Mani/Pedi Time is an EVENT in This House...

...because it takes all day! No, really. I've got 3 girls, so whenever they see me paint my nails, they want me to paint their's too. So that means I have up to 80 nails to paint (and we're talking base coat for me, at least two coats of color/glitter for everyone except the baby, and a top coat for Peyton and I), and it is somewhat of a ritual in our home. Application takes forever, not to mention dry time (just visualize trying to make a 3 year old and a 15 month old stay still for long enough to paint and then dry their nails), but it's a real bonding opportunity for all of us, so all in all I truly enjoy it.

I'm very particular about color selection for the little ones. I like bright, bold colors for myself, and even though Peyton and London love my selections, they're not always age appropriate for them. I tend to choose glitters and pastels for Lo...

NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in 294 Lexington Yellow

Peyton longs to wear some of the same adventurous shades that I use, but I want to keep her as youthful and innocent as long as I can, so sometimes I have to veto her color choices. She likes to choose one main color and a glitter to use on her pinkie as an accent nail...

Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Enamel in 860 Metallic and  a random glitter from Sally Girl

Originally, I wanted to use Neon Celtic Sun from China Glaze...

It was so bright and pretty and different, and it reminded me of tennis balls, which instantly reminds me of summer, so I had to have it! But then I tried it out and was sadly disappointed :(

The color came out as brightly on the nail as it appeared in the bottle, but the application was kinda sucky. This is 2 coats on top of a base coat, and it still came out extremely streaky. Womp, womp... It will be going back...

I also got Neon Orange Knockout...

The application of this one was much better, but I was kind of disappointed when it dried matte instead of shiny. Nothing a coat of top coat can't fix though!

I was looking forward to having a neon themed mani/pedi combo and with how Celtic Sun turned out, I was short a color. So I perused my collection and found this...

Sinful Colors in Innocent 

And though it costs only $1.99 (compared to China Glaze's $4.99), this is how it applied...

Not quite as bright and yellow as Celtic Sun, but it applied this opaque in one coat, so for me, it's a winner!

Side by side comparisons

I ended up using Innocent on my toes (yeah, I'm so not taking pictures of my feet) and I used 3 colors on my hands...

Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Orange Knockout, and OPI DS Reflection

Long story short, it took all afternoon for me to do everyone's nails! But we had fun, and we're girls, this is what we do! 

What nail trends are you loving right now? Are you into nail art and accent nails like we are? What shades and brands do you gravitate towards? Comment below, my inquiring mind wants to know! Until next time...

Ciao, XxO

Q