Polka Dot Mani Fail with Essie Foot Loose

Edited to add: Get 10% off your Born Pretty Store purchase with coupon code MH10K31 - expires Oct 31, so you can purchase happily til then! (Note: I don't profit in anyway from the code. I'm just sharing it with interested readers.)

After seeing all those awesome cool manicures featuring dotting tools, I decided that despite my lack of hand-eye coordination and general clumsiness, I just HAD to try one out. That, and I wanted to bring on a summer colour on my nails. That's how I ended up with this monster of a manicure. I have to admit, while there wasn't anything wrong with the tools I used, my dotting skillz are teh suckz. Seriously.



I got my dotting tools from Born Pretty Store, which has been popular lately among bloggers and nail polish lovers for its ready availability of cheap and cheery nail art suppliers, including crackle polish, stickers, rhinestones, etc. The dotting tools I got were just under US$5 for a set, and are available here.

These dotting tools are of good quality, and quite handy to use. You get a set of 5 dual-ended dotting tools. All five have two ends.



One end is all the same size, a standard size that would be handy for most designs:



The other end of the tools is more interesting for girls who really want to dot in all sizes. The ends of the tools range from really big to positively tiny, and would definitely satisfiy any dotter's needs.



For the dot manicure below, I used Essie Foot Loose because it was such a lovely summer colour - girly, bright, and still a little spunky. And since it's in the colour family of pinks (in this case bright purply-pink), it's wearable to the office! And unlike other Essies which tend to be sheer and streaky, this is a one-to-two coater, depending on thickness of application.



For the dots, I used the dotting tools and Wet n Wild White. One of the best white konading polishes ever, now used for dotting. FOr the variously sized dots on my nails, I used the large end of the green dotting tool, and the large end of the pink dotting tool. I also, for smaller dots, used the white dotting tool.

I know the dots don't looks as nice as they could be, but that's realy due more to my lousy application than anything else. After all, all dotting tools are the same right? But looking at these photos makes me feel like from far, they aren't THAT bad, right, right? *Crickets chirp*



Anyway, I love the colour of my mani, even if my dotting skills suck. It kind of reminds me of summer - bright, and polka dotted, and just generally cheery!

(Dotting tools were sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Girly Punk Valentine's Day Nails: Neon Pink and Black Roses

Nothing says girly punk like hot pink and black. And nothing says romance like roses. So when I decided to do Valentine's Day manicure, I decided to combine these two aspects, although I'm not very girly, punky, or romantic. I keep seeing all these sterotypical reds, pale pinks, and sheers coming out near Valentine's Day, and I keep thinking - why shouldn't I do something different?

So here you are: neon pink, black, and roses. The horror!



To be honest, I didn't quite like my nails when I first wore them. I thought they were ugly (and I'm sure some of my readers will think they ARE ugly), but for some reason they grew on me, and I can't quite figure out why either. Maybe I got used to the ugliness. Or maybe the hot pink colour matched my funky Valentine's Day eye look. LOL. But it did grow on me, and yes, I was walking around with blinding hot pink nails with OTT rose designs. Yeeha!



For the neon pink base, I used Eyeko Punk Polish for Neon Nails, which is a one-coater if you're careful. Like other Eyeko polishes I've used before, the consistency is a little on the thick side, so if you prefer a thinner polish consistency, one or two drops of thinner would be more than sufficient. Oh, and this polish is NEON. Like eyeball searing, highlighter pink kind of neon. I know it doesn't look like it in the photos, but that's because I just couldn't capture the blinding neon-ness of it on camera.

For the black roses, I used my favourite konading black of all time, Wet n Wild Black. It's dirt cheap (if you don't count the cost of shipping it outside of the USA), easily available, and opaque in one coat. Perfect for konading!

The konad plate used was M65. I figured I could get away with such an OTT rose design only around Valentine's Day!



So this isn't your traditional Valentine's Day sweetheart manicure. But I have those too! If this is making you puke, feel free to try some other sweetheart, Valentine-appropriate posts: there's one with girly chic, a feminine pastel purple that's holo to boot, a nude with a touch of flowers, and the near classic jewel pinky-purple holo. Probably more traditionally Valentine Day-ish than this sad excuse to wear hot pink, LOL!

