gingerbreadmanne ♥

Sally Hansen salon effects review: 340 girl flower

2011-11-21T21:25:00.005+11:00

I bought this box of Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Girl Flower (# 340) almost a year ago from Priceline for some ridiculously overcharged pricing. I've only gotten around to trying them because in my mind, I thought they'd be like any other nail stickers that I've tried previously (click here for Blinx) so there was no real temptation. Out of boredom (fine, I admit, I had ran out of nail art ideas), I gave these a go since I bought another box stashed away some where.

These "real nail polish strips" claim:
☺ No DPB, toluene, or formaldehyde
☺ Lasts up to 10 days
☺ No dry time
☺ Peel & apply
☺ Remove with polish remover
☺ Fits all nails (16 nail polish strips with cuticle stick, mini file & buffer)

Application:

This was easy enough. I did exactly as the instructed by the little pamphlet. Prepped my nails, trimmed the sticker to size, peeled off a layer from the top and a layer from the bottom to reveal the actual strip sticker, then just placed it on my nail. There was no stretching, blow-drying, or any other crazy nonsense involved. Then I just simply folded the excess over then filed the off using the file provided in a downward direction perpendicular to my nail.

Here's the result:

I love how the sticker just moulds itself to my nail without any wrinkles or manual adjustments. Being paranoid, I ran a light brush of top coat along the tips to prevent them from peeling but later I realised that these babies would never peel because they're essentially just nail polish with a layer of adhesive underneath.

The stupid thing I find is that there are 16 strips in one pack. Noone has 16 fingers! However, because I had cut my nails quite short, I've managed to use only 5 strips to complete the whole 2 hands. Amazing, or what? This means I can get another 2 go's out of this! Probably won't happen for another year, though.

Wear:

I've been rocking these flowers for exactly a week and there has been barely any signs of chipping and tip wear. I was almost kind of sad to remove them because they looked so pristine and the colours exactly like when I first applied them.

If you don't believe me, check them out for yourself:
Removal:

As instructed, I removed these exactly like how I remove nail polish. The only annoying thing is that even though the colours have been wiped off, a layer of stickiness still remained. This required me to swipe and wipe frantically with more remover to get them off.

Conclusion:

♥ Easy application (almost fool-proof). If it wasn't for the trimming, I think I'd be able to do this in my sleep.
♥ Almost no sign of wear after a week, and I take hot showers everyday. I'm pretty confident that these stickers will last for a month with no problem.
♥ Amazing designs that a normal person like myself can't or don't have the patience to do.
♥ No drying time!

Χ Quite expensive for only 1 manicure (around $12, if I remember correctly). The cost of a bottle of nail polish. However, if you have small-ish nails like I do, I think you can at least squeeze out 2 manicures.
Χ Yucky, sticky residue during removal. Takes a while to scrub off.

Verdict:

I would definitely repurchase since I've managed to complete both hands with just 5 strips. The sticky residue is something that can easily be overlooked since I go through more pain removing nail polish with large glitter particles. I would recommend this because otherwise I wouldn't be doing a review.

So "Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips", a mouthful, but check them out if you haven't already.

Retroactive loving

2011-11-09T01:52:00.003+11:00

I absolutely did not intend for this to turn out like some 70s flashback gone wrong. I mean, how badly can some polka-dots get, right? I guess it is really the "rays" of exploding colours that pushed it to the edge, so close to That 70s Show and whatever people were and still are smoking.

That was a really weird tangent and I hope I'd never have to go down that path again. So back on track, I actually really like this. Somehow, simultaneously, I am reminded of some cute yet high-classed stationery involving circus clowns and also those white sweaters with tiny, colourful pom poms. Or I could just be losing my mind?

The base is OPI Alpine Snow Matte. It has been featured in my blog before if you click here. I am a big fan of stark white nail polish (especially the matte ones) since I love how I can fool people into thinking that I've whitened my nails with liquid paper because that is just how awesome I am. Although I am not quite sure how the two would correlate.

I don't know why I had decided to do these rays of colour explosion but it does look great from afar.

I also like the randomness of the patterns and the underlying order within both hands. Spot the similarities, go on, I dare you.

Lace therapy

2011-11-06T14:09:00.002+11:00

This isn't my first time working with lace for nail arts but this is probably my most successful attempt thus far (on my own hands). I've only decided to give it another ago after a friend suggested that this is something worth trying. I am so lazy that I need to have people to tell me what I could be doing.

So here you have my fancy, laced up nails in all of its glory.
For base, I used OPI Mermaid's Tears since it is such a nice, cool colour. Absolutely perfect to relieve today's stickily humid weather. I've managed to get my hands on a small UV light nail dryer with a tiny built in fan. It is pretty cute and it does indeed speed up the nail polish drying process. Or maybe I'm just imagining it. Regardless, here it is, hard at work.
Tip #1: always trim the pieces to size first! It was a nightmare trying to cut off the excess on my nails.

Tip #2: only apply topcoat after everything has dried completely. I'd recommend whacking on the topcoat at least an hour after laying down the lace.
I was really tempted to cut up my black lace top for the "lace over bare nails" look. Maybe you should give it a try instead?

I throw cats at your children

2011-10-29T16:50:00.004+11:00

My close friends always joke (well more like theorise) that I will grow up to be one of those crazy cat ladies who chuck cats at anyone who passes their house, especially their children. But of course we ALL know it is not true since I love those cute little fluffy felines way too much to part with them. Halloween is just 2 days away so I think I am allowed to squeeze in at least one kitty power nail art, right?

I've used OPI Glow Ink the Dark (the purple-blue coloured bottle in the photo) on my thumb and ring finger. Like the name implies, it is meant to glow in the dark once you "charge" it with light. However, the glow is so faint and short, I couldn't even get a photo of it, even after shining the iPhone torch at it for a whole minute. But yet, I still purchased it along with the Halloween nail art set that it had came in. Brilliant marketing.

I'm a cheater, but a smART one (oh I am so punny). The white cats are done using 'smART nails' stencil stickers. Completely idiot proof: just stick down when the base polish has dried, brush across the stencil with your chosen nail polish colour, then peel off after a minute. They come in a pack of 10 (exactly for a complete mani) but I found that each one is actually reusable. So you can get at least 2 manis out of it!

Enjoy Halloween! Don't look at any black cats in the eye. Although I'm not sure if they'll fly at you and peck you eyes out like what magpies do.

Jack ol' pumpkin

2011-10-18T00:15:00.008+11:00

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought that I should might as well get into the spirit too with some nail art since I've missed out on last year's festivity.

So I'm kicking off the holiday cheer (alright, I know, it's not a proper holiday) with our good old friend, the jack-o-lantern. I honestly cannot resist making him look all cartoony and adorable. I just want to eat him! I like pumpkins, okay?

I used China Glaze's Sun Worshipper for the base colour of the pumpkins because I absolutely love the bright neon orange (definitely not because it is the only large bottle of orange nail polish that I've got).
Attack of the wrinkly fingers! I hate flash. But it just brings out the brightness of the neon so well. It honestly would not have the same effect in daylight.

What I did was just outlined the shape of the 3/4 pumpkin, added in the stem and the vine leaf, then drew in Jack-O's face with triangle for eyes and a weird saw-toothed smile that is very charming for a pumpkin.

Nooooo, anything but the pumpkins! What Meemee would say if she could talk. Surprisingly, I think my right hand actually turned out a lot better than my left hand. I guess today was my left hand's good day. I very rarely have them. If you are ambidextrous and not clumsily right-handed like I am, then you have no reason not to give these cute little jack-o-lanterns a try this Halloween.

I sound like a commercial.

Extra, extra!

2011-09-17T19:36:00.010+10:00

I remember at the end of last year when I saw a photo of someone's newpaper nails, I immediately wanted to give it a try. However, there weren't enough tutorials (actually, none in English) so I was a little skeptical of the process since Google translations doesn't seem to possess any ability to construct grammatically correct sentences. Half guessing, I tried the nail art using methylated spirits thinking vodka itself is ethanol so that means it should be more effective if I use something with 100% ethanol like methylated spirits.

I was wrong.

I know, you're probably not surprised. That made me put off newpaper nails for almost a whole year.

This time, using my secret stash of peach vodka, I've successfully created my every own newspaper nail art. My nails also smelt like peach afterwards (bonus).

I decided to stick by the traditional colour and painted my nails a nice neutral base, Orly's Pure Porcelain. This polish was thick and difficult to apply but the upside was that I only needed 1 coat for complete opacity. But I whacked on a second coat to smooth out the streaks. I'm still drooling over the smoothness.

In order for the newspaper print to be transferred, the base polish needs to be completely dried. Being extremely impatient, I accelerated the process by using Qtica's Half Time Polish Drying Accelerator, those liquid ones that come with droppers, and this didn't at all affect the newspaper print transfer.
I love trying to decipher the mirrored words but it'd definitely be amazing if they made newspaper that was printed backwards so the print would come out the right way on my nails. My only selfish request, not too much to ask for, is it?

Nailling tattoo

2011-09-04T15:10:00.004+10:00

The fact that the felt tip pen has not left my hand since the beginning of this semester has gotten me thinking about how I can somehow make that into a nail art tool. I remember a while back, I posted an entry where I had used a biro pen to draw on Essie's Matte About You matte topcoat. A felt tip pen is much inkier and doesn't dig into the nail polish surface, making it an accident-proof nail art pen.

So with the "how" solved, my mind wandered towards Chanel's temporary tattoos. I've always wanted to get my hands on them ever since I had heard about them early last year but common sense prevailed.

Enough of my blabberings, I'm quite excited to share with you what I think is a rather good turn out for a design that is so completely spontaneous, inspired by Chanel.

The base is 5 coats of Zoya's Angella. The polish is one of those sheer pink-tinted iridescent pearls. I personally dislike sheer nail polishes because it justs really troublesome appearance-wise when yucky things get caught underneath my nails like glue (blame my course), food (think rainbow sprinkles) and moisturisers. With an excessive 5 coats, the finish is semi-sheer under certain lights and almost opaque in dimmer environments.

Instead of Essie's topcoat, I decided to try out China Glaze Matte Magic's ability to withstand my crazy squiggles. Rather impressive, actually. I've been rubbing on my nails while exerting quite a bit of force and the drawing is yet to budge.

Here's the basic precedure that I had followed to create this:
1. Basecoat (always always always, I absolutely cannot stress this enough).
2. Base colour (in this case, Zoya Angella).
3. Matte topcoat.
4. Attack your nails with whatever pens and colours you've got handy. I've yet to try it with gel pens.
5. After the pen drawing is dried, seal the design with another layer of matte topcoat, or normal, depending on the finish you're chasing.

To my surprise, the whole process had taken less time than a normal manicure since matte topcoats dry in a flash, even faster than those polishes that claim to "dry with in 60 seconds (liars)". This is so much cheaper than those Chanel tattoos and just as effective, in my opinion.

Haul-lo from the U S of A

2011-08-21T23:44:00.003+10:00

I marvel at my extraordinary ability to make dodgy puns.

America was heaven for a nail polish addict like me when compared to Australia. I live in a hole. That's my conclusion. Why does the stupid island of a continent have to double the price for everything? I've found so many 'old' polishes that I've been craving for heaps long like Lincoln Park at Midnight in Nordstrom Rack for just $8 a bottle. Absolute Bliss, with a capital B.

I really want a DSLR. The quality of the photo is so very different, in a good way, of course. Compare this photo taken with my friend's DSLR to the terrible photos from my dummy point-and-shoot camera.

The bottles look so shiny and the colours look so true! So on the top row of Essie from left to right: Silken Cord, Splash of Grenadine, Lilacism, Borrowed & Blue, Smokin' Hot, and Over the Top. Bottom row of OPI and Orly from left to right again: Malaga Wine, Lincoln Park at Midnight, La Playa, Royal Navy, Pure Porcelain, Winter Wonderland, Stranger Tides, and Mermaid's Tears.

There are also OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender, Suzi Says Feng Shui and Russian Navy, plus Sephora by OPI's Queen of Everything and Spark-tacular! that somehow I had forgotten to photograph. Great memory I've got there.

This haul definitely saves me from making that agonisingly long trip to Bankstown.

Bling bling, Blinx!

