Lively Lilac Bandanicure!

Hello everyone!! Long time no post. Hope everyone's doing ok. We've had some weird weather here, spring-like temperatures one time then next thing you know, we're having a snowball fight! I wish nature would make up its mind. 

Anyhoooo, I've realized that I don't have a lavender/lilac polish and all of a sudden, I really wanted it! So off I go to Walmart and I picked up Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Lively Lilac! It's exactly the shade I was looking for! =) It's a pastel lilac with a tiny hint of shimmer.

Didn't get a swatch of it on its own, but here it is Konadicured with Wet n Wild White Creme and image plate m64 with the image my BF has dubbed "Bandana".

Pic taken indoors with natural light. If you enlarge the pic, you can see the shimmer in the bottle! In real life, the lilac is a bit brighter. It looks slightly dusty in the pic, IMHO.

Here's a pic of me holding my phone. Yesterday I matched everything, purple scrubs, purple nails, purple phone! Lol!

Application was very nice, 2 coats was more than enough. Dry time was pretty fast, I'm not gonna lie. Actually, the Insta-Dry topcoat is becoming a fast fave of mine. I find myself reaching for it now instead of my Seche Vite. *gasp* I know right? It dries pretty fast as well! Plus it's Big 3 free, so I've got my replacement for SV! 

Love it or Leave it?

That was the question that popped into my head when I had chosen to do Color Club Love Em Leave Em as my next mani.

I felt like doing something a little neutral and give my eyes a break. LOL. So here is 2 coats of LELE. Photo was taken indoors at night with flash. This was also pre-cleanup LOL.

The holo isn't strong so you'll have to enlarge the pic and squint. LOL! You can sorta somewhat see a tiny little bit on my index finger.

So I debated on whether I should leave well enough alone or should I stamp? Of course the nail art addict in me won out and I stamped with Color Club Revvvolution and image plate m65.

These photos were taken in full sunlight and the holo won't even come out and play either. #holocapturefail Also, some of the images had smudged which has not happened to me before. I didn't do anything new except stamp with Revvvo. =(

Even though the holo is not GLARINGLY OBVIOUS, I still quite liked this mani. My co-worker said it looked Victorian. =) Nice break from the colours I've done so far.

St. Patrick's mani!

Hello everyone!! Sorry I'm a day late in posting, but better late than never!

Well in this case...it's better never. LOL.

This was my ode to St. Patrick's Day konadicure. I used China Glaze Starboard as my base. I really think this green is perfect for the occasion!! I stamped part of an image from plate m81 for the "clovers" on my thumb, middle and pinky fingers using Wet n Wild in White Creme. For my index and ring finger I stamped an image from plate m72 using Sally Hansen Chrome Pens in Green Chrome. The Born Pretty m71 plate has a better image of a four leaf clover but I didn't have it at the time. But I did finally receive my free plate and I can't wait to use it!

Both taken outside in the awesome sun that decided to show its face! Both show the disasters that are my cuticles. =( I had to edit it a little so as not to blind your pretty eyes.

The Electronica and White Cap disaster

Excuse me for this disaster I am about to show you. My parents have been riding me about changing my nails so often, saying it kills brain cells, I'm gonna suffer for it later on in life etc. Soooo when I do get the chance...it's hurried and sloppy. =( How do you explain Big 3 Free to my parents who don't understand?  And I don't know what to do about my dry hands and the skin around my nails. My job requires me to wash my hands A LOT and it takes a toll on them.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures of the disaster that I sported for about 5 days. Gah. Oh and these pictures were taken RIGHT before I took it off so, even more disastrous!

With flash. I was so disappointed with how this mani turned out. The other pictures of people layering White Cap over ANYTHING always looks gorgeous. Mine is a calamity of epic proportions.

Taken without flash. Another picture of the abomination.

I used Color Club Electronica for the base colour, stamped with my former #1 stamp champ, Sally Hansen Rave Review Critique, used image plate m57. I layered China Glaze White Cap over my index, middle and pinky fingers.

*sigh* I guess I can't win all the time.

On another note, I'm currently growing out my hair and I'm trying to basically keep it healthy with trimming, hair treatments etc. I just dyed it back to super dark again, I got sick of the black roots and gradual turning into mahogany brown with caramel highlights. I'm thinking of maybe doing updates of how my hair is doing and what I think of the hair treatments. What do you guys think?

