Sparkles #2

Continuing on from Sparkles #1 . . .

Essence - Blue Addicted

Thumb: Orly - Sugar

Fingers L-R: Savvy - Ginger Ale, Essence - Space Queen,
Savvy - Purple Viking, Orly - Fifty Four

Special mention also goes to Jordana's Coral Spark, which is technically a colour and glitter all in one. A burnt coral coloured pearly nail polish with small round glitter and longer glitter strands. The reason why this one gets special mention is that I put it on my toes last weekend, and it's still going strong. I'm pretty hard on my feet (as anyone who knows me, knows) and they're not very pretty either, but this stuff gives them a bit of oomph.

NN

A gift unexpected

I want to start off by saying that I know that this blog is mainly about all things nail polish.  Mainly.  But sometimes, I may choose to deviate from that topic.  Today is one of those days.


Recently, my workplace has been undergoing some change.  As there usually is at this time of year, there has been a bit of movement in the market, and that has seen my team "lose" some of our members.  While this process can be unsettling, it's also a great time to celebrate achievements and participate in farewell parties.


This week, I lost (to greener pastures) a couple of team members that I worked with closely.  I am about to lose another this coming week, and then another a few weeks after that.  Unbeknownst to me, these four got together and bought me a little pressie.  I not entirely sure why, but I think it was just for doing my job!!  In any event, it's lovely to be appreciated, only, I wish they weren't going :-(.


Look what they got me:

L'Occitane products, especially the Dry Skin Hand Cream, are fabulous!  I can't wait to use them up!


Thanks guys - it was a pleasure to work with you and best of luck in your new positions.


NN

Toothpick Mani

Well, this one didn't turn out the way I was expecting.  Instead, let's call it a happy accident.  A toothpick mani using Sally Hansen - Blizzard Blue and Ivy League.


Normal light:

With flash:

The effect is supposed to look like this, however, I think I was too heavy handed with the toothpick and caused ridges in the mani.  But I like the feeling of the texture of the mani (I've nicknamed it nail braille), and it has given me some ideas for things to try in the future.


And then, to get an extra bit of milage out of it, I added Sally Hansen - Disco Ball.

NN

Orange-you-glad

After rummaging through my collection to check what I haven't yet tried, I remembered that I had Orly's Orange Punch.

Loved it on its own, but I couldn't help myself.  I added bah-ling!

This one I dedicate to my brother, Shannon, whose favourite colour as a child was orange.



Step 1:  Orly - Orange Punch

Step 2:  Jordana - Red Flash

Step 3: Savvy - Ginger Ale & Step 4: Orly - Sugar

 

NN

My own, my love, my preciousssssss

Do you know that feeling when you find something, and it’s just the best thing you ever saw? And you just have to have it. So you buy it, and now that you own it, you keep looking at it and admiring it. You don’t really want to use it, because you might wreck it/use it up. But at the same time, you do want to use it because it’s just so fabulous!


That’s how I feel about China Glaze’s Frostbite.


Without flash:

With flash:

I love blue NP’s (they’re my favourites) and I have a ton of them, but nothing compares to this baby. It’s a cobalt/electric blue with just the faintest shimmer/glitter through it to give it a real depth. I honestly could stare at it for hours. It makes me feel like I have magical powers just wearing it. I’m certain it’s the colour/shade I’m meant to wear – especially made for me. I never want China Glaze to discontinue this shade, but I am holding myself back from purchasing another bottle until I am at least half way through using the first one. It’s just that good.


I purchased it together with China Glaze’s Blue Sparrow (a matte neon blue glitter NP). I had been coveting Blue Sparrow for a number of weeks, and even though they sat next to each other in the rack, I hadn’t bothered to pick up Frostbite to have a look . . . until now. As soon as I had it in my hot little hand, I knew we were meant for one another.


Needless to say, this is now officially my #1 reigning/ranking favourite (out of everything I own).

OK, enough of my OTT talk. I’m interested to know what shades have you turned inside out for?


NN

Half Moon Mani

Just a quick one.  Tried this half moon mani today:

Used the dot stickers as per this tutorial, but I must have not put them high enough on my nails.  I think the gold (Revlon - Gold Coin) / purple (Rimmel - Pompous) combo worked well, though!

I have a glitzy one to show you soon.  Extremely bling-tastic, and layer upper layer upper layer.  Goodness only knows how I'm gonna remove it!

