ELF Pearl

Hi everyone! Today I am bringing you a swatch from the ELF Royal Trio and today's swatch is Pearl. I have never owned a frosty white color before so this one I think will be fun for funky frenchs, but I definetly don't like the look of it alone on my nails! It is kind of sheer, this was two coats. It was kind of streaky as well; but what do you expect out of a frost? I must say though, that for $1 this is a mighty good polish! I hope that I can find good use for it!

NOTD: Light and Pretty

Hi everyone! Awhile ago I felt like having a french manicure, so I put on China Glaze Light as Air and Nailene French Tip Pen in White Pearl to create this one. It definetly makes me think of spring and lately I have been loving the pastel trend. I like how it turned out but it is definitely missing something. I think it needs a design or some glitter, it needs something to make it special. What do you think I should have added to it to make it awesome?

Swatch Spam: Lights

Hi everyone! Today's post is a simple one, I have been re-swatching polishes that I did early on in my blog before I figured out a good way to take swatch pictures. There will be three posts total and today's are the lightest colors, so enjoy! :)

OPI Alpine Snow

Sinful Colors California

Sinful Colors Ladies in Waiting

OPI Tutti Frutti Tonga

OPI Melon of Troy

Sinful Colors Genteel

Nailene French Tip Pens Take Two!

Hi everyone! Now I know that I have already done a full review of the Nailene French Tip Pens that Nailene was kind enough to send me*, but I found the two colors that I didn't have at Rite-Aid! So of course I have to give my review of these because I love them, and this time I am giving a more specific review of each individual color.

White - This was my least favorite of the pens. As much as I freaking love how bright it is, but the formula was a little too thick and it dried out on me. Now this totally could have been an error on my part, I may not have put the cap on properly. But when the tip dried up and I was trying to use it, it started to leak out of the casing. Not cute. I also am basically out of it, which was an error on my part because the first time I used it I pressed the tip too long and I wasted a lot of product. So learn from my mistakes and remember to make sure the cap is on properly and don't press the tip down for more than a couple of seconds!

Pearl White - I liked this pen, this was my third favorite. The formula, although a little runny, was really easy to apply and the color is really pretty. I wouldn't call it "white" but more of an off-white, like for an American manicure. It is a bit silvery in some lights as well, it has a lovely frosty quality to it.

Pearl Pink - I think that this one was my favorite! I didn't think that I was going to like this color that much but I really did! The formula was perfect and I like how it was easy to see it filling the tip so that I knew when to stop feeding polish to the tip, I wish that the tips of the white ones weren't white because it is much easier to see with a different color. This is probably the hardest one to match colors to, but it goes great with cream colors and pinks!

Black - This one totally comes in as my second favorite. I love the concept of a black tip. The formula in this one is perfect as well, it is very opaque in one coat! Again having it be a different color from the tip really helped a lot. The only problem that I have with this one is that if you don't put on a good topcoat, it will chip quickly, and it is very noticable if you are wearing a light color under it. Otherwise I love it!

So I hope that this is a better review for you all and more through about each individual color as I experienced it!

* I was sent the White and Pearl White pens by Nailene. However I bought the Pearl Pink and Black with my own hard-earned money, that is now much I like these pens in general!

Nailene French Tip Pens

Hi everyone! Today I am bringing you a review about Nailene's French Tip Pens*. They are advertised to be a mistake-proof way to do french tips on your nails. I got two of these pens, one in White and one in White Pearl. Below is a quick-'n-dirty swatch to compare the two colors. The white is very bright and stark while the pearl one is more off-white and quite frosty.

Now how did these pens work for me? They worked pretty well, but the first application is a bit messy. To wet the pen, the instructions say to push the tip down on a protected surface for 30 seconds, but if you do this all of the stuff will flow out of the pen! Just do it really fast, it is much less messy!

