Polish Days: To Boldly Go

This month’s Polish Days theme is science fiction. I’m not much of a sci-fi fan, except for being a huge geek over Star Wars. I blame my brothers because they love the original trilogy (episodes IV, V and VI) and we used to watch all the reruns on TV.

Polish Days: The Number 5

Apologies for cutting it really close this month by posting this up now. I know being sick over the weekend isn’t a good excuse, but I nearly gave up on this manicure because I just couldn’t get it right. After three days and over half a dozen attempts, I’m glad to say I’m finally done.

Essie Bordeaux

Rich maroon jelly. Maroon, defined as a brownish crimson shade, is the perfect description of red Bordeaux wine (also known as Claret). It looks brighter on the nail (compared to the bottle), but it deepens in low lighting. It’s still looks red, just deeper and sexier.

The formula has a tendency to be patchy. Be sure to give it a few more minutes between coats and to paint with a light hand. I prefer doing three coats to bring out the richness of the jelly.

Doesn’t this look gorgeous? It was taken directly under a fluorescent daylight bulb. It’s distinctly darker because it was taken at night. While it may be lighter in daylight, it certainly matches the bottle color here. I think it looks beautiful either way.

Thanks for looking!

Aritaum 14 Vacation Blue

Collection: Modi Glam Nails

Happy 43^rd Earth Day!

Teal blue jelly with gold foil. The foil particles remind me of the Zoya foils, especially Charla. When I first got this, I thought it was a dupe, but nope. Charla has a greener base with a lot more foil.

Vacation Blue has the same thin jelly consistency that is easy to control. My smile line can still be seen here, but I barely noticed as the gold foil is so eye-catching in real life.

One important note: please use a good stain prevention base coat. I used a cheapo base coat and my nails turned blue! After just one hour! I haven’t done a full manicure with it yet. My tips are to paint carefully so it doesn’t get on the skin (see my ring finger) and to remove it in one swipe (instead of rubbing it and getting the color everywhere).

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Aritaum 14 Vacation Blue (2 coats)

Orly Stone Cold

Collection: Mineral FX (2011 Fall)

Sapphire blue jelly with small blue flakes. Light It Up Blue is an annual event on April 2nd for Autism Awareness. The date might be over but the whole month is dedicated raising awareness so I wanted to contribute this gorgeous blue manicure.

For more information on autism, please visit:
• Autism Society
• Autism Speaks
• Autism Association (Singapore)
• Autism Resource Centre (Singapore)

This polish has a thick base, presumably to suspend all the little blue flakes. In the photos above, the jelly base appears sheer at the tips but they are opaque in person.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• Orly Stone Cold (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Three Beauties Radiant Silver

Silvery base with a purple/ green duochrome. This is a color that was rather popular in 2011; it has many relatives out there. I don’t own the others but Wet N Wild Gray's Anatomy looks like a sheerer match.

As with most duochromes, there are some visible brushstrokes (first two nails). To prevent that, I sponged on the last coat on the other two nails. Whether layered over black or by itself, the duochrome looks equally strong to me. I actually prefer the softer look of it alone.

The formula was great. My camera couldn’t capture the green very well, but it’s really strong in the last two images.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (1 coat) over black – index & middle fingers
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (3 coats) – ring & little fingers
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Innisfree 101 Girl’s Skirt

Collection: Poem (2012 Summer)

Pale sea foam green and gold micro-glitter with small blue hexes. This is a sheerer (and cheaper) dupe for Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream. It sadly doesn’t look its best under macro mode. It very pretty in person and reminds me of clear seas.

Although it’s not as opaque as Mermaid’s Dream, the formula is smooth and easy to control. This has the same scent as Autumn Leaves, though it seems stronger here. With two coats of top coat, it’s smooth enough to pass muster, but I recommend another coat with you’re really picky.

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• Innisfree 101 Girl’s Skirt (3 coats)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Days: 7 Deadly Sins

This month’s theme is the 7 deadly sins – envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and wrath. I confess to having committed all of them before, some more than others. Instead of any specific sin, I was inspired to do a blood splatter. Because it was blood that washed my sins away.

OPI Samoan Sand

Beige nude jelly. I bought it to try the mannequin hands trend that was popular a few years ago.

The formula is sheer but not streaky. It seems like it could be a good jelly sandwich polish. However, I’m not sure if the shade works as my mannequin hands. Do you think it suits my skin tone?

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• OPI Samoan Sand (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

OPI Jade is The New Black

 
Collection: Hong Kong (2010 Spring)

Dusty blue based green cream. This is one of my favorite creams as I love its buttery formula. The color itself is great too, unique when it first came out, though there are a few dupes now.

