Pastel leopard print

Spring is officially here! Can't quite break out the shorts yet with all the SNOW on the ground, but at least I can start rocking some pretty pastel colours. I'm recently seeing a lot of mint paired together with light purple, and I think the combo is gorgeous, so today's featured colours are American Apparel Office (mint) and L'Esprit (purple) in the form of leopard print!

Look how pretty! I saw these items in stores, and I fell in love. Not really my style to wear these, but I can gaze from afar. The socks are from Club Monaco (which inspired the nails), and the bracelet is from Banana Republic.

I started with two coats of Office, then used the brush from China Glaze "Kalahari Kiss" to make some random splodges. Then I used a bobby pin and L'Esprit to make some more random splodges around the Kalahari Kiss ones. For a finishing touch, I dotted China Glaze "I'm Not Lion" on random spots.

The colours freaked out my camera pretty badly, and I actually had to end up using my iPhone to take these pictures as opposed to my usual digital camera - which is five years old, and its age is showing. Hoping to get a new one in the near future!

I like this picture in natural light the best (even though the colours look very blue). There's actually still daylight after I get off work now! Just waiting for the weather to warm up. Happy weekend, friends!

Apple of my eye

Hello hello, my lovelies. I am preparing for a week of cramstudy for an exam I have this coming Saturday, so I am making my weekly post early. I have quite a romantic set of nails for V-day this week. Or, you know, creepy, if you think having an eye staring back at you from your nail is creepy. Whatevs.

I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a romantic, so I had a bit of a time coming up with Valentine's mani ideas. I didn't want to go with the traditional red, pink, white colour scheme, and I also wanted to do something more than just lovey dovey hearts. I think this literal take on the expression "apple of my eye" is a good compromise. Still has a lovey dovey heart, but also just enough creepy hahaha. 

I started off with two coats of American Apparel L'Esprit. It's basically a one coater, but I used two to make it perfect. It's a super pretty lavender colour that actually doesn't make my skin look washed out. After outlining my eye shape, I filled it in with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Notice that my lines do not start out clean by any means. I use the white to refine a little bit. I used China Glaze Flyin' High for the pupil, and Purr-fect Plum for the apple. When it's this close-up, you can really see all the lumps and bumps, but top coat fixes all.

The rest of my fingers kind of just happened. I painted the XO's on my ring finger with My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Then I used American Apparel Coney Island for the pink heart on my thumb, and outlined it with Purr-fect Plum. Now what to do for my pinky? I already had an "eye" and a "heart"...OH! "Eye heart U!" "I'm so clever," I think, as I pat myself on the back. The glitter that you see on my index is Revlon Whimsical. It all ties together!

I love this jelly gradient look! I started with two coats of OPI "You Callin' Me A Lyre". Then I lightly brushed Sally Hansen Dive Deeper, a sheer, icy, "Cinderella blue" onto the tips. I topped everything with a layer of Whimsical. The lightly tinted, milky blue base of Whimsical, along with the glitter, helped to blend everything together. 

Since this is my first (mini) photo tutorial, I'd love to know what you guys think! Do you prefer real nail pictures, or my previous hand-drawn tutorials? Have a great week!

Plum love

I am in love. Yes, it's true. Let me shout it from the rooftops! I AM IN LOVE WITH PLUM!! And this was the polish to do it - Deborah Lippmann's Good Girl Gone Bad.

It was a slow start at first - I have a couple, but was never much of a "purple" wearer. Then, on that fateful Boxing Day of Dec. 26, 2012, there it was. Several Deborah Lippmann polishes on sale for $5. Who can says no to that? I brought home a couple and they've been sitting with the rest of my untried's...until last week. I had just trimmed my nails and was in the mood for a dark colour for my shorties. Seeing as I hadn't tried GGGB yet, I thought why not. Bam. That's it, I was done. After the second smooth coat, all I could do was thank the fates for bringing me and this beauty together. Now was that not a better love story than Twilight?

The dark plum base is loaded with tiny pink and purple shimmer that seriously GLOWS. It has that "dark around the edges" look that just gives it that much more depth. I wore it for a week straight (with minimal tip wear too!), and by the end, I was not even a little bored of the colour.

Haven't felt this intense a love for a polish in a while. It's translated into my general wardrobe as well. Blazers, tops, dresses - it's just such a great colour!

Here's another plum colour I've been wearing. China Glaze Purr-fect Plum with China Glaze Glistening Snow gradient, and an  Urban Outfitters Silver Holo accent.

I think this love is gonna last! What colours have you fallen head over heels in love with?

Alice in Wonderland Nail Art Series: Cheshire Cat

 "You may notice I'm not all there myself."

