Three Manis & and Intro

I've tried to start a blog more times than I can count. It goes well at first, but pretty soon my posts happen less and less frequently until I stop all together. Part of the problem, I think, is that I tried to pigeon hole my blog(s) into a "theme". I'd think "Oh, I love to crochet," so I'd start a blog about crochet. But, I don't crochet all the time, and I like other things, too. So I started a blog about writing, but again, I don't write all the time. And so on and so forth. This time, I'm going to stick allll those things together into one random mess. Hopefully, however, it's a random mess I can keep up with. I love makeup and beauty, even though I don't wear makeup or even attempt to get beautiful every day. I have a seven month old, you see, and if we have no plans or need to leave the house that day, the biggest thing I'll accomplish is a shower. Thanks to Pinterest (internet crack), I've found and been scoping a lot of nail polish blogs, and it renewed my love of manis and pedis. For years and years I was a die-hard advocate of acrylic nails. I'd get them done every two weeks. They looked fantastic, don't get me wrong, and I love the girl that did my nails. But it's really expensive, and I realize now that I can't justify the cost. Unfortunately, when I leave my nails bare, I bite them like crazy. To solve this problem, I've been religiously keeping them painted for the last several years. It prevents me from gnawing them off, and it's one thing on me that will be done up even if I don't even wash my hair. Here are a few of the manis I've had on in the last few weeks. The photos are not professional at all (I took them with my iPhone), and I'm by no means an expert. My cuticles are a mess and I haven't perfected a good clean up method.

First is China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy and CG's For Audrey on my accent nail. FFF was a LOT brighter than I expected, but it's a great summer color. By the way, I used to think the idea of an "accent nail" was really dumb. Now I'm kind of into it. It allows me to do something fun with my nails without committing to the full ten fingers looking the same. While I think nail art is really cool and I'm super impressed with the talent (and patience) people must have to do it, it's not my thing.

Next is OPI's Ruble for your Thoughts with OPI Black Crackle on my ring finger. Of the three I've photographed, this is my least favorite. I guess it looked better when I imagined it, but once I got it on my nails it just looked like I slammed my ring fingers in a door or something. I was too lazy (and busy) to change it, so it stayed until it started to chip. Looking back, I think it would have looked better if I had painted all of my nails black and then done the accent nail the way it is.

Finally I have a Sally Hansen polish called Black Out (I think) with OPI's Brand New Skates layered on top. When I first got BNS, I was bummed that it was so sheer, but when I realized I could layer it with a different color, I was stoked. I know, it seems silly that I didn't think of it before. Once I finished this mani, I was pretty pleased, but then realized it sort of looks just like OPI's Baby it's Coal Outside, which I also have. Oh well. I might try it over purple next.