2011-08-21T22:42:00.008+10:00

I am way too lazy for my own good. I've gone to American for 3 weeks during my semester break and had a blast. Its been 5 weeks since I've been back and somehow my blog had just completely slipped my mind. I've brought back a whopping 18 bottles of nail polish. I'm so excited to try them all but I haven't been motivated to paint my nails since I got back because catching a 20kg suitcase with my nails wasn't the smartest thing to do. So now I'm forced to look at ugly, stubby nails until they grow back.

Now onto something less depression and whingey. Before I left for the States, I tried out these fabulous things called Blinx. They're pretty much the less expensive version of Minx, great for poor students like myself. They're just like stickers but except the $18 had paid off and these babies had stayed on for a good week, minimum. They've gone through the hot showers, humid weather and any other type of abuse imaginable and only very very minor lifting was witnessed.

Like I always say, I am an absolute sucker for shiny and reflective surfaces. My vanity is really coming through. I love these babies. I've gotten countless compliments while I was wearing them. I was kind of sad when I had to peel them off cos I had been wearing them for almost 2 weeks. Removal was easy peasy. They didn't leave any sticky residue and neither had they damaged my nails.

I am extremely impressed with Blinx nails. Personally, I think it's definitely worth your time to check them out. And with such affordability and durability, you can look glamourous everyday. I'm starting to sound like a commercial so I'll shut up and let you do the judging.

Formal raspberry

2011-06-13T21:13:00.007+10:00

I painted my nails after surviving a whole day with very naked nails. Nothing special, really. This nail art is pure spontaneity, like 99% of what I do. Ever since receiving my Zoya polishes, I've been dying to try this colour out. I've also been getting this overwhelming urge to stick billions and trillions and gazillions of useless rhinestones onto my nails. Completely random, I know. So obviously, the ring finger was the first to happen.
The rhinestones were actually red in colour. In my dark, dim study at 10PM, Zoya Quinn appeared a lot redder than its actual burgundy-wine-ish colour. I've realised my mistake after I stuck those little buggers on. Being me, I was too lazy to redo that nail so I painted the rhinestones instead.
But amazingly, the rhinestones still retained their glow! I'm happy. I am in love with this polish. Love! Love love! Love love love! Then I whacked bows everywhere because a girl can never have too many bows. But I do have to admit that my ring finger looks like a giant rapsberry while the bows remind me of tuxedos. I should get some sleep before I start seeing penguins.
The white lines and patches are done with L.A. Colour Art Deco. And of course, 10 millions layers of top coat on top of everything. The other hand is kind of plain in comparison but a mistake on the pinky of that hand (I call it a "happy accident") had given me a brilliant idea for my next new manicure. Stay tuned for my stroke of brilliance!

Long overdue haul

2011-06-10T18:09:00.004+10:00

I'd have to admit that this haul is at least 2 months overdue. So my sincere apologies.

The reason I thought that I really need to post about these is not purely due to my fanatical obsession with nail polish, but instead I'd really like to promote these Ebay sellers out of the goodness of my heart. I haven't been paid, asked, or even contacted by these sellers (I doubt anyone ever will). I've just been incredibly impressed by the amazing service and of course, affordability of their products.

I've gotten OPI's Katy Perry Collection from justpolish. I'm so responsible that I've even linked the Ebay store for you.
The reason that I love this seller is that when the polish arrived, one bottle was completely shattered and leaked over the bottle that it was bound with. I know that it is most likely due to the envelope (with layers and layers of bubble wrap, of course) packaging but I had no problems in my previous experiences with such method. However, I messaged the seller immediately to tell them that a bottle had shattered (ironically, it is called "The One that Got Away) and they've sent out a replacement the very next day without any hassle, which I received within a week's time! It was so incredibly fast for shipping from America because Australia is such a hole.
Definitely a shop to check out, simply because of its amazing service.

Secondly, onto my Zoya haul. In my opinion, Zoya has some of the most unique colours and I've always been a sucker for eye-catching fingertips. I've gotten 8 bottles from sparkling*nails and I've been so lucky to received very useful free gifts because I've spent over USD$50 on their items.

Along with my nail polish, I've gotten the Zoya Remove+ (nail polish remover) and the Qtica Half Time Polish Drying Accelerator as free gifts. Both of these babies work miraculously. I would definitely recommend these to purchase and repurchase and stock up in your nuclear-proof bomb shelter.I have yet to try out all of the new polishes and since I have quite a few nail arts in mind, I'll try my best to execute them using these new shades. However, everything shall depend on how lazy I'm going to be feeling. Don't get your hopes up too high, just saying. I kid. Do I really?

Brushes of sparkling dusk

2011-06-09T01:57:00.007+10:00

I'm back! I haven't abandoned you nor forgotten about you. I've just been frustratingly busy with uni work. Its either that or UHU glue. Those stringy buggers are my manicures' worst enemies! Model building with balsa wood (and other weird and wonderful things) have completely destroyed my nails. Heck, I've been painting my nails, very frequently, I might add. The only problem was that I never seemed to have time to catch them before they are destroyed by UHU glue, again. There had been so many photos that I wish I had taken so I'd actually have things to showcase on this blog.

I know that wasn't a very proper apology (it was actually me trying to save my own backside), so here's a huge big SORRY..
Now that's out of the way, let's move onto the more exciting things.

A few days ago, dear Kimberly showed me this link:
So being me, I naturally accepted the challenge. But why have plain ol' black when purple is the new black? Or so I keep telling myself. This is what I've managed to scrape together.
The iridescent base is 2 coats of Zoya's Angella. Dry strokes of Revlon's Primal Purple is used for the tip. Glitter in the form of OPI's Teenage Dream is added on top of the purple because glitter is my comfort food. Well not technically edible but you understand what I mean.
I still owe you quite a few more entries so stay tuned in the next couple of days when I'll be spam posting to make up for my absence.

Easter chickabunbun

2011-04-20T22:33:00.003+10:00

So Easter is fast approaching and I've only just found the time to fix my nails. I don't really feel like typing at the moment so I'll just let you indulge in the photos if "indulge" is the right word.

I've used OPI Banana Bandana for the chicks but I kind of wish that I had something thats a little more opaque. But otherwise I'm happy.

It's meant to be an Easter egg on my thumb. But the square tip has totally destroyed that.

Happy Easter everyone!

Haute for polka

2011-03-29T22:47:00.003+11:00

I've had Essie Haute as Hello sitting on my shelf for ages. I kind of forgot that I had it because I've always thought that it was a warm-orangey colour and those colours definitely do not flatter my already very yellow hands. Boy was I wrong.
Essie Haute as Hello is a light coral that is almost neon in colour. Because of this, the polish itself dries in a semi-matte state that is rather sheer (requiring at least 3 coats but I got lazy and managed to get away with only 2). Polka dots and random cloud-like shapes seem to do the job of disguising the slight uneven streakiness.
I love how this polish is both warm and cool at the same time, almost like a neutral shade that is able to accomodate just about any skin tone. You're more than welcome to prove me wrong.

Beware, cougar!

2011-03-27T18:04:00.004+11:00

I've kept my promise from the previous entry so here's the second post of this week. I'm rather excited about this and you'll soon see why.

Dear Whiney had brought back some brilliant nail stickers from Japan. I wish she had packed a whole suitcase full of them because they are simply gorgeous! Remember when I was raving on and on about Minx and other foil-like nail manicures? This is the next best thing, if not even better! I'm a sucker for the reflective result that normal nail polish cannot achieve.
These little babies are actually stickers, rather than foils. The application is absolutely fool-proof. Just trim to size, sticker and rub. No creases, just sexy smoothness.
I love you, Whiney! Thank you so much for bringing back such a wonderful creation! I wish Australia was less deprived.

Diamonds in the air

2011-03-21T20:26:00.002+11:00

First up, I'd have to apologising for not posting since over 2 months ago (dear oh dear). As a very bad attempt to justify this uber long period of inactivity, I'd have to blame China because that country has blocked just about everything that is even remotely entertaining. No Youtube, no Twitter, no Tumblr, no Wordpress, no Blogger, no Facebook and just about every other 'social' sites.

Now let's get onto the more important things. I've been feeling very lazy lately. I'm still not used to uni's insane workload. I also had to cut my nails extremely short while I was in China because somehow my nails just kept on breaking, so I don't want to show the world my bald fingers. My nails are now finally at an acceptable length! I had to do something to celebrate, right?

I used 2 coats of China Glaze Light as Air because I haven't gone nail polish shopping in quite a while and I've used up every single colour because I am that deprived oh wow I'm rambling because I am that sad and now how many "because" have I said? So I don't know why but it ended up being kind of streaky. Had my nail painting skills deteriorated? So what better way is there to cover up streakiness than with plenty of glitter (Essie Silver Bullion)?
I couldn't help decorating my ring finger since I haven't done a proper nail art in ages. I regret not doing the whole manicure in it as personally I believe it had turned out pretty darn good. I promise to update again this week so stay tuned!

Strawberry surprise!

2011-01-10T12:02:00.005+11:00

This is 10 days late but happy new year to you all. My unspoken new year's resolution of blogging more frequently is an absolute failure. I still paint my nails a lot but I always forget to photograph them and by the time that I do remember, the tips are worn and sometimes even chipped. Nothing's blog-quality these days.

Moving on. I've been wanting to do strawberry nails for quite some time. I had finally gotten around to them last night. I'm pretty happy with how they've turned out, exceeding my expectations, even.
3 coats of Zoya Gilda was used as the base. The sparkly fuschia pink is an amazing shade in its own right. But I was pleasantly surprised when it was coupled with China Glaze Four Leaf Clover for the tip. Four Leaf Clover is one of the hardest colours to photograph. It is a lot greener in real life, leaning towards a forest green. Gold bullions are stuck on to represent the strawberry seeds. Strawberry seeds are yellow. Don't try to argue otherwise because I know I am right. I've been through this with countless people.
The gold bullions feel really funky when I run my fingers over them (in a good way) because they're so bumpy.
I hope I've inspired you to strawberry-fy your hands. Yellow nail polish can be used instead of gold bullions if you find that they are difficult to locate. I've seen small bottles of bullions in Morning Glory. But I get them from Ebay in those wheels. Now I need to get some whipped cream.

Put a rose in your cheeks

2010-12-27T19:28:00.004+11:00

Sydney's weather is really whacked up this summer. Summer feels nothing like summer. Today was such a gloomy day. In order to cheer myself up, I've decided to jump on the floral train, although I am a bit late in joining the parade.
I used Essie Mint Candy Apple as a base. Surprisingly, it only took 2 coats, considering normally Essie requires 4-5 coats for complete opacity. I'm the sort of person to stick anything and everything onto my nails. The flower on my ring finger is actually made out of paper and meant for scrap booking and other non-nail art purposes. I can't help myself. Topcoat is the solution for everything. But the flower is really getting on my nerves now. I can't even seem to wash my hands properly with that attached. I really shouldn't have used so much nail glue.
The little flakey thing on my ring finger is the residue of the nail glue that doesn't want to come off no matter how hard I scratch at it. I'm not sure if you can see but the flowers are drawn using white over pink. It was absolutely agonising repeating the same process on my right hand.
Personally, I think this is rather successful considering that I very rarely draw roses because I know that they would also turn out looking like squished bugs. I've surprised myself this time. I hope this will bring back the warm and sunny summer weather.

These roses could also be painted using acrylic paint and topped off with a layer of topcoat. Acrylic is much easier to handle as they can be washed off with water and does not dry as quickly as nail polish so things can be altered if mistakes are made.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

2010-12-19T22:38:00.003+11:00

Laziness if really getting the better of me these days. I have the photos adjusted and ready for weeks but I'm too lazy to blog. I'm so sorry. And I promised to make more tutorials..

In the spirit of Christmas, I painted my nails green. They were also red, but I didn't think that was anything special. I used Zoya Ivanka and painted the tips matte. Nothing fancy, really. Although Zoya Ivanka is my all-time favourite green. It looks so positively wonderful in real life.
I also haven't been taken proper care of my cuticles. I thought summer was meant to be nice and moist.

I'd like to wish you all a very merry Christmas!

That glitter monster

2010-12-12T13:21:00.000+11:00

Two posts in one day? This must be some sort of miracle.

I've made this franken some time ago (so long that I don't even remember when). I can't even recall what I've used in it. It is a jelly-esque polish with holographic glitters.

There's actually not much to say about it. It is nice, but not "wow". Maybe it'll tickle someone else's fancy.

Hello summer

2010-12-12T12:59:00.000+11:00

Recently, I've been extremely lazy. Even more so than usual. I'm actually 3 posts behind. I've had China Glaze Sun Worshipper on quite a few weeks ago, when I didn't have internet. I feel guilty that I'm only blogging about it now.

