An American Nailgirl in London

Make your own Lip Balm

2012-01-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

This holiday season I made homemade lip balm for all the women in my extended family. It was a nice way to get something for everyone with a little thought involved. Plus, it's way easier than it sounds.

I made it totally from scratch, which means I got to know every single ingredient that was in it - no scary chemicals I can't pronounce!
The best part about it is you can even make it tinted by adding in a little bit of lipstick - I put a sliver of bright red lipstick into my batch, and it gave it a subtle tint. Perfect for adding just a little bit of life into your lips even if you're not wearing any actual lipstick.

Over at my other blog, I have my tutorial and tips. Dead Easy DIY: Homemade Lip Balm.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Manicures - Rainbow Dash

2012-01-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Dash is a much-loved pony due to her strong personality and the fact that she's just, well, awesome. How do I do her justice in nail polish? It had to be bright, bold, and exciting...

I started with basecoat and one coat of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream - a nice sky blue. Then, I put a coat of Eyeko Pastel over it - which is more turquoise, with duochrome shimmer. It's an amazing color, but unfortunately not very opaque. One coat over the Blueberry Ice Cream gave it just a little oomph - it looked streaky during application, but after drying it came out fine.

I gave the blue plenty of time to dry, then started on my rainbow funky french. I only have five fingers, and there are six/seven rainbow colors, so sadly I had to kick Orange out of the party. For red, I used Barry M Red Wine. For yellow, it was Rimmel Lasting Finish Sunshine. Green was OPI Don't Mess with OPI from the Texas collection. Blue was Barry M Cobalt Blue, a fantastic true blue. And purple was Nails Inc Maple Place.

A generous layer of quick-dry top coat, and my mani was complete. This is one of my favorite funky frenches - truly living up to the 'funky' name. Not for the timid, but Rainbow Dash isn't what you'd call timid.

Nailgirl

Why I polish

2011-10-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I was not huge into polish. Really, I wasn't very much into makeup at all. I have a makeup bag, a small one, but I don't put makeup on every day. I'm not one of those girls who can't go out without their "face" on. I'll slap on some tinted moisturizer and mascara and a little eyeshadow if I want to look polished, but unless it's a special occasion, I never do much beyond that.

So, then, why do I love nail polish?

Actually, it's for similar reasons that I love brightly-colored socks. Socks don't have to match an outfit, really, and you can wear socks in any color you like. Would I go out wearing a bright fuchsia dress? Never! But I have socks in day-glo orange, bright purple, shocking green... And nails are like that, too. It can add just a touch of funky to an otherwise drab ensemble. You can go crazy with them, and it doesn't seem that weird.

I love color. I love the way colors go together and mix, and I love how looking at a bright sunny yellow or electric blue can cheer me up. That's why I love nail polish. I have nail polish that's holographic, that changes colors with the light or with temperature, I have polish in colors I could never normally get away with wearing. It's playful. It's fun. It comes off whenever you want to change it. It's a little bit of pampering. That's why I love nails!

Nailgirl

My Little Pony: Friendship is Manicures - Fluttershy

2011-10-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

Fluttershy is a little girly, but also really shy, so I didn't want to do anything too over the top for her. I kept it simple - a solid color with a little bit of nail art embellishment.

I ended up custom mixing these colors to make it just right for Fluttershy. My base colors were Rimmel Lasting Finish in Sunshine, Barry M Limited Edition Pink, and Eyeko Rain. I added white to both the yellow and pink to make appropriate colors, mixing them drop by drop.

Rimmel Sunshine is really the perfect color for Fluttershy, after I diluted it with some white - at first glance it appears to be just a yellow creme, but when it comes out into the sunshine it has a lovely subtle hidden shimmer. Fluttershy's a bit like that too - at first she appears shy, timid, and easily frightened, but the best shines out of her when the time is right.

After the base of yellow, I carefully dotted on cutie mark butterflies in pink and blue. Actually, this manicure gave me the most compliments out of any pony mani so far - several people said how much they liked it. A sunny yellow is just the thing for a dreary day.

Nailgirl

My Little Pony: Friendship is Manicures - Applejack

2011-10-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

My next My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic inspired manicure is Applejack.
Applejack is a no-nonsense pony who probably wouldn't paint her nails (hooves) anyway. So, I went with a nude shade and just a little bit of embellishment.

The base color is Astor Diamant Sensation 981, and I added gold freckles with Rimmel Lasting Finish 'Bling'. I used the same method for nail art polka dots as I've done before - a bobby pin dipped into polish. It's easy and cute.

Applejack's a tough pony, and this was one tough manicure too. It lasted over a week without a single chip! Perfect for such a low-maintenance pony.

Nailgirl

My Little Pony: Friendship is Manicures - Rarity

2011-10-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

I'm doing some NOTDs based on the characters of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It's a really great show, and each character is a kick-ass girl who's full of personality. My first pony manicure is Rarity.

Rarity would love having her nails done (we already know she gets 'pony pedis'). She has to be all style and flash. So, I bet she would love the runway-inspired 'Ruffian Manicure'. I did my nails in half-Ruffian, half-Funky French. This was my first Ruffian, and to be honest my hands could have been steadier... but, I think it looks pretty neat anyway.

The white is Rimmel Chalk White, my standard white creme. To add a bit of unicorn sparkle, I put China Glaze White Cap over it, which is a fantastic shimmery pearly white. The blue is Barry M Nail Paint in Navy, a deep dark blue with a ton of shimmer.

Watch for more pony manis soon!

Nailgirl

Always wear underwear - Stretch the life of sheer polish

2011-10-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

Of course you should always wear underwear. But do you go commando on your nails? If you wear a lot of sheer polishes, you should consider wearing underwear polish.

Underwear polish is a neutral-colored polish you wear underneath your colored polish. It could be white or a nude color to suit your skin tone. The idea is, instead of needing to use 4 coats of sheer polish to get your desired opacity, you'd only need one coat of underwear and 2 coats of polish (for example). That way, you use less of your polish and it lasts longer.

I did a test run of underwear when I recently put on Eyeko Vintage. I love this sweet turquoise color, but it takes 3 or even 4 coats to get a good opacity. And Eyeko polish comes in these cute tiny little bottles, with every color being limited edition - so my bottle of Vintage is running out fast.

I chose a white underwear polish, to emphasize the brightness of the turquoise. It's Rimmel Lasting Finish 085 Chalk White, a basic white creme. I applied basecoat, then two coats of Rimmel Chalk White, then two coats of Eyeko Vintage.

I'm pretty pleased with the results. (I would be more so, if my application were better!) The white base keeps the colors nice and bright, and after two coats the Eyeko isn't very streaky. There is no VNL (visible nail line) to be seen, because of the opaque white underneath. The thin layers of sheer polish lend a bit of a squishy jelly kind of look, even though it's a creme.

Nailgirl

How self tanners work

2011-10-05T02:35:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled across a fantastic little informational post over at Beauty Addict - How Self-Tanners Work (and Why They Smell). As a pale ghost of a girl I never tan in the sun, so self-tan is my only option if I want to seem a bit less pallid. But I'm wary, because my sister (similarly colored) has had a few bright-orange-skin mishaps.

I think understanding the science of the self-tan is fascinating, so if you've ever wondered, give it a read!

Nailgirl

NOTD: Shimmering Zoya Crystal

2011-07-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

Crystal. She is gorgeous. At the same time showy and subtle, elegant and flashy. Ice-blue shimmer embedded with gold flakes. I wish I could have photographed it better.

Zoya Crystal is a dupe for OPI Reflecting Pool, which was a Europe-exclusive shade. It's a really fantastic color, which I will definitely be wearing again. I got opacity after three coats, and tipwear after only one day, both of which are usually polish dealbreakers for me, but I love this color so much that I am willing to compromise. Crystal, you and I are going to be good friends.

Nailgirl

GREEN NUBBIN MONSTER (notd: Don't Mess With OPI)

2011-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

So, actually, this is my first time using OPI. That's because I only got into polish since moving to the UK, and I'm simply not prepared to spend £10.99 on a single bottle of polish. Not going to happen. $8 is a much more reasonable price. So, while I was visiting the states, I picked this up.

OPI - Don't Mess With OPI, from the Texas collection, is a color I've been eyeing since it was released. I adore this green. It's very medium - not too bright, not too dark, slightly leaning blue. I really like it.

Opening the bottle, my first thought was: Whoa. The OPI brush is huge, a welcome change from the dinky little Essie brush. It's even bigger than the Rimmel 60 seconds brushes, which specifically advertise that they're big enough to do a nail in one stroke (a pinky, maybe).

So, how was my first time? Okay, but nothing awesome. I guess I sort of expected that OPI, being the biggest name in polish, would be a brand of all one-coaters. I suppose they can't all be one-coaters, but I dunno, OPI is the standard, but my first coat came out hopelessly streaky. After the second coat, we were golden. (Actually, my middle finger came out a tiny bit streaky... that's my fault, not the polish's).

Nailgirl

NOTD - Essie Coat Azure

2011-07-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a beautiful ocean blue - Essie Coat Azure.

This was my first time using Essie (I got a few bottles on my trip to the US), and I don't totally love it. The brush is narrow, and the formula is thin. I prefer thick, gloopy polishes that do the evening out for you. One coat was streaky, but if you're a better polisher than I then maybe you could pull it off. I had to settle for two.

The color, however, is lovely. After two coats it's nice and opaque, and it's a true medium blue with shimmer. The shimmer is fairly subtle in the bottle, but more noticeable on the nail. Application issues aside, I do like it quite a bit. I'll be wearing this one again.

Nailgirl

Hauling in the USA: ULTA!

2011-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

ULTA! Oh, Ulta. I wish I had one of you anywhere near me. How amazing. On my very last night in the US, I was out with a bunch of the girls and we stumbled upon an Ulta store. I casually suggested that we pop our heads in and see what's there. I am so glad I did.

At first, I was good - I carefully selected two of my must-have polishes from the displays. I chose Don't Mess with OPI from OPI's Texas collection, and China Glaze White Cap from their nautical collection.

Then, we found the clearance section, and I had to spring for three more:

In clearance I found a polish I've been wanting for a while! From China Glaze's Vintage Vixens collection, the copper brown bottle you see up there is Foxy.
Light pink with gold shimmer is Essie Cool Lots, and the purple Ulta is called Femme Fatale. I'm not too crazy about the purple, but it was only 50 cents! So it, uh, leapt into my shopping basket.

Nailgirl

Hauling in the USA: CVS & Meijer

2011-07-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

You girls (/guys) in the US don't know how good you have it. When you can go to a drug store and pick up Essie & Orly, or when you can go to a grocery store and see a huge wall of polish... dude, guys. Not fair. We may have Barry M, Model's Own, and GOSH here in the UK, but you guys have a whole wall of Essie colors in Meijer!

So, I hit a few drugstores while I was in the US. I'm pretty pleased with what I got.