Now the tip of these pens is exactly like a felt-tipped marker. While I don't find this pen to be "mistake proof" (since I have shaky hands), it is much easier to use than polish. In fact I don't think that it is polish in the pen, I think that it is some kind of paint. I used acetone to remove it and it didn't dissolve off, it peeled off. I like it though, it applies pretty evenly and stays really well; it doesn't chip easily. I think that it is worth checking out, especially if you are like me and have trouble with getting tip polish nice! If you had to pick between the White and the Pearl White; I would go with the Pearl White because it applies easier due to the finish.

Oh, and the top coat was ok, it was much like the Acrylic Strong Topcoat in that it was very shiny but didn't dry quickly. I love the cute little bottle though; it would be good to put into a little nail emergency kit! Do any of you have a nail emergency kit that you carry around? I have been thinking about building myself one.

*These products were sent to me by Nailene for review. If you have any concerns please see my Disclosure Policy tab at the top of the page; thanks!

Nailene French Tip Pen Kit

Hello everyone! Today I am reviewing the new French Tip Pen Kit from Nailene for you, Nailene was kind enough to send this to me for review so thank you Nailene*!

This kit comes with 4 items; French Tip Guides, Hard & Healthy French Manicure Base Color, an Acrylic Strong Topcoat, and a French Tip Pen in White. As you can see above I tried it out and I actually wore this mani to a big presentation I had to make. Now I was disappointed in this mani because it wasn't perfect; I didn't think that I had done a good job but everyone in the board room complimented me on my nails (these are mostly guys), I was so surprised! Now onto what I think about each product and the kit overall:

French Tip Guides - These worked relatively well, I didn't push down hard enough on the sticker and some of the polish got under it (you can kind of see it in the picture, the base color hides it well!); but I figured that out and that it is easier to use it if you start the polish at the sticker and then pull the polish down to the tip. These are available for purchase separtely from this kit.

French Manicure Base Color - This is a very light yellowish pinkish sheer color. I felt that it was a little streaky unless you do two coats, I felt like one coat wasn't enough and two coats was too much, but then again I do very thick coats of polish so that could be the problem. It works really well to tone down the starkness of the white tip and make it seem more natural.

French Tip Pen - This kit comes with the regular white pen. I found the pen to be a bit messy upon first application, but it is much less so after the first time you use it. I love the starkness of the color, and I will say that I don't think that this is polish, I think that it is more like acrylic paint. An explaination and a more through review on this product will come in the future! This can be purchased separately from the kit.

Acrylic Strong Topcoat - This topcoat is ok, if you are patient (unlike me) and allow it to dry properly it would work great, and it is very shiny! Sadly I need something that dries faster, so this didn't work for me. I kept smudging it. I am aware that there is a new formulation of this top coat; but I believe that this is the older version.

Overall - I think that this would be a great kit for beginners trying to do their own french tips. Doing french tips on yourself takes a lot of practice and some skill, and I feel like this kit is a great starting point. My  favorite product in the kit was definetely the french tip pen, and I will do a more in-depth review of this product since I received two of these in different colors in a week or so. I am also a big fan of the french tip stickers, they are very easy to use and fix if you place it wrong. They aren't fool-proof, but they are a great starting point, especially for someone like me who is terrible at doing designs on their dominant hand! These really help for the tips on both of my hands to match. If you are interested in this kit, you can find it at drugstores like Walgreen's or CVS.

*Yes, I was sent these products from Nailene for consideration of review. These are my honest opinions and experiences with the products. If you have concerns please see my disclosure policy in the tab bar.

NOTD: Textured Nails

Hi everyone! Do you see my awesome new header? Isn't it gorgeous? Niki over at Polish on Digital Paper made it for me, go check out her awesome blog! Thank you so much Niki, I absolutely love it! I do a happy dance everytime I see it! :D
(Back to our regularly scheduled programming) Today I bring you kind of a strange manicure; I think that the execution could be improved upon. I used ELF Dark Navy as the base with a light coat of ELF Pearl over it. Now I only planned on doing a very thin layer of Pearl to kind of turn it grey, but I put too much on. So I kept swiping my brush over the nail and it created a neat contrasted texture on the nail. It isn't as bright in real life, but it is in the light. It looks rugged, don't you think? You like or dislike?

