Acquiring a Passion for Polish

Before recently I didn't paint my nails much for a couple reasons. The first being I work as a receiving associate which makes it hard to keep nails looking very pretty. The second reason was that I didn't know much about nails. Before a couple months ago I didn't know what a base coat was, how to have healthy cuticles (nor did I know why this was important) or how to get multiple colors on your nails - or even paint one color on smoothly! 

This past Christmas my mom decided we should get mani/pedis together. I was excited - just because my job makes it hard to have pretty nails doesn't mean I didn't want them! We both got acrylic nails, I picked a red tip with striping for a festive look.

They reminded me of candy canes!

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed having acrylic nails. But like all acrylic manicures, my nails started to grow out and once the first acrylic popped off it was all over. By this point Christmas was over as well so I was itching for a new color. So back to the salon I went...

By this point I was hooked. But I was also becoming more aware of the financial burden of going to the salon every time I needed a fill or wanted a different color. When this manicure started to grow out I didn't have the money right away for a new one so I figured I would remove them and wait until I could afford a new one. But when I took them off I was really disturbed by the condition of my nails underneath. They were weak, discolored, and uneven. I decided between the financial aspect and the damage my nails had taken acrylics weren't worth it.

By this point my best friend Pixie had introduced me to Reddit and I had stumbled upon the glorious subreddit known as r/RedditLaqueristas. After being inspired by so many of the wonderful posts I decided that I would build up a polish stash and learn to do my own nails. The following pictures include the cast of this blog - my polish stash thus far.

Sally Hansen Polishes

China Glaze Polishes

Misc Polishes

Which brings me to the point of this blog - to share what I learn (the good & the bad) as I experiment with my nail art. Posts will include step-by-step pictures of new techniques I try, pictures of new polishes I add to my stash, and general nail tips I come across as I go. I hope that through sharing these I can meet other nail enthusiasts and we can all learn from each other.

On that note, I want to share with you a few of my first attempts at doing my own nails. This manicure used China Glaze Dorothy Who? & China Glaze Platinum Pieces crackle polish.

This next one was a bit harder and took a few tries. I used a Sally Hansen french manicure kit. It came with a white french tip color, a sheer french pink coat, & a UV top coat. This kit also came with little stickers that are used to guide the painting of the tip. This took me a few tries and I had to redo a couple nails but overall I was happy with the outcome.

My latest manicure was inspired after watching a late night Harry Potter movie marathon. For this one I used Sally Hansen Red Carpet & China Glaze Electrify from the Hunger Games collection (which was a birthday present from my lovely girlfriend). Overall I liked the combination but I wish the tips were more even but since I drew them on freehand that was to be expected. If I do this manicure again I will try using the strips I used for the french mani. I also learned the glitter is not cooperative when it comes to removal - if I find a good technique for removing glitter polish I will share!

Gryffindor Nails!

This brings me to now. From here on out I will be sharing my manicures in more depth and hopefully improving!