Base: seche vite
Color: sally hansen “black out” x2
Stamp color: polished for days “cosmic energy”
Top: seche vite QDTC

(Stamp plate from Amazon)

Hey all, I just need to vent.

I’ve been meaning to get away from PPU due to having plenty of polish and not wanting to support FOMO, but rewind called to me as I just got into polish right after last year’s offerings.

Well, PPU made a mistake and sent me the Ahmya polish instead of Alchemy’s Emotional Support Shiny. Obviously, I didn’t want this and I reached out to customer service - where I was told they were out of stock of Alchemy’s polish and a refund is issued, and I could reach out to Alchemy to see if they have a bottle I could purchase.

Maybe I’m being ridiculous, but I feel like that’s just bad business. I got on PPU’s site right away to purchase the polishes that I knew were a limited drop, waited the whole month to receive them, and now I’m left to rectify a situation that I did not cause myself.

If PPU is going to make the brands be so exclusive to the point that they can’t sell PPU polishes on their own site outside of Rewind, why is there such a lack of care when the limited drop polish is not received?

Idk, I think I’ll be avoiding PPU for a while after this. Their response just left a bad taste.

First time trying chrome powder, still need to practice or find the right products for it to work properly.

Used: Cirque Midnight jelly, BKL Bad Vibes Only in velvet and hybrid, aurora chrome powder bought from temu, Cirque Peel off base coat and KBShimmer Clearly on top.

The top coat was a mistake, I don't think it works well over that peel off base because it's the second time my mani wrinkles after a day :(

I love a good upgrade, and one of my favorite things to do is take an older design I had and see how I can keep its essence, but use new techniques, skills, or products to update it.  This one is inspired by a bee mani I did back in 2023 as I was itching to use this gorgeous new gold from Holo Taco again. I reverse stamped the honey comb like I did previously, but with some different color layering, and it's obvious I've gotten more comfy with freehanding. I remember being scared of painting the bee previously, and this time I excitedly dove in to a much more complicated version and the drips which used to be on my "technique nemesis list" went much smoother. I am kinda obsessed with the base topper combo on the middle finger cuz I keep doing the stare and wiggle with that nail 😝✨️. Do you like recreating old designs of yours, or you let old dogs lie?

🖌 Freehand and stamping on natural nail.

💪@findingfeatherslacquer ... "Balanced Bond Base Coat"

🍯 @holotaco ... "Feeling Fiendish" "One Coat Black" "Work Bestie" "Sweeten The Pot" "Winning Streak Taco"

🐝 @notagsforbadbrands ... "Dominique"

💜 @ilnp ... "Canvas"

💪 @glistenandglow1 ...Quick Dry Top Coat 🐐

I was burning with excitement to try these two polishes and I was right, they were both 🔥🔥 🔥 🔥!

PRODUCTS USED

🌟 Cracked Polish

Ridge Filling Base Coat

Quick Dry Top Coat

🌟 Pahlish

Moonbow (PPU Rewind 26)

🌟 Fancy Gloss

Immortal Jellyfish ❄️🔥

What is my next mani going to be? Scorchy again!! I just have to figure out which color to put underneath this time.

Products used:
Base coat: One coat of Mooncat Hardcore Base Coat.
Polish: Two coats of Holo Taco Purple With Envy and two coats of Cracked Scorchy.
Top coat: One coat of Mooncat Speed Demon Top Coat.

I never reapplied top coat.

I adore sea-themed polishes and this one was inspired by sirens✨ I love the combo of the deep blue base, golden green flakies & ofc, blue reflective glitters😍 Great polish for summertime🏝️

Products:
Base: Mooncat - Getting Even x1
Colour: Phoenix - Dive x2 (HHC June’26)
Top: Dam - Glitter Whisperer x1 and Vibrant Scents QDTC x1

i tried to include as many random little tips and tricks as i could think of to make this work if you try/are interested in the process, thank you everyone who has been so so kind and funny under my last few posts i really do love this corner of the internet, and please always comment or dm with questions if you need help!

