u/bluespruce5 — reddlx

Disappointed in Juliette 😔

Orly Bonder ➡️ INLP Juliette x 2 coats ➡️ Nail Envy Strengthener ➡️ Essie Gel Couture Top Coat

I'm still pretty new to ILNP but love their catalog and have a wishlist a mile long. This is the second of their polishes that I've tried. The first was Bluebell. What I found out from those manicures was that, while Bluebell is too cool of a color for me, I really liked the polish consistency, found the application to be very easy, and thought the shimmer was beautiful. All in all, a strongly positive intro to ILNP.

I've so admired all of the elegant sparkly manicures using Juliette that I've seen online. I was so excited to get my new bottle of Juliette yesterday! I've used other brands' metallics and glitters and didn't anticipate any difficulties.

But today's manicure was a tedious, difficult slog with a disappointing result. Before I could use the polish at all, I had to thin it a lot. Then I was adding 10-12 drops of thinner and shaking the bottle hard every 4 or 5 nails for both coats, far more thinner than I've ever used in a single mani before. And it wasn't enough -- the polish would get so gloppy, so fast.

It would have ultimately been fine if I'd been really happy with the result. As fast as the polish would thicken, though, this is not a great manicure -- it looks more amateur-ish than my manis usually do. Now that it's done, I'll enjoy the lovely sparkles and color. But the results-to-effort ratio with this polish was unsatisfyingly low, and I'm not sure I'll want to fool with it again and will likely avoid similar polishes in their catalog.

I'm wondering if anyone else has found this or similar ILNP polishes challenging to work with, and whether you've got any tips, aside from having a full bottle of thinner at hand?

u/bluespruce5 — 4 days ago

▲ 76 r/ILNP

ILNP dupe for EdM Sunset Over the Bay?

I love the color shifts in this polish (Sunset Over the Bay) by Emily de Molly. If you know of an ILNP shade or combo of shades to get this effect, I'd really appreciate the info!

u/bluespruce5 — 6 days ago

▲ 10 r/lacqueristas

Beginner-friendly nude polishes?

I love nude polishes but really struggle with the various OPI nude shades I've tried, whether it's with one of their Nail Envy strengtheners or, even more, with their regular polishes. They streak and look uneven on my nails. So often, I end up using an unplanned coat of glitter polish to hide all of tthe imperfections. I love glitters but want them to be a choice, not a necessity for camouflaging streaks 😭

I always assumed it was my user error, but then I read an online comment from someone else who had trouble with an OPI nude about how some brands' polishes are more "self-leveling" and more forgiving than others, but it didn't mention or recommend any other brands to try.

I know that a gorgeous result is possible with OPI nudes. But, for my inexperienced hands, is there a brand you'd recommend as being more forgiving with nude shades?

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u/bluespruce5 — 1 month ago

▲ 4 r/concept2

Any good SkiErg video series out there?

I love my RowErg, and my usage of it has been helped tremendously by good rowing channels on YouTube. In particular, John Steventon's Rowalong channel keeps me motivated and engaged, far beyond what I'd do strictly on my own, and really helps me stay on track with stroke rates, pace, and form. If not for rowing videos, my machine would be a sad dust collector LOL.

I'd like to try some sessions on my gym's SkiErg, and I'm wondering if there are any series of video sessions out there for the SkiErg. I've searched online but have found only a few, shorter instructional or demonstration videos. Anybody know of any good training videos geared to the SkiErg, especially a collection or series of them that includes sessions of varying lengths and intensities?

If something like that's not available, how do you SkiErg users stay engaged and consistent for longer sessions? I could really use some suggestions!

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u/bluespruce5 — 2 months ago