Bahamian Blues

Hello, hello lovely people! Yeah okay so I've been a touch AWOL for the last few... weeks... and I am sorry I haven't been sharing / updating, but working in retail over Christmas leaves VERY little time for anything else. For example, I finished all of my Christmas cards on the 21st, because it was my only day off before the big day. SO glad to hear the lovely blogging ladies I sent cards to a bit earlier in Dec received them in time ^_^. Anyway, on with the post! 

Today's mani is the first I've done in OVER TWO WEEKS. I know, right? Insanity!! Over the Christmas rush at work I simply didn't have the time or energy to make my nails all pretty, and have been working with nothing but a coat of OPI Nail Envy on my tips. I kept ripping nails at work (if any of you know of or have Pandora bracelets, you'll understand that the clasps are hazardous to even the most basic mani!) so I had to chop 'em all off again. Behold the nubs.*sigh*

Before Christmas I ordered a bunch of nail polishes from Head2ToeBeauty.com, and today's featured polish is one of the 9 China Glazes that arrived on my doorstep. Yes, I bought 9 China Glazes. You already knew I had a problem!! This is one coat of Bahamian Escape, with an accent nail gradient using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls to mix it up a bit. All nails finished off with Seche Vite fast drying top coat.

The gradient on my left hand sucks, so I photographed my right hand instead =P. A lovely gal on IG asked for tips for doing a sponge gradient, so I thought I'd include some here since it's a wonderfully easy and effective technique once you get the hang of it. For a foolproof method, check out Sammy's tutorial.

1- Always remember that as with any nail art technique, it takes some practice to figure out how it works / what works for you / your own method to get it how you want it. Having said that, I've discovered that some gradient accidents are pretty much universal. 
2- Let the polish on your nail dry before trying to add layers, otherwise sponging over it will lift the underneath polish instead of adding more. This is how you get blotches of missing polish (it took me a while to figure that one out... I'm notoriously impatient!)
3- Make sure you have plenty of polish on the sponge, because if the polish on your nail isn't dry enough and less than what's on the sponge, again you'll just lift off what you've already put down.
4- Be prepared for it to take a few layers before the colour is as opaque as you want it to be. Considering how little polish you're using each time you sponge some on (especially when using polishes that can take a couple coats to be opaque during normal application), it's gonna take some time to build up.
5- PRESS LIGHTLY. Pressing too hard, especially if you don't have much polish on the sponge, will cause bits of the sponge to break off and get stuck on the nail. It's a pain in the [bleep] to sit there picking out bits of sponge with tweezers because you were getting impatient with the colour not going on! Patience and practice are key =).

If you scroll up and look at the first pic of my left hand, you'll see I managed to make all those mistakes =P there are bits of sponge stuck on the nail, bald spots from pressing too hard with too little polish, and lovely big blue dots from being impatient with my sponging. I'm still learning, too! I do love how my right hand turned out though...

I said I got 9 new CGs, so here's the lineup! For US$3.25 each, I had a really hard time controlling my impulse buying LOL. Click click click new polish! It's dangerously easy these days =P

Click on the pic to see 'em bigger =). I bought my very first backup polish (Happy Go Lucky) but all the others are brand spankin' new to my collection! So excited to get creative with these babies! I haven't taken their mugshots yet, but for Christmas my amazing brother Andy got me 4 OPI polishes - all from my wishlist! Either he's psychic or he can tell what I'll like LOL. He got Wocka Wocka, Skyfall (my biggest lemming for the last month!), Wooden Shoe Like To Know?, and Dating A Royal. Are you jealous? Yeah, I know you are. Who's got the best brothers in the world? That would be me! =P 

Have you bought a backup of a nail polish you use a lot, or are afraid of not being able to get in the future? What's the largest number of polishes you've ever bought at once? I hope you've all had amazing holidays wherever you are in the world, and thank you for checking in! Only 2 days left of 2012!! Woohoo!!! ^_^

PS: Did you know that 2013 will be the first year since 1987 that has four different numbers in the date? Random useless fact for the day! Xx

My New Jade

Hiya! Happy Tuesday!! It's an extra extra happy Tuesday for me because it's one of the only 2 days I have off between now and Christmas! Gotta love working in retail in December =P. Because I have a tonne of stuff to get done today, this is an extra quicky quick post. Last week's pay wiped out the short term debt I'd been paying off, so I celebrated with two new OPI polishes! I bought DS Temptation (so totally drool-worthy, you don't even know) and the polish featured in today's post: Jade Is The New Black!

