Starry-eyed love (for you, honey)

Galaxy nails are something I've been wanting to try for quite some time. Each time I try to make them happen, I'd be reminded of the fact that this stupid nail art design needs a tool that a normal nail painter wouldn't have lying around his/her house: a sponge.

I know what you're thinking, "why not just use a dishwashing sponge?" Gee, I wish I had thought of that BEFORE I had finished the design.

So this was done using a make up sponge. I think they work much better than cleaning sponges, anyway, since make up sponges are a lot finer, which means greater control while dabbing.

Base colour: OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue. And a lot of glitters.

This is the first successful nail art design in weeks. Now I'm pumped to experiement with other designs!

Muted pink

I love matte. Sometimes it is just too garish to wear colours that are practically neon.

Base colour: Revlon Fuchsia Fever. Top coat: Essie Matte About You.

I am definitely "matte" about matte. Ever so punny.

Doubly bubbly

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved rhinestones. But evil top coat polishes decided to dull the sparkle of her beautiful, shiny rhinestones. She had no choice but to wear the lustreless rhinestones in shame with hidden frustration. One day, she made an amazing discovery! Pearly finishes will not be destroyed by top coats. She set off to work immediate.

This is the result. Base colour: Essie Over the Top.

I had even managed to take a photo of my right hand. DSLRs are really really heavy.

That hopeful little girl is still yet to discover the perfect top coat that won't dull her rhinestones.

Midnight garden party

I can't believe it's been so long (over half a year) since my last post. I'm so sorry! No-one probably reads this anymore, which makes me feel even more guilty about it.

I haven't stopped painting my nails. It's just that it doesn't happen very often anymore, because my course is still a killer.

I remember almost 2 years ago, I bought quite a few packets glow in the dark stickers. But I've never been a fan of floral stickers because over the top rhinestone blings had always seemed to come out on top (I'm so punny).

These babies in action!

What it looks like the other 99% of the times. Base coat: Essie Something Borrowed. French tip: OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui.

I'll be uploading again real soon!

Sally Hansen salon effects review: 340 girl flower

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.