What color polish are you rocking right now?

[baby monster]

As far as wear, Essie lasts 5-6 days and Opi 6-7 days for me. Any feedback on gel polishes? I heard they destroy the nails.

I've been wearing the dark green Opi shade posted above since last Thursday and it hasn't chipped yet but I want a change already. So I decided to layer on a new Opi polish I just bought - My Favorite Ornament. It's from the new Mariah Carey Holiday Collection for Opi. I bought it to wear on its own. It's supposed to be a neutral with a twist but decided to experiment with layering. This is the result. A lot flashier than my usual nails but we're going out to dinner tonight so bit more sparkle is ok .

Pictures in full sun and shade.

 

[AprilBaby]

I did a no chip the beginning of Sept and my once gorgeous nails are just starting to recover, splitting and cracking ever since

 

[Dee*Jay]

ame and lovebug, those luscious deep reds are FABULOUS! And with a hint of sparkle -- ooh la la!!!

Aprilbaby, I have been doing the no chip (myself, I have the light and everything) for several years now and my nails are fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience!

 

[ame]

ame and lovebug, those luscious deep reds are FABULOUS! And with a hint of sparkle -- ooh la la!!!

Aprilbaby, I have been doing the no chip (myself, I have the light and everything) for several years now and my nails are fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience!

I would almost say this is more purple/merlot with reddish/gold sparkle than red outright. It's awesome.

 

[Dee*Jay]

ame and lovebug, those luscious deep reds are FABULOUS! And with a hint of sparkle -- ooh la la!!!

Aprilbaby, I have been doing the no chip (myself, I have the light and everything) for several years now and my nails are fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience!

I would almost say this is more purple/merlot with reddish/gold sparkle than red outright. It's awesome.

Yes, that's the perfect description--much better than what came out of my limited color vocabulary!

 

[baby monster]

Pretty, everybody! Mine are bare right now but I've been obsessed with trying to recreate a pix I saw of a dark green w/matte finish. It was on someone with much darker skin than I so it might not work out the way I'd like but I've heard Butter makes a good matte finish layer. Has anyone tried it? Can't find a more generic one at my Target ...

Now must start googling to see if I can find the image in question ...

ETA: This isn't the original image i saw but as close as I can find to my ideal: http://keep.com/jinsoon-nail-polish-by-lilly1891/k/oYeLOnABJX/

Zoya has lots of great greens. This is a nice matte version.

http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya_Matte_Velvet_Veruschuka_ZPHOL1306.html

 

[ame]

ame and lovebug, those luscious deep reds are FABULOUS! And with a hint of sparkle -- ooh la la!!!

Aprilbaby, I have been doing the no chip (myself, I have the light and everything) for several years now and my nails are fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience!

I would almost say this is more purple/merlot with reddish/gold sparkle than red outright. It's awesome.

Yes, that's the perfect description--much better than what came out of my limited color vocabulary!

It's actually held up really well, almost a full week for me, which is like iron on my hands. I am going to take it off tomorrow night after I do my roots and go back to "normal", i.e. no polish.

 

[lovebug1031]

Pretty, everybody! Mine are bare right now but I've been obsessed with trying to recreate a pix I saw of a dark green w/matte finish. It was on someone with much darker skin than I so it might not work out the way I'd like but I've heard Butter makes a good matte finish layer. Has anyone tried it? Can't find a more generic one at my Target ...

Now must start googling to see if I can find the image in question ...

ETA: This isn't the original image i saw but as close as I can find to my ideal: http://keep.com/jinsoon-nail-polish-by-lilly1891/k/oYeLOnABJX/

Zoya has lots of great greens. This is a nice matte version.

http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya_Matte_Velvet_Veruschuka_ZPHOL1306.html

if you're interested in that one, better grab it soon - the Matte Velvets are LE and just came back last week!

Butter London has a beautiful green (Racing Stripe Green) and you could always just add a Matte Top Coat to it

 

[Smith1942]

How does everyone get their polish to look so even, especially around the cuticles?

The look I'm rocking right now is called "desperately chipped"! Sometimes I don't even get around to taking it off...it just chips off over time till it's gone. What a slattern!

 

[pandabee]

How does everyone get their polish to look so even, especially around the cuticles?

The look I'm rocking right now is called "desperately chipped"! Sometimes I don't even get around to taking it off...it just chips off over time till it's gone. What a slattern!

A very steady hand and lots of practice otherwise, use a small makeup brush or paintbrush dipped in nail polish remover and swipe around the cuticle line after painting.

 

[ForteKitty]

Zoya's Suvi. I did it in a rush and so it's a bit chunky looking, but I love the dark green.

 

[lovebug1031]

How does everyone get their polish to look so even, especially around the cuticles?

The look I'm rocking right now is called "desperately chipped"! Sometimes I don't even get around to taking it off...it just chips off over time till it's gone. What a slattern!

A very steady hand and lots of practice otherwise, use a small makeup brush or paintbrush dipped in nail polish remover and swipe around the cuticle line after painting.

yep - lots of practice!

