This was multi layered - shimmery navy blue, sponged shimmery light purple and grey cream, coat of fine glitter polish, white dots for stars, and a coat of the aforementioned Icing glitter with larger glitter and the stars!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
NOTD Jan 29/12
Space nails! Whee!! I finally got on the bandwagon for this one! When I got a purply glitter with stars in it from Icing how could I not? I'm pretty happy how these turned out too! Probably my most successful galaxy nails yet, because I have attempted them before but they've never made it as a full mani, just little attempts on nail wheels and such!
This was multi layered - shimmery navy blue, sponged shimmery light purple and grey cream, coat of fine glitter polish, white dots for stars, and a coat of the aforementioned Icing glitter with larger glitter and the stars!
This was multi layered - shimmery navy blue, sponged shimmery light purple and grey cream, coat of fine glitter polish, white dots for stars, and a coat of the aforementioned Icing glitter with larger glitter and the stars!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
NOTD Jan 26/12
Have you ever had to do a manicure in the dark? By firelight? Because I can now say that I have!
On Tuesday night solar flares caused a blackout to my block that lasted about 14 hours! I was in the middle of doing this mani when everything went dark, and every good nail polish addict knows you can't be seen with a half finished mani! Luckily for me we have a gas fireplace, so I got up nice and close and finished creating this manicure! It's based on a mani I saw online before and saved on my computer but to be honest I have no idea who it's by! If you know, please let me know in the comments!
On Tuesday night solar flares caused a blackout to my block that lasted about 14 hours! I was in the middle of doing this mani when everything went dark, and every good nail polish addict knows you can't be seen with a half finished mani! Luckily for me we have a gas fireplace, so I got up nice and close and finished creating this manicure! It's based on a mani I saw online before and saved on my computer but to be honest I have no idea who it's by! If you know, please let me know in the comments!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Review: L'Oreal Color Infaillible Eyeshadows
These shadows were getting so much buzz over the past few months, and I've got to say I'm normally not the sort to buy single eyeshadows. Most of the shades I own and use regularly come from a palette of some size, whether it's just a quad, or something big like the Naked Palette or one of the jumbo Sephora ones. So a single eyeshadow has to really capture my attention to get me in a buying mood!
The texture of these is very cool, and said to be a dupe for more expensive offerings like the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill and Chanel Illusion D'ombre lines. Like my nail of the day post earlier today, any drugstore line that offers dupes of department store products is good in my books! The texture is somewhere between a powder and a cream, sort of spongey feeling. They come with a little black disc on top to keep the shadow compressed.
I find the best way to get a lot of colour is to just swipe it on with your fingers, then blend out with a regular shadow brush after. But if you prefer to use a brush to pack the colour on, make sure you use either a stiff synthetic brush (like a concealer brush) or a natural fibre eyeshadow brush with stiffer, denser bristles - you won't be able to pick up the pigment with a soft, fluffy brush.
I first picked up the shade Sahara Treasure which is a shimmery bronze shade. It's light enough to use as an all over crease shade for day, but dark enough that you can put a lighter shade on the lid and use it as a crease shade too. Nice and versatile! Similarly, the second shade I picked up - Hourglass Beige - is great to use as a highlight shade on the inner corner, but would be beautiful used all across the lid too! It's a warm champagne beige shade, also nice and shimmery!
On the left is Hourglass Beige, and the right is Sahara Treasure. Note when you are opening these for the first time to be careful though! The side you see in the picture is actually the bottom of the package - when you open the lid, the window will be on the bottom - don't open it upside down and let that little black disc fall out!
Swatches! Sahara Treasure on the left, Hourglass Beige on the right!
These last a long time and I would definitely recommend them! There's a nice selection of shades from the line - lots of neutrals and lots of brighter colours too! Their texture won't be like anything you've seen before (unless you've tried the Giorgio Armani or Chanel versions) and that alone will be a thrill for makeup lovers!
The texture of these is very cool, and said to be a dupe for more expensive offerings like the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill and Chanel Illusion D'ombre lines. Like my nail of the day post earlier today, any drugstore line that offers dupes of department store products is good in my books! The texture is somewhere between a powder and a cream, sort of spongey feeling. They come with a little black disc on top to keep the shadow compressed.
I find the best way to get a lot of colour is to just swipe it on with your fingers, then blend out with a regular shadow brush after. But if you prefer to use a brush to pack the colour on, make sure you use either a stiff synthetic brush (like a concealer brush) or a natural fibre eyeshadow brush with stiffer, denser bristles - you won't be able to pick up the pigment with a soft, fluffy brush.
I first picked up the shade Sahara Treasure which is a shimmery bronze shade. It's light enough to use as an all over crease shade for day, but dark enough that you can put a lighter shade on the lid and use it as a crease shade too. Nice and versatile! Similarly, the second shade I picked up - Hourglass Beige - is great to use as a highlight shade on the inner corner, but would be beautiful used all across the lid too! It's a warm champagne beige shade, also nice and shimmery!
