Mani Monday - Emmalynn

Happy Monday y'all!
Today's mani was inspired by one of my friend's adorable children, Emmalynn Faith! As soon as I saw her post this picture of sweet little Emma on our random Texas ice day, I knew I wanted to recreate her outfit on my nails! It was just so pink, and cute, and what girl doesn't love pink!? I know I do! I know my kitty nail is not purrfect, but I tried! haha. Hope y'all enjoy this girly design!

Colors used for this mani are listed here.

Also, don't forget to check back tomorrow for the pictorial for this cute design for my Tutorial Tuesday post!

Battle of the Nail Shapes!

So I have had round nails for as long as I can remember, and for about the past year or so they've been as square as I can manage. I like having a square nail for nail art, bigger canvas. lol. But now, after seeing all these beautiful, and different nail shapes all over social media, I am having an internal battle about my own nails! I mean let's face it, there's so many different ones!

Let's start off with the classic Round shape:

I think that most people wear round nails. They're super simple, and how my nails naturally grow. I don't mind the round shape, I just like something more...stand-outish.

What about Oval nails?

Well, these ones (in my own personal opinion for my personal nails) are just not my cup of tea. They're really just the round nails grown out some. Which looks great on a lot of ladies out there, but I need something...more.

Well how about the oddly named Squoval shape!?

Honestly, I don't see too much of a difference between squoval, and oval nails. I mean, obviously, the corners are more defined, but is it really that big of a difference?

Maybe that's why I love my Square nails:

I feel like my square nails stand out better. Or maybe that's just because they've got nail art on them. I like the definition of the corners. But am I the only one who feels like a square shape makes nail art easier? It definitely doesn't help with the actual full coverage painting job. My nail corners curve, so my nails make an upside down "U" shape. The corners never like to be painted when I'm painting the rest of my nails. I usually have to go back, and make sure there's polish where I want. BUT (and this is a big but)...my corners break off ALL THE TIME! So frustrating! I always have to be so cautious with what I'm doing, and mind my nails. It's kind of sad, and I know it gets on the boyfriend's nerve. lol. This is the main reason I've been debating on changing my nail shape. To what shape though, you ask?

Almond!

Just look how classy, and beautiful that looks! And...NO CORNERS! haha. I love how they look like claws! rawr! I've actually already shaped my Cinderella nails into cute little almonds, and I will say this...it is SO different than what I am used to! And I honestly can't decide which I like better! I even asked Corbey what his boyfriendly advice/preference was, and he couldn't even decide! The squares have been here for so long, but the almonds are just so...fierce! Oh! You want to see what my almond nails look like!? My bad...let me show you...

Hello there Cinderella hand! We haven't seen you in a while, and what's this!? Where have your corners gone? Yes! I am experimenting with nail shapes for the first time ever! I was too scared to try these almond beauties on my nail art hand because I've never had almond nails before! Honestly, I am loving them! But still on edge about my squares on my left hand...I would appreciate your comments, and opinions on my possible new permanent nail shape!

To read more about the really cute mani above, just click here!

Texture on Texture!

Well let's get down to the nitty gritty about this fun, funky mani!

Ok, so this is my first time doing a strictly textured mani, and I am in LOVE! The colors I used were both from China Glaze. Bump in the Night is that gorgeous black textured polish, and is from the Monster's Ball Collection, and that pop of bubbly pink texture is named Unrefined. I won Bump in the Night from China Glaze last Oct. (2013), and I recently purchased Unrefined from Arycelle's (@ladiemae21) destash page on Instagram. @ladiemae21salepage

I actually hand painted the dots on my nails, because I learned very quickly that using a dotting tool with only textured polish is extremely difficult to do what you would like it to. lol. So I used a small dotting tool to get a general idea of where I wanted my dots, and then I expanded from there with a small nail art brush, and the textured polishes. I really am loving this simple funky manicure. The textured polish is also one of my favorites. It's just so fun to travel off the beaten path, and have something different on my nails!

I did this mani on both hands (which doesn't happen often) to compare them on my square/almond nails side-by-side. I'm still on the fence about it though. Any thoughts?