Dexter Manicure

Hi dear readers !

Let me wish you a happy Halloween :D What do you do for that day ?
Here in belgium, we don't really celebrate it, except in some places where they organize a special Halloween event ... Some years ago when it started to be a trend here, children came to ask for a trick or a treat, but they are less year after year ...

I planned on making a special manicure for Halloween but it looks like my stamping skills are gone for today, so I'll show you something that's not really Halloween related but is a bit in today's mood :)

I'm not a big TV fan but there are some shows I really love and enjoy, and Dexter is one of them. I started to watch it two years ago, I saw all the seasons that were available and promised to myself that I'd make a "Dexter Blood Splatter Manicure" when the 6th season would be released. Well, it has been released in the beginning of the month, so here are my Dexter nails :)

For this easy manicure, I first made a classic white french (because my tips are a bit stained and I didn't want to show them like that) with an Essence Tip Painter and Catrice Rock Barock, a very sheer pink.
Then I created the blood splatters with a straw, using Eyeko Saucy Polish and this technique.
I finally added one coat of Seche Vite for the glossy touch. That's all :)

The pic above shows my right hand. When I do splatter manicures, I always prefer the result on the right hand, I can't explain it :p

That's all for today :)
Do you like that bloody look ?

What are your favorite TV shows ? Are you a Dexter fan as I am ? :D

Have a nice day, and a Happy Halloween :D

Pink Wednesday: First Jelly Sandwich

Hi sweeties !

Have you seen those awesome jelly sandwiches (or glitter sandwiches if you prefer) that popped on nail blogs since this summer ? I couldn't resist to that trend (well, if it's still a trend, I'm so late on trying new stuff ...) and did my own.

Jelly sandwich is very easy and gives amazing results. All you need is a sheer polish with a jelly finish, and a glitter polish.

I started with two coats of OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-Y, then added one coat of OPI Spark de Triomphe, one coat of Essence Louise (I wanted some square glitters) and finally applied two other coats of Tex-Y. I prefered to use each coat for each "sandwich" part to get a more intense color. Here's the result:

Can you see the depth given to the glitter by the jelly polish ? It really has a unique look !

You might know that I usually don't like sheer polish because of the vnl, but now I've tried that, be sure I'll get some of them to create some pretty jelly sandwiches :D

Do you like it ? Have you ever tried that kind of layering ?

Have a nice day :)

Milani Cyberspace & OPI Navy Shatter

Hi dear readers :)

I finally decided to get some blue shatters from OPI :) I really love how the navy one looked on some swatches, so I got it first.

My favourite combo for it was over a light blue, but I wanted a sparkly touch, so I used Milani Cyberspace as a base.

Milani Cyberspace is a nice light blue scattered holo. It's really pretty, I own 3 polish from the 3D collection and they are all great if you love that kind of holographic polish :)

Here's what they looked like together:

There were two coats of Milani Cyberspace,  one coat of OPI Navy Shatter and oen coat of Seche Vite.

I'm sorry I won't talk that much today but I went back from work very late and I need to rest right now :p

I hope you like this combo :)

Which blue crackle polish do you own ?

Have a nice day ^^

Pink Wednesday: Hello Kitty French :3

Hi sweeties :)

A while ago, a friend of mine did a Hello Kitty manicure inspired by Kayla Shevonne's Hello Kitty nails. As a fan of the cute kitty (even if I turn 32 this saturday, lol), I had to give it a try !

I started with two coats of my dear China Glaze Strawberry Fields on every nail except the ring finger; that was my accent. On this one, I applied one coat of Catrice Rock Barock, a very sheer pale pink with shimmer. I like to use it in french manicures because of that (very) subtle shimmer :)

Then I made a white french with China Glaze Snow, waited for it to dry and started to paint Kitty's head. I used a random black polish for the eyes, and acrylic paint for the nose as I don't have any yellow polish (except Orly Lemonade which was too pastel for that). I used a thin dotting tool to apply those colors.

Finally, I cheated for the bow, I used a sticker from Born Pretty Store. I have to mention that it had a great quality !

Here's the result:

I didn't add the dots as Kayla did, I think it would have been too much with the gold fleck from Strawberry Fields ...

