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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

OPI My Private Jet

Collection: Night Brights (2007 Spring)

Dark brown with silver flakies and holographic glitter. According to this comparison, my version is unfortunately known as the yuk brown. It is actually pretty unique in my stash – it’s just different from the original holo one.

It has a pretty good formula, completely even in three coats. However, I bought this polish thinking that it was the original. No matter how unique or good the formula is, my disappointment has made me dislike it.

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI My Private Jet (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Us Pink – OPI DS Elegance

Collection: Designer Series (2006 Spring)

Rose pink holographic. October is the month well-known for Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA). Susan from The Subtle Shimmer and a few other decided to come together to do BCA posts during this month and opened it up to other bloggers to join them.

BCA is something close to my heart: my mother had a lump found in her breast 13 years ago. Thankfully, with early detection, the lump was safely removed. I don’t remember it too well as I was still young, but the fear and worry left an impression on me that lingers even today.

For more information on Breast Cancer:
• Breast Cancer Foundation (Singapore)
• Singapore Cancer Society
• Pink Ribbon (International)

Innisfree 107 Libra

Collection: Star Sign (2012 Summer)

Clear base with multi-shaped glitter. Even though it looks mostly blue and green in the bottle, it has a wider variety of colors on the nail. There’s purple, gold and silver, and a dash of orange and red too.

Libra needs some thinner but it was still manageable without. The dab and spread method gave me a lot of glitter even at one coat. I don’t have any indie glitters yet, but this is definitely a cheaper alternative ;)

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI Jade is The New Black (2 coats)
• Innisfree 107 Libra (1 coat)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

OPI Spark de Triomphe

Collection: Serena Glam Slam! France (2011 Summer)

Champagne foil with silver and gold hexagonal glitter in two sizes: micro and medium. I wasn’t into glitter a year ago when this came out, but just seeing swatches made this the first one I ever wanted. And it doesn’t disappoint! I used this as a base in Polish Days: Geometry.

The formula is a little thick, which is good as it helps to suspend all the glitter. Three thin costs gave me good coverage but you can do less if you prefer. It does dry gritty so I put on a coat of Gelous to smooth it out.

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• OPI Spark de Triomphe (3 coats)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu!

Collection: New York City Ballet (2012 Spring)

Sheer soft white jelly. The polish companies have been listening to us for the past year, fulfilling our many wants. But this collection – in my opinion – was a sleeper hit. When I saw the swatches, I knew I had to have the white!

If you prefer sheers, apply a coat or two and you’ll be done. But since I love jellies, three (or sometimes four) coats were perfect for me! I really love how soft this looks – white without the stark. The sheerness would also be great in jelly sandwiches.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu! (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

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)

Polish Days: Geometry

I’m so excited to be participating in my first Polish Days! It’s an event organized by Hannah for bloggers to post a themed mani simultaneously across the world.

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)

Happy 47th Singapore!

Singapore celebrates her birthday today! Over here, we always have a parade with lots of marching, performances and fireworks. The fireworks are a real treat as it’s illegal to set them here bar exceptions like these.

I knew that drawing stars and a crescent was out of my league so I didn’t try. I wanted a soft white (instead of stark) and a dark red (instead of bright) so it’s what I used. Then I spied Dorothy and just had to put her on my thumbs!

(Please ignore the retarded claw pose) Did you manage to see the holo? Thanks for looking and have a great National Day!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Index / Middle
• OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu! (4 coats)
• Spectraflair Top Coat (2 coats)
• Cult Nails Wicked Fast (1 coat)
Ring / Little
• Essie Bordeaux (3 coats)
• Ozotic 518 (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)
Thumb
• Essie Bordeaux (2 coats)
• NYX Girls Dorothy(1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Euro 2012 Spain

And the last shall be the first! This is my second time trying a gradient and I’m really happy at how beautiful it turned out! I know this is probably the least matching of the Euro 2012 manicures (as compared to the jerseys), but I don’t care.

Spanish colors are traditionally red and yellow – they are called La Furia Roja (The Red Fury). But this is their away jersey; which I adore! The sky blue base is complimented by the dark blue stash. But it’s not just a plain stash; it’s made of fine stripes that fade into a gradient!

To create this, I followed The Nailasaurus’ gradient tutorial. It’s a simple technique, easy to learn but I've yet to master it (all I’ll say is that I had some difficulties doing my right hand). I wouldn't mind more practice – more colors to play with!

This concludes the Euro 2012 series. Thanks for sticking with me till the end, especially those who don’t even follow football.

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Orly Snowcone (1 coat)
• Orly Snowcone / OPI Road House Blues (sponged on)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

All jerseys featured are for illustrative purposes only.