Elmer's Glue-All: Multi-Purpose Glue, Alright.

Hi, Ladies!

I have been out during the holidays, and then internet went bonkers on us, but now I'm back.

So pre-holiday, I was complaining to my friend, Mae (yes, the famous lady behind www.artofnail.blogspot.com), about my weak nails and she suggested I try using Elmer's Glue as base.  This way I won't have to excessively use polish remover which weakens the nails. I will only need to peel off the glue and polish comes off with it.  She actually wanted me to try out the Gel kind, but I was only able to get hold of the Glue-All.  They sell for cheap, around Php20 to Php25 per 40g sizes in all bookstores and department stores in the Philippines.

I took an empty bottle of polish and placed the glue in, and used as I would a regular polish.

(Excuse my nails, they're really yellowish and gross from all the nail art I've been doing)

On my first application, I was kind of worried the glue might alter the color of the polish (but really, a white base only enhances colors, what was I thinking?)  because it was a really milky white color.  And then it dried and looked like this:

 Except for the middle finger which had to dry longer because I apparently applied too thick, you can see that the rest of them dried into a clear coat.

I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Coral Reef to achieve my desired opacity and, voila! Worked really well, like a normal base coat.

 And then I peeled them off just like that.  I felt like a snake afterwards, but hellzyeahhhh I found a new and effective way to protect my nails!

Here are the Pros and Cons:

Pros

• Protects your nails from weakening from excessive use of polish remover / acetone
• Cheap alternative to base coat and acetone
• Peels off really easily
• Readily available anywhere 
• When the glue dries, you will know because from milky white, it becomes clear 
• After 24 hours more or less of wearing your mani, you can take it off as a whole and keep it for catalogue-ing. LOL.

Cons

• Need at least a couple of minutes to dry than your regular base coat
• Polish doesn't last as long because it can be easily peeled off
• Sometimes it takes one push on your nail and the whole thing comes off.  

All-in-all, I would recommend using this if you have a lot of time in your hands, a lot of patience, and aren't looking to wear your polish for days.  

*I will update if I think of any more pros and cons.  I am at a blank right now.

Lastly, I hope you enjoyed your holidays!

Catch you later,

Jamie

Revlon Parfumerie

Hi, Ladies!!

How's your week going?  Mine's not too good, but let's skip that.  

I have just very recently purchased Revlon Parfumerie polish from SM.   I know I'm a little bit late on this, because it has been out for months.  I keep on going back to The SM Store and Watson's, also PCX, and see these guys around but I never thought of getting them because I found that their colors are common, price was not too cheap, and the smell was overpowering from the bottle. But when my friend, @mcbnails  told me to check them out again because they're on sale, I went to SM soon as I could and got a few bottles to try.  

So they usually sell for Php325 a piece, but not they're selling them for 3 for Php780.  That's now Php260 a piece, giving you  Php65 savings per bottle.  Sweeeeeet deal, yeah?

Here's the first color:

Surf Spray:  This was actually the more unique color that I got, but I wasn't too fond of the smell because it reminded me of detergent.  But that was when I was smelling it from the bottle.  I soon found out that when applied to the nail, the smell becomes more pleasant, and I tend to smell it again and again. Lol.   This is a bluish purple satin-y frost.  It comes off sheer when applied, but I built it up to this in 3 coats.  

Ginger Melon:  A rosy creme pink that smells really tropical-fruity.  I thought this would be my favorite among the three colors and scents that I got, but this came in second.  Maybe because I have a lot of pinks and this doesn't strike me as anything special, except, of course, the smell.  The creme was easier to build than the previous Surf Spray, so I like it better that way. 

Apricot Nectar:  This came out my favorite among the three.  Maybe because it was season-appropriate, or maybe because it smelled flower-heavenly.  I loved the subtle scent it gave after putting it on.  It wasn't as easy to build as Ginger Melon because it was lighter in color, but overall, this made me want to go back to SM or Watson's to buy some more bottles to try.  (PCX doesn't have the same promo of 3 for 780, I already asked.)

Well, that's that.  I jumped in the bandwagon late, but I'm here, no turning back.  You can check my instagram @tinseltownnails to see if I did get some more of these guys. 

Have a good Holy Week!

Love you long time, 

Jamie

Morgan Taylor at Beauty Kingdom

Hi, Ladies!

I'm on a high! Both on our Champ, Manny Pacquiao's win over Timothy Bradley... and my NOTD.  Let me tell you a story...

