♥Valentine Gradient ♥

I'll be honest, while I still love nail art I don't do it nearly as much as I used to. Not only that but I find when I do do nail art now I'm never really all that happy with it. I just don't think I'm that great at it anymore(not that I was some super nail artist extraordinaire to begin with :P ). But for the first time I did some nail are that I actually loved and wore for days! Yes I had a bit of help, but I'm fine with that!

I decided I wanted to do a Valentines Day manicure, nothing too over the top though. So my manicure started with these stencil stickers from the Born Pretty Store. Each pack comes with 12 stickers, but you can easily cut them in two and make them 24. Even though the stickers are thin I didn't have a problem taking them off after 3 sponged on coats of Zoya Oswin and Barry M Majesty over a base of Barry M Rose Hip. Over all these were fool proof, and I think would make a great addition to anyone collection. They are easy enough for anyone to use, they are really hard to mess up, and you can get really creative with these. The only thing I noticed that was kind of annoying was the row in the middle. The plastic backing extends out on the sides but not top and bottom, so I needed to use tweezers to peel it off.

If you want to give these a go you can find them on sale here for only $1.99 USD(Original price $3.99 USD), and shipping is free, AND you can use out 10% discount code EAL91!

So is anyone doing anything special for Valentines Day? Not me. Will probably do something with the boy eventually, but it's really just an excuse to buy a bottle of wine and adult about how it has legs and stuff.

*Product sent for honest review

Indecisive Valentine

I AM WOUNDED!

What I thought was a crack in my polish, was actually a crack in my nails. It's been there for a few days but I only realised it was a crack today when it started to hurt. I fixed it with that Orly nail rescue, but I don't really like it because I feel I need to touch it up often. I usually like the teabag method, but for some reason my nail glue has been taking FOREVER to dry on the teabag.

Anyways let's talk Valentines day! Any one do/doing anything interesting? I don't celebrate the day, but it is a nice excuse to bake a totally unhealthy cake. I "celebrated"on Friday with the boy. We just hung out, ate cake that I had made, and then went out for dinner(In that order). And by went out I mean we walked outside, felt how cold it was, walked right back inside and ordered pizza and wings. I was a bit disappointed because were were going to get Korean, and I am in love with Korean food at the moment. I am REALLY in to it.

So that mani I wore that night wasn't the exact mani I started with. I decided I wanted to do some watercolor roses. Which turned out pretty fantastic(as you can see). Then I painted the rest of my nails red. Now I had these on overnight and it was bothering me that the red(Cult nails Quench), was a different shade of red. So the next day I HAD to take it off and I swapped it for  Sinful Colors Secret Admirer, which I thought worked way better! Then I added some rehinstones from the Born Pretty Store because faux gems make me happy. This is the third manicure in a row where I havent been happy with the first version.

Which version do you like best?

Lines are hard...

So I have been wanting to do fishnet stocking nails for a while now but I figured now was the perfect time. First off let me apologize for my sad dry hands, as I had to redo some nails a thousand times. I kept messing up the netting. I know it does not have to be perfect, but I really wanted to to at least looks somewhat even.

When I was done I realised it looked a bit plain(and I'm also on a do my manicure, and hate something about it kick). So I though it would look really cool with cartoon hearts. I originally tried outlining the heart but it highlighted how eneven my hearts were. So I just had to stick with the reflection lines(?) I don't know what those things are called. Shine marks? Anyways I mattified the whole thing and it finally came together!

Will you be wearing fishnets this Valentines day? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

Ps. Apart from the sheer black polish I made, everything else is acrylic paint.

I Like Chocolate! I Like Strawberries

Put them together and what do you get? Magic. Pure magic.

Oddly enough while I love chocolate covered strawberries, I don't like them after the chocolate has hardened. Give me a chocolate fountain and fruit! I decided since this was the first day of February I would kick it off with some Valentines Day nails. Now I'm not the typical romantic type, I mean last year the boy and I ate wings in bed and drank.  In theory I like the idea of a candle lit dinner and all the mushy stuff, but it's just not for me. That and I have horrible vision, I don't even like dimly lit bars.

Anyways I got the inspiration for this from Ariana at Gottahavepolish. I loved the concept and I thought it would look pretty neat with my pointy nails! To get this look I started with a base of Revlon's Red Carpet, followed by adding the stems using Orly's Lucky Duck and the seeds with acrylic paint. Then I added OPI's Suzi Loves Cowboys for the chocolate and I put topcoat on it. Then I went over just the brown with Essie's Matte about you to give it more of a chocolate look. Finally I did the sugar spun method(let a bit of polish get goopy and then string it over the nails) using OPI's Alpine Snow. Ariana has a video tutorial up as well, but she does her's in a slightly different order.

Are you a romantic?

