Friday, April 4, 2025

Neon Day Glow Nail Art

Press Sample

So I am backtracking and finally posting manicures I did quite a bit ago. I did this art and then swatched and then my nails broke...again. EXHAUSTED. Whyyyyy? But let's get to the art, because yay for doing art. I missed doing art and I am finally getting back into it.



Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Zoya Yuki, January 2025 Color of the Month

Press Sample

So I wore these nail polishes to a baptism that was on January 11. Yup here I am two and a half months later finally posting them. I have no excuse and I am totally bummed out that these are no longer available, but I still wanted to post them because I know for myself, I actually do go back to my swatches, especially when I’m looking at purging polishes. So here they are because at least you can see the other three polishes in this quad that are available on Zoya's website.




Monday, March 31, 2025

Bumblesoaps Bath and Body Products

 Press Sample

Hello all! I'm switching things up a bit! When I started this blog, I used to add in bath and beauty posts. Of course, things evolve and I focus mostly on nail art but not because I don't enjoy bath and beauty products. After a hiatus, Bumblesoaps is back! I actually reviewed this brand back in 2014 (not a press sample, but a personal purchase). This post is wayyyyy overdue (like rudely overdue, I’m sorry). So let's get to it!

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

KBShimmer After Party, April 2025 Polish Pickup

Press Sample

Polish Pickup for April is Celebrate! Let's celebrate all the things! Let's celebrate that as of this week, I am no longer a doctoral student but a doctoral candidate! Yay! You become that once you finished coursework. I took a full time course load since August 2023, including summer, so I was able to focus all my energy on that, and now I am focusing on my dissertation! YAY. Waiting for confirmation of my defense date, but it is sooner than I want to believe! Anyway, back to PPU, I have a celebration on my nails!



Monday, March 17, 2025

St. Patrick’s Day Green and Gold Nail Art

Press Sample

Hello from the girl whose nails just will not grow. No matter what I do, my nails continue to break and so I finally gave up and started some swatch of some older polishes, despite my nails being short. But I decided to share some festive golden green nail art for St. Patrick’s Day before sharing the other ones. I completely missed Valentine’s Day, nail art, and Mardi Gras nail art which really bummed me out so I decided to do something for St. Patrick’s Day. So let’s check this out.


 

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

KBShimmer A Real Ore Deal, March 2025 Polish Pickup

Press Sample

True life: I am tired. I had the worst nail break and it left me completely unmotivated to do my nails. I wore a bunch of plain colors as it grew out and these photos were taken 28 days after my break and my nails are still so short! Then you guessed it, I got the flu. One of my students came in with "just a cold"...it wasn't a cold. I have since sent out very curt emails to students about them not poisoning me. So I barely had the energy to do my nails for like 10 days.  I am so late on posting these, so let's get to it!

 

Friday, February 7, 2025

Valentine’s Day Ombre Dotticure

 Press Sample

It has been forever since I have done a dotticure. What inspired the initial manicure is that I wanted a dark base. My nails have been so uneven and breaking that I have some shorter nails (and read until the end 😭) and this is when I love to wear dark colors. Then I asked myself, "When will I do Valentine’s Day art?" and that’s when I decided on a deep red for this manicure.


Wednesday, January 29, 2025

KBShimmer Night Light, February 2024 Polish Pickup

Press Sample

KBShimmer is here as the Fables and Folklore Polish Pickup arrives on February 7th. This polish is magnetic, multichrome, and shimmery, so let's check it out.

 

Monday, January 27, 2025

Stella Chroma Twisted in Bedsheets, February 2024 Polish Pickup

Press Sample 

Stella Chroma is back at Polish Pickup for 2025! She took a little break but she is coming back with a stunning color that is that wish for spring and warmer weather. So let's get to the details!

Monday, January 20, 2025

Winter ❄️ Nail Art

 Press Sample

I feel like there isn’t much time to do winter nail art because I usually do holiday nail art in December and really people move onto Valentine’s Day right away. I wanted to squeeze in one wintry look. We had a nice snowfall last night so this look was appropriate. I am actually still wearing these and would have taken some fun shots with snow but they are chipped now. Oh well!

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Zoya Luxe Noir, Swatches and Review

Press Sample

I am making my way through my swatch pile and although I swatched these, I never shared them. I also just realized that Zoya did not actually release a holiday collection, which is so unusual. As I was swatching this collection, I realized this collection is actually pretty festive and holiday like so no harm no foul that I did not end up swatching it until way later. Also it’s pretty transitional between winter and spring. Lastly, starting today, Zoya has a deal of 10 polishes for $25, so time to stock up. So let’s get to it! 


Monday, January 6, 2025

Happy New Year! First Manicure of 2025

 Press Sample

So I’ll shock you (or not). I went into 2025 with nothing on my nails! Right before new years, I got sick again. Ugh I was sick five times in 2024 so my 2025 goal is to somehow boost my immune system. I had actually mapped out what I was going to do for my nails as I wanted something sparkly. I pulled out some older sparkly nail polishes and then I started thinning sparkly old nail polishes. Maybe one of my 2025 goals will also be to pull out old nail polishes and thin what needs to be thinned and toss what can’t be fixed. Anyway, I finally did my nails, so although they were not my New Year's Eve nails, they were my new year nails!


Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Favorite Nail Arts of 2024

 Contains Press Samples

Happy 2025! As I enter into the new year, I want to reflect back on 2024! I knew this year would be intense for me with my doctorate. It has definitely taken over my life. You can do all the research on these programs, take notes on expectations, but until you really live it, you do not realize how consuming it is. In 2023, I really got back into leisure reading. Well, in 2024 I only read 15 leisure books (and not kidding, probably 1,000+ pages of research, and I wrote hundreds of pages--maybe I should add up how much I wrote in 2024 and cry hahah!). My nail art definitely was not a priority but as I looked back at the year, I was shocked that I usually still did 2-3 nail arts a month. Yay! So I have highlighted some favorites here!