On the left is Hourglass Beige, and the right is Sahara Treasure. Note when you are opening these for the first time to be careful though! The side you see in the picture is actually the bottom of the package - when you open the lid, the window will be on the bottom - don't open it upside down and let that little black disc fall out!
Swatches! Sahara Treasure on the left, Hourglass Beige on the right!
These last a long time and I would definitely recommend them! There's a nice selection of shades from the line - lots of neutrals and lots of brighter colours too! Their texture won't be like anything you've seen before (unless you've tried the Giorgio Armani or Chanel versions) and that alone will be a thrill for makeup lovers!
NOTD Jan 22/12
I could not believe my luck yesterday when I scoped out a Revlon display in Walmart and spotted Whimsical!! For those of you who don't know, it's a well-known dupe for Deborah Lippman's Glitter in the Air, which retails for around $20 compared to Revlon's average of around $5.
This baby was as good as mine when I saw it and I'm so glad I did - it's like the nail polish equivalent of cotton candy. A really sheer blue-grey base with pink and blue glitter, both mini and hex. It's definitely a layering polish but the possibilities are endless with it I think... here I layered it over Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue but I think it would look great over a light grey, white or a sheer pink... I intend to test all of these colour combos on a nail wheel ASAP!
This is one coat of "Baby" Blue followed by about three coats of Whimsical - I really wanted to get a lot of glitter on there, but two coats would probably be fine too!
This baby was as good as mine when I saw it and I'm so glad I did - it's like the nail polish equivalent of cotton candy. A really sheer blue-grey base with pink and blue glitter, both mini and hex. It's definitely a layering polish but the possibilities are endless with it I think... here I layered it over Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue but I think it would look great over a light grey, white or a sheer pink... I intend to test all of these colour combos on a nail wheel ASAP!
This is one coat of "Baby" Blue followed by about three coats of Whimsical - I really wanted to get a lot of glitter on there, but two coats would probably be fine too!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
NOTD Jan 15/12 and a Born Pretty Store coupon!
I had to try out more of the awesome rhinestones I got from Born Pretty store - I admit before I got these I wasn't too into the whole rhinestone thing so I didn't think I'd get a lot of use out of them, but now that I have them I love them! I want more! Different shapes! MOAR!
Hehehe aaanyways! Here are the nails... a peach background, little red and white flowers with gold leaves and red rhinestone accents! I love how these turned out... I tried them out on a nail wheel first a few days ago and knew it had to be on my nails next!
I also have some other cool news! Check out the sidebar to the right to see a coupon code you can use to get 5% off at checkout on Born Pretty Store.com! Their prices are already a heck of a bargain as is, but every bit counts so who can say no to another 5% off? Enjoy! :)
Hehehe aaanyways! Here are the nails... a peach background, little red and white flowers with gold leaves and red rhinestone accents! I love how these turned out... I tried them out on a nail wheel first a few days ago and knew it had to be on my nails next!
I also have some other cool news! Check out the sidebar to the right to see a coupon code you can use to get 5% off at checkout on Born Pretty Store.com! Their prices are already a heck of a bargain as is, but every bit counts so who can say no to another 5% off? Enjoy! :)
Friday, January 13, 2012
NOTD Jan 13/12
A solid colour NOTD - it's been a while! I got a mini Sally Hansen haul yesterday and I had to try one of them solo, and since I was doing my nails on the fly before work today one colour was all I had time for anyways. And this is a gorgeous colour - a medium blue foil with purplish tones.
This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Deep Blue Sea:
Very pretty shade! I need more shades like this - I feel like I'm very drawn to cremes for nail art but I do like glitters, foils and metallics for single-shade manis.
Have a great weekend everyone!
This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Deep Blue Sea:
Very pretty shade! I need more shades like this - I feel like I'm very drawn to cremes for nail art but I do like glitters, foils and metallics for single-shade manis.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Top 10 Manis of 2011
I keep seeing this type of post popping up and I really love the idea - I enjoy looking back at old manis and even if I notice my skills have markedly improved in some areas since I did them, I'm still very proud of all my efforts! Creativity is an evolution after all!
These are in no particular order!
These are in no particular order!
Sponged Pastel Leopard
Hibiscus Flowers
Kiwis
Starfish and Coral
Pink and Yellow Mini-Floral
White & Gold Chains
Shabby Chic Roses
Fair Isle Sweaters
Tuxedo Mixed Mani
Red and Green Snowflakes
Monday, January 02, 2012
NOTD Jan 2/12
First post and first new nails of 2012! I hope you all had a great holiday season! :)
I saw a mixed mani in which one of the nails looked like this and I just loved it, so I decided to try a full mani with the design. It's really my first attempt at wearing zebra at all, it's easier than I thought it would be! In fact overall I'm happy because this mani looks a lot harder than it was, it took me only 15 minutes or so to complete.
I saw a mixed mani in which one of the nails looked like this and I just loved it, so I decided to try a full mani with the design. It's really my first attempt at wearing zebra at all, it's easier than I thought it would be! In fact overall I'm happy because this mani looks a lot harder than it was, it took me only 15 minutes or so to complete.