Ps. Sorry for all the red in my cuticles from my previous mani. I did not think it was that noticeable :P

Love is Blind...Colourblind!: Having fun with my new dotting tools!

So I wasn't intended on doing Valentines nails but when I thought of this I had to do it!  Here's how it all started.  I have a fear of going blind(So romantic), and when I say fear, I mean terror.  The fact that for one hot moment they though I had glaucoma did not help it.  I decided to go online and look at forums that discuss this fear.  After doing that for a while for some reason I had this urge to look up "What do people see when they are colourblind?" And I started looking at these comparison pictures between normal vision, and different types of colorblindness, and it's kind of insane.  Then out of know where I thought of the saying "Love is Blind" and then I thought "Colourblind"  Random, I know.

OR maybe it's my subconscious speaking and this whole thing really about interracial relationships!  I don't know why my subconscious would do that though.  Trust me, the conscious part of me could have told you how they can be fab.  And you know the old saying "Once you go black, you may or may not go back.  It all really depends on the person, and what they are like on the inside.  Like their personality and blood type. You can never have too many kidneys."

Anyways this mani took FOREVER to finish. Apart from the bright orange on the index finger, EVERY other colour had to be mixed(acrylic paint) because I didn't have the colours I wanted in a cream form.  The actual shapes(X❤OX) and the dots themselves were easy to do.

Decided to mattify it.

AND one more fun thing.  Even though I'm sure my colours are off, if this is correct everyone with perfect colour will be able to see everything that's going on on my nails.  If you can't see red or green, the only thing you will see is half a heart.  And completely colorblind, you'll just see a bunch of dots.

This whole mani was done with my new dotting tools from KKcenterHk.  They are double ended and come in 5 different sizes.  One side of the dotting tool has varying sizes, and the other side the sizes are equal.  The blue dotting tool is the same size on each end.  These were easy to use, but in my opinion you only really need three of them.  Small, medium and large.  It's very easy to get the sizes in between with those tools alone, you just have to use more or less polish or paint.  But overall I'm glad I have these.  Prior to this I had two dotting tools, and they were both the really small ones.

If you would like a set like this for yourself, head on over to KKcenterHk where it retails for $7.99 USD.  And use our 15% discount code(which is only valid for another month): varnishedvalkyrieevent15off

 

*Product sent for honest review

Awful Old Photos for Your Enjoyment

I haven't been feeling very inspired lately. While going through some photos today, I thought I would show you guys some past nail arts.  Let us get in our wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey machine for old crappy webcam photos!

Valentine's nails from last year. I used a scrapbooking punch to make the heart. The ring finger is holo, but, webcam. 

 My nails for The Avengers. This is actually the worst picture ever. Left to right: arrow for Hawkeye, Black Widow's belt, stripes for Captain America, Thor's Hammer, Hulk thumbs, Cap again, Iron Man's arc reactor, green and black triangle thing to imitate Loki's costume, and a rainbow holo mess for the bifrost.

 Star Trek nails with insignia, rank stripes and galaxy thumbs! I loved these and want to do them again. Who else is sh*tting themselves over the Into Darkness teasers?

I cut and pasted words from a newspaper to reflect my feelings.

  A standard evening of debauchery with my friend Trish.

This is either the worst Valentines Day post or th best + 'Like' me!

So I had something else in mind for today.  I had been wanting to do it for a while.  And I started it last night. But the problem is my sleep schedule has been getting rather normal.  Horrible I know.  So while I was waiting for the polish to dry I flat out fell asleep.  And long story short today I dont have it in me to do nail art.  But don't worry I still have this!  It's either the best or the worst Valentines Day mani.

It's either the worst because it's just a swatch.  3 coats of OPI's My Boyfriend scales walls.  A white polish with gray undertones.  Who's formula was ok.

Or it's the best.  Because while the manicure may be plain, what it actually represents is the purity that is love.  Or some mushy bs like that :)

I will post show you what I had originally planned to do sometime next week!

Also you guys would make my Valentines Day if you went over to (https://www.facebook.com/GirlyBits/posts/289245867871098?comment_id=1300111&offset=0&total_comments=108) and 'like' my comment. "Tie your Girly Bits Down".  I'll level with you.  I want to win and I have no shame(That part of my brain was removed).  Vote for me and I will also lower your taxes and give you free health care(if you don't already have it)* Contest ends at midnight.

*legally I can’t do those things.

Blue Valentine

I'm hardly the romantic type, so this is probably as mushy as things are gonna get from me.

Here's my V-Day mani - no goofy pink hearts here. I used Bundle Monster plates BM08-09 and this simple decal tutorial from Layniefingers.

Base: China Glaze Stone Cold
Glitters: Kozmic Colours HD Sparkle, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Tender Teal (thumb only, under crackle)
Crackle: Maybelline Colour Show Shredded Purple Possibilities (thumb only)
Stamping: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Silver Sweep
Decals: China Glaze Hanging in the Balance
Topped with Warpaint Beauty Mattify
Scrapbook punch from Dollarama, ooh yeah

New contributer!

