Polish Days: Vintage

I must admit, I have been a naughty girl. I haven't participated in the recent Polish Days events because of my horrible work schedule and the lack of inspiration but I"M BACK!



Today's Polish Days theme is Vintage and as much as I wanted to show you some vintage (OPI black label) polish or the first polish I bought, I thought I should jazz this day up - with Essie Jazz!

This is two coats of Essie Jazz that I started with.



Jazz is a nice and opaque nude shade that is extremely work appropriate.



And no, I haven't forgotten about the Vintage theme. No no, Essie Jazz isn't the end product. I wanted to try out the whole saran wrap trend with sepia tones (my Vintage link) so I used OPI Over The Taupe for the top layer.



Just a quick tip, be sure that the bottom layer is dry before painting on the top layer! I used a quick dry top coat to speed things up.



I'm loving how pretty the subtle marbled effect looks and man, this was such an easy nail art to do! I was initially a little scared I wouldn't be able to do this saran wrap thing but seriously, it was so little effort for such a pretty end product.

Remember to check out all the other Vintage manicures!

Polish Days: Bling

I've been sitting out the past two Polish Days because I've been so busy with work and I just couldn't miss the last Polish Day even of 2012! This month's theme is.....



BLING BLING BLING!

Since I'm still very much into the whole jelly sandwich thing, I decided to do one with some pretty gold glitters. I'm wearing Etude House MO2D1, sanwiched between Nubar Dark Wash Jeans. And to bling it up even more, I couldn't resist painting an accent nail with three coats of OPI Bring On The Bling.



Here's a close up shot.



I really wanted to get my polished paws on HAREpolish Archipelago during the Llarowe restock but unfortunately, I don't think that baby got listed so I tried to come up with a lookalike by layering on another coat of the Etude House Gold Glitter.



I just wish Dark Wash Jeans was more jelly so the gold glitter underneath would shine through more. That said, I'm in love with the colour combination of navy and gold! <3         

Check out all the other bling-tastic nails:

Holo Month Day 12/Polish Days: Polish Geometry

This month's Polish Days theme is...

...Polish Geometry and since I'm in the midst of Holo Month, I thought "Why not combine the two to do a geometric holo manicure?"

I initially wanted to do a tape mani but that was a bad idea (I learnt it the hard way). The linear holographic polishes I used were notorious for chipping extremely quickly so I have no idea what possessed me to try sticking tape on top of them. Obviously, it didn't dawn upon me that the polish would peel right off, along with the tape when I removed it.

After my first failed nail, I threw caution into the wind and simply opted to do the manicure freehand and this was what I managed to cook up!

For my index finger, I painted three thin coats of MUS Greta, followed by China Glaze FYI and GR8 to get a gold gradient.

For my pink gradient, I used MUS Greta, China Glaze TTYL and TMI. Sadly, TMI wasn't as holo as the rest of the polishes used.

For my purple ring finger nail, I painted three coats of MUS Greta and topped that with Layla Retro Pink and Ultra Violet. This nail turned out to be the most holographic of the bunch. That's how much holo punch the Layla Hologram Effects pack!

Last but not least, I did a blue holo gradient with MUS Greta, China Glaze DV8 and 2NITE. This was the most holo China Glaze combination and I love how the linear rainbow flows so smoothly across the three colours! <3

Here's one last picture for the road! I really had fun doing this mani and the upside of these holo polishes is that they dry so quickly so took me only half an hour inclusive of clean up!

Don't forget to check out all the other Polish Geometry posts! Here's the list of...

Polish Days: Jelly Sandwich

Today is...



JELLY SANDWICH DAY! Happy Jelly Sandwich Day to all!

The first thought that came to mind when I heard Jelly Sandwich was a PBJ sandwich but that's not what I'll be showing you today! HAHA!

A jelly sandwich in manicure terms refers generally to sandwiching a glitter/flakie polish between layers of jelly (or sorbet, yes, I'm refering to you, OPI!) polish. As a result of the glitter/flakie polish having another coat of jelly polish on top of it, it isn't as bling as it normally would be, creating a softer, more subtle effect that many (including myself) have come to love!

I also realised that doing a jelly sandwich is a GREAT way to wear the louder glitter polishes you have in your collection to work if your office has a strict dress code (like mine does)! SCORE!

What I have here, is two coats of Essie Not Just A Pretty Face (a sheer pink) over one coat of NailTek Foundation II. I find that whenever I'm going to be painting a sheer polish, using the NailTek base coat helps the polish to apply less streakily and helps the colour to come out better, with less coats. I know, I know, there are still streaks in my swatch below, but seriously, Essie's super anorexic brush wasn't helping. Further, we'll be covering the streaks up with pretty glitters so it won't be too obvious in the end! :)



And then, I painted one coat of Revlon Whimsical (the Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air dupe). I love how because the base of Whimsical is a sheer blue, it changes the base colour of Not Just a Pretty Face to a paler, softer colour!



I then painted another coat of Not Just a Pretty Face over, followed by another coat of Whimsical and a final coat of Not Just A Pretty Face (again) to complete the entire Jelly Sandwich!



This is with a coat of SV on top to seal everything in. See how pretty and demure the mani looks? Normally I wouldn't dream of wearing a blue glitter polish to work but now I can, all thanks to the wonder that is the jelly sandwich!



