Nailene So Natural Nails

Hey everyone! Today I want to review a product that was sent to me by Nailene*, their So Natural nails.

Now to be honest I am not sure if I will use these again, I am actually quite torn. The nails themselves are fabulous. I wore these over about the period of a week and I didn't have any nails snap corners or anything. I actually ended up painting over them because I suck at applying them and got air bubbles, and that nail polish did not budge for a week; I had two very minor chips. The nails are very durable and look very pretty.

My main problem was with the glue. I don't think that it is Nailene's fault, I think that my nail/body chemistry does not react well to glue. My biggest problem was that my nails were falling off when I would pick things up, like my computer. I wasn't washing dishes or pulling weeds or anything.

Now to explain, I decided to test this set out while I was at that conference I had a couple of weeks ago. I put on the nails the night before, and had one fall off at the airport. Of course I didn't think to bring the nail glue with me, so I bought super glue. Even freaking super glue could not keep these nails on for me. I lost count of how many times nails fell off, it was at least a dozen times, some fingers multiple times. I used up almost whole tube of super glue. I tried lots of glue, I tried a little glue; I just could not get these nails to stick to save my life. I also learned that I can very easily peel super glue off of my skin after it dries, which is really weird. This has got to be a body chemistry thing lol.

So to sum it all up, I actually probably will not use fake nails ever again because they just don't stay on for me, again I think that it is more a consequence of my body chemistry than anything else. These nails however might work for you, the nails themselves are fantastic in my opinion and are definitely worth a shot. :)

* This product was sent to me by Nailene for review. For details of my Disclosure Policy, please see the tab labelled as such at the top of the page.

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?

NOTD: Studded Sparkles

Hello everyone! Today I am bring a rocker manicure to you. I recently rediscovered OPI My Private Jet in my collection and I had to use it. The studs are from a Nailene sticker pack and I thought that they were pretty appropriate with this color. I loved wearing this around all day. In case you are curious, I have the teal-flash version (version 3 I think?) of MPJ. What style of manicure have you been rocking lately?

As you are reading this, (I scheduled the post to show up at the same time I take off because I am a nerd like that) I am on an airplane to the great state of Michigan for a conference. Because this conference is 5 days long and is going to keep me very busy; I will not be very able to answer questions and comments until Sunday. I will do my best. Don't worry though, because I will still be posting like I normally do, I scheduled them ahead of time. Just be aware that I will not be checking the blog as often as I normally do. Just wanted to let you know!

Nail Art: Messy French

Hi everyone! So today I am going to share a strange manicure. So I was trying to use Nailene tipguides to create a pink and black manicure (OPI Tutti Frutti Tonga and Nailene Black French Tip Pen), but I forgot to push down on the sticker to seal it to the nail, and this happened. At first I was kind of upset, but then I realised that it actually looks kind of cool! I like the messy french, it makes me think of something you might see on the runway. It's wild I suppose? What do you all think of this look?

Nailene Stickers Review

Hi everyone! I wanted to do a quick review on stickers that were sent to me by Nailene* for you all. Although I have never been one for nail stickers, these were pretty nice I will probably use them on manis that I plan on keeping for longer than a day.

Bedazzled Earth Angel and SuperStar: These sticker packs contain a variety including butterflies, hearts, flowers, and rhinestone stickers. The stickers stay pretty well, the rhinestone ones obviously don't last as long as it is easier to bump them, but they stick pretty well and can spice up a boring manicure. My personal favorites were the rhinestone stickers, they make me want to try 3-D nail art!

French Tip Stickers: I have used these for several manicures, and I must say that I really love them. They take a little bit of practice, but once you get it right the results are stunning! I will complain though about the number in the pack, 96. I have 10 fingers, shouldn't the number be divisable by 10? 6 is not going to give me a full manicure lol!

*These products were sent to me by Nailene for consideration of review. If you have any questions please see my disclosure poliscy in the tab bar.

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!

Movies, Kitty and Mini Haul Randomness!

Hi everyone! This is one of my few and far between random posts, and it is long and pic heavy, so beware!

First I will talk about the movie that just came out this weekend, Alice in Wonderland, because several of you want to know what I thought of it. This is the first movie that I have ever seen in an IMax or in 3D much less on opening weekend! My boyfriend took me to go see it, and he got us really great seats. Overall I really liked the movie! I loved the first 3/4 of it, but I found the last 1/4 to be kind of generic and predictable. Not the best movie ever, but I still really enjoyed it. If I could walk around like Anne Hathaway's character all the time I totally would! And Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat was a big win in my book!

Now lately it seems like all of the nail bloggers have been posting pictures of their kitties. Now since I live away from home, I can't take a picture of my kitty for a few more weeks until I go home for Spring Break. So instead I bring you pictures of my boyfriend's kitty Autumn! Isn't she cute?!?

Look who's curled up in the tree!

What's up there kitty?

Why are you hiding behind the computer monitor silly?

Doesn't she look comfy in my arms?

She sleeps a lot lol!

And finally, my boyfriend and I stopped by Rite-Aid, and look what I found! More Nailene pens! Now I have one of every color. I plan on doing another review covering all of them, like a take 2 of the review. Yep, I like these so much that I went and bought some myself! I got Pearl Pink and Black on super clearance, I think I picked them up for a little over a dollar each on super clearance, but to be honest I would have gotten them whether they were on sale or not. I picked up extras of these too to add to the next giveaway pile ;) Hope you enjoyed the random post, I know that a lot of you like these!

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.