Forever 21 - Black Glam Sand Lacquer Textured Nail Polish

Hello dear readers!

As I promised on my last post, here are the swatches for Black Glam, one of the textured nail polishes by Forever 21. (Click here to see their entire line of textured nail polishes)

As you can see, Black Glam is not black, but a dark purple with  multi-color microglitter (I can see some copper, yellow, pink,purple and a bit of green) It's a bit hard to distinguish due to the dark base.

(All pictures can be enlarged)

The opacity of this nail polish is good. I only needed 2 coats to get this result.

I really like sandy texture. I own some sand finish nail polish from other brands, but this is the 1st time that I actually try it on my nails. I couldn't stop touching them. :)

Also, the formula was easy to work with. No bald spots or dragging at all.

*I received a question on my previous post about how easy was to remove this type of nail polish.

I think it's just the same as any other glitter nail polish. If you use the cotton and aluminum foil method, it makes this process so much easier ;)

 

What do you think of this nail color?

How about the textured nail polish trend?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

How to do Nail Stamp Decals

Hello dear readers!

As I promised, here is the tutorial on how to make nail decals by using designs from nail art plates.

 

I will describe all the steps below the image.

Step1: Transfer your favorite image onto a nail stamper of your choice. I used a small soft stamper and  a bird design from Stamping plate XL M using Nabi black as my stamping nail polish.

Step2: With the design still on the stamper, paint inside the image using a small brush or with your nail polish brush. Nail polish or acrylic colors can be used. Let dry. *Cover the design using a clear topcoat and let dry. I used Out the Door fast dry top coat. it makes this process much faster ;)

Step3: Once the design is dry, peel off using tweezers (or in this case, my own nails).

Step4: Apply clear topcoat on your nail color base. This step is important so that the surface is sticky enough for the decal to stick on your nail. *Make sure to let dry the topcoat a little bit before applying the decal, it should be dry to the touch but a little bit sticky. Place the decal on your nail and smooth it out carefully to get rid of creases or air bubbles.

Step5: Apply clear topcoat to protect and give shine to your decal. You can add other details before applying topcoat.

I hope this tutorial will be useful to you and that you now will be able to try this nail art ;) 

If you have any questions, let me know by leaving a comment :)

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Challenge: Stamping Over a Nude Base

Hello dear readers!

Last Sunday's challenge on FB group Adventures in Stamping was to do some stamping nail art on a nude base. I find this group very fun because it stimulates my creativity when I have no inspiration.

Well, here's what I came up with:

More details below....

The base color for this nail art was Palm Springs by American Apparel. Then I did some sponging using other lighter and darker nude tones to give more dimension to the background of my design.

For stamping polishes, I used:

-Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Mint Sprint (leaves and foliage)

-Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Presto Pink (Flowers)

-Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Snappy Sorbet (Flowers on thumb)

-Pop Beauty - Thirty Seven Foggy (Light grey foliage)

-Nabi - Black (Feathers)

For designs, I used:

-XL R plate (Bird on thumb, flowers, big feathers)

-XL F plate (Small flowers, leaves on thumb)

-XL M plate (Big flowers and foliage on ring finger)

-QA23 (Vines on thumb and pinkie)

-A49 (Flowers and leaves on  index)

-m77 (Small feathers and flowers on pinkie)

Here's a detailed picture of what I did on my thumbnail using the stamping decal technique

*I will do a tutorial on this next week

 What do you think of this nail art?

Stay tuned for my tutorial on how to do a nail decal using a stamping design next Monday ;)

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Tiger Print Nail Art

Hello dear readers!

This time I just did a simple tiger print on my nails... I'm not into animal prints... but I used a gold nail polish that was calling for something wild and I thought, why not?

I started with a nail polish by Icing called Golden Rule.

It is a gold color with foil finish and holographic micro glitter.

*You can see a 15 sec. video swatch of this nail polish here.

I stamped the tiger print with Kleancolor black using stamping plate QA25 

(Available for purchase in my online store)

As I said previously, looks a bit too wild for my taste especially on this nail lenght... Rawr!! But it's always good to try something different...

What do you think of this design? Too wild? :)

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Nail Art Remake: Ice Cream and Candy Nails & Tutorial

Hello dear readers!

This time I decided to do an improved version of a nail art from last year (see it here).

The nail art you see now was what I had in mind originally, but 1yr. ago, I was either too busy or too lazy to do all the steps...

(↓ Tutorial for this nail art below ↓)

1.Once your nails are prepped with a basecoat, start by applying 1 or 2 layers of white nail polish. 

This is only the base for the pastel colors to look nice & bright.

 

2. Apply lines or dots of different pastel colors onto waxed paper, plastic or aluminum foil.

3.Using a nail stamper press it on top of the nail colors, twisting slightly so that the colors mix up a little bit. You will see the colors transferring to the stamper and ready to apply on your nails.