I remember the fluro phase that Sydney went through a couple of years back. I was never a big fan of those blindingly hideous pinks, yellows and greens. I don't know what came over me when I bought this bottle of neon orange from China Glaze's Poolside collection. However, I am glad that I did.

During application, I had quite a shock. The neon polish dries matte! The thin and runny consistency was also a bit of a turn-off. But the end result was more than enough to overcome the sucky application process. This was with around 5-6 coats of China Glaze Sun Worshipper with a layer of top coat as otherwise the nail polish would be matte. Neon just wouldn't be neon if it wasn't shiny and blinding.

I wish my camera would capture the vivid colours of this polish. You'll need to see it in real life to truly fall in love with the neon China Glaze Sun Worshipper.

Yoga-ta get some flaksies

2010-12-04T12:08:00.000+11:00

Nubar 2010 strikes again! This is my absolute favourite. It looks amazing over anything and everything. I definitely recommend that you get your hands on a bottle of this liquid gold.

I've cut my nails really short for moving. My hands are still suffering from all the heavy lifting, packing and unpacking. Having OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue on my nails made me felt less like a cavewoman but it is Nubar 2010 that brought a smile to my face.
As if you wouldn't fall in love with this combination. Here's a close up if you're still not convinced.
The flaksies change colour with every shift in angle like Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum. I hope this post gets uploaded at the correct time since I'm using the "scheduled" uploader option as I would still be internet-less when this is posted.

Correction: Blogger, you've failed me. Scheduled posting doesn't work. At least I've gotten my internet back now

Nail shaping tutorial (square tips)

2010-11-26T13:28:00.006+11:00

I am so so so sorry for not blogging for so long. I've moved houses recently and I will continue to be internet-less for another week, if I'm lucky. I'm camping out at my mum's shop right now, stealing her internet. I promise that once I get my internet back, I will try to blog more tutorials!

This tutorial was requested by Christie months ago. I'm really sorry that it's taken so long to be uploaded. This is only for square or square-oval tips.

So let's get started! Before I cut my nails, I like to take my nail polish off and take a shower. It is very important to soak your nails so that they are soft and malleable. This will make cutting a lot easier as your nails will not resist the force as much (Newton's 3rd Law). I've actually cracked my nail once because I was cutting them when they were not soaked prior. So always soak your nails! I am starting to sound like a broken tape recorder. Now gather your equipments. Not much, just nail clippers and a nail file.

Get your nails ready! My nails are already square because I've been rocking these since June, July. I don't think I'll be going back to round nails any time soon because I find that square nails look tidier (personal preference). But most importantly, square nails are structually stronger! My nails do break a lot less with square tips.

I actually don't know how often I cut my nails. Numerous people have asked me when I do cut my nails. I do it when I feel they are long enough to be broken (really depending on my mood and how daring I am). If your nails are normal-shaped (something that is not nature-defying like a square), then just cut along the lines that I've drawn. Make sure that you're cutting in a straight line. When your nails are dried, they will curve in naturally.

Tips on cutting: Work your way in from the sides, little by little. It doesn't matter is the edge is not completely even because it will be filed down. Don't try to cut off the whole nail in one go as this will bend the nail and may cause it to crack. Also leave 1mm more than your desired length because you will file off about 1mm. Here's what I mean by curving in naturally:

After your nails have been cut to the desired length, leave it to dry for a few minutes. I find that this makes filing easier. Now let's start filing! Always file in one direction, from one end to the other in one, firm stroke. Do not go back and for like a saw. Your nails are not like dead wood. They have feelings. If you love them, they will love you back. After filing you'll find that there are some excess left on the tip.

Brush the excess off and gently file perpendicular to the direction that you were filing before but this time at a tilt to clean up the edge. I hope you understand my dodgy diagram. You could also use the nail file to scrape around the inside of the nail to get rid off the pesky little bits that just refuse to come off. File around the corners too smooth out any sharp edges.
Dust off all excess and you're done!
Now you have square tips that are oh-so-chic! Feel free to ask me questions about my unnatural nail shape.

Where are my skates?

2010-11-13T14:27:00.001+11:00

My favourite holiday would be Christmas. Everything is so sparkly and wonderful. That is also when the best nail polishes come out. OPI Brand New Skates was released quite a few years ago but it is still part of my favourites list.

It is, unfortunately, one of those sheer nail polishes. I had to slap on 5 coats to achieve complete opacity. OPI Brand New Skates have a nice, smooth consistency and was so easy to apply. It is a slate grey colour with iridescent sparkles. Love love love!

Once again, my dodgy point-and-shoot camera has failed me and left me with blurry pictures. I desperately need a DSLR. Or a steady hand.

Look at the details on this baby! How could you not fall in love with this polish?

Pasadena Purple

2010-11-12T00:39:00.000+11:00

I am so sorry for not blogging in so long but everything is just thrown into one huge, uncontrollable and evergrowing ball of messy things that all need to be completed very soon.

I wore Nubar Pasadena Purple a while ago and forgot to photograph it until after 4 days of wear and tear. The polish on my index finger had gone all wrinkly. But nonetheless, this is a beautiful and unique colour that many people had complimented.

Once again, my camera refused to capture the correct shade of purple so 11% opacity of red is added over the nails to achieve that gorgeous colour. The polish was very easy to apply and just 1 coat gives an almost complete opaque finish. However, I have 3 coats on my index finger and 2 coats on the rest. Maybe that's why the wrinkly appeared on the index finger only.

I remember seeing this polish on Ginnifer Goodwin from the movie, He's Just Not That Into You. I definitely recommend that you get your hands on a bottle of this baby because it is probably one of the most distinctive colours out there.

I am not responsible for any spelling or grammatical errors as I am in desperate need of sleep. I do apologise for not reading over my rambles.

Spreading the love

2010-11-02T17:58:00.000+11:00

I just have to share this with all of you even though I should be studying for Physics (it's on Thursday, I shall start hyperventilating).

I stumbled upon this while I was randomly clicking links on Youtube. Somehow Temptalia lead to him. He also has a blog called Petrilude. Yes, I've even hyperlinked it for you. He beats Michelle Phan anyday. I may just be really slow because you might have already found him but I am a much nicer friend by spreading the love.

I'll get back to medical Physics now but before I go I just have to say that I am so excited because my Palty hair dye has arrived and the darling postman even rung my buzzer twice cos my short legs can't seem to get down the stairs fast enough. I sense a review coming soon.

Head over Lubu Heels

2010-10-29T12:56:00.001+11:00

I feel like I should be doing a Halloween nail art because this is the perfect time for cats and pumpkins and more cats. But the fact that I can't celebrate Halloween (this is Australia and HSC is killing creativity) really dampened my spirit. So instead, I've opted for China Glaze Lubu Heels. I know this is pretty old but I am in love with this polish!

China Glaze Lubu Heels is essentially tiny red glitters suspended in a sheer, jelly black base. However, I was able to achieve close-to-opaque with 3 coats while maintaining the squishy jelly-like quality. I absolutely adore jelly-finishes and the red glitter in this polish is a huge bonus.

I'd like to keep this on for a while because it is just so beautifully mesmerizing.

The golden age

2010-10-26T11:15:00.000+11:00

Since I have over a week until Physics, I'm left with quite a few hours to do nothing. I made these nails for the darling Samantha. Thank you for being my first customer. She had requested them to be Steam Punk inspired. Although these were kind of out of my comfort zone to create, I have to admit that I did have lots of fun making them.

It was a spontaneous process. I didn't have any plans and just whacked things down without really thinking. It was a good way to get over the awful Maths exam, I guess. I love how the little gears look together with the pointed, chrome rhinestones. I also took apart one of my old watches for the clock handles. The aggression was soothing. The acrylic stars that I was making came to good use. I just couldn't resist adding one oversized, statement piece. The fan reminds me so much of Sam.

I used a white base coat. Then a coat of a copper bronze franken that I've made using Revlon's Copperglaze Platinum. 4 coats of OPI Glizterland followed. China Glaze Medallion was added to the thumbs for that extra bit of sparkle dazzle. Nail glue was used to stick down the fan and stars. Topcoat took care of the rest. I think I've used a quarter of a bottle of topcoat for this because I'm a paranoid nut, scared of the rhinestones coming off. Enough of my rambling, check it out for yourself. Caution: lots photos ahead.

All these were completed last night. Oh it was a glorious night spent in front of the television. I've missed my TV so much.

Ski on water

2010-10-22T17:04:00.001+11:00

Lately, I've been really sluggish and quite DS-dependent. Yet I manage to squeeze in 6 hours of maths per day (which is agonising). I still don't understand what I'm doing half the time. I don't feel motivated enough to do anything, exemplified by the fact that I only have one hand painted. I also keep dreaming about English. They are all really similar dreams where I'm studying for another English exam but nothing would go into my head and I keep reciting my history and memory essay. Last night was the 4th time that I had that dream. It is quite terrifying.

On a much brighter note, I marbled the nails on my left hand. This was actually the first time that I've marbled straight onto my nails. I've always done it on fake nails because I thought the cleaning up process would be a nightmare if I were to dip my finger into nail polish. But with the help of Vaseline, the whole process was so quick and easy.

I started off with 2 coats of OPI Ski Teal We Drop as base. Then I used various shades of green: China Glaze Four Leaf Clover, a green franken made by mixing China Glaze Sky High-Top with China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, OPI Jade is the New Black, some more OPI Ski Teal We Drop and Zoya Ivanka.

The thumb reminds me of a watermelon. Overall, I think this was rather successful. OPI Ski Teal We Drop is such a gorgeous colour. I especially love how it doesn't make my skin look more yellow than it already is. The white powery thing on my thumb is left over acrylic powder. The moulds that I've ordered off Etsy had arrived so I was making acrylic stars.

I'll definitely make a marbling tutorial soon.

I'm still alive

2010-10-19T22:48:00.000+11:00

I haven't blogged in quite a while. Yes, I'm still painting my nails during this time. Even though the HSC is a (the word that rhymes with itch), the nail polish fumes are keeping me sane. You should've seen me during the last week of the holidays without nail polish. I'd like to thank the two Shirleys for putting up with my insanity during that agonizing period. I'd also like to thank Vivien for the lovely post, I hope you're painting your nails while you're reading this. This is beginning to sound like one of those award speeches so I am going to stop before I throw up in my mouth.

After the Belonging Paper, I painted my nails. I've reworked the Ruffian moon and made it look more like the "real" thing, whatever that may be. I used 3 coats of Colour Club Worth the Risque as base. This is a holographic nail polish that turns into disco balls in the sun. I love it. Although I failed to capture it because my home only sees the sun during the morning (I'm usually asleep during that time). This will all change when I move in a month's time! I'll be sure to take a photo the next time that I wear it.

After the base colour had dried, I used manicure guides on my middle and ring fingers but free handed the rest with Revlon Black Lingerie, then Essie's Matte About You finishing topcoat. I like the free hand effect better. I'm sure you'd agree.

I don't know if it is Essie's matte topcoat's fault for my own fault for not leaving the black to dry completely before whacking on the topcoat, the matte seems to work better with China Glaze Matte Magic. I should do a comparison later.

Go paint your nails. If my left hand was coordinated enough to free hand a Ruffian moon, then you should have no problem painting both hands.

Click me!

2010-10-12T17:42:00.001+11:00

Procrastination. It sounds like such a bad word. It is kind of like "sarcastic". It even looks bad.

So I was thinking (this rarely happens) about the title of the previous post and because I think I have spent way too much time with Troll, immature thoughts keeps popping up. Same applies for the title of this post but I am too lazy to come up with something creative. Belonging has sucked all the creative juices out of me.

So I got off track. What I was meant to say many lines ago was that you are more than welcome to click on my photos to enlarge them and admire my beautifully nourished cuticles. They looked horrible once upon a time (I'd say about a month ago, actually). But now, with Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, my cuticles are saved and if I could use a comparative analogy: they used to look like Nicole Richie but now look like the luscious Miranda Kerr. I should get paid for this amazing advertising.

Actually, I'm just bored and don't want to write another stupid introduction. I'm killing trees while wasting ink. Am I killing your time too? Here's a little something to make it up to you, or to give you a heart attack.

I do not own this image, credits to the owner.

I found this a long time ago and saved it. Should I call an ambulance?

It's coming...

