The Polished Pipette

Hi everyone! I'm back! It's been a while since I posted, I apologize! I started a new job and things have been so busy this summer! Although it's a beautiful sunny Labor Day in Seattle, I'm ready for all things fall. That's why I'm wearing a classic Essie shade "Berry Naughty". This is a deep wine crelly that is perfect for crisp days. Though I really despise this formula, it's very thin and it stains the living daylights out of your cuticle line. But I'm going for it because the color is gorgeous! And here's a couple of nakies as a bonus too! My thumbs are a bit short, they've been peeling so I chopped them down. But the others are growing long and strong!

Hi lovelies! I went somewhere fun the other day. Seattle Nails Supply is a teeny storefront in the international district that sells nail supplies, mainly intended for salons. But it's open to the public and they have crazy good prices! They don't seem to turn over their inventory very often, but if you're looking for older colors from OPI, Essie, China Glaze, and Color Club, this place is a real gem. One of the polishes I picked up is from the brand Ruby Wing and the shade is "Silk Sheets" It is a peach shimmer that changes color in response to UV light, into a coral-tinged rose. As you can see in the first two photos compared to the second two, the color change is subtle but noticeable. I then did a glitter gradient using Zoya "Nahla" which is a gold glitter topper that has some fine holo glitter and larger hex glitter pieces. I love this as a topper, but it was a bit challenging for a gradient since the glitter is quite dense. I'm lov...

Hello lovelies! I recently got to try some new nail polishes by the indie brand, Pahlish. This beauty is called "Electric Lights" and it is a deep magenta jelly with subtle holographic glitter and holo flakies too. With one coat, it is more of a sheer raspberry color, but you really need two coats to get the full dimension of this polish. With two coats, you get nice coverage (a tiny bit of VNL) and the glitter and flakies build up more for a jelly sandwich type effect. It's amazing! I have to say the wear is also great with this one. I used Orly's base and top coats with this polish and I have yet to see a chip after several days of wear. Have you tried Pahlish's polishes before? What are your favorite shades?

Hello lovelies! My apologies for being absent so long! But I have swatches of some fun summery polishes for you today! First up is Color Club - Cosmic Fate. This is a peach/copper linear holographic. It's actually from an older collection, but I saw it swatched by Brianna @simplynails94 and I had to get myself a bottle! It covers nicely in two coats and the finish is divine! Next up is Essie - Bluetiful Horizon. This is a denim blue shimmer, but in some lights, it's almost a grape purple, with a copper shimmer. This is two coats, it goes on a bit darker than I expected, so I might break it out again in the fall. And last but not least, I have Zoya - Marigold and Nahla. Marigold is a bright red with gold shimmer, two coats, but with three it would have covered visible nail line (VNL) a little better. I love this! I used to have a bottle of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "Crushed" that used to be my go to, not sure where that got to. But I am so glad ...

Hello lovelies, I just got back from vacation and I have a couple of manicures to share with you using the Orly "Pastel City" Collection. If you haven't heard of it, Orly's Color Pass is a great way to get access to each of their seasonal collections for the year. I started with the Spring 2018 collection, Pastel City. This collection is six polishes (three cremes, three metallics) in subdued (but anything but boring) pastel shades. With color pass, you get four shipments of six polishes plus a few freebies in each shipment. The price is extremely reasonable, if you use the code "NEONEARTH" you'll get a one year subscription for $109, which works out to $27.25 per box or $4.50 per polish, not including the freebies you get. A total steal! On vacation, my mom and I took a cruise in the Caribbean, so I wanted a lush, tropical mani. For the base, I used "Electric Jungle" a metallic seafoam. Then, I stamped on tropical leaves in Wrenn Polish ...

Happy Earth Day, lovelies! I spent yesterday morning clearing blackberries at Discovery Park, and subsequently needed some fresh paint. To keep the earthy vibe going, I decided to freehand some subtle little leaves as an accent (I'm not going to show you my right hand though, I need some practice on my freehand work). The blue is Revlon "Irresistible" a gorgeous, bright periwinkle creme (2 coats) and the leaves are OPI "Jade is the new black". I topped everything with the iridescent top coat from Urban Outfitters. Springy and bright!

