Nail and Cuticle Care!

Behind every manicurist, is a woman who wishes she had perfect nails. And in most cases- that simply isn't the case. However, there are certain products and routines that can help nails grow faster, become stronger, stop peeling and keep them from yellowing. It is a trial and error process, but below I list some of the products I use and why I love them so much! Taking care of your cuticles and nails is important to keep them healthy and have a long lasting manicure. All of these products would be a create starter kit!

Cuticle Clippers
(~$3 for a set, including cuticle pushers + free shipping!)

Personally, I don't clip my cuticles. When dead skin builds up around the edges of my finger, sometimes I use them to trim away after a long soak in the shower. The real power of these babies is using them for cutting your actual nails! Yup. I end up with straight, mostly smooth square nails in which I can file any way I like. Also helpful to cut corners, or create more almond like shapes.

Crystal Nail Files

($8 at Sephora, on sale for $5 today!)

Normal nail files work, sure. Crystal nail files however prevent your nails from peeling after they have been filed down. The sound somewhat irritates me, personally, but I did adjust. The one I use (linked) comes in a little hard case which can be taken anywhere, and is a cute size.

Cuticle Pusher
(~$3 for the set, including clippers, free shipping!)

The set I got (also linked, and came with clippers) is metal. This makes them easy to sterilize! They are also sturdy and do not bend. I use these to push my cuticle back after using an oil or a serum, which creates a clean smooth like and easy nail polish clean up.

Essie Quick Dissolve

I found this baby for $2 at Big Lots one time and now, I'm hooked! I don't get any oily residue and it works quite well at softening the cuticles enough to push them back. It doesn't dry them out, and also prevents your cuticles from peeling and cracking. You can use this before you clip your cuticles, if you do, but I find applying this, following instructions and pushing back leaves my cuticles in nice order. I had problems finding this online.

Nivea Cream

This is a major love of my life! I own probably 10 tins, opps. I buy the baby sizes for only $1, yup, $1! These are amazing to apply after long work days, before and after manicures, when your cuticles begin to dry, and to counteract the damages of acetone. I love using this- and apply before every manicure, after using acetone, to soften and heal my cuticles and the skin around my nail.

Julep Nail Serum 
(~$21 INCLUDING Freedom top coat) 

This was a gift to me as part of a kit that came with the Freedom top coat. I wouldn't say this is a required product, but it has vitamins to enrich the nails. I apply it last, before base coats, and rub it into the nail and skin. Doesn't leave much of an oily residue, a little goes a long way and most of all, blends in super smoothly. 

Duri Rejvacote

(~$8-10 on Amazon)

I haven't had a chance to grab a new bottle of this, but when I began my huge nail journey I stumbled across these on Amazon and it is BY FAR the best base coat I have ever used. This product makes my nails grow 4x as fast (helpful for when I DO get a break), strengthens the nails, reduces chipping and most of all peeling goes away completely. A must have, even if you do not paint your nails, to keep them healthy and in shape.

ORLY Nail Defense
(~$8-10 on Amazon)

I use the ORLY protein nail defense lately while I wait for my new Rejuvacote. This is supposed to help protect and stregthen the nails and applies almost like a liquid. It can be more expensive than Rejuvacote, but for those who don't shop online or live near a Wallmart, this would be my next favorite nail protector.

ILNP "Ultra Chrome Flakies 2014" Pre-Order TODAY!

For those who are into indie polishes, I'm sure they have heard of and played around with ILNP, or, I love nail polish. They make some amazing flakies, glitter polishes and chrome polishes I have been eyeing. With the pre-order today, I decided to go all out and purchased the whole "2014 Ultra Chrome Flakies" collection. I'm a bad girl. But I did it anyways, cause, polish.

[Picture directly from website] 

For those who are interested, they are still on pre-sale on their website for $11.50 each, or $149 for the whole collection. The permanent price will be $12.50 a bottle, so if you are interested, check her polishes out now! 

The link is: www.ilnp.com 

Those who are interested or have purchased, which colors are you going to get? :)

Welcome! + Pahlish "Happy Holo-ween" Collection

Welcome to Sparkly Nail Things! 

Nails are my obsession, and if you're here- they're probably yours too! Well, you've come to the right place, I think. I've combined my obsession with nails and writing, into one thing: Blogging! I've also recently stumbled across the world of online shopping and indie nail brands, and my interest is at an all time high. I plan to share and write a variety of things here, including guest bloggers. If you are interested in being a guest blogger, please feel free to leave a comment! 

Apart from that, my name is Deborah. I'm 21 years old, I live in California and I'm a sucker for nail polish. It's probably the only clean and well maintained area in my whole room, but for obvious reasons, you know, priorities ;) But this is all the boring stuff, feel free to message me if you are any questions! 

Also, all photos are taken with my Nikon D3200, unless otherwise stated, in which they are taken with my crappy half broken Galaxy S3. So, ONTO THE GOOD STUFF!

Pahlish's "Happy Holo-ween" Collection

A part from a few KBshimmers and destash polishes, this collection was my first full collection purchase. I've been eyeing Pahlish for a while as I venture into the indies of the polish world, and was struck at the beauty of all 5 of these holographic polishes. The bottles are amazingly cute, with a little ghost on them and black caps. Here are some cell phone quality swatches that I took: 

First we have "Carmel Apple Orchard" its a stunning red, with holo (of course). Almost looks burgundy when the holos are illuminated in the sun! It's a pretty simple nail polish but applies beautifully, I had no problems with application and this one only took 2 thin coats for opacity. 

 Next we have "Trick or Mint" which is my second favorite in this collection! Its a lime, or granny apple green with holo. The holos illuminate the yellow tones the most. I love how sparkly these all are! This one applies a little more thin and I needed 3 coats for opacity. 

 Next up is "Spectral Taffy" its a beautiful blue, and for some reason reminds me of blue raspberry icees! :P I love the holo in this one, which shines more silver than the others for some reason. .I love this color, but I was expecting it to be my favorite and it wasn't. This here is 3 coats!

This one right here, is my absolute favorite! "Sugar Plum Marshmallow" Is a grey holo which borederlines lavendar. It definitly has some purple tints, and to me, the holo appears most obviously in this shade. I thought it was super unique, and it applied smoothly. This here is 3 coats! 

Lastly is "Pop Rock Panic" is a holo purple, way more purple than Sugar Plum Marshmallow. Sorry if my color descriptions are pretty bland.... I have to get used to terminology, after all, I would call this one a "Jolly Rancher Grape" color ;) 

Overall opinion: I have seen polishes that are more holographic than these, with a wider variety of colors, but this was great for me to have a set of simple colors and experiment with holographics and how they apply! THESE APPLIED BEAUTIFULLY, and I had absolutely no issues with applications. My favorites, in order, go: Sugar Plum Marshmallow, Trick or Mint, Carmel Apple Orchard, Pop Rock Panic and then Spectral Taffy. They are all beautiful.

For anyone else who got this collection, what were your thoughts?