DIY Wearable Version of the Super-Embellished Libertine Fall 2013 Nails

So after I went all out and blinged out my nails for my DIY version of the Libertine Fall 2013 look, I decided to try and come up with a more everyday-wear-friendly version of it. Basically, it didn't seem realistic to carry that much rhinestones on my nails, so I thought - what if I replaced them with glitter? And so, I proceeded to see how I could flatten out all the awesome 3D bling into a 2D version, while hopefully keeping the original look! And I eventually came up with this:

NYFW-inspired nail art - a much more wearable version of Libertine's Fall nails!

First, I had to choose the appropriate glitter. I thought of mixing various bits of glitter, but then I got lazy and settled on Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday, which I've previously featured in this post, and as a jelly sandwich! Anyway, I settled on Lippmann Happy Birthday because it had the same multi-coloured, jewel-y effect that the original gemstones had.


A 2D version of Libertine's NYFW 3D nail art, embellished with colourful jewels: here, sequins are used instead.

Deconstructed Nails: Deborah Lippmann Marquee Moon and Some Bling

One of the key colours for nails this Fall/Winter season has been grey - specifically light grey (a la Chanel Frenzy). I've also been inspired by the idea of deconstructed nails lately, so I thought I'd combine the two to get a deconstructed-looking nail!

When I googled "deconstructed nail look", I got a lot of pics of crackle polish (yawn, so yesteryear), and that look Emma Watson wore on a magazine cover (which IMHO doesn't look deconstructed, just destroyed). I personally prefer my polished nails to actually look like polished nails, so I set about thinking about how the nails could look deconstructed but not ruined. I guess in the end it just had to do with random placement of sequins and gems.

For this look I used two costs of Deborah Lippmann's Marquee Moon, which is silver hex glitter in a silver base. I swear, this polish deposits it's glitter anyhow it wants! Sometimes (more often than not) I get less or no glitter, sometimes I get a bunch of glitter all in one clump. I like the concept of the polish, with its idea of playing on textures, but man, this was driving me nuts. I then put two square pieces of gemstones on my nails randomly on each nail. And ta-da, deconstructed nails with a nod to the season's colour trends (not that the colour trends matter, really).


Anyway, there you have it! My deconstructed Fall/Winter nails. It's quite a fun look, and pretty easy to do, as my nail art tends to be (because my skillz suck). The best thing I like about this look is that it is quite neutral colour-wise, and would go with just about anything, although its also edgy enough not to become a wallflower nail look.

Glitter Sandwich: A Happy Birthday manicure!

Remember the time I first got Lippmann's Happy Birthday nail polish? I layered it over white and I was so excited because it worked glitter magic over a plain ol' white.

This time, I tried it out again, in the form of a glitter sandwich! I thought the colorful glitter would make it a perfect candidate. Plus, I've been wanting to do a glitter sandwich for ages, so I thought - now's the time!



I used one coat of GOSH Snow, a sheer white jelly, as a base. Then I layered Lippmann Happy Birthday over. I used one coat, but had to dab a little to get the glitter coverage to be more even, and followed up with another cost of GOSH Snow.



Maybe I'm a layering idiot, but this kinda underwhelmed me. Perhaps it's because the glitter fiend in me is protesting, "You have an awesome blingy glitter, why are you covering it up with another cost of colour? You're hindering it's blingy-ness! That's evil! Evil!" But hey, sometimes you gotta try new things.



I guess, despite my initial doubt, this mani is growing on me. I feel like I need to play around with the colours in my stash a bit more to find more colour combinations to play around with, so expect to see more glitter sandwiches soon!



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

Lippmann Happy Birthday NOTD (And Free Polish at Luxola Promo!)

It's not my birthday, but it's always the right time for happy festive glitter! And of course you know what I'm talking about - Lippmann Collection's Happy Birthday!



Lippmann Happy Birthday is a multi-coloured, multi-sized glitter in a clear base. And Deborah Lippmann has clearly pulled out all the stops making this one. The beauty about Happy Birthday is that although there is so much colout in that one tiny bottle (pink, orange, green, blue, silver, yellow), the end result is pretty and festive without being overwhelming.



There are so many ways you can wear Happy Birthday (alone, layered, jelly sandwich-ed) but the classic look for Lippmann Happy Birthday, if there is one, is layered over a white base. So here's one coat of Happy Birthday over two coats of Wet n' Wild White.



Happy Birthday had good application. The glitter does tend to pool in some places so a little work is needed to ensure it lands more evenly, but otherwise I've no complaint.



Now, I bet you're wondering about how to get a bottle of your own free. Well, if you're in Singapore or nearby (Malaysia, Indonesia or Hong Kong), Luxola is currently running a promotion whereby if you spend at least $50 at their store, you can get a free bottle of Happy Birthday with your order! Lippmanns aren't cheap (they cost $33-35), so how awesome is that? And Luxola currently also has a sale going on too, with some really good deals too! And for my Singaporean girls, there is free next day delivery too, right to your doorstep, so that's definitely a plus! The promotion runs only for this week, so don't wait to pick it up! You can check out the Luxola site here.

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