Mmmmm oh I do so love OPI polishes - the brush, formula, and colours are just so dreamy! JITNB was no exception - this is two easy coats (one would've been fine if I'd had a steadier hand...) with a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast over top. I originally planned to add an accent nail of China Glaze Glittering Garland but I haven't had the nerve yet - I've just been enjoying this gorgeous hue all on its own!

Yum yum yum! Such a totally 'wearable' green!

The bottle shot came out a lot bluer than it actually is (the middle photo is most colour-accurate) because I think the green got a little camera shy sitting in front of all that gorgeous greenery in the background. Still drooling over this newbie - it's been on my list for aaaaages! And now it's all mine! Yay!!

What's been sitting on your wishlist for a while? Do you wear green on your nails? I've only recently started (Cult Nails Deal With It totally broke me down...) but I love it!! Thanks for checking in, lovely people ^_^ 14 sleeps til Christmas... ;-)

Golden Glitz

Hiya lovelies!! Happy Friday! ^_^ It's after 9pm, and I have a BIG day tomorrow (going to a friend's wedding, and I'm doing her nails in the morning - eek!!) so I'm a bit too tired and lazy to do proper writings of wonderfully witty snippets of goodness. Instead, you can just enjoy the pics of my latest Christmas mani!

All nails are two coats of OPI Glitzerland, and the accent nails are dotted with OPI Big Apple Red and China Glaze Holly-Day. Everything's topped off with a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

Sorry for the nasty dry cuticles - I've been neglecting them lately =(

That's all, folks! Quick and painless, huh? =P Hope you all have exciting weekends ahead! Thanks for stopping by ^_^

Deck the Nails

Yeah, okay, I have a confession... I'm getting really excited for Christmas!! Apart from it being an occasion to farewell the generally horrible year that was 2012 for me, it's another Christmas I get to spend with the most important person in my entire life - my Mum - and I've got a holiday job that I am really, really, REALLY loving! On top of all that, my oldest brother who moved to the States at the start of the year IS BACK FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!!! *Mega happy excited dance* This will be the first time the family's seen him since he left, and we're ALL feeling the joy of his impending arrival. How better to celebrate my excitement for the upcoming festivities than by painting my nails? Behold my first proper Christmas mani!

That beautiful deep red you see is two coats of OPI Big Apple Red, my most favouritest of red polishes ever. Yes, favouritest. It's so much my favourite that it gets its own new word! The accent nails are water marbled using China Glaze Winter Berry and Holly-Day. I used Winter Berry instead of Big Apple Red for the water marble for two reasons: 1- water marbles tend to work better if you use same brands together, so since I knew I was gonna use Holly-Day, I wanted to use another CG polish with it, and 2- Winter Berry is much darker than Big Apple Red so when it thinned across the water, I knew (okay, hoped) that it would thin out to a similar shade to BAR. Whaddaya reckon - pretty close huh?

Streaky McStreakenstein made an appearance after I applied Cult Nails Wicked Fast, even though I waited for it to dry and used plenty and everything! *humph* you can't win 'em all... Winter Berry is so freakin' saturated that it tends to dominate whatever it's next to (and is an insanely caffeinated drunk toddler of a [bleep] to clean up) so I'm not too surprised about my lovely unintentional festive stripes. Gotta say, I'm pretty darn pleased with how the water marble turned out!

Today's photos are brought to you by Billy, my big camera - can you tell the difference? Maybe I just like taking photos with Billy more - I feel more 'involved' 'cause I have more control over the settings. I still love Johann (my little point n' shoot) but there's something really satisfying about messing with settings to get the shots you want. 

Are you excited for the holiday season, dreading it, or just meh? How do you celebrate, if you do? Thank you for checking in, lovelies! See you soon ^_^

Grape Gradient

Hiya! Happy December!! Continuing with my 'slack blogger is slack' theme, I have zip zero no energy, so just enjoy the pics... =)

The dark purple is two coats of China Glaze Grape Pop, and the accent nail is a gradient using Grape Pop and OPI A Grape Fit. All nails topped off with a coat of Seche Vite (two coats on the accent nails). ^_^

Here's the method I use for gradients, laid out by the most amazing Sammy.