2010-10-12T14:14:00.000+11:00

Yes, you know what I mean: the much dreaded HSC is coming in 2 days. My procrastination level has reached 99 and is ready to transcend to the ultimate epic. I also haven't blogged in a week. I honestly had nothing to blog about.

Remember my promise not to touch my nails until the HSC? Well I couldn't resist. I mean, there was a massive chip! What else am I suppose to do? Just leave it? I don't think so. The gold mani did last over a week, thanks to Revlon's topcoat. I discovered the chip after I washed the dishes (with gloves). I was pretty "grr" about it. But it gave my an excuse to paint my nails again, I guess. All's well ends well.

Other than the great big chip on the index finger of my left hand, my nails were pretty much perfect. Very faint tip wear was visible but that was probably one of the longest lasting manis ever. Look, I even circled the chip for you. What really scared me was how much my nails have grown in just 1 week. Look at the massive gap between the polish and my cuticles! I think I owe it all to Lush's Lemony Flutter. I feel a review coming soon.

The glitter wasn't as difficult to remove as I had imagined. I got to drool over Channing Tatum's hotness on TV while I scrubbed my nails. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Then I finally got the chance to paint my nails.

I used OPI Happy Anniversary. It is extremely sheer with a frosty-foil finish. The finish I feel is very similar to OPI Glitzerland, just more frosty. However, it took my 5 coats for a relatively opaque result. I would pile on more but I didn't want to suffocate my nails. I then added 3 coats of Essie Silver Bullion, a silver glitter topcoat. So altogether, I had 9 layers of nail polish on each nail (including basecoat and topcoat). I forgot to take a picture of OPI Happy Anniversary on its own but the result is pretty much the same as what I'm about to show you.

I like how dreamy this photo looks. Matches the end result which is very dreamy yet sparkly. It is hard to describe. It kind of reminds me of the Snow Queen. So clean and pristine but with a magical twist. Here's another photo of the same thing but with better details.

The glitters really come through. And a close up for good luck.

My index finger is looking very ugly at the moment. I guess I'll just have to wait for it to grow until it looks normal again. I think I might call this "Winter Wonderland" just to be cliche.

Light bulb

2010-10-05T11:58:00.000+11:00

If you've watched Despicable Me, imagine "light bulb" the way Gru said it. I love those light bulb moments. They give me a purpose in life. No, I'm exaggerating. I've obviously been procrastinating a lot during the past few days (if not weeks) and have actually come up with quite a few new nail art ideas. So I thought that I'd better list them before I forget.

Obviously, these are going to be materialised after the HSC. Which is quite soon, actually.
♥ Tiffany & Co inspired (gives me an excuse to get China Glaze For Audrey)
♥ Minnie Mouse (who wouldn't love bows and polka dots?)
♥ Cookie Monster (his crazy googly eyes)
♥ Elmo (na-na-na-na Elmo's World)
♥ Christmas themed (I love Christmas, hopefully I can get my hand's on China Glaze's seasonal collection)
♥ Gingerbread man! (I am so excited for this one)

These will keep me going until next year.

Meemee says bye.

Bring on the burlesque!

2010-10-02T17:53:00.001+10:00

I am so excited! OPI has released its Burlesque collection to celebrate the release of Burlesque the movie. You know, the one with Cher and Christina Aguilera. The movie doesn't look that appealing but OPI's collection of nail polish sure is amazing.

There are so so so many glitters! You should definitely go get out the swatches. Especially of the pure glitter ones. Yes, my wishlist has 2 additions: OPI Shimmer & Shimmer and OPI Sparkle-icious. They're both from the Burlesque collection. If you loved OPI Mad as a Hatter that was released with Tim Burton's movie, then you're going to love this collection. I know, I'm repeating myself. But I am just so excited! I can't wait to get my hands on those babies.

I guess I'll see them after HSC. That is in 6 weeks' time! Because I am so excited, I'll leave you with some photos of my current mani. I call them gold diggers. I promised myself that this will last me until the start of the HSC. Trying to keep this promise will be pure agony. I'm sorry that the first picture is blurry. My camera sucks. This is why I need a DSLR.

3 coats of OPI Glitzerland, 2 coats of China Glaze Gold Medallion on tips

It's like a gradient effect with glitter tips. The larger glitters are extremely reflective. I'm loving it. But it'll be a pain to remove. I'll worry about that later, I guess.

Go-Go Pink vs Mod About You

2010-10-01T16:55:00.001+10:00

I should be studying right now. I woke up at 11AM today (wasted 2 hours already) and ended up playing my DS until 3PM. Then I don't know what happened in between 3PM til now. I really ought to be putting a lot more effort into being studious.

But instead, I bring you with a comparison of China Glaze Go-Go Pink with OPI Mod About You. Yes, this one's for you, Troll.

The first thing that I've realised is that they have completely different formulas. Well it is rather obviously since Go-Go Pink is on the sheer side while Mod About You is extremely opaque. The bottles do say a lot.


Left: OPI Mod About You; Right: China Glaze Go-Go Pink

As you can see, MAY has a cool undertone while GGP has a warm undertone. So they're not in the same groups of colour although they are both quite pastel. With 1 coat, GGP is extremely sheer while MAY is already nearly opaque.

1 coat of each

So I kept painting. With 3 coats, GGP is now opaque. MAY only required 2 coats in total. This is taken in the sun. The second photo is taken in shade. The colours look similar in the sun but completely different in shade.

In sun light

In shade

GGP is much warmer than MAY. GGP is almost peachy incomparison. Personally, I prefer MAY because my skin tends to look extremely orange with warm colours. However, the formula for GGP is quite watery for a polish that isn't sheer. It was a lot easier to apply and I did not encounter any problems.

Also, if you're looking for a dupe for MAY, I would suggest China Glaze Something Sweet from the Up & Away collection. I haven't tried it personally but I do think the formula will be less gloggy than MAY so I believe that would be something sweet to look into. Excuse the pun. I couldn't help myself.

I heart polka dots

2010-09-27T18:21:00.002+10:00

You may have noticed that I now have a Wishlist column on the left hand side. If I could have all the nail polish in the world, I would. But since I am poor and trying to be realistic, I've only noted the ones that I desperately want. It is still a rather long list.

Now onto a much brighter note. I painted my nails today hooray! I know that I haven't blogged in a while, busy with school (just an excuse for being lazy, actually) and everything else that's happening in my life. Mind you, they're not all that terrific.

Today I used OPI Mod About You. It is a pale pink that has a hint of lilac in some angles. I absolutely adore this colour. But the application was a nightmare. It was gloggy and thick and streaky. In fact, I think it grew more troublesome as it got to the bottom. I'm halfway through the bottle already although I've only used it no more than 8 times (unless I've been sleep walking). I can explain why. Because application is such a nightmare, I need to use at least 5 coats to achieve a perfectly smooth finish without any streaks. You cannot get a more opaque polish than this. If you over look the fact that this polish is the ultimate devil child (even more evil than OPI Alpine Snow Matte), this is a wonderfully girly colour even though it makes my fingers look darker than usual.

5 coats of OPI Mod About You

This photo is true to colour because I had to add a 25% Magenta filter because once again, my camera refuses to capture the actual colour. I really need a DSLR. These point and shoot cameras are absolutely ridiculous.

Since my parents are out shopping somewhere for the new house, I had more time to kill. So I decided to polka dot my nails. I love polka dots. Although I am hating the fact that they are the current 'in' thing and just about every store has something that's polka dotted, no matter no ugly it may look. The colour of the rest of these photos are not true to life.

I used a dotting/marbling tool to make the polka dots in Revlon Black Lingerie. The scalloped tips are drawn free-hand, same as the hearts. But then for my right hand, I thought: "Why not make a template?" That was my stroke of genius. Since I could use masking tapes for striping guides and reinforcement stickers as tip guides, why not make pattern templates too.

I folded the masking tape in half and cut the shape of a semi-heart then unfolded the tape. Like with any other guides, I had to press down firmly to prevent bleeding. I'd have to say that it was a success (surprisingly as most of my creations don't turn out the way I imagined them to be).

The left thumb is my free-handed heart while the right is the heart from the masking tape template. It is actually quite funny because they look identifical even though I had no idea what I was cutting. I guess it's fate! Bet you couldn't tell the difference anyway. But if I had free-handed the right hand, the hearts wouldn't look like hearts. I can't control my left hand.

Maybe I should try cutting a masking tape guide next time in the shape of a cat. Til then, toodles (or was it doodles, don't remember).

Inactivity

2010-09-25T20:01:00.000+10:00

Once again, I have nothing to blog about. I still haven't changed my nails. I really don't feel motivated to paint my nails. I feel like I haven't done anything today and it is nearly 8 o'clock. Life goes by so fast now.

I've just graduated from high school yesterday (then celebrated Nickey's birthday, happy birthday, again) and I feel so empty. To be honest, it is not my friends who I am going to miss because I know that I'll still be seeing them long after the HSC. I really miss my beloved teachers. The teachers who have put up with me for the past 2 (if not more) years. They were the ones who had to suffer my constant complaining and answer the stupid questions that I ask. I feel like I owe them so much. I honestly don't know how I could ever thank them enough.

I don't want to leave you staring at a sad blog entry about my life. So instead, you get to see Nelly's late birthday present (the small nail polishes) and what we used to make it (everything else in the photo). Just ignore the cling wrap and packet of strawberry clouds in the background.

I probably won't be posting much for the next 2 months. HSC is killing my life.

Ruffian moon manicure tutorial

2010-09-22T20:08:00.000+10:00

I've noticed that there is a current trend in "Ruffian Moon" manicures. Creative Nail Design, otherwise known as CND is leading this trend with several variations of this manicure style. I was inspired by these 2 examples:

I do not own this image. Credit to source.

I do not own this image. Credits to source.

So I've decided to create a simple tutorial for creating this stylish look.

If you remember my Channelling Chanel entry, I talked about using french tip guides that can be purchased on Ebay for next to nothing. Well, great news! I've found an even cheaper method that eliminates the shipping time: hole punch reinforcement stickers! They can be found in all news agencies in the stationery section. Now gather them and cut them in half so one ring can be used twice.

Paint your nails a base colour. I wasn't bothered to make the whole thing perfect becase only the bottom of the nails will be seen. I've used 4 coats of Essie Pound Cake at the bottom. It is a light nude that leans towards greige and has a slight pink tinge. I would definitely paint my walls this colour. Looks so refreshing.

As you can see, the tips are not properly painted. This did not affect layering in any way. Apply a quick dry topcoat or wait for as least an hour for the polish to dry properly so that sticking wouldn't ruin the base. Get your semi-ring. Stick it on the palm of your hand to remove the excess stickiness. Stick it onto the bottom of your nail and make sure the semi-ring is stuck firmly to your nail otherwise bleeding will ruin everything.

I applied OPI Dim Sim Plum to the top half of my nail. I got a perfect coverage with 2 coats. I then applied China Glaze Matte Magic Topcoat for an extra twist.

Remove the semi-ring when the top half is almost dried. Check out the final result.

I'm pretty happy with it seeing that this manicure was so quick, easy and cheap to do. Those reinforcement rings would also be perfect manicure guides. Maybe some glitters would spice things up a little more. Go nuts!

I need a life

2010-09-21T20:36:00.001+10:00

I have nothing to blog about today. I took my nail polish off without taking photos of it. So I am left with bare nails, once again, and no record of my beautifully frankened baby that looks a lot of OPI Meet Me On the Star Ferry.

Since I have nothing new to say, I'll just share with you my Textiles Major Work and explain the concept behind it. Photos first!

I bet you're looking confused. Probably disappointed at the quality. I should be quite proud of it. I am, but I just know that I could've done the details better.

I've made a reversible dress, The corset top is attached to the skirt lining while the skirt flips around to reveal the dolls that are on the inside. Too bad the skirt doesn't close properly due to my crappy measuring skills. I feel rather lazy tonight. So here's a paragraph that I've copied and pasted from my Textiles Design Inspiration's justification part.

"My inspiration comes from my surroundings: the human environment. From an early age, we are taught of the necessity of wealth through the much-loved Monopoly. Communication is made faster through technological advances yet it doesn’t appear any simpler. Love is elevated to a cult-like status. Fast food is no longer only for convenience as people became caught up in the modern pace of fast city living. Our desire for knowledge intensifies as it becomes a measurement of a person’s intelligence. Emphasised by the media, I feel these issues play a vital role in shaping the perspectives of an individual. Personally, these factors are overwhelmingly powerful in affecting my decision making as my life revolves around these central themes. Wealth, communication, love, fast food and knowledge are essential in the modern way of life and are capable of causing great debates and emotional turmoils. Through textiles arts, I am able to identify these factors as integral to not only my own personal developments but also the whole of society."