I always buy my nail polish and nail art stuff from Beauty Kingdom.  When the owner told me last year that he was having Morgan Taylor polish in his store, I was like, "mehhh."  I mean, I have heard and seen Morgan Taylor polish around  Instagram, but I never thought it was anything special.  So the day the owner announced MT's arrival at his store, I bought one bottle to try.

 That one was "State of Mind."  And I loved it when I tried it on.  It was black with a dense blue, pink, purple, silver and (I think) gold glitters.  It was so easy to apply.  Like I keep on saying (on my instagram, I think), I am not a huge fan of glitters because I feel like it's too hassle to put on and take out.  But with some really dense glitters that sparkles like the night sky, and easy to put on at that, I would gladly take time to take it out after I wear it.  This is what makes it worth it.

And now, a month after, I went back to Beauty Kingdom.  I said to myself, "Ok, maybe I was lucky with the first bottle, I need to buy another one to make sure that Morgan Taylor is worth buying."  And so, I went home with only ONE more bottle. (Regrets now.)

This, my ladies, is "Make a Statement."  Oh, don't ask me why I got another bottle of glittered polish, but, maaaaan, this is really gorgeous!  Like the first one, it was dense, with purple, blue and pink glitters.  It also dries up really quickly so I don't need too much time to apply each coat.  This has 3 coats on, except for the ring which has a silver base (Tony Moly ME05), but really doesn't make a difference because the glitters cover up my whole nail bed.

They're selling for Php408 SRP.  The price is comparable to OPI, Essie, ORLY and Zoya.  You can probably ask for some discount from the owner because he is SUPER nice (I am not kidding.) If I'm not mistaken, only Beauty Kingdom carries this brand.  I am not even joking when I tell you that I so badly want to go back to shop the wide array of colors in the store.  I kind of regret not taking pictures of the babies displayed.  But the Beauty Kingdom Facebook page has pictures of swatches, if you're interested.  I definitely will go back for more bottles because I find that they are totally worth it.  

Beauty Kingdom is located at the 6th Floor of 168 mall, Unit 625. 

FYI, I am in no way sponsored to do this review/blog.  I am just one nail polish addict who fell in love with bottles of Morgan Taylor.  I will update soon as I get more bottles to try.

Love you long time,

Jamie 

BK Holo Swatch, Seophora OPI Blasted, and Two Other Designs

Hi there, ladies!

Instagram has timed out in my end of the world so I'm updating here.  

When I went to the Filipinails EB last early Feb., I bought some BK Holo polish to give to my friends because it was on sale.  Not everyone was able to come to the EB so I was left with two extra bottles.  I saw @ejnails use hers a few days back, I got curious and swatched it myself.

What can I say? Not bad for such cheap polish!  I can't believe I got them for the price I did.  I don't think you can get them for that anywhere else!  If you're interested, head on to Beauty Kingdom.  Check if they have stocks left because it's a great deal!!!

And on to the next one.

 I used Lofes 114 for the white base and OPI Fiercely Fiona for the yellow (ring finger) base.  Now when the Shattered / Blasted craze was still on, I got a few bottles of them, and my lovely friends and sister gave me a whole bunch more.  But until now, I can't put them to good use because the texture it gives grosses me out.  So I went on to try again if my reaction's changed over the years.  On pinkie and index, Sephora by OPI Electric Blue Blasted.  On ring, Sephora by OPI Opalescent, and this was a total fail.  On middle, Sephora by OPI Blasted Turquoise Glitter.  Give me a few more months and maybe I will be able to muster the "courage" to try this again.

After that, I tried to recreate adelislebron 's design.

So in love with her design.  I used Zoya Pippa for the yellow base, and Lofes 114 for the white, Acrylic Paint for the black & gray colors, then Seche Vite top coat.

Now this, I was going for a good gradient, but I still couldn't perfect it, that's why I placed on an "Elegant Swirl" design, which, of course, was another big fail.  I mean, check it out:

 Elegant = sophisticated, but my drawing hand was too heavy and I couldn't make my swirls thin. :( Oh well.  Anyway, I used Sally Hansen Man-go Team! and Deborah Lippmann Between the Sheets for the gradient.  Acrylic paint for the black, and Seche Vite top coat.

Maybe tomorrow I will do some swatching for my untrieds. :)  Ahhh, that is the goal.

Ciao!

