Pond Manicure: My First Attempt at a Blue Pond Manicure

Recently, I saw a few pond manicures online, so I thought I'd give the pond manicure a try! For those who need an explanation, a pond manicure basically involves layers of a sheer polish, with designs (dots, flowers, or whatever you want) in between the layers. I'm not sure exactly how the pond manicure got its name, but to me, it's an apt name because the layering of sheer polish gives the designs on your nails the impression of being submerged in a pond. Kinda like they're underwater and you're viewing them from above the water.

My first ever attempt at a Pond Manicure!

For my first ever pond manicure, I decided to use Nicole by OPI Somebody Teal Love. OMG yes I have a Justin Bieber polish, and I bought it from TJMaxx when I was in California for a holiday! I bought it because it was cheap, but after I bought it, I didn't know what to do with it because it was so annoyingly sheer. The level of pigment in the polish was quite non-existent, kinda like Justin Bieber's musical talent, I guess. (Well, I guess since I'm above two decades old, I'm just too old and creaky to appreciate the wondrousness that is his singing.) But aging teen popstar jokes aside, this polish sat unused for a long, long time, because I couldn't bring myself to apply the 4-5 coats that was necessary for full opacity.


Using Nicole by OPI Somebody Teal Love (ugh, really bad name) as the "pond" colour.

Pink and White Gradient BCA Nails

So after my first Breast Cancer Awareness month manicure, I decided to do a second BCA mani! This time, I used the same pink and white colour scheme, but I used a bit of glitter as well! And of course, the pink ribbon is there on the accent nail.

Although this mani is simple, I actually used a total of four different polishes. For the white and pink gradient, I used Wet n' Wild White (duh), while the pink was RBL Lulu, a very pretty pastel pink of the BCA variety.


The pink ribbon is Wet n' Wild Quartz of Course, and I freehanded the ribbon again this time. And then I topped that with OPI Princesses Rule! which actually is tiny glitter in a base that has a slight tinge of pinky sheerness. I kinda overestimated how sheer the polish was, and when I applied it over my mani it actually made everything look pinker. Oops.


So that's my second BCA mani! Hope you guys like it! Stay healthy and pretty everyone, and take care of your health! You can read up further on breasts cancer here, and there are lots of other resources available too. Breast cancer is the 5th top cause of deaths, so if you're in the at-risk age group (50 to 74), the best way to detect breast cancer is to get a mammogram once every 2 years.

Fade to Black Gradient Manicure

Look! Gradient nails! And with three colours, too! I don't know about you, but I recently started experimenting with making gradient nails with a sponge, and I'm loving it! For these nails, I did a gradient with three - yes three! - shades. I think this is a first for me, LOL. I used Wet n' Wild White, Wet n' Wild Black, and Essie Chinchilly for the grey.

I first painted my nails with Wet n' Wild White as a base, then I took a sponge (I just use whatever I can get my hands on - I use the sponges that I have at home to wash dishes), and did three stripes of paint in each colour next to each other on the sponge. Then I transferred the polish from the sponge to my nail. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the "sponge marks" on my mani. Maybe I should have used more polish on the sponge, or a different type of sponge? Anyway, when I figure it out, I'll let you guys know.


The trick to this, I think, is to blend the polishes on the sponge before transferring them to the nail. Also, I think it helps to use polished that are opaque and give good coverage.

The downside to this is that you get polish all over your cuticles and skin around the nail, and cleanup can be a pain. Especially if, like me, you used black or a dark shade, then it's quite hard to remove all that crap that gets stuck at the base of your nails. But the end effect is so cool, I think it's worth it!


So ta-da, my gradient manicure! I'm really loving how this looks, despite the pain it was to clean up, it has a very moody-chic vibe to it.

BCA Manicure: Pink and White Freehand Nail Art

Breast cancer awareness month is every October, and so I thought I'd do my little bit by doing a couple of BCA manicures.

This manicure is pink and white. For the pink, I used Orly Rage, which is a very pretty BCA-ish metallic pink, even if the name of the polish isn't BCA-like at all. I mean, usually BCA polishes have very uplifting and inspiring names right? Like Courage, Hope, Strength, etc etc. I find it rather amusing that this is called Rage, nevermind that it isn't actually supposed to be a BCA polish. For the white, I used my trusty old Wet n' Wild White. Still the best white around, oh yes it is. Opaque in one coat, but I used two here to even out the surface.