Yes you totally read all that. I know you didn't. So you're forgiven. I'll blog about something a lot more interesting tomorrow. I just might to a raindow mani inspired by Troll's "unicorns".

5 minutes nail polish removal tutorial

2010-09-20T17:12:00.000+10:00

Disclaimer: I am definitely recommending this method. I do not claim this as my own. I learnt it from Deborah Lippmann so I'll recognise her as the original source. However, the true origin of this amazing 5 minutes method is yet to be discovered.

Nail polishes are terrific when you don't need to remove them. It used to take me up to 30 minutes swiping the nail polish off using millions of cotton buds. It was both a waste of time and precious cotton buds that are needed for other great things like making sure my ears are squeaky clean. Too much info?

One bright and sunny day, I was browsing through my favourite nail blog (because I have no life), I came across a Youtube clip of Deborah Lippmann showing her quick and easy way of removing nail polish. That lady is a genius. I tried it at once and it worked so well. I've been using this method for a couple of months now and it has been unbeatable! Except with large chunky glitter like China Glaze Doll's House but maybe it was my fault since I applied 5 coats of the stuff. I've been introducing this amazing method to my friends and they all love it (the ones who tried). So here's a tutorial if you don't yet use this method.

Step one. Gather your equipment. You'd obviously need nail polish remover, I like mine acetone-free. It is purely psychological because as long as you're not consuming acetone, it won't do much harm. You nail polish is actually killing you more than your remover. Now that you've gotten your remover, get some cotton balls. They have to be BALLS. Not buds, not tissues, BALLS. Go out and buy a packet if you don't have any. They are so cheap and will last you forever. I only need 1 ball to remove both of my hands.

Now grab your ball. They're so fluffy. Unravel it into a strip.

It should come apart easily as the ball itself is produced by ravelling a strip like a snail shell.

Split your strip down the middle vertically into 2 strips. I am saving you money!

You can continue to split but I like mine with a little bulk. So now tear them into little pieces that are nail-sized. No need to be neat since this is all going to go into the rubbish bin anyway.

Keep tearing until you have a lot. I usually have 12-15 pieces. 10 for my nails and the others for wiping and cleaning up any bits of nail polish left behind.

Now you have the cotton pieces ready. Get your nail polish remover and pour it into the lid and fill it up like so.

Nice and smelly. Now take one of those cotton pieces (let's call it CP) and dip it into the remover. Don't dunk it in. Just dip in the edge because the remover will travel up the CP. Too much remover on the CP will dribble like crazy when you're pressing the CP onto your nail. It could travel up your hand all the way to your elbow. Happened to me before. Not a pleasant experience.

Press the wet CP onto your nail gently. It should be completely wet and cover your entire nail.

Do the same for all the other fingers. I like to do mine one hand at a time because I need the other hand to wipe the CP off.

Leave them on your nails for 1-2 minutes, give or take. That's the time where the remover is doing its job. This is similar to soaking your nails in remover but a lot less harsh on your skin. You nails will not absorb the remover. Like I said before, your nail polish would've killed your nails more than the remover. Next, grab a new piece of CP and wipe off the wet CP from your nail while pressing down with some force. Put some muscle into it! Do it from your nail bed to your nail tip. This way, your nails will not be damaged.

If you do it correctly, almost everything (if not everything) should come right off your nails.

I only have some polishes remaining on the sides because my thumb is flat, not curved like my nails, so I couldn't apply enough force to wipe the sides. Now repeat this for all the other nails.

This is with only one swipe. My index finger, middle finger and pinky are completely clean in just one swipe! This would've taken forever with cotton buds. Use your remaining CP to do the other hand and clean up any bits that maybe be left on your nails.

In the end, you'd have beautifully clean nails.

I even have a strip of CP left over. So that means I've used less than 1 cotton ball to remove all my nails.

I did time myself and found that I've completed the whole process in under 5 minutes, including the soaking time. So I don't think I'll ever return to the primitive cotton buds method ever again.

Just a few important things before I go:
♥ Never use tissue to remove nail polish. Tissue is actually quite coarse and will damage your nails.
♥ My nails used to peel even when I used cotton buds. With this method, my nails don't peel nor dry out anymore after removal.
♥ Always wipe from nail bed to nail tip. Swiping back and forth and/or in the opposite way will make your nails peel.

Now that it only takes 5 minutes for you to take off your nail polish, maybe you'd change your nails more often. Come on, I dare you.

What happened to black?

2010-09-19T16:27:00.000+10:00

I know what you're thinking, "How come you have so much time to paint your nails?" I don't think I'll answer. Otherwise I would sound extremely lazy.

So yesterday was Sunday. I bought Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter yesterday. When I got home, I applied it religiously. I'll continue to use it for a week then maybe I'll write a review on it. This entry is actually dedicated to showing off my well hydrated cuticles. They look splendid right now.

I used OPI Jade is the New Black from the Hong Kong Collection. I've only just gotten around to using it now. There are still so many colours that I haven't worn yet. The application was easy breezy. 2 coats was enough for a smooth and opaque finish. I've only worn this for 2 days so I can't safely say that this doesn't stain. I remember my crappy experience with China Glaze Four Leaf Clover. It stained my nails like crazy even with basecoat.

According to numerous nail polish gurus, Jade is the New Black is a 100% unique colour with no dupes or twins or siblings. I just like it for the colour. It looks like a forest in the Northern Hemisphere on a foggy day. Yes it has to be Northern Hemisphere because I'm picky like that.

2 coats of OPI Jade is the New Black

My beautifully hydrated cuticles. The colour is much more true-to-life on the close up. Can you tell that I cut my nails? I chopped off so much...

Guilty pleasures

2010-09-19T16:00:00.001+10:00

Attention: Any hint of arrogance present in this entry automatically translates to pride and pleasure.

Now that's out of the way. I am proud of my nail polish collection. Like any proud parent, I would like to see my babies grow and expand. Hopefully I would eventually reach the 1000+ mark. Sooner than later, I hope. There are so many more colours, finishes and textures that are still waiting patiently for me to discover them. I guess this is the purpose of this blog. To help you to discover something wonderfully new, whether it be an idea, a colour, or another way to procrastinate during the vital HSC period. I do feel rather sentimental today.

I really need a nail polish stand. A place to display my nail polish for easy access. Currently, they occupy one shelf on my downstairs bookshelf because that is the only place where the sun cannot get to. Sunlight + nail polish = bad. So don't ever store your nail polish where the sun can get to it. My other nail art supplies are stored in random shoe boxes under my coffee table. I hate it. I want a cupboard didicated to nails. Space is always an issue.

I think I current have 70-ish bottles of nail polish. I remember counting but not the number. It is a pretty pathetic number, I do have to admit. But a girl only has so much money to spend. I arranged them according to brand. I like the look like matching bottles. Since I have no life, I'll name every single one for you.

OPI:
Top row from left to right: Girls Just Want to Play, Dim Sim Plum, Chapel of Love, Mod about You, Happy Anniversary, Alpine Snow (Matte), Funny Bunny, Banana Bandana, Glitzerland, Bling Dynasty, You Don't Know Jacques, My Private Jet
Bottom row from left to right: Jade is the New Black, What's with the Cattitude?, Ski Teal we Drop, Yoga-ta get this Blue, Brand New Skates, Sheer your Toys

China Glaze: Lubu Heels, Doll's House, Light as Air, Strong Adhesive Basecoat, Matte Magic Topcoat, Ghoulish Glow Topcoat, Medallion, Sun Worshipper, Four Leaf Clover

Essie: Matte About You Topcoat, Haute as Hello, Pound Cake, Playa Del Platinum, Silver Bullions, Mint Candy Apple, Mesmerize

Revlon: Quick Dry Topcoat, Black Lingerie, Primal Purple, Fuchsia Fever, Franken (used to be Cherry Crush), Franken Squeaky (used to be Grape Shimmer), Franken (used to be Copperglaze Platinum)

Zoya: Ivanka, Gilda, Savita, Get Even Basecoat

Nubar: Sour Candy, 2010 (G188), Pasadena Purple

Milani: Key Lime Shine, Blue for my Baby

Colour Club: Worth the Risque (yes I bought 2 bottles, they were on special)

OPI mini: Tattoo You Want Candy?, I Love Mummy, Witch Arm?, Glow-ink the Dark

Orly: Fantasea

Bloom Seoul, Sally Hansen Nail Hardener, Kami Nail Foil Adhesive

Here are the under $5 nail polishes that I don't feel safe using anymore because they are packed with chemical goodness. So I use them extensively on fake nails. The colours are still wonderful though.

I can't wait to take another trip to Bankstown. I really want to expand my Essie and Orly collections so they can grow to compete with OPI for my love. I would also love to get my hands on more Zoya but Ebay is currently the only 'affordable' way of getting them. They still cost on average $12 a bottle when the exchange rate is high. I'll shut up now. Thank you for reading. I'm off to make a wishlist.

hoyu Beautylabo hair dye review - honey beige

2010-09-17T23:47:00.000+10:00

I dyed my hair on Sunday because the annoying regrowth was really getting on my nerves. Plus I wanted to try out hoyu's Beautylabo hair dye series now to ensure the colours will come out for formal. So here's a review.

As an Asian (Japanese to be precise) hair dye, the colour is intended for dark hairs. I'm not sure if there is bleach in this product but I can definitely smell the presence of ammonia. Beautylabo is produced by the same company as the well-know Beauteen but is targeted at a more mature market, or so it claims. I ordered mine in Honey Beige from Ebay.

The box is quite cute. Just a bit squished from being posted all the way from Hong Kong.

Inside the box there are: 1 colour paste-like thing that comes in a tube (labelled 1) which reminds me of those olden toothpaste tubes. 1 colour developer (if that's what it is called, labelled 2) in a bottle. You squeeze the content of the tube into the bottle. Close the lid tightly then shake vigorously for 30 times. I kind of overkilled it and shook like there was no tomorrow. Then there is the comb applicator which replaced the lid when applying the hair dye. Instructions, hair conditioner for shower and gloves come in that neat little paper wrap. It is so adorable.

Since the instructions are in Japanese, I just took a photo for its cuteness.

Try to dye your hair when it is oily. The natural oils will help the dye to stick better. So I didn't wash my hair the night before I dyed it. So on Sunday with my oily head, I mixed 1 and 2 together and screwed on the comb applicator. I put on an old shirt that I wear for painting and used an old towel to tuck in the collars. I squeezed the smelly hair dye out and massaged the dye into my roots with both my fingers and the comb. I didn't dye my ends though because I didn't want to damage them further. Leave the dye in for approximately 15 minutes give or take, depending on the thickness of your hair strand. Thick hair will need 20 minutes while thinner hair will need 10 minutes.

Do not leave the dye in for more than 20 minutes. I left mine for 20 minutes because I was paranoid that the colour wouldn't turn out. But I am really happy with the result.

Before (with flash)

Before (natural lighting)

Before side view (natural lighting)

After (with flash)

After (natural lighting)

After side view (natural lighting)

The colour is actually a lot lighter in real life. I think it is quite close to what the box depicts. So my final verdict:
Pros:
♥ Terrific for dark and black hair.
♥ It doesn't stain your skin. I was quite messy and got it all over my ears. But the dye only seem to cling onto hair, not skin.
♥ Cute packaging.
♥ One box is sufficient for med-long hair. It was just enough for me.

Cons:
♥ Smells like ammonia.
♥ Instructions are in Japanese (I had to guess).
♥ Extremely overpriced in Australia so I had to resort to Ebay.

I think in the end, I would definitely use this again because the colour has turned out so well. I've used Beauteen before and that was a success too. So a big thumbs up for hoyu! Plus no more regrowth. I love love love it!

Usamimi headband tutorial

2010-09-16T22:13:00.000+10:00

This tutorial is featured in the preview post. Since Usamimi headbands are popping up everywhere, I thought I should just join the trend and make a pair for myself. If I ever work up the courage to wear it in public, that is.

These pointy headbands are all the rage right now. Personally, I prefer mine either really short or really tall. In this case, I've made a really tall one to emulate Usamimi and their bunny ears. Here's a tutorial if you want one for yourself.