Hi friends! I'm happy today to make the first post in my "Alice in Wonderland" nail art series. I'll be doing a set of Wonderland themed nails every week, for the next several weeks. Hope you'll enjoy these! I've always loved the imagery from "Alice in Wonderland". It's crazy and can be a bit unsettling, but so colourful and fun.

These first set of nails are inspired by the Cheshire Cat, with his trademark grin, and disappearing stripes. If you look closely, you can see the pink stripes start solid on the middle finger, get slightly more transparent on the index, and then disappear completely on the thumb.

Polishes:

Left to right: OPI "Sparrow Me the Drama", Zoya "Reagan", Sally Hansen "White On", black striper

Directions:

Here is how I created the Cheshire smile. The Zoya brush was very easy to maneuver, so the thick purple stripes are painted freehand.

1) Paint two coats of white and make evenly spaced stripes with a striper.

2) Cut a smile shape from tape. I just modified a binder paper reinforcement.

3) Line up the smile with your cuticle, and make sure it's pressed down completely. 

4) Paint a coat of white on the remaining area to cover up the extra stripes. Then a coat or two of pink.

5) Remove the tape the reveal your wide Cheshire smile.

Finished! If you have any suggestions for me or specific designs you'd like to see, just leave me a comment!

Alice in Wonderland Nail Art Series

• Down the Rabbit Hole
• Big or Small
• Unbirthday

Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy

When my nails are short, it's the perfect time to do some swatching and try some untrieds! Today, I have Essie "To Buy Or Not to Buy" from the Spring 2012 Navigate Her collection. I had too few purples in my collection, and this is part of the remedy.

To Buy Or Not To Buy is a light lilac with very hidden blue and purple shimmer. It leans a teensy bit more pink than in this picture. The formula was not my friend. It was streaky, and I had bubbling issues even though I waited well between coats. This took three.

The shimmer is so pretty! Now wouldn't it be nice if it actually showed??

Since I didn't get the shimmer, I added some glitter that was happily of the same colour. This is one coat of Kleancolor "Disco Ball". It has a coloured base that gives a sheer wash of blue along with the glitter.

Also, this is the first time in a long while that my fingers match my toes! I thought it was quite a momentous occasion. On my toes is Soulstice Spa in "Provence".

So the question is...to buy or not to buy? What do you say?

Nail Art: Tangled - Floating Lights

Happy weekend, everyone! Today, I want to share a special nail art design with you that I'm very proud of.

I am one of the millions of people that watched Tangled and was completely captured by it. The characters are endearing, the animation is gorgeous, and the story gives a fresh twist on the classic Rapunzel story. What more could I ask for? Now, when asked what the most beautiful and iconic scene of that movie is, most people can probably agree: when the lanterns are released from the castle.

Here is my tribute to that most unforgettable scene.

My inspiration

Polishes:

Sky

Left to right: OPI "Sparrow Me The Drama", American Apparel "Dynasty", American Apparel "Mount Royal", Sally Hansen "Navy Baby"

 Castle & Boat

Black and white acrylic paint - add a bit of white to the black so it isn't as harsh

Note: acrylic paint is a matter of personal preference. It doesn't dry as fast, so I find it easier to work with at times, but black and white nail polish would work as well

 Lanterns

Left to right: China Glaze "Lemon Fizz", American Apparel "Rose Bowl", Nubar "Nubar 2010"

Magic happens here! Use any red orange flakie ( eg. Essie "Shine of the Times", Sally Hansen "Hidden Treasure") to give the lanterns a glow.

Directions:

You can find my gradient tutorial here

Dab the flakies where your lanterns are to give them a glow. Top coat over everything, and finished!

Tips:

• Don't stress about the castle! You just need the general form and it will look like a castle! It'll be covered by some lanterns anyways, so it doesn't need to be anywhere near perfect.
• Feel free to use the same brush while painting the lanterns. I dotted on the yellow first, and then went right into the pink and white.
• If you don't paint the castle, just do the lanterns! I did only lanterns for my right hand, and it looks gorgeous!

I really hope you enjoyed this design and tutorial! Please let me know what you think, and if you have any questions, leave me a comment! Have a good one!

Nail Art: Happy Clouds à la Nailside

I had to cut my nails recently, and since I like keeping my nails at the same length, they all got cut down to nubs. I never know what to paint my nubs - there's so little room for nail art.

Then I came upon Nailside's freehand cloud design, and it while it looks so lovely on longer nails, I thought it would also look super cute on short nails. So I had a go at it, and I adore the result! I just might have to do this every time I have nubs for nails.

Polishes:

Left to right: Loreal "Mango-Get-Em", Nature Republic colour PP402, Kleancolor "Mango"

Check out Nailside's wonderful cloud tutorial here

Looking forward to wearing this happy design for the weekend! Have a good one!