Subdued Spring Nail Art (I'm back!)

Wow, somebody should have warned me that the end of my senior year would be so busy. I really can't wait until this year is over! In addition to school stuff I have been working hard learning Japanese. =D  Hopefully I can get back to a regular schedule of blogging....I really miss it and I feel bad when I can't post. I also miss reading and commenting on other blogs.

Anyway, enough excuses...on the the real post.

I wanted to wear Zoya Kelly on it own this time since last time I wore it the colour was completely changed by China Glaze Lighthouse. When I first got it I thought about doing white Konad on it. This time I did. I used a flower patter on the tips of my nails. I tried to get it to stamp diagonally but I stamped it straight for the most part.

Zoya Kelly is one of my favourite nail polishes. It goes on smooth and its almost opaque in one coat. Zoya's brushes are also easy to use. I have heard that some people have problems with Zoya with quick dry topcoats but I have never had a problem with that. Wear time isn't any better or worse than most other polishes. I use Orly Ridgefiller base coat and China Glaze Fast Forward topcoat.

Its been awhile since I blogged so how is everyone? Are you as busy as I am this time of year? Any interesting new collections being released soon? Fill me in!

Peace and Love,
Serena

Odd layering combination - Zoya Kelly+China Glaze Lighthouse

I can't believe its March already! The weather is really nice today which is great for taking nail photos. I recently got Zoya Kelly in mail (it was backordered from the 3 free promotion) and I also bought China Glaze Lighthouse. I didn't know which colour to get from the Anchors Away collection so I had Chase choose. I was surprised  he chose Lighthouse since he normally hates yellow. He describes it as "the sun in a bottle". When  he saw Zoya Kelly he told me I should layer Lighthouse over it. I didn't have any other ideas of what I should do with my nails so I tried it.

I was skeptical at first but I really like China Glaze Lighthouse. I don't think I would wear it on its on since its so sheer but I do like it for layering. I tried it over a turquoise colour on a nail wheel and it looked really pretty. It has a green-golden look to it when put on top of Zoya Kelly. I really like it.

I really want to wear Zoya Kelly on its own sometime. Its a gorgeous grey that leans slightly purple. It was almost a one coater. I might even do a Konad with this colour soon...it seems like it would work well for that.

On an unrelated note...I mentioned a long time ago that I got a 28 dollar nail file for Christmas. Since I mentioned it on here I want to a review for it soon. So tell me in the comments what you want to know about it...and what you look for in good nail file. I would appreciate your feedback so I can't write a good review. =)

Peace and Love,
Serena

Grunge Nails ☆

How was everyone's holiday? I had a good one. On Christmas Eve I spent time with family and Christmas day I just spent time with my boyfriend, sister and parents. I got 3 OPI mini sets for Christmas: Go Goth, Swiss, and Burlesque. For this manicure I used Obscurity (a matte black) and Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous. (a sparkly gunmetal grey).

I tried to make a gradient effect with the gunmetal grey colour but it didn't turn out exactly like I pictured. I still like it though, its very grunge looking. We didn't have any makeup sponges so I used a semi-fluffy craft brush and patted the grey on top of the matte black. 

It only took 2 coats of the matte black to be opaque. I was pretty impressed with it, normally I have trouble with matte polishes. I also didn't have as much trouble with the mini bottles as I normally do. They haven't changed or anything, I guess my application must have improved. I think Lucern-tainly Look Marvelous would look spectacular on its own with top coat. Lightly applied here it doesn't look too glittery but in the bottle it flashes blue and pink sparkles. 

My mom got me a really neat nail file for Christmas and so far I love it. It works so much better than emery boards and I even like it better than the glass and crystal files. After I use it for awhile I might review it if you're interested. Its a little pricey ($28) so I'll let you know if I think its worth purchasing.

What did you get for Christmas? How was your holiday?
Peace and Love,
Serena