So…what is the Monday Poll?
Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?
The Nail Polish Edition!
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Glitter finish…but I DO NOT look forward to taking it off, since glitter is such a pain to remove, ugh! I have no patience for it.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Cream, please.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Skip the base coat. Top coat, at least for me, makes more of a difference in wear time.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Jade and pastel greens, baby blues, teals, purples (all shades!), and nude shades of peach, rosy taupe, pink and beige.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Black, red and orange.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
Honestly, I can’t remember. I think it might’ve been the Gel Manicure Incident from 2018?
Geez, that was a while ago!
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left, or right hand?
I always use my left hand to paint my right hand nails first, because when I was a teenager I read an article in a magazine (remember those?!) that said you should always start by painting the nails on your non-dominant hand first.
I don’t remember the logic behind it, but I think it had something to do about lessening your chances for smudging.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
I used to be a “yea,” but now I’m a “nay.”
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Actually, I have! They come in handy if you have an event or something to go to and you run out of time to paint your nails.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
2. Cream or shimmer?
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
P.P.S. Hope you’re having a nice day so far. ? How was your Fourth? Camping at Clear Lake was fun. I watched a family of deer foraging wild blackberries by our campsite yesterday morning, and it very nearly brought me to tears.
1.Matte or glitter finish? Matte but when baby girl and I do our nails together, there’s glitter!
2. Cream or shimmer? cream
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? I use both but if I had to skip one, it’d be base
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? pink nudes, pastels and lately with temps getting higher, I’ve been doing bright pinks, orange and neon yellow
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? dark colors. I gravitate to them during the winter if I have an event to go to but otherwise, I’m in hibernation mode and just clip and clean, no color
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? at least a couple of years ago for a wedding
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? left because I’m a righty and i know at least one hand will look really good!
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? nay unless baby girl wants glitter
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? I LOVW kiss nails. They’re infinitely better than the Lee press ons I grew up trying to wear.
We finally were able to rebook our camping trip in a couple of weeks! Our res was cancelled a month into the SIP so we were excited that we were able to secure our spots! Clear Lake is fun! Happy to hear that you had a wonderful time!
Hi Jae!
That’s awesome about your rebooking. Where are you guys headed? We’re going to Collins Lake at the end of the July.
Oh, and re: Clear Lake. Have you guys ever camped at the State Park? We liked it a lot and we’ll be back eventually.
We’re headed to a new to us place, Spring Lake Regional Park in Sonoma County. We usually go to Memorial County Park but they’re closed due to construction updates throughout the facility. That’s a pretty cool place that I recommend checking out! We have been to Clear Lake when the boys were younger and had a great time! The state park is clean and had a lot of open space for the boys to scooter around. Lake Collins is another annual place we go to with our fam friends and that’s scheduled for Aug, before school starts up again!
I just looked up Spring Lake and it looks fun. I would love to know what types of meals you guys do when you camp. This trip was the first one I had to “mom” on and getting all the food prepped low-key stressed me out!
Also, I’m glad to hear you guys like Collins Lake. I heard about it through a friend who recommended it; I’m a little nervous because it doesn’t seem to have as many trees as Clear Lake, so I’m thinking of buying a shade canopy. I really don’t want to because we seemed to bring lot of stuff, and I don’t want to bring *one more thing,* but I don’t want to be out baking in the sun all day, ya know?
I’ll let you know how everything goes with Spring Lake after our trip! For meals, with a group, we do family style and assign different meals to the diff fams. When we go with just us, breakfast is either premade breakfast burritos (made at home and frozen) that we warm over the fire or we make eggs, bacon and potatoes. We found some yummy soy chorizo at Whole Foods and mixed that with some cubed potatoes and omg, so good. On the day we’re leaving, we always do cereal in the little boxes so it’s an easy clean up after everyone is done. Lunches are sandwiches because we’re usually hiking or by some kind of body of water and we’ll have chips and fruit to go with. Those are easy transportable meals. Dinner we like to do something nice. We’ve marinated chicken before and bbq’d, we’ve done a cioppino where we cooked the pasta ahead of time (at home) and made a nice seafood broth medley and put it altogether. we also have a legit kitchen set up, i bought hubby the camp chef double burner stove a few years back which we take on extended trips so we can cook/fry just about anything. Menu and food planning can def be stressful but if you can keep your menu simple and do some prep ahead of time, it makes for things to go quickly and smoothly when you’re camping.