Nail Art: Olympic-Inspired Nails

Hi everyone! If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably already know how obsessed I am with the Olympics, so of course I had to do a mani inspired by the event! I have closely watched every Olympics since the Sydney Summer Games in 2000. In fact I even live in Salt Lake City, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was really cool to watch the opening ceremonies this year because I now know so many people around the world through blogging. When countries would march in, I would think of people that I know in those countries and cheer, it has brought me much closer to the international aspect of the Games. I love it! Do you watch the Olympics too?

I used OPI Alpine Snow, Art Deco Gold Glitter, OPI Sea, I Told You!, Sinful Colors Canary Yellow, OPI Black Onyx, OPI Green-wich Village, and OPI Big Apple Red. It is inspired by the Olympic flag, which I love because it contains at least one color that is on every flag around the world!

Anti-Valentine's Day: Love Be Hanged!

Hello everyone! How about an Anti-Valentine's Day mani for the big day? I think my favorite nail here is the heart noose, isn't it fitting? I used China Glaze Flying Dragon as the base and Art Deco Black and White for the ropes. Do you like it? What are you all doing for the big day, any fun plans? Or maybe you are like me, and are too busy studying to do anything lol.

If you love this manicure, go vote for it here! Check out the Polish Bloggers Network's new website as well, it is pretty awesome!

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has offered me comfort during this rough patch in my life. I hope that you are all right and that something better will come along for me! I <3 you all!

Valentine's Day: Glittery French

Hi everyone! I actually wore this mani awhile ago, but I thought that it would be really appropriate to include for this series since it seems like a mani one would were on a date. Well, at least I would wear this on a date! I used OPI Tutti Frutti Tonga, Art Deco White, and China Glaze Fairy Dust. I think that the glitter adds a nice kick to the traditional french manicure, don't you?

Valentine's Day: Hearts and Dots

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all having a wonderful day! Today I am bringing you another V-Day mani, but this one was kind of a fail. I meant to do little hearts on my nails, but they all turned into dots. I am not very talented with the striper brush, I should have gotten a nail art pen! Oh well, I still like it. I used OPI Alpine Snow under ELF Pearl for the base color, and Art Deco Red for the hearts and dots. Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?

To make this post a little less lame, I will share something embarassing that happened to me yesterday. So I was at work and typically I work by myself in a lab. So I turn on music to entertain myself and I was totally belting out Tik Tok by Ke$ha and my boss walked in. I might have been dancing too, I don't remember. It was so embarrassing, I don't think that she cared, but I did. I am not even a good singer lol, so I am going to stop singing at work! :P

Valentine's Day: Corset Hearts

Hi everyone! Valentine's Day is only a short 5 days away, and I am kicking off the celebration here on Naive Nails with 5 days in a row (through February 14th) of Valentine's themed nails! Some will be more traditional, and some will not, I am trying to give some variety to the designs.

Today's mani is a little more on the naughty side of Valentine's Day, as for some reason this holiday makes me think of sexy under-things. I may have stolen the design of the heart from a piece of jewelery made by Evil Angel (hope you don't mind, I love you!). I used ELF Royal Purple, and Art Deco Polishes in White and Black. I love how it turned out, do you love it too?

KOTD: Nice Barbie

Hi everyone! Today I am bringing you a very mini-series (there will only be one other post in this mini-series lol) on Barbie! I decided to put my Barbie pinks and Konad kit to good use, and today you get "Nice Barbie"! Oh, and I apologize for the indoor picture!

When I think of Nice Barbie, I think of the super preppy Barbie. Like the Barbie who rides around in the Mercedes around LA who goes to prepartory school, plays tennis and has a big screen TV. That Barbie! I thought that I light Barbie pink and some argyle was in order. I used Essie Castaway as the base color, OPI Alpine Snow as the stamping color, and the m60 plate for the pattern. What is your interpretation of "nice Barbie"?

