Thursday, July 30, 2009

NOTD: Orly Enchanted Forest



Enchanted Polish is part of Orly's new fall collection "Once Upon a Time". It's a very deep forest green creme. It does look almost black in dark lighting, but in all other lights, it's definitely green. It has a dustyness to it that keeps it from looking like other green cremes out there, at least from what I've seen in swatches. It's one of the few dark greens I own, and the only creme. There are several companies that have introduced or are introducing green cremes lately, but due to cost, this is the one I chose. It was $3 and change from Victoria Nail Supply.

As an aside, if you haven't checked out VNS... do! It's a good e-tailer and one that doesn't get a lot of press. If you are a non-pro, you can only order Sation, Orly, Color Club, and China Glaze. Someone did mention that she was able to call and order d/c'd OPIs w/o being a pro, but you definitely can't order them online. Plus, I don't know if that was a one-time exception to their rule or if they let that slide if you call. I haven't checked. I think she said OPIs for non-pros were almost $7. So it wasn't like you were getting a bargain. However, their shipping was fast. I ordered a crap ton of ChGs, 3 CCs, and this lone Orly. I think I'm biased against Orly. For one, I hate their bottle cap. It's so stupid to me, and 2, I remember when Orlys were gallon sized (I think they were like 0.75 oz or something ridiculous like that). Now, they are 0.6 oz, which is still larger than the standard 0.5 oz. Also, they d/c'd Red Sea Pearl and I can't find it anywhere, and to rub salt in that wound... I had about 3-4 bottles of the color at various points in my 20's and I threw them away because they got goopy. :( Megan=Dumbass. I would kill for my old Orly bottles that I tossed.

But anyway, there was a point to my tyrade, I promise. As a result of the above, I don't own many Orlys. I have this new EF, Sol Cabana, and the one that supposed to be a dupe of OPI PPP and I'm too lazy to look up the name. At one point, I also had a light pink, but it sucked and I gave it away. Enchanted Forest's application reaffirmed my dislike for Orly. I swear, I'm getting pretty good at applying polish. With OPI's ProWide brush, I'm a ninja. I'm not quite as proficient with other brands, but man... this Orly kicked my butt. My fingers kinda looked like a drunk lady applied the polish. I was able to clean them up a bit, but it's not perfect. Grrr. I blame it on the stupid handle, but in actuality, I think it was the formula. It's kind of runny and not the easiest to control.

Additionally, I had some bubbling. I never get bubbling, so I have no idea what was up with that. I think I read that someone else on the NB had the same issues, so maybe it's just a couple bum bottles floating around. It didn't affect the color, but my nail surface looked awful. Because of this bubbling, I had to do something other than the konad I'd had planned. I looked in my stash and found Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor glitter. It looks fab over EF. Amazing, even. If you have EF and you have PH, give it a go and put the 2 together. You won't be sorry, I promise.






In short, ha... yeah right, after I wrote a novel... EF is a pretty color. It's good if you want to jump into the dark green creme pool, but don't want to fork over $18 for RBL Recycle, or some of the other, higher-priced options. I'm definitely going to try again soon to see if I can't combat those bubbling issues and pair it with ChG Cherish for a konad.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

NOTD: OPI Lourve Me, Lourve Me Not with Love My Nails Diva



Lourve Me, Lourve Me Not is from OPI's fall 2008 France collection. I think it's one of 5 or so that I have from this collection. I thought I had tried it before, but then I realized I was confusing the name with Yes, I Can-Can, though the colors aren't all that similar. It's a medium grape purple shimmer. In the bottle, it's a beautiful color, but, IMO, it didn't translate well to the nail. I used 2 coats, and there were still a couple bald spots. It could have used a third coat, but I didn't realize the spots were there until I'd already applied my TC. On the nail, it was more like an eggplant tone, except for in bright light. Only then could you see the grapey-ness. The shimmer was not noticeable, either. It was a pretty color, but because bottle color didn't translate directly to nail color, I was a bit disappointed. I didn't take a picture of this color by itself, because my battery was dead. I did swatch it on a tip, though.



So, I had plans of doing another konad, but then I decided I didn't want to deal with the hassle, so I saw Love My Nails Diva glitter, that I'd picked up at Walmart a week or so ago. The glitter itself is similar to the color of the glitter in Zoya Roxy, though perhaps a bit more magenta. There is also short blue bar glitter. It looks perfect over LMLMN. I really love this. I took pics the best I could, but glitters are impossible to get true-to-life, for me. BTW, this was 3 coats of TC.







