Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Greetings! What a hectic week it’s been! Zoë has been weening from the bottle, so I’ve been at the mercy of a crying, whining, angry little princess all week! Luckily she seems to be getting the hang of it, so things should be settling down soon. Or, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. 😀

I’m going to Orlando on Sunday for an overnight trip to Universal Island of Adventures. I haven’t been out of town overnight, since my honeymoon in 2009! We’re taking the baby- so I’m sure it’ll be interesting, to say the least! I had to buy some clothes to be presentable in the Florida sun. EEK! I don’t know about you guys, but I personally HATE buying clothes. I mean I love fashion. But let’s face it- I’m a 40 year old mother of 2. I’m not exactly a fashion model! So I expect to run into issues when I’m trying on clothes. But I’m not a plus size- I know this because all the “plus size” clothes are too big for me. But wouldn’t you know it- all the “average” size clothes are either too small or too short! Am I a mythical creature that has never been seen by man?!?!- No. These companies just don’t get women. I don’t know about you, but I spent enough of my youth thinking I was too tall, too pale, too fat, too ugly etc. I’m done with that noise. I spent so much of my youth self-loathing and beating myself up- I never saw how pretty I was. I look back on pictures of my self when I was in my 20’s and think, “You were so cute! Why the hell didn’t you know that then?!”. Honestly, If I had a time machine,  I would take a trip to 1998 – slap myself in the face, and show “me” the currently empty “baby hotel”-belly burden I’m carrying around now! Then I’d say “Look moron, just wear the 2 piece you always wanted, because it doesn’t get better from here. You’re gorgeous! Now stop ripping yourself apart and go enjoy being young!”. Ladies, if you”re doing this to yourself-STOP! Life’s too short to rake yourself over the coals for not being “perfect”. Newsflash: no one is perfect. You can only be perfectly you. Which is certainly good enough! Every time you pick yourself apart- I hope you’ll remember how beautiful your friends and family think you are. If you’re a mom- just look at the way your kids gaze at that perfect lady-mug of yours. See that look in their eyes? That’s love! They’re in love with the most beautiful girl they ever met! I don’t think it gets any better than that! I hope this helps some of you that are doing what I’ve done to myself forever. And remember- I think you’re GORGE! No matter how messy your hair is today- how many donuts you ate this morning or even if you never made it to the shower today! 😀

Now let’s talk polish dollfaces! I am OBSESSED with crellies. I know most girls in the polish community will slap their Mama for a sweet holo or duo-chrome. Not this bird- I’d slap my Mama for a crelly any day. Matte glitters? Oh YEAH! (F.Y.I. Mum if you’re reading this- I have no intentions of slapping you- I know better.) I recently stumbled upon Polish Addict Nail Color on Instagram. As a matter of fact- Laura was one of the ladies who gave me the guts to start this blog. So of course, I had to try out a couple of crellys from her “Nudes and Neons” collection. First up is “Sand and Surf”:

“Sand and Surf”

This is 3 thin coats. As you can see the base is a sheer white crelly. I don’t know if it’s because of the neon lavender micro-glitters and hexagons, but this almost looks lavender in the bottle and on your digits. I love this- I put a watercolor heart on my accent nail be cause I wasn’t too “trembly” that day and wanted to take advantage of it. I couldn’t stop looking at these. Even my daughter kept grabbing my finger nails to stare at this really pretty polish! (I think I may have a future polish addict on my hands!) The formula was amazing – I didn’t even have to shake it too much- I wasn’t fishing for glitter either. I bought a mini bottle But I’m definitely picking up the full size version of this polish very soon.

Next up- also from Polish Addict Nail Color, is “Oceanside”:

“Oceanside”

Now this is described as “peachy” by some. But this 3 thin coats and it looks more of a creamy nudish yellow. And that’s how it kept photographing for me. Either way- I’m in love with this polish. The only downer- I had to fish for the glitter. Before I go on, let me just remind everyone. Indie polishes are hand made. They’re like the snowflakes of the polish world. No 2 are ever exactly alike. And that’s what makes them so lovely and unique.

Now as I was saying, I had to fish for the glitter, but it was totally worth it! The glitter settled for me- so I highly recommend storing this upside down. I store all my glitter polishes this way, it makes for less shaking, which makes for less bubbles in the polish.

I love this line- I plan on purchasing all four in full size versions. The shipping was fast! I think Laura should be very proud of her products. They are really are gorgeous. If you haven’t tried anything from Polish Addict GO GET SOME NOW! 😀 You can order them here http://www.shoppolishaddict.bigcartel.com/products

You can also check out the Polish Addict’s Instagram for swatches and restock notifications and updates and new releases and sales here http://instagram.com/polishaddictnailcolor#

Every week I feature up and coming nail artists from the IG community. I love introducing you guys to the lovely ladies I’ve met on Instagram. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about this blog. I don’t place any limits on what they create. It’s all up to them. They edit their own photos and write their own intro’s and descriptions .

