so I experienced some slight folds in application. Also, I found the strips to be a bit narrow. The strips didn't fully cover a few of my nails. Although none of these things are noticeable unless someone was to look closely at them.

They held up pretty well with some tip wear. I'm hard on my hands, so I removed them after three days. If you are really light on your hands, I'm sure you could get about a week out of them. I really liked that the removal process is so easy. I removed all of them within a minute or so.

I really enjoyed wearing these. I think they're a really fun treat to have once in a while or when you need to do your nails quick for a holiday or event.

Royal Burgundy and Silk Rosette 3D Jewel Appliques

Revlon Rich Raspberry Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel Review with Photos!

Revlon Rich Raspberry Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel

Revlon Rich Raspberry Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel ($5-6) is a raspberry pink with a super-glossy, gel-like finish. Indoors in low lighting the color appears much more raspberry/magenta, but when in bright lighting, the purple hues really come out and it shows more of a true fuchsia.

I don't know what it is with nail colors, but I get sick of every single polish after one manicure. It's very rare for me to find a shade that I want to wear continuously. Is anyone else like this? I'm beginning to think if I should stop buying nail polish all together and just get a weekly manicure at the salon. Anyway, fuchsia is one color that I don't find myself getting sick of on my nails.

I prefer darker shades of polish in general as pastels and light shades become discolored after a few days (I'm hard on my hands). This shade in particular really seems to flatter my skintone whether I'm pale or tan. Berry shades are typically most worn during Fall, but I love breaking the rules and wearing it all year round when I'm sick of everything else in my collection.

The Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel line claims to keep your manicure fresh for up to 11 days - it's barely been 24 hours since I applied the color, but I'll update this post to let you know how well it holds up. I'm super lazy when it comes to painting my nails more than once a week, so if this polish stays put for a week, I'm definitely going to purchase additional shades.

The formula is fantastic - creamy, opaque and perfect with two coats. It didn't take forever to dry between coats and the finish is shiny. The brush is large with a rounded tip for precise, streak-free application. Only, my applicator wasn't cut evenly which is a bit annoying during application, but I was able to paint my nails mistake-free.

Two (2) Coats of Revlon Rich Raspberry Colorstay Nail Enamel on my nails (w/ Seche Vite Top Coat)

Have you tried the Revlon Colorstay line of nail polishes? Did they stay true to the 11-day claim for you?

Revlon Dazzle Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel Mini Review with Photos!

Revlon Dazzle Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel

Revlon 010 Dazzle Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel ($8) is a lovely warm, light pink jelly nail polish with iridescent shimmer/micro glitter and what appears to be golden iridescent flakes. It's a super pretty shade and a bit reminiscent of the much sought after limited edition OPI Pink Me I'm Good.

It's sheer but if you don't have discolored nails, it's actually pretty wearable with one coat. The color builds well and is fairly opaque with three coats. Although it's totally fine to wear alone, it's probably better suited when applied on top of a light pink nail polish if you're into a more opaque look. I've worn it both ways, and actually have it applied over Essie Van D'Go on my toes and I really like it!

The Brilliant Strength line combines a base and top coat in a nail strengthening formula. Despite that, I still like using my own base coat (Orly Bonder is my favorite) and a top coat (Seche Vite) as I prefer a shiny, glassy finish.

The formula was a bit watery, but really easy to work with. The brush is a bit large and flat, it's easy to coat the nails with a couple swipes.

I found that it holds up quite well on the nails. My only complaint is that the enamel doesn't grip onto the tips of my nails well, and I had tip wear within a couple of days. No chips though for a week.

Three (3) coats of Revlon Dazzle Nail Enamel on my nails

What's on your nails right now?

A Quick Review - Nail Magic Nail Hardener and Conditioner!

Nail Magic Nail Hardener and Conditioner

I just wanted to quickly share with you a product that I've been using constantly for the past several weeks and have seen great results with!

This winter my nails have really taken a beating to the dry air. In just one day, I broke 4 of my nails on one hand (all while grocery shopping and running errands). Any slight ding and my half of my nail was gone. It was at the point of ridiculousness, so in desperation I made a quick run to Sally's, which happened to be in the same mall - jagged nails and all.

So I walked out with a bottle of Nail Magic that was recommended to me by the sales associate.

Nail Magic contains a blend of ingredients that not only strengthens the nails, but also conditions them. It treats splitting, chipping and repairs weak and/or damaged nails.

You can use it alone, applied as a base coat, and it even says that you can use it as a top coat (which I haven't tried).

I've been applying two coats to my nails and leaving them bare of any other polish. In the bottle the liquid is tinted pale pink, but it applies clear and makes the nails look a little more primped and shiny.

