Foolish Raindrop FAIL!!

Greetings folks!

Today we'll be talking about how horribly I botched this mani:



Yep, that's one hell of an epic nail fail, there. I was trying to be awesome like Cristine, but obviously it didn't work. 

I started off with "Bridge the Ridge" base coat ($5.49). I then applied one coat of Sinful Colors "Kryptonite" ($1.99). 

...Then I heard my son stirring in the next room. Awwwww crap. Figures he'd decide to take a power nap instead of a two-hour nap. I hurried and slapped another coat of "Kryptonite" on my nails and topped it with Seche Vite ($2.08) so I could resume the mommy role.

Without matte top coat

I ended up wearing that alone for a day, and I really enjoyed it. But of course, it wasn't the final look I was going for, so the next day I used a makeup sponge to add Sinful Colors "Kalypso" ($1.99) to the base of my nails to create a gradient. I did use some liquid latex around the nails to help with clean up. Here's the thing, though: the liquid latex I have is something I bought for two bucks from China. It's crap. I wouldn't recommend it. I would warn you what not to buy, but I have no idea what the name of it is; it has no markings on the bottle whatsoever. I should have taken advantage of BundleMonster's cyber monday deals and snagged some Poli-Peel... but... I'm on a no-buy. Sigh.

With matte top coat

Next came a coat of Wet 'n' Wild matte top coat ($0.99). And there, my friends, is where I should have stopped. This looked great! But no... No, I had to go and ruin the whole damn thing. 


Maybe if I had used a thinner top coat, or even just a regular clear polish, it wouldn't have turned out so awful. But I'm an idiot and decided to use Seche Vite for my raindrops for maximum shine. Unfortunately it ended up being more akin to maximum blobbage. 

Oh well, I suppose I can't vomit out awesomeness all the time.

Delectable Diamonds

Good afternoon all you shining happy people holding hands!

(Please forgive me... I'm on some pretty strong muscle relaxers, so I'll be even more odd than usual.)

Today I'll be discussing this here diamond manicure:

I started off with my Bridge the Ridge base coat. I then applied two coats of Color Club "Winter White".

Using BundleMonster's XL-10 plate and their "Electromagnetic" gold stamping polish, I stamped on the diamonds. I used my new BundleMonster double sided clear stamper, and it worked like a charm. I can't wait to try some double stamping with this puppy!

I topped the mani off with Seche Vite, as per usual. 

Next up? I have no idea. Probably either a gradient or a water marble...

Want sneak peeks of the manicures featured here, as well as some bonus manis? Feel free to follow me on Instagram @jennravenwing. Fair warning: there will be a smattering of adorable baby pics as well!

Striped and Sassy and Halloween Horrors

Good evening folks. 

Just as a head's up, I might be a little discombobulated today. Little Devin had his six-month checkup and vaccinations today, plus Mommy nearly cut off the tip of his finger trying to trim his nails... so he hasn't been in the best of moods. If I leave any important info out, just let me know in the comments and I'll try to fix it.

Anyhoo! I have a bit of catching up to do, so I'm going to plunk two manis in one post.

First up we have this simple look that I created with striping tape:

For my base coat I used Bridge the Ridge ($5.49 at Sally Beauty Supply). I then applied two coats of China Glaze "Frostbite" ($3.25 at Sally Beauty Supply, B1G1). I love this color so much that I actually wore it alone for a day. 

I then applied some striping tape that I purchased at Sally's. I got 10 rolls of varying colors for $8.99, putting each roll at ninety cents. 

This was only my second time playing with striping tape, so I didn't go too crazy. I chose a simple geometric pattern, and then painted China Glaze "Icicle" ($3.25) over the top. I removed the tape while the polish was still wet to keep the lines nice and clean. 

Materials used: Bridge the Ridge base coat, China Glaze
"Frostbite"and "Icicle", Seche Vite, striping tape

For my top coat I used Seche Vite ($7.99). And... you guys.... I've been watching a lot of Phoebe's videos lately and she mentions Head2ToeBeauty quite a bit, so I decided to check it out. I found such a steal on Seche Vite! I'll talk about that a bit more in an upcoming birthday haul post. 







Next up we have my Halloween mani. I'll be honest... this was awful. I logged it as a NailFail.