I went and got some of my favorite moisturiser -- Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer. The one I was using in the UK, from Boots No 7, didn't have any sunscreen in it. As a pale fragile flower, I need my SPF!

I also got some Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. You can get them here in the UK too, at Claires, but they're way too expensive. I already had a tube, but I thought I should get a backup.

I also got the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Topcoat. I already have some Sally Hansen topcoat, the Maximum Growth quick dry topcoat in a clear pink bottle, which I've really liked. This one, in the red bottle, also comes very highly recommended. They were having a sale on all SH polish at Meijer, so I picked it up.

Finally, I got some Essie polishes - these are my first from the Essie brand.

They're so cute in their little square bottles, aren't they? The two shades I picked match, too. They're Chinchilly (brown) and Coat Azure (blue). Coat Azure has a little bit of shimmer to it, which I actually didn't notice until after I bought it and looked at it in the sunlight. I don't mind! :) I love the subtle sparkle. Watch for the NOTD soon, as I've already tried it on. Such a great blue!

Nailgirl

Hauling in the USA: Zoya

2011-06-26T14:33:00.001-07:00

I'm back! I had a great time in the USA and I picked up a ton of polish (and also yarn and fiber).

You might remember that way back in January, Zoya held a promotion on Facebook for 3 free polishes. Unfortunately, Zoya only ships in the US. Fortunately for me, I have family who was willing to hold my package for me until I came to visit. So, 6 months later, I arrived at my parents' house and had 5 Zoya polishes waiting for me.

They came in a sturdy little cardboard box which held them perfectly in place. Also included with my order were several different color swatches of their recent collections.

The warm colors I chose were Zoya Natalie and Zoya Joy. Natalie is a orangey brick red and Joy is a warm pink with gold shimmer. See those streaks of shimmer reflecting in the bottle? It's a bit subtler on the nail (I'll show you later).

The cool colors I picked were Zoya Crystal, Zoya Irene, and Zoya Ivanka. I've been looking forward to Crystal and Ivanka for some time -- crystal is blue with gold flakes (dupe for OPI Reflecting Pool), and Ivanka is a green foil. Irene is a glittery muted green.

I've already given Natalie and Joy for a spin - watch for my NOTD posts soon. I picked up a lot of polish during my trip, so stay tuned!

Nailgirl

Hauling in the USA: Charlotte Russe

2011-06-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

My little sis & I visited an outlet mall, where I picked up these three polishes at Charlotte Russe for $2 each:

There's two Mood Struck color changing polishes, which appear to be dupes for Claire's Calm/Wild and Confident/Peaceful mood polishes). I am excited to try these, since we didn't get them in the UK.

There's also a holo glitter polish that's just so fun. It's got every color in it. I'm not sure what to wear it over, but I really really love it.

Nailgirl

USA Va-cay

2011-06-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm in the USA right now! So, I won't be polishing as much as usual, but - when I return, I will have a whole new haul of things to post about! I've already made a trip to Sephora and gotten a Zoya order -- you will see soon! For now, I'm catching up with my American friends & family and hitting up the drug stores.

Nailgirl

Cinderella Nails

2011-06-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a trip to the US, and while I'm there I'll be seeing my sister star in Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella -- and I have just the nails for the occasion! Delicate and subtle and beautiful, fit for a princess.

I started with a basecoat and two layers of a white cream - enough to ensure opacity. (Note to self: I need a one-coater white cream!) Then, I put on two layers of my ever-favorite layering polish, Revlon Sweet Nothings in Rendez-Blue.

Unfortunately, the effect doesn't come out well in the pictures (took them on a cloudy English morning), but when my nails hit the sunlight, they flash pink and all that glitter comes out. Layering the polish over white gives a sweet pastel look that comes to life in the sun.

Nailgirl

Je vais a Paris...

2011-04-20T03:15:00.000-07:00

No posts for the next few days because the bf & I are going to PARIS! This is my first real holiday since moving to the UK, and I am so excited. We're taking the train and having a romantic little holiday, seeing the sights and eating fancy pastries and whatnot.

See you later!

Nailgirl

Porcelain NOTD

2011-04-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, the simple looks are the most effective. I call this porcelain because it reminds me of the teacups my boyfriend's family has - they're white with a blue band exactly this color. These nails are, of course, blue with a white band.

You're not tired of Eyeko Rain yet, are you? Because I'm not. It's a perfect one coater in a lovely color with hidden shimmer. I can't, can't, can't get enough of it.

So this is a really simple look, just a cellotape funky french with a white creme. But I really really liked it. It's classic.

Nailgirl

GOSH Golden Dragon

2011-04-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

This is not a duochrome. It isn't a green polish, either. This is GOSH Golden Dragon, master of illusion.

(cloudy day guys, soz!)

You think this polish is green? It is not green. In reality, it's a blue polish with gold glitter suspended in it, creating a green with tons of depth.

It looks amazing in the bottle, because you can see those gold flakes floating around in it. It isn't quite as impressive on the nail, but it's still pretty cool!

You learned in elementary school that blue and yellow make green, and here it is in action.

Nailgirl

When bubbles aren't so bad...?

2011-04-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

So here's a strange conundrum for you. Polish lovers hate bubbles. They are the bane of our existence. They ruin perfectly decent manicures and once they're applied, there's very little you can do about them.
So why then... do I like the look of these bubbles???

These bubbles are like a design effect, albeit one I have no control over. I dunno, I think it looks cool!

Have you ever enjoyed bubbles in your polish? Am I crazy??

Nailgil

Accessorize Aztec - looks familiar...?

2011-04-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

If you think this dark, indescribable foil duochrome polish looks familiar, you're totally right. It's not a total dupe, but it is dupeish for Orly Space Cadet and its kin.

It's genius, when you think about it - magenta duo foil glitter in a green base. You'd think it would turn out muddy, but it actually doesn't. Instead, the color shifts endlessly, and you can't really say what color it is.

Accessorize is a copy cat, we know that. This is from the same collection that brought us Pink Spice, dupeish for Bad Fairy. But they're copying good ones, that's for sure.

For the record, I did one coat of Aztec over some plum polish. I think layering the foils over coordinating bases gives a better sparkly effect - the foil isn't crowded against itself, but is allowed to reflect. Copycat or not, this is stunning.

Nailgirl

Eyeko Pastel NOTD

2011-04-12T02:45:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last Eyeko post, before I got Eyeko Pastel I was worried that it would be a little too similar to Eyeko Rain. I needn't have worried, though, because in person they are totally, totally different. Eyeko Rain is a very greyish blue with hidden shimmer. Pastel is a turquoisey blue with bright blue duochrome.

The duochrome shimmer is hard to capture, but it's more apparent in person.

Overall, I really prefer Rain to Pastel. Pastel is fun, but maybe a little garish for most occasions. Eyeko Rain just feels classier. Also, Rain is a perfect one-coater, and Pastel needed two coats to go on.

Nailgirl

A classy brown from Maybelline

2011-04-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is a super nice shade - it's Maybelline Wet Shine in Spiced Cider. In the bottle, it looks way pinker than it actually is - it dries very slightly pinkish brown. I think it's pretty classy.

As such, I wore it during my extremely short career as a hand model. ;)

(I'm a knitter in my spare time, and I was modeling these gloves)

Nailgirl

detox - white notd

2011-02-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

After spending lots of time recently in red, blue, purple and other dark polishes, my nails had become seriously stained. Really not nice to look at. So here's my answer, to give my nails a chance to relax a bit without fear of staining - a 'detox', if you will.

It's Rimmel London Lasting Finish in 085, the aptly named Chalk White, and with a nice coat of shiny topcoat it doesn't come out too 'chalky' or 'white out-y'. I rather like white nails, in fact.

The downside of having horribly stained nails underneath them, though, is that any tipwear or chipping is painfully obvious, because my nails are not even remotely close to white-colored. Uck.

Nailgirl

Nails Inc Maple Place

2011-02-22T03:54:00.000-08:00

Another Nails Inc shade, not much to say. Same at the other ones, application was great and it chipped pretty quickly after. Would wear again.

This is a stainer.

Nailgirl

Peacock EOTD

2011-02-21T05:33:00.000-08:00

This was an eye of the day I did for a party a little while back. It was way more dramatic than most things I've done, but since I have hooded eyes it didn't look OTT. Instead, it just looked a little flashier than usual.

It was a mix of a ton of different shades of eyeshadow, all blended together. I have several blue-and-gold palettes, one of which is from Rimmel which I've swatched before. I also used a few Collection 2000 glitter pots I picked up at the pound store, and a sample of blue mascara from a Boots No 7 gift with purchase. (I never thought I'd end up using that...)

Nailgirl

Eyeko Vintage NOTD

2011-01-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

I don't have many green polishes. Eyeko Vintage fills a conspicuous gap in my collection.

I really like this shade a lot, it looks like turquoise stones. It's not incredibly flattering on me, I don't think, but I'll wear it anyway. That's how much I like it.

There's not too much to say about it - it's a regular creme, reasonably opaque. Took me two coats for opacity, but depending on the thickness of your coats you might need three. It's not a one-coater like my first Eyeko polish, Eyeko Rain, but it isn't bad.

It's just a really nice color!

Too lazy to remove hex glitter polish?

2011-01-28T02:40:00.000-08:00

Hex glitter. It's beautiful, flashy, different. When you wear it, your nails get noticed - and that's great! But all good things come to an end, and when it comes time to remove that chunky glitter... It isn't fun.

In fact, when I tried to remove my Christmas manicure, my acetone-based nail polish remover ate through two thick layers of Seche Vite, three layers of polish, and a basecoat... leaving nothing but the glitter behind. It removed everything around the glitter, but couldn't remove the glitter itself.

Awful, right? There are methods for getting rid of these glitters, but this time I decided to just roll with it. What's the harm, I figured, in wearing these glitters another day? So here's what I did.

I took my absolute favorite layering polish, Revlon Sweet Nothings in Satin Sheets, and put two layers over the glitter. The result was a milky white base filled with golden flakie-ish glitter, and chunks of gold hex glitter buried underneath. In passing you could mistake them for naked nails, but then the hex glitter catches your eye, and you look at it, and you see the delicate play of even more glitter...

For something I just slapped on because I was too lazy to scrub the glitter away, I think this was a very cool outcome. I'd do it again.

Nailgirl

Review: Eyeko Cream

2011-01-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

First things first: This is not a skin cream. Not even a little bit. Do not attempt to put it all over your face, unless you're going to a rave or dressing up as a fairy. You will look like a sparkly hot mess.

Eyeko's website says: "Skip foundation and use Eyeko Cream all over focusing on the eye and cheek area for lit from within skin." I would never do this with Eyeko cream.
However, that's not saying at all that Eyeko Cream is not a worthwhile product. As a matter of fact, I think it's pretty awesome, because it has several versatile uses. Just not as a face cream.

Lucky for me, I knew this going in - any quick search, on Makeupalley or anywhere else, will tell you this. The stuff is packed with shimmer. Look at it...

