Upcoming Changes to the Site

When I first created this blog back in July I wasn't entirely sure what was going to come of it. I love writing but in the past I had started blogs that were great in the beginning but my inspiration fizzled out and those blogs went dead. This blog however has been a continued source of enjoyment for me. Because of this I'm going to be making some big changes to the blog that I hope will improve reader experience and kick this page up a notch.

• The biggest change is going to be the eventual move of the blog off of Blogger. Blogger has been great for experimenting with the idea of the blog and testing the waters. However I feel that there are so many nail blogs on Blogger that it gets lost. Another reason is the overall layout. When I first started this page layout wasn't a big deal because I had all of three readers. Now the page views are climbing and I'm realizing that the cutesy layout that was on the page wasn't the way I wanted to go. I've applied a much cleaner look for now but once on the new site I hope to have a layout that is uniquely ours. Also, my hope is that the site will grow larger & when that happens I don't want the site tied to personal profiles such as a my blogger profile to maintain a certain level of privacy.

• Another change is the name. Manis by Sami was a cute name I picked playing off my own name. Looking at it now the name screams "I'm a novice & I don't expect many people to read this". Many of the successful nail blogs have their own brand names that people recognize & that is what I am hoping to achieve. So once the new Manis by Sami page launches it will launch as Pixelated Polish.  

• There will also be a larger variety of more frequent posts. Thus far I have limited the postings to nail designs I have tried. I am going to expand this to include more posts with deals to help readers snag great polishes for less (or none!), upcoming news about new polish collections, swatches, dupes, as well as some of my own original designs I have been coming up with. I am also toying with the video of adding some video tutorials - but if I did I would still include still shots for those who don't enjoy video.

• Which brings me to my next point. Up until this point I have been using my iPhone camera for all the pictures on the site because I wasn't committed enough to put money into this blog. Now I've reached the point where I'm ready to look for a new camera to up the photo quality & really highlight some of the beautiful polishes I've come across.

I anticipate it taking a couple months before the transition is complete & the new Pixelated Polish is launched. Until that point I will continue posting here & once the transition does happen all posts on here will be brought over for future readers to enjoy. I made the mistake of deleting the originals of most of my shots, I admit after it was discovered that Sinful Colors had stole blogger images without credit I got a tad paranoid. This means that unfortunately any pictures up until now will still have the Manis by Sami watermark. In the future pictures instead of stamping the address I will be creating a simple Pixelated Polish logo to use for watermarking purposes. 

Before I end this post I would just like to thank those of you who take the time to read my humble blog. It makes me beyond happy to see the page views consistently climbing. I hope you can be patient during this transition face and enjoy the new Pixelated Polish.

I'm Not Lion, I Love Glitter!

Hello Lacquer Loves. It has been a busy couple weeks, since returning from a wonderful vacation I've been working more. As I've mentioned before I work on a receiving dock which is quite hard on nails. Since I knew I worked so much lately I've been sticking to simpler manis since it seems a waste to spend a couple hours on a design that will only last a day or so.

I recently acquired a polish that I found beautiful enough to deserve a post of its own. That polish is part of China Glaze's new On Safari Collection.

Many of the On Safari polishes are lovely, I've purchased a few myself. But the one I was the most excited about is the gorgeous glitter I'm Not Lion. Apparently I am not the only one, my local Sally Beauty didn't have any on the floor & when I asked them to look in the back I was given the last one of their stock.

There are a couple things wonderful about this polish. The picture above shows not only the brilliant gold base color of this polish but also the holographic like shine. I'm Not Lion is not a true holo polish, nor is it marketed as such, but the rainbow shine is definitely similar to a holographic polish.

Another aspect of this polish I love is the texture. This isn't a smooth polish, it has more of a grainy texture. It reminds me of sand which is fitting for the African Safari theme.

In these pictures I have used it as an accent nail to show the texture difference between a regular gold polish and this golden glitter polish.

