NOTD: Dandelion

Just trying out this design using light-handed brush strokes.
Also, I did gradation for the base color.

Used:
OPI My Vampire is Buff
Revlon Chic
Artdeco White & Black nailart
Seche Vite

Thanks for checking out :D

Swatch: Revlon Girly

Pretty much self-explanatory :)

I did "jelly sandwich" mani using OPI Care to Danse? as "base" and "top" coat for Girly. I think it turns out really cute!

NOTD: OPI Just Spotted The Lizard

From OPI The Amazing Spider Man collection. 

An amazing goldish green duochrome.. also a dupe of Chanel Peridot :)

OPI New York City Ballet Collection Spring 2012

I don't know about you guys, but I'm always excited about Spring...the season when the flowers start blooming and people start popping allergy medicines. Spring always feels light, happy, and the weather is perfect...it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.

Remember this movie?

Miss Rhode Island knew what she was talkin' bout...

Anyway, I picked up this lovely collection by OPI because I was feeling the milkiness, the softness, and the subdued vibe from these particular Springy shades. They're called "NYC Ballet" collection, I believe the full collection consists of 6 shades but these are the ones I really had my eyes on. I was lucky to find the "petites" set of them and I have to say I'm really loving these.

Here's the cool part: they are all jellies. 

I'm sure you've seen nail polishes with jelly finish before, and these ones are also sheer and look incredibly fluffy. I will be doing a lot of french manicures with them but on their own, they're also absolutely gorgeous. 

The colors included in this mini set are:

• My Pointe Exactly - a blue based dusty grey color
• Don't Touch My Tutu - a fluffy white  marshmallow color
• Care To Danse? - a milky pink lilac
• Pirouette My Whistle - a clear jelly with silvery white specks and hexagon glitters

I paint them on my nails according to the order in the box, and they are all 3 coats:

I absolutely dig the "lightweight" feeling they give, it really captures the ballerina essence with their pink tutus and satin pointe shoes...makes me regret quitting ballet at early age : p 

Two shades aren't included are: You Callin' Me A Lyre? and Barre My Soul.  I'm wearing Don't Touch My Tutu! at the moment and they just look so......fluffy.

This collection should be out in stores by now (I picked them out at a beauty supply store) or perhaps early April in some areas. Go check them out!!!

NOTD: OPI My Daddy's The King

I was feeling girly yesterday so I decided to wipe out my bold & loud royal blue polish and tried out my new OPI. I received this from a great swap I did a while ago and I'm actually glad I chose it. OPI My Daddy's The King came out in the Princess Charming Collection, a gorgeous warm pink that would suits almost any complexion.

MDTK has a pearl finish, and although I love this color alot, I have to say the problem I always have with shimmer/pearl polishes also occured with this one. The first two application were a little streaky but the third layer was finally able to fix the imperfection over all.

The color is a gorgeous warm pink and it has a subtle coral undertones on my skin, this would be your go-to pink, the one that you can always depend on and would not clash with any color of your outfit. Although from my experience, the more color I layered the warmer it gets, but it's still a pretty pink without looking 'whorish'.....if you catch my drift.

Anyway, enjoy the pic scam

NOTD: OPI Dating A Royal

This week I'm featuring this lovely blue color from OPI Mod About Brights collection called Dating A Royal.

I did not plan to get this color but when I saw it in person I went WOW, it's so unique and inviting. Now I always have this iffy thing about dark polish, they do make my nails look shorter, but I am very happy to report that this shade does not.

Dating a Royal is a royal blue color, or more appropriately, a deep cornflower blue, has a creme finish that is already opaque on the first layer.

I absolutely love this polish, for these pictures I applied 2 layers and they glided wonderfully over the base coat, no hassle whatsoever.

Just for fun, Dating A Royal reminds me of the blue color from NARS Rated R duo whereas the green color reminds me of my previous NOTD, OPI Gargantuan Green Grape.

NOTD: OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

Gargantuan Green Grape...mmm, how the heck they came up with this name again???!!!

LOL Anyway, I picked this one up last week and it's such a gorgeous bright green. What's interesting about this color is that it sort of 'changes' depend on how you see it. The way it looks in the bottle, it's looking pretty pastel-y.

When I took a picture with artificial lighting, it came out pretty warm green.... and in real life it looks more like bright green.