I've had some interest lately in what I do to care for my nails. Over the last couple of years, I've gotten more interested in what my nails need and how to make them look their best. I'm kind of a perfectionist, so chipping polish, frayed cuticles and the like annoy me to no end. So here's what I do to keep my tips in tip-top shape. 1. I am super diligent about moisturizing my nails and cuticles. I use nail/cuticle oil multiple times a day, and when I'm between polishes, I try and moisturize a lot to keep my nails supple. This has made a huge difference! Peeling, brittleness, and hangnails are all (usually) due to insufficient moisture in your nails and surrounding skin. I've tried a few nail oils, but my favorite is Simply Pure from Bliss Kiss. It contains a high concentration of Jojoba wax ester, which is a small molecule that can actually penetrate the nail, unlike many other oils. 2. I try and protect my nails from water as much as I can. And wh...

Goodness, I've been slacking on showing you guys my weekly nails! I have some professional stuff going on this week, so I wanted a manicure that would be fairly conservative, but still be fun and interesting. I went with two coats of Essie's "Mochaccino" which is a brown/gray with subtle silver shimmer. I really like this one because it's a nice nude/neutral but because of the shimmer, it still has some personality. Then I went in with bronze nail striping tape to create the horizontal and vertical stripes. All sealed with a glossy topcoat. Voila!

This is my favorite mani I've done in a while! It's simple but not boring. I am in love with Julep's "Jaydra" it's described as a sheer rose holographic. I wouldn't necessarily call it sheer though. This is two coats, and it's opaque, except in the harshest of light. The holo is subtle, and hard to capture in pics, but when you see it in person, it's gorgeous, the particles are really fine. I followed two coats of this baby up by using a dotting tool to add a dot of Julep's "Daylee"on each nail near the cuticle line. Daylee is a warm gold, but it's almost a duochrome, it has a bottle green shift in some lights. Overall, I'm loving this paint job, it feels feminine and Springy, but kind of a modern take on pink nails.

It's finally starting to look like Spring! For this manicure, I used Essie's "Turquoise and Caicos" which needed three coats to be opaque. I always forget how sheer this one is, but I do love the color. Then I used China Glaze's "White on white" applied to my stamping plates from Born Pretty. I love the lacy effect that the white has on top of pastel colors.

What better way to combat winter blues than glitter? I was really feeling a moody berry nail, so I started with two coats of OPI's Malaga Wine, which is a rich wine/berry creme, that I often wear on its own. But this time, it fell a little flat. I'd been wanting to try the broken glass/flaky holo look, so I layered one coat of China Glaze "Luxe and Lush" over top. Shit yeah! That was the ticket! Finished off with a glossy top coat.

I've been wanting to try my hand (get it? get it?) at this galaxy nails thing. The basic idea is that you paint on a background color, then, using a sponge, dab on other colors creating a swirly, celestial motif. Then you go back in with dots, rhinestones, etc. to create stars. This look relies heavily on glitters, so obviously I'm all in.     First I started out with a base of Zoya's "Ki" which is a shimmery gunmetal shade with an oilslick effect that goes from purple to green to blue, depending on the light. Here's what this looks like with two coats: Then, I dabbed on random lines/swirls/blobs of Essie's "Butler Please," and Julep's "Allona," "Ayonna," and "Magdalene." Using a dotting tool, I added some little stars, and popped a couple of rhinestones on there for good measure, too. Finish off with a coat of fine silver and gold glitter (LA Colors' "Pink Di...

Thanks for coming to visit the Polished Pipette! It's about time that I found a space for writing about two of my favorite things: science and manicures. I intend this site to be somewhere where you can check in and learn what's new in the worlds of biomedical research and nail polish. Somewhere where I can tell you about important strides researchers are making in understanding human disease, and pictures of my bomb-ass manicures. I hope you enjoy! So, first, I'll share my current mani. I've been hearing great things about Zoya polish, and decided to place an order for myself. Pictured is Zoya's "Beth" with an accent nail of "Brighton" Beth is a champagne polish, but in different lights looks purple-gray, with gold shimmer. Brighton is a gold holographic polish. When I saw swatches of Brighton online, I thought it would be just like any other gold glitter polish - I was wrong! It's opaque in two coats and with the holo flecks, it looks al...