If you put it all over your face, you would probably look ridiculous. It's a shade of light cotton-candy pink, to boot. Once rubbed in, it's a decent, if glittery, highlighter.

Someone on MUA also suggested it as a cream eyeshadow, so I tried that too. I like it - it's not super pigmented, but if you lay it thick enough then it's a pleasing light pinky color with shimmer.

So, bottom line - not, not, not a face cream. A good highlighter in small doses. A good cream eyeshadow. I've been using it nearly every day since I got it, in one way or another. But NOT as a face cream! :)

Nailgirl

Another Eyeko order, hooray!

2011-01-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

I got a new order from Eyeko recently. It's small, but it's all good stuff.

I got two polishes, a fat balm, and a jar of Eyeko Cream.* I'm really pleased with them all!
*The cream was free with purchase as part of a promotion, but accidentally got left out of my order. After emailing them, they sent it off straightaway and I ♥ it, but that's why it's not in the pictures.

I got these two cool-toned polishes, Eyeko Vintage and Eyeko Pastel (shown here with Eyeko Rain, the other Eyeko polish in my collection). I was really wavering whether to get Pastel or not, but they sold out of the other ones I wanted, so I ended up getting it and was pleasantly surprised. On the website, it looks really similar to Eyeko Rain, which I already have (and love). After all, they're both light blues. In person, they are COMPLETELY TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Not even close. Here, look at the nail wheels.

Rain is grey-tinged, with hidden shimmer. Pastel is bright baby blue, with a true blue duochrome shimmer. They're totally different colors, though I can see how they might photograph similarly. Also, Rain is a one-coater dream to apply. Pastel is much more sheer, and would take 3 to 4 coats for full opacity. They're very different beasts.

Vintage is a really awesome polish too, but you'll hear all about it when I do the NOTD post. It's a true greeny turquoise, very pretty indeed. Less opaque than Rain, sadly, but I think I got away with 2 coats.

The fat balm is nice, too. It's Eyeko Fat Balm in toffee, a moisturizing lipstick in a fat little tube. It's meant to have a toffee scent, but it just smells lipsticky to me. It's a browny tan color, and I like it quite a bit. I've worn it several times and it seems to have good staying power.

Eyeko Cream is really versatile -- I'll post a full review soon -- and I'm finding myself using it almost every day. It's not a real skin cream, to be sure, but it's a great highlighter cum cream eyeshadow.

More Eyeko posts to come, as I start using these products!

Nailgirl

Retro nails for a day

2011-01-25T01:18:00.000-08:00

A found a 1940s tutorial for a manicure. It seemed so ingenious, I just had to try it out!

It's pretty simple: basically a half-moon manicure with french tips, over almond-shaped nails. You leave the moons and tips bare and paint the remainder red.

The genius of this technique is that it would really stretch out your wear: bare tips means no tipwear, obviously, and bare moons means that the gap from your nails growing out would be less evident. You could probably wear a manicure like this for a week or longer if you were careful.

Now my tips aren't very white and I don't even have moons, so I played with this look a little bit. I filed my nails into almond shapes (which took forever), and started with a base of sheer white - in this case, a doubled-up coat of my sheer white basecoat.

Since I was wearing polish under the red, I couldn't take advantage of the trick the article offers for perfect tips: simply wipe away the red polish in a neat line. Instead, I had to freehand it. I'm not very good at this, as you can tell. To boot, if you examine the pictures you'll notice that a second person is meant to be painting your nails, not you yourself. So my lines didn't come out great.

Ashamed at my shoddy drawing skills, I put a layer of sparkly white over it to distract (Satin Sheets from Revlon's Sweet Nothings collection)

So I didn't love this manicure. It would probably have looked better if I had steadier hands, my nails were longer and not stained, and if the red weren't so bright. But still, it was fun and fascinating to do the kind of manicure my grandmother might have done. What a clever technique to extend the wear of your polish.

Nailgirl

Blue Christmas

2011-01-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

I got two polishes as gifts this Christmas, and they're the first polishes I've gotten in several weeks since I've been on a no-buy for most of December. They were from two different people but, by coincidence, both blue. So what better way to show them off than to wear them together?

The first is Avon Nailwear Pro in Splendid Blue. And how splendid it is! It's a deep blue shot with blue, purple, and aqua glitter. It doesn't feel chunky at all. It really packs a punch when it hits the light.

It was also a one-coater, which is great and surprising for a glitter polish like this. It's totally opaque.

The second is Barry M Nail Paint in Cobalt. This wouldn't be something I would buy for myself, but now that I have it, I like it. It dries a bit darker than the bottle. Application is to the same high standard of my other Barry M polishes, a nice thick one-coater. I did get some bubbling unfortunately.

Nailgirl

Starry starry franken

2011-01-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

No, it's not a dupe for Essie Starry Starry Night - but it is pretty, and it does remind me of stars.

It's a new franken, from my latest batch.

It's made of blue and black eyeshadow with some silver foil/glitter added in. The silver is super-tiny, giving the look of pinpricks of starlight against the sky. I really, really love this franken.

The materials were cheap so it did chip really quick, but it was so fun to wear. I bet it would look really cool mattified too, because when I started taking the polish off I got this neat satin effect:

Nailgirl

Notd: YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW (Rimmel Sunshine)

2011-01-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, even if you don't think you want to, even if yellow totally does not suit your skin tone, even if you've never done it before... you need some bright yellow polish to cheer you up.

This wasn't strictly an untried - I've used it before in my weather newsprint manicure - but I've never had a whole manicure in it.

Now it's true, this yellow looks pretty awful on me. And it's from Rimmmel's "I <3 Lasting Finish" line, the cheapie polishes aimed at preteens - the color is called Sunshine. But I still love it. It's a true yellow, no orange or green undertones, and it's a beautiful creme with hidden shimmer. I had NO IDEA there was shimmer when I bought the bottle, but it's really neat.

As far as application goes it was surprisingly good. One coat is unbearably streaky but two is almost perfect. If I were in less of a hurry when I was doing this mani, it would have looked much better - there are still streaks on some of my nails.

When you want yellow, sometimes you gotta have yellow. And this is a good yellow in my book.

Nailgirl

Fyrinnae (Fyri-who?)

2011-01-12T03:12:00.001-08:00

So this is a funny little post... not a haul post, but a post in anticipation of a haul.

Have you heard about Fyrinnae? I hadn't, until recently, but if you're more beauty-savvy than I am, you might have. They're a tiny (two-man) indie makeup outfit, focusing on eyeshadow. They also offer blush, primer, finishing powder, and lip stuff.

So I read a raving review of this company on one blog, and decided to check it out. I googled around, finding nothing but really really positive reviews. I haven't submitted my order YET, but I've got a full cart, and this seems like a company really striving with all its might to please the customers. Their blog gives a human face to the company, explaining how they've reformulated products to make them better, or why orders are processing slowly (they have a queue of over 500 orders, and the essentially make the products to order!!).

They have an amazing shipping policy (shipping is no higher than $3 in the US or $4 internationally) which seems to be really losing them money. Their products are at a really decent pricepoint for quality handmade cosmetics (really unique ones at that), and they're still willing to go the extra mile to treat their customers. They're literally swamped with orders, and they probably should raise their prices, and the overall impression I get is that they're just really decent people working very very hard.

So do I feel a twinge of guilt, filling up my cart, piling another order onto their heaping queue? Yeah kind of... International orders are currently capped at $50, due to the effort of filling out customs forms, and my order is just slipping through at $46. But I'm suuuuper excited for this stuff, even though it'll probably take upwards of a month to get.

Some of the unique products I'm getting:
Pixie Epoxy - this is the one product I've heard the most about. It's not an eye primer, but something of a 'glue' for your eyeshadow. You put it on over your primer, and it sticks your eyeshadow on and gives the look of wet application though dry. I've heard so much good stuff about this.
Arcane Magic eyeshadow - These are legit, color-changing eyeshadows. Not even duochrome, but true color-change. As it gets closer to a source of artificial light, it changes in shade. I'll tell you more about these when I get them.
Lip Lustres - Not a lipstick, not a gloss, but some kind of dry lip stain. I'll tell you I'm not entirely clear, other than the fact it's totally unique. Looking forward to these.
...I'm also getting a few other variously-colored eyeshadows, because they have dozens of incredible, pigmented shades. Do yourself a favor and google Fyrinnae, and let the lemmings wash over you.

Nailgirl

NOTNY: GOSH Holographic

2011-01-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

So it isn't the most original New Year's Eve mani, but it's still impressive.

This is GOSH Holographic, and boy am I glad I managed to grab a bottle at Superdrug. It is so COOL. It was a huge pain to apply, but even with all that I messed it up, it still looks awesome.

The problem with this polish is that you can't overlap the brush anywhere, or the polish will drag. Eventually I developed a method of fanning out the brush on my nail, to get the polish on in as few strokes as possible - 1 or 2. My nails look decent so long as you don't examine them too close.

This was basecoat, a layer of some Rimmel white-out white polish to prevent VNL, and two coats of GOSH holo - no topcoat! Because I've heard that topcoat reduces the holo effect. It's just for one night, anyway.

My nails chipped like mad the entire night and by the next morning, they were a mess. Holo polishes are seriously cool, but probably mainly for special occasions.

Oooo rainbows!

Nailgirl

Christmas mani #2

2011-01-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is my actual, official, Christmas NOTD, which I wore while eating turkey and opening presents and all that good stuff. I like it, even though I had to nubbinize, and even though it was such a royal pain to remove.

It's two coats of Barry M Red Black with a layer of Saffron gold hex glitter. I did a pedi of it before, and knew I had to do it on my hands for Christmas. It's great.

I was a little more careful with the glitter this time, because I didn't want to put too much of it on. I'm quite happy with it. It reminds me of wrapped Christmas presents.

Nailgirl

LUSH Porridge soap review

2011-01-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this isn't nail polish... it isn't even technically makeup. But I know a lot of nailboarders LOVE Lush's Lemony Flutter cuticle cream. Unfortunately that wasn't in stock when I went to Lush, but I picked up some Xmas prezzies and also a bar of soap for myself.

I'll be honest, I'm not really in love with most LUSH scents. They're really overpowering, and smell a bit off to me. Just not what I'm in to. But when I found this Porridge soap, it was love at first sniff.

It's hard to describe this soap's scent perfectly, except that it smells exactly like South Beach Diet Cinnamon Raisin bars... a snack which I sorely miss from home. It's intensely sweet, and cinnamony. It doesn't really smell like porridge, because if porridge (oatmeal) tasted like this I would eat it for every meal of every day.

My bar of LUSH Porridge soap, after about two weeks of use (and right after a bath!)

So, on to the soap. It smells great, and it's got tons of little bits of oatmeal embedded inside for maximum scrubby power. I love a good exfoliating soap, so this is great for me. The only problem is that the soap base itself is very soft. Even while dry, it will start rubbing off onto your fingers as you're holding it. As such, this bar isn't going to last me very long. In water, it just melts away.