I know, it's confusing but having said that I'm glad I picked this out. It's perfect for summer, and it's very bold & bright and gives you the "look at my nails" look. The only downside about this is that the first layer is very streaky, I almost freaked out because I really wanted to like this color. Fortunately the 2nd and 3rd coat did come out beautifully for an even application.

For these look I did 3 coats and this polish has a creme finish. I am including these two picture to show you that they could be captured differently, depends on the lighting. Those of you who wants to have a fun nails for summer time, or even spring....this green would be a fantastic choice.

(if you enlarge this picture above, you can see some small raindrops on my nails & fingers,
I didn't notice when I took the picture but they kinda make the shot look cool hehehe)

Collective Haul

I have been hoarding like a mo fo lately, makeup & other beauty related things are more dangerous than drugs, I'm telling you.....not that I've done drugs or anything. I decided to just do a collective haul post, showing you everything and see if there's anything you'd like me to review.

My Cleanse Your Soul order came too but I am going to do a separate post for those, in the mean time, here are what I've gotten for the last couple of weeks.

Nail Polishes
I went to a beauty supply store in downtown Honolulu, I think it's called Hawaii Beauty Supply and they have tons of OPIs, China Glazes, Color Clubs & so on. I wanted to get OPI Done Out In Deco but when I saw it in person, it reminded me of the China Glaze Agent Lavender that I was still wearing on my nails, so I skipped on it.

Instead I snatched these two gorgeous colors called Gargantuan Green Grape (what a crazy name!!) and Dating a Royal. I don't have blue polish like this and it amazes me how vibrant the color is, it's even prettier in person.

Gargantuan Green Grape is a more green & less whited out version of China Glaze Groovy Green. I think these two colors are perfect for summer =)







Longs was having a sale on these two brands and I just had to get Rimmel Black Satin polish, I absolutely love this new line of Rimmel nail stuff because they dry so quick and the color consistency is just as great as a higher end brand.

N.Y.C is what you need if you need a cheap basic color, like French White Tip right here. I would be using it to tone down my loud colors as well as wearing it alone. For 98 cents, I can't stress it more that this is such an amazing deal.

Besides, black & white polishes are a must have, right?








Good Smelling Stuff

From swap, I got a Because I'm The Princess Aloe Body Mist in Believe (by Britney Spears). I wa strolling around Macy's when I skeptically spritted this perfume on my wrist, thinking I'd hate it like other of her too candy-ish smelling fragrance, but HOLD UP! I could not get over how sexy this one actually smelling....I kept sniffing my wrist on the way home and decided to get the dupe of it.

BITP is one of my trustworthy place to get a dupe but I saw someone on MUA had it on swap so I did that instead. She nicely included the BBW Iced Tea Twist 3 in 1 as freebies, I'm crazy about this scent and as we will be approaching summer soon, I'm happy that I have this.

Next it was a bottle in the middle which was a Daily Replenishing Conditioner by Skindecent. Someone in LUSH forum sent it to me because she's quit conditioner with cone, I tried this conditioner and it's amazing. The scent is in Heavenly (by Victoria Secret's) and it's so fresh & sexy.

The one on the very right is again, a conditioner from Get Whipped. Melissa (the owner) hardly opens her store so when I saw she did, I just have to order her famous products. I love love love my Valerie's Uncommon Scents conditioner in Dark Chocolate but I'm running low so I was looking for a substitution for warmer days. I saw she has a scent in Blackberry Blood Orange (how good does that sound, huh??) and I was like......OMG I want to try.

So I convo'd her & place an order, she sent it out the day after. Her CS & products are AMAZING, I've heard nothing but rave, but unfortunately couple days ago I saw an announcement that she wouldn't be available anymore due to her health & family issue. She said she would have a quick-to-make items once in a while on her store but most of the times she will be taking a time off.

='( This is the 2nd time it happens to me, the first time was Rainforest Soap Shack...after my 1st purchase I was like "Damn these are so good, I'm so gonna place another order"........but then the store was closed for good. *sigh* but having said that, I'm glad I got a chance to try them, same thing with with Get Whipped.


Etsy Love
Ok, I'm an Etsy addict, I can spend hours & hours browsing on Etsy, it's trully dangerous. I came across this site that sells jewelry with great prices. The owner is a 21 year old named Ashlee, her store is called AshleeBonaparte1 and she's very friendly. She quickly shipped my item the next day I made a purchase.

