Blue Diagonal Nails

Today's manicure is a simple one. I decided to try a diagonal two colour look, using blue. The first colour I used is OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, a dusty blue. Next to other blues it leans a little blue green. Then I did a diagonal side-swipe using China Glaze Up All Night, a dark navy blue that looks almost black unless you're in bright lighting. Up All Night looks like a creme indoors as well but in the sun it is noticeably shimmery. I think I did a pretty good job doing a straight line with a regular polish brush. This is really easy to do so if you want to try something different with your nails but don't have konad or can't do freehand this would be good for you.

I have no idea why I took that picture with the Dasani water bottle. Maybe I should try to find something random that matches my nails every time I take pictures! If you wanted to you could use a nail art striper brush to do this, but I don't like painting large areas with them. I'm starting to get inspiration, I don't know what was up with me last week. Reading other blogs and watching nail art videos on youtube has helped tremendously. I have 59 followers as of right now, which is amazing to me. I know this sounds cliche but I wasn't expecting so many followers in such a short amount of time. I really enjoy blogging and reading all of your comments, so thank you! 

Peace and Love,

Serena

Argyle Konad

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! This week has been a long one for me so I'm really glad for the weekend. My boyfriend got a new apartment this week so I'll be busy this weekend helping him move. A few days ago I removed my Pikachu manicure and was unsure of what to do with my nails. Unfortunately I've been lacking inspiration lately.. Anyway, the day I wanted to redo my nails also happened to be the day of an Orchestra concert. So I grabbed a colour that I knew wouldn't be tough to apply: Misa Dying Love. (Shimmery charcoal black) I didn't have time to do much else but I did experiment layering CND Effects Amethyst Sparkle over my thumb and I liked the way it looked. When I got back I layered the CND over it and did a quick Konad design. I'm not sure about this design, it definitely isn't my best, though it is really noticeable. The design overshadows the gorgeous colour underneath, which I don't love. Not only that, I was having terrible Konad luck that night.  These pictures don't even show the gorgeous purple sparkle.. You couldn't even tell I was originally wearing a black polish after I layered the CND over it.

I'll be redoing my nails tonight, hopefully I will have better luck this time. Sorry this post sounds depressing...I really didn't intend it too! Saturday will be very busy for me so expect a new post Sunday or Monday. Do any of you have any nail art ideas? Colour combos? Inspire me! =)

Here is something completely off topic, but I thought I would share it anyway.. My kitty Misty! I always get the urge to take picture of her but as soon as I get out the camera she won't stay still. I've had her for almost 3 years now, she was a Christmas present to me from my boyfriend Chase.

I guess she's camera shy...

Thanks for reading!

Peace and Love,
Serena

Pikachu inspired manicure! =]

"I want to be, the very best..like no one ever was. To catch them was my real test, to train them is my cause.."

When I was in elementary school, I loved Pokèmon. I had the cards, the games, the movies, everything. And even though I'm a senior in high school now, I still have a soft spot for anything Pokèmon related. So today I have a Pikachu inspired manicure. I was having a bad/sick day when I painted my nails, so the application is a bit sloppy...not to mention the formula of the polish wasn't amazing either. I probably should have gone for something more simple considering how sick I felt. Anyway, the base yellow colour is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening. It was a fairly opaque polish but it was too streaky and uneven to work. Some nails have 2 coats, others have 3. I got this yellow because it was mentioned to me in the comments of my last post, it was easily available, and Walgreens had this particular colour wrapped with a free Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat. (I was really pleased with how quickly this topcoat dried, I'm trying to find another quick dry top coat because my bottle of Seche Vite is getting way too thick and stringy.)

For the zig zag lines I used L.A. Colors Art Deco in black. As you can see, my pointer finger looks really messy...which is due to the brush having a few stray hairs. Once I cut them down my lines became smoother. The red dots on the side were made using another Art Deco, in red glitter. The black lines and the red glitter dots smeared a bit with top coat, but that could be avoided if you're more cautious. I really love the concept of this manicure and surprisingly several people noticed my nails and made the connection with Pikachu. I'd really like to do this manicure again someday, only with a better yellow and when I'm not sick. I feel so weird wearing yellow polish though...I kept looking at my nails in disbelief. I've never worn yellow before! Here is one last "bonus" picture:

What do you think of this design? Have you used Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri topcoat? I'd really love to know what other quick dry topcoats people use...I've tried many that don't live up to their claims. I think I'll be doing a 'skittle' type manicure soon, one I thought of while trying out different layering combinations on paper. =)

Thanks for reading!!

