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)

Michelle M32

Periwinkle blue cream. I used this polish a year ago for my birthday manicure but the color seems to have changed. I’m not sure how accurate the photos were but my memory tells me it used to be purpler. I tried going down to Beadstreet to compare but I couldn’t find this shade so I think it’s discontinued.

Color change or not, I do love this hue. Like the other Beadstreet creams I have, this is thick but evens out well. It bubbled a little on me because of the thickness so I would recommend thin coats.

Polish peels:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• Michelle M32 (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Essence Dotted Fish Tails

I did this manicure for the Essence Nailed It! Nail art competition. I admit, it’s not my best and it looks thick because of all the layers. Still, I like how the colors look together. If possible, please vote for my design by liking it on Facebook (:

I started out with the dots – I didn’t really have an idea in mind, I just wanted to practice the technique. It turned out rather pretty so I kept it. Then I searched the web for simple nail art ideas and settled on the fish tail for the rest of my nails.

Take at look at the other entries here. If you like my design, please vote for me by liking my picture, thanks!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Essence Walk Of Fame (2 coats)
• Essence Irreplaceable (2 coats) – dotted on index finger
• Essence A Lovely Secret (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Metallic Zigzag

After seeing this on Pshiiit, I’ve always wanted to try it out with a different color combination. I don’t understand French but the diagrams are pretty self explanatory (and there’s always Google Translate if you need it). Initially, I wanted to use these colors for a needle marble but that was an absolute failure so I switched to this. I’m glad I did because I’m happy with how this turned out!

For the base, I used a black cream from Beadstreet. I just have to mention how awesome it is: full coverage in one medium coat and it cost less than $2! As for the zigzag, I sponged on Deviantly Daring because I didn’t want any brushstrokes – plus it creates a speckled effect that prevents it from being too flat.

I hope you enjoyed my attempt!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Michelle S79 (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)
• • China Glaze Deviantly Daring – sponged
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Us Pink – China Glaze Something Sweet

Collection: Up And Away (2010 Spring)

Pastel pink cream with lilac tones. It’s a pretty stark color and I tried my best to capture that. I didn’t have to do any color correcting, but the glowy edges you see above doesn’t appear in real life. However, the base color is more accurate than the images below (as sunlight washes it out a bit).

This is the last BCA for this month. For more information on Breast Cancer:
• Breast Cancer Foundation (Singapore)
• Singapore Cancer Society
• Pink Ribbon (International)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy

Medium grey cream. There’s a drop of green in it that pulls out the red in my skin tone. This is one of the two RBLs I have, the other is Scrangie. I used Stormy as a base under Aritaum Tweed Jacket.

My RBLs were the luxury brand polishes I ever bought. I got them through a mass order during a 50% sale but they were still expensive after shipping and conversion. The formula for Stormy is fantastic though, easy to control and very opaque.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Michelle M31

Azure blue cream. It’s a lovely color that’s easy to apply. The formula is a little thick but gave me no problems.

I bought this from Beadstreet at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. I really recommend this shop for those on a budget as their nail polishes are great for the price. They have a good range of creams, plus some glitter and crackle. You can test the polishes so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting.

One bottle goes for $2.50 while two are $4. I have three of their creams and they’re fully opaque in two coats. The brushes are a bit unruly and might require trimming but it’s a small issue. Those I have also wear as well as any other brands so I think they’re worth it.

Polish peels:
• Michelle M31 (2 coats)

OPI Road House Blues

Collection: Touring America (2011 Fall)

Dark indigo cream. Look at how reflective it is! If only all creams could be like this! The color is not quite a true navy, there’s a drop or two of purple in there. I was eying this for a while until my best friend gave it to me for my birthday last year – she does know me very well.

The formula was excellent, being almost opaque in one coat. The second coat covered everything perfectly! It’s great as a base color (see it under Cult Nails Seduction) and would probably be good for stamping and nail art too.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI Road House Blues (2 coats)

Essence Speed Of Light Blue

Collection: You Rock! (2011 Spring)

Baby blue with blue micro-shimmer. You know I always love a shy shimmer but this one is too hidden for me. I see it in the bottle but it just disappears on my nails!

The formula refused to work with me either; it was streaky and took three coats to even out. It wasn’t the worse, but since it didn’t give me any shimmer, it should have been a breeze to apply at the very least. (Don’t listen to my whining, three coats for a pastel polish is fine.)

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Essence Speed Of Light Blue (3 coats)

Claire’s Flirty Shy

We’ve all heard of mood rings before – the ring changes color according to your temperature. And mood polishes are basically the same thing in nail lacquer form. It’s not the most practical thing for Singapore as the weather never gets cold enough for the color to change, but I just had to have it!