NN

Sparkles #1

I love sparkly and shiny things.  I am always drawn to them. So, when on my travels through the interwebs for nail polish ideas I came across lots and lots of sparkle, I was enthralled.  Unfortunately, being in Australia, there's not a lot available  :-(  (queue the violins).  For now, I make do with what I can find here.

You may have seen my recent post which "showcases" some of the Jordana Glitters (see it here).  I also want to show you a couple of other sparklies my lovelies.

Now, there is no hard and fast rule about how to wear glitters/sparkles, but apparently another nail enthusiast told me the "trend"at the moment is to wear them on their own, naked (OMG) on the nail, or on the tips of your nails.  Personally, I think most are made to be the top layer with a base colour underneath, but that's just me.  I have decided to show these as per the current trend so you can see them in their most basic form, but I don't think it does them justice . . .

Chi Chi - Disco Diva

Without flash:

With flash:

Below:

Thumb: Sally Hansen - Disco Ball;

Fingers L-R: Sally Hansen - Strobe Light, Jordana - Lunar Lights,
Sally Hansen - Rockstar Chic,  Sally Hansen - Glitz Gal

Without Flash:

With Flash:

As with all things sparkly, sometimes it can be difficult to replicate the true depth of glitz they display, but I have tried to capture each in different lights, flash off and on to give you an idea.

As with anything in life, there are reasons why glitter/sparkles aren't so good:

1. Can be an absolute pain in the backside to remove (tip: wrap your nail in a cotton bud which has been soaked in NP remover, and let it sit there for 15-20 seconds, then remove NP);
2. Can be too ritzy for some workplaces; and
3. Can't think of a no. 3.

And, the reasons why glitter/sparkles are fabuloso:

1. Hard wearing topcoat which gives any mani pizazz;
2. Fixes/hides any mishaps you might have had when applying the under-shade;
3. Usually they come in a gel-base which dries fairly quickly; and
4. Extends the life of a fading mani, without having to completely start again!

Sparkles = WIN!

Thoughts?  Any colour combos you would like to see?

NN

Skills - I (might) have them?

For years, I thought that when you painted your nails, you had to paint right up to the cuticle. However, since I’ve been reviewing (read: stalking) nail sites and blogs, I’m slowly getting the message that you don’t do that. I marvel at how they all manage to make their lines so straight and precise, and don’t “colour outside the lines” like I do.

I usually resort to applying my polish, waiting for it to dry, having a shower and scraping off the sides/excess from the sides of my fingers there. Alternatively, I use moisturiser during the day, and this helps me to be able to scratch off any excess.

Anyway, the conclusion I have come to is that to achieve a perfect mani, it is mostly practice. Practice, and the right tools.

A lot of the blogs out there admit they do Photoshop their images to tidy things up a little, but usually you can spot a blatantly over-Photoshopped image. Quite simply, these ladies (and perhaps gents) just know what they’re doing!

So, I’ve been busily trying to emulate their nail-polish-applying-prowess with little success. Until today! Using Orly’s - Spice, I did not a bad job on my left hand fingers and thumb. I found the Orly brush was just right for painting delicately, and stopping just short of the cuticle. And because I was painting delicately, I wasn’t over applying the polish, and so it dried faster. And because it dried faster I was able to put a second coat on sooner . . .

It seems preparation is the key. I learned a lot from reading how everyone does their mani’s. However, here is (the best ever nail blog) Nihrida’s - How to Perfect Manicure Step by Step.

The one thing that eludes me is the right brush to tidy up afterwards. I can’t find anything in the stores here, and I don’t want to buy anything online, as I won’t be able to feel it first to know if it’s what I need. Instead, I’ve been using a couple of stiff angled eyebrow brushes, which are doing an okay job, for now.

Are there any tips you might like to share?

NN

PS - I actually wrote this post a few weeks back but didn't publish it, and am pleased to report that I am getting better and better at application, thus proving my theory about practice.

Layering #2

A couple of new ones my lovelies:

Savvy - Flaming Blue . . .

. . . topped with Jordana - LA City Nights

Orly - Vanguard Violet . . .

. . . topped with Savvy - Purple Viking

As always, apologies for the poor photo quality.  I can't wait for summer when it will still be light when I get home so I can take outdoor shots!!

On Sale #2

Priceline's new catalogue here - on sale from 19-30 July.  Enjoy!

Neons

OK, technically, these aren't neon (I don't think).  To qualify as neon, they would need to contain the element "neon"in their contents.  As far as I can read, these Ulta3 polishes don't, but they're close enough to what I'd call neon colours, so that's what I'm going with.