Since I had only slapped this on Sunday evening, I knew I wouldn't be wearing it long so I applied Sally Hansen "BIG peel off base coat" ($5.49 at Walmart). 

I then laid down one coat of Nabi "Neon Orange" ($1.20 on ebay). Again, I'll go over the Nabi polish brand in the upcoming haul post. 

I then used a makeup sponge to dab on three thin layers of the "Neon Orange" and Wet 'n' Wild "Black Creme" (97 cents at Walmart) to create a horrifyingly sloppy gradient.

Materials used: Sally Hansen "BIG
peel off base coat", Wet n Wild "Black
Creme", Nabi "Neon Orange", Seche Vite,
skull decals

The stickers I used came from a huge lot of decals that I got years ago for $4. And when I say huge, I mean I won't be able to use all of them even if I applied some every week for the next ten years. If I recall correctly, I got them from China on ebay.

I topped the monstrosity off with Seche Vite, 


Next up? I have no idea! I still have the half-peeled Halloween horror on my hands...

Don't Dilly Dally!

Okay, back to the nail stuffs!

Today I'll be talking about this here super simple mani. And I'm going to eat my words, too. 

For this mani I started off with the Bridge the Ridge base coat ($5.49 at Sally Beauty Supply with card). I only did one coat, since it doesn't seem to make that big of a difference with two. I figure I'll just use it until it's gone and then go back to my normal Pure Ice "Bottom Line" base coat.

For the base color I used the Sinful Colors "Rise and Shine" ($2.02 at Target) that I wasn't so keen on. At least on the swatches.... But WOW! Once I actually got it on my nails?? I don't know if it was due to my skin tone or what, but this color after two coats really popped! I can honestly say now that it's one of my favorites.

I then applied one coat of Sally Hansen "Pixel Perfect" ($2.49 at Target). Now, when I say "applied", I mean "fished and swirled and globbed". Then I applied a second coat. And then a third... Ugh, okay. I got all excited with the Sinful Colors, but I guess this stuff is still as lackluster as it was when I swatched it. Oh well, at least there's an awesome color under there. 

I will admit that after a few days it did grow on me a little. But I highly doubt it'll get worn very often.

And then there was the fact that I put on a regular base coat instead of a peel off... what the Sam hell was I thinking?! I figured this was a good time to see exactly how much product I needed to use to get glitter off. For all ten fingers I ended up using two pads and five soaks in the acetone.

I would say that's still more cost-effective than a $10 bottle of UNT. Albeit severely more time consuming...

And there's no peel porn...

Next up? Striped and sassy.

Frilly French

Short story time!

It's 12:30 at night. I have to be up at 8 to go to work. I'm exhausted, and I know my son will be waking up soon for mommy milk. I need to go to bed. But...

...My nails are bare. 

Oh no!!

That is simply unacceptable. I must do something with them. Something quick and easy. Stamping? No... too messy. Watermarble? Ha! No way. Gradient? Uhmmm no. Something with striping tape? Pbbt. Might as well stay up all night if I wanted to do that. Plain polish? Hmm... tempting, but I just did that. What can I doooo?

Aha! French tip! Quick, easy, classy. 

I slap down some Bridge the Ridge and make a grab for my Finger Paints "Paper Mache". I'm halfway through my second coat when I hear my little guy stirring in the next room.

Shit! Dry faster, paint faster! Faster, faster, faster!

Finally the second coat is on and dry. The youngin' seems to have gone back to sleep. Whew! Disaster averted. I snag the Seche Vite. We're in the home stretch! First four nails, done! Twist the hand to get the thumb...

FACK!!

I've smudged my middle nail... Appropriate, since I'm now cursing and flipping off random inanimate objects in the room. 

But it's now 1 a. m.  Screw it. I need sleep. I finish top coating the rest of the nails. I can do something more with the mani tomorrow after my ten hour shift. 

I double check to ensure the Seche Vite is dry, change into my jammies, and crawl into bed. After a bit of flip-flopping to get comfy and to make sure I won't get sheet marks on my nails, I close my eyes and prepare to surrender to dreams.

And, of course, that's the very instant my son wakes up crying for his next meal. 

Sigh. The joys of motherhood...

The end!

But, thankfully, not the end of the mani!

The next day at work I kept trying to think of something that would add a little pizazz and also help me cover up that smudge. Then I remembered something that I had seen Yagala do... a frilly, fancy french tip using stamping. 