All the art was done freehand with a skinny nail art brush (as you can probably tell). It was really quite easy to do. I just painted two coats of the base colours on the nails, then freehanded the ribbon and pink lines. Not much else to say, I guess!


So that's my BCA mani! Breast cancer is the 5th top cause of deaths, so if you're in the at-risk age group (50 to 74), the best way to detect breast cancer is to get a mammogram once every 2 years!

My First Franken! (In Which I Sort Of Dupe a Lemming)

Remember the last time I whined about how I couldn't get my hands on the Lunasol Nail Polish I really wanted? Well, after months of lemming from afar, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and franken something similar!

I knew I probably wouldn't be able franken an exact dupe, but that was okay with me. I really was just after the concept of a sheer white base with variously-sized gold glitter. And I had my own requirements too - the polish had to cover in 2 coats, and I was open to having not just gold glitter only. And i didn't want my franken to be so glitter-heavy that you couldn't see the white base. So with that in mind, I took out my various polishes and started to franken!



For this franken I used my Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails in 04 Sequin Crystal Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails in 01 Glittering Bare White, and my trusty Wet n Wild White. I used about 1/3 Etude House 01 Glittering Bare White, 2/3 Etude House Sequin Crystal Gold, and about 10 drops of Wet n Wild White. And this was the outcome!



Okay, so it's not really a dupe or anything. But it's not too bad right? I tried frankening once before, and that one sucked. This is a lot better, trust me. Here's my proud first ever (successful) franken on my nails!



Although it's not exactly a stunning dupe or anything, I'm happy with what I made. And it met all my franken requirements (cover in 2 coats, white base with variously-sized glitter, including gold). Maybe one day I'll put more gold glitter in there, just for more bling, but for now this is good enough. And I'm just glad that I did this all without making a huge mess of my desk! Do you guys franken? Any fun frankening stories to share? I'd love to hear them!



A Side Note: Asian (or just Etude House, really) Nail Polish Naming Conventions

For Etude House nail polishes, the naming conventions for these are really complex. Basically Etude House has a few "product ranges" of polishes, usually with different price points (e.g. Lucidarling Fantastic Nail, Nail Decoration, Dear Darling Nails, etc - and no I'm not making any of the names up), and under those range of polishes, each shade will have a number (e.g. 01, 02, 03 etc) and a shade name (e.g. Rosy Pink, Bare White, Coral Jewel, Tender Mint, etc). So in order to make sure I'm describing the exact shade name, I use the brand name (Etude House) followed by the product range (Lucidarling Fantastic Nails) and colour name and number (01 Bare White). Sometimes, like in the case of the Lucidarling Fantastic Nail range, they have product "sub-ranges" (e.g. Sequin, Glittering, Shimmer etc), so this complicates things a little more - the real shade names should be Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nail Sequin 04 Crystal Gold (using the format of brand, product range, product sub-range, product name and number). But because it confuses some readers, and because some websites jumble up the sub-range and product name, I choose to lump the sub-range and product name together to form a super long product name (hence 04 Sequin Crystal Gold instead of Sequin 04 Crystal Gold). For Asian readers who buy your polish in person, it probably isn't a big deal, but I imagine it can cause a lot of confusion for someone in the West buying polish sight unseen, and online. Hope this helps my confused Western readers who may be buying nail polish online!

Wet n Wild 666 Brandywine Lip Liner Review

One of the cult products of all time is Wet n Wild's Lip Liner. Specifically, the lip liner in shade Brandywine, or more infamously known by its shade colour #666. I know the number may seem a little weird to some, but hey, it's makeup, and it's a cult product that comes with lots and lots of recommendations, so I figured I'd try it out. When I lived in Chicago, I spent 3 years (yes, THREE friggin years) trying to hunt it down, but the elusive sucker totally avoided me for all that time. But what do you know, in my recent trip to the US, I actually got my hands on this baby! So here you are - the famous Wet n Wild Brandywine 666 Lip Liner!



First up, I have to say, the Wet n Wild pencils are super long. They are like 17cm (6.5in) long, making them officially the longest lip pencils I have ever seen! That's cool. You get such a nice long pencil for US$0.99. Value for money, I say.

