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Manicure Monday – 3/25/19 – Craving Some Color Haul

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Craving Some Color HaulCraving Some Color Haul

For a while I’ve been in neutral. My manicures, anyway. And I love them. They are chic, effortless, professional, and pretty. They’re still what I reach for the most because they just feel right to me. They’re low-effort but high-polish. My toes were unwaveringly in shades of red since June. I love red, period.

It was winter. It was dreary. On a lark, I did a pedicure at the beginning of January with Nina Ultra Pro Caribbean Blue. For fun. For a shred of liveliness in January. I didn’t intend a matching manicure, but as I executed the pedi I was so thrilled with how it came out that I had to do my nails that way too (using Sensationail Polish to Gel because I can’t be bothered with RnP on my fingers these days). I used to wear a ton of color, used to have a gigantic polish collection that I gradually started to pare back when I started using gel polish.

Inspiration

The two weeks I wore that magnificent blue pearl made me realize I missed having some color in my life. Or at least on my toes and very occasionally (I still try to pretend to be quasi-professional most of the time) my nails. I spent more time than I care to admit (cough, hours and hours) looking at and fawning over swatches. I ultimately purchased five bottles of (regular formula, gasp) polish; I’m calling it my Craving Some Color Haul:

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Manicure Monday – 2/18/19 – China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink

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China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink
China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink

This short-but-sweet Manicure Monday post features China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink. This week’s manicure actually went on the day before Valentine’s Day. I didn’t quite get two weeks out of my previous manicure, to my chagrin.

This bright, neon pink is more than I’d typically don on my fingers these days – but what the hell? It looks super neat under the lamp as it cures. It is bright and lively, and we could all use a little more of that.

So far, nearly a week in, it looks great and I have no expectations of premature lift. It’s no original formula Flip Flop Fantasy, but China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink is damn fun nonetheless.

You can get China Glaze Gelaze Shocking Pink here, or it regular polish version here.

Pedicure Details

As for my toes, I took a break from the brights and donned ol’ faithful, Red Hot Rio today. So… basically I have an inverse Valentine’s-appropriate mani-pedi combo, also unintentional. WTF.

Manicure Monday – 1/7/19 – Sensationail Nude Mood

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It took me writing this post to realize that I didn’t publish any manicure details in December. After my 11/26 post with Icelanded a Bottle of OPI in the Infinite Shine formula (haaate), the following week I did a nice China Glaze Gelaze manicure in Swing Baby. It’s a nice, champagne-y gold that I’ve featured on Favorites posts before. Unfortunately, I took no pictures because I am an ass…and because I was gearing up for a business trip that week.

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Manicure Monday – 11/26 – OPI Infinite Shine Icelanded a Bottle of OPI

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Last week, I took the week off. Between life and the holiday, the need for a break snuck up on me. If you’re in the US, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. If you aren’t in the US, I hope your Thursday was pretty badass, too.

Update from my Previous Manicure

Gelaze Recycle wore like a champ. Not a chip or flaw anywhere, didn’t lift. In fact, I had to fight it off my nails yesterday morning in order to do this set. It wore like steel (that wasn’t a grey joke, but do what you want) and I was thrilled; it needed to be refreshed, though, simply due to the amount of outgrowth.

So, yeah, that’s right – I got THREE WEEKS of wear out of that set. Brings a tear to my eye!

OPI Infinite Shine Icelanded a Bottle of OPI

This Manicure – OPI Infinite Shine Icelanded a Bottle of OPI

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Manicure Monday – 11/5 – China Glaze Gelaze Recycle

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China Glaze Gelaze RecycleManicure Monday – 11/5 – China Glaze Gelaze Recycle

Anyone watching V for Vendetta today? I will be! Does anyone actually paint their nails on Mani Monday? I don’t! I don’t tend to do much exciting nail art these days, but my nails are almost always painted. I usually paint over the weekend so they’re fresh for the work week. It follows that I’d start a Manicure Monday series; the content basically creates itself!

Before

The Friday before Halloween, I did a simple black set with Sensationail Midnight Rendezvous (which I used in my glitter gel nail tutorial) On my ring fingers, I slapped a coat of Essie Matte About You topcoat for a nearly-no-effort accent nail. I don’t wear black often, and was initially like, “Ah! This is so stark,” but by the end of the ninth day, I found myself rather fond. Yesterday, though, I decided it was time for a different color.

Surprisingly had a devil of a time removing that set. Usually, I can pop my gel polish off fairly easily, but this took coaxing and inspired a bit of swearing. Anyway, after I removed the black gel, I slapped on some Solar Oil and let my nails rest for a while, lacquer-free, while I got some stuff done around the house.

Picking a Color

I found myself torn between the new-to-me nude shade I wore before Midnight Rendezvous (posted on Insta on 10/14), China Glaze Gelaze Awakening, and what I ultimately chose, China Glaze Gelaze Recycle.

I’ve written about my love of Recycle before. Grey is fantastic for Autumn, absolutely counts as a neutral, and isn’t as harsh as black but is still on the edgy side.

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China Glaze Diva Bride

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China Glaze Diva Bride - Gelaze

China Glaze Diva Bride in their Gelaze formula might have dethroned as my go-to nude-pink nailcolor. I’d been wearing a lot of OPI Bubble Bath; it’s a nice, effortless neutral that looks good with everything. As it wears down/away/lifts/chips, it does so gracefully and without making it glaringly obvious that attention is required. I enjoyed it apart from three caveats

  • Accessibility
  • Price
  • Coats to Opaque-Enough

The Caveats

OPI Gelcolor lacquers are technically pro-only – so getting your hands on one as a plebe is a difficult task if you don’t know a licensed beautician. I have no idea how much they cost a pro; I know on the diverted market I can get them for anywhere between $15-20, and then there’s the question of whether you’re getting legit product or not (I’ve lucked out so far). It requires three coats to the minimum level of opacity I prefer.

China Glaze Diva Bride Mitigates Bubble Bath’s Caveats

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