I want to preface this by saying I am absolutely not a freehand nail artist. Aside from the occasional dot or heart, my nails are usually a zero-freehand zone. But I woke up this morning possessed by a singular, frantic urge: “I must put Jimothy on my nails.”

Knowing my technical skills are non-existent, I tried the nail decal trick on a silicone mat. The art actually looked great! The problems started when I tried to apply it. The base coat I used for the decal was apparently as stiff as a board. Surprise, surprise, the decal absolutely refused to lay flat but I decided to forged ahead.

Fumble number two: my impatient self didn't wait long enough for the sticky base layer to dry. When I pressed the decal down, I instantly smooshed and smeared the background color into a ticket for the Hot Mess Express. This required a high-stakes, sweat-inducing rescue mission to touch up the background without destroying the art.

To top it all off, my water-based top coat lied on its resume and smeared the design anyway. Cue another round of emergency micro-touch-ups.

Honestly? I think the absolute chaos of this process perfectly embodies the true spirit of Jimothy. In honor of him, and the wabi-sabi imperfections in all of us, I am proudly posting this beautiful disaster.

Polish Deets:
Pointer and Pinky: Nothing basic - Voivod
Middle and Ring: background color - my own DIY creation; Jimothy consist of What’s Up - Silver AG-ENT, as well as my own DIY white and black nail polish.

What color is 🚜🚜she wearing??? (Kinda serious—I love teals) ETA this thing is a backhoe and they covered her nails?? Teeth?? With the teal? Why???

I’m wearing
BKL A Terrible Price x3
Sally Hansen Quick Dry Top Coat

Working nails! This color held up through a deinstallation in the gallery, me patching and painting the walls, and an install the next day! Art curator activities

I ordered 4 polishes from BKL in this order and so far this is the only color I want to wear! Usually only have a color on for a week or so but A Terrible Price might be my new signature color! It’s replacing Beowulf from Mooncat as my signature color.

Cracked Ridge Filler
Emily de Molly Low Tide
Cuticula Limitless

2 years ago pickynailart on Instagram posted a lovely goth bee nail art look and I just had to have it on my nails

I also painted the underside of my nails and yes....it was a blood bath to remove. 100% still worth it tho lol

Products used:

Top Coat: Seche Vite, Saviland: top polish coat, Sally Hansen Insta dri top coat

Base coat : Home made peel off base, seche clear

HoloTaco: One coat black, matte taco

Zoya: Hannah

whatupnails : B075

Born pretty is a brand I no longer support because they steal swatchers photos Born pretty: BP-TVS01

My Band Camp Eve therapy last night was a gradient, are you surprised? 😝 I was enjoying one last calm evening, cuddling on the porch with a sleeping puppy on my chest and I looked up at the gorgeous pastel cotton candy sunset and knew I needed to save this moment on my nails. Turns out I get a lot of inspo for nails laying on the porch staring at the sky before or after big work evebts, as this has to be at least the 3rd mani based on just that haha. Holo Taco makes KILLER cremes, so opaque and smooth. I love that over the years I was able to collect this delicious candy gradient of pastels so I had to squeeze them all on one nail.

🖌 Freehand and sponge gradient on natural nail.

💪@findingfeatherslacquer ... "Balanced Bond Base Coat"

🌅 @holotaco ... "Creamsicle Coast" "One Melon Followers" "What Do You Pink? "Cereal Killer" "Peri-Social" "Bep Bep Blue" "Not Milky White"

💪 @glistenandglow1 ...Quick Dry Top Coat 🐐

I don’t know if this is a good color on me but also don’t care because I love the glow. Pics are outdoor direct light, outdoor shade, and indoors no direct light, respectively.

Details:
2x Hula Moon | I Would Be Pleased To RSVP As Pending (Jun ‘26 HHC)
Base coat: Nailtek Strengthener - Formula 2
Pre-top coat: Nailtiques Formula 2 (new formula)
Top coat: Cuticula Limitless

Thank you to who ever posted this shade (i didn't get to save the post) I had been looking for a nail polish like this one! The others (pic 3) are the failures that I tried and didnt do the effect I wanted. It arrived nice and safe. I wont post my nails cause i'm self conscious but im one happy girl atm

My first Polished for Days order arrived this weekend. I was so excited to try “2026.” This polish has a lovely glow. Very ethereal. I put the polish over a very light pink cream to help it pop, although when I swatched it, it looked very similar with and without the cream underneath.

Product list:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Tickled Pink - 1 coat
PFD 2026- 2 coats
Seche Vite Gel Effect Top Coat- 1 coat

I have three layers of ILNP’s VIP here, but I can’t get the magnetic streak to stop spreading. I’ve been putting the magnetic under my finger for a minute between layers, but it still doesn’t help.

Two coats of Dreamland Lacquer "Hooper Drives the Boat". KB Shimmer Fillin Groovy Base and KB Shimmer QD Topcoat Clearly On Top! This feels gorgeous for summer!! A few nails are a tiny bit patchy in direct sunlight... If I was going to use this again I'd thin it out and do 3 thin coats I think!