More V-day Konadicures and failures

Hello beauty bloggers!! Hope you're all doing well. 

I've got 3 Konadicures to show you, 2 I like and 1 I am ashamed of. 

1st is a base colour of China Glaze Short and Sassy and stamped with Sally Hansen in Red Chrome. 

Taken in indoor light. It just won't photograph properly and my skin has such  weird colour. You can see tipwear because I've had this on for 4 days when I took these pictures.

Taken with flash. Short and Sassy is such a beautiful colour! I used the images from plates m64 and m71 and alternated the images on my fingers. Jay really liked this one. =) He remembered the bandanicure design from m64.

Please don't hold this next mani against me. I don't know what came over me that I thought it would work out. This was done at midnight so I'll just use that as an excuse.

Photo taken in natural light. Base colour was OPI The Show Must Go On. Super blingtastic polish that required 2-3 coats for opacity. Tips were stamped with Rimmel London Pure Silver.

I sent a pic of this to Jay and I said "I'm not sure about this one. I don't like it." He replied with "Yeah you're right. You should've kept the other one." =( FAIL.

So after having this for less than a day, I was determined to create a better one. And out came "Black Lace and Ruby Pumps".

First a swatch of China Glaze Ruby Pumps in natural light. Can I just say all the hype about this polish is TOTALLY DESERVED. I am so in love with this colour and the glitter is just amazing!!

I added 2 different stamps to imitate the faux lace design that Beautopia had done. First I used Wet and Wild Black Creme to stamp the fishnet image from m57 then added the floral pattern on m71.

Close up shot so the beautiful glitters can come out and play.

From afar this looks like a vampy red with glitters. But up close you can so see the lace design and the glitters peeking through!

I'll try to keep this on until Thursday and I'll change my manicure on Friday for V-day weekend!!  So excited for Thursday night, Jay and I are gonna be watching our very first live hockey game!! And I'll be rocking this mani while cheering for the Leafs.

'Til the next Konadicure!

Early V-Day, Hidden Treasure and giveaways!

As promised, here are pics of my early Valentine's Day mani. My hands are crying out for moisture and even though I try to give it to them...they still end up so dry. =( I gotta get me some of that Lemony Flutter!

I used China Glaze Exotic Cranberry for a base colour and I stamped with Sally Hansen Chrome Pens in Pink Chrome. 

This was taken in indoor light, no flash. The image was from plate m65. I love designs like that because they're very forgiving. You can just fill in some blanks if ever there were any and the design would still look good. I think this was my shortest duration for a mani because I removed it after two days and changed it to...

THIS. 

This is one coat of OPI Russian Navy and one coat of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. RN is sooo deceiving. When you look at the bottle all you see is purple, purple, purple. When you put it on the nail, BAM there's the navy blue. And you're left wondering how in the world that happened. It's definitely a one-coater if you apply a thick coat on. I'm just dreading to remove this because I have a feeling it's going to be a PITA.

Both of these pictures were taken in natural light, no flash. Look at all the pretty flashing colours! Green, orange, a bit of gold...plus it all depends on what your base colour is. The last time I sported HT I wore it over CQ Mystical which is a purple and the flakies also flashed purple! I looooove HT and I wish I had a back-up bottle!

Do you guys own Hidden Treasure or any flakie? What do you guys think about it?

Before I forget, The Lacquerista is having her Black Shatter giveaway. 

(Picture taken from her blog)

All you have to do is fill out a form that lets her know what name you follow her with and you get another entry if you tweet/blog/post about her giveaway.

The Art of Nails is also having her 100 followers giveaway! 

She`s giving away MAC Mean and Gree, Orly Rockin`Rockette, Nox Sangria and Sephora by OPI mini Leaf Him at the Altar.

(Picture taken from her blog)

You get an extra entry if you sign the petition to stop human trafficking!

'Til the next Konadicure!

Update and hello to new readers!!

Hello beauty bloggers!! Hope everyone's doing well. Just wanted to say a quick hello to my new readers! Thanks for following!

I've got two Konadicures that I wanted to show you. I used Orly Bonder as a base coat and Seche Vite as a top coat for both.