As beautiful as China Glaze polishes are they can be a bit pricey especially when they are first released. Today while browsing Rite Aid I stumbled upon this lovely polish called Kaleidoscope.

This is a clear polish with a gorgeous rainbow shine that was very difficult to capture on camera but I did my best. This Wet n' Wild polish only cost $0.69 so even if you are on a budget beautiful glitter is not out of reach!

Inspiration in Unusual Places

I have to admit I've been a tad uninspired lately. I was so happy my nails had gotten so long & pretty but the inevitable happened, one by one they got chipped & cracked. A couple I was able to fix with the teabag method (which the next time this happens I'll document now that I'm a tad more confident using it) but it got to the point where I only had two nice nails and had to file them down. Some people like short nails & that is fine but I just find them a tad sad. I have a few ideas floating around in my head but I feel I don't yet have adequate canvas space to really do them justice.

I'll try to be positive though. My new nails growing in look much healthier & feel stronger than my old nails. My old nails I could easily bend if they didn't have polish on & the tips would flake a lot. So perhaps my older nails breaking off so new, healthier ones could grow in their place is a good thing. I've also noticed since I started this blog manis don't take me hours anymore. I have less cleanup (even on my left hand!) & can get through a whole mani without completely having to redo a few nails.

I give credit to my nail vitamins for my stronger nails

So a week or so ago I got one of those Victoria's Secret flyers in the mail with a free underwear coupon. I was pretty stoked because who doesn't love free underwear - nobody that's who! So the other day I went in before work & picked out a really cute pair that was pink with white polka dots. Then it hit me - I want this on my nails. Since I hadn't used my dotting tools yet this seemed like the perfect idea to pull me out of my uninspired rut.

For this mani I used Essie Off the Shoulder & Sinful Colors Show Me White. This was the first time I used an Essie polish besides Shine of the Times & I was really happy with it. It went on smooth, the color was true to the bottle & it dried nicely & quickly. In this picture you can also see my dotting tools. They came as a set of five with a different size dot on each end. They were less than five dollars with shipping on Amazon & I was really excited to have some other size dots besides twisted bobby pins especially since I need those bobby pins for work.

Polka dots are fun but they aren't too flashy so I decided to do an inverse accent nail just to make this mani pop a little bit more. I made sure that the base colors were completely dry before dotting them, I was nervous enough about smearing the dots I didn't want to smudge the base colors too.

For the first couple dots I tried painted it onto the tip of the dotter but I found I achieved better, more even dots by just dipping the dotter into the polish. I was so nervous to do the dots but I was surprised at how easy it was! Just press it lightly onto the nail & there you go! Only a couple dots came out warped and those were on my right hand so I was expecting that. The dots looked a tad bumpy until I used my top coat, then it had a nice smooth look.

I am very happy with these, I feel super cute wearing them! I'm really happy to know that dotting was easier than I thought - now I just need to start playing with my nail stamps.

Another Attempt At Nail Whitening

Hello lovely lacquer loves! I know it has been a couple weeks since I've posted. My grandmother was visiting from Hawaii & my aunt came down from Washington so we had a full house & I didn't really have the spare time or space to do my manis. I usually do all my manis in the kitchen since my room is carpeted & I don't have any comfortable smooth surfaces in there. But since our living room had two people sleeping in it that was out.

Then last week I went away to San Francisco with my girlfriend for our third anniversary. I did do my nails rainbow for that trip! I had planned on doing something more intricate but because of the reasons listed above it ended up being a very simple mani.

My nail obsession was totally showing on our trip too. Sitting in the airport Monday morning my right thumb nail broke in such a way that it was not only jagged but half had no color. I was quite upset since we hadn't even left San Diego yet & I hadn't got any pictures of it yet. So once we landed I ran into a Walgreens to buy a nail file & the closest green I could get to fix the thumb.

All these reds, blues & blacks I have been using lately can stain a nail even if one does use a base coat. In one of my first posts I tried the lemon juice method but didn't see much in terms of results. I figured my nails were overdo for another attempt. I decided to try the baking soda/hydrogen peroxide paste method this time.

