Some toe nail-art

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, March 31, 2009

My friend Lena have visited me today, and certainly i did some design on her toe nail, since her job require her not have anything on her finger nails.
This is what i came up with.
In the beginning idea was different, but she is a very picky "client" , she like things to be done her way, so i had to find a compromise. But in reward she broth me some dry flowers and other decoration stuff.


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Polishes used for gradation.

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Paint My Moji-toes Red

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This is it, guys. Stupid Nail Polish Names is officially in the big leagues.

Allow me to introduce Suzanna, our first embedded journalist and Midwestern Nail Polish Correspondent. You may recognize her fine spotting and photography skills from Sand in My Suit.

If you would like to join the ranks of our crack investigative team, I would love any submissions. There is nothing I want more than to turn each and every one of you into that creepy person at Walgreens who spends an inordinate amount of time lurking around the nail polish displays.

This week, Suzanna let me know about this little gem, Paint My Moji-toes Red:



(photo taken from Nail Polish Diva)

Now, I like a good pun as much as anyone. More than most people who are traditionally considered "sane." But here is the thing about puns: this isn't one.

A pun requires two words that sound similar, yes. But arbitrarily switching a word with another word that sounds like it: NOT A PUN.

Since I think we can pretty much agree that the person who named this nail polish deserves to be condemned by a jury of his peers and put behind bars, let's turn to my new imaginary legal nail polish line for examples.

Here are some of our leading shades: Starry Decisis (glitter), I Was Never Red My Rights (crimson), and Blue My Chance at Parole By Assaulting a Prison Guard With a Homemade Shiv (navy).

Now, here are some that did not make the cut: Insanity De-fence (purple), Trus-tease of the Estate (cerulean), Res Jew-dicata (chartreuse).

Can we see the difference, class? Hint: the colors in the second set have NO EARTHLY CONNECTION with the homophones. If a pun is a play on words, the words in the second set are not playing. They are not even acquaintances. They are the two kids who stand at opposite corners of the playground, solemnly glaring at each other. One is on the monkeybars and one of them is the kid who goes down the slide over and over again, trying to line up his flight path to hit the kids on the monkeybars and knock them into the gravel.

Now, which category would Paint My Moji-toes Red be in?

Unless Jesus is at your party, has gotten a little tipsy, and has decided it would be super funny to stagger around turning everyone's beverages into wine, there is no reason for a mojito to be red. This seems like an unlikely scenario. But then again, how could anyone to afford enough alcohol to make this name seem like a good idea, sans the J-man showing up and pulling a little trick a la loaves and fishes?

So you get a pass this time, OPI. But don't take this as your excuse to become a Re-peat Offender (dirty brown).
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OPI DS Divine

Posted by Unknown

I really don't want to move the Misa down the page, but...

This is the view I had from where I was staying... Not sure if I could live in the city, I certainly love all the shops and the fast pace, but the lack of grass and foliage really gets to me.

Anywho, this was my two day manicure Divine. Such a beautiful beautiful shade, and guess what, it's discontinued.

This was three coats here. I originally only had two and had added a third about thirty minutes before taking these photos. Not having ear cleaners and remover to clean up was a little nerve racking lol I mean if someone was to admire my nails, I don't want it to be all over the show.

Luckily Divine is an easy one to control so I didn't have too much mess that bothered me. Also after adding some SolarBalm, the excess polish just seemed to fall off during the day. By the afternoon it was perfectly neat n_n













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Check out Zoya Nail Polish YouTuber Videos!

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Zoya Nail Polish and YouTube - We love your videos!














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Zoya, Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa: America's Beauty Show

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The Zoya, Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa elite sales team has just returned from a wonderful and super busy showing at the America's Beauty Show in Chicago.

Zoya's new Ooh-La-La and La-Di-Da collections were a smash and Qtica fans went a bit crazy for the new Smart Spa scents Papaya Star and Cherry Bing.

More and more smart salons, spas and consumers are discovering the benefits of Zoya, Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa products... thanks to all who made the switch at the show! We appreciate your business and look forward to meeting even more of you at next years show.

