Fan Fridays // Don't Go Topless

On your nails I mean! Don't let your manicure go topless!

As you may know, my fave accessories stores are Claire's & Icing.  In fact, I will hardly buy any accessory from any where else.  I just love their aesthetic & their prices.  Usually, a quick stop includes buying way to many nail polishes (as they are always buy one, get one 50% off).  Then a quick look around the sale section, for sale jewelry, what-nots, & clearance polishes.

Not only do they have vibrant & awesome colors (especially their neon ones for this neon spring trend) but their top coat is amazing.  Seriously, their nail polish is no chip!  Even the top coat is no chip!

Their clear polish is both a base & a top coat.  It runs about $4.50 a bottle, cheaper than the good stuff and really doesn't chip.  Have I said it doesn't chip yet?

The best part is that it will make any polish no chip.  Because it creates such a good seal around the colored polish, you can use it even with cheap brands.  I type all day at work so I hated that sometimes my nails would chip right after painting them.  Its been better since I cut my nails short both for pottery & because it seems to be the trend.

Lately I've been prying up carpet, tack strips, & little staples along with hammering, painting, and plain old moving crap around in the new office.  Here's a sneak peak into what's been going down:

See that manicure? That manicure lasted all day.  From ripping up tack strips to moving things around I had near perfect nails the whole day. (I ripped up 3 rooms of that tack strip + the big hallway..don't mess with me!)  I was excited! This is the best test of all of these polishes.  This demolition was on Wednesday,  & it's Friday now....I still have on this manicure with only a little chipping on the free edge of my nail.  So this stuff is awesome!  Here's what I used:

Icing's Do-It-All Top Coat, Wet n Wild's fastdry in Saved by the Blue, & Icing's Electric Saphire glitter

I applied a thin base coat, making sure that I covered the nail evenly.  Then I started in with the fastdry.  The color is super great (perfect for my Something Blue accessory from this post) & vibrant.  It is a true royal blue.  The only downside to this polish seems to be the quick dry property.  Applying too thin of a coat left the tips of my nail with no polish.  So being heavy handed isn't a bad thing with this polish.   It did dry fast too, even with a bit of a gloppy mess I did on my right hand. My left hand was better.  Since I am all about glitter, I put the Electric Saphire next, which is also no chip. I finished it off with a nice coat of the Icing Top Coat making sure to seal up the edges with a swipe of polish near the tip of my finger.  This is an extra little barrier.

I am totally satisfied with this manicure & these products.  The Icing Top Coat makes me completely confident in whatever polish I wear under it.  When I saw this Wet n Wild display, I was a bit skeptical because I remembered my mother's WnW collection of pinks & reds that always seemed to chip.  I have to mention though, that the WnW polish looked like it may hold up on it's own...so don't just take my word as gospel.  I got mine at Walgreens for I think about $1.99 but other WnW products were on sale for .69 cents.  Are you kidding!! I picked up like 3 other colors!

So, I am just saying that Icing's Top Coat is something I swear by.  In fact I gave my own bottle to Zach's mother after recommending the L'Oreal color Versailles Romance as a good neutral pink nail color.  I am going to need to pick another bottle up!

If you work with your hands & are looking for an affordable top coat that comes in a huge bottle, stop by Icing & pick up their no chip top coat.  Also, style Sodalite Blue this spring with Wet n Wild's Saved by the Blue.  And don't go topless!


ps.  I wanted you to know that I did this post out of my own volition.  I love to find products & recommend them.  So as per this morning's post, I just wanted to let you know that no one asked me to do this...I just wanted to share with you some awesomeness.