How To: Neon and Neutral Nails

I am head over heels for the neon and neutral trend that's floating around the fashion world right now. I've failed miserably at finding neon pieces. Everywhere I go, I'm looking - but no such luck. So I've turned to my nails. I grabbed two of my favorite colors - a neon and a neutral - and got to painting.  

Essie's Cute as a Button and Jazz

I first tried out a more subtle approach - one neon tip. It's simple: 

1. Paint your nails your favorite neutral color.

2. Place a strip of tape over your nail leaving a small tip at the top.

3. Paint the tip, let it dry, and remove tape.

Ta-dah! 

If you'd like a little more neon in the mix, go ahead and just paint the whole nail neon. 

I also think a neon yellow or orange would have looked fantastic. 

Current Nail Color:

OPI's Ski Teal We Drop

I had been wanting a teal color nail polish for a while and I finally decided on this color from OPI's Swiss Collection. I'm really loving it because it's a deep color, but it's not black or on the verge of black (although, I still love my Lincoln Park After Dark). It's also a great color for fall in my opinion. This picture was taken in natural sunlight, my nails have two coats of the polish, and Seche Vite Top Coat as the top coat. 

Current Nail Color:

{via}

OPI's Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous from the Swiss Collection. To see all swatches from this collection check out this post. I am also diggin that Teal We Meet Again color and I just may have to go make a purchase...

I love this color I have on because it's early fall and this color is perfect because it's not too dark. It's glittery (which is in) and it sparkles so beautifully in the sun. So pretty. It took me about three coats to achieve a look similar to the picture above. I think one coat of this nail color would look nice over top of a black polish too.  It also would look fantastic on the nails when welcoming in 2011 - it's really a perfect New Year's Eve color - and so are any of the Burlesque Collection colors. 

Friday Favorites

I have two today. One beauty related and one not. Let's start with the not.

Five-hour Energy shots. I feel like a lot of people are scared of these or somehow compare them to a Red Bull. No. Not at all like a RB. I've added the nutrition label to show that these aren't effective because of sugar - which means no crash. It's just a tiny shot pack-full with vitamins, and  a lot of them - thus the reason for lots of energy and no crash. Now, I'm no doctor, but I do know it's not that great to take in too much of a vitamin or nutrient because your body can't break down too many things in bulk. So I don't recommend these things for multiple daily use. However, if you are dragging, need to get through a long drive, or didn't get quite the eight hours last night, throw back one of these guys. 

They give a pretty instant boost of energy that sustains itself well. And like I said above, no crash. When I was in grad school I would often drive to Raleigh for the weekend to see my man and my family. I'd leave on Thursdays after a long day of classes and when I stopped for gas, I would grab one of these. Same thing with heading back to the mountains. They just get you going and get your brain a'thinkin. I love them and to anyone who may be weary of them, just give it a try. (the berry flavor kind of tastes like liquid Smarties)

My second favorite: Essie Nail Polish

This stuff. I feel like Essie and OPI are kind of each other's competition. If you are a nail polish guru you either love Essie or you love OPI - me? I love Essie. For me, it applies on the nail nicely, with better coverage, and the colors. Love them. It also seems to offer a bit more glossy finish than OPI when you don't have on a topcoat. 

For some reason, in the past couple weeks, I've accumulated five new nail polishes - four Essie and one OPI. The color above, Forever Young, in on my nails as we speak. I thought I'd support my Wolfpack this weekend via my nails. The other Essie colors I added to the collection are: Mink Muffs (taupe), Sew  Psyched (olive), and Jazz (bone). The OPI color: BYOBoy (it's not as bright pink in person) - this name is so cute, but not the sole reason I bought it. 

Also, Ulta always has a fabulous deal on Essie nail polish. It's buy two, get one free. They can be a bit pricey, but you get three for the price of two and it's definitely a quality product. 

After the weekend, I'm going to move on to Mink Muffs. And come Christmas time, I'll be sporting Sew Psyched fo'sho.