A Little Hello from Me (And NO, I'm Not Dead)

I've been away for too long and I really miss blogging. As of late, life has been a bit hectic, I graduated and went to my home country for a while. But here I am back with more nail posts.

So today, I'm going to share with you one ombre nail art that I did a couple months ago but haven't post it here. This is a very soft pastel-y ombre of blue to purplish pink. Created this during spring (yup that's nearly 3 months ago) because I think it's just appropriate.

Polish Used: Essie Rock the Boat and Essence Purple Sugar topped with glittery end from Revlon Northern Lights duo.

Nude and a Hint of Glitter

I've been hunting for the perfect foundation-like nude nail polish since last year and have yet to find the perfect one. Yes I love some bright polishes, but sometimes change is good. So yesterday when I spotted the new Maybelline 'Stripped Nudes' display on Priceline I get all excited and hoped to find the perfect nude polish for me. Unfortunately none of the shades are perfect match for.

However, I got one in 'Bare it all' which is a light muted taupe creme polish. Yes this is not even close to my skin tone but I love it! It gives such a clean and polished look without looking too much. I think this will be a great base for nail art or on days when my nails are short. Also, I'm not one to fuss about my nails and my outfit of the day, but I think this colour will go with anything!

When I first opened the bottle I noticed that it comes with a new type of brush, it flat and slightly wider than previous Maybelline polishes. I always prefer wide brushes, it makes painting your nails so much easier. Formula of this polish is quite nice actually. The consistency is more on the runny side but still manageable. One coat of this polish is pretty sheer but is easily buildable. Pictured above is two coats of Bare it All with one coat of Sally Hansen 'Disco Ball' just to add a little something. Drying time of this polish is also quite fast.

So what do you think about this polish?

UPDATE: I do have one complain about this polish. First time wearing it, I notice this polish sort of cracked. No, it doesn't chip but CRACK. I thought it has something to do with my topcoat. But second time around wearing it I notice the same crack within 24 hours.

NOTD: Picture Polish 'Vegas'

So today I have another sexy polish by Picture Polish. Last post I mentioned Voodoo which is a maroon jelly with micro gold glitter. Vegas is actually quite similar with Voodoo. It is a bright red with micro gold glitter. It is beautiful. I put it on because well, today is Chinese New Year and it is just appropriate to wear something red and golden. Even though after I applied it, this colour should be perfect for christmas as well.

I got this one a few months ago from a giveaway Picture Polish hosted on Instagram. When it arrived, I thought I wouldn't like it. I was never a big fan of red to begin with. But hey, after I applied it, damn it is beautiful! As with all Picture Polish polishes I love the formula. It applies nicely and easily also it has a reasonable drying time which is very important to me.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

What's on My Nails: Picture Polish Voodoo

Hey guys! So today I want to share a beautiful polish from Picture Polish which is called Voodoo. Now this polish has been around for quite a while before I swatch it so I won't bother you much with my thoughts; you'd find a lot of reviews online. All I have to say is well I have to agree with most reviewers out there that I like this polish. Now let's jump to the swatch shall we?



So this is the bad boy we're talking about today. As you can see, it is a maroon jelly polish with micro gold glitter in it. To be honest, I am not that impressed with how the colours look like from the bottle. But don't judge a book by its cover right? After I put it on.... I LOVE IT! It is stunning! This one will be perfect for fall. Also, is it just me? this colour reminds me a lot of the movie The Great Gatsby, oh those glorious 1920's.




This polish is that gorgeous, I can't take my eyes off my nails. It is so pretty and it looks luxurious and expensive. What do you guys think?

NOTD: Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in Tight Knit

I am crazy about Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat range! I think they are so amazing! Super pretty, easy to work with and also affordable. Every time I wear it people would go "ooh I love your nails! Are those real nails?" I did a review about it here and you should check it out! What started from two fuzzy coat grew to four fuzzy coat and in the future I might get the whole range.





The shade I'm wearing is Tight Knit, an explosion of matte blue and white bar. It is beautiful, it looks totally high fashion over black. I think it looks expensive. Formula is great just like any other Sally Hansen polishes. It is super easy to apply. Note that when applying glitter topcoat do not swipe your brush! Simply dab it on your nails.

I prefer layering fuzzy coat over another colour. Why? The only problem with fuzzy coat is that it takes almost forever to dry and to get full opacity you need at least three coats and after that you will see your nails will become so much thicker. I am not one of those patient person that can wait until my nails are totally dry, I love nail polish but I'm just not that person who like to sit still and wait until it dries. Which is why a good fast drying topcoat is a must for me! That's the only downside but apart from that, this is amazing! Go to your nearest drugstore now and definitely try them out if you haven't.

Ciaté's Jewel Swatch and Review

Hey all! From previous post you will know that I injured my left index finger and it is my non-dominant hand. So it is hard to do design on my right hand. I am mending it with the teabag trick but it is still kinda painful so... Anyway, I hope next week I can paint on it again.

So, today! I have a beautiful polish which I have for quite some time. It is a gift from my dear friend. So let me present you Ciaté's Jewel.





So this beauty is made up of holographic glitter bar in an almost clear purple base. Am I saying it right? I think it is pretty and ouch ouch it is so shiny. It makes my nails pop! Application was easy; picture is 3 coats. One more thing that I like about this polish, it dries pretty quick. My tips: well you can wear it like me (3 coats) or you can layer it on top of other polish. I think it will look pretty both ways.

