Nail Ideas: New Year Mani!

Happy New Year to all of you!! May 2013 be an awesome year for us all! :party

Here's also a quick mani that I did to usher in the new year:

Yup! This is also my first attempt at striping tape mani! I got some striping tape* from Born Pretty Store a while ago and finally got around to using it!

I started off the mani with two coats of China Glaze I Herd That and I'm Not Lion. After it has dried (with the help of Seche Vite), I cut short sections of striping tape and stuck them firmly on each nail randomly before painting Zoya Raven over it. Immediately after painting the black, I used a tweezer to carefully remove the tape in the reverse order to ensure the lines remain crisp.

It is my first time using striping tapes and I must say I am very happy with how it turned out. The tape sticks on well to the nail but does not rip off chunks of polish when I remove it (which happened for the usual sticky tape that I got from bookstores) - perfect for all the nail art needs!

You can find the striping tape (Item ID: 1019) at the Born Pretty Store here. They provide free worldwide shipping! Feel free to quote "HDL91" for a 10% discount when you checkout:

xoxo,

mich

**Products marked with an asterisk are provided for honest review. Please see our disclosure policy for more information**

12 Days of Round-Up: Indie Favorites

And now... for my indie favorites!
I had such a hard time doing up my list when there are sooooo many to choose from!

source: scrangie

a-england Dragon.
Oh that gold flash is to die for - so dragon-esque. Honestly, I don't know why I don't have this in my stash. I need to remedy that pronto. :L

Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed. 1 coat over Illamasqua Rampage.
A sheer green base filled with silver and green glitters and a scattering of orange-gold flakies. Absolutely stunning combo. I'm sorry if the swatch looks a little gritty. I realized that I forgot to add a top coat until I was editing the pictures. It is completely smooth and glossy with just one coat of top coat. :P

source: fashionpolish

Cult Nails Flushed.
A stunning purple with that magical fiery shimmer not unlike OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest or Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I admit I have a weakness for such polishes. Yes, it is my fault for not getting it early but it is currently on its way to me. *happy dance*

Emily de Molly Harmony. 3 coats.
Another horrible swatch. I've worn this a few times already and each time the sky was overcast so I can't get a good picture of it. It is December after all. Anyway, I digressed. This is a beautiful grey with scatterings of teal, purple, lavender and white glitters and super tiny holographic shimmer/glitter in the base. Completely unique and absolutely chic and gorgeous. You know you need it. <3

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Hydraxia. 2 coats over Cult Nails Living Water.
Another Aussie indie polish that is absolutely fabulous. It looks good in the swatch and I can tell you, it looks even better in real life.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Winter Hyacinth. 4 coats on ring and 2 coats over China Glaze For Audrey on the rest.
I'm sorry for the mini Aussie indie spam but they totally deserve a spot on the list. Just look at it. I simply can't adequately describe how awesome this is.

HARE Polish Magic Mist. 1 coat over a-england Guinevere.
I love purple and this is one of the prettiest purple glitter I have ever seen. Delicate yet bold at the same time.

source: harepolish

HARE Polish Oceans of Alloys.
It's blue/turquoise so you know it has my heart that wee bit more than the other colors in the collection. The color mix is also perfect. Even my nuggle (nail polish muggle) friend agrees. I've worn this a few times already but never had the time to take a proper picture because I was always rushing some where else after slapping it on.

source: scrangie

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily.
I can kick myself in the butt a million times over for missing out on this when it was first released. And I can stab myself in the heart a million times for not grabbing this when it was available the second time. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?! Ji, please say you will make it available again. :c I promise I will never never let it slip me another time!

source: imfeelingnail-venturous

KbShimmer Hex Appeal.
I don't know why I keep telling myself I don't need this when I obviously do. It's such a rich deep blue and the glitters accentuate it perfectly. I'm so not skipping this the next time I'm making an order.

Yup so these are some of my favorites this year!
Admittedly, these are just the tip of the iceberg - there are still plenty of indie brands that I have yet to try so there may be other gems out there that I've missed out.
Do share some of your favorites so I can check them out! :d

Let's hope that 2013 will be another great indie year, shall we? xD

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

Happy New Year! Year of the Snake Nails

Dear Readers,

I just finished my nail design for new year. 2013 is the year of the snake according to the Chinese calendar and I wanted to base my design on this. Chinese new year is going to be on February 10th, you still have time to do this nail art ;).

Here is what I came up with:

(pictures can be enlarged)

This is how I made this design:

-I started with a sheer beige nail polish as the base + 2 coats of OPI - Pirouette my Whistle

-I used Oumaxi dark green acrylic paint and painted the snake in a shape that resembles the 2013 numbers and the Happy New Year letters.

