How I Konad ♥

Alright I finally got around to uploading all these pictures! This is my routine for when I use the Konad stamps :D

First of all, I get a tiny amount of polish on the brush as it spreads a long way:

Brush it over the design:

Your result, don't leave this too long or it will dry!

Scrape the excess polish off. Make sure you don't push too hard because on some designs it takes out part of the polish in the design... Then it only partially works :(

Get your stamper ready! Make sure it is clean from old left over designs and hairs, just give it a quick clean with an ear bud and remover before you start:

And stamp! You can give it a *little* roll around, the reason I put little like that is because you want to pick the image up, not accidentally stamp it back on to the plate:

And pick it up, check to see if the image is in tact:

When I do french tips with the Konad, this is how I line it up. I have my palm facing me and I line the stamp up with my nail. Then I roll the stamp across my nail:

End result! Woohoo! Now only 9 more fingers to do....:


Now they won't turn out perfect every time! Here are a couple of things I tend to run into often.

Problem: My design went on to my nail all sloppy!

Resolution: Did you just clean your plate with remover? Make sure you dry it completely before applying the polish to the plate.

Problem: My stamper isn't picking up my design properly!

Resolution: Has that design already been used? The design may be filled up with older polish, give it a quick clean and dry completely :D

Problem: I've ruined my manicure with polish off the scraper!

Resolution: Ahhh I have done this so many times... You would've thought I would have learnt by now. Make sure you clean your scraper regularly! It gathers ALOT of excess polish waiting to smear on something.

Well my dear reader, I hope this will help you or clear some questions :)

If not, feel free to ask and I shall demonstrate!

Shangri-la-la Lilac + Admire

Here we go! n_n

So as you know the base colour is OPI Shangri-la-la Lilac and I used China Glaze's Admire for the design. 

To think I was going to get rid of Admire now sickens me lol it's Shangri's significant other!

What do you think?

I used this same design on my sister. I put on her, Tickle My France-y and then used China Glaze's Delight for the same design as this and applied little stones in the flowers. She only had the designs on her ring fingers. 

My first go using these beasts...

What do you think? 

I got these lovely little stones with my Konad Gold Set. Never thought I would ever use these, but this mani had been floating around my brain for a little while. 

I used two coats of Claire's Rocker Blues. I still can't believe a lovely lady was nice enough to send me this polish as a RAOK... I still get giddy looking at it :D

I used Konads plate M , and China Glaze's Devotion as the polish. Devotion has made its self quite useful hasn't it :D Might have to order a few more Romantiques...

A very simple design but stunning none the less. Oh while I remember, China Glaze's Frostbite is an *exact* doppelganger of Rocker Blues! I found Revlon's Talk Dirty today so you can bet it's going to  have little enhancements n_n

For the application of the tiny stones:

1. Turn them upside down so you are seeing their silver bottoms.

2. Get a toothpick (or the Konad stick if you have one)

3. Dip it in your topcoat, pick up the stone with toothpick

4. Apply it closely to where you want it to be, it's easy to move around :) 

5. Apply topcoat over the whole nail and your set! 

For the lovely Rosey ♥

For my dear friend Rosey :D All of the Yokohama's I own from the 'actual' Yokohama collection...

Confusing I know :)


In order:

Yokohama Twilight - Pastel purple base with a strong blue flash. Also has pink duochrome on certain angles.

Sweet Love at Ferris Wheel - Warm pink base with a hint of purple. Has gold, pink, purple shimmer.

Cherry Blossom - A sweet cherry blossom pink jam packed with silver glitter.

Bay Bridge Sunset - A warm rust holographic with gold shimmer. Day at the Peach is it's step sister.

Penny For Your Thoughts - A very warm golden shimmer. Absolutely love wearing this one. Opacity builds the same as Curry Up! Don't Be Late

Baby Blue - A sweet baby blue with a tinge of green with golden shimmer.

Starbright Sparkles II - A very sheer milky pink base with pink shimmer and glitter.

Blush of Adrenaline - A peachy shimmer. Not too sure what I love about it, but I can't let it go!

Swirl of Euphoria - Reminds me of Frappes. A little streaky, but I love it none the less.

As you can see, Pinkerbell, Vintage Violet and I Love Yokohama are still missing. I'm working on that! :D All photos here are three coats. Top coat, no. Base coat, yes.

Also you may have noticed (or may not have) that Swirl of Euphoria and Yokohama Twilight contain long nails. That's right, I gave my nails the chop :) They were getting so un-practical, I couldn't open the fridge without slamming my nails into the handle, I couldn't pick up the ear buds properly for when I was cleaning up the cuticles.

I wore Zoya's Bailey to break me into them. It worked very well. You will get to see her soon :) I am actually quite happy with them at this length and I'm wondering if I should try keep them this short. Although it is much more of an achievement to have them longer... Hmm...

Do you have any favourites from this bunch?

Misa Mar De Morado

Here's one that's been gathering dust on the back burner, Misa's Mar De Morado.

Three coats. It is quite a thin polish so it is a little streaky but you can't see it at three coats :) Mar De Morado is going straight to the Top 20 list.

It is a discontinued colour so if you like what you see, order it :D I got mine from TransDesign.

Oh I had all my Yokohama's planned for you but this laptop is horrible for uploading lots of pictures at one time and the main PC is still unstable. So keep tight Rosey :D You also haven't seen the surprise yet! Hehe

I have also started a new label 'Discontinued' on the side there, so I will slowly go through and edit the labels on all my posts :D

Morgan + Devotion

Here is the lovely Morgan manicure again, this time with Devotion flower tips.

What do you guys think? I loved wearing this mani! Didn't want to take it off :D

I also added a photo of Morgan from August 2008. Look how much my nails have grown in six months! I am really amazed at how well they have done. Anything is possible.

vf

Silver Holo Comparisons

I finally got around to doing this :D

From the pinky to pointer we have:

China Glaze - OMG
OPI - DS Shimmer
Chanel - Holographic
China Glaze - Sexagon

As you can see they are all quite different. Sexagon being the chunkiest and OMG being the finest. Chanel's Holographic is rather hard to find and OPI DS Shimmer is on its journey to HTF land. Recently discontinued and all... Sexagon is just starting it's journey and OMG is available at most e-tailers :)

Hope this helps n_n

Zoya Kalista

I was meant to show you this little munchkin awhile ago, but the photos were pretty shoddy so I didn't post them. But today a had an urge to wear Kalista and the sun was out, so why not :D

This is only two coats of Kalista, that's all you need. It is beautifully pigmented. Kalista was from Zoya's Flourish collection released end of last year.


I love love love the shimmer in it, I could stare at it all day :D Do you know what Kalista reminds me of? Double choc chip cookie mixture.... Mmmm... I almost feel like licking my nails lol!


The last photo is when it was overcast.

OPI Play 'Til Midnight

I got this as a present from my dear boyfriend. Does he have great taste or what?! He can go polish shopping for me anytime he likes :D

This is three coats as I messed up the second. Well it's more like the heat messed it up... But it turned out extremely well!

Play Til Midnight is from OPI's Holiday in Toyland, you should get this shortly before it goes out of stock and becomes HTF. I may need to get a back up.

PTM is Ink's cousin. PTM didn't get the purple and chunky shimmer genes but it did get a lovely navy blue base with purple, pink and aqua shimmer.

These photos make me want to wear it again... but so many un-trieds.... :( I hate/love having so many polishes to choose from!

Skittle Me Happy! IV

Some Misas. I have found a holy grail polish here.... :D

From top to bottom we have:

Misa - Tender Violette, not sure about this one. Has a very strong lavender flash.

Misa - Foxy & Folksy, I quite like the look of this one.

Misa - Mar De Morado. Three words, NEED BACK UPS. The perfect colour I have been looking for :D

Misa - Radiant, don't worry! You will get to see it fully one day :)

Chanel Holographic

Alright I need to stop re-reading my post of Chips and all your lovely comforting comments for a little bit, so here is Chanel's Holographic....

Why the dots? Hmmm I can't really make my mind up about this one, sure it's a beautiful holographic and even looks amazing in the shade. These photos were taken in overcast weather, and look! You can still see a lot of holo! I'm seriously afraid to show you it in the sun, it actually hurt my eyes at one point :D It was like looking into the sun.

I used three coats here. Holographic is a sneaky one, you know how most holographic polishes dry really fast and they loose their shine when they are drying? Yeah, that's what Holographic did but it wasn't dry at all. It fooled me good, on all three coats. So by doing this I kept lifting bits off, which is really annoying. So just be careful of that!

Also, I applied a top coat of Poshe.... after a few minutes, we are back to where it looks like Holographic is drying... It ate the Poshe! So I recommend two coats of top coat or possibly three. All these top coats are for a good cause though, to see that lovely shimmer :D

Rest In Peace

Hey reader...

Today we had to put our lovely dog down, Chips. He was getting worse everyday and no vet could find the problem. We are all very sad but also releived. We buried him this evening and I wanted to do a special post for him...

And post a few pictures n_n

Rest in peace Chippies n_n

Skittle Me Happy! III

More skittles! Purple this time, yay!

From the top to bottom we haaaaaave:

MAC - Varicose Violet, such a dreamy colour.

OPI - Amethyst, so so pretty. Like the purple version of Chiffon.

Essie - Sexy Divide, this one glows. Can't wait to swatch it fully :D

OPI - Text Me, Text You. Don't mind my horribly stained nail n_n; TMTY looks so pretty over colours!