Gather your equipment. This includes some wires, masking tape, scissors, pliers, fabric, and some needle and thread. A sewing machine is optional is you have one available.

I made my pointy ears quite long. So cut 2 strips of fabric that is 9cm x 1m. Don't stress, 1.5cm seam allowance is included on both sides. So the actual headband will only be 6cm wide.

Now's time to twist the wires together. Your wires will need to join to make a long piece that is just a little over 2m because it needs to be folded in half to create the point. The wire is what will make those points stand up straight. If you are making a Usamimi that is quite short in height, then the wire should be optional. Wires can be found in craft shops.

After twisting like the photo above, use masking tape to seal the points for a smooth finish. Being poked by wires is more painful than you think.

Hooray! Smoothness. Then fold your long 2m wire in half like so:

Now it's time to sew the fabrics. Iron your fabric out first. Always iron! Always always always! I used a cotton floral fabric that I bought from Spotlight. I can't wait to make a summer dress from this. Anyways, measure out 1.5cm from both sides. Skip this step if you're using a sewing machine.

Place your fabric the right sides together (the side that you would want the world to see). So you're looking at the wrong side. Sew along the longer edges. However, leave a 10cm gap on one side. This is the place where you will feed through your wire. Look at the diagram if you're unsure. If you're hand sewing, try to use a backstitch with small stitch lengths so that your headband won't break so easily.

Now sew away!

After you've done the sewing, its time to mark out the point on the ends. Draw any shape you like. Whatever floats your boat. Then sew along what you've drawn.

Now it is time to flip your strip to the right side. This is where the 10cm gap is coming handy. Here's a tip: trim the fabric close to the point to prevent bulking. After you've flipped it then ironed it flat, it will look like this.

Isn't it beautiful? Can you see the gap that I've left? Now feed your wire through. Make sure your pointed bit of the wire is pushed right into the point in the fabric. After feeding in one pointed side, twist the ends of your wires into a triangular point (remember to masking tape it) and feed into the other end of the fabric. Now use a needle and thread, tack the wire into place. It doesn't matter if you can see the thread because noone is going to scrutinise your headband upclose. Use an invisible thread if you're picky.

See, you can hardly notice my dodgy sewing. Now repeat the tacking process every 3-5cm intervals on the pointed section and further apart on the straight section. This will help the wire to stay in place. Ladder stitch your opening close. Ladder stitch cannot be seen once it is pulled tight.

Ladder stitch, go google it if you like

There you go, no visible stitching what so ever. Now that your headband is fully sealed and secured, I twisted the middle parts to make it thinner. This is completely optional and depends on your personal taste.

Now it is ready to wear!

This is such a simple and affordable project. I've completed it in under 2 hours without spending a single cent (the fabric doesn't count because I bought it nearly a year ago). I didn't even have instructions. It is all off the top of my head. I wish I could put more effort into my studies instead.

You could try this in denim. It'd look so cute! Go and have fun! Sew lots but don't prick yourself.

Basic striping tutorial

2010-09-15T21:57:00.001+10:00

Three cheers for tutorials! This one isn't featured in the previews but I'm still really excited about this. I will introduce you to a cheap, fast and idiot-proof method of creating delicious strips on your nails.

All you need is nail polish (well obviously), masking tape and scissors. Start off with clean nails and apply a layer of basecoat. Like I said before, this is a good habit to have to prevent ugly staining. I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Basecoat.

Apply basecoat

Apply a base colour of your choice. This will be one of the colours of your strips. I used OPI Alpine Snow Matte. It was a nightmare to apply. The first coat was extremely streaky and was almost chalky in texture. I had to use whopping 4 coats to obtain an even coverage. So I honestly wouldn't recommend this although the effect looks quite amazing.

4 coats of OPI Alpine Snow Matte

After your base colour has dried, get your masking tape ready!

Masking tape, masking tape, I love you, yes I do!

Cut stripes of the same thickness from the masking tape. Whatever tickles your fancy, really. Mine are around 5mm.

Guess who's lazy and didn't paint her thumb?

Stick them onto your nails! I've done mine horizontally to create a sense of energy. Ms Ruck is going to be proud. Make sure that they are all stuck on nice and firm because nail polish can seep beneath to ruin the stripes. So press them down!

Stick them down in place

Choose the other colour of the strips and paint it over the nails. I used Essie Mesmerize. A gorgeous dark blue that is opaque with 2 layers. Places covered by the masking tapes will be left white. Left the nail polish dry for approximately 3-5 minutes and peel off the masking tape for a pristine finish. I then applied Essie Silver Bullions over the blue stripes for that extra bit of dazzle.

So go have fun and experiment with stripes! Red and white stripes would be terrific for Chrstimas. You could also try creating rainbow stripes. Now that's a thought. I'd love to see your results!

Just tea-sing

2010-09-14T20:49:00.000+10:00

I just couldn't resist incorporating OPI Just Tea-sing into the title. Truthfully, I don't own the colour because it is too light and sheer for my liking. Although it would be nice to collect the whole OPI Garden Party collection even though it is quite old. I love Funny Bunny to bits! It's half empty now.

I went to a mini exam today for the modules and I was the only one there. I was so lonely and sad but luckily another person came. At least that's gotten out of the way now. Here's a little preview of what is coming up this week. A teaser, I would call it.

Go and make your guess! I think it is rather obvious because I cannot be subtle no matter how hard I try. I would really like a MAC 187. Hint, hint.

Coming up next...

2010-09-13T20:07:00.000+10:00

I'm sorry for the recent inactivity due to the powerful flu that plagued me for over a week. However, I am proud to say that I do have 1 review and 2 tutorials planned for this week. So stay tuned and I'll update as soon as I get a chance to take some photographs under natural lighting. My bedroom lighting turns my photos into a yellow yucky mess.

I know you all love tutorials because I do! I now leave you with a photo of some nails that I did a few months ago for the walkathon but I guess my school is too fob to buy something that doesn't contain bows or polka dots.

I hope to see you soon. Not actually see you but you get what I mean.

Subtle is key

2010-09-11T21:08:00.000+10:00

I'm sorry for getting you sick. So here's an entry to help relieve your boredom. If you're not sick because of me, go away. You can't read this entry. Only joking.

I feel a lot better now. I can't wait to go to school on Monday because I've missed everyone so much. It'd totally suck if you're all sick though. I'd have noone. I painted my nails this afternoon. I didn't feel like working. Gwen Harwood is a life sucker, like one of those monsters in Sailor Moon. I miss Sailor Moon.

Back on track! I used Zoya Savita. It is a matte, suede-like eggplant coloured polish. My camera refuses to capture the correct colour so I had to photo filter 45% red to achieve a true to life colour. So I apologise for the rather pink looking skin. I'm yellow. I thought I'd give Zoya Get Even Basecoat another chance but my ridges are still visible. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how long Savita will last with Get Even as base.

Matte nail polishes are amazing. Zoya Savita is no exception. It goes on like any other nail polish but dries to become matte in a matter of seconds. My nails were completely dried just 5 minutes after application. 2 coats is enough for a great finish. However, I really don't like the small brush. I find myself needing to re-dip after 2 strokes. That caused streaks to appear as the polish dried at lightning speed.

2 coats of Zoya Savita over Zoya Get Even Basecoat

I really need to do something about my cuticles. They're dry and looking very ugly with supermacro. Can you see the ridges on my ring finger? Stupid basecoat not doing its job properly. It was looking a little plain so I decided to Konad it using plate m40. I only got this plate for the cute little crown.

Image hijacked from www.prettynailshop24.de

I used LA Girl Matte nail polish in white to stamp. I got it for my birthday, from Troll. I've never moved so fast in my life. The effect is a nice subtle finish. I'm loving it.

More ugly cuticles

Close up

I then spot applied China Glaze Matte Magic Topcoat. Another terrific thing about matte is that the topcoat can be applied to one spot and still dry flat, merging seamlessly with the nail polish. Maybe I'll dye my hair tomorrow.

You are my sunshine

2010-09-10T18:36:00.000+10:00

THANK YOU! For all of your love. You've all brightened up my day!

I thought I'd have the worst birthday, being sick and all. But thank you for sacrificing your own health to visit me in my virus infected home. I couldn't ask for better friends. Big smiley face here :D

As a token of my appreciation, I leave you with a picture of my favourite show Humf (meant for 3 year olds). You make me smile like how this cute little furry thing will make you go "awww".

Here's an adapted version of a well known song (please don't sing it, Whiney):

You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine,

You make me happy,

When I am sick/miserable/sad/dying (whatever tickles your fancy),

You never know dear,

How much I LOVE you (I really mean it),

So please don't take my sunshine away by getting sick.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! I'm really getting emotional here.

I hate being sick

2010-09-09T14:39:00.000+10:00

I'm sorry not blogging but I feel unmotivated because my throat feels like it is being sliced by razors. Tomorrow's my birthday. Yay. I'll be sick on my birthday. Life is so wonderful.

I'll show you my current work in progress. Well it is what I started before I became sick. If I am successful, it will look like this, or maybe even better, though I am doubtful.

I do not own this image.

Laptop next?

2010-09-06T19:02:00.001+10:00

Has anyone else seen the new iPod nano? Or am I just slow? They are so small that it scares me. Check it out (better yet, go to the Apple website):


Front View (image hijacked from Apple)

Back View (image hijacked from Apple, again)

It has a built in touch display and a built in clip. It is like the size of an eyeshadow square. Your headphones would even be bigger than the iPod. What's next? A built in laptop the size of your fingernail? But if I didn't have an iPod, I'd totally get one just because it's cute.

Introducing her Majesty the Queen

2010-09-06T17:03:00.002+10:00

I have a valid reason for having a sore throat. I blame nail polish fumes. I sat in from of my TV, laboriously working on this set of nails for 5 hours straight on Saturday night. I need a life. I could be having a life right now. But mothers. They are all out to ruin our lives. Stop reading about my life. Your life is probably a lot more interesting.

This is my Red Queen inspired set of nails. I've decided to name it "Red Off the Queen's Heart". There's a pun in there but I'd be surprised if anyone could actually understand my logic. Personally, Thoughtless Alice was a lot more fun to create. I found myself straying back to the cutesy polka dots and bows although I've tried my best to make this one look more sophisticated. You know, with the roses and lace. I've used some random white polish, Revlon Black Lingerie, OPI Girls just want to have fun and a truck load of top coat. I'm sorry that I keep using the same nail polishes but I am honestly not a black and red person. I much rather, wait for it, Essie Sag Harbor! That's right, I'm still squinting at the AU$6.55 + $4.36 on Ebay. Enough rambling, photo time!

Now wasn't that fun? Let's not do it again. It was such a pain to upload with crappy upstairs internet. I'd like to sell this one too. My bank account is still empty. Should I make a Mad Hatter set? Or how about a White Queen set?

Airy delight

2010-09-06T16:09:00.000+10:00

I'm blogging like mad right now to make up for my lazy Sunday. I watched 3 movies yesterday. Took my mind off my sore throat momentarily. I think I'll lose my voice soon. I'll just upload some photos of some Konad I did months ago. I rescued these from my old camera. The one that I sat on and broke. Thank goodness my laptop can read memory cards.

According to my memory, I applied 3 layers of China Glaze Light as Air. The polish is actually more pink in real life. My camera just refused to capture the correct colour. The photo looks more like China Glaze Agent Lavender although Agent Lavender is more blue.

3 coats of China Glaze Light as Air with Konad stamping

I love bows. Who wouldn't love bows? Don't answer, its a rhetorical question. I used Konad m59 with the special Konad black stamping polish. It was my first attempt at Konad on my own nails. I'm so happy that I didn't screw it up. Then I applied China Glaze Matte Magic over the thumb and ring finger and added a little black rhinestone to the centre.

Konad plate m59

I'm sure you can work out which design I used. Polka dots + bows = happy me.

Essie is now at Myer!

2010-09-06T15:52:00.002+10:00

I just flipped through the little catalogue sent by Myer and something wonderful had caught my eye. Drumroll please. Myer is now stocking Essie! Joining the shelves will be 78 of Essie's core colours and its seasonal collections (released 4 times a year). How exciting!

As a promotional offer, Myer is giving every customer a free Essie Topcoat at $18.95 with every purchase of $35 or more. I sound like an advertisement. However, personally I would rather a Seche Vite. Give me a Seche Vite anyday.