1st is a base colour of OPI DS Magic. Instead of stamping though, I took a cosmetic wedge and applied a diagonal french tip using Color Club Worth the Risque.

This was taken with flash to show the pretty shimmer. It's blue with some pretty purple shimmer that's very obvious in the bottle but you gotta look closely to see it on the nail. No problems with application, cleanup and removal was a PITA though.

Taken without flash in natural light. You can't even see the holo-ness of Worth the Risque but it's there!!

2nd Konadicure is with China Glaze Jolly Holly and Sally Hansen Color Quick Chrome Pens in Green Chrome. The image was from plate m65. I got the awesome idea from Erika, from her Stamping with Sally post. Thank you!

This photo was taken in natural light. I am so in love with Jolly Holly!! I was initially gonna stamp all my nails but then when I saw how gorgeous the colour was, I dwindled down to one nail. The Sally Hansen Chrome pens are awesome for stamping!! You just have to be careful that the brush doesn't get dry otherwise you're gonna have a hard time with it. 

'Til the next Konadicure!!

Re-cap

Ok here are 3 Konadicures that I've done within a week and a half. Chel and I have been bad and we went on another trip to the nail art supply place. We did 2 trips within 3 days. I bought OPI in DS Magic and Charmed by a Snake, China Glaze in Cashmere Creme, Swing Baby and Short and Sassy. PLEASE please forgive the horrible condition of the areas around my nails. They're so dry due to the winter cold and also from my nail polish remover. 

The first is what I call "Below Deck I've got Pure Silver" Base colour is China Glaze in Below Deck from the Spring 2011 collection. The stamping nail polish is my NEW FAVE, Rimmel London's Pure Silver. Sorry Rave Review Critique...you've been pushed from your #1 position of Stamp Champ. Pure Silver has a chrome-like finish...I don't even know if that's the right way to describe it!

With flash.

Indoor light. The image used was from m57.

2nd Konadicure is called "I've got Pure Silver. Sshhh Plum's the Word!" (Gosh...I'm sorry, that's the best I could come up with) Base colour is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Plum's the Word. I was really feeling cremes this past week! Stamping colour is again Pure Silver.

Taken without flash in natural light.

3rd Konadicure is "Side-Saddle on a Cheetah" (or Leopard...whichever animal has those spots) Base colour is China Glaze in Side-Saddle from the Rodeo Diva collection. It was such a weird colour...brown but with some purple and pretty shimmer.

Swatch taken in natural light.

Taken with flash. Look at the pretty shimmer come out and say hi!

So me being currently obsessed with my new #1 stamp champ decided to add spots from image plate m57.

Natural light.

With flash to show the shimmer.

Sorry for the barrage of pictures...I get so lazy uploading them that I end up with a whole bunch!! I've even got a new Konadicure on now but I won't shove all the pics in one post...this one can wait. :)

'Til the next Konadicure!

One of many...

Update time! Please forgive me for taking my sweet time. I've got lots to show you so please be patient with me!

As always, base coat is Orly Bonder and top coat is Seche Vite.

First here is my NYE Konadicure. Please forgive the state it's in...I took these pictures RIGHT before I removed it to do my next one. This has been about 5 days after I first did it.

Base colour was my highly anticipated OPI DS Extravagance. I had used image plate m72 for my index, middle and pinky fingers and m77 for my thumb and ring fingers. I stamped with my # 1 stamp champ, Sally Hansen in Rave Review Critique. I also used Color Club in gold holo glitter to outline some of the images.

My 2nd Konadicure was done after mine and Puppy's ginormous haul after visiting this lil hole in the wall that sells massive amounts of nail polish for half the price of beauty salons!! Forgive these pictures...I don't know why I was in such a hurry to take them. I'm either too excited to take the pictures or leave it til the end right before I remove the polish!

I used China Glaze in Jitterbug for the index, middle and pinky fingers and China Glaze in Black Diamond for the thumb and ring fingers. I then used the argyle design from image plate m60 and stamped it with Sally Hansen in Celeb City.

Of course after a couple of days I wanted to change it up a little so I added China Glaze Wireless (holographic top coat) on top of Jitterbug. I loved the end result!

Last but not least, here is my "Applause" was heard at "Lincoln Park After Dark". This picture was taken after 5 days of wear.

