China Glaze: Hunger Games - Fast Track

Happy Friday Everyone! 

It's my goal to try and edge in two post per week instead of my usual onsie on Monday. With that said, I am still trying to figure out which day will be best for that, so please bear with the strangely erratic schedule for now v_v;; 

Today I have another Hunger Games Lacquer for you from the China Glaze collection.
From District 6, I give to you Fast Track ~ 

I really fell in love with this color when I first saw it! Aside from Electrify, which just screamed Hunger Games, Fast Track was probably the first color to catch my eye as a polish. It's a lovely sandy nude, interspersed with sparkling, golden flecks.

I was kinda strapped for cash when this collection first debut, (otherwise I would have all of them!) hence my borrowing of Electrify. So I didn't actually buy this color that fateful night of our first meeting. Instead I ranted and raved about the collections awesomeness until my sister couldn't stand to listen to me anymore and she went out and bought it for me ^^;;; *spoiled* 

I really love the subtlety of this lacquer! Reminds me of  a sophisticated pair of nude pumps; very lady like! 

I ended up playing with my stamps and used plate m57 for the lattice print in Whirlwind White. One of my gals pointed out that it was almost snakelike! So I might actually try going for that look next time. Maybe use some sponging for lighter/darker areas and then a beige color to stamp the "scales" ~ 

What do you all think? Love the beige, nudes, and taupes lately? Or prefer something brighter with a bit more pop? 

-wanyachu

Zoya Jules + Konad Argyle Tips

Hi all! Thank you for patiently waiting for my next post >_<; Luckily everything is working out just fine with my doggie and she is going to get the drain taken out today! Yippie! 

So even though things have been kinda hectic I managed to squeeze in some ManiMe time and here are my nails for this week ~ 

I recently snagged this golden Zoya nail polish Ulta for half off! *love deals* After trying my first Zoya lacquer in Kelly gray, which I posted about here, I was dying to get my hands on another! And sure enough it did not disappoint ^_^

This golden-silver polish is aptly named Jules thanks to the multicolored micro-glitter suspended in the semi-opaque base. And before you jump on me about how can things be "golden silver" think of Antique Pewter teapots. In direct sunlight, above, it is an elegant gold with hints of cool silver but in the shade, below, it takes on a steely quality with a warm undertone.

It really is the epitome of a mixed metals look which makes it a versatile neutral without being boring beige. I especially love the different colors that get caught in the tiny glitter which run the spectrum from greens, yellows, oranges and reds. It is like they took a handful of jewels, ground them up into dust and poured it in. <3 

Unfortunately, my camera and lighting just aren't doing Jules justice but at least you can get a closer look at the Konad m60 plate design I used to stamp the tips. Once again I used my previous taping trick to get clean lines for my french tips. I rubbed on some Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Night  Flight and voila! 

Simple, Fast, and Elegant! 

Thank you so much for reading! And please lemme know if you have any questions :D 

-wanyachu

Valentine's Day Manicure – Cracked & Konad

Hello all! This is the last of my little Valentine's Day Mani series. And the one I'll actually be sporting on that special day. (Which I'm actually doing nothing for ~_~;;; )

I wanted to do something fun and festive so I opted for a different look on each nail.

This look definitely screams Valentine's day to me and I wish I had done it for the Vday part we had at work. :P

I might have gone a little overboard. These nails have everything from nail stamps, polka dots, and even crackled polish! I really didn't hold back. Well I guess I left out the crystals :P

I used a rich red lacquer, OPI for Sephora – Personal Shopper, for my thumbs, pinky fingers and the free hand heart on my index. Then I painted Sally Hansen – Pink Blink on my ring and index fingers. I also used it to stamp Konad M59 and M56 and do the polka dots over the white, A-ha! Moment, on my middle finger. I finally finished off with China Glaze – Broken Hearted crackle, a gorgeous Hot Pink just fit for the occasion!

Well I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day! And I can't wait to see what looks you all have been sporting for the Day of Hearts!