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Konad Revvvolution

Posted by Unknown

Thanks to Brooke and her insanely detailed Konad tutorial last week, I pulled out the ol’ plates on Sunday, and gave it another try. Oddly enough, my left hand (I’m right-handed) is less than impressive, while my right hand managed to score much straighter stamps. Overall, it went better than it could have, so I’m not complaining. Please excuse the chip down by my cuticle on the left hand (below) – I got a little overzealous when cleaning up…

I’ve gotta say – I absolutely *adore* this black glitter-filled polish from Color Club. The formula is pretty thin, but it’s very easy to apply, goes on opaque in two coats, and dries quickly…*without tip shrinkage*! It’s just packed with micro-glitter in lots of different colors, so it’s very sparkly in the sunshine (or under a camera flash), but it looks more “gunmetal grey” in standard room lighting (so not as “harshly goth” as a straight black would be). It’s really a unique color that actually looks very classy.I used the Konad special polish for the white designs – I picked this ultra-simple one so I wouldn’t have to worry so much about details. As you can see, I have some smearing, a few lines that don’t quite close, and stamps that aren’t centered, but not too bad overall (like most nail art, it looks just fine from farther away).

I used the Sephora by OPI top coat this week - worked great, no tip pull, dried quickly with my Zoya half-time drops.

Stay tuned – Friday I’ll be announcing the very first contest here at Nail Art Tuesday…
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First Look: Zoya La-Di-Da Summer 2009 Collection

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Zoya La-Di-Da Collection - fresh nail polish color for Summer 2009.

Six gorgeous creams... Renee, Paz (ultra bright orange), America (summer red), Dita and Pippa (ultra bright yellow). Ali (ultra bright magenta) not shown.

Available now for pre-order at www.zoya.com
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First Look: Zoya Ooh-La-La Summer 2009 Collection

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Zoya Ooh-La-La Collection - fresh nail polish color for Summer 2009.

Ginessa (sparkling white), Tallulah (shimmering blue), Goldie (gold metallic), Katy (shimmering blue red) and Midori (sparkling green)... Emme (soft metallic pink) not shown.

Available now for pre-order at www.zoya.com
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Misa The Grass Is Greener On My Side

Posted by Unknown on Monday, March 30, 2009

I LOVE IT!

It applied so nicely and smooth, the 'gap' looks so neat, the polish itself was so easy to work with and it only needed two coats! Seriously... is there anything wrong with this polish?! Why didn't I try this sooner?!

This thing is sparkling and shimmering 24/7, it doesn't stop. I like that.
It does dry matte though so don't be disappointed at first! Because adding your top coat makes it look so freakin cool.

I also noticed that it had a wider brush than my older Misas, I like this too. Perfect for the size and shape of my nails. It made the application a pleasure.


I started off with The Grass Is Greener On My Side on my right hand, just to try it out, added top coat, left it for about 30 minutes and then decided that I need to wear this as a full manicure. I did and I don't know if I can bring myself to take it off :D But new pretties...


Yesterday I received the following:

A Sunny Smile Makes Me Go Wild - Misa

Love, Beverly Hills xx - Essie

Blueberry Crumb - Essie

Miso Happy With This Color - OPI


Just in case your wondering about the photos... I wasn't feeling the Landscape, so Portrait it is! But I still have some landscapies to post :)
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OPI Ulta Valentines Exclusives 2009

Posted by Unknown

I thought I would combine these three into one post :D

I love all three of these pinks to bits... Don't Think Just Pink and Gotta Get Pink are very unique shades. I don't have anything like them! Well done OPI n_n

Although In Sync With Pink isn't really all that unique, but I believe it is a dupe to MAC's Something About Pink which was released with the Hello Kitty collection. I saw it in person not too long ago, the OPI was much cheaper and has a little more so I didn't feel the need to get the MAC pink.

Each pink was very nice to work with and has certainly earned a spot on my Top 20... I should probably do one of those soon :)

In Sync With Pink
















Don't Think, Just Pink!
















