Yesterdays Nail Polish Haul.

So, I just wanted to post what I got yesterday. Not to brag, but to post mainly pictures for my close family and friends that live far away from me can see.

So, piccy's are below obviously. Hee hee! Click on 'em to see more detail and to see them in their original size.

Yesh, I love Hello Kitty, and despite my non-love of the color pink also. Individual nail set pictures are below, along with a in-pack product description.

Catrice: 440 I Wear My Sunglasses At Night & OPI: NL K10 Last Friday Night.

I decided not to use a base coat for my mani this time. Simply because the nail polish I'm going to apply contains glitter.

ONE/TWO COATS: Catrice "Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 440 I Wear My Sunglasses At Night.

I know I've used this particular color before, but I wanted to use it mostly on its own instead of just on my tips, like I chose to do with it on my initial try with using it. I really love this polish, especially since it's black, and because it has fuchsia pink colored and mint green colored small specs of glitter within it.

APPLICATION: It was nice to apply, and a little streaky on the first coat, but looked perfect by the time I added the second coat and allowed it to dry. This polish dried to a nice shiny, but not glossy finish.

Pictures are below. As always, click on any picture to see it in its original size. Excuse my band-aid, as I accidentally stabbed myself yesterday with a pair of scissors...

Catrice: 510 Bye, Bye Birdy! & Isa Dora "Graffiti Nails" 803 Masterpiece Pink

I know crackle/graffiti/shatter nail polishes have been around for a while now, but I'm still relatively new to them; especially when it comes to experimenting with color combinations. So, I wanted to have a mani that was light and colorful, despite the dark constant cloud that seems to be over the town I live in.

BASE COAT: The Edge "Nails" 5 Star Base Coat.

This is actually my favorite base coat, and a varnish that looks a light pink in the bottle but dries to a clear shiny finish and one that applies very nicely.

ONE/TWO/THREE/FOUR COATS: Catrice "Ultimate Nail Lacquer." 510 Bye, Bye Birdy!

I really did not enjoy using this polish, and not just because it took like an hour for each coat to dry. It wasn't exactly thin, but it was quite streaky, even after four coats, and it didn't dry to a nice even finish either. If I was using this polish on its own then I would have applied five coats instead of just four. But, I definitely wouldn't bother using it on its own as a full mani, especially since it doesn't dry smooth at all, despite the fact that it did dry with a shiny finish which was the only plus. Pictures are below. Sorry for any missed clean-ups.

NYC: 105 Lights-Camera-Glitter

Earlier today I finished doing my nails. Had to pop out, so didn't have a chance to do my blog until now.

(Above Picture: It's the one on the far left.)

NYC "Expert Last Nail Polish" 105 Lights-Camera-Glitter is a clear polish containing lots of silver glitter and small hex pieces of blue and light pink glitter.

ONE/TWO/THREE/FOUR COATS: NYC "Expert Last Nail Polish" 105 Lights-Camera-Glitter.

Application: Application was smooth, and I got nice coverage with the little hex pieces, as long as I didn't go over where I had already painted. There was no dragging or ruined application of polish or glitter on applying further coats.

Birthday Shopping Spree

So, today was my birthday, and I took me and my son to Galway for the day. I hunted down nail polishes and nail art etc that I couldn't get hold of in my town as a treat for myself.

Oodles of pictures below. As always, click on a picture to see an enlarged/original sized version.

 (BACK - from left to right: Models Own "Smash-Up" CP007 Purple, Claire's "Nail Polish for Nail Art" x3, Essence "French Glam Nail Stickers" 01 We Love French, Sinful "Nail Enamel" Romp, Essence "French Glam Nail Stickers" 03 Nothing But French, Models Own "Smash-Up" CP002 Silver. *** FRONT - from left to right: Essence "Color & Go" 38 Choose Me!, Essence "Color & Go" 04 Space Queen, Miss Sporty "UV" Disco Tech, The Edge "Nails" 5 Star Base Coat.)

Kiss "Nail Artist" MDK02 Masquerade

Today I managed to finally get into town so I could exchange my broken Kiss "Nail Artist" pack for a new one, that wasn't broken.

I couldn't wait to try it out, and as my mani from yesterday* was still on really well, I decided to just test it out on one nail for now.

(* You can find my mani from yesterday here.)

