Oh Bother!

It seems that my SD card is having some difficulties, that or my laptop just hates me, so this post isn't going to have many pictures this time. I think I forgot to unmount it before I removed it from my phone last time :(

Aaaaaanywho, I'm going on vacation on Tuesday for two weeks to visit family in California & I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to blog while I'm away or not. Although, I can guarantee that I'll be taking LOTS & LOTS of pictures (not just my nails haha) so I'll be able to upload those once I'm back home.

I'm suuuuper excited to go on vacation not only because I get to visit my family, but also because I bought both of Color Club's Halo Hues collections AND I have 4 Zoyas waiting for me there already. When Zoya was having their BOGO sale I figured it was high time to get me some Pixie Dusts, so I bought 3 (Liberty, Carter & Stevie) & also picked up their polish called Julie, because it's only like the best name ever!

Liberty
Swatch credit to Chalkboard Nails

Carter
Swatch credit to Chalkboard Nails

Stevie
Swatch credit to Chalkboard Nails

Julie
Swatch credit to Scrangie

Color Club Halo Hues Collections
Photo credit to Universal Nail Supplies

I did some mad research the other day on different places that sell polish in the area where I'll be staying. I even mapped it all out & found out which stores were close to each other so that we wouldn't have to go driving all around SoCal hahaha.

When I get home I'm definitely going to need a nail polish rack. The basket I use to store my polishes in now is full & I don't want to pile them on top of each other. At the bare minimum I'm coming back with 16 new polishes, so I need to get a rack. I found a tutorial on YouTube for a DIY: Nail Polish Wall Rack, so that's what I plan on doing.

I can't explain how stoked I am to finally own those holographic nail polishes!! I remember the first time I saw them on Instagram that I knew I had to have them. I have one linear holographic polish already but I don't use it because there's not a whole lot left :( I also have China Glaze's Fairy Dust but it's a scattered holographic, that's not to say I don't adore it 'cause I do, but it isn't linear lol.

Welp, I guess that's it for now. I'll see if I can get a post or two in while I'm away. Until then, folks!

Christina's Nail Rehab!!

I was going to put this in my previous post but decided to give it its own post :)

A little over a month ago, my friend Christina asked me to help her to start growing out her nails. She was (key word) a nail biter & because of that, she used to get fake nails which do more damage than good. She got rid of the fake nails & set her mind to stopping the biting. Here's what her nails looked like before:

At this point, Christina hadn't started her nail regime. She had me paint her nails just to deter her from biting them. I told her to just moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! A week or so later (week 2), we got down to brass tacks. I pushed back & trimmed her cuticles & I gave her her first "nail rehab" manicure. :)

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of Christina's bare nails for week 3, but here's the manicure.

Week 4 & she was starting to show just the teensiest bit of length, not much but it counts!

I liked the way Christina's nails looked so much that I decided to do mine the same haha

Hehe, aren't we cute? :P

We're now in the middle of week 5 & Christina's nails look absolutely fantastic!!!! I'm so proud! <3 She's gained so much length & the skin around her nails is getting better! Yay!!

Whew! That was a whole lot of updates haha! I'll try to make a weekly or bi-weekly update so it doesn't get all crammed together like this. Which would you prefer, weekly or bi-weekly? Let me know in the comments :)

Mad Props Monday, My Manis & More!

Well, I'm still figuring out this whole blogging thing so bear with me :)

This post is probably going to be a lengthy one because I've got lots of stuff to put in it :)

I'll start off with MPM (Mad Props Monday). One of the ladies that I follow on Instagram, Amy @indie500nails, came up with this awesome idea. Basically on Mondays we all take pictures of our nails holding random props, tag Amy and #madpropsmonday & upload them to our Instagrams. I believe it's also a sort of monthly contest, which is awesome! I love seeing all the random props people come up with.

Here are a few of my mad props:

So those were from the first week (back when I was still MsMac613 lol) which is why they're not watermarked. Just because this is, like, one of my absolute favourite manicures, I'm going to upload my favourite picture of it <3

These nails are damn near perfect!!!

