imPress Nails

I'm always looking for new products and brands to try on my nails. I've heard a lot of great things about the imPress stick on nails so I thought I'd give it a go. 

The kit comes with everything you'd need: 24 nails in 12 sizes, a mini nail file, and a cleansing pad. 

It also comes in this cute faux nail polish bottle that contains all of the materials. 

I followed the instructions to lay out each nail to be sure I had the right size for each. I started with my pinkies on each hand and worked towards my thumbs. They're very easy to apply and the plastic strip on the back comes off easily. Once I had the nails on about six fingers I started to really dislike them, but to give it a fair shot I finish applying the nails. 

Here is what they look like finished: 

Once I had all of the nails applied my gut reaction was to rip them off immediately. They feel thick and very fake. They are also impossible to file down and are much, much longer than I'd wear my nails normally so I feel very awkward typing and taking the photos.

They feel like those fake nails you wore when you played dress up as a child. Honestly, I don't understand the hype over these unless I'm doing it completely wrong. On the plus side, they make doing your nails much faster than normal as there is no waiting for polish to dry or clean up around the edges. 

However, I have already ripped the nails off. They do pull off cleanly, but I pulled them off about 5 minutes after I applied them, so that might make a difference. My nails are a bit sore from the glue on the back of the nails. 

Looking forward to trying new products, but I will definitely steer clear of these from now on. 

Sorry imPress! 

O.P.I. Ink

What better way to kick things off then with a polish review! 

I made a little trip to Ulta after work today to pick up a new fall color. Enter: O.P.I. Ink 

Ink is a deep purple with what I would qualify as shimmer (as opposed to glitter) in slightly lighter shades of purples, blues, and a hint of pink. When reflected in the light it glistens. In dim lighting it looks almost black. In the bottle it seems like a very pretty dark purple, but when applied it is a much more interesting color. 

Here it is after one coat:  

I applied two more thin coats to achieve this final color: 

In more artificial lighting it looked a bit metallic: 

I sealed the color with Sally Hanson's InstaDry Top Coat. 

The polish is very easy to work with and isn't gloopy (yep, I said it) or finicky. In general, I tend to shy away from O.P.I. polishes because I normally think the formulation leaves something to be desired. In my past experience they have been watery and hard to work with, but this one was a breeze. Thumbs up for O.P.I. getting the formula right in this color. It is quickly becoming my favorite fall color. 

What's your favorite fall color? 

Welcome!

To get you warmed up... 

Oh look - you've found yourself at Lace&Dinosaurs! Here you will discover little snippets of my life and some of my favorite things. Among those being, but not limited to: nail polish, crafts, books, organization, travel, and all things girly (and nerdy). I was inspired to start a blog for a few different reasons. Reason #1, my wonderful roommate, Aravinda, has a food blog that is simply delicious. You should go check it out at: http://linguiniandcolette.blogspot.com/. Reason #2 comes from my friend Jenny. She has suggested that I start a nail polish blog due to my (slightly) obsessive love fest with polish. Finally -  Reason #3 is for Genna - my BFF and aspiring writer.

So - now you know why I'm here. As I work through the things that are interesting to me, you might figure out why you're here too. You may even get inspired to start a blog of your own! Go forth, my fellow amateur writer friends. The wanna-be writer inside of me encourages you :)