The nail on the middle finger of my left hand (the hand I photograph) currently has a great big tear in it *sniff* - almost down to the quick but not quite. I've glued it back together and so far so good, but because of this I'm trying to limit how often I paint my nails (waaaah!!!) so that removing the polish is at a minimum, and I won't annoy the nail / soften the glue holding it all together. That one nail is insanely weak since the last time it ripped (couple of months ago) because I buffed it to within an inch of its life trying to get it smooth enough after repairs to hide the rip. I'm currently slathering copious amounts of Sally Hansen Continuous Treatment - Strength on it in the hopes that it'll stand up to polishing and typing and working and such, long enough for the tear to grow out. I guess I'll be able to review the Sally Hansen treatment in a wee while! So far so good - I put two coats on before I went to sleep the other night, and in the morning the nail was rock solid! It does tend to peel off if I put too much on, but for the most part it's working like magic at the moment. If nothing else, the rest of my nails should be stronger after this ordeal! 

Do you fix rips in your nails or just cut 'em all off? Have you tried the teabag method? Sorry about this lame post, but at least it has some pretty pictures in it! Thanks for stopping by, lovelies! ^_^

Edit: 

See that little red line? That's the rip >.< I know it looks tiny, but that shape in that position means if I trimmed my nail back to it, it'd be a super nub once again, and I'm just not having it! The red is because I was wearing OPI Big Apple Red when the rip occurred, and trying to remove the polish without damaging the nail more = stained layers of nail. Wah! Wish me luck keeping this baby in one piece...

Matte Lemons

I know, I know, slack blogger is slack, but I have a legitimate reason for being AWOL, I swear! I've started a new job so I haven't had as much time to prepare posts / do amazing nail art / paint my nails pretty enough to share with you lovelies. Sorry! And on top of that, I'm pretty blimen tired, tbh. With that said, here are some pictures of my fingernails. 

I started with two coats of China Glaze Lemon Fizz, then stamped over that with KleanColor White. If I haven't raved enough about my pleasant surprise with KleanColor polishes, please take my word that they're brilliant, and freakin' amazing considering they're so cheap here ($3/bottle, vs OPI $26.90/bottle). I used Bundle Monster plate BM301, and topped everything off with Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish top coat. 

Pretend there are more words here. I has a sleepy.

I double stamped on my middle finger (^ that isn't it, btw), hoping that if the white was glossy, it would contrast with the matte yellow and show up a little more. It didn't. The stamping was barely distinguishable to the naked eye, but I'm glad you can see it in the photos. 

I think I'm going to go and sleep now. Or watch tv. Or something that doesn't require me to be upright / focused / conscious. Zzzzzzzzzzz.... Thanks for stopping by ^_^

Favourite Fuchsia

Hiya!! Phew, it is stinkin' hot here today - it's sooooo nice...! This Summer is definitely gonna be a good one! Speaking of good ones, I officially have a favourite polish. Yes, you heard me, A favourite polish! I ordered some China Glazes from Head2ToeBeauty in the States, and they arrived on my doorstep exactly seven days later. I love quick delivery! And the best part is, their CGs are (mostly) US$3.25 each! Altogether with postage, it cost me just under NZ$35 for four CGs. Sweet or what?? So first up from my new babies is Fuchsia Fanatic!

A 'glamour shot' of the PINK polish =). A while ago some other bloggers and I were chatting about what cameras we use (one of the lovelies was looking at getting a new one and wanted advice) and I'd said I use a little Canon point n' shoot for my blog pics now (PowerShot A4000), but I used to use my big baby (Canon S5) before I got the little one. One of the girls asked if / when I use my big one (who's name is Billy, by the way), and it made me realise poor Billy hasn't had any playtime since I got Johann (the little one). So for today's post, Billy came out to play in the sunshine! Do you notice any difference in the pics? (Apart from being outside in the sun, obviously...). I'd love your feedback!

