▲ 168 r/Nailpolish+2 crossposts

I've finally found my milky white polish!

I have been searching and searching for a milky white polish that doesn't streak and leave patches, and I've finally found it!

At first, I didn't like it because I was applying it with too much pressure on the brush, leaving "bald" patches. I figured out that I need to float the polish onto my nail and not manipulate it a whole bunch. I also figured out that I needed to let it dry longer between coats so the second coat didn't drag the one underneath out of place. Once I got the technique right, it was super easy to apply and, like with all of EdM's polishes, it's buttery smooth!

This polish is so elegant looking and it's great for a nice, simple manicure.

Products Used -

Base Coat: Essie Strong Start x1

Color: Emily de Molly Sheer Tint Blanc x2

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle) x1

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday, and I hope y'all have a fantastic rest of your weekend!

u/JediWarrior79 — 5 days ago
▲ 636 r/Nailpolish+3 crossposts

This is such a gorgeous color!

Good afternoon, everyone! I hope y'all are having a fantastic Saturday!

I got my order from EdM yesterday and I was so excited to do my manicure today that I think I even dreamed about it last night, lol!

Base Coat: Essie Strong Start x1

Color: Emily de Molly - Desperate Times x3

Top Coats: Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle) x1, Holo Taco Glossy Taco x1

+ My kitty girl, Chloe, snoozing in the background. She loves to hang out with me when I'm doing my manicures. I'm surprised she doesn't mind the smells of the polish and the acetone I use for clean-up!

The formula of this polish is so buttery smooth, and she was completely opaque in two coats, but I added a third to eliminate brush strokes (the brush strokes weren't very visible, but I'm a perfectionist and always do a third coat with polychromes, lol).

I fell in love with polychrome polish when I got Missed Shift by Holo Taco, and when I saw this one and another one called All The Rage by EdM, I just HAD to get them! I also got the milky white polish, which I haven't tried yet, but I will in the coming weeks. I'll show All The Rage either later next week or next weekend.

This video did NOT do this polish the justice she really deserves. She's so shifty, with colors ranging from purple, to plum, to gold, and even a flash of deep blue every once in a while. I could tell when it dried down that the finish would be mirror-like even before I added the top coat, and sure enough, it didn't disappoint! I can't stop admiring my nails! I'd love to have a car in this color, lol!

For all of you who also buy from EdM, which one(s) is/are your favorite(s)?

Have a fabulous rest of your weekend, and as always, happy painting!! 💅💖

u/JediWarrior79 — 12 days ago

My latest order!

This is my first time ordering from Emily De Molly, and I'm waiting on pins and needles to get them! I think I've finally found the perfect milky white color after searching since February. I love polychrome polishes, and Just Like You will be my very first thermal. I'll have to wait till my nails are a bit longer to wear the thermal as I'm ALMOST done growing out some damage and peeling from a base coat that I didn't know had PVB in it. Maybe I'll slap some press-ons for the thermal if I can't wait to use it, although I don't want to make my peeling nails worse with the glue and risk having them pop off on me at work, or worse, while preparing a meal!

So stoked! The formula of the polish seems to be top-notch and looks like it applies very smoothly and self-levels very nicely.

What are all of your favorites by EDM? (Giggling at the abbreviation as that's one of my favorite types of music, too!)

u/JediWarrior79 — 18 days ago

Oooh, Such Pretty Sparklies!

Holo Taco never ceases to amaze me with the amount of sparkle and pizzazz in their polishes! I promise I'm not a spokesperson or PR rep from the company, lol! I just adore their polishes because although they can be thick and a bit futzy to work with sometimes (nothing a bit of polish thinner can't fix), the end result is always beautiful, and I'm a huge sucker for sparklies and flakies. This is also one of the very few polishes I can wear that doesn't chip within a couple of days. I also love Zoya and ILNP for their staying power. Essie's polishes can be a hit or miss and take forever and a day to dry down, but I love their base coats.

