Juicy Nails & Makeup!

Nails Inc.'s Magnetic Polish (Quick) Review

2011-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! TGIF! It's been such a hectic week for me, and I'm only thrilled to be leaving work early to beat the rush to the beautiful city of San Francisco. =)

Since I'm on vacay this wekend, I have no intentions of following any daily challenges (not that I've been doing them daily anyway, hehe). I decided to try out Nails Inc.'s new Magnetic polish to sport for the weekend.

As you can see from the pic above, it's got this cool wavy effect (color shown: Houses of Parliament). I can tell you that it looks beter in real life, but you get the general idea from the pic.

How it works:
Step 1: Apply a base coat to clean (oil-free) nails.

Step 2: Apply one coat of the Magnetic Polish to each nail and let it completely dry.

Step 3: One nail at a time, put a *generous* amount of the Magnetic Polish and hold the magnet (top of the cap) closely to the nail WITHOUT actually touching the nail. This producses the wavy effect. Repeat for all 10 nails and let dry.

Step 4: Apply a top coat.

My Thoughts:
First off, I'm not particularly sure this is worht $16 a bottle (@ Sephora). Mind you, I still bought it and paid for it, but it's more because I really wanted to try it out.

It's a pretty cool concept, and I give kudos to whoever came up with this funky idea. It creates a cool design that's very subtle, yet interesting.

After many attempts, I figured out that you really needed to apply a LOT of nail polish when you're going to do the magnetic swirl. If you put a thin coat, you won't see the design as clearly (if at all).

There's a little plastic piece near the magnet on the cap, that allows you to rest it on your cuticle. This makes it easier, but it's still tricky to not touch your nails. I accidentally hit two nails with the magnet. =/ But those were in the beginning...once I got the hang of it, I didn't hit my nails anymore, lol.

The polish itself is easy to apply, but seems to thicken quickly. Must be quick on your feet to apply quickly and to get the magnet applied (probably another r

Overall:
I think the concept is cool, but I'm not so thrilled about the price. I also wonder if it's the good kind of iron in the polish (ones that make it harder for your nails to break, hehe). Would I recommend it? Sure, if you have the money...but I don't think this is worthy of a splurge if you're on a tight budget (like me!).

Well, I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I do plan to get out Yellow sometime soon..maybe on Monday. Keeping up manicures daily is hard, so I might have to do it twice a week or something...we'll see. =) Maybe not...cuz that would make the challenge last 15 weeks, hahaha. I'll have to just play it out by ear. Anyhoo..

Till next time!!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought this product with my own money. No one gave me anything for free.
2. No one has paid me to write this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I have used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Day 2 - Orange

2011-10-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope you gals had a fantastic weekend. Of course I'm falling behind already with the challenge, but I'll do what i can. =)

To the left, we have a very beautiful orange. It's from Orly, and I picked it up from Ulta. I don't have the name, but I'll try to update when I do. =)

Anyhoo, it's a pretty orange base with a golden sparkle to it. The picture doesn't do it justice!!

Since I'm taking the polish off just about every day (or every other day), I haven't taken the time to do a design. Later on patterns will be coming, so I'm not too worried.

Tomorrow is Yellow, but I left my new yellow polish at home (staying at my mom's ). Plus I'm going to SF this weekend...not sure how much time I'll have to change polishes, but I'll try, lol.

At least this is motivating me to post more often, which is what EmeraldSparkled said as well, hahahaha. =) I just saw her yellow post...

Anyhoo, till next time! (Hopefully tomorrow!)

31 Day Challenge - Day 1: Red

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! I know it's been longer than expected, but I'm making a conscious effort to keep up as best as I can with work/baby/sleep, lol.

So, if you follow other nail blogs, you might have noticed a 31 Day Manicure Challenge. I actually saw it on EmeraldSparkled's blog, and I decided to give it a go. I believe she's on Day 3 or so, and I know there are others up to Day 18 or so, so far, lol. Although I will *try* to do one mani per day, we all know that isn't always possible.

I know I've promised some reviews, and I do plan to get to them in the near future. Hopefully I get at least one Halloween look out too this year! =)

Here's to Day 1 - Red! I decided to with my favorite red polish: OPI's I'm Not Really a Waitress. I'm sorry it's a plain boring manicure, but as soon as I got two coats on, I was rushing after TnT, lol. Gotta dig up some oj polish for tomorrow, hehe.

If you do decided to do the challenge, leave a comment! I'd love to see pics or even a comment letting me know that someone was inspired as well, lol.

Till next time!

Podrunner Intervals

2011-09-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I know, I'm terrible...been so behind on blogging. I need to post a blog on Minx and Get Nailed, and my Lasix. Grrr...they're on my To-Do list, hehe.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm NOT dead. Just semi-MIA. =) I've actually picked up crocheting again, and actually have had a couple custom orders. So between baby, crocheting, baking, reading, and watching Star India, I haven't had much time to blog, hahaha. And, sad to say, I've let my nails grow into a disarray. They keep breaking, but I can see where the new nail growth is healthier. I think I need about 3 more weeks to grow out whatever bad stuff I did to my nails, and then finally, they'll stop breaking.

In the meantime, I've also started running. A lot of my friends run (5ks, 10ks, 1/2 marathons, and marathons). I'm like the red-headed step child who absolutely HATES running. However, it's the most easily accessible exercise I can get right now. I go to the park after the baby falls asleep (around 10:30pm or so) and I've been doing Podrunner Intervals (I downloaded this from iTunes, but I think you can get it from their website. Just google it, hehe). I'm doing the Level 1, which is based on the Couch to 5k template. Currently, I'm on Week 4, and it is kicking my butt. I live for the moment when I hear the sound that the last interval is over. Hahahah. In theory, 6 weeks from now, I'll be able to run a 5k. The cool thing about it is that the music is pretty motivating. The bad thing is that the beat gets on my nerves after a while. It's that round dance/euphoric trance beat. I'm more of the happy hardcore type, lol. Well, that and stuff like Darude/ATB/Tiesto/Christopher Lawrence/etc etc. Basically, mainstream trance. Ah wellz...like I said, the mixes for Podrunner are pretty motivating, so I guess it's okay.

Blah...I'm just blabbing in this post. Sorry guys! There's no review or anything,

Till next time!

Bioken Antiruff Review

2011-07-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you're all doing well. =) I know I usually put something more blog related as my first pic, but unfortunately, I don't really have any pics for this one! LOL So here's a cute picture of my hubby and little baby (who is now 8 months!!).

Anyhoo, I know in my last post I mentioned I will be reviewing my whole LASIK experience soon. I'm still not ready yet...I'm still healing and I have my next check up in 2 weeks. Sooo....that will be on hold for a little bit. In the meantime, I wanted to review this product I just happened to come across while browsing the web.

This product is called Anitruff, created by Bioken (picture copied from ShearUp.com's website). As you might be able to tell by the name, it's a product designed to get rid of dandruff. Now I know it's kinda an eww topic, but I thought I might share this review in case there are any persons with a similar problem that might be looking for a product to try.

So here's my scalp story: I have mild dandruff that never seems to completely go away. It's worse in the winter, and much better during the summer. Anyhoo, I didn't take any "before" pics, so I didn't bother with any "after" pics.

Enough about me, let's move onto the product! I ordered Antiruff from ShearUp.com (as of today, I just checked and it's actually $34.95 instead of the $39.99). Antiruff is a "Dandruff Toner". According to the directions, you apply this directly to your scalp once or twice a day, and massage it for 3 minutes. They also recommend that you use it right after you shampoo your hair. The very first time I used it, I had just towel-dried my hair. I tried pumping some onto my fingers to spread through my scalp, but I found that pumping it directly on the scalp worked a lot better (which is what they recommended, if only I read the directions thoroughly LOL). Right after i applied the toner, I could feel my scalp tingle. It is definitely NOT a burning sensation...more like a cool minty feeling. After massaging for 3 minutes, I left my hair/scalp alone and went on with my day. I can say that my scalp tingled for about 25 minutes. I noticed right away that my scalp wasn't itchy (yes, I'm plagued with that damn itchy scalp!). I reapplied Antiruff that night, and saw a noticeable difference the next day. Normally, after I wake up the day after I wash my hair, I begin to get some flakes...and even more the next day, which is the day I wash my hair again. I applied it twice on the second day, and noticed on the third day that my scalp still had very little flakes.

After about a week of using it twice a day, my scalp felt great...it hardly ever itched and you really couldn't see any flakes. I was pretty surprised the product worked so well and so fast. At this point, I decided to cut down to once a day, and my scalp still maintained its great condition.

So...after about another week, I started to get lazy...only using it about 3 times a week. I noticed that my scalp would get itchy after 2 days or so of not using the product. I don't think I noticed any flakes during this time, but the itchy scalp still bugged me!

After about a month of using the product, I left it at my mom's, and kept forgetting to bring it home. So...I actually stopped using it for 2 weeks. After the first week, my scalp was super itchy again, and although I didn't have as much flakes as before, I did notice that I was getting them again. After the second week, my scalp was not quite where it was when I started, but getting pretty close. So I decided to get back to using the product. The instant I used it again, it was like instant relief for the itchiness. I decided to just use it every other day, right after I wash my hair, and that system seems to work for me. I've also been lazy in not massaging it in for 3 minutes. I just work it into my scalp and let it be. =)

Some answers to questions you might have: The product has a light minty/tea tree oil smell. It has a water-like consistency, and is clear. When you apply it, it does "wet" your hair and may feel a little oily at first, but it dries up pretty quickly and your hair returns to normal within 15 minutes. Would I recommend this product? Hellz yeah...although I do want to test it out longer to see the long-term effects.

Pros: It works. It doesn't smell bad (though that's subjective...). It WORKS! Lol One bottle goes a long way (After 2 months, I still have more than 1/2 the bottle left.). Oh yeah, it really does work! =)

Cons: It's kinda pricey...$39.99 is the regular price. You have to keep using it for continued effects. The smell can be a little strong to some people with a sensitive nose.

I hope this review helped...I know it's a weird topic and all, and I'm a little out of my comfort zone. But hopefully some of you found the info useful. =) If you've used this product, let me know how your experience was!

Things I will blog about soon: my LASIK, and MINX! I've ordered some and can't wait to try them out!

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought the product I reviewed.
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Pikachu Nails @ Anime Expo

2011-07-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I do have stuff to blog about soon. =) I Just wanted to share a quick look I did for Anime Expo for the 4th of July weekend here in LA.

It kinda goes with a whole Pokemon theme...

My mom made my darling a little Pikachu outfit...so I made him a Pikachu amigurumi...and then decided to do this look on my nails, just to complete the theme. No, I did not dress up as a trainer...I didn't really have time to put anything together...maybe next year. LOL I already have votes for Squirtle next >.<.

Recently, I've been taking a break from nail art and stuff...I've been making these crochet amigurumis like this Pikachu. I've made quite a few...and they are quite time consuming

I basically have to squeeze in time when the baby is napping or when someone else is keeping an eye on the baby.

Now, I'm kinda taking a break from that to just relax (and job hunt!).

And here's a look at TnT:

Isn't he the cutest?!?

Anyhoo...back to the nails!

What I used:
Nail Star: Yellow
Nail Star: Black
Nail Star: White
Red Circle Rhinestones
Red Heart Rhinestones
Seche Recondition (Base Coat)
Seche Vite (Top Coat)

What I Did:
Step 1: Base Coat
Step 2: Created a French Tip on every nail (except ring finger) using Nail Star: Yellow (Brush Tip). On the ring finger, I covered the whole nail.
Step 3: Second coat of Nail Star: Yellow.
Step 4: Using Nail Star: Black (Pen tip), I made little black dots along the smile line. On the ring finger, I made a Pikachu face: Two dots for eyes, and a little wide "W" for the mouth.
Step 5: Using Nail Star: White (Pen tip), I added two dots to the corner of the eyes.
Step 6: Top Coat
Step 7: On ring finger, I added Red Circle rhinestones as Pikachu's cheeks. This is optional...you can get the same look using a red polish and a dotting tool. On the thumb, I added a Red Heart rhinestone.

I haven't used regular nail polish in a while. I actually threw a one coat of a purple polish from Zoya to shoot a crochet video, and removed that for this look. Of course, after being spoiled by Gelish, I was quite disappointed when it started chipping after 3 days. =( It's one week later, and I actually have 3 perfect nails on my left hand...with just the minimum of wear and tear at the tips. Maybe I was just too hard on them?

It feels nice to do a cutesy design again, lol. What's my favorite Pokemon? Well, I have a tattoo of a Luxray, but my new favorite is a Snivy, lol. Or maybe a Petilil? Must collect them all! Hahahah

In the future, I do have two reviews planned. One for my LASIK. Yes, I got Lasik <3! And one for a hair treatment. =) Stay tuned!

Till Next Time!

Random Gelish Manicures

2011-06-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! It's been a couple weeks since my last post, so I thought I'd just do a quick look at some of the Gelish manicures I've done. =)

This pic the left is just a simple glittery tip. The base color is Desert Sands and the tip color is Night Shimmer. To achieve this look, I used two coats of Desert Sands, then used a sponge to dab on Night Shimmer on the tips. I concentrated more at the edge of the tip, so it had a faded effect.

I had a couple bumps because I didn't remove my last Gelish manicure properly, and didn't notice until the I had already cured a layer of the Desert Sands. *sigh* Shame on me for being lazy!!

This next manicure is one I did on my mom. I had found a video on YouTube and tried to follow her design. Unfortunately, I don't have the link, but I'm sure it's easy to find if you search for Gelish Design or something (it's a 5 or more part series of videos). Basically, after the Foundation coat, I put Vegas Nights all over the nail and cured. Then Good Gossip on just the tip and cured. After, I put a dark purple (don't have the name right now, sorry! Will try to update) over the whole nail. Before curing, I used an orange stick to draw out the swirls on one hand, and flowers on the other. I let that cure, and put on a top coat. In the end, I wish I chose more contrasting colors, but I think they turned out decent for a first try.

Next time, I'll try to have a design in front of me, versus just winging it. LOL

This next design was done on my Aunt from SF. It's the same concept, but instead, I put a neutral colored base over the whole nail, and only did the design on the tip. Under the pink, I had Vegas Nights. Then I covered it up with Go Girl. I used an orange stick to put in the lines so the glitter underneath would show. Unfortunately, it was kinda too light to see. But my aunt didn't want anything too flashy anyway. =) On the pinky, you can see a couple darker pink glitter...it's because I added a coat of Tumberline Violet to the tip and tried to arrange the glitter so it would peep through.

This last design was done on another Aunt. She's not really allowed to wear nail polish at work, so I try to keep her nails more subtle. But I needed to make this stand out a tinsy bit, because she was going to a wedding, so I came up with this color combination.

The base color is Forever Beauty, and the tips are High Bridge. Just like my own manicure, I applied High Bridge with a sponge.

I think (hope) it's not overly noticeable! LOL

I had one more design, but for some reason I can't find the pictures for them! Grrr...I think it was on my phone and I recently just got a new one. I'll hunt for it....

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post on different looks I've done with Gelish. Hopefully, I'll be able to try out more designs on my guinea pigs LOL.

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. All the products were given to me as a gift from ShearUp.com.
2. No one is paying me for this blog.
3. No one has asked me to do this blog.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Quick Update on D Spot Salon

2011-05-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

While posting (and stalking!) on Facebook, I saw an ad for.....D Spot Salon! They're apparently having a deal right now where you can get a Gel Manicure for $20 (normally $35). Just thought I'd pass this along to anyone in the LA area that's interested in trying it out. =) The deal is on Lifebooker Loot. And FYI, I'm not getting anything for this post or if you buy the deal...just randomly saw it and thought it was a good deal, lol. Be warned: this deal is only good until Friday!

If you have any questions about D Spot Salon, don't hesitate to leave a comment. =)

Gelish Manicure + Review on 6G LED Lamp

2011-05-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I know I know, I've been gone forever....shame on me, blah blah, lol. But I'm happy to report that my little one is about 6 months, and isn't quite so needy anymore. He actually takes some time to play by himself now, yay! So, hopefully that means more time for blogging and videos! One can dream, right?

Anyhoo, I collaborated with a good friend of mine, who's a licensed cosmetologist, to create a video on the application of Gelish Polish.

ShearUp.com was nice enough to provide us with all the Gelish Products. Please note that they are not compensating me for this blog or the video I created. The thing I loved the most was the LED Lamp. This lamp retails for $329.99 (I think...), and it is frickin' awesome. It really does cure the gel in seconds! More on that in a bit.

Here's the video:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obm6XGtN-SI

What We Used:
Buffer (sorry, don't know the grit!)
Gelish PH Bond
Gelish Foundation Gel
Gelish Jet Set
Gelish Top Seal
Rubbing Alcohol
Gelish 6G LED Lamp

I know we could've fast-forwarded through all the curing and stuff, but I just wanted to show the entire manicure, in one cut, in real-time. Just to give you a sense of what it's really like. =) Sorry for the weird editing at the end!

Note: Cure times based on Gelish's LED Lamp.

Manicurist:
Denise
"D" Spot Salon
684 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(626) 695-6837
www.dspotsalon.com

I think she normally charges $35 for a Gelish manicure. =)

It was fun shooting the video with her, and I feel like I benefited from watching a professional apply Gelish. Apparently my manicures on my mom and friends look very amateurish compared to hers. But, then again...she IS a professional! LOL I definitely intend to try out her methods the next time I give someone a Gelish manicure. (Please note, I only give them to my mom and a few select friends/family...and I do it for free, hehe.) Things to do: Keep coats thin, cap the edges, make sure your whole hand is in the lamp. =)

Now, onto the mini-review. I got this Gelish 6G LED Lamp, and I am totally enjoying it. I've only used regular UV Lamps before this, so I'm afraid I don't have much to compare it to.

Basically it's just large enough for one hand or foot to fit inside. The stand makes it tricky to put in your foot. With the basic UV lamp, you could just put your foot on the floor and slowly slide it in. With this, I kept it on the stand, so you had to slowly finesse your foot in. I didn't think about it at the time, but I guess removing the stand was a smarter idea, lol. Hindsight is 20/20?

There are three buttons on the back: 10 seconds, 20 seconds, & 30 seconds. Since this is made for the Gelish system, these are the only times you'll need. 10 seconds for the foundation gel, 30 seconds for each coat of polish, and 20 seconds for the top seal. And yes, it really does cure in those times (as seen on the video)!

