Green Zebra Stripe - Jenn

I am sorry for the lack of posts! I think you can expect about 4-5 a week from now on.

Check out the newest design:

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Feeling Blue - Jenn

Morning! Despite the title I am in a pretty good mood today. I went back to school last night and it was great! This whole back to school week has been hectic hence the reason for the lack of posts.

I had a few minutes last night before bed and did some big dots. The base is Avon's Antique Blue and the dots are Midnight Blue.

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Long Weekend Post - What Would YOU Like to See?

It is the Holiday Monday and I am feeling lazy after cleaning and getting ready for the new school year. I have see some adorable designs out there but am curious, what would you like to see? Please comment below and I will grab from the comments over the next few days.

Oh and I have started a poll as well! Vote for your favorite brand of top coat nnow!

Hope you are all well!

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Party Polka Dots - Nicole

Here's another design with dots! I tend to do them when I don't have a lot of time to spend doing my nails because they're so easy. Got a lot of nice comments on them yesterday at my nieces birthday party so I thought I'd share them with you.

Base coat: Clear Sally Hanson Nail Growth Miracle

Bottom Layer: Wet 'n Wild, Wild Shine in silver (colour 468)

Dots: Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear in Ivy League (green) and Hot Magenta (pink)

Top Coat: Sally Hanson Insta-Dri Anti Chip Top Coat (love, love, love this - I bought it for the quick dry aspect, but it really is anti-chip! Lasted 7 days for me -being a stay at home mom that's quite impressive!)

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Review: Ciate Velvet Manicure - Jenn

 

Happy Long Weekend! I hope that everyone has had a good one so far. I know I have.  Today I am going to celebrate my friend's daughter's first birthday and I wanted to do something fantastic with my nails. I went into Sephora to see if there was anything inspiring. I was not disappointed. I found at Ciate Velevet Manicure and I knew I had to try it.

 

I did it last night and it is super easy to apply. First I did a clear base coat, something the instructions do not ask you to do and sort of imply you shouldn't have. I did it anyways because the colour polish is very dark and I do not want staining. Next put on a first layer of the polish they provide and let it dry. You work one nail at a time from this point on. Put on the next layer of polish, shake the crushed velvet pieces over your nail and use their black brush to brush off excess. I found the more you piled on the better it turned out. Do each nail and that is it! It was easy.

 

 

So the pros: super easy, feels amazing to the touch. The cons: Chips off tips easily because you can't use a top coat, looks shiny even though it is soft.  Take a look at the photos. I did these last night and took the photo this morning, less then 8 hours later. There are many chips.

 

 

Over all I would use this again but only for events because it simply doesn't last.

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Panda Bear - Jenn

I work at a daycare and the other day one of the kids wore the cutest backpack ever! It was a panda near backpack. It looked like a stuffed animal with straps. It was so cute!!! It inspired me to try a design I had seen ages ago.

Check it out:

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Review: Rockstar Nail Salon and Spa - Jenn

On Monday I treated myself to a mani/pedi at a local spa called Rockstar. It is run by two cousins, Susanne and Gina. They are both super sweet! Susanne is definitely the more talkative one and Gina is more quiet but they are both very dedicated to their business and to their craft.

I asked Gina why they opened their own place and she told me that doing nails was something she has always done and loved. People always told her she should open a spa and last year she decided to go for it with her cousin. Susanne went to school to become a nail technician and had worked at other places. She is really committed to the highest health and safety practices. The two ladies built the place themselves, laying tiles, building benches. It is super clean!

I went with my sister and she brought her baby boy along. Gina's mom was their and ended up scooping him up for most of the evening. It was awesome. The whole place had a friendly, calm feeling. Baby Levi slept really well.

As for the mani/pedi part I walked away a very happy customer. They spent a full two hours with us, even though we got their basic package. This was my first pedi and I really loved it.

Of course there are some things I would improve. Their website is beautiful but seriously out of date. Although I walked away happy from the experience my nail polish coverage was not 100% on two nails. I feel bad complaining about that but it really bothered me since I don't have the same colour to fix it here at home.

So I all that being said, would highly recommend Rockstar Nail Salon and Spa to anyone in the Newmarket/Aurora area. Their customer service was great and their careful attention to health and safety is reassuring.

See you tomorrow!