As for a canopy, I would highly recommend it for Collins because trees are rather sparse in a lot of the spots. The canopy will come in handy to throw over the table so you can eat/hang out under the shade. We usually have 2 canopies when we go there because the sites we’re at only has tree shade around the tent set up. If you have those water bottle spray/fan things, I would take that along and fill it with ice and water. It’s a good and portable way to stay cool if you’re relaxing at your site. The lake is nice though! I recommend bringing floaties to relax in. We usually have baby girl in the puddle jumper life vest instead of a traditional style life vest because she can float upright much better.
Awesome, Jae! Thank you SO MUCH! All this advice will definitely come in handy for our next trip.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
I would choose glitter. Def a pain to remove. I had a matte topcoat several years back and I liked the look but I also feel it shows every imperfection for some reason.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Cream.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat
Base.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Coral, blues (indigo and pale pastels), berries and purples.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Orange, true pink.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
Prob more than 10 years ago! I stopped salon pedis to save money and I realize I don’t miss it and I like the ritual of doing my own!
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
Left.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
They had their moment but now I’m nay.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Nope!
I actually placed a polish order yesterday from Dear Sundays. Have you heard of them? I was impressed with the colors I ordered in the spring (dark indigo and a bright coral) so I picked up a lavender and a deeper purple berry shade.
Fun fact. My mother always has her nails done and when my niece was little, to distinguish my mother from her other grandmother she referred to her as “red fingernails grandma.”
Glad you had a fun, relaxing 4th getaway!
Due to the sometimes physical nature of my job and being a tomboy (working on my motorcycle, running pass patterns and tossing around the football, gardening) I polish my nails to a semi-gloss with a chamois buffer. Synthetic. And toenails ’cause you never know when you’ll be wearing summer yukata. Which means no tabi socks (sandal footies).
Aw, what brought you to tears about the family of deer? Just seeing such natural, peaceful behavior?
1. Matte or glitter finish? Matte — aesthetically and for the reason you mentioned about glitter being so hard to remove! It takes up all the remover and cotton balls!
2. Cream or shimmer? Cream.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? I’d rather skip the base. My nails tend to get yellow so I want to protect them with the base coat and I use the “5-free” ones.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Dusky plums.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Creamy pinks, beiges. Too streaky; can’t figure out how to make it less streaky.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? Sometime last year is the narrowest I can pinpoint.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? I don’t usually paint my finger nails so on my toes I do the right foot first.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? I tried on my toes over the weekend and … meh, not a huge fan. I don’t mind different colors between the feet but I like the solid field of color. I did make an accent nail using MAC pigment and clear polish. I love the idea of using crushed eyeshadow to customize nail polish colors!
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? Nope! I’m too afraid they’ll get torn off.
1. Matte or glitter finish? Glitter and I hate that I use acetone but honestly…cannot handle removing it any other way
2. Cream or shimmer? Cream. No shimmer. Wait. Creamy shimmer?
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Base.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Dark rich mauves or greys.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Pinks or pastels. My skin color can’t pull it off.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? Oh gosh. 10 years?
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? Left
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Nay
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? No. The though of running my fingers through my hair and it getting caught under a lifted edge gives me the heebie jeebies. Therapy? Probably.
Happy Monday, Karen! Your weekend sounds lovely, camping is so wonderful! I got to see my SO’s parents for the first time since Christmas (!!) which was great, and I think we finally nailed down a date for a tiny wedding. It was…productive?? LOL
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Glitter! Matte looks cool but flakes soooo easily.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Shimmer. I like the bit of depth it adds (essie’s Sunday Funday is one of my forever favorites).
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Base – I agree with you, the top coat adds more to my wear, it also forgives some of my smudges!
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Lately it’s been dustier/muted shades and pastels, if I get them done I almost always add a chunky glitter ombre (the woman who does my nails is amazing!).
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Dark & vampy, although I do really like a dark grape or navy in the fall.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
January – I got a dip mani, OPI’s Tiramisu for Two. It’s my go-to neutral!