I'm not much of a romantic, and I really couldn't care less for Valentine's Day. But I figured, since it was the occasion for it, why not go all out in dressing up my nails? It's the perfect reason to get away with whatever I want!

(Eyeko product sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

China Glaze For Audrey + Konad Fishnet = Awesome Nails!

It rarely happens, but I actually managed to wear un-boring nails to work for one entire week! It was during the Christmas season, so I didn't have any client meetings, and both my bosses were on leave for the holidays. So a thought popped into my head - since I wasn't going to be doing much work that required me to look professional, why shouldn't I jazz up my nails? Thus, I promptly combined China Glaze For Audrey with the awesome fishnet/lace print on my nails.

China Glaze has a few colours that are famous, and For Audrey is one of them. It's purportedly named after Audrey Hepburn for her role in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the colour was apparently created to be the same shade of blue-green as a Tiffany's box. Now is that cool or what? I know most people who are more colour-shy won't see turquoise as a colour is classic, or for that matter, classy. But if you think about it, what can be more classy than a Tiffany's box? And if a Tiffany's box is classy, why shouldn't we wear that gorgeous colour on our nails?

So behold, my awesome manicure the colour of a Tiffany's box! It's absolutely gorgeous, and in some lights it looks more blue, but in others it looks more green. I can't quite decide whether it's more of a blue or a green.



Oh, right, I have to admit, that mani was made slightly awesome by the fact that I smudged the konad design on my ring finger after having painstakingly stamped it on. But it doesn't make it any less stunning, doesn't it? Right? *Awkward silence*

Alright, yes, I was a klutz with the konad. I used my all-time favourite (and oh-so-cheap) black nail polish for the fishnet/lace print, Wet n' Wild Black. And the design came from one of my favorite konad plates of all time, M57. Back then when konading was a new thing, the M57 plate was so hard to get hold of, because every nail polish fanatic wanted one, and it was perpetually out of stock.



After applying China Glaze For Audrey, I can definitely see why it's a classic. This colour was trouble-free in it's application - in fact, it virtually applied itself. It was fully opaque in two coats, although I suspect if you do thicker coats, you could get away with one. And it didn't streak at all. I enjoyed painting on this colour. Wet n' Wild Black, which was used for this konad to imprint the lace/fishnet pattern, is one of the fan favourites of nail polish addicts for konading. It's cheap, it's black, and it works well with the konad stamp and plate set. What's not to like?

Lasting power was about average - it lasted about 4 days on me before the first chip appeared, which was pretty usual. I don't have any complaints about the lasting power of China Glaze polishes in general. Some brands have trouble staying on my nails (ahem, Zoya and Barielle, I'm looking at you!), but China Glaze isn't one of them.



I don't know about you, but I was in love with my nails for the time I wore it. Everyone I met commented on my nails, from fellow colleagues to sales staff I would encounter on the way hhome from work. It actually pained me to remove the colour when the holiday season was over and work started picking up again at the office. Of course I had to take it off and replace it with a more sensible, work-appropriate colour. But at least I got to have funky nails for awhile!

Wet n' Wild Blue Moon and Nailene Nail Art: Cheap and Awesome

Reading through my older blog entries, I realized I really love to use the term "like stars in a night sky" to describe makeup or nail polish - like you know, when describing a black eyeshadow with silver glitter, or a nail polish that's a blue jelly with glitter...I don't know why, but I guess it's just one of my pet phrases!

So in light of that, don't be surprised if I say this NOTD was inspired by stars in a night sky, LOL! But hey, it's a base of blue shimmer, and some really pretty star nail stickers with small gemstones! The base is Wet n' Wild Blue Moon, while the awesome nail stickers are from Nailene,(which, by the way, have a pretty awesome selection of nail stickers for cheap, and they're readily available at drugstores. I also really like their nail glue, and I use it whenever I have to fix a broken nail.)



Anyway, I had no trouble at all with the Nailene nail stickers. These were easy to remove from the backing, were sturdy enough not to tear when subject to twisting from my tweezers, and stayed on until I removed them. A lot of people have issues with nail stickers, because they are worried that the nail stickers will fall off, but as long as you topcoat over your nail stickers, they'll be A-Okay.

The Wet n' Wild polish, on the other hand, kind of disappointed me. I loved the application, and the colour - oh how I loved the colour! - because it was a kickass deep navy blue with a unique green shimmer. But as is typical for WnWs, the wear really got to me, and it chipped the very next day. I was absolutely heartbroken!

