#ManiMonday: Essie's 'Mochachino' [TOP 5 PICK!]

Hello cupcakes!

Welcome to another edition of #ManiMonday! For a change, I am actually posting this on a Monday - go me for being on time! Wooooo!

Now into the reason why you're on this post: my mani!

BAM! There yah go! My wonderful mani. (: If you had seen my Top 5: Fall Nail Polish video, you would've known that I just purchased this color & included it in my Top 5 video (which can be seen here). I am so glad that I did end up purchasing this & including it in the video. This is the perfect fall brown. The shimmer is amazing & the color is such a warm, inviting brown. This is definitely a 2 coat shade to get a nice opaque coat, but most Essie's that I have used are. 

This is definitely one of my favorite new colors I purchased. What colors are you using for fall? I'd love to hear all your recommendations! 

#ManiMonday: It's a jamicure!

Goooood morning, cupcakes!

Welcome back to another edition of #ManiMonday! This week's mani is another set of Jamberry nail wraps! I am completely obsessed with these things & I know you will be too! I am hosting a Jamberry nails party via Facebook here that I would be tickled pink if you guys would come join in on the fun! Learn some more about Jamberry, play games for free wraps, & even place your very own order for theses amazing bad boys that I have gone completely gaga over!

Now onto the real reason why you're here on Mani Monday!

The two wraps adorning my tips are Grapefruit (the gorgeously, solid colored grapefruit color - as it is so aptly named) & Carmen Ombre (the pink to grapefruit ombre with the delicate floral overlay). These wraps are simply stunning & long lasting & I just absolutely adore them!

So hop on into the Facebook group for some amazing games & to see what everyone's jamicure is this week! What's on your tips this week? Tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #ManiMonday & tagging me on Instagram @LoveofFilo.

#ManiMonday: Jamberry Update.

Heyyy cupcakes!

It's that time of the week again where I bring you #ManiMonday! -- except, again, its on Tuesday. >.< This time it is on Tuesday only because I was sick Monday. Blehk. This is actually an update on last weeks #ManiMonday where I featured Jamberry nails. I wanted to bring to you my final results a week later! Soooo, here we go!

 

Here you have it folks: my jams. I know these look a little worse for wear but let me break down for you everything that has happened in the past week since I put these bad boys on:

+ dishes

+ cooking

+ baths

+ construction (including dropping a TON of goo-gone onto my nails)
+ anxiety ridden nail biting - which is where pretty much all of the damage came from

+ blogging & video editing

Honestly, if you look down towards my cuticles, they are still in amazing shape! No peeling, no lifting, nothing! & I'm fairly certain if I didnt have a ton of anxiety attacks & chew the heck out of my nails they would still be in perfect condition. I think Jamberries are great for long wear & especially if you have zero free time to keep your nails touched up through-out the week.

I can't wait until I get more Jamberries to add to my collection. (: I will say though, that I do miss changing my nail polish constantly, but this is great since I will be away for my sisters summer camp for a week & I don't want chipped nails through the whole thing.

I will be hosting a party in September, so stay tuned for the link so you guys can get in on some neat deals! Who else has a jamberry obsession? 

#ManiMonday

Hey cupcakes! So, do you ever notice that Mani Monday always ends up being posted on Tuesdays? I think I should rename it TipsTuesday? haha. Totally kididng! Anyhow! This weeks Mani Monday is actually divided into two parts. This post & then the post that will be posted next week. Why? Because I am wearing JAMBERRY NAIL WRAPS. This is something that I have never tried before & my cousin just started selling them so I wanted to try them out before my party with her in September (I will do a blog post as it gets closer to the party date for all you loverlies to join in on the fun!). 

*DISCLAIMER: I bought all of the Jams by myself. My cousin did not provide any of these to me. My reviews are all my own. Seriously. Cousin or not - the following is how I feel about these nail stickers.

First things first, Jamberry's cost $15 per sheet & most people get about 3-4 manicures (& 1 pedicure) from the sheet... that estimates about $3 a manicure - you can't even find a good nail salon for that price! I was at first skeptical because of the price but my cousin (who I trust very much... especially when it comes to anything nail related because she's sort of a snob when it comes to her manis. hahaha. Sorry Cryss, it's true!) swore by these little things.

Jamberry Nail Wraps are marketed as the no-dry, long wearing sticker wrap that is safe for the environment & your nails. With no harsh chemicals, I have seen people use them on their babies (my cousin saw a fellow consultant use them on their 10 month old!) & even their DOGS. The average jamicure is said to last between 10-14 days; depending on how fast your invisible cuticle grows back. So, I guess we will all see how it holds up when next Mani Monday rolls around.