Peace and Love,
Serena

Dragon Scales

School starting has been so busy..I hope to post 2-3 times a week soon though. I did a pretty interesting konad manicure a few days ago but I waited until yesterday evening to take pictures so there is some wear showing in the pictures. I have no idea how I came up with this idea but I knew what colours I wanted to use so I went for it. Looking at it today I thought it looked like dragon scales so that's where the title comes from. The base colour I used is Misa Toxic Seduction, a gorgeous dark emerald green that doesn't look black in dim lighting or indoors. It looks pretty indoors but amazing in sunlight. I used an odd scale-y geometric pattern on the tips only using China Glaze Millennium. I can't remember what plate this is but when I get home I'll update this post.

The picture with the Misa bottle is a bit washed out, it was taken in direct sunlight. I absolutely love this colour, it's one of my favourite green polishes. (and I own lots of green polish!) It applies perfectly, just like all the others Misa's I own. It took two coats to become opaque.

Months ago I ordered from Fyrinnae and as soon as I tried the products I thought I should post a review and swatches of what I got. Well, its been almost a month and I still haven't done that. So sometime within the next week expect to see that. It will be kind of weird for me to write something non nail related but I felt these products were worth talking about. Here is a teaser:

Isn't it gorgeous? I love blue green colours! =) This colour looks much better in real life, I hope I am able to capture them well in my review.

One last thing: I need recommendations for a good yellow polish. One that applies well and goes on opaque. I would prefer it to be a mostly creme finish, but its okay if it has some very subtle shimmer. Here is a link to the colour I'm looking for: http://www.kijo.no/wp-content/uploads/pikachu-1zcp1gl.jpg
(Yes I know it's Pikachu, but that was the only thing I could think of that matches what kind yellow I want.)
One catch though, it must be able to be found at Sally's, Walgreens, Wal Mart, or Claires. Those are the only places around where I live that I can get polish. I have a nail art design I want to do and I need a yellow polish for it. (I do not have a yellow nail polish, warm colours are sparse in my collection..) This design in particular has been in my head since before I even started this blog so I am anxious to get it done. It was one of my first ideas and it doesn't involve the use of Konad. =)

Thanks for reading!
Peace and Love,
Serena

Scherer Chameleon Blue Sky Duochrome

Today was my first day of school and things went pretty well. I can't believe it's my senior year! I had to cut my nails shorter since I'm in the school orchestra and its impossible to play the violin well with long nails. I was a bit sad at first but I think they still look good. I know this sounds weird but I keep them a little longer on my right hand because I can grip the violin bow better that way. But my left hand has to be short so I can press down on the strings and use vibrato. Anyway, I painted my nails with a polish I bought at Rite Aid before I even started this blog. It's by a brand called Scherer and they call their polishes 'Chameleon'. They all have a pretty strong duochrome, colour changing effect, almost similar to mood rings. This one is called Scherer Chameleon Blue Sky. The name doesn't really fit because blue isn't really the dominant colour in this and it shows up more in the bottle than on the nail.

The application on this polish was horrible...it dried so quickly that it was difficult to apply cleanly and it streaked. I got it to look decent once I figured out how to work the formula. I also encountered bubbling and major brush strokes. The brush didn't fan out very well either, which also contributed to the brush strokes. Despite all the issues I still think its pretty and an interesting polish. It is also fairly cheap so if you really like colours like this and can deal with the formula this is a fun polish to wear. From far away you don't notice the imperfections so much. The colour changing effect is just as noticeable indoors as it is outdoors. I found these at Rite Aid and I believe they were 2 or 3 dollars. I have a few more of these I might try out...I hope the formula on the others is a bit easier to work with but I'm not expecting much. 

The last two pictures I'm holding my crab apple tree that is in my front yard. I heard from one of my neighbors (who has lived in my neighborhood for a long time) that this tree has been there as long as she could remember. I've never eaten one of the crab apples but one of my friends did a while ago and told me they were sour. This tree blooms bright pink during spring, the petals almost resemble cherry blossoms. 

