Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Link Love Roundup

Tuli shows us some super sweet and very pretty manicure ideas in honour of the Passover holiday.

Konadomania gives us some animal magic with a ggggggreat OPI Dim Sum Plum konadicure.

Check out Naive Nails modeling an all time classic China Glaze - such a QT!

Brooke traveled from Hong Kong to Japan for her latest manicure! Check out her Konad design with OPI Red My Fortune Cookie and KOH Black Stars.

Warning – if you click here, you will create a new lemming with this amazing mermaid shimmer shown by Perfect10 Beauty. She also brings news on a bargain matte topcoat.

Evil Angel does Cute! Check here to see her brilliant Cute As Hell Konad extravaganza!

The Swatchaholic keeps us craving softer shades with some amazing shots of Illamasqua's new pastel collection.

Cucumpear shows off some striking nail art with a cool mix of gloss on matte.

Head on over to Polish on Digital Paper to remember your childhood with the cutest Care Bear themed nail art.

Moncoinamoua gets her hands on the ones everyone’s been waiting for. Click here to see her amazing swatches of OPI’s new Shrek collection, and be prepared to fall accidentally in love with them.

You’re the one that I want! Helen shows off her Pink Lady credentials with a fab fuschia from Models Own.
Sasha shows off her BFF Best Boyfriend over at Manicure Mommas.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Clockwork Orange Nails Did

I was watching the classic Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick the other day for the first time in a long time and it really dawned on me how much I do love this movie. Not exactly sure why though. I mean, the main guy is such an anti-hero, the movie is filled with gratuitous violence and in the end its like no one really learns anything or changes for the better. But there is just something about the aesthetic of this movie which makes it one of my all time favorites. And so I decided to do a homage to it with nail art of course!


I used Billy Burning Hot for the orange, tried to be patient and let it dry completely, then used Nailene straight nail guides (I gave it another shot!!) to guide the tips that are in China Glaze Solar Power. I used nail art pens for the black lines, and Alex the Narrator's green and blue shirt and eye. I frankened Sally Hansen Satin Slip Frost and Elegance French White together to get his flesh tone.

I kinda love it.

And JUST in case - here is a little snippet from the movie. WARNING: this movie was considered "banned" for a reason

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Delicious Cupcake Nails Did & 125 Followers Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is....(drumroll please)...

Rebecca!!

Congrats lady I just dropped you an email! If you haven't seen Rebecca's blog NailsEtc, its awesome! It's only been active since this year and it's already growing heaps!

And here is Rebecca's suggestion: Cupcake Nails!!

I used Claire's Mean Green for the base and since I used a lot of different polishes for the cakes, cups, icing and accents I'll just list them all:

China Glaze: Lemon Fizz, Re-fresh Mint, Light as Air, and Solar Power
Sally Hansen: Satin Slip Frost, Mocha Frost, and Elegance French White
Rimmel Shocker
Nail art pens in red, purple, blue, orange, pink
And I put my FAVORITE cupcake of all time on my thumb: behold the Maple Bacon Cupcake!!
See the wee slice of bacon at the top? God I want one so bad. You don't understand I was googling images for inspiration and my mouth literally started to water it was that bad. But I must lose 15lbs before I go on vacation!!! (lol yea right).

Anyway, if you've never had a maple bacon cupcake I suggest you find one right quick! Many specialty bakeries are starting to carry them because they are soooo gooooood!!


Thanks to everyone who entered - you all had some AWESOME ideas and I'm totally gonna try to do as many as I can :D. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog every once in a while, I really do appreciate it.

Till next giveaway!

Niki*

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Cherry Blossom Contest at Babbling Brooke

Have you seen the super pretty contest happenin over at Brooke's? It's all about cherry blossoms and all the entries are fab!! You can go vote here and not neccessarily for me - there are so many lovely designs!!



Friday, March 26, 2010

Purple Swoops Nails Did

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about these nails to be honest. I wanted to dupe Deez Dream Catcher Nails cause they're so lovely, but like SUPER DUPE because I have so many purples that I love and have a need to wear all at once.