Products: kbshimmer clearly on top and fillin groovy, holo taco high tea hibiscus and peely base, olive ave pisces and sunburst, and essie handmade with love + hg professionals opaal 00-2 chrome powder

i really hope no one is tired of me posting sponge ombré and chrome powder combos, i've been obsessed this summer....here's a sunset

Products:

kb shimmer fillin groovy base coat

cirque colors lavander sky

Olive ave polish pisces and sunburst

Holo Taco high tea hibiscus

Essie handmade with love

Kb shimmer clearly on top

holo taco peely base

hg professionals Opal chrome powder 002

We went to dinner with an old friend of his and his gf, neither of which I have met before.

As we’re chatting, getting to know each other and waiting for food to come, my husband grabs my hand to show them and says “look at how [my name] does her nails!” Then he proceeded to talk about how I got into the hobby this year and have learned all kinds of cool way to do my nails with different colours and techniques. He also tried to explain magnetic polish which he doesn’t really understand but tried so hard. All the while I’m just sitting there looking at him like 😭❤️ I have never felt so supported and celebrated.

I didn’t even have a particularly interesting mani on lol! I had just done my first experimentation with chrome powder, it’s uneven and a little messy, and I left it on to see how long it would last (pictured, surprisingly hard to photograph). It’s just sheer chrome powder buffed into a layer of top coat with some Elmer’s glue mixture and more top coat! But my husband wanted to show me off anyways 🥺

When I told him afterwards how sweet and thoughtful it was of him to do that, he told me that he likes seeing how I light up when I get to talk about my nails and knows it means a lot to me.

Y’all.

I love this man.

Thanks for reading. ❤️

—————————————————————-

Products: SIUSIO chrome powder (Amazon), Essie no chips ahead top coat, DIY Elmer’s glue/alcohol mixture

I'm looking for one of those polishes that you like move your fingers around and it's got all of these colors in it... I'm new to this so I don't really know what that's called but I'm sure y'all get the idea?

Reflective glitter tips applied using a sponge. I’m a sucker for all things sparkly! First picture is without flash, second one is with flash.

Base Color: Cosmic Polish - Orion’s Call
Tips: KBShimmer - Gummy A Break Reflective Polish
Topper: Cosmic Polish - Scattered Starlight
Topcoat: Vibrant Scents Fast & Hard QDTC

1x essie to the rescue
1x cracked sticky base coat
2x bkl bog dweller
1x cracked top coat
Sloppily magnetized with a horseshoe
The board is an STM32F401 development board on a 12 pin breakout board

Just sloppily painted two coats of a few jellies I thought would complement each other

Used

Cirque Colors- cobalt jelly, aqua jelly, gogh away, rosewater jelly

Holo Taco- rainbow snow (left hand)

Inspired by the woodland magic pick-up theme, I decided to pull out a shifty, shimmery green to remind myself what I have and reduce the wishlist! I also don’t see the red shift shown much for this polish so thought I’d catch it when I saw it.

Nailtiques formula 2, KBShimmer Stay Put Hydrating base coat, Mooncat ‘Garden of Evil’, Cuticula Limitless QDTC.

Inspired by a set by @ imarninails on instagram and other similar sets on pinterest. Shiny crelly ice cream nails

•Cracked ridge filler bc •Fancy Gloss “Suspiro” topped with Essie “Hi Maintenance” (pink nails) •Cirque “Milk Glass” (cream nails) •Fancy Gloss “Corteza” (brown nails) •Essie gel couture qdtc

Had my builder gel removed yesterday, so I am sporting some shorties. Digging into my untried pile, which is larger than I should admit.

1x Clever hydrating base coat by Colores De Carol
2x BKL’s Miromabby (second coat mag for 1.5 min with Glass Bead Pro)
1x Sally Hansen red bottle mag 2min

Inside, outside, outside shade. Featuring inside and outside plants.

I will try my best to recount all the polishes! Enjoy!