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Leopard Print Nails - Jenn

So yesterday I went for a mani/pedi at a place called Rockstar here in Aurora (Watch for a review tomorrow) and I got this wicked neon yellow on my finger nails.

I didn't want to take it off but I wanted to do something. And then inspiration struck. Take a look below:

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Review: Avon Crackle Polish - Jenn

I love the crackle finish look. It looks so cool yet only takes seconds to do. I have a few crackle finishes and my favorite brand is Avon. I have a few colors in theirs that are really great but I thought I would show you black and white.

The black is very crisp and gives a fantastic punch. The white...not so much. It just doesn't pop the same way. But overall the Avon Crackle Top Coat is great!!!

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Minnie Mouse Nails - Jenn

Last night we celebrated one of my closest friends 30th birthday. We went to Milestones for dinner (They have a gluten free menu!!!!) and the hung out outside around a fire. It was really nice. I decided to do something fun and young!

My eldest daughter Hailey and I flipped through images of nail art until she said "That one!" Of course she picked Minni Mouse nails.

I was happy she chose them because they are super fun and gave me a chance to use my dotting tools. I need lots of practice with them and the brushes. I have such shakey hands. I am hoping that they shame less the more I practice. If you have a design request leave it in the comments section or email it to notyoyrordinarynails@gmail.com

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Product Review: Sephora Instant Nail Polish Remover - Jenn

Today I went to the mall to return some things and of course I could not resist the siren's song of Sephora. I can't seem to stay away from that store. I never leave empty handed.

My purchase today was their Instant Nail Polish Remover. The salesperson gave me a demo and it seemed to work pretty well. I was excited to try it out at home. I did my toes which had bright blue sparkles from Nails Inc I love the colour and the ridiculous amount of sparkles you get but taking it off is a nightmare.

I stuck my toe in the foam for a minute while turning it. And when I pulled my toe out....MAGIC! It was gone. My fingers were even easier. I made them in for maybe 25 seconds. It was awesome.

As an added bonus the smell is very pleasant and it fits very nicely in my case.

The cost was $12 for a 75ml bottle which is pretty pricey since for about $5 I can get a bottle of nail polish remover which contains 340ml but it works so well I would recommend that you try this out.

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Plaid and Plain - Nicole

Here is yet another post about Nifty Nails Night.  I meant to post this earlier but, you know, KIDS ugh!  Why must there be so much poking?!? But I digress...

These nails were inspired by a Cutepolish tutorial we watched on YouTube.  I absolutely love all of her designs and the tutorials are great.  She makes it look so easy!  These particular ones are modelled after the Sweetheart Plaid Nails.  I say modelled after because I didn't add the heart and had to put down white polish first due to my blue nails disaster... I'm still not over that.

I think they turned out really well, what do you think?

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Guest Nail Artist - Salina

Today's post is brought to you by Salina. She is the daughter of a friend and she is just like me, changing her nails daily. These are two designs she came up with by herself. One was inspired by the Olympics and the other by flowers. I should mention that Salina is a super awesome kid. Check out her work:

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Success! Pretty Nails Once More - Jenn

After so much struggle with French manicures tonight I decided to go back to basics. I received my Avon order this morning and I snapped a pic for you. As you can see I got a brown, a beige, a jade, vintage blue, navy blue, midnight blue and a lime.

Tonight I used midnight blue with chunky sparkles after a terrible time trying to find a manicurist with a open appointment. Anywho, check them out:

 

Next week I will be reviewing a local nail salon. If you have a product or a place that you would like to review contact us and we will be happy to post anything you have or we can write one up. Also, any nail ideas are welcome!

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Nail Disaster - Jenn

I began painting my nails awhile ago because a) it is very zen for me and b) the medications I take make my nails ugly! Today is the first time in ages I have naked nails. Here is why:

Last night I did a French manicure and it looked great. It was dry (I thought) at bedtime so I hopped into bed with our a second thought. I awoke to a mess! I get up very early for work so I tired to fix the mess but it was no use. So I took everything off and am now without my beloved pretty nails. I posted a pic of my terrible nails.

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Nifty Nails Videos

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Product Review: Rimmel French Manicure - Kerry

I want to introduce you to Kerry, our friend and fellow nail enthusiast. She has done a product review and we can't wait for you to see it! Thank you Kerry for taking the time to contribute to our blog :)

I have a love-hate relationship with French manicures. I love that fresh expensive look; hate that it lasts 3 days before looking scruffy; love that it makes my hands look tanned and tropical; hate the streakies. I'm always on the look-out for a non-streaking brand. I've recently had Revlon and Borghese French Manicure kits recommended to me, but this week I decided to try out Rimmel (because it was on sale, and I am a sucker for sales.)

