Summer's Prettiest Pedis

Happy Monday Dolls! I hope everyone had a great weekend and more importantly stayed hydrated! We had a scorcher of a weekend here in Kentucky and from what I've been hearing, we were not alone. Drink lots of water and stay inside if at all possible!

A few weeks ago I was reading one of my favorite gossip magazines (guilty pleasure) and they had an article called "Summer's Prettiest Pedis". I loved it and since were are officially in Summer 2012 (heat and all) I've decided to share it with you beautiful dolls today! I hope you enjoy!

Trendy Brights
In your face polishes are super hot right now. "These colors are all about making a fun statement," says nail guru Deborah Lippman. "And they break free of the rules - so you can wear them anytime, anywhere and with anything.
Expert Tip: Neon and vibrant shades require two coats before they'll resemble the polish in the bottle. Apply thinly to prevent chipping while building up the brightness.

                                                               Head-Turning Neons

Misa Nail Lacquer in A Sunny Smile
Makes Me Go Wild, $8, misacosmestics.com

Ginger + Liz Colour Collection in Goin'
Back to Cali, $12, gingerandliz.com

  Ocean Hues

Sinful Colors in Why Not,
$2, walgreens.com

NYC New York Color In a New York
Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in
Mint Macaroon, $2, drugstores


  Vivid Violets

Zoya Nail Polish in Charisma,
$8, zoya.com

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in
Be-Jeweled, $7, drugstores

Sexy Neutrals
"If you really want to look chic this summer, wearing a beautiful neutral on the toes is the modern way to go," says expert Deborah Lippman, who adds that the trend is to choose a shade with undertones that are the opposite of your skin, creating eye-catching contrast.
Expert Tip: Be sure to layer a top coat with UV protection over pale polish - it prevents the color from
turning yellow.

  Clean Whites

MAC Limited Edition Hey Sailor!
Nail Lacquer in Vestral White,
$17, maccosmetics.com

Essie Wedding Collection in
Instant Hot, $8, drugstores


 Barely There Blushes

Perfect Formula The Perfect
Color in Satin, $15, qvc.com

Dolce & Gabbana The Nail
Lacquer in Rose Petal
$20, saks.com


Beautiful Beiges

Sally Hansen Complete Salon
Manicure in Cafe au Lait, $8 drugstores

Summer Classics
"Coral, red and bright pink are always go-to summer shades because they flatter the skin and can be worn with other bright colors and clothes," says celeb manicurist Deborah Lippman.
Expert Tip: "With these shades, it's key to choose a polish that has the same undertones as your skin," explains Lippman. Contrasting tones will wash out skin and make cuticles appear dry.

  Sexy Reds

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Pro
Nail Enamel in Stiletto Red, $3, drugstores

Maybelline New York Color
Show Nail Lacquer in Keep Up The
Flame, $4, drugstores


Modern Corals

Revlon Limited Edition Scented
Nail Enamel in Orange Pop,
$5, drugstore.com

                                                    

Chanel Limited Edition Nail Colour
in No. 617 Holiday, $26, chanel.com


Flirty Pinks

L'Oréal Paris Colour Nail
Riche Color in Check Me Out,
$6, drugstores

Deborah Lippman 3-D Holographic
Nail Lacquer in Sweet Dreams, $18
deborahlippman.com

Hope you all enjoy the amazing shades for this summer! Pick your fave and go get a pedi! xoxox

Acetone vs. Non-Acetone

Have you ever wondered which is the best for your nails? After thinking about that for a while, I decided to do a little research and here's what I came up with:

ACETONE
Pros: Acetone is definitely the quickest way to remove nail polish. I also discovered that it strips the oils from your nails, which makes your base coat adhere to your nails better, resulting in longer wear for your manicure.
Cons: Because it strips your nails of its natural oils, it can be extremely drying. Acetone is also an irritant. Wikipedia has a long list of the possible long-term health effects of inhaling acetone fumes or even exposing your eyes to acetone fumes. Whenever using pure acetone, it's best to be in a highly ventilated area! I remember when I was pregnant with my children, whenever I stepped into a nail salon the fumes hit me like a ton of bricks!



NON ACETONE
Pros: Less damaging and less drying because of added conditioners, like Vitamin E. It removes nail polish just as well as pure acetone.
Cons: A little frustrating when removing glittery nail polishes (I can vouch for this!). It isn't as strong as pure acetone, so it takes more rubbing with your cotton ball!

--




Personally, I always use non-acetone nail polish remover, but it's whatever works best for you! If you wear nail extensions, you've probably spent time soaking them off in acetone. Be careful of the fumes, be sure to be in a ventilated area. Also, because of the drying effects of acetone, take extra care to keep your nails and cuticles properly hydrated.


xoxo!

*Shade of the Week*

Happy Monday Darlings! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are geared up to start and complete another week!

