NOTD: Sparkling Grape Soda

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday! I just wanted to post some pictures of the nail polish I have on right now because I thought they were cute =)

I'm wearing L.A. Colors Color Craze nail polish in Tropical Breeze and Star Light. I thought it would be cute to put the sparkly Star Light color only on my thumb and ring finger!

I thought the Tropical Breeze was a unique purple color that is nice for spring :)

It took three coats of Tropical Breeze to get the opacity and smoothness that I wanted but it applied evenly without any streaks and dried fast. I put two thin coats of Star Light on my thumb and index finger. I have bought a few L.A. colors polishes before and I really liked how they performed, but I cannot comment on the wear time of these polishes because I only applied them this morning!

Please excuse the cut on my palm in this picture! I know it looks kind of gross!

I hope you like this look. What is your favorite nail polish of the moment?

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a beautiful Saturday!

xoxo, Caitlin

My First (Reasonably Successful) Attempt at Purple Gradient Nails

Here are some pictures of purple gradient-style nail polish that I tried out earlier today. I have finals this week so naturally I am finding many things to do as a (not so productive) alternative to studying =P
 I think this is a really fun and not too difficult way of spicing your nails up a bit without having to go to a nail salon or glue on false nails! Once I have more practice with this technique I will post a tutorial on it, either a picture tutorial on here or a video tutorial in my YouTube channel.

One word of warning when trying nails like this: basically, you are layering bands of nail polish further and further down your nail so that the tip has about 8 coats of nail polish on it by the time you are done. Make sure you have enough time to let it dry completely because even though the top layer feels dry, the under layers are still squishy and prone to smudging! As well, I recommend using a fast drying top coat to help speed up the process. I have a review on my favorite nail top coat of all time coming soon!

I'm pretty happy with how these nails turned out for a first try! Let me know what you think. Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a beautiful day!
xoxo, Caitlin

Rimmel's Steel Grey: The Perfect Fall Polish!

A few weeks ago I treated myself and my sister to a mani at a fairly high-end spa. The spa had its own line of nail polishes, all of which I found a bit boring and not at all unique. I did end up choosing a polish that I was okay with but when I went up to pay for our services I saw that the girl at the front desk was wearing the most unique shade of creamy warm grey. I assumed it was one of the spa's own nail polishes and felt pretty snubbed that it wasn't one of the choices presented to me but when I asked which polish she was wearing, it turned out that it was from none other than drugstore brand Rimmel!

Turns out the color is from Rimmel London's Lasting Finish Pro nail polish line, which I have heard good things about! The color is called steel grey (number 207) but in my opinion it is a much creamier and warmer grey that what I would imagine a steel grey to be. It is a cream finish, which I am partial to, and I think it is a very unique shade perfect for fall! Cue the swatches!

The formula of this nail polish was impressive. It applied easily and opaquely in two coats and dried slightly darker than it appeared in the bottle. The brush is a bit different, kind of thick and flat, but it was very easy to use (although it might make things difficult if you have very small nails).

At only $5, this nail polish performed similarly to some of my more pricey nail polishes, and I am excited to try some of the other shades!

Overall, I think this is the perfect nail polish for fall. Its tame enough to wear to the office but it is still unique enough to make a statement.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have a beautiful day!

xoxo, Caitlin

FTC: Purchased by me. All opinions my own.

My First Attempt at Konad

On a recent trip to Los Vegas I purchased an introductory kit for Konad nail art which included the scraper, the stamper, three mini Konad special polishes, and two plates. I also bought three additional plates (if you are wondering what all this stuff looks like, I show it in my Vegas haul video part 1, here is a link).

I have seen many youtube tutorials and pictures of amazing nail art that people have done using Konad so I was really excited to try it out myself! It takes some practice to get the hang of, and I am definitely no where close to being a pro but I tried some simple looks this week and thought I would post some pics :)

The first is using OPI Princesses Rule nail polish, Konad Special Polish in White, and Konad image plate M56:

The second look is using OPI Do You Lilac It? nail polish, Konad Special Polish in white and Konad image plate M64:

I am definitely going to need some more practice to master the Konad technique but its really fun so far! I got a lot of compliments and people saying "how did you do that!" when they saw my nails.

Some quick tips I picked up along the way include working as fast as you can because the special polish dried instantly and pressing very firmly when pushing the stamper onto the plate and onto your nail!

Thank you for stopping by my blog! Have a gorgeous day!

XOXO, Caitlin

My New Love: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat!

 I love beautiful nail polish as much as the next makeup lover but I must admit that I used to rarely take the time to paint my fingernails. Now don't get me wrong, my toe nails are ALWAYS painted (I think toes look weird without polish LOL!) and I keep my nails neatly filed and my cuticles groomed but nail polish rarely graced the surface of my fingernails...until now! I recently purchased the much raved about Seche Vite nail top coat and I absolutely love it! In the past I used to spend forever painting my nails only to have the slowly drying polish smudge or chip and get scratched right away. I am extremely picky about how my finger nail polish looks and the second it would get messed up I would remove all the polish and avoid painting my nails for weeks! Seche Vite solves all of my nail polish woes because it is fast drying, extremely shiny, and more resistant to chipping and scratching than any top coat I have ever tried! I have started painting my fingernails on a regular basis and Seche Vite allows it to last for up to a week!

One thing to note though, Seche Vite contains some pretty harsh chemicals (you can smell the fumes when you use it) and I have read some things online saying that some bottles are printed with warnings stating that the product is known to the state of California to cause birth defects or something like that. While my bottle does not have such a warning on the back of it, I ALWAYS make sure to use this product in a very well ventilated area (preferrably outside or in a room that I won`t be spending much time in after I have painted my nails).

Overall, this is hands down the best nail top coat I have ever tried and I will continue to use it as long as I am in a well ventilated area! I hope everyone reading this is having a great day and thanks for stopping by my blog!

xoxo, Caitlin