Butter London

Mani Monday: Impressions of Spring

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In honor of the lovely spring weather we have been enjoying, I give you my own interpretation of blooming flowers. I was going to actually paint flowers on my nails but did not like the stark contrast of the white nail polish I had painted as the background color. I randomly decided to dot different hues of pinks, purples, and nudes on my nails and found that I enjoyed the results.

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It feels rather impressionistic, right? If only someone paid me to do my own nails. Then my life as a nail artist would be complete. <Insert dramatic sigh here.>

I have really been loving my new Butter London basecoat and topcoat. I believe I did these nails on Thursday, and I only have one chipped nail today. Usually, I would redo all of my nails when I get a bad chip, but this mani is easily fixable. I added more colors to the chipped nail, and now no one will be the wiser.

It is important to look my best tonight because we are going to a film screening, and I am hoping to meet the funny star. I’ll update you about it tomorrow.

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For now, I’ll leave you with this disturbing stuffed animal/goldfish bowl combo. It can hold your pets or your snacks! What an amazing invention.

Mani Monday: Four-Leaf Clovers on Butter

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Artsy, right?

It’s a very exciting time of year for makeup hoarders lovers of America. It’s Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty Sale. For 21 glorious days, there are special flash sales on high-end products. Last Thursday, Butter London nail polish was reduced to a mere $9. I was in a panic all that day, worrying that my store (which is always out of everything) would run out before I got there. However, they had plenty of bottles left when I arrived.

I bought Hardwear PD Quick Topcoat, which is way too long of a name for a topcoat. I really needed it because I used up my CND Speedy Topcoat on my glitter nails from last week. Hardwear usually retails for $19, so I got it for more than half off. Plus, it is 0.1 ounce larger than Speedy, which sells for $8.50. I also decided to buy a mate for my topcoat, a basecoat called Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat.

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

I honestly wasn’t expecting much because I sometimes feel like topcoats are like shampoo. You can find one that you really love, but one day it just stops working for you. However, I am really loving this combo. After my Piccadilly Green manicure flaked off, I painted my nails with cheap $3 Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in Ivy League. This color is shimmery and semi-sheer. I then painted four-leaf clovers on my thumbs in Emerald City.

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Making a four-leaf clover isn’t that hard. First, make sure that you have a minimal amount of paint on your brush. Then make four dots in a circle on your nail. Try to make the dots kind of uneven to make the leaves look more realistic like my first attempt.

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Jono’s attempt at being artsy at the mall. The lighting is too icky for good pics there. 

My left thumb was my first attempt. I made the dots too round and close together. It looks like a schoolkid painted it for art class. The right thumb’s dots are spaced farther apart and are more free-form. This makes the clover look more natural.

My new topcoat and basecoat have really made this manicure last. This Sally Hansen nail polish usually only lasts a couple days on me. I didn’t notice any chipping until after I cleaned the bathroom today, which is day four. Four days is double my usual wear time for these greens. So far I give Butter London two green thumbs-up.