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.

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.

China Glaze Glitter All the Way

Collection: Holiday Joy (2012 Winter)

Small gold, purple, red and slightly larger green hexagonal glitter in a clear base. I love the colors in this; it’s like having a Mardi Gras party on my nails! It might not be the typical Christmas color scheme but I think it works just as well. Also, I love the name! Jingle bells, jingle bells, glitter all the way~~!

The glitter itself spreads pretty well but it clumped a bit when I applied a thick coat. My advice is to apply a thin first coat without worrying about the coverage. The second and third coat will cover almost everything up, it doesn’t matter if you miss some spots – no one will notice. I didn’t even notice there was a bald spot on my index nail before I saw the pictures on my computer!

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• China Glaze Glitter All the Way (3 coats)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)
• Ettude House Help My Finger Matte Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Days: MAN-icure

This month’s Polish Days theme is ‘man’ focused in commemoration of Movember. Movember is an initiative to bring awareness to men’s health issues, particularly testicular cancer. There’s no colored ribbon here for the guys – instead, they are encouraged to grow a moustache for the whole month.

And I thought, what better way to do a MAN-icure than with some ManGlaze? ManGlaze was made by men for men. Sounded perfect to me (;

I just had to do a moustache and tuxedo but not on every nail. There was no guarantee that I wouldn’t mess up (with my sad lack of art skills) and get frustrated instead of enjoying myself.

Under The Sea

Doesn’t this remind you of the Mediterranean and mermaids? I did this same combo last month on my toes (without Heartbreaker) and loved it so much I had to replicate it on my fingers too! I got Heartbreaker recently and it’s a perfect match. Both the flakies and shimmer have a blue-green shift to them that’s really hard to capture.

I was thinking of doing a fish scale stamp over this but I changed my mind and made it matte instead. I really like how the flakies pop when mattified! I usually take two sunlight shots but since they don’t do anything for flakies, I included more shaded images this time.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• OPI Fly (2 coats)
• Nfu Oh 39 (1 coat)
• Pure Ice Heartbreaker (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)
• Ettude House Help My Finger Matte Top Coat (1 coat)

China Glaze Stone Cold

Collection: Capitol Colours (2012 Spring)

Charcoal matte with silver shimmer. Like all other matte polishes, this dries fast. No need to wait if you’re in a hurry. It also chips easily – I had one within 24 hours. And that shimmer also gets everywhere during cleanup (and removal).

While I had it on, I noticed something weird – the charcoal base gets worn off, making it more silvery over time. Especially at the tips. If you dislike such a thing, then this polish is not for you.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• China Glaze Stone Cold (2 coats)

Polish Days: Sentimental

This month’s Polish Days theme is sentimental so I decided to dig out two of my oldest polishes to create a manicure. Yes, two. If you can’t see both polishes in my picture above, fret not. Because my second shade is a sheer stamp over my base – it’s real subtle in person too.

ManGlaze Matte is Murder

Black matte with subtle shimmer. The shimmer appears to be a mix of green, pink and holographic silver. It’s doesn’t really turn up but you can tell it’s not just a plain black.

The wear I got was pretty good; it lasted longer than traditional mattes. But the dry time was longer too – that can be either good or bad. If you’re looking to paint your nails five minutes before you head out, dents and smudges will still occur. But if you always wanted a matte that allows you to take your time while painting, then this is for you.

Generally, I struggle quite a bit with matte polish because I’m a slow painter – I prefer little to no cleanup. This was perfect for me. Then I ruined it when I attempted a tape mani – the tape pulled up bits of the polish (I waited fifteen minutes). So no pictures for the tape mani!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• ManGlaze Matte is Murder (2 coats)

Orly Au Champagne

Collection: Holiday Soireé (2011 Winter)

White shimmer with a satin finish. This is officially my first white polish as I’m sure some of you might know. I used it plenty of times in my EURO Series. The shimmer is there but not loud. If you’re looking for an affordable and easy-to-find white polish with delicate shimmer, you should really try this!

Although it has a satin finish, it doesn’t dry as fast a traditional matte polish. It’s very easy to apply and can be a two coater if done carefully. I’ve also taken pictures of this with a layer of top coat – it’s real pretty. It may not show the differences very well, but it’s definitely more sparkly.

Topped with Cult Nails Wicked Fast

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Orly Au Champagne (3 coats)

Zoya Caitlin + Nubar 2010

When I first saw this combination here I knew I had to try it! I haven’t really experimented with 2010 since I got it. I only have one bottle and I’m afraid I’ll use it all up! This is the first time I’m using Caitlin as a mani, but I loved it on my toes last month and I wanted to use it again!