L-R:  Tahiti, Jelly, Purple Pumps, Citrus, Fruit Tingle

Jelly makes a re-appearance and the others are new (to me).  Jelly, Citrus and Fruit Tingle need 3+ coats for full opacity, whilst the other two can survive with 2 coats.

I then got it in my head that they might look cool with some grey added on at weird angles.

Well, it might have looked cool if I had waited for long enough for the grey to dry and had done a more careful job.  I still don't have the hang of this sellotape business.  Determined to get it right someday . . .

NN

Layering #1

I'm a huge fan of layering.  Why?  Because it's a great way to dress up a mani that is fading, or if you just get bored of keeping the same colour on your nails and can't be bothered starting from scratch (like me!).

First one to mention:

Essence - Choose Me

Nihrida reviewed this one a couple of times (here and here), and since Essence is now being sold at some Priceline stores, I found it and decided to try it.

Essence - Choose Me over China Glaze - Tempest

Essence Choose Me over Sally Hansen - Emerald City

I loved Choose Me over Tempest (which is a purple-blue), but not so much over Emerald City.  Maybe it's because I'm not that keen on Emerald City anyway (and it's now been discontinued), but also perhaps because I've only seen the combo in artificial light. 

These photos don't do either mani justice, though.

Conclusion:  Choose Me is a pretty special NP!

NN

Mani of the Week #1

The first mani to take out the illustrious honours of Mani of the Week is a layered combo:  Scandal - Dream Blue with Scandal - Blue Cubic.

I liked this blurred shot, so I thought I'd add it also (ooh, sparkly):

This was Dream Blue, prior to adding Blue Cubic over top:

I changed my NP quite a few times this past week, so there were quite a few to choose from!

Scandal is a Korean brand of NP's which I've just discovered is being sold in a few places in Sydney CBD.

Here's a link to Nailderella's blog with pics of the Scandal range.  It's nice, relatively cheap, and supposed to be a little bit OK for your nails - chemically speaking.

The one thing I wasn't keen on, though, was each of the brushes.  I have no idea what they were both made out of, but they were bushy/coarse and really didn't seem like they were the best choice for a NP brush.

NN

Ulta3 - hard to find, but worth it when you do

Prior to purchasing my initial two bottles of Ulta3 nail polish (in Hollywood and Jelly), I had read a few comments about it that I wasn't convinced about.  Mainly, it was said that it was cheap, and surprisingly good for a NP so cheap, but it was also tricky to find, as it wasn't on display in the usual places (i.e. Priceline), but could be found higglety-pigglety in bins located at supermarkets etc (but not all of them).

I had seen one of these so-called "bins"at my local supermarket for quite some months prior to having bought any, mainly because the full fervor of my NP addition hadn't yet taken hold.  Then, I became addicted and had to try EVERYTHING, so I started rifling though the bin.

True, it does look a bit tragic rifling through a bin at the supermarket, but for $2-odd dollars, these nail polishes pack some punch, and then some.

I initially tried on Hollywood, with a view to layering over it with my Flakies, and I thought, "Oh, the brush is a bit short and the end of the brush/lid is a bit small to hold onto properly", but once I got the hang of holding it, no probs.  Hollywood went on all nice and smooth.  I think perhaps my view of it changed because once I put the Flakies overtop, it didn't give me the effect I was hoping for (i.e. for the Flakies to stand out against the dark blue), and then it chipped during the same day and so I thought, "Oh well, that's what you get for buying cheap."

Then I tried on Jelly, and I changed my mind.  A nearly neon green, but quite non-opaque, it applied great (perhaps I had gotten used to the brush/lid) and felt nice and smooth, and although it was still slightly see-through after three coats, I fell in love with it.

I'm not a big green fan, but this is just cool.  Yes, it might chip tomorrow, but it was $2 after all, and so I really shouldn't expect much. 

NN

Winter = muted colours?

I've been tending to paint my nails with bright colours this winter, to try and cheer myself up (I'm not a winter fan).  However, I was wondering, does anyone think I should leave the bright colours for summer and stick to the neutral/boring shades for winter?

Thinking I should try to go more muted, I used Rimmel's 60 Seconds - At Ease the other day:

And then I thought, meh.  Needs a bit of bling, so I topped it with Jordana's Bronze Fest:

Thoughts?