 

[ame]

I used 17 pointy qtips dipped in remover. The walgreens beauty brand bec they're the pointiest.

 

[baby monster]

Zoya's Suvi. I did it in a rush and so it's a bit chunky looking, but I love the dark green.

Nice green, ForteKitty!

 

[baby monster]

How does everyone get their polish to look so even, especially around the cuticles?

The look I'm rocking right now is called "desperately chipped"! Sometimes I don't even get around to taking it off...it just chips off over time till it's gone. What a slattern!

there is a woman who posts very helpful youtube video tutorials on makeup and nails. I'll try to find it and post a link.

 

[baby monster]

How to: The Perfect Salon Manicure! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omAl1TS1A48

 

[AprilBaby]

Covergirl outlast stay brilliant...... No name color but looks brown in bottle and brown/gray on...did myself and this is day five so very impressed

 

[AprilBaby]

Gonna try this teal next:

 

[msop04]

Oooh, I like this question! The only two shades I had were a French manicure shade and a deep pink for my toes in summer (the two shades on the far left) so when fall came this year, I stocked up on a few moody, dusty pinks and browns. I haven't had a chance to really wear them yet. Here's my new nail polish library:

Smith, is the Essie on the far right "Eternal Optimist" by chance?? It looks like the neutral I wear a lot -- love Essie! I wish they'd come out with some gel polish though... that stuff lasts FOREVER!

 

[msop04]

I used 17 pointy qtips dipped in remover. The walgreens beauty brand bec they're the pointiest.

This is a great idea!!

 

[Smith1942]

Oooh, I like this question! The only two shades I had were a French manicure shade and a deep pink for my toes in summer (the two shades on the far left) so when fall came this year, I stocked up on a few moody, dusty pinks and browns. I haven't had a chance to really wear them yet. Here's my new nail polish library:

Smith, is the Essie on the far right "Eternal Optimist" by chance?? It looks like the neutral I wear a lot -- love Essie! I wish they'd come out with some gel polish though... that stuff lasts FOREVER!

Hi msop - no, the shade on the far right is "Ladylike". It's a great one - when I use it next, I'll post some pics! And this thread has put me off gel polish with talk of damaging the nails!

 

[Smith1942]

Here's my concoction for today. Should last a couple of days with no chips at all (unless I do heavy cleaning), and up to four days with small acceptable chips that don't really show up from a distance. Think I'll probably have to do it again by Day 5 though.

This colour is "Warm and Toasty Turtleneck" by Essie. I've also used a Revlon No Chip top coat. I do have the Essie no-chip top coat, but weirdly it leaves the nail surface kind of coated in little bubbles, which I don't like at all!

Here, I've co-ordinated my right-hand ring. I usually wear white metals with the pinks in my nail polish collection, and the yellow/rose metals with my browns and taupes.

The photo of my right hand with the amethyst is more representative of what this colour looks like. I did two heavy coats - you can make it quite a bit lighter with one thin coat.

 

[AprilBaby]

I'm loving seeing all the color choices!

 

[ForteKitty]

I polished my nails dark grey and topped it off a coat of glitter. Forgot the names, but base is Essie and glitter is Opi. I freehand everything.

 

[baby monster]

Essie Big Spender.

 

[zoebartlett]

I like Rimmel polishes but they do chip fairly easily. I love Desert Rose.

It doesn't matter what brand I buy (Revlon, Essie, etc.) -- I stick to the same shades.

Do you find that top coats tend to actually remove polish? I don't put a top coat on my nails because they end up looking streaky for some reason.

 

[ForteKitty]

Zoe, that used to happen to me as well before I realized I needed to let the topcoat collect at the tip of the brush before brushing it onto my nails. That way the brush isn't tugging on the nail polish. You have to let it hover just above the nail polish at the base of your nails, then swipe the top part of the ball of topcoat across to the tips of the nails.

 

[AprilBaby]

Sally Hansen triple shine "Dive In". Totally out of character for me

 

[monarch64]

Anyone have recommendations for a really good, opaque ivory or off-white? I have several Essie whites but they take 3-4 coats to get the opacity I want.

You gals are brave and so stylish. I cannot do those loud colors on my hands. Not even reds. I am all about neutrals...my mom always wore nudes and I guess that's who I get my aversion to color on fingernails from. But toes...last week I had OPI Light My Sapphire (super dark blue) with Rainbow Connection (giant glitter) over it.

 

[baby monster]

Anyone have recommendations for a really good, opaque ivory or off-white? I have several Essie whites but they take 3-4 coats to get the opacity I want.

You gals are brave and so stylish. I cannot do those loud colors on my hands. Not even reds. I am all about neutrals...my mom always wore nudes and I guess that's who I get my aversion to color on fingernails from. But toes...last week I had OPI Light My Sapphire (super dark blue) with Rainbow Connection (giant glitter) over it.

I can suggest a light pink that gives me opaque finish in 2 coats - Opi I Theodora You. Here's a pic from earlier this year. I usually wear lighter colors in spring and summer.