There are only 4 (I think) shades in the Wet n Wild Lip Liner Pencil family, and #666 Brandywine is by far the most famous, as it's often touted as a universal shade that looks good on everyone. 666 Brandywine is a nice plummy brown red with fine gold shimmer. Although I've heard this shade described as a brick red, I don't think it quite fits the bill - sure it's heavy on the red, but it's also pretty brown, and the hint of plum makes it a little less "bricky" looking.



And here it is swatched on my lips. The colour is pretty much the same in my swatch as on my lips. On my lips, it actually shows up as a pretty dark shade, and I suspect that it may not work out for everyone, just because it's a little dark. Also, on my lips it's pretty heavy on the brown. Texture-wise, the Wet n Wild lip pencil is alright. It's a little on the dry side, and it tugs, so I'd recommend that you use some balm together with the lip pencil. That said, I don't think it's any drier than any other lip pencil. I remember the Bobbi Brown Lip Crayons being almost as dry, to be honest.



Although I liked this, I would probably like it better if it was lighter and pinker. Still, though, for $0.99 it's a good shade, and I won't complain. Perhaps this shade isn't my favourite type of shade, but it is a great almost-vampy, but not vampy, shade. I imagine on ladies with a deeper skintone, this would be a gorgeous neutral lip shade. The Wet n Wild 666 Brandywine lip pencil would be a great shade if you love brown-based shades and deeper colours.

Holographic Zebra Stripes Nail Art with GOSH Holographic

One of my favourite polishes of all time has to be GOSH Holographic. This was one of the first holographic polishes I ever got (before OPI had their DS line and even before China Glaze had their holos, I think), and it's still, in my opinion, anyway, one of the best. The last time I used this little baby was waaay back in 2009, where I raved about how GOSH Holographic was so awesome, so I thought I'd bring this little baby out for a spin!

Three years down the road, I'm still loving this polish! GOSH Holographic is a classic silver linear holo, and it's now discontinued (although rumour is that GOSH may be bringing it out again this Summer - I don't know, it's just a rumour I heard, and dates I've seen range from June to August). I was lucky to get mine from a Superdrug before it was discontinued, so I didn't have to pay ripoff eBay prices. In my last post I featured GOSH Holographic all by itself, so this time I decided to get fancy and do some konading.

I used Wet n Wild Black for the black zebra stripes, and the konad plate was M57 (although the M57 plate is so famous I bet some of you guys can recognize the plate from the pattern). For some reason, though, I really couldn't get the right lighting to take the photos (no direct sunlight), so I ended up having to make do with crappy indoor lighting. Sorry folks. My original GOSH Holographic post probably has better pictures, I'm ashamed to admit.



Anyway, GOSH Holographic can be tricky to apply, but I generally use 2 - 3 coats for this, letting each layer (base coat as well as each individual layer of polish) dry fully before applying the next layer. I think this is key to not having GOSH Holographic clump up on your fingernails. I've read blog reviews expressing lots of frustration at the lipstick, and I feel a lot of the frustration is due to not letting each coat dry fully. My old GOSH Holographic post also went into some detail on how to apply this pollish, so I won't belabour the details, but suffice it to say - let each coat dry fully before applying the next coat, and you'll get a great holographic finish. Some bloggers advocating using the GOSH base coat to make this apply better, but for me, either way, it doesn't make a difference, as other base coats work well as long as they're left to dry fully before applying the polish.



Like all holos, this chipped on me fast - think the next 1-2 days. Holos never last on me, which is a pity, because I really love them. Anyway, this is a gorgeous little colour that is just so worth it. I know my photos suck, but I hope you get the idea of the sheer awesomeness of this polish. I really hope GOSH brings this colour out again, so more of us can have it!

Reverse Chevron Manicure Tutorial with OPI Nicki Minaj Shades

When I got my Feburary Vanity Trove, my mind was just racing with all the possibilities for some nail art fun. Finally, I settled on these pink and black glitter Chevron nails.

These were pretty easy to do, too. The tutorial below shows you just how easy it is.

1. First, paint your base colour. (I'm assuming you already have base coat on, of course.) Here I used OPI Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj Collection.



2. After the base layer is dry, stick tape on top of the base layer in your desired Chevron shape.



3. Then, paint the top shade from the taped area to the ends of the nails. Here I used Wet n' Wild Black.



4. If you want to jazz up your Chevron, add a little glitter! This is OPI Save Me from the Nicki Minaj Collection.



5. Wait for the polish to dry, then peel off the tape, and viola! Chevron nails, with glitter on top!



Lastly, here are a few final tips I hope you'll find useful. Firstly, before you lay the tape over your base layer, make sure the base layer is really, truly dry. If not, the tape will peel the base layer off your nail. Also, for a sharper Chevron edge, wait til the polish is dry (or mostly dry) before peeling off the tape. If the polish is too wet, it will smudge when the tape is being peeled off.