NN

Trend: Colour Blocking

Just a new (?) nail trend I have spotted - colour blocking - as evidenced here in Revlon's new ColourStay Nail Enamel campaign with Emma Stone:

Also showcased by Sophie from the finale of the just completed series of The Block 2012 (watch it here from 29.30 mins in and see Sophie's completely blown away reaction to the auction price their house fetched - too funny).

Thoughts?

NN

Flakies

This is kind of a part 3 to my recent posts on Sparkles (here and here), because Flakies are kind of sparkly as well.

I've noticed that online there appears to be heaps of different Flakies available, particularly in Europe (the nail polish centre of the world).  In Straya (aka Australia), not so much.

I have managed to find two:  Australis' Crystal Colour Top Coat - Speck-tacular, and Chi Chi's Crystal Top Coat.

Initially, I tried it over a shimmery blue, using Ulta3's Hollywood (scroll down towards the end here), thinking that I didn't want to be boring and put it on the usual black background.  This worked OK (the pics aren't fab because I didn't really take the time to paint Hollywood on nicely), but I wanted more.

With high hopes of creating an Opal type look, I tried it on top of Revlon's Cloud. Instead, I got a very subtle occasional shimmer if I held my nails in a certain light (here).  Fail.

In rating both types of Flakies, Australis' Crystal Top Coat had lots of big and small Flakies, but took a while to dry and once tried was kind of tacky to the touch.  Chi Chi's Speck-tacular had smaller Flakies, but dried much quicker and had a nice solid finish.

It looks like I will have to try these over top of black, but before I do, can anyone suggest another colour I could use underneath?

NN

Random Post - Funnies

Every so often, I will share random things not related to nail polish.  Sorry!  But I like to share the love, so today I'm going to share this link to Cyanide and Happiness.  It's totally inappropriate and definitely not PC, but SO funny. 

BTW, I really do not mean to offend anyone, so if you're sensitive, don't look.  Duh.

NN

Opal trial - FAIL

Well, the Opal effect didn't exactly turn out as planned.  It would seem the base coat I used (Revlon - Cloud) was just too light to fully show off the flakies, as evidenced below:

So, I added a coat of Sally Hansen, Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Disco Ball, just to give it a bit more "fire".

What do you think?  Can you suggest some other base colours that I could try?

Some recent nail creations

Yes, I know, my fingers are shocking. Wonky, dry skin hangy bits and artwork is uneven at best.  But you know what?  I'm having fun anyway - and that's what this is all about. 

Here are a few recent nail creations I want to share.

A combination of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear and Rimmel 60 Seconds products (I'll add the exact shades if requested).  I did the stripes freehand, but discovered later that the way you do this properly is with scotch tape.

Half-moons (with the aid of this tutorial) with Rimmel 60 Seconds - Star Studded and Bluetiful.

I was trying for the mood ring type of look here (see this tutorial at All Lacquered Up).  I think I used Rimmel 60 Seconds - Black Out, Purple Reign, Green with Envy and Star Studded as the shimmery top coat.  A colleague suggested it reminded her of mother of pearl (very flattered!).

Trying out my new Jordana Glitters #1 - for this look I used Revlon - Black Star as the base and Jordana Glitters - Blue Bash.

Trying out my new Jordana Glitters #2 - Rimmel - Sky High base with Jordana Glitters - Blue Bash, Magenta Magic and Lunar Lights.

Trying out my new Jordana Glitters #3 - L-R:  Lunar Lights, Magenta Magic, Blue Bash, Red Flash over top of Revlon - Silver Dollar base.

 

Trying out my new Jordana Glitters #4 - Celestial, Pixie Pink, Gold Glam, LA City Nights over top of Revlon - Silver Dollar base.

Skittles (I'll explain this later) - Rimmel 60 Seconds Instyle Coral and Bonsai . . .

. . . and with Jordana Glitters - Magenta Magic top coat.

Rimmel 60 Seconds - Purple Reign with Chi Chi - Crystal Top Coat.

First time Flakies!  (I luv luv luv Flakies - almost like opal flecks/fire).  This look uses Ulta3 - Hollywood base with Chi Chi - Crystal Top Coat.

So as you can see, I've been busy.

And FYI - I don't have photoshop or anything similar so I can't do much with my pics.  I also don't have a hoovey doovey camera - just a point and shoot - so pretty much WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
I am currently trying out Revlon - Cloud as a base, and Chi Chi - Crystal Top Coat, and I will add these photos soon once I've cleaned up my fingers.  With this look, I am trying to create an Opal look.  Stay tuned!

NN