Oh, and it was such a pleasure to wear Strawberry Fields again, I appreciated it even more than the first time (and my pics  are a bit better, lol)

Do you like that manicure ?

Be sure to check Kayla's blog, she has great manicures, and I love how she organises her nail stuff !

Have a nice day :)

China Glaze Phat Santa & Milani Jewel FX Gold

Hi dear readers :)

Today i'd like to show you a manicure I made some weeks ago. I just got Milani Jewel FX in Gold that day and couldn't wait to try it, but I didn't want to use it as a full manicure... I think I was too lazy for the removal of all those glitters lol :)

Red and gold is a combo that usually works, so I too an untried polish from my stash: China Glaze Phat Santa from Xmas 2010 LE.
Phat Santa is a gorgeous deep red creme, a very sexy shade, but it was a bit sheer and I used 3 coats for a good coverage. That's not in my habits, I rarely use more than two coats, but this one is so pretty despite of that little flaw...

I used Milani Jewel FX Gold as an accent on my ring finger. Here's the result, soooo blingy ! I loved it :)

I had some tip wear on the second day, because of a top coat that I should throw in the trashcan ... I'm sorry to say that, but Catrice bases and top coats don't work at all for me. Their polish and colours are really great for such a price, I'll just don't use their nail care range again ... (except the whitening base which works great but dries fast in the bottle)

So, to hide those awful white tips (I know they are not that bad, but with such a red I really don't like it), I applied some glitters from Milani Gold, like if it had been sponged. I didn't use a sponge, I just tapped the brush to place glitters randomly on my tips. Fast and easy to create :)

I liked how it turned. Now I've tried Milani Gold, I totally need the silver one :p

What do you think ? Do you like that kind of polish or is it too much bling for you ?

If you want to know what it looks like as a full manicure and don't want to wait for a swatch from me, check Scrangie's blog to see her great pics and also what it looks like topped on a purple polish. So yummy !

Have a nice day :)

Quick post: Splatter Manicure

Hi dear readers :)

I hope your weekend is fine !
I have a very quick post for you today. I love splatter manicures since I discovered them and I made a few ones. This one turned out to be one of my faves, unfortunately I only got one good picture of it ><

For this one, I used my favourite white polish, China Glaze Snow, as a base. Then I applied the other colors with a straw :)
I used Ulta Celebutante, Color Club Gossip Column and another blue shade but I'm sorry I don't remember which one it was. My memory is so poor ! :p
I also added one coat of China Glaze Wireless but it was a bit too discreet.

That's all for today :) I know it's not a lot but I'm leaving right now for some shopping :p

Did you like that ?
Have you ever tried splatter manicure ? I'd like to see yours, feel free to leave a link in the comment section !

For a tutorial, check The PolishAholic's blog :)

Have a nice day ^^

Pink Wednesday: China Glaze Midtown Magic & Pink Crackle

Hi sweeties :)

Wow, it's wednesday yet ! The weeks go by so fast ... That means my birthday is coming lol :p And that also means that my blog will have it's birthday too, next month ... Get ready for a giveaway :)

For today's pink manicure, I wanted to try a crackle polish I bought in Spain over a brownish base. I chose China Glaze Midtown Magic for that. 

Midtown Magic is a very dark chocolate base loaded with gold and brown glitters. Let me tell you it's very pretty, and perfect for fall. that's another shade from the Metro collection that I loved at first sight :)

For the crackle, I chose Isadora Masterpiece Pink, a soft pastel pink, very cute and different from other pink crackles I own (China Glaze's and OPI's, I should compare them to show you)

I bought this during my hollidays in Spain, they had a nice range of Isadora crackle polish at Douglas and we can't find them easily in Belgium :(
Anyway, I only picked this one because I already had the other shades that I wanted in other brands, and I don't really want to have doubles in my crackle collection ...

I liked the combo, but I regret the glitter don't show a lot unless there is a ray of sunlight :( It was less impressive than I expected. But still lovely, with a classic and discreet look :)

The pic above show the glitters of Midtown Magic a bit more. I like it :)

Do you like this combo ? I've always love chocolate and pink mixed together, I only wish it was a bit more blingy :)

Have a nice day :)

China Glaze Midtown Magic is from the Metro Collection and is available on NailetcIsadora Crackle polish are available at Douglas stores and here for the USA 

Diva of Geneva inverted French mani

Hi dear readers :)

I've wanted to try the reverted french manicure for a while. I finally did this some weeks ago and liked how it turned, especially thanks to OPI's Diva of Geneva, which is such a great shade !