I got this silver necklace, it was on sale and only costed me less than 5 bucks, shipped.
Great deal or what???!!!


*pheeew* quite a long post, eh? anyway..thanks for reading =)
have a nice week, everybody~

NOTD: China Glaze Groovy Green & Latest Haul

Ahhhh Spring is on the way, tomorrow is my birthday and it amazed me how another year seems to pass by very quick.

To celebrate the spring season full of beautiful colors, I picked out some of China Glaze creme nail polish, as this is my 1st time ordering nail polish online, I didn't haul too big..only enough to see if it's reliable.

The site where I ordered is Head2Toe Beauty (H2T). Their service is truly amazing, the order processing takes less than 1 day (I ordered Tuesday midnight and on Wednesday morning they're already shipped, that's super duper fast!!!!!!
Makes me wonder who works behind those orders...............ELVES? lol

It's a fairly small haul and I ordered all 3 creme colors from China Glaze ($2.99 each), shipping cost me around 6 dollar because they use Priority Mail, and it only took 3 days to get here, well worth it. I am very confident to say that H2T is a superb seller!

What I got:

• ChG Agent Lavender (from Operation Colour Collection)
  
• ChG Groovy Green (from Patent Leather II collection)
• ChG Spontaneous (from Flirt Two-2-Tango collection)

I decided to use Groovy Green and I am at awe for the creaminess of this pale green color, it screams pretty. I am always a fan of cream finish more than anything (shimmer/glitter/sheer) and this formula really surprises me, in various reasons.

First layer I applied, I wasn't loving it. It went very sheer and the opacity was very disappointing, but having to deal with enough different kinds of polishes I knew I should not speak too soon. And they proved me right, the second layer I put on succeed my expectation to this baby, the color becomes more opaque and almost 'jelly' like, which I adore.

Hahaha pardon me for the picture spam, I am really loving this color, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea....as this could look................tooth paste-y?

But I adore it, it's subtle, soft but very unique. I'm wearing this for my birthday!!!
Before I finish this post, let me show you another teensy haul I received from a dear MUA-er who swapped with me, she sent me these gorgeous OPI polishes in Eiffel for This Color (very vampy!) and My Daddy's The King! (creme pale baby pink).

Thanks for reading & for your lovely early wishes!!!

NOTD: OPI Wanted...Red or Alive

Do you guys have that moment when you dig through old stuffs, found something you haven't seen in billion years and asked,

How the hell did I forget about this?

.......
Yup, this is one of them.

I found an old bottle of OPI Wanted...Red of Alive polish, a little dusty on the outside, looking sad, gawking at me for my negligence.

As if it was trying to prove me that I've been missing out a wonderful thing, this particular polish surprised me once I applied it on my nails.

Believe me or not, for this NOTD, I only did 1 coat.

ONE FREAKIN' COAT!

Why can't all OPI polishes have it's consistency? It's very opaque and truly amazing!

It's an amazing color itself, a very dark magenta, almost red, with blue undertone, makes my skin looks lighter for some reason, and it's a cream finish.

Wanted...Red or Alive definitely won over my heart all over again and deserved a HOT SEAT, with the crown and everything.

Bath Cream War

Remember the Scrub War I did a while ago? Now it's time for the lovely Bath Creams to be put on the spot light. I love bath creams, they're just so fun to use. My first bath cream was from Outtabody, an Etsy store that sells great selection of soaps and they came out with a new product called 'Whipped Soap Mouse' which is basically a bath cream.

I sampled 6 packs of soap mouse and the owner, Khandi, was nice enough to send me a 1 freebies. A week after, she mailed me again, telling me she made a new scent and wanted me to try...so she sent me another one !!! Now I have 8 of samples in cute containers :)

I believe the scents are: Blue Sugar, Tahitian Vanilla, Orange Chiffon Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Grape Cabernet, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cocoa Creme Brulee and Buttercream Frosting

Recently, I also received bath cream from Rainforest Soap Shack, great scents, great products, great selections. I really like this company, if only the shipping to U.S wasn't as expensive I would order from them monthly lol (then I guess it's a good thing, eh?)

Onto the comparison, the products I used here are Outtabody Mint Chocolate Chip and Rainforest Soap Shack Desperate Housewives.