For this method you need baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, a bowl to mix them in & something to measure out & stir the paste. I used fresh baking soda that hadn't been opened yet though I'm not sure if that actually affects the paste.

Before we get started, here is a before shot of my nails for comparison. I know my nails are uneven, a couple broke & I just don't have the heart to make the remaining nails so pitifully short.

Different articles online will tell you different measurements, I chose to follow one that called for 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide & three tablespoons of baking soda. Just add them to the bowl & stir it up.

Once your paste is made cake it onto the tip of your nails. I just grabbed it and packed it on. I also pressed my fingers into the paste to get it underneath the tips. After it is on wait five-ten minutes.

It looked a little like snowballs stuck on my fingers

Once the time is up rinse off the nails, for me the paste came off really easy with some water.

The results:

I didn't really see much of a difference. Maybe this paste is for people who have nails that are more stained than mine, or maybe I just need to try a different measurement ratio. Either way, this method didn't really wow me.

Time for a Matte!

Hello there lacquer lovers. In my last post I mentioned I had considered experimenting with matte polish but decided it didn't fit the mani I was going for. So this time I decided I would use one of my matte topcoats.

For this mani I used China Glaze Luxe & Lush from the Hunger Games Capitol Colors collection, Wet n' Wild Black Creme & NYC Matte topcoat. I recently added a lot more Wet n' Wild colors to my collection since CVS was having a sale where they were .69 a piece.

The black creme polish had a nice shine but you need to put it on a tad thick to get an even coat & it isn't easy to clean up. The finger on the left looks slightly uneven because it is wearing a teabag due to a crack but by the end of the mani it blends in with all the other fingers.

Here I added the matte topcoat. It gave the black creme a matte effect in under a minute, I love it! I chose to get a matte topcoat because it is more versatile & cost effective than collecting matte colors. However I do intend on adding some matte colors to my collection & comparing the matte polish vs. matte topcoat.

I had hoped the shine of Luxe & Lush would contrast nicely with the black matte but the shine really just cancelled out the matte. So I decided to sandwich the Luxe & Lush under another coat of the matte topcoat.

Overall I was happy with how it turned out, I was happy to see that the matte coat didn't kill the shine effect of the glitter chunks in the Luxe & Lush. In the future I might use a different black though, this one wasn't the easiest to work with or clean up.

I recently ordered a stamping kit & dotting brushes so I can do even more fun manis. The stamp kit came today, I am so excited to try it out!

My sweetie & I are going to San Francisco to celebrate our third year anniversary soon so I'm brainstorming for a fun rainbow mani, I hope you'll look forward to it!

Fourth of July Splatter Explosions

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I'm very excited to be writing my first holiday post. I decided to try a splatter mani because I figured it would be fun & capture the spirit of Fourth of July fireworks. This is a mani that kids could have a lot of fun with - with parental help & clean up of course.  I'm going to warn you this is a messy mani & if symmetry or every nail looking the same is important to you this isn't the mani for you.

Since it is the Fourth of July I used red, white, & blue of course! I chose to use this red & blue because they both were a shining, sparkling color. The colors are Sinful Colors Show Me White & Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue It & Red Carpet. I chose to do one color as a base & slather the other two. If you like you can splatter all three colors either on your own nail or on an addition base color such as black. You will need as many straws as you will have splatter colors - one straw for each color. I used Starbucks straws because I love going there but any straw will work. I would imagine different straw sizes would create different splatters. The paper plate is to drop your splatter polishes onto.

Start by painting your base color. A lot of people like to use white as the base but I didn't want that much white on my nails.

Once your base color is completely dry tape up your fingers because this mani is going to get messy! You can also use Vaseline but I couldn't find mine so I taped.

I dropped small amounts of the white & red polish onto the paper plate. I used a little because I'd rather have to add more than waste polish.