I'm kind of hard on my hands with household chores so it does wear off my tips within a couple of days, but when it does, I'll usually just remove it with nail polish remover and apply it again.

How to Create Ombre Nails!

In the fashion and beauty world, we've become obsessed with gradients. From dip-dying our shirts, to our hair to our finger tips, we can't seem to get enough of the trend. The ombre manicure is something incredibly simple and easy to do, and the results are very cool!

There are many different ways you can create ombre/gradient nails, but today I'll be showing you one method, using a craft sponge.

Tools needed:

* You can use any three (more or less) shades you'd like! You can use different colors, or different variants shades of the same color.

* Make sure to allow your nails to properly dry before moving on to the following step.

* If the polish on your nails appear bumpy after using the sponge, don't worry, it will all even out by the time a top coat is applied.

How to Create Ombre Nails in 5 Steps

Step 1: Paint your nails with your chosen base color. Depending on the opacity of the polish, paint 1-2 coats.

Step 2: Pour a little nail polish on the piece of wax paper that will follow. Dip the tip of the brush in the polish. Now, lightly lay the brush on your nail, lining the brush up with the side of your nail, and rotate, or roll your finger against the sponge to coat the bottom half of the nail. Or, you can simply tap the brush across the bottom half of your nail.

Step 3: With the tip of the sponge, lightly tap where the second color began to create more of a gradient effect. Also add to any areas that needs additional polish.

Step 4: Repeat Step 2 with your final shade, but this time only covering 1/2 of the previous color. White would have looked cool for my nails, but I wanted a little more flare, so I chose a holographic glitter.

Step 5: Finish off your nails with your favorite top coat. I like using a fast-dry top coat to reduce the chance of nicks and smudging.

Nails: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Nail Polish in Red Rock & Cherry Fashion

One coat, no top coat.

Red Rock is a deep, cherry red (perfect for fall) and Cherry Fashion is a true magenta.

The formula is creamy (not watery or thick) and because of the flat, thick brush... you paint more of your nail with one sweep. I really like the brush design. It may not be for everyone.. but it works wonderful for me and I can paint my nails a lot faster. If you're in a hurry, you can get away with one coat of this polish as it is pretty opaque. Use two coats for the best opacity. Three is not at all necessary. The finish is semi-shiny.

I've only used one other Rimmel Lasting Finish PRO nail polish and it lasted me for around two weeks with maybe one tiny chip. (View my review here) I don't think I ever owned a polish that lasted me two full weeks. That's one of the main reason I bought these polishes. I hope they live up to the longevity like the other one!

Have you used Rimmel Lasting Finish PRO Nail Polish? Did it live up to your expectations? What nail polish has lasted the longest for you?? I'd love to hear!

OPI Little Black Dress Up Set + Swatches!

The set contains 2 full size bottles of "Color So Hot it Berns" and "Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous" from the Fall/Winter Swiss Collection and a free mini clutch. I paid $9.95 for the set at ULTA & used a $3.50 off $10 coupon. So, two bottles for $6.50! You can print the coupon at http://www.ulta.com/ or use the code 49983 in checkout on the website. Offer is valid until 12/3. Or receive 20% off one item, offer code 46574 valid until 11/20 (today).

You can view all shades of the OPI Swiss Collection at http://www.opi.com/. At the top, click >Nail Color >Swiss. You can also try the shades on a computerized hand that you can personalize to your own skin tone and nail length to see if the nail color will fit you. Just click >Try it on, on the sidebar.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with ULTA or OPI.

Before I applied Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, I thought it may be too similar to OPI My Private Jet or the new Forever 21 Charcoal polish I just purchased. I did a side by side comparison and they are all actually very different in tones. Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous is the lightest and looks more silver in comparison to the others.

Left to right: OPI My Private Jet, OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, L &B Charcoal

A Few Swatches of Forever 21's Love & Beauty Nail Polishes

I really like Forever 21's nail polishes. They may not be OPI, but they are pretty much average in comparison to other drugstore brand polishes. What I really like about them is the color selections they have. They are always coming out with the newest trendy colors, which makes me always purchase a couple of bottles when I shop. 

Here are a few I picked up. Light Orange is a dupe for China Glaze Peachy keen. 

I'm not sure which one to do my nails with first. What do you think?

Click here to view all shades.

NOTD: Savvy Wild Orchid!

I picked up this nail polish from Sally's Beauty Supply. Its Savvy in the color "Wild Orchid". In the bottle it looks more purple toned, but once its on your nails it looks a little different. I really like it though. It's extremely bright.. and I love neon nails. With almost any neon nail polish, it will dry extremely dull, so you'll definitely need a top coat with this. I applied two coats and one top coat. It dried very quick. I think I'll be buying more colors :)