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!

Under the Sea Jelly Sandwich Manicure

So the last time I did a jelly sandwich manicure, I was kind of on the fence about it. So I decided to give it another go, to see if I really loved it or not.

This time, I used China Glaze Lorelai's Tiara, and Nicole by OPI Somebody Teal Love. Yes, I used a Justin Bieber nail polish. No, I am not a fan of Justin Bieber, I'm a little older than his target demographic (although I'm sure if I were 10 years younger and in my early tweens, I'd have such a huge crush on him). Yes, I am ashamed. But it's okay. It's nail polish. At least I didn't buy his CD!


Anyway, Somebody Teal Love is very, very sheer. Like man-this-is-the-fourth-freaking-coat-of-polish-and-why-am-I-still-seeing-VNL-with-four-freaking-coats kind of sheer. So, I thought it would be perfect for the purpose of a jelly sandwich. Lorelai's Tiara, of course, has all this big happy glitter, and I just love it.


I used 2 coats of Somebody Teal Love as the base, then two coats of Lorelai's Tiara, and 2 coats of Somebody Teal Love. So this mani ended up being a little thicker than I was used to, but I still liked it! I actually quite like this combination, it looks like there are jewels beneath a sea embedded in my nails, twinkling from below the surface... (I'm all waxing poetic now, aren't I?)


Anyway, I think the jelly manicure may actually be growing on me. I think I just need to experiment with more glitter and jelly types!

Homemade Natural Face Scrub Recipe: DIY Skincare!

Guess what guys? I learnt how to make my own DIY face scrub! I actually learnt it at the Bellabox bloggers event recently, and I was so excited, I had to share it with everyone! The following recipe was kindly shared by Petronille Houdart, the founder and the brains behind Petronille, a French brand with very good skincare. She actually formulated Petronille's products (I have one I want to share with you soon), and is extremely knowledgeable about her ingredients, products and everything!

Don't believe me? Look at what I made under her direction!

Here is the recipe she shared:

For 30g of Scrub:

1. Your choice of:
Himalayan Salt: 1.5 cup*, or
Brown Sugar: 1.5 cup*

2. Your choice of:
Sweet Almond Oil: 1 cup*, or
Olive Oil: 1 cup*

3. Your choice of:
Multiflower Honey: 1 tsp, or
Coconut: 1 tsp, (ours was ground into powder) or
Cacao: 1 tsp (what we used was also ground into powder)

4. Your choice of:
Tea Tree Essential Oil: 2 drops, or
Ginger Essential Oil: 2 drops

*These aren't actual cooking cups. Because we were only making 30g of scrub, we used much smaller little bowl-like cups, sort of like those you use for jello shots? Sort of like this:

(Image source)


To start off, we cleaned the insides of our little containers with 70% rubbing alcohol to sanitize the containers. Then we began mixing the ingredients in the order as shown above: first the choice of salt/sugar, then the oil, then the honey/coconut/cacao, then the essential oil (not strictly necessary for the scrub, it's more for fragrance), mixing well after each step. To mix, we used simple wooden coffee stirrers.

To me, it seemed like the key to this was getting the right proportion of salt/sugar and oil. Too much salt/sugar and the scrub would be pretty dry, and too much oil and the scrub would be too liquid-y. Using that container of ours, we filled it up to about 3/4 full with the salt/sugar, and then added the oil until the container was pretty much full. And then we stirred and stirred to get the two to mix.

Here's a shot of the bottle of scrub I made close up so you can see the scrub texture. Although there a lot of solid grains in there, they're well mixed up in the oil.


The mixture will last about 2 months or so. According to Petronille, although there are no preservatives added, it will not go bad, because there is no water (everything is oil and other solids). She also added that it would make a great gift, if you ever do it yourself, because it's cheap, yet a very thoughtful idea, and I have to agree - if you've got a friend who's a skincare nut, this would be a perfect gift!

And there you have it - the most awesome thing I've learnt with regards to DIY skincare so far! (Thanks Petronille!) If anyone gets to try out the recipe at home, let me know your thoughts!