Can I just say that I do applaud anyone that can get nail guides to work for them. They NEVER work for me! I think its cause I'm too impatient with them and I never know whether to pull them off now, or when the polish is dry, cause I've tried both and either way my edges always suck :P

So the base is Zoya Savita, then one swoop of China Glaze Light as Air (with matte magic on top), and then the last swoop is Claires Wild/Calm mood polish. I took a picture with the colour change too.

Meh, I like all the purples, I just think my execution is off. Do you have any tips you live by when using nail guides??

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Moar Giveaways!




If you haven't seen it yet, Sawan is having a MEGA Giveaway at her blog. Check it out here!






 A Day in the Life of Dollface is having an AWESOME giveaway. You can check it out on her blog here. Also, she has some amazing youtube vids that you should check here. AND last but not least...she makes the cutest charms!! I had her make the bacon necklace custom ordered for me and I'm thinking its gonna be a hot item for her in her shop. Check out her Etsy Store here.


Whooot! More Zoyas to be won at Never Enough Nail's blog giveaway!!
Check it out here






The Lacquer Files is having a very cool giveaway. You can win polishes but also laser lace (never used that before!) and rhinestones!! Check it out here.

Care Bears Countdown Nails Did

4, 3, 2, 1!! I don't know about you, but when I think of my childhood or 80s nostalgia in general I always reminisce about the Care Bears. They were so great! They taught me lots of important things like: Always help your neighbors, you can find a friend in strange places, staring at someone is okay if you're sending them good vibes directly from your tummy, and colourful overly-happy bears live in the sky.

So I picked my favorite bears of the bunch - and really its taking into account that my second favorite bears are the Panda Care Bear cousins Perfect and Polite but since I already did pandas just before this I thought it may be cheating. Also I had a big love on for Grams Bear - who was my equivalent to my ACTUAL Grandma to me anyway.

So my FAVORITE Bear is Birthday Bear. I actually received a plush of him when I was young. I actually think it was my first stuffed toy ever but I'm not sure. He's also to me like Bobo is to Mr. Burns - forever beloved, forever left behind. I have no idea where he is. But I'd like to imagine in some little girls loving arms and not a landfill :(


However, since then Ben went out and bought me a replacement Birthday Bear and surprised me with it. Such a great hubby right?



I used Nubar LLC for the base, China Glaze White on White for the Clouds and various nail art pens for Birthday Bear.


And then we have Cheer Bear on my pointer, Grumpy Bear on my middle, Good Luck Bear on my ring and Tenderheart Bear on my pinky.

I actually forgot all about Funshine Bear - who was also not only one of my favorites, but also my favorite colour yellow, but by that time I had already put my top coat on. Boo.

I love how surprised they all look! Hahaha, what can I say, its hard to do face detail that small :P

And just incase you have no clue what i'm talking about, get a load of the nostalgic awesomeness that is the Care Bears, but not the "Care Bears Family" that I remember the best because all the youtuber's have disabled the embed feature for that intro >:(

Monday, March 22, 2010

PANDA'S ATTACK Nails Did

Dawwwww, how can you not love Pandas!? They're so cute!! And they'll also scratch your face off given the perfect opportunity -  let's be honest. Its a bear! Or at least a raccoon disguised as a bear.

Anyway, I started off doing a completely different mani and ended up with pandas. I think it worked :D

For the base I used OPI Jade is the New Black and China Glaze 2030 stamped with konad plate M66.

Then I drew little panda's using black, white and pink nail art pens. I like the one on the pointer the best - he looks super thoughtful like "Hey, am I black with white spots or white with black spots?" or something existential like that.

PANDAS ARE INSIGHTFUL!!

Okay I'm obviously delirious from lack of sleep. So with this I bid you all goodnight.

Aww Thanks!

Thank you so much to jo.frugal from Frugal for tagging me for these rewards :) If you haven't been to Frugal I suggest you become a follower because she has a lovely blog which deserves much love and combines two of my favorite things - nail polish and movies! In fact... I don't know about your mani routines but I actually always watch movies when I'm doing my manis - that's how I know how long they take! LOL.