Another problem, which I wasn't expecting at all, is that this soap stains. The bar is a rather neutral, oatmealy tan. You wouldn't expect it to have a lot of dye in it. But I got put in the doghouse with my bf's mother because I accidentally stained her new grouting brown! So make sure you use a soap dish for this.

On the whole, I like this. The scent is AMAZING, it scrubs well, and it doesn't leave my skin feeling 'tacky' like many soaps do. I'll probably buy it again, but I do wish that the soap weren't so soft and that it didn't turn everything brown.

Nailgirl

Christmas nails #1

2011-01-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

I don't do red-and-green, but here's my sparkly red Christmas manicure the first.

It's a coat of Nails Inc Clarges Street, because I loved it so much before, with scotch-taped triangles of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Bronze Ruby.

I will tell you I'm not in love with how this turned out... It's very messy. I didn't wait long enough for Clarges Street to dry before taping, so I had to redo a lot of my fingers. Plus, the triangles ended up looking like botched french tips instead of interesting blocks of glitter.

One thing did go right though - the color pair. I was afraid the pinky-red wouldn't go together with the true-red/gold duochrome, but it works great. (The gold is less apparent IRL than in photos) Anyway, it's getting wiped off before Christmas proper - I have plans for a new mani before then.

Nailgirl

Lippie swatches pt 2

2011-01-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I started swatching my lipsticks, starting with the opaque shades. Next, the sheers.

(left to right)
Vital Radiance by Revlon in Sparkling Pink - Neither pink nor sparkling. Found it at the pound store (3 for £1!) and love this color. It's quite close to 'my lips but better'.
Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Girls on Film - Meant to be a lippie that "looks like a gloss and wears like a lipstick". I like it very much and I got it on discount at Blush1. It's a brown-shaded nude.
Eyeko London Lips in Portobello - This was part of my Eyeko grab bag, and it's the one thing I really liked. Pinky nude gloss with tiny bits of glitter - not enough to be OTT, but enough to make it nice and shimmery.
Philosophy Lip Shine in Melon Daiquiri - The color is sheer, but what a glitter bomb! And nice smell/taste.
Boots No 7 High Shine Lip Gloss in Smile - This was a GWP. I love the color, and the brush is interesting, but it's hard to get much product on it. Wish it applied better.
Boots No 7 Limited Edition Mirrorball Lipstick in Pink - Sparkly!
Clinique Full Potential Lips in 02 Peach Plump and 03 Glamour-full - There was someone literally giving away these on the street last year at OSU. They're cute, though I don't really like plumping lippies.
Lip Smackers in Dr Pepper - The classic.

Nailgirl

NOTD: Nails Inc Duke Street

2011-01-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

The second of my four Nails Inc polishes is Duke Street. This is a dusty lavender, and I really really adore it. I wish I could capture this color, but the camera either wants it to look muddy gray or blue purple. It feels so incredibly chic - a middle ground between the gray/greige trend and Paradoxal/Perplex/etc.

(if you're wondering, by the way - I checked on my nail wheel, and my Paradoxal dupe is WAY darker than this. They're only similar in the fact that they're both greyed purples.)

I can't pull off many purples, but this one is really a joy to wear. It just feels fabulous. It's just a creme, but I kept staring at my nails. This is going to be one of my standard colors, I can tell.

The formula felt the same as Clarges Street - it's quite thick; application was easy and went on with one coat (though a little patchy on this one; I had to fiddle with it); and then it went and started wearing like tissue paper. I left this one on for three days and by the end of the third day, my right hand was a mess of chips and worn tips. It was really sad, because I WOULD have left this on for four or five days if it had worn well. I even wrapped my tips.

I'll be putting this on again for sure. I really like this color. In fact, I may be on the lookout for a better-wearing dupe of it.

Nailgirl

Some random lippie swatches

2011-01-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

I was feeling bored, so I decided to swatch some of the lipsticks and glosses in my collection.
This is more for my own reference than anything, but if it helps you out, fantastic! FYI, I'm a pale redhead with warmish undertones and all these shades look decent on me. Some I really love, some I have to go a little light on, but they're all shades that I can wear.

First, the opaquer shades:

(left to right)
Revlon Moisturous Lipcolor in 030 Naked Splash - this is my 'My lips but better' shade. I've had it for ages and I keep looking for something similar to it.
Rimmel Rich Moisture Lipstick in 279 Smooch - Got this at the pound store. Looks nice when applied lightly, but I have to be careful with it. It's very coral.
Bare Escentuals Lippie in Barely Buff - I like this when I'm going natural. It's darker and browner than my natural lips, and feels 'earthy'.
Boots Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rose Bud - I lied. This looks awful on my lips. The sticker looks to be the same color as Naked Splash, but it's very pink. I use it like a blush sometimes, but it doesn't work on my lips.

Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Watermelon - My fav Burt's Bees shade.
Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Rhubarb - Middle ground between the other two.
Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Raisin - This one's dark and intense. Applied with a light hand it's okay on me, but too much veers into clown territory.

Part two soon :)

Nailgirl

The mysterious case of the mattifying topcoat

2011-01-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

...I don't mean an intentional mattifying topcoat, like Matte Magic or Matte About You. I mean a normal, everyday, glossy topcoat, that starts turning things matte.

This is my friend, Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Quickdry Topcoat. As you can see, the label boasts "dries color in 30 seconds". Well, maybe not quite that fast, but it's a quick-dry topcoat that dries hard and glossy, without tipwear, and it has served me well. Until now.

Look what happened to a recent manicure.

See my index finger, on the right? There's a large, matte spot that appeared on the nail as the topcoat dried. What is causing this? I don't know. But it's happened several times.

It began suddenly, and it's fixed by simply putting another layer of TC on, but it's really puzzling. Practically every manicure I've done with this topcoat has resulted in one or two unsightly matte or satin spots.

I asked around on Makeup Alley and it has happened to some other people too, but no one knows why. I used this bottle of TC for several weeks before this started happening. It was probably old when I got it, but it was still sealed til I opened it myself. It's so mysterious...

Nailgirl

NOTD: Nails Inc Clarges Street

2011-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

Since I scored some Nails Inc polishes, I've finally gotten around to trying them on the nail. First up was Clarges Street - a shade I initially didn't love. In fact, my boyfriend is the one who picked it as my mani. In the bottle it looks so pink, but once it dries on the nail, it's a completely different color! It doesn't photograph too well, but I really love it.

It's an awesome hot pinky red - the bf's mom calls it "cerise". It manages to be a conservative-ish polish color, since it's red, but it's so bright and the pink in it makes it stand out. It's just really fun. It isn't at all demure, but I never felt self-conscious wearing it either.

The application on this stuff was excellent - it went on in one perfect coat. Unfortunately, I was getting tip wear after a day and chips after two. So, the formula is fabulous application-wise but has no staying power. Disappointing, because it looked perfect for the first day I wore it.

Nailgirl

Christmas shopping haul...

2011-01-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

So I went and did some Christmas shopping the other day, and came out with quite a few goodies for myself! Ooops. Oh well, at least I have all my Christmas shopping done before the first week of December is out. That's handy. Here's what I got for myself... (pics got eaten by camera... I will get them soon!)

At TK Maxx, there is (or was) a selection of Nails Inc gift sets. The one I got was 4 polishes for £15 - which is an incredible deal considering they retail for upwards of £10!! I don't love all the colors, but I do love two and the other two are growing on me. I might put one or two up for swap, but I'm definitely keeping Duke Street (lavender) and Clarges Street (red). Maple Place (blue purple) is interesting but I'm not sure how well it will work with my skin tone. I fear Harriet Walk (teal) will be too dark for me - we shall see. I swatched the colors on the nail wheel, and all except Maple Place look to be one-coaters.

Then I went into Superdrug. Originally I just wanted to pick up Accessorize Aztec, but they had a 3 for 2 promo going on so I also got GOSH in Green Dragon and Holographic - both these colors are stunners. And, for some reason, this Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish, Royal Romance, was 99p. So I picked that up as well. A little boring, but who can resist?

I have one more online order coming soon (the rest of those Revlon Sweet Nothings duochrome layering polishes), and after that I have decided to go no-buy until after Christmas. I have way too many untrieds now, and I need to work through those, even though the pull of the pretties is strong.

Nailgirl

Too many layers

2011-01-01T06:26:00.000-08:00

Warning: the following manicure consists of seven layers of polish. View at your own risk.

If you think this mani looks familiar, you're right. It's my brown & blue polka dots from earlier, with funky french tips added on. I really like it much better this way - I think the tips pull it all together. And, you know I'm a fan of adding tips once my mani starts wearing. I use my hands too much to avoid tipwear after a few days.

Nailgirl

Rimmel eyeshadow swatches

2010-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

I've gotten a few Rimmel palettes lately, usually on discount, so I'm testing them out.

Top left: Colour Rush Trio 621 Orion - a sparkly trio of light beige, light brown, and dark brown.

Top right: Colour Rush Duo 331 Biscuit Box - a sparkly duo of a similar but different light and dark brown. I found this at the pound store and bought it because I go through a lot of brown eyeshadow, and I wanted to see how different it was from the trio I already had.

Bottom: Colour Rush Duo 650 Embrace - Sparkly blue and gold. I love this. The colours are quite sheer, which is annoying in one way but in another way it keeps me from overdoing it. Lovely combination.

Here they are on my hand, in the same order:

And here they are all blended together. They didn't blend too easily.

Nailgirl

While your nails are drying...

2010-12-27T04:22:00.000-08:00

...the world is an obstacle course.
...typing is perilous.
...you thank god for whoever it was that invented quick dry topcoats.
...you will find out, sooner or later, that 8 coats of sheer polish is TOO MANY.
...you will find out that everything everyone says about Nail Prisms is true. (It's gorgeous, but it never ever dries)
...your bladder is your enemy.
...you can practice your meditation.
...the doorbell always rings.
...and so does the phone.
...and the dog, cat, husband or child always needs you.
...you keep your fingers crossed against shrinkage.
...you might already be planning your next mani.
...or something to layer over your current one.
...you watch helplessly as the bubbles form D:
...you wonder whether it's worth the effort and dry time to re-do the bubbling nails.
...you think about how much of your life has been wasted waiting for polish to dry.
...you consider giving up nail polish cold turkey.
...you start to despair about the polish never drying.
...you gently, gingerly brush your finger against a nail and...
It's DRY! FINALLY!

Nailgirl

Franken take 2

2010-12-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

I've been frankening again, and I've learned some things since my first attempt. This time I had no creativity whatsoever, because each shade I made is a copycat/takeoff of an existing popular nail shade, with varying degrees of success.

I started with these supplies, which I ordered from Blush1.

Same basic procedure as last time - new polishes as bases, adding in eyeshadow pigment and dashes of other polishes for more character. This time I got a little more creative, adding in loose cosmetic glitter, trying my hand at a creme, and adding chunky glitter.

