Fine china DIY water decals

See, I said I'd be back! With some glorious home made water decal stickers. It's very fine china / porcelain-esque. I'm so fond of this colour combo!

I used Revlon's 335 Spirit as the base white. Then the water decal was applied to each individual nail, topped off with a topcoat. The absolute most important step, don't forget the TOPCOAT!

As this was my first time printing my own water decals, I had foolishly bought the clear version so I had to paint a base colour. Regardless, the blue has turned out so vibrant!

Slightly different lighting but this is actually bit more true to colour in real life. This photo is actually taken a whole week after application. It looks as good as new! No lifting, scratches, chipping, nothing. I'll definitely be doing a lot more DIY water decal stickers because it's just so damn easy.

Tufts and Pearls

Day #2 of my blogging streak - yay! Although the next post may be in a few more days because I'm still wearing this on my hands. The pearls are staying strong even after my scorching hot marathon showers.

Artificial lighting

I used Essie's Lilacism for the base colour. It may be due to the age of the polish but it is nowhere near as lilac as it used to be. Personally, I think it's matured to a very nice pale blue.

Natural lighting

The tufted pattern is done using a MoYou stamping pattern in their Pro XL Collection - Plate 02. The polish is the silver stamping polish from Born Pretty Store (hyperlinked again).

Second from the left in the top row

 Stay tuned, y'all!

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!

The lazy chevron

Hey there! I feel really shameful that it's been almost a year since my last post (again). Hope you're all well and dandy.

As you can tell from my extensive hibernation, I'm incredibly lazy. I've recently started doing my nail the super lazy way of painting them on a zip-lock bag first as a sticker. And as a mad chevron pattern fanatic, I just had to give this a go.

It turned out pretty well, minus the bubbles from the worst top coat ever. I regret buying this top coat so much that I don't even want to do a bad review for it. So just putting this out there, do NOT ever purchase the Sally Hansen Gel Shine 3D Top Coat. Worst. Top coat. Ever. Period.

Rant over, pretty nail art time!

I used Zoya in Anne as the base (my favourite namesake polish), and Revlon in Fuchsia Fever for the pre-painted pink chevron stripes, and a pair of pinking scissors.

Can you believe that I'm posing with my 1kg dumbbell weights. I've officially lost it.

Take care, y'all!

Review: Floral Water Decals

I hope everyone's having a fantastic festive season!

Born Pretty Store has been kind enough to send through another batch of their wonderful water decals for me to try out and of course, I said yes straight away since the last batch was so superb!

Click here for my tutorial of their last batch of water decals. I used the same method and made sure that I whacked on two layers of top coat this time for extra security.

I'm just going to jump straight into the photos since I have nothing but awesome things to say about these water decals. You should definitely check them out in the link below (and stock up because they're incredibly affordable). LINK :)

Although I have to say that the colours on the website are not accurate at all. They actually have this muted, warmer vintage look, which is much nicer in my opinion. Here are the photos!

I love these so much! They're so incredibly detailed and looks very delicate. I hope you guys like them too. Definitely check them out at Born Pretty Store via this link.

Use my discount code MUL91 too for 10% off!

Happy holidays!

Found my marbles

Hi again!

After yet another long hiatus, I am back with some water marbling.

Used OPI Happy Anniversary for the base because it is the most versatile base polish.
Then I layered that with drops of Nubar Pasadena Purple to create this wonderful psychedelic effect. Loving the swirls but hating the yellow lighting.

Happy painting, girls!

First taste of Butter London

Hello all! I am back! No more excuses now that my degree has finished. So be sure to check back for regular updates. Promise that I won't let you guys down! Heap more tutorials and nail art for you guys to indulge in :)

Now onto the actual content. Recently I bought my first few bottles of Butter London. I actually bought 7 bottles except one of them broke in transit so I was left with 6 and completely devastated. I wish companies would take better care when packaging them.

From left to right: Teddy Girl (pink), Crumpet (sand), Pimms (yellow), Squatter (green), Keks (blue), Giddy Kipper (purple)

Be sure to keep an eye out for them in my future posts. I can't wait to try them all out!

I have Squatter on my nails right now. I absolutely adore the colour. I love it to the point that I don't want to take them off. The photo makes it look a little fluorescent but it is actually much more muted in real life. It feels so fresh, perfect for Sydney's spring weather now that it has stopped thunderstorming.

I'm not quite sure how Butter London comes up with their names. But I like the wittiness. Hope you've enjoyed this colour too.

Until next time! ♥

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!

Mermaid nails: glitter review

I love glitters. And so does everyone else. I've been wearing this manicure for a week now and I've got to say, its so beautifully mesmerizing!

Thank you Born Pretty Store for sending my these awesome babies. Click here or on the photo to get yourself straight to the glitter pots. You absolutely need to give them a go!


I've done a mermaid scale inspired nail art with the blue to green tones, and just a tiny bit of gold at the tips for that extra shine. The photos honestly don't do them justice. I used Zoya Ivanka as base so even if they do fall off, I can still have glittery nails!

I encourage you to definitely give these a go because they're easy-peasy. Just use a bit of blu-tack on the end of a skewer to pick the glitter up one by one. Although it is an extremely laborious process, it is worth every second. I don't have any regrets.

Please use my discount code if you'd like to give these glitters a go. Click on the image to get to the site. Until next time!

Water decal mini tutorial + review

Thanks to Born Pretty Store, I can tick off another thing that I've always wanted to try: water decals. They've always puzzled me as to how they can still maintain their stickiness after getting soaked in water! But in reality, after my first hand experience, I'm in love with how quick and easy they are to use.

