Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Nubar Iris Dust


Hi guys!
Well after a non-intentional hiatus, I'm back. I've completely lost my blogging mojo the last couple of months and I'm trying very hard to get it back, so bear with me :)

The trip home went ok - I got sick after two days there, then my luggage got lost (fuck you very much, Qantas) and I had a nightmare drama trying to get home from the airport - but I emerged unscathed (if furiously angry).

Now I'm house-sitting with 5 cats and trying to save money for the big trip to the UK in September, so I'm still pretty much on a no-buy and really feeling it! :( Pure torture, it is!

So anyhoo, here's another one from the backlog of stuff I have to show you - Nubar's Iris Dust.
It's a sweet looking burgundy/purply/greeny/gold duo (quatro?)-chrome polish that I'd been simply gasping to try for quite a long time.


Unfortunately this one didn't live up to my expectations, rather like Peacock Feathers.
The photos don't really capture the duo-chromey quality, but to be honest, there wasn't a lot of it showing up on the nail in real life, anyway...

For the most part, it just looks kinda burgundy.
Don't get me wrong - it's a very nice colour. But it's not what I wanted or expected from looking at the bottle.

You can see a slight greeny/gold tinge here under the yucky fluoro light - this is as good as I could get to capturing the highlights, unfortunately.

The other thing that was quite annoying was how watery this is. This was about 4 coats. If I use it again, I might layer it over a burgundy polish just to cut down the time applying it. I also got quite a lot of tip-creep - presumably because of the amount of layers I had to do.

Overall - nice polish. Just not the superstar I was hoping for...

Nubar Iris Dust


Hi guys!
Well after a non-intentional hiatus, I'm back. I've completely lost my blogging mojo the last couple of months and I'm trying very hard to get it back, so bear with me :)

The trip home went ok - I got sick after two days there, then my luggage got lost (fuck you very much, Qantas) and I had a nightmare drama trying to get home from the airport - but I emerged unscathed (if furiously angry).

Now I'm house-sitting with 5 cats and trying to save money for the big trip to the UK in September, so I'm still pretty much on a no-buy and really feeling it! :( Pure torture, it is!

So anyhoo, here's another one from the backlog of stuff I have to show you - Nubar's Iris Dust.
It's a sweet looking burgundy/purply/greeny/gold duo (quatro?)-chrome polish that I'd been simply gasping to try for quite a long time.


Unfortunately this one didn't live up to my expectations, rather like Peacock Feathers.
The photos don't really capture the duo-chromey quality, but to be honest, there wasn't a lot of it showing up on the nail in real life, anyway...

For the most part, it just looks kinda burgundy.
Don't get me wrong - it's a very nice colour. But it's not what I wanted or expected from looking at the bottle.

You can see a slight greeny/gold tinge here under the yucky fluoro light - this is as good as I could get to capturing the highlights, unfortunately.

The other thing that was quite annoying was how watery this is. This was about 4 coats. If I use it again, I might layer it over a burgundy polish just to cut down the time applying it. I also got quite a lot of tip-creep - presumably because of the amount of layers I had to do.

Overall - nice polish. Just not the superstar I was hoping for...

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Polish Sale!

Totally late news here but if you don't already know, my friend Kaz over at Pretty Random is selling some really great polishes on ebay to raise funds.
And this is the good stuff - I'm talking RBL, Versace, Lippmann, Chanel Jade, and the original Holo version of OPI's My Private Jet!

There's only a day and a bit left on the sale, so ch-check it out HERE

The Hoff compels you!




Polish Sale!

Totally late news here but if you don't already know, my friend Kaz over at Pretty Random is selling some really great polishes on ebay to raise funds.
And this is the good stuff - I'm talking RBL, Versace, Lippmann, Chanel Jade, and the original Holo version of OPI's My Private Jet!

There's only a day and a bit left on the sale, so ch-check it out HERE

The Hoff compels you!




Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Grey Nails for Fall 2010 + FashionMagazine.com Video


A recent Twitter highlight for me was catching the entertaining New York Fashion Week backstage tweets from Fashion Magazine’s beauty editor Lesa Hannah as she hunted down the Fall 2010 beauty trends. Along with interviews with industry superstars such as makeup artists Dick Page, Tom Pecheaux, François Nars, Gordon Espinet and Gucci Westman (and an encounter with cranky hairstylist Orlando Pita), she snagged chat time with nail pros such as Nonie Creme from Butter London, Jin Soon Choi, who did a collection for MAC last season, Jan Arnold and Roxanne Valinoti of Creative Nail Design (CND), Deborah Lippmann and Yuna Park (in vid above). And happily for those of us who fell for Fall 2009’s grey shades for nails, there’s more to come:

Grey Nails for Fall 2010 + FashionMagazine.com Video


A recent Twitter highlight for me was catching the entertaining New York Fashion Week backstage tweets from Fashion Magazine’s beauty editor Lesa Hannah as she hunted down the Fall 2010 beauty trends. Along with interviews with industry superstars such as makeup artists Dick Page, Tom Pecheaux, François Nars, Gordon Espinet and Gucci Westman (and an encounter with cranky hairstylist Orlando Pita), she snagged chat time with nail pros such as Nonie Creme from Butter London, Jin Soon Choi, who did a collection for MAC last season, Jan Arnold and Roxanne Valinoti of Creative Nail Design (CND), Deborah Lippmann and Yuna Park (in vid above). And happily for those of us who fell for Fall 2009’s grey shades for nails, there’s more to come:

Gray Nail Polish for Spring 2010

 
Remember when Chanel tipped us off that they'd be debuting a new nail polish shade at their Spring 2010 runway show?