If you are interested, LMLMN is still available at e-tailers and probably in stores, I don't think it's been d/c'd. Diva is available where they sell Love My Nails, but I've only seen them at Walmart. The best part? It's 99 cents! You can view the colors at http://www.baricosmetics.com/. You can actually order from Bari, but you have to call them as they do not have online ordering capabilities.

EDITED to reflect the fact that I'm an idiot and thought the brand name was "Luv..." rather than "Love...", no matter that the bottle was right under my title.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Weekend mini haul and other ramblings...



So I think I have a compulsion to buy nail polish where ever I see it. We were in Big Lots on Friday evening and I happened to check the makeup section looking for some Revlons that were posted on the NB. Sweet Nothings, maybe? I can't remember the exact name. Anyway, so I found them... didn't like them, and saw these SHs instead. From L-R, Cardinal, Poppy, and Pink Sapphire. Unfortunately, I think Cardinal is going to the be only one I actually like. Poppy looks nowhere near as orangey-red as it did in the store and I think I have a dupe of Pink Sapphire, Maybelline Pink Carats, though PS looks darker. Cardinal, however, looks like a perfect true red, perhaps a cherry red. And I think it may be a jelly, but I can't really tell. They were only a buck, too, so not so bad. :)



Also, I received OPI Music Hall Curtain Call in the mail today. In the pic, it looks like a gold-tinged copper, but there's a little more pink in it, IRL. It's another one from the OPI Rockettes Holiday collection from 2006. I think the official name of the Rockettes collection is Kick Up Your Heels. This makes #4 in my collection from KUYH, with the others being Rose to the Ovation, Berry Good Dancers, and Star-ring the Rockettes. I'm also lemming Merry Crimson, Red Dazzle, Opening Night Champagne or I Get a Kick out of Gold, and Espresso Your Style. Though, since it's d/c'd and I'm having to buy off eBay, who knows if I'll get any more of these. It was an awesome collection, though.
I really think, however, that I need to slow down the buying. Not too long ago, I was freaking out about my car payment and my forgetfulness, and now, though things are okay, I'm buying polishes left and right. There is truly nothing that I need and buying for buying's sake is just a waste of money right now.
Lastly, I'm so over this mani I'm wearing. It's the same one that I posted about over the weekend, and it's just not working. I even applied a coat of Maybelline Golden Cloud over it and while it's helped, it still doesn't work with my skintone. I usually try to let my manis go 3 nights but I think I may soak this one off tonight and start over.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

KOTD: ChG Pink-Rox-E/ ChG Passion


I apologize for the pics not being 100% clear, but this mani was problematic for my camera. This was the best I could do. I took about 20 pics. Also, I'm having issues with the formatting of this post. No matter how many spaces I put between the below text, it still smooshes together. I suspect it has something to do with posting the pics and user error. Hope you can still read it okay.

Looks like my streak of being in swoony love with my manis has come to an end. :( It's not that I don't like this mani, I do, in an "it's okay" kind of way. It's definitely not a favorite. I miss my PVO/Emotion Konad. :'( LOL.
Pink Rox-E is from ChG's Surf Collection that came out Summer 2007. The polishes have been d/c'd, but you can still find them on eBay, and perhaps e-tailers (I only checked TD and they didn't have it when I was looking. H2T, 8ty8, or VNS may still have it). I got this because I was in love with ChG's glass flecked shimmers, but unfortunately, I don't think this one works for me. I'd read that Pink-Rox-E was a perfect pink for warm girls and I'm more cool, but since the color itself looked almost identical to my HG medium pink, OPI EPP, I gave it a shot. It's a warm creamy pink with golden glass flecked shimmer. IRL, it is darker than in the picture. It reminds me of Strawberry Fields, in the sense that they the glass fleck in each of these is gold. It must be the golden shimmer that clashes with my skin. Strawberry Fields didn't really work w/ me either.
Once I picked PRE, I knew Passion would be the perfect konad. It seems I can't do any mani with out a konad now. It's from the Romantique collection, just like all my konad designs of late. It's a pretty muted gold. It worked perfectly with the konad system and is a great compliment to the gold glass flecked shimmer in PRE. Even though I don't really like PRE with my skintone, I do like the overall look with the konad. I think it looks like lace, and for some reason it reminds me of my grandmother. I think it's because she used to have some pajamas that were this exact color of pink and were trimmed with gold and pink lace. She used to let me wear them when I'd spend the night. Again, if it worked with my skintone, I'd really love it.
The plate is m71, for anyone who is wondering. It's one of the new ones I got from wowsocool.com. I specifically got it for this particular design, but the others on the plate are very nice as well. This is the first time I used a full nail design. Looks like there's a bit of a learning curve with the full nail designs, even if you know how to use the other plates. :)

Friday, July 24, 2009

I got a few things in the mail yesterday...

and I thought I'd show y'all what I got, as I'm still wearing the PVO konad from the other day.



