CNY: The Dragon Year 2012!

Like all the previous Chinese New Year(s), this year was celebrated in a pretty much similar fashion compared to previous years. Yes, there were the abundance of good food for the reunion dinner, followed by the annual visit to the temples. But, compared to other years, it was also different. Nothing is ever similar, no matter how much we would like things to remained the same; they usually don’t. Unfortunately.

And, I got to meet one of the cutest boys alive this CNY. He is my lecturer’s kid, super cute and mischievous. Heh.

Nail Art: Tuxedo (Inspired by Zooey Deschanel)

If you didn’t already know, last weekend was the 69th Annual Golden Globes. For the glamorous event, Zooey Deschanel rocked a tuxedo manicure and set a nail art trend, with many girls attempting this nail art (including yours truly) :P Well, first of all, it looked uber cute and it is easier to do than it seems be.

Here is my version of the Tuxedo nail art. Basically, I didn’t improvised and basically did an almost similar one. Heh. What do you think? Before I post up more pictures of my nail art, I just want to share with you the Tuxedo tutorial I made because it was too easy not to share out how I did it. All that was made out of the nail art was basically dots of different sizes.

Simple, isn’t it? :) This rounded bow tie is definitely easier to do compared to the triangular shapes ones; it’s cuter too! Do share this tutorial around with your friends and if you tried them out, do show me your pictures! :)

If you looked closely, the buttons for the nail art have another larger almost transparent dot over it. That would be the top coat. Because my black dots always seemed to smeared as I apply my Seche Vite Top Coat. I don’t know if there was something wrong with the Seche Vite top coat but by dotting some top coat over the black dots. The dots would not smeared anymore when you paint the final layer of top coat.

And I had to take a picture of my nails with my bow tie and collar! They look so matching, it hard to resist a photo opportunity like this. The only downside was that I didn’t have a photographer to help me with the shots. I’ll tell you honestly that I must have taken at least 100 shots to get only like two decent enough shots. And the picture below was the other shot. They looked awesome, no? ;)

Review: Seche Vite Top Coat

If I told you a miracle top coat exists, would you have believed me? Maybe if I asked you that 20 years ago, you might not. But these days, with improved research, development and technology to produce so many wonders, a miracle top coat would not sound impossible. And in my honest opinion, after using it, I have to say that Seche Vite dry fast top coat, is a miracle wonder! True to its purpose, it does dries off the thickest polish in a amazingly short period of time. Also, it does well in smoothing out the streaks and the ‘bumps’ from the my nail art designs. What more can you ask from a top coat? :)

However, nothing in this world is over perfect and the same applies to this top coat. It does have its ‘flaws’. I’m not sure if you can read the description from the picture above, but it says; “WARNING! This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.” So, apparently the harmful chemical is called Toluene, and you probably have to inhale a lot of it to get poisoned or to even affect your body. I’d take my chances with it, because disclaimers like this are usually to discharge the liability, in case someone was stupid enough to drink or inhale the bottle. And speaking of inhaling, I have to admit that the top coat does have a bit stronger chemical smell compared to the rest.

All in all, this top coat is one that I cannot live without. I have never gotten bed nails and my polishes these days are so flawless. (Well, almost. It would sometimes smeared the black dots because they are not dry yet. So I’ll recommend you to do quick swipes or wait for the polish to dry and then, only apply the top coat,)

Nail Art: French Manicure x Hello Kitty

Kawaii! - I saw this Hello Kitty manicure online and I knew it was too cute not to try to attempt it! Plus, it was pretty simple to do seeing I have finally bought my professional 15 nail art brushes. (But it was a pity that I have yet to be able to paint gorgeously using those brushes. :( I had earlier tried painting multiple designs with it and they all turned out hideous. I guess I need more practice and I’m thinking of getting acrylic paint, apparently it would be easier to paint using those.)

Wee, found an ancient Hello Kitty toy. I think I’ve had it for 10 years already. Heh.

For this nail art, it’s pretty easy. I used dotting tool for the eyes, nose and yes, even the red ribbon (cause my painting technique still have miles to improve on). I only used a long striper brush for the whiskers. Even then, the stripes weren’t evened out. Hmmph. Need more practice.

The polishes I used for this nail art are both from The Face Shop, Nude (BR801) and White (WH002). So, what do you think of the nail art this time? :) But if I had to be honest, nothing beats the Spongebob nail art! Haha. Till next time. :)

Swatch: [Nude] The Face Shop BR801

Let’s go nude! - I probably haven’t done any nude swatches but then again, I only have one nude polish that I am absolutely in love with and it’s non other than the one from The Face Shop. I scouted around for the perfect polish for some time, and they were usually disappointing; not in the right shade or just too sheer. I wouldn’t say that this polish from Face Shop is perfect, it does have its flaws. Like most nude polishes, it is a bit sheer and hence, streaky when applied a few coats.

