Neutral One Stroke nail art

It's been awhile since I've had some nail art up in here. I've been doing mainly colors on my nails due to time constraints but I wanted to do something pretty with the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nail polishes while I had them in my grubby little hands!

One stroke nail art using Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes in Grey-fitti and I Lilac You and Wet N Wild Black Creme. 

I used Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender and used it a smidgen early and it streaked a bit, but I think it makes it look a little post-modern art-esque. I liked it.  I had a few girls at work think it was a sticker nail art, so that made me think they must have liked it!

Close up of the thumb!

It was nice to do a little nail art, even if it was a floral! Getting me back in ma groove!

Grey-fitti and I Lilac You

You probably already know from the title I'm talking about Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes. Someone at work bought two colors and didn't have a grand go at it, so gave them to me to try out.

I'll start by saying, I don't like them. If you do like them, what's your application secret? I tried them numerous way, base coat, no base coat, different top coat, etc etc and couldn't get a good manicure. The top coat pulled, the colors were chalky (they were two pastels and those are notorious for chalkiness), and cleanup was a hot mess. Someone give me the secret to using these!

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish Grey-fitti (left two fingers), I Lilac You (right two fingers)

Grey-fitty is a nice neutral light gray that doesn't lean blue or silver. Very neutral and work appropriate.

I did my nails all in the Grey-fitti color as I liked the application from this polish better. I liked the color of I Lilac You more but in the end, application won out in color choice.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish Grey-fitti (on a different day for some nail art)

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish Grey-fitti

I'm sure you can tell below the I Lilac You was more streaky and applied like a pastel, very shaky. It pulled like crazy around the cuticle and edges with any top coat I used, I think here I used the Miracle Gel Topcoat to get a sense of the application. The uneven edges were AFTER clean up, I couldn't get a good edge. I should have left it after I applied it, I think it looked better pre-cleanup. I couldn't even do a full manicure with it.

I Lilac You is a soft pink leaning lavender, very chic. Gorgeous color, just wish I could figure out how to apply it to look even.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish I Lilac You

Overall very unimpressed. I gave these back with a heavy heart and haven't purchased any of them. I see so many pictures that are beautiful -- maybe it was the color selection? 

Any advice or suggestions would be great. I used different base coats (proteins, hardeners, bonders) and different top coats (Miracle Gel topcoat, Seche Vite, Posche, Barielle) and I couldn't get a single manicure to look good... Very sad. 

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude

I love how a small step can make a big difference in your overall appearance. Nude or white liner to your waterline can really wake up your eyes or make them appear more open. Having small eyes, I don't really line my waterline much with dark colors, but this takes the pink out of my waterline which makes me appear more awake and alert. 

I love that this liner is super creamy, so there is no tugging at all, which me and my waterline are grateful about. Sharpens easily too.

Some with and without shots. No good face shots, sorry, but you can tell a difference in the nude color taking away the pink of my waterline and opening up my eye a little more. If you stand a bit away from your computer so you're not so up-in-my-eyeball you'll see it better.

Erases sleepiness! Better than coffee. Eh, well, let's just say it does because those days I need both to look awake! Who's with me on that?

For Audrey

Another beautiful polish I'm just now getting around to wearing. Was big for awhile, now there are lots of colors similar to it on the market just about everywhere.

China Glaze For Audrey is a beautiful "Tiffany inspired turquoise." Gorgeous. As in, GAW-jus.

Layers:
Nailtiques Formula 2
Orly Bonder
China Glaze For Audrey (2 coats - didn't need a third!)
Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender

I must confess I did an experiment and for my right hand I used the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel TopCoat to see if it would apply better over regular polish. I did take pictures but they all came out terrible so I scrapped them all. Needless to say, the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Topcoat was shinier but also pulled the nail polish (shrinkage similar to Seche Vite) and chipped before the regular topcoat. I'm not too impressed with that Sally Hansen line so far. I see swatches on line and wonder what I'm doing wrong.

Made me feel fancy wearing this on my long(er) nails. They're getting about that length when I need to take them down. Makes typing difficult.

Cindy

Only one picture today of this one. It was a grander idea than manicure. Ever have that happen?

The polish itself is gorgeous. Red fiery glitter with lots of extras only Shimmer Polish can do. Cindy is fantastic. It was the execution that was the problem.

I wanted red glitter tips. Not too hard, right? I started out my usual tips manicure but I used elmer's glue (per my usual recent routine) as a base coat since glitter can be such a pain to remove. I did a red tip in a red polish by Orly (I forgot the name) but when I went to clean up the tips with acetone (similar to what they do at nail salons with a brush to make a clean edge) the glue underneath had a fit. It started lifting and pulling. If I pulled too much it started to move my french tip. Sigh. #nailpolishproblems

So I cleaned as best I could, then just did the glitter over the tips. It looks good from afar but if you get too close you can see it's a hot mess. Good idea though, I'll have to work on my execution. Hence the kinda far away picture. =)

Layers:
Nailtiques Formula 2 (nail tips only)
Elmer's Glue (for peel off base coat -- nail tips only)
Orly red (forgot name, sorry! -- nail tips only)
Shimmer Cindy (3 coats - nail tips only)
Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender


For those of you who do glitter french tips, what's your secret?