This was 2 coats on it applied divinely...just excuse the crappy little fingers paintjob.
I then added 1 coat of Nyx Carnical rainbow glitter and matte-ified it with China Glaze Matte topcoat. Looks cool, hey?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
ChG Midtown Magic & Nyx Carnival
Isn't this color scrummo? It looks like a dark greeny brown in the bottle but once it hits natural sunight...POW!
This was 2 coats on it applied divinely...just excuse the crappy little fingers paintjob.
I then added 1 coat of Nyx Carnical rainbow glitter and matte-ified it with China Glaze Matte topcoat. Looks cool, hey?
This was 2 coats on it applied divinely...just excuse the crappy little fingers paintjob.
I then added 1 coat of Nyx Carnical rainbow glitter and matte-ified it with China Glaze Matte topcoat. Looks cool, hey?
Friday, August 19, 2011
ChG Westside Warrior & LaRosa Crackle
My polish collection grows too quickly so I only choose colors from each new collection that are unique to what I already own. (Speaking of which, I still have a heap of stuff on my Blog Sale page....please go buy it!)
I don't really like murky, Army greens but I didn't have one, so I got Westside Warrior from China Glaze's new Metro collection. It didn't look too bad actually. Even on newly chopped down nubbins.
I have a huge pile in untrieds so I decided to slap on a very thin layer of LaRosa Maroon Red crackle. As you can see, it's not maroon red at all but actually a sparkly Purple! It's unlike any other crackle I have seen, usually they are cremes but this has a definite red and blue sparkle thru it. Nice.
This last photo is in full sunlight. Finished with a coat of Seche QD. Not too bright and obvious, instead a more subtle crackle effect which is what I was in the mood for at the time. This sparkly purple would look fab over a pastel color.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Alice Jean's Soda Pop Shop
My gorgeous Vintage wearing and utterly Retro chickadee, Kesenya or AKA Alice Jean, has opened up her very own webstore.
As Kesenya says...
Our mantra is to live our lives as gently, humbly and beautifully as we can.
Here at Alice Jean's we draw upon the aesthetics of the mid twentieth century for inspiration, as well as the simplicity of a 'home made' 1950's lifestyle to direct our product choices.
We carry a range of all natural beauty products, produced locally to us in Victoria, Australia. We offer a darling range of childrens clothing, handmade with care right here - you can be sure of unique design, fabric and attention to detail. And we believe in building a sustainable future for our children too, which is why we have included a wonderful array of Usborne books and games, with the knowledge that good education is the key to a sucessful life.
*******
The slice of cake soaps I am desperately lusting after. Anyone who knows me knows that I only ever use ridiculously expensive soap that smells divine. And I have a drawer full of it. And Miss 3 would look divine in a little floral pinifore.
You can even hire her beloved Pontiac! And even have her chauffeur you around in it!!
She really is the most perfect Vintage housewife I know. She sews her own clothes, bakes gloriously, is a landscape gardening extroadinaire, has an immaculate Retro house with an impeccable garden, 3 adorable children, organises parties, makes artwork for children, MODELS for heavens sake and ALWAYS has perfect Vintage hair and makeup and is genuinely lovely to top it all off.......phew!
Congrats Kesenya on a gorgeous webshop...all the best!
As Kesenya says...
Our mantra is to live our lives as gently, humbly and beautifully as we can.
Here at Alice Jean's we draw upon the aesthetics of the mid twentieth century for inspiration, as well as the simplicity of a 'home made' 1950's lifestyle to direct our product choices.
We carry a range of all natural beauty products, produced locally to us in Victoria, Australia. We offer a darling range of childrens clothing, handmade with care right here - you can be sure of unique design, fabric and attention to detail. And we believe in building a sustainable future for our children too, which is why we have included a wonderful array of Usborne books and games, with the knowledge that good education is the key to a sucessful life.
*******
The slice of cake soaps I am desperately lusting after. Anyone who knows me knows that I only ever use ridiculously expensive soap that smells divine. And I have a drawer full of it. And Miss 3 would look divine in a little floral pinifore.
You can even hire her beloved Pontiac! And even have her chauffeur you around in it!!
She really is the most perfect Vintage housewife I know. She sews her own clothes, bakes gloriously, is a landscape gardening extroadinaire, has an immaculate Retro house with an impeccable garden, 3 adorable children, organises parties, makes artwork for children, MODELS for heavens sake and ALWAYS has perfect Vintage hair and makeup and is genuinely lovely to top it all off.......phew!
Congrats Kesenya on a gorgeous webshop...all the best!