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
Left hand, I start with my thumb.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
Yea! Usually with just a topper, but occasionally a complimentary color.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Not in a super long time, I think they were the the Kiss french mani ones in like 2008. They’ve come a LONG way! Some of my colleagues swear by them and have ditched the nail salon/gels. I find the lengths or shapes to not be quite right for me; they’re either too long or not the right shape…or if the right length AND shape the colors are so not me.
Nail polish is my favorite!
1. Matte or glitter finish? Glitter, but only if I have acetone and those nail covers to remove it.
2. Cream or shimmer? I love both finishes, but I feel that shimmer lasts longer.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Top. Not using a base coat weirds me out.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? All colors actually, I like a wide variety. Rose golds are my favorite, sparkly ones.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Nudes, pastels, I want to see my nail polish.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? At a salon? I haven’t had a manicure from someone else in years, and it’s probably been a year since I’ve had a professional pedicure.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? I’m right handed, and I usually paint my left hand first.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Yay. As long as it’s wildly different than the other nails.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? Once, in sixth grade. Popped them off in about an hour. A popular boy said he didn’t like them. I wish I could go back in time and smack myself for changing something I was digging because a boy said something stupid to me. I’ve used those Color Street nail polish strips, they’re kinda cool. But never fake nails again. I can grow my own.
So glad the camping worked out for you guys! We had a quiet weekend. (Except for the fireworks. Three loooong days worth. Which means we also heard the ambulance several times.)?
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Matte.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Cream.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Neither, but if I had to, top coat. I’m all about easy clean-up.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Pinks.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Oranges.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
It’s been years since I had a manicure; I seldom have my nails painted. And maybe four years since I had a pedicure.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
I do my right hand first. I’m so bad at painting my nails, especially with my left hand. If I can manage a decent job with my left hand, I figure it’s worth continuing.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
Yea, if it’s not too crazy.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Yes, but never successfully.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Glitter over matte, even though I rarely ever do that anymore
2. Cream or shimmer?
Cream
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
I’d say skip top, which I almost always skip… but maybe I should be skipping the base coat? I’ll test this next time I do my nails. I find doing a base, two color coats and a top coat way too much work and usually once I get to the top coat it gets ruined by too many layers.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Reds and bright pinks on my toes, Dior nail glow on finger nails. I love the look of dark red nails but can’t be bothered with the upkeep. I don’t get my nails done at salons- ever.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
I guess pastels, white, black.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
I got a French mani for high school grad but because I didn’t want fake nails it wore off in a few hours.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
I’m pretty sure I switch it up
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
I don’t mind them on others but I never do it on myself
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Never
1. Matte or glitter finish? matte
2. Cream or shimmer? cream
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? base coat
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? dark colors and reds or purples
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? black or white
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? pointer finger
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? yes
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? yes fake nails on special occasions in high school. It was a huge deal
1. Matte or glitter finish? Glitter. I used straight acetone to remove it.
2. Cream or shimmer? Slightly more for shimmer these days.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Skip the base coat (unless it’s a polish that’s gonna stain). Top coat extends the wear and raises the gloss level!
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Roses, pinks, mauves, purples and reds. Golds and platinums during the Holidays.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Greens, oranges, yellows.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? Probably 12 or more years ago. My hairdresser at the time hired someone to do manicures in her salon and this woman ruined my cuticles. They were raw for over a week. I’ve been too scared to get another manicure since.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? Right hand. It’s my dominant hand and I feel like I have better control for keeping it smudge free while I paint my left.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Nah
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? No
1. Glitter but you’re right — it’s a pain to remove! Have you tried the trick where you soak cotton pads in nail polish remover and then wrap your fingers around it? That usually does the trick but again, is lots of work.
2. Cream!
3. Base.
4. Reds, oranges, pinks, nudes…kind of like my lipstick colors…
5. Purple and green.
6. Last year for my book launch I got a super expensive and super special mani-pedi done so I could sign books in style.
7. Left hand, right foot first.
8. Yay!
9. Nope, not since I was a teen.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
I love glitter but NOT fun to take it off!
