Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[RGbrown]

I had a couple of other manis lined up before these, but couldn't resist letting the polishes my sis brought back for me jump ahead in line 💕

First up, Cirque Ghost Rose: a milky white base loaded up with vibrant pink shimmer and a pinch of teeny tiny holo microflakies. I tried it two ways, over Zoya Libby (lavender/pink jelly, pinky, index, and thumb) and over Butter Mellow The Yellow (sheer white, ring and middle). I'm not sure my pics fully convey the difference, but it's definitely pinker over the pink base (shocking 🤭), with less visible nail line. It's a lovely shade, especially if you like subtle, and I think it would make a great base for art. I used two coats here...if starting with a bare nail, I definitely would have needed at least three, if not more (assuming my end goal is full opacity, as it normally is). 

Shade

Full sun

And the statement polish of this mani... Cadillacquer The Dark 

Hubba hubba, what a fun polish! The description at WUN says it's a green polish, but I swear the base is a dark and grungy, sort of asphaltic navy blue. It's loaded with orange/gold/green flakies and a dose of silver and purple reflective glitter. Three coats for opacity, easy though. Smooth after one coat of topcoat, which I wasn't sure would happen...the first coat looked awfully gritty, but it evened out nicely at the end.

Shade

With the right angle in full sun, you can catch a little of the purple reflective glitter showing up

A sunbeam peeking through the leaves makes it positively glow 

The orange shows up best in lower lights or at awkward angles, but I managed to catch a little here 

Flash to show off a bit of the reflective glitter ✨

[itsfi]

Oooooohhhhh @RGbrown!!! 😍😍 I do like subtle nail polish (and also not-so-subtle ones 😆). These definitely needed to cut the line in your queue of manis; they're gorgeous! Added both to my list - with Ghost Rose, who doesn't want a good base for nail art, right? I love the subtle purply-pink tone coming through where you applied it over Zoya Libby. And well, Cadillacquer The Dark, wowza ❣️ That change from the first photo to the last one is impressive. 

[ather]

@RGbrown  Ooooo the first one is such a pretty shimmer!! But that green flakes are so pretty. It almost takes over and makes it look more green then purple. 

[RGbrown]

@ather 

It's such a fun chameleon! 💚💜

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown first of all, I'm insanely jealous of your beautiful nail shape.  That's absolutely not fair! 😂  And those colors speeeeeaaaaaak to me.

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

Aw shucks, thanks so much! Square is easy though, maybe give it a shot at some point! 

They're both gorgeous! ✨

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown I can't ever get my nails long enough!  Somehow I manage to break them although I TRY to keep them as square as possible.

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

Seriously, no joke, cuticle oil turned my nails around like I never would have imagined...jojoba is the best thing for nails, if you aren't using something already! I also started wearing dish gloves and really just paying attention to what I was doing (most of the time, at least...heck, I had to cut down my middle finger last night because I slammed it into the backsplash while cleaning the faucet and cracked the nail a bit, and I didn't feel like patching it lol)

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown I'm so bad about using cuticle oil.  Like, I honestly never do because I HATE the feeling of greasy, oily fingers.  I know, weird, but it grosses me out and I definitely need to get over it because you and everyone else swear by using it for nail growth.  Do you have a brand favorite that you use?

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

Premade mixes are so freaking expensive for what they are, and there are sooooo many that don't even have jojoba in them (it's really important!), so I just make my own. A 4oz bottle of jojoba oil from Ulta plus some vitamin e oil from Amazon (my first batch, I used a 1oz bottle, but I just made a new one a couple of weeks ago with 2.5oz), and some essential oil for scent if desired. If I've got some other oils I need to finish up, samples or whatnot, I'll toss them in too just to use them, but really, all you need is a basic bottle of jojoba, and then dress it up however you want! I put it in brush top pens, rollerballs, and even empty polish bottles and keep it all over the house. Jojoba isn't particularly oily either...it soaks in quickly and doesn't leave me with that greasy, slick feeling. 

If you don't wanna DIY it, CND Solar Oil is good, and I've heard nice things about NBM Cuticle Buddy. Both have jojoba in them.

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown I did a thing.  You're the inspiration behind my decision but... I ordered a cuticule oil pen 😳.  Like, who am I? I'm going to MAKE myself use it at least every night before bed and hope 🤞 that it makes a difference.

*It's supposed to smell like Banana Bread.  I'm very hopeful, lol. 

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

They say the best results happen with 3+ uses a day, but frankly, for the most part, I'm a once a dayer myself...it took me a bit to make it a solid habit, but now nail oil is a must for me right before I lay down. My other "always happens" time is when I swap polishes...after I've removed the old one, I oil up for a while (nekkid nails love it!) and let it sit for anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours before I swipe with acetone and get the next mani done. For a while, I was pretty decent at remembering to use it once or twice a day in addition to bedtime, but that's something that comes and goes. 

If you've got any current damage or spots that are peeling, that'll take some time to grow out...cuticle oil can't heal issues that already exist, but it can help reduce future reoccurrences and keep your nails stronger and more flexible overall. 

I took a little trip down memory lane and went back to my oldest post in this thread. This used to be about as long as I could consistently maintain my nails 😲 I do still get breaks, and I usually have at least one shorty (dang it), but I've really enjoyed being able to mostly get them longer for the last three years or so since starting cuticle oil!

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/Show-Me-Your-Nails-2-0/m-p/3431529/highlight/true#M9040

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown Once a day will have to do for starters, at least!  BTW, love that stamped mani from your throwback post 🙂

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

Aww, thank you! I stared at it for a while, realizing just how much better my nails and cuticles look these days, and how much my clean up game has improved...it might be time for me to recreate that mani for a good old fashioned then and now comparison 😋

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown You should!  

[CookieGirl1]

Thanks for the helpful info, @RGbrown!  I need to try and learn to like to use cuticle oil because I'm sure that it'll help.

[CynthieLu]

Those are beautiful 😍 @RGbrown I really love the green one, so many dimensions to the sparkle in the different lights 💚 great nails hunny!

[RGbrown]

@CynthieLu 

Thanks so much! 💚

[Mellmars1185]

@RGbrown Both are really pretty, unique shades that look beautiful 😍

[RGbrown]

@Mellmars1185 

Thanks so much! They're both gorgeous in their own ways 💖

[makeitup305]

@RGbrown both of these are gorgeous but I need that Cadillaquer! OMG what a stunner.