Love you long time,

Jamie

 

A Couple of Besties

Eh, hey, hey, girls!

I have been out a few days doing some paperwork so I wasn't able to update you on here.

I was supposed to post back-to-back bestie twin nails with @ayabananna but was only able to do so on my Instagram.

Aya was the one who made this very dainty design, perfect for Spring / Summer!  I fell in love with this instantly!

Don't you agree?  I mean, even with my lousy recreation, lol, I still like it!!  I used Essie Tart Deco (orange), OPI Fiercely Fiona (yellow), and a combination of OPI Don't Bossa Nova Around & Ski Slope Sweetie for the bases, and then acrylic paints.  I forgot to use a matte top coat, so I used my usual Seche Vite.

And, my solo:

And then the day after, I did another bestie, but this time with @bhagzcy08.  She threw in her design and I obviously liked it so I did it soon as I could.  It reminds me of Juicy Fruit and Double Mint Gum combo.  Jen was also the one who designed our collage.  Thanks again, Jen!!! <3

 

 Simple but summer-y leopard print mani.  I used Color Club Twiggie and OPI Fiercely Fiona, acrylic paint and Seche Vite Top Coat. :)

Hopefully I can use my Saturday and Sunday to do nail art.  Otherwise, I just might swatch my untrieds.

Goodnight!

Love you long time,

Jamie

Gradient Tutorial, Guest Post by @hotmomsnailarts

Hello, Ladies!

I have here a gradient tutorial done by the (master of gradients) amazing @hotmomsnailarts!  

(1) Materials used from left is Nature Republic colorwaltz topcoat, Lofes Manicure in 648, Lofes Manicure in 644, Rhinestones, and sponge wedge. 

(2) After applying your base coat, apply two thin coats of the lighter color. 

(3) On the sponge wedge place the nail polish colors vertically. 

(4) Dab the sponge with the nailpolish over the nails with the lighter color. 

TIP: Make sure that the sponge is not too wet nor too dry. This is to ensure that the color will blend at the center. Once the sponge gets sticky make sure to apply another coat of polish in order for the sponge not to stick on the nails to have a seamless color. 

 (5) Clean the edges using a flat brush. 

 (6) Place the rhinestone of your choice. I used a square shaped purple rhinestone. 

(7) Finish off with top coat to seal the gradient and the rhinestone.

Please check out her IG account for all her awesome nail designs.

Thanks so much, Mariel, for doing this post for me.

Love you long time,

Jamie 

A Kind-Of-Busy Saturday

Hi, Ladies!

I have been busy doing manis today.

Started my day by swatching OPI's Muppets World Tour over Orly's Dare to Bare:

I had a hard time painting Dare to Bare on my cinderella hand, plus the fact that I was rushing, but Muppets World Tour covered it all up.  It was such a magical bottle of white glitters with some silver, metallic blue and pink glitters here and there.  I tell you, I am not huge on glitter polishes because I always have a hard time scooping the glitters out.  This MWT (Muppets World Tour) though, the glitters just go with the brush.  It was so easy to apply, I feel like using this all the time (next time on a different base color, of course.)

And then I felt the need to swatch what my BFF Goddess Uy gave me as Christmas Gifts:

 These are Ruby Wing Electric Firefly (yellow) and Groupie (pink).  May I just say that I am soooooo in love with them???  Look at what it shows up as indoors (left picture) and then outdoors (right picture).  Isn't it just awesome?!  I mean, I have heard so much about Ruby Wing polishes but I have never thought of buying them because I never knew they had neons (sucker for neons here.)  So, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU, Goddess!

Again, the indoor shot:

And the outdoor:

And then I was off to do a bestie mani with Ayabananna.  I asked her to design a mani for us to do, and she came up with this design, which frankly, was tiresome for me because I suck at striping tapes...BUT I am sooooo glad that Aya agreed to do one with me, so I had to make an effort to do it half as good as hers.  Thanks, again, Aya, for such a wonderful blue mani so apt for April being Autism Awareness Month.  Aya also did the collage for us, so I was mainly sitting lazily here.

Solo shot:

I used Korean brand Lofes #646 for the pinkie, Tony Moly ME05 for the silver, Essie  Borrowed and Blue for the lightest blue, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue-Away, and then OPI Eurso Euro for the middle finger.  Bought the studs from a night market in Canada, but there are a lot of studs sellers online.  Seche Vite top coat, of course.

