The Polished Pipette

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 fallen into a trap. It's a tasty, spicy trap, but it's still a trap. You see, I've been observing a lot of interest lately in turmeric, turmeric lattes, "golden milk," etc. and the link between turmeric and human disease. My thinking goes, "Turmeric is very buzzy right now, and turmeric lattes taste like tasty, spicy chai lattes, so I'll order one and read the lit on it later." So now I'm going to do what I probably should have done a few months ago and wade into the literature and give you my thoughts on turmeric and whether or not it's really the Alzheimer's-fighting superfood that it claims to be (spoiler alert: It isn't.) Turmeric is a golden-hued spice often used in curries, lending them a beautiful sunny, mustard color. You usually hear about turmeric in the context of Alzheimer's prevention, but it has also been praised as a therapeutic for ailments ranging from erectile dysfunction to cancer to hirstutism (yes, ...

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...

For my first science-related post, I want to introduce you to exosomes. Exosomes are small (~30-100 nanometers) spheres that are produced by cells. Many different kinds of cells can produce them, and they can do all kinds of things, including carrying proteins, DNA, or RNA to neighboring or distant cells. Think of them basically as cell mail, carrying important messages between cells. The cargo of the exosome differs depending on what kind of cell the exosome came from, and what kind of cell its target is. For example, exosomes from cancer cells can contain enzymes that break down the surrounding environment and make it easier for cancers to spread. (1) While exosomes from other cell types carry signals that stoke the immune system in response to diseases like sepsis (2). Now that we have the understanding that cells use exosomes to affect the behavior of other cells, researchers are trying to utilize the exosome system to affect cell behavior. Because exosomes are made by our cells ...

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...