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.