A colorful summer

I love colors. 

Any and all the colors. 

My favorite is purple and my second favorite is blue. 

I love wearing colorful clothes so I am enjoying the latest fashion trend:  

color  blocking 

One of my favorite accessories on any given day is having my toes and nails painted. I don't have time to go to a salon so lately I've been doing my own nails at home. I have a good collection of nail polishes too. But for summer I am enjoying some specific shades and I'd like to share them with you today.

Before I polish my nails in the color I select for that week I start with nail polish remover to clean my nail from any natural oils and have a clean slate to paint on. After I wipe each nail with the nail polish remover I use a base coat. I like:

OPI, for both base and top coat. It makes my color last longer. 

I also like Spa Ritual for base coat, their products are vegan. It was a gift from a friend and I am enjoying their quality also. 

Now onto the color, I do 2 coats per nail of these bright, bold colors perfect for a colorful summer! 

{I also like other shades and brands}

And here is what the colors look on my nails:

 This is #320 and it is called Fuchsia Power, I wanted a bright electric pink. 

 This is #130 and it is called Blue Me Away! and it did blue me away ;) 

Another great color for nails even toes is this beautiful mint green:

A couple of weeks ago Klout awarded me an Essie perk and here is the #essiesummer shade I received. Thank you Klout and Essie for the nice Orange nail polish!  

This essie summer orange is called Fear of Desire and it is #804

Do you like painting your nails? 

What kind of colors do you like on your nails? 

Best way to paint your nails at home!

As busy parents we are always finding ways to cut corners and save some time, going to a nail salon to get a little me time is most of the time out of the question but not impossible.

Recently I was at the local mani/pedi salon and asked the girl that was doing my mani what is the best way to make polish last, in other words why is it that even when I use a base coat and top coat my nail polish gets chipped after 2 - 3 days even when using OPI, Essie or Sally Hansen Pro brands.

The girl told asked me if I have ever noticed how they do nails? if I have ever paid attention to their procedure? I said not really. So then she proceeded to tell me a few simple steps:

1.- Wash your hands thoroughly and dry well.
2.- Using a cotton pad with nail polish remover on each and every dry nail. As if I was removing nail polish.
3.- Apply base coat (only once per nail)
4.- Apply color one coat at a time and try not to over dip nail polish so it is not applied thick. Allow to dry each coat in other words don't do the two coats at the same time, apply once around and then start again.
5.- Apply top coat.
6.- Here's the tricky part allow your nail polish to dry well that is don't wash your hands in the next 30 minutes or apply moisturizer on your hands.

Usually when I do my nails it is at nighttime when our kids are asleep and I have time to myself. I watch TV while applying color and then allow about 30 minutes of just resting my hands. This has worked wonders! I have gone a whole week without major chips on my nails. I do dishes, clean bathrooms, give baths, etc. which means my hands are often in water so acrylics are out of the question for me... But I do like nicely painted nails! :D and don't we all?

Our favorite hues and some to try no matter the season are:

OPI:

You don't know Jacques!
Lincoln Park at Night


Essie:

Au Natural
Jazz
Chinchilly
Merino Cool

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails:

Lacey Lilac #270
Wet Cement #37

For base and top coat we use the perfect coat! kit from OPI, usually sold as a pair.