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Nails

I’ve Found the Perfect Pale Blue Denim Nail Polish, and It’s Only $8

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duri when in rome
When in Rome, a stunner of a shade by Duri. Tee: Nap Then Attack

I’ve hoarded/fan girl-ed pastel blue nail polishes ever since Hard Candy Sky burst on the nail scene in the 1990s.

I kid you not — my mind was BLOWN.

For you young’ns out there, this may come as an unfathomable surprise, but the world used to have limited nail polish color options. Yes, there was a time when you couldn’t easily find a bottle of blue polish because it wasn’t a thing yet.

Craziness, I know!

In my case, ever since that fateful bottle of Hard Candy Sky, I’ve been a bonafide creamy pastel blue hoarder. If you love ’em as much as I do, don’t sleep on When in Rome, a pale denim grayish blue by Duri.

A hidden gem 💎

Duri is a small, family run under-the-radar brand from New York, but you can find them at nail salons…for whenever we all start going back to them…as well the Duri website, Walmart and Amazon.

duri when in rome
Wearing MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Relentlessly Red on my lips.

Duri carries a full range of nail products at reasonable prices, like When in Rome, which is just eight dollars!

What make it stand out in a sea of baby blues?

When in Rome has a slightly lavender-gray undertone, which gives it a moodiness uncommon to pastel blues, so it’s less like baby blue “It’s a Boy!” baby shower decorations, and more like an expensive pair of light wash denim blue skinny jeans.

Or, imagine the sky on a cool, crisp, clear winter day. That’s When In Rome. It’s moody yet hopeful…which sounds like me in a nutshell, HAHAHA! 😹

It’s completely opaque, by the way, so there isn’t any sheerness at all, and it’s durable too! I’m already five days in, and I’ve yet to see a chip or dent.

duri when in rome
That’s two coats of When in Rome topped with Duri Brush’n Go Dry & Shine Speedy Top Coat.

If you happen to find yourself perusing the Duri website, FYI, the pics for When in Rome look completely different than what I see in real life! I’ve triple-checked my bottle and also searched online, and When In Rome is definitely a pale blue everywhere else. Weird!

Still, I’m lovin’ the shade, and after weeks of naked fingertips, I’m excited to paint my paws again. 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This or That: Nail Polish Edition

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smith cult dark like me swatch
Gimme all the shiny, burgundy nails please! (This is Smith & Cult Dark Like Me, by the way.)

How to play

Pick one or the other for each of the questions below, and copy/paste with your answers in the comments. Can’t wait to see your picks! Mine are listed below. 💋

Copy and paste

  • Treat yo’ self! Do you get a fancy-schmancy spa manicure or a pedicure?
  • Short or long fingernails?
  • Base coat or top coat?
  • Regularly scheduled manicure maintenance: at-home or salon?
  • Glitter or cream finish?
  • Cuticles: cut ‘em or leave ‘em alone?
  • Faux press-on nails or nail polish stickers?
  • Nude nail polish or dark nail polish?
  • Over the top nail art: Y or N?

Treat yo’ self! Do you get a fancy-schmancy spa manicure or a pedicure?

Well, in the dream scenario, if I were really treating myself, I’d get both done, hahaha! And I’d be in a robe, and Keanu Reeves would be feeding me warm chocolate chip cookies…but if I had to pick just one, I’d go with pedicure, since it would last longer.

Short or long fingernails?

Short please! I cannot deal with the sound (or the feel) of my fingertips clack-clack-clacking on a keyboard. Also, I swear the second they get just a touch too long, I start obsessing over cutting my nails. I can’t think about anything else.

Keeping them short is also a practical thing. Nothing gets stuck underneath them when I cook, garden or play outside with Connor, and I don’t have to worry about them breaking.

Base coat or top coat?

Top coat, baby! Essie Gel Couture ALL. DAY. LONG.

Regularly scheduled manicure maintenance: at-home or salon?

At-home, even before pre-pandemic times, because I’m crazy picky about manicures, they’re easy for me to do at home, and woo-hoo! — I save a little money by doing ’em myself!

Glitter or cream finish?

I do love me some bling, but I’m going with cream since it’s easier to remove.

Cuticles: trim ’em or leave ’em alone?

Leave ’em alone!

Faux press-on nails or nail polish stickers?

Both have come a loooong way in the last few years, I gotta admit… I’ll go with the nail polish stickers.