On with the review. The cutest nail file came with the pack of 12 water decals. Bonus points for matching colours. Click here or on the photo to access the direct link to the decals. I chose #20.

Below is a mini tutorial on the process that I went through to get these babies on my nails. The trick is pretty much to soak each decal for a good 5 seconds before trying to peel them off. And only file AFTER the decals have completely dried on your nails. Or they'll move and give you a hard time.

Here are a few more photos to show off this super gorgeous nail art pattern.

 My vanity never ceases to amaze me.

Final Verdict:
♥ Super easy to use. The more you wet it, the easier it is to work with.
♥ Extremely versatile and forgiving. You won't get any wrinkles because everything can be smoothed down when it's still wet.
♥ You have so many design varieties to choose from!
♥ Remember to seal EVERYTHING well with topcoat. Or they'll curl up and die in the shower because as water decals, they hate getting wet.

If you're going to believe someone just once in your life, then you should most definitely believe me on this one because you will not regret it!

Don't forget to use my discount code MUL91 at the checkout.

Until next time, my pretties!

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.

Warm fuzzies + flocking powder review

Love is in the air! February is the month of love with the very special Valentine's day falling on the 14th. I've been doing quite a bit of reminiscing lately. Even though all of the polish I own are very dear to me, this colour in particular holds very fond memories.

This is OPI Chapel of Love. What an appropriate name for Valentine's day, right? I got this 3 years ago as a Secret Valentine present from my dear Jenny (hello, if you're reading). So with the perfect colour for February as the base, I decided to spice things up with some flocking powder.

Born Pretty Store was kind enough to send me a whole jar of flocking powder. I chose white because I've always been obsessed with the perfect white mani. Flocking powder is actually not a powder. It should technically be called flocking fluff if it was up to me to name.

Click HERE for the link to the jar of fluffiness! 

The powder (or fluff) is super simple to use. All you need to do is to pour some out into a container. I used the triangular tray for flipping rhinestones because the pointed corners makes pouring the powder back into the jar super easy.

 

The powder does come out a bit clumped since it's been condensed in the jar. So just grab a little stick or tweezers or anything that you have handy (like your hand, I'm so punny) and break up the clumps.

Now you should have a good, even consistency because the last thing you'd want is for the powder to come out in clumps on your nails.

I wanted a fluffy heart-mani so I simply just painted the tips in white and dipped my nails into the powder while the polish is still wet.

On my ring finger, I stuck on a bit of masking tape in the shape of a love heart as a negative stencil. Then applied white polish all over the nail followed but a good sprinkle of flocking powder.

To get rid of the excess fluff on your nails and fingers, all you've got to do is lightly dust them with a brush. Also remember to gently press on the powder to make sure that they've settled nicely with the wet polish that you've used as the glue.

The result is a warm and fuzzy mani, all ready for February!

♥ Review verdict: Definitely Recommended!
It was super easy to use, although it does require quite a few pieces of equipments like a small tray and a soft bristled brush for dusting. But the powder has great lasting power. It can get wet and be dried in the blink of the eye and still look the same as when it was first applied. I love the fact that I didn't need glue for its application. Removal was also the same as a normal polish mani.

Born Pretty Store has by far, the largest range of colours for flocking powders and also the best value with its mega-sized jar filled with compressed fluff.

Remember to use my special code MUL91 for 10% off all of your purchases.

So definitely go ahead and give this mani a go for Valentine's day. ♥

Red bow + Born Pretty Store

I love to use rhinestones for my nail art. They're fast and easy. But the best thing is that they look so good with minimal effort! Sometimes the simplest touches can turn an ordinary mani into something quite special.

Base is 2 coats of OPI Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I always like to add the extra bits of bling on my fourth finger. To be honest, it just looks better on that finger.

A great place to get quality rhinestones and endless other nail art goodies is Born Pretty. They're extremely affordable, even for a poor university student such as myself. That store is like paradise! A nail art blogger's candy store.

Remember to use my special code MUL91 at the check out for 10% off your order!

And the world will be dominated by the bling power of rhinestones!

Make your polish dry faster: ice water method tutorial

I think by far, waiting for your nail polish to dry is the biggest turn off when it comes to changing manis. You can't do anything during that time! Even the slightly bump can ruin a perfect polish job.

Today I bring to you, wait for it, drum roll please... A tutorial on using a bowl of icy water to dry your nail polish in under 15 minutes (I also had in total 6 layers of nail polish: 1 base, 4 polish, 1 topcoat). And I should add, I slap on really thick layers of polish each time.

Step 1

Before you dive into painting your nails, get the water and ice ready. There's nothing worse than ruining your nails before you even got to dry them. You'll need a cup of ice, and half a bowl of tap water.

Step 2

Add the ice into the bowl. Be careful because I got splashed.

Step 3

Watch the ice starting to melt already! Now you can start painting your nails. On a hot day, it'll still take the ice 30 minutes to melt away completely. So don't rush yourself. Slow and steady wins the award of perfect-no-clean-ups-needed-manis.

Step 4

Make sure to always put on topcoat. I waited around 1 minute after my layer of topcoat, then plunged my fingertips into the bowl of icy water.

The rule is:
Alternate every 15 seconds for each hand. Otherwise your fingers will feel like they're going to freeze off. Repeat each hand 4 times so it adds up to 1 minute per hand. 2 minutes in total.

You can dry your hands off afterwards but make sure to avoid your nails. My polish was dry to touch in 5 minutes' time after taking them out of the water. The most amazing thing is that they're pretty much indestructible after half an hour! As opposed to my normal 2 hour wait because I like thick layers.


Check out the result! I used Essie Lilacism. It is such a gorgeous cool shade for summer.

Like they say, time is money. I've just saved myself a lot of money.