First point - the tip brush is AWESOME. I usually use white tip pens because I have no motor control, but the Rimmel tip brush is thin enough that the polish keeps it glommed to the nail surface, enabling you to draw a smooth, perfect line free-hand. (Yes, I free-hand - most tip stickers aren't curved enough for my liking.) 1 coat of white seems to be enough in most cases. Let dry 15 minutes, then 1 thin coat of pink. 1 coat is VERY natural-looking, barely-there - the middle finger picture is with only 1 coat on. I prefer that more artificial look, so wait 15-20 minutes and put a second coat on. Finish with a clear topcoat.

Verdict: minimally streaky! I will have to experiment more, and prepping the nails by filing down ridges probably would have helped. I also goofed on my thumb and was able to quickly fix the smear with spit (that polish pro cure-all!) Can't even tell!

I will be using this again, but I am interested to compare to the more expensive brands - Borghese is very pretty but costs an arm and a leg, so that might have to wait for Santa ;)

 

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Penguins - Jenn

The uploading of our videos from Nifty Nails Night is taking much longer then anticipated. To tide you over until then I am going to share my penguins with you. These are super cute and easy! Having the tools makes it easy but you can get the design using toothpicks. Hope you like them!

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Nifty Nails Night: Part Two - Jenn

None of us at Nifty Nails Night had ever done water marbling before and we were all very nervous of it. The online tutorials all made it look pretty simple but I distrust anything that looks simple. I think there will always be a catch. We decided that we would try it out anyway. We used a fake nail on a purple stick and went for it. Afterward Julie did her nails and they turned out great! The video we be posted too

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Review: Essence Polish - Nicole

So, remember the blue with black and white dots nail art I did last week? (If not click here.)  Well I used a new brand of polish: Essence - a Shopper's Drug Mart brand.  Here's a link: Essence. I liked the colour and it was cheap ($1.99) so I thought I'd give it a try.  NEVER AGAIN!! Not only did it start chipping off within 24 hours but when I took it off it had stained my nails very very badly.  I can safely say it was the worst nail staining I have ever had. Even a nail buffer didn't get rid of it all.  Here, take a look for yourself:

That's after 2 rounds of nail polish remover!  I did forget to put a base coat on, but even so this level of staining is unacceptable.  Even my cheapest darkest reds without a base coat don't stain this badly.  It really limited my options when it came time to choose a new polish.  If I still had the receipt I would be taking this back ASAP.

Yeah, I know I should have used a base coat and I shouldn't expect a lot out of a cheapie polish... but still.  I  have been buying and using cheap polishes for a long time and have never had this happen.  Doesn't give me a lot of confidence about any of the other products in the Essence cosmetics line.  I certainly won't be buying anything from this line again.

I give Essence Color and Go nail polish 0 out of 5 nails.

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Nifty Nails Night: Part One - Jenn

This past Saturday Nicole hosted a Nifty Nails Night at her house. Nicole, myself and our good friend Julie had tons of fun doing our nails and chatting :)

We each brought all of our nail polishes. Julie has the most by far!

We practiced on some fake nails which is a great way of seeing if you like a design before doing it on your own nails. None of us wear fake nails very often because of the damage they can do to your natural nails.

I did not have much success for most of the night. My hands were too shaky and humidity in the air did not help. The other ladies had great success.

Nicole and I will be breaking the night up into different posts. She has two coming your way and I have two as well. We will have some product review in them as well.

For now I am going post the only thing that worked for me last night. I did a base coat of black and then used yellow, blue, pink and white to make dots. It was cute and easy! Also take a look at our nail kits.

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Silver Arches - Jenn

I love Avon nail polishes! I love that they are very reasonably priced and in general I love how they go on and how long they last. Some people I know find they chip too easily but this hasn't been my experience.

Recently I have discovered matte finish polishes. I love how they look. They look so sophisticated. While looking for them I found out that Avon use to sell a matte finish polish. I contacted my Avon lady who was able to find some for me in black.