Nude nail polish or dark nail polish?

It’s fall; let’s do the dark!

Over-the-top nail art: Y or N?

I think it looks really cool and would love to try it at least once, but no for now. No patience for the process. Plus, my kids (plural because one girl child, one lady cat!) would TRASH all that fancy artwork in a hot second, and that would break my heart.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen 😘

Q&A: Would You Wear Nail Polish That Smells Like Your Favorite Food?

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urban decay double team mascara vice
Pizza!

Earlier this summer the drugstore nail polish brand SinfulColors unveiled a line of polishes that look and smell like snacks — doughnuts, cheese puffs, pizza, chocolate cake and tacos.

OK, sure, scented nail polish isn’t revolutionary, but dang! — props for creativity!

That said, as much as I like Taco Tuesdays and Cheetos, I *cannot* handle my nails smelling like a crispy beef taco with sour cream (because I’m assuming guac is extra). Or pepperoni nails? BARF! I give the savory scents a hard pass.

And the sweet scents, too, despite my sweet tooth. I just can’t take my fingertips smelling like a glazed doughnut. 😐

How about you? How do you feel about snack scented nail polishes? To what degree would it depend on the snack?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 🍨

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

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5 things loving lately

1. Creamy pastel pink manis

I’ve been into opaque pastel bridal-style manis lately, specifically pale, creamy pinks. There’s something so refreshing about them… Maybe it’s because they remind me of ice cream? An added bonus is when the edges chip — which is inevitable these days, since I wash my hands about 6,924 times a day — because you can’t really see the nicks unless you look really closely.

duri forever beautiful
I’m wearing Duri Forever Beautiful, and Connor’s wearing shades from the Sally Hansen Jelly Belly collection.

This particular shade is by Duri, and it’s called Forever Beautiful. I’m wearing two coats along with my go-to Essie Gel Couture topcoat.

2. Archer Farms Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee Light Roast Ground Coffee

I don’t like it when coffee is bitter and tastes like punishment. Blech! Gimme a smooth and easy to drink cup of coffee any day of the week. I guess I’m a wimp like that.

archer farms vanilla bean creme brulee
I’m drinking a cup right now, as a matter of fact!

Anyway, this vanilla flavored coffee from Target has very little bite, and the vanilla bean and crème brulee flavors are present but not overpowering.

I love when I can find it… Seems like it’s always out of stock these days, but I’ve also seen it available online.

3. Ooly Pastel Liners

These rainbow pastel markers are double ended. They have an angled tip on one side and a fine tip on the other, and ooh! — the surge of satisfaction I feel when I cross items off my to-do list with these markers. It’s off the charts!

Multi-colored rainbow lists are the best.

4. Deep belly breathing

A few weeks ago I set a reminder on my phone to chime every few hours to remind me take some deep belly breaths throughout the day, and those breath breaks make a HUGE difference in my overall mental health.

Yes, having to remind myself to breathe felt silly at first, but with current events as they are…I don’t care anymore! 🙂 When you reach the point where your shoulders scrunch up to your ears and stay there all day long, you’ll try anything.

Five or six deep breaths take all but a minute or two, and I do it every few hours to help my nerves.

5. Free People Movement Om Crew Neck Tank Tops

I bought a few of these $15 tanks on a whim a few weeks ago to wear with my stretchy workout pants, and I like ’em. A lot. They’re lightweight, and the fabric is pretty thin, which I like, because we’ve already started with the 90-degree days here, and it’s been a struggle to, ya know, actually wear real clothes.

These tanks feel light as air, and they’re a bit “see through” depending on the color, so wear a cute sports bra underneath and call it a day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Nail Polish Do You Wear the Most?

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essie gel couture
When you love something so much that you have THREE BOTTLES OF IT…

I lined up all of my colorful nail polishes to find out which one had the least amount of product, but they all looked the same, go figure! Apparently, you need to go through a lot to put a dent in one nail polish bottle.

I’m betting this particular honor goes to my fave clear top coat from the Essie Gel Couture line. I wear it not just with the Gel Coutures, but with every nail polish (yup, even the non-gel ones). It’s the ultimate armor against nicks and chips, and it’s so, so shiny. Been wearing it for years for both manicures and pedicures, and I haven’t found anything better.

How about you? What’s your most-used nail polish?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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