guest post: polka dot mani

hey y'all! i'm so excited to have my friend, andrea, from my chihuahua bites guest posting on the blog today. she's talking about something near & dear to my heart: nail polish. for as long as i can remember, i've always loved a mani that was different and what andrea has created is so fun & i cannot wait to recreate her look on my own nails. 

enjoy!!

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Hey friends! I’m so excited to be guest posting on Stuttering Shell today. I’m Andrea, a 30 something mommy addicted to Sephora, makeup brushes, reality TV, and nail polish. I found Michelle on Twitter through a friend, and I soon realized we have a ton in common - we share of a love of nail polish, k-cups, and Lis.

I haven’t always been into nail polish. Up until about a year ago, I was strictly a special occasion mani type of girl. I didn’t polish my nails at home, and on the rare occasion I did, I ran around with polish smeared all over my fingers and cuticles.

Not cute.

About 6 months ago, I picked up some Sally Hansen polish from Wal-Mart and decided to carpe diem and give myself a mani. I learned to erase my polish mistakes with q-tips and acetone, and I’ve never looked back. I don’t know what got into me that day, but I’ve had polish on my nails every day since. I’m about to enter Nail Polish Addicts, as my polish collection is starting to get quite out of control.

Today I want to share a fun (and easy!) Valentine’s Day mani with you. Polka dots are one of the easiest forms of nail art, and you can do it to your nails with stuff you already have at home.

I apologize in advance for the pictures – it is impossibly hard to take pictures of yourself with only one hand.

You’ll need the following tools:

• Red, white, and pink nail polish
• A dotting tool – mine came from Sally’s, but you could also use a pointed q-tip or even a toothpick.

I’ll share the exact brands/names of the polishes at the end of the post.

Start by painting the ring finger of each hand with two coats of pink polish. Paint the rest of your nails with two coats of white polish.

Let your nails fully dry; however, do not yet apply a top coat.  Drop 2 dots of each color of polish onto a paper plate. You can see I have a dot of red, white, and pink on the plate.

Using your dotting tool, q-tip, or toothpick pick up a small amount of polish on the tip of your tool. Start with pink; gently dot in a random pattern all over your white nails. Leave room for red dots!

After you’ve applied the pink polka dots, wipe off your tool (or get a new q-tip!) and start with red dots.  Apply to both the white and pink ring finger nails.

Now it’s time for the white! The white dots only go on your pink ring fingers.  Seal off your mani with a top coat, and you’re done! 

Enjoy your polka dot nails!

Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy & Seche Base Ridge Filling Base Coat

Pink: OPI Pink Friday

White: OPI Alpine Snow

Red: China Glaze Poinsettia

Top Coat: INM Out The Door 

the nail files {1.20.12}

before i share with you my nails for the week, let me go back & touch upon a few things regarding the at home gel mani i blogged about last week.

1.  after hitting publish on that post, my nails started to chip. go figure. but, having polish last a week {with minimal wear} on my fingernails is a big deal. remember, i'm brutal on my hands. 

2.  i used regular nail polish remover to take it off. i didn't need to buy acetone. so, use whatever you have.

3.  a lot of people have asked...no uv light is necessary for that particular at home gel mani.

4.  i haven't used the polish that came with the gel mani set, but i plan on using it soon.

5.  for the price, i'll definitely give myself an at home gel mani again and again. it's so much more cheaper than going to the salon.

i visited my parents over the weekend & while i was there i raided my mother's nail polish stash. she's got quite the collection {she's probably the reason i'm hooked on polish...ha!}. you'll be happy to know that i finally jumped on board the single glitter nail train, too.

{again, excuse the janky cuticles & the crummy cell phone pics.}

what am i wearing?

opi's lucerne-tainly look marvelous 

&

opi's bring on the bling {for my glitter accent}

when we came home on monday, my daughter asked me to paint her nails like mine. so, she's rocking a similar look, except she's wearing orly's sea gurl & i used opi's rainbow connection for her glitter accent.

go link up with vicki & tara and share with us what you're wearing on your nails this week.

the nail files {1.13.12}

last week, vicki & tara kicked off a weekly link up that is all about nail polish. you know, trends, manis, pedis, favorite brands, what color you're currently wearing, etc. being the slacker that i am, i didn't participate last week for the inaugural post. instead, i'm a week late, but all will be forgiven when i share with you all the gel mani i gave myself last friday.

yes, instead of posting with the nail files last week i was giving myself a mani instead. a gel mani. at home.

i can't take credit for the idea of the at home gel mani. i owe a huge thanks to my favorite beach bum who not only linked me to the blog post she found on pinterest {no surprise there}, but she also showed me the stuff to get while we were at ulta last week.

this is what you'll need:

{via}

it doesn't matter which color you choose {i bought sheer natural} because you need the small bottle of activator that is inside of the box...

{via}

just to let you know, there are more than three color choices for this kit. the kit was $11.99 at ulta and i also found it at cvs for $11.99. cvs had a $1.50 off coupon at the display and i also had a $5 cvs gift card so i got the kit for a steal. i will admit, i was skeptical. but, where else can you get a gel mani for less than $6?! and, even if it was a total bust at least i wasn't spending a lot of money on my nails, ya know?

anyways, here was my result:

{at home mani was done on friday, january 6th}

i used my own base coat, polish color & top coat {orly bonder, orly fowl play & seche vite}. i did have to use the cleaner that came with the kit to clean off the brush for the bonder because it did get stiff from coming into contact with the activator. my nails didn't take long to dry & i was quite pleased with the result. also, i didn't need to swipe my nails with rubbing alcohol to get a shine either {like you sometimes have to do with a professional gel mani}.

here is my manicure today...one week later:

{please excuse my janky cuticles. my hands are a mess right now. blasted dry skin & eczema!}

i had minimal wear at the tips & one small chip on my left thumb. i'm super hard on my hands & nails. i don't wear gloves when i clean or wash dishes. i use my nails to peel labels and open things. i am a manicurist's worst nightmare. 

overall, i'm VERY pleased with the at home gel mani. it stinks that you have to buy a whole kit just for the  activator, but for the price i think it's still worth it because a professionally done gel mani will run you up to three times the cost of the kit. and, there is a coupon inside the kit for $2 off of your next purchase, so it's like a win-win in my book. the next time i give myself a gel mani, i will try using the polish that came with the kit. look for that in a future link up of the nail files.

oh, and if you want detailed instructions about the mani, please check out the blog post that kate put together over at the small things blog.