Are you ready for another one?

This is the mani I did today. Going to keep this blurb short and simple and show you what I've done straight up.

As a base I used one of the new essence bottles called Boho Chic. It's a beautiful peachy base with gold flakies. To tell you the truth it doesn't look that awesome in the bottle but the main reason I got is because I saw it in Oooh, Shinies! and this girl can make anything look good. I even added the matte top coat to make it look like hers. I also added the fan from BM-204 stamping plate with Maybelline Wet Shine in Succulent. I've had this polish for about six years and it does a pretty good job at stamping. Then again, I don't think they're sold anymore!!!

To seal in the stamp I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri for the first time and I can tell you it blew my mind on how quickly it dries. However, the gold flakies made the manicure look kinda dirty, so I then followed the steps of Oooh, Shinies!. Have a look.

It looks waaaaaaaaay better matte. What do you reckon? Shiny? Matte? Let me know.

Until next time, 

Laura

I'm in a blogging mood...

Two posts in one day? Yes, that's right. Laura is in a blogging mood. And also feels like she needs to do something with her day. So here we go.

A little while ago, I went to Mecca Maxima in the city and the lady that was serving me showed me this beautiful, sunny yellow by Nars but the $32 price tag put me off buying it. When I tried it in-store, the polish had an amazing formula and wasn't too streaky as yellows can be but it wasn't enough to justify it.

So I went looking for another yellow and I came across the discounted bin at Target and found Monte Carlo by B Collection by Bloom for only $5!!! It was a steal and I've had pretty good experiences with this brand. 

I also happened to get two Bundle Monster Nail Stamping Plate Sets and was itching to try them. I applied two coats of Monte Carlo and let them dry. They were fairly thick coats and took a little while to dry but I had patience that day. Generally, I like wearing really bright colours and their boldness doesn't bother me, but I'm glad I decided to stamp over this because it was B R I G H T. 

I have noooooo idea what colours go well together so I jumped on Google and checked out a colour wheel to see what would look with the yellow. According to my understanding of the colour wheel, a purple would look good (Colour theory? Laura has no idea). I grabbed an old SugarBaby in You Rock, I don't even know if they sell them anymore but it's in my stash and I might as well use it. I stamped very sheer and it looked more maroon than purple but I really like the effect it created. I used BM-204 plate for the stamping image and use OPI RapiDry Top Coat. 

I only took one good photo of the mani  but it does it enough justice, I hope.

Till next time.

Laura

End of Semester Manicure

Well... Technically the semester isn't over and still have about four pieces of assessment due in the following two weeks but I couldn't wait to post again. 


I've been wanting to do this fish braid technique for ages but I didn't find the time or I had disastrous attempts at it. As always, I found on YouTube on MissJenFABULOUS channel, and I loved it. Here's my attempt.

I got home on Friday night, after having three assignments due that day, and started making the braid on my ring finger which took  F O R E V E R and painted the rest of the nails on Saturday morning.  

Polishes used:

Purple: Dubai by B Collection by Bloom
Pink: Cologne by B  Collection by Bloom 
Gold: Goldie by Bloom Cosmetics
Top Coat: Rimmel Pro Matte Finish

I've also learnt the very important lesson of cleaning up the cuticles and how much better it can look when the polish is fairly even. I grabbed an old eyeliner brush and tried it out. It's OK but i don't think it will stand the polish remover for much longer. So it'll be my quest to find a good one.

I'll leave it short and sweet for today,

Till next time. 

Nude Gradient Mani

I've finally got around to posting! Here's a gradient mani that I gave myself today. This blog has taught me that there's an art to photographing nail art and swatches, so please forgive the pictures.

Nude to lilac gradient. 

The gradient isn't obvious in this picture, but it's a great shot of the nude colour.

I went for a subtle nude effect, and I think that's what I got! I used Essence Nude Glam in Hazelnut Cream Pie as the base and sponged China Glaze Sweet Hook, a pretty pastel lilac, on the tips.

I've been buying lots of nail polish lately. I've been stocking up on Essence from my local Target, they're really cheap and the colours are awesome. They can be a little hard to work with, but for $2 a bottle, it's not really a big deal.

This week's haul. I bought a few more bottles of Essence after this picture was taken.

I also got some new make up brushes this week. I really love Nic and Sam Chapman from Pixiwoo, and I've been lusting after Sam's Real Techniques brushes for a while. I was super happy to learn that they are now stocked at Priceline, so I went and bought some. Australia is a great place to live, but the range of cosmetics here is nowhere near as good as in the US or Europe, and everything is twice the price (including the brushes, boohoo). Are you interested in a review of the brushes I bought? Let me know!

Essence Blue Addicted

Oh, the world of dupes! Lower priced bottles of polish that as look as AMAZING as what you are supposed to, how I love thee!

I acquired my little bottle of Essence Blue Addicted a few months ago. The was no real reason for the purchase, other than the blue and green hexagonal glitter suspended in a dark blue jelly and further mixed with royal blue glitter (descriptive enough?) absolutely blew my mind. And for $3.55, I couldn't go wrong.

When I got it home, it was left on display so I could admire its beauty but I didn't actually use it. Through all my blog stalking, I found  this little shade was actually a dupe for Across The Universe by Deborah Lippmann. I'm not one to stalk brands and pay ridiculous prices just because a brand has come up with something new. If I love the colour, I will buy it. Cheap or not-too-expensive, I'm there. 

However, after I found this out, I was quite happy to know that I could fake a little luxury if I wanted to.

Swatch below was done with three coats of Blue Addicted and one coat of Essence XXXL Shine Gel-look Top Coat.

And a photo of the bottle, even though you know what it looks like.

That's all from me (What? No ranting from me today?). 

Until next time,

Happy polishing!!