And after all that, I was able to do an easter mani, which turned out funny-looking.  I have zero (0) talent drawing anything, so I apologize for this:

 I just used Lofes #114 for the base because my Skin Food's retiring on me.  The rest are acrylic paints.  Seche Vite top coat.

WHEW!  I bored you, didn't I?

Enjoy your Sundays, everyone!

Love you long time, 

Jamie

Animals for Kids

Hi, Ladies!

It's Friday night and I'm stuck at home with my little princess.  We were watching Land Before Time and I suddenly decided to do an Animal Mani for her.  Well, not exactly ON her nails, but she was watching me do these simple (yes, that's the only thing I can execute) nail arts.

I did one on each nail.  Here they are:

On the seal:  Skin Food BW704, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue Away and Black Acrylic Paint.

On the (supposed) duck:  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening, OPI You Don't Know Jacques!, Skin Food BW704 and Black Acrylic Paint.

On the frog: Revlon Posh, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime, Skin Food BW 704 and Black Acrylic Paint.

On the monkey:  OPI You Don't Know Jacques!, OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, Skin Food BW704 and Black Acrylic Paint.

I used Seche Vite Top Coat, as usual.

I bought my Skin Food polish in Korea, but most SM Malls have Skin Food Boutiques.  My Sally Hansens I got from Canada's Shopper's Drugmart.  Revlon polish was from PCX.  My OPI polishes are from Polish Please PH.  

I love all of these polishes because they are all so easy to apply. (Plus the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish is true to its name.  It dries really quick.) Except maybe for the Skin Food one because it's all used up and gloopy now at half the bottle.

Oh, before I forget, I used the animal inspiration from some notebooks that I saw before.  I just forgot where.  I will update if I remember. 

Hope you like 'em!  My daughter does.  (She better like it or else!!! LOL!)

Have a good weekend!

Love you long time,

Jamie

Bestie with @mcbnails

Hey, Ladies!

May I just say that I am a free woman?! I have finished all my work for the week so you won't be hearing anything stress-related from me until Monday. Lol!

I have talked about doing a bestie with my newest buddy, Ayen, a.k.a @mcbnails.  She gave me a lot of nail arts to choose from but we settled with @sprinkledwithglitter 's design.

Here.

I used Essie Van D'Go and Inglot 390 for the base, Essie Tart Deco and Bikini So Teeny for the stripes, Gold and Blue acrylic paints, and Seche Vite top coat.  You can purchase your Essie polishes at Polish Please PH, and your Inglot at Glorietta 5.  

Oh, here's my solo shot, before I start yakking on:

There.  Let me tell you about my good friend, Ayen, now.   Okay, briefly.  

Ayen is one of the bravest women I know.  She suffers from MS, or multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease (Please correct me if I'm wrong, or google it if you want to know more.)  But you won't even realize that if she doesn't tell you.  She stands strong, and is always beautiful.  Even with her sickness, she finds the time and effort to do the things she loves, including nail art.  Go ahead, check her IG out and see for yourself.  @mcbnails She inspires me because her strength is unbelievable.   

I hope to be doing more nail arts with you, Ayen.  Know that I am always here for you.  

Enough drama and let's go on with our lives, shall we?

Love you long time,

Jamie

 

 

Hey, Ladies!

My day didn't go too well today.  I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow. Here's something I have been imagining: a spring mani.  It looked soooo much better in my head!! :))

Sometimes I don't know if I should concentrate on one technique first and master it instead of trying to do everything all at the same time.  

Anyway, here it is:

I used Sally Hansen's Blue-Away.  I got this from Canada's Shoppers Drugmart.

The acrylic paints I got from Deovir in SM Megamall.  And I topped this mani off with Seche Vite.

That's it for now!

Love you long time,

Jamie 

Having a Break

Hi, Ladies!

I don't have any April Fool's joke on here.  I am so stressed out from work, I'm actually still doing my worksheet and just having a break.

I found a design I liked from @anggieanggey and decided to imitate it.

I know, I ruined the pastels with my lousy drawing.  :( 

I used Essie Van D'Go, Under Where?, Mint Candy Apple and Zoya Pippa. Skinfood BW704 for he white.  Acrylic paint for the black.  Seche Vite Top Coat. If you don't have any access to these brands, you can check out Polish Please PH

Okay, my time's up! I need to get back to my papers.

Have a good one!

Love you long time, 

Jamie