Review: OPI Ridge Filler

OPI's Ridge Filler! Where should I begin with this amazing product? Well first I should describe my nails. Before I got this product I would always notice tiny lines and dents when I painted my nails. I have very weak nails so if I layer on the coats of nail polish there is more of a chance of the paint chipping within a day or less. So when I first heard about a Ridge Filler abut two years ago I just HAD to put it on my birthday list. And that loved bottle I got for my 19th birthday has been the same one I use with EVERY SINGLE manicure for over a year and a half. I had to thin it out once a few months ago, but other than that I don't have any downsides. I apply this after OPI's Natural Nail Base Coat and before any nail lacquer. I used to apply it as a base coat, and I haven't seen any difference between using a real base coat first or using the ridge filler as a base coat. It smooths out all my lines and ridges and I really notice when I don't use it. It doesn't have any strong smell, and if you ask me, it has less of a scent than all my other polishes. Although I haven't tried any other ridge fillers, I would highly recommend this one. Unless of course you were born with perfectly smooth nails! Haha, don't we wish?
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars and two thumbs up!

The middle nail on the two above pictures has ridge filler and one coat of OPI's Miami Beet. The two side nails have just one coat of polish

Left nail: one coat of polish, right nail: ridge filler and one coat of polish.

Pinky and middle finger: Ridge filler and one coat of polish. Index and right finer: one coat of polish.

Bare nail

One coat of Ridge filler. You can really see the difference!

Essie's "sand tropez"

I just HAD to do another Konad design before I went to bed last night. At first I tried the plaid design, but I couldn't get it straight and my nails looked like a wonky mess. So I went simple. I used Sand Tropez by Essie. It has become one of my favorite summer nail polishes. In the fall muddy browns we very "in" and to me this is the lighter, much more summery version. Over that on my ring finger I used Zoya's "Robyn" with Konad image plate M60. I couldn't be more pleased with the way it came out!

Essie's "braziliant" with a few additions!

 Finding Braziliant was quite the wild goose chase. My boyfriend promised to get it for me, so after visits to about 20 different Wallgreens, CVS's, Ulta's, and Rite Aids we finally found it. And not just one..the final place we thought to check, Harmon Beauty Supply, had about 30 bottles! Anyway, it was well worth it! It's a gorgeous orange with the slightest orange/silver/gold shimmer. I applied two coats, but after one it was opaque enough to leave it be.

A little plain, right? So after that I put some of OPI's Silver Shatter on half the nail partly because I knew it would look nice, and partly because the day before my mom was complain about my Silver Shatter not looking nice and I had to prove her wrong :p

Looove it! What I love even more is that a few hours later my Konad nail stamping kit came in the mail! So of course I had to try out the little flower design!

This was the flower off plate M60. I was surprised as to how easy it was and will probably be ordering many more plates soon! As well as doing another manicure tonight.

So lets talk about something I love...

My dogs. I could possibly argue that no one out their loves their dogs as much as I love my two, but I'm not a confrontational person. My two pups, Nibby and Iason mean the world to me. When I am at college I come home to see them because I miss them more than my home. They have such different personalities not only from each other, but from all other dogs. Iason is a very independent individual who will only give you the time of day when he feels its appropriate, but deep down he is always longing for attention and loves everyone unconditionally. Nibby, on the other hand, will show you outright just how much he loves to be around you with endless kisses and snuggles. Together they create the best pair of puppies anyone could ever ask for.

They are both "rejects" from The Seeing Eye Puppy Raising Program. Nibby had a fear of disembodied voices while Iason pulled too hard (and still does..). But now they are happy household pets who bring joy to my and my family's lives daily. Even though them going on to guide a blind person would have been one of the greatest things, I believe that these two, out of the six we raised were destined to be part of my life for longer than the 16 months. And boy am I happy that their little quirks caused them to be pets forever!

Essie's "bbf boy best friend"

Here are some swatches of Essie's "bbf boy best friend". The color is a creamy light pink neutral. It went on quite smoothly, and took three coats for full coverage. I like how the white of the nails is still slightly visible giving the effect of a french.

On a side note, I need to call for jury duty in about 15 minutes. I'm quite impartial to the idea of being a juror. Part of me would really like the experience, and part of me would rather keep working. We shall see what part gets the best of me!

Everything Happens for a Reason

I have always been one to practice what I preach. One of the ideals that I always remind my friends and family of is that "everything happens for a reason". Sometimes it's to reassure a friend that a rejection is a stepping stone to the next, most likely better, relationship. Or sometimes it's to reassure a family member that a bad grade on a test will cause them to study harder and in the long run that grade will cause them to have an A in the class. Well today I witnessed that everything does happen for a reason. I was taking pictures of my jewelry for about an hour and when I had finally finished getting shots of just the right angle for every piece I uploaded them to my computer...or so I thought. After I deleted my backup on the memory card thinking "oh, I don't need these copies anymore!" I realize that only about twenty of my 400+ pictures had been copied over... Why? Well I really don't know, but I was FURIOUS. Not only would I need to retake all the pictures but it has just started down pouring, hailing and the lightening was so close to our house that the thunder was practically heard before you saw the lightening. As I was looking out my window hoping that the rain would die down so I could go back out and photograph my boyfriend logged on skype. I was whining and complaining to him about how I was so upset about how mad I was when he reminded me that everything happens for a reason, and that when the rain went away I would probably get even better pictures. At the moment I didn't accept that and once the rain cleared a still unhappy me went out and re-photographed my jewelry. After another hour or so I went back to download the pictures and to my amazement they came out great! I had better ideas of where and what to photograph, and the little raindrops left on the leaves added even more interest to my earrings and bracelets! My boyfriends comments were still ringing in my mind and boy oh boy was he right!

If I ever have to go through something like that again I definitely will remind myself that yeah it really sucks right now...but its for a reason. Even though I doubt my computer and memory card decided together "hey these aren't Haley's best pictures. She can do much better so lets test her!" Sucking it up, waiting, and retaking all the pictures was well worth it.

Starting Off

My name is Haley and I am your typical atypical girly girl. My passions are animals, makeup and of course creating and wearing jewelry. When I’m not busy attending college for Animal Science I am either creating new makeup looks, or dabbling my hand in all things fashion.
I've created this blogger to blog about my everyday life and to share my jewelry creations and other life moments with whoever takes the time to peruse.