Base colour is OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark. The image used was the houndstooth design on m63. I used Sally Hansen in Applause to stamp. I used the full nail design on my thumb and ring, but only half of it on the tips of the rest of my fingers.

My current Konadicure has just been updated about half an hour ago, but pictures will be saved for another post. I'm using China Glaze in Below Deck from their Spring 2011 collection for a base colour and stamped with Rimmel London's Pure Silver (a new stamp champ discovery!).

'Til the next Konadicure!

Puppy and Kitty gift exchange!

YAY! Our long-awaited gift swap has finally passed and we took lots of pictures to commemorate! (Warning: another pic heavy post!)

My Color Club Holo glitters in the forefront with my OBI nail polish remover and kit in the background.

My haul!! My kit, OBI nail polish remover, 3 Color Club holo glitters, Sula nail polish trio in Teal,Royal and Moss and glass nail files.

Puppy's haul! Seche Recondition and Dry Fast Top Coat, LA Colors Art Deco stripers in silver and bronzey gold glitter, Color Club Wild at Heart kit, Konad image plates s6, m64 and m65, OPI You Don't Know Jacques and Ink.

Kitty and Puppy!!

Christmas tree and the ornaments!

Fun times! Thank you so much Puppy for my gifts!! I love them all and I can't wait for my CG Wireless and my CC Revvvolution and Worth the Risque!

A Long Kiss to Spark my Mistletoe

New Konadicure!! So much for my Lubu mani lasting me a week. LOL! It was feeling too dark and I'm in such a happy Christmas mood, I had to change it!

Warning: This post is picture heavy!!

We had a Christmas party at my house last night and my Kris Kringle got me Nicole Tinsel Tips set and the Glee Christmas album!!! (She knows me soooo well!)

Look how tiny they are compared to my Color Clubs! They're so cute!!

So here's my new Konadicure I dub "A Long Kiss to Spark my Mistletoe".

I used China Glaze in Long Kiss for the tips and base colour for my accent nail. Can I just say how much I LOVE this polish? Application is wonderful and opaque in one coat! 

For the glitterati, I used Nicole by OPI in Spark My Mistletoe. Gorgeous glitter! Perfect for the holidays!

The image was from plate m63 and stamped with Wet n Wild in Black Creme. I also used m19 for the tips.

This was taken in soft light, no flash.

Blingtastic!!! It flashes green, blue, and red with micro and hexagonal glitters.

This was taken with flash.

Pardon the not-so-perfect application of the tips. I was kind of in a hurry because I still have to get ready for tonight! But of course I had to post the pics before I left!

I'm going to enjoy sporting this at tonight's company Christmas party and tomorrow when I meet up with my Puppy to exchange our gifts and watch CON: Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

'Til the next Konadicure!

Lubu Mani with a holiday twist

So I totally lied and ended up doing my nails today. Just couldn't wait I guess!! 

Here is the mani I came up with for the weekend of Christmas parties! Friday, there's a party at my house with close family friends. On Saturday is my work Christmas party. We're going to see the National Ballet of Canada perform "The Nutcracker" on opening night and riding the party bus all the way to downtown Toronto! Sunday, I'm meeting up with my Puppy for our gift exchange and hopefully to watch CON: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Monday, is a triple date with sushi dinner!

First some swatches! (Which I've never really done before Konading so this is my first time! Yay me!) And as always my base coat is Orly Bonder and top coat is Seche Vite.

Here's a swatch of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Red Carpet. Apparently, it's a dupe of China Glaze Ruby Pumps so I'm pumped! (Pun fully intended...sorry)

This is with one coat and taken in natural light.

I painted over Red Carpet with China Glaze in Lubu Heels. LOVE this polish!

This was a two coater, taken in natural light.

Close up of bombastic glitter!!! 

So I added the same image I used from my last Konadicure from image plate m64. I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City for stamping. For the dots, I used the striper brush from LA Colors Art Deco in silver glitter and SH Red Carpet. I don't have fancy shmancy rhinestones...so I had to improvise. :(

This was taken with flash in indoor light.

This was taken without flash in indoor light.

I'm hoping to have this last me a week, which is the longest time I will have a Konadicure on!

'Til the next Konadicure!