Fave Nail Polishes...

[Tacori E-ring]

I am obsessed with OPI "Sweet heart". Strangers comment on it all the time. It is a very pretty pale pink.

 

[diamondfan]

I just did my toes in Essie Options Pink...I had this new Chanel color on that looked nice in the bottle but had that Melania brown mucky look when I got home, I kept looking down and thinking, ick...I like light pinks on toes in shummer (like the white idea but a little softer) and I do not like them sheer like I do on my fingernails. PS Can one wear Haviana''s and not trip? I find I am clumsy when I wear them...

 

[fountainfairfax]

Another vote for the sheer pinks here- I love OPI''s Coney Island Cotton Candy (seems to be very popular.) I must also be the only person here who hasn''t tried Essie''s Mademoiselle, so I''ll add that to my must-have list. I really am like goldilocks...this one is too tan, too pink, too shimmery......I probably have about 20 bottles that look similar, yet there''s always something not quite right. I can say that if you''re looking for a bargain drug-store option, look for L''oreal''s steel color line in Sheer Will Power. It''s a nice transparent pink with one coat, a little more opaque with two. It was less than $3.00 a bottle. I also like Orly''s Who''s Who pink.

I''m curious as to how times a week our sheer polish wearers do their nails? I don''t get professional manicures but spend time Sunday night doing the whole routine. By Friday they really look beat up, so I''m going to add a Wed night repolish ritual as well, just to look nice for business. I use Creative''s Stickey base coat, which really keeps the polish on. Any favorite top-coats out there...and what does everyone think of quick-dry solutions? Do they really work? (I''m thinking more for my toes, which usally get the wild colors and more than one coat.)

 

[Tacori E-ring]

FFF- I do my nails every 4-5 days. I usually put two coats of the sheer pink but sometimes can''t stop myself and go for three. I NEVER put light colors on my toes. I use usually red or a bright pink.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I get my nails done once a week, but at the five day mark the tips are usually a bit worn so I take off the polish and just wear clear for the next two days ''till I go back in.

 

[diamondfan]

Depends what I have been doing but I can go twice a week. My nails grow quickly and I am tough on my hands, so I at least need a polish change mid week after the full mani. But I could do with shaping etc and pushing cuticles back twice weekly and I think my nails looks best that way...

 

[Mara]

I get a full mani and pedi at the salon once a month and then I do my own hands in between probably about 1ce a week. My toes amazingly enough last about 3.5 weeks with no chips or anything and it''s just the last 3-4 days that they chip and look kind of yak but I can typically wait it out. I don''t like painting my toes at all so if I can get away the whole month without it, I''m happy. But hands I do all the time. A polish change and some intensive lotion can be super quick and make the hands look MUCH better as well.

 

[dbgaap]

I get mani every week or so, pedi about once a month.

I bought this stuff on my wedding day (an impulse as I was dashing through the drugstore) and I''ve been hooked ever since:

http://www.sallyhansen.com/3040_in_a_min.cfm

It keeps my hands nice between manicures.

I am wearing OPI tutti frutti ... somthing.
Very pretty light pearly pink.

 

[ringbling17]

I usually do my nails once a week, but within 4 or 5 days, they start to chip off. I notice they last a day longer when I get them done.

I haven''t had a pedicure since November, but I have been keeping my toenails short and if I wear open toe shoes/sandals, I normal will just spray the top of my feet with a dry oil spray and then blot off the excess with a towel.

I have nice toenails to begin with, it''s just the actual toes that need surgery! LOL

 

[FireGoddess]

I passed by a Peninsula Beauty Supply after a facial this weekend and couldn''t remember any of these fabulous colors!!! I ended up picking out, on my own, "Room With a View" by Essie which I now see that Mara mentioned. Wore it to a wedding this weekend on my hands. Love it! I did 3 coats though. Still sheer and shimmery. I also bought a really nice pink by OPI but I have to check on the name when I go home. I wanted more of a light bubble gum pink so I wish I had remembered Pink Glove Service. Will have to check that out but the OPI I got was that kind of shade!

 

[Mara]

FG my current fave look right now is a coat of the Room with a View and then the Pink Glove Service over it. It looks fab..so subtle but definitely a noticeable ''soft pink'' blend on the nails!

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 6/12/2006 12:27:36 AM
Author: diamondfan
I like light pinks on toes in shummer (like the white idea but a little softer) and I do not like them sheer like I do on my fingernails.

HI:

I also like soft pinks and opalescent white on toes--the softer and sheerer the better as I do not like to clash with the color of my shoes.....

A couple of years ago I bought a bottle of a shimmering pale yellow/gold from Bobby Brown that with one coat was great on fingernails as it was quite sheer, but two coats on toes brought out a wonderful light yellow glimmer that was really gorgeous....if I could only recall the name....

cheers--Sharon

 

[FireGoddess]

The OPI I got this weekend was "Got a Date To-Knight." Very cute summery pink!

 

[lovelylulu]

question: I''m more a fan of beige tones, than pinks -- does anyone have a good suggestion?

Thanks!

