Hey there! Joddie here dropping some joy in your life^^ This post was originally going to be entitled, “3 Little Things that Bring Me, Joy”. But as I started writing I noticed that the lion’s share of this post was about DIY manicures. The practice of doing my nails has given me joy through this challenging year. If you’re reading this in 2020, you know what I mean.
I had an idea back in February that I wanted to do something for myself. Something that was beginner-friendly and wouldn’t feel like a drag. The other criterion was that it had to be a skill that would have a positive effect on my self-care.
Getting back to styling my natural hair came to my mind but once bitten twice shy. About three years ago, I fell into the rabbit hole of natural hair care YouTube. The result was some cute styles and my hair falling out in clumps. All because I was using aloe vera and not washing it out. It wasn’t mentioned in any of the videos that I watched. It wasn’t until I started researching my hair loss that I found the answer on the interwebs. Anyway, that was the end of my enthusiasm for styling my natural hair. I digress, so I decided on DIY manicures! Read on to hear the details^^
Painting My Nails
My idea of active meditation is to give myself a manicure. I love the process of starting with my favorite plant-based nail polish remover and ending with applying topcoat to my nails. There’s something about certain shades that just light me up. It never fails to lift my mood when I am feeling sad or low energy. There’s no real connection between the shades that make my heart go pitter-patter. Favs right now are black, vamp (dark red/black), neon, and anything metallic. As a point of interest, I am on the hunt for amazing white nail polish. I own two bottles but I just can’t seem to apply them without streaking.
So far this year, I’ve purchased 35 bottles of nail polish and counting! It’s no coincidence that most of the bottles I own come from woman-owned, small-batch, indie brands: Color Spectrum Nails, Glisten & Glow, Pep Nails, KB Shimmer, Flirtin’, and Taupe Coat. I own 11 bottles of Taupe Coat polish. That’s 30% of my collection!
Word to the wise, if you find a shade that you love on an indie nail polish site, buy it! They are truly made in small batches and may only be available seasonally or as one-offs. If you’re unsure, shoot the owner an email or DM on Instagram. I have found indie brands to be dispensers of immediate and warm customer service.
All of that being said, I do own polish from larger brands: Pacifica (100% Vegan), Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, EssieNail Polish, Nars Endless Night, and my go-to base coat by Seche Clear.
My favorite shades (shh, don’t tell the others LOL) are:
- Melt My Heart (white with a slight hint of pink cream coat)
- Hoochie Mama (neon pink!)
I love this Black-owned/woman-owned small business because of their excellent customer service and amazing products. Be sure to join their rewards program for discounts and benefits such as free shipping. Follow Taupe Coat on Instagram to learn when new shades drop.
Kisses Matter – “It is inspired by the squares of lightweight blue & silver aluminum which wraps Hershey’s Kisses chocolates.” This wonderful glitter polish was created as part of the May 2020 Candy Land theme for Polish Pickup. Polish Pickup features Indie nail polisher creators with a different theme every month. I’ve worn it alone and on top of solid colors. Click here to watch a live application video from Flirtin’!
This is probably my favorite nail polish. I am the proud owner of four bottles. Woot! Woot! It’s currently sold out but if/when she restocks, I’ll be there to swoop up some more! I recently contacted the owner Sham looking to re-up. She so kindly went searching and posted her remaining bottles on for sale!
- Now or Never (Black – Quick-Dry – I wear this one a lot. I love how dark nail polish looks on me)
- Gadget Free (gunmetal gray metallic – this sounds boring. IT IS NOT. It reminds me of the melting Terminator in the movie Terminator 2)
- Sugar Plum Fairytales (lavender with gold pearl. Heads up this polish is heavy on the gold. So if you’re looking for a true lavender polish, this ain’t it. I love metallics though and it’s right up my alley)
Essie.com doesn’t include online shopping but I find it’s a great place to start if you want Essie polish but not yet sure which color and it has all of the seasonal finds!
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, CLICK HERE TO READ MY AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE. THANK YOU^^
Nail Art Inspiration
I usually have at least 2-5 different shades on at a time. I took a free class on Brit & Co called Nail Art Online. I’m not yet doing nail art per se, but I’ve done a few simple designs.
In the early days of the pandemic, lots of nail polish Instagram accounts were holding free tutorials and I picked up some tips there too. Of course, there’s always YouTube.
Nail Instagrammers for Inspo
Betina Goldstein: School is always in session. Go for the tutorials, stay for the creativity!
Cole Nails: When the pandemic is over, I am going to Chicago for two reasons to get my nails done at Cole Nails and to eat at Parachute Chicago. Side note: ordered their Bing Bread cookbook, I haven’t tried to make it yet but it’s on my to-do list.
