Fifty-Two Weeks

Radiant Beverly Thanksgiving Nails I am slowly but surely catching back up to myself and am pleased to show you my nails for this past Thanksgiving week! Described as a "Boysenberry Creme" polish, Beverly is a lovely and sophisticated Julep nail polish. I love this color and it was the perfect purplish color for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I was a little worried when I put the first coat on that the color would be a bit streaky, but I found out very quickly that after I put on the second coat the color leveled itself right out! It's a new favorite of mine for sure!  You could wear a color like this one to almost any function coming up this holiday season (as long as your attire matches of course) because it really is a lovely holiday purple while also being fun, festive and still sophisticated and lady-like. This color dried moderately fast - not as fast I would have liked. However, if I has paired this color with Julep's Freedom Polymer Top ...

Happy Fourth of July Hi Everyone! I hope you all are getting ready to have a great Fourth of July weekend! I know I am! A cookout, visiting with family, and day of rest are what I have in store for myself this weekend.  To get ready for my nice weekend ahead, I painted my nails! (Surprise, surprise!) And here is the simple manicure that I did to help amp up my look for the fourth!  For the blue color Julep's Monaco, which turned out to be a great blue color to represent the blue we see for the fourth! It went on smoothly and dried quickly! If you are interested in purchasing Monaco , which is also inspired by the color for this past spring, check out Julep.com. I got my bottle in a Sparklers trio set!  For the red color, I picked out a great Essie color that I have featured on the blog before   called Forever Yummy. This color finally looks good on me now that I have a bit of a tan! You can purchase Essie polish at almost any big name local drug...

Radiant Mira Easter Nails Happy Easter Everyone! To prepare for the upcoming Easter Holiday, I thought it might be fun to do some special Easter Bunny Nails for this weeks nails of the week! If you are following me on Instagram, then you have already has a special sneak peak at my lovely bunny nails.  This week's color is Mira by Zoya. It is a wonderful purple creme nail polish that was the perfect base for my holiday nails. The other day I decided to go have my toes done with my mom and the nail tech who did my pedicure was so excited to paint these bunnies on my toes! She hand painted each rabbit using a multitude of different polishes and paints. I think they look smashing on top of Mira! Here is an up close view of Mira and my bunnies: This is the image that my nail tech looked at for inspiration when painting my toes. Never feel bad about showing your nail tech examples of what you would like! Sometimes it's a great help and can aid the tech in ...

St. Patty's Day Nails! Hi! Did anyone paint their nails for tomorrows holiday?! I did. I used two wonderful Julep colors , Trina Turk Fall 2012 (green) and Vivien (gold sparkle and glitter). You can't have St. Patrick's Day without a touch of green and gold! If you painted your nails, I would love to see them and post them on the blog! Also, it's not too late - Try Your Luck at a free bottle of nail polish! Be Radiant! Amanda

Tips about Tipping Before studying nail technology, I never knew what the appropriate amount of tip should be for a well done job at the nail salon. I would always get ready to pay and then try to rush for my Tip Calculator App to make sure I gave the right amount. But what really is the right amount? For your nail tech, the standard tip is 15 to 20 percent before taxes.  This rule applies to both high-end spas and discounted nail salons. Unfortunately though, discount shops cheat you, and it is usually in regards to the products. For example, they may be using an cheap non effective off brand lotion, or skimping on cleaning supplies  by using cheaper and also less effective chemicals for disinfecting. (But don't get me started on that topic! Another post, for another day!) However, if you are receiving more complicated services, like a pedicure, acrylics or nail art, Or had an amazingly wonderful experience, consider tipping above 20 percent.  Well, w...