Hi polish fanatics!

I'm George, and I'm Kas's best friend and fellow polish addict who will now be contributing here!  I had my own blog briefly, but we decided it was silly to be separate, so I'm moving over here!

A little about me:  In addition to nails and nail-related posts, I'm a skincare junkie, so I will be posting reviews for skincare products too.  I love glitter, bright colours, and all things eye-catching, so my posts will be leaning more toward the crazier end of the scale.  I have a few neutrals that are basically relegated to the "job interviews and tea with the queen" part of my polish rack.  The gaudier, the more I'll love it.

So, to introduce you all to me and my style, here are some recent favourite manicures from me!

Valentine's Day.  Very subdued for me but still cute.  Still mastering small details on my non-dominant hand, so the other middle finger had a larger heart and spots.  Obviously took this pre-cleanup.  Polishes used:  Illamasqua Load and Illamasqua Throb.  Couldn't resist those names!

 Dots - These are quite old, and I used OPI's Fly and Did It On Em from the Nicki Minaj collection. 

China Glaze Ruby Pumps and Pure Ice Crushed.  Pure Ice Crackles are the best I've found.  Excellent formula cracks like a dream. 

Explosions with OPI's Fly and Did It On Em.  In case you couldn't tell, I'm a little obsessed with these colours.  Another pre-cleanup shot. 

Excuse the old blackberry picture!  These were my NYE 2011 nails.  Polishes used:  Zoya Julieanne, OPI Last Friday Night, Sally Hansen Urban Chic(China Glaze Fairy Dust is a dupe), and Orly Glitz and Glamour. 

Goldfish scale nails with Finger Paints Outta Sight Orange, China Glaze Solar Flare(Milani Gold is a dupe), and OPI Y'all Come Back Y'Hear. 

This one was a surprise!  Julep Taylor with a single coat of OPI Servin' Up Sparkle.  The glitter changed the colour of Taylor, which is rather periwinkle.  It was such an odd and profound shift! 

OPI Crown Me Already over OPI Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvellous.  This is my go-to for when I want to be blinding!

Until next time, George.

(Lu)tetium+(V)anadium+(Y)ttrium+(O)xygen+(U)ranium = Freaking cute Valentines Day nails!

Or an explosion of sorts.

Anyways I caved.  I did a cute mani (or at least I tried to).  On my left hand I spelt "Luv You" using elements from the periodic table (atomic number included). The elements I used were Lutetium, Vanadium, Yttrium, Oxygen and Uranium.  Now I'm sure everyone know what those elements are so there's no need to explain. If not there's this helpful site called Wikipedia...

Since I'm right handed and just not the best at nail art to begin with I decided that my right hand was going to be something simple, but cute.  So I just did clouds.  Red, gold and purple clouds.  And hey not only is it  Valentines day themed we can also tie it in with the elements. They can represent those beautiful clouds that are just filled with toxic junk... but are oh so cute.

Now the nails!!!

There's a science to Love

Clouds!!!!

(L-R OPI's Got The Blues For Red, Essie's Fishnet Stockings and Naughty N' Nice, Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac and Gilty Pleasure, and finally good ol' paint.

Lost My Water Marbling Virginity!

What better time to do it than for Valentines day! First to answer a few quick questions that I just know you all have.

1) Did it hurt?  A bit. But I was on the floor. It was a bit awkward.
2) Was it fun?  Not really... But I'm sure it will get better.
3) Are you going to do this a lot?  Not a lot.  It was messy but if it's a special occasion I'll give it another go.
4)  You're still talking about polish? Right? Get your head out of the gutter.

Anyhoo I used Claire's Snowball as a base (but you can see on my left hand thumb I forgot to put on a white base).  For the actual marbling part I used OPI's Happy Anniversary,  Got The Blues For Red, and a colour called Plum that I got from H&M.  And I topped it all with NYC's Phant-asmic (A holographic glitter in a clear base).  Because when all else fails cover it with glitter.

I did the usual plop some polish into water, use a toothpick (or in my case dotting tool) to create designs, then stick your finger in.  i didn't follow any particular tutorial because I've read so many I could kinda at this point figure it out on my own.

I think for next time I'm gonna use tape because man it was messy (check out the carnage after the cut).  Also this is probably just an thing that comes with practice but I had a hell of a time getting the design I wanted.  Even when I did sometimes cool the best part of the design would end up on my skin. Anyways for a first time I don't think it's that horrible.

Now on to the pictures!!!

Left Hand (Sunlight)

Right Hand (Sunlight)

Left Hand (Sunlight) Look at all the pretty holographic sparkles!

Now onto more pics and the blood bath of a mess that lead to this.