SIGMA $99 "MAKE ME UP" BRUSH KIT GIVEAWAY WINNER!!
Sorry guys, I've been down sick with absolutely no mojo to count entries! I'm finally back tho to tell you all who won $99 worth of awesome makeup brushes!!
Congrats to JEWELS AND NAILS! I have emailed you, please respond soon with your details so Sigma can send out your Make Me Up Kit.
Thank you to everyone who entered, I wish I had 400 of them to give away!
What will my next giveaway be?? I have a couple of ideas....stay tuned!
EDITED to add: Followers dropping off already?? For real?? Isn't this blog interesting enough to read on it's own without the lures of a giveaway????
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
How To Have Strong Nails
It's extremely annoying when your nails are finally looking good and a little bump sends one ricocheting off into the distance. Why are nail perfect one day and not the next?
This article was in my paper a couple of weeks ago and I thought it contained some helpful advice. I hope you gets some good tips from it.
Did you know that your nails are actually 18% water? They are made up of millions of tiny keratin cells packed firmly together. The cells produce keratin fibres that cross each other like a net and keep the whole arrangement hard. Your nail strength depends on how the cells are arranged, ow well they stick to each other and how well those keratin fibres interconnect.
BRITTLE NAILS
Lack of moisture makes nails snap off. Brittle nails typically don't flex and feel very hard. Most people notice the problem gets worse when there isn't as much moisture in the air. It's also a very common problem whose hands are in and out of water.
Hand moisturisers that contain Lanolin and Vitamin E are excellent for brittle nails. Rub into nails and cuticles straight after a shower to prevent moisture loss. Keep a tube wherever you spend the most time and apply whenever you remember.
Wear gloves for cleaning. Nail polish can also help to seal in moisture but avoid any quick-dry formulas which can make the nail cells even drier.
Taking 2.5 milligrams of the vitamin Biotin daily can help but don't expect to see improvements overnight. It can take 6 months for the nails to grow through to the tip.
BENDY NAILS
The average fingernail is 0.5mm thick, but some people's are thinner, and bendy nails are a sign you have a looser arrangement of cells. The Keratin fibres are fewer in number than average or the nails are thinner because they don't have as many cells.
Look for nail hardeners that contain Formaldehyde. This stimulates keratin cells to produce more fibres and cross link each other to make the nail stronger.
You will find formaldehyde in many strengthening products but don't use it *all* the time. It can make nails too strong, which can create problems such as nails lifting off the bed. Using it for just a few weeks will help.
NAILS THAT SPLIT
Splitting happens from repetitive wetting and drying of hands over a long period of time. Even children's nails will split during Summer when they are in and out of swimming pools or even if they have a bath everyday.
Exposure to household cleaning products can also cause the nails layers to separate. It rarely has anything to do with vitamin deficiencies.
Ridges in the nail are also caused by the same reasons. Wear gloves whenever cleaning, apply nail polish to protect and keep nails short until they recover.
WHITE SPOTS
The most common cause of white spots is an injury to the nail matrix, which lies under the skin. When the matrix gets damaged, the injury leaves a scar on the keratin cells, which appears white when the cells grow through to the nail.
*****
So, to me, the advice for most of the problems can be cured with the same fix.....wear gloves when cleaning or doing dishes and wear nail polish!!
I did heed the advice for the Vitamins and am now taking a 'Hair, Skin and Nails' tablet everyday. And for months I have been religiously using a nail hardening base coat....nail lifting advice be damned! I have noticed a difference with my peeling nails doing these 2 things alone. I also 'seal' my nails every time I file them with my glass nail file. I also try not to use nail clippers when shortening the length of my nails as this causes splitting, guaranteed, every time.
Did anyone else get any good tips from this article?
This article was in my paper a couple of weeks ago and I thought it contained some helpful advice. I hope you gets some good tips from it.
Did you know that your nails are actually 18% water? They are made up of millions of tiny keratin cells packed firmly together. The cells produce keratin fibres that cross each other like a net and keep the whole arrangement hard. Your nail strength depends on how the cells are arranged, ow well they stick to each other and how well those keratin fibres interconnect.
BRITTLE NAILS
Lack of moisture makes nails snap off. Brittle nails typically don't flex and feel very hard. Most people notice the problem gets worse when there isn't as much moisture in the air. It's also a very common problem whose hands are in and out of water.
Hand moisturisers that contain Lanolin and Vitamin E are excellent for brittle nails. Rub into nails and cuticles straight after a shower to prevent moisture loss. Keep a tube wherever you spend the most time and apply whenever you remember.