Many of you have probably seen Cristine's new release of the 7th Anniversary Jackpot Collection from people posting here, and if you follow her on the subreddits r/simplynailological and r/theholotaco and/or on social media/YouTube. I got my order last week of All I Do Is Sin and Chandelier Showers, and both are so beautiful! I tried Chandelier Showers first and... wow! The holo glitter, the flakies, and the iridescent colors of the glitters as they catch the light have me staring at my nails and moving my fingers constantly to watch.

I always prep before my manicure using this method:

  1. File nails with a glass nail file while polish is still on so I can follow the contours of my nail beds better without seeing the nail line so everything is even. Gently buff the free edge with buffing block to smooth it and remove the "skirts." Gently file any hard skin on the side walls to prevent me from picking at it, leaving the side walls of my nails alone. If I have hang nails, I gently nip them away with my cuticle nippers.

  2. Remove polish by either soaking my hands in warm water if using a peel off base coat for a couple of minutes to loosen the bond of the polish, then gently break the seal between polish and peely base using the rounded end of my glass cuticle pusher and very gently peel off the polish. I remove any stubborn bits of leftover polish (if any) with 100% pure acetone polish remover. If not using a peely base, I just use regular acetone to gently remove the polish. I usually use cotton rounds and place them on my fingers for 30 seconds, then gently remove the polish pulling down towards the free edge without rubbing. If any polish is left over, I gently remove the rest with a clean cotton round.

  3. I clean under my fingernails with the pointy end of my glass nail file. I then very gently nudge the PNF back with a glass cuticle pusher. If I see any dead cuticle skin on my nail plates, I use a drop of Blue Cross Cuticle Remover on the nail plate up at the cuticle line, being careful not to let it get on my skin. I do one hand at a time to minimize my nails' exposure to the cuticle remover. I let it sit for one minute, and then use the pointed side on the end of my glass cuticle pusher to gently scrape off the dead skin from the cuticle line and side walls, being careful not to damage the nail plate or break the seal between skin and nail plate at the cuticle line and side walls. I rinse my hands with warm water, no soap, using a nail brush to ensure that all of the cuticle remover is gone and to get rid of any remaining debris from under my fingernails.

  4. After my nails are completely dry again, I do a warm jojoba oil soak using Silk Elements Pure Oils brand (sold at Sally's Beauty or online), for 20 minutes each hand. I wipe the excess oil from my hands with a tea cloth and follow up using my EOS lotion. I usually use the vanilla cashmere scent or the pomegranate raspberry scent.

  5. I'll wait 2 - 3 hours for the oil and lotion to do their thing before applying my polish.

  6. Clean excess oil and lotion from nail plate using 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol or a 70% alcohol nail cleanser from Sally's Beauty, whichever one I have on hand at the time. I use a clean tea towel to clean my nails with the alcohol because there's no lint or any debris from using cotton rounds. Now my nails are fully hydrated and prepped for my polish!

I used to use pure acetone for prep, but it exacerbated the peeling that had already been happening to the free edge of my nails from using base coats with PVB in them before I realized that that was what was causing the peeling. I switched to Essie Strong Start, and within a couple of months, the peeling resolved. I recently bought the original smoothing base coat from Holo Taco, not realizing that they had added PVB back into the original base coat formula. My nails started peeling again and worse than before, so this past week, I had to file my nails down to the nubs and start the process all over again to grow out the damage. That really pissed me off because I had been making real progress, and they had grown just past the hyponychium again when they started peeling from that stupid base coat! I'm gonna buy the base coats from KBShimmer from now on after my nails get stronger. Essie Strong Start is great, but it's a nail strengthener and hardener, and I don't want to keep using it after they've healed because it can cause already strong nails to become brittle and snap.

OK, I'll shut up now, lol. Just wanted to share my entire manicure routine to let y'all know what has worked for me personally in case anyone else might benefit from it.

