redhead, rednails

stephanie

2012-02-04T22:06:00.001+08:00

I run a 10K race tomorrow, and I've laid out my running gear...and of course I have to make sure I have a killah mani to go with it!! I am all turquoise and neon orange-pink, so I wanted to keep it simple. Picked a milky color, this was an amazing buttery formula and I used three thin coats.

lael

2012-02-04T18:31:00.001+08:00

I never thought I was a big purple girl, but this color changed my mind completely. This is a rich and buttery, almost plum purple. I used two coats. Zoya has the most amazing formula.

big apple red

2012-01-13T00:41:00.002+08:00

I'm in the middle of keeping an updated inventory of each color group, and first and foremost is red - naturally. Sorry, I'll always be biased when it comes to red.

Tucked away in a corner of my cabinet was this beauty. It caught my eye and I painted my bare nails with it quickly.

Two smooth coats, no top coat. I did nothing all day but count my nail polish. Bliss. :D

aloha (the polish!)

2012-01-10T21:09:00.010+08:00

One of the prettiest releases from last year was Dior's Electric Tropics Duo in the summer. Having been incognito (fun fact: that's the name of an ESSIE nail polish LOL) due to work, I didn't have any means to get Paradise or Aloha, but then I had a chance to go home for a weekend, and I snagged Paradise... but my heart was very much with Aloha. It was sold out everywhere, and I thought I would never see it in person. Dior counters refused to sell me their new tester bottles. Sigh.

Fast forward a few months, and I passed by my regular Dior counter a few days ago. Yes, there was the Aloha tester bottle, and like so many times that I have asked, they still put it on display even though it is sold out. Then also like so many times that I have asked, I asked the salesgirl if there were any left.

She said yes.

WHAT.

My eyes widened as she pulled out a new bottle of Aloha, sitting prettily in its box. I couldn't believe it - the sought-after neon orange was still available... wait, that can't be right. These bottles were flying off the shelves like hotcakes. How is it possible it was still around, MONTHS later?

"Is this a re-launch?" I asked. She didn't know.

Well, when I got home, I was surprised:

What is that you see? Why yes, my bottle of Aloha is not orange-tinted. It is a clear glass bottle. I flipped the bottom of the bottle - yep, the label reads ALOHA all right. Hmmm. Tedious research on the internet was fruitless. I couldn't find any answers to my question: did Aloha get re-released? Or was it added to the permanent line? (this seems unlikely, because Dior just announced their new lineup for their permanent nail polish range, and Aloha wasn't one of them.) So... did I get a fluke?

Anyway, on to the swatch.

Aloha went on like liquid silk. I really do love Dior's curved brush, making polish application seamless. I just had to press the brush down gently and swipe, no need to curve the brush and make turns. Genius!

Creamy neon orange goodness in two coats. I added a top coat of Seche Vite for the gloss. (NEON DRIES MATTE, PAM.)

Clear or tinted bottle, I love Aloha just the same. But Chief Pam from thePolish Police Station might want to look into this curious case. :D

aloha (hi, not the polish!)

2012-01-09T21:29:00.005+08:00

I am BACK.

WHOA, you might say. It's been... SEVEN months?! Where have you been, Nikki?

I was away shooting a film. It was the hardest one I've done yet, and I was on location, away from home that entire time - and where I was, it was a lot harder to get in touch via the internet. BUT rest assured, I had my polish with me. Out of my collection of 500+, I brought with me 20 bottles. TWENTY!?! Yes, it was so hard to pick.

Anyway, life went on.

At first I was adamant about keeping my nails looking their best, during pre-production. I had my staples: NARS' Dovima, Essie's Lollipop, Jessica's Merlot... but as time passed and our shooting schedule got a little more crazy, it was evident that I had to sacrifice my manicure on set. Towards the end of the show, I had bare nails for an entire month, not even a base coat! D:

I know.

During this time, I had my bits and pieces of news from the nailworld, only from a handful of blogs, only a fraction of what I used to frequent. The internet connection where I stayed was so slow, I couldn't get all the lovely polish pictures to load if I tried. In harder times, I only ever visited Pammy and Sabrina. And very, very sparingly too. I was out of touch with the world of polish. I got sloppy with recognizing colors. I forgot what I had on my wishlist. Nail polish no longer became one of my joys. I forgot that I was a girl.

Then, the shoot wrapped. Like I said, life goes on.

A few days after I came back home, I opened my polish cabinet. Seven months, and all my polish... collecting dust. Untouched for more than half a year, the formula had separated in many of the bottles, the oils sitting neatly on top. Something strange happened when I looked at my collection.

The desire to cull.

Nooooooo! Trust me, I gasped as loud as you did. I found myself picking out bottles that have remained unopened when I first bought them, all those months ago. Colors that were still as vibrant and pretty as ever, on their own, but time away from life at home created a necessary purge that was actually - dare I say it - refreshing.

Out of my 500+ bottles, I culled more than 130; that's more than one-fifth of my entire collection!

And it felt good.

