St Patrick's Day and Easter nails

Just a real quick post about the few nail designs I have been up. I did a few more but- they can wait for another post, just wanted to get something done for this month.

Irish flag and spun sugar.

Green Glitter

Easter designs, polka dots, stripes and bunnies!!

 

Just pastels!

French mani in pastel...... sorry I can't tell you the names of these polishes because they are "franken" colors. The color on my ring finger is more of a pale pink than a cream color that is pictured. I did these free hand- so the "tips" aren't exactly perfect- but that's ok. : )

Blue Clouds!

This was done by mistake- its a light blue base with "Hannah Pinktana," a super glitter pinky- purple girly top coat.

This was an impulse buy- I like the color orange a lot and the glass fleck glitter in this polish was just awesome! (Sally Hansen Diamond Strength "Moonlit Dance.") I didn't wear this mani for too long so I can't attest to how durable it is.

Damaged nails and Cracked finger tips : (

Well, first I'm sorry for not posting for a while, due to work or the weather or the both combined- my nails and fingertips are shot. My nails are super short- so much so that I barely have any at all. I haven't painted them in a while, because I don't want to draw attention to the "yucky-ness." Along with that, they are splitting vertically down from nail tip in towards my nail bed, which is a bit uncomfortable. The corners of my fingers are cracked, split and so very sore- even typing hurts. A few of my nails are actually "fake" right now, in order to help them heal and grow.

It's very simple to make the tips "fake." They help with damaged, broken or cracked nails and are very easy to do.

You will need the following:
*"crazy glue" ( it holds up better than nail glue.)
* nail file
* scissors
*toothpick
*clear nail polish
*an empty unused tea bag

First, file your damaged nail just a little to rough up the surface to bond the glue. Next, cut a piece of the tea bag ( single layer) big enough to cover the damage. I usually make it cover my entire nail tip up to 1/3 of my nail bed .Then put a drop of "crazy glue" on your nail spread it over the damaged area,wait  5-10 seconds then apply the piece of the tea bag over the glue. Make sure you push it down well and there are no air pockets *use the toothpick.* Let this dry for at least 3 minutes. Apply another drop of glue, go past the tea bag edges to blend the repair with your nail. (If the nail is severely broken you may want to add an extra layer of the tea bag.) Wait until this is completely dry to file down any rough spots, blend edges better or shape the tip. Apply a coat or two of your clear polish to seal up any missed places and make the repair nearly disappear. You can polish as normal once the repaired nail is 100% dry. If done correctly this repair can last up to a week, in some cases you can use remover and re-polish over it before it needs replaced. To take the patch off, simply soak your nail for a little bit in remover and slowly peel it off- don't force it! If it doesn't come off easily- re-soak!! 

Repairing cracked finger tips isn't as easy. I haven't washed the dishes without wearing gloves in over 2 weeks. I have been applying lotions but I can't seem to get them to heal up. I have used "Healthy Hoof," "Vaseline," "Chap Stick," and "Vick's VapoRub." I also apply antibiotic cream to keep out any dirt and germs. I even tried sleeping with gloves on- but I can't sleep with them on. I have even soaked my hands in Epsom salts and slathered on olive oil afterwards. However, I am slowly making some progress. I do cover the badly cracked tips with a band-aid to keep the moisture in!! : /

*I hope this mess heals up soon-- there are so many St.Patrick's Day, Easter and Spring designs I want to do*

Valentine's Day Nails

                     Some sweet nail ideas for Valentine's Day. 

I used pinks, reds white and glitter polishes. No special tools, just a pencil and tiny paint brush.

MARDI GRAS!!

Pink nails with light pink hearts hand painted!

Red nails with a pink accent nail with a glittery red heart: )

Super glittery nails with sweetheart captions.

Too cute! pink background "cloud" design with little white hearts.

Damaged nails : (

I trashed my nails at work the past few weeks. When I say trashed, I mean chipped, peeling, cracked and broken ( and maybe a little chewed). They look horrible. The tips are uneven both in length and on the surface. I went searching for some help. I love Nutra Nail products and decided to try something new.... Nutra Nail Mineral Collection "Iron Strength." It contains Iron, Zinc and Selenium which is suppose to make your nails tougher and more durable. First, I filed the surface of my nails a little to get rid of any peeling edges and even out the tips. Now I have super short, sad looking nails, that barely extend beyond  my nail beds : (  Next, I applied 2 coats of  Nutra Nail  "Iron Strength" to clean, dry nails. The formula goes on very smooth and it's clear so it won't discolor your nails, so you can use it alone or as a base coat. The weak spots don't seem as weak and the clear coat gives a nice shine to my short pitiful nails.




I also bought a small container of "Healthy Hoof." Don't laugh, it works for human nails just as well. It helps to strengthen nails and condition cuticles. You know you need to moisturize your hands, nails and cuticles to keep them beautiful, this stuff does the trick. A little on each finger around the cuticles or directly over dry un-polished nails to strengthen and protect them. I put a little bit on after I polish to protect my cuticles. This stuff makes them soft and prevents cracking and hang nails. It stays on for a while, even after some hand washing. For great results, apply 2-3 times a day.



I bought both products at CVS. Nutra Nail runs about $5-$8 and Healthy Hoof $3-$5.

The best shape for your nails.....

I was shaping my nails the other day and decided that it would be a topic for a post.. so here it is.

Well, there is no real right or wrong way to shape your nails. Some shapes are more stable than others. Personally, I have my nails rounded, this is partly because of the kind of work I do and how my nails grow. I love the look of a square nail, however I can only get them to last about 3 weeks before the corners break off. Then I end up filing back down to a round tip and starting over.

Another way to determine what shape to do is by looking at your nail beds. A rounder nail bed looks better with a rounded tip, a flatter bed works with squared edges. There are quite a few options to pick from, if you can't decide put two shapes together.


First let the nail to grow out straight and then file straight across at right angles with the rest of the nail bed. This is a strong nail shape but is not very flattering. Short square nails can make hands look "stubby". This is best if you have extremely long nails.


Just like the oval shape but square off the tip, this gives the nail tip strength over the oval shape.
 

 File your nail tip to an egg shape and file the sides in a bit. However, this style does weaken your nails some. This is best for nails that are thick or wide- it gives a more feminine appearance.



Great for shorter nails, the nail  grows out straight at the sides and then the tip is filed into a rounded shape. This is a good choice to keep your nails strong and short.

Nails are filed away  to a point; this shape is very weak because the sides of the nail are totally lost.