Stiletto Nails (And Mini Review on Diamond Nails in Temple City, CA)

 Hi Everyone!  So I had been stalking Pinterest and YouTube for some inspiration, and I came across the twin fads: Stiletto Nails and Duck Nails.  And by twin, I mean complete opposites! LOL  In case you aren't aware, Stiletto Nails are where your nails (usually acrylic) come to a point, and Duck Nails are where your nails (also usually acrylic) flare out at the tip.  I didn't actually get Duck Nails done (I'm already getting annoyed with Stiletto as it is!), but if you Google it or Pinterest it, you'll see what I'm talking about.  (For all you lazy people..let me google that for you...:http://lmgtfy.com/?q=duck+nails)

Anyhoo, so I was in dire need of a pedicure, so I decided to get that one on my last trip home.  I had seen that a new nail place opened up not too far from my mom's, so I decided to go take a peek (esp since they have a 20% off banner in front of the store! LOL).  I asked the lady doing my toes how much stiletto nails would cost.  She looked confused and asked me what stiletto nails were. LOL  At this point, I thought it was going to be a wash, but she said she could do it and with 20% off, it would only be $18.  Sounded good to me! I decided to go for and see how it turned out.

At first, I was very skeptical of the lady, but when I got my hand back and saw it shaped all pretty and pointy, I quickly relaxed and became confident that my nails would turn out awesome.  I was pleasantly surprised at how my nails turned out.  I think they are great and exactly what I was looking for!  My mom thinks that if I was going to do Stiletto Nails, I should've gone longer, but these are already annoying.  I couldn't imagine having nails an inch long!!  I already have issues typing....I can only foresee that I would've been locked out of my work computer/software because I kept mistyping my pw, hahaha.  So, what I'm trying to say is that these nails are as long as I can take, and they work.  Yes, I admit they probably would have looked better if they were a lot longer.  But...I'm good.  =)

My hubby seems to like these...here's the conversation we had:

Me: Let me scratch your back...I wanna test out how these nails feel.
Hubby: Uh...okay...?
Me:
Hubby: That feels pretty nice.
Me: Well, enjoy it while you can...I'm probably not going to upkeep these.
Hubby: Why not!!! I'm sure you can find a place in PHX.

Seriously, LOL.

I seriously doubt I can stand to have acrylics for too much longer...unless they were really short.  Maybe.  I dunno.  We'll see.   Hehehe

To finish my little review, I would have to say that Diamond Nails in Temple City is very big and nice.  The people there don't go for speed, they actually take the time to make your nails look right.  They aren't cheap, but they aren't too pricey either.  Take advantage of their 20% off just to see if you like their work.  I can say I'll definitely go back...I want to try their facial next time.  LOL  Anyhoo, that's pretty much all I have for the review...sorry there aren't really more details.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Till Next Time!

Disclaimer:
1. I paid for my own mani/pedi.
2. I am not affiliated with Diamond Nails.
3. No one paid me for this blog.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Glitter French Mani Redo

Alright, I am definitely happier with the new glitter!

So, as you can tell I changed a few things.  First off, used a different glitter.  Changed the placement of the sprinkles, and added a blackish stripe.

I also took the time to do my toenails.  They don't match per se, but I really wanted to use my new blue polish.

I think I went overboard with the glitter on my toenails, but whatever!  Not many people are going to see them anyway

The design doesn't really match my nails either (I usually try to match somewhat), but I'm not unhappy with how they turned out.  (Yes, I used double-negatives, lol.)  Oh, and please ignore those ugly sandal marks on my feet.  They won't go away!

What I Used:

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Black

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Precision Nail Art Striping Brush: All That Glitter

Precision Nail Art Striping Brush: Taste That Rainbow

American Classic: Yellow Stopper

China Glaze: Glacier

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

Fuchsia Glitter

NailTek

Finger Paints: Artist's Sapphire

Orly Glosser

Nail Art Sprinkles: Black Hologram Stars

Nail Brush/Dotting Tool

Eye Shadow Brush

What I Did:

As always, I started with my toes.  Gawd, a closeup looks horrible!  It's all dry and stuff!  Trust me, after I took the picture, I put some cuticle oil on it, so it's looking semi healthier.  I was just a little lazy to take another pic, lol.

Anyhoo, so I put on a basecoat (for once!): NailTek.  It's supposed to help strengthen your nails.  =) Then I put on 2 coats of the Artist's Sapphire.  Isn't it an awesome color?  Now you can see why I couldn't wait to try it!  it turned out beautifully!

Then I let that sit for about 2 minutes, and then used the All that Glitter to draw the two outside lines.  I used the dotter to to make the dots in the design, and then added a stripe of Silver Glitter polish in the middle.  

I put a coat of Glacier on all the nails (you could skip this step...I just wanted to see how it'd look, lol).  And then after about 3 minutes, I put on the Glosser.  Viola, a very interesting pedicure.  Maybe too much glitter, but I love it anyway!

