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)