-Painted small lines and eyes on the snake using Oumaxi gold paint. I also painted the tongue with red paint from the same brand.

-Added floral nail stickers and a little bit of gold flake on the empty spaces and finished up with Out the Door top coat.

I love the outcome. It is the 1st time I use acrylic paint and I have to say that I love it, way better than using nail polish to draw on my nails. If I made a mistake, I can just scratch it off when dried or swipe it with a damp napkin. Also, my freehand nail art does not smudge when applying top coat!

I don't do freehand nail art often and I wanted to do something special for New Year.

I hope you like this nail art ;)

I wish all of  you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

12 Days of Round-Up: Mainstream Favorites

Whoohoo!! We are officially mid-way through our round-up! I hope you are enjoying the series so far! It is something that I have never tried before but I do like sharing some of my favorites with you and hearing from you about your favorites!

Today, I have some of my favorite mainstream polishes to share with you.
I must confess though, I did not buy many mainstream polishes this year. With the colorful indies everywhere, it is starting to require much more before a polish wow-s me - as if I am not already picky enough. :P

China Glaze Riveting. 2 coats.
Bright and fiery. I am not a fan of orange but I couldn't help falling in love with this.

China Glaze I'm Not Lion. 3 coats.
Light champagne holo glitter that is incredibly sparkly and elegant - just the way I like my bling.

Max Factor Fantasy Fire. 1 coat over Zoya Kelly.
Magic in a bottle. I know there are a lot of polishes with the same color-shifting shimmer but I love Fantasy Fire because the shimmer really pops in the sheer purple base. I have never worn it on its own before but I just (like half an hour ago) painted it on a swatch stick. I can stare at it all day long. I will try to take a picture soon!

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest. 2 coats.
Inky base with fiery red shimmer. This was an instant favorite from all the fall polishes by the mainstream brands. Simple, elegant and smoking hawt at the same time.

Innisfree #101 (Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream Dupe). 3 coats.
A polish that looks like the shimmery scales of a mermaid's tail - or at least it looks like what I imagine a mermaid's tail to be. I didn't even know it was possible to replicate the perfectly textured look in a polish! For sweeping me off my feet like that, it deserves a spot on the list. I'm using the innisfree dupe because I am a pauper but you know I am referring to the original. :i

Of course, the blue-greens are also on this list but I thought I shouldn't bore you with a repost ;)
What are some of your favorite polishes in 2012? :h

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Best Indie Collection 2012

Oops I apologize for this incredibly late post today! I had been really busy with spring cleaning (where did 2012 go?!) and trying to swatch my collection on swatch sticks during my little "breaks" from all the housework.

Anyway, having looked at some of my favorite mainstream collections yesterday, let's take a look at some of the indie collections that caught my heart this year!

a-england The Legends

source: ommorphia

Gorgeous colors to go with a beautiful story. I have a weakness for myths and legends so I am already slightly biased towards this collection. Add some beautiful holos to the collection and *poof* instant favorite. Although there are many other polishes with stronger holo effect, I still have a soft-spot for a-england's holos because they are softer and look more elegant.

Cult Nails Behind Closed Doors

Source: Chalkboard News

Sexy naughty collection with incredibly rich colors = extremely hard to resist. Right up my alley!!
I tried to tell myself I don't need them but I don't know how long more I can hold out for. I already caved in and got Flushed. :$

HARE Polish Finder's Keepers

source: harepolish

Now, don't look at me like that! I am a HARE fan but I honestly did try my darndest to choose only two or three to buy. I stared at swatches for hours and.... ended up buying everything. I am such a fail. :b In my defense, the colors are all so unique and pretty! I honestly don't understand how Nikole manages to snag my heart again and again...

Rainbow Honey Yokai

Yup, I couldn't resist. Folklores and myths? Check. Beautiful colors? Check. Unique? Check. The formula wasn't the best but I think I can put up with it.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection Spring 2012

source: scrangie

This is a collection that made me wish I were rich enough to buy them all. Incredibly gorgeous colors that are so unique. It certainly didn't help that I'm on a blue-green kick this year! The more I look at them, the more I want them. Unfortunately, most of these are no longer available for sale at RBL - I don't know whether to feel relieved (money saved!) or frustrated (because I didn't get them when they were available). :et

What are some of the indie collections that caught your heart this year?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Best Mainstream Collections 2012

Before I attempt to list down some of my favorite polishes of the year, I thought it is worth mentioning some of the collections (as opposed to individual colors) that have caught my heart this year.