I ended up buying 4 sheets & the little mini heater... It set me back about $62 & one of those Jam-sheets were FREE.

My first order.

On my tips this week is the Mermaid Tails which are a gorgeous ombre silvery-nude to a gorgeous sea green that then reflect like fish scales. &, while we're on the subject of scales, the wrap has a mermaid tail design on them. Simply gorg!

I had my cousin put on my Jamicure since I had never used them before & I wanted to make sure that they were being applied properly so I could give you guys an honest run down of how these actually are. I have also include the How-To video my cousin & I recorded while she was doing my nails. I do want to apologize in advance for the intense background noise. My cousin-in-laws & uncles were fixing my cousin deck outside the kitchen window. & the kiddos didn't want to stay quiet through a majority of the video.

Have you guys used Jamberry before? What are your thoughts? If you are interested in purchasing your own set of Jams, you can do so through my cousins link: here. & don't forget to show me your tips using the hashtag: #ManiMonday 

#ManiMonday: The Minions

Welcome back, cupcakes! Its time for another #ManiMonday blog post! I am sorry this is going up on a Tuesday, but I started working again & having Fibromyalgia & various other auto immune diseases + 5 hours of manual labor (aka construction & demolition) + walking up & down 3 flights of stairs 20plus times makes for one sleepy Becca. But hey! At least I managed to take pictures before all the construction ruined my nails.

So on the tips this week: I needed to add undies to this look because from my Stars & Stripes mani, it stained my nails & my nails have begun to flake off. yuck! SO I used Essie Grow Stronger Base (which has a peachy hue in the bottle but goes on clear when applied). I am hoping this actually works & strengthens my nails again. Auto-immune diseases really mess up a lot - my skin, my nails... my hair! But I digress.

Now onto the rest of the tips. This weeks mani is inspired by the new Minions Movie that is coming out Friday the 10th. So lets talk about whats adorning my nails...

» Thumb, Index, & Middle: ColorClub Insta-This (this was a birchbox exclusive in 2013. I do not think you can purchase this anywhere)

» Ring Finger: As a base I used Revlon Casino Lights, let it dry & put on the bottom half of my nails ColorClub InstaThis to act as the Minions overalls. To make the little buttons, I dabbed on Nailtini Caviar Cocktail.

» Pinky Finger: Orly Purple Pleather (you know.. for the evil ones!)

As my top coat, I used Nicole by OPI Quick Dry Top Coat. I really have no opinion on this top coat... but I just grabbed a top coat off my shelf; so we will see how it holds up.

What does everyone have on their tips this week?

Valentine's Day Nail Tutorial

FOREWARNING: This post is heavily picture ladened. You have been warned.

Happy iheartyou day, everyone! I hope your loved one has treated you well & if you're single, I hope you treated yourself well today! No need to be sad on this "day of love" when you can be your own Valentine & spoil yourself rotten & make yourself feel beautiful with something as simple as a fun mani using drug store nail polish! What's that mean for you? Cheap beauty! Here's our arsenal:

 NYC #111 in Fuschia Shock Creme
Sinful Colors #101 in Snow Me White
Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine #424A in Black Creme
NYC Matte Me Crazy top coat
Small nail design brush {side note: I actually went to Walmart & in the arts & crafts section I pick up a 5 pack on brushes designed for miniature doll house painting. Works wonderful although the brushes are a little stiff}

First things first, make sure your nails are prepped, clean & ready to go! If not, remove any excess polish, clip, flip, whatever! The apply 2 coats of Sinful Colors "Snow Me White" to you thumb, middle, & pinky fingers.

 While the white is drying, take Wet'n'Wild's Wild Shine in "Black Creme" & apply two coats to your index & ring finger. This step is not neccessary if you use a thick coat but I like to apply thinner coats to get a nice even coating. Even one coat was good but I wanted to do 2 just to be safe.

 Now here comes the fun part! Take you thin nail art brush & the "Black Creme" again. Now we're going to draw the tic-tac-toe board on the thumb making x's in all the boxes except the 3 going diagonally.

 After we're done carefully placing our x's we're going to take NYC #111 in "Fuschia Shock Creme" & our small brush again. This time, we're going to draw a little heart in each empty square on our thumb as well as a big heart on them middle & pinky.

 & voila! Now the final step is optional, but I don't really like the look of high gloss black so I took NYC's "Matte Me Crazy" & did a nice coat on my index & ring finger to kind of offset the textures a bit.

See? Isn't that just the cutest little mani!? It's great if you're not too girly but still want to have a valentines day mani. What do you think? Would you rock it? If you do, show me pictures! Tag me on instagram: @JustaGirlx826 or hashtag me on twitter @JustaGirlx826 #vdayblogmani
xox.