Japanese "Kawaii" Inspired Nails || Nail Art

Hi everyone!

I am so sorry for not posting in such a looooooong time! It's been a busy busy busy week and haven't been able to do anything super exciting. I do have some pictures that I took when I went down to Vancouver for a bike ride; I'll post them up soon.

The BC lions are playing tonight and I thought I should start watching again. I got so bored of the game (nothing was going on...so many turnovers) and decided to do my nails while watching. I didn't end up doing step by step photos but here is just a quick snap!

I decided to go kawaii all over my nails. I'm not much of a person who loves pink but I put it all over my nails anyways.

OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
OPI in Top Coat
OPI in Alpine Snow
OPI in Heart Throb
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 130 Sheer Me Now
Nails Inc in Charing Crossroad 
Nail art material from the night market

On my thumb and middle finger I just did simple white polka dots on a pink base. On my index and pinky finger I had the same pink base but used rose gold/copper glitter on top. On my ring finger, I had a peach/cream base and painted on a baby pink bow and put a pearl in the middle.

I hope to get a back into the step by step nail tutorials soon so stay posted. Last week, I posted a picture on my Instagram; I did vintage rose inspired nails last week but forgot to take pictures. I think that will be my next nail art tutorial. But I also have two other summer 2013 polishes to review...oh the choices. Alright have an amazing weekend and I'll talk to you guys next time!


Stay Beautiful!
- V

Black on Black Zebra Print || Nail Art

Wondering how black on black works right? I'll tell you my litte secret in just a sec!

Back when I first starting wearing nail polish, black was definitely one of my favorite picks. I guess it was because it matched everything (which was true). I was more a jeans and t-shirt person and didn't like to dress up so black was a very safe option. I have definitely seen changes in what I wear now and black wouldn't be my first pick. And just looking at my polish collection, most of my colours are now pastels and brights. Honestly, I have to say that I haven't worn black, as a primary colour, on my nails for at least two years. I think it's because I chip my nails really fast and chipped black polish stands out like a sore thumb. And now that I work in a school environment, black is not the most professional either.

This tutorial looks hard but it's actually quite simple. The different finishes and the print makes a plain black nail much more sophisticated and I will say that it will definitely be a conversation starter.

Polished used:
OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
LA Colors Art Deco Striper in Black
Revlon Colorstay in 270 Stiletto
Nails Inc. Matté Finish in Westminster Bridge Topcoat

Apply your base coat and your black polish. I only had to apply one layer of my black polish. Give it some dry time.

Next, apply a layer of your matté finish. Give it some more dry time. See how it's no longer glossy? If you think that it's still semi glossy, give your nails another coat. This step is very important. Nails Inc.'s Westminster Bridge Topcoat was a huge hit when matté finishes first came out. I definitely recommend this one.

The next step you can either use a striper or, if you don't have a striper, use the same black polish and a toothpick. On top of your, now matté, black, take your striper or dipped toothpick and make zebra stripes. And give it some dry time and you're done! See how the glossy strips stand out against the matte base! Cool eh?

DO NOT FINISH IT OFF WITH A TOP COAT OR YOU WILL RUIN THE MATTÉ FINISH!
Note: this won't last long. Since there is no final top coat, it's going to chip. This is my second day and I'm already seeing chips here and there.

Zebras are one of my favorite animals because of it's stripes!
Question of the day: What is your favorite animal pattern?

Since I'm posting this up, I won't be posting for Manicure Weekend. Or will I?
I haven't made up my mind yet.


Stay beautiful!
- V

Spring Time || Nail Art

Hi Readers,

I want to apologize for not posting in a VERY LONG time. Since working almost full-time and volunteering here and there, it's been hard to keep up. But never the less, I'm posting again!

I'm just on my second week of Spring Break (perks to working in the school system) and been hanging out at the house. But since the weather has been so nice, it gave me some inspiration to "springify" my nails. Super simple and super easy to do; this is a great look to match all your spring colours in your wardrobe!

Polished used:
Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect - "06 Air"
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - "420 Yellow Kitty"
Revlon Nail Enamel - "85 Minted"
OPI Nail Lacquer - "Alpine Snow"

I needed 2 - 3 coats of the mint and blue to get the opaqueness I wanted. And using a dotting tool (or you can use an end of a bobbypin), dotted five white dots and one yellow dot for my daisy. That's it!

I am now just looking at my collection of polishes and realized that I have LOTS! Maybe it's time for me to put them to good use. I usually paint my nails once a week and every time it's a different colour. So I'm thinking I should start reviewing them? I follow Jen from From Head to Toe (http://www.frmheadtotoe.com/) and she does something on her blog called Manicure Mondays. I'm thinking that I might start this up too! 

Hope you all like this post (I know it's super simple but I might as well). That's all from me today!

Happy painting :)

Bunnies and Mini Eggs || Nail Art

Happy Easter everyone! I wanted to post this one up yesterday night but ended up having to do a favor for my mom. So I know today is Easter and this is an easter nail tutorial but I think you can still wear this even when it's not Easter. Super easy to do and lots of fun! A couple of my favorite youtubers did some nail tutorials based on Easter themes! At first I was just going to do one of them but then I decided to mix and match.

Michelle Phan's Easter Nails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRq7kz8JKbA&feature=g-u-u&context=G25e4913FUAAAAPAACAA

Cutepolish's Bunny Nails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHBGYuM-vYk&feature=g-u-u&context=G234622bFUAAAAWgALAA

BubzBeauty's Pastel Bunny Nails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmB9BzmObGY&feature=g-u-u&context=G28e88c3FUAAAAAAAGAA


Here's my first attempt and I wore them for a few days. Got a whole bunch of positive comments!

I thought they weren't too bad but i found it was hard to match my outfits. So I decided to redo them. Alright here we go!

Colours used:

OPI Heart Throb (Light Bubble Gum Pink)
OPI Alpine Snow (White)
Sally Hansen Sheer Me Now (Light Nude/Peach)
Sally Hansen Raven (Black)
OPI Base Coat and Top Coat

1. Apply Base Coat.

2. Apply pink to thumb, middle, and pinky finger. Apply nude to ring finger. I had to apply a good three - four coats to get it to a solid shade. On the pointer finger, paint tip of nail with a curved edge (the head) and two ears with the white. I used a really thin tipped paintbrush to get the ears like that. Let dry.

3. With a nail art tool or a bobby pin, draw in your dots on the nude nail (pink polka dots) and all the pink nails (white polka dots). They can be as big or as small as you want them to be. For the bunny, use a nail art tool/bobby pink/paintbrush to paint the insides of the ears and the nose with the same pink. Use black nail polish for it's two eyes.

4. Apply Top Coat and you're done!

I hope you guys try this out -- just takes some time and patience :)

Remember, Easter isn't just about the chocolate eggs and the bunnies. This is the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead to fulfill the promise that God had made. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

French Manicure 2.0 || Nail Art

I was thinking of doing just a regular french manicure since I work at a school as a substitute special educational assistant. But I really didn't want something that's too boring. I decided to add a bit of colour. Here are the results!

OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure (130 Sheer Me Now)
OPI Nail lacquer (Party in my Cabana)
OPI Top Coat
Nail Art Stickers (from the Richmond Night Market)

This was my first time using this shade in the Sally Hansen. I don't think I put enough coats of it because its still streaky and sheer. I'm not sure if it's suppose to be that sheer but I would of liked it if it was more opaque. I still think it looks pretty good still.

Purple + Polka Dots || Nail Art

Inspiration: was watching my korean dramas and got bored. looked up on some cool nail art. got lazy and decided to do something simple.