Well, today they did. And gray is the word for spring.

Fall 2009's must have shade, Jade, was designed by Chanel creative director Peter Philips to accent the sea green highlight tone in their Fall tweed.

And this putty-ish shade (According to Style.com, its name is Particulière) is similarly complementary, acting as a smart accessory to the mainly monotone beige, gray, ivory and black nubby weaves in the Spring show. And it offers and edgy counterpoint to the tattoos Philips designed for the show.

The shade, which commenters are sounding off on at All Lacquered Up, appears to be a purple based gray that's a hair paler and purpler than Sephora by OPI's Metro Chic - one of the polishes at the forefront of the gray manicure movement back in Fall 2008 - and cements the dark nails trend that emerged in New York and remained consistent in London, Milan and now Paris.

From blacks to grays, the outlook for spring tips is somber - in a good way.

Gray Nail Polish for Spring 2010

 
Remember when Chanel tipped us off that they'd be debuting a new nail polish shade at their Spring 2010 runway show?

Well, today they did. And gray is the word for spring.

Fall 2009's must have shade, Jade, was designed by Chanel creative director Peter Philips to accent the sea green highlight tone in their Fall tweed.

And this putty-ish shade (According to Style.com, its name is Particulière) is similarly complementary, acting as a smart accessory to the mainly monotone beige, gray, ivory and black nubby weaves in the Spring show. And it offers and edgy counterpoint to the tattoos Philips designed for the show.

The shade, which commenters are sounding off on at All Lacquered Up, appears to be a purple based gray that's a hair paler and purpler than Sephora by OPI's Metro Chic - one of the polishes at the forefront of the gray manicure movement back in Fall 2008 - and cements the dark nails trend that emerged in New York and remained consistent in London, Milan and now Paris.

From blacks to grays, the outlook for spring tips is somber - in a good way.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Hand Painted Nail Art

Hand painted nail art can add a touch of glamor to a simple manicure or pedicure. It is easy to do and requires very basic materials to achieve gorgeous-looking nails. Read on for information on some hand painted nail art designs.
Hand Painted Nail Art
Nail art is the perfect solution to boring nails that are painted with different shades of nail enamel. Adding some designs to your nails can be a fun way to enhance the beauty of your fingernails and will also enable you to sport gorgeous-looking nails. Hand painted nail art is relatively easier to do on artificial or stick-on nails, but with a little practice, doing them on your nails will get easy. You can experiment with a lot of designs and come up with a few of your own. As far as nail art is concerned, sky is the limit for creativity. Hand painted nail art can be done on fingernails as well as the toe nails. The designs can be made to compliment a certain occasion or even for daily wear purposes. Here are some hand painted nail art designs to get you started.


Flower Nail Design

Supplies Needed
  • Base coat
  • Nail polish (any dark shade)
  • Nail art paint or acrylic (white, green and yellow)
  • Striper brush
  • Liner brush
  • Fine nib nail art pen
  • Top coat
Directions

Paint your nails with a base coat, allow it to dry and then put on the dark shade of nail polish. Allow it dry and then apply the second coat and allow it to dry. Using a liner brush and white nail art paint or white acrylic paint, to draw four petals using a sweeping motion at the center of the nail. Draw another flower at the base of the nail, or maybe half a petal, depending upon the length of your nail. Between these petals, draw random long flicks using the striper brush. Add a few dots along the length of the flicks. Fill the center of the flower with a bright yellow dot using yellow acrylic or nail art paint. Paint some leaves using green paint, around the petals. Once the paint dries well, apply a top coat and allow it to dry.

Snow White Nail Design

Supplies Needed
  • Base coat
  • Nail polish (sheer white and electric blue)
  • Nail art paint or acrylic (white and electric blue)
  • Silver rhinestones
  • Striper brush
  • Liner brush
  • Fine nib nail art pen
  • Nail art glue
  • Top coat
Directions

Paint your nails with a base coat and allow it to dry. Apply two coats of the sheer white nail polish to your entire nail and let it dry well. Then apply the electric blue nail polish, diagonally, to half the nail and allow it to dry well. Now, take the white acrylic paint or nail art paint and draw three, half portions of an arrow head on the blue portion. Then complete the arrow heads by drawing the other halves with blue paint on the white portion. Allow it to dry well. Using nail art glue, stick a silver rhinestone at the center of the second arrow head on each nail, then apply the top coat and let it dry.

Swirl Nail Design

Supplies Needed
    Base coat
  • Nail polish (white, pink and pastel blue)
  • Nail polish with silver glitter
  • Dotting tool
  • Liner brush
  • Top coat
Directions

Apply a coat of the base coat and allow it to dry. Apply the nail polish with silver glitter on the nail tips and allow it to dry well. Then, using a dotting tool, apply a dot of pink on the base of the nail, a dot of pastel blue in the center and a dot of white on the tips, one below the other. Using a liner brush, spread the dots in a circular motion, starting with the pastel blue, then pink and then white. The swirls should merge well and should be spread over the entire nail. Allow this to dry and then apply the top coat.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Weekend Funnies

For my Weekend Funnies today, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some funny dance sequences.

I'm sure you guys can come up with plenty more, but these are the ones that spring to mind first for me....


Come to East Germany! With waltz you get free political satire...




Ah, remember the good 'ol days when Val Kilmer was hot? Good times...



As a kid, that's what I thought those bumps in the male ballet dancer's hose were for...
Well - that and keeping Goblins in check -



Er...yes. Moving on....

Good-looking, slightly nerdy underdog?
Check.
Fad all the teenagers are into at the time
that won't date the movie at all?
Check.
Feisty but cute love interest?
Check.
Aryan looking, uber-pricky bully?
Check.
Must be 1986's "Rad", with the best BMX dance number ever committed to film...



SWEEP THE LEG, CRU! Oh, sorry. Wrong film...

Flashmobs in McDonalds. Just a typical day in the 80's -



Everyone knows the only way to win a dance contest is by doing gymnastics,
duh!




And lastly - how could you go past punchdancing (make sure you watch this one to the end)...

Weekend Funnies

For my Weekend Funnies today, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some funny dance sequences.

I'm sure you guys can come up with plenty more, but these are the ones that spring to mind first for me....


Come to East Germany! With waltz you get free political satire...




Ah, remember the good 'ol days when Val Kilmer was hot? Good times...



As a kid, that's what I thought those bumps in the male ballet dancer's hose were for...
Well - that and keeping Goblins in check -



Er...yes. Moving on....

Good-looking, slightly nerdy underdog?
Check.
Fad all the teenagers are into at the time
that won't date the movie at all?
Check.
Feisty but cute love interest?
Check.
Aryan looking, uber-pricky bully?
Check.
Must be 1986's "Rad", with the best BMX dance number ever committed to film...



SWEEP THE LEG, CRU! Oh, sorry. Wrong film...

Flashmobs in McDonalds. Just a typical day in the 80's -



Everyone knows the only way to win a dance contest is by doing gymnastics,
duh!




And lastly - how could you go past punchdancing (make sure you watch this one to the end)...

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Nubar Star Sparkle


Argh! Somehow it got to the end of the week and I haven't even done one post!
Sorry! In my defence, I was lazy.
Wait.
That wasn't a very good defence.
Oh well...

So I'm off home to Perth tomorrow to visit my family. Haven't seen them in 6 months so it's all a bit exciting.
That's Perth, the capital of Western Australia, not Perth, Scotland.
For those not acquainted with the geography of Australia, I will again use this helpful diagram...

So as you can see, I'm heading from the Convicts, past the Sharks With Frickin' Lasers, to just the unarmed Sharks (2720 km, or 1690 mile trip).

So as I'm kinda in a hurry (aren't I always lately?) I'll make this short and sweet.
This is Nubar's Star Sparkle.
It is
Sparkwy.
Yeah - I just used a "W".
That's how I roll.



3 coats to bottle colour, so you may want to use a silver base coat or something. But otherwise a well behaved crusty glitter, with little rainbow winks peeking out of the silver sparkwy goodness!


Just remember a really good top coat, as these glitters are rough to the touch.
May I have some shiny disco music to go with my shiny disco nails?




Thank you, Roisin.

Catch ya later!

Nubar Star Sparkle


Argh! Somehow it got to the end of the week and I haven't even done one post!
Sorry! In my defence, I was lazy.
Wait.
That wasn't a very good defence.
Oh well...

So I'm off home to Perth tomorrow to visit my family. Haven't seen them in 6 months so it's all a bit exciting.
That's Perth, the capital of Western Australia, not Perth, Scotland.
For those not acquainted with the geography of Australia, I will again use this helpful diagram...

So as you can see, I'm heading from the Convicts, past the Sharks With Frickin' Lasers, to just the unarmed Sharks (2720 km, or 1690 mile trip).

So as I'm kinda in a hurry (aren't I always lately?) I'll make this short and sweet.
This is Nubar's Star Sparkle.
It is
Sparkwy.
Yeah - I just used a "W".
That's how I roll.



3 coats to bottle colour, so you may want to use a silver base coat or something. But otherwise a well behaved crusty glitter, with little rainbow winks peeking out of the silver sparkwy goodness!


Just remember a really good top coat, as these glitters are rough to the touch.
May I have some shiny disco music to go with my shiny disco nails?




Thank you, Roisin.

Catch ya later!