*You can also paint the pastel color lines directly on your nails with your nail polish brush, whichever is easier for you.

4. Stamp the colors from the stamper onto each nail.(Or paint each color with a nail polish brush). Let it dry.

Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect, it doesn't have to be ;)

My nails look like Easter eggs :D

5. Apply one coat of white crackle nail polish and let it dry to get the cracking effect. Apply clear topcoat to smooth out the nail surface and let dry.

6. I used Konad's Q1 stamping plate and stamped the candy designs on my nails using Kleancolor black. You can use any other stamp plate design of your choice.

*There are other options for this nail art such as applying nail art stickers or by drawing freehand designs on your nails ;)

I hope you like this nail art tutorial and that it can be useful to you ;)

Which version do you like better? Last year's or this one?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Beauty Berry - Thermal Nail Polish by Cameo Colours Lacquers

Hello dear readers!

I want to show you some swatches from Beauty Berry a thermal nail polish by Cameo Colours Lacquers. It is part of its thermolinear collection which means it changes colors with temperature and also has a linear holographic effect. (Click here to see swatches of another thermolinear color I posted previously).

Here you can see the beauty of this nail polish at regular temperature.

When cold, the nail polish turns completely purple.

Then, it turns pink with warm temperature.

Overall, this nail polish applies nicely and is pigmented. I'm very happy with the quality this brand offers. Holographic and thermal are two types of nail polish that I love and this is such a perfect combination.

For info on where to buy this nail polish you can go to Cameo Colours FB

 *This nail polish was purchased by me. The opinion expressed of this product is solely my own.

Do you like this thermal color combo?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

My 1st Attemp at Water Marble Nail Art

Hello dear readers!

Today, I'm excited to show you my first attempt at water marbling :) I know I'm years too late to try this trend. In my case, this was not as easy as it seems... you have to choose the right nail polishes otherwise, you'll end up with a blob of polish on the bottom of the cup of water... it happened to to me before :'( and for this reason, I thought trying more would be a waste of time and precious nail polish.

I have to admit that I love to watch water marble YouTube videos (I find them relaxing for some strange reason). The whole process is fascinating and the end results amazing. I know this manicure is not spectacular as many other water marbles out there... but, bear with me... it's only my 1st attempt ;)

For this manicure, I used three China Glaze nail polishes from the Avant Garden collection: Passion for Petals, Fancy Pants and Dandy Lyin' Around. The base of this manicure is Passion for Petals as well. I found that most China Glaze nail polishes are good for water marbling.

As you can see, the swirls of nail polish are not as much. This is because I was experimenting and I just added a few drops of each color in case I failed... but in the end, I really like the randomness of the lines.

Have you tried water marbling? What do you think of my first attempt?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Black Lace and French Manicure and How to

Hello dear readers:

The nail art I'm posting today is a remake of something I already did once before I started this nail blog. It is a combination of French manicure and lace. Details on how I did it below:

I started with one layer of basecoat. Using Kleancolor in black, I painted French tips using the nail polish brush. I didn't use adhesive guides this time. I think it looks better if I use my natural nail smile lines as my guide.

I stamped on top of the nail bed area with a lace pattern from A40 stamping plate using Kleancolor black as the stamping polish. I wanted to give this manicure a bit more glam so I added one layer of a glitter nail polish on top of the French tip.

What do you think of the combination of lace and French manicure?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Holographic Skittle Manicure and Stamping

Hello dear readers!

This is my first post after my painful thumbnail breakage... as you can see, I managed to keep some length.

It's been months since I purchased my Color Club Halo Hues collection and still they were sitting unused in a dark corner of my nail polish drawer. This time I thought it was a good idea to put 5 of them to good use and do a skittle manicure.
 

The Color Club colors that I used are as pictured on the pic below from left to right:

 Cosmic Fate, Over the Moon, Kismet, Eternal Beauty, and Angel Kiss

I stamped a pattern from my Bunny Nails HD-A plate using Kleancolor black.

Both of my hands, can you believe I took this pic myself? :-)

What do you think of my attempt on the skittle manicure?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Accidents happen...

After a few months keeping my nail length intact, this was an accident waiting to happen...

For those interested, I'll tell you what happened:

I was trying on some skinny jeans in the dressing room of  Forever 21. I had not difficulty putting them on or closing the button. (With this length, I guess it's must be hard for you to imagine how I do small stuff like this).

Everything was normal, the jeans fit me nicely and I was ready to take off the last one, but I guess the leg of the jean was way too tight. I had some difficulty taking it off, so I used my left hand to try to get it off my foot and then my thumb slipped and then... crack! That's the sound I heard while I felt this acute pain coming from my nail bed. When I looked, my left thumb nail was bleeding (more blood than in this pic, believe me). The crack you see is on both sides of the nail with only .5cm in the middle holding my nail together.