The price will be ridiculously high. You'd be paying something close to $20 for one bottle of Essie. As much as I love the brand, that is way too much. I'm still waiting for my Sag Harbour to magically appear at my doorstep. Until that happens, back to Ebay for me.

Essie North Fork (a little old but still gorgeous) Greenport, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island

On a brighter note, if anyone's interested in receiving a free A-list Stick Foundation, Eyeshadow Palette and Eyeliner of your choice from Chi Chi, then go to Myer and spend $30 or more on the Chi Chi range. It'd be fantastic if you'd share those freebies with me. Come on, I know you want to.

I have more platinum than you

2010-09-03T19:28:00.000+10:00

Since I didn't post anything yesterday, I thought I should blog another entry today to make up for yesterday's inactivity. After slaving over Thoughtless Alice and its Red Queen counterpart, my nails had random blotches of nail polish on them. Plus the tips of my Chanel inspired mani was kind of worn. So I changed my nails.

I love greys. I want to paint my new but old house's rooms a nice neutral greige. This is where Essie Playa Del Platinum comes in. It is a creme grey that is more on the beige side with its subtle green tone, released part of Essie's Resort Collection, earlier this year. Average application, like most of Essie's polishes that I've tried. 2 coats was enough to cover the nail but the perfectionist within me demanded a 3rd coat.

I had to use Zoya Get Even Basecoat today because I couldn't find my China Glaze. Sucks not having a polish stand. I can still see my ridges. I applied 1 coat of Nubar G188 over the grey base. I absolutely love the iridescent flakies! Then I applied China Glaze's Matte Magic Topcoat over everything. To be honest, I still having touched my Essie Matte About You Finisher. I love the result though.

3 coats of Essie Playa Del Platinum, 1 coat of Nubar G188, 1 coat of China Glaze Matte Magic

It was quite difficult to capture the nails. It is matte but still sparkly. Difficult for me to explain. But you can see the flakies reflecting the light that falls upon them. Looks amazing in real life. So stalk me tomorrow at UNSW open day and I'll hold my hand in front of your face.

Due to the matte finish, the surface of my nails feel like dried, unpainted clay. Quite awesome actually. I then discovered that I can draw on them with normal pens and the pen won't come off. It doesn't even smudge. I can prove it.

However, the down side is that I'd have to be careful when writing as I've already gotten an unwanted dot. Boo.

Thoughtless Alice

2010-09-03T18:38:00.000+10:00

Guess what? Don't answer. Its a rhetorical question.

I've finally finished the Alice-inspired nails after inhaling a life-time's worth of nail polish and acrylic fumes within a couple of hours. My head is not very forgiving about it. I want a mask like those nail technicians in those nail places. But I must soldier on! I love these acrylic moulds. They make perfect acrylic hearts. So I ended up making heaps and heaps. Anyways, stop reading and look already.

My gorgeous hearts. So perfect. I'm getting all teary now. The fumes can really mess up your sanity.

Here's a close up because I love you so much.

After staring at the blank title for a good 20 minutes at least, I came up with a name. Yep, "Thoughtless Alice", because I was thoughtless for 20 minutes. Not in the insensitive sense. But you understand. I'm planning to sell this set because I'm so poor. They do, however, fit on my nails perfectly. I do have pretty average sized nails though. So please buy it if you have $40 to ~~waste~~ spend on something that can be reused. I'm begging you. I'll even throw in free wrapping!

I've also decided to start on a Red Queen inspired set although technically I've already started. Guess the colour scheme. It'll be a no-brainer.

$56 poorer but 56 times happier

2010-09-01T20:07:00.000+10:00

Yesterday's long and treacherous journey to Bankstown with Whiney had definitely paid off. I bought 7 bottles of nail polish for $56. Which isn't bad considering I would probably pay around the same, if not more on Ebay. What I'm happiest about the most is the fact that I found the extremely hard to find China Glaze Lubu Heels and saw the highly sought after OPI Mad as a Hatter (but I didn't buy it as I am still scarred by the previous glitter experience with China Glaze Doll's House).

So I bought 4 OPIs: Happy Anniversary, Glitzerland, Brand New Skates, Ski Teal We Drop. Orly Fantasea. Lubu Heels and Sun Worshipper from China Glaze. Rather than reading my waffling, you can see my mini haul.

Happy Anniversary, Brand New Skates and Lubu Heels are ridiculously prices on Ebay so I'm extremely glad that I found them yesterday. I squealed like a little girl in my head. I am rather surprised at the polishes that I bought though. I am a creme person. But I bought so many glitters. Odd. More devil children to remove. Here are some close-ups:

OPI Happy Anniversary

OPI Glitzerland

OPI Brand New Skates

Orly Fantasea

China Glaze Lubu Heels

I can't wait to try these along with 10 million other unused colours. Okay I'm exaggerating but I wish it was true because my wishlist if continuously growing. China Glaze Mummy May I is number 1 right now though. Check it out!

Channelling Chanel

2010-09-01T17:17:00.000+10:00

As you may already know, I painted my nails last night. I've had this concept in my mind for a couple of days and finally materialised it last night. I'm quite happy with the way that they turned out.

This is inspired by Chanel's Noir et or Paris-Shanghai Collection released a couple of months back. The whole gold and black thing is absolutely gorgeous, in my opinion anyway. So I'm here to brainwash you. I bought OPI Bling Dynasty a while ago and was always dying to try it out. I got my chance last night!

It'd be a good idea to show you my inspiration first.

Image imported from www.musingsofamuse.com

See her nails? I particularly like the black tip but not the round, pointed shape. So I've revamped the design! With 2 coats of the gorgeous Bling Dynasty and its perfect application plus coverage. Bling Dynasty was released part of OPI's Hong Kong Collection. It is quite a unique gold. Reminds me of those antique gold jewellery that belongs to some ancient civilisation. Its a good thing. There's also a vintage vibe to it. I then added a black tip in Revlon Black Lingerie because it is a true black.

2 coats of OPI Bling Dynasty, Revlon Black Lingerie tips

Awesome tips, no? Ignore the smudge on my ring finger. It is definitely not a good idea to feed your cat when your nails are still wet. But because I was lazy and cut on time, I used a manicure tip guide. The guides can be found on Ebay for next to nothing. They are so simple and effective. However, I do recommend sticking the guides onto your hands a couple of times to remove most of its stickiness as it is the excess stickiness that will ruin your manicure. This is what I call beauty on a budget, pat on the back for me.

I think the design of the tips would also make awesome looking strawberries. Green tips with pink or red base and golden bullions for seeds. Now that's an idea.

Views counter

2010-08-31T19:54:00.002+10:00

You might have noticed that I've just added a blog views counter to my blog. I thought it'd be nice to know how many people actually visit my blog. Curiosity killed the cat. Or maybe it's that whole popularity contest thing that is embedded within human nature, sorry if I'm making a VUG. Either way, I just find it helpful to know if I'm helping you to spend your money or not. Obviously the more you visit, the more you'd want to spend and more you'll become like me.

I went to the Pronail Supply shop in Bankstown that everyone's been raving about. They weren't kidding about the size although I wish they had a larger range for OPI. There are a lot of reds that look like twins or triplets or whatever, you get what I mean: similar looking reds. I want a bigger Essie stock! I want my Sag Harbour! It'd be absolutely terrific if they stocked Zoya too. I'm kind of embarrassed to be buying everything online because the Post Office lady knows me now & teases me everything I go to pick up my package (which is at least once a week). But nonetheless, it's a terrific shop although the train ride is ridiculous long and tedious.

Does anyone know an Essie stockist in Sydney? You'd be a total lifesaver! I'll leave you with a photo of some nails that I did over a year ago for Troll's birthday.

OPI Yoga-ta get this Blue as base

I'm off to paint my nails! Two days of naked nails should be enough to revitalise them, right?

Nail foils tutorial

2010-08-30T16:48:00.000+10:00

I'm not feeling motivated to do any proper work or revision so I'm here presenting you with a nail foils tutorial instead. Like I've explained before, nail foils are like a cheaper alternative to Minx. However, it doesn't last for more than 24 hours because it can be scratched off easily. So it is best to apply it right before an event. It doesn't take long at all because there's no waiting time.

Alright, let's get started. Always start with clean nails. Arrh! Bare nails! The horror. But this is what the nail foil adhesive looks like. You need to apply this to your nails before placing the foils. Any brand will do. Most online shops sell generic no-brands with your foils for half price.

I always recommend using basecoat. It is a good habit to have because most darker nail polishes will stain your nails and that is not an attractive look. So apply basecoat!

I wish I had another hand then I wouldn't need to use the stupid timer while balancing the camera on a tissue box. Quite sad. Anyways, after the basecoat has dried, apply a layer of the nail foil adhesive. It is iridescent when wet. Dries clear.

Yuck, fingers. The instructions that come with the adhesive will tell you to wait 1-2 minutes for the adhesive to become tacky before applying the foils. They are WRONG. You have to wait a lot longer than that, more like 5 minutes. I find that the foils apply better this way as the adhesive is most tacky. In the meantime, you can cut up the foil strip into pieces as it comes in a roll.

Don't worry about cutting the foil into your nail shape or anything. The foil only sticks to where the foil adhesive is applied. Mess free and idiot proof. All you have to do is place the foil with the right side up and press. If the adhesive is the right tackiness, the foil should lift itself off as you're pressing.

It may look ugly upclose, use the unused areas to fix up any bits that you've made. Just repeat the process mentioned above for the bald spots. I don't see the point to apply a base polish when the foil is opaque.

You are left with the option of applying topcoat. Personally, I don't recommend it. Any topcoat will wrinkle up the foil (no idea why) and it doesn't extend the wear of the foil, so why ruin the effect? You could try special nail foil topcoat but apparently, they're not much better either. You'll see why.

Sorry for not cleaning up the edges and things. I'm planning to remove this tonight anyway. The foils are so reflective that you can see my reflection. I also did a scratch test. The scratch is much larger on the nail with topcoat using the same amount of force.

The foils can be easily removed with nail polish remover (no acetone required) or by soaking in warm water. So easy.

Yucky looking cottonbud. Looks like someone's sparkly booger. Yum. On a much nicer note, check out the result! Such bling-ness! Such mirror-esque finish! I can even see my own reflection.

Woaw fat fingers, Maybe I shouldn't have blurred it so much. Oh wells.You're more than welcome to bug me if you want to know more about such a wonderful product and where you can get it. But you'd need to be able to either use internet banking or have Paypal.

Flakies

2010-08-29T22:50:00.000+10:00

I kind of don't have the inspiration to paint my nails right now after scrubbing for 2 full hours trying to get China Glaze Doll's House off. No joke. Down side of ultimate bling-ness, I guess. My nails hurt from scratching. Maybe I'll paint my nails tomorrow because I have an idea right now.

So in the meanwhile, I thought I'd share with you something that I wore a while back. Nubar G188 over black. The black is Revlon Black Lingerie. It is a pure black with no fancy glitters or shimmers. Nubar G188 is a topcoat. Iridescent. Before your mind stray to Gwen Harwood, focus your eyes on the photo below.

2 coats of Black Lingerie, 2 coats of G188

I love it! So much. G188 has iridescent flakies floating in a clear base. Similar to Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure and Nfu Oh's something because I keep forgetting the number. G188 was released as a special 2010 polish by Nubar and I stumbled upon this in my quest to find a dupe for China Glaze Fortune Teller, a polish released part of their 2009 Halloween collection, if my memory serves me right. You should look it up. You'll fall in love with it too.

In my opinion, it looks even better than Fortune Teller and is also more versatile as G188 is a topcoat. It can be layered over any colour and reflect different colours depending on the base colour. I won't try to explain it because you'll just give me a weird look. I'll save myself the embarrassment.

I wish I lived in a doll's house

2010-08-28T22:21:00.000+10:00

I absolutely love nail polish. Especially unusual ones. I bought China Glaze Doll's House with the previously posted Ghoulish Glow because shipping is cheaper with 2, well not really but I'm sure you understand.

China Glaze Doll's House is a topcoat that has a clear base. Pink hexagonal glitters of approximately 1.5mm in diameter float in the clear base. 3 layers of this topcoat cover most empty spaces. The camera seriously cannot capture the bling-ness of this polish. It is absolutely mesmerising.

2 coats of Chapel of Love, 3 coats of Doll's House

I've used OPI Chapel of Love as the base nail polish. Black would look awesome with this too. Personally, I think this is something worth looking into. The photo just doesn't do justice.

