Day 4 of Short Nails

I'm having nail polish attention deficit disorder (NPADD) - well not really, I wouldn't want to make light of something like ADD for real, but I am having a problem.  Nothing looks right!

I've tried several, including colors that are DARK, which I've never liked on short nails. Still not sure I like them.

Here are a few of the things I've tried so far.  Since I haven't left most of them on for more than a few hours, I didn't do clean up. And add to that the fact that I tend to do more deep cleaning when I have short nails, putting my hands into solvents, etc.  Makes for some pretty rough-looking hands! (But my house is much cleaner!)

NYC Skin Tight Denim

OPI My Private Jet (Non-Holo)

OPI Tickle My France-y

Orly French Tip White (With Orly French Manicure Pink)

Nfu-Oh 64

Butter London All Hail the Queen

Essie Sole Mate

Essence Movie Star

Borghese Euro Green

Orly Winter Wonderland

Finger Paints Holly-Wood Frame

Chanel Graphite

*sigh* And after today with the smelly Scented Revlon Passion Fruit that gave me a headache, I just went back to the Nfu-Oh 64 and called it a day.

Scented Nail Polish

Well, I gave them a shot.  NOT because they were scented, but because I was liking some of the colors.  The result?  A sick headache.  Yep, even though, initially, the smell wasn't unpleasant, the longer I wore it, the worse it got until BAM!  Headache.

Oh well, it's not like there aren't plenty of polishes and colors out there without these.

But the Revlon Passion Fruit was so pretty!

Revlon Passion Fruit (scented)

Scented Nail Polish - FAIL.

Essie Sew Psyched vs. Zoya Gemma

Here's a side-by-side comparison of Essie Sew Psyched and Zoya Gemma.  As you can see, Zoya Gemma is brighter, with a little more yellow and more hints of the bluish shimmer inside while Essie Sew Psyched's shimmer is not as blue and not as apparent.  It's also a little bit "muddier."

Essie Sew Psyched and Zoya Gemma - One Coat

Essie Sew Psyched and Zoya Gemma - Two Coats

Chop Chop!

Well it's that time again.  Time to chop off all my nails.  I refuse to file them and I suck at trimming them, so when they start to get too long (or if I break one) I get out my trusty old pair of big scissors and chop chop!

So today, I wore one of my all-time favorite polishes, OPI DS Extravagance, since it will be a few weeks before I can wear it again. I have a weird, I am sure totally unfounded, dislike of darker colors on my nails when they're short because it makes them look stubbier than they already look all chopped off.

OPI DS Extravagance

So, when I got home, I set about trying to find the perfect polish for my Mannequin Hands. I narrowed it down to 4 out of the 10 or 12 that I have that *could* qualify.  Sally Hansen Cafe Au Lait, Sally Hansen Without a Stitch, Clarins 225 and Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge.

First, a look at my nails, pre-chop and post-polish.  Suddenly it all becomes clear why I can't just leave them bare.

As you can see, it's NOT a shade of orangey/yellow that is complimentary AT ALL.  And yes, with very rare exceptions, I use a base coat!  Ugh.

I tried the four I mentioned and as I look at the photo now, I realize I probably made the wrong choice, but it's late and I'm not re-doing them tonight.

R to L: RBL Grunge, Clarins 225, Sally Hansen Cafe Au Lait and Sally Hansen Without a Stitch

I can see now that Clarins 225 would probably have been the better, closest to mannequin hands, choice. But I chose RBL Grunge.

RBL Grunge

Okay, so it's time!  CHOP CHOP!!!

And Voila!

RBL Grunge

I'm probably going to try to dispel the no dark polishes on short nails notion for this growth period.  I'm probably going to fail.  But ya never know!

TTtttttttttttthat's all, Folks!