All About Cie Marquise

I love the uniformity of acrylic nails and lately I've been missing my acrylic nails (I've worn them off and on for seven years) but I decided to try the new imPRESS Press On Manicure instead of heading to the nail salon. These glueless nails are produced by Broadway Nails (my favorite artificial nail brand) and are marketed to last up to a week. I was really impressed (no pun intended) by the designs this new manicure line offered. I picked up TGIF, a black nail with an assortment of silver dot design.



After getting home and prepping my nails for application, I realized the press on nails didn't fit! The packaging says that if the nails are too small you can press them onto the nails and stretch them out. I personally don't like the feeling of forcing false nails over my own nails. I was shocked since I've never ran into an issue with other Broadway Nail products. I was really bummed these didn't work for me. I returned the nails and am still missing the uniformity and length of false nails.

Try them out for yourself if you wish for around $8 at your local drugstore. Let me know how they work out for you. 

The hunt is over! I have officially found the perfect blue for me. Milani's Sail Away is an amazing denim blue from their new 2012 collection. Its a dark blue with silver shimmers. It is very opaque and applies beautifully. I wore this color and literally couldn't stop staring at my hands (few polishes have such a hold on me). Enjoy!!!

This is only one coat =0 AH-Maz-IN'

under fluorescent light

The picture on my jeans show the deep blue

Milani Sail Away is available at most drugstores for $4.49

Every once in a while, I HAVE to return to the dark manicures. So a few weeks ago I picked up Sinful Colors Secret Admirer (933). It is a concrete gray with silver shimmers. This is an amazing color to wear on a night out, it shimmers just enough to glow under the dark club lights. So for this manicure I used Secret Admirer and decided to mix it with Sinful Colors Black on Black polish. I used tape to create the straight edge. The gel like shine was created with the help of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.  **Please excuse the sloppy painting. I'm still practicing on the straight line at the cuticles.

In regular  (fluorescent) light

Black on Black

Secret Admirer

Natural Light

This weeks nail color was inspired by Beyonce. Since the birth of her daughter, Blue Ivy, she's been spotted wearing this beautiful blue color on her nails. I've always thought blue nails were trashy and ghetto looking, especially on my skin tone. Ha! Leave it to Beyonce to turn my fashion thoughts upside down. I've been on the hunt for a perfect blue so here's my first attempt at finding one that works for me.

Neon Aqua is by Klean Colors (that beauty supply brand I told you about) and is a bright blue cream polish. It applies a little thick but I didn't need to reach for a polish thinner. It is a very opaque non-streaking color. And just because I am who I am, I added a little sparkle to this manicure. Also by Klean Colors, Sparkle Emerald has very small gold and green glitters/sparkles in an ocean blue jelly. After playing around, I realized I like the glitter without a base. I used three coats of Sparkle Emerald and two coats of Sally Hansen Mega Shine topcoat to finish off with smooth nails.

I took these picture from my iPhone, I think they are a little clearer, yes?

I'm really excited to show this manicure off to see people's reactions. It is totally different from my usual pink/red/nudes but its definitely growing on me. I'm tempted to put a white crackle over it. What do you think, is this color too much?

I went to a salon and got a much needed professional manicure. You know with the added massage and super smell goods. Well I actually think my mind needed the relaxation of a manicure/pedicure than my nails needed the treatment. Sometimes all you need is a mani/pedi and those 30 minutes to put your phone on silent and just focus on yourself not your stress. 

This is a bit more orange than the actual bottle color . My nails have slightly more pink

Notice the gold shimmer

So I figured since its Valentine's day, I might as well get inspired by the upcoming "holiday". Although I have a test and quiz that day (aka no social plans, since I'll most likely be sleep), I think a bright red manicure with hearts will definitely keep my spirits high.

I used Sinful Colors GoGo Girl (#852) which is a fire engine red [o yeah, i went there =)] and foil glitter hearts by Klean Colors in Twinkly Love (#38). Now the Klean Colors brand can be hard to find as its not in drugstores. I actually found this color in downtown LA but I have also seen this brand in small beauty supply houses. Therefore, you can use any heart nail design, I actually just used a toothpick to move and position the little love symbols. In my first design I only used three hearts, then I said why not go all out and covered the entire nail. Enjoy!

Just for kicks!

Sinful Colors are available at most drugstores for $1.99 and Walgreens has them on sale for $0.99 this week. 

I am finally back to my nail of the week post. It’s been a while, yes I know, but here’s a little update on what’s been on my hands. So I took a week to just be natural with only nail hardener and top coat. Then I tried the “do-it-yourself” gel manicure and let me say, that stuff is more than a notion. After two failed attempts with two different colors (that’s another post in itself), I’ve decided to take a break and go back to regular nail polish.

I didn't worry about the streaks since I knew it was only a base

Wedding White by Confetti

Stary Pink (or Popular) by Revlon

I didn't do a nail of the week at the beginning of this week because I had a simple gel french manicure. Gel manicures have a special polish that is set with UV lights and typically last about 2 weeks without chipping. I hardly get a full two weeks, but when I wear gloves to wash dishes and take extra care then I can get almost 3 weeks. With that being said, I decided that since Christmas dinner was hosted at our house I would need a manicure that would last through the excessive dish and hand washing. Since gel manicures typically last for two weeks, I got the french manicure because it would transition from Christmas to New Years with ease. Well that's the update, but more nail color are to come.