Kell's DIY Nails

I've been addicted to buying all of The Lady Varnishes polishes from a certain someone's stash sales. This is one of those indie polish makers who knows how to make combos that I have a hard time resisting. The fact that I get them at really great prices through the stash sale mentioned earlier makes them irresistible.  Among the Clouds is a pale periwinkle varnish, with indigo flecks and a subtle gold to green shimmer. I got that straight off the esty listing because I was having one heck of a time figuring out how to describe it. Can't I just say it's good? Like really good?? What you see here is 3 coats. I used thin coats and it dried super quick. The formula is on the thick side but a good thick; easy to apply and I didn't have to fuss to get good placement of the flakes. I absolutely love the shimmer in this and the complexity of the blend. It's also scented; this particular one I believe is Lilac Blossom and it smells really nice. Check out that bottle s...

Hey, Guys! On Tuesday I saw Motley Crüe for their Final Tour and I'm still dragging ass! Fun but exhausting! My nails were pretty basic; I didn't have time to do anything more. I started with a base color of Zoya, Raven , a nice black with very fine silver shimmer (sorry, no photo of Raven). I used one medium coat and I had a few sheer spots but for this mani it wasn't an issue. Two thin coats would have been ideal. Good formula and easy to apply. After Raven was dry I added one coat of Orly, Space Cadet . I've been waiting for the perfect time to wear this... and this was it. I love the metallic oil slick look! Formula was super easy to apply. I also applied Illamasqua's UV Glow Top Coat, Geist , because Michaela suggested it but it turned out there weren't any black lights at the concert. Just had to do 'Devil Horns'! Sorry about the tip wear in the photos but it took me 2 days to take photos. Here's a quick 60 second clip of the open...

I'm back with another quick & dirty mani and of course it's another texture. Life's been a heck of a ride lately so these quick drying and durable texture polishes are just what the doctor ordered! I think this is the only one out of the Summer Gumdrops Collection I hadn't gotten around to wearing. It's a very pretty orangey pink coral with a very heavy golden shimmer. This particular one is a little on the sheer side. I'm currently trying to grow our some stained nails so it took me 3 coats to cover my staining but otherwise I think you could get away with 2 coats. And I have to admit these polishes are even great for refreshing; I had originally applied just the 2 coats then realized I could still see my staining a little. I was so busy that I couldn't add the 3rd coat until a couple of days later. I had obvious tip wear (no surprise considering my occupation as a tax preparer) but I was able to quickly & easily wrap my tips and layer on my 3rd coa...

My Red Holo mani was looking pretty beat up (the price we pay for holos, right?) so I needed a quick and dirty mani. When that happens I go for a Texture. They dry super fast and don't require a top coat. They are incredibly durable too! Yellow Mark is a lemon yellow creme texture. The formula was a bit streaky on the 1st coat but evened out well on the 2nd. This formula is a little on the watery side and requires a light touch but the brush will do the majority of the work for you and I didn't have an issue with pooling at the cuticle. As yellows go I think this is a great one! I think this is the only 2 coat yellow I've ever met! It's still available but it's Limited Edition so get it while you can!

After my 4th of July Fail I put on this gorgeous red linear holographic polish. It leans slightly wine red giving it a deeper, richer tone. Most red holos I've seen lean a bit blue or orange and have a tendency to be lighter or brighter. This is pretty epic. 2 super easy coats and a top coat of In A Hurry . It is little on the sheer side but I find most holos are. The formula is thin and easy to work with. I considered adding a patriotic glitter on top but I just couldn't do it. It's too good just by itself.  The good news is this polish is still available over on the Bear Pawlish website but don't wait too long or you will miss it!

These were the only two left to photograph. Hey Kids! (That's what I always say to my pets)  I thought I would wear my Jamberry Nail Strips in Born To Sparkle today. I absolutely love the colors and print of these. These were the exclusive Sisters Style for the month if June and are no longer available for purchase. Half of them are in the red with white stars and the other half are in the red to silver gradient. You can apply them as you like; as an accent nail, alternating (which is what I originally did here), or any way that suits your fancy. They are also very fitting for the occasion. The last time I wore some Jamberry Nail Strips was when I did this Black & White Skittle. When I wore these I had a bit of a problem with the edges pulling up and away from the nail. It was really annoying when washing and styling my hair; they kept getting caught.  This time I thought I would try to add a base coat that would help keep the strips adhered to my nails. Barielle's Nail...

We are now on our very last challenge; Week 8 of the Polish Swap Society's Nail Art Challenge is  WHO'S THAT HOMBRE? Create an ombre/gradient look with the help of this tutorial   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQe6jGUkVQA . When I swatched Barielle's Keys Collection I instantly knew I wanted to use Hawaiian Sunset , Topless In St. Tropez , and Panama Piña Colada for this challenge. I instantly saw a sunset on my nails and that's pretty much how it turned out.  Here is my base color of Barielle's Panama Piña Colada. 2 coats. No top coat. The only thing I didn't like about this technique is my latex sponge actually started disintegrating as I used it. Pieces of the sponge were being transferred to my nail. Not so nice. So, I ended up trashing the sponge and instead I used a piece of clean white cotton tshirt material. I folded it up to get a thick square which actually worked great. Just make sure it's not fabric that sheds. I have no idea why my sponge s...