I created this post right after I remove this. Surprisingly, removal was not hard. Last thing that I want to add, considering the amount of glitter, it does not get bumpy so it is another plus.  So yeah, final verdict: I love this polish and totally recommending this.

Do you own Ciaté Jewel in your stash? What do you think? Do you like it as much as I do? I'd love to hear what do you think about this, leave me a comment down below and don't forget to follow me!

UPDATE: After only about 3-4 months of owning it, I find that the whole bottle of polish is totally unusable as it gets really thick and hard. I tried to revive it with some nail polish thinner but it won't help. Now, this bottle of polish is gone for good. Even though it is pretty, I don't recommend investing this.

Pastel Spring Manicure

Hey it's been a while since I last blog. I'm not going anywhere, it's just that I have no working internet and it sucks. Anyway, today I have a simple but super cute mani. It's early September and well, hello spring! (at least here in Australia). I am not a really winter person, well obviously because I can't handle cold. The issue is with my hand, for some reason it is always cold no matter what. Annoying.



Anyway this mani reminds me of candies and all. Well what do you think?

Using Loose Glitter on Nails

Have you guys tried using loose glitter on your nails? 

It's super fun to use loose glitter on your nails. Simply because they are much cheaper than regular polish; I got mine from a local craft store for only 99 cents. For this mani, I hand placed them randomly on my nails. I use small dotting tool to pick up the glitter and place it on my nails and sandwich it with a natural coloured jelly polish. 

Well, in terms of application, definitely regular glitter polish is easier to work with but yeah I just love trying something new. If you guys want try do a DIY glitter polish by mixing glitter and clear polish, you can, but personally I don't really recommend doing that.

Once I tried to make gold flake topcoat polish with clear polish and gold sheets I bought at a craft store. First they look fine. After an hour the gold flakes sort of sinks into the bottom and is super difficult to catch. After a few hours I have no idea why the polish turned green. It's helpless so I ended up throwing the whole thing away. So now if I want to have that gold flake effect, I have to hand place it just like I did with this one. 

Galaxy Nails

OK! I did this nails like weeks ago and uploaded it on Instagram. Can't do nail art at the moment because my hands are swollen for what reasons I don't even know. It looks so ugly when painted so I just leave them bare. Well let my nails breathe for a while. 

I've always love galaxy nails look. It's not the easiest nail art to do. I mean it's just sponging the colours here and there, but the problem is what colour exactly? I've tried numerous times for this look, but unfortunately none of them actually worked out. However, this time I'm pretty pleased with how my galaxy nails turned out to be. YEAY

What do you guys think? Anyway I've been working on a better quality pictures. I got my Sony Camera back but seriously taking pictures from iPhone been so convenient to me that I forgot how to take pictures with actual camera. Do you guys have any idea how to do that? Please leave me a comment. Everytime I'm trying to take a pic of my nails it just blurred out and focused on the walls instead of my nails. Seriously super annoying. Here's a picture I took with my camera and polish I used for this mani.

 

Polish used: pink and purple from Kit Cosmetics 'Rock and Romance' minis, China Glaze 'White On' and Sally Hansen 'Disco Ball'. You see my problem here with cameras. Why is the picture so blue anyway? hahaha help me please?

Swatch and Review: Cirque's Tibetan Nights

Hey guys! So yesterday finally my order from cirque arrived YEAY! I fell in love with what's in the bottle instantly and wipe off my mani to put this on. This polish is also kinda my first indie polish I own and I would love to try other indie brands (but money is kinda tight right now). But from the picture below can you see the amazingness in a small bottle?

As you can see, it is a dark blue jelly polish with small glitters. Looks so pretty right? Application was very easy like REALLY VERY EASY. Sorry I just can't chill I love it that much. No streak, no bubbles and best part is it dries super quickly.



To me, the outcome is also very pretty and it becomes opaque in two coats. Definitely loving this.

Quick update: I usually only wear polish for about two days. But this one is just so adorable and I wore it for about five days. During those five days I didn't notice any chipping whatsoever. A very good quality polish! I am using the usual opi base coat and sally hansen top coat

Review: Revlon Whimsical

 

OK! Maybe this polish is not something new. I mean it caused quite a stir in nail polish world like end of last year (I guess) for its likeness to Deborah Lippman's "Glitter in the Air". When I came across this when I was back in Indonesia I knew I have to get it.  At first I did not find this polish as wowza pretty but hey I gave it a go anyway. Turns out I kinda like it. It's been sitting nicely on my nails for about four days now and usually nail polish only stays on my nails for about 2 days. Anyway the blue base color used is The Face Shop's.

This polish came in sheer blue base, you cannot see anything if you do not wear any base color. The glitters are hex blue and pink with smaller glitters. Anyway, in terms of formula I've never been a big fan of Revlon. They bubble like crazy!!! I've never had issues with bubbling seriously but with this God I got a lot! The glitters also slide easily during application and I figured it is better to stamp it rather than swiping it.  Despite the ugly bottle, I hate the brush. It is thin and somehow very hard to apply. Anyway, it came out nicely on my nails and I kinda like it. Despite my bad review here, it is a nice color and a good investment anyhow. I used three coats on the picture above.