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

[Titian06]

Thanks for posting, @Saradestin !  This is definitely a sale to look into! 😁

[Saradestin]

There are so many pretty bundles @Titian06 ! I already placed my order. I have very little creams in my collection and wanted to add a few more (specially having my stamping future experiences in mind 😄)

[RGbrown]

@Saradestin 

Ahhhhhhhh, thanks! Came to post, saw I was too slow lol 😂

I will add something though!!

As I loaded a cart, I also noticed a "Secret Gift - Jewels" GWP. After playing with various totals, it seems to appear automatically with $72+ purchase...the item number ZPQUAD0R2021B makes it sound like a polish quad, hmmmm 🤔

Google didn't give me a ton of results for that item number, but a Philippines site tells me it miiiiiight be this quad...

Spoiler

I have all these colors, but the lure of having them in minis is real! 😂

My own thoughts on Zoya and holiday sales...they are very erratic. I feel like BF is usually meh, nothing super noteworthy. CM, maybe a better offer, perhaps. In the past, Boxing Day has given us 70% once or twice, but that's not reliable either. Most of their best deals seem to happen fairly randomly and without any sort of notice or schedule. There's always hope of a better deal "one of these days", but goodness know we'll never know exactly when lol. 

This is a nice offer! $5 for a polish and wide brush is tempting...I can't really assemble a cart of no dupes without going all nude though lol 😂 

(I also tried the newest trios, just to see if maybe Zoya goofed and included them, but no dice, sadly 😅 )

[Saradestin]

And yes @RGbrown , I agree with you. Zoya’s sales are very random and that’s exactly why I didn’t want to wait for the BF sale, because it may be worse than this one (and because I liked all bundles they offered and I don’t have any of the polishes) If they have a 70% sale I will be picking some more creams, but if it less than that I will just wait for those random great sales. 

I also tried other three polish bundles and it didn’t work 😜 but you never know, sometimes they make mistakes! 

[Saradestin]

Wow! That’s so awesome @RGbrown ! I just picked three bundles, because I don’t want to get too crazy (I have so much in mind for BF it’s scary 😅), but there are so many gorgeous options that it easy to end up with twice as much. I had a thought time just sticking to three and it was so hard to decide! 😓

That secret gift is such a beautiful surprise (and if it is the one you found in Philippines, it is stunning) 

[Shosh85]

@Saradestin  Oh, thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely have to check it out! I was planning on waiting until Black Friday, but all these sales are really tempting me - I'll probably buy just a few things now and more on BF 😃

[Saradestin]

That’s what I have done @Shosh85 , I just got three bundles to get their $45 offer. I am saving myself for BF but just in case they don’t go over 50% or 60%, I get some now 😁 I have to review my wish list because I have several polishes here that were in my list or were very similar. 

[Titian06]

For this mani,

• Londontown Lakur Star Moss:  A lovely loden green.  Easy, creamy, pigmented, and opaque in one coat.  The color of green I love to wear.
• Londontown Lakur Cactus Coral:  A gorgeous medium light terracotta.  Easy, creamy, pigmented, and opaque in one coat.  I love this neutral shade.
• Stamping Polish:  Maniology Caladium--A light sage green.  Easy to use.  Looks great on Star Moss; is a little too light on Cactus Coral.
• Maniology Smudge-Free Top Coat:  On nails with stamps.  No smudging; dried quickly.  I didn't think to use my regular quick-dry top coat on one of the stamps for a one-on-one comparison.   I'll do that next time.

Indoors by patio door (overcast).

 

Indoors by patio door (overcast).

Indoors by patio door (overcast).

 

[ather]

@Titian06  I love this set. The details are perfect!

[Titian06]

Thanks, @ather ! 💖💖💖

[itsfi]

Great job on the stamping @Titian06. The sage green over the loden green looks amazing! 😍 Are you having fun with stamping?

[Titian06]

Thanks, @itsfi !  I really like nail stamping.  It will be even more fun once I have a better inventory of plates and stamping polishes. 😄

[Cissy63]

They look great @Titian06   I really like your stamping😀

[Titian06]

Thanks, @Cissy63 ! 😘

[Saradestin]

Yay! That’s so awesome @Titian06 ! 😃😃😃👏👏👏 Those cute little paws are adorable! 😍 I am planning on getting the smudge free top coat because I don’t have the talent to apply regular top coat without ruining anything. Just hoping there is a good BF sale 😄

[Titian06]

Thanks, @Saradestin !  The smudge-free top coat was easy to use; no learning curve at all.  What's Up Beauty has a sale, buy 2 polishes, get 1 free.  I'm waiting for something better...I've spent way too much over the past few weeks! 🤑

[Saradestin]

Me too @Titian06 , and I have already fallen for this Zoya sale! 😅😅😅

[RGbrown]

@Titian06 

Gorgeous! Love your sage and terracotta mix and I'm thrilled to see your stamping!! 💚🧡

Smudging with a regular qdtc is pretty common; it's avoidable (mostly-ish) with the right technique, but takes a little practice with learning the "floating" method of application. Basically you get a bigger bead of tc on your brush than you would normally need, and make sure the bristles don't touch your stamping/art; you've basically got one shot at getting it right, as trying to go over any bubbles or errors will likely result in a smear. It's how I do it, I don't generally have the patience for yet another layer with a smudge-free tc, but I'm not perfect with it and wind up with a little oopsie on at least one nail most every time 😋

Some qdtcs are seemingly impossible to use though, even with floating. MT Need For Speed was awful, I absolutely couldn't use it over any sort of art, as it smudged everything on contact. Pretty sure I could have just poured some straight from the bottle onto my nail and still wound up with streaks 😅😣

Using a smudge-free tc is way easier though, less likely to cause frustration and pretty foolproof, so lots of folks go that route! But yup, like shosh said, you'll generally want to go back and top it off with your regular qdtc, as smudge free doesn't wear as well on its own. 

[Titian06]

Thanks, @RGbrown !  I had no idea!  I thought the smudge-free replaced the top coat I normally used. 🤨  

[Shosh85]

@Titian06  Beautiful! You did such a great job!
From what I've read/watched you are supposed to use a regular top coat over the smudge-free top coat to prevent chipping and to help it last longer. The smudge-free top coat is just a protective layer to put over stamps so you are able to put a regular top coat on it without it smudging. I've actually tried to use a regular top coat without the smudge-free coat and I definitely did get some smudging!

[Titian06]

Thanks for the info, @Shosh85 !  I didn't know that.  I'll put my other top coat on after I finish the laundry. 😄