First up is Amy McG. Believe it or not, this lovely lady actually lives in the same city as me and we haven’t met in person yet! I hope to change that soon because we have more than our love of polish in common! Here’s Amy:

“Hey, I’m Amy aka McPolish!  I started painting my nails in October 2012.  It all started with a magnetic polish that I was so intrigued with. I went online to see if there were other polishes like this and fell upon a nail blog.  That was it!  I was hooked. I have had lacquer on my nails everyday since.  I started my Instagram account in March 2013 to have a place to share my nail polish obsession. I saw so many cool nail art designs and indie polishes, I was even more hooked!  If you check out my IG account ( http://instagram.com/mcpolish ) you can see my entire nail art adventure. I have posted all of my first time tries there.  Today I am sharing a feather mani with you. I used real feathers and a lovely polish from Different Dimension ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/DIFFERENTdimension )called Doppelgänger.  The grey base color is from Tillie ( http://www.tilliepolish.com/ ) called Hot Stone Massage.  Hope you like them :)”

Thanks Amy! I am loving this use of real feathers! It looks amazing. What a creative idea!

Next up is Amy H. (I swear I didn’t plan this! It was a complete coincidence we’ll call this post the “Amy squared” :P) AmyH aka @amylovesnewwave on IG is a really talented funny lady! She’s always cracking me up with her wit and commentary! Here’s Amy H.:

” I’m Amy. I’m 30. I’m kind of ambivalent about it. Being 30, that is. I definitely like being Amy.

I’ve been into nails for a long time, but it never occurred to me that nail art went beyond the realm of a rhinestone and a cheesy, 1987 flower until November 2012. I was on Instagram when I stumbled across a photo from Hannah Rox Nails of YouTube fame, of a fall leaves design. I fell head over heels and began stalking her social media pages, getting ideas, instructions, and inspiration. I took the plunge in December of that year with the worst attempt at a falling snow design. I think it’s safe to say I’ve made huge strides since then.

For this design, knowing that your angle is all about beginner nail art, I wanted to showcase something that beginners can do well on their first try, with products that are all readily available in the mass market. For this mani I used all China Glaze polishes: White on White for undies (two coats on every nail), Celtic Sun (the yellow), I’m With the Lifeguard (the green), and Turned Up Turquoise. I also used a makeup wedge sponge and some scotch tape.

On my index finger and pinky, I have a gradient. A lot of people are scared of gradients, but there’s really no great secret to them, other than patience! I paint my colors in overlapping stripes directly onto the sponge. I roll the sponge over my nail from side to side first to make sure I get full coverage, then let that dry for a couple of minutes. Next I paint the sponge again, then dab the nail with the sponge, moving it up and down slightly to blend. Sometimes this step needs to be repeated. The key is to do it lightly, so that the polish doesn’t become too bulky on the nail. Once it’s opaque and the colors are vibrant, I clean up using q-tips dipped in acetone for broad cleanup, then an angled brush dipped in acetone for around my cuticles and to create a nice, neat line. (Ok, I lied. My great secret? I use a Crayola art brush to clean my cuticles. It’s stiff enough to get into the crevices between my nail and skin, but soft enough to create a nice sweeping line on my nail. And it comes in a package with four or five other brushes for about $3. Win!)

On my middle and ring fingers, I created a sort of asymmetrical chevron pattern using tape. I started with two coats of white, then a coat of yellow, all over the nail. I added a quick-dry top coat over that to help speed things up (my favorite is Orly Sec ‘n’ Dry). I then waited about 15 minutes to make sure everything was completely dry. Starting about halfway down the nail, I taped off my nail at an angle, leaving a triangle-shaped area exposed at the tip. I made sure to smooth the tape out at the edge I’ll be painting to make sure it’s sealed. I brushed on two thin coats of the turquoise, overlapping the tape slightly, waiting about a minute between coats to dry. Once the second coat was done, I immediately pulled the tape off from bottom to top slowly. If the line looks ragged, you can very lightly clean it up using your brush and acetone. (Acetone is strong, so there’s no need to press down with the brush. You run the risk of wiping off your base color.) Next I waited about 15 minutes for the turquoise to dry. Once dry, I taped off a section of my nail in the opposite direction as the first, starting from the top corner and angled to the opposite bottom corner. I then painted two thin coats of the green, waiting about a minute between coats to dry. After the second coat was painted, I immediately pulled the tape off from bottom to top slowly. Once that was done I did a final swipe with my brush and acetone to clean up my cuticles (in case you can’t tell, I’m a bit fanatical about my cuticles being clean). Then I added two coats of quick-dry top coat, and I’m done!

I guess the moral of my story is that you shouldn’t be scared of DIY nail art. I had absolutely no artistic talent when I first started. I just saw pretty nails and wanted to try for myself. I’ve astounded everyone I know (and even myself!) with what I’ve accomplished since then. The key is to just give it a try and see what comes of it. You’ll surprise yourself with what you’re capable of doing!”

Thanks Amy H. ! Beautifully done!

If you want to see more of Amy H.’s designs you can find her on Instagram here http://instagram.com/amylovesnewwave#

Thanks so much for being this week’s features ladies! You did a great job!

If you’re interested in being featured here feel free to contact me @ plasteredandpolished@gmail.com

Thanks for reading! And have a great weekend! ❤