Yay for handsewn ribbon bows

2010-08-27T23:28:00.000+10:00

On Thursday, the pointless day with bludgey periods, I decided to stay home and make earrings. I really liked the way that they turned out and decided to turn them into a birthday present for my friend.

Y for yellow and happyness with a 'Y'

Everybody loves pink

Polka dots are like the cherry on top

I got sick of making bows

After hours of squinting, cutting, burning and poking myself with a needle, I've succeeded in making 4 pairs of earrings although superglue is a nightmare. The stupid glue got onto my nails and I had to remove the polish. Boo. But I made these into a present.

Present!

This was so simple to do. Just print out a message on paper and stick it onto a piece of cardboard. Poke the holes with a needle where the earrings are going to be placed. Then viola! Perfectly presented. With some polyester wadding on the back to prevent the earring posts from poking the wrapping paper, this would be a great present. For birthdays, Christmas, whatever, everything.

Since this was such a success, I decided to make some more. With more yellow polka dotty ribbons and even some gingerbread man (well girls because they're wearing skirts) that I've fished out from the sewing box. All I had to do was clip off the button loopy hole thing. If I can do it, so can you.

I can't wait to wear them. Then maybe I'll take photos if I'm bothered.

The perfect model

2010-08-25T20:16:00.000+10:00

I love my cat. Maybe I should tell you something you don't know instead. No, not bothered. I love my cat and if you're reading this, you love my cat too. That means I love you too for loving my cat. I'm totally making sense. I'm in a weird mood tonight because a particular someone is ruining my life and I'm seeing that someone tomorrow. I'm torn. So meanwhile, I'll occupy myself with my cat to take my mind off of that someone. Gay.

Meemee modelling my textiles major work

She is so so so adorable. Such a poser. She loves my MTP. At least someone appreciates my blood and tears. Too bad it was sent out last Wednesday. Otherwise she'd be calling it bed right now.

Woaw cat eyes

Should I upload photos of my MTP?

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow Topcoat review

2010-08-24T18:26:00.000+10:00

Everyone loves a good novelty nail polish, whether it be a matte finisher or a colour-changing polish like Del Sol. So when I discovered OPI's "Glow-ink the Dark", I spammed the Ebay searcher. At the same time, China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow Topcoat" came up during the search too but I've merely dismissed it because I couldn't find any reviews on it at that time. This is a Halloween release, like "Glow-ink the Dark". Here's a review, or rather a post to show off such an awesome polish.

Recently, I've been on a spending spree due to exam stress. So I bought this baby. Its in a milky base with tiny yellow particles, most likely the glowing particles. It needs to be shaken vigorously before application, producing pesky bubbles but the gobsmacking result overrides such issue. However, because this topcoat is pale yellow in colour, it does alter the colour of the applied nail polish.

I've applied the China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow Topcoat" over OPI's "What's the Cattitude?" so the light blue is turned slightly green with the topcoat since I've applied 4 layers to achieve the effect.

3 coats of OPI What's with the Cattitude?

Eww wrinkly cuticles. I hate the cold weather. It makes my skin super dry and flakey. It's going to be Spring in a few days. My nails are so short now. A huge chunk broke off my middle finger and I didn't even notice until at lunch today. So I was forced to cut and file. At least my nails are able to glow. Check out the result.

4 coats of China Glaze Ghoulish Glow Topcoat

The photo doesn't do the topcoat justice. The actual effect is a lot more vibrant and whiter in real life. It wasn't easy to obtain this awesome shot. It took half an hour in the dark bathroom adjusting my camera in vain, 'charging' my nails under a lamp, and madly dashing to the bathroom after charging. I found that the effect is intensified by shining a bright light at it first. In a way, its solar powered but not. If I'm making sense.

Overall, I think this is something definitely worth checking out. The slight colour alteration of the base nail polish is something that is easily overlooked because everyone loves a good glow. I love Halloween polishes. Review of OPI's "Glow-ink the Dark" coming soon!

Pinking of cotton candy

2010-08-23T21:47:00.000+10:00

Another nail art uploaded just for you. This was done a while ago for my friend. All of my nail art designs are kind of spur of the moment things thats why some look quite odd. I'm just too lazy to reposition the jewels. I should win an award for laziness.

Pinking of cotton candy (wonderful name, no?)

I wish I had taken better quality photos. I love how the pink turned out because the polish was a no-name that looks too sheer for my liking on my fingers.

I also can't wait to turn the background fabric into a summer skirt. If my cat could stop sleeping on it. I've realised that I'm saying a lot of "I"s today. Feeling quite self centered at the moment.

I finally have a header

2010-08-23T17:41:00.001+10:00

Yay for header! Got to love Photoshop & Illustrator. Maybe I should tone down the colours a little.

4AM marathon

2010-08-22T23:44:00.000+10:00

Politics. Yeah I'm one of those crazy people who enjoy watching it, listening to it, analysing it and talking about it. So obviously I stayed up late yesterday to see the election polling results. I sat in front of my computer, with the ABC website and the supposedly 'live' results at 4AM pressing F5 like a mad woman until I finally realised that nothing new was coming up and the counted percentage was stuck at 77.85%.

So I went to sleep in hope that the results would be there to greet me in the morning. WRONG! Because apparently this is the first hung parliament since WWII with Menzies and Curtin. I just hate to see Julia Gillard claim Prime Ministership after back stabbing Kevin Rudd (he looks so much like my uncle). Although I don't like Tony Abbott's conservative and somewhat sexist remarks a while ago, I was impressed by his efforts.

I'll shut up now because I'm pretty sure no-one is actually reading this. I just want the results so hurry up and make up your minds, indepedents. But Wyatt Roy is quite impressive being the youngest member of parliament at only 20. I mean like wow.

Girls night in

2010-08-22T23:15:00.000+10:00

After slaving over my major work for an entire year, it is finally due in for marking tomorrow. I don't know whether to feel relieved or fearful because personally I don't feel 100% satisfied with what I've achieved. Maybe I'm just noob and seriously lacking in natural artistic talent.

Meemee taking a bath unwillingly

Plucking eyebrows

Facial mask

Shaving

Make-up

Does my butt look big in this?

Bored to death

Girls night in

I'll explain my concept because you're probably confused like my mum. As a female, we go through a whole beautification process just to make ourselves socially presentable before going out. Its partially due to social pressures but for me however, it is the self esteem boost that I receive as I hide behind a layer of make-up. The whole processes of plucking buggered stray eyebrow hairs, shaving (or the more painful alternative of waxing), facial masks and does my butt look big in this are the annoying things that I would not do if everyone looked like caveman too. My cat also gets washed but she doesn't mind it too much, I think. My art teacher just likes the notion that I'm acknowledging my cat in my painting. But in the end, we just end up having a crappy time, stuck in Maccas because we're all fiancially deprived high school students and frowned upon prejudicely by adults in restaurants. We actually have more fun when we're by ourselves, sleeping over, enjoying each others' companies without worrying about social expectations.

I've based these paintings on some of my friends and painted from photographs using acrylic on paper. Nothing fancy because that's what I really want life to be but then it'd be kind of boring. I'm hypocritical. I do apologise for the bad quality photos though. My lights just refuse to cooperate and my camera wasn't much of a help either.

Big shout out to Troll

2010-08-21T16:47:00.000+10:00

This post is dedicated to my beloved Jenny for having such an awesome party last night. I thought I'd better do this before I forget because I'm so absent-minded these days. Here's an uber dodgy photo of my half successful attempt at foils because I tried so hard to capture the mirror-like reflective surface so I apologise for the blurry photo.

Peach Burst nail foil

Nail foils are kind of like Minx imitations. They have the same reflectiveness and pre-printed designs but foils are so much more affordable. But the down side is that foils last for one day max and do not apply perfectly because you're trying to fit a piece of flat 'paper' to the curvature of your nail. Plus top coat just makes the foil wrinkle like crazy. Other than that, foils are a great alternative to Minx for poor souls such as myself who are looking for the same blinged effect and it is quick enough to do just before an event. I had to stick on flowers on the tips because the glue didn't dry properly so yuckiness happened. Warm tones honestly don't match the yellowness of my skin.

What baby?

2010-08-21T16:46:00.004+10:00

Since I was complaining about the Zoya Get Even Basecoat, I thought maybe I was a bit too harsh on it and shouldn't have made my mind up so quickly. Milani's Blue for my Baby is basically a blue version of Key Lime Shine with the same consistency and chrome finish. However, it applied with no trouble whatsoever with my China Glaze Strong Adhesion Basecoat.

3 coats of Blue for my Baby with topcoat

Maybe its the colour or the lighting or the angle or whatever, the ridges appear to be more visible on this than with Zoya's Get Even Basecoat. Or maybe its just purely psychological because my inner Asian is screaming "Money should never be wasted!" You can decide for yourself since I'm feeling indecisive today after 3 cups of coffee.

Franken: Squeaky

2010-08-19T22:44:00.000+10:00

Making my own nail polish is a really addictive process. It induces a sense of accomplishment because I'm recycling and turning a pre-loved colour into a dazzling new value. I am really happy with how this one turned out.

It's a purple-ish pink with tiny shimmers. The jelly finish absolutely mesmerizing. I'm usually not a fan of sheers but this one just blew me away. Not only because it's my own baby but it looks so jelly-like and squishy that it gives off the feeling that if I rub my nails then they'll squeak. Too bad they won't really squeak...

So I named it Squeaky.

3 coats of Squeaky with Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat

Squeaky was created using half a bottle of Revlon's Grape Shimmer with about 15 drops from each OPI's Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Chapel of Love and Funny Bunny. The bottle is only 8mL and I got the colour 2 years ago and extremely sheer. Plus the original Grape Shimmer was too subtle for my liking. So now it is this wonderful colour that I'd definitely use over and over again.

Now everybody's happy. By "everybody" I mean me.

Current work in progress

2010-08-19T11:23:00.001+10:00

I'm on a blogging rampage today! I guess the excitement of having a blog is still nagging at my head. So I thought why not share my current nail art work in progress?

This is inspired by Alice in Alice in Wonderland, like just about everything out there after Tim Burton's movie. I've actually started this months back and just didn't touch it because of HSC. The stress of it is like a giant barrier on one's inspiration and creativity. I've just handed my textiles MTP on Monday and packaged it then sent it away yesterday. I'm hurting everywhere from kneeling on the ground, cutting up small cardboard boxes and masking taping them into a giant 1m x 1m box to fit my stupid crinoline cage. I never want to box anything else ever again. My fingers suffered tremendously. Then art is due next Monday and guess what I'm doing instead? Yeah, this, while watching ABC kids. Seriously got to love channel 22.

Sorry, got side tracked. I should think of a name for this set. Something not cliched like Absolutely Alice (ahems OPI).

2 thumbs, 2 middle finger, 1 ring finger, 2 pinkies

Zoya Get Even Ridge Filling Basecoat review

2010-08-19T11:01:00.002+10:00

I'm the kind of person to flip through 5 pages on Google of reviews until finally buying the product. So before I bought the Zoya Get Even Ridge Filling Basecoat on Ebay, I've tried to find some reviews on it but there just aren't enough out there. This is step 2 of Zoya's Colour Lock System but I just wanted a ridge filling basecoat so I bought this thinking: "the less chemicals the better, right?"

I'm kind of disappointed although this is only the first time I've used it. As you can see the actual product is white and it goes on the nail white. After it dries, the dents of the nail ridges are still white while other areas have dried clear. I applied 2 coats of it to be safe. Then 3 coats of Milani's Key Lime Shine.

2 coats of Zoya Get Even Basecoat, 3 coats of Milani Key Lime Shine

My ridges are still there! Sorry about the cuticles. It was also quite difficult to apply with the basecoat. The nail polish went streaky and uneven, yuck. Overall, I think this basecoat is kind of pointless because what's the point of having a ridge filling basecoat if it doesn't work for chromes? But I'll try this with Zoya's polishes later and keep you updated because I hate knowing that I've wasted my money on a useless product.

Filling up space

2010-08-18T22:38:00.002+10:00

I know I'll probably grow to hate my blog name, address and the whole blogging process but at least I'd be doing something 'productive' while procrastinating.

This is probably an opportunity for me to achieve a sense of accomplishment by sharing bits and pieces of me with the world (although I don't think anyone will actually care) through simple things.

You can stop reading now, since this is the end of my very first blog entry. Pat on the back for me.