Now, onto the polish! *drools* This polish... Oh my goodness, this polish...!! I bought it for the colour, of course, but it was the formula that won me over heart and soul. I'm pretty open with formulas - if it's a crappy formula but a great colour, I'll still show it plenty of love. The formula on this baby could not have been any better. I was a little worried when I first opened the bottle - it looked like it was gonna be a sheer jelly à la OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y?, and I admittedly sighed a sigh of disappointment, but from the first brush stroke, it was like heaven to apply. Opaque in one coat with a HIGH gloss jelly-finish, this baby took one coat to look like a perfect shellac / gel nail treatment. Okay, so you know me, I had to apply a second coat (I have VNL insecurities, okay??) but honestly, one would've done. As I was rushing out to go to a show, I applied Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat, but if you're not in a hurry, there's no need for a TC - the finish is perfect. 

I applied the polish last night and took the photos today, and all pics are 2 coats with Wicked Fast over top. Now that I've finished gushing about the formula, sit back and soak in the delicious pure fuchsia colour! Mmmm...

Seriously, SERIOUSLY impressed with this polish. It's gonna be one of those ones I have to talk myself out of wearing all the time. It truly looks like a shellac / gel salon-applied polish, and I'm just so freakin' impressed with it! I don't wanna take it off, but I have three more brand new CGs to play with! (Lemon Fizz, Glittering Garland, and Grape Pop, in case you were wondering!) Ugh, nail polish addict problems... ;-)

What was the last polish you were seriously impressed with, and why? Do you notice a diference between these photos with Billy, and my usual photos with Johann? (Yep, I'm nuts for naming my electronics, but you knew I was crazy anyway =P) Thank you SO much for stopping by, lovelies! Hope the sun is shining, literally or metaphorically, for you wherever you are!! ♥♥ ^_^

Fail Friday: Sunset Pink

Ugh... Just... Yeah. Before we get into this ridiculous post, please note that none of these photos (or any of the other fourteen billion I took) are anywhere near the actual colour of this polish. This polish downright refused to photograph accurately, and I finally gave up after three separate 'photoshoots' attempting to get the right colour. Gah. Just, yeah. Humph.

*deep calming breaths* Well hi there!! Happy Friday!! Quite some time ago I used to do 'Fail Fridays' showcasing some of my rather plentiful nail-fails, and though I didn't intend on doing one today, it kind of just happened. At the height of my frustration photographing this stupid (not really, I love it, actually) polish, I realised it was Friday, so I could use this as a Fail. 

Today's polish was sent to me by a fellow Kiwi nail blogger Anneke of PinPointPolish. She is wonderfully sweet and super passionate with some amazing photos, so go show her some love!! She found the brand Ulta3 (which is common in the US / Australia but previously unavailable in NZ, as far as I know) at a pharmacy in Auckland and offered to send me a few bottles. Jumping up and down, I went on a Google Images rampage and picked out three, and they arrived safe and sound today in a well packed little box, with some chocolate hiding underneath! Thank you again, Miss Anneke! I love them sooo much!!! Without further ado, may I present the deeply beautiful but unreasonably stubborn Ulta3 Sunset Pink.

See the colour in the bottle? Add two dashes of red-wine shades and a plum or two, and you're a bit closer to the true shade of this baby - a deep berry pink, not a light red as it decided it wanted to be today. This is two easy coats, though the formula was quite a bit thicker than I'm used to. It dries to a rubbery / nearly matte finish, so a glossy top coat is necessary if you want it to shine. I used a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat.

I was going to write something here, but this is so far away from the colour that I just... *sigh*.

In this photo, my index and middle fingers are sans top coat so you can see the 'original' finish. Again, nowhere near the colour. Honestly, I'm not sure why I bothered posting these photos, except that I'm always so excited about new polish! I absolutely promise with all my heart that it is a beautiful polish that I don't ever wanna take off. Seriously. Even though I messed with my white balance and tried to adjust the shade in photoshop and all that jazz, I could not get an accurate shade without making my fingers bright cyan. So [expletive] it, that'll do. Humph.

That concludes this train wreck. Bah. 