Gotta Get Pink!:


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OPI Cherry Blossom

Posted by Unknown

I was craving Cherry Blossom and I really wanted to try out those stickers.

Sticker Review:
These are probably some of the best I have come across. They aren't thick and bulky, they're nice, thin and easy to take off the sheet and place on the nail.

Plus! They wear like iron, I didn't put top coat over them and they survived my night, sleep and shower!

Cherry Blossom Review:
The sparkles in this one remind me of fairies or something, there isn't anything quite like it.

I remember a while ago someone asked me how they should franken it... I had suggested OPI Elephantastic Pink for the base colour, Princesses Rule for the shimmer and maybe some clear polish to make it a little sheerer. I will include these polishes in my next order so I can try it for you guys n_n

Application was alright. Not excellent because it was a little runny, and Cherry Blossom being a sheer, I had to do three thickish coats to achieve this look. Doing three thickish coats of a sheer gets kinda messy on the sides.

But Cherry Blossom does dry quite quickly and looks amazing in the sun and indoors!

Oh my goodness, it's April tomorrow! Ahhh!



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Zoya Nail Polish - Great coverage in the April Nailpro

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Check out the new April issue of Nailpro to see great coverage on Zoya Nail Polish at New York's Fall 2009 Fashion Week (Leanne Marshall, Toni Maticevski shows featured) and John Corbetts' sexy Zoya Nail Polish application on the United States of Tara (Showtime).

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Nailpro Cup Competition

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The initial phase of the 2009 Nailpro Cup competition was held at the International Salon and Spa Expo (ISSE) in Long Beach, California recently. Zoya Nail Polish is a proud sponsor of this event.

After an impressive two day competition an award ceremony was held to honor the champions. All First Place Veteran Winners were presented with Zoya Nail Polish Suitcases (containing 60 fashion shades). Congratulations to the winners; Seo Sangmi (1st place - veteran hand painted nail art), Trang Nguyen (1st place - veteran salon success), Lynn Lammers (1st place - veteran sculptured nail) and Yoko Kino (1st place veteran one-hand painted nail art).

Pick up the latest issue of Nailpro or read it online for complete details.

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Zoya Remove + professional nail polish remover, nail cleaner and nail prep

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"Like skin care, why can’t nail products also be multi-purpose? Well here is one that is - ZOYA Remove + Big Flipper ($9.99/8oz @ zoya.com) is a 3-in-1: nail polish remover, nail cleaner and nail prep product, and the best trait besides its polish removal ability is the despenser. It’s one like in the nail salons use where the liquid dispenses at the top. Love that! It says it has a lavender scent to it but I really wouldn’t go looking for it as it’s still polish remover and smells like one to me."
Cybele Says (March 27, 2009)

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OPI Black Cherry Chutney

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, March 29, 2009

Such a pretty vampy. A warmer version of Eiffel For This Color. Come to think of it... I haven't seen Eiffel for a little while...

I used three coats here as two was a little patchy. But I didn't use a base coat so that doesn't really help lol.

Black Cherry Chutney was released in OPI's India collection at the beginning of 2008. I can't believe it's been a year already! It won't be long before we are talking about the South Beaches in past tense.

BCC applies flawlessly, one of the easier vampies I have come across. Warning: It does look black indoors. So incase you work with a light over you or where the sun is on you, I wouldn't reccommend it if you hate vampies looking black indoors.

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Gradation nails ( by hands)

Posted by Unknown

As i bet any of you i have quite a collection of polishes , with the bad level opacity.Those are type of polishes that takes more then 2 layers to get any solid color, but even fter hours of drying all those tons of layers you still can see what is going on under the polish .
Now here is a bright idea how to tern whose whose useless polishes into the powerful nail-art tool.Those polishes are just perfect to do the graduation on your nails, so i hope you didn't throw all of them away.
I played a little with this idea and here are some result.