-wanyachu

Nail Inc. - Donmar New Year Nails

Hi all ~ I finally got my hands on this Nail Inc. lacquer set – The Donmar Collection.

My sister actually gave this to me for Christmas and I decided to do my New Year Manicure with it!

So here is what I was sporting on my tips a week ago to ring in 2012 :P

Isn't it super PRETTY! *g* I'm so in love with the irregular cut, holographic sparkles in the top coat. They glimmer an orange/green depending on the light <3 just like an opal!!!

Here is the super spiffy packaging. So drool worthy right? Also, I think they captured the range of color that the sparkles give off better than any picture I took so I wanted to share.

The base coat, Chelsea, is described as a “plum black” but I think its more of a dark maroon even though you can't really tell from the pictures. Not that it makes a huge difference since the star of this set is really the Donmar top lacquer.

My favorite part about this look is that the glitter is a separate top coat instead of being mixed in with the color polish. This means un-ending holographic glitter possibilities >:3 fufufuu ~

I laid down two coats of Nail Inc.'s Chelsea, and then stamped with China Glaze – Magical, a muted pinkish gold metallic. I finished it off with the Donmar top coat and voila! Its like a party on my fingertips :P

I used a couple different Konad plates for this look. I started out with the bows and hearts from m59 on my thumbs, index, and ring fingers. Then I used the central design from m38 for my middle finger. Last but not least I finished up with some stars from m3 on my pinky nails. :D

Cheers with my champagne ~

Thanks for reading! And I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year!

Bows & Dots French Mani

Happy New Years!!!

Sorry for the hiatus everyone but hope you all had a Happy Holiday season!

Anyways, I figured since its a new year better get my butt back in gear and start this blog up again! Now that holiday madness is over I'm ready to return to my regular blogging schedule :3 And hope ya'll will continue enjoying lacquered luxury with me.

So without further ado, I present to you my Bows & Dots French manicure!

These were the nails I had for my birthday, so I thought the bows would be fitting ^_^ Of course due to my polka dot obsession had to add some of those in too.

I started out with two coats of Essie's coral pink in Tart Deco.

I spent ages looking for the perfect summer coral color and trust me folks this is definitely it.

I then did french tips in this soft, baby pink color by Sally Hansen, Insta-Dri – Pink Blink. Followed up with the adorable bow tip on Konad stamp plate m56 in Insta-Dri – Night Flight. And to top it all off I added white dots in Sephora by O.P.I – A-ha! Moment.

Overall, I'm super happy with how these turned out. Kinda reminds me of wrapping paper and presents.

And maybe it was like a good luck token, because I definitely got many great gifts for both my birthday and Christmas!!! *Hohoho*

So thanks for being patient with me and cheers to a New Year filled with many more cute nails for us all!!!

- wanyachu

Snow Flurries with China Glaze Cracked Nail Polish

Hi again! :D So lets face it, living in sunny southern California means we don't really get the good old white Christmas weather. Which is really nice 9 times out of 10 but, sometimes I just want to experience the magic of the first snow fall too! And since I'm way too busy to indulge myself and drive up to the mountains here is a quick fix for my cold weather craving.

Snowy Manicure!

This can double as a Chanukah manicure as well, since the color combo inadvertently turned out to match. :D Woohoo ~ bonus points. Its a two-in-one deal.

I used two new lacquers by China Glaze for this mani. The base is China Glaze – Blue Year's Eve and the cracked polish is their Oxidized Aqua. I picked up these polishes from Ulta, since they were having a buy 2 get one free deal and was dying to try them out.

Blue Year's Eve is such a lovely, sparkly colbalt blue color. Its not too dark and reminds me a lot of my Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear in Blue it.

Oxidized Aqua, which looks more silvery than blue when juxtaposed with this sapphire color, is also super gorgeous!!! I'm so picky about these crackled polishes it is kinda ridiculous. I love they way they look but, only a few actually crackle to my liking and this is definitely one of them. <3 Super easy to put on with a great crackle effect :D

Finally, since I'm such a spazz I had to try stamping some snowflakes on to get the full effect. They're a little hard to see but are sneakily there on my thumb and ring fingertips. :P I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind white, the best white to stamp with IMO, with Konad plate m59.