The first franken of the day was a takeoff of Deb Lippmann's Lady Sings the Blues - a polish of chunky hex glitter suspended in a navy blue jelly base. I've expressed my admiration for it before, and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I hope Ms Lippmann is very flattered since this is the second time I've tried to copy her look. The copy isn't perfect since my base color is again shimmery, and I didn't quite get a jelly look even though my base was clear.
Also, when I swatched it properly on my nail wheel, it looked as though all the larger glitter had fallen to the bottom and it was impossible to pick up with a brush. :( My kingdom for some ball bearings!

My second creation was quite unintentionally a takeoff of Chanel's Jade. I used a mini bottle of Allura white, which came with a french manicure set, and looks almost but not exactly like whiteout. I think I added too much pigment to this because it applies... chunky. Almost like cottage cheese. Kind of gross. But once it smoothes out, it's gorgeous wet. There's iridescent sparkle and silver bits of shimmer and oh, lovely. And then, it dries to the patina of old chalky paint. Ugh.

Thankfully, a coat of shiny topcoat (Sally Hansen Maximum Growth quickdry, to be precise) restores it almost completely to its former shimmery glory.

The third is my absolute favorite of the bunch. It's the same basic base as the navy blue above, with slightly less pigment, and silver sparkles I got from an old Rimmel polish, Glitz it Up.

On first glance this may remind you of another notable polish - Essie Starry Starry Night. On closer inspection it's not that similar, but it has similar qualities - dark blue, jelly, sparkly. Mine is much more sparkly though, because it's not a dark sea of jelly with small but prominent sparkling stars, but rather an entire shimmering base with tiny dots of silver mixed in. In other words, my silver glitter doesn't get as much emphasis because the entire polish shimmers, not just the glitter. Even though it's not opaque until 4 coats, I still love it.

I promise to post some better pictures and swatches soon, because I really love my new creations!

Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I'm suffering from limited internet access at the moment, but I'll have more swatches and my Christmas manicures posted as soon as I can. See you soon!
Nailgirl

Flip-flop polka dots

2010-12-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

I messed up my previous mani while frankening, unfortunately, so I had to put on a new one. This time, I decided to do the same idea in reverse - instead of blue with brown spots, this time it's brown with blue spots. I don't love this one as much as the other one, but it's still cute.

I started with a coat of Astor Diamant Sensation, color 981. I originally bought this for use as an underwear polish, because in the bottle it literally looks like liquid foundation. Unfortunately it's too dark for me. It's holding a strange middle ground on me; too dark for 'mannequin hands' but too light to be a trendy taupe. I don't love it. It's also wearing really quickly.

Anyway, same business as before - I used a bobby pin in lieu of a dotting tool and applied unevenly sized dots. I made sure to let the dots dry enough before applying topcoat, because I had a little bit of dragging before.

These photos aren't as true to color as I'd like, unfortunately - for some reason, the Astor didn't want to photograph right. It's lighter than shown here in reality.

Nailgirl

Freshening it up with nail art

2010-12-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

I have a very short attention span when it comes to manicures. Whenever I have a bit of time to myself, I like to paint my nails - I enjoy the ritual of it, and having something new on my fingertips. Of course, doing a full-on manicure is more time consuming than adding on to your existing manicure - either by layering something over it, giving it a funky french, or adding some other kind of adornment.

I am loving these silly spots. Brown and light blue are one of my favorite color combinations. I don't have a dotting tool, so the dots aren't a consistent size - but I think I like them that way. I just used the tip of a bobby pin dipped in polish, placing the spots at random intervals until I was satisfied.

Nailgirl

Eyeko Rain, for city nails

2010-12-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that I couldn't wait to try it, and indeed, it's the first color that went on my nails after the wear test was over.

What a lovely polish... It's a slightly grey-tinged sky blue, with a subtle shimmer. It's not exactly the 'hidden shimmer' of Paradoxal/Dusky Mauve/Perplex, but it's not flashy either. I think this is going to be one of my go-to polishes.

The only downside is that Eyeko polish bottles are pretty tiny. The bottle contains 8.5 ml - to compare, Barry M is 10ml, Sally Hansen polishes are 13ml, and OPIs are a whopping 15ml. So, this Eyeko polish is a little over half the size of a regular OPI polish. Still and all, two bottles of Eyeko (at £3.50 each) are less than the price of one OPI in a store.

Eyeko Rain might be dupeish for Chanel Riva - a baby blue with hidden shimmer. I haven't seen any comparisons, but it does seem close judging from pictures. I think Riva might be brighter, and not have the hint of grey that Eyeko Rain has.

I'll definitely be using this again. The color suits me well I think, and the subtle shimmer is mesmerizing.

Nailgirl

Hex glitters are so fun

2010-12-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

You might remember when I was talking about my nail wheels, I showed you some polish layering I was experimenting with. A couple were inspired by Deborah Lippmann polishes, the master of hex glitters.

Lippmann polishes are high-end and some are limited edition. Their formula is said to be excellent, even with regards to the normally difficult-to-handle chunky hex glitter. Me, I don't have a lot of cash and I'm willing to tackle something fiddly in exchange for saving the dosh on the polishes. So, instead of shelling out $40+ for the limited edition Lippman polish set that includes Lady Sings the Blues, a gawgeuss navy blue polish with silver hex glitters, I'm shamelessly copying the idea with my own polishes.

I don't mean to exactly dupe these polishes, because if I set out to do that I would be failing hard. This is just a look inspired by Lippmann, differing in several ways. For one, LSTB is a single polish, and the glitter tends to get drowned out in the base (from what I've heard). I have a layer of glitter on top of a layer of blue, so that isn't a problem. LSTB's base is also a navy jelly, while mine is a navy shimmer (Barry M nail paints Navy). Still, it captures just the look of Lady Sings the Blues that I like: The image of silver stars on a dark blue sky.

My hex glitter was from a company by the name of Saffron, which produces a large number of glitter polishes and hex glitters in both silver and gold. I got them from Blush1, and they were a pound apiece. I've already ordered another silver one for frankening.

The Saffron glitter is different from the Lippmann glitter in one other important way: Lippman chunky glitter polishes contain large hex glitter and small round glitter. These Saffron polishes have small round glitter, as well as large AND medium hexagons.

After I did my nails, I decided to do a coordinating pedi. Warning: horrible pre-cleanup foot picture ahead. It's Barry M Red Black with gold glitter over it. I REALLY love this, it reminds me of Christmas presents. I'm thinking about doing it on my hands for my Christmas mani.

The hex glitter application was a little challenging, and I think I laid it too thickly. I would have preferred the glitter to be a little more sparse. It'll get better with practice.

Of course, as much as I adore the chunky hexagonal glitter look, cleanup will be a biatch. Not looking forward to that...

Nailgirl

Eyeko surprise :)

2010-12-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

I took advantage of Eyeko's pop-up 'Big Surprise' sale, where you paid £10 for a surprise £20 mix of products. Since this was my first Eyeko order I thought it'd be a good idea to get a sampler, plus at a 50% discount, why not?

I'm not overly enthused with the products, but that's simply because of my own makeup preferences and I knew it would be a surprise so I shouldn't be so picky :P Still, I'll probably be adding some of these things to my swap list because one is a blush and one is a bronzer, and since I'm very pale those things both tend to look unnatural on me. I'll test out the blush though, and see if I like it. It's packaged really well, with the two-colored blush on one side and a mini mirror and brush on the other. Very cute.

The lip gloss looks nice - it's London Lips in Portobello. It's got a ton of shimmer in it, and it's a nice nudey pink (my favorite). Eyeko's packaging is obscenely cute. Look at these adorable London-themed products:

Portobello is a nice pinky shade, sheer, glossy, and really glittery. The last thing I got in my Eyeko order was of course some polish! I got Eyeko Rain, which is a really lovely light blue with shimmer. It's even nicer in real life than in photos. I wonder how it compares to Chanel Riva, Chanel's latest release which is also a light blue with shimmer...? Eyeko's came first!

I really LOVE the Rain polish, and I've been wanting it for quite some time. I've already swatched it on the wheel (it's a one-coater!) and I can't wait to try it on my nails.

I used someone's ambassador code, but apparently the threshold for getting a free gift has gone up from £10 to £15, so I didn't get it. Doh! If only I had splurged on one more nail polish. :P Next time...

If you want to order something from Eyeko, I would love it if you used my ambassador code, E12754 . If you spend more than 15 quid, you'll get a free gift!

Nailgirl

Topcoat challenge, day 4 (final results)

2010-12-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

By the fourth day of wear, not only was I getting seriously tired of the Barbie Pink (which doesn't suit me at all), but two of my fingers were looking seriously grody.

I was getting tipwear with every polish, and some fingers were losing their shine. I decided to end the test the afternoon of day 4, and I've come up with some results.

1. Seche Vite shrunk, but Sally Hansen didn't.
2. Make Up Academy shows brushstrokes (yuck!).
3. Allura goes completely matte after a few days! Here is a comparison between my two index fingers:

How ridiculous is that? But then, I wasn't expecting much for a polish that gets sold for less than a pound. Into the franken pile it goes.

My new standard topcoat will be Sally Hansen Maximum Growth quick dry, because it's nearly as shiny as Seche Vite, dries just as fast, and doesn't shrink. Seche shrinks on me at least 75% of the time, and it's incredibly annoying. Even when I wrap my tips, it manages to shrink.

So basically, the higher-end polishes (I mean, Sally is still a drugstore brand, but not a discount drugstore brand) performed better, with the caveat that SV shrinks - but people already know that. This was a useful test for me, as I have accumulated all these TCs, but haven't paid attention to which works better. Now I know!

Nailgirl

Topcoat challenge days 2-3

2010-12-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

The polishes continue to wear at a steady pace. If you see the small chips on my thumbs and index fingers, don't give them undue weight - compare them with the other fingers painted with the same TC. I know I shouldn't, but I do use my fingers for prying things off, picking off stickers, etc., so my thumb and pointer fingers definitely wear faster than my other ones.

I didn't take a picture for day 3 because not much changed. My tipwear is getting pretty bad, but there are no major chips or anything new like that. The cheaper polishes are gradually losing shininess. I think the results of this test are becoming clear...

Nailgirl

Topcoat challenge day 1

2010-12-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

I have two sets of pictures for the first 24 hours of wear - one the morning after I painted my nails, and one after a full day.

In the morning, I woke up an examined my nails -

I found that all of my nails looked about the same as they did the night before, with two exceptions. There was a tiny amount of shrinkage on the Seche Vite nails. More distressingly, however, my left pinky and right middle finger - the bargain-bin Allura topcoat - had become practically matte, and looked textured rather than smooth. Either that polish is extremely slow-drying and I made impressions on it in my sleep, or the shine wore away overnight.

Currently, the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth quick dry and the Seche are shiniest. The rest (except Allura) are still shiny, but not as much as those two.

Here's how my nails looked 24 hours after I painted them:

There's some minor tipwear all around, in addition to the shrinkage from the Seche. I purposely didn't wrap my tips for this test, because I wanted to see how each topcoat would wear naturally. The nails with Allura look a mess upon close examination - not smooth at all.

