Floral Nails

So, I had been wanting to do a "summer-y" floral manicure, using orange and yellow. I'm not quite creative with florals or flowers, so I just messed around and this is what I came up with.


Not very "summer-y" I think, but I still thought the result was nice and basic. I had been thinking about trying to do hibiscus nails, but after trying to paint one... I decided not to go for it, lol. It definitely did not look like a hibiscus D:

Onto some more pictures ^^



After a while, the tips started to chip. I still wanted to keep the manicure, so I just added some tips to create this look:


I think they look more like autumn nails now, aha. What do you guys think? If you guys did any summer themed nails, I'd love to see!

The polishes I used for this look were OPI's: Seagullible, Flit a Bit, Need Sunglasses?, and Oh... to be 25 Again!

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed. (:

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils: Black Bean & Milk

Okay, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils... we've all seen them! Many, many, many, many people own them. But for me... I've only recently started getting into make-up, so these puppies are new to me! XD

Anyway, I just bought Black Bean (601) and Milk (604) for starters. Two of the most basic shades, yeah? (: Since they've been already shown and reviewed a nearly infinite amount of times... I'm not going to say much. I just wanted to share my goodies and pics with you guys! But on one note, if you have hooded/monolid eyes (like me!)... you may or may not want to use a primer with these because I found that they can crease and move around a bit. ^^; That's all I have to add for now. Here we go.. onto the pics~

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Black Bean and Milk
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Milk and Black Bean
Size comparison
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Black Bean and Milk

And a simple arm swatch for each! ^^

Left to Right: Black Bean, Milk

Illamasqua Nail Varnish Competition Promo Ad Manicure

When Illamasqua held their Nail Varnish Competition early last year (the one where you could have your dream color made?), I saw their promo ad photo and couldn't help but adore the manicure featured in the ad. Here's the ad. (:


I thought it was cleverly simple yet beautiful. It's just a combination of strokes, but I thought it was wonderfully geometrical and loved the colorway. I told myself that one day I would have to try this manicure out myself... I don't why it took me over a year to finally take action! :P But alas... I finally did. For the colors, I really wanted to try the original ones featured in the ad, but to my dismay, I didn't have the colors really. So I settled for closest three colors that still matched. I ended up using all colors from OPI's Shrek Forever After collection, and I thought that was a pleasant coincidence. ^^

OPI's Shrek Forever After Collection

OPI's Shrek Forever After Collection
I ended up using five of the six colors in the collection: Fiercely Fiona, Funky Dunkey, Ogre-The-Top Blue, Rumple's Wiggin', and What's With The Cattitude?

Onto the manicure~ (:


Ta-da? Aha. Not my best work, but I think it turned out okay, at least. ^^; Here, I used Fiercely Fiona, Ogre-The-Top Blue, and Funky Dunkey. I ended up really like the design/effect, so I decided to try it second time! This time using some more colors from the Shrek Collection.


My second attempt! Here, I've tried it on shorter/square nails. :P I used Rumple's Wiggin', Fiercely Fiona, and What's With The Cattitude? I think I liked how it came out the second time better. ^^;~

What do you guys think of the design? I really like how it forms the little triangle in between. Hehe. Okay... that's all for now! (:

OPI Shatter Series

Sorry for the lack of updates! Today, I'm sharing swatches of OPI's Shatter Series. I've had these for a really long time now... but I've never really worn more than three. >__< Also, when swatching these, for some reason I couldn't get Blue and Turquoise Shatter to actually really... like... shatter! Someone give me some shatter tips. :P So yeah, I'm just going to apologize in advance for the poor pictures. >__<;;

OPI Shatter Series

OPI Shatter Series
There are currently seven colors available in the shatter series. Black (also released with Katy Perry and Serena Williams), Silver (released with POTC4), Navy, Blue, Turquoise, Red (also released with Serena Williams), and White (also released with Serena Williams).

Left to right: Black Shatter, Silver Shatter, Red Shatter, White Shatter


Left to right: Navy Shatter, Blue Shatter, Turquoise Shatter

As you can see... I couldn't really get blue or turquoise to quite "shatter"!! I re-swatched them around 4 times... and that's the best I could get. ): Someone give me tips! Anyone know how to achieve shatters like this? XD

What do you guys think of the Shatter series? Personally, I was fine with black and silver, but I think it's nice of OPI (and many other companies) to expand their lines to include a large range of colors. I'm not super into the trend, but it does make for a quick and chic mani-on-the-go. My favorite really has to be black and silver... and I quite like white. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the swatches!