Soooo....the good stuff: it cures your gels quickly and it's easy to use. The bad stuff: it costs $329.99. Now, as a layuser, I doubt I would spend the money on this when a regular UV lamp does the same for $55. It just does it slower....But, maybe if I were a professional, I would be more inclined to buy it. I think it would be pretty handy in a salon setting. You can easily finish one hand in 8 minutes, then work on the other hand with out worrying about the first hand hitting anything.

I haven't seen the lamp from the starter kit, so I'm not sure how it compares.

So yeah...just some final thoughts: Do I love my lamp? Hellz yeah....Would I recommend it? Um, only if you can afford it, or just really want it, lol, or work at a salon. =)

Here are some pics of recent Gel manicures:

Gelish:
This is one coat of Bella's Vampire & one coat of Vegas Nights. One coat of Bella's Vampire seems a little on the thin side....it shows how uneven my application is. I've worn two coats of Bella's Vampire, and it definitely hides my flaws. =)

Gelac:
This is a French mani I did using IBD's Gelac in Pink & White. Their formula is actually thinner than Gelish, so it definitely felt more like a polish. However, my white turned into cottage cheese, and it's only been....2 months? Not a happy camper about that. Price-wise, it's about $13 a bottle (versus Gelish's $17)...

Gelac:
This is the same manicure as above, however, I added some Konad lace to it. I can't remember which plate I used, so I'll update when I can. =) I basically did a top seal, then the stamp, then another top seal. This lasted for a nice long while...

ShearUp.com is offering my readers a 10% discount if you use the Promo Code: PRINCESSTEA
(Please note that I don't receive anything if you use this promo code, it is strictly for your benefit.)

Disclaimer:
1. All the Gelish products in the video were provided by ShearUp.com as a gift. All other tools/products in the video are property of "D" Spot Salon. Anything else mentioned on the blog has been purchased by me (or someone in my family).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year! I spent a quiet night at home....made dinner with friends and family, then watched the ball drop on TV. Unfortunately, we had to watch MTV and the whole Snookie ball drop, but I did get to "join in" the whole world record fist pumping thing! Hahaha, my hubby made fun of me and refused to join in.

So to catch y'all up on why I haven't had the chance to post (besides that whole baby thing, lol): my ceiling collapsed on my bed!! It took them 3 weeks to fix it, and now we're just waiting for a bed before we can move back in. In the meantime, we're living at my parents' house. My mother-in-law just opened a restaurant, so she's super busy....and I don't have as much help with the baby anymore. I haven't had any polish on my nails since Christmas (was going to do something for NYE, but didn't have spare time!), so I'm itching to do something. Most likely I'll do another Gelish mani because I don't have to worry about it chipping for 2 weeks. Quite mommy-friendly, huh? LOL

I've gotten some new subscribers and followers since my last post, which makes me feel really happy! =) Thanks for joining the Juicy Side! Hehehe....it's pretty cool to know that some of the reviews and info on my blog is helpful to people out there when making a purchase. If you have any questions, e-mail works better: princess.tea@gmail.com , versus writing a comment. For some reason, blogger isn't sending me a notice when I have new comment, so I've been really bad about responding! I'm not doing it on purpose...I like to reply within 1-2 days! The only reason I noticed was because I decided to print out my blog and I've gone through all my old blog posts since 2009. I can't wait until I get my blog-book printed! I think it'll be fun to have...and show people. =) I'm a nerd, what can I say!

Well, some things I plan on posting in the near future: Latisse update, perhaps a new Gelish mani post, maybe a scrapbook post on the baby (I've finished a whole 3 pages, go me!), and I've been dying to do a Konad post. Can you believe I've had Konad since it first came out, and I haven't done a post on it? LOL Hopefully soon to change in the next month. Although I'm not working yet, I've begun applying for jobs, I have clients I've found on my own, and watching a baby is a 24 hour job. One of my NY Resolutions is to post as much as I can this year. I think last year I wanted to do it weekly....but this year I want to be more realistic. If I can post twice a month, I'll be happy. =)

Anyhoo, check back soon! Till next time!

Gelish Plus Regular Polish

2010-12-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! I finally had a chance to do my nails properly! This is my first polished look since I gave birth a month ago.

So I decided to test out what would happen if you used the Gelish base coat and top coat with regular polish in between. This is the look I decided to go with...it's a nice wintery manicure. =)

You might have noticed, I filed my nails a little differently...instead of the square edge, I've decided to go with a more rounded look. I'm just testing this out to see if I like it. So far, I'm not crazy about how it looks, but it actually feels more comfortable and easy to manage than the square manicure.

Anyhoo, back to the polish! First off, I used the PH bond, then put on a thin layer of the foundation gel. After curing, I put on one coat of Orly's Winter Wonderland over the entire nail. After letting this dry, I sponged on Orly's Royal Navy to the tips, adding an extra layer at the very tip to create a fade. It's kinda hard to see in the pic, but it's there! =) After, I used a clear top coat to adhere a light blue rhinestone to each nail (using just a drop where I wanted to place the rhinestone). I let this dry, then put a thin layer of the Gelish top coat over the whole nail and cured it. When it was done curing, I used alcohol to wipe off the tacky layer, and then added more of the top coat to just cover the rhinestone and cured it again. Then I wiped off the nails one last time.

I wanted to see if this manicure would stay the 2 weeks like a full Gelish manicure would. However, I already chipped 2 nails within 24 hours. It was worth a try, though! The chips are small, and I'm going to see how long this manicure lasts. Well, see if it lasts until I get bored, anyway, lol. I'll keep y'all posted!

In the meantime, I have a couple pics to update my Latisse use:

This is after 2 weeks of use. I thought my lashes looked thicker, but my mom said I was imagining things. LOL

This pic to the right was taken after 3 weeks of use. I think my lashes definitely look thicker in this pic! My left lashes look thicker than my right lashes. I can't really tell a difference in the length yet, but I'm not too worried. Most people start to see a change around 6 weeks in.....so I guess I'm half way there? Hehehe

I also picked up a tube of Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Lovecraft. I haven't actually tried it yet...I was in a rush in the store and just knew I liked the color. Will post pics when I can!

Anyhoo, gotta run...hubby wants to sleep and is annoyed with my typing! Till next time!

Latisse Update

2010-11-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! So I wanted to do a quick update on my Latisse experience so far. This pic was taken before I started using Latisse. Mind you, I haven't used any eyelash lengthening products since March--approximately 8 months (basically since I found out I was preggerz, lol). As you can see, my eyelashes are hardly visible, and they are very straight. My lower lashes are pretty short, as well.

So the one week update (sorry, no pic - you really can't see THAT big of a dif!) is that my lashes look a *tiny* bit longer, but they have started to curl at the ends too. Yay! I can tell that it's working, and I just need to be diligent about applying Latisse every day.

How I use Latisse: I just follow the instructions -- Put a drop on the sterile brushes that came with the kit and swipe it along the upper lash line of each eye, once every night. I was told by someone else who was prescribed Latisse that she was told to use it twice a day. I guess this would have to be okayed by your doctor, because Latisse has the potential to mess with your eye pressure or something. I'll have to ask mine the next time I see her.

I'll keep y'all updated, but I've been told not to really expect results for 90 days. Also, as a quick update, my broken nails still need some time to grow out....especially my thumb. BLEH! Lol

Anyhoo, till next time!

Baby's Here....OMG!?!

2010-11-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to do a quick update, since I've been a little MIA. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on November 6, 2010. I had to have an emergency C-section, but am recovering pretty nicely. Unfortunately, I broke 2 nails at the hospital, and have now cut down all my nails. =( It's okay though, gives them time to grow out healthier...or they would be healthier if I could remember to put on cuticle oil!! LOL

On another note, now that I am not pregnant anymore, I have officially started using Latisse. I tried to take some "before" pics, but they kinda turned out blurry. I'll be posting a short blurb about that when I have a chance.

Anyhoo, I'll try to post more nail stuff when my nails grow out. Unfortunately, one of the breaks is about 1/2 way down my nail bed, and it's on my thumb. =( I swear, my thumb nail is like the slowest growing nail ever....I suppose it could because it's also the biggest, but yeah...it's going to be awhile. In the meantime, I'll try to figure out other beauty stuff to post about.

Don't you just love the Paul Frank onesie? I think TnT actually fits into it now...but I'm trying to make sure he wears everything at least once, so he might not make it back to the Paul Frank one before he grows out of it. We'll see....

Babies grow up too fast.....bleh, lol.

Anyhoo, till next time!

Some Random Manicures I've Been Sporting...

2010-10-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I had an awesome time on Friday, and I'm sure you can guess where I was from the pic: BLIZZCON 2010!!! And yes, that's a glittery Horde symbol on my cheek. It took me 1/2 an hour to draw on, but I loved the way it turned out. Sorry the pic is blurry...I didn't even take backups. =/ Ah wellz!

It was sooo much fun to test out Diablo 3 (this time they had 5 classes to check out...last year they only had 3). They announced the last class: Demon Hunter...which sounds like it's going to be fun to play! I also tested out Cataclysm beta, and played Worgen for the first time (last year I only tried the Goblins). It looks like it's going to be fun as well.

But enough geek talk, moving on to makeup and nails!

So I decided to try out Finger Paints's "Be a Pal-ette". I didn't take a pic of my look before I threw on a design, but you can kinda get a good idea of the color from the pics.

The color was pretty solid after two coats, and it's a pretty, shimmery, purple for the fall. I wanted to do a Konad design, but I didn't have my plates with me at my new home (still at my parents's house, lol), so I just made do with what I had: mainly the white and silver striper polishes.

I know this kinda ends up to be my fallback design when I cover my whole nail in a polish. I really should expand to more designs, but I don't really have a long attention span at the moment. I like designs that are quick and easy. =)

In the top pic, I used Seche-V, the UV top coat. Unfortunately, it does not work the same as their regular Seche Vite top coat. I thought I had waited long enough for the design to dry, but when I applied the top coat, it smudged! This normally doesn't happen with Seche Vite. I was pretty disappointed. Plus...after I set it with the UV lamp, it still wasn't really shinier or glossier than the regular Seche Vite top coat. I might have to try this over a different polish to compare.

In the other pic (the one on the left), I used Seche Vite, and like I said, I couldn't really tell a difference between the two. In fact, the one with Seche-V chipped first. Sad, isn't it? It also chipped within a few days...didn't even last a week. I couldn't stand having chipped nails, so I decided to change my look. I will say, though, the Seche-V removes pretty easily with nail polish remover. I hate it when it takes forever to remove nail polish! LOL

Next, I decided to try MissChevious's Vampire Nail design. Here's a link to her video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkgbp1mOe5Y . This pic to the right shows two coats of China Glaze's "Lubu Heels". It looks almost completely black, but you can still tell that there's a hint of red glitter. Two coats gave a pretty opaque coverage.

I know in the video, MissChevious covers her whole nail in the vampy polish, but I was in the mood for a French, lol.

I added my fangs to the ring finger, and then added some drops of blood.

I think the mani turned out to be really cute! I definitely like doing Halloween looks, although I'm not too fond of creating them myself (in case you haven't noticed, I haven't done a Halloween tut this year!).

I topped this look off with Seche Vite, and was happy to report that this look lasted a week before it chipped.

Lastly, I was tired of worrying about chipped polishes, so I decided to sport another Gelish manicure. =) I'm still wearing this look.

Basically, this is Gelish's "High Bridge" as the base color and "Gossip Girl" as the tip. I then put on a little nail art flower on each nail (from Sally's Beauty Supply), and topped it with a generous amount of Gelish's Top Seal to ensure I wouldn't lose it, lol. So far, it's been about 4 days and it's lasting just fine.

I don't plan to change my nails anytime soon, but I'll keep you updated on how this manicure lasts. Unfortunately, I broke my pointer finger on my left hand...instead of doing the "right" thing and taking off the Gelish manicure to fix, I've been trying to keep it together with just some nail glue. But of course, this doesn't work...it stays solid for only a day....the break has gotten bigger now. I may have to just suck it up and redo that nail properly. =/

Anyhoo, I realized that in my haul, I didn't mention that I did buy one other thing from the MAC Venomous Villains collection: a mineral eye shadow for Maleficent "My Dark Magic".

It's a black and pink shadow on one side, and a black and opalescent shadow on the other side.

I had a hard time deciding whether to get this duo or the other (She Who Dares). I only decided on this one because I figured I'd use these colors more. It's not very often I'd wear a dark green or dark blue shadow.

When I bought this, I was told the colors would show up better with a greasestick base (which I coincidentally already owned, lol).

As you can see, without the greasestick, the colors are very faint. I'm sure you could layer it until you got the right color, but why bother when you can easily get the dark rich colors with a greasestick?

I absolutely love how it looks with the greasestick....it's like a black base with pink/opal shimmer.

So far, everytime I've worn this shadow, I've used my greasestick. This also makes the colors stay on longer...at least 8 hours. =)

I think I'll experiment on this with my eye shadow mixing medium (aka Glycerin and water, lol). I want to know if this make any impact at all....I'll let you guys know how it turns out. =)

Anyhoo...that's all I have for now. Till next time!

PS Sorry if the blog looks a little funny...I had to change templates, and I'm having some technical difficulties, lol. Hopefully the next post will look better.

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Blossom Cuticle Oil

2010-10-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

I bought some Blossom Cuticle Oil recently, and I figured I'd do a little review on it.

I bought two of them, Lilac and one other scent (I'd check, except the little sticker fell off, lol). They both smelled REALLY good, but I liked the Lilac one better and gave the other to my mom. (Her cuticles are super dry...she really needs to step up her nail care!)

But how does this oil compare to others? In the past, I've used Seacret's Cuticle Oil, Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Burt's Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream.

If I apply Blossom Cuticle Oil, I can already tell that I need to reapply within 8-12 hours. Now this isn't so bad...I'd apply cuticle oil twice a day anyway. But I just don't like that my nails go from moisturized to dry in such a short amount of time. Each bottle runs around $2.50.

If I apply Seacret's Cuticle Oil, I can see my cuticles drying up within a day...sometimes two. I feel like I don't have to be as diligent in applying the cuticle oil twice a day. This oil doesn't really have any scent. Each bottle runs around $10.00.

If I apply Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil, I think I would need to reapply every 16-24 hours. Cuticle oil is recommended to be used twice a day, so I guess it does its job. This oil also smells pretty nice (though I'm not sure how "apricot" it smells, lol). Each bottle runs around $4.00.

If I apply Burt's Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, I can probably wait at least 1-2 days before reapplying. Maybe this particular choice feels more moisturizing because it's a cream and not an oil. It does have a nice refreshing lemon scent. Each container runs around $7.00.

All-in-all, I guess you get what you pay for. The more expensive the bottle, the longer it lasts. This may not be try for all cuticle oils, but it was for the ones I tried out. I haven't finished any of the bottles, so I couldn't tell you how long they last. I would guess a 4-6 months each.

If I were to recommend any of these, I would probably recommend the Burt's Bee's cream. It just seems to work the the longest, and feels the most moisturizing.

Hope this review was helpful! Till next time!

Red & Silver Chevron French + Fall Nail Polish Haul!

2010-10-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I finally had some free time after my super busy weekend to update my blog and make a new video.

This look to the left was the design I sported for my best friend Liza's wedding this past weekend. Her colors were Dark Red & Silver. =) It was such a fun wedding, but seriously...my feet/ankles were super swollen with all the standing I had to do. It's a tough life, being a bridesmaid, LOL.

Anyhoo, here's the video:

What I Used:

Seche's Recondition (Base Coat)

Orly's Bare Rose

Orly's White Tips

Art Club's Silver Glitter

Art Club's Red Glitter

Art Club's White Polish

Seche Vite (Top Coat)

Silver Rhinestones

It's a pretty simple look, based on a picture I saw on CoolNailArt.com. It's a wonderful site to get ideas from!

Anyhoo...on to my HAUL! Like I said in my last blog, I haven't done one in a long while....but I decided to get a bunch of polish for the fall. There are lots of awesome new polishes, and I've always liked darker colors. =)

My new 9 Polishes:

I got two from Finger Paints (Sally's), two from China Glaze (Sally's), four from Orly (Beauty Headquarters), and one from MAC. All in all, not a bad fall collection, right?

This is Finger Paints's "Be a Pal-ette". I thought this was part of their Seduced by Fall collection (it was in the display), but when I checked on their website, I couldn't find it (AT ALL!).

Basically, this is a very deep, metallic purple. Swatched on the left is two coats. I think two coats actually gives a nice even coverage, though it's hard to tell in the picture.

This runs about $4.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

This next color is Finger Paints's Autumn Blaze, which is definitely part of their Seduced by Fall collection.

This is a very deep, metallic red. The color actually looks a lot darker in real life. Shown on the right is two coats. It applies beautifully and very even.

This runs about $4.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next up is China Glaze's Mummy May I. This is from their Halloween collection (obviously you can tell from the name, lol).

This is a black polish with purple glitter. Swatched on the left is three coats. I needed the third coat for a full, even coverage. Without a top coat, you can kinda see from the picture that the application leaves bumps where the glitter is. I would recommend using a thicker top coat to smooth out the bumps. I think I'll experiment a little to see which of my top coats will do the job. =)

This runs about $5.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

This next color is China Glaze's Lubu Heels. This isn't from their Halloween collection or anything. In fact, I'm not sure if it belongs to any collection? I just saw it on their Halloween Display and decided to pick it up, LOL.

This is a black polish with red glitter. Swatched is three coats. It pretty much applied the same as Mummy May I, and it looks really similar, except the subtle glitter color difference. It also need a thicker top coat to smooth out the glitter bumps. MissChevious (on YT) as come up with an awesome Halloween nail design, and she uses Eyeko's Vampira as her base color. I would say this China Glaze dupe comes pretty close, and I'll be trying out her look in the next couple days. =) Will definitely post pics!

This runs about $5.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next we have Orly's Winter Wonderland from their 2010 Holiday Collection. (I suppose this is more a winter look than a fall look....)

This is a very translucent polish, with very fine silver glitter. Pictured on the left is just one coat. I'm sorry it's a little blurrier than I'd like. =/ But you can still see that one coat would add a nice amount of sparkle to your nails, if you're looking for something along those lines. I'll post pics of what it looks like on normal nails, with probably three coats (depending on coverage) whenever I get the chance to put it on. It might go on my mom first, LOL. She's already sporting one of my new polishes...but I keep forgetting to take a pic of it!