2. Cream or shimmer?
Both, depending on my mood
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Base coat..however I need the base coat to protect my nails
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Red, coral and purples and pink
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Neon
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
Huuuuuhhhh 2015?! Err maybe
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
My left hand first and it will look PERFECT…but my right hand not so much lol..looks like I let my 3yr old cousin paint my nails!
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
Yes!!
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Yep and NEVER again!! Worst and rather expensive thing I have ever done. Looked great but destroyed my natural nail.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Glitter, it’s so lovely to look at in the sunlight.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Both.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
This question makes me uncomfortable ?
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Gold, reds, pinks.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Blue, green
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
It’s been a few years, not my favorite activity
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
Left
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
Sure, why not?
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
No
1. Matte or glitter finish? For meow…. matte!
2. Cream or shimmer? Shimmpurr.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Base schmase.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Sheer or shimmery nudes, pale lilac, black, greige and this one booger green/yellow.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Red, white.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? Pedicure about a year ago. Meh, would rather DIY.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? Fun question! Right hand.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Negative.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? Yes! Matte navy ones. So cool!
1. Matte or glitter finish? Glitter. Sucker for sparkle!
2. Cream or shimmer? Both!
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Base Coat!
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? I like those weird cement colors or khaki/army green!
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Red, midtone pinks or Barbie pinks, purple…?
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?I had only one manicure professionally a few years ago. Never had a pedicure. No way I’m letting a stranger touch my feet lol. My daughter put acrylics on me a week ago. I could not do a thing!
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? My thumb on my left hand!
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Yea!
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? Once when I was 18. Hated them and took them off immediately. Not for me!
1. Matte or glitter finish? Glitter all the way
2. Cream or shimmer? Cream
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? Base
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Pale glitter
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Blacks, greens, blues
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? Last week- I can’t do my own nails to save my life. Mine were a hot mess so I was so happy when my nail salon could reopen
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? Right since I’m a lefty
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Haven’t tried it
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? No but had acrylic tips for my wedding
1. Matte or glitter finish? Matte
2. Cream or shimmer? Cream
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat? skip base coat
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most? Pinky-purple (Pompeii Purple by OPI) on my toes; Nude colors on my fingernails
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least? Blues, greens, neons, white, etc.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure? I went last week for my Birthday to treat myself!
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand? Left hand first
8. Accent nails — yea or nay? Never had them, but they look pretty on some. (Though not the long claws, because how do you do stuff like go to the bathroom, eat, put contacts in, etc.)
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails? Yes- when I was younger. I also had peel-off nail polish, nail stickers, etc. The nails on my fingers grow very long naturally, so I never felt the need to get fake nails put on. (My friends say that they are jealous and that I’m lucky, but honestly having long nails annoys me. I always cut them because otherwise I can’t type or do anything.)
1. Matte or glitter finish?
Matte.
2. Cream or shimmer?
Cream.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Skip the base coat.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
Blue.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
Any deep pink. My hands tend to be somewhat red, and the wrong pink just seems to emphasize that.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
A friend treated me to a mani-pedi in August last year. It’s not a regular event for me, at all.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
My left hand. I’m a lefty so I do the harder paint job first.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
Yea, which not?
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Nope.
1. Matte or glitter finish?
GLITTER. A pain in five h*lls to take off unless you manage to peel it off in one go, but oh, so sparkly. I was especially fond of holographic glitters with flakies in them. OMG. Sparkle heaven. – angels sing –
2. Cream or shimmer?
Oh, there are some super fun shimmers out there….but creams.
3. Would you rather…skip your base coat or skip your top coat?
Base. For some reason it always lasted longer.
4. Nail polish color(s) you wear the most?
This is a redundant question. I work with horses and dogs. I don’t wear polish anymore as it just…chips in an hour.
5. Nail polish color(s) you wear the least?
See #4.
6. When was the last time you had a manicure or a pedicure?
HA HA HA HA HA HA. Years ago.
7. Which fingernails do you usually paint first — the ones on your left or right hand?
When I did them…left first.
8. Accent nails — yea or nay?
They can be fun, so yea.
9. Have you ever worn press-on/stick-on fake nails?
Yep. When I want color but not the commitment.