So let's take a look at the collections that had me going "BUY-ALL-THE-COLORS!!" :fire
At least until I realize I don't have enough money to cart them out :P

OPI Holland

source: fab fatale

Brights, dusty faded colors and even darks - this collection has them all! It is really hard to ignore a collection that has something for everyone. It didn't help that the colors are so pretty too! Just looking at this picture makes me all ready for spring. :rainbow

OPI NYC Ballet

source: scrangie

An unexpected favorite of mine - this is a collection that I had dismissed time after time (even after seeing swatches) until I saw Scrangie's post. She captured the softness and squishiness of the jellies perfectly and I couldn't help falling in love with them. :L Because I don't usually wear soft shades, I only got Barre My Soul (the first on the left) and Pirouette My Whistle. But I am definitely thinking of getting more for work though - the formula was perfect.

Color Club Halo Hues

source: color club

Now this is a highly-anticipated collection that set many holo-lovers' hearts racing. It is said to have an excellent formula (i.e. no need special base coats, etc) without compromising the holographic effects so it definitely deserved a spot on this list. I have my eyes on this collection but I am holding back for now and waiting to see the China Glaze Hologram to be released in 2013! :P

Zoya Designer & Diva

Source: scrangie.com

Ahh... fall collections are my favorites of the year - I am such a sucker for rich, dark, vampy colors. I must say that I have at least a favorite from each of the fall collections but Zoya's fall collections, as a whole, stole my heart. I love the range of sparkly colors in the Diva collection. They also had me ooo-ing and ahh-ing at the smoky cremes in the Designer collection - if there is anything that I love more than a vampy color, it is a smoky vampy color. I swear, if Zoyas were more readily available here, I would have snapped them all up in the blink of an eye.

Zoya Ornate

Source: scrangie.com

Another Zoya collection! This time, we have Zoya's first holographic polishes! Extremely beautiful colors to go with the scattered holo particles - you can't go wrong with black, purple and red. I believe they are similar to some of the Ozotic polishes so if you have been holding back because of the price tag on the Ozotics, you should not miss out on these Zoyas. Apart from the holographic polishes, I also fell in love with their foils. Instead of being a plain and boring foil, they have a little something to keep them from looking too flat on the nails. I don't really like Electra because of the bar glitters but if you are a fan of bar glitters, you will love how sparkly it is. For the unique and beautiful colors, Zoya stood out amongst all the other holiday collections for me. :h

What are some of the mainstream collections that have caught your heart this year?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Favorite Color

I must confess, I don't usually have a particular color preference. Admittedly, I had my pink and blue moments back when I was young but I've since grown to love a wider range of colors. But of course, I still find myself having a soft spot for certain colors every now and then.

This year, the official Pantone color of 2012 is Tangerine Tango. Butttt... that color never really caught my eye. >.<
Instead, I've noticed that the newer members of my stash in 2012 are largely... blue-greens! :h

Let's take a look at some of the blue-greens that caught my heart this year:

China Glaze For Audrey. 2 thin coats.
This was the color that started it all off. A friend of mine asked about turquoise nail polishes and I stumbled upon For Audrey. It was not love at first sight because I wasn't sure how it would look on me but I am glad I bought it. It is such a pretty color that I don't really care whether it looks good on me or not. It is one of the colors that I reach for very often - so much so that I have only about half a bottle left now. :$

Zoya Bevin. 2 thin coats.
A soft dusty sage green that is incredibly elegant and beautiful. It wasn't love at first sight either but I fell hopelessly in love with it after seeing it on my friend. :L It is not easy to get Zoyas in Singapore and I nearly went crazy with need. I know that OPI Thanks A Windmillion is very similar but for some reason I really wanted Bevin. It took me months before I was able to satisfy my lemming but it is well worth the wait. It is surprisingly eye-catching for such a soft color and I received many compliments while wearing it. <3

Rescue Beauty Lounge Halcyon. 2 thin coats.
This is another beautiful dusty medium sage green from RBL's Fan Collection for Spring 2012. I know that Aqua Lily was the one that caught the hearts of many others but Halcyon was the first to call my name when I saw swatches of the collection. It took me a lot of willpower to close the browser tab but as fate would have it, a friend of mine accidentally bought an extra and asked if anyone wanted it. The rest was history. I didn't expect to love this as much as I do but, boy, those gold-copper-pink shimmer-flakes are simply stunning. They are subtle but very visible on the nail and catch the light so beautifully. I never knew pink would go so well with green, copper and gold!

