Rainbow Road

Hey guys, sorry it's been awhile since my last post, I got caught up completing a brutal data analysis assignment and I used my lack of free time as an opportunity to let my nails breath for a few days. Unfortunately, a couple of them also took this opportunity to break, so you'll have to forgive me for the assorted nail lengths.

So, new design! This one was inspired by the Rainbow Road track in Mario Kart on N64.

I even have a tutorial for you guys (two in a row, lucky you!). To do this simple tape mani you will need some striping tape. I got mine from a seller on ebay, search 'striping tape' and a whole multitude of colours will come up. You can use any colour you want for this purpose, I've just used green because I happen to have two rolls.

Step 1: Apply your protective base coat, then select four or five colours and paint stripes across your nails. I've used (from tip to base) China Glaze's 'For Audrey', OPI's 'No Room For The Blues', 'Do You Lilac It?', 'Are We There Yet?', and China Glaze's 'Fuschia'. Don't worry if your stripes aren't perfect!

Step 2: Once your colours have dried completely, take your striping tape (I recommend pre-cutting some strips before you start painting your nails) and place the strips onto your nails. Press them down firmly so that you won't get any leakage under the tape.

Step 3: Taking a black polish (I've used China Glaze's 'Liquid Leather') paint your whole nail. Don't worry about covering the tape.

Step 4: About 20 seconds after applying your black polish carefully pull the tape off (I found using tweezers helped). If you're lucky it will leave nice clean lines.

Step 5: Apply your clear top coat and you're finished.

So there you have it! Super easy, if not maybe a little time consuming. You could of course simply paint your nails one colour rather than four or five before applying the tape to save time.

I have mid semester exams plus another assignment due over the next couple of weeks, so I can't promise regular posting. However, I got some nail mail yesterday (woohoo!) so I now have a few indie polishes from Gloss 'n Sparkle that I need to try. I'll no doubt be checking them out over the next couple of weeks since applying glitter polishes isn't overly time consuming. Sorry for those of you who prefer nail art to polish reviews, I generally try to keep reviews contained to the reviews section of my blog, but I promise I'll be back to my arty ways in no time!

Sprinkled

This is officially my 50th post. Woohoo! It's been awhile since I did a tutorial post, so here you have it: sprinkled nails.

Sorry my photos aren't quite as good as they have been lately, I usually get my boyfriend to take my photos since his camera is much better than mine, but he was busy today and I don't know how to use his camera >.<

To do this design you're going to need either some coloured mica, or loose eyeshadow. I've used loose eyeshadow that I bought several months ago specifically for this purpose. I bought mine off ebay from Simply Natural. They have an extensive range of colours and for only about $2 a pot. Trust me, the pot comes packed to the rim and it will probably last you a lifetime. In this design I've used their colours 'Surf' and 'Heliotrope'. Anyway, on to the tutorial!

Step 1: Before you start painting your nails, you're going to need to protect your workspace with a piece of newspaper, paper towel or something similar. This is going to get messy...

Step 2: Apply your protective base coat and then apply your base colour. I've used Essie's ' Blanc', but I've seen these powders used very successfully over dark colours too.

Step 3: One nail at a time, apply a clear polish and use a straw or something similar to scoop some powder and gently sprinkle it onto the wet polish. Alternatively, you could do this while your base colour is still wet rather than using a coat of clear polish.

Step 4: Leave your nails to dry for a few minutes (they don't need to dry completely, just until the polish is tacky) and then rinse the excess powder off with some water. Gently pat dry your nails (don't smoosh them!). Let them air dry completely before continuing.

Step 5: If you only want to use one colour of powder, simply apply a clear top coat and go on your merry way. If you are wanting to add a second colour of powder, apply a coat of clear polish one nail at a time and repeat the sprinkling/rinsing process with your second colour.

Step 6: Apply your clear top coat. Complete!

This is something I've been wanting to try for months now (hell, I bought the eyeshadows back in April!). I think it turned out fairly well for a first attempt, I'd love to play around with different colour combinations. It's an easy method of nail art for those who aren't so good with a paint brush ;) What do you think?

Liebster Award Part 2

The other day I was nominated again for the Liebster Award, this time by TikiBarbie. Thank you! (If you missed my first nomination or want more info on the award you can see my post here).

Since I've already been through this process once, I'm not going to nominate another 11 people or ask more questions or any of that other stuff in the award 'rules', I'll just be answering the 11 questions TikiBarbie has left for me so that you guys might get to know me a little better :) Here goes!

1. What is on your nails?
My Candy Land design. It will be coming off later tonight though, it's starting to look a little worse for wear.

2. Do you paint your toenails to match your fingernails?
I've painted my toenails once. Ever. I don't wear open-toed shoes so I don't see the point.

3. Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have a Siamese called Ceasar (yea I know the spelling is wrong, that's how the vet spelt it on his certificate and it stuck) and I love him more than anything. Really, he's such a sook. I love him so much that here's a photo:

Crazy cat-lover rant over.

4. What's your favourite book?
I love the series by Anna Godbersen called 'The Luxe'. The series of 4 books is set in Manhattan in 1900. I love books that are set in times gone by. She is also half-way through completing another series called 'Bright Young Things' which is set in New York in the 1920's. Love.

5. What's your favourite singer/band?
As those of you who read my last Liebster Award post will know, I listen to Japanese pop music (J-pop). My favourite group is Morning Musume. Unless you're actually into that sort of thing though I don't recommend you look it up, you may just lose all respect for me haha.

6. What's your most played song on iTunes?
Nanchatte Renai (なんちゃって恋愛) by Morning Musume.

7. If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?
That's easy. Definitely Japan, no questions asked. (Are you seeing a theme here? I'm worried you will all be under the impression that I'm on of those crazy obsessed cosplayers by the end of this post. I can assure you that I'm not).

8.  Which do you like better, Summer or Winter?
I'm going to say Summer. Spring is my favourite, but if I have to pick between those 2 extremes I'll say Summer. Partly because I prefer Summer fashion (yea I know, I'm a little strange), and partly because both Christmas and my birthday fall in Summer here in Australia. Presents!

9. If you could change lives with one person for a day, who would it be?
Someone rich who was the same size as me. Then I'd go and buy everything I've ever wanted (clothes, car, etc) and stash it all somewhere so I could reclaim it once I was myself again haha.

10. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with one person, who would you choose?
My boyfriend. He knows how to catch food haha.

11. What's your favourite polish?
This is such a hard question. There as so many polishes that are all unique in their own way, but I always answer with OPI's 'Do You Lilac It?'. It's just such a perfect shade of lilac!

Candy Land!

I felt like doing some stamping, and I wanted to try using normal nail polish rather than the Konad polishes. Here's the result:

The plate I used is Konad Q1. I used OPI's 'Don't Pretzel My Buttons' as my base colour and stamped with OPI's 'You're A Pisa Work' and China Glaze's 'Custom Kicks'. Both of them worked just as well as the Konad polishes for stamping, so I'm very happy that I now have more colour options. To use both colours in the stamp at once I just put blobs of both colours on the plate (just make sure they don't leak into each other unless that's the look you're going for!).

Also, the folks at Born Pretty Store have kindly given me a discount code for you guys to use when shopping with them! Enter the code MLE10W21 at checkout to receive 10% off your order. There's no expiry date on this one so feel free to use it whenever you want. I've attached the code to the Born Pretty Store link I have in my 'useful links' (on the right hand side of my page) so that it's easy for you to find in future :)

Pink Panther Strikes!

*Note: This is a very word-heavy post. I hope you'll bear with me, it's very rare that I do a post that is purely a polish review as I usually keep them for the reviews section of my blog. If you make it to the end, I salute you!

I received my first ever indie polish on Friday, and while I was itching to try it out I already had my fireworks nails planned for the weekend. Judging by the lifespan of my fireworks nails I clearly couldn't wait any longer to try out my first indie, so without further ado, here's Lush Lacquer's 'Pink Panther':

I was a bit apprehensive about indie brands at first, not really sure what I'd be getting, but after reading many rave reviews I decided to give Lush Lacquer a go. According to their website, 'Pink Panther' is "a strikingly beautiful clear sheer base with a mixture of glitter...all different sizes of matte pink , matte black and matte white glitters are used to make this gorgeous polish. We use fine, medium and a few larger hexagonal matte glitter."

I'd say that's a pretty accurate description.

I've layered one coat of 'Pink Panther' over Revlon's 'Minted', and due to the matte finish of the glitter I've decided to use Essie's 'Matte About You' as my top coat. I've seen 'Pink Panther' used very effectively over pastel greens and blues (I imagine it looks amazing over China Glaze's 'For Audrey'), but I'd also love to see it over a lilac or even a grey. I'll have to have a bit of a play ;)

Now for the important bits: application. 'Pink Panther' is absolutely PACKED with glitter. In fact, it's so packed that you can barely see any liquid in the bottle! In spite of this I still found myself fishing for glitter. Don't get me wrong, the brush picked up enough glitter to do each nail without needing to go back for more, but I found myself fishing for more black glitter as I never felt I had an even ratio of black/pink/white. Maybe I'm just a bit OCD?

The consistency of the polish isn't terrible, but not great either. It does tend to be a bit 'gloopy' (for lack of a better word), but I will give the girls at Lush Lacquer credit as they did warn that thinner might be required. I found that the best technique for application was to wait until my base colour was completely dry before putting a blob of 'Pink Panther' on my nail and moving the glitter around to where I wanted it with the brush. I found that if I applied it as you would normal polish all the glitter just ended up at the nail tip. Of course, my method of application had drawbacks, it meant the polish was a bit on the thick side. It dried reasonably fast with a coat of INM's 'Out The Door' before I added my matte top coat though.