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters. At Sally's, Orly's regular polish is around $5.99, but not sure if this one is considered part of the premiums.

This next polish is Orly's Glitz and Glamour. This is also from their 2010 Holiday Collection. I think this color's wearable from fall through winter, just because it's golden. =) LOL

This is a gold metallic polish. Strangely enough, I didn't have one in my collection, so I decided to pick up this polish (I have a silver one, though...). Swatched on the right is 2 coats. I did it when it was kinda dark, so I didn't notice that the coverage was still uneven. I think a third coat would've tidied things up. When I have it on regular nails, I'll try to remember to take a pic to update. =)

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters. At Sally's, Orly's regular polish is around $5.99, but not sure if this one is considered part of the premiums.

Next we have Orly's Out of This World. This is from their new Cosmic FX collection.

This is a deep purple polish with very fine purple & gold glitter. It's had to see the gold flecks in the picture on the nail, but you can kinda see it on the bottle.

I suppose that it's a little disappointing that it looks super cool in the bottle, yet doesn't have the same wow factor on the nail. =/

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters. At Sally's, this polish is $8.99.

Here is another polish from the same collection: Orly's Lunar Eclipse.

This is a blue polish that has very fine blue and purple glitter. There are two coats on the swatch. I think a third would even out the tone, but still, I can't see the purple on the nail. Perhaps another disappointing polish?

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters. At Sally's, this polish is $8.99.

And last, but not least, we have MAC's Bad Fairy, from their Villainous Villains collection. I wanted to get Formidable too, but it's sold out like EVERYWHERE!

This is a pink-ish polish, with very fine pink and gold glitter. This swatch has two coats and it doesn't look too even, but I assure you, on normal nails, two coats looks perfect. (This is what my mom is sporting atm!) The picture does not do it justice...it really does show the two-toned glitter very nicely. =)

I was told that the other two polishes in the collection have Orly dupes....but I think I'd rather have the MAC version if the Orly ones aren't cutting it....

This runs about $13.00 at MAC.

Not a bad collection, right? I will be trying these out within the next few months, so I'll try to take updated pics and whatnot.

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Fluidline in My Waterline!

2010-09-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! As promised, here are some pics and my thoughts about putting MAC's Fluidline in my waterline.

To the left, I have a pic of how my eyes looked after I had put on eye makeup (without mascara), including the gel liner in my waterline. As suggested by JuicyStar07, I dried my waterline first, with a cotton swab. Then, using an angled brush, I applied MAC's Blacktrack into my waterline. Drying my waterline with a cotton swab felt a little funny at first, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I do agree that it helps the liner apply easier, and probably helps it stay on longer, so it's a good step to include.

This second pic is blurry, but this is after I applied a purple eyeshadow (the darker color of NARS's Jolie Poupee Eyeshadow Duo) over the Fluidline. As you can see, it softened up the lower lashline, so it wasn't a harsh black line. Plus, it's always good to set a liquid with a powder. =)

This pic to the left was taken 8 hours after application. I know my eyes look like their facing weird directions (I feel like ALL these pics make me look like I have a lazy eye or something!)....but anyhoo, you can see that most of the waterline makeup is still there.

Yes, I know, this pic to the right is blurry, but you can see that if you're looking straight at me (and not down into my waterline), the liner is holding up pretty well. =)

Hmm...not sure why my eyes are kinda pink in all the pictures. I don't remember them looking so pink that day....maybe it's just something the camera picked up.

Soo....in comparison, I must agree that gel-lining the waterline definitely lasts longer than just using a plain eyeliner. Usually, I need to reapply a regular eye liner into my waterline every 4-6 hours (if I'm not being lazy, lol). It's really annoying to have your makeup disappear (into your eyes?) after you've spent a lot of time making sure you have it they way you want. With using a gel liner, I could apply it and forget about it, knowing that it'll stay put for at least 6-8 hours. It applies really smoothly, though I want to get a softer brush. My angled brush (MAC's 208) is perfect for eyebrows and applying gel liner to my top lid, but it feels a little rough when applying to my waterline. I know MAC has a softer, albeit larger, angled brush...so I might pick one up this weekend...along with Bad Fairy (one of their 3 new nail polishes coming out for their Villainous Villains collection). I've seen some pictures and reviews on it, and it looks fantastic! And the guru's say that there's no dupe for it, so I'm definitely splurging the $12.50 for it. =) I believe I'll be heading there on Sunday, so I'll try to get it swatched that night to include with my latest nail polish haul. I can't believe I haven't done one in FOREVER....but I haven't really bought that many since I've become preggerz. However, I decided it was time to update my collection for the fall, and have bought quite a few polishes (8 so far, + Bad Fairy will make 9, lol).

I also have a quick and easy nail art tutorial that I'm putting together coming soon. My nails look pretty enough for a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding this weekend. I'm not 100% thrilled with them, because they don't look close enough to the photo I based it on....but hey, that was probably done by a professional, and I'm just a lil old amateur. =/ Still, I can't wait to show them off at tomorrow's rehearsal. =) I'll also be following a hair tutorial to get a Taylor Swift inspired look for my hair. I'll probably take a before and after pic for that, and post them as well. Lots of stuff to come, it seems like!

Anyhoo....till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Gelish French Heart Manicure

2010-09-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! After letting my nails rest a few days, I had finally found a design I wanted to try out. This look is based on a picture I saw online...somewhere on Coolnailart.com. Unfortunately I don't have the link or the name of who posted it, but if you see it or it's yours, please msg me so I can give you the proper credit!

So...back to the look. Basically it's an arrow French, with a heart drawn in where the bottom point fits in snugly to the arrow. It's a pretty cute idea, and I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, I draw hearts with a brush like a little boy would. =/ I'm sure with more practice I'll be able to get it....maybe.

Here's the video I uploaded to YouTube (Steps are simplified):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-K29b1oAfo

What I Used:

Bluish Holographic Glitter
Gelish: PH Bond
Gelish: Foundation Gel
Gelish: Water Field
Gelish: Gossip Girl
Gelish: Top Seal
Beauty Headquarters Gel: White

How to create the look:
*Note: If you want to do this look in regular nail polish, ignore the gel-requirements like curing and such.

Step 1: Clean nails with alcohol
Step 2: Apply PH Bond
Step 3: Apply a thin coat of Foundation Gel (Base Coat)
Step 4: Cure for 30 sec
Step 5: Apply one coat of Base Color (I used Gelish: Water Field)
Step 6: Cure for 1 min
Step 7: Apply one coat of Tip Color in a French Arrow Tip (I used Gelish: Gossip Girl)
Step 8: Cure for 1 min
Step 9: Apply second coat of Tip Color
Step 10: Cure for 1 min
Step 11: Draw a Heart (I used BH Gel: White)
Step 11a: If you want to, you can add glitter using a thin brush on top of the white. (Optional)
Step 11b: If you want to, you can add rhinestones (I used blue ones on my right hand.)
Step 12: Cure for 2 min
Step 13: Apply Top Seal (Top Coat)
Step 14: Cure for 2 min
Step 15: Clean of tacky layer with alcohol

And voila! You have a French Heart Manicure! This pic to the left is my right hand. You can see that my left hand is totally incapable of drawing a good heart, but I tried to camouflage it with rhinestones.

Now, this look takes a lot of patience...I think I spent almost 2 hours....but I was super slow! I'm sure if I had to do it again, I could do it in a lot less time. The part that took really long was drawing those damn hearts, lol. I bought a brush (shown in the pic above), but I realize now that I should've bought a thinner brush that could draw thin lines easier. But I guess it's cool. It was my first time using that kind of gel for nail art....I think it's really hard, but the gel is kinda forgiving. I plan to try out flowers next...I've seen a video that makes it look easy. =)

In this pic to the right, You can see that the glitter part got a little messy on my thumb. I fixed this by putting a layer of top seal after the French tip, but before the white hearts. This step is optional, but I just wanted to test it to see if it worked...which it did. =)

On my middle and pinky finger, I was able to brush off the excess glitter, whereas on my thumb the glitter stuck to my tacky layer. I should've put glitter on my right hand because it looks like the glitter camouflages the poorly shaped hearts a lot better than the rhinestones, lol.

All in all, I'm actually pretty happy with how my nails turned out. Obviously, my next try will look a lot better...but how often do I really re-do a look? Well, once in a blue moon...like with 3TanjaJ3's look that I've repeated like 3 times already, lol. I may try this out with regular nail polish....which I haven't worn in over a month, lol. =) This Gelish nail polish is just more convenient to wear because of the no-chipping and stuff, even if I don't last the whole 2 weeks before WANTING to change my polish, lol.

I've actually tried out using a gel-liner on my waterline and have taken some pics...I'll post that blog up sometime next week. =)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Re-Moisturizing My MAC Fluidline

2010-09-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So my nails are currently nakkid (*gasp*) as I'm giving them a few days break before my next Gelish manicure. My last one (the red French tipped one) lasted about 10 days. Not bad! I could've made them last longer, but I was getting tired of them, so I figured I'd give my nails a break, and then figure out my next mani. =) I'm probably going to do another french manicure of some sort, but haven't decided on colors (I only have 4!) or type. I'll post pics when I finish them up!

In the meantime, I decided to make a post (even though there's a million of them out there) on fixing a dried up gel liner. My friend and I were in Sephora a few days ago. She was looking for some serum, and I was looking for a gel liner to replace the ones that dried up (I had 4! =( ). I had finally decided on a brand, when my friend came to see how I was doing. When I explained why I was getting a gel liner, she was like..."why don't you just add water? Everyone does that! Just google it!" (or something like that, lol). I had never thought of doing that, so I decided to go home without buying an replacements and look it up.

As you can see from the pic above, my gel liner was REALLY dried out. I didn't take pics of the other 3, but they were in a similar condition. After watching a few videos on YouTube, and reading a few blogs, I decided that I wanted to use contact solution. I know some people think that contact solution doesn't work as well as eye drops, but whatever. =P I decided on contact solution because it's obviously safe for your eyes AND it's supposed to be moisturizing (to some extent...yes, on this score, eye drops would be better....but I didn't have any on me at that exact moment!!). Anyhoo, so here's the solution I used. It's AMO's Complete Moisture Easy Rub Formula. It's a relatively new bottle...I would really hesitate at using expired contact solution. (Expired eye drops are okay though.)

Next, I took some hand sanitizer (for this, I would recommend a non-scented one because you don't want any irritants). I cleaned a new waxing stick with this, to kill all bacteria. Since you're working with stuff that goes near your eyes, you want to be extremely careful as to your tools and cleanliness.

I then put in a few drops of the contact solution into my gel liner, then started mixing it.

I actually mixed this for a good amount of time because I wanted the consistency to be even. Don't worry if you used too much contact solution...I'm pretty sure I put in too much too!

After I felt like I had gotten a pretty good even consistency, I used the stick to clean up the sides and push everything down to the bottom of the container.

What I ended up with is to the left. As you can see, the excess contact solution was at the top.

This was easily remedied by getting a q-tip and slowly patting out all the excess fluids.

It seemed to work out pretty nicely. However, when I tested the gel liner, the line was pretty watery. So I decided to heat it up and let it cool, in hopes that it would lock in the moisture.

I took some boiling water, and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Then I put the water into these little cups and stuck each gel liner into one.

Then I let this sit until the water was cool (about 10 minutes or so).

And the final result looked like this. Now when I tested it again, it still wasn't the exactly right...if you drew a line with a brush, it was still really easy to wipe off (not how a gel liner is supposed to be!).

So I decided to let this sit overnight (closed, not open!), and test it again in the morning.

To my surprise, in the morning, the gel liner was exactly how it was supposed to be! I'm sorry I don't have pics on the testing I did, but I think you'll see what I'm talking about if you try this.

Anyhoo, soooo the whole reason I even wanted to get my gel liners back was because I watched a YouTube video where someone used a gel liner on her waterline. Now, I normally use a regular pencil (or a kohl pencil sometimes) on my waterline, but I find that it doesn't stay very well. The girl (JuicyStar07) said that she dries her waterline with a cotton swab first, then applies a gel liner. She also suggests patting on a powder shadow to set the liner. Verrrry interesting...I wouldn't have thought to do that myself (except the powder part, lol)! So...I haven't actually tried this just yet...but I will! And I'll have to post back on how it went. I'm actually a little hesitant on the part where you dry your waterline with a cotton swab. I'm scared of fluff getting in my eyes...it's just those little strands that are so hard to get out, you know? Well, whatever. I'll have to buck up and try it, lol. Be a real (wo)man.

*Yawn* Time for bed! Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Gelish Polish Review

2010-09-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I know I said I was going to post a blog sooner, but unfortunately, my mother (the DOCTOR) has expressed a deep desire for me to STOP w/ my nails! Can you believe that? Of course you can...I can only imagine how all the fumes and whatnot can affect the poor little dear inside me. So, as a compromise, I've cut down...and I've dealt with the whole chipping thing with having her (yes, HER, lol) invest in a new gel polish system. I couldn't afford it without her, and I'm blessed she still spoils me! =)

This pic here is me sporting a cute French Mani, courtesy of babsita84's Faded French Hologram Manicure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnj3evqlXGQ . I think they turned out really cute, but it was quite tedious to do. You are supposed to put each hologram glitter on one at a time...as you can see, I got lazy and did a few at a time, and so my fade looks a little funny. =( Oh wellz! I still like them! And of course, I chose my Lakers Colors: Purple & Gold! =) Can't wait for the season to start!

Now, on to the Gelish Polish Review! Before actually buying a soak-off gel polish system, I did some research before choosing which brand I wanted to go with. There are many reviews of the big 3: CND's Shellac, OPI's Axxium, and Harmony's Gelish. The main reason I decided to go with Gelish over the others is the price. My manicurist friend told me that you get more bang for your buck with Gelish. LOL So yup, I brought my mom with me, and she seemed to like what she saw, so she bought me the whole system (as an investment, of course!).

*Update At ShearUp.com, there is a Gelish Starter Kit for $119.99! (Much cheaper than the $200 my mom spent to buy all the stuff I needed, lol.)

Now, this does seem a little pricey....but, you need to look at it from the other side as well. A typical gel polish manicure here, in the LA area, runs you about $30. I know on the east coast, they run closer to $60. So, if I do at least 5 manis/pedis with this set, I will have made it worth its investment. I've already done that, actually...mani/pedi on mom, mani/pedi on me (plus an extra French mani now!), and a mani/pedi on my mom's friend. That's 7 total...which is about $210. Not bad for owning it for 2 weeks, eh?

To the right is how my nails looked right after I was finished with them. The system is pretty simple.

Step 1: File/Shape your nails, push cuticles back.

Step 2: Clean nails with alcohol (on a lint-free wipe).

Step 3: Apply PH Bond.

Step 4: Apply Foundation Gel.

Step 5: Cure for 30 seconds.

Step 6: Apply 1 coat of color polish. (In my pic, my first coat was Gossip Girl.)

Step 7: Cure for 1 minute.

Step 8: Apply 2nd coat of color polish. (In my pic, my second coat was Water Field.)

Step 8: Cure for 1 minute.

Step 9: Apply Top Seal.

Step 10: Cure for 2 minutes.

Step 11: Remove tacky layer with alcohol (on a lint-free wipe).

And you're done! All in all it took about 30 minutes to do one manicure. Not too shabby!

Since it was my first try, I didn't do a great job...I got too close to the cuticles, and my top coat was too thick. My second time around, I kept all my coats thin, and the mani looks MUCH better!

This pic to the left is from the 2nd day. They look exactly how they did the day before. I wish you could see how shiny my nails are...it was almost as shiny as glass. The gels have a beautiful finish.

This pic to the right is from Day 3. You can kinda see the shine a little better from this angle, but the picture doesn't do it justice! The nails still look perfect...no chipping, no wear & tear at the tip.

Because I went too close to the cuticle, some of the polish lifted a little toward that end. You can't tell in the pictures, but you can feel it...especially when running your fingers through you hair! LOL So that was my bad...other people have reported that they stay in perfect condition for 10-14 days, even longer.

This next picture to the left is from Day 5. They look like I just got them done! You can kinda see that my nails are growing out a little, but besides that, they look great.

At this point, I was kinda getting annoyed with the length of the nails...This was the longest I've kept them in awhile, and they just started to bug me. I didn't do anything about it at this point, because I wanted to keep taking pics...hehehe.

Sorry this picture is blurry! Sometimes you look at the little tiny screen on your camera and it looks perfect...but when you look at it on your big monitor...it's blurry as hell. Oh wellz...

This is from the last day I kept my manicure: Day 7. At this point, I really wanted to cut my nails to a more manageable length. From inspecting my nails, I could tell that the manicure would last at least a few days more, but I was also bored with the color. I mean it's pretty....but to wear for an extended period? I would need something more my style, like... a French manicure! LOL So that's why I removed them (soaking in acetone for 10 minutes then removing with an orange stick is the proper method), and began a new manicure!

Here is a pic of my mom's manicure. This is two coats of June Bride. I think my application was a little flawed because in the pic, the color looks darker on the tips. But this was back when I was still figuring it out, so don't judge! LOL She has also removed her polish, but she didn't want to get a new manicure yet...she broke two nails yesterday while cooking, and she doesn't know what she wants to do yet, lol. She said her nails grow fast and I think she wants to wait for them to be a little longer before doing another Gelish manicure. Two weeks is a pretty long commitment....

So this is my current manicure...my right hand. I used Water Field as my base, and Good Gossip as my French Tip color. Then I added some big bling in Teal & AB. I was basically doing this to test if rhinestones stay better with the gel system. Unfortunately, these rhinestones were too big...the top seal is too thin to have a rigid hold on the rhinestones. I think I should use regular clear gel to secure them...

Here is my left hand...with light pink & AB rhinestones. I think the teal stands out a lot better, but the pink does have a nice soft look. These two pics were taken right after I finished my manicure.

Unfortunately, I lost a few rhinestones already...replaced them, and have lost one again. This is definitely a pain in the butt....the lost rhinestones leave a ridge, so my nails aren't smooth. =( Bleh!

And also unfortunately, the camera is not picking up the gorgeous gel shine and all the sparkles! LOL But, as you can see from the pics, I don't look like I'm wearing anything but regular nail polish! My coats are very thin and even, and I stayed the proper distance from my cuticles. My top seal is a little thick on the nails that have the rhinestones, but I'll have to figure out a better way to apply those next time. I think my mom wants some bling in her next mani, lol.

