January Wrap-Up.

January is officially over and I successfully posted 31 days worth of new nail art! And of course I wanted to share my thoughts after completing my little goal. 

Throughout the month I often wondered how when I started blogging back in 2012 I was able to post almost every single day, multiple months in a row. I don't remember it being quite so stressful and time consuming as it was this time around. I certainly don't see myself doing this month after month, but I think it's a great way to get out of a nail slump and force your creativity a little. 

I was proud of a bunch of manicures I created this month, and here are a few of my favorites...

Another thing that's cool about consistently doing new designs is getting to see the progress your nails make! Below are both my first and final manicures of January. My nails started out super short and grew to a much preferable length by the end of the month. They've also seemed much stronger and aren't breaking all the time anymore.

And now it's time for a little nail art break!

Nail Care Discussion.

I recently checked out the messages I've received on my facebook page and answered a few of the questions I've been sent. 

One of the questions I received asked me about my nail care routine and what products I use on my nails, which I thought would be a good question not just to answer for one person, but to share for all my blog readers! 

I have a fairly simple routine when it comes to my nail care, thankfully my nails are naturally pretty strong and grow fairly fast, so I mostly focus on keeping my cuticles looking nice. 

When I thought about the products I use on my nails, three of the ones I came up with were cuticle products. No matter how nicely your nails are painted, bad cuticles can totally ruin a manicure.

The first product I use is Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. I used Orly Cutique for a while, which is a stain and cuticle remover, but I like this one better. I'd say I use this once every week or to (and I almost always break it out before doing someone else's nails!) I just put it on my nails, wait around thirty seconds and then push my cuticles back with an orange stick and they look so much nicer right away.

The next product is Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream. This has a really nice lemon scent, and I like to keep it in my purse to put on whenever I notice my nails getting a little dry. It's the perfect size for taking around with you, and it works great.

The last cuticle related product is cuticle oil. This is critical in my nail care! I'm currently working on a giant bottle of it that I got at Sally's Beauty Supply, but I've liked all the ones I've tried about equally. I always put cuticle oil on when I'm completely done with a manicure. I usually clean my nails up with acetone, which of course is terribly drying, and it's very important to counteract that.

The only other product I have to talk about is Seche Retain. You hear a lot about Seche Vite topcoat (which I also love) but I never hear too much about their other products. This is a basecoat and treatment that promises to help keep your nails strong and durable. I often don't use a base when I'm doing nail art, but when I do use a basecoat, it is always this. I can actually notice a different in my nails when I use it, enough so to make my repurchase it multiple times!

Those are all the products I'm using to keep my nails looking and feeling healthy. I did take biotin for three or four months, but I stopped a couple of months ago and haven't decided if I'll start it up again. I had trouble deciding just how much of a difference it made in my nails, and I don't think they feel any weaker now that I've stopped taking it. You can read about what kind of biotin I took and what I thought while I was taking it here and here.

What are the most important products you use to keep your nails healthy?

Finals Discussion.

Finals are definitely putting a kink in my blog everyday of December plan! So while my nails are sadly nail art free for the day, I thought I'd spread around my current obsessions. (They might even end up as nail art inspiration soon enough.)

I shared one of my book obsessions last month in the form of nail art, and I thought I'd go ahead and share another. I read The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay a few weeks ago and am still thinking about it. I don't even know what to say about it other than it's perfect and everyone ever should read it.

And if you aren't looking to enjoy a new book, at the very least you should enjoy the Ikea monkey. Because there isn't anything I want more in the world than a monkey that can be described as both stylish and illegal.

So don't be surprised if the moon or a monkey show up on my nails over the next few days, because these are the things that are stuck on my mind in between final presentations, papers, and exams.

Biotin Discussion.

I've always thought my nails and hair grew fairly quickly, but lately I thought my nails could stand to be a bit stronger and longer, so I decided to try taking biotin.

I looked at a few different options and decided to try the Twinlab Biotin Dots. I've only taken them two days so far, so I don't have many comments, other than I'm very pleased that they're chewable and the flavor isn't bad! Anyway, once I've started to see results I'll be sure to update.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear any of your experiences with taking biotin! How much you took, how long it took to notice any differences, etc.