If anyone wants to suggest a dupe of Blue Moon that won't chip as easily, I'm all ears!

(Nailene stickers were provided to me for review. I am not affilated/compensated by the company. This review is my full and honest opinion.)

KOTD: Orly Foil Luxe and Wet n Wild Black

A few weeks back, my programme had a boat party for the postgraduates, and of course I had to go - it was free for students, and they provided dinner, and you know I'm all up for a free meal :P The dress code was formal, but in rebellion of the utter impracticality of wearing tuxedos and gowns in summer, our class chose to go informal anyway.

Anyway, the whole point of me telling you this is because it actually has something to do with today's NOTD. I started building my outfit around my nails, as I am increasingly wont to do lately, and I decided that I wanted to wear blingy gold nails with some konad. (Note to everyone: only weirdos like me start thinking about their nails before thinking about their clothes.)

Naturally, I picked out Orly Luxe, from the Foil FX Collection, and I stamped it over with Wet n Wild Black. I used Konad plate M81 for the design. And tada:



This is two coats of Orly Luxe, under natural light, konaded over with Wet n Wild Black, which is a really opaque black creme. I just LOVE Orly Luxe. It's probably the best gold foil ever, and definitely the standout of the entire Orly Foil FX Collection. I mean, good gold foils are hard to come by, and this one is smooth, easy to apply, and opaque in one coat (ooh, gold foil konad coming up!). And not to mention I love the colour - it's a shade of gold that isn't too brassy or too warm, and would be perfect on almost anybody.

After I had done my nails, I realized that my nails matched a skirt I had just bought a few days ago (on sale from H&M, yay for 50% off summer sales!). So I ended up wearing the skirt, just because they matched my nails! And yes I know I'm a freak for matching my clothes to my nails, and not the other way around. What can I say - I probably have more nail polishes than I have clothes.

Here's a photo of my nails against the skirt. See, see? They match!



And of course, since it was a boat party for postgrads, I managed to find something else that matched my nails:



That was my friend's bottle, LOL. I don't drink very much, primarily because alcohol is full of empty calories, and I've never thought it was worth putting on weight for, with the possible sole exception of pear cider, LOL. I know, I'm a weirdo, but that's a pretty convincing argument to me, LOL.

Anyway, that was my KOTD, and I promise the next post won't feature any alcohol :P

Wet n Wild Megalast Infatuation: NOTD

Today's NOTD is Wet n' Wild's Megalast nail polish in the colour Infatuation 216. It's a pretty red jelly, and I would have liked it more if not for the application and wear issues. It's also easily built up to near-opacity, despite being a jelly. I don't have many red nail polishes (because why wear reds when you can wear taupes, greys, and purples?) but this is one that I like. I actually bought it when it was buy-one-get-one-free at Walgreens, and although it wasn't my colour, it was cheap so I thought, why not? Now that I'm no longer living in the US, I really miss the drugstore beauty sales. I don't think you can get buy-one-get-one-free drugstore makeup anywhere else.

Here it is in natural sunlight. This is two coats. And as you can tell by the watermark this was an old NOTD when my nails were ugly and my skills were le suckage (I mean, my skills are still bad, but this was worse):



As you can see it's a very pretty red with a very nice glow.

Here it is indoors:



You can see that it has some shimmer in it. It's superfine, and I can't tell what colour the shimmer is (gold maybe?) but it's really fine and it just shows up as a glow, even indoors. It's not a unique, OMG colour by any means, but it's a nice basic colour.

Unfortunately, despite the nice colour, the application was not too great. The brush has a tendency to dispense too much colour on the nail - hence the overly thick application you see in the photos. I guess as long as you wipe the brush before applying it should do the trick though.

Also, wear was an issue for this colour. It chipped the very next day, and it chipped in really weird places, as you can see from the NOTD pictures. Or maybe I was just especially rough with my nails. I guess wear and application vary from person to person - some people love OPIs, some find OPIs chip on them, and different people have different preferences when it comes to brushes (like how some like wide brushes and some prefer narrower brushes). But for me, I don't really like this one, and I doubt I'll be wearing it again.

