OMD3 July Nail Challenge

Hi, Ladies!

Happy 1st of July!!  Last year, I joined in the #omd2nails challenge, so this year, because Craftynail, Eeeeknailpolish, Brijitelouise and Nailthataccent are hosting it again, I'M IN!!!  I definitely want to complete all 31 prompts like I did last year, plus every nail art I do gets me a raffle for the prizes they're giving away.  Cool, yeah?  If you want to know more about this challenge, please head on to their blog sites (linked through their names above).

And their first prompt is Teal.  Here's my entry:

I used Sally Hansen's Re-Teal Therapy, water-spotted on China Glaze White On White, and then I decal stamped an image from FabUrNails FUN14 plate. Seche Vite for the top coat.

 

It was my first time to try water-spotting, and boooooy, it was fuuuuuun!!! I'm looking forward to making more manis using this technique.

 

I hope I can do the next prompt tomorrow!

 

Ciao!

 

Jamie

 

More Bundle Monster Images

Hi, Ladies!

I am sooo notorious for NOT blogging. Ugh.  I hate myself #killmenow.

I do have a couple of images here to show you from two of Bundle Monster image plates.

Above is an image from BM-410.  I used the reverse-stamping technique to achieve this.  The polishes were Misslyn Post It and Tony Moly PT05.  I wasn't too happy with the outcome so I had to do it again:

Do you like this second mani better than the first?  I think so, too.  It was a breeze getting the image from the plate because the etchings were deep and thick.  I also loved coloring the spaces in between since they were fairly big.  Even a newbie stamper will have an easy time using this plate.

The whole BM-410 plate was tribal-/aztec- themed.

Here is another mani, this time using BM-602:

The base colors were Sally Hansen Red Snapper, Diana Manicure 06 (blue) and The Face Shop YL703.  

I had a hard time picking up the images from this plate because they were fine.  I had to do 5x each finger to be able to get the whole image perfectly.  I initially planned on doing reverse-stamping on this, but decided against it after trying to color the very fine image.  You guessed it, the colors were all over the place.  I just couldn't do it.  So I decided on this simple stamping for this mani.  I liked the outcome though.  Despite the rough time I had (not really, I'm just exaggerating) picking the image up, I liked how dainty the images look on my nails.  If you are an advanced stamper, get this plate!!

I hope you liked the manis I did and the opinions I gave regarding the plates.  Let me know if you have any more questions!

(All manis were topped with Seche Vite)
 

Ciao!

Jamie

Day 3: Yellow Nails #31DC2014

Hi, Ladies!

The third prompt was Yellow Nails and I didn't want to do flowers, fruits, minions or bees. Luckily, I have the Bundle Monster BM-418 plate, so I stamped over my Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow with images from the plate.  

I kind of like the imperfection that my lousy stamping did to this design. It kind of made it look bad-ass-y. :)) Oh well, I try to make excuses for my inability to stamp well. Hoho.

Have a good one!

Jamie

Recreation of ChalkboardNails Fuzzy Monster Mani

Hi, Ladies!

I will try to post once every time I make a mani, and not collect the bunch and then post them all together. 

Today, I ticked off a mani I've been meaning to recreate since I first saw it last year.  I screen-captured it because it was the cutest, most creative use of the feather/fuzzy polish.

I used Orly Beach Cruiser for the base.  And thank god, Chalkboard Nails used the textured fuzzy polish because when I got my Nails Inc. Feathers, I had no idea how to use it.  I just bought it for the sake of trying them at least once.  So, a year and so after the purchase, here I am using Nails Inc Edinburg on top of the Sinful Colors Endless Blue. That's a BK white polish under Sally Hansen Tweedy, Nicole by OPI Ladies In The Limelight under Sally Hansen's Peach Fuzz.  And then it's Nails Inc again with Brighton over Essie Where's My Chauffer.

Anyway, my child's bugging me to paint these little monsters on her nails.  Uhhh, soon.  Lazy mode: ON.  

Now, my next problem is, how and when to use these guys again.  Lol.  Let you know when I think of something original, but don't bet on it. LOL. 

Thank you, Chalkboard Nails for being such an inspiration.  You rock!

Always,

Jamie

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

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 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

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