Diva of Geneva is a dark shimmery plum with gold sparkles in it. Gorgeous ! I really need to use this as a full manicure <3

For the inverted french, here's how I proceeded. I didn't have reinforcement labels at home, so I cut some blue tape in a smile shape, with the help of a bottle of polish to draw the curve.
I applied a base coat, then stuck the curved tape over the half-moon part of the nails and painted the rest with Diva of Geneva.
I applied some silver glitters to hide the demarcation (Essence Nail Art Tip Painter in Silver Sparkle) and added some rhinestones on the ring finger to create an accent.

I think the rhinestones were too much ... I'd prefer this manicure without them, or with smaller stones.
I also think the "smile" isn't round enough. I still like it but I'd like to try it more curved. I need to get some reinforcement labels for sure :p

What do you think ? Would you give ethis look a try ?

For the funny fact, I hadn't any idea of the english name for the reinforcement labels. I had to browse an office supplies webstore until I found them :p (If you want to know, in french we call these "oeillet", which can mean eyelet or even carnation)

OPI Diva of Geneva is from the Swiss Collection (fall 2010) and is still available on NaildeRoyale.

Pink Wednesday: China Glaze Traffic Jam & Tape Manicure

Hi sweeties :)

I've been waiting so long for the China Glaze Metro collection ! Now I have it, the first I wanted to try was Traffic Jam. This one really catched my attention in the promo pics and first swatches !

Traffic Jam is a gorgeous raspberry pink creme. Not a so unique color, but the formula is great and it has a nice glossy look. It almost reached my top ten favourite colors!

Here's the beauty, in the shadow and in direct sunlight:

I noticed something special about Traffic Jam: the color seems to change depending on the light you have ! It almost turned purple under my daylight lamp, as below. And it's not a change from my camera, that's what I see in real life under neon and daylight lamps ^^ (If you saw my quick iPhone pic on Facebook, you'll see that my pinky hasn't the same color, that's Traffic Jam special effect ;) )

I tried some tape manicure over it, following the Mummy Manicure tutorial from Nailside and using another Metro, Urban Night (Can't wait to try it as a full mani!). It didn't really turn like hers, some nails look more like a straight zebra thing, but I like it a lot ! I can't decide to pull it off ... But I still want to get the mummy look like Jane did, so I have to try again :p (the pics below were taken in the lightbox, there's no sun anymore here, sorry for the purple-ish Traffic Jam)

What's your advice ? Do you like that color, and the design I made on it ?
Do you plan on getting some Metro polish ? :)

That's all for today, but before I leave, I wanted to tell you that I'm back on Twitter ! At least, I try, Twitter always looked so strange to me ... If you want to follow me, I'm there: http://twitter.com/Sugar_Nails

Have a nice day ^^

Zoya Phoebe

Hi dear readers !

Well, the summer finally came back for a few days in Belgium, after an awful august :p It will be gone on wednesday but at least I could take advantage on the last sun rays, last barbecues and a typical summer color, Zoya Phoebe !

Phoebe was a part of this summer's collection by Zoya, Mod Mattes. It's a bright cerulean blue with shimmer in it, and of course it has a matte finish. Look at this brightness, it's almost neon :)

The formula was good but you have to apply thin coats or you'll get brush strokes or bumps. It dries very fast, so adding 3 coats instead of two isn't really a problem :)

Of course, I couldn't resist to the call of the glossy effect :p I added one coat of Seche Vite, and then came the OMG thing ! Just look by yourself:

Isn't it just WOW ?

Well, I love it matte, but the glossy version is even better, I think. All the shimmer pops and make the beauty of this polish <3

Zoya really did a great job on this shade, I'm glad I got it :)

What do you think ? Which version do you prefer ?

Have a nice day :)

Zoya Phoebe from Mod Mattes collection is available on Nailetc or NaildeRoyale