Disclaimer: These polishes were purchased on my own.

NYX Liquid Crystal Liner: Crystal Gold & Hip

Today I have to share with you, NYX's Liquid Crystal Liners! Crystal Liquid Liners are liquid liners with tons micro-glitter suspended in them. I have purchased two colours, Crystal Gold and Crystal Hip. (:

NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Gold & Crystal Hip

NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Gold & Crystal Hip

Crystal Gold is a gold glitter suspended in a clear liner base. Crystal Hip is a white glitter that sparkles in multichrome, suspended in a clear base.


For some odd reason, the brush applicators inside the liner tubes were not the same size. As you can see in the photo, one is thicker and less pointed. The application wasn't affect too much by the difference... though I did prefer the thinner brush. :P



NYX's Liquid Crystal Liner is thinner than MAC's Liquidlast, but taller in height. It feels a little light, but the size is good.

Onto the swatches!

Crystal Gold & Crystal Hip over Jumbo Pencils in Black Bean and Milk

As you can see, these liners show up nicely over other colors. I think Crystal Gold could be worn alone, as the glitter is much more prominent. Crystal Hip definitely should be worn over another liner, in my opinion. Also, the way it sparkles over the other liners is just fabulous! The multichrome is really great. However, these do have a long drying time... which is bit troublesome for me with my monolid/hooded eyelids! ): But the glitter is just too pretty!

Crystal Gold on top of black eyeliner
Crystal Hip over black eyeliner

Disclaimer: These products were purchased by me.

Pikachu Nails

Pika-pika?
Are you guys all familiar with this little character? It's pikachu! Of course, as a 90's kid, Pokemon was an integral part of my childhood. I mean, I was nuts about it! (But who wasn't?) I played the games, woke up in the morning to watch new episodes, collected and played the trading cards... etc! So while cleaning up an old drawer in my room, I saw a few Pokemon things and decided I should do a Pokemon manicure. And of course... I had to dedicate to the most popular and famous one of all... Pikachu!





The colors I used for this manicure were: China Glaze - Happy Go Lucky, OPI - Big Apple Red, and China Glaze - Liquid Leather. If any of you guys are interested... I made a short tutorial to achieve these same nails! It's pretty simple. Click the image for the full version. ^^


So what do you guys think? Do you like pikachu or Pokemon too? I hope you enjoyed this manicure. (: Also... if you also do these nails, please share the results! I'd looove to see.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday

May is my birthday month, so I decided it would be fitting to wear Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday nail lacquer for awhile. It is such a happy and festive polish, so it definitely made me cheery! While I was painting my nails, I thought it would be nice to share swatches and pictures with you guys. (: Happy Birthday is a polish that has received tons of publicity and *I* would consider it a cult favorite and must have!

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday
This polish is definitely a party in a bottle! It's perfect for any celebration, from birthdays to graduations to I'd say... even weddings! C:

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday is a polish that about five different colors of glitter suspended in a clear base. The shapes and sizes of the glitter varies, with small to large hexagonal and circular pieces.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday
Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday
Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, 1 coat in natural light
Here it is in one coat, with no base or top coat. You can see, the coverage is pretty good (in my opinion), with just that. However, if you like more glitter, a second coat is very nice and stunning. I actually like the look fine with just one layer, which is good if you're in a hurry!

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, 2 coats in natural light
Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, 2 coats in natural light
Here is the polish with two coats. Again, no base or top coat. Wow! I love the coverage, and if you have any bald spots after two coats... you can also just cover the spots you missed without requiring an entire third coat. I love all the glittery pieces layered up. It definitely looks like a party on my nails!

When you go out into the sunlight with this polish on... dang!! Haha! It is so sparkly. The sequins pick up and reflect light really well. I couldn't stop looking at nails the first time I went out with it. Do you guys own this polish? What do you think of it? I know Milani has a dupe... but drug store polishes are actually difficult for me to find. ): So I'll stick with this one. If you don't already have this... I suggest you go out and buy it! Or at least add it to your wish list. ^^