I did post a quick video on YouTube showing all the pics above. It was just a slideshow, but here's the link anyway!

It's hard for me to compare Gelish to other brands...I've heard that Shellac actually applies thinner (perhaps easier?), but have you seen the bottles? They're smaller than the Gelish ones! Both are about the same price, but the Gelish Polish comes with .5 floz while the Shellac only comes with .25 floz. Crazy! You get double the product for the same price! I don't know if you'll necessarily use 1/2 as much Shellac just because the product applies thinner, but I don't feel like my coats of Gelish are THAT thick anyway. The Axxium system doesn't come in a nail polish-like bottle (which Gelish & Shellac do). The Axxium gels come in a pot, which you need a separate brush to apply. Each pot runs around the same price as Gelish and Shellac, but it only comes with .14 oz (not sure how that converts to floz). I believe the Axxium system applies the thickest of the three.

I'm really happy with the Gelish system...which seems to have more color choices than the other two. I don't think I'll be trying Shellac, but the OPI colors do interest me (I absolutely adore "I'm not Really a Waitress"!). I'm quite tempted to try it out...but I don't think that'll happen in the *near* future. Will keep you updated if I do test it out! Maybe I'll ask my manicurist friend if I can mooch of her, tee-hee!

Anyhoo, will have to wait and see when my next post is! It'll prolly be a little sporadic until a few months after the baby is born, but I'll try to post stuff when I can! =)

Update: ShearUp.com is offering my readers 10% off if you use the promo code: PRINCESSTEA
(Please note that I don't get anything if you use this promo code. This is completely for your benefit!)

Update: I posted a new video/blog on the application of Gelish: http://miniteababy.blogspot.com/2011/05/gelish-manicure-review-on-6g-led-lamp.html

Btw, happy birthday to my loving Hubby!

Peace!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free). -- Exception, my mom bought me the Gelish Polish System. =)
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Summer Flower French Mani

2010-07-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I know this post might be a shock to some of you, considering how often I've been blogging recently. I can't promise regular updates, but I'll try my best.

I definitely might have to cut down changing my polish...my poor hubby thinks all the fumes I'm breathing is bad for me (and it probably is), so I'll be a good little wife and actually listen to him for once. =)

Anyhoo, so here's the look I have on my nails right now. I based this on a picture I saw on the internet, but unfortunately I have no idea who's picture it belongs to. =(

The video:

I really just chose the colors based on what nail polish I just bought. I thought it'd make a cheerful summer look. =) I didn't add any of those gold balls on my right hand...but I really liked the way it looked on my left hand. They just add that extra little bit of bling, lol.

I'm not too happy about the petals on my thumbnail because they are pointed funny...but that was my first attempt. Next time, I'll be able to draw my petals much better!

Well, I hope you liked this look! I'll probably have another post up within the next few days...I have an update on the Del Sol nail polish (Superhero). And after that, we'll have to see...I accidentally got my camera's memory stick stuck in a place I can't get to. =( I'll have to have a professional take a look at it...hopefully soon.

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Smart Nails Templates Review & a Look At Del Sol Nail Polish

2010-07-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, I feel like I've been gone forever! I kept procrastinating my Smart Nail's video because I didn't have a good place to video it. I finally did upload it today, and I just wanted to do a quick review on my blog.

This picture to the left is my final look. I hate how YouTube really messes with the quality of my pictures and video. I shoot everything in HD, but they certainly don't look HD when published on YT!!!

Anyhoo, that's why I also have a blog, right? Actually no...I have a blog to just talk and vent, and all that good stuff that I don't bother doing on YT, lol. So yeah....back to the review.

Here's my video of actually using the product:

You can see what came in the mail in the video (sorry, I don't have pics!). In the video, I'm using the Smart Nails Template N001 (French Manicure). It was super easy to use on BOTH hands. You basically put on a base color, stuck the template to your skin (I used it on the back of my hand) a couple times, and then placed the template on the nail. After a couple coats of nail polish, you remove the template carefully (so you can reuse it), and store away. The instructions are on the back of the template packaging.

In addition to what I have on the video, I also tested it using my left hand (working on my right). I reused the SAME templates I had used on my left hand. Unfortunately, I skipped the step of sticking it to the back of my hand first...so it did mess up my base color a little. However, a coat of Seche Vite (Top Coat) fixed that right up. I had figured I wouldn't need to do it again since I had already used these templates, but apparently that is not the case! LOL I have never gotten such perfectly straight lines using my left hand before (including other template/tape methods), so I was really happy with it.

Pros:
-Easy to use with even your non-dominant hand!
-Reuseable (if you're careful!)
-Good Quality Templates
-Reasonably Priced (Approx $3 for each package of 10 templates + shipping)
-Fast Shipping (About a week from Romania)
-Friendly Customer Service!

Cons:
-A little hard to remove the template from backing -- must be extremely careful if wearing nail polish already!
-Not sure how many times you can re-use (will get back to you on this later!)
-Easy to warp template if not careful

All in all, I would definitely recommend this product to anyone! It is simple to use, and does exactly what it is intended for! I haven't tried out my other template yet, but I know it will turn out adorable (I got the cat template...thought it might be cute for Halloween, lol).

Next, we have the Del Sol nail polish that I used in the video. Here's the two shots of it (one in the shade and one in the sun.)

So basically my mom got this nail polish for me from her Alaskan Cruise (isn't she lucky! LOL). She got me four bottles, but I've only tried out 3 so far. I don't have a shot of the 3rd one yet (although it's by far my most fave out of the set!). This nail polish came from a store where they sold everything that changes color in the sun.

In this picture, I'm wearing Daydreamer as my base color and Super Hero as my tip color. Daydream has this opalescent sheen in the shadows, but in the sun, it's supposed to be a vivid purple. Unfortunately, I only used one coat in this picture, and you couldn't see the purple too much in the sun. =( I think you can kinda see the darker purple glitter start to stand out a little...

Super Hero starts off as a light, metallic blue in the shade. In the sun, it's supposed to be a soft lavender color. You can kinda see the difference...right?

I can say, in real life, the pictures pretty much are spot on. The changes are minimal. I have my mom wearing 3 coats of Daydreamer, so I will have to see what it looks like in the sun (I just did them last night!). She told me today it really turned purple, so I'm excited to check it out tomorrow.

I've worn this look for about a week, with minimal chipping. I think if I had refreshed the top coat (like I normally do...), the polish would have lasted a little longer. I'll be taking off this look to do a couple swatches, and then trying out a summer Kiwi fruit design (courtesy of Linda165 on YT).

Hope this was informative and helpful! Till next time~

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free). -- Exception, the Del Sol Nail Polishes were a gift from my Mom. =)
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

My Return to YouTube!

2010-06-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

Finally...finally...FINALLY!!! I've finally posted a video. Finally. I haven't posted one since....January. Isn't that terrible? I got so caught up in the wedding, then the whole morning sickness fiasco, and then just plain being lazy. But now, I've got my butt in gear, and I have officially uploaded a video with not one, but TWO designs! Go me!

Here's the Video:

I have a quick explanation of where I've been, and then two nail designs. I included a picture of my mushroom nails (from the previous blog), but that was just for fun.

Here's the two looks I created:

Aka JcBelle's Wedding Look #1. Both of these looks are created from my friend's wedding colors. Our bridesmaid dresses are a deep wine color. I'm still playing around w/ the look....

I used: Zoya's Irene; Orly's Vixen; Nail Star's Red Glitter, Green Glitter, and Gold; and Seche Vite's Recondition & Top Coat.

Aka JcBelle's Wedding Look #2. This time I skipped the "wine" color because I wasn't liking it with the green. One of her other colors is Chartreuse, which I adore. The closest I came to it was Precision's Limon. =)

Here, I used: China Glaze's Watermelon Rind, Nail Star's Gold, Precisions's Limon, and Seche Vite's Recondition & Top Coat.

The Watermelon Rind and Limon, I specifically bought for the wedding. Everything else I've bought a while back. It felt nice buying new polishes again, even if I don't really have a spot for them, lol. Maybe I should invest in another rack? And maybe I should actually hang it on the wall this time. I have a nice spot behind the door, tee-hee.

At Sally's Beauty Supply, they have a coupon where if you buy two China Glaze polishes, you get a Seche Vite Perfect Nail item for free (a $9.99 value, lol...don't I sound like a comercial?). I decided to try it out. So far, I can say I'm really enjoying the Recondition. I haven't noticed a difference in my nail yet, but it's only been a day. What I do notice is that the Seche Vite top coat seems to work really well with this as a base coat. I noticed it completely dried a lot quicker and I can't wait to see if there are any changes in the strength of my nails. My nails are pretty close to 100% of what they used to be. Which I am completely thankful for since my friend's wedding is NEXT week. =)

I also went to Ulta for the first time. There's one in Pasadena (which I had NEVER knew about, shame on me!), and I was really happy I decided to stop in. I would describe it as a Sephora that carries not only high end brands, but also drug-store brands. They had an impressive nail polish variety, although I didn't really buy anything except for Sally Hansen's Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pens. They were Buy 2 Get 1 Free (a $7.50 value?), so I decided to give it a try. I bought Coral Pink & Black Cherry, then decided to go with a Nail Art Pen in white as my freebie.

I thought having your nail polish in a pen would give you better control in application...enough to do designs with. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The brush is actually still pretty big, so instead of doing French tips as my original plan, I ended up doing the whole nail. On the plus side, doing the whole nail was actually pretty quick. Here's a picture of the Coral Pink on my mom. I added some purple flowers to dress it up a little. She didn't like it...said I didn't make them look nice. Wtf? Just ignore the last 45 min I spent on your nails! LOL

After I was done with her nails, she had me do my aunt's nails. This time she insisted that I make them look nice. Whatever that means! I asked her what design I should do, and she said to just make them look like mine (this was when I was sporting the mushroom nails look, lol). I decided to forgo the mushrooms, and stick to a double French Manicure. I think they turned out alright....if a little plain and boring.

Hmm, how would I have spruced this up for myself? More glitter! LOL! Kk, maybe not glitter...but rhinestones or something...or flowers. I have no clue why flowers are my go-to....

I've marked a BeenaPop video as a favorite so I can come back to it sometime this week. I think I'm going to try a variation of it with the wedding colors...so theoretically I'll have another shot of it. (Not going to make it into a video when there's already one out there...?)

Anyhoo, much love till next time!

Disclaimer-
1. I bought all the products show or talked about in this blog.
2. No one is paying me or compensating me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

1Up Mushroom Nails

2010-06-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! My my my...time seems to fly. Can you believe I'm at 19 weeks already?!? Almost half way!! And I'm sure the news you've all been waiting for....the baby is a boy! What were we hoping for, you might ask? Hmm...either or would have been fine. I mean...each has their own benefits...and since we didn't plan the pregnancy, it's not like we were shooting for a particular sex. And, for the record, this is going to be our one and only! So we'll take whatever is thrown at us! =)

Anyhoo, I've been dying to do some nail art for the longest time. It's been a few months since the wedding and my nails have almost completely grown out from the horrible jinx the nail salon put on me! Maybe in the next couple weeks, the last week part will have grown out, and I'll be back to my former glory. Hurray!

Here's a pic of my current nails. (Sorry it's not as sharp as other pics...this was taken on my BB.) I just did this earlier today! I got this design from one of the guru's on YouTube. Her name is cutepolish and here's a link to her video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3FgpqzBf8I .

Obviously, I don't need to go into specifics. But the only change I did make was that I put on a green glitter polish on top of the lime green, just to add that extra sparkle. I call this version the "1Up Mushroom Nails". The other version...not sure what mushroom is red and white. The one that makes Mario bigger is actually red and yellow. Oops...is that my inner geekiness coming out? Well, the fact that I actually know what design these nails are from, coupled with the fact that I am now sporting them...yeah...I admit it, I'm a geek, lol. Onna otaku ftw!

As a quick update, I *hope* to have a video out tomorrow or the next day. I am going to be a bridesmaid in one of my friend's wedding, and I have an idea for how I want to do my nails for her big day! So I figured I'd just make a video. I won't be doing them on my own nails till next week sometime, but in the meantime, I plan to do them on my fake fingers, tee-hee. So.....hopefully back tomorrow or Tuesday. <3 Laterz everyone!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Zomg, it's a Post!

2010-05-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

Hey blog readers, another update from yours truly! I know I said I would be back around March, after the craziness of the wedding, but things have been quite hectic around here! First off, lemme tell ya...the wedding was exactly how I imagined it, and I had such an awesome time! Thanks to everyone who came! The reception was crazy, but we managed to scramble by, and we're glad that everything is over and we can move on with our lives!!

Look at the guys in the picture...it's like they're scared to stand closer together!! But you can tell all the women are good friends...we're all nice and close...hehehe.

So anyhoo, after we got married, I had to move into his place (I have traditional parents who would have frowned upon moving in earlier....), and that took a lot of time and energy. Technically, I still have a bunch of stuff at my parents' house, but I'll work on that when I start to feel better, lol. Feel better from what, you ask? When this stupid morning sickness ends!! Yes, I'm pregnant...ALREADY. The curse of marriage is that birth control seems to fail when you finally say "I Do"...as can be attested by a couple other friends of mine who also got a surprise wedding baby. So now most of my days are spent in bed, feeling nauseous, and disliking a lot of food I normally love. Like Coke...and onions. And this baby who used to love ice cream everyday, decided that he doesn't want ice cream anymore..he wants popsicles. *Sigh*

Anyhoo, here's a pic of what my final decision was for Valentine's day. I keep using this design, but it's just so pretty! In case you're new, this design was inspired by 3TanjaJ3's New Year Eve's look. I've worn this 3 times now: NYE, Engagement Pics, and now the Wedding/Valentine's Day. I'll probably keep sporting this in different color combinations later on.

For the reception, I just had a plain french manicure. I got my nails done at the place I used to go before I got into my nail design kick. They did a pretty decent job, but I didn't bother getting any designs. At this point, I was just really stressed out with all the wedding planning, and I just wanted an hour to just not think. My mom got annoyed at me because she spent an extra $2 for the spa pedicure for me. Hehehe, I couldn't resist. Come on! I was about to get married! Wait, no...I was about to spend a stressful day...doing all the traditional stuff. Tea ceremony and what-not, the pictures, then the traditional Chinese reception. Of which, I ate like 2 bites of food in between changing twice and having lots of stuff to do. At least I got to try the cake...

Well, anyhoo, I mention this because a week after I got my nails done, about....8 of them broke. I have no idea what they used at the nail place, but my nails obviously did not like them!! However, with my baby hormones, I have regrown most of my nails...just my pointer fingers both keep on cracking. =( Bleh! Maybe in another month they'll all be even again, lol. So that's one reason I haven't been making videos or blogging. Although I did get a request for a short nail look...

The other reason I haven't really done any looks is because I really can't stand the smell of nail polish remover right now...so, in the interim, I've decided to grab my fake fingers and do some looks on there for now. They're still at my parents' house...along with the majority of my nail polish collection. Maybe I should keep doing the videos there...the lighting is definitely better...plus like 75% of my stuff is there, hehe.

Here's a quick swatch of Zoya's Midori. It was one of the free polishes from Black Friday. I haven't had a chance to wear this till right before the wedding. I can tell because my nails still look beautiful and long, lol.

The color looks pretty close to what's in the bottle. It has a sheen, but I still prefer it with a top coat. (This is pictured without a top coat.)

I believe this stayed on for about 5 days before chipping. But keep in mind, I didn't use the Zoya base coat or top coat. Supposedly, using their whole system, your polish should last for about 10 days. I vaguely remember trying to test this, but I got bored of my color and changed it before it chipped, lol.

Here's a couple pictures of me trying out the nail polish from Claire's Accessories I read on someone's blog (sorry I can't remember who!!) that they tried this "mood nail polish" from Claire's Accessories, so I (of course) ran to the mall to pick some up. Here's one of the more dramatic ones. Pictured to the left is how it looks when you're cold...it's a greyish color. And pictured to the right is how it looks when you're hot, which is a peachy color. If you're in cool weather, it looks really awesome...like a french manicure. =) You can kinda see it on my thumb in the hot pictures.

I know it says "mood" nail polish, but I have no clue what mood would be cold or hot. LOL As for the nail polish itself, it's not too great. I wore it with Nailtek and Seche Vite. Without Seche Vite, it would've been pretty much a matte nail polish. But, even with everything, the nail polish chipped really easily! I probably wore it for 3 days tops. During my avoidance of nail polish remover, I actually noticed that 2 of the nails lasted for 10 days, so it does have potential.

I'll try to keep up with the designs soon. I'm at 12 weeks, so the morning sickness should be subsiding any day now....

And here's a quick look at my wedding makeup:

I hired this makeup company called Susie Chhuor, and had my makeup done by Sunny. She had such an awesome upbeat personality, and she did my makeup beautifully! I was extremely happy with it. (I do have a before and after pic...but I don't like how I look without makeup! All those dark circles...)

This is pretty close to how I had my hair on the actual day...though you can't really see in the first picture. I love getting my hair and makeup done! What girly-girl doesn't? =)

So, yup....this was a super long blog...which is what happens when I disappear for so long! Take care, and I promise to have another post soon!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Where in the world is....

2010-02-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

Hahaha, yup. Where in the world is Emerald!!! Well, as I may have mentioned in a previous blog or two...I'm getting married this month. I've been so crazy busy with planning, that I haven't really had a chance to blog or make videos =( BOOOO! So I figured I would take this chance to explain my long absence, and to tell y'all that I SHALL RETURN!....Soon....like in 4 weeks....or so....lol.

In the meantime, here are some random looks I've sported the last month....AND, some might even be cute for Valentine's day! =)

Pink French tip, with a pink glitter polish on just the tip. Plus a white flower and dots, with a purple rhinestone in the middle of each flower.

A Red French tip, with a pink glitter polish on just the tip. Then a thin purple nail art strip in a cross shape, and a white pearl on the center of each cross.

A fading glitter french tip. I started with the lightest color, closest to the smile line, and then faded to a darker color...and then to the darkest color, on just the very tip.

This was a fun design, but I had to put on about 4 layers of top coat to make it as smooth as it was going to get. =)

Yes, another french tip (I was totally in a frenchy mood this past month, huh? hehe). I have a dark purple french tip, with a double cross design using white and gold. Basically, I called this my laker's look....and of course, they won the night I did these, woot! Since the lost today, and my nails were nakkid, I have learned my lesson and will make sure I have laker nails done up the next time they play a tough opponent! LOL

I know...I know...another french tip. But this one is special. One of my closes friends, Mimi, got this for me for my birthday. It's OPI's Too Good for Him. =) Basically, I did a french tip with a lavender nail polish, then put on about....3 coats of Too Good for Him. One coat would've been fine for a light glitter effect, but I really wanted it to stand out.