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?

Benta Berry G-1 Facial Wash: Gentle and Basic

Benta Berry is a French skincare brand that has recently come to Singapore. The brand has a very interesting backstory - apparently the founder, Marie-Pierre Schmitz, created Benta Berry to provide a skincare line for her son when store-stocked lines didn't do. And the brand seems to have taken the idea that it was created for youth to heart with its marketing.

Of course, the backstory and marketing is one thing, the actual product itself is another. And although I was less than keen on the Benta Berry G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream for Boys and Girls, I actually like the Benta Berry G-1 Facial Wash for Boys and Girls much better.

Like the G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream, the G-1 Facial Wash also comes in the same sleek, small tube. The G-1 Facial Wash is a gel cleanser, that looks slightly yellow out of the tube.


The gel is slightly heavy in texture, and feels kinda like Cetaphil or similar cleansers, in that it doesn't foam much because it doesn't have very strong surfactants in it (surfactants are the ingredients that create the foam in your face wash, and this includes ingredients like SLS and SLES). This makes it pretty ideal for sensitive skin. (Yes, when I review skincare I go into the ingredients because I'm crazy like that. :P You know me by now!)


Since we're on the oh-so-fascinating topic of ingredients, let's take a look at the ingredients list, shall we? (What, you don't like reading the ingredients list? Too bad! :P Muahaha!) The good thing is, if you look at the main ingredients that make up most of the product, it actually isn't too bad:

aqua /water, sodium cocoamphoacetate, glycerin, cocamidopropylbetaine, carbomer, coco glucoside and glyceryl oleate, caprylhydroxamic acid, etc


The surfactants used (primarily sodium cocoamphoacetate, cocamidopropylbetaine, and coco glucoside) are mild, and the company does seem to try to live up to its "natural ingredients" billing by putting plant-derived ingredients (all three surfactants could be derived from coconut and other plants) . The rest of the main ingredients (carbomer, glyceryl oleate, caprylhydroxamic acid etc) serve other functions - as thickeners, emulsifiers, chelating agents and so on.

So I guess essentially you're getting a good basic face cleanser that's gentle on the skin, won't cause pimples, and won't dry out your skin, but not much more - don't expect bells and whistles on this! This was also borne out by my own use of the product - looking at the ingredients list, I can see why the product works the way it does.

So would I recommend this product? If you want a no-nonsense, no-frills basic cleanser that's gentle and won't dry out or clog up your skin, and is made of natural ingredients, the Benta Berry G-1 Facial Wash would b worth looking at. But given the price point (S$20 for a measly 30ml), I feel that you'd get more bang for your buck buying Cetaphil or a similar product (that is, if you don't mind that Cetaphil and other alternatives use less natural ingredients..

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company. Obviously, since you can tell from this review. )

Nubar Night Sparkle: Glitter Made Glamorous

So remember how in a previous post, I showed you guys how awesome my experimental PVA glue base coat was? Well some of you may recall the nail polish I used for demonstrating the base coat - Nubar Night Glitter! Well I loved it so much, I decided Night Glitter needed its own post!


Nubar Night Glitter isn't really the type of polish I would have bought at first glance, but I received this in a swap, and I'm glad I did! Because it looks so much more impressive on the nail than in the bottle.


In the bottle, Night Glitter looks somewhat boring, compared to the fancy-schmamcy glitters you see nowadays. For one, all the glitter is the same shape. And size. And colour. But once I painted my nails with it, I could totally see why it was the standout of the entire Nubar Sparkle collection. Because it's just so darn friggin' gorgeous.

On the nail, Nubar Night Sparkle is a very pretty royal blue glitter that twinkles and sparkles like the night sky. It always looks visibly blue, and although it sparkles more in the sun, it equally beautiful in the shade. The light reflecting off the glitter is indeed a beautiful sight. It looks like a gemstone on my nails! The name Night Sparkle is quite apt in the case of this polish. Night in a gemstone. Me likey.


