Shooting Star

Hey guys! Turns out I'm a serial liar and procrastinator when it comes to my blog. I'm sure you're all fed up with my empty apologies. Can I please bribe you with nail art instead?

I used Butter London's Keks, Orly's Porcelain, some good old scotch tape and rhinestones from Born Pretty Store (hyperlinked for your convenience). The star is actually made from acrylic using a special mould. It's got an awesome texture but sadly I lost it within an hour after I took the photos.

Hope I'll get to see you all again real soon!

Hibernation

I am apologising (yet again) for this long hiatus. I do have to confess that the reason is actually because I haven't been painting my nails. I feel so ashamed to not have been taking care of my finger tips, even neglecting to moisturise my cuticles.

This is just a quick update to thank you guys for still visiting me and keeping this little blog alive in spirit.

I painted my nails for my birthday dinner! Went a little over board because I missed doing my nails.

The base is Orly's Pure Porcelain. That's a sticker on my ring finger. I'm a cheater.

Hopefully I'll see you guys soon. Happy painting!

Nude beauty

I'm a huge fan of nude nail polish. I think they're the nail polish equivalent to the little black dress. Every girl needs a bottle in their stash.

Orly Pure Porcelain has a very prominent pink undertone. But it works great for yellower skin tones because the pink is hushed down by its colder colour.

 I've been wanting to do something with the spikes for quite some time but didn't want to just go with the usual grunge sort of look. I think putting them on a nude base definitely gives them a touch of elegance.

The nude is really a refreshing break from this season's neon invasion. Hope you guys like this as much as I do. And don't forget to enter into the giveaway if you haven't already!

Extra, extra!

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?

Haul-lo from the U S of A

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.

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.

$56 poorer but 56 times happier

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!