Nail Art: Madison Avenue

Hi everyone! Some have inquired as to what I did/used for the mani in my profile picture. I actually did this one special to match the color scheme of my blog. The background I chose is called Madison Avenue, so that is what I call this mani.

I used Essie Forever Young, OPI Black Onyx, Art Deco Black, and OPI Alpine Snow. I used the Art Deco to line out the tips, Black Onyx to fill the tips in, and a dotting tool with Alpine Snow for the dots. I love this mani a lot, do you love it too?

KOTD: Winter Wonderland

Hi everyone! I did this mani awhile back; you may remember that I entered it into a nail art contest. I love how it turned out though! I must say that I am REALLY sick of snow though. Spring, are you here yet?

I used OPI Russian Navy, OPI Alpine Snow, China Glaze Fairy Dust, and the konad m20 plate. I also matted it using Essie Matte About You Topcoat. I need to do slanted french tips more often, I like how it looks! What is the weather like where you live?

Holiday Nails: Candy Canes

Hello everyone! Happy Christmas Eve to those of you who celebrate Christmas! Today is the last installment of holiday nails this week, and I brought you candy cane themed nails! Are you all enjoying the holidays?

One of my favorite candies during this season are candy canes, I love spending hours eating these sweet candies! I wish that I had gotten the white stripes a little thicker, but overall I think that it looks ok. There were definetly better candy cane manicures out there in the nail blogosphere than this one. I used Essie Forever Young and Art Deco White. Do you like it? I know that it is not nearly as good as other blogger's versions!

What are your favorite holiday foods/sweets? Is there something around the holidays that you crave because you only eat it around this time of the year?

Holiday Nails: Winter Trees

Hi everyone! For the second installment of holiday nails this week; I bring you winter trees! Of course this design doesn't quite apply to those of you who are experiencing summer right now, but it is very snowy where I live.

I like how this turned out, although it was not what I was expecting. I wanted to do crisper lines, but I like how the branches cross and fade into each other. Doing these nails reminded me of that guy (if you remember his name put it in the comments for me please!) who had that painting show on PBS? He did a lot of nature scenes, and he made painting look so easy!

I used China Glaze For Audrey as the base color and Art Deco White for the trees. Hope you like!

Art Deco White

Hi everyone! Today's post is a short review of my Art Deco White nail polish. This is probably my most used Art Deco polish, and I love the brush on these!

The white dries a little slower than I would like; but it isn't too bad. The brush allows for good control of where the polish goes. This would be a good one to pick up if you like to do traditional french tips! I found this particular color at Fred Meyer, Forever 21, and some drugstores. Have a great day everyone!

Nail Art: World AIDS Day

Hello everyone! Today's mani uses OPI Alpine Snow and Essie Forever Young.

Today I want to bring to your attention that today is World AIDS Day 2009. Many people around the world suffer from HIV/AIDS or have a loved one who does. 2 million people died in 2007 as a result of this disease, and 33 million people live with it today.

There is no cure, but there is prevention. Do not reuse syringes for any reason. Remember to always practice safe sex and to be open about everything to your sexual partner. It is better to be safe than sorry. Be practical and don't believe myths that exist around the disease. It can only be contracted by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids with one's own.

Do not judge those who have the disease. They need your help and support to lead a happy and healthy life. People with HIV/AIDS can live a normal and healthy life with the help of medications, and deserve to do so without stereotypes and being judged. Have a great day everyone!

KOTD: Daytime Snowflakes

Hello! I apologize for the lack of cleanup, I was feeling lazy. I really like this winter mani, it is simple while still being interesting. I got lots of compliments on this mani! I did it while I am still excited about getting snow; because I know that I won't be much longer as it snows from November to April here! It is always so freaking cold!

I used China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze Fairy Dust, OPI Alpine Snow and the Konad plate in m20. I really love this one!