Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Almond Shape Nails Review.

Hello Hello!

I know it's crazy, two posts in one day! But I figured the last post was a short one, that another review wouldn't be that bad.

Well, this post is simply about the almond nail shape. I know some of you might not be familiar with it. But an almond shape nail is just that it looks like an almond. It's not as pointy as the stiletto, but more rounded at the tip. See? ->

Now normally, I'm constantly sporting a square or a squarely rounded shaped nail. It's just easy to do on myself and doesn't require the most amount of work.

However, have you ever looked at someone else's nails and thought, "Damn, I wanna do that or try that?" Yeah that's what happened to me. I happened to see this particular picture on Kylie Jenner's website.

I've tried the stiletto or mountain peak in the picture nail style before and I did not like it as much. But when I saw this picture, I just had to try it.

It's fairly easy to create and doesn't look as intimidating as a stiletto nail would.

Here's my list of pros and cons with this nail design.
Pro                                                                                 Cons
- looks nice, like the picture                                           - no one in my family liked the nail shape
- it's a less scary version that's popular                           - it doesn't to me feel as sturdy as a square shape
- it's really popular among celebrities it seems                - I couldn't scratch my itch easily or get relief
                                                                                       - less space to do the nail designs I wanted
                                                                                       - I wouldn't recommend this for a professional          
                                                                                         setting

Overall, this nail shape for me is just okay. It does look nice in my opinion and it is a different look for me than what I'm used to. I'd probably do this nail shape once in a blue moon. Not something that I would probably wear for a long time. It's fun and different though.

I think I'd give this nail shape a 3.5 out of 5.

Hope this helps!
Stace.

OPI - "Glitzerland" Nail Polish Review.

Hello Hello!

For some reason or another, lately I've been infatuated with gold colored nail polishes. I have no idea why, but I have. I'm not talking those gold gold colors, but more of a bronze gold. Since I didn't have the particular color I wanted, I went to some random beauty supply store and purchased two different gold colored OPI nail polishes. Both of them are about a shade off from each other.

One Coat
The first color I tried is the darker of the two and is called "Glitzerland". It's actually a very pretty color. It was a little brighter than I had anticipated however.

The consistency of the polish is great actually. I think with this nail polish color, I wouldn't even mind just using one coat. It is a little opaque, but it's not as bad as some of the other nail polishes I've tried.
Two Coats

The second coat, for me was just perfect. It's the type of gold I've been looking everywhere for. The consistency is still really great for me. You don't need a lot of nail polish to coat your entire nail.


I've purchased OPI nail polish in the past that I did not like, however this one is one of my favorites.
I think it's worth the almost $9 it costs.

Hope this helps!
Stace.







Saturday, January 26, 2013

DIY - Organizing Your Nail Polish.

Hello Hello!

I've been asked by friends how I keep my nail polish organized, how I know what color the polish looks like etc. So I thought since I explain to them, I'd post a quick entry about it. Hope it helps and you find ideas on how to store your polish as well. I'll be listing all the materials I used at the end.

I know some people like to store their polishes in storage containers, bags, boxes drawers etc. I used to store my nail polish in a storage container till it started to overflow. So I made my own nail rack (I'll be posting a DIY on that later on). I usually keep all my colors in similar shelves just to make everything easier. It usually goes from dark to light.
<--That's what my nail rack looks like.

When I first started purchasing my nail polish, I used to purchase the nail wheel from Sally's Beauty Supply. -->
It's about $5.99 for I think a packet of 10? I can't remember the exact number it comes in. I'd paint every single color on the nail wheel so I'd know what color it was without having to paint mine and erasing it when I didn't like it. 
BUT it started to get expensive! So I tried to think of another cheap alternative to my problem. 
The solution? Using blank labels that I had purchased from the Dollar Tree. I used those stickers a while back for a yard sale and had plenty left. It's actually a good deal, since there's 315 pieces for $1!
What I do with the little circles is paint half of it with just one coat of the polish and on the other half paint it with two coats. You don't have to paint the entire circle so you don't waste the polish. I started painting the entire circle, but it got a little messy when I started peeling it off. Whenever you paint the polish onto the circle, you MUST LET IT COMPLETELY DRY. The reason you need to let it dry is because it can get on your fingers when you go to lift the circle off. 

After painting the circle, I place it on the back of the polish so it's not visible to everyone unless they know where to look. Plus it still shows the name of the polish too. 
I noticed that when I just left it, it started to wear and tear. So I placed a small enough piece of tape to cover the circle. It prevents the polish to wear off when you continuously grab or touch the sticker. Also the tape gives the polish the look of having a clear top coat. This is what it should like in the end. -->

//MATERIALS USED//
- tape from any store (bought mine at the $1 for a pack of 6 tapes)
- white labels (it doesn't have to be a circle, it's just what I had on hand)
- nail polish color

Hope that helps!
Stace.






Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LeCHAT Nail Polish Review

Hello Hello!

I finally got around to using my 2 for 1 nail polish I purchased a while back. The nail supply shop I go to has random sales, and I purchased this color on a whim.

So the color I purchased is called LeCHAT, well it's what it says on the lid. I'm hoping its the brand of the polish. When I purchased it the logo had already smeared off on the actual bottle. The color I used was Chocolate 2 Silver Luster.

I personally love this color. Depending on the lighting, the nail polish looks like two different colors. Sometimes the color looks like a silver glittery nail polish. At the same time, in a different light looks like a shiny light purple color. The coverage of the nail polish is awesome. It covered my full nail with just one coat. It wasn't opaque like I thought it was going to be. With the second coat, it gave me the consistency I love with all my polishes.

A benefit of this nail polish is that it dries very quickly. As soon as I finished one hand and started on another, it was already dry. I've never seen a nail polish dry that quickly. When it first dried after the second coat, it came out matte. It's not something I like, but after putting on a clear top coat, it came out the color I really do love.

I think if I had the option, and it's on sale again, I'd definitely buy more of the colors.

The finished product, two coats and a top coat. ->

Hope this helps!
Stace.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Chevron.

Hello Hello!

Hope you are all doing well. I decided since I had already painted my nails, I wanted to do something to them. I did a simple chevron design with a gold accent. Hope you like it.

Materials I used. 
Base coat - OPI "Base Coat"
Base color - Essie "Turquoise and Caicas"
Accent color - NYC "French Tip" & CM "Gold"
Top coat - Sally Hansen "UV Top Coat"
Other - Sally Hansen "Nail Art Pen - White"

Step 1. 
Apply a base coat. Wait for this to dry.

Step 2. 
Apply your base color. I used two coats of Essie's "Turquoise and Caicas". Wait for this to dry.

Step 3. 
Using either a dotting tool, toothpick etc create 2 very small dots at the top of your nail. One on the top and one directly below it. This creates the center point of the chevron. You can skip this step if you prefer. It helped me know exactly how far to draw the lines.

Step 4. 
Repeat step 3 to create another chevron further down your nail.

Step 5. 
Using a small brush, draw lines toward the center dots.

Step 6. 
Fill in the lines.

Step 7.
Repeat steps 5 & 6 to create the second chevron. Wait for this to dry.

Step 8. (Optional)
Using a thin brush or nail art paint, create a straight line going through the center of the chevron. Wait for this to dry.

Step 9. 
Apply a top coat.

That's it. It's the simplest chevron design that you can do.

Hope this helps!
Stace.


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Essie swatch review.

Hello Hello!

So I've been looking everywhere for Essie's Turquoise and Caicas. I've seen someone else where it and I thought it was a pretty color.

Here's my review on the color.

I am highly disappointed in this particular color. I've used Essie before and this color just sucked. I usually use 2 layers of the color and the coverage to me is just fine.
However, even with two, it wasn't enough to get the coverage I'm used to.

The color in general is pretty, but to me because the coverage sucked, I probably wouldn't have purchased it if I knew about it beforehand.

In the picture my ring finger (left side) is just two layers. My pinky is 4 layers (right side)

Hope this helps!
Stace.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Abstract Nails.

Hello Hello!

It's the first post of the new year! I hope you had a great New Years spent with family and friends.

Hope you like this nail design!

//MATERIALS I USED//
- base coat: OPI "Base Coat"
- black: Wet N' Wild "Black Creme"
- white: Wet N' Wild "French Tip"
- burgandy: NYC "Downtown"
- top coat: Sally Hansen "UV Top Coat"
- dotting tools
- nail art brush


STEP 1.
Apply a base coat. Always, always use a base coat!
Wait for this to dry.
Steps 1 - 8

STEP 2.
Apply the black color to half of your nails.

STEP 3.
Apply the burgandy color to a third of your nails. Apply it from the corner to the top.
Wait for this to dry.

STEP 4.
Use your white color with a thin brush. (If you have the nail art paint brush in white use it.) Draw two thin lines parallel to each other on the black portion of your nails.

STEP 5.
Using your dotting tool, place dots on the lines you just drew. You can place as many dots as you want to. I was only able to place four dots per line per nail.

STEP 6. (OPTIONAL)
Using the same nail art brush, draw two black lines on the burgandy portion. Think of a curved "V".

STEP 7. (OPTIONAL)
The finished product(:
Using the nail art brush, draw thin random white lines following the arch of the burgandy color.

STEP 8. (OPTIONAL)
Draw a white line starting from where the black and burgandy meets. Draw a curved line downwards

STEP 9.
Wait for everything to dry. I mean it!

STEP 10.
Apply a top coat.

Hope you liked it!

Hope it helps!
Stace.