Seven facts about me:
1) I HATE PICKLES
2) I'm a yoga enthusiast. I've done a yoga marathon that's lasted 4 hours!
3) I could eat Japanese food EVERYDAY
4) My favorite colour is yellow because the other girls in class chose pink
5) Despite the fact I love bacon, I didn't have it in my fridge for 9 months
6) I collect comic books
7) I'm a big tea snob and have taken classes to become a tea sommelier


For this one I'm cheating a bit LOL. Check out the 10 things that make me happy here in a previous post :) It has pictures! It's worth it ;)









SPREADING THE LOVE!!!
 Brooke from Babbling Brooke
Krystle from The Girl Who Nailed It 
Sylvia and Lilly from the Wizards of Bling
Alisa from Polish Fiend


I'm also gonna take this opportunity to spread some Glee love!!! Its coming back April 13!! I can't WAIT!


Was that Will + Emma + a bed!? YES!! *squee*
Lol I know, I'm a loser.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Giveaway reminder!

Have you entered my giveaway yet? If you have - you're ahead of the game. If you haven't - whatcha waiting for!?!? Click on the link in my sidebar you have until next Saturday to snag the black tie event polishes for your collection!!

<3 Niki*

Feelin so Moody Nails Did

Today was one of those days that I just lazied around in bed until about 2pm. In that time I watch two movies: The Sound of Thunder and White Wall. BOTH WERE SO BAD!!

I'll give you all a dollar not to watch it. Then charge you a dollar for my excellent advice. Its a win/win situation.

Anyway due to both my laziness and moodiness I thought I'd do something simple today. I'm dreaming up big ideas for the week so it'll be made up I promise :)

I just got Claires new mood polishes yesterday at Vaughan Mills, SO excited about them! They only had a few colours left so I picked up Innocent/Daring and Wild/Calm.

So this is Innocent/Daring in two coats with L.A. Colours Art Deco striper in Intense Pink with Claire's Starstruck on top for some glitter and stars!

I think its cute but man was it ever a pain in the a$$ to fish out the stars from that Starstruck polish :(

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring Toes and a Touch of Neon Nails Did

Remind me again to try to not to anything so intricate on my toes for a bit. I've been having major problems with my back and neck and sitting hunched probably isn't a good thing LOL. Oh well, at least the sunflowers came out nice and pretty! They make me think of the first day of spring - which is TODAY! Yay. And its cold and rainy outside. Yesterday, it was 18C and I was running around in shorts. Go figure.

Anyway, apologies to those in advance who don't like toes - I'm right there with you! Feet...*shudder* so this is probably the first and last time you'll get to see a pedi from me!

The base is China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, with Solar Power for the petals and Lemon Fizz for the highlight. The center is White on White and Rimmel Torrid.




Here is also my submission to Emerald Sparkled's 200+ giveaway! This is an interpretation of the mani that drew me to her blog and actually made me buy Konad plate M51. I had to do it from memory since a lot of her pics aren't working, but I think I got it :).

I used Color Club Volt of Light for the neon yellow, China Glaze Liquid Leather for the black and 2030 for the stamp. Seche vite tops off my mani and pedi (*gasp* I'M RUNNING OUT! NOOOOO).

Hope you all enjoy your first day of spring!!

MOAR Giveaways!

There are a few new giveaways on the scene - check em out here:



Nail Addicts Anonymous is having their 64 Followers giveaway. Now they have over 200 followers!!! Check out this awesome haul until Apr 9.





The Girl Who Nailed It is having her first giveaway which includes polishes, falsies and Fauxnad!! Check it out here 










Deniz at Emerald Sparkled is having this AWESOME giveaway celebrating 200+ followers. Check it out here and check out her blog in general because its one of my favorites and has truly awesome pictures!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Sula Paint and Peel Nail Polish Review

With flash inside:
Yay! Product review.

I was sent polishes from Sula Cosmetics for review. Sula is a Canadian company based in Toronto and carries a cosmetics line that ranges from scents to polishes.

I found Sula by accident. I was researching Canadian brands and they popped up in my search - which is funny because I've actually seen their bottles in some stores around the city. However, Sula distributes their polishes in Canada, the UK and can be found in many ULTA stores in the US.

