Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Keyblade to my heart

Recently, I've started watching my boyfriend play Kingdom Hearts. It has quite a sweet and touching story line. One of those typical Disney things that's meant to put warm fuzziness into kids' hearts.

I was inspired to do a mani for it, of course. Hope you guys like it.


I used Milani Key Lime Light for the base. And the pattern was done with acrylic paint. Then sealed off with topcoat so nothing gets washed away.


Until next time!

Monday, February 4, 2013

An explosion of dots somehow adds up to a fish

I've always wanted to try some sort of fish scale nail art and since my creative mind functions completely different to a normal person, I ended up with a whole bunch of dots vaguely resembling fish scales.

For the base, I used 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow (Matte) that I've never managed to pull off on its own because it is just such a terrible polish with the worst consistency and streaky texture. But it came out reasonable after I whacked on a layer of OPI Funny Bunny, one of my all time favourites (as you can tell because it's half empty, I mean is that even possible for a polish junkie?).


And here comes the rest of the gang! A whole lot of Essies and a Milani, featuring (from left to right) Splash of Grenadine, Smokin' Hot, Lilacism, Mint Candy Apple, Mesmerize and finally, Key Lime Shine.


I started dotting in the colours from the base of my nail, working my way up to the tip. At first I blotted each colour onto a piece of paper and worked with a wooden skewer, wiping off after each dot. But then I realised that it is so much easier just blotting using the brush of the bottle.

And ta-da! The final result of my experiment process.

 


I still haven't decided if I actually like the result or not but the thumb seems to look better than the other fingers. It was definitely quite a messy process with 2 hours spent on dotting. But I can't wait to try it again with different sized dots and maybe colours that are only varied in shade. Hope this tickles your fancy.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Warm fuzzies + flocking powder review

Love is in the air! February is the month of love with the very special Valentine's day falling on the 14th. I've been doing quite a bit of reminiscing lately. Even though all of the polish I own are very dear to me, this colour in particular holds very fond memories.


This is OPI Chapel of Love. What an appropriate name for Valentine's day, right? I got this 3 years ago as a Secret Valentine present from my dear Jenny (hello, if you're reading). So with the perfect colour for February as the base, I decided to spice things up with some flocking powder.


Born Pretty Store was kind enough to send me a whole jar of flocking powder. I chose white because I've always been obsessed with the perfect white mani. Flocking powder is actually not a powder. It should technically be called flocking fluff if it was up to me to name.

Click HERE for the link to the jar of fluffiness! 

The powder (or fluff) is super simple to use. All you need to do is to pour some out into a container. I used the triangular tray for flipping rhinestones because the pointed corners makes pouring the powder back into the jar super easy.

 

The powder does come out a bit clumped since it's been condensed in the jar. So just grab a little stick or tweezers or anything that you have handy (like your hand, I'm so punny) and break up the clumps.


Now you should have a good, even consistency because the last thing you'd want is for the powder to come out in clumps on your nails.

I wanted a fluffy heart-mani so I simply just painted the tips in white and dipped my nails into the powder while the polish is still wet.



On my ring finger, I stuck on a bit of masking tape in the shape of a love heart as a negative stencil. Then applied white polish all over the nail followed but a good sprinkle of flocking powder.


To get rid of the excess fluff on your nails and fingers, all you've got to do is lightly dust them with a brush. Also remember to gently press on the powder to make sure that they've settled nicely with the wet polish that you've used as the glue.

The result is a warm and fuzzy mani, all ready for February!


♥ Review verdict: Definitely Recommended!
It was super easy to use, although it does require quite a few pieces of equipments like a small tray and a soft bristled brush for dusting. But the powder has great lasting power. It can get wet and be dried in the blink of the eye and still look the same as when it was first applied. I love the fact that I didn't need glue for its application. Removal was also the same as a normal polish mani.

Born Pretty Store has by far, the largest range of colours for flocking powders and also the best value with its mega-sized jar filled with compressed fluff.

Remember to use my special code MUL91 for 10% off all of your purchases.


So definitely go ahead and give this mani a go for Valentine's day. ♥