Gold and Brown Autumn Leaves Konad

Since we're leaving the summer season, I figure I might as well start getting my Fall on. Thus, this konad of autumn leaves! Seriously, it's been a looong time since I last konaded, so I was all like, "OMG I hope I still haz my konading skillz" when I did this. Fortunately it wasn't too bad at all, considering the last time I konaded was this holographic zebra stripes konad with GOSH Holographic, a few month's back.

For the base I used Nails Inc Belgravia. It's a nice brown shade with the slightest shimmer, and very chic and understated. You gotta love browns like these - some browns look like crap on me (pun totally intended), but this one doesn't. Look ma, no poopy hands! Just a very classic shade. I think I did have a previous NOTD up on my blog from waaay back when, and I loved it then and still love it now, so I guess it has stood the test of time.


For the leaves I used Orly Luxe and the konad plate I used was M77. It isn't strictly a falling-leaves kind of design (in fact, it kinda looks like palm leaves? more than anything else), I know, but I felt like when paired with the colour scheme, it worked for me.

I don't know about you, but a mani like this just makes me want to sing, "The falling leeaavessss, Drift by my windooooowww"! Wait, some of you don't know the song? Aw shucks...I can't be that old now, can I? *Crickets chirp*


Okay. Anyway, I guess I'd better end this post before I make myself sound any older than I already am. While this look doesn't really break any major boundaries, I still feel like its something I could wear for a discreet konad, since it's not too flashy.

Elianto Burnt Umber: Rich Autumn in a Nail Polish!

So I have on my nails Elianto Burnt Umber, and all I have to say is, OMG this is one gorgeous polish. Yeah sure it's brown, but it's not an ugly, poopy kinda brown. This one is so beautiful and wearable it just pops out at you! I previously blogged about this polish (and a few other things) in my haul post from a super long time ago, and I'm only starting to wear it now!

See what I mean? Unfortunately it was already late afternoon when I painted my nails, so you guys won't get to see this baby sparkling in all it's glory. But this is good too - its pretty from any angle! I bought this like eons ago in the polish fanatic's world (in the real world it's more like one year, but the polish world moves quickly), and I only just got around to trying it.


Burnt Umber is a rusty browned-burgundy base, with loads of gold and (I think) orange shimmer. This mix of colours is what makes it amazing. In most lights it looks like a rusty brown with rich gold shimmer, but sometimes I feel like it looks slightly more burgundy instead. From some angles, I even see some sort of green tinge to the glitter, although it doesn't translate as well on the nail.

And the best thing is, because Burnt Umber isn't like, brown brown, but reddish brown, it's incredibly flattering on my hands and fingers. I imagine the fact that it leans red makes it more wearable (I mean, red is a classic colour for nail polish, right?). And the shimmer really makes the shade look so luxe. It even looks good in indoor lights because the shimmer reflects the light and catches the eye.


Application was also a breeze. I didn't have any major application issues, and two coats gave full opacity. The polish pretty much applied itself. I have to say, if all of Elianto's polishes apply this way, I need to get them alllll. What's not to like? I tried this with my PVA glue base coat (Elmer's glue), and it stayed on pretty well! At the end of the 4th day, I wa starting to get a few chips at the corners of my nails - which is pretty good for me, since I usually get chips into my 3rd or 4th day. It could have lasted longer, but I got impatient and peeled it off.


The autumnal look of the polish, as well as its fantastic shimmer, was what made me try it on (albeit one year later!), and I find I'm really loving it! It kinda looks like the colour of falling leaves to me. Anyone else loving rich colours like this one?

Fall/Winter 2012 Nails: Classic Nude, Brown and Pearls

In my last post, I commented that this season's Fall/Winter 2012 nail trends were kinda boring, especially where colours were concerned, since this season's shades were mostly all dark vampies and fleshtone neutrals. So, I set out to jazz it up with a little bling, while still retaining some element of its classic, timeless feel. And here is the result - classic bling, in the form of pearls!

For inspiration, I actualaly looked at this modified french manicure, with a nude base and a vampy tip. It was making the rounds on the runway as part of the Fall/Winter 2012 trends this year. When I saw the look, I thought to myself, "That's a classic colour scheme, but I wonder if I could do something to it - it looks like it could use a teeny bit of bling."

(Source: Vogue)
So, I did just that! I retained the colour scheme - don't wanna mess with a good thing too much - but added the pearls, and changed the shape of the painted tip.


For the base, I used Rimmel Beige Style, which is seriously one of the most underrated polishes out there. It's cheap, available, and a classic shade that would probably look good on most people. Beige Style is a fleshtone nude creme (I think it's a creme anyway - it has the slightest of shimmer in the bottle that doesn't show up on the nail). For the nail tip, I used Megan Miller Ganache, which is a rich chocolate brown creme. I basically free-handed the curved tip using Ganache. It doesn't have to be THAT neat because the smile line will be covered by the pearls.


