French manis from the vault

Hi guys!

Today, I will present 2 French manicures that I did before Christmas.

This one was taken on August '10, when I had just basically started. I was still testing the Mavala product at this point. Here it is:

What I used:

- Mavala Nail Shield
- Sally Hansen Diamond Strenght
- Sally Hansen New Length Ceramic White Tips
- Nicole Top Coat Plus
- Rhinestones

Then here's another French manicure I did in November '10. I had made it to go to a hockey game, and the Oceanics' color is blue. Here it is:

I used:
- 4 Nail Star Nail Art Pen and Brush in blue
- L.A. Colors Art Deco Silver Glitter
- No sure what I used for base and top coats, though..

And here's another one I made in December '10. Here it is:

My aunt gave me this Rimmel purple polish, but I really have no idea what the name of the color is. It was really hard to work with, as it was really goopy. And I used L.A. Colors Nail Art Silver Glitter to outline the slant.

And here's my attempt at reproducing Tartofraise's corset design:

It was my first attempt at freehanding something with a very thin brush. I liked it! It was made in December as well. I did it for another hockey game, on a weekend getaway, and remembered to take a pic after I came back. I used:
- Rimmel Base Coat Top Coat
- 4 Nail Star Nail Art Pen and Brush in navy and white
- Aldo's Hit The Pavement Perfecto

As always, please forgive the extra dry cuticle. I'm working on it!

Thanks for coming by! Feel free to leave a comment below, eh!

GabZ ♥

Sally Hauls

Hi!


So as I was saying in my previous post, I went to the new Sally Beauty Supplies that opened last month in my town. Super exciting, the people working there are really nice and knowledgeable, a very enjoyable shopping experience.

Here's what I came home with:

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

.: Hemp with Argan Oil Body Moisturizer. I was a bit skeptical at first, wasn't sure if it was gonna smell like hemp a whole lot, but turns out to smell simply divine! It's not an overpowering smell, and the smell stays on for about 3 or 4 hours. Almost 24 hours later, my skin still feels hydrated. (best impulse buy I've done in a long time!)
.: Cotton Gloves. I wanted to try these for a while now, putting a thick coat of body butter or heavy hand cream before slipping these on for the night. I tried them last night, and it really works! I had rashes due to cold weather on top of both my hands, and it's gone. Also, not sure if this is related, but one of my nails had a white spot on it, and it's a lot less noticeable now.

.: Pure Acetone. I was almost running out of it anyway, and it was on sale for $1.99. 
.: Nail Polish Thinner. One of my polishes is.. I don't know.. Too thick? Not sure if it's the problem for sure, but I'm gonna try thinning it. It's my last hope.
.: Cuticle scissors. Not that I cut my cuticles, but I'm hoping it'll be easier to cut the little silk patches for repair.

.: Bubble White. This stuff really works!! I wear 2 coats of base coat, to prevent yellowing, and I'm super paranoid when it comes to this topic. I usually brush my nails with baking soda every time I change my manicure, but if it's getting out of hand, I use this Bubble White product. I leave it on for about 10 minutes, and the yellow hue is gone.

.: Orly Des Fleurs. I was curious to try a pink base for a French manicure. I think it'll be too pink, from the small swatch I did. But we'll see.
.: Orly White Tips. My white from Sally Hansen is getting just too thick, and this one seem good enough to replace it.
These are my very first Orly polishes!

.: China Glaze Broken Hearted. Originally, I wasn't a fan of crackle polish. Until I had it on my nails! I tried this one over my existing (chipping) mani, and it looked great. I did a few tests with the brush stroke, to find out which way it cracks better. This goes on my nails next, that's for sure.
.: China Glaze Crushed Candy. This looks amazing too, it's unbelievable. 
.: China Glaze Liquid Leather. My only other black (from Aldo) is a little on the thin side, and has a beautiful shimmer in it. I just thought I needed a simple black.


This was my second time going to Sally's. The first time, about a month ago, here's what I had bought:

.: Supernail Swiss Silk patches. Works wonders. As soon as you put on the gel, it's completely transparent. And it's tough too.
.: Finger Paint Hue Left Me A  Message? This is my very first FP polish! Though it's a subtle color, it looks really good on my nails. I did one mani with it, that should appear over the next few weeks.
.: China Glaze Grape Juice. My very first CG polish! The shimmers in it look so good! It's a bit on the sheer side, but build up very nicely. I also did a mani with it, to be seen within a few weeks.
.: Wonder Bond Brush-on Gel Glue. This works better than just regular brush-on glue or just any nail glue I've encountered. I pair it with the silk patches, and it stays on for at least 3 changes in manicures. It's very tough on its own too, and doesn't take much time to dry (1-2 min tops).
.: Missing from the picture: 2 individual packets of Bubble White. I wanted to try it first before buying the bigger container.