Wear gloves for cleaning. Nail polish can also help to seal in moisture but avoid any quick-dry formulas which can make the nail cells even drier.
Taking 2.5 milligrams of the vitamin Biotin daily can help but don't expect to see improvements overnight. It can take 6 months for the nails to grow through to the tip.
BENDY NAILS
The average fingernail is 0.5mm thick, but some people's are thinner, and bendy nails are a sign you have a looser arrangement of cells. The Keratin fibres are fewer in number than average or the nails are thinner because they don't have as many cells.
Look for nail hardeners that contain Formaldehyde. This stimulates keratin cells to produce more fibres and cross link each other to make the nail stronger.
You will find formaldehyde in many strengthening products but don't use it *all* the time. It can make nails too strong, which can create problems such as nails lifting off the bed. Using it for just a few weeks will help.
NAILS THAT SPLIT
Splitting happens from repetitive wetting and drying of hands over a long period of time. Even children's nails will split during Summer when they are in and out of swimming pools or even if they have a bath everyday.
Exposure to household cleaning products can also cause the nails layers to separate. It rarely has anything to do with vitamin deficiencies.
Ridges in the nail are also caused by the same reasons. Wear gloves whenever cleaning, apply nail polish to protect and keep nails short until they recover.
WHITE SPOTS
The most common cause of white spots is an injury to the nail matrix, which lies under the skin. When the matrix gets damaged, the injury leaves a scar on the keratin cells, which appears white when the cells grow through to the nail.
*****
So, to me, the advice for most of the problems can be cured with the same fix.....wear gloves when cleaning or doing dishes and wear nail polish!!
I did heed the advice for the Vitamins and am now taking a 'Hair, Skin and Nails' tablet everyday. And for months I have been religiously using a nail hardening base coat....nail lifting advice be damned! I have noticed a difference with my peeling nails doing these 2 things alone. I also 'seal' my nails every time I file them with my glass nail file. I also try not to use nail clippers when shortening the length of my nails as this causes splitting, guaranteed, every time.
Did anyone else get any good tips from this article?
Monday, August 15, 2011
Ulta3 English Rose
This was my manicure for Greazefest. As you have all seen, I wore my Bernie Dexter cherries dress and of course, did cherries on my nails to match.
This was 2 coats of English Rose by Ulta3, an Australian brand. It is a gorgeous true red color with gold shimmer. I recently purchased a backup bottle, just in case it gets discontinued and I don't hear about it.
Stamped with Konad warm black and finished with a coat of Seche QD.
These were Mum's nails. 2 coats of OPI DS Desire and stamped with Warm Black Konad.
I'm crawling back to bed. All 4 of us are down sick at the same time. It's no fun having whinging kids when your head feels like it going to explode!
This was 2 coats of English Rose by Ulta3, an Australian brand. It is a gorgeous true red color with gold shimmer. I recently purchased a backup bottle, just in case it gets discontinued and I don't hear about it.
Stamped with Konad warm black and finished with a coat of Seche QD.
These were Mum's nails. 2 coats of OPI DS Desire and stamped with Warm Black Konad.
I'm crawling back to bed. All 4 of us are down sick at the same time. It's no fun having whinging kids when your head feels like it going to explode!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Loreal Yellow Buzz & 2012 Crackle
I had a good clean out of my nail polish last night, cleaned out all dupes and restacked everything in color order. Miss 3 likes to get in and play 'soldiers' with my bottles, which results in chaos all round.
Everything is listed on my Blog Sale page, check it out and email me if you would like anything.
I found lots of untrieds and have kept them seperate to remind me to actually use them. This is 3 coats of Loreal Yellow Buzz. As you can see, it's still a bit patchy so I had to cover it with something as I refuse to do 4 coats of anything.
I did a very thin coat of 2012 purple crackle and finished with a coat of Seche QD. I am not loving this manicure at all and it looks like I'm feeling....miserable, snotty, weeping eyes, blocked and coughy. Gross.
Everything is listed on my Blog Sale page, check it out and email me if you would like anything.
I found lots of untrieds and have kept them seperate to remind me to actually use them. This is 3 coats of Loreal Yellow Buzz. As you can see, it's still a bit patchy so I had to cover it with something as I refuse to do 4 coats of anything.
I did a very thin coat of 2012 purple crackle and finished with a coat of Seche QD. I am not loving this manicure at all and it looks like I'm feeling....miserable, snotty, weeping eyes, blocked and coughy. Gross.
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