NOTD: Sally Hansen's Coral Reef

Labor day's approaching so I'm making sure I get in all my favorite bright polishes now! Today I'm wearing Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear polish in Coral Reef. This was promoted with their summer line, and is still available in stores.

The color is so fun! It's very bright and was as close to neon I was able to get this past season. I find the name to be misleading however, because I see more pink than coral in the polish (but maybe that's just me!). The formulation is on the thicker side, almost even goopy, but if your patient the result is still good.

Plus, you can't really go wrong with a 2 dollar polish! With a wide brush, similar to OPI's, this version of Sally Hansen is my favorite drug store nail polish as of now. What are your favorite drugstore polishes?

-Iman

A New Method for Newspaper Nails

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share with you my personal way of creating the newspaper nail. :) Every tutorial I read when this trend first came out told me to dip my finger in alcohol for two minutes and then transfer the newspaper image. Unfortunately, I found this method took too much time and, more importantly, didn't even work! Read on to see how I changed things up.

To create this look you need white nail polish (I used OPI's Alpine Snow), rubbing alcohol, a little cup (I used a shot glass) to put the alcohol in and some newspaper cut into finger nail sized pieces (see images 1 & 2). Begin by painting your nails with two coats of your white polish (see image 3) and allow this to dry completely. You will be pressing the newspaper against your nail so you should make sure they are perfectly dry. Then dip your strip of newspaper into your rubbing alcohol (see image 4) for 7 seconds. Shake off the extra alcohol and press the wet strip very firmly against your nail for 10 seconds (see image 5). Let dry and finish with some top coat! Make sure you allow the ink to dry because it runs pretty easily under top coat.

Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve the newspaper nail look?

-Iman

NOTD: OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape

Today I was feeling extra summery so my nail of the day is OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape!

 A newer purchase for me, this polish is a minty green polish, however I find that it has a pretty heavy dose of a lime green it. I also feel it is a lot more neon than most. The photos don't really pick up on it, but I definitely find it different from my other mint greens (Essie's Mint Candy Apple and Orly's Jealous, Much?).

I had to apply 3 coats but the result was very smooth. OPI rarely disappoints in terms of consistency of polish. These photos are taken in sunlight without flash or top coat.

Excuse my fading henna! I hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know, what's your favorite minty green polish?

-Iman

Welcome to the first AA meeting!

Life's a Beach

Hello!

     I am Iman, a college student who can not function without perfectly polished nails. And, I am Mar a college graduate, who is addicted to bright colors & glitter. We would like to welcome you to your very first AA meeting.

      You're probably wondering: NOT ANOTHER BEAUTY BLOG….right? Well first off, we'd like to say you can never have enough swatches! And secondly, may we ask you a question? Have you been drawn to a particular shade of nail polish and you had to have it? Or walked into a beauty store (i.e. Sephora, Planet Beauty, Ulta…) and had the intention of buying only one nail polish, but walked out with 8 new shades instead? Have you spent your rent/lunch/charity/
all-the-pennies-in-your-jar-money on nail polishes? Have you tried purchasing a nail polish online, only to google search the swatch? If answered yes to any of the above: This IS the place for you.
   
      We understand - sometimes the necessity you feel to be wearing "turquoise and caicos" right this second can stress you out! But please, take a deep breath and think calm soothing thoughts; like this image above. Brings you right back down to earth don't it? Like with the image, we believe that Life is a Beach. Why should you have to be in doubt over a color? Or hide the fact that you have to change your polish every other day because you have commitment issues? And there's nothing wrong with loving glitter on your nails! This is NO longer about hiding your addiction. Let's start fresh. Let's Come Clean. (and by no means do we mean "clean" polish less nails…heaven forbid!)

      Acetone Anonymous would like you to come out and say that you are proud of your beauty collection and it is perfectly okay to want to indulge yourself in a beauty ritual. There's no need to be ashamed or embarrassed anymore! And why stop at nail polish? Are you OCD about clumpy mascara? Are you overdosing on lipstains? Are your cheeks high from all the contouring? These are your AA meetings, and we welcome you with new beauty information that you won't ever want to look away from. This is your sanctuary.

      We invite you to join us in our search for the best colors and chicest looks and more importantly, to celebrate all things that make us happy! We want to share all we know with you, and we want you to share what you know with us. Let the fun begin. :)

-Mar and Iman