I also didn't have any application issues. The texture was slightly thick (like most glitter polishes), but the glitter was dense enough that two costs gave good opacity, and there wasn't much glitter clumping. You don't have to layer these, I think they're really better worn alone.


The best thing I love about Nubar Night Sparkle? Although it was originally released in Spring 2010, it's pretty much something you can wear year round, not just Spring. The glitter is perfect for summer days when you want some glitter that catches the sunlight and don't feel like a neon/bright shade, and the deep blue shade goes well for Fall/Winter too. And heck, it's pretty enough to wear year-round, whether you follow those colour fashion trends or not. Now let me smack myself for waiting 2 years to open my dusty bottle!

Sticky Nars Case? How To Clean It (Without Ruining It)!

A long time back (almost two years back, in fact), I made a post on how to clean a sticky NARS case. Basically, this involved the use of alcohol to remove the rubberized part that has disintegrated. While it worked, this method of cleaning the case results in any logos or printing on the rubberized surface being removed as well. So unfortunately NARS logos on the compact will be affected, if the part the logo is printed on has deteriorated so much that alcohol cleaning removes the print. However other brands that don't print designs or logos on the rubberized portion of the compact, like Smashbox or Becca, should be unaffected.

Thus, begins the problem - how does a girl with NARS products clean them, without removing the logo? That time, a commenter on my blog mentioned that using a silicon-based lubricant instead of alcohol to clean the casing helps to solve this problem. Then a brainwave struck - I may not have silicone lube, but I do have silica powder! And if the silicone is indeed the magic ingredient, then it shouldn't matter too much whether I get it in a powder or liquid form. Ergo, with my silicon powder, I should be able to de-stickify my NARS compact! So, I set to work.


First, I started off with a NARS case. This here is my NARS Tokyo Eyeshadow Duo. It's been cleaned to remove most of the debris and dust that was stuck to the case, but it's still very sticky to the touch. Yuck.


Then, I got out my secret weapon - silica powder! Mine is decanted into the MUFE HD Powder container, among others, but I really just get mine from Coastal Scents, and I get a huge bag for quite cheap.

I was worried I'd ruin my case even more, I won't lie. But I figured - hey, if it works, it's a great thing, and if it doesn't work, then, well, lots of things I've tried before haven't worked - water, soap, wet wipes, so this will just be one more on the list. So I began, rather cautiously, putting a bit of silica powder on the case. I decided I would go slow, and test a small surface first. So I started with the backside of the case (noone except me is going to see that part), and I rubbed some of the silica powder onto the case.


And then, I inspected my work so far, looking at the back of the casing. Not bad. It actually works! The case may feel a little powdery, but at least it's not sticky and gross anymore. Good thing I used silica powder, since that is transparent. If the powder was coloured, it might have coloured the case too! You can see the right side of the case (which was treated with silica powder) isn't sticky anymore, whereas the left side of the case (which hasn't yet had silica powder applied to it) is still sticky.


Emboldened, I finished powdering over the base of the NARS case. I waited for the world to explode. Nothing happened, and my NARS case was safe. So I put it on the front of the NARS case. And then I began spreading the powder evenly over the casing:


And viola! I had a non-sticky NARS case! And the logo is still intact! And it feels just like a new NARS case too!

The importing thing to note is that you have to remove as much of the debris from the case before you spread powder on it. Any remaining debris will get trapped when the powder is applied and show up on your finished product. I'm not sure how exactly this method works - I'm guessing the silica powder sort of absorbs the stickiness and forms a coating over the deterioriated packaging that restores it to its previous state. And I'm also not sure if you can use just normal powder. I used silica powder because the suggestion by a reader was for silicon-based lube, so it seemed like the right ingredient to use. I imagine some types of normal powder could just cause more dust on the casing, but I can't verify it until I try it out one day.


So there you have it - the most aesthetically pleasing solution I've come across for cleaning up a sticky NARS (or Smashbox or Becca) packaging so far! This doesn't remove the rubberized packaging unlike the alcohol method, and it won't wipe away your NARS logo that's printed on the packaging. I'm so glad the experiment worked out - I would have hated to ruin my NARS duo!