Next, I started on my nails.  I tried using the Artist's Sapphire on the tips and putting the Fucshia glitter over that, but it looked better w/ the Bare Rose (or clear polish if you want =) ).  So I put the Bare Rose on the tips, threw some glitter on it, and brushed off the excess.  Then I put a coat of Bare Rose on the entire nail.

I used the black thin brush polish to make a line on the border of the tips, and then used the Taste That Rainbow over the black to make it glittery.

Then I took the Bare Rose and put some below the black stripe, where I was planning to put my sprinkles.  I placed one big star, and two little ones.  Kk, you might think me ghetto, but I actually cleaned and reused mine from yesterday.  I mean come on...I only wore them for one day, and I didn't want to waste them!  So I did what I could.  I think a couple broke, but still...I used the others. =)

This is where I wanted to place the stars yesterday, but it didn't look right with the M*A*C glitter.  I think it's because the glitter was more subtle and finer chunks.  This new glitter was really close to the one midnightsundark used in her video.  After I was done, I used the Yellow Stopper top coat.

I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out this time.  They definitely are keepers!  Hopefully with practice, my left hand will get better at it (my right hand looks a little...messy, lol).

Another Glitter French Manicure

Well, I liked the way the glitter French manicure turned out on my mom, so I decided to give myself one too. =)  Unfortunately, I don't think the glitter I used was meant for nails.  I think I'll have to go back to that beauty supply store to get a bottle of the pink stuff.  If I have time to redo my nails before Vegas, I will, but otherwise I think they look decent enough.

I was trying to get my nails to look more like the ones in this video by midnightsundark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ixhly8PPdg

As you can see, her glitter is way more sparkly than mine.  She doesn't specify where she got her glitter from, but I think if I use the same one as the one I used on my mom's, it should turn out pretty similar.

What I Used:

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

M*A*C Reflects Glitter: Very Pink

American Classics: Yellow Stopper (Top Coat)

Nail Art Sprinkles: Black Hologram Stars

Nail Brush/Dotting Tool

Eye Shadow Brush

What I Did:

Basically I did the same thing as the last post (and the video) where I put the Bare Rose on just the tops, and then put the M*A*C glitter over that and brushed away the excess.  Then I put a coat of the Bare Rose all over the nail.

While That was still wet, I put on an open star, then three little stars on just the tip.  Originally, I had planned to do that beneath the tip, but it just looked funny.  Maybe if my tips were more glittery, it would look better.

After letting that dry for about 2-3 minutes, I put on the Yellow Stopper top coat.  I decided to use this top coat instead of the Glosser I normally used because this top coat glows in the black (uv) light.  And since I'm planning to party hard in Vegas this weekend, glowy nails would be pretty awesome.  Normally, the Yellow Stopper is a great top coat for regular white tip French manicures because it stops the white from looking yellow (hence the name, Yellow Stopper, lol).

So to sum up....The M*A*C glitter looks great on the face, but not so much on the nails.  I mean they're pretty and all, but I REALLY wanted it to sparkle like the video.  If I redo my nails, I'll definitely post some pics. =)

Glitter French Manicure

I have finally caught up on all my old nail designs!  So from now on, I'll try to post as I do them, but it definitely won't be everyday like I have been recently.

Here I decided to do my mom's nails again.  She only had hers for a week and she already messed up the old one!

So I semi-followed iheartkeyden's YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHaKM2FXng

At least as far as the glitter tips go.  Then I just added the design to give it a little something extra. =)

What I Used:

Light Blue Glitter Dust (I got this from an Asian Beauty Supply Store for $2)

Finger Paints:  Art Her-Story

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

Orly Glosser

Nail  Brush/Dotting Tool

Silver Rhinestones

What I Did:

Once again, I didn't use a base coat.  But this time, for good reason!  I didn't want to have the glitter sticking to places I didn't want, so I wanted to just do the parts where I wanted the glitter first (yeah, this is a really bad run-on sentence, but I think it kinda gets the point across, lol).

First I put the Orly Bare Rose only at the tips (I worked on one nail at a time for this part).  The line doesn't have to be perfect because we're just going to cover it up with glitter anyway.  While the polish was still wet, I  sprinkled the glitter powder over the tips.  I lightly patted it with my fingers (just like the video) and brushed off the excess with a makeup brush (I think any brush would do).

After I finished all 10 nails, I went back and covered each nail (the whole nail) with the Bare Rose.

Then I used my dotting tool (or an old ball-point pen would work) and made 5 dots in the shape of a flower just on the tip border on each nail.  Since my flowers didn't look too hot...I used a toothpick and drew out the middle of each petal (while it was still wet) towards the middle of the flower.  It just gives it a little bit of dimension.  Then I drew 3 dots downward along the side of the nail.  Then I used the dotting tool and dropped a drop of the Orly Glosser in the middle of the flower and attached a Silver Rhinestone.

Lastly, I put on the Glosser all over each nail.  They turned out really nice, and I was definitely impressed with how the glitter looked (although disappointed that it wasn't light blue...even without the Bare Rose I think it would still be closer to clear).  It was a fun design to do...and totally worth the glitter mess, lol.  I think I might do a glitter tip for my weekend!