This is Sula's mission statement: 
"Sula is about highly wearable products designed to compliment you, not define you. Your look and mood changes throughout the day so your products should too: two Sula fragrances in one day? Yes! Two different nail colours in one day? With Sula Paint and Peel, Yes! And Yes!"

The Colours:
I was sent two polishes: Slate Paint and Peel and Azure Paint and Peel.
Slate                                                   Azure

Slate is a medium brown colour, it goes on lighter and I thought it was going to give me mannequin nails but it actually dried to this creamy brown. It reminds me a lot of coffee with a lot of creamer in it.

Azure is a gorgeous blue creme that reminds me of robin's eggs. Again it goes on a little lighter and dries with a deepening of pigment.

Both colours are true to what you see in the bottle.
Bottles with flash:
Bottles without flash:

The Application:
The bottles boast a fairly thick brush with the bristles coming to a bit of a round at the tip. The polishes themselves are quite thick and definately have a lot of pigment.

Azure took 2 coats to become fully opaque without streaking. 
Slate took 3 coats to become fully opaque without streaking and visible nail line (VNL). 
I would say to get the maximum effect from this polish you would have to put 3 coats of any colour but I still needed to put about 3 coats on for complete opacity with no streaking. On the browns I did have some visible nail lines at 2 coats.
One of the great things about this polish is that despite how thick the actual polish is when applying, it actually dries lightening fast without topcoat. I was good to go and apply nail art on top within 3 minutes of applying the last coat of colour to my nails.

One more thing to note - smell. What smell? Some polishes I have literally burn my eyes - not Sula. The formula is water-based so there is no crazy headache-inducing odor to put up with.
Here are both colours applied and rotated with flash:
And without flash:

The Staying Power:
Here is the thing -  in the world of polish we're all about staying power. We all constantly use polish helpers like base and topcoats to keep our polish on for days. However, Sula is the brand you want if you WANT your polish to change on a whim. If you're the type of person who can't ever decide on what colour they want, or if you have to do a quick change from work wear to evening wear and don't have time to break out the remover - then Sula would be a great product for you. 

In fact - that is what Sula is all about:  
"Sula is about having the freedom to play with different scents and styles. Save structure for work if you must, not for your beauty products.

Break rules,
Set Trends,
And always play pretty."

I actually find it really liberating - knowing that you can literally shed your colour away at anytime and change it without messing around with remover.

That being said - I applied this first thing at work. And after about 4 hours of typing away on the keyboard this was my tip wear:
pointer and middle (without top coat), ring and pinky (with 1 coat Seche Vite)
 As you can see the tip wear was about the same with and without a topcoat. What I would suggest for staying power is to not only use a topcoat but a basecoat as well - which will interfere with the peeling - but at least it won't look like you've been wearing your mani for 4 days opposed to 4 hours.


The Fun Part:
Ah yes, PEELING! I actually found this fun - peeling away nails without reaching for the remover. Here is a little video. This was 2 coats and I sped the process up a bit. I think with more coats the faster you'd be able to peel this away since it would be thicker.



Here are some more pictures of the peeling process:



The Nail Art:
I thought it would be fun to see how far this polish could go - and so I tried some Konad'ing. Unsuccessful.

Azure konaded over Slate
 


As you can see, despite its opacity going on the nail - its too thin for nail stamping. But its okay since with a nail polish you can change at a whim - why would you want to spend that time konading over it?

Sula however work's great with dotting! (See first picture of the review above)

without flash inside:

Sunny outside:

The Scale:
Pros:
  • It's the perfect travel polish! 
    • When I first peeled this off I immediately thought: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS IN MEXICO!!?? Because you can just peel it off, you never have to worry about packing remover and possibly getting it tossed because you forgot it was in your carry on. Yes, it happened to me. 
  • The colours are true to the bottle and come in a nice range
    • Isn't it nice to know that what you see is what you get? I only got to sample 2 colours, but there are many colours that make me lemming. You can check out their full line here: http://www.sulabeauty.com/catalog/15/collection
  •  Its a water-based formula that has no odor and doesn't damage your nails coming off
    • I have a lot of friends who have teen's and tweens who worry about being around so many chemicals in cosmetic products. Not only will this change with your tween's attitude but you also won't find them passed out on their bedroom floor after changing their polish
  • Cleanup is a snap!
    • no more messing around with brushes or q-tips...you just peel the excess off your cuticles!
Cons:
  • Beware the habitual picker!
    • If you pick your nail polish already then this polish is not for you. Unless you like changing your nail polish on the hour
  • Not designed for lasting wear
    • Unless you're willing to slather on topcoats every other day - Sula polish is built not to last but that's the point!
  •  Nail Art limitations
    • Okay so you can't Konad - but you can dot and swipe for sure! 

