Hello!!! If you have found your way here, welcome to my first blog ever :)! First, please don't judge my blog yet, I'm still learning my way around. My name is Jen. I am a Southern momma with a 5 year old son named Jayden & 2 year old dachshund named RC. I've been with Jayden's daddy for 7 years now. We got engaged Mother's Day last year :). Enough about that stuff, on to why everyone is here...
I've been thinking a lot about doing this blog & nail polish brand. In life the most successful & happy ones are the ones who do what they love and love what they do. I am going back to school in the fall for my paralegal degree, but my heart lies in nails! I hope to bring something new to my fellow Crazies (yes, capitalized) and at least have fun in the process!
I have a ton of glitter that is so ready to go into a suspension base, just waiting on that to come in the mail :). I will sell a few small quantities of polish here and there on Etsy when I have time. I went ahead and opened a shop to get my name "Hands On Nail Polish" before it was taken by someone else.
I have a serious passion for anything nails. I am a self taught and have never had any training. I do my own gel sculpts with forms & gel mani's with artificial tips too. I know it sounds crazy, but I do my own nails, left and right handed. It takes me awhile and it's not easy, but if you want something bad enough, it'll happen! I'm not particularly artistic either so anybody can do it if I can do it. I do a pretty good job for not having any training. I guess it's because I love it so much! I really just got sick of spending all of that $ to other nail techs and salons and not being able to get exactly what I want. I have a full set up in my home that could literally run a shop. I've been gradually adding to my set up for some time now and I am officially fully equipped with a UV lamp, electric drill, manicure table, lamp, chairs, polish, gel, glitter, rhinestones, brushes, removers, stickers, forms, tips, glue & other misc. supplies that go along with doing mani/pedi's.
This may not be the most organized blog in the world and it probably will never be, but it will at least be a little different than all of the other ones. I'm seriously NOT going to beat myself up over trying to make my blog look all pretty like some of the others with all the bows & whistles (because I don't know how YET lol). What I will provide is good pictures and reviews on the polish that I have and that I will have. Just like all the rest of this nail stuff, I'm learning as I go and using my imagination. I think I can come up with some combo's that haven't been done yet. Also, I have altered some popular polish colors with SpectraFlair making them holographic. Those are now one of a kind polish colors, never seen/swatched before :). Like I mentioned, I get something useful from each of the several blogs I read. I'll be in the grocery store or Sally's staring at polish wondering which one's I've seen swatched and what the review was and something will always stick in my head about one of the blogs I read. That always helps me with my polish purchases. I have read three different bloggers that have three totally different reviews of the same polish...just like that dreaded Essie Lilacism I wanted for so long, bought and I really hate the formula! Hopefully that will stick in your head when you pick that bottle of Lilacism up..don't do it lol! I wish I would have found a different pale purple close to the same color with a better formula. It looks great after you finish but it takes a lot of work to get there. I have a short review and picture of that polish in a separate blog post here: http://handsonnailpolish.blogspot.com/2012/07/indie-polish-brand-darling-divas-polish.html.
I think you all will like my swatches either way :). If you don't like something I do, that's cool. I don't love everything I see either and I'd be lying if I said I did. I'm always respectful of other people's art & opinions either way. After-all, opinions are theirs/ours to have.
Personally, my favorite types of polish would be any with chunky glitter & cremes. I like the jelly polish only with glitter in it. I want a few jelly polish colors like China Glaze, Ride the Waves and a purple one on Etsy called "The Poets Were Right"...it's beautiful! I don't want to see my nail line underneath the polish at all but a good glitter top coat will fix that. I love love love a matte finish and love the brightly colored matte glitter even more! I love purples, blues and greens the most. I like a shimmery finish but I don't really like the dragging, frosty finishes. I've been really digging the indie polish brands sooo much lately! I love them so much that I ordered a bunch of suspension base and glitter (mostly matte glitter) from a couple of different suppliers to make my own! I've been frankening a bit lately and it's so much fun! Most of the really good polish brands are always sold out or there is a long wait for a wish list. I am just going to make my own instead of paying an arm and a leg for popular, high demand polish brands and colors. I won't ever duplicate anyone's polish and sell it but I may just duplicate one for myself if I cannot get it any other FAIR way ;). That's my business right?! I will still buy a ton of the indie polish, of course, but there are a couple of brands I just gave up on trying to get. I REFUSE to pay ridiculous prices on eBay
(apparently called "the place we shall not mention" lol) for these polishes! I wish we would all ban together and refuse to buy these polish brands & colors at those prices. If a company can sell their brand on eBay for outrageous prices, why on earth would they want to offer it to us poor folk at normal prices?! It's smart, but like I said, I will make my own before I pay that much for polish! Bottom line for me is if I see a polish I want and it's available right then, I will buy it if the price is fair.
I hope you all will share your thoughts and opinions with me about what you think of my creations and swatches. I also want to share my list of polish I have and ones that I want in hopes of swapping with a few of you :). I've never done any swapping but I think it's an awesome idea! I have a tab with my current stash, check 'em out and see if any of you see anything you may want to see a swatch of and I can make it happen. From time to time, I may sell some of my unused or swatched once polishes. I think I have to make a rule for myself and say if I buy a polish and do not use it within 6 months, I will sell it, swap it or do a giveaway!! Otherwise, I will have to buy a much larger home just to accommodate my stash! I made a page for blog sales if and when the time comes to let one go :(.
Give me a little bit of time and I will have my full polish lists up for everyone to view. My little brother is getting married this weekend so I will get those lists up next week sometime. As soon as I figure out how to get my follow me on Twitter and Pinterest buttons, I will put those buttons on here. Until then, the links to my pages are below. If anyone has any suggestions that can help me, I'm all ears/eyes. Thanks for stopping by :)!
https://twitter.com/GlitteringJen
http://pinterest.com/GlitteringJen/
