NOTD Catch Up

I can't clean up all my pending photos before the end of the year, but I can catch up with my nails of the day that haven't made it into the blog yet. Because getting our house ready for sale then relocating to Idaho took up so much of my time, I've been wearing a lot of strips, since they're fast to put on and don't need dry time.

The black and silver argyle of Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Prep's Cool graced my nails in early November.



I followed that with Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Plum's the Word, which I planned to stamp over but never managed to get around to doing.



I did stamp on the next Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips I put on. I topped Ruby Do strips with Revlon Untamed, using a plate I didn't write down, and sealed with Diamond Dry topcoat. This combination was on the subtle side; the stamping showed up very prettily in some lights, and all but disappeared in others as it shifted from brown to gold to purple. It was kind of fun.



You've already seen the strip-based Mickey Mouse stamped nails I wore to California. After that, I returned to Ruby Do and stamping for Thanksgiving. I stamped with Borghese Rapido in Siena, an unnamed Urban Outfitters, and Sally Hansen Salon in Bronze Ambition.



Again, I didn't jot down the plate I used; bad blogger. I was going for an autumn look, so overlapped leaves in the three metallics. The Borghese was similar to the Revlon from the earlier look; depending on the angle, it was sometimes invisible.



After Thanksgiving, I decided to give Essie Sleek Sticks another try. Bad idea. I didn't have any better luck coaxing them on my nails than the last time I used them. I used the Shoot the Moon design, which has a dotted silver design on a solid turquoise blue background, which wrinkled terribly and couldn't be smoothed out well. I refuse to believe it's me, since I use other strips successfully.



They didn't wear well, either; here they are after not quite two days. Granted, I was packing boxes and suitcases over those days, but still, yuck.



One advantage the Essie strips have is they do peel off easily; no remover needed.



After the Essie, I put on Revlon by Marchesa 3D Jewel Appliques in Jeweled Noir. These have two designs with white, gold, and red on black, with some of the "jewels" being dimensional. I hadn't used Revlon strips in ages, and it didn't go that well back then, but I've got the strips so figured I'd use them. I got a few wrinkles when putting them on, as they aren't nail polish but rather thicker stickers, but nothing like the Essie, and the design was busy enough to distract from the wrinkles.



These wore a lot better than the Essie. Here they are eight days later. I was able to touch up the tips with plain black creme polish, which helped.



And finally, what I've had on my nails this week, Incoco Nail Polish Appliques in Midnight Countdown. I had to get these on, as this is my last chance to wear something with "2015" on it and be timely. This strip set has four designs in black and gold with very fine holo shimmer.





I've been enjoying seeing how the sparkles pop in different lights. We haven't had much sun around here, but the little bedside lamps in the condo work just fine for bringing out the holo.



And now I'm caught up with my manicures ... until I change my nails, probably tomorrow, if I'm feeling up to it. I've unfortunately come down with a sore throat/sinus thing and am taking it easy today hoping to bounce back sooner. I hope the turning of the year finds all of you happy and healthy!