Here's one more picture for the road! It's absolute love for me!



In fact, I was loving the Jelly Sandwich look that I did another jelly sandwich mani, this time using another sheer base, OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy (CICT)! Again, this is two coats of CICT over NailTek Foundation II. CICT isn't a pink, but a skintone shade that didn't streak as much, probably due to OPI's AWESOME pro-wide brush. I swear, the pro-wide brush is a godsent for fat nails like mine.



This is one coat of a super colourful Aritaum glitter polish that I hauled back from Korea, the motherland of pretty glitter polishes!



Since the glitter was dense enough, I just layered on another two thin coats of CICT and one coat of SV and called it a day. GOSH, I just LOVE how the jelly sandwich turns the vibrant glitter into a pastel party! It's a totally different look!





Boy am I glad I finally found a way to way all my crazy glitter polishes to work! It's like having a secret party on my nails, subtle enough for work, but not totally boring!

Are you loving the jelly sandwich trend now? Do check out all these other posts on jelly sandwiches to get you fill your hunger!

Hannah (Polly Polish)
Jen (The Nail Polish Project)
Susy (Susy In Color)
Jenny (Beauty by Jenny)
Mara (Mara in Polishland)
Nail Tart
Salla (OMG Polish Em)
Jasmine
Deborah (Love Varnish)
Kat (Hooked on Polish)
Cassie (Sparkles Make Me Happy)
Pris (Pris Nails)
Julie (Time On My Nails)
Keisha (Refined & Polished)
Lynn (Oh So Lacquered)
Alexis (xoxo Alexis)
Cuti-CLUE-les
Mihaela
Stephanie (Sincerely Stephanie)
Heidi (Pretty Painted Nails)
Sabine (My Polish Stash)
A Lacquered Affair
Chiro (Nail of This Week)
Wendy (Wendy's Delights)
Charlotte (Charlotte's Nails)
Sophia (Unhas a Trois)
Laura (Polished Off)
Carolina(Colores de Carol)
Chrissy (Nailutopia)
Emma (Manicurity)
Ishah (Ishah x Beauty)
Esther (Fab Fingertips)
Kerrie (Pish Posh & Polish)

Polish Days: Nail-Venturous Floam

Hello everyone!

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to get my polished claws on Nail-Venturous Floam because Lauretta had an extra bottle and was kind enough to sell it to me. I've wanted Floam since seeing swatches of it and now, I can finally do my evil I-have-a-bottle-of-Floam evil laugh! *MUAHAHAHAHAHA*
Today is ...



Yup, Floam Day! A couple of us nail bloggers will be posting our Floam swatches together! Now, onto Floam!

Floam has matte neon blue and chartreuse glitter in a clear base and was inspired by Floam, a compound that contains polystyrene beads so that you can shape it and create with it.



I have never heard of Floam before this nail polish came out. The only mouldable compound I played with when I was young was Play-Doh so I thought Floam never came to Singapore but I was walking around Art Friend the other day and I actually spotted Floam! I must say, the polish really looks like Floam!!

But back to the nail polish. Application wise, the polish was on the thick side, so I added some thinner and that helped a little. Other than that, application was alright.

First, I applied a coat of Cult Nails Get It On base coat and then two coats of Essence Lime Up! It doesn't have to be perfect because we'll be painting Floam over it. :)



And now, for the star of the show...this is one coat of Floam over Lime Up! I have no idea where that black speck on my pinkie nail came from. With one coat of Floam, you can still see a lot of Lime Up! but if you like it this way, you can stop with one coat.





But oh no, I need more Floam! This is 2 coats of Floam.



Again, you could stop at 2 coats but not me. On to coat number three!







Floam does dry a little gritty so I did another layer of Cult Nails Get It On base coat before painting a coat of Wicked Fast top coat. I read that painting a layer of base coat before painting your topcoat will help your mani last longer so we'll see. Also, with two clear coats on top of Floam, it is gritty no more!

However, when I finally completed my mani, I was shocked at how thick my nail was.



It looked like I pasted a fake tip on my nail but it's not as obvious in real life and I think I'll be staring at Floam more than how thick my nails are. Just a little trade off for such a funky polish! (:

And I was so excited about owning Floam that I made a nail polish ring out of it that will be available on Posh Polish soon! (It looks less vibrant because I used a different base colour)







Now I can wear Floam on my digits without worrying about it chipping! :)
------------------------
Where to Buy:
You can get your very own bottle of Floam from ninjapolish or Nail-venturous Lacquers.
------------------------
Check out all the other amazing Floam Day posts too:
Hannah (Polly Polish)
Sabine (My Polish Stash)
Jen (The Nail Polish Project)
Lauretta (A Lacquered Affair)
Jenny Hillerström (Beauty by Jenny)
Deborah (Love Varnish)
Jeanette (The Swatchaholic)
Esther (Fab Fingertips)
Rachel (Claws, Nails & Beauty)
Mara (Mara in Polishland)
Charlotte (Charlottes Nails)
Stephanie (Sincerely Stephanie)
Jasmine (Colour Coated)
Carolina (Colores de Carol)
Salla (OMG! Polish'Em!)