What do you think of this Chameleon polish? Have you seen or tried these? 

Peace and Love,

Serena

Quick Tag/First Day of Senior Year

Hello everyone! I've been so busy lately, and probably will be for a week longer. I started my senior year of high school today and I'm currently on break at my Graphic Arts class. I'll have an actual nail post up later today but I wanted to do this tag that I was tagged in awhile ago.  Feel free to use this tag on your own blog if you want to.

4 things in my bag/purse:

- Cell phone

- iPod

- keys

- Stride Gum (Spearmint)

4 favorite things in my room

- Bookshelf

- Bed

-  Nail Polish

- My kitty! (At least she was when I left this morning...)

4 things I’ve always wanted to do

- Go to Japan

- Learn multiple languages

- Try a water marble manicure

- learn to make sushi

4 things I’m currently into

- Nail polish!

- Vintage clothing

- Japanese music

- Drawing

4 things I bet you didn't know about me
- My hair is dyed black with a purple "sheen"
- I have a boyfriend named Chase who hates to hear me ramble about nail polish.
- I'm 17 years old
- I play the violin

4 songs I can't get out of my head

- Hohemi no Bakuden (japanese song)

-  I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher

- Paparazzi by Lady GaGa (even though I don't care for her music, her songs get stuck in my head!)

- THE MOON by 12012 (12012 is a great Japanese rock band!)

Rules:

once tagged you must link the person who tagged you

tag 4 others

let the bloggers know they have been tagged

give 4 answers to each question asked

I tag...everyone! If you're reading this right now and want to post this feel free to do so and mention you got it from me if you want to. (I know I broke the rules by not tagging specific people..)


I'll post my back to school manicure later today!


Peace and Love,
Serena

It's a Mermaid? It's a Butterfly?? It's a Comet???

Hello! The base colour for today's manicure is OPI Catch Me In Your Net. As most of you probably know there are two known dupes for this colour: Zoya Charla and Orly Halley's Comet. When I first saw Zoya Charla I thought it was a really beautiful, unique polish so it surprises me that two dupes have shown up for it. All You Desire has a great comparison of all three of these polishes so check that out  here. Before I show the manicure I want to explain the title. Zoya Charla instantly reminded me of a mermaid when I first saw swatches of it. Then when the OPI Summer Flutter collection came out, OPI compared it to a butterfly. Now with the Orly Comic FX Collection it's a comet! Since these colours are really close dupes the Orly seems to be the cheapest option if you purchase it on Transdesign. Catch Me In Your Net took 3 coats to become opaque and it is really beautiful, in shade and in sunlight. Of course I can't leave any polish untouched, so I applied a konad design to it. I was afraid the konad might overshadow the pretty base but I really like this design.

I used Konad plate S06 and Konad White Special Polish. I'm getting better at centering the designs but I need to get better at stamping my pinkie nail. I'm going to Kansas City this weekend so I won't be back until Monday. Also, school is starting for me soon (I'll be a senior in high school) so bare with me because for the next week or so I will be busier than usual. Soon I will get adjusted in to my school schedule and I hope to start posting more often. I really enjoy blogging and hearing all of your comments. Thanks to all of you who are following me, I appreciate it!

What do you all think of all the Zoya Charla dupes out there? Which one do you have/want?
Peace and Love,
Serena

Fun with CND Effects Amethyst Sparkle

Konnichiwa! (That's Japanese for Good Afternoon.) I wanted to play around with layering combinations so I decided to try out CND Effects Amethyst Sparkle. I chose to layer it over Misa That's My Little Secret. I've only worn this colour once and it sort of bored me. It is a medium raspberry creme, applied perfectly in almost one coat. Applying Amethyst Sparkle over this made it much more interesting for me. It transforms it from a plain berry creme to a sparkling red toned purple. It looks very 'fall' to me, which is fitting since its getting closer and closer to that time of year. I don't really coordinate my polish with the seasons all that much. Last winter I was wearing neons! Taking these pictures was painful, it is 105 degrees here with 14 mph winds. The wind isn't cooling either, its hot!

I really love the way this looks, I'm anxious to try Amethyst Sparkle over other colours...I wonder how it would look over yellow? Here is an extra picture I took when I realized the base Misa colour almost matches my car:

Thanks for reading!
Peace and Love,
Serena