I completed my purchase and went straight home to fix this mess... I had to put on acetone (ouch!) to remove nail polish and then cut my nail...not completely, I still can fix this split with resin and silk wrap until it grows out my nail bed. I cut my nails half length of what they were and that's it.

So, yeah... that's what can happen when you have long nails, you can injure yourself when you least expect it. This hurt so much but I handled it nicely, my bf was so surprised I wasn't crying.

I'll show you my new nail length next time ;)

Have you had an accident like this while trying to grow your nails long?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Cameo Colours Lacquers - Poison Apple - Thermal Nail Polish

Hello dear readers!

I decided to post for the 2nd time this week because I couldn't wait to show you swatches of this awesome nail polish. This from an indie nail polish brand called Cameo Colours Lacquers. Poison Apple is part of their Thermolinear collection. This thermal beauty changes from brown when cool to a salmon color when warm. This is not only a mood or thermal nail polish, it is also a linear holographic nail polish.

Here you can see the beautiful thermal effect. This effect is due to the temperature difference between the nail bed and the free edge. *You don't need crazy long nails in order to get the gradient effect, just a few millimeters of nail length will be good enough ;)

 Now, when your body temperature is warm enough, your nails will be entirely salmon color.

When cold, your nails will be dressed in a brown shade... can you see the linear holographic effect?

Application wise, I needed apply 2 coats to reach this opacity. This nail polish  applies like a dream, no streaks or bald spots. I am in love with both, thermal and holographic effects, so this nail polish was worth every penny.

For info on where to buy this nail polish you can go to Cameo Colours FB

https://www.facebook.com/CameoColoursLacquer

 *This nail polish was purchased by me. The opinion expressed of this product is solely my own.

What do you think of this nail polish? 

What other color combinations would you like to see in a thermal nail polish?

I personally would like to see a black/red color :)

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥ Have a great Weekend!

Milani - Red Sparkle - One Coat Glitter

Hello dear readers!

Today I want to show you some swatches Red Sparkle by Milani.

For those of you who have not tried Milani's one coat glitter line of nail polishes, just as the name says, it is made with fine glitter and dense enough to over with one coat.

Application wise, this nail polish can become bit goopy in consistency a few minutes after using it, but this can be fixed with few drops of nail polish thinner.

Also, I needed 2 coats because there were a few bald spots since this nail polish has no pigment whatsoever, only glitter. This glitter is top coat thirsty, so I recommend applying 2 layers of top coat for smoothness and shine.

If you like the new trend of textured nail polishes, I think this polish could give the same finish if you let it dry without topcoat ;)

Extra pic :)

What do you think of this nail polish? Have you tried any from the one coat glitter line?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Chocolate dipped w/ Candy Nail Art & How To

Hello dear readers!

It's been a long time since I've done nail art...

So one day I was at San Francisco's Ichiban Kan store and stumbled upon the deco section. I saw all those candy deco parts and it occurred to me that I could use a little baggie of fake candy sprinkles on my nails and achieve a 3D type of nail art.

So here's the final result:

Note: Scroll down for instructions on how to do it yourself ;)

 

1. Start with a cream finish white or pastel colored nail polish as the base.

I used Orly - Cotton Candy

2. Use a dark brown nail polish or acrylic paint and paint on the tips of the nails as if you've dipped them in chocolate. The dripping effect depends on the length of your nails... there's no right or wrong way to do this. I used OPI - Suzi Says Da! for it's chocolate-like color.

3. I added little dots of clear nail polish and placed the fake candy sprinkles randomly.

*You can get these on Etsy, search for "deco fake candy sprinkles"

**You can also make these sprinkles yourself with polymer clay. I found a how-to video here.

***If you are not into 3D nail art, you can use acrylic paint or nail polish in pastel colors and draw little lines to emulate the small candy.

4. Apply 1 or 2 layers of clear topcoat to protect your nail art. I thought the candy parts would fall off right away, but I was wrong... they can last a week or more but believe me... it is not the most practical nail art to wear everyday... I had such a hard time washing my hair XD

Here's an extra pic that I posted on my Bunny Nails Facebook (feel free to add me) of me wearing this nail art.

What do you think of this nail art? Would you add the candy sprinkles or paint them instead?

♥ ♥Thank you so much for reading♥ ♥

Nude Nail Polish: NYC Fashion Safari

Hello dear readers!

A few weeks ago, I went for some nail polish shopping at Target and there was a nail polish color that caught my attention... It was so close to skin tone that it looked like a foundation bottle rather than nail polish.

This nail polish is Fashion Safari by NYC. This is by far the best nude nail polish that I have in my stash and that's saying a lot because I own nude colors from various brands.

Application-wise, this nail polish was not streaky or sheer. It is fairly pigmented, I used 2 coats to reach opacity.

Do you like a nude color on your nails or not?

As always....

♥♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥♥