Pearly Bow Nail Art

It’s been a while, yes? My dearest apologies. I find myself on a computer a lot less often anymore. I still continue to read blogs, but as I’m sure you’ve all notices, I don’t blog much. Last month was a bit hectic, but I was just lazy this month. Perhaps blogging more will be my New Year’s Resolution… Yeah, we’ll see…

Anyhow, all of the nails that I’m managed to photograph are holiday nails, and now that Christmas is over, I would feel silly posting them. The nails I have for you today are the nails I had on for Christmas, but I also think you could easily change the color and wear them for New Year.

On a side note, I’ve also changed my nail shape. I’m so used to square nails, but I figured I might change it up (plus, the other day, my thumb nail slightly broke). 

For my non accent nails, I used OPI – Don’t Burst My Bubble, then created a glitter gradient with China Glaze – Electrify. My ring fingers have a base of NYC – Broadway Burgundy Frost with Morgan Taylor – Rare As Rubies on top. I added some pearls and arranged them to make a bow.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Thanks for reading!

Meta Nail Art and Review

Today’s post is a little different from normal, but in a good, unique way. This post is a review of the book Meta by Tom Reynolds. Tom Reynolds is the co-host of The Complete Guide To Everything and Pop Everything. This is his first novel and I thought some corresponding nail art would make for a creative review.

To be honest, I’m not the best at reviewing books because I feel like regardless of how much I try, there will be a spoiler, so really, my suggestion is to just go read the book. However, with the title of this post having the word “review” in it, there is the mandatory obligation to write somewhat of a review.

The book centers around 16 year old Connor Connolly who somehow finds a pair of metabands around his wrists. He struggles to keep this a secret from his best friend and older brother who is obsessed with metas. He must figure out how to use and control his powers because it isn’t long before he finds himself an enemy with equivalent power.

It didn’t take me long to get into Meta because it actually had a plot unlike the previous book I read which was Karlology by Karl Pilkington (funny, but no storyline). I really enjoyed the story and found it quite entertaining. It kept me wanting to read more and more. It ends with space left for more stories to come. I’m eager to see how Connor’s life plays out in the next novel.

My nails represent Meta in a simple way. My index finger represents Connor’s suit when he powers on his metabands and becomes Omni. My middle finger is the author’s signature, my ringfinger is a simplified cover of the book, and my pinky and thumb nails represent the silver metabands.

Below is a picture of the metabands and signature so you can actually see what I was going for.

Speaking of signature, my bookplate was the poster child of the bookplates, so that’s pretty cool.

If you’re interested in reading this book for yourself, then head over to tomreynolds.com for multiple places and ways to buy it.

If you have any questions regarding my nails, leave a comment, and I’ll be sure to get back to you!

KKCenterHK Alloy Bow Review

I’ve finally found some time to finish my review for KKCenterHK. I was sent this big alloy bow, and I will say that it is a lot larger than I expected! Not that that’s a bad thing!

For my ring finger, I have two coats of Orly – Miss Conduct and the rest of my nails are two coats of Nina Ultra Pro – Black.

I did my nails yesterday and attached the bow on with regular nail glue. It lasted me for a while, but I was also very careful with it. I didn’t do any physical activities with it on, either. I mainly read a book (a book of which was very good and I plan on writing about in a future post :) ). However, just when I was about to go to bed, I washed my hands and as I was drying them, it snapped off. I will admit I didn’t think it would last as long as it did anyhow, but my nail glue was also very gooey, so that could also be a factor.

Today, however, as I write this review, I put the bow back on with a bead of nail acrylic, and it’s staying very well. I feel like it is going to last longer than the glue, but that is to be tested. I am also typing with it on, and I don’t have an issue with it, either.

Overall, I find this bow a really cool nail accessory to have and I think it is going to make a really cool addition to some holiday nail art. It’s not super practical in terms of what activities you can do with it on. I think it’s really definitely worth having, even if it only lasts one day. You can find this item here along with other nail art accessories on KKCenterHK’s website.

Thanks for reading!

KKCenterHK Leopard Decal Review

It sure has been a while since my last post, has it not? I’m not going to say that I will be posting on a regular basis soon because I honestly don’t know. I’ve been busy, stressed, and plan on doing so for the next few weeks to come.

Anyhow, here is today’s post. It’s a review for the lovely KKCenterHK store that sells lots of nail art supplies. Today’s review is for their leopard water decals. I think they are way cool and gorgeous!

For the base of my ring finger, I used Finger Paints – Don’t Make A Scene. My gold nails are Orly – Glitz, and my ring finger’s base is OPI – Alpine Snow. I used a black Stripe Rite Striper to make the zebra stripes.

The decal on my ring finger is this one from HHCenterHK’s website. I absolutely loved these decals. They were a lot of fun. I received so many compliments on them. I wish I had some better photos for you, but it was dark outside when I took the photos.

I have another product to review, and plan on writing a post of it in two or so weeks.

If you’re interested in purchasing these decals or any other nail art supplies, you can do so by visiting HHCenterHK’s website.

Have a great week to come :)

Breast Cancer Awareness Nail Art 2014

Hello, all! Today’s nails are from about two weeks ago. I’m quite behind on my posting. It’s still October, though, so here you are!
I got the idea from these nails by Noemihk. Her twitter can be found here, her instragram here, and her pinterest here.

For my index finger, I used OPI – More Than a Glimmer. My thumb, middle, and pinky nails are OPI – Pink-ing of You, with a rhinestone attached at the cuticle. My ring finger is L'Oreal – Park Ave Luncheon, and the hearts are made with Finger Paints – Model Colour.


These nails were so fun to wear. I received so many comments on them! haha! I showed my cosmetology teachers and they laughed. The next day, one of them told me they were in a meeting and one of the other teachers in the meeting said she wanted to come get her nails done. My teacher said, “Oh, we’ll have Abby do them. Nails are her thing.” The other teacher responded, “What kind of things can she do?” Both of my teachers looked at each other and started laughing, and then either the administration director or principal asked what was to funny. My teacher looked at him and said, “You have to promise you won’t get mad,” then told him. He then said, “What are you teaching them?!” I thought it was a funny story :)
I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading!!

KKCenterHK Stamping Plate Review

Hello all! Today I have a long overdue review for KKCenterHK’s stamping plate [NNAIL-SPPQA11]. I received this plate in return for my honest opinion.

I actually used this stamp once already, but didn’t like the outcome of the nail art. I am quite pleased with it this time around.

For my non accent nails, I used Nina Ultra Pro – Black topped with Ebalay – 018. I reviewed Ebalay 018 in this post.

For my accent nail I used Sally Hansen – Sun Kissed with a black cat stamped on top.

I really like all of the images on the plate, but today I only have one to show you. I’m still working on my stamping skills, so you’ll be seeing more of this plate in the future.

You can purchase this plate at KKCenterHK. If you’re into stamping I would totally recommend this one because the images are all pretty cute :)

Thanks for reading!

Me Bag

As I sit here with hair colour processing, I can convince myself that I have nothing else to do but blog. I have a lot of catching up to do, but this is a start.

A while ago in Cosmetology we had to make “me bags.” the requirements were there had to be three words that describe you on the bag and three items inside it that represent you best. I decided to share mine with you all :)

Creative: I’d like to say that I’m a creative person :)

Perfectionist: When it comes to nails, if they aren’t looking spectacular then I’m sad.

Elephantastic: I have a good memory, so I thought since elephants have good memories elephantasic would be a cute word to use. Also, OPI has a gorgeous nail polish called Elephantasic Pink!

I used nail polish to make my bag, by the way. haha

Next up was my hair razor. I painted mine with nail polish last year to keep me motivated. I really want to go to Australia, and I just thought the galaxy side was pretty.

I also put an iTunes card in my bag because I am never without my iPod.

Finally -we all saw this coming-, we have a bottle of nail polish. I put in an empty bottle of Seche Vite to represent how much I love nails.