Yes, this is my messily done right hand. I accidently messed up the left hand because I handled some stuff w/o letting it dry. Oops. =/

This is more of a swatch, although I did wear the nail polish out like this. This is OPI's Alpine...a matte polish. I was actually kinda disappointed in this polish. I had to put on 3 coats to get almost even coverage (as shown to the right...). I had hoped it would look like putting white out on your nails (like I used to do when I was a kid...teehee). I suppose it's not bad....

Here's that same matte white, but with a red and pink double-cross design. I had expected more..? I didn't like the way it turned out. Maybe I should've jused did a french tip >.< LOL.

As you can see, I have been trying out quite a few looks, trying to find the perfect valentine's day one (considering I'm getting married that day....lol).

I have lots more to do...but I just thought I'd use this 45 min break between obligations to blog, =). Hopefully in about a month, I'll be back to blogging at least once a week! Take care everyone, and have an AWESOME Valentine's Day!!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Omg, it's been awhile!

2010-01-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo sorry I haven't been posting/uploading the last couple weeks. I've just been super busy with everything! Hopefully I can start posting once a week again once this whole wedding thing is done!

Last Sunday we took engagement pictures. This look to the left is what I decided to do with my nails for them. I thought a classic French Manicure was what I was going to do...but then I thought it looked a little....to simple for me. So I spruced it up w/ an elegant black stripe and some glitter. I ended up breaking a nail about....an hour before the shoot, but luckily I found the nail and was able to glue it back on. And then an hour AFTER the shoot, I broke it again and I couldn't find it after that. THANK goodness I had the nail for the pictures...I was seriously having a heart attack!

Here's a shot of my makeup. Yes, I'm wearing a Lakers jersey, but that's not the main outfit for our engagement pictures, don't worry! LOL! I got my makeup done at M*A*C. I told Tatianna that I wanted a fresh, dewy finish, with natural eyes. It's really tough to see the eye makeup in this picture, but I can attest that it was done perfectly. I don't know why my nose looks ginormous in this picture (cuz seriously, I have a cute little nose! hehe), but the rest of my makeup is fun and fresh. The only thing that I had concerns about was that I don't usually wear a color this dark...I always go one shade lighter. I think it's an asian thing, lol. I also got some cute falsies that look natural. Well, at least I hope they look natural. LOL

I won't be seeing the pictures for a bit, but I'm totally excited to see how the rest turned out!!! Here's a random shot of my hair....I hope it didn't randomly part like that in the middle for the shots! I decided against wearing my long extensions because I had a look in mind where my hair was about the perfect length. Unfortunately I didn't take into account how short my bangs were. So the stylist had to adjust the front...and while it looked nice in the end, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. However, my hubby-to-be was totally awesome and said that my hair looked very Rihanna-ish. That made me feel so much better! Plus I got so many compliments on my hair (and makeup) while getting my makeup done. I was like..I wish I could take credit, lol.

When I get some free time, I do have one quick & easy nail design, plus I totally should do some swatches! A new beauty supply store opened up near me, so I totally will have to check it out!!! =)

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

Wow...where did this week go? In fact, where did this year go? I can't believe it's officially 2010!!!

I've entered 1 contest since my last blog. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_7_4w2GmM . KawaiiNails held a contest for "Pink & Silver Love". I entered it w/ this look. I'm not sure if you can tell, but if you put the two fingers together, it's supposed to make a heart. Yes, I know...I'm dorky, but I still like the look i came up with!!!

I also played around with some NYE looks, and I stayed with the black and silver one, even though my outfit was more black and gold. I just didn't have enough gold polish to do the same look. Plus I think it looks awesome in Black & Silver!!!

The black & gold look is basically a black asymmetrical french arrow tip, topped with a gold glitter polish (on just the tip), and then gold rhinestones along the border. The black and silver look actually came from 3TanjaJ3's Golden Glam look. Hers is gold and white, inspired by champagne, which I think is totally awesome. Here's a link to my video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF-hc34xaqA , and here's a link to 3TanjaJ3's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq835Pa1LzM . She even commented back, saying she liked my color combo! Hehehe, it's a good feeling!

On a side note, I did post a video of a Christmas look on YouTube. It's just a simple look, but I'm sure if you changed the colors, you could wear it any time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovOfdjdn_C0

I included some other holiday looks I've sported through the Christmas season. My goal this year is to keep up with making at least one video/blog post per week. More, if possible, but I know it'll be crazy busy till March. I also posted a snowboarding video...I know it's not beauty related, but snowboarding is like my favorite winter hobby! You can check out my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/PrincessTea1) for this video if you're interested. Just note that I'm still learning...and by no means an expert!!!

I hope everyone had an awesome NYE, and I can't wait to see how this year goes!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, finally a free moment in my life to sit down and work on my YouTube channel and my blog! As an update for you all, I actually won the Juicy Couture Nail Art Contest hosted by skyecolispeedo. Hurray! I'm so excited to see what I won. I'm supposed to get Luxurious Bourghese Nail Lacquer Kit. I checked it out on Google, and it's pretty pricey! So I definitely will have to see how it is, and maybe do a mini-review. =) How fitting it is that my Juicy Couture inspired nails won a contest & my blog is called Juicy Nails & Makeup, right? Lol, yes...I'm a dork.

Anyhoo, so some of the latest stuff with me. Of course, I have my latest swag! Christmas present from my mom: Juicy Couture Purse! I LOVE it...it's like the perfect size...although it gets pretty heavy cuz I stuff it to death. But still, it's awesome...doesn't my mom have great taste? She got these for a really good deal @ the Juicy Couture outlet in State Line. I think the original price is like almost $200, but she got it for $90. Pretty awesome right?

I also got most of my stuff from the Holiday Gift Wrap in Vegas (from both MGM & Ceasar's). I have my nifty new camera (the purse is taken with it...and isn't the quality amazing? At least compared to my last camera!) and my Monster Beats by Dre headphones. The sound quality is frickin awesome!!!! I just love to listen to music with these! Yes, I know..I have that dorky sticker on my camera still. Just FYI, I've already taken it off. The camera looks sooo much nicer without it!

The only thing that hasn't come in yet, is my new iPod Nano with video camera. I ordered a purple one...and I should be getting it hopefully tomorrow or Monday. These holidays kinda tweak the shipping schedule! Totally can't wait for it to get here, so I can use my new headphones w/ it!

Now onto the beauty stuff! I got this Kat Von D perfume solid ring. It came with a little thing of Saint and one of Sinner. I'm actually not that fond of Sinner...but I think it's growing on me, lol. But I absolutely love Saint! It's a nice light floral-ish smell. And this ring is sooo cute, and totally her style.

I believe this is exclusive to Sephora, but I know people on eBay are selling it too. I got this for $30 (+ tax), and I use it all the time. Some people are getting it just for the ring, and some people don't like the ring, but like the solid. I LOVE both!

I got a bunch of Essie nail polishes from Beauty Headquarters. I'll just list them from left to right, top to bottom: Queen of Hearts (from the Judith Ripka collection, it's supposed to have real diamond dust in it!), Cherry Pop, Status Symbol, Tennis Corset, Secret Affair, Happily Ever After, Curtain Call, Ridge Filler, Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Matte About You (a matte top coat).

I actually haven't had a chance to try too many things out. I used Cherry Pop as part of a holiday French Mani I did (will post pics soon!), and I have a swatch for Curtain Call. The Ridge Filler Base Coat was pretty cool...I got a tiny bottle for just $1. I think it works pretty well was a ridge filler, but I think I'll only use this if I'm covering the entire nail with an opaque polish. Alone, the ridge filler has a nude tone to it, and I don't really like that part of it. But, like I said, it actually does fill in ridges, so it's something I'll have to keep in mind. I also have used the cuticle oil...it smells sooo good! I keep it at work and just apply it once a day during a break or lunch. I have noticed a difference in my nails since I started using a cuticle oil daily. They feel stronger and don't curl in as much (yes, I'm bad...I don't drink water so my nails are all thirsty and curly in like crazy!). Maybe another month or so of this and my nails will start looking fantastic (I hope!), lol.

And last, but not least...I got the Zoya polishes I ordered on Black Friday! It actually came in two shipments, because some of the polishes were backordered. I waited till everything came in so I could take a picture of it all together.

In the left picture, I have: Astra (which I love...but it's kinda hard to remove!), Midori, Veruschka (a matte polish), Suvi, Envy, Irene, and Tangy. In the right picture, I have the holiday gift set which includes the nail polish remover, base coat, top coat, and drying drops. As much as I love green (with a name like Emerald, how could I not? Lol), I didn't just randomly decide to buy 6 green nail polishes from a brand I've never tried before! On Black Friday, if you had a coupon code, you could get these 6 lovely green colors for free w/ any order! So I ordered Astra and the holiday gift set. I figured I'd try Zoya properly, with its own base coat, top coat, and everything to see if it really lasts as long as they say.

I've only tried Astra, and I think it wears pretty nicely. I don't recall how long it stayed nice and unchipped, though. I'll have to try again and really test it out soon.

So yup, I had an awesome Christmas, and I hope all of you did too! I think this blog is long enough with all the swatches and nail art, so I'm going to do that in the next one!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Swatches & Candy Cane Nails!

2009-12-15T23:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone...I know, it's been forever! I've just been super busy with wedding invitations. I'm really tired, but I wanted to make a quick post so y'all know I'm alive!

To the left, I have essie's Strawberry Shortcake on.
I think it's a cute spring-like color.

To the right, I have essie's Mint Apple Candy. I'm actually a little disappointed with this color...it chipped easily, although it looks GREAT. Maybe next time I'll try it with an essie base coat and top coat. I've used other essie nail polishes with NailTek for a base coat and Seche Vite for a top coat and those lasted at least a week. This was a fun, festive color. I'll be trying out the other two soon!

And lastly, I was watching my subscriptions last week, and came across a nail tutorial by easynails. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj28EJBJu0o . Basically, it's a Candy Cane nail design, and let me tell you...she does it way better than me! Here are some pictures of my first attempt!

As you can see, my lines are crooked, and my green is all over the place.

I've done a set on my mom, and I plan to try these again on myself in the very near future (xmas is next week...so it's gotta be soon!).

So yeah...expect a do over soon! LOL

In the holiday spirit of things, my mom actually got me a baby christmas tree. (This was after my parents original no to the 5-6 footer I wanted). So I ran to Kmart and bought a bunch of stuff to decorate it with. It's kinda overdone, but I don't care...I love it! It's my first xmas tree in about....15 years? Maybe less....13 years probably. Plus, it'll be the first time my parents have been home for xmas in awhile.

So here's a quick shot:

Cute, eh?

There are lights on it, but I'll have to wait to take a pic of that...I couldn't find an extension cord. =(

Expect my latest swag on my next post! I have quite a few new goodies!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Juicy Couture Nails!

2009-12-02T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! I just entered a contest thrown by Skyecolispeedo's Juicy Couture Inspired Nail Art Contest. I had lots of fun making it, but I'm not sure how practical the look is. I mean..it's only been 24 hours and I've lost about 4 rhinestones! (I've replaced them of course, but still...!)

The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfFjpZx5cbc

The video:

Unfortunately I didn't have time to make a live video instead of a slideshow...the placement of the rhinestones might have been something worth recording, but oh well. Hopefully next time!

My Left hand is the main hand....I am not talented enough to do much with my left hand (onto my right hand), so I kept it simple.

Well...I think they're cute, but I'm biased like that, LOL.

On a side note, I got my 88 palettes from Coastal Scents yesterday! Soooo excited to try them out...

The top palette is the Ultra-Shimmer palette, and the bottom one is their regular one...mostly matte colors, but a few shimmers.

If you look closely you can see the difference...my mom thought they were the same palette at first, lol.

I wanted the matte one because I hardly have any matte shadows...and the I wanted the shimmer palette because I love wearing shimmer. They were about $19 each, plus tax and shipping.

They arrived in PERFECT condition...(as you can see, lol), with no broken shadows. That's one of my biggest fears of ordering eye shadows online!

I still want to do some makeup tutorials, but am feeling a little camera-shy. I mean come on! I don't even speak on camera! I let my text titles do the talking for me! LOL...

So yeah...I doubt I'll be doing any swatches, unless someone makes a request. Ooh, that reminds me! I got my first video request on YouTube! Someone has asked me to do a video on how I take care of my nails to get them so long...not that I thin mine are particularly long...have you seen Love4Nails's nails??? They're frickin long and sooo healthy looking! LOL But yeah, I do have a regiment that I do...and I think it's working out pretty nicely. I haven't broken another nail since I stopped using Tough Cookie. *Knocks on wood!* Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze that in this weekend somehow. Maybe I should bring my camera to Vegas, hahahha. I'll probably be chilling in the hotel room for a good amount of the evening anyway...

Don't think I'll be gambling, but cross your fingers for me to get all the electronic goodies I want from the big end of the year point shopping thing @ Ceasar's Palace. I only want 3 things (that I know of!): an iPod Nano with video camera, a new digital camera (mine's breaking =*( ), and a Tiffany's charm bracelet. I'm not being greedy, am I? LOL

Edit: I totally forgot about the new FTC laws...so here's my disclaimer(?):

1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Black Friday/Saturday Haul

2009-11-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

Just like every hardcore shopper, I ADORE Black Friday! =) Strangely enough, I've never really gotten into Cyber Monday though....lol. So I wanted to show you all my cosmetic goodies. Perhaps swatches to come later...there's just too many right now! LOL

Stop 1 - MAC:
5 Cool Capers Mini-Pigment Set: Kitschmas Reflects Fuchsia Deep Blue Green Grape
5 Frisky Business Bright Mini Lipglass: Beaute Wonderstruck Silly Girl Pinkarat Totally It
Other: Dazzleglass: She-Zam MAC 217 Brush
Stop 2 - Sephora:
Tarte Treasure Box Palette 32 Eyeshadows 4 Blushes 2 Highlighters 16 Lip Colors
Stop 3 - Nordstroms:
Nordstrom's Palette 144 Eyeshadows 12 Blushes
Stop 4 - Guess:
Kk, this isn't makeup, but I LOVE these earrings, and they were only $5. LOL!
Stop 5 - Victoria's Secret
Wet/Dry Eyeshadows Gold Rush Flower Girl
Free Tote w/ $60 Purchase Cherry Bomb Lip Gloss .25 FL oz of Dream Angels Heavenly Love Spell Body Mist $10 off Coupon
Stop 6 - Beauty Headquarters
Nail Polish Rack (I totally needed one! My drawer was getting too full, and this just looks way better!)
Essie Nail Polish (only $2.75 ea!) Calypso Bungle Jungle Flirt Princess Pink Chastity China Doll Strawberry Shortcake Blanc Essie Winter Mini-Set (only $7.25!) Mint Candy Apple Lollipop Rock Candy 3-Way Glaze
*OPI Nail Polish (only $3.75!)* Alpine Snow (Matte)
Other: Lint-Free Nail Wipes 2mm Rhinestones Triangle Rhinestones Random Polymer Slices

Impressive, huh? I also ordered a nail polish and a starter kit from Zoya so that I could get the 6 free green polishes they were giving away. Will be reviewing that soon....the kit says that if you use it properly, the polish can last up to 10 days. That sounds pretty awesome to me!

So that covers just the cosmetics. On top of that, I also got (in case you were interested! lol):

2 Jeans + 1 Dress from Express
3 Pairs of Sweats + 1 Hoodie + 5 Panties from Victoria's Secret
2 T-Shirts + 1 Hoodie from Aeropostale
2 T-Shirts + 1 Hoodie + 2 Jeans from America Eagle
1 Dressy Top from Guess
2 Dresses + 1 Top from Macy*s

Crazy weekend!!! But I can't wait to wear/try out all my goodies. As you can see, the polish rack is already up, and I've already worn 1 shirt and 1 hoodie. Woot! Hope you all got some good deals as well!

Entry to BognaW's Nail Art Contest

2009-11-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Here's the video for my entry. The theme was "French Glam" and I did this Korean-inspired look.

The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leZaDtAgi0Y

The Video:

I won't go into too much details, but...

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

Essie: Guadalupe Opal

Essie: Watermelon

O*P*I: Happy Anniversary!

Nail Star: Silver Glitter (Thin Brush)

Seche Vite (Topcoat)

White Pearl Nail Art

Pink Pearl Bows

What I Did:

1. Basecoat

2. One coat of Guadalupe Opal

3. Watermelon Tips

4. Happy Anniversary! Dots

5. Another coat of Happy Anniversary! Dots, and add white pearls to the dots.

6. Silver glitter along the border of the tip

7. Top coat + Bow

Viola!

Afterwards I kinda decided that it could look better w/ the pearls/dots placed elsewhere. I might try it again sometime soon, but for now...here's the look!

Pure Ice: Wild Thing Review

2009-11-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

I decided to check out this line from Walmart. Pure Ice polishes are about $2 each.

The color is really nice and vivid, BUT...after I removed the polish from my fingers, they were stained bright green. Even with a basecoat.

Soooo...let's just say I'll be only using this once every blue moon.

However, my nails did turn out pretty cute, and I got a few comments on them. =)

I didn't do anything crazy....just made a little flower in the corner.

Here are the steps if you want them:
1. Basecoat

2. Two coats of Wild Thing

3. Five dots in a circle in dark blue (I used Nail Star)

4. One dot in white in the middle (it kind of mixed with the green, lol...that's what I get for being impatient)

5. Top coat

Done!

It could've been easily dressed up with rhinestones or whatnot, but I was going for a plain simple look. =)

Inko86's Penguin Nail Art

2009-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

So I saw this really cute video on YouTube by Inko86. She entered this design into a contest for 3TanjaJ3's Christmas Nail Art Contest. As you guys may know, I entered this contest as well. I had a little Xmas ornament design.

Here's the link to Inko86's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7edwq5l8-s

And here's a picture of how my nails turned out!

I didn't judge my space properly, so I didn't have enough space to do the cute santa's hat. And that blob looking thing on my ring finger is supposed to be an igloo. But whatever! I still thought it turned out pretty cute!