My only other comment is about the packaging, I'm not sure whether or not there are any steel balls in the bottle, but I definitely can't see any. Maybe they're just lost in all that glitter? Due to the thickness of the polish though the air bubble in the bottle once you use a bit tends to move the glitter around so I'm not too concerned.

You can find Lush Lacquer on etsy here. I've also added a link to their page in my 'useful links' section on the right hand side of my page.  These are links to companies that I've ordered from and have been happy with the service and product they've provided. I won't add any links that I don't recommend you guys check out. You'll notice I've also added a link to 'Rainbow Honey'. They are another indie polish brand who I have pre-ordered from just tonight, so watch out for those polishes when I receive them!

Have you fallen in love with any indie brands? If so, who?

*** For those who aren't familiar with the term 'indie', it's simply short for 'independent', meaning that these indie polishes are made by people just like you and me in their own homes, usually by hand. Of course, there are pros and cons with indie polishes. While indie polishes are generally unique in appearance, they can sometimes have extended turn around periods as they don't have the same production facilities and staff numbers as the large factories, and there can be minor inconsistencies between batches.

Fireworks! Boom!

I have themed nails for you this time! Yesterday I went to the Ekka, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to paint my nails for the occasion. For those of you who don't live in Brisbane or aren't aware, the Ekka (shortened from 'Brisbane Exhibition' and also known as the 'Royal Queensland Show') is an event held for 10 days every August. It's a well-loved event here in Brisbane, hell, we even have a holiday for it! It's basically an extravagant carnival, full of rides, showbags (aka sample bags), displays and demonstrations, strawberry sundaes, animals, and of course FIREWORKS!

Growing up in a house with views, I was able to see the fireworks from our front balcony. For those 10 days every year I would run to the window at 8:30pm to stare in awe at the sky. So with this in mind, I bring you fireworks nails!

I'll admit I cheated and used nail art stickers I found on ebay haha. This is two coats of OPI's 'Light My Sapphire' topped with a coat of China Glaze's 'Fairy Dust'.

'Fairy Dust' is so incredibly hard to photograph, I've never been able to capture it's true sparkliness. The slightly out of focus second photo gives an indication of the rainbow effect the glitter has, but you need to times that by about 10 for the true effect!

I'll leave you now with some (unedited) photos my boyfriend took yesterday to give you a feel for the Ekka. For me it truly is a magical day where I get to be a kid all over again (much to my boyfriend's dismay). I can't wait to go again next year!

Pirouette

I was short on time when I last did my nails, so I just did something very basic but pretty. This is two coats of China Glaze's 'No Name Yet' followed by one coat of  OPI's 'Pirouette My Whistle' and finished off with Essie's 'Matte About You' top coat.

Please excuse the 'tip wear' in the photo. It's not actually tip wear, 'No Name Yet' always shrinks back from my tips during application no matter what I try. It's a shame as it's such a pretty grey :(

'Pirouette My Whistle' is one of my favourite glitters. It's from OPI's New York City Ballet Collection. It's a clear base with fine silver glitter and white hex pieces. I love using a matte top coat with it because it really makes the white hexes stand out. It's so pretty over just about any pastel colour! Definitely get your hands on a bottle if you can :)

Liebster Award

If you follow other nail blogs you've probably seen several posts talking about the Liebster Award. The Liebster Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers who others feel deserve some kind of recognition and support for their contribution. It's a great way to support your fellow bloggers and to spread the word about their blogs. I'd like to thank Jas from Jas's Blingtastic Nail Blog for recognising the work I put into this blog. 

In order to accept the award there's a few rules that need to be followed. Normally I think these things are a bit silly and I wouldn't put the effort in, but I see the value in helping others by spreading the word about their blogs so that they can benefit just as my blog has been benefited from being tagged on Jas' page. So here goes:

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.

2. They must also answer the 11 questions the 'tagger' has set for them.

3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.

4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.

5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.

6. There's no tag backs.

So here's 11 things about me:

1.  I'm a real girly girl, my favourite colour is pink.

2. I have an advanced diploma in fashion design and technology.
3. I always wanted to be a pop star (but what girl growing up in the 90's didn't?)

4. I don't always like to fit in. I embrace my quirkiness.

5. I tend to unintentionally develop a hatred for whatever the 'hot new trend' is. Several years ago this was gladiator sandals. This summer it will be fluro.

6. I'm studying business (majoring in marketing) and Japanese at university.

7. I very rarely listen to music sung in English. On the other hand, I do love Japanese pop music, in particular by Morning Musume. (Yes I know, I'm an embarrassment. Sorry).

