PINK+GREEN Experiment

This was a failed attempt at doing feather nail art - teeeheee!

That pink blob on my thumb nail is not nail polish but actually a feather.

My expectation was that the feather texture can be seen on my nail but I guess I just don't have the skill. haha

But it look alright I guess...

To lighten the fail a little bit, I decided to put on these shiny little green hexagons.

Now it looked kinda OK. :)

I enjoyed putting on these "hexies" that I also placed some on my pointy finger. :)

As you can notice, I still am a noob in nail painting.

And argh I have to go to a nail salon to have my nails cleaned and shaped (simply because I have no idea how to do this).

I need to clean up the nails a lil bit to avoid these somewhat embarrassing messy looks when I apply on nail polish.

Anyway I am so excited, the boyfie's gonna be here next week after a long long time of not seeing each other (LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP has some ups and downs).

And he's bringing a handful of polish cuties and beauties that I would really really like to try on as they aren't anywhere found here in the Philippines.

So excited to kiss the boyfie much! MWAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! :*

Happy 2013!

2012 will be missed.

But on to the new year everyone!

Giraffey

After countless attempts times at nail stamping, I finally, finally succeeded! *YIPYIPYIPEE!*

My First Nail Art Stamp

I was very happy when the pattern actually got stamped on my nails for the first time ever!

It was very exhausting at first to actually get this done successfully.

Probably you guys have gone through with my predicament and almost gave up with nail art stamping!

But don't fret!

Here are my notes to remember to nail art stamp success:

#1 Picking the right nail polish is VERY important. 

The polish must be opaque at one application on nails, otherwise it will NEVER work.
Here in the Philippines we have our local nail polish brands like Bobbie and Caronia.
So far my collection of these nail polish brands DO NOT work. :(
Bobbie is a very faint nail polish collection, while Caronia dries up too fast and would even curdle. *YIKES!*
In the end, I tried NYC nail polish and it works amazingly!

#2 Scrape off excess nail polish in a diagonal direction.

One thing that is really bothering during nail stamping is scraping off the excess nail polish.
Most times, after I scrape off (horizontally/vertically), all nail polish goes off too.
Whatevs!

Then accidentally I tried scraping off diagonally.
Viola! The nail polish stayed! It actually did!

Note: I am using a laminated card instead of the scraper from the stamping kit.

#3 Clean your scraper and stamping plates from time to time.

I used tweezers to pick up the cotton balls and swab it on the scraper and plates.
You don't want to ruin your nails so this one here is a good tip I got from some blogs I've read along the way.

#4 Lastly, it is best to watch nail stamping tutorial videos.

You can find some good vids in YouTube.
Just use the keywords "nail art stamping tutorial".

OK... Now you'll be good to go with these things on mind!
For all those who are exasperated with nail stamping, I hope this helps and I wish you all the success.

Don't give up! You should get it right one day I'm sure.
I can attest to that. *winkwink*

Success!

Mini Balls

I found these gorgeous mini balls (as I'd like to call them) in 5 different colors in the department store of grocery shop one day (FOODA consolacion cebu).

They are so pretty that I am so excited on trying on the so-called 'caviar' nail designs.

I tried on the silver balls and purple nail polish combination on one hand.

Silver Balls and Purple Nail Polish

And the other the blue balls and silver nail polish combination.

Blue Balls and Silver Nail Polish

As usual my nail application is kinda messy but I was happy with my embellished ring fingers.

I received a handful of compliments on my nails so I guess it was a success even when it is noob-looking.

I was surprised that it was easy to put on these balls on the nails.

They are lightweight and go together like silver dust so you can just easily sprinkle away these balls on your nails.

Tweezers are kinda essential when doing this design if you want your whole nail to be completely filled and arranged.

You must sprinkle these balls right away when your base nail polish is still wet.

The nail polish are enough to act as adhesives.

And finally for the magical touch - the swabs of top coat.

Hope you'd enjoy your first caviar nails as I did!

My First Nail Art

I am currently a budding nail art enthusiast.

Though still a newbie at that.

I obsessed with various nail colors and designs that sent me hours and hours browsing through blogs and tutorials of creative nail artists.

My personal favorites: 

http://thenailasaurus.com

http://thebeautydepartment.com

thenailasaurus.com's nail art are perfectly clean and gorgeous (which are so hard to come by on my own unfortunately).

Take a look at my DIY first ever nail art:

Used frosted scotch tape and colored it first  with nail polishes red, blue, and yellow (Philippine flag colors - tehee!)

Patience and perseverance are needed to cut the tape into small rectangle lines and triangles.

Base white color is from ETUDE house polish collection.

Base color should be completely dried up first before putting on the tape shapes.

Sticking them on the nails is relatively easy.

The main secret of this nail art is the top coat.

You gotta swipe ample amounts of it on top of your design for it to stay put for days.

Getting them off is A-easy.

I just swiped on acetone and the tape just dissolved together with the polish.

Got this tutorial from http://thebeautydepartment.com/2012/04/sticky-situation/ (amazing DIY ey?)