Long Overdue: Naked November Results

Ok, first just a quick reminder to enter the New Year's Giveaway that you can read all about here.  There are a lot of really awesome prizes to win, so make sure you enter before New Year's Day!

Down to business!  Here are my nails just after I finished doing Naked November.

Left Hand

 Right Hand

As you can see, the skin around my nails has vastly improved.  After experimenting for a month to see what skin care products would work best for me, I found that Lush Lemony Flutter is my holy grail.  It smoothed the dry skin, plumped the weathered skin, and helped eradicate the tears and frays.  MASSIVE CAVEAT HERE: Remember, not all products work the same for all people.  Much like with topcoats, cuticle and skin care is highly dependent on your skin type and your body chemistry.  I've tried so many cuticle products, but I've never seen results quite like this.  The Lemony Flutter has also helped to restore the moisture in my actual nails as well, which, as you may recall, was sorely missing before I embarked on this challenge.  I'm pretty sure that the lack of moisture was a larger cause for my damaged nails than even the damage caused by picking my polish or the havoc wreaked on them by Rejuvacote.

As you can see in the comparison above, most of the damage has grown out, the skin has smoothed, and my nails look much healthier and happier.  The sad part, though, was that my thumb with the bubbles hadn't grown out completely, which caused my nail to break super far down into the quick.  If you see any of my photos on my Facebook or IG pages, you'll see that my thumb is shaped a little strangely.  I didn't want to file it all down to the meat, so I chose to take only that corner off.  And because of the problems I'm still having from tears, I've also decided to change my nail shape to rounded until I can get them built back up.  I'm not a fan of round on myself, but I just have to get over it if I want long and healthy nails!  I mean, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, right?

So, what do you think about going without polish for a month?  Could you do it?  Do you think that it helped me gain healthier and stronger nails?  I'd love to hear your thoughts below!

Naked November: Week 3 Progress and Giveaway Announcements (x2!)

Alright, this will be a quick post since I'm getting to it so late!  I just wanted to check in with you guys on the progress of my Naked November Challenge!  So far, the results have been really very good.  

I've also determined, after some experimentation, that I'm going to have to use my Lush Lemony Flutter pretty much exclusively from now on.  Something in the other products is causing the skin around my nails to get tough, tear, and flake.  It's been something that I've had to deal with my entire life, and it's been a constant source of annoyance for me when it comes to editing my photos.  I don't edit out imperfections, so I have to make do with what I have.  

After just a few days of using Lemony Flutter as my only cuticle balm, the skin around my nails have made a remarkable recovery.  I, stupidly, took the photos below just after washing my hands, so the skin around my nails don't look as nice.  I promise you, though, they look amazing now!  I can't wait until this Sunday when we can look at the month in review!  Ok, here's what I've got going on now.

As you can see, the most damaged parts have grown out completely or are almost gone.  Even on my thumb, there has been remarkable improvement.  The moral of the story, I guess, is that your nails do in fact need a break.  I'll be incorporating a few days a month into my routine from here on out!

Ok, so now let's get down to the giveaway fun stuff!  The first giveaway coincides with the Naked November Challenge.  All individuals who took and posted daily photos PUBLICLY on their social media pages with tags #nopolishnovember #nakednovember @blueeyedlawyer will be entered into a random drawing to win a pretty awesome prize that includes: a glass file from Sephora, Lush Lemony Flutter, and 1 polish of the winner's choice from my Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Winter Collection!  You can't just add all of your photos at the end of the month, they must have been taken AND POSTED throughout the month to qualify for entry.  So far, I know of only 1 person who has been doing this challenge with me, but there may be a few others who just need to send me their links!  I'll choose a winner on Sunday 12/1.

The second giveaway is going to be all about the New Year!  I'll have more details next week, but I will say that my prize is going to be crazy ridiculously awesome and worth over a pretty penny.  :)  There are a few makers and other bloggers that will be joining me in this giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled for an announcement at the beginning of December!  Oh, and here's a sneak peek at one of my prizes...

Have a happy Tuesday!  Safe travels to anyone making any Thanksgiving treks this week!