So whether the weather be snowy, sunny or whirlwinds hope this brought you a little more season spirits!

Posh Gold Konad Plaid Manicure

First off, Happy Turkeyday to everyone!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with family, fun and most importantly food ~ That's really my favorite reason for this time of year *g* the FEAST!

But lets get down to the meat and potatoes of this all and move on to the mani!

So to go with all the comfort food and festivities I wanted to do a manicure to match the mood of the holidays.

*Ta-dah* This is what I came up with ^_^ It's a little bit of glam while still being cozy, they're like posh flannel pjs made of gold :P

I painted Sally Hansen Guilty Pleasure as the base coat and then stamped with my tried and true black, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Night Flight. I used Konad M60 for the plaid pattern and then the french plate, M19 for the tips.

I saw a gold and black mani a few months back and remembered loving the color combo. I thought it looked so classy and am glad I finally got a chance to try it out!!!

Reminds me a little of Burberry no?

Well hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving weekend!!! Food coma today, shop-a-holic tomorrow!

Sail Away with Panda Nails

There are actually two manicures in this post :P Since I had a nail party with a couple of the girls a few weeks back and wanted to share the pictures with you all.

I did a Sailor theme for one of my gals per her request. (This was actually at the tail end of summer just as the Nautical trend was on its last legs).

Base color is Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear – Blue it. I then stamped Konad and Bundle Monster plates with Insta-Dri – Whirlwind White and some China Glaze Gold in Passion.

Finally added some sparkle with Milani Jewel FX in Gold; which I nabbed from Target for like four bucks. These are big hexagon shaped glitters suspended in a clear base.

I've seen some swatches where people take the time to layer the gold glitter to canvas the whole nail and it is GORGEOUS!!! *g* I'm excited to try that look out too ~ Always Love me some glitters ^_^

My other girl did her own nails and they turned out adorable so I had to snap a few pictures to share.

Its Paws and Pandas!!! I love the one on her middle finger because he looks like he has a little mustache. XD

A close up of the “cute” one on her thumb.

She used Sally Hansen's Whirlwind White polish and a really old bottle of Wet n' Wild – Black Fog. Her main weapon of choice was a toothpick! I mean c'mon I need to use like five different dotting tools to be happy and she can whip this out with a toothpick? I'm telling ya this girl is amazing. She also does a really cute strawberry manicure I want to try sometime.

Well Til next time mateys! Argh ~ !

Cocoa Metallic Konad Lattice

Hello again lovelies I'm now back from my adventuring in San Fran and here again with a new manicure for you all!!!

Since its starting to get rather chilly in the mornings now I wanted to do a color that had some warmth to it; so even if my fingertips feel freezing cold they can at least look nice and cozy! :P

I ended up choosing this rich medium brown by OPI – You don't know Jacques and stamping over it with China Glaze – Poetic and Konad plate m57.

I actually love You don't know Jacques lacquer by itself. It is such a rich, sultry brown that reminds me of an inviting cup of hot cocoa while simultaneously exuding this edgy sophistication when you wear it. This color totally speaks to me in a “I'm cool enough to wear nail polish but, too cool for all those gaudy colors” sort of way.

See!!! Isn't this gorgeous with out trying too hard?

But, alas, subtlety was never really my cup of tea and I have been dying to try this color combi out since I picked up China Glaze's Poetic...so I cracked >_<;;; I just couldn't leave well enough alone and after two days I whipped out my plates to start stamping. ^^;

And voila here is the final result. I used the lattice pattern on m57 to stamp half way down my tips and covered up the cut off with Konad's french plate m19.

For some reason I really felt compelled to take lots of pictures of this manicure so enjoy the extra eyecandy.

Overall I like the color combination; its a nice monochromatic pairing but I'll admit maybe the stamping was a little too much. ^^; Anywho! If you guys have any questions please leave a comment :D And hope ya'll likies!