I decided that I would do arches of silver in the middle to give it a little more pop. I used paper reinforcement stickers to create the shape. They worked pretty well. If you use then remember to stick them down on your pant legs a few times to make them less sticky. The Avon matte polish was disappointing. It went on watery and was streaky.

I have from Sephora a top cost that makes any polish look matte and it works really, really well. It's official name is Sephora by OPI Matte Finish Top Coat.

If you want this look I would recommend it over the Avon which breaks my heart to say. I really do like Avon polished normally.

In my next post I will review some crackle finish polishes, which are super cute.

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Flowers - Jenn

The day before I got my new nail tools I decided to do flowers on my names. I did it be using a toothpick to dip the colour in a dot and then drag that fit in towards the middle.

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Zig Zag - Jenn

Not too long ago I learned how to make my own nail stickers. Basically you paint two coats of whatever colour polish you want and wait for it to completely dry. I let them dry over night to be safe. Then you cut them to the shapes you want. I did zig zags. I liked them but found a huge draw back, at least for me. The stickers are easy to pick at and then your nails look like garbage. Plus they felt funny to me. I won't be doing this again any time soon but when I do I will do a different shape

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Dots! - Nicole

Well, clearly Jenn does her nails way more often than I do... Today I decided to take a break from my mammoth crochet project (seriously bit off more than I can chew with this one!!) to do my nails. Also having just got my nail brush set (see earlier post) I needed to use it right away.

My dollar store mini fan is my new best friend! Yay for cheap nail dryer!

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Extra! Extra! Read All About It! - Jenn

A few weeks ago I did newspaper print nails. It was super easy and looked great! Here is how you can to this easy, fun nail design yourself:

1. Gather your supplies. You will need a base coat, a light colored polish, a top coat, rubbing alcohol (I used 75%), nail polish remover, q-tips, scissors, a little dish and newspaper.

2. Cut out ten squares of newspaper. Make sure they cover the entire nail . I made mine pretty big like 2" by 2"

3. Put on your base coat

4. Once touch dry put on your light coloured polish.

5. Wait for them to dry completely. I went and watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

6. Once completely dry pour some of the rubbing alcohol into the little dish.

7. Soak your finger in the rubbing alcohol for about 15 seconds.

8. Take a square of paper and press it firmly against your nail for 15 seconds. I found going longer then that left them smudged.

9. Remove the paper from the nail

10. Repeat on the rest of your nails.

11. Put on your top coat.

12. Use the nail polish remover and q-tips to clean up around your nail.

13. Enjoy!

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Review - Bundle Monster 20 piece Nail Brush Set

I finally got to use my new brushes from Bundle Monster and I am happy to report that I am really happy with them. Not only was the deal great but the brushes are too. The only draw back I can mention is that they do not come with instructions or even descriptions for each brush. I think that would be a great addition to this set.

Of ccourse you can find some really good tutorials on YouTube or just by googling it.

I used the set to do cupake nails!

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Rainbow Connection - Jenn

My girls are obsessed with The Muppets right now and I have all sorts of Muppet songs in my head. My favorite song is "The Rainbow Connection" and I did a design inspired by it.

This was my first experience with using scotch tape to make a design. It is tricky but doable with some practice and some patience. If you do this design do not try and cheat like I did. Do each line one at a time and let dry completely before putting tape on. I tried making a base coat of two of the colours and sneaking in the other two. Terrible idea.

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New Nail Tools - Nicole and Jenn

A few weeks ago we purchased new nail art tools from Bundle Monster on EBay. We got a great deal and have been waiting patiently. They were in the mail box today! Take a look. Can't wait to use them. Look for a review tomorrow about these!

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Feeling Blue - Jenn

I love this eggshell blue that I recently got from Avon. I threw on some white tips.

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The Case - Jenn

I have quite a few polishes now and I get a new one almost every other day. The red carrying case I was using was getting too small and the bottles weren't secure. I like them organized but move the box and they fall over. It drove me crazy!!!! I looked at cases online but they were out of my price range. Then my brilliant husband had an idea. He went to Canadian Tire and bought me a multipurpose tool box. It is perfect. The inside has foam that you can customize to your purpose. It holds lots of polish neatly and there is room for growth. It costs about $30.

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Watermelons - Jenn

I bought a new Sally Hansen Insta-Dry polish in a hit pink. I can't give you the name cause the name has been covered in polish. Sorry! I used it and loved it but felt they needed a little something something. The girls were snacking on watermelons and I was inspired.

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