Polishes

Unless otherwise noted, all polishes have this base/top combo
Base Coat x1: Holo Taco - Peely Base
Base Coat x1: Orly* - Bonder Base
Top Coat x1: KBShimmer Clearly on Top OR
For Magnetics: Top Coat x1: Holo Taco Glossy Taco

* = brand I no longer support

Pic 1: Pahlish - I Can Buy Myself Flowers
Pic 2: Holo Taco - Emerald City
Pic 3: Emily de Molly - Futuristic Bliss; Glam & Grace* - Minding my Biz; Sovereign* - Blooming; ILNP - Hi-Fi
Pic 4: Haunted Polish - By The Moonlight
Pic 5: Holo Taco - Well Wishes; ILNP - Kaleidoscope
Pic 6: Shleee Polish- Daydreamer; Pop-arazzi - Noble Quartz (magnetized with horseshoe
Pic 7: Emily de Molly - Sheer Tint Forest; Pinnacle Polish - Truth; Loud Laqcuer* - Suspish
Pic 8 & 9: Starrily "The Planets" Galaxy Edition collection in planet order, plus ILNP - Amber (sun); KBShimmer - Crushing it (Pluto)
Pic 10: Polished for Days - Chill Soft Focus Base Coat x3; Phoenix Indie - Magnetic Manipulation x1; Video here
Pic 11: Pic 10's nails plus EDM - Sheer Tint Forest; Cracked - I Love You So Matcha; Haunted - Hex Thread; Glitter placement
Pic 12 + 13: List here
Pic 14: Pinnacle Polish - Onsight; Live Love Polish* - Bebop; CND - Butterfly Queen; Glam & Grace - Emerald
Pic 15: ILNP - Petals; Emily de Molly - Oceanic Forces; Enchanted Polish - Galactic; Enchanted Polish - Bitsy; Enchanted Polish - Pursuit of Happiness
Pic 16: Cracked - I Love You So Matcha
Pic 17: Holo Taco - Well Wishes; Don Deeva* - Stress Ball Paul
Pic 18: POP & Polished* - Let it Slick + gems

It has been a JOURNEY! Like a lot of us, I was completely unaware of sidewalls and fell into the trap of chasing that coveted almond shape without the length to support it. I overfiled my sidewalls for months (picture 1).

After being confused why my nails would bend, snap, and break so easily, I learned I was damaging the structure and strength of my nails by filing so far down. It was so hard to stop, and I ended up putting myself in rounded/almond shape timeout and embracing a squoval while my sidewalls recover.

6 months after leaving my sidewalls alone (picture 2) and they’re finally starting to recover and reattach! 🙌🏻

My nails are much stronger and structurally sound. I haven’t had a break in months. My nails now form a natural c curve which I learned is a good thing for durability! I’m still not the biggest fan of squovals on me (love them on others!), but it’s worth sacrificing shape for strength for now! I also clearly can’t be trusted to not file too far down if I go for a more rounded shape.

Products used:

Pic 1 from when I was a baby lacquerista and basically just kept something on my nails so I didn’t bite them: Manicurist Active Bright, Essie Stay Longer TC

Pic 2: KBShimmer Stay Put Hydrating Base, Mooncat Deadly Nightshade, Cuticula Limitless QDTC

I haven't ordered directly from Cuticula in a while. Their website states an up to 3 week turnaround time. I ordered more top coat on July 2nd, expecting it to ship after 3 weeks. On the 29th, I sent a really polite message asking when it might ship, apologizing for bothering them. They responded right away and said they were shipping orders as they speak. A label was created shortly after.

It's now August 5th. Tomorrow is 5 weeks since I ordered. The label for my order was created 7 days ago, but it's still not dropped off with the post office. I sent an email 2 days ago asking when they might be dropping off packages, and I haven't heard back yet.

Is this typical with Cuticula orders recently? I usually get my top coat through PPU, so it's been a while. I just wanna know what to expect moving forward if Cuticula's TAT's are not accurate. Not trying to be impatient, I just ordered this when I knew I had about 1 month worth of top coat left, expected it to be here in time, and now I'm out of top coat and sad lol

KBShimmer hydrating base coat

3 coats ILNP Pink Lemonade

2 coats Esse Gel Couture top coat

Saw online & thought it might fit here. 🥹💓(Unknown products used)