The only gripe I have with this polish is the lobster hands it gives me. It won’t stop me from wearing this polish though.

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI Jade is The New Black (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Days: Vintage

It’s Polish Days again!

Polish Days is a monthly event where nail bloggers post their theme-inspired manicures at the same time. It was brought together by Hannah who also does the logistics needed each time.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think ‘vintage’ is soft (but not necessarily light) shades.My impression is ‘old but classical’ – colors that were aged and slightly faded though the passage of time.

China Glaze Midnight Mission

Collection: Vintage Vixen

Navy blue with silver micro-glitter. I bought this in hopes that it’ll kill my lemming for Essie Starry Starry Night. It’s beautiful and does look like the night sky.

The formula and application was smooth and easy. No problems to report of at all. Sadly, this didn’t kill my lemming so I guess I’ll still be keeping eye out for other alternatives.

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• China Glaze Midnight Mission (2 coats)

OPI GoldenEye

Collection: Skyfall (2012 Winter)

Yellow gold foil flakes. This was my Chinese (Lunar) New Year mani a few days ago as I did red last year. Red and gold are considered auspicious colors to the Chinese.

As seen above, GoldenEye is incredibly shiny. My pictures show that the edges of my nail are not covered completely but no one will ever see beyond the shine in real life.

I applied this polish in thin coats really slowly. It’s best not to make any mistakes because the foil is a pain to clean up. Removal is not so easy – I had to do a foil wrap the last time – so I used PVA glue here.

Happy Lunar New Year! And thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• OPI GoldenEye (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Nfu Oh 66

Collection: Holographic

Linear light green holographic. I bought this in 2011 and it’s my only Nfu Oh holo to date. There was some issue with certain batches but mine turned out fine. Sure it’s not the most holo, but it’s still incredible.

While this might have been my first linear holo, it’s certainly not my last. You’ve seen my favorite Layla here, and I’ve definitely eying some Color Club Halo Hues and China Glaze Hologlams.

Nfu Oh 66 has a fussy formula so I paired it with the aqua base. The trick to using aqua base is to let it dry completely. If you don’t like waiting, I assume Layla’s method of buffing would work here too.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Nfu Oh Aqua Base (1 coat)
• Nfu Oh 66 (2 coats)

Polish Days: Back to Nature

Where I live – near the equator – the weather can be simply labeled as either rainy or sunny. We don’t have four distinct seasons, but there are two monsoon seasons: December to March, and June to September.

My nails were inspired by the cloudy skies of the monsoon season. The blue and white show off a bright but cloudy day we often get during this month. It gets pretty windy too so I tried to make the clouds appear as though they were moving.

Tony Moly GS09 Shooting Star

Collection: Glitter (2012 Spring)

Sheer lilac jelly with multi-colored glitter. There’s small and medium hexes, plus a sprinkling of gold micro glitter. The lilac base reminds me of OPI Care To Danse? – not just the color but the opacity too.

I found that the glitter doesn't distribute evenly, there was some dabbing and pushing around to get a good spread. It’s not a deal breaker for me but I wish I love the finished look more. It's very delicate looking but I don't favor so many colors of glitter.

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• Tony Moly Shooting Star (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Crow Toes Merope

Collection: Pleiades (2012 Winter)

Taupe base with blue/ pink/ red duochrome shimmer and small translucent flakes. I’ve been looking for a blue to red duochrome every since I saw this. Merope definitely fits the bill and the shimmer even has an additional green flash.

Cult Nails Manipulative

Collection: Divas and Drama (2012 Spring)

Dusty tiffany blue with green micro-shimmer. While China Glaze For Audrey is from the same color family, it’s brighter and has no shimmer. Manipulative pulls too green on me to be a true tiffany blue but I love the hidden shimmer.

After reading about Cult Nails’ great formula on various reviews, I expected this to be as smooth as butter. It is highly pigmented for a light shade but butter it is not – I found it thick and streaky. Adding plenty of thinner really helped but I recommend a light hand during application for the best results.

Polish peels:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• Cult Nails Manipulative (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Days: Something New

I almost forgot about this month’s Polish Days even though it was pushed back a week (because the first Tuesday fell on the 1^st). The idea was to try something new – an untried color, a technique or even a new finish! I have quite a number of untried polishes but I thought it would be more fun to try a new technique. Then I remembered an old trend: newspaper nails!

My original idea was to have nude nails but I failed my first attempt. So I switched colors because newspapers are usually grey. I couldn’t get the ink to ‘print’ clearly on my index finger (as seen) even though the rest turned out better.