I did test out the products on seperate day, as I wanted to know how long the scent would clung to my skin. I used the same arm just for the clear comparison, and although it seems like I used the Outtabody cream less, I did add a little bit more upon lathering in order to make a fair comparison.

(click to enlarged)

Texture: Outtabody was firm, soft but a bit waxy, it can also used as a shaving cream so it was understandable for it to be really thick. Meanwhile, RFSS seems to be smoother and creamier.

Lathering: Outtabody lathers alright to a slightly clear foam, whereas RFSS does lather more with white milky foam.

Scent: During scrubbing, I could smell Outtabody scent but not strong. RFSS on the other hand gave a crazy amount of scent, even when I just started foaming it with water, it was incredible.

Afterbath: After I rinsed off and toweled, Outtabody left my skin soft but the scent was just lightly noticable. It could be a good thing so the scent wouldn't crash if you decide to put on moisturizer or perfume. RFSS left my skin even softer and the scent clung to my skin even after I walked out the bathroom. 2 hours after I could still smell it on my hand...

Personally, I'd prefer RFSS bath cream as it lathers ridiculously (i'm still 5 at heart LOL) and the scent just lingers so long, I almost couldn't believe it. Outtabody is nice too, especially the Mint Chocolate Chip I used, it's such a yummy minty chocolate-y scent with no fake note whatsoever, and if you look closely in the picture, there are actually chocolate chips in it. I went lol when I found it...

Bath creams does make my bath time a lovely experience, I love them as much as I adore scrubs, and I have so many scents to try..from Outtabody I've tried Tahitian Vanilla, Orange Chiffon Cake, Mint Chocolate Chip and Cocoa Creme Brulee...so far my fav is Mint Chocolate Chip : )

Oh, I did my nails yesterday after almost a month of abandoning my nails with chipped dark purple colors, I looked like I was belong in Emo group bahahaha

OPI Arrivaderci, classic.
(now they look more lady-like, right?)

Nail Polish Stash

I got an interesting e-mail last night but the person didn't leave any name so I only got her e-mail address...

"Hello, I have been reading your beauty blog lately and thought it's cool, just like you I think MAC is just part of culture where everyone seem to rave about, quality wise-I personally believe other cheaper brands can create similar finish as MAC. Do you have anything else you collect other than makeups? If you do could you share with us? Hope I did not ask too much. Thank you, Love"

Hey Love :) hehe sorry I don't know your name..but if you're reading this, Yes I am answering your question! ^_^

I do have other collections beside my makeups, although I wouldn't call my makeup 'collection' since I'm just starting out and it's nothing compare to others :) I used to collect stamps *dork alert, dork alert!!!*, stickers, statement rings (ya know, the ones with big jewels that scream 'LOOK AT MEEEH'), necklace, and nail polish.

Now, on this post I'm gonna share my nail polishes since I've been collecting it for years, thanx to my Mom who has even more than I do. We used to share nail polishes and she rocks coz she also wore the bright colors such as lime green or purple, and she always match her nail with the shoes (which I thought it was insane, she works as a lecturer in University, for god sake! LOL)

But since I don't live with her anymore, and I left my old polishes back home...these are the new ones I got, and interesting enough I found them to be mostly pinks/reds LOL no greens yellows or bright blues. I guess I grew up huh?

The Sanctuary Drawer
Pearl/White/Silver
Sheer Enhancement, Paris Couture for Sure, Kyoto Pearl

Pinks
Passion, Heart Throb, Arrivaderci, Pricesses Rule!, Chapel of Love

Oranges
Cajun Shrimp (left & middle, sorry I didn't realize I have 2) - Sicilian Vermilion

Reds

Buenos Aires Iris, unknown, Wanted..Red of Alive, This Little Piggy,Kennebunk-port,
Marooned on The Magnificent Mile, Pink Before You Leap

Misc.
Beauty & The Beach, Satin Bronze, Shell, Berry Glaze, Siren, OPI Ink (dark purple)

Not shown: the Base Coat & Top Coat which are not so interesting hehe

When I was still in Indonesia, I love getting Manicure/Pedicure in saloon since it's so cheap, but here in U.S I honestly cannot afford it, so I got myself the manicure kits (I hardly use it tho, I'm such a lazy bum)

so Anonymous, thank you for the request :)