Product List:

Base Coats: Olive and June Peel Off Base Coat x1 (I love this peely base because you can also use it with lacquer and it works like a dream, and it's also easy to find as I got mine at Target), Essie Strong Start x1(I love this base coat because it's helped immensely with my bendy, peeling nails and it doesn't contain PVB)

Color: Chandelier Showers by Holo Taco x3

Top Coats: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri (red bottle) x1, Holo Taco Glossy Taco x2

I can't say enough good things about the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat! Make sure it's the one in the red bottle because the other ones can mess up magnetics and smudge nail art/stickers, and the other ones aren't really quick drying or all that good as top coats. It also doesn't contain toluene. The smell of toluene gives me migraines, and with my nails, at least, toluene causes some crazy shrinkage and wrinkling, no matter how much I wrap the free edge. Plus, I can use the polish thinner I have with just the two ingredients and not have to buy another polish thinner that has toluene in it. I put the 2 layers of Glossy Taco over the Sally Hansen one because I use the Sally Hansen to dry everything down. Glossy Taco also "sinks" into the glitter better to lock it in, and I add the second coat to ensure everything is smoothed out and won't catch on anything like clothes/hair/towels and I also love how Glossy Taco makes all the glitters shine even brighter! I also add a very thin coat of Glossy Taco every evening to protect my polish and keep it looking its shiniest/sparkliest until I'm ready to change things up, or when my polish starts to pop off on its own from using the peely base. Even with the peely base, my polish still lasts between 3 and 5 days as long as I've used the "moat" method and use another base coat on top of it, and if I'm really careful with my nails.

A word of advice about peely bases. The more layers of polish and top coat there are over it, the easier it will be to pop it off when you're ready to remove the polish. Just remember to be VERY gentle and don't force it off, and don't try to peel any remaining bits of polish off, as this will damage the top layer of the nail and can cause peeling or even splitting at the side walls and/or the free edge. Acetone or any other polish remover will easily remove it. If the polish doesn't want to pop off, try soaking your nails in water again for another couple of minutes, or you can soak them in oil (I use olive oil because I don't want to waste my jojoba oil, as there will be bits of polish floating around in the oil afterwards and it shouldn't be put back in the bottle if there's any contaminants in it).

Ugh, I just wrote a friggin' novel, lol. I'm hoping that sharing everything I've done for my damaged nails will help at least one person if they're having issues with their own nails/routine. I cannot stress enough that using jojoba oil and doing warm oil soaks a couple of times a week has been a game changer!

I hope everyone is having a marvelous Sunday, and Happy Painting!

u/JediWarrior79 — 25 days ago

So purrrrdyyyy!

Base Coats: Olive and June Peel Off Base Coat x1, Holo Taco Original Smoothing Base x1

Color: Holo Taco Blue Rizzler x3

Topper: Holo Taco Everything Taco x1

Top Coats: Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle) x1, Holo Taco Glossy Taco x2

I love this color and as always Holo Taco doesn't disappoint! While the color is very pretty on its own and has the crushed holo in it, the smattering of holo glitter and flakies in Everything Taco is the icing on the cake!

This and ILNP are my favorite brands to wear.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

u/JediWarrior79 — 1 month ago

Birthday Nails!

I bought this to wear for my birthday, and this didn't disappoint! The shifts from green to blue to purple are insane! Pics really don't do it justice so I uploaded a video instead. I first tried it with my phone's flashlight on, but for some reason, the color shifts wouldn't cooperate with the light, so I took another one with the flashlight off and it definitely captured the effects! My husband was trying to guess all the color changes it was doing, lol.

I'm not sure how to turn the sound off while recording (new phone, still figuring things out as I go), so I apologize for the background noise of the air conditioner and the television (currently watching Killing Eve).