You can easily create the graduation by following those steps:
1. Find the right polish, it must be very transparent, polishes without glitter or chips works the best.
2. Put the really thick layer of the transparent polish on the entire nail, and let it dry just a litle
3.Put the next layer on the 1/2 of nail, starting from the middle and going up, let it dry just a little again.
3. Put the 3 layer of polish on the 1/3 nail.
4. The best result you get if you use a glitter top coat, however you can use a regular one too.
As a top coat i used the one i have got from Brook "Colorama top coat" by maybelline
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Zoya Meadow

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(Small pics here, will do another bigger pic post and see what you guys prefer)
I really don't know why I still have this colour, I haven't worn it since the last time it was on Nail Juice.

It is a very pretty colour though, but a little too 'safe' for my likings. It looks simply stunning in the photographs but IRL I just can't bring myself to love it. I think it might even be a little too bland for my Mum's likings also.

I used two coats of Meadow (such a cute name), no base or top coat as I am swatching.

It goes on very nicely and quite thick. Almost opaque on the first coat, almost.


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MAC / ESSIE / MISA

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, March 28, 2009

We're getting a lot of rain. It's almost April, where's the warm weather and sun seriously..

Today's post is with two of my favorite nail polish brands, and MAC (which is new to me)

MISA


Hot People Like You - This was a rushed mani. I was late for class and I just couldn't leave the house with naked nails. I really love this color. I'm not a big fan of hot neon pinks, but this one has a blue-tone to it. Looks a lot better in person though!


The Grass is Greener on My side - Woooo! I love this one. It's amazing. Green aqua shimmer. This color screams "LOOK AT ME NOW!!" This is the second time I wore this color. (For those who knows me, knows that I don't usually wear the same nail polish more than once)

ESSIE Summer 2009 Limited Edition Northfork Collection: "The bluer the better"

Essie definitely did it right this time. Blue



Greenport - This color was VERY similar to Misa's Dirty Sexy Money. But this is from ESSIE!! This color is amazing, I can't really explain the color. Please excuse my dry cuticles/fabric indents on the nails. Apparently I didn't wait long enough for these to dry before heading to bed...


Sag Harbor - Greyish blue color. This one is bee-yoo-tee-ful!! I love it and it's amazing.

The other color, shelter island, I didn't order because I have way too many baby blue nail polish and it looks quite similar to a lot of them.

M.A.C Sugarsweet Nail Polishes




Peppermint Patti - This is a must get. However it is SOLD OUT everywhere. Try your local MAC store to see if they still have it. I can't stop staring at these for a good whole day! These took me three coats with no problem at 2 coats, but I like my nails with 3 coats! I really love the minty green!



Seasonal Peach - I've applied this on Friday right when I got them. I am STILL wearing them now. I have never wore a nail polish for more than 2 days! Some reason I'm really loving this seasonal peach. Although it was a pain in the tush to apply, it was streak galore! But after 3 coats it was fine aside from a few smudges, where I was too lazy to reapply 3 coats again so I just applied a thick heavy coat on the smudge. You can see it on the pointer finger. This color REALLY pops out. I love it!

I promised a few people that I would not order nail polish till April. But hey there's only 2 days left in March so it doesn't really count! I've ordered the new China Glaze KICKS collection, Color Club Electro Candy collection, and a few other colors that I fell in love with. Can't wait to play with those!
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Simple mess

Posted by Unknown

Oh yeah! i am almost back on the stamping marker.
As you may mentioned from the pictures here, i used to have a stamping kit, but left it in russia , because my friend wanted it so bad, so i decided that i may get another one here. But, you know all this economy stuff.. so haven't got one yet, but i was struggling so much without it. i mean no creativity can really replace good old stamping, especially when you ahve so little time for nails.
So yetoday my second excitement was gettign a new stmping kit.
I have got a chep one from e-bay, and i am not recomending it at all, plates are so poor, and polishes dont work at all, very transperent, you cant see it on any color. And moreover the colors i have got are not the colors i inteneted to have according to the sellers picture. But on the other hand it worth trying,m because it only was like 5 buks.




But where is another one comming. With more plates and polishes, so i will only keep stamp and scraper from this one.
I wanted to see if this cheap one will work, so i can tell my friends get it or not.
Since polishes wont work, i used regular polish and surprizingly it worked pretty good.
So here is my pink mess.
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