China Glaze Exotic Encounters. 2 coats.
A dusty green-leaning teal. By the time the China Glaze On Safari collection came out, I was hopelessly in love with blue-greens so naturally this was a love at first sight for me. Even the holographic glitters in that collection did not distract me from this gorgeous creme.

a-england Galahad. 2 thin coats.
A bright yet slightly-dusty blue-leaning teal this time. Slightly more teal than what my camera picked up. Not a very common shade but I do love it. I also love how pigmented this is. I could get away with one coat if I had been more careful.

Cult Nails Living Water. 2 thin coats.
A dark teal jelly with tiny brillant blue and green glitters. I love my darks so there was no way I could leave out this beauty. Even after wearing it so many times, I still lose myself in this dark sparkly polish each time I put it on. :L

What is your favorite color this year?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Favorite Indie Brand

This year, all of us were spoilt with many offerings from various indie brands that sprung up and literally took the nail community by storm so much so that my round-up would be incomplete without them.

For the new and uninitiated, indie polishes are usually made by small polish companies or individuals. They exploded in popularity because of the unique and incredibly beautiful polishes that these brands offer. Glitter polishes are the most common but recently, indie brands are also offering other finishes such as holographic and shimmer polishes.

Despite the hundreds of indie labels out there, not all indie brands are equally successful and only a few excellent ones manage to build a loyal following in the nail community. Even though I did not try every single brand, I have been keeping a watchful eye on the indie market and remained very selective with my purchases (The Wallet has been tight on funds lately).
I have caved in only on a few occasions and going by the number of polishes I have bought from each brand, my favorite indie label of the year is...

Yup! HARE polish!
No surprises, right? I haven't been keeping my love too secret... hehheh

So what got me so crazy over HARE?

I first fell in love with the Nikole's first few creations for their simplicity - simple yet stunning and unique. The glitters go very well with the base color and the ratio of glitter-to-base is just perfect - eye catching without being glitter bombs.

Nikole's newer collections are a marked departure from her old style. The glitter mixes are now more complex and the glitters are more dense. And yet, my love affair continues. Each of polishes sport a bold yet well-thought-out mix of colors that never fail to catch me by surprise. Yes, that girl got an eye for color I say! I can't help falling in love with her polishes even though I am not usually adventurous with color combinations. <3

Of course, I absolutely love her labels too! Who could resist such a cute bunny?! :$

In short, I am a diehard HARE fan. :L
I have had a few questions asking where I get my HARE fix. I follow them on Facebook for information about their restocks - ok that's an understatement, I also selected "get notifications" (hover above the "like" button) so I wouldn't miss a single update. After that, it is really a matter of battling it out at her Etsy store - fastest fingers (and network) first!

Now, tell me, which indie brand has your heart? ;)

xoxo,
mich

P.s. Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a chance to win polishes featured in this 12 Days of Round-Up series!

12 Days of Round-Up: Nail Polish Trends in 2012

Good morning everyone and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!! May each Christmas be the warmest and most wonderful one for you and your family! Of course, I trust that we have been good all year so I hope that our Christmas stockings are filled all that we wished for too! ;)

Today also marks the first of our 12 Days of Round-Up series so let's begin with a brief recap of the nail polish trends that have fought for the spotlight in 2012!

Perhaps they were feeling the heat from the indie polish makers... 2012 turned out to be a busy year for the nail polish companies. Apart from cranking out new shades, they have worked very hard, sometimes too hard, to put out innovative nail polishes to satisfy our never-ending demands for fresh new manicures. 

OPI Spotted

No doubt, the shatter/crackle trend is so two-thousand-and-eleven - yes, that includes glitter shatters/crackles *looks at OPI and CG* But when OPI released Spotted exclusive to France as part of the Amazing Spiderman Collection, the nail community went into a frenzy and everyone wanted a piece of it. And it is not hard to see why! Leaving aside the fact that it has been labeled with the magic word "exclusive", OPI Spotted creates a more elegant and mysterious shrouded effect as compared to shatters/crackles. While the latter gives a punk-rebel look, Spotted exudes more style and class. 

Application is not easy though. The base color must be completely dry or Spotted will crack. For the best results, you must use very very thin coats or the effect won't show. Clearly I still need to work on my application. Wear time isn't fantastic either and it peeled off with the top coat (leaving behind the base color) on my second day. For more details, you can check out Nailderella's post. 

Unfortunately, this is (was?) only available in France because of a substance that was prohibited in some other countries. Alternatively, you may consider the Layla Bubbly Effect polishes in a range of colors - although I think black is the most elegant color for this effect.

