The craft stores may already have their Halloween decor on clearance, but I think there’s still lots of time left on this summer thing. And for once, I can’t say that’s a bad thing – unlike previous years, I haven’t had a terrible problem with the heat. And while I’d say that a major contributing factor has been the wetter-than-usual (and therefore cooler-than-usual) summer we have been “enjoying” in eastern Ontario this year, I think the lack of profuse sweating may actually be due to my rather profound weight loss – about 50 pounds since the end of February! Also probably the hour-long swims I enjoy four or five times a week – a crack of dawn swim in my building’s indoor pool seems to bring my core temperature down to something approaching normal for the remainder of the humid day. Totally awesome side benefit to this weight loss business; I highly recommend.
I also recommend this collection of sweet summer polishes that will see you through the final sultry days of the season in polished perfection. Drawing from a wide array of indie vendors – Polish Me Silly, KB Shimmer and Painted Polish among them – there’s a nod to every great and vibrant thing about the summer, from gorgeous oceanic hues to drippy cherry popsicles.
First up we have Whimsical Idea by Pam’s Wacky Watermelon (here over Pure Ice’s lime green, Wild Thing) and Different Dimension’s You’ve Gotta Be Squidding Me. I’ve used Wacky Watermelon in a few different manicures over the years, but Squidding Me is one I rarely pull out of my box of magic nail tricks. And I really have no idea why, because it’s a gorgeous one – smooth jelly finish, and that flamingo pink hue shot through with purple shimmer? Lush and vibrant, yet tremendously flattering, even for us pale, pale lasses (although I’ve no doubt it would look stupendous-er on those with darker skin tones. Which is literally everyone else in the world.)
Taking a nod from the boardwalk, we have the two lacquers I always think of as my “bubblegum ice cream” polishes, Polish Me Silly’s pink I Lost My Marbles and Dollish Polish’s custardy yellow Get Your Sprinkle On! Get Your Sprinkle On! has always been a favourite – I think it looks like french vanilla ice cream topped with rainbow jimmies.
You’ve Gotta Be Squidding Me makes another appearance in this manicure as a fun, flamingo-hued base on which to layer another Whimsy, this time turquoise glitter Mermaid, alongside A England’s lush aqua holo, Whispering Waves. This mani makes me smile – it’s very South Beach. Somewhere in Sarasota there’s a granny rocking a velour tracksuit in these exact colours. 😉
The white polish in this manicure, Painted Polish’s Chasing Rainbows, reminds me of colourful shells washing up on a white sand beach, while the pink polish, ILNP’s Jello Shot, reminds me of melted cherry popsicles. Also its namesake, the deadly, deadly jello shot (*shuddering in remembrance of hangovers past.*)
Finally, we have another manicure featuring a favourite polish, KB Shimmer’s coral pink glitter, Belle of the Mall, and Candy Lacquer’s Citrus Smoothie (once again over Pure Ice’s Wild Thing), a mad mix of citrus-hued glitters that remind me of sweet fruit salad. Belle of the Mall is such a great polish; awesome consistency and the coolest Hawaiian Punch hue. It’s summer in a bottle, just like all of these polishes!)
Finger Candy 
Holla summer, holla! Ah maze ing progress, and the a.m. swims sound invigorating but relaxing, wish I had the access bc I don’t work until late morning and I could really get into the swim in a temp controlled pool. No excuses though, I could do a morning jog instead.
I adore these polishes and their names, You’ve got to be squidding me 😀😀how fun. Are these all looks you’ve done this summer? Every single one is a perfect summer portrait.
Well, that was just the thing – I had ZERO excuses, with both an indoor pool and a decently outfitted little gym on the premises. I read an article not that long ago that said that there’s only two reasons people go to a gym – because it offers some amenity that they really enjoy/can’t get somewhere else (a cool class, on-site massages, a pool, etc.) or it’s really close. I had both those things here, so time to get off my ass. All the same, thank you for your best wishes and encouragement – every horrible attempt at the butterfly stroke (oh holy CRAP it’s hard) is another step (water step) in the right direction.
Jogging is so hard, though. I get the allure of swimming, because it’s why I’m still at it – if it was just running and gym work, I’m not so sure where I’d be. Need a bit of variety, and I just plain old love swimming, always have been. Are you a big swimmer?
Wouldn’t say that I like to swim, but I also don’t get to do it often. My sis has a pool, but it’s the round kind above ground, can’t really do laps. Two of my good friends love swimming and one, like you, gets up at the crack of dawn and goes to the YWCA to swim a few times a week before work. She has a bad back and it’s low impact exercise for her. I would not go anywhere near my local Y’s pool, howev.
I enjoy jogging because all you need is a pair of running shoes and of course the motivation to do it. I also like that it’s outside, even the cold doesn’t bother me too much, when I first started jogging, I ran in foot deep snow on a track! I’m making more of an effort to get back into jogging at at least walking 4-5 times a week. You are an inspiration!
Dude, I have been called many things in life, but an inspiration (in a discussion about exercise) is not one of them – thank you. 🙂
But I seriously don’t know how you jog/run – now, THAT’s inspiration. I feel like collapsing after five minutes. Actually two, but I persist.
Lol, persistence is key!
Sorry, you asked me a question and I swear I didn’t ignore it, although I clearly did ignore it! I actually did all of these manicures over two days, just one after the other. I rarely leave these things on very long, so I suppose it’s just as well I’m acetone-ing them from the face of the earth rather quickly.