Most of them will be making their way to sales among friends who are also polish fiends, eager to give them new loving homes. A few very special bottles will be making their way to Pammy - I spent an entire hour going through her wishlist on her site while sitting in front of my cabinet. LOL. Oh Pam. Pajammy McPam. Pam, when I was too frustrated with work to think about anything else, sometimes the thought of her smiling face and goofy grin would cheer me right up, or knowing that somewhere far away, my polish twin was waiting for my return, that after all this harsh toll, we would once again go on our "secret missions" and exchange polish love with giggles and delight like children in sandboxes.

So tonight, I logged into this nail blog for the first time in seven months, and updated everything. Including a change in my blog name and blog address. After all this time and adventure, RED is my identity more than ever. Slowly I'm recovering from the toughest job I've ever done, and I take comfort knowing that I am still excited and crazy about nail polish, and that my colors will be right there with me through it.

What better way to celebrate coming back to the world of nail polish by sharing with you all that I have FINALLY OBTAINED my own bottle of Dior's Aloha? Yes I have.

That's another post, my dears.

kristi

2011-06-17T10:48:00.001+08:00

I've started working on a new film, and with my hectic schedule and pressed time, manis are truly something of a luxury for me currently.

In waltzes Zoya's Kristi, 2 smooth coats. This was after four days of wear! I love the poppy red. Up close it has just a tinge of blue to it - just a little but it's there.

lava lamp

2011-06-05T20:54:00.001+08:00

Summer is officially here as NEON ORANGE screams from my nails. I love this. Love love love love. Neon matte orange, two coats. First thin coat was a bit tricky, but a slightly thicker second coat smoothed it out nicely.

I can't even capture this properly. Practically GLOWING from my nails. It's like I took a hi-liter and colored them.

A glossy top coat (MAC Overlacquer, A+!) and my nails were a very juicy neon orange.

downtown LA

2011-05-29T21:01:00.002+08:00

I have two bottles of this beautiful vibrant red by American Apparel. (Best fitting underwear for my shape and size, btw!)

Pam gave me a bottle of this on one of our "missions" - she knows me WAAAAY too well and I had wanted this beautiful red the moment I knew about it, and when I knew the name, I just had to have it! LA...a beautiful place with too many memories for me: college, Droo, Venice Beach where we fell in love and everything.

THEN. Droo got me a bottle of this too. Without knowing that Pam had already gotten me one. It wasn't so much that he got me nail polish - he's done it before - but I just love his color choices and it's always so exciting to see what he picks for me.

One look at this color and you'll agree: it is the perfect red. Two glossy coats, smooth and buttery.

bikini bottom

2011-05-20T17:05:00.001+08:00

I was so sad that Rescue Beauty Lounge's Bikini Bottom was out of stock before I had a chance, but thanks to Ji's Bring It Back vote, I could finally get my paws on a bottle.

And it was worth every second of the very long wait before it appeared on my doorstep.

All I have to say is, it is the PERFECT baby blue. Also, the milky, jelly finish! This is my favorite finish - so squishy and juicy. This was three coats, no streaks - I don't know how Ji does it, but she does - pastel that is a sheer jelly AND no streaks!

I have other baby blue polishes, but Bikini Bottom just became my favorite - next to Hard Candy's Sky.

warhol

2011-05-19T12:35:00.001+08:00

Color Club's Warhol, I think it's from the Poptastic collection last summer. Two coats, non-streaky and semi-matte, surprising since this is a sick neon color (NEONS ARE MATTE, PAM! GOD!)

I put a coat of Essie's Good To Go and they are JUICY JUICY glossy! The finish is very squishy and jelly like. My nails are buffed and a bit longer too so they actually kind of look like gel nails.

This is my favorite finish so I'm loving this color. Smooth application and I'm in love. Bring on the summer! :D

one less lonely girl!

2011-05-13T02:51:00.001+08:00

Who's ready for Justin Bieber Live in Hong Kong? Me, that's who. AND here is my crazy tribute mani as my boy and I get ready for the show tomorrow night! Droo let me paint his right foot toenails RED. That's on top of going to Justin Bieber with me tomorrow night.

Man Card successfully acquired for permanent collection. MWAHAHAHA.

I'm waaaay too old for this but you gotta just have fun, right? Plus, I really did love these colors. Dark vampy purple is I've Got Bieber Fever, hearts glitter is Step 2 The Beat of My Heart, and lovely creamy turquoise is My Lifesaver.

Pam, these colors remind me of your YSL Beautiful Day mani!!!!

sneaker head

2011-04-17T10:56:00.001+08:00

PERFECT color for my 5K Race today! Perfect name too. It complements my singlet and I'm so pumped! Two thin silky coats, super glossy. I did this mani last night. This is my first race and I hope to make it in 34". @ChinaGlaze, I might not come in 1st but I feel loved! xx

office polish-tics

2011-04-15T10:47:00.001+08:00

This is my first Misa nail polish and I am in LOVE. Silky smooth application and rich like liquid cream! Two coats!

I don't know how to describe this color: is it a muddy blue grey? A cloudy mud grey tinged with lilac? I don't have anything like this.

And the name: LOVE LOVE LOVE. Misa, I'm now a fan. :D

edyta

2011-03-17T01:52:00.002+08:00

Oh my gosh. This, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, is my green polish from Zoya...I had