I like this combination very much, I like the contrast of pink and black, and I also feel like the holo and silver glitter in Save Me really stands out against the black. I actually got these polishes in my Feburary Vanity Trove, so if you're interested you can check out Vanity Trove.

Nicki Minaj Super Bass Inspired Nails: White and Hot Pink Crackle!

Say what you will about my music taste, but I gotta admit that Nicki Minaj single, Super Bass, sure is catchy. (I know the song isn't eactly new now, but believe it or not, I've listened to this song so many times that I can rap the entire song by heart! Who says nerdy Asian girls can't rap, huh?) I really like the video as well - so bright, colorful, and candy-like. I mean, just look at her outfit!

Source

Anyway, while I was watching the video and singing/rapping along, I thought - I could do my nails just like her outfit! So I did, and here is the result:

This look is really simple to do, thanks to the awesomeness of shatter polish. Here I used Wet n'Wild White for the base, and over it I put BeautyUK's Shatter Polish in Punk. Punk is a bright neon pink, which I absolutely love - I don't think there's a shatter polish colour quite like it.



I know Nicki Minaj's outfit is more animal print-ish than shatter polish, so I guess if you have a Konad plate that has a similar pattern it would probably work as well. But I don't, so I just cheated using my shatter polish.



I know shatter polishes aren't quite the trend anymore, but on the occasion that I use one, it still makes me smile. And I was just inspired by Nicki Minaj's outfit to bring it out!

Halloween Nails: Cobwebs and Blood Splatters

Halloween, one of the few times of the year you can get complimented for dressing absolutely crazy! Since outrgeous and scary costumes are de rigueur for Halloween, I took the liberty to do some Halloween nails! I thought nothing could scream Halloween better than cobwebs and splats of blood, so I attempted to incorporate both of them into my NOTD (Nail of the Day).

In the nail look below, it consists of two red blood splatters and a black cobweb on a white background. I don't know about you, but I kinda feel like this isn't quite as scary as I'd have liked. I really wanted to spook everyone out with my nails, but I actually ended up getting compliments on them - twice! At least, they thought it was nice until I explained how those cute designs were supposed to be spider webs and blood...Oops.

The photo below shows what I used for this look. The white base was Wet n Wild White, the red blood splats were created by konading with Eyeko's Saucy Polish, using Konad Plate M21. I used the design of two paint splats on the M21 plate. The cobweb was created by using Wet n Wild Black, and my new favourite plaything for nail art, my nail art brushes.



I've never actually tried freehanding nail art with a brush before, so using the nail art brushes was totally new to me. I got mine from Born Pretty Store, and these are being sold in sets of three each, for the awesomely cheap price of US$2. Here is the link to the nail brush set that I bought.



You get nail brushes of varying lengths, so these are perfect for drawing lines, curves, or, if you're skilled enough, I can imagine them being used for french tips and other similar nail art. I personally didn't notice much difference between using the longer or shorter lengths, but some others might - it really is personal preference. The bristles are thin and flexible, so you can really draw both thick and thin lines with these.



For the cobwebs on my nails, I used the shorteset brush, dipped it in Wet n Wild Black, and basically just freehanded the lines. I did the straight vertical lines first before doing the horizontal lines. It's definitely not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with my first attempt at using nail art brushes! Here is a close up shot of my nails so you can see the lines created.



I painted on the cobwebs after konading the blood splatters. I used Eyeko Saucy Polish for the konading of the blood splats because in my previous Eyeko Saucy Polish NOTD, it was opaque in pretty much one coat, so I thought it would be ideal for konading as well. Turns out, the blood splats looked a bit pinker than I'd like, but well, it does look like blood splats!



Although I have to admit my Halloween nail art is a little bit noob-ish, I'm still enjoying it! I had never thought of doing nail art for Halloween before, but I was just so inspired by seeing all the different Halloween nail looks around the blogosphere. I'm so glad to be rocking my own Halloween nails!

(Bornprettystore product was sent for review. All other items were purchased by me. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

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!