From this picture, you can see the slight streaks in my nails. I had three coats here. The streaks were more obvious before the top coat.

But other than that, the colour is absolutely gorgeous. It’s nude with a slight tint of pink, which doesn’t wash out the nails or made it look dull.

I love how shooting with a green apple brings out the colour of my polishes. :) What do you think?

Do you have a favourite nude polish you’ll like to share with me? I would definitely love to try out other nude polishes. :D

Nail Art: Spongebob, your favourite cartoon!

My one and only favourite cartoon character would have to be Spongebob and I’m not ashamed to admit it. :P Heh. He is so lovably annoying, and yes, I look forward to the weekends’ mornings to watch Spongebob Squarepants in my jammies.

I loved him so much, that I was tempted to somehow make the picture above as my header for the blog. But, I thought better of it, seeing how it didn’t blend with my blog’s theme and the yellow was a bit off. I did, however got my nail art done, inspired by the many expressions of Spongebob!

Can you find the four expressions from the picture above? :)

Of all the nail arts that I have done, I have to confess that this was my favourite one…. and also, a super duper easy one. Yea, seriously because I used stickers! You didn’t think I’ll be crazy enough to spend 5 hours and meticulously draw each one of the expression? Haha, I wish I was that talented. The stickers are a first of a kind that I stumbled upon online. They are known as water decal stickers, or in simple terms, stickers transferred through water. You just need to cut the stickers out, then soak it in cold water and then peel the stickers off and placed it over your nails. Of course, you have to paint a base colour first. In my case, I did it with yellow (duh!).

As easy as I made it sound like, it took me two wrongs to get it right. Haha, I placed the first sticker on the wrong side and the second went down the drain, because I got so impatient waiting for to peel it off. And the picture below, is one of the almost screwed up one. I didn’t place it correctly and it dried off before I could adjust the sticker.

I thought it resembled a bit of the troll face (albeit the less teeth, longer nose and bigger blue eyes), because I stuck it at the side. What do you think? Haha.

If you have any questions about this simple nail art, you can always drop me a comment. :)

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom

I have just finished reading the book, it is one of those books that leaves you awestruck. Don't believe me, please do me favour and read it. ;) I have fallen in love twice with him; first in For One More Day and then, the life-inspiring Tuesdays with Morrie (I cried buckets watching the movie. Wait, I cried in both his books also.) Heh. Although I didn't tear up reading this book, but it taught me a few 'lessons' to carry on in life. 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"All endings are beginnings. We just don't know it at that time." 

"Strangers are family that you have yet come to know." 

"Sacrifice is part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to. Because sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing on to someone else."

"Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."

"People say they “find” love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love. And Eddie found a certain love with Marguerite, a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable."

"Love, like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with a soaking joy. But sometimes, under the angry heat of life, love dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive."

“Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end. Love doesn't.

"Each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one."

 * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nail Art: Golden Red Water Marbling

Hola! A very Happy New Year to the person reading this. ;) Thought I’ll kick start the new year with a post on my latest water marbling attempt. I decided to give it a go again, after the last successful water marbling attempt, with the latest polishes from Nature’s Republic. This was because they were new, and while they were still watery, it would be easier for the polishes to spread on the water.

If your polishes spread out like this, it means you have been successful in step one of water marbling.

Using a toothpick, you should lightly drag it across the surface of the polishes. This was the pattern I randomly created, I have to admit, it’s not the best looking one. Haha. Like I said, it was random. That is the beauty of water marbling. No two nails would look same.

Ta-da! Just dip over your nail over the design you created, and you’re done! As you can see, I have cello tape around my nail. It is neater (and easier) than having to remove the excess polishes that sticks to your finger. Without the tape, it can get pretty messy and not to mention, troublesome.

Can you spot the odd one out? My index finger is well, sort of ruined. It was the first nail, so I guess I haven’t gotten a hang of it. I have attached a few more pictures, so do enjoy. :)

By the way, the polishes used in this post are Nature’s Republic YL503 (Gold) and RD502 (Red).

If you have any questions or sorts, you can always leave a comment or email me. :) Once again, Happy New Year and I want to thank you all for supporting and reading my blog. Here is to another fantastic year ahead!

(PS - I might be putting up a post on my resolutions. Heh.)