Are they dupes? Comparison Swatches and pictures - NARS Outlaw vs Wet and Wild Berry Shimmer

Since good ol' Wet n' Wild brought out its Silk Finish Berry Shimmer blush, there's been a lot of talk about whether that particular WnW color is a dupe for NARS Outlaw. Now, it so happened that I had Outlaw, which I swapped for awhile back, but NARS blushes were breaking me out, so I though I'd get the Berry Shimmer and see if they were really dupes! I totally wanted them to be, and were they?



Click for full sized pic.


Well this photo above makes them look pretty close in the pan. To be fair, they are both definitely in the same colour family - both of them are bright berries that have a touch of dustiness in them. The WnW, however is more of a screaming berry tha, while the NARS is more dusty. And the NARS is more cool-toned than the WnW - it's obviously more blue-based.

Now, for some swatches:





L - R: WnW Berry Shimmer applied lightly, NARS Outlaw applied lightly, WnW berry shimmer applied heavily, NARS Outlaw applied heavily. These were taken in shaded natural light.

Click for full sized pic.

Now, it becomes pretty evident that although they're close, they aren't by any means dupes, like other people have been saying. Sure they're in the same colour family, but there's a definite difference when swatched, as is evident from the picture. While they're both berries, the WnW is a warmer berry, while the NARS is a cooler berry. Also as I've mentioned before, the WnW is brighter, while the NARS is a more muted, 'dusty' colour - of course this is relative, since both the WnW and NARS are pretty bright anyway. Both of them have gold shimmer, so for anyone who hates shimmer blushes, I'm afraid you're out of luck. But I love the way the shimmer is done in both blushes though, it's glowy without being overdone.

So I guess if you wanted a cheap-ass dupe of NARS Outlaw, I'm sorry people, this isn't actually a dupe, but it's pretty darn close. Especially if you're a warm-toned girl. In fact, if you're a warm-toned girl, this might actually suit you better than the NARS, since the NARS is definitely cool-toned, and might wind up looking 'bruise'-like on warmer skin. Outlaw is definitely a color that's better on cooler skin, IMHO, so if you're warm, you've got yourself a deal with the WnW - same berry color with similar gold shimer, just with a warmer undertone. However, if you're really cooltoned, I'm afraid the NARS is still the more $$$$$ way to go.

That's not to say the WnW isn't pretty in it's own right. I totally love it, it's an awesome color, and definitely a must-buy the next time you head to your local Walgreens. I'm just saying as a dupe it isn't a 100% dupe.

And another thing I noticed that might surprise people - Berry Shimmer was insanely pigmented, much more than NARS Outlaw in fact! *Cue gasps of surprise and mood music* For the heavy swatches, I had to dig into my Outlaw to build up the swatch, but the Berry Shimmer heavy swatch was just a few strokes of color! Yes, yes, yes, we all know NARS blushes are so insanely pigemented that very few beat them, but guess what, WnW has decided to load their blushes in the pigment department, and they have come out on top! I myself was very surprised swatching this, because while I've had really good experiences with WnW blushes in the past, this was just totally AWESOME. A skunk will definitely be required for application - don't say I didn't warn ya!

The only gripes I have about WnW are the packaging. The plastic window in the casing likes to come off and dig into the blush (be careful if travelling with it), and the small brush it comes with is really useless. The brush issue isnt a problem for me, since i use my own brushes anyway (which reminds me, I must do a post on face brushes soon), but I'm always worried about my WnW blushes getting all banged up if the plastic window screen comes off. It's not that sturdy for travelling, the NARS has much better packaging in that respect. But then again, it's not perfect either - anyone who has owned a NARS anything will know that that rubber casing likes to attract loose powder and lint, so it looks really dirty after awhile. Wiping it down with a wet baby wipe to remove the gunk built up on it should do the trick though.

I love my NARS, of course - in fact I was wearing Outlaw everyday for a week straight before I started breaking out due to the Isopropyl Palmitate (that's how much I love it), and to a lesser extent the Tocopherol, so I'm always glad to have an alternative that doesn't break me out :) Of course, YMMV, so just because it breaks me out doesn't mean it breaks you out etc etc etc...But I just thought I'd mention it, because so many other bloggers tend to get drunk on the NARS kool-aid and start raving about it, when actually some of the ingredients in their blushes are potentially pore-clogging - it's just good to put it out there. Of course, tons of people wear their blushes and it doesn't break them out - but for the rest of us, there's always Berry Shimmer.