    The Conclusions:
    All in all Sula Paint and Peel polishes are awesome - because they accomplish what they're supposed to: give you the ability to change your polish with your mood without having to carry around remover with you where ever you go. They're very flexible - and sometimes that's exactly what you need!

    For more information on Sula Nail Polishes you can visit their website http://www.sulabeauty.com for a list of stores and also instructions on how to purchase online.

    Niki*

    Please scroll down to the bottom of my blog for a full disclaimer regarding nail polish reviews.

    Link Love Roundup


    Babbling Brook has her head in the clouds and to be quite honest, with all the sunshine around us right now I can't blame her. Check out her cute mani using OPI's Suzi Feng Shui... I promise it'll bring a smile to your face.

    And after you too get your head out of the clouds... take a trip with Konadomania down by the sea!

    Tuli has been having fun finger painting thanks to Nicole... LITERALLY, and wants to share with you this week her handpainted masterpieces. Pun intended!. :)

    Naive Nails has lost her marbles and they've landed on her fingertips, lol.... check out the wonderful marbled mani they created while hanging out there.

    Euridice brings you a really nice color comparison between OPI's Hot & Spicy and you guessed it, the Essence Hot & Spicy. See how they both stacked up.

    The NEONs are coming, the NEONS are coming... and they're poolside with Pretty in Polish.

    Cucumpear has a a little spring fever and a cute nail art tutorial to share with you that even the novices can follow.

    Helen's Nice Things has a question about OPI's Dulce de Leche that only we fellow nail junkies can answer... or maybe not, lol!

    And for all you green lovers out there prepare to foam at the mouth as new member Mon coin Moua brings you a sea of green spam swatches.

    Now for some very special giveaways...
    Bright Lights Big Color's "favorite things" giveaway ends today so make sure you've entered for your chance to win.

    Polsh on Digital Paper is hosting a giveaway celebrating 125 followers... help her celebrate the occasion by entering.

    The Dutch Nail Blog is having a spring giveaway... be sure to check out her blog to see what you could win!

    Did somebody say a 300 follower giveaway?!!! Yep, Konadomania is celebrating the big 3-0-0!

    and Babbling Brooke is having a very special giveaway that you'll just have to click the link to find out about.

    Tuesday, March 16, 2010

    125 Followers Giveaway!

    NOTE: the giveaway is now closed!!! Thanks to all who entered - all your suggestions are awesome!!! I'll announce the winner as soon as I go through all the entries :) Niki*

    Whoo! 125 (now 126) followers? How ever did I get so lucky to have so many people look at my blog?

    Well I do appreciate you all greatly - and so - why not a giveaway! YAY!

    I've put together a little "black tie event" package since I thought they all looked so nice together!

    The package includes:
    LA Colors Art Deco Nail Striper in Black Sparkles
    Billie Cosmetics in Midnight Smoke
    Innova in Lluva
    Orly in Matte Vinyl
    Innova in Grisell

    The Innova polishes I picked up in Mexico! I haven't seen the brand before so I'm hoping they're unique.

    Here are the entry rules:

    1) You must be a follower and leave your email address (1 entry) mandatory
    3) Give me one nail art challenge - what would you like to see me do next if it was your choice? (1 entry) - yes its my way of leeching ideas LOL
    2) Post about this giveaway on your blog and post a link (1 entry)
    3) Add me to your blogroll (1 entry)
    4) Twitter about this giveaway and post a link (1 entry)

    So that's potentially 5 entries that you can do. You can either post all of your entries together or separately!

    And I'll do the winner's suggested nail art too!!! So make sure to give me a good challenge :D

    The contest will end on March 27th at 7pm ET and is open internationally!

    Good luck everyone!!!



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