I got 3 new plates from wowsocool.com. The fruit plate, the girl plate, and the heart/bow plate (m55, m71, m59 respectively). I can't wait to try them. I'm thinking about a full nail design using Orly Enchanted Forest and ChG Awaken. We'll have to see if I'll still be the mood for that when the time comes. LOL. I'm fickle. :P

I also got 3 new mattes. OPI RN matte, OPI La Paz matte, and Zoya Posh. I know in the past I was all "buh?" with the mattes, but they are intruiging to me. La Paz and Posh look more satiny than chalkboard matte. As for RN, as much as I don't like the original (I'm beginning to think I got a bum bottle), the swatches of RN-M look amazing. I'm also curious to konad with these 3. I also have a couple of Maybelline mattes that I kind of forgot about until after I'd bought these. Also, I know my experience w/ Zoya has been iffy, but there's something about Posh that is so appealing to me. It's odd how a certain polish will remind you of the smallest thing. Posh reminds me of a trip we took when I was 10 to Biltmore in Asheville, NC. You know why? The chairs. Many of the antique chairs in Biltmore were upholstered in red velvet the exact color as Posh. It takes me back to one of the happiest memories of my childhood. Silly, huh? :)

And speaking of childhood... bonus pic. My son, Blake, was on the counter, even though he knows it's a no-no, and rather than get all mommy on him, I just started snapping pics. His twin sister was running around in the living room, so no pic of her. He was looking in the camera saying "cheee, cheee". <3


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

NOTD: OPI Parlez-Vous OPI? with ChG Emotion


I know I sound like a broken record, but I love this one, too. Before, I wasn't a fan of PVO. Maybe I was on crack before, because this is such a gorgeous, and different, color. It's a smokey lavender creme from OPI's France Collection from last fall. I got several shades from that collection and this was my least favorite. Not any more, it's so, so nice.
As much as I loved it alone, once I added the konad design to it, I loved it even more. It's plate m35 and I used ChG Emotion from the Romantiques collection. I'm on a Romantiques kick lately. All of my konads of late have been from this collection. They work so well.
Also, I'm not sure if anyone but me notices this, but for some reason this color combo looks like brocade fabric or a Japanese Kimono. I thought my last mani was my favorite of all time, but this one may just top it. Love.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle Pictures



As promised, here are pictures of Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle. Isn't it gorgeous? Now that it's daylight, I can see a lot more detail in this color. It has, not only silver glitter, but blue glitter as well. I think that, along with the base being creme, not jelly, is the big difference between SSN and TT. I still love it, though. Yay Dollar Tree!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Konadding is addictive! And other randomness

As my camera is dead and I can't show you my new mani, I figured I'd just post about the addictiveness of Konad. Gone are the days where I could just slap on 2-3 coats of polish and be done with it. Oh no. Now I have to make sure every mani has a konad design. I'm no longer satisfied with plain nails. I have to be all decked out. Once I had (mostly) mastered the technique, I wanted to konad every time and all the time. It's a sickness.


There are still things I need to improve upon, like design placement, but I just love thinking about my next "konad kreation". cringe Trust me, that was so painful to type, but I just had to do it. LOL. I love konadding so much that I bought an entire collection of polishes, ChG Romantique, with the express purpose to konad w/ them. Now that I have them and I see just how pretty they are, I do plan on using them as base colors as well, but they are fab for konadding. I have yet to have a problem with getting one of the Romantique colors to behave with the konad system. I used ChG Awaken to konad over Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle and it is so, so pretty. I do plan on sticking my camera battery in the charger right after I finish this post, so I can be sure to show it off.