Game on! I used BundleMonster's XL-06 plate and the same polish I had used for my tips. This was the end result: 

It's a bit more... delicate than I'm used to, but I liked it nonetheless. Besides, it distracted from the smudge nicely. Though, if my brain wasn't so sleep deprived, I probably could have done some "polish surgery", as Colette calls it. Ah well, live and learn.

Next up? Target treasures!

Welcome to Mani on a Budget!

Greetings, ladies and gents.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer Ravenwing, but I prefer to go by Jenn. I'm a single mom to a beautiful five-month-old boy. I work full time as a delivery driver (it's not glamorous, but it pays the bills and I get to show off my manicures to lots of different people). I love doing my nails--it's relaxing and it allows me to delve into my creative side.

But here's the thing: I have a mortgage to pay and diapers to buy, so I need to be able to do my nails without paying an arm and a leg. Hence, mani on a budget!

In this blog I'll show you the manicures I create using nail supplies that cost five dollars or less (with a few exceptions). So if you're here looking for the latest trends or the must-have current mainstream polishes, this isn't the blog for you. I change my mani at least once a week--twice if my son lets me--so longevity isn't a major concern of mine. Therefore, I really don't see the point of paying fourteen dollars for a bottle of polish. Do the expensive brands have polishes that I'd love to play with? Sure. Hell, if F.U.N. Lacquer wants to send me their entire lineup for free, I wouldn't turn it down! But I can still make some pretty awesome looks with regular drug store polish, which is good enough (and cheap enough) for me.

I'll also be sharing what nail goodies I buy, where I buy them, what price I paid, and what I think of the products.

In fact, let's do that now. I recently made a trip to Sally Beauty Supply. I do have a Beauty Club Card, and will try to stop in whenever Sally's is having a sale of some sort. Here's what I picked up:

 China Glaze was buy one get one free. With my Beauty Club Card, I paid $6.49 for both, putting the cost of each at about $3.25. The blue on the left is Frostbite, and the silver on the right is Icicle. These are the only China Glaze polishes I own, as they're normally out of my budget. Frostbite is amazing. I live for the bright cobalt and aqua blues. It's opaque in two coats and dries pretty shiny. Icicle is nearly a one-coater, but I would go with two just to be safe. I'll probably be pairing these two together in the future, most likely in a stamping manicure.


I also grabbed an ASP crystal nail file, which was on sale for $2.99. I've heard that the crystal/glass files are a lot better for your nails than the cardboard variety, though I can't confirm that myself. I have used this once, and I will admit that it did leave my free edge much less straggly. Plus it was much faster taking down my length. I approve!

The next item is a bottle of Blue Cross Cuticle Remover. This cost me $4.99 for a 16 oz bottle, and those 16 oz will go a looooong way. My cuticles never want to cooperate. So I thought maybe it was time to just remove them completely. But... I can't seem to get this remover to work. Chances are I'm doing something wrong because this stuff has gotten rave reviews everywhere. It does make it easy and painless to push my cuticles back, but it doesn't outright get rid of them. Perhaps I'm not leaving it on long enough? Or maybe I'm not applying enough? If any of you have used this and have any tips or tricks for me to try, please let me know! Also, if it makes a difference, I never ever use cuticle nippers (I almost typed "nipples" in there... d'oh!). Just the thought of getting those nippers anywhere near my nails makes me cringe. 

The last item I picked up... well, I did a no-no. I went beyond the budget. I paid $5.49 for ACI's Bridge the Ridge base coat. Supposedly this stuff fills in ridges and creates a nice rounded surface for your polish to glide over. This product also got great reviews, and it's also not working for me. Maybe I should try the stuff that nobody likes? Heh! Anyhoo... when I first put it on, it does round out the nail, but then the inevitable happens and it falls victim to the valleys. I've only tried using one coat, so I'll probably try two coats to see if that helps. Generally by the time I have a top coat on, my ridges don't really show, so I'm not sure why I bothered to buy this... especially at that price. However, this stuff did result in much less tip wear than I normally get in a week--even on a gradient--so I was pleased with that aspect. Was it worth going over the five dollar limit? Well, I can't really say yet, as I haven't tried the two-coat approach. But if I were to decide this very moment, I would say no. I'll try to remember to update you on that when I double coat. 

And that's all I have for you today. Stay tuned for the manis!