Polish that Nailed It...Brands and Colors that Work!

Happy Wednesday Fabulous Readers!

Jessica here, welcoming you into this new month (wow, is it already May?!) we begin summer prep and that means we need to start paying attention to our nails...fingers and toes (some people have already started wearing sandals)!

I will be honest with you, I really don't have much nails...I feel like my toe nails are too tiny to paint sometimes (I barely have a pinkie toe nail). Between that and having the bad habit of biting my nails there really is no hope for me to have perfect and polished nails....but I love color and nail polish! It's something that makes me feel truly girly and like a woman at the same time (depending on the color I choose) and it gives life to my outfit and look.

A benefit to me when I take time and paint my nails is that I bite them less or not at all so they actually grow! Which makes it fun and a lot more easier to paint them. I have been painting my nails since I was a teenager and I typically just stick with colors, I usually don't have the patients to let me nails dry beyond trying something elaborate.

One of the best brands I have come to love and has been around forever is Sally Hansen, I have tried all sorts of their polishes and all have proven to be as they claim them to be. I currently have the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in the color of Gunmetal, which is a grey blue silver-ish. This is one that you have to build the color up if you want it to look darker, so the more coats you apply the darker it will be. Long lasting and awesome for the quality of my nails, keeps them polished and strong. I typically wear this sort of color when I want to match it to an outfit or if I am going out for the night, a great fall/winter color but I don't believe nail colors should be limited to wear them on certain seasons.

Sally Hansen also makes an awesome Teal color that I searched high and low for last summer when it was a hot color. Insta-Dri Fast Dry (my kinda polish) in the color of Teal-y Fast. A beautiful dark teal color that looks great with one coat but you could put two on if you were not satisfied. Small metalic- like, light reflecting flecks are mixed in which makes the color look vibrant in the light. LOVE this color!

Another brand that I love using is L.A. Colors, I have a bunch of their Color Craze nail polish with hardeners. They have some pretty wild colors and with cute names! I have a basic red and a VERY bright neon orange that is very cool. They do last a long time as well. That is basically something I am looking for when I find the perfect nail polish, it must be easy for me to apply (one or two coats), fast drying and long lasting! I do not have time to repair chips or time to do a whole remove and re-do process, nor do I want to if I did have the time. I remember putting on the neon orange color on my toe nails last summer and it seriously stayed on until the beginning of fall! That was just...so...AWESOME :)

If you don't want to spend too much on nail polish (omg it has become SO expensive...I remember being able to buy $0.99 polish!) then I recommend N.Y.C. New York Color Long-Wearing Nail Enamel polish. VERY inexpensive and brilliant colors. I have a few of these as well (I mean it is one of my favorite brands of course) and it has always done me right. I love my Taxi Yellow Creme color which is bright yellow, I wear that a lot in the summer and it looks great on the beach. With these polishes I find you need to apply more than two coats sometimes but it dries super fast and the colors are so pretty, so I don't mind.

Lastly I had to mention a new one I tried this season, everyone was raving about Gel Nails and how they last forever so I wanted to try it. It was so involving though and I heard it damaged nails...so I searched for something comparable and all my searches came back with Revlon ColorStay Long Wear Nail Enamel. It claims to have a  gel-like shine and up to 11 days of shatterproof color! YES PLEASE! I bought the Marmalade color which is a melon orangey color, very pretty and a great addition to your Spring/Summer collection. Although I don't like to say a color is specific to a season because I think there are colors that are hot for the season but I like to watch my nail colors with my outfit, clothing or accessories and I also look at the event I am going to or if I will be going to the office or a fun night out with the girls. My favorite year round color is plumb!!! I love how it is dark and mysterious and that's how I feel when I wear it, hah. Don't be afraid to wear dark colors in the summer! Beauty is what you make it to be for yourself, so don't hold back on expressing who you are or what you like...EVER :)

Okay that was a nail overload...I know, but do you expect anything less from me?!

Until next week, Keep on Being Beautiful You!