I'll check in again in a few days, though I think I'm already noticing the differences between these topcoats.

Nailgirl

Blush1 Haul

2010-12-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

I got my second order from Blush1. They're a UK-based overstock cosmetics etailer. I ordered from them for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I loved the stuff so much I made another order! The shipping was INCREDIBLY fast, and after £25, it's free as well.

I got the rest of the Revlon Sweet Nothings collection, after enjoying the first one so much. They're really interesting layering polishes, made for putting over dark polishes. At first I thought they all had the same pink duochrome flash, but it looks like Satin Sheets (white) has a gold flash and Please me Pink flashes blue.

I wish I could capture the duochromes of these polishes on camera, but it's incredibly difficult. In real life, the bottles flash as you turn them and it's so lovely. Each shade is a different sheer, milky color.

These, I'll use for frankening - I got a few shades of Collection 2000 Dazzle Me powder eyeshadow (light green, bright blue, and black), some loose glitter, some glitter polishes, and clear polishes. Watch for my results soon.

This is a polish I wanted to use for 'underwear' under sheer polishes, but it's too dark for my skin tone. If I ever tanned at all, it would work. Unfortunately, I don't.

And a lippie - Too Faced Glamour Gloss in 'Girls on Film'. Nice color, feels quite sticky and has an odd smell though. It's supposedly a lipcolor that 'looks like a gloss and wears like a lipstick'. We'll see. The color suits me well enough.

Nailgirl

Five-topcoat wear test

2010-12-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

I've only been really into polishes for a few months, so I haven't settled on a 'favorite' topcoat yet. I have a few accumulated, but I alternate them depending on my mood. So, I've gathered them up and decided to put them to the test. The challenge is this:

I will take my 5 topcoats, and use one each over each finger of one hand. On the opposite hand, I will use the same TCs in a different order - since, for instance, I get more wear on my index finger than my pinkie, this will level the field a little.

At the end of a week, OR when my polish becomes horribly mangled, whichever comes first, I will end the challenge and compare the wear of the different top coats.

The players are:

Seche Vite, naillovers' favorite. Known for its fast-drying capabilities, epic shine, and unfortunate shrinkage problems. MSRP £8.95.
Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff, my current go-to TC most of the time. MSRP unknown, £4-5 maybe?
Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Quick Dry TC, a new acquisition in my collection. MSRP £4.50.
Make Up Academy Nail Varnish - Clear, a £1 polish from Superdrug. MSRP £1.00.
Allura Topcoat, a mini bottle of TC I got as part of a French manicure set at the pound store - making its approximate price 20p or so. MSRP £? (£1 for manicure kit)

I've decided to test ultra-cheapie polishes against some more well-renowned brands to really see what difference a high-end topcoat can make. Will I have a much better experience? Will it not actually matter that much? Time will tell!

I painted my nails with the usual basecoat and one coat of Barry M nail paint in Limited Edition Pink. I had high hopes for this color since I love it in the bottle, but I don't think the coolness of the pink (leaning on purple) flatters my skin very much. Oh well. I put one coat of each top coat on - for the quick-dry polishes I waited about 2 minutes after applying polish; for the rest I let them completely dry.

Here are how my nails look on night 1, right after cleanup. This is probably about 30 minutes after I painted my nails - I ran my fingers lightly over my nails, and the two quick dry polishes (SV and SH Maximum Growth) feel totally dry to the touch, while the other polishes feel ever so slightly 'tacky'.

Visually, they all look the same except for my left ring finger and my right thumb - the clear Make Up Academy polish - where I can see the texture of brush strokes. It looks like it wasn't thick enough to even itself out after application.

I'll post an update once they begin to wear. We'll see if you really get what you pay for, or if any of these polishes are a screaming deal.

Nailgirl

Sweet Nothings - a beautiful whisper over dark polish

2010-12-10T04:09:00.000-08:00

Just one day after applying Barry M Red Black, I was itching for something new, so I refreshed it with a really incredible layering polish I just got.

It's part of the Revlon Sweet Nothings collection, and I got it on a web store called Blush1, one of those many stores that offer dc'd/overstock drugstore cosmetics at discount prices. Now that I've received this one, I'm really contemplating going back and ordering the rest of the collection as well.

(By the way - I have to recommend Blush1 to you - the shipping was AMAZINGLY fast. My stuff was well packaged too, and, well, cheap :D)

This one goes by the name of Rendez-blue. By itself, it's a super-sheer blue shimmer with silver microglitter that flashes pink. Here it is on the nail wheel, and you can see it's still sheer after 3 coats.

It is, of course, meant for layering. I put it over Barry M Red Black (dupe or dupeish for Chanel Rouge Noir, naturalement) and it's gorg! The tiny silver glitter really pops, and while the duochrome effect isn't as dramatic, it's still there. The shimmer, glitter, and duochrome add incredible depth to what was once merely a creme, yet somehow aren't the least bit over the top.

I'm really excited to try this over other polishes, as well as try the other Sweet Nothings - Barely Blush, Lilac Lingerie, Nude Nightie, Please Me Pink, and Satin Sheets - at £2.00 a bottle, why not?!

Nailgirl

Vampy nubbins

2010-12-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

Since I had a break the other night while wearing my super-sparkly polish, I decided it was time to nubbinize. I've been growing my nails out ever since I got into polish, really enjoying keeping them as long as I could stand, but it couldn't last forever. Long nails get brittle and break, especially if you're always running into things like I am. So, for now, I have cut my nails super-short.

To soften the blow of the nubbinization, I brought out one of my untrieds - Barry M Nail Paint in Red Black. Dark vampy polishes are just the thing for short nails, so I'd been told. And now I believe it!

Normally I'm intimidated by dark polishes - not so now. I love it. The name, Red Black, is obviously a take-off of Chanel's Rouge Noir, especially since Barry M has a few other shades that are dupes of or inspired by other Chanel colors - Dusky Mauve is a perfect dupe of Paradoxal, and Mint Green is similar to Chanel Jade (though missing Jade's shimmer). The newly released Mushroom also looks similar to Particuliere, though I haven't seen any comparisons to judge whether it's as dead-on as Dusky Mauve is.

Dark polishes have their pitfalls - good cleanup is a must. I used the slimline technique I read about at All Lacquered Up, to keep my nails from looking too stubby while they're short. My application wasn't perfect, but I think the illusion still works to some extent.

Most of the Barry M polishes I've tried so far have been awesome one-coaters - this one wasn't quite, but close. You get a nice dark red with one coat, but for the vampish bottle color you need two. Here's a comparison of one coat vs two.

(Sorry for the really rubbish pic... I haven't figured out how to take pictures of both my hands at once.)

So... That's how I learned to stop worrying and love the nubbins. :) I will be growing them out though...

Nailgirl

Giveaway of the day - Nails Beautiqued

2010-12-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Nails Beautiqued is giving away a really cool-looking CND set. It ends tonight, so hurry up and get your entry in!

And, as always, this is an internationally open giveaway!

Nailgirl

My mani routine

2010-12-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

It wasn't so long ago that I was just getting into polishes, and I went searching for articles just like this one - how does one properly do a manicure? Now I've developed my own habits and routine. I don't do every step every time, like filing and buffing, but when I really want to pamper myself I'll do everything. Most of the time I'm in a hurry, so I'll skip some things as needed.

1. Remove your old polish. Needless to say, you can't do a manicure with your old polish still on. I use an acetone-based remover, usually Sally Hansen brand. They're acetone with additives to strengthen or moisturize your nails. I just use cotton pads with acetone. If I'm wearing a lot of coats or a chunky glitter polish, I'll lay the pads over my nails for a few minutes before wiping, and that helps the polish come off easier.

2. File. If my nails are getting longer than I like, they've grown different lengths, there's been a crack, or I just want to change the shape, I file them. Usually I use a metal file. I like to file my left thumb, then right thumb, then left index, right index, etc., so I can be sure the shapes and lengths match :) I don't like to keep my nails too long, since I work with my hands a lot. Some people might consider them "nubbins", but they're the perfect length for me.

3. Buff. Buffing too often can weaken your nails, so I only do it once a month or so, or if I'm going to go with my nails naked. I have a bag of four-sided foam buffers that I got at the pound store. The buffers go down in coarseness, so once you've used all the sides you have a very smooth, shiny finish on your nails. It looks great if I have to go polishless.

4. Have a bath. Taking a nice long soak in warm water will loosen up any remnants of polish that might be hiding in your cuticles or under your nails, and it will also clean the acetone residue from your nails. Soaking your hands will also soften them, making it easier to push back your cuticles later. I do all my normal bath stuff, washing my hair etc., and also take some time to relax. After all, this is pampering time!

5. Lotion up. After I'm done with my bath, I'll put on body lotion where I need it and also hand lotion. A hot bath can dry out your skin, but your skin will absorb the lotion better when it's damp, so now is the perfect time for lotioning!

6. Push back the cuticles. Once my hands are nice and soft, I push back the cuticles with an orange wood stick. You should be able to find these at any drug store and they're very cheap, like 10 for £1. There are also metal cuticle pushers, but these are more harsh and you want to be gentle to your cuticles - underneath is where the nails grow!

7. Apply base coat. A base coat is like eyeshadow primer - it helps your polish stick and can reduce peeling. It also prevents dark polishes from staining your nail. You can use a dedicated base coat, but you could use clear polish as well - I have a ridge-filling base coat that I use sometimes, but since it's a little hard to work with I usually just go with a layer of clear polish.

8. Apply polish! This is the part you've been waiting for - the color! Apply one, two, or three coats of your polish once the base coat is dry. Make sure you wait for each coat to totally dry before applying the next one - the longer you wait in between coats, the quicker it will dry once everything is done. Have you ever had nails that dent, smudge, or just slide off entirely? That's usually caused by not waiting long enough in between layers.
I try to apply in three strokes - once down the middle, and once down each of the sides. Some brushes are better for this; it depends on the brand. The quicker you can apply it, the smoother it will generally look. When I take the brush out of the bottle, I wipe one side off, leaving a bead of polish on the other side, which I use on the nail.

9. Apply topcoat. If you're using a fast-drying TC like Seche Vite, you only need to wait a minute or two between the last coat of polish and the topcoat. If you're just using a regular topcoat or clear polish, you should wait for your last coat to fully dry before applying the top coat.

10. Drying drops. This is totally optional, but it does help your polish dry. I picked up some Revlon 'No-smudge Dry Oil' at the pound store, but there are several brands, such as OPI Drip Dry. The Revlon product is shaped like a nailpolish bottle, and inside is a clear, drippy oil that you apply with the flexible brush. The oil forms a protective layer over your nail as it speeds drying.