Nail Art Kit used: Kiss "Nail Artist" MDK02 Masquerade

First I applied a flower stencil to my left ring finger. There were many stencils to chose from, but I wanted to chose one that was kind of simple and girly, to go with the mani that I done yesterday.

I used Kiss "Nail Art Paint" SPA15 Bikini Pink for the petals of the flower. Then I used Kiss "Nail Art Paint" SPA20 Beach Green for the leaves and stem of the flower.

Application: I found the SPA20 Beach Green slightly thinner in consistency than the SPA15 Bikini Pink, although both went on fine, and I only needed one coat of each color. I did have to be careful that any big drips, working their way down from the inside of the top of the brush lid, didn't end up on my nail, so I had to wipe the brush a few times on the inside of the nail varnish bottle, to get off the excess. But that was no bother to do at all, and trouble free as long as I paid attention to the brush stem every now and then.

Oh Là Là!

I couldn't sleep, no surprise there, so in the early hours of this morning I decided to start my very first French Manicure. Well, a slightly different version as the original, as I used a pink shimmer variation nail polish for the main color.

Below is my own step-by-step guide. Not just to help me remember how I done it, but also for reference for anyone that would like help doing their own for the very first time.

Step 1

I used Kiss "French Manicure" Tip Guides - BK132 to start off with. I applied them to my left hand first, as I am right handed. Then I used Catrice "Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 470 Snow Motion! to paint the tips of the nails of my left hand.

(Above picture taken indoors at night with flash: Catrice"Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 470 Snow Motion!.)

I took a few pictures when the tips of my nails had dried.

 (Above picture taken indoors at night with flash: Catrice"Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 470 Snow Motion!.)

 (Above picture taken indoors at night with flash: Catrice"Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 470 Snow Motion!.)

(Above picture taken indoors at night with flash: Catrice"Ultimate Nail Lacquer" 470 Snow Motion!.)

Ups and Downs of Shopping...

Okay, so well, yesterday now I guess, was a good and bad day in parts. Was up all night again, but did manage to get a few hours sleep.

Then, after I got sorted I went uptown and got a few more Catrice half price nail polishes. Picture is below.

(Above from left to right - Taken indoor with flash: Catrice "Ultimate Nail Lacquer." 210 Just Married, 240 Sold Out For Ever, 250 I Sea You!, and 520 Apropos Apricot.)

Then I snagged myself a very nice Nubar indeed, and my very first one too actually. Picture is also below.

(Above - Taken indoor with flash: Nubar "Nail Lacquer" N144 Sandy Shimmer.)

I also managed to pick up a few nail art stickers and rhinestones. Which I'll experiment with and blog about another time.

And I also treated myself to my very first nail art kit; Kiss "Nail Artist" MDK01 Paint & Stencil Kit. Unfortunately when I got home I discovered one of the polishes had its glass bottom cut (for lack of a better word) off. Luckily it was below where the base of the polish was in the bottle, so I had no leakage. But now I'll have to take the time to pretty myself up, just in order to go uptown and exchange the pack for a pristine one. Which is a shame, as I wanted to just stay in and 'play' with it today instead.

When I say "today", I really mean much later, as it's like 3.05amish, Saturday if you're on GMT like me, at the moment. Not enough natural light for me to think about doing anything constructive except writing this. Haha.

I really didn't want to have to go out later either, as I was out too much today as it was.

Ah well. Such is life I guess.

Scrummy Sale Goodies

Well, it's Wednesday, which for me means that it's payday. Yay! So, I dragged myself uptown and through the cloudy and muggy weather to get some bright colors for the looming summer to come; which hasn't arrived yet at all. And I was surprised when I got to the second pharmacy on my spree and found nearly half of the Catrice stand with "1/2 price" stickers on. So, naturally I grabbed the polishes that were nearly gone; eight in total, and decided to go back for the few I couldn't manage to hold later on in the week.

Slightly rushed pictures are below, and I will feature them all in my blog as soon as I can.



(Top & Bottom Photos) From Left to Right- Catrice "Ultimate Nail Lacquer": 300 Be My Millionaire, 530 Up In The Air, 350 Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans!, 510 Bye Bye Birdy!, 390 Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!, 020 MAN GO Tango, 170 I Scream Peach!, and 160 Sweets For My Sweet.