Speaking of konad, I keep reading about people konadding over the new mattes that are all the rage, and while I like the idea of it, I also don't know how it would work. I can't imagine a konad without a topcoat. Wouldn't the design peel off? In the sake of research, I ordered 3 mattes from another favorite eBay seller, maiaandjays. I got OPI La Paz-itively Hot Matte, Russian Navy Matte and Zoya Posh. Of all the mattes I've seen, these were the 3 that appealed to me the most. I admit that up until all these matte collections broke, the thought of flat, matte, shineless nails just didn't ring my bell at all. But after seeing swatches, Posh and La Paz look almost satin rather than matte and, well, RN Matte? It just looks damn cool.

Above, I mentioned Maybelline Twinkle, Twinkle and I would be remiss if I didn't, in this mess of randomness, give it a little shout out. As it's totally rockin', I promise to take pictures and I will have them up Monday. If you are like me and Essie Starry, Starry Night is your #1, saw off a limb, slap yo mama, give up chocolate, lemming, then Twinkle Twinkle, while not perfectly dupey is a very, very good substitute. Given that I don't own SSN, I can't compare first hand, but from what I gather, SSN is silver glitter in a jelly base. TT is silver glitter in a deep, though true, navy creme base. The cool thing about SSN is the fact that the glitter seems to be layered and I was worried that this would not be the case with TT. All my worrying was for naught, it seems, as my nails do look like little night skies. Fair warning, this polish does suck up the topcoat, so I'm wearing 2 coats now and I will probably apply a third tomorrow. It doesn't totally kill my lemming for SSN, but it certainly maims it. :P Unfortunately, TT itself is also HTF, but not impossible. It's d/c'd, but I got mine at the Dollar Tree. I knew it was a close dupe for SSN and HTF in it's own right, so once I saw it at the DT, I snatched it up. I think I also looked around to make sure no one was encroaching on my territory. Like a psycho, np obsessed, mama lion, I was. ;)

Well, I think that's all the ramblin' for now. Tomorrow, I will have pics of TT. Scout's honor.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Lookie what I just got!





Pretty cool, huh?
Vampire State Building is from the 2000 NYC Fall/Winter collection. It's a really dark, vampy red, and it's extremely HTF. I wasn't a np fanatic back then, so the only colors from the NYC collection I was familiar with were Soho Nice to Meet You and Grand Central Carnation. The first time I'd heard about VSB was in the OPI Colorcopia Game from a few months back. I loved the name and thought the color was beautiful, so for curiosity's sake, I'd looked for it once or twice on eBay, only to find out it was going for $30+ for this one bottle. Nutso. I hadn't really given it a second thought until the other day when I was checking out one of my new favorite sellers and she happened to list VSB for... get this... $8.99. She has other HTF polishes, but this was the first one like this I'd seen. So, I snatched it up thinking either I got a really good deal or I got taken. Either way $11 shipped was worth the risk. It looks 100% genuine to me, and I've compared bottle and swatch pics with others online and it looks identical. It's a beautiful color, one I have nothing similar to in my collection. The closest I have is St. Petersburgundy and it's too light to be a dupe.
I've kind of OD'd on OPI and I don't plan on buying any colors from the Espana Collection, but I do like to find HTFs. It's like a game. A game that drains all my money. :)

Friday, July 17, 2009

ChG Thunderbird comparisons

On the NB the other day, a poster asked for a comparison between OPI INRAW and ChG Thunderbird. I happened to have them both handy, so I did a quick swatch of INRAW and compared it to the ThB on my nails. It's similar, but not a dupe, IMO. I think a closer dupe is OPI Bogota Blackberry, which I posted. I happened to swatch them both for another poster along w/ ThB and I figured I'd post the comparison here just in case anyone was wondering.


From L-R: OPI INRAW, ChG ThB, and OPI BB
I'm not sure how much of a difference you can see, but there is one IRL. ThB is the perfect in-between color for INRAW and BB. It's got that blackened thing that everyone keeps mentioning (I'm pretty sure Scrangie started it, so kudos for an excellent description!), and it's also brighter than BB and more red than INRAW, which is a cool red shimmer. I don't think ThB is a warm red (like OPI AAIRS), but there is no pink in it. If you are wanting a dupe, I'd say BB would fit the bill, but it's deeper and it doesn't look like a shiny, red mirror like ThB. If you love red shimmers as much as me, then I say get it... you won't be disappointed.

Facebook Nail Pics

I've been putting NOTD pics on Facebook now for about a month and I thought I'd share the URL here.

http://tinyurl.com/polishproblem1

Just click that link and you'll see all my NOTDs in one place rather than having to scroll through the blog.

EDIT: I also linked to this in the upper right hand corner.

So the acrylic experiment didn't go so well...

