Kiss Gel Dress Sugar & Spice

Good Evening.

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry with all this crazy weather right now.  I know when I left for work at 7am this morning it was about 37 degrees and then later on it started raining and sleeting.  Everything was freezing over.  It was cool because I didn't have to drive in it.  I just hope those that did made it home safely.

Now onto the fun stuff.  I was at Walgreen's this past weekend and I found these Kiss nail strips that are different than their normal ones.  They are made of a gel polish solution which means they are supposed to last longer.  Also if you have an LED lamp for gel manicures (I do not) you can cure them to last longer.  I just have to do the regular application.

This is what they look like outside of the package.  It not only comes with all of the full size nail strips but also french tips.  That's part of the reason why I bought them.  I thought that was really cool to add that.  The other reason is the floral print.  I can't stay away from floral anything.  I just love it.

So usually when I use nail strips I only do accent nails and not full manicures with them which it what I did here.  I used three coats of Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order on my pinky, pointer, and thumb.  On my middle and ring fingers I used the Kiss Gel Dress strips.  I didn't apply any base coat.  I just made sure my nails were well prepped by wiping them down with Zoya Remove+ and then I applied them like you would any other.  I wanted to try out the french tips but I think I'll save those for another mani.

So far these have stayed on all day without peeling up on the edges.  I did apply a top coat to them so I'm guessing that's helping a bit, but the package says they last up to a week without using the LED lamp so I guess I will keep you all updated on how they wear.  I might not do a full post on it, but I can add an update to this post and post it to my Facebook page as well.

Have a great night and keep warm!  ♥

UPDATE 1.29.14 : So these only ended up lasting one full day and then half a day.  Keep in mind I work in retail and I am constantly using my hands for typing, unpacking boxes, moving merchandise, etc. so the fact that they lasted a full day without lifting or peeling is great and then another half day.  Pretty good in my opinion.

Pinterest Week Day 3

Ok so I really thought that yesterday was going to be my favorite manicure from this week, but now I'm not so sure.  I really love how this one came out.  I thought it was going to be super difficult, but surprisingly it wasn't.  Check it out.

Day 3: The Daily Polish

MY PIN HERE

ORIGINAL POST HERE

So on Kaitlin's manicure, she used China Glaze Refresh-mint as her base color.  I didn't have to color and the mint I do have is very bright and spring-y.  This was not how her mani was portrayed so I thought using a dusty blue would work out just fine.  Turns out, I LOVE IT!

I free-handed the heart dream catchers with a nail art polish.  Ya know, the one's that come with the skinny brush?  Then I used the same black and a white to do my best feathers.  They are okay.  Then I just dotted on the same colors that Kaitlin used for the beads.  She actually used glequins, but again, I don't have those.

WHAT I USED:
Color Club Hydrangea Kiss - blue base
Kiss Nail Art - black
Kiss Nail Art - white
China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy - pink dots
China Glaze Trendsetter - mustard dots

Here is the original manicure at The Daily Polish.  Her nails are longer so you can actually see the feathers unlike on mine.  lol her lines also came out cleaner, but anyway, if you want to recreate this mani too, just click on the link above (the one that says ORIGINAL POST HERE) and it's actually a tutorial post.  Have fun and good night!

Girly Girl Challenge Day 1 - Think Pink

Today marks the first day of the Girly Girl Challenge hosted by Lindsey from Neverland Nail Blog.  I wanted to participate because I haven't done one before and I'm not super girly, so this will inspire me to do something different.

Day 1 is Think Pink:  Wear your favorite pink polish and nail art. My favorite pink to-date is my new OPI Sweet Memories so here's what I created.

If that's not girly, I don't know what is.  I created a corset on two accent nails and then added some shimmer and a cutesy bow.  So what do you think?