Here are some other MPM pictures :)

 

Ok, now that that's out of the way, here's the original pictures of the manicures I did, including ones that weren't taken for MPM:

3 coats of Pure Ice in Shell Pink with 2 coats of China Glaze Fairy Dust

2 coats of Pure Ice in Home Run with nail sprinkles

Simple French tips with a twist

2 coats of Sally Hansen Violet Voltage with 2 coats of Milani 3D Holographic in Hi-Res

With striping tape & hand drawn heart added

Striping tape fell off, added glitter (NOPI One Less Lonely Glitter)

That last manicure was my first time using striping tape. I didn't find it too difficult to deal with, but even with top coat on, the tape didn't last very long. So what do we do when the tips of our nails look like crap?? Add glitter, of course! Glitter makes everything better!! I got really annoyed with how crappy my nails looked even after the glitter, so I redid my nails but kept the accent nail. 

2 coats of China Glaze Texture in Unrefined

First time using a textured polish. I really like the look of it but I couldn't stand the gritty feeling. My nails kept scraping against each other & it gave me the weirdest feeling in my tummy (odd, I know). It felt like I was accidentally scraping my nails on a brick wall or 80 grit sandpaper, so I put top coat on instead of having to take it all off.

Unrefined with 2 coats of top coat
I know, it looks terrible haha!

So, I'm going to end this post here. I don't want to bore you all to death ^.^ Let me know what you thought of my props :)

20 Facts About Me!

Yay! First blog post EVER!!!

I figured since I'm still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing, I'd do the 20 Facts About Me tag that's been going around on Instagram lately.

Welp, here goes!

1   I’m 23 & a very proud Aries! (March 22^nd)

2   I have 3 tattoos; my nickname ‘Minnie Mac’ on my right shoulder blade, a tribal Aries symbol on the nape of my neck (told you I’m proud lol) and a paw print with ‘Smokey’ above it on my inner left ankle

3   I'm strawberry blonde but I wish I was a full-fledged redhead (I was born with red hair but it lightened as I got older). That being the case, I want a redheaded baby xD

4   I have dual citizenship. I’m originally from southern California. My dad still lives there & as much as I miss him & the rest of my awesome families (it’s complicated lol), I couldn’t move back. My life is here in Canada <3

5   I’m the elder of two kids. I have a younger brother, Nathan <3

6   On that same note, I also have an awesome step-brother, Nick (and sister-in-law, Kara) & an amazing step-sister, Brooke (and brother-in-law, Seth). I also have 5 nephews & a niece whom I've yet to meet

7   I’ve always enjoyed painting my nails, but I didn’t really get into nail care/nail art/the nail community until August 2012. I’m so thrilled to be a part of this amazing community & can’t wait to see what’s in store :D

8   For my 1^st birthday, against my parents’ wishes, my grandmother bought me a pony. His name was Coconut and he was a retired circus pony

9   I love to read!! My absolute favourite author is the one and only Stephen King. Right now, I’m waiting for A Dance with Dragons, book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) to come out in paperback so I can add it to my collection

10   Corynn @muckingfusser was the first nail account I started following. She is the friggin’ QUEEN of water marble! *bows down* I’ve had a crush on her nails since day 1

11   I am an indie virgin. I see all these awesome polishes made by these amazing ladies but then I remember that I’m broke :( One day I’ll get my hands on all those pretty polishes

12   I’ve had all sorts of pets growing up; cats, dogs, birds, fish, iguanas, rats, a guinea pig & a pony. I have two cats, Tigger & Meep <3 When I eventually get a dog, I want a Bernese mountain dog <3

13   Oh, look.. My lucky number! I was supposed to be born on the 13^th of March but I was 9 days late. I guess I was comfy haha

14   I collect pop tabs from Monster & Rockstar energy drinks. When I counted them a year ago, I had 928. I haven’t counted in a year or so, but I’d guess that I have at least another 150 that need to be counted. Also, it isn’t just me drinking them, I get my friends to save their pop tabs for me, too :P

15   If I could be fluent in any language, I’d choose German. It’s all my friend Alena’s fault <3 I think it’s such a beautiful language

16   Purple is my absolute favourite colour!! Why? Because it’s only the best colour EVER!!!

17   I’m what people refer to as a Grammar Nazi. The correct term, however, would be grammatically correct Nazi lmao. I notice mistakes EVERYWHERE & have to hold myself back from correcting them

18   I have a serious knack for remembering lyrics. It’s not that I learn them especially fast or anything, but once I’ve memorized them it’s usually for good haha

19   My taste in music is extremely eclectic. For instance, my two favourite artists are Eminem & The Stray Cats. On a similar note, I adore musicals! <3

20   Last but not least, after smoking for 9 years, I have finally quit once & for all!! July 19^th is my quit date :D

So there you have it, folks! 20 random facts all about moi! Now, once I figure this whole thing out then I'll get some nail related posts up :) Until then, ta ta for now!