What colours do you find the hardest to photograph? What was the last polish you bought / received? Thanks for checking in loves, and sorry for the entirely useless post! =( 

Edit: This is much closer to the colour that it actually is IRL. Delicious deep berry lipstick-y kinda colour. It's beautiful, I promise. I googled around and couldn't find any particularly accurate photos of the polish, so it's nice to know I'm not alone with this stupid blimen thing!! =P

Happy Weekends! ^_^

Enchanté

Hiya! I wanted to do Pink Wednesday post today since it's Wednesday, and I haven't done a Pink Wednesday post for ages, but since you've just had two pink posts in a row, I thought a third would be pushing my luck! Instead, today I have a 'charming' purple for you! I say 'charming' because, well, it's called Charming, by Cult Nails. This is another one of the beautiful babies my brother sent me for my birthday! Isn't she gooooorgeous??

This smooth buttery polish does best for me in three coats (pictured above), as it starts out pretty darn sheer, but like Deal With It, it builds up nicely with each coat. Again, I could've stopped at two coats, but I still had some VNL (especially on my index finger) so I opted for a third to be sure. All photos are without a topcoat.

In these photos it may look like your same old straight-forward purple polish, but it is soooooo not!! Extra creamy, just shimmery enough and sports a strong pink flash when away from the lamp I use for photo-taking =/. The photo below is much more accurate both in finish and colour - the gorgeous pink glow weirdly decided not to play in the above pics.

This was at two coats, and those streaks you see smoothed out fine when I used a steadier hand for the third coat. I just kinda suck at applying polish is all. I'm great at cleanup, though! That stunning pink glow is present at all times IRL, but like I said, it didn't wanna be caught on camera under my lamp. Humph. This last pic is the only accurate one for the colour, but I wanted to show how this baby builds up. Gorgeous colour, great formula, crap photography ;-).

Do you have a polish that's impossible to photograph accurately? Do you like bold, dark purples or light lilac-y hues? Happy Wednesdays, loves!! ^_^

The Queen's a Charlatan

Hey... Hey you... Yeah, you... Wanna see some magic...? I'm gonna turn a bright red polish into a pink one... Watching...?

Today's quick little post starts with the most delicious creamy true red polish on the planet - Cult Nails Evil Queen.

This is one - yes, ONE - coat with no top coat. Kinda amazing, huh? You ain't seen nothing yet... As amazing and gorgeous as this red is, look what it turns into with one little coat of Cult Nails Charlatan!

See? Magic!! Both these polishes were sent to me for my birthday last month - Evil Queen was sent to me by the amazing Maria of Cult Nails (along with FOUR others! Crazy generous or what??) and Charlatan was sent by my wonderful American-dwelling brother with a collection of other perfect polishes. I am one incredibly spoilt chick, I can tell ya!! I'm gonna shhhh now and let you basque in the beauty of this mani... Yum!

*drools* I just can't get over the magic of Charlatan!! It's one of the Deception Collection toppers from Cult Nails. To see the others in action, check out Marta's swatches. Thanks for popping in, loves! =)

Quickie for Nickie

Hiya!! Hope your Mondays are off to a nice easy start! I've got a super quick post dedicated to one of the most wonderful ladies I've met in the nail-blogging community - Nicole of Young Wild and Polished. She is insanely talented, amazingly sweet and tears-in-your-eyes, rolling-on-the-ground-clutching-your-sides funny! On top of all of that, she's one of the most supportive and understanding ladies I've ever talked to, and she's dealt with more crap than anyone should have to and has come out smiling! 

Nic (and Dot) - this one's for you! ♥

Watermarbling is Nicole's self-confessed "gateway nail art", so I used OPI Kiss Me On My Tulips and Black Onyx for a double nail marbled accent à la Nic. I used the same colours on my pinky and index fingers to re-create a design that she's been playing with since she got her Born Pretty Store nail striping tape. Honestly, doll, I dunno how you do it so neatly - that tape was not cooperating with me!! A coat of Seche Vite topped it all off.

These flowers are absolutely 100% what I associate with Nicole! They are so trademark Young, Wild and Polished that if I ever see them re-created anywhere (not just stolen like on Instagram, grrrr...) I automatically think of her! She's got a quick and easy-to-follow tutorial to let you borrow some of her talent ^_^. I used the same polishes again, and added some light dots throughout in China Glaze Something Sweet. I stole this directly from one of her Instagram photos (obviously I highly recommend following her). 

So there ya go! Go check out Young, Wild and Polished for some gorgeous nail art and some serious lols, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram! Thanks for reading, babes!