My Shade of the Week for this week is L'Oreal's Safari Chic from their Iconic Muse line. It is the absolute PERFECT shade of grey-ish green...the name of the shade suits the color perfectly. It looks great with neutral clothes and gold jewelry... which is how I'm rocking it today! Check it out :)

Natural Nailed Celebrities

Hi Darlings! I've put together a few photos of some of our favorite celebs rocking their natural nails. They are all beautiful! Scroll down enjoy! 

Beyonce Knowles rocking lovely, natural, long rounded nails. 

Halle Berry's Red Carpet Nails. Simple and stunning.

Jennifer Lopez also rounding out her tips. Fabulous J. Lo!

Kim Kardashian keeps her nails short and natural.

Scarlett Johansson nails are short and shimmery for the red carpet.

My girl, Corinne Bailey Rae rocking a beautiful purple hue. Love it!

*Hard As Nailz does not own these photos*

*Shade of the Week*

Hi loves! I'm introducing a new section on Hard As Nailz! called "Shade of the Week". This is where I'll be sharing my nail color for that particular week. Sunday is my usual day for polish changes, so when I change up on the weekends, I'll let you know what I'm rocking! I'll also give a quick review of the nail polish on the next "Shade of the Week" post to let you know how it held up.

L'Oreal 'Now You Sea Me'

Okay. Let me just put it out there. L'Oreal has been my favorite nail polish brand this year. They last long, hardly ever chip, the color isn't watered down and it's just amaze-balls! So you'll see a lot of L'Oreal in my "Shade of the Week" section. 

This week I'm rocking, 'Now You Sea Me' from L'Oreal's Iconic Muse line. B-E-A-UTIFUL! This nail polish is the absolute perfect shade of blue. It's a creamy, almost grey-ish blue that stands out but also blends right in with almost anything you're wearing. I absolutely love it and I know you will too. Match your mani with your pedi, wear some awesome sandals and let the compliments roll in! Try it! You can find it at any of your local drugstores. 

MAN-icure

My husband is one of those guys whose nails grow like an inch-a-day. It's crazy and I am CRAZY jealous of him! As jealous as I am, I hate feeling his long nails on my skin... can we say "scratchy"? I'm constantly clipping them for him.

My husband is a real guy's guy... he won't be caught in a nail salon and he's not too keen on manicures. Thank God he has soft hands and feet or I would have to insist that he go! So if your man isn't into mani-pedi's, don't worry, you can still take him from Edward Scissor-Hands back to your handsome love in two minutes. All you need is a pair of clippers and a willing man (good luck!).

 My husband, James, BEFORE...

and AFTER!

Parlez-Vous Français?

Hey Dolls! It's Monday and the beginning of another beautiful week. I hope you've all been taking advantage of the tips and tricks that have been posted and are seeing results! I've already received a few comments from friends who have begun hydrating their cuticles and started wearing gloves and they are already seeing improvement! Well done ladies!

Last week I gave myself a french manicure - - here is what I did, step-by-step, as well as a review of the product I used 'Nailene Perfect Tips'.

*~*~*~*~*~*

1. I began by cleaning, filing and buffing my nails. I don't push back my cuticles that much, just a bit. (I normally apply a base coat before I paint my nails, but it failed with this product, you'll see why.)

2. Next I began applying the French Manicure guides. I used Nailene Pefect Tips! They are little stickers that you place along the tip of your nails to make a clean line for the french manicure.

3. The guides were fairly easy to apply. They are quite sticky, which is good because once they were in place they didn't move or shift. One my first try, I applied a clear base coat before putting the guides in place, however, when it was time to remove the guides, it made the base coat peel off. So this time I didn't use a base coat at all.

4. After applying the nail guides, I painted my tips with white nail polish, just below the stickers. I think it would have worked better if I had used the Nailene French Tip Pen, but I just went with what I had. The polish wasn't really the greatest quality. It wouldn't come out as opaque as I liked, but here it is.

5. After allowing the white nail polish to completely dry, it was time to remove the guides. This was tricky, because they are really sticky! I tried removing them myself but it wasn't working out - so I enlisted the help of my hubby. That's him removing the guides for me. Thanks hun! 

6. For my overall color, I used L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Color. The shade I used is called 'Sweet Nothings'. It's from their 'Hopeless Romantic' line and I absolutely love it. It gives a very pale pink/apricot color on my nails. I didn't take a photo of this step, but here is the nail polish.

7. Here is the final step. A simple at-home french manicure. :) The Nailene Perfect Tips nail guides were great. They gave me the clean line I wanted.

My recommendation would be to use a French Tip pen, instead of white nail polish in the bottle. I think it would give a cleaner white tip.

The nail guides cost less than $2.00 per pack!! Excellent buy.