Also, soon to come on my nails:

So there you have it! My most recent haul. I was tempted to buy more, though, because I saw a new Finger Paint collection, with giant flower rings on some bottles, and a few other China Glaze and Orly polishes that I wanted, but it'll have to wait another time.


Thanks for coming by today! Feel free to leave comments, questions, reactions, etc!


GabZ ♥

Champagne purple squiggles

Hi!


Here's a mani I before Christmas, but just forgot to post it. I wasn't sure I was gonna like that color on my nails, 'cause it's much more pale than what I usually wear, but it turned out well in the end.

Here's what I used:
- Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment (1 coat)
- Borghese Luna Pearl
- Nail art pen from eBay in purple
- rhinestones

*********
This post was suppose to be posted last week, via scheduled posts, but I guess it failed to go through!  So sorry about that! 


Oh! And I went to Sally Beauty Supply this morning, and got nice little haul there. Stay tuned for more, either tomorrow or Monday! :D


Cheers,


GabZ ♥

Holiday manicures

Hey!!


Whoo! Almost a week since I last posted! I guess time caught up with me, eh. 

Christmas is 2 days away, and for once I'm actually ready to welcome it with all my shopping done! I put up the tree on Tuesday, and we've put all the presents underneath it. I can't wait to see my Hun's face when he opens his main gift!! I really outdid myself this year, I think. 


Back to manicures! As promised, here are the manicures my sister-in-law and I wore to our men's job's Christmas party. 

 My sister-in-law's manicure

I forgot to take a picture of what I used, but I'll tell you. First, I put on a coat of Rimmel Base Coat Top Coat Plus. Then I put on 2 coats of Joe Fig. Then I painted half of the nail diagonally with Maybeline Salon Expert #700 Black Is Black. I painted the other half of the nail with Wet n Wild Wild Shine #435G Sparkled. Then I did the little dots with the same black. I topped it off with 1 coat of Nicole's Top Coat Pro.

My manicure

What I used

I started up with 1 coat of Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment, followed by 3 coats of Apple Bottoms Club Queen. Then I used  Nail Star Two-Way Nail Art Pen & Brush in green to make the leaves of the mistletoe, and added 3 2mm red rhinestones. I topped everything with a coat of Nicole's Top Coat Pro.

I enjoyed doing my sister-in-law's nails. It was different working on someone else's nails. I didn't quite know how to position her hand to make it easy. I'm super proud of the result, as you can see the lines aren't straight, and the little dots aren't the same shape and spaced the same. But she was happy with her nails and I was super excited to have done my first manicure on someone else! 

I'm not sure if I'll write another post before next week, so I want to take this opportunity to wish you guys the best Holidays, to you and all your family. ;)

Ciao!

GabZ ♥

Dry marble

Hi!


Today's mani is my first try at a dry marble. I like the effect, but it could be better:

Here's what I used:

- Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment
- Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics - #02 White Tips
- 4 Nail Star Two-Way Nail Art Pen & Brush (purple, white)
- Rimmel Base Coat Top Coat Pro
- a toothpick


I like the effect it's done on my nails, though the toothpick went all the way through to the white base coat for the design. I did try to not press so hard, but it went through no matter what. But I even had compliments about this from a coworker and a lady at the hospital, so I was happy with it.


I think the 4 Nail Star polishes are no good for this type of nail art, though. By the time I was done painting the nail with the alternate colors, it had already started to dry, even if I had put on a lot of polish. Oh well! I will definitely try this again, but with different brand of polishes.


Thanks for coming! 


GabZ ♥
 

Revlon swatches

Hiya!
Here's the first swatches from my mini haul. I'm starting with the Revlon Top Speed Jaded and Lily.

I do realized the quality sucks. The battery had died, and I had to use the one on my cellphone. And I just realized that I haven't cleaned up the cuticles, so please forgive me!

 More swatches to come, so stay tuned!

EDITED on 09/27 (12:48am (AST)), to add:
Susie's comment made me realized that I didn't really talked about anything, lol! Thanks for these questions, otherwise, I never would've realized! ;D


Application wise, it takes at least 2 coats to get an even finish. Jaded was 3 coats, but Lily has 2. It dries pretty quickly, so by the time I was done the last nail in my hand, the first one was already dry to touch. The brushes glided fairly well, didn't have any problem with the application in general. The formula was a bit thin, to be honest, but it was still manageable.