Fifty Two Shades of Shay: Nail Polish

Today's Shade of Shay...nail polish.  

I am a little obsessed with painting my nails.  Ok...I'm really obsessed with painting them.  You know I love jewelry, right?  I never leave home without an arm full of bangles and big earrings in my ears...and to me, nail polish is just one more accessory.  

When I did Fifty Two Shades of Shay: Makeup, I didn't include nail polish because honestly, I thought it deserved a post all to itself.  So, here you are.  First, let me tell you my thoughts on painting my nails, gels, manicures and other stuff...

1. I only get manicures and gel polishes put on before I leave for a long vacation (because who really wants to mess with painting their nails half-way through a trip?  Not me!).

2. I paint my fingernails myself twice a week (I could stretch it longer but I like to switch out my colors).

3. I have been painting my nails non-stop since my senior year of high school.  The only time I took a break was during my pregnancies when sitting up and smelling anything made me throw up (and painting your nails requires both sitting in the upright position and the smell of polish).

4. I always have my toes painted too.  However, I only have to switch out my toe polish about every two weeks.  I paint my toes a more neutral color and my nails a bold color.  I never match them. 

5. I like to paint my nails right before I get into bed at night.  I paint them in the bathroom, then snuggle into my bed and watch a little TV before going to sleep.  When I wake up, they're perfectly set (since I didn't move much, do dishes, chase kids, etc during those sleeping hours).  I paint my toes during the day when I know I'll be home for several hours (so I can be barefoot and not smudge them with socks or shoes).

6. I keep my polishes separated into two bins: spring/summer shades and fall/winter shades.  This really helps me save time searching for the right colors and it keeps me from over-looking shades because I'm not as overwhelmed with the number of bottles.

7. After 14 years of nail painting, I swear by only 3 brands.  I have tried absolutely everything but to me, these three brands deliver the best results every.single.time.  I only use OPI, Essie and Butter London.

8. I've been doing this trick for years...layer one coat of a sparkle polish over your nails for just a little bit of pop.  This also helps to hide imperfections.  Just a little sparkle takes your nail polish from good to great!

9. I paint on two coats of polish, maybe a sparkle and then a top coat.

Here we go...

My two bins of polishes.  One for spring/summer (bright colors!) and one for fall/winter (dark colors!).

I lined up my spring/summer shades...brights!

And I lined up my fall/winter shades, darker colors.

These are my very favorite spring/summer shades, from left to right:

OPI Bright Lights Big-Color (a coral/orange shade with flecks of gold)

OPI Glitzerland (the perfect sparkly gold)

OPI Cosmo-Not Tonight Honey (a great neutral for my toes)

Essie Marshmallow (a great neutral for my toes)

Butter London Trout Pout (a really summery orange/pink color)

Essie Naughty Nautical (a teal color with a little bit of sparkle)

OPI La Paz-itively Hot (the perfect pink)

These are my very favorite fall/winter shades, from left to right:

Butter London Chimney Sweep (a great gunmetal black shade)

OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress (this is OPI's most popular color...it's the perfect dark red)

OPI The World is Not Enough (I wear this more than any other shade...it's almost a rose gold color)

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me (the perfect shade for the Christmas season...it's red with gold sparkle)

Essie Carry On (the perfect dark shade)

The tools I use, clippers (because I like to keep my nails short...bold color only works on short nails), cuticle cream, a buffer, nail file.

I used to only swear by OPI's top coat...but a few weeks ago, my friend Lori told me about Seche Ultra-V...and now, I'm hooked!  It's this amazing top coat that sets my polish in minutes.  It also provides a great shine and keeps my polish looking its best for days and days.  I found mine at Ulta or you can buy it online.

And...if you have some shopping to do, now is the time!  Between now and June 1, Ulta is having their 20% off sale.  Go ahead and treat yourself to some polish...it's amazing how a little polish can brighten up your day!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway from Monday here!  It ends Friday morning!


And check out what's for lunch today over on my foodie blog (or dinner or an appetizer...it's so yummy!)

It's Sheaffer's famous black bean dip!   (I also used it as a taco filling...so many possibilities!)

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