Tips & Tricks

Have you ever sat down to paint your nails and find that your favorite nail polish has thickened and gotten all... goopy in the bottle? Ugh! I hate that! In my experience, most nail polishes just thicken over time, and it's likely, unless you have a certain color that you use all the time, that you have a few bottles that you've given up on. Well, have no fear, your favorite bottle of enamel can be salvaged (if it hasn't completely hardened to the point of no return)!

1. Use a nail polish thinner. There are a few thinners on the market, but the one that I've heard the most about is Seche Restore. It costs less than $5 per bottle and from what I hear, it's great! Product Review to come. . .

2. Use a few drops of acetone nail polish remover. This is my TRIED AND TRUE (and economical) solution to thinning out thickened nail polish. Be warned, using too much acetone can ruin your nail polish all together, so I'd say use a little dropper and adding one small drop of acetone at a time to your nail polish, shaking your enamel vigorously after each addition. After 2 to 3 drops, depending on the state of the nail polish, you'll be good to go!

Let me know how it goes :)

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**NailFax**

Here's an interesting Nail Fact:
Did you know that activities such as playing the piano, typing and tapping your nails on a hard surface can help them to grow faster? Doing any of these will stimulate blood flow to the nail bed, which helps nails to grow! So the next time your co-worker start annoyingly tapping their fingernails on their desk, join in! :-)

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Strong Foundation

Hello Darlings! As I sit typing my first blog on 'Hard As Nailz!', I find myself looking at my nails as I tap away at the keyboard, which is something I rarely do. I remember a time that it was necessary for me to look at my fingers whenever I typed. Not because I didn't know where the keys were, but because I had long acrylic nails attached to my fingers that hindered my normally 75 wpm typing skills. I was a total slave to acrylic nails.

Every two weeks, without fail, I went to my neighborhood nail salon for a "fill" on my acrylic nails. Truth is, I wore them because my nails underneath were short, stubby and brittle. Being a nail-biter didn't help one bit, either. When I did get my natural nails to grow out a bit, they would be soft and break very easily. Acrylic nails offered a quick cure for my unsightly fingertips, but the harsh acrylic on my already brittle nails, made them weaker and weaker. I had absolutely no idea how to achieve the beautiful, strong nails that I longed for. After some time and a lot of changes, I am now pleased with my hard, strong, and might I add, healthy nails.

So before we can get into the fun stuff (nail polishes, nail art, etc), we have to be sure to start out with a strong foundation. Here are some things you can try at home to get your natural nails into tip top shape! (FYI: These work for your toenails as well).

1. Keep your nails hydrated!
Hydrated nails are healthy nails. Instead of going out to purchase cuticle oil, rub a tiny amount of petroleum jelly   into your cuticles before bed. Olive oil is also a great option for hydrating your nails, as well as Castor Oil, which contains Vitamin E.

2. Take your vitamins.
We all know that Vitamin E and Calcium are excellent nutrients for the health of our skin and nails. Did you know that Biotin (or Vitamin H) also works wonders? It's a natural substance in foods and is also available as a supplement in vitamin aisle of your local drug store. It helps the body metabolize fat and proteins for healthy skin and hair.  Biotin is a natural component in many of the foods that you eat, such as carrots, eggs, tomatoes, cow's milk, strawberries and walnuts, among others. If you choose to take the supplement, the recommended dosage is 30 to 100mcg daily. I've tried it and I think it works wonders.

3. Keep your nails natural.

Just like myself, I'm sure a lot of you have opted for artificial nail enhancements, but if you're looking to improve the healthy and appearance of your own natural nails, then stay away from them! Acrylics and gels deprive your nails of natural light and air and the chemicals increase your risk for a fungal infection. Not to mention the damage done to your nail plate when removing the acrylic... sheesh!

4. Keep your nails dry.
Wear gloves when doing household chores, such as washing dishes. Nails are weaker when wet and not drying them properly can lead to bacteria growth beneath your nails, increasing the risk of fungal infection. Also, use cotton socks to absorb sweat when wearing tennis shoes. Remember to dry nails and toenails properly after swimming or bathing. Wet nails are weak and weak nails break!

5. Learn how to file your nails properly.
Avoid filing your nails back and forth. This sawing action can cause chipping. File your name in a unidirectional manner. Even if your trying to grow your nails out, it's best to file them about once per week  to keep the edges smooth and chip free. 

6. Wear nail polish.
Even if it's just a clear coat. It protects your nails and keeps them hard. Nail polish should last about a week but after removing, give your nails some time to breathe before reapplying.

7. Buff away!
Buffing encourages blood flow to the nail bed and the smooth, shiny surface is a plus! Use a fine buffer for better results and remember to buff in a unidirectional manner.

8. Above all, EAT RIGHT! 
A healthy diet is irreplaceable when it comes to healthy hair, skin and nails.

There are tons of tips and tricks that are useful in attaining and maintaining beautiful healthy nails. We'll explore them all through the various posts so stay tuned!

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