The first blog post in a very, VERY long time

So, there's no brief way to summarize the last - what - two and a half years?! since my last post.  So much has been going on in my life and while I've still been doing my nails about once every week or two (sometimes three!), I have not had the time or the energy to blog about it.  Some of my nicer manis have made it to my Instagram, but I've even lost momentum on that account.

Until now!  My sales job at a pipe manufacturer/distributor company has been deemed essential to maintaining infrastructure, but I have not felt safe going in.  I won't bore you with the details but the short of it is simply that I'm taking a few weeks off to protect my physical and mental health, as well as that of my boyfriend.

The last two weeks have felt a lot like my life back when I was blogging actively: I can only communicate with my friends and family via the phone & internet, I'm not working, and I have very little motivation/need to leave the house.  Luckily ALL of the reasons for this situation are VERY different from my old life, but here I am all the same.

So it was pretty much a matter of time before I spent 2-3 hours on my nails, took proper photos adjusting the white balance and everything, and actually wrote a whole blog post about it!

This manicure was a whooooole ordeal, let me tell you.  It's way different from anything I've done before because - 

- it's gel!  And multichrome powder!

I used the gel base coat and top coat by ASP, sandwiched around Chick Pick Polish Neon Blue.  Can I just interject how much I LOVE this neon blue?  It has been an amazing base for several fantastic manicures.  It's truly neon on the first coat, but it needs at least two coats as it's pretty much a jelly.

I thought ahead and did my research before attempting this mani.  First, I learned that when you're putting a powder over regular polish, the polish needs to be dry to the touch, but not completely dry - still slightly smooshable.  Second, I learned that when putting gel top coat over regular polish, the polish needs to be COMPLETELY dry - no smooshing whatsoever.  These two facts, luckily, can be stacked since you can just let the regular polish keep drying for a bit after you rub in the powder.

So the layers on my nails, from bottom to top, are: gel base - regular polish - chrome powder - gel top.  I considered layering polish - gel top - powder - more gel top, but I thought that might be one layer too many.

I got this powder a million years ago - well before I stopped blogging - and never got around to using it because I didn't have any gel polish, a lamp, or a water-based polish top coat.  The cap says it's by Born Pretty Store, but sadly I have no memory of what the color name is.  I couldn't get a photo or video of the powder itself to show off what a GORGEOUS white base with purple, blue, and pink multichrome shifts it is.  But I promise you it is all of those things!

Guys.  This powder is SO. FINE.  I'm pretty sure it will never truly be gone from the shirt I was wearing or the floor around the table.  It's probably deeply embedded in my lungs and my nail brush, too.  But it's SO PRETTY that it's DEFINITELY worth the mess and effort!

Also, back to loving on this Chick Pick neon.  It. is. N E O N.  My lamp for the gel is LED, and look how this stuff G L O W S under the lights!  I wish I could go glow-bowling with this on!!

I MEAN.  This photo hasn't been edited AT ALL.  I put my phone on the auto setting and let it choose the white balance, shutter speed, etc to capture this amazing neon glowy goodness.  (Please don't ever do this with a bottle of gel polish!  This regular polish was safe under the lights, but I wouldn't want you to partially cure your gel polish through the bottle and ruin the whole thing just for a cool photo!)

I don't think this is a perfect powder application, but I would definitely say that it was at least mostly successful!  Some of my struggles were definitely a learner's curve; it could also be because powders work better on top of gel polish rather than regular; it could also be that this powder isn't the best quality, because I'm pretty sure I remember it only being a couple of bucks when powders usually run anywhere from $12 - $25.

There is no possible way that I will ever be able to do a full blog post for every manicure of mine in the last three years, but I will look through my pictures and find some of my favorites to share here!  After all, blogging kept me sane back when I had essentially nothing else going on in my life.  I'd like to honor that by blogging at least a little while the coronavirus pandemic has me cooped up at home!

What's on your nails right now?  Have you ever used a chrome, holo chrome, multichrome, or mermaid powder yourself?  Let me know in the comments!

Nifty Color Blocking Nail Art

I had a lot of fun with this nail art design!  I guess I'm just best at abstract nail art.  That way my brain doesn't decide that the design has to look perfectly just so only to be disappointed in the wibbly turnout.

This look was inspired by Fierce Makeup and Nails, painting for The Beauty Buffs.  I took a screenshot of this design way back in November, but never got around to actually trying it out until a few weeks ago!

The original design by Fierce Makeup&Nails.

Naturally, I decided to go with blues rather than purples; but then I thought, why not throw some greens in there as well?  And then, when I got to my ring finger on my right hand, I decided that instead of doing a blue accent, I'd use pink - mainly because I really wanted to try out a newish pink polish, I Brake For Colour by China Glaze.  If I had a third hand, I'd probably have done pink with a blue accent on that hand! :)

The background for the blues is Chick Pick Polish Neon Blue, while the lighter blue is Zoya Ling.  (The moment I painted on Ling, I sort of wished I'd gone with Robyn instead - Robyn would have stood out from Neon Blue much better.  Oh well!)

 Don't want to leave my thumbs out! :)

The green background is Salon Perfect Escape to Neverland, and the lighter green is Zoya Tilda.  As I said before, the pink background is China Glaze I Brake For Colour; and the lighter pink is Zoya (sensing a pattern here?) Wendy.  I got Ling and Tilda fairly recently, so I was super excited to pair them up in a mani with my other creme from Zoya's Tickled collection!  The white polish on all nails is Salon Perfect Sugar Cube.  I want to point out that Escape to Neverland is a One-Coat Wonder!  The coat does have to be a tad on the thick side, though, so be careful not to flood your cuticles with too much polish.

I really, really like this design.  It's so very 70s groovy to me!  I actually kind of love how the green showed through the white polish.  Some people might think "that needs another coat of white," but I think that makes it all the more groovy!

What is your favorite style of nail art - abstract or traditional?  Let me know in the comments!

Want to see more nail art posts, or perhaps something different?  Let me know by giving your feedback here!

 

P.S. Don't forget - my blogiversary giveaway ends tonight at 11:59 pm!  There are lots of ways to enter, and lots of ways to find the giveaway too.  Head to the giveaway tab on my Facebook page, follow this link to the original blog post, click on the giveaway post in my Pages, or follow this mobile-friendly link!