 

[Sundial]

Date: 6/28/2006 10:48:39 AM
Author: lovelylulu
question: I''m more a fan of beige tones, than pinks -- does anyone have a good suggestion?

Thanks!

OPI''s Coney Island Cotton Candy which several of us have mentioned here is more of a flesh color rather than pink. Like your own nails only better.

 

[diamondfan]

Canuk, was it called sand? I think I recall it, she did polish for a while and then stopped, and now does it again. it sounds pretty...I have to avoid too much yellow because I am a bit sallow so it can look peculiar. Does she have it in the current line up?

 

[FireGoddess]

So...........I got another facial the other day and of course went round the corner to the beauty supply store. I ended up buying Essie's Pink Glove Service. I was EXTREMELY psyched because it LOOKED like a color I have been on the hunt for for years. A friend had a manicure done and picked a clear pink that was a really GORGEOUS shade of blush on the nails, and PGS looked like it might end up being that color. It is somewhat close, but not exactly. I do love this color...but it still leaves me on the hunt....so if anyone knows a color that is MORE pink on the nails but still has a clear base rather than an opaque one, please let me know!!! I did 3 coats of PGS and probably with about 7 more it would come out just like that other color, but 10 coats is insane.

 

[Mara]

lol FG if you find that elusive color, let me know...

i did 3 coats of PGS on my nails with one of room with a view on the bottom in prep for the Bay Area thang yesterday and i hate wearing 4 coats on the nails, it takes too long to dry and i kept nicking them up. i''d love something like PGS that looks like 4 coats but with no more than 2 coats. i haven''t found it yet either!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

My friend got me hooked on Essie Mademoiselle when we got a manicure in Boston, and I''ve been hooked ever since once I found it in San Francisco. But I didn''t know it had SUCH a fan base!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/15/2006 1:37:07 PM
Author: Mara
lol FG if you find that elusive color, let me know...

In a little ''esssssssperiment'' I did, 5 coats of PGS comes pretty close to the color I love, but (A) 5 coats is just crazyyyyyyyyy and (B) it''s not quite there.

 

[Mara]

lol girl, 5 coats?! how long did that take to dry?!?!

i just did 2 fresh coats today and it''s ''okay'' but not ''it''...wah! too sheer.

 

[FireGoddess]

Hehehe I had to do 2 sessions. The first session was the base + 3 coats + clear, and later that evening I did 2 more coats + clear. 5 coats at once would incapacitate me for way too long!!!

 

[bstraszheim]

My favourite Essie pink is Vanity Fairest. I love a pink that will look pink on the nailbed, but make the ends look whiter. I recently bought OPI''s Your Royal Shyness, and it''s a beautiful pearly pink. I absolutely hate pink, so I was very surprised to try pink on my nails and like it.

With regards to the drying issue. Essie has a product called "To Dry For" and it''s amazing, a top coat and drier in one product. I have used it over up to 3 coats of polish and it dries it very quickly, no sheet prints for me anymore and the top coat makes the polish beneath last longer! It is sold in a white box with a dark blue negative "E" and dark blue printing.

Another product recommendation is called "Remove + by Zoya" it''s a nail prep as well as a polish remover. It is definitely not as harsh as an acetone remover.

Best of luck on the nails, I wish you well,

Bridget

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

You guys are horrible for my wallet.

I just ordered about every single nail polish mentioned on this thread.

Including that overpriced Lippman one, which I found on Nordstrom''s website.

Can''t wait to see WHICH pale-pale-pale pink I like best....!

 

[lovelylulu]

thanks for the cotton candy recommendation -- i recently had a manicure with something like "breakfast in bed" by opi and quite liked it.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

So my mondo huge shipment of Essie stuff hasn''t come, but I did get the Lippman Sarah Smile one yesterday...it''s a bit more opaquey milky white-pink than I usually wear. It''s nice for me with one coat, but the second was too much for me. At least, it would take some getting used to, since I usually only wear sheer polish like Mademoiselle. But for those of you who like a little whiter polish that is more opaque, it is really really the just-right balance of pink and white.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

ooooh ooooooooo!

Essie''s "Real Simple" is fabulous! Just got it in my online shipment and it''s my favorite. I think it was designed by or inspired by Real Simple magazine.

Its a little more than Mademoiselle, a little less than Lippmann. JUuuuuuuust right!

 

[cpster]

I just had to post a rave about this fast drying top coat that I just tried last night. It's called Seche Vite. The packaging it came in says it gives a touch dry in 5 mintues and completely dry in 15.

I didn't fully test this claim by trying to push down on my finger nails to see if a dent would appear, but I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth and head to bed. I woke up with perfectly fine nails so this product does work.

I had a base coat, french tip coat, at least two coats of Essie Mademoiselle (some had three) under the top coat. No bubbles and very glossy!

 

[FireGoddess]

I got a mani and pedi yesterday, and got new nail designs. I think they're so cute! I'm also in love with the Essie color I picked for my nails, Princess Pink. Gotta get me a bottle of that. It's actually much more warm pink than the photo, which looks almost lilac. A little misleading.

Here's the finger design.

 

[FireGoddess]

Here''s the toe design. Eesh. My toes look so wrinkly! Ack.