Keyblade to my heart

Recently, I've started watching my boyfriend play Kingdom Hearts. It has quite a sweet and touching story line. One of those typical Disney things that's meant to put warm fuzziness into kids' hearts.

I was inspired to do a mani for it, of course. Hope you guys like it.

I used Milani Key Lime Light for the base. And the pattern was done with acrylic paint. Then sealed off with topcoat so nothing gets washed away.

Until next time!

An explosion of dots somehow adds up to a fish

I've always wanted to try some sort of fish scale nail art and since my creative mind functions completely different to a normal person, I ended up with a whole bunch of dots vaguely resembling fish scales.

For the base, I used 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow (Matte) that I've never managed to pull off on its own because it is just such a terrible polish with the worst consistency and streaky texture. But it came out reasonable after I whacked on a layer of OPI Funny Bunny, one of my all time favourites (as you can tell because it's half empty, I mean is that even possible for a polish junkie?).

And here comes the rest of the gang! A whole lot of Essies and a Milani, featuring (from left to right) Splash of Grenadine, Smokin' Hot, Lilacism, Mint Candy Apple, Mesmerize and finally, Key Lime Shine.

I started dotting in the colours from the base of my nail, working my way up to the tip. At first I blotted each colour onto a piece of paper and worked with a wooden skewer, wiping off after each dot. But then I realised that it is so much easier just blotting using the brush of the bottle.

And ta-da! The final result of my experiment process.

 

I still haven't decided if I actually like the result or not but the thumb seems to look better than the other fingers. It was definitely quite a messy process with 2 hours spent on dotting. But I can't wait to try it again with different sized dots and maybe colours that are only varied in shade. Hope this tickles your fancy.

Guilty pleasures

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.

What baby?

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.

Zoya Get Even Ridge Filling Basecoat review

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.