Thanks for reading, and I’m sorry for my extended absence. I would really like to get back to blogging on a regular basis. Sorry.

Textured Dinosaur Nail Art + Ebalay Warm Orange Glitter Review

Hello all! Have you forgotten about me? I’ve been busy and am currently recovering from a cold. I had to leave cosmetology early one night because it was so bad. That is the first time I’ve ever (in 1+ years) done that! Now when I add my hours up, I have a pesky .5 hour. I can deal.

Annnyhow….
I’ve received some products from KKCenterHk to review a few weeks ago, and am just now getting to posting one of them (the other is on it’s way, but I have yet to create any magical nail art with it yet :) ). I was sent Elbalay Warm Orange Glitter for today’s post. I’ve decided to use an unused green textured polish to create some dino nails because I love orange and green together.

My non-accent nails have a base of NYC – Peaches ‘N Cream, and were topped with Elbalay 018.

For the base of my dinosaur nails, I used NYC – French White Tip. Next, I used a black Stripe Rite Striper to create the outline of my dino, then filled the spikes on his head in with China Glaze – Starboard. I then added my top coat, and finally filled in my dinosaur with China Glaze – In The Rough. I did not add top coat after using the textured polish in order to maintain the effect of the textured polish.

The Elbalay Warm Orange glitter I was sent was super easy to work with. The cap wasn’t as threaded as most polishes, but that didn’t affect the polish at all. It didn’t require any thinner, either. It has multi shaped matte white glitters, a semi matte orange hexagon glitter, and tiny iridescent blue glitter.
It went on easily, and came off easier than most glitters I’ve worked with. I didn’t use any peel off base coats; I just removed it with nail polish remover. Some of the glitters (like most glitters) were suctioned to my nail, so I was able to pop them off with my other nails. Usually when I remove glitter polish with nail polish remover and have to pop off some of the glitters, it damages my nails, and I have to buff where it tore the layer of my nail. This time I didn’t have that problem! To me, that is unusual, but made me very happy :)

You can find Elbalay 018 on KKCenterHk’s website, along with many other colours, polishes, and nail art products.

Thanks for reading! What do you think of multi shaped and coloured glitters?

Black and White Slanted Checkered Nail Art

This week’s nails were inspired by these ones. I am a complete fan of black and white nails. I think they look classy regardless of the design. Polka dots, stripes, checkered, houndstooth (one of my fav patterned nails I’ve done), etc.

For these nails I used a white base of NYC – French White Tip as my base, and used a black Stripe Rite to create the pattern. My non-accent nails have a base of Rimmel London – Green With Envy with hot pink rhinestones applied towards the cuticle.

What are your views on black and white nails?

On a completely unrelated topic: I finally attempted to take my drivers license test… and I passed!! WHOOO! When I stopped the car, he asked me how I thought I did and I was still really nervous and kept staring at the steering wheel and said “I don’t know,” in the most worried voice. He told me I was his first pass of the day :D We went in the DMV when it was over and my mom gave me this worried look and later told me that she thought I failed because my face was soooo red! haha! I was soooo nervous though!
So, yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m done worrying about one of the most important tests in my life. Until a few months when I can take my practical (theory) test for Cosmetology. One step at a time…

Thanks for reading!!

Morgan Taylor–Rare As Rubies

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz since I was young. Since becoming a nail addict, I’ve been in search of the perfect Dorothy glitter. When I saw that Morgan Taylor polish was on sale a few weeks ago, I knew I had to try Rare As Rubies. I must say that it seems to be Dorothy approved!

I used two coats of Nicole by OPI – Challenge Red-y followed by two coats of Morgan Taylor – Rare As Rubies.

Rare As Rubies looks gorgeous from afar, as well…

Have a great week :)

Mix and Match School Nail Art

Hey all, I hope you’re enjoying your weekend! I’m soaking up the last bit of summer vacation before high school starts on Tuesday. Blah.
I. Hate. High. School.
Cosmo all the way!!