11. Wait... I'm worst at this part! Usually I catch up on my TV while waiting for the nails to dry. Remember that even if they're dry to the touch and not 'tacky' anymore, you can still dent the polish hours after applying. It depends on how many coats you used, how long you waited in between them, the type of polish, etc., but I've had times where I've applied polish in the afternoons and dented or smudged it in my sleep :(

12. Cleanup. After your nails have dried, you can clean up your application a bit. Take a Q-tip with some acetone and swipe it around your cuticles to catch any messy polish, and fix any smudges you might have made. Sometimes I need to clean up my mani, and sometimes I don't. It depends on the formula of the polish and how shaky my hands were that day. When I started doing my nails, I definitely needed to do it every time! If you still have polish flooded into your cuticles, don't fret, because a lot of it will come off in your next bath or shower. A good shower can be better than a cleanup job sometimes!

So that's what I do for a complete mani!

Nailgirl

Spreadsheet & Polish stats

2010-12-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

At the same time that I swatched all my polish on nail wheels, I also made a basic spreadsheet to keep track of my polish. I know there are a LOT of girls on Makeupalley who do this to keep track of their large polish stashes. My stash isn't unmanageable yet, but in the coming months it may become more and more unruly...

In two months, I've managed to accumulate 41 polishes! (including basecoats and topcoats)

My spreadsheet was organized thusly:
- Position on nail wheel
- Brand
- Line within brand
- Color name
- Texture (is it smooth enough to wear without a topcoat, slightly gritty, or really chunky?)
- Number of coats to opaque
- Finish (creme, glitter, frost, foil, etc)
- Miscellaneous notes (Does it take forever to dry? Is application streaky? Does it tend to separate? It is GORGEOUS with flakies over it? etc...)

So here are some fun stats from my polish collection...
Of my 41 polishes:
9 are so sheer that they're not solid after 4 coats
5 are one-coaters
3 of those one-coaters are Barry M
I own 7 Barry M polishes and 7 Rimmel polishes
My fullest wheels are neutrals and orange/warm pinks, with 8 polishes each
My emptiest wheel is red, with 3!

Nailgirl

Nail wheels!

2010-12-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

The other day was like Christmas - I got two packages, one of polish, and one of nail wheels.

I had ordered them from eBay ages ago, but due to a combination of them being shipped from Hong Kong and an issue with my Paypal account, they just recently arrived. I got 10 wheels with 20 nails on each, for around £3 including shipping.

I had a ball swatching all of my polishes and arranging them by color. My color categories are: Topcoats, Red, Glitter & Metallic, Neutrals (that is black, white, gray & brown), Blue, Purple & Cool Pink, and Orange & Warm Pink (and my one yellow polish). That leaves me with three wheels left over - one I'll be using for layering experiments, and the other two? Not sure yet.

Why should you swatch your polishes? Because when you start to accumulate a lot of them, it helps to know what a color looks like on the nail and just not in the bottle. It helps you get an idea of the texture, opacity, and true color of the polish.

Here's how I swatched my colors:

It isn't super complicated, of course, because it's just like painting nails! But, there are a few differences. First of all, I didn't use a base coat. That would be a huge waste of polish! Second, I painted them so that I can tell how opaque each coat becomes: The first coat I painted the entire surface of the nail, then the second coat was 1/3 of the way down, then the third coat was just the top 1/3 of the nail. That way, I can see how the polish looks at 1 coat, 2 coats, and 3 coats. I did this even for polishes that looked opaque on the first coat, because sometimes polish can change when it gets thicker.

You can really do whatever you like with your wheels - if you want to, you can use different nails for different numbers of coats, instead of using just one nail for it. You can sort your wheels by color, finish, brand, how much you like them... it's up to you! You can also choose between white and clear wheels. I chose clear wheels because my nails are not white, and I think a white base would change my swatch. I know a lot of people prefer white ones, however.

You can also choose whether or not to go over your swatches with top coat. I chose not to, because for one, that would be the equivalent of four manicures of TC, and for another thing, I'd rather know what the original texture of the polish is, and decide from there how I want to coat it. For instance, it's useful to know whether a glitter polish is chunky or smooth when it dries.

So now I've got a full record of all my polishes. When I get a new one, I can swatch it on the wheel and get a good idea of how many coats to use, before I even start my mani. Plus, I can even see how a sheer polish might look layered over something else.

By the way - I mentioned I'm using one of my extra wheels for layering experiments. Here's some of the things I've come up with.

A few of them are inspired by some unique high-end polishes... do you know what they are? More on that soon :)

Nailgirl

Fixing polish chips and smudges

2010-12-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes while you're waiting for polish to dry, you have to use the bathroom or answer the phone or something, and... bam. The tip of your nail is smudged. Or you've been wearing a mani for just a day or two, and it gets scratched by your car key. Whatever the cause, don't fret! Your manicure is not ruined. You can do a quick fix and no one might even notice.

Here's a smudge that happened to my recent mani. Sorry it's hard to see; they say glitter polish is quite forgiving to mistakes and pink glitter even moreso. Hopefully you can see the smudge, right by the arrow.

Here are my steps to fix it:

1. Take a q-tip/cotton bud, dip it in acetone, and run it gently over the ruined area. The idea here is to remove all the rough areas and create a spot that can easily be filled with new polish, without being higher than the rest of the polish.

2. Take your colored polish, and wipe the brush off until you have just a TINY bead of polish on the very tip of the brush.

3. Take a deep breath, steady your hands, and dab the polish onto the bald spot. Smooth it out a little bit.

Sometimes this turns out perfectly and you can't even see where you fixed it! Sometimes it turns out a little splotchy in that area, but most people aren't going to notice. See?

Optional step 4: Apply a new layer of topcoat to the nail. This smooths things out even more, creating the illusion that there was never a smudge in the first place.

Nailgirl

ULTRA BLINGIN' notd

2010-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

This might be my favorite NOTD so far.

It's 2 coats of Rimmel 60 Seconds in 'Starlet', which is a pink glitter, with a layer of flakie on top. To be specific, it's Andrea Fulerton Gemstone Overcoat, which can be found at Superdrug. Though really, a flakie polish in a clear base is a flakie polish in a clear base. You could call it Hidden Treasure, Gosh Rainbow, Nubar 2010, etc., but they're basically the same with only minor, if any, differences.

Andrea Fulerton has the advantage over the other named flakie polishes in that it's easier to find. Larger Superdrug stores should have an Andrea Fulerton cosmetics stand, and the Gemstone Overcoat is in there. It's deceptively spendy at £5 a bottle because the bottle is only 5.5ml - making it half or even a third the size of normal polishes. Still, flakies are flakies and they are totally worth it, even if I go through this bottle fast.

Here's what Starlet looks like on its own:

It may be called 'starlet', but to me it feels more like a 'princess'. This is the kind of sparkly pink that really thrills the inner seven-year-old in me. It's really absolutely FUN. Even though the glitter is really dense, to my surprise the polish dried perfectly smooth. Plus, the Rimmel 60 Seconds line has an extra-wide brush that I really adore. I like this polish well enough on its own, but adding a layer of flakies over it makes it something really exceptional.

If you're not familiar with flakie polishes, here, I'll introduce you:

The 'standard' way of making flakies pop is to layer them over black or other dark colors. And it definitely does make them pop, but vampy manicures usually aren't my thing. So instead, I layered it over a glitter polish to give the sparkliness more dimension.

And did it ever! WOW, it gave my nails an almost holo look. Of course it isn't a true holo, but that's really what it looked like. For the two days I wore this mani, I could not stop looking at it.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. By the end of the first day I was getting tip wear, and by the second day I was getting chips. The end of the second night I had a break, and that was the end of my gorgeous blingy mani, sadly. But for the short time I wore it, it was glorious.

Nailgirl

Newsprint/Weather mani tutorial

2010-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted about my weather mani, and I promised I would include a tutorial. There are other tutorials for newsprint nails, but as far as I know I'm the first to extend the idea to graphics as well as text.

Grab your newspaper and find something you want to transfer to your nails - small icons work best, which is why I chose the weather symbols. You could also try logos, pictures from advertisements, etc.

First, paint your nails as normal. Use a lighter color - you can use a gray newspaper-colored polish if you like, but really any light color will do.

After your polish has dried, gather your cuttings. Your newspaper should be cut into strips a little larger than your nail. Pour some alcohol into a dish or cup, dip a finger into the alcohol for a few seconds, place a strip onto your nail and press down for a good 15-30 seconds. You can use whatever kind of alcohol you have around - vodka and isopropyl alcohol both work.

I had some trouble with the ink adhering when I tried it, and I'm not exactly sure why - my nails had been dry a couple hours beforehand, but then I painted over them with a top coat and then, things went just fine. It was either the formula of the polish or the fact that my nails had fully dried that made the ink not stick - does anyone else have any insight on this?

Peel the paper back slowly (check a corner first to make sure the ink has transferred), and you should have a design on your nails! Put on a topcoat so the ink doesn't rub off, clean up as normal, and you're done!

Nailgirl

Giveaway of the day - Christmas at Juicy Nails

2010-12-02T03:52:00.000-08:00

Here's another international giveaway that's caught my eye - I really love the selection of polishes here! It's from Juicy Nails.

Some things here that have been on my wishlist for a while - Essence Glisten Up (a turquoise-base flakie polish) and Eyeko polishes too!

It runs til December 15. Good luck!

Nailgirl

Weather mani (newsprint)

2010-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is my twist on the newsprint mani that's popped up on several blogs lately. The newsprint idea is super cool, but I wondered if I could take that idea and basically make my own nail decals from newspaper pages.

It worked out fairly well, actually. It was a little time-consuming, but the end result is a lot of fun. This was my first time doing a skittle, so that's really fun too.

First, I painted my nails skittles-style in Barry M 'Grey', Barry M 'Blueberry Ice Cream', and Rimmel Lasting Finish 'Sunshine'. You'll notice in the pictures that two of my nails are actually white... That's because I didn't have a yellow creme on hand, and painted my nails white until I ran down to the shops to pick some yellow polish up. As an aside: Do you have any idea how hard it is to find yellow nail varnish at a drug store? In the entire cosmetics section at Boots, there was only this Rimmel shade and a pastel from Barry M.

I only noticed after painting my yellows that Sunshine isn't a creme at all - in fact it's got a subtle shimmer. For my purposes, though, it works fine.

Then I dipped my nails in vodka, and applied the paper strips to my nail - I'm going to have a tutorial up soon, don't worry. :)

Nailgirl

Magnetic polish giveaway!

2010-12-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is REALLY cool - The Lacquerista is giving away a set of magnetic polish!

I'd heard about magnetic polish before, but the only one I heard about has long since been discontinued. It's really cool that a new line is coming out! Look at those...wow...

And like all the giveaways I feature on my blog, this one is open to anyone internationally! Yay!

Nailgirl

I'm an Eyeko ambassador - free gift with your purchase!

2010-11-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

I've just become an Eyeko ambassador - that means if you place an order at Eyeko (which has free UK and mainland Europe shipping btw), not only does it help me out, but you'll get a free gift with a £10/€12/$15 purchase.

I've heard so much good stuff about Eyeko polishes. Each color comes in its own unique packaging, and they're only £3.50 each so what's there to lose? I plan on making my first Eyeko order soon. My current faves are Eyeko Rain, Eyeko Cosmic, and Eyeko Vampira.