Bday Present for my Bro

2009-11-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

The present I ordered for my brother's birthday FINALLY came in from Japan. These figures are practically impossible to find here in the US, so I was very excited to give him something I knew he would love.

This is a Figma figurine called Drossel. It's from Disney Japan. =) I actually prefer the other hair pieces, where it looks like pigtails, but whatever...my bro likes this one cuz they look like "headphones" or something.

Since it's a Figma, I think I'm going to get the stage sets for him as well, so we can start posing them and taking pictures. It will be fun...I hope!

I pretty much caught up with all the blogs last week. I think I have one more kinda holiday design, and that's it for now....

I need more free time to figure out what's next! I have a couple makeup contests I want to enter...and I think they're closing soon, so I gotta hurry up. But it's hard to come up with a unique, avant guarde kind of look, you know? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Two New Videos up on YouTube

2009-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hey all...I have two videos I just posted last night on YouTube.

The first one is about my first Franken-Polish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hojUrFcjTBw

*Edit: Embedding the videos! 11/28/09

The second one is about hime decorating of a photo stand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZTKLw0pQjM

They were both pretty fun to make. The photo stand took forever to do, but I love the end product. The polish was relatively easy to make, and I love the color I ended up with.

Enjoy!

Polymer Clay Slices

2009-11-16T01:02:00.000-08:00

Another recent purchase I just received in the mail yesterday were a couple polymer clay slices. They are totally the rage in nail art right now, and of course I had to get into the action!

I bought two from Japan, and about 50 from Hong Kong (it was like $7 including shipping...couldn't resist!). The ones from Japan arrived...the ones from HK will probably arrive...around Thanksgiving. Damn that ship time for HK/China!

So here are the two canes I got: a pink rose and a grey cat. I used the rose ones on my mom. They are really thick and uneven because I had a hard time slicing them. But I've been practicing on some canes I made myself (silly cheesy stuff), and I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I put the cat slices on myself. My brother had cut them for me, so they are a lot thinner. They look almost like stickers. When apply thin slices, they bend easily and are simple to mold to the shape of your nail.

I'm not sure what the point of having clay slices over stickers would be, but I have to say I'll be using these for awhile. They are pretty sturdy, and probably don't fall apart as easily as a sticker would.

I've also ordered some pre-cut ones, and I know those will be thicker than I've been slicing right now. I'll try them out and if I think they're too thick, I'll probably use them to decorate stuff instead. I guess I'll have to wait and see!

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

essie: Watermelon

Seche Vite (Topcoat)

1.5mm Rhinestones

Cat Clay Cane

Rose Clay Cane

What I Did:

1. Cut the cane into thin slices. For my personal preference, the thinner the better!

2. Basecoat

3. Watermelon - I put two coats on my mom, but I only used one coat on myself.

4. While Watermelon was still wet, I put the slices of the polymer on.

5. I put a drop of Seche Vite wherever I wanted the rhinestone, and added a rhinestone.

6. Top coat over everything.

7. I tested out the essie Quick-e drops, and was very impressed. Since I was going out, I didn't want to stress test them, but I think I will in the future. I want to know how fast it really dries (it says seconds on the box, but I gave it closer to the minute mark), and if it really dries all layers like it says it does. I've seen some drops that only dry the top layer, and stuff still smudges really easily.

But yeah, as you can see, one coat of essie gave really great coverage. The 2nd coat was just to make it more solid. I definitely want to go back and buy more essie polishes. Unfortunately, Beauty HQ doesn't have that big of a selection, but I think I know a few colors I want to buy. In general. most of the stuff there are older colors, which is why they could sell them at such a discount (probably!). I'll probably look online/YouTube for some ideas for colors. =)

China Glaze: Scarlet

2009-11-16T00:20:00.000-08:00

I got this China Glaze: Scarlet polish. I've used it before, in the LadyBug nails, but I had never used it as a regular polish. So...before I ran to a birthday party, I tossed on a basecoat and two coats of Scarlet.

Without a topcoat, the polish got dull pretty quickly. And the red is just soooo plain. the way I had worn it, it barely lasted the night.

I suppose this is really disappointing because normally China Glaze polishes perform pretty well. =(

I bought a couple more colors, but I had also gotten a bottle of essie, and I am waaaayyy more impressed with essie. But more on that later!

Originally, I was planning to start up a China Glaze collection, but I think I might hold off on it for now. I'm going to explore essie and O*P*I a bit more. I have lots of Orly already, but I think I might get more....there's a couple colors I have my eye on....

China Glaze: Golden Meringue

2009-11-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

I kept saying I was going to do this haul blog thing, but I changed my mind. I'll just try to keep up w/ new items as I get them (or in this case, show them).

One of my new polish purchases was this China Glaze color called Golden Meringue. My mom had chosen it, but I don't think either of us like it as much as we thought we would.

The color is extremely sheer....I'm used to getting a more opaque color with 2 coats, but in the pictures, I have 3 coats and it's still looking really sheer.

To spruce it up, I added this random design...but you can see the design a lot better than you can see the color underneath. =(

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

China Glaze: Golden Meringue

Orly: Vixen

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Seche Vite (Top Coat)

Dotting Tool (Medium)

What I Did:

1. Base Coat

2. 3 Coats of Golden Meringue

3. Using the Silver Glitter, make two stripes in a diagonal, parting in the middle.

4. Using the Dotting Tool and Vixen, make 6 dots, 3 up top and 3 on the bottom, going from big to smaller as you get closer to the middle of the nail.

5. Top Coat, and you're done!

It was a really easy and simple design. We weren't exactly thrilled with it, but I just needed to do something really fast before my mom dashed out and about.

I did this look last week, and I'll be posting this week's in a few min (I think!).

Orly Nail Whitener

2009-11-15T02:37:00.000-08:00

Hey, I have a few minutes to do a quick post before I head off to bed. I need to wake up early again tomorrow...so basically I haven't been able to sleep in for over a week. This kills me a little inside, I swear!

So yeah, I wanted to show you the nail whitening treatment I did:
Before:

After:

I don't really see a difference in the photos. But, in real life, I think there is a slight difference. If I have free time later, I might edit this post to include a close up side-by-side comparison. But I'm getting sleepie, lol. I got this for under $3 (for 2 packets) at Beauty Headquarters, so it's pretty affordable. I guess all the treatments with the essie nail whitening pen have worked, because my nails haven't been that yellow. So it's a little hard to judge how effective the Orly one is. I have one more packet that I'll probably use in a month or so. I'm not sure how safe these are for your nails...so I'm trying to keep the whitening to a minimum.

Still more posts to come within the next few days (really dying to get caught up!)..including a quick post about the nails I currently have on. I had received some clay canes, and couldn't wait to use them! So I put some on my mom and myself. I still need to get used to slicing them all thin, but I'm getting there, lol. I just hate it when I miss and I only get 1/2 a slice or something. But I'll explain that more in depth soon.

Probably a good time to get a tagline I can put at the end of every blog and video, eh?

Small Haul...

2009-11-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to show a really quick Haul....

I ran to Beauty Headquarters again today because I really wanted to pick up some drying drops. Of course while I was there, I couldn't resist a few other buys.

I got the essie quick-e drying drops. I haven't tested them yet, but I will definitely do a review of it once I get the chance. I'm pretty sure I'll be using them later today on either me or my mom...lol.

The next thing I got was the essie man-e-cure top coat. Basically, it's a top coat that's got a natural matte finish. I thought this would be pretty cool to try because I've really enjoyed wearing matte polish, and I hate going without a top coat (stuff just chips waaaay to easily!).

And the last thing I bought today (sorry this went from right to left, lol), are more rhinestones. The last time I went, I found out where they keep all their rhinestones, and after I found out how much they were, I totally regretted buying them from anywhere else! This set...I believe about 1200 pieces, was only $2!!!! TWO FRICKIN DOLLARS!!! In the past I've paid $5 for a small kit, $3 for like 20 stones, and I think $3-$4 on ebay for sets like this one. GRRRRR! Lol. But yeah, I wanted to get this shape..it's like an oval with pointy corners, because I saw a tutorial with a penguin using these. I will post that video + my attempt later. LOL

Now on to what arrived from eBay:

Check this out! I got this from eBay....and it was about $32 including shipping. It's 48 bottles of nail polish, and there are two ways to use it. The first way is to twist open and use like a regular nail art brush (the thin brush). The second way is to pop off the top and use it like a pen. I actually like these better than the Migi ones because they go on better, and they're like tons cheaper. The Migi ones are about $4 each...and these were what...70 cents each? On eBay you can find smaller sets too...like 12 pens for $8 or whatever. I just got this set because it was decently priced and it came with tons of colors.

I have to admit they kinda scrimped on the purples, but there are tons of red, blue, and green lol.

As you can see in the pictures, some of the pens had leaked. I took a picture of the 5 or 6 that leaked and sent it to the seller. I'm not sure what they want me to do, but I'll keep you posted. I guess it's inevitable that some might leak when they're coming from Hong Kong.

Here's a picture of me testing the pens. I'll have to get used to them...they're pretty sensitive. As you can see, I'm already practicing my penguin, hehehe.

I'll figure out what design I want to do for real after my nap!

As an update, I still have one more simple design post and one color swatch post left. After that I want to do at least one or two posts on FrankenPolish-ing. I just squeezed this one in here because I was super excited at all the stuff I got, lol.

So yeah...till next time!

Short Look @ Orly:Dazzle!

2009-11-12T00:26:00.000-08:00

One of my new purchases is this gorgeous silver polish by Orly. I used it in my last blog for the ornament. I tested it on my mom and I think it's a really cool polish.

First of all, it goes one super smooth. With one coat on a basecoat, you get a pretty decent amount of polish. On my mom's nails, I used two, and I think it just makes the color stand out more.

I haven't noticed any cons at the moment, but I didn't check to see how easily it chips. And I can't check now, because I already have a different design on my mom, lol.

It has a very foil-like appearance. And it's also very shiny! I think my mom really liked how shiny it was. It's definitely a BIG change from the matte polish, hahahhahah.

I did this very simple design because a) my mom insisted that she have design (man, have I spoiled her!), and b) I didn't want the design to over power the Dazzle. My mom was also very insistent that I put a rhinestone...so there you have it. My design, LOL.

So recently, I've also tried to avoid putting top coat over the rhinestones, because it makes it dull(er). Unfortunately, with this method, the rhinestones fall off so easily. I highly recommend putting top coat over the whole nail, rhinestones included, so that they have longer wear. I was told that if you want rhinestones that actually stay shiny with a top coat over it, you need to use actual crystals. I know Michaels is having a sale on their Jolie's Swarvoski Crystals (like 30% off + a coupon), but I don't think I want to spend that extra money on temporary one use stuff like this ($5 for 20 stones), when I can just buy like 1200 for $3. Maybe I can splurge for my wedding LOL!

Entry to 3TanjaJ3's Christmas Migi Nail Art Contest

2009-11-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here's the look I created for 3TanjaJ3's contest. I have two fingers because I thought I would try to do one short and one long, but they ended up looking the same anyway, LOL.

I wanted to post this last night, but I got too busy making a FrankenPolish, heheh. I'll definitely be blogging about that in the near future. I have a few more posts before I can even get to that!

So here's the link to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJyQ1m5jtIg

And the video itself:

It's another slideshow type video (I think I mentioned that in the last blog). These are a lot easier to make and edit. I just take a picture at every step, crop the photos, then put them in my move maker and add some music and titles. The whole process only takes about an hour. Supposing I have a free hour to spare!

What I Used:

Orly Nail Armor (Base Coat)

Orly: Silver Polish (will Edit Name Later)

China Glaze: Purple Panic (Neon)

Seche Vite Top Coat

Migi Nail Art Pen: Gold Glitter

Migi Nail Art Pen: Black

What I Did:

Step 1: Base Coat

Step 2: Two Coats of Purple Panic

Step 3: Two Coats of Silver in the Shape of a Ball

Step 4: Gold Migi Nail Art Pen to draw top of Ornament

Step 5: Black Migi Nial Art Pen to draw design on Ornament

Step 5: Top Coat

I don't think I included a top coat in my video. But I count that as more of a given. Plus, everyone knows that a top coat is important. If I don't use one, I usually explain.

So yup, enjoy! More posts to follow soon. I have a few looks plus my FrankenPolish!

Double X French Manicure

2009-11-11T00:22:00.000-08:00

Hey all! So I've uploaded a couple more videos. I'm going to blog about the separately though, so check the next blog for the look from the other video I uploaded tonight.

I was only able to upload two videos because one is a picture video versus an actual video of me doing my nails. Those are much quicker to make and even faster to edit and upload.

So here's the video to this look:
The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5NQbBOIrlw

So here's a quick run through of what I used and what I did!

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

China Glaze: Innocence

O*P*I: I'm Not Really a Waitress

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Black

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Seche Vite (Top Coat)

What I Did:

Step 1: Basecoat.

Step 2: One coat of Innocence. I just wanted a sheer coverage.

Step 3: Asymmetrical Arrow French in I'm Not Really a Waitress. I did just one coat, but with some nail polishes you might need two. This (and other O*P*I polishes) has excellent coverage with just one coat. Which I think, makes this very cost-efficient, esp since O*P*I is pretty pricey.

Step 4: Black Thin Brush to make first X as pictured.

Step 5: Silver Thin Brush to make second X as pictured.

Step 6: Top coat. I just bought the Seche Vite after hearing lots of good reviews about it on YouTube. One of my fave gurus MissChevious bought a big kit, and I thought it'd be a good investment, so I bought one too! So propz to her for giving me that idea! It's an awesome THICK top coat that really fills in the ridges well, and it dries super fast (well, at least to touch, you know how it is!). So definitely an excellent buy!

And there you have it, a Double X French Manicure!

I really need to do a Haul/Favorites video/blog/vlog(?). I have bought so many things this past month, and I'm waiting for tons of stuff from eBay to arrive starting this week. My mom has been very supportive of me getting into nails (come on...she gets a "free" manicure like every few days, lol). And I use quotes around "free" because she technically is paying for all my nail polish and makeup at the moment. She sees it as paying for the manicures, I guess...like this past weekend, I spent $80 at Beauty Headquarters. She envisions that to equal 4 mani/pedi's LOL! So yeah...I have many items to show! Maybe on an off weekend...which wont' be til....after the wedding? Hahaha...well, hopefully sooner. Or maybe I'll attempt more stuff during my lunch.

Well...anyhoo...on to the next blog!

Quick Post on OPI Suede Polish

2009-11-10T01:45:00.000-08:00

Omg, I can't believe it's 1am already!!! I meant to do a few more posts and also 2 videos, but I didn't have time! See what happens when you're a working girl? LOL.

So here's a quickie post on the O*P*I Suede:

I <3 the way it looks and feels. It's very soft and smooth. I'm only wearing one coat in this picture (along with a basecoat).

It's basically a matte polish with this sheen to it. I think I definitely like this more than the basic matte.

Here's a picture without the flash. As you can see, it's still got this sheer-ness to it. It's definitely a good choice for those of you on the fence about the matte polish. It has a matte feel about it, but a little something extra so that it's not this basic flat polish.

And isn't one coat pretty amazing? I used two coats on my fake finger (yes I bought 2 fake fingers so I can practice more designs!), and I don't see much of a difference except that maybe it's a little bit darker. Well, now that I'm taking another look, I guess the difference is even harder to see.

That's one of my favorite things about O*P*I polishes: most only need one coat. I guess that makes me feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck!

Omg, it's sooo late!!! My dad came in to talk to me about some wedding stuff (and this is rare, so I had to be very attentive, lol)...and now it's like 1:43am. Bah...I'm going to be tired again tomorrow!

Definitely more posts and videos coming soon! =)

Quick Post on OPI Matte Polish

2009-11-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...I just needed to do my nails pretty quickly, so I decided to try the O*P*I Matte polish plain. I think the thing about matte polish is that you either love it or hate it. My mom obviously hates it...and a lot of women prefer a shiny finish.

I actually really like the matte finish. It's pretty unique and I think people look and try to figure out what you're wearing on your nails. The only problem I have with this polish is that it chips REALLY easily. My right (dominant) pointer finger's polish did not even last 15 hours. I had this HUGE chip where most of the nail bed's polish was gone, and I only had a little on the tip and moon area. I have no idea what I could've hit or scraped against (I work in an office dammit!).

I guess the main reason that this polish chips easily is because you can't wear a top coat with it (well, theoretically you could...but then that defeats the purpose of a matte polish unless your top coat was also matte). So yeah... Just some quick thoughts!

Bang Cut!

2009-11-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

So yeah...I was checking out my subscriptions on YouTube....and came across a video from SecretLifeOfaBioNerd. Here's a link to the video: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=94862175875 .
So basically she takes you through cutting your bangs into this cute fringe cut. And me, being me, decided to try out this cut...oh come on, she made it look easy!!!!

So here's my before Pic:

Yes, my bangs were really long...they were due for a trim anyway!

(And no...I'm not pissed off, I didn't even realize that I wasn't smiling! And not like I can do a take 2 right now! LOL)

And Here's my after pics!!

So yeah...I'm not too sure about how this fits my face, but it was fun to try. Obviously it's not really THAT big of a deal to cut bangs because they grow out so fast anyway. If only the rest of my hair would grow that fast! I'd have tons of hair to work with for the wedding! LOL

Butterflies!

2009-11-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

So I've been thinking of designs I can enter into the contests, but I've been stumped for all but the x-mas one. I just need some time for that one!

So in the meantime, my mom invited her friend over, and asked me to do her nails (paid in sushi! Hellz yeah!!!). Since she has short nails (casualty of her job, lol) I decided to do a simple design.

The entire time I worked on her nails, my mom was watching over my shoulder and giving me "suggestions" as to how to make it prettier. Personally, I was just trying to be a realist, and keeping a simple design that could be maintained at her work. But, of course, I listened my mom with the whole rhinestone thing!

What I Used:

Orly Tough Cookie

Nina Pro: Purple-Xing

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Black

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Red Glitter

China Glaze: Fast Forward

Hyundai Nail Art Pen

What I Did:

Yes, I said Hyundai. I know I've never named the brand of the pen I used, but there you go. They're like $2 each at Beauty Headquarters. It doesn't tell me how much polish is in one pen, but I'm pretty sure it's alot!

Anyhoo, so yeah, what I did.

Step 1: Base Coat.

Step 2: Diagonal French with Purple-Xing. (2 coats)

Step 3: Black strip across the nail with the Art Club polish. I am more comfortable with making straight lines w/ the striping brush than I am using a pen.