I also painted my neighbors’ nails for their first days of school. They look tooooo cuuuuute! One got tie dye and peace signs and the other got ladybugs because the dress she’s wearing on the first day has ladybugs on it. I hope their nails last for a few days (at least for the first day!)!

So, these are my nails for my first day of school. I’ve been loving mix match nails lately. I went for something simple that wouldn’t bother me if it got messed up when doing other things. This week in cosmetology, I believe we’re doing pedicures and hair washing, so my nails are bound to chip and/or peel. Plus, the weather will soon be colder, which will make my nails on the brittle side.

I’m not sure how I feel about these nails.. I like them, but wish I would have done some of them differently. I do know that I love the polka dot nail!! I think the polka dots and colours really lengthen my nails.

Index: I used Nina Ultra Pro – Gladiator for my base, then used Nina Ultra Pro – Black to add some polka dots.
Middle: I used Orly – Decades Of Dysfunction as my base and Sally Hansen – Set The Stage to top it off.
Ring: I used Finger Paints – Don’t Make A Scene as my base with two coats of Orly – Pink Flakie Topcoat (very hard to see). I used Nina Ultra Pro – Black and Sinful Colors – Hazard to make a bow.
Pinky: Nina Ultra Pro – Black with gold striping tape.
Thumb: Finger Paints – Don’t Make A Scene  with two coats of Orly – Pink Flakie Topcoat.

Thanks for reading!!

Giveaway Winner

The winner of my Special K Giveaway is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Justina already emailed me back.

Thank you to all that entered! I would ideally like to have more, but until then I hope you all continue to enjoy the simplicity of my blog :)

Portal Nail Art

I’m not sure how many of you know this, but I go to high school for half of a day, then go to a vocational-technical school for the other half. I go for cosmetology (shocker, right?) and today was the first day of tech. I loved it last year, and now that I’m a senior, I know what to expect and the year is basically a review for me :) Anyhow… everyone wanted to see my nails and before I let them see, I started with, “My brother convinced me to play a video game, and my nails were inspired by it.” Nobody actually knew the game except my friend who demanded a picture to show his friend who is also into the game.

My top coat was goopy and I didn’t feel like adding thinner to it, so it didn’t go on very smoothly and left some bubbles. Grr.

The quality of the photos below are pretty poor, so I decided to put more than the usual amount in, in hopes that it gives you a better image of the theme.

Now, I should explain them:
Index fingers: Companion cube (a cube that you use for an entire level. It will never threaten to stab you.)
Middle fingers: the logo
Ring fingers: two portals
My right pinky: “The cake is a lie.” (a sentence that is written over and over in ‘secret’ ‘rooms’)
My left pinky: the cake that is a lie (or is it?)

I hope you all enjoyed my Portal nails!

Have you played Portal? Have you done video game nails?

Thanks for reading!

Textured Starfish Nail Art

I figured I better post these nails while the weather is still nice and summer-y here. These nails are from a few weeks ago, but nonetheless fun.

 

This is my first time using textured polish for nail art, and I must say that I LOVE it!

I used Finger Paints – Don’t Make A Scene. I then sponged on Tea Beauty – Mint Leaf to the tips of my index and middle fingers. The starfish were made with China Glaze – Toe-Tally Textured.

Are you a fan of textured polish and/or textured nail art?

Have a great day :)

Taupe Swirl Nail Art Tutorial

Today’s nails are really simple, but still pretty. I wanted to use one of my many taupe polishes, so this is what I ended up with.
I also rounded my nails a bit to make the squoval because my legs are really dry and sometimes inflicted damage on myself when curing the itch. TMI?

I used a base of Essie – Chinchilly. The white swirls were made with a white Stripe Rite, and I used L.A. Colors Art Deco – Gold Glitter to make a subtle golden line. I used a matte top coat to finish it off.


Are you a weeee bit curious on how I did this? I made my FIRST video!! I’m not very happy with it because the lighting is terrible and I was off frame a bit. If you have any tips, suggestions, etc., let me know. I highly doubt I will be making many videos in the future (mainly because it’s a giant pain!!!), but I do have a few in mind.

Thanks for reading!