'Merica!!

Happy Friday! And Happy Fourth of July! The calendar gods smiled down on us, this year, and gave us a three-day weekend. Woo-hoo!

I'm heading out to spend the day with family but before I go, I want to share what I'm sporting on my tips to celebrate 'Merica!!

Oh, there's Pacific Blue. This was my first time using this and everything said about it was true--amazing formula, amazing color saturation, funky smell. I am so glad that one of my local polish friends had a bottle put aside for me at Walgreens so I could have a piece of unofficial nail polish history. The community has been up in arms since we found out that Sally Hansen changed the formula. See what G at Nouveau Cheap had to say about it, here.

I digress. I used two easy coats of Pacific Blue on all nails but the ring finger. For the accent nail, I used three coats of NYC French White Tip. Once it was topcoated and dry, I laid down striping tape and painted over them with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Cherry Red. I lifted the tape and just absolutely goggled at how straight my lines were. That is a first for me!

I put star studs from a Forever 21 wheel on my blue fingers and topcoated the whole shebang.

It's a manicure that Captain America would be proud of.

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Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

xo, ali

St. Patrick's Day, 2.0

Hey! Happy Wednesday from the midst of a blizzard! It's finally winding down, here in Buffalo, but it's been a long day. Started with little to no snow for my morning drive and it just started coming down. And blowing around. And they let us out of work at 11 am. I love adult snow days!

I've got another quick St. Patrick's Day manicure tonight, featuring the colors of the Emerald Isle's flag.t

I used two coats of  Essie First Timer from their Spring 2013 Resort Collection. This is a really pretty pale grass green creme. I was able to get even coverage in two coats. I know that sometimes Essie can have iffy formulas but I didn't have any problems with this one. The only thing I'd advise about is that if you go over the same spot more than once, it will drag a little bit. I really love how bright and happy this color is...it's perfect for spring.

Once I topcoated, I took bright orange studs from a wheel that I picked up at Forever 21 and stuck them on. I used Beauty Plus Salon topcoat once again to seal everything in.

What do you think? Is this something you'd try for your own St. Patrick's Day manicure? Do you have any special St. Patrick's Day traditions? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!!

xo, ali