8. I've never dyed my hair.

9. I have spina bifida occulta.  

10. I hate the ocean.

11. I'm an extremely paranoid person. I can't watch scary movies for this reason, or I'll be sleeping with the lights on and checking under my bed for months to come.

Here's my 11 questions from Jas: 
1. Who would you turn gay for? 
Yoshizawa Hitomi. 
2. What can you do better than anyone else?
I can fold my tongue in half (front to back) and hold it there without using my teeth. I don't know if that counts but no one else can seem to do it!
3. What is your all time fav nail polish?
This is such a hard question, but I'm going to say OPI's 'Do You Lilac It'.
4. Favourite movie of all time?
Mean Girls maybe? Or Pirates of the Caribbean? There's so many to choose from!
5. What did you do last Saturday night?
To be honest, I don't remember. It must have been exciting...
6. Where you have travelled that you loved and was an awesome place?
Japan. If you've never been to Tokyo and Yokohama you're missing out!
7. What could you eat everyday without getting sick of it?
Peanut Butter M&M's and Strawberry Fanta.
8. What are your pet peeves?
Smokers. I can't stand the smell of the smoke and I seem to be hypersensitive to it. And the sound of people chewing *shudders*. I also hate people who force their views on others.
9. What are your other hobbies?
Scrapbooking and sewing.
10. If you were stranded on a desert island what 5 things would you take?
My cat, lip balm, a big cuddly blanket, bug spray, and a giant esky of Strawberry Fanta.
11. What do most people not know about you?
I performed in the 2001 opening of the Goodwill Games.

My 11 questions for those who I've tagged:
1. What's your favourite colour?
2. Have you had a '15 minutes of fame' moment?
3. What is on your wishlist at the moment?
4. Do you have any allergies?
5. One piece or bikini?
6. What was the first CD/cassette tape you owned?
7. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
8. Favourite book?
9. Favourite girl's name?
10. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
11. If you could live in any year, what would it be and why?  

My nominations: 
(If you've been tagged before by someone else don't feel that you need to answer all my questions as well!)  
The Cat's Claws

Caitt's Nails
Parisian Blue Sky 
Osiris and Loki Paint Their Nails

Glossy Lacquer 
Just About Nails It
Nanna Nap
Beauty Cat Castle
Jaztee
Plisheriffic
Pedantically Polished 

Phew! Sorry if that was a bit long and boring. Hopefully you learnt a little more about me!

*Sorry for some glitches in my font and spaces where there shouldn't be spaces etc towards the end here...blogspot seems to have spazzed out on me >.<

Stud It!

Sorry for the week-long blogging absence, university is back in full swing and my hours at work have picked up again which hasn't left me much time to take and edit photos. You'll notice I have started watermarking my photos due to the recent photo theft that's been going on (if you're interested you can read about some of it on Nailed It's blog here). I'm not expecting anyone to think that my photos are worth stealing, but better safe than sorry right? Unfortunately, this means that photo editing takes even longer. Please bear with me, I'll try and get my posts up as soon as I can!

On to my newest design. The ringed/outlined/bordered/whatever-you-want-to-call-it look has really taken off, and while I'm not really a massive fan of the look, here is my interpretation:

I've included so many photos due to the versatility of this polish, it's a different colour from every angle! (A triple-chrome as opposed to a duo-chrome maybe? Ha!) I've used OPI's 'Yokohama Twilight', which I bought purely because the name holds sentimental value for me.  It's a good thing that the name holds such value for me, because this is a colour I wouldn't normally have picked up, and I would have been missing out on such an amazing thing! Apparently this colour is discontinued, but if you're in Australia I definitely suggest you get to your nearest David Jones and pick up a bottle as they somehow got a hold of some.

For this design I've layered two coats of 'Yokohama Twilight' over 2 coats of OPI's 'Light My Sapphire', which is an almost-black colour. Layering it over a dark colour really brings out the blue/green in it! Here's a couple of colour swatches, the swatch on the left is layered over 'Light My Sapphire', and the right swatch is 'Yokohama Twilight' by itself. It's essentially two nail polishes in one bottle :)

Moving on! The studs I've used are from the Born Pretty Store. They're the 1.5mm round black studs. The link to the item is here. They are essentially the same as the studs I used in my Judas design, just a different shape and colour. They're easy to apply (just pop them into your wet top coat and do another coat over the top to secure them), and they're relatively flat so they don't catch on stockings or hair or anything else that nail art is notorious for snagging. They're extremely light (being made from aluminium) and smooth too, so you don't even realise you have them on. Plus the Born Pretty Store has free worldwide shipping. Perfect!

I'll admit that this design did take a lot of time and patience, as putting each stud on one by one took literally all night. Definitely make a trip to the toilet before you start this one because you don't want to screw it up! ;)