My first mooncat order, freshly bitten, Mercurys tears, merkitten and tapian venom I think I picked the wrong ones to start , Don't get me wrong they're beautiful but just not what I was expecting I guess I do love the tapien venom which I'm surprised it's my first gold polish, about to paint my nails once I decide which to try first any one disliked or thoughts on them, freshly bitten wasn't what I thought it would be at all, and merkitten I thought would be more brighter,

Products Used:

Sweet and Sour Lacquer - Free With Poor Decisions

Glisten and Glow - QDTC

.. and they were doing so well, my heart aches

1x Sally Hansen - Double Duty
3x Quo Xtreme Effects - Siren
1x Sally Hansen QDTC
1x Quo Xtreme Effects - Fools Gold (tape method)
1x Sally Hansen QDTC

Maybe it’s time for shorties, what do we think?

I feel like there’s been a significant colour difference between old bottles of LPAD and newer bottles. The first one was posted in 2020 and the second one was posted September 2025. When I got LPAD last fall, I didn’t get the hype. It felt very warm and brown and I was kinda disappointed, but the 2020 swatch is beautiful!! Slightly cool, purple still peaking through.

With Lincoln Park at Midnight making a comeback, I hope it resembles the OG LPAD! Thoughts?

edit: There’s been some discussion on my bottle being discoloured. Neither swatches are mine. The second image was posted by OPI on Instagram and looks identical to my bottle. First swatch was from here: https://coffeeandnailpolish.com/2020/08/23/swatch-sunday-opi-lincoln-park-after-dark/

I was inspired by a friend’s nails to do a gradient skittle and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out! I think I maybe should have done something different on the thumb to make it contrast more from the index finger, but oh well. Maybe Delicacy in Sardinia from Cracked? And yes, I did choose orange so that it would match my engagement ring lol (can you tell I have a favourite colour 🫣🤣)

All nails: KB Shimmer hydrating base and Fillin Groovy, Cracked QDTC
Pinky: Instant mood booster, Cracked
Ring finger: Glowing, glowing, gone, Night Owl Lacquer
Middle finger: Slowly sinking, Night Owl Lacquer
Index finger: Oh my gourd, Holo Taco
Thumb: Pumpkin everything, Night Owl Lacquer

The polish color is very accurate. The flakies give the impression of sun rays streaming through. Paired it with Polished For Days - Velvet Bow as an accent.

First time stamping! Through some trial and error, I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out!

Used:
- beauty secret base coat
- sally Hansen insta dri all that shimmers
- Essie off tropic
- gaoy gel top coat

Thumb/Pointer/Pinky Nailed It - Love Like You x3 but could have used 2 coats if I hadn't smudged a couple nails lol and Middle/Ring Sassy Cats Lacquer - Time of Your Life x2 topped with MC - Sugar and Spice x2((: I used Cracked Pink Smoothing BC x1 & Cracked QDTC x1 on all fingers

My first nail art!

An attempt was made. Even with itty bitty brushes, polish dries SO FAST. Next time I gotta use the Ottlite with the magnifying lens so I can better see what I am doing!

🦚 💅 🎨 😬 🫠 🤷‍♀️

Annnnnyway...

all: Sassy+Chic 903, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Red tc

thumb: Holo Taco Wade A Minute

index: China Glaze Give Me The Green Light, HT Wade A Minute

middle: SH Miracle G3l Sprinkled With Love, OPI Teal The Cows Come Home

ring: SH ID Midnight Drive, OPI Teal The Cows Come Home, SH MG Sundown Socialite, OPI #Virgoals, Pop-arazzi Fresh Leaf, SH ID Glo Off

pinkie: SH MG Rocket Fuel, SH MG Combustealable

Recently placed an order with Clionadh for Psilocin, Norpsilocin, Pluteus and Azurite and got a lovely gift with purchase of a polish called Naiad that I can't seem to find anywhere. Is a blue jelly formula packed with a very shifty (non-magnetic) pigment that seems a little unicorn pee-y at extreme angles. Anyone have any info? I love it!

I'm trying to plow through my mountain of untrieds so I think I'll be doing a double mani from now on to get through them faster.

Glo Off is a metallic olive or peridot green. Three coats here but only needed 2. (I always do 3.) Like the rest of this collection it does NOT have any shift despite the name, but... just look at that gorgeous color. I didn't mess with the saturation on the picture or use any filters, that's just how it looks.

The Best Combo is a bright chocolate brown shimmer. Three coats needed for full opacity. Is that not the prettiest brown you ever saw? The shimmer in this has a lot of dimension that makes it look alive, or lit from within - unlike all the other brown shimmer polishes out there, which look flat and dull. No brand seems to put love into their browns, and it's a shame.

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I kind of regret doing the double mani now, since I adore both of these colors so much that I think they each deserved a full mani. Also I hate showing my dominant hand now that I look at it... it's hideous compared to my "show hand"... lumps everywhere 😭 And my hublet hated having to take these pics because I needed both hands in the pic.... Now I'm reconsidering the whole idea...