Step 4: Using the Pen, make an outline of a butterfly on the thumb. At this step, I tried to use the Migi Nail Art Pens that I had just received in the mail. Now, this is where I was really disappointed. The glitter does not go through the pen tip very well. It's quite watery (?) versus sparkly. Which changes my game plan for my entries. I might not be able to do another Halloween Video because my pens aren't going to suit a drawing purpose. They're great as a regular polish though. The glitter is very pretty when I use the brush tip. More on that later!

Step 5: Draw dots on the rest of the fingers in lieu of the butterfly. Her nails were too small for a more elaborate design on every nail.

Step 5: Fill in the butterfly wings w/ the red glitter polish.

Step 6: Top coat.

Step 7: This is optional, but I put on red heart rhinestones.

Here's some pictures of the look without the rhinestones.

So the rhinestones give it an extra dimension. But I thought it looked fine without them! I mean, I'm not being stingy...the rhinestones are relatively cheap, but I was just thinking how much she uses her hands and how they were just going to fall off anyway.

I did decide to use nail glue instead of just the basic top coat method though. I figured this would give the rhinestones an extra chance to "live", lol. I guess the next time I see here, I'll ask how long they lasted! I heard that with nail glue, accessories can stick to the nail for about a month. We shall see!

On a side note, I am happily awaiting a ton of things from eBay. As soon as I get everything, I'll do a major haul blog. Still debating on whether I want to do a haul video. That would require me to actually be on camera and talk. Not like my current videos where I just give you titles and subtitles. LOL! I just don't think I photograph too well right now. Although, on the plus side, I wore a pair of pants today...a year ago they wouldn't have fit. So yeah, that makes me feel pretty good. ^^

I also just got a pair of snowboarding pants (DC) that look like jeans @ SkiDazzle. I totally can't wait to hit the mountain and board again! That should help me slim down even more!

Got My Migi Nail Art Pens - Finaly!!!

2009-11-03T01:56:00.000-08:00

So I was pleasantly surprised to receive my Migi Nail Art Pens today. I think I had ordered them around....the 19th of October.

I had asked for the Glitter Black and the Glitter Gold. I had not realized that they came separately (in the picture these two came as one pen). But no biggie...I don't have a gold nail art polish anyway.

I have some excellent ideas for some contests I'll be making entries for this week. I plan to submit another entry to BeenaPop's Halloween Contest, an Intermediate entry to meandmymakeup's Nature Contest, and also a entry to 3TanjaJ3's Christmas Contest. The deadlines are coming up, so I gotta work fast. I just wasn't ready to take off my polish today because I just did them soooo cute yesterday (yes, I <3 my ladybugs!). So I'll be dragging my feet, but I'll get them done. I hope. =) LOL

I'm guessing that Migi only sends 2 per customer, no matter how many contests they enter? Cuz it would definitely be cool if I got 2 per contest, LOL. I guess I'm just being greedy!

Now, you can kind of see the order form in the back...it's approximately $30 for 8 pens, so it comes out to a little less than $4 each.

I haven't had a chance to try them yet...even my mom's nails are still cute. So when I start making some contest entries, I'll update you on how I like these pens. Right now I'm thinking that they're a little pricey, but if they work as great as I've seen on some videos, I think they could be worth it. These bottles are also kind of small, so I'm curious to see how long the product lasts.

So yup! Very excited to try these out...will keep y'all posted!

LadyBug Nails!

2009-11-02T03:59:00.000-08:00

So I decided to enter another contest. It's hosted by meandmymakeup, for Nature-Related Nail Art.

Here's my entry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKYKa-PAVNA

I did a slideshow instead of my normal video tutorial because it was easier and faster. Plus I don't think it's that important to show how I put on my basecoat, etc. Maybe I could've shown how to do the details with the nail art pen, but I was kinda shaky with it anyway.

Man, my right hand's art is awful! But, whatever...practice makes perfect!

What I Used:

China Glaze: Fast Forward Top Coat

China Glaze: Turned Up Turquoise

Orly: Tough Cookie

China Glaze: Scarlet

China Glaze: Innocence

Black Nail Art Pen

What I Did:

My video will pretty much tell you the steps of how to get this look, but I'll go through the steps here too.

Step 1: Base Coat (Tough Cookie).

Step 2: One coat of Innocence over the entire nail.

Step 3: Turned Up Turquoise on Diagonal French.

Step 4: Two coats of Scarlet - In a big Dot.

Step 5: Using the Black Nail Art Pen, draw in details of Ladybug.

Step 6: Top Coat (Fast Forward).

And there you have it! Ladybug nails. I've been wanting to do these for awhile, but I haven't received my Migi Nail Art Pens, so I've been using the generic one. You can add rhinestones to this look, but I wanted to keep it simple since I was entering the beginner's category.

It was a fun design to do! I had been thinking up Nature-Related designs since I came across the contest, and I hope she likes mine. =)

Matte Nail Polish

2009-11-01T02:18:00.000-08:00

One of the things I bought at Beauty Headquarters was this O*P*I Matte finish polish. I had just watched a review of matte polishes from EricaLeung13 on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t80KBSsZaEY (if you want to check it out). She uses Zoya in the video, but they don't sell Zoya at Beauty Headquarters (at least I didn't notice it...). This O*P*I just happened to catch my eye because there's a big sticker on it that says "Matte" LOL.

I tested it on my mom's nails, although she was not thrilled with having a matte finish. The color in the picture looks more brown than it does in real life. It's definitely more purple. I added a design to it, just to give it something extra, versus just keeping a plain matte polish. I think the added sparkle gives it a good contrast from the matte finish.

What I Used:

NailTek (Base Coat)

O*P*I: Lincoln Park After Dark - Matte

Orly French Manicure: White Tips

Orly Glosser

Dotting Tool

Circle Rhinestones (1.5mm)

Heart Rhinestones

What I Did:

Step 1: Base Coat. I used NailTek because this base coat is a little more matte than other basecoats. I think the Orly Tough Cookie is a tiny bit shiner. The bottle of O*P*I actually said to not use a base coat or a top coat, but since I was using such a dark color, I wanted a base coat to protect my mom's nails from staining.

Step 2: Two coats of Lincoln Park After Dark. The first coat was kind of messy and streaky. However, it dried pretty quickly and after the second coat, I had a nice even finish. My mom looked at her nails and was like...um, I don't like matte that much. I think it does take a little bit of getting used to. However, I thinnk my mom has a harder problem with it, because she's all about the shiny (haven't you noticed her bling? LOL).

Step 3: Using White Tips and the Dotter, I made 5 dots in the shape of a circle on each nail. I kind of put the flower on different spots of the nail on each finger.

Step 4: I put a light pink circle rhinestone in the center of each flower, and a bright pink heart rhinestone on the opposite side of the flower. I used the Glosser to stick the rhinestones on, but I tried to put on as little as possible because I didn't want the rest of the nail to be shiny. I think the rhinestones might fall off easier, but oh well. It's a sacrifice I had to make. I'll keep you guys updated on the status of the rhinestones.

No top coat, so I could keep the nail as matte as possible. As I said before, I think the added rhinestones is set off perfectly with the matte background.

I actually redid my mom's toes as well. I didn't use the matte polish because toes go through a lot of wear and tear, and a matte polish would not last AT ALL. So instead I used a purple glittery polish I got from Hot Topic and did the same design with the flower and the heart rhinestone.

Yes, I know her toes are dry!!! She doesn't take care of them as much as she should. And I think she's on her feet a lot during the day.

So that completes this look!

Star Nails

2009-10-31T00:47:00.000-07:00

So yeah...I had two nails that were broken, and I was in denial for a little bit. But now, I've cut all my nails so that the breaks aren't as obvious. I used this technique by tartofraises1 on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FybQEXlCL8Y . It's in French, but I think there are English subtitles, and you can just do what she does anyway. It's not rocket science, LOL. Anyhoo, it was an excellent way to cut down my nails a tiny bit, and I think it worked better than just cutting my nails dry.

Then I decided to follow on of her other videos on YouTube, and did this Star nail design: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS_CHr9Uu6M. I didn't do a French manicure, and I tried out the glitter, but I didn't have the right kind...so yeah. I ended up with one thumb looking funky, but the rest of my nails looking pretty decent (with the exception of my ring finger on my right hand, but you won't see that anyway! hehe). I took pics of each step, but didn't take any "final" look pics, so we'll just jump into the directions (each step will show you what I used as well...I might take a pic of my polishes separately later and add it, but I can't right now).

What I Used and Did:

Step 1. Base Coat. I used the Orly Tough Cookie. I've only used it twice, but I think my nails feel pretty decently strong. Plus, since I trimmed them, my nails aren't curling under as much. However, this could be because of many contributing factors. BUT, bottom line, I need to drink more water! I know...but I hate water!!! LOL

Step 2: Two coats of China Glaze: Innocence.

Step 3: Draw Stars using Orly: Reel Him In. I put a couple drops of Reel Him In on a palette and used a thin nail brush (that I got from Sally's Beauty Supply) to draw the stars. I drew one big one and a piece of one little one on each finger. Admittedly this was pretty tough on my right hand, because I am definitely not ambidextrous. I just went really slowly and used small strokes.

Step 4: I used China Glaze: Glacier on just the stars. I didn't do it completely covering the star, but just a drop on the center. Then I used a dotter to drag out the polish onto the limbs of the star.

Step 5: I used Orly Glosser as a Top Coat, and before it was dry, I put a Silver Rhinestone in the middle of every big star. I also put a purple rhinestone on the two small stars that were actually complete (one on my left thumb and one on my right pointer finger).

And there you have it!

In the video, tartofraises1 puts glitter around the edge of the star, but when I tried, my glitter was definitely too small. When I went to the beauty supply store today, I actually found the correct kind of glitter..it's more chunkier. So I bought two bottles to try out. I also bought one bottle of the crushed shells to try out as well. I saw a video using them, and I thought it was pretty cool. Stay tuned for my next look!

Watermelon Nails!

2009-10-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I got this new green nail polish from China Glaze, and was inspired to do a Watermelon look. As you can see, it's not like one of those looks that truly resembles a watermelon...more like a fancier version.

It was definitely a fun look to do...although it took me forever!

I uploaded the instructional video to YouTube already:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EfDbBMQgS8

But I'll give a quick run through of the steps here too.

What I Used:

China Glaze: Pink Voltage (Neon)

Orly: Tough Cookie (Base Coat)

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: White

Orly Glosser

China Glaze: Turned Up Turquoise (Neon)

China Glaze: Glacier

Orly French Manicure: White Tips

Sephora by O*P*I: Mermaid

What I Did:

Step 1: Base Coat

Step 2: Two coats of Pink Voltage

Step 3: One coat of White Tips in a Deep Diagonal French

Step 4: Two coats of Turned Up Turquoise in a Shallow Diagonal French.

Step 5: One coat of the Thin Brush White over the white part. The reason I did two coats this way was so that the turquoise would have a white base (instead of getting mixed in with the pink), yet won't have too many layers.

Step 6: Using Mermaid, I did these stripes in the turquoise. Basically it's so it looks like the Watermelon's outside. =)

Step 7: I put Glacier over the white part (just so it'll have some sparkle to it. I didn't want this layer to be the only one that was plain!

Step 8: I put on a top coat, then Rhinestones. I put another layer of top coat on after that, but I don't like how this dulls out the rhinestones. Also, Black Rhinestones would be more Watermelon-like, but I don't have any right now...some coming in the mail soon! So I chose this nice bright green color.

And there you have it! Watermelon-inspired nails. As a side note, if anyone knows how to keep the rhinestones looking nice shiny, please let me know! Thanks!

Double Diagonal French Manicure

2009-10-29T02:06:00.000-07:00

So I went to this store in Pasadena called "Style 7", because I heard they sold rhinestones for really cheap. To my surprise, they were extremely cheap...but Style 7 isn't a nail/beauty supply place. So (IMO) you better get it while it lasts!

So this look is kind of based on MadelleTV's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBHiFq9tFc8&feature=channel

It's pretty much the lazy version of it. She does all these cute lines and dots....I just did rhinestones. Well, I knew I wanted rhinestones, because I was dying to use the ones I just bought, LOL.

What I Used:

Orly: Tough Cookie Base Coat

Orly Glosser

FingerPaints: Palette of Platinum

China Glaze: Glacier

Nina Ultra Pro: Purple-Xing
Palette of Rhinestones

What I Did:

First, I put on one coat of Tough Cookie (yes, it's new!!). Next, I used the Platinum and put on two coats in a really deep diagonal French. Third, I put two coats of Purple-Xing in a more shallow diagonal French. Then, I put on a coat of Glacier over the Platinum, just to give an extra sparkle. To dress it up a little, I put some Glosser down along the border of the Platinum and put on some purple rhinestones.

Overall, I think the nails turned out really nice. It was definitely a fun design to do...putting on rhinestones is very....soothing. LOL! I'm planning on changing my own nails soon and maybe in a few weeks, I'll be able to fully review Tough Cookie. =)

Sephora's Cleopatra Kit

2009-10-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

So I was at Sephora, just planning to buy a white eyeliner (who am I kiddin!), and I noticed they had these REALLY cool Halloween makeup kits. So of course I had to buy one! The stuff inside each kit is approximately a $65 value, but the entire kit is only $19. Who could resist? Here's the link if you're interested in buying it: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P248830&categoryId=C19441&shouldPaginate=true

So basically it comes with some tint/glosses, a black eyeliner, an iridescent purple eye crayon, a peakcock-ish colored glitter eyeliner, falsies, and a Gold glitter spray (okay, seriously, I really bought the kit for the glitter liner and the glitter spray, but I feel like I got the rest of the stuff for free! LOL).

Inside the box cover, there are instructions to create 3 different looks: Greek Goddess, Peacock, and Cleopatra. Since I was just messing around (not wearing this look outside!), I decided to play with Cleopatra because that was the most difficult and this would give me practice. I think my eyes turned out pretty decent....

I have more pictures up on Facebook, but this is a better shot because I'm smiling and you can't see both eyes. Hahahaa...yeah, I tried like 5 times and could not get my eyes even. I'll have to plan out the lines better next time (and yes, there will be a next time!).

Overall, the instructions were pretty easy to follow, and they had pictures (although extremely tiny) of what each look is supposed to look like. For my next try, I think I want some golden powder. And a deeper golden lip gloss. On my lips, I have a bright red color, but a gold gloss on top. I wanted it to shimmer more, but it didn't turn out how I hoped. But like I said, this is just practice. (And....yeah, I hate to admit it, but I'm not even going to be Cleopatra for Halloween!) Hmm..although...maybe I can convince a certain someone to dress up...and then we can go as Cleopatra and Mark Anthony! Hahah, fat chance, but a girl can dream, right?

It didn't occur to me to put my hair down for pictures until after I had already uploaded them. Grrr...next time!

New French on Mom and Me!

2009-10-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I obviously didn't keep my Halloween Nails on very long. I decided to do a different look.

I did my my mom's in a diagonal French, with glitter at the border of the tip. This is based on EricaLeung's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvpxvukYT84

Afterwards, I did my own nails, with a more involved design (hey, my mom rushed me on hers!). This is more like an Arrow French, but it really is just two opposite diagonal Frenches.

Both looks were really easy to do. And I really liked how they turned out!

So let's move onto...

What I Used:

NailTek

FingerPaints: Art Her-Story

FingerPaints: Artist's Sapphire

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Z Super Dry Top Coat

What I Did:

First, for my Mom's nails, I just did the diagonal French in Art Her-Story. Let that dry, then another coat. Then let that dry, and then the Silver Glitter along the border of the tip. Throw on a top coat, and you're done! Really nice and simple, yet quite elegant. (I did add some plastic flowers on my Mom's ring fingers, but this is completely optional!)

Then, for my own nails, I basically did two coats of Art Her-Story as a diagonal French in one direction, then two coats of Artist's Sapphire in the opposite diagonal French. (This pictured here was actually my second attempt. I think it looks better when you start lower on the nail than just on the tips. But that's just personal preference!)

After letting that dry (no really, I did try to dry each coat....ish....), I used the Silver Glitter polish to make a design as pictured. Basically, I followed the diagonal French on the tip, just like 2mm from the actual border. After that, I put on some top coat. I thought it ended up looking pretty good (pat on the back! lol). Maybe a little fancier than I had intended (since I'm not going anywhere special), but whatever! They're bomb dammit!

As a product review, I'm not overly impressed with Z Super Dry Top Coat. I bought it because I thought it was similar to Yellow Stopper. I think it probably is a yellow-stopper type top coat, however, it doesn't glow in the black light (more like shimmers-ish). But that's not the real problem. It is a REALLY thin top coat. Although it looks pretty thick...and goes on pretty thick, it dries like insanely thin. I suppose this is a good thing if you have like tons of coats of nail polish and you don't want a top coat to add to that thickness...but in general, I like a top coat that smooths all the bumps and ridges from my nail and design. So yeah, probably going back to the Orly Glosser for the next blog!

I Uploaded my Entry!

2009-10-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished uploading my video for BeenaPop's Halloween Nail Art Contest.

I haven't actually received my pens from MigiArt yet, but hopefully when I do, I can upload another entry!

Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkC2_wnS4a4

My favorite look is the Freddy Krueger one. I could see myself wearing that for Halloween. You would not believe the restless sleep I got the night before I recorded the video! I kept thinking about scary movies...it was definitely hard to sleep!

Let me just put up a list of items I used:

Basecoat - NailTek
Thumb (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) - FingerPaints: Artist Sapphire, Orly French Manicure: White tips, FingerPaints: Palette of Platinum, Black Nail Art Pen, Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Red Glitter
Pointer Finger (Freddy Krueger) - Orly: Reel Him In, Black Nail Art Pen, Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter
Middle Finger (Jason): Orly French Manicure: White Tips, Black Nail Art Pen
Ring Finger (Carrie): Orly: Orange Punch, Orly: Reel Him In
Pinky (Blair Witch Project): Orly: Liquid Vinyl, Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Red Glitter
Top Coat: Z Super Dry Top Coat

Admittedly it's just a really simple symbolic set of designs, but I really had fun coming up with this!

Well, anyhoo, enjoy!

Nail Whitening Pen

2009-10-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

Omg, I know I said I'd do some before and after pics, but I totally didn't take any before. So, I guess there's no point in taking after, because you have nothing to compare it to! That aside, let me tell you about what I tried out.