Caviar / Fishegg Manicure

Craft beads on the ring finger; Jelly sandwich with OPI Houston, We Have a Purple and Pirouette My Whistle on the rest

Now, this is a trend that got entangled with some controversy when Ciaté attempted to claim intellectual property rights over it. That aside, I was not too impressed with the look when I first heard of it. Being a typical pragmatic Singaporean, I wondered if the beads will even stay long enough on the nails for the day. It would look pretty ugly if bald patches start appearing on my nails.

I finally took the plunge and wore it for my mum's birthday dinner since it is just a quick and small family affair. Instead of putting the beads over a wet mani, I stuck them over a coat of PVA glue and they held up pretty well. Removal was also easy since I could just peel the beads off in one sheet. The only downside was that the glue turned wet each time it comes into contact with water so I think I will try something else next time, if I even do it at all. It didn't look too bad but it wasn't very impressive either. I ended up touching it the whole time just because I was fascinated with the texture. lol!

Velvet Manicure

Source

Right after opening a can of fish-eggs, Ciaté forged ahead by launching velvet manicure sets. Hmmm.. I'm not too impressed with the look but it does look classier than the caviar. I have yet to try it for myself though so I may change my mind. But for now, I am not in a hurry to get my hands on those flocking powders.

Magnetic Polishes

Source: scrangie

Strictly speaking, magnetic polishes may have been around even before 2012 but most of the big brand companies jumped onto the bandwagon this year. Before we knew it, the whole market was flooded with magnetic polishes from high-end brands like Deborah Lippmann to drugstore brands... you get the idea.

I had been really attracted to the idea at the start of the year but my interest kind of withered out even before I bought one to try for myself. There are just too many of them! Admittedly, there are some that stood out from the rest by having different magnetic designs or adding holo glitters (OPI) so those are the ones that I would try if I ever decide to.

For a useful post on how to work with magnetic polishes, please see this on Scrangie's.

Goldleaf Toppers

Zoya Gilty over China Glaze For Audrey

Gold - the one metal that has captured human hearts since time immemorial. So, it is really not that surprising to see a brief gold craze when the big brand companies (OPI and Zoya) started to release their own goldleaf toppers late this year. They were not the first to have goldleaf toppers but they definitely made a huge wave with their large followings.

I did my best to resist but my resolve crumbled into pieces in no time at all (I'm only human!). Thankfully, Lacey from Lace and Lacquers offered to help me get Zoya's limited edition (damn those magic words) Gilty set. She also sent me a freaking awesome swap package but that's a story for another day (I really need to stop procrastinating with my blogposts).

To be honest, I am not a normally a gold lover because it can come across as being too heavy sometimes but I love how the goldleaf topper adds just the right amount of class and luxury without overdoing it. I think it is the only way I will ever wear yellow gold. It is also versatile and goes really well with several colors. This is one of the rare times I splurge but at least I know I won't be buying real diamond polishes. :et

If you have missed the boat for Zoya's Gilty, you can also consider Ninja Polish's gold (The Midas Touch) and white gold (He Went to Jarred) topper.



So, after hearing so much talk from me, what do you think of the nail polish trends in 2012? :i
Which nail polish trend caught your heart and which did not make the mark?

xoxo,
mich

Let it Snow! - Christmas Nail Art

Hello, dear readers! Are you prepared for Christmas?

Here's the last Christmas nail art I did. This time, I used Color Club - Cold Metal as the base. I stamped snowflakes designs from XL K plate. To add more to this nail art, I applied matte white glitter one by one.
It's very simple but I really liked the end result.

Here are other Christmas nail art that I've done previously in case you would like to take a look... You still have time to do some cute nail art! (Click on the images to redirect you to the post)

That's it for today! I really wish all of you a Merry Christmas in the company of your loved ones. Take care!

♥ ♥Thank you for reading♥ ♥

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*(...'•'.. ) *˛╬╬╬╬╬˛°.｜田田｜門｜╬╬╬╬╬*˚°。°*。°* ♥♥

Lovely Christmas Nail Art

Christmas is around the corner and I would like to show you the nail art that I will be wearing this time.

I called it Lovely Christmas because of the snowflakes... If you look closely, the bigger ones have hearts on them. Those snow flakes looks like a hybrid of Valentines and Christmas. I also thought that using red as the base would be a perfect match for the heart-snowflakes.

(Pictures can be enlarged)

For this nail art, I applied french tip guides on the moons of my nails and painted my nails red using Color Club Red - Velvet to give a half moon manicure. After that, I applied nail art stickers with snowflake and heart shapes. I also applied iridescent glitter from Kleancolor - Sugar coat to give an extra sparkle.

I hope you like this nail art as much as I do ;-) I will be posting another Christmas nail art soon.

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