Base Coat: Essie Strong Start

Color: Missed Shift by Holo Taco

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle)

u/JediWarrior79 — 1 month ago

I am in love with this color!

I feel like the crow in The Secret of NIMH, lol. "Ooooh, it's a sparkly!"

Base coats: Olive and June Peel Off Base Coat x1, Essie Strong Start x1

Color: Bonus Life by Holo Taco x3

Top coat: Holo Taco Glossy Taco x2

This color is so gorgeous! I thought Glitch and Glam was pretty, bit this one is just... WOW!

I also now have 8 Bit Blues and CTRL Cutie, and I can't wait to use them! The glitter and holographic "pixels" are next level gorgeous. Holo Taco definitely knows how to make wonderful glitter polishes!

u/JediWarrior79 — 2 months ago

So Purrrdyyy!

Base Coats: Olive and June Peel Off Base Coat, and Essie Strong Start

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Color: Holo Taco Milky White Shimmer x3

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Topper: Holo Taco Everything Taco x2

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Top Coat: Holo Taco Glossy Taco

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I love this color combo! Very elegant looking with the white shimmer under the awesome sparklies! The color also looks really pretty on its own, but I wish it had a bit more shimmer in it, so I thought to myself, why not top it with something that'll make it pop and really stand out? It kind of reminds me of Micah or one of those quartz crystals.

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I just can't stop admiring my nails, now, lol!

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u/JediWarrior79 — 2 months ago

I love this color!!

This is so SPARKLY!!! So far, it's my favorite.

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Base Coats: Olive and June Peel Off Base Coat x1, Essie Strong Start x1

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Color: Holo Taco Glitch and Glam x3

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Top Coat: Holo Taco Glossy Taco

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This is so amazing how the sparkles and cute little square pixels catch the light! The peel off base coat makes the glitter so easy to remove, too. I'm still getting the hang of the peel off base coat so I'll get a few nails that "pop off" before I'm ready to change colors, but I'm getting much better and they're staying on longer. I'm trying my best not to expose my nails to acetone so much, although I still swipe some on right before I apply my base coats to get rid of soap residue from washing my hands.

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Holo Taco is my favorite brand so far with sparkly polish, but I've been looking at ILNP and... WOW! They have such a huge selection of glitter, holographic, and magnetic polishes, and I want them ALL, lol! I bought Joy from them and I'm waiting with bated breath for it to arrive! I can't wait to wear it and show it off to y'all!

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I hope you are as amazed by this color as much as I am, and wishing y'all a Happy Saturday! ❤️

u/JediWarrior79 — 2 months ago

Question about my nail polish thinner.

Good afternoon! I bought some nail polish thinner from Sally's, and it does have the Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, but it also has an ingredient called Heptane. I haven't used any of the thinner yet, but I was thinking of using it in some of my HT polishes and my Glossy Taco top coat because they've become thick only after 4 uses. Is the extra ingredient ok to use or do I need to get one with just the Butyl Acetate and Ethyl Acetate?

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I'm new to HT and I don't want my beautiful polishes and top coat to become degraded and unusable because they're pricey and I'm on a budget!

Thanks in advance!

reddit.com
u/JediWarrior79 — 3 months ago

My baby girl showing a little blep!

She's my light, the joy in my heart, and my serenity amidst the storms of my life. When I've had a rough day or when I'm not feeling well, she's always there to put a smile on my face. When I get home from work, aching and on the brink of exhaustion, I get into my pajamas, wrap myself in my blanket, and plop my butt on the couch. After I get settled, she's up and in my lap, demanding her scritches and snuggles. I'm all too happy to oblige! Gazing into that cute little face and her gorgeous, green, Cleopatra eyes that has become so dear to me, all of the day's struggles just melt away as she melts into my hands as I give her her scritches and soft, tender pets. 💖

Yeah, I know I'm being sappy, but how can you not while looking at this adorable little cutie?!

u/JediWarrior79 — 3 months ago