I went to my absolute FAVORITE beauty supply store (Beauty Headquarters in Rosemead/Temple City) and asked for whatever nail whitening supplies they might have. Their very helpful employee pointed me to this Essie White Bright Nail Pen. Basically it's a non-bleach whitening pen that you just throw onto clean nails and can wear nail polish on top (although it says to avoid the cuticle area).

I tried it out the second I got home, and was pleasantly surprised at the results. Remember how I said my nails were kinda turning yellow from all the non-basecoat designs I had been doing....plus the curry powder stains? Well, I am happy to report that my nails are definitely whiter! While my nails are still a tinge yellow, I think that after multiple applications (supposing it keeps whitening every time), they will definitely be tons lighter! It was relatively cheap too: $4.25+ Tax.

There are no actual directions as to how often it should be used, just that one coat was enough and that you can apply more coats as necessary. Although it uses the term "coat", it's not like nail polish. Once it dries, you can't even tell you have anything on your nails. =)

So yay! My nails are looking pretty long and healthy (and not yellow!), so they'll be in good shape for my contest entry! I'm planning to enter a Halloween Nail Art Contest created by BeenaPop and MigiNailArt on YouTube. I have already submitted my info to MigiNailArt because you can get free pens, and you are actually supposed to use these pens for the contest. I wasn't sure if you got to chose the colors of the pens, so I'll have to see when my kit arrives.

Hopefully the kit arrives before the deadline, but I'm sure they've been bombarded with requests for all the contests that are going on (I just found another one for X-Mas , lol), so I'm trying to prepare a look without their pens for this week, and then if the pens come in, to make another entry (max of 3!).

I bought a bunch of other stuff from Beauty Headquarters, so I'm already thinking about changing my mom's nails, LOL. I'm sure she won't mind...although she might mind what I have in mind for her, hahahaha. I was thinking about doing the spiderweb/rhinestone spider on her nails (originally by EasyNails). Lol, as I was typing this, my mom came in and suggested black widows. AWESOME! (Don't I have a cool mom?!?)

So yup, I'll keep you updated!

Golden Diagonal/Arrow Manicure

2009-10-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I did my mother's nails the other day, and they didn't really turn out the way I wanted them to. I didn't have the right nail polish, I think. So in the end, they look a little messier than I'd like, but oh well! I'll probably redo them really soon!

The original look I was going for is pictured here to the right. It's a nice simple diagonal/arrow manicure using white and gold. This picture was sent in by Elaine Lemay from QC, Canada, to a nail design website I explored.

That website is: http://www.nailsmag.com and they have tons of designs, and even some "how-to's" on their site. I looked through them trying to get some ideas, but most are complicated or pretty difficult (aka meant for experts!). I think these designs were posted more of an advertisement for these nail artists, but they were really fun to check out.

What I Used:

NailTek

Orly French Manicure: Softest White

Aphrodite: 102

China Glaze: Cleopatra

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Red Glitter

What I Did:

Like I said above, this turned out really messy, but I can tell you where I went wrong!

First, I did a basecoat with NailTek. Personally, I believe NailTek works great...I can see the difference it made on my own nails. They are definitely stronger and they aren't peeling(?).

Next, I used the Softest White and did a diagonal French at the tip (2 coats).

Third, I tried to use just the Cleopatra for the diagonal from the opposite side, but it was too sheer. I searched far and wide from my tiny nail polish collection, and came across the Aphrodite 102. I'm fairly certain you can't find this outside of Myanmar, but any gold polish should do. I did a diagonal French from the other side (also 2 coats).

Fourth, I tried the Cleopatra only over the gold part (I should've stuck to that!!!), and thought it still was too sheer, so I put it on top of everything. Big mistake! The gold and the white just kind of run into each other. I tried to fix that by using my red glitter thin brush to outline the white and gold, but as you can tell, it looks a little funny.

So the overall effect I was going for did not turn out right. The original look is definitely classier. I intend to look for a better gold polish when I head out to the beauty supply store!

I probably will try to get another black polish and do some type of cute design using black for Halloween as well. I've seen some pretty cute cat ones. =) EasyNails did a spiderweb design that seemed pretty cool too, with a cute black rhinestone spider. Decisions decisions!!!

Update on Glitter French

2009-10-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone -- Bachelorette was a success!

My nails currently are unpolished (*gasp*). I've been waiting to go to the beauty store so I can grab some whitening fizzies. I guess all those designs I did without a basecoat have kinda taken a toll. Plus, I made some curry and some of the curry powder made my nails a little yellow too (which didn't wash off as easily as I thought!). So my nails are looking a little yellow and before I continued putting on more polish, I decided to try whitening them first! As soon as I do, I'll have before (ick!) and after pictures with a review. =) (ETA Tomorrow, after the cable guy leaves!)

As a quick update for the Glitter French Mani I did in my previous post, I wanted to add some comments and observations.

First, I originally had a hard time having the sprinkles stay on....I think I lost at least 10 stars!

Second, the glitter part of the French was pretty rough and definitely not smooth (something my mom also commented on!).

So to fix this problem, I just kept adding a layer of topcoat until it was all nice and smooth. Well, the sprinkles part wasn't THAT smooth, but they stayed on better. I did about 3 top coats after the initial one, so 4 total. I think it helps a lot, even if the entire ensemble feels a little on the thicker side. I think this also helps with chipping because the rough edges would chip easier than the smooth edges.

So yup...just some thoughts on that!

Planning to do a blog about my mom's nails (just did them a couple days ago, but haven't had time to upload the pics yet!) next. =)

Glitter French Mani Redo

2009-10-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am definitely happier with the new glitter!

So, as you can tell I changed a few things. First off, used a different glitter. Changed the placement of the sprinkles, and added a blackish stripe.

I also took the time to do my toenails. They don't match per se, but I really wanted to use my new blue polish.

I think I went overboard with the glitter on my toenails, but whatever! Not many people are going to see them anyway

The design doesn't really match my nails either (I usually try to match somewhat), but I'm not unhappy with how they turned out. (Yes, I used double-negatives, lol.) Oh, and please ignore those ugly sandal marks on my feet. They won't go away!

What I Used:

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Black

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Precision Nail Art Striping Brush: All That Glitter

Precision Nail Art Striping Brush: Taste That Rainbow

American Classic: Yellow Stopper

China Glaze: Glacier

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

Fuchsia Glitter

NailTek

Finger Paints: Artist's Sapphire

Orly Glosser

Nail Art Sprinkles: Black Hologram Stars

Nail Brush/Dotting Tool

Eye Shadow Brush

What I Did:

As always, I started with my toes. Gawd, a closeup looks horrible! It's all dry and stuff! Trust me, after I took the picture, I put some cuticle oil on it, so it's looking semi healthier. I was just a little lazy to take another pic, lol.

Anyhoo, so I put on a basecoat (for once!): NailTek. It's supposed to help strengthen your nails. =) Then I put on 2 coats of the Artist's Sapphire. Isn't it an awesome color? Now you can see why I couldn't wait to try it! it turned out beautifully!

Then I let that sit for about 2 minutes, and then used the All that Glitter to draw the two outside lines. I used the dotter to to make the dots in the design, and then added a stripe of Silver Glitter polish in the middle.

I put a coat of Glacier on all the nails (you could skip this step...I just wanted to see how it'd look, lol). And then after about 3 minutes, I put on the Glosser. Viola, a very interesting pedicure. Maybe too much glitter, but I love it anyway!

Next, I started on my nails. I tried using the Artist's Sapphire on the tips and putting the Fucshia glitter over that, but it looked better w/ the Bare Rose (or clear polish if you want =) ). So I put the Bare Rose on the tips, threw some glitter on it, and brushed off the excess. Then I put a coat of Bare Rose on the entire nail.

I used the black thin brush polish to make a line on the border of the tips, and then used the Taste That Rainbow over the black to make it glittery.

Then I took the Bare Rose and put some below the black stripe, where I was planning to put my sprinkles. I placed one big star, and two little ones. Kk, you might think me ghetto, but I actually cleaned and reused mine from yesterday. I mean come on...I only wore them for one day, and I didn't want to waste them! So I did what I could. I think a couple broke, but still...I used the others. =)

This is where I wanted to place the stars yesterday, but it didn't look right with the M*A*C glitter. I think it's because the glitter was more subtle and finer chunks. This new glitter was really close to the one midnightsundark used in her video. After I was done, I used the Yellow Stopper top coat.

I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out this time. They definitely are keepers! Hopefully with practice, my left hand will get better at it (my right hand looks a little...messy, lol).

Another Glitter French Manicure

2009-10-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I liked the way the glitter French manicure turned out on my mom, so I decided to give myself one too. =) Unfortunately, I don't think the glitter I used was meant for nails. I think I'll have to go back to that beauty supply store to get a bottle of the pink stuff. If I have time to redo my nails before Vegas, I will, but otherwise I think they look decent enough.

I was trying to get my nails to look more like the ones in this video by midnightsundark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ixhly8PPdg

As you can see, her glitter is way more sparkly than mine. She doesn't specify where she got her glitter from, but I think if I use the same one as the one I used on my mom's, it should turn out pretty similar.

What I Used:

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

M*A*C Reflects Glitter: Very Pink

American Classics: Yellow Stopper (Top Coat)

Nail Art Sprinkles: Black Hologram Stars

Nail Brush/Dotting Tool

Eye Shadow Brush

What I Did:

Basically I did the same thing as the last post (and the video) where I put the Bare Rose on just the tops, and then put the M*A*C glitter over that and brushed away the excess. Then I put a coat of the Bare Rose all over the nail.

While That was still wet, I put on an open star, then three little stars on just the tip. Originally, I had planned to do that beneath the tip, but it just looked funny. Maybe if my tips were more glittery, it would look better.

After letting that dry for about 2-3 minutes, I put on the Yellow Stopper top coat. I decided to use this top coat instead of the Glosser I normally used because this top coat glows in the black (uv) light. And since I'm planning to party hard in Vegas this weekend, glowy nails would be pretty awesome. Normally, the Yellow Stopper is a great top coat for regular white tip French manicures because it stops the white from looking yellow (hence the name, Yellow Stopper, lol).

So to sum up....The M*A*C glitter looks great on the face, but not so much on the nails. I mean they're pretty and all, but I REALLY wanted it to sparkle like the video. If I redo my nails, I'll definitely post some pics. =)

Glitter French Manicure

2009-10-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

I have finally caught up on all my old nail designs! So from now on, I'll try to post as I do them, but it definitely won't be everyday like I have been recently.

Here I decided to do my mom's nails again. She only had hers for a week and she already messed up the old one!

So I semi-followed iheartkeyden's YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHaKM2FXng

At least as far as the glitter tips go. Then I just added the design to give it a little something extra. =)

What I Used:

Light Blue Glitter Dust (I got this from an Asian Beauty Supply Store for $2)

Finger Paints: Art Her-Story

Orly French Manicure: Bare Rose

Orly Glosser

Nail Brush/Dotting Tool

Silver Rhinestones

What I Did:

Once again, I didn't use a base coat. But this time, for good reason! I didn't want to have the glitter sticking to places I didn't want, so I wanted to just do the parts where I wanted the glitter first (yeah, this is a really bad run-on sentence, but I think it kinda gets the point across, lol).

First I put the Orly Bare Rose only at the tips (I worked on one nail at a time for this part). The line doesn't have to be perfect because we're just going to cover it up with glitter anyway. While the polish was still wet, I sprinkled the glitter powder over the tips. I lightly patted it with my fingers (just like the video) and brushed off the excess with a makeup brush (I think any brush would do).

After I finished all 10 nails, I went back and covered each nail (the whole nail) with the Bare Rose.

Then I used my dotting tool (or an old ball-point pen would work) and made 5 dots in the shape of a flower just on the tip border on each nail. Since my flowers didn't look too hot...I used a toothpick and drew out the middle of each petal (while it was still wet) towards the middle of the flower. It just gives it a little bit of dimension. Then I drew 3 dots downward along the side of the nail. Then I used the dotting tool and dropped a drop of the Orly Glosser in the middle of the flower and attached a Silver Rhinestone.

Lastly, I put on the Glosser all over each nail. They turned out really nice, and I was definitely impressed with how the glitter looked (although disappointed that it wasn't light blue...even without the Bare Rose I think it would still be closer to clear). It was a fun design to do...and totally worth the glitter mess, lol. I think I might do a glitter tip for my weekend!

Another Diagonal Fancy French Manicure

2009-10-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

My Black French started chipping (my left hand is NOT as smooth as my right hand, so the extra globs at the tips chipped away), and instead of fixing it, I decided it was time for a new look.

I had this wedding to go to, so I thought I'd do another fancy french. I just did this random design...and it doesn't look as good as I could've made it, but I stuck with it anyway. Besides, I'll be changing them again later this week because I have my bachlorette this coming weekend in Vegas!

At the time I painted my nails, I thought I was going to wear a black dress....but unfortunately that dress was out of the question when I tried it on (these weird creases would definitely turn out bad in photos). In the end I decided to wear this yellow dress. If I had know I was going to wear a yellow dress, I would've chose gold or something!

What I Used:

Stripe Rite: Neon Pink

Precision Nail Art Striping Brush: All That Glitter

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Orly: Reel Him In

Orly French Manicure: Softest White

Orly Glosser

Flower 3-D Art Wheel (Used the White)

What I Did:

I did a diagonal french in the Reel Him In (2 coats) and let that dry for about 5 minutes or so. Then I did the same line design in the previous blog "Mani/Pedi" in the All That Glitter polish. I used the Neon Pink polish in the same design, on the outside of the All That Glitter. Then I used the Silver Glitter polish to draw a line in the middle of the All That Glitter lines.

You could leave it at that and have another nice diagonal French Manicure. However, I kinda added stuff to it because I wanted it fancier for the wedding.

On all the nails besides the thumbs, I drew these two lines starting from one said of the nail...in the middle of the clear area. I drew one line going upwards and one going downwards using the Silver Glitter.

Between the tip and the Silver Glitter polish, I used a dotting tool (or an old ball-point pen would work) to make three dots using the Softest White polish.

On the thumb I did the same silver lines, but I also added a 3D Flower Art. Then I drew some dots using Softest White along the bottom of the silver glitter, making them smaller as I came away from the flower.

I put a coat of the Glosser over everything.

And yup, some fancy nails perfect for a wedding. I thought they turned out pretty decent, but it's prolly not one I'm going to use again in the near future. I think there are plenty of better designs out there in GoogleLand or YouTubeLand. =)

Another Black French Manicure

2009-10-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Here's another version of a French manicure. I got this from EasyNails. She calls this an "Arrow French Manicure", in case I use that term in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVu3DIjWY_E&feature=channel_page

I didn't choose the colors she did because I wanted something more dramatic (it being October and all, lol).

What I Used:

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Black

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Red Glitter

Orly Glosser

What I Did:

Once again, I skipped the base coat (yeah yeah, I'm so terrible, my nails will suffer, yadda). Using the Black polish, I made the two triangles on the tip of the nail. EasyNails does this whole dotting thing, but I was lazy. Hence why hers are like PERFECT, and mine are sloppy, lol. Then I made the arrow on the bottom of the triangles with the red glitter polish. Then I made another arrow on the bottom of the red glitter with the black polish. After letting that set, I topped it with the Glosser.

Nice and simple, yet elegant. =) Kudos to EasyNails for such and easy-to-follow video!

Same Fancy French on Mom

2009-10-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the same look as the last one.

Sorry all my pictures are so blurry. It's been hard trying to get a clear picture up close. I might have to take a farther one, then crop and resize or something. But these were all done in the past, so hopefully when I have a new look to share, the pictures will be in better quality. Sad that the pics of what I used is like perfectly clear...that's not the important part!!!

What I Used (From Left to Right):

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter

Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: White

Sephora by O*P*I: Mermaid

Orly Glosser

What I Did:

Basically I did the "diagonal french tip" (or so it's called on YouTube, lol) with Mermaid (2 coats). Then did the same design as my last blog using the white thin tip polish, with the silver glitter polish on the outside. There's nothing in the middle. After it dried, I put on a top coat.

Nice and simple. Just a slight variation to the previous blog. =)

Juicy Nails & Makeup!

Nails Inc.'s Magnetic Polish (Quick) Review

Day 2 - Orange

31 Day Challenge - Day 1: Red

Podrunner Intervals

Bioken Antiruff Review

Pikachu Nails @ Anime Expo

Random Gelish Manicures

Quick Update on D Spot Salon

Gelish Manicure + Review on 6G LED Lamp

Happy New Year!

Gelish Plus Regular Polish

Latisse Update

Baby's Here....OMG!?!

Some Random Manicures I've Been Sporting...

Blossom Cuticle Oil

Red & Silver Chevron French + Fall Nail Polish Haul!

Fluidline in My Waterline!

Gelish French Heart Manicure

Re-Moisturizing My MAC Fluidline

Gelish Polish Review

Summer Flower French Mani

Smart Nails Templates Review & a Look At Del Sol Nail Polish

My Return to YouTube!

1Up Mushroom Nails

Zomg, it's a Post!

Where in the world is....

Omg, it's been awhile!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Swatches & Candy Cane Nails!

Juicy Couture Nails!

Black Friday/Saturday Haul

Entry to BognaW's Nail Art Contest

Pure Ice: Wild Thing Review

Inko86's Penguin Nail Art

Bday Present for my Bro

Two New Videos up on YouTube

Polymer Clay Slices

China Glaze: Scarlet

China Glaze: Golden Meringue

Orly Nail Whitener

Small Haul...

Short Look @ Orly:Dazzle!

Entry to 3TanjaJ3's Christmas Migi Nail Art Contest

Double X French Manicure

Quick Post on O*P*I Suede Polish

Quick Post on O*P*I Matte Polish

Bang Cut!

Butterflies!

Got My Migi Nail Art Pens - Finaly!!!

LadyBug Nails!

Matte Nail Polish

Star Nails

Watermelon Nails!

Double Diagonal French Manicure

Sephora's Cleopatra Kit

New French on Mom and Me!

I Uploaded my Entry!

Nail Whitening Pen

Golden Diagonal/Arrow Manicure

Update on Glitter French

Glitter French Mani Redo

Another Glitter French Manicure

Glitter French Manicure

Another Diagonal Fancy French Manicure

Another Black French Manicure

Same Fancy French on Mom

Quick Post on OPI Suede Polish

Quick Post on OPI Matte Polish