The thing I love about mood polishes is the instant gradient effect you get on long nail tips. Although I don’t usually keep long nails, I let them grow out a bit before putting on this polish. The gradient is really pretty in an air-conditioned room. However, for these pictures, I used ice water to recreate the color changes.

See how it changes from cerulean blue (warm) to indigo blue (cool)? My camera had a bit of trouble capturing the true color; the last three pictures are more color accurate than the rest.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Claire’s Flirty Shy (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Essie Lapis Of Luxury & Orly Snowcone

While both polishes are in the cornflower blue category, Lapis Of Luxury has a bit more periwinkle. It’s not so obvious in the picture above but definitely noticeable in person (as shown in the sunlight shots below).

Unless you have a soft spot for cornflower blues, I’d say you don’t need both. I’m keeping them both because Snowcone is great as an opaque cream but I do love my squishy polishes too!

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Essie Lapis Of Luxury (3 coats) – index and ring fingers
• Orly Snowcone (1 coat) – middle and little fingers

OPI A Roll In The Hague

Collection: Holland (2012 Spring)

Bright orange cream. Did you know that while the term Holland frequently refers to the whole of Netherlands, it is actually a region in the Western part of the country?

There’s a strong red tone here, very similar to tomato red. The color is a bit of a chameleon, turning almost red in certain lightings. The formula flows very easily and covers very well in two coats. I strongly recommend using a base coat as it stained my cuticles during cleanup.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI A Roll In The Hague (2 coats)

OPI Ski Teal We Drop

Collection: Swiss (2010 Winter)

Dark teal blue cream. This was the one of the first dark creams I purchased. I love using this as a pedicure color as it’s still clearly teal all that distance away!

The formula was smooth and easy to work with. I’ve also finally figured out how to overcome the wide OPI brush! For ladies with small nails, try using the non-flat side of the brush. It’s narrower and absolutely perfect for painting my little and ring fingers.

Thanks for reading!

Polish peels:
• OPI Ski Teal We Drop (2 coats)

OPI Mermaid's Tears

Collection: Pirates of The Caribbean (2011 Spring)

Dusty sea foam green cream. Most swatches online show this as more cyan than green. It does have a touch of blue that many cameras capture, but it’s definitely green. Still, whatever we choose to call this color, it’s a real beauty. I wore it for a friend’s wedding last month and got lots of compliments!

I do wish the consistency was less watery and more leveling. I read that Orly Ancient Jade is a close match but just a bit brighter and greener. I do like how murky Mermaid’s Tears looks so I’ll be keeping this. But I can never have enough so maybe I’ll get Ancient Jade one day too.

Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• OPI Mermaid's Tears (3 coats)

Nature Republic GR602

In my previous post, I used this as base for my fimo nail art. But it wasn’t accurate color-wise, so I decided to swatch it to show how vibrant it is.

I found this polish to be thick even after I added thinner to it. Whenever I tried to do thin coats, it came out very streaky with plenty of bald spots. To prevent that, I discovered it was best to do thick coats with as little pressure as possible.

But it’s not all bad. It self-levels and is very glossy without any top coat. It also dries a bit faster than average despite the thick coats.

Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• Nature Republic GR602 (3 coats)

Fruit Fest!

Over the weekend, I decided it was time to try out the fimo nail art that I got from Ebay a few weeks ago. My intention was to use a cheery color for the base and I settled on a green cream from Nature Republic.

I bought my fimo pre-sliced so I didn’t need to do any extra work. Some might prefer to buy the whole canes instead as it is cheaper. The canes can be cut with a penknife, and you can decide how thick you want the slices to be.

I found the thinner slices more flexible and they contoured easily to the curved surface of my nail. However, when it’s too thin it lies rather flat on the nail; a thicker slice gave me a greater 3D effect.

I used clear eyelash glue to stick the pieces on my nails before adding a thick coat (or two) of Seche Vite. SV really helps to secure the slices as it creates a thick protective layer over the. I also found SV to be a good substitute for the glue.

My biggest problem with this was that my hair kept getting caught on it. Three pieces got pulled off within a day and I was worried every time I washed my hair.

As this is my first time trying 3D nail art, please ignore the imperfections that can be seen. Still, I think it’s a decent attempt as I got positive reactions from my friends. I don’t mind trying it again, just not so soon. Or maybe with less slices or as an accent nail. (:

Here’s a close up of my favorite nail. I just wanted to show this as I thought it came out the best! I hope you find this as cute as I found it!

What are your opinions on fimo nail art? Will you try it? Or is it not for you?

Polish sandwich:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Nature Republic GR602 (3 coats)
• Fimo Nail Art
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)