I'm sorry for not posting for several days, but I've been in acrylic hell and I haven't really felt like showing off my nails.

Maybe I was doing them wrong or maybe the tip and dip kit just sucked, but they didn't last for more than 24 hours, in some cases, before they started lifting. I did 2 sets on me and a set on my mom and none of them lasted longer than 2 days. :( I've given up and gone back to glue-ons with a promise to myself to entirely soak off the suckers.

So anyway, while I was dealing w/ the acrylics mess, I did manage to take a couple of NOTD pics. Please pardon the acrylics, I know they don't look the best, and my cuticles are sad in a couple of them, but at least you can see the colors, right? :)

Okay, here's ChG Thunderbird




This is from the new Retro Diva collection. When I first saw the publicity pics and the swatch pics on ALU, I wasn't intrigued. Then Scrangie swatched them and I was a fan. I liked Thunderbird because it looked so similar to Zoya Isla (from the new Truth or Dare collection), but I didn't have to order (and use) a Zoya, because in recent months, my Zoya love has wained. I can't stand to use their little brushes and the formula just doesn't work for me. :(


Anyway, Thunderbird is so beautiful and while similar to several colors in my stash, specifically OPI INRAW and Bogota Blackberry (I'll make a separate post showing them side-by-side). It's a dark red shimmer than has this blackened thing going on that makes it just glow and sets it apart from other similar colors.


Once I took Thunderbird off, I did another mani on the acrylics using CC Revvvolution and ChG Adore konad. Here's a pic:





I thought this was so pretty on the nail itself, but once you factored in my skintone, I didn't really like it. I got Revvvolution because of it's similarities to OPI My Private Jet. I'd been wanting to try MPJ, but considering all the different versions, I didn't feel comfortabe ordering it from an e-tailer. Didn't want to play MPJ-roulette. :P

Revvvoltion is a pretty charcoal base with holo shimmer. I think this will be very nice for using as a konad color and on shorter nails. I like longer nails on other people and I envy those who can wear any color on their long nails, but certain colors look like poo on me if I leave my nails longer.

So after I took this pic, I started soaking off the acrylics. I've given up and I'm going back to my Nailenes. I put on CC Coastal Creme and let me just say that I love this color. Both CCs I've tried, CC and Revvv, have been excellent in application. CC did need 3 coats on my thumbs because of a little streaking, but that's it. It's a beautiful creme cream. That sounded weird.

Then today, I applied a konad design using ChG Joy. Here's a pic:



My cuticles are a bit dark from the Revvvolution. As hard as I tried, I could not make it all go away. I have to say that this is probably my favorite konad thus far. I love the ChG Romantiques for konadding, but more on that in a later post.

That's all for now. I will have more either tonight or tomorrow when I get another chance to sit down.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Dancing w/ the Devil (again)

I know I've posted about my recovery from acrylics and my glue-on usage for months now. So, I'm sure the last thing it seems I would have done would be to get another set of acrylics. But that's exactly what I did. However, and this is a big, HUGE however, I did them myself. No drilling, no pain. I used the Lightening Fast Acrylics kit by Kiss. I found it w/ the nail stuff at Walgreen's and it was around $15 w/ tax. I just realized the other day that the glue-ons were killing my nails and I wasn't willing to go with naked nails. Aside from the actual look of them, they just hurt like crazy. I have to have something on them. So I figured putting acrylics over my natural nails is the best way to have them grow and be protected. But there was no way I was going to another salon, so I just got a kit and did them myself. I wish I'd done this back in November when I had the bright idea to get a full set. They are by no means perfect and I consider this first time a learning experience, but they look pretty good for a first time. I had to go to Sally's this morning and get some different buffers as the one in the kit sucked at buffing out all the bumpies, but the ones from Sally's worked great. I also need to get an acrylic cutter, but the cheapest one at Sally's was $15 so I passed. My camera's in the car, so once I get back from church tonight, I'll post pics.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Glue-ons update

I've been experimenting with various glue-on nails and nail glue combinations and I think I've found a good one. Currently, I'm using Kiss tips and Bondini glue. The Kiss tips are just like the nails you get at your drugstore, but they are tips. There are 100 in a box, just like the nails and are around $6-7 a box. I got this box I'm using from my mom, so I can't attest to the actual price. I use the tips just I would use a full nail and then I cut them way down. They are so easy to hold because they are so long and since I'm using Bondini, anything that keeps me from glueing myself to the table is a plus. :)

I mentioned last week that I used Bondini and I didn't like the performance. Well, I'm guessing it's weakness was from the chlorine in my IL's pool. It's been holding strong since Monday afternoon. I even changed my polish (since these tips are thicker than full nails, I gave it a try) and it's still on there.