Now for the fun part! Dip the tip of your straw in the polish & blow it onto your nails. This required a strong breath, little blows did nothing at all. I also found that just lightly painting the polish onto the straw between nails worked better than the dipping for me. I think this really depends on what straw & polish you use so experiment. Use lots of paper towels on your counter! I vastly underestimated how far the splatters would go & ended up with a counter covered in paint spots. If this happens just put a little bit of acetone on a paper towel & wipe it up.

Now you see why taping is strongly recommended for this mani! I had a bit of trouble getting the red to splatter, I think the glitter in the polish changed the texture & made it a bit tougher to use than the white.  Once the tape is removed spot clean up if you have to & enjoy this fun, unique look.

Thanks for reading! I wish you all a happy & safe Fourth of July!

Half Moons

For this post I'm going to be trying my hand at a half moon mani. A half moon mani is sort of like a reverse french mani in which you use a difference in colors/textures to create a half moon coming from the cuticle side of the nail. 

Orly Can't Be Tamed, Warpaint Beauty Mattify, & China Glaze Stone Cold

My original plan was to use these three polishes for this mani. However after doing my color swatches (which will be in an upcoming post) I realized these weren't the right colors for the technique I was going to use. Stone Cold is an amazingly gorgeous color which truly does look like stone & already has a matte-like texture so the Mattify wasn't necessary. Can't Be Tamed is a beautiful polish but it stands out best when painted on another color like black & that didn't work too well with the plan I had in mind. Since this is my first time trying a half moon mani I wanted to keep it simple & just use two colors but in the future I might revisit these colors. 

I still decided to use the Stone Cold because the matte texture worked perfect for the image I had for this mani. I also used Orly Sweet Peacock because I thought the beautiful metallic texture of the blue would contrast really nice with the matte looking Stone Cold. 

To do this mani the first color you paint is the color that will be your half moon. I used the Sweet Peacock for mine. 

Excuse the pre-clean up...

How gorgeous is that blue? I was totally blown away by how gorgeous this color was. I liked it so much I had to go outside & get a shot of it in the sun to share with you all. 

Once you finish your first coat you have to decide if you want to apply a topcoat over it. I decided to because I didn't want to add a topcoat over the Stone Cold, I was afraid the shine would ruin the matte look of this polish. I also like using topcoats if I know I'm doing any type of taping because I'm a bit paranoid about ruining the first coat with the taping. Ultimately it is up to you. 

I mentioned taping, but we aren't going to be using your standard tape here. Instead we are going to be using binder reenforces which you can find in most places that carry school supplies. I bought mine at Staples. 

I used these because they will achieve the round shape we want for this mani. You can also position these higher up the nail & use these to do round french manis as well. 

Place the reinforcers over the edge of the nail & make sure the edges are stuck down securely. If your reinforcer isn't stuck down completely the shape won't come out right. I found it to be a tad difficult to keep the edges down so I used a piece of tape to reinforce the reinforcer. 

Once you have the reinforce securely down paint the top coat over, stopping at the edge of the top of the reinforcer. If you go over a little that is fine but be careful not to paint in the hole of the reinforcer or the design will be ruined. If you're worried about painting too close, use the tape reinforcement method I mentioned above & make sure your tape is covering the hole. 

The Stone cold worked very nicely for this because it went on very smooth & clean as well as dried quickly. I prefer to remove my reinforcers as soon as the top coat is on rather than wait for it to dry. 

Finish on all the nails, clean up & you're done! 

Overall I was happy with how this came out. I only really messed up one nail on the right hand & I was able to fix it with very careful freehand stripes. Today at work a bit of the Stone Cold on the very tips chipped off but I somewhat expected that without a topcoat. I touched them up & wrapped my tips tonight so hopefully that will help. 

Coming up soon, my red, white, & blue mani for the 4th of July will be along later this week. I am also putting together a post on removing glitter (I recently had the unexpected opportunity to learn how to remove glitter polish from denim as well) & a couple techniques for organizing your polish stash.