Manicure Monday – 11/5 – China Glaze Gelaze Recycle
Anyone watching V for Vendetta today? I will be! Does anyone actually paint their nails on Mani Monday? I don’t! I don’t tend to do much exciting nail art these days, but my nails are almost always painted. I usually paint over the weekend so they’re fresh for the work week. It follows that I’d start a Manicure Monday series; the content basically creates itself!
Before
The Friday before Halloween, I did a simple black set with Sensationail Midnight Rendezvous (which I used in my glitter gel nail tutorial) On my ring fingers, I slapped a coat of Essie Matte About You topcoat for a nearly-no-effort accent nail. I don’t wear black often, and was initially like, “Ah! This is so stark,” but by the end of the ninth day, I found myself rather fond. Yesterday, though, I decided it was time for a different color.
Surprisingly had a devil of a time removing that set. Usually, I can pop my gel polish off fairly easily, but this took coaxing and inspired a bit of swearing. Anyway, after I removed the black gel, I slapped on some Solar Oil and let my nails rest for a while, lacquer-free, while I got some stuff done around the house.
Picking a Color
I found myself torn between the new-to-me nude shade I wore before Midnight Rendezvous (posted on Insta on 10/14), China Glaze Gelaze Awakening, and what I ultimately chose, China Glaze Gelaze Recycle.
I’ve written about my love of Recycle before. Grey is fantastic for Autumn, absolutely counts as a neutral, and isn’t as harsh as black but is still on the edgy side.
Application
The picture above is:
- Standard gel prep (buff, dehydrate, prime)
- Two coats of China Glaze Gelaze Recycle
- Two coats of Gelish Top it Off
I use a Sensationail USB LED lamp to cure my gel polish.
Bonus – Pedicure
I’ve been living in OPI I’m Not Really a Waitress (a 12+ year favorite!) since the beginning of October. When it grows out enough, I take it off, treat myself to a full-blown pedicure, and reapply. I will continue wearing this until December, at which point I’ll switch to either China Glaze Ruby Pumps or a cocktail of I’m not Really a Waitress and Ruby Pumps (because it. is. divine!)