Current NOTD is OPI Miami Beet w/ a Konad french in OPI DS Exclusive. My camera's in the car, and I'm too chicken to go out and get it, as it's almost 2a, so I'll get a picture when the sun's up. :P

Monday, July 6, 2009

NOTD: BB Couture for Nails Kokomo with Orly Sol Cabana and ChG Turned Up Turquoise




First off, I apologize for all my designs being upside-down, but I konad like I am looking at the design, so when I take the picture with my fingers bent (which I find is the best angle for np photos), the design is upside-down. I should konad so I am looking at the image upside-down, as I see a lot of NBers do that, but it would drive me bananas. LOL.


This KOTD is BB Couture Kokomo with Orly Sol Cabana flowers and ChG TuT butterflies. I have both butterflies and flowers on my thumbs.



I really like Kokomo as a color. It's a soft buttercream yellow color. It was a bit difficult in applying if only that it was a bit streaky. This is 2 coats, but it could have used a third. However, sometimes 3 coats + TC has a hard time drying on glue-on nails, so I just did the 2. Plus, I was planning on doing a konad so I wanted to limit my number of coats. I don't think Kokomo alone necessarily works with my skintone, but once I added the konad designs, I like it much more with my skin.

This was the last of my 4 BB Couture polishes to try and the one I was the most apprehensive about. I really like it though, especially as a base color. It's such a soft, pretty color that I think this will be a go-to color as a base for konadding. I'm already planning a mani in my head using Kokomo and Misa Chocolate Icing. That would be so perfect for fall. Maybe the CI and a darker red.

As for Sol Cabana and TuT, I specifically got both of these colors to use for konad designs, but I could definitely see using them as pedi colors, for the 4x a year, I don't leave my toes nekkid that is. :P I may even try a mani using TuT as a base and my go-to Misa Got to be Real silver as the design color.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July...

well at least what's left of it. Here on the East Coast, we have 17 minutes as I started writing this post.
First off, I apologize for not updating in almost a week. I kept telling myself I needed to post an update and then I'd get bogged down in something and forget.
As today is the 4th of July, I do have an Independence Day mani to post.

This is Essie Marshmallow base with Essie Aruba Blue fireworks, Misa Got to be Real stars and a very shaky Essie Hot-E french. I am sorry for the state of my cuticles in this picture. The are pretty raggedy-ass and if I didn't want to show you the cute mani and the improvement in my konadding skills, I wouldn't post it. A lot of it has to do with glue on my cuticles, but my fingers are also pretty dry and my cuticles have a tendency to peel when that happens. I applied a shitload of Mango Mend after I removed this and my cuticles do look much better. Not great, but better. Unfortunately, with glue-ons cuticles can never look flawless, at least not with my application skills.
BTW, as you probably noticed, I said that I removed the above mani. I was pretty bummed about it, too. I'd used Bondini glue, hoping I would get more wear from it than other nail glues. I know my mom says that's what her former nail tech would use to apply tips. Anyway, perhaps it was the chlorine from my IL's pool last night, or perhaps the Bondini is just shit, but either way, it didn't last for much more than 24 hours. My first multi-colored konad, too. BooHiss.
So, last night, instead of cleaning house, I had to reapply my nails, as I was not going to have the time today. I put on an untried, BB Couture for Nails Fairy Blood. This color is so pretty and it really reminds me of ChG Ruby Pumps, though with less glitter. I don't own Ruby Pumps, but I did at one point, my sister swiped it and I never saw it again. Again, BooHiss.
Here's Fairy Blood with a brand-new, 2 hours old konad. Plate m35 with Misa Got to be Real. Coincidentally, it's the fairy plate. Funny. I didn't plan that.

As you see, and yes, I am saying this to redeem myself, but my cuticles look much better. :)
Also, you may notice, that my konadding skills seem to be getting better. As I mentioned in a response to HardyMem below, my biggest problem now is consistency with design placement. I learned a lot from a tutorial by Siobhan on the MUA NB. Most importantly, I feel, I learned to roll the design on to the stamp rather than just pressing. You get it on there perfectly everytime this way. Once I get design placement down, I'll be good to go... I hope. LOL.