Sako Nails – Cute and inventive
Unistella: Located in Seoul, South Korea. Dope styles. I wish I knew about this nail salon when I lived in Korea.
ILNP I just like watching their videos for the live nail polish applications
My Nail Care Tools!
I am building this collection of tools slowly and surely. Like the nail polish above, I am only featuring tools that I use and love. It’s rare but I have purchased some duds. Well, that’s not fair. Let’s just say that they weren’t the tools for me^^
Seche Clear Base Coat and Taupe Coat Top Coat
50pcs Nail Art Kit with Pouch – I used the dotted tools in this pouch to make polka-dot nail art. I’ve also used a pen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t regret getting this kit though. When I am ready to experiment with nail art more, it will be waiting. For example, this kit comes with a ton of striping tape. So curious about these but still haven’t tried them out!
KB Shimmer Vegan Clean Up Brush – I had a bit of a learning curve learning how to use this brush to clean stray nail polish off my skin. But I’m gradually getting better at it! A few how-to videos that I’ve seen mention acetone. I only use plant-based nail polish remover from Taupe Coat and it’s been great.
Luxja Nail Polish Carrying Case (holds 30 bottles, I love it but need a bigger case. Or maybe I should just buy one more?)
Rubber Grip Cuticle Pusher and Spoon Nail Cleaner
Of course, I also have a cuticle cutter, nail clipper, and nail files/buffer. A mini-kit was also included in Taupe Coat’s Better at Home Box that I purchased a few months ago.
A few of my nail accessories I purchased in Korea so I didn’t provide links here. If you’re reading this and in Korea, check: Daiso (of course), Olive Young, InnisFree, Emart, HomePlus, etc.,
SKINCARE FOR YOUR HANDS
Okay so I am no expert here but I’ma tell you what works for moi.
#1. Using rubber gloves when I wash the dishes. Keeps my mani fresh longer and also protects my skin.
#2. Hand cream! I have pretty dry skin and I have tried plenty of lotions, creams, balms, etc, etc., For my money the best out there is Neutrogena Emulsion. For reasons, still unclear to me, Neutrogena discontinued Neutrogena Emulsion in the U.S. several years ago. You can not imagine my delight when I found it all over South Korea. If you’re ever in South Korea, get you some! (For a small fortune, it looks like you can find it on eBay.) So what am I using now? Sween 24 Once a Day Moisturizing Body Cream. Yes, both of my favs aren’t technically hand creams but please trust, they work!
#3. Cuticle oil or cuticle cream! I’ve used CND Solar Oil and Unicorn Magic Skincare – Here is an area where I need to be way more consistent. As long as I have a tube or bottle, I will use it daily but fall off when I run out. I actually need to order more cuticle cream like yesterday. Of the two brands listed above, Unicorn Magic is my fav. I had the lemon-scented deluxe cuticle rescue version from Polish Pickup awhile back. Check their Etsy shop for a variety of scents.
But Jo, what else brings you joy?!
So I mentioned that this blog post was originally gonna be about 3 things that bring me joy. Here are the other two! Not in order of importance:
1. Nurse Blake on YouTube. My sister Kesh is a Registered Nurse and put me on to Nurse Blake. He is so hilarious! Just cracks me up and brightens my day. He gives a glimpse into the “day in the life” of nurses. So far, only one of the videos went over my head and I just asked my sister why it was funny. LOL. She’s cool, if you’re an aspiring nurse or just need help decoding nurse speak, holla at Kesh on Instagram.
2. Paranormal Romance Books. I frickin love Nalini Singh’s entire Psy-Changeling/Psy-Changeling Trinity series. I am 19 books in y’all. I read most of the e-books out of order as they became available at the library. Then finally read them in order. On a lark, I downloaded the audio version of Silver Silence and I’ve been hooked on the audiobooks ever since. The entire series uses the same narrator, Angela Dawe. Nalini Singh’s worldbuilding is unparalleled. The series also includes short stories that give minor/major characters more depth. Other paranormal romance authors that I adore: Nadine Mutas, JR Ward, and Talia Hibbert. Strictly speaking, Talia Hibbert only has this one paranormal novella that I’m aware of with more planned. I also highly recommend her Brown Sisters series.
If you got this far, you’re the MVP of reading what was supposed to be a short blog post! As a thank you, I’ll leave you with the “Keep Going Song” by the Bengsons, serendipitously, adrienne maree brown shared it as I was finishing up this blog post on joy.
My God, these lyrics!!
Are you alright? Are you okay?
I hope your body is whole tonight
And if your heart is breaking
I hope it’s breaking open
- from Keep Going Song by the Bengsons
What’s lighting you up and bringing you joy, right now? Please let me know in the comments! 🌺