Can I digress a little at this point? I love Megan Miller polishes - the two I have are fantastic in terms of colour payoff, texture, and brush shape/size, but man, I really hate the bottles. The cork cap really annoys me to no end, because fluff and dirt and dust get onto the cap really badly. I have to like, do some dust removal every now and then. I think my cork cap is eventually going to get all moldy and gross (I live in a very hot and very humid climate near the equator), and I'm not looking forward to it. But anyway, moving on.


For the pearls, I used three different sizes of pearls and aligned them along the smile line from large to small. For handling of the pearls, I used the ever-helpful wet toothpick tip - basically you dip the tip of a toothpick in water, and the wet toothpick will pick up the pearls due to the surface tension of the water. When the pearl touches the wet nail polish, the pearl will stick to the polish. Much easier than using tweezers!


Anyway, this is my slightly-more-blinged-up-but-still-classic take on this Fall/Winter's French manicure. I'm really liking it, as it's easy to do, and looks great, even if you aren't into crazy nail art. In fact, my non-nail-polishaholic sister commented that she actually liked this look! I think it would be great to try this with other colour schemes too.

How To Save Dried Out Nail Polish Strips Tutorial!

Over the past year, I've been seeing more and more companies putting out nail polish strips. It started with Incoco, and then before you could say "trend", Sally Hansen, Sephora, OPI for Sephora, Nailene and a bunch of others all started putting them out too.

Unlike most nail appliqués, which tend to be made of a plastic material, I much prefer nail polish strips because the removal process is much kinder to your nails. Most plastic-based appliques involve soaking the entire nail in acetone for proper removal, but because these are essentially semi-dried polish strips, you can just remove them like normal nail polish, with cotton wool and nail polish remover. I've reviewed nail polish strips before in a previous post, and found them to be pretty good for a fuss-free application.



So, what happens when those nail polish strips - like real nail polish in bottles - dry out? I stumbled upon a solution the other day, when a months-old Incoco nail polish strip set I wanted to use had dried out. Fortunately, the answer is simple. All you need is this:



Yep, that's all. Just a bottle of Orly Smudge Fixer. When I realized my nail polish strips had dried out, I was sad, and thought I'd have to throw the entire set out. And then a thought struck me: since these strips were made of nail polish, couldn't I rehydrate them with thinner, just like real nail polish? And isn't my handy bottle of Orly Smudge Fixer mostly made out of thinner anyway?

So began the experiment. The strip I'm using here is Incoco Soho Chic, a gorgeous deep brown with flecks of gold/red shimmer. It's absolutely gorgeous, which is why I was so loathe to just let it die like that.

First, I placed a strip on my nail (if you've never done this before, here's a nail polish strip tutorial to help you out). As you can see, because the nail polish strip is dried out, it doesn't stick nicely to the nail. It's all bunched up and uneven at the sides. Normally I don't have this problem with the nail polish strips - they usually just stick quite flat to the nail.



Next, we add a little of our secret sauce - Orly Smudge Fixer. I just painted the smudge Fixer over the unsticky parts of the strip, and the bulges. You can also just paint over the entire nail with Smudge Fixer if the strip is really dried out, but the general idea is to wet the strip enough for it to adhere properly to the nail.



And you're done! Look, no more weird bulges! Wasn't that simple? Just wait for the strips to dry, and you're good to go! Well, there is a small catch, though. Because the strips have been wet with Smudge Fixer, they will take a little while to dry. If you are impatient, a layer of quick-dry topcoat would help to speed things up.

And there you have it! Good as new! Other than Orly Smudge Fixer, I think you could use any other brand of nail polish solvent or thinner. The general idea is just to put back the solvent which had evaporated and thus caused the strip to dry out. I'm pretty excited about this method, it's simple and it works! Now I have an awesome manicure, and saved myself bunch of money!

NOTD: Barry M Mushroom: I haz it!

Today's NOTD is Barry M Mushroom, and I have it thanks to Jellyminx, who writes the blog Jellyminx Thinks. Remember how a few posts back HERE I was whining about how I couldn't find it? Jellyminx had one, and she offered to send it to me! She's like the nicest person ever!

So anyway, here is Barry M Mushroom. I know some people will be wondering if this is a dupe for Chanel Particuliere. Unfortunately I don't have any comparison swatches, but by sheer fortune I was able to compare to my friend, who was wearing Particuliere on the exact same day I was wearing Mushroom. By comparing our fingers, we were able to do a quick visual comparison, and while I don't have photos, I can say that it isn't a dupe, although it is a similar shade. Mushroom is a tad darker than Particuliere, but otherwise they're both close, being brown-grey based shades with comparatively little purple (as compared to other mushroom shades).

Anyway, here is the NOTD:



And here's another picture of my crabby-looking hands with the bottle:



Gorgeous isn't it? How do you guys like this taupe trend? Still hot, or dying out?