Nails | star-crossed smile

Beauty Buys: Pastel Nail Polishes

May 13, 2015 11 Comments

I think I’ll always have a weakness for pretty nail polishes. I mentioned that I did a bit of shopping a couple weekends ago and I picked up three new nail colors. I’m in love with them all!

I went to Topshop specifically to pick up the color on the left (Blue Rinse). I first saw it on Anna’s instagram and it immediately shot to the top of my wish list. Blue is my favorite color and this shade just looked so pretty. This was my first time really looking at the Topshop nail polishes and they actually have a very nice color range. Since there was a 2/$15 deal, I thought, “Why not grab another color?!” I already own a few mint green nail polishes, but that won’t stop me from buying more. This one from Topshop is called Boy Next Door and it has a little more blue in it than my other mint nail colors (you can see how it looks on me here).

I finally visited & Other Stories in Soho and thought that the clothes were cute, if a bit overpriced. They have a nice section of the store filled with skincare and beauty bits, so I enjoyed browsing that. I was really excited when I saw this pale yellow nail polish because I’ve been looking for a color like this for a while. I hope that when I apply it on my nails, the color is just as pretty as it is in the bottle.

Beauty

5 Winter Nail Polish Colors

January 21, 2015 6 Comments

Today I wanted to talk about a few of the nail polishes that I’ve been reaching for lately. In winter, I definitely gravitate towards darker, moody colors. Every once in a while, I’ll break up my dark streak with a lighter color and during the festivities last month I was all about that sparkle.

Essie Barefoot in Blue (similar)- This is a nail polish that I won (I think?). It was created in a collaboration between Essie and TOMS. It’s a dusty cornflower blue and I think it’s a color that looks great in spring or winter.

Julep Quinn– When I find a color that’s different from everything else in my collection, I get pretty excited. This is a muted purple-grey nail polish with a satin finish. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen a color like this, so I think this nail polish is very interesting.

Rimmel Salon Pro Red Award– I’m still not over these deep reds for fall/winter. I love the formula of this polish and if you want to learn more, you can check out my previous beauty fave post.

Joe Fresh Navy (similar)- When I first discovered Joe Fresh a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find out that they also carry some beauty products. Their nail polishes were 3/$10, so of course I had to buy a few and try them out. I think the quality of these is good and I love a good navy blue.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Wedding Glitters– During the month of December, I pretty much only wore glitter polishes on my nails. For two weeks I used Formula X Wham!, but when I traveled home for Christmas I didn’t take any nail polish with me. I was browsing Walgreens for a hair dryer and I spotted this pretty gold shimmer (Typical. I basically can’t go into the drugstore without buying a nail polish.). It’s eye-catching and also great because it’s contains fine glitter, instead of chunky glitter that’s a pain to remove.

Beauty

Mani Monday

June 23, 2014 13 Comments

You guys already know that I’m a nail polish addict, so I thought I’d show you a few colors that I’ve tried out recently. I paint my nails one or two times a week and I usually document it all on instagram. As we’ve moved from spring to summer, I’ve transitioned from the pastels to brighter, bolder colors. I used to be all about the nail art, but in the past year or so, I’ve found myself preferring a manicure in one single solid color.

Tell me: What’s your go-to color for summer?

(starting top left, 1. Priti NYC September Charm, 2. Rimmel London Salon Pro Britpop, 3. Rimmel London Salon Pro Hip Hop, 4. N.Y.C. In a Minute Robin’s Egg Blue, 5. Rimmel London Salon Pro Purple Rain, 6. Revlon Parfumerie Apricot Nectar, 7. Essie Truth or Flare, 8. E.L.F. Nail Polish Teal Blue, 9. Nails Inc. Haymarket)

Beauty

My Manicure Routine (Video)

June 12, 2014 12 Comments

Thank you guys so much for your positive feedback on my first video. It was really fun to try something different and learn a few new skills. Also, that first one was quite a long one, so an extra-big thanks for taking the time to watch it!

As promised, my second video is a lot shorter and in it I’m sharing my manicure routine. Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while will know that I’m a self-professed nail polish addict. I’ve always loved painting my nails, even as a kid. Here’s the story- my sister and I weren’t actually allowed to wear nail polish until we were 16. I found this rule very hard to obey, so we would sneakily ‘borrow’ our mom’s nail polish and paint our nails in our room. Once my mom spotted the color on our nails, she made us take it off, but then a couple days later we’d be back to our nail-painting antics. I’m guessing that part of the reason I fell hard for nail polish was the fact that it was sort of forbidden!

Over the years, I think I’ve gotten relatively good at painting my nails, so I thought it would be fun to make a video showing you my routine and the products I currently use. I hope you enjoy this and I’d love to hear about your go-to products for painting your nails in the comments below. Also, a while back I wrote about how I planned to organize my growing nail polish collection, so maybe I could do another little video on that if you’re interested?

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