Random nail art

Hello everyone~Have you ever had a perfect design in mind and failed to execute it the way you wanted it to? This mani was one of them >< I thought I'd share it anyway cos I actually really love the design, just not how it turned out. This was inspired by a design I saw on another blog but of course I forgot to save the link and now I can't find it. If this is yours or you know who's it is, please do let me know! :)

I applied two coats of Misa Dirty sexy money for the base colour. OPI You don't know Jacques is the brown you see and Glossyblossom nail art striper in white for the white.

I might try this again next time with better colour combinations :P

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Spring has arrived!

Hello lovelies~ Spring has arrived here in Australia and so what better way to celebrate this than to bring out the pastel polish shades? :) I saw 'chelle's awesome pastel mani and was inspired to create my own. I don't have any flower fimos so I used my dotting tool to paint some myself ^^

Boy, I used soooo many nail polishes for this mani. All stripes were applied with Glossyblossom nail art striper in white. Here's the whole list!

Pinky: base - two coats of Ulta3 spring fling; flower - Ulta3 watermelon, spring blossom
Ring: base - two coats of China Glaze Light as air; flower - Color Club Uptown girl, Ulta3 spring blossom
Middle: base - three coats of China Glaze Re-fresh mint; flower - Misa Dirty sexy money, Ulta3 spring blossom
Index: base - three coats of Ulta3 spring blossom; flower - mix of Ulta3 spring blossom & spring fling
Thumb: base - two coats of Ulta3 spring shower; flower - China Glaze First mate, Ulta3 spring blossom

How fitting is it that half the polishes I used had 'spring' in their name? :) I am so, so, soooo in love with this mani ♥♥ I keep staring at my nails-eeeeek! Hehe, I love my pastel polishes and totally need to own more of them. What do you think of pastel shades? :) And, have a look at my Blog Birthday giveaway as well if you haven't already!

~Sharon

The Neon Creeper Heel Manicure

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After a few days of no polish change, I was up for a more involved mani this morning, so I did a nail art interpretation of a T.U.K. high-heeled neon creeper.  Why yes, that is incredibly random and out of the blue, but when you see the shoe, you'll see why it inspired a manicure.

The backstory, to mitigate some of the randomness, is that I need a new pair of all-purpose, running out the door shoes.  I've mentioned my taste in clothing is pretty plain, but my taste in shoes is far from it, with the current worn-out pair being red/purple/pink mosaic flats.  I've always loved heels, and being kind of short I wore them just about all the time for years (I'm still a normal height for a woman wearing them, and if there's no good reason not to...).  That era ended when I completely tore an ankle ligament (I was pledging a sorority and fell on the first step of the house's spiral staircase, smashing my ankle on every step on the way down,  while everybody was waiting for me at the bottom - my grandest entrance ever), until I just recently discovered shoes with a platform.  They look impossible to walk in, but they're totally comfortable and nothing at all to walk in, so heels are back on the table for me, and they've been included in the hunt.

That brings us to the inspiration picture,which I mentioned was a pair of T.U.K. neon creeper heels.

My Manicure Inspiration

To make the manicure, I started with three coats of China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada, stamping plate H9 for the leopard print, which is a larger pattern and let me cover each nail with only one stamp.  I used that XL stamper I tried once before and hated because I've read reviews from a few bloggers with whom I normally have a similar experience who loved it.  That made me think I needed practice, and that proved to be the case.  There is a trick to using it, which is absolutely no pressure picking up or placing the stamp, and then it does a really beautiful job.  Having stamped, I filled in the dots on the leopard print with Misa Dreamy Purple, painted the tip one nail with Dreamy Purple to make it like the top of the shoe, then sealed with top coat.  Here's how it turned out.

My Neon Creeper Heel Manicure

There's not fabulous light today, so Dreamy Purple looks darker in the picture than in real life, although I think I should have hunted down Nubar Pasadena Purple for this one - it would have been more clearly purple.  I'm still really happy with the manicure because it's ridiculously fun.

That's my new weekend manicure and just about all I have to yap about this morning Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Purple and flowers

Hey everyone~ :) I know I said in my last post I'm sick, but I couldn't resist changing my mani so...yeah :P I decided to combine my favourite colour with my favourite nail art - purple and flowers!

The beautiful flowers need to be credited to Jessie over at Jelly's Nails. Click on the link for a video tutorial! The flowers may look complex but they are basically just 5 dots... :D. Gotta love simplicity ♥

Polishes used:
OPI Parlez-vous OPI?
Ulta3 lily white
Misa Dirty Sexy Money
China Glaze White cap

Oh, and the lovely people over at Born Pretty Store have provided all you wonderful readers of Polish Infatuated with a 10% discount code. Free shipping + 10% discount...I'm thinking I should head on over to buy something - and so should you all! :D

~Sharon

Stamping Plate D20

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today, I tried out one of the D series stamping plates, D20.  It's got a whole bunch of butterflies and Tinkerbell on it.  I started out with two coats of Misa's Spinning Out of Control, a purple shimmer, and stamped over it in Konad White Pearl.  Here it is on a cloudy day.

Stamping Plate D20 over Misa Spinning Out of Control Nail Polish

That's certainly upbeat!  It's also just about all I have to tell you about, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Crushed Candy Crackle

Good morning, Dear Reader!

About a week or so ago I showed you Nfu Oh 40 over Misa Quirky Smile, but what I didn't show you was that I got an extra day out of it by topping it off with China Glaze Crushed Candy, the Crackle Glaze that's about the same shade as For Audrey.  I really just wasn't particularly excited about removing the flakies, and it didn't occur to me until after I'd added Crushed Candy that I'd succeeded in making the situation a little worse.  Since we know by now that I was able to remove all of it, all's well that ends well, and it was fun while I wore it.

China Glaze Crushed Candy Crackle over Nfu Oh 40 and Misa Quirky Smile

On this one, I really like how glowy the flakes are as they peek out of the kind of muted creme shade of Crushed Candy.  I think as long as a base polish and a crackle are pretty dramatically different from one another, I'll like them together.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Random nail art with nail stickers~

Hey everyone~^^ I was feeling really random the other day and so tried out some of the nail stickers I received from Born Pretty Store awhile ago.

I applied two coats of Misa Office polish-tics on to my fourth finger and OPI Siberian nights on to my other nails. The flower nail stickers were randomly stuck on and I added a rhinestone to my middle finger. I used the bullion beads to make a design around a pearl before sealing them all with a top coat. I'm not sure I like this, but I don't hate it.

The nail stickers held on well for the 1 1/2 day I had this manicure. The bullion beads however, didn't stay on for long. By the end of the first day, some of them had already fallen off. I'm not sure if it's my lack of experience with them which affected this though, so I might review them again another time.

Checked out my Thank you-Sorry giveaway :) here yet? ^^
~Sharon

Some of the products in this post were provided for review. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Review: Office Polish-tics

Hello~ :) I'm sneaking in a quick break before diving back into my pile of assignments lol. I wore Misa Office polish-tics a couple of weeks ago whilst on my prac and since it lasted for the week, I thought I'd write up another quick review.

This is two coats of Office polish-tics and I think the photo was taken on the third day of wear. As you can see, no chips or tip wear :D. This lasted until the fifth day when I finally took it off. The polish was slightly thicker than normal, but not thick enough to worry about.

Application: 8/10
Chipping: 10/10
Price: 9/10 (purchased at transdesign.com)

Yet another work appropriate polish to add to my favourites list :). Oh and don't forget about my Thank you-Sorry giveaway here!
~Sharon

February haul

Helloooo~! After a month of no buy in January I kind of splurged a bit by rewarding myself and purchasing some polish from Transdesign :D. Long story short - I worried myself sick about this package since I had some tracking issues. I even contacted Carina over at GildedNails about the problem and she was such a sweetheart with helping me out and giving me excellent advice <3. Anyway, I finally received my order today so it's really, really awesome all that worrying ended on a happy note.

Enough of my rambles, on to the polishes!

I was really excited about China Glaze's Anchors Away collection but didn't end up buying as many as I thought I would. The Misa polish also garnered heaps of positive reviews so I thought I'd give it a go, especially since I don't have many work appropriate polishes - of which I'll be needing quite a bit this year, eeek! From left to right:
Misa Office polish-tics
China Glaze First mate, Ahoy!, White cap, Below deck, Sunset sail

I also couldn't resist a few bargains here at home too :P. Left to right:
Ulta3 earl grey
Australis Emerald star
Mode Cosmetics Blue steel, Starry night

I can't wait to try out my new China Glazes - they're the ones I was most looking forward to haha. I'm especially eyeing White cap, I've seen bloggers layering it over various polishes and I LOVE the effect it gives :D

I hope you enjoyed my haul post!
~Sharon

A random nail art design

Hello~ Wow, the weekend has just flown by! I was super busy and didn't have much time for my nails but things have finally calmed down again.

I quite liked how the nail art turned out this time, but I'm sad that the polish wrinkled :(. I guess I didn't leave enough time for it to dry before going to shower.

And the polishes I used:

Essie Turquoise & Caicos
Glossyblossom Nail art two way striper in white
Misa Dirty, Sexy, Money
Ulta3 black satin
Eclipse #527

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Misa Shake It to the Samba

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I woke up hungry this morning, and you know what I really wanted?

Cantaloupe!

I like to have it for breakfast with cottage cheese in the middle, but I couldn't find any decent pictures like that - they all had gross things added, like a ton of brown sugar (brown sugar's not bad in general, but on this...).  I just did the manicure like plain cantaloupe anyhow because the lack of pictures the way I like it kind of indicates that mine is not a universal preference.

I did this manicure in the ruffian style on all ten nails, having built a bit of confidence with that technique yesterday.  For the outer rind I used OPI San Tan-tonio and for the green I used OPI Don't Mess with OPI, both from the OPI Texas Collection.  I don't really count them in this manicure since you can't get a good look at them.  I really just wanted to see how opaque the OPI's are, and they're more pigmented than most recent OPI collections have been.  I used one coat of each, and they were opaque enough close to the cuticle that no more was needed.  It looks like either would need two coats for a regular manicure, but we'll find that out for sure soon.  To complete my cantaloupe nails, I used two coats of Misa Shake It to the Samba.

Misa Shake It to the Samba Cantaloupe Manicure

I like it but for the fact that the tan section blends in with my skin so well - it shows up in the picture alright, but is really hard to see in person.  I don't think I could have done better though - the tan is about as dark as I could go for the rind color, I'm just kind of pale to wear this one as well as someone else could.  Looking at it, I think this would work much better against dark brown skin, where the tan would show well and the cantaloupe color would really pop.  But I'm stuck with zero pigment in my skin and I don't expect that to change today, so I'll just have to wear it as well as I can.

I don't have any fabulous stories starring the cantaloupe.  I did grow some gorgeous ones in that garden I told you about yesterday, but harvesting them was a little anticlimactic after several months of answering the daily whine of "When can we pick some cantaloupe?" from my then-stepson.  It would have been cute had he been eight, but he was nineteen, and his use of the word "we" followed by any verb generally meant "you," so that sort of sucked the fun out of it over time.  Ahhh, fond memories...

That's today's Produce I Wish I Had manicure, and just about all I know at this hour.  I'm still hungry, but have come to acceptance of the fact that cantaloupe and cottage cheese isn't in the cards for me this morning, so I'll go find something else.  Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Dirty Sexy Money

Maaan, I really suck. I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much lately, the holiday season has really busied me up and on top of that, I have recently been reaching for polishes which I have already shown on my blog so there was no need to blog. But as the festive season draws to an end, I hope to be able to blog more :).

Below is two coats of Misa's Dirty Sexy Money. It's a really pretty dusty turquoise; I can't believe it's taken me this long to put it on!

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Yes, another haul :)

I was pleasantly surprised that the postman dropped by today, I hadn't expected this Transdesign order to arrive until Friday. Of course, I could hardly wait to start playing with the polishes, but unfortunately I have work due tomorrow which I need to get cracking on :(.

First up, my Color Club haul! Have I mentioned before that all my photos are clickable? Definitely click away to see enlarged photos!

Top row: Wild Orchid, Uptown Girl, Revvvolution
Bottom row: Wild at heart, Soft as Cashmere, Magic Attraction

Aaaaand my first Essie and Misa polishes, not forgetting my huge lemming by China Glaze :D!

From left to right: Turquoise & Caicos, Mummy may I, Dirty Sexy Money


I can't wait to try them all on! I'm really loving what I ordered this time round, and especially, especially eyeing Revvvolution. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze aside some time for a fresh mani later on today :).


Thanks for dropping by!
~shazzii

Misa What I Like About You Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I was just checking my email, and found a press release I got from Misa last night.  It's for their What I Like About You Collection for Fall 2010.

Here are the bottle pictures.

Misa's What I Like About You Collection for Fall 2010

Here's the promo picture.

Misa's What I Like About You Promo Picture

And there's the text of the press release, with the bold being mine so it's s little easier to read:

Fall in Love This Fall With Misa Cosmetics’ What I Like About You Collection

July 19, 2010 – Philadelphia, PA. Sometimes it’s easy to know just what you want, but

you’ll immediately know what you need when you lay your eyes on the Misa Cosmetics

What I Like About You Collection, six new shades for fall that plumb the depths of

color intensity. You’ve explored the dark side of romance with the Poisoned Passion

Collection; now fall in love with the ecstasy that love can provide through these dare-

you-to-look-away glimmering hues. Just like a budding affair, these colors will spark

inexplicable emotions and near-obsessive thoughts. Go ahead—indulge your deepest

desires!

Fall 2010: What I Like About You Collection

Quirky Smile: Something about his lilted smile lets you know he’s interested…and

this shimmering Prussian blue is no less attention-grabbing. However, this rich shade

invites you into deeper territory—what’s lurking beneath? In this case, you’ll discover a

polish that evokes stormy skies and churning seas, a perfect metaphor for love’s mixed

emotions.

Like It Like That: You can’t avoid feeling upbeat when a relationship is going just right,

or when gazing at nails that are the perfect shade. Just try to block this candy apple

green out of your mind; when you like it like that, why deny yourself the pleasure?

Spinning Out of Control: Sometimes you just can’t control yourself—and you

wouldn’t have it any other way. Embrace that euphoric feeling with a brooding

cobalt blue-violet that says, “Don’t stop this merry-go-round; I’m enjoying the ride!”

It’s You!: Searching for the perfect mate is like searching for the perfect nail polish

shade: When you find it, you know right away. Like a perfect-match partner, this

multilayered iridescent hue offers the best of both worlds: a smoldering forest green shot

through with copper ribbons that glimmer and twinkle perfectly in candlelight.

Perfect Kiss: Don’t blush! When you recognize a good moment, grab what’s yours: the

perfect kiss. A well-planted smooch can provide material for days of daydreaming, and

this vibrant fuchsia is equally fantasy-inspiring. An eye-catching color like this one will

have any man’s lips quivering uncontrollably.

When U Say My Name: Chances are, your man has plenty to say, but nothing is sweeter

than when he whispers your name while in a sweet embrace. Blissfully sink into the

moment while donning this sultry rust, and don’t be afraid to demand, “Say it again!”

No release date is specified.  I received the press release after 5 on Friday, so I don't know if July 19 is just the official date of the press release or if it's the collection release date.

That's what I know today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Misa Black Out Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Earlier this week, three Misa collections popped up on Head2Toe without warning: Black Out, Mardi Gras, and Bare Necessities.  I got all three of the Black Out colors, five of the six Mardi Gras (I didn't want another red creme), and none of the three Bare Necessities, which are all described as sheer.

Mine arrived, and I swatched the Black Out colors for you since I haven't seen anything of them online.  All three are cremes and two coaters.  The pictures are with srtificial light - it keeps raining here, with the sun coming and going.

Total Eclipse of the Heart is a slightly muted, slightly blue medium purple.  I had to have this one for the name.

Misa Total Eclipse of the Heart from Misa's Black Out Collection

It's Electric is a pretty medium blue creme.

Misa It's Electric from Misa's Black Out Collection

Finally, Black Out, a black creme.  Misa seems to be very proud of their black creme, because they keep re-releasing it under different names.  It's almost good in one coat, certainly good enough for layering, but I did two to be consistent.  This one is a bit dry, as I used it as my post-swatching manicure, layering something over it I'll show you another time.

Misa Black Out from Misa's Black Out Collection

So that's Misa's Black Out Collection.  I have no complaints about them, they all applied well, and I like the colors quite a bit.  Truthfully, Misa Where's the Soiree, the last release of Misa's black creme, was my go-to black for layering for a while, but I don't know where it is... I'm glad to have a replacement.  

I'll show you the Mardi Gras less the red soon, but you're on your own for Bare necessities!

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will

Look, I know that the economy is rough right now. It can be hard for companies selling non-essentials like nail polish to make ends meet. But can I make a suggestion? If you must downsize your entire nail polish naming and marketing staff and replace it with one work of literature, make it a dictionary. DO NOT, under any circumstances, use the poetry journal of an eighth-grader whose nom de plume is Mistress Raventwilight Sorrowgoth.


(photo courtesy of Vampy Varnish)

"Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will"? What IS that? I want to call it a sentence fragment, but I think that is too generous. Sentence fragments make sense with additional words placed before or after them, but all that I can think might come after this is "The dark miasma of my tortured soul cries out. / Brandon didn't ask me to the Homecoming dance. / Life is an endless shadow."

Misa, it is no coincidence that when I tried to find a picture of this nail polish, the first page of Google search turns up this:



Forgive this naming travesty? I don't think so. Forget it? I'm trying as hard as I can. Do you think sacrificing a hamster to our Dark Wiccan Vampire Lords would hasten the sweet caress of blessed oblivion?

Misa I'm Only Human Collection for Fall 2009

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I told you I'd break themes for good reason, and here I am doing it again! This time, it's for Misa's I'm Only Human Collection. I'll get straight to the pictures and do my yapping about them at the end. For the record, I had to name the pictures with the polish numbers - these are some of the longest friggin' names in the history of nail polish!

First is Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will, a terracotta creme.

Next is That's My Little Secret, a berry creme.

Third is I'm Going to Love Myself (please keep your comments to yourselves!), a pale pinky purple creme.

Can't Nobody Take Me Down is next is line - nothing like improper grammar in a name! This is an almost chocolate brown creme.

That bring us to Today is My Birthday, a brighter and redder version of That's My Little Secret, also a creme.

Finally, there is Sorry Just Can't Help It, a purple creme, which is my top pick simply because it's purple.

This are all good in two thick coats, the only kind I could apply with this polish. It's pretty thick. They're solid, wearable colors, but nothing jumps out at me as impressive or edgy at all, and would a little shimmer here or there kill anyone? I'll leave the critique of the advertising materials to Scrangie... That couldn't get any funnier.

So overall, nothing really bad to be said, but nothing really good either. They're colors. Huh.

That's all for today. Until tomorrow, love and (more festive and sparkling) nail polish to you!

Women Without Boundaries

Good evening, Dear Reader!

After a hard day of work, I did a nice manicure to unwind, and thought I'd show you some pictures. I used Misa's Women Without Boundaries, which may or may not be chock full o' old school chemicals. I was too tired to peel the label and find out - I just used it!

Here she is, three coats.

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Savina Black Mist & One for Indi500Fan

Good morning, Dear Reader! I'm up and around and loaded up on coffee early today!

Last week, I was looking for a polish and instead ran into Savina Black Mist, which I'd forgotten about. It's a nifty sparkly black. Here's three coats with a top coat.

And one for Indi500Fan! Indi's able to post links to pictures of cars that match nail polish colors, so when I placed my last H2T order, I had to get Misa Chrysler Red. I wore it right away, and here it is.

So how did Misa do, Indi? Does the nail polish match the car?

I might have more for you later, Dear Reader. Today I needed a ittle pick-me-up, and my mani to do so is nothing shy of spectacular! Until then, love and nail polish to you!