Remember to use my code E12754 for your free gift!

Nailgirl

Giveaway of the day - Cel's blog

2010-11-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

Cel's blog is giving away some lovely sparkly polishes and nail art stickers. I'm particularly interested in the green crackle polish in the center (Isadora Graffiti Nails) - I bet it makes a really cool effect!

It's open to international entrants and you can enter until December 10, so go check it out!

NOTD Second franken!

2010-11-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

So finally I've had the chance to test drive my eyeshadow franken. I took clear polish, glitter eyeshadow, and a tiny bit of colored polish and mixed 'em all together to create this monster.

I tried out my first one, sort of - it became the golden french tips for my hot red nails. Not exactly a full swatch, but I'm not sure I could handle gold nails anyway...

In the bottle, this polish looks chocolate brown. The first coat went on sheer, shimmery, streaky and maroon.

By the second coat though, the polish became perfectly opaque - no VNL here - and the shimmer is beautiful. It's just about the color of milk chocolate, shot with gold sparkles.

There's a little bit of a frost effect going on, and if I really stare at it I can see the brushstrokes. I think one coat would be good for layering over other stuff, and it really changes completely with the second coat. The first coat was definitely much redder than the finished product.

Nailgirl

Giveaway of the day - Libby's Pink Vanity

2010-11-26T06:06:00.000-08:00

Libby is giving away a collection of awesome glitter polishes from Forever 21. There's a wide range of colors that look nice and fall-y.

I'm a sucker for shimmer, and I love these colors too! I don't know how well I can pull off the darker polishes, but I would certainly try :3

Nailgirl

Accessorize Pink Spice over pink

2010-11-26T02:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a job interview, so my nails were a rather demure pinky-coral - Max Factor Nailfinity in 'Earth'. I really like the color actually, it's just a little more 'normal' than my other recent manis.

Well I had only had the Max Factor on for a day, so I didn't want to take it off in favor of a new more exciting polish. Instead, I gave it a layer of Acessorize Pink Spice - a near-dupe to MAC Bad Fairy. (You can see some comparisons here)

By the way, if you're in the UK and looking for this color, don't bother with Accessorize stores - all the ones I've seen have just had a tiny basket of polish in normal colors. My local Superdrug has a whole display of Accessorize cosmetics now, and the duochromes are on a lower shelf apart from the other polishes.

I've had this color on my toes for a while now, and to be honest I wasn't super enthused by it. I was afraid that all that hype was for nothing - sure, it's got a flashy foil finish, but I didn't care for the bright magenta it usually appeared to be.

The problem was, of course, that my toenails didn't often see sunlight. In the light, the color plays beautifully and shifts from pink to red to orange in different angles. I'll be honest, I would be happier if it didn't default to magenta, since I don't care for that color on my nails, but the other colors that appear as I move my hands around are worth it.

Even though it's layered (one coat) over a slightly-shimmery pink, it doesn't look any less impressive than the three coats on my toes. In fact, since the glitter has more space to reflect upon itself, it actually looks a lot better than my pedi does. I'm definitely going to use it this way in the future, layered over other polishes, to maximize sparkle and prevent VNL.

It's definitely flashy, and not at all demure. Not for the faint of heart... gorgeous, but I certainly won't be wearing it all the time. At any rate, I've fallen hard for duochromes. Have to look for more - there are a couple other in the Accessorize line, so I might pick those up as well. One is dupeish for Orly Space Cadet.

Nailgirl

Max Factor Nailfinity - Earth

2010-11-25T04:21:00.000-08:00

A fairly hum-drum notd today - don't get my wrong, I love this color, but specifically because there isn't much special about it. It isn't flashy, or over-the-top. It has a little shimmer, and it's a nice color. That's what I like about it - it just suits me, without bringing too much attention to my nails. I had a job interview, and decided that orange or green nails wouldn't be appropriate.

It's Max Factor Nailfinity, in Earth. Application was a bit gloopier than I liked, but the thickness lends opacity. You could go with one coat of this if you wanted, though I put on two to eliminate any visible nail line (my coats were thin).

It's a nice coraly pink, with some frosty shimmer that's more apparent in the bottle than it is on the nail.

I think the polish is about £5 or £6 at drugstores, but after I bought it I found it for cheaper online. This is currently my go-to for subtle nails, so I might have to grab a backup bottle.

Nailgirl (Happy Thanksgiving, all!)

Barry M Dusky Mauve + funky french

2010-11-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

I did another funky french - these are the best solution for tipwear ever, I swear. They look fun, they're simple, and they extend my mani another few days.

A few days ago I tried on Barry M Dusky Mauve, a dupe for Chanel Paradoxal. I can't compare myself since I don't have it, but the consensus is that it's a total, perfect dupe. You can find comparison pics here, here, and here.

Dusky Mauve certainly is an extraordinary color - in most lights, it varies between a slate gray and purpley mauve creme. But every once in a while, depending on how you look at it, you get a flash of magenta shimmer. It's gorgeous. I'm not generally a huge fan of dark polishes, but this one is special.

From the pics online that I'd seen, I didn't know how 'hidden' the shimmer really is. Most of the time, it looks just like a purpley-gray creme. But when it hits the light just right, you get the secret shimmer. I really like it, and I've never had a polish like it before.

I did a basecoat, two coats of Dusky Mauve #313, and a coat of Seche Vite - unfortunately the topcoat shrunk HORRIBLY on me, making my brand-new mani look days old. So the next day, I went over them with another set of funky french tips! These are done with Rimmel Lasting Finish 240 'Bling', which is a cooler and more silvery gold than my last set of tips which were much more orangey.

In the past week I've also tested out another dupeish drugstore polish, Accessorize Pink Spice - which is nearly a dupe for the fabled MAC Bad Fairy! Pics soon :)

Nailgirl

Giveaway of the day - Bec's Beauty Buzz

2010-11-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

I used to LOVE giveaways - I follow a ton of Etsy sellers' blogs, so I've entered dozens of giveaways and even won a few awesome prizes.

Now that I've moved to the UK, I've realized that I might not be eligible for all the giveaways anymore - and if a US-based blogger doesn't state whether their giveaway is international or not, I don't want to surprise them with international shipping charges if I win. So, I'm grateful to people who open their giveaways to everyone! :)

One of those people is Bec's Beauty Buzz, who is offering a prize that quite frankly I am SUPER excited about. It's 7 bottles of Ozotic polish, an Australian brand I'm not familiar with but these bottles look GORG. Check them out!

You can enter to win here and it ends the 5th of December.

(by the way, I promise to post more mani pics soon - just as soon as I get them off my camera. I've been trying out the Paradoxal and Bad Fairy dupes from Barry M and Accessorize, and soon I'm going to try my second eyeshadow franken!)

Nailgirl

Red & Gold funky French tips

2010-11-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

I told you I'd post my first franken manicure, so here it is...

I was already wearing Barry M Red Wine when I was mixing up my frankenpolishes, and when I came up with such a lovely yellow gold, I knew it was a match made in heaven.

I really couldn't wait to try out my eyeshadow-mixed polishes, so I gave myself french tips with sellotape (Scotch tape, for the yanks ;).

It was my first time doing french tips with tape, and it turned out all right. Surprisingly well, anyway - there were a few smudges and they're not totally even, but most of them are okay and from a distance, it looks fabulous. Only the macro on the camera is betraying my smudges.

If you're doing french tips or nail art with tape, just remember one VERY IMPORTANT thing - make sure the tape isn't too sticky! I stuck the tape over my palm a few times before sticking it on my nail, so it doesn't get too sticky and take your polish off.

Red Wine is an absolutely fabulous Barry M color, by the way - BM Nail Paints have names and numbers, and Red Wine is np1, for a reason - it's a really nice basic red, bright but on the darkish side, and it looks quite flattering on me.

Nailgirl

Giveaway at the Varnish Vixen!

2010-11-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

Varnish Vixen has a giveaway on this month, and it looks like a really good one! Up to be won are OPI, RBL, and China Glaze polishes, as well as a steampunk-style necklace. Best of all, it's open to entrants all over the world! :D

Frankening in the lab

2010-11-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Does it count as a franken if you're not really mixing nail polishes together, but creating nail polishes? I think it does...

I've been working 'in the lab' to create myself some hot new polish, on the cheap! My supplies were:

From Superdrug:
2 bottles of Make Up Academy polish in clear, £1 each (these are 6ml bottles, so basically mini size)
1 pot of Make Up Academy eye dust in brownish, £1
From Poundland:
2 pots of Collection 2000 'Dazzle Me' eye dust in Paradise and Jaffa, £1 each (obviously)
...and my polish stash.

Originally I wasn't planning on using any of my polishes in the mixture, but I decided to get creative midway through. What I did was:

-Create a funnel out of cardboard
-Add the eyeshadow to the clear polish little by little, swatching on a piece of paper until I liked it
THEN, I started adding drops of np to the polish as well, once I decided my creations were missing a little something. I added some Barry M in Wine Red to the brown polish, creating a lovely dark rose gold (I know it looks brown in the pictures, but I will swatch it on my nails later!). I also added some white Rimmel Lycra polish to both polishes, just to make them a little less sheer - I didn't add much, just a few drops.

I am so pleased with the results, and I will definitely try this again. They're very shimmery and lovely colors to boot - a real shiny yellow gold and a sort of sheer brownish raspberry shimmer. If you have any spare powder eyeshadow around, or find some for cheap, I would totally recommend you try this out. It's really fun to create nailpolish that's completely unique and your own!

Come back soon to see my first manicure with my frankenpolishes... I couldn't wait to try at least one of them out, so I added some funky french tips to the polish I was already wearing!

Nailgirl

Halloween glitter syrup mani

2010-11-09T05:56:00.001-08:00

Apologies for the cell phone pics - it's all I had available :(

This Halloween, I gave myself a glitzy mani of glitter, glitter, and MORE glitter. Not only was it full of glitter, but since my red glitter polish was so sheer, I decided to do syrup nails - basically, you do a gradation by painting the tips, then a little further up, then a little further than that, and then the whole nail.

Basecoat, 1 coat Rimmel Lycrawear in Glitz it Up, 4? 5? coats of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms in Bronze Ruby, topcoat

I really loved how this mani turned out, very dramatic, and though you can't see the gradation that well in the pics, you could see it IRL. The only problem was that the Nail Prisms takes forEVER to dry, so even hours later I managed to put a dent in it. Still, this was a fun, creative manicure, and I would try it again with a different polish.

Nailgirl

Welcome!

2010-11-09T05:56:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I'm an American Nailgirl in London. As the moniker suggests, I'm an American expat in the UK and a recently minted devotee to nail polish/lacquer/varnish. Whatever you want to call it, I've falled in love with it. The colors, the sparkles, the effects, the endless varieties - so great! So, here I'll be sharing my manicures, swatches, and maybe my expat experiences as well.

Nailgirl