WHAT I USED:
OPI Sweet Memories on the full nail
Black Kiss Nail Art for details
Julep Brooke for purple shimmer
Kiss 3D bows


Please check out these other great bloggers who are participating in the Girly Girl Challenge as well.
Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog
Ashley of Follow The Yellow Polish Road
Stephanie of A Little Polish
Kelly of PolishEnthusiast
Jodi of Captivating Claws
Elly of Polishable
Olivia of Unprofessional Nails
Kate of This Charming Kate
Bethany of  A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy of The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia of Talon-ted
Johanna of Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda of Nox Nails
Ashley of Smashley Sparkles
Sarah of See Sarah Swatch
Emily of The Lacquerologist
Jess of LuvMyLacquer
Tressa of O' Natur Nail
ChiChi of I'm just me...ChiChi 

CR of Color Me Silly

Amanda of Berry Polished 

Robin, Erin, and Anna of Polished Cousins

Thanks for reading!
D

Tokyo Mani Inspired by JulieG

I was going to post this tomorrow or the next day, but I couldn't wait to show you.  Ok I know these are obnoxious and gaudy, BUT I LOVE THEM!  This is my "blog response" to YouTube's JulieG and her Girly Tokyo Party Nails.  Check these bad boys out!

 Yes, I know they are crazy, but girls in Tokyo wear their nails like this everyday.  So I started off with CG Lighthouse and used tape and butterLONDON Slapper in different directions.  I added some black dots using a Kiss Nail Artist pen.  Then came the fun part.

I found these Kiss Nail Artist 3D Charms which comes with bows, flowers, and even ice cream shapes.  They have a little tube of super glue on the back of each one which works way better than using clear polish to apply them.  So I just picked some bows and rhinestones and started applying them randomly on each nail and this is what became of that.

I never thought I would enjoy a crazy 3D mani like this, but I don't think I ever want to take it off.  It's so off-the-wall and each design is original.  The best part is that the charms are reuseable!


I really hope you all enjoy this mani as much as I do, and I would love, love, LOVE to see someone else attempt a Tokyo inspired mani.
D

Essence Choose Me and a Product Review

Today's polish is Essence Choose Me.  Love this color!  I couldn't wait to swatch and post this eventhough I've had it forever and worn it a hundred times.

I definitely couldn't get it to photograph correctly or maybe it just pulls more blue on my skin.  The actual color is more green/teal with some micro glitter.  It's pretty amazing.  There are many dupes out there in the world including Orly Haley's Comet and OPI Catch Me In Your Net, but for the price (99¢ at Ulta), I say this one is the best.


Now for my review on Kiss Nail Polish Strips that I used in THIS post just like I promised.  


I was extremely pleased with them; especially for the price.  I found them at Dollar General for $3 and they had 10 to 12 different prints from leopard and butterflies to swirls and flowers.  The application was a breeze.  There was no tearing, no wrinkles, nothing.  Just a smooth, easy application.  I noticed they are a lot thicker than the Sally Hansen strips which I think helped.  The only issue I found was, of course, longevity.  I only had a tiny bit of tip wear but nothing really noticeable.  They claim, just like every other brand, to last up to 10 days.  Well mine only lasted 5 days which I wasn't so upset about since I was itching to take them off and paint my nails again.  When it came time for removal, it was also a breeze.  I didn't even need nail polish remover.  I just picked up a side that had started to loosen and peeled it right off.  It did leave a little sticky gunk on my nails, but a little water got that off as well.


Review Wrap-Up
Price: $...a great value
Variety: I thought there was a wide variety of designs and I noticed on the Kiss website, there are even more that I did not see in the store.
Application:  super easy; no issues at all
Quality: great!  I love how thick they are.  The SH strips feel like tissue paper to me.
Wear:  They were awesome.  I didn't have any lifting or tearing and minimal tip wear after 5 days  of showers, baths, dishes, lotions, etc.
Removal:  extremely simple. I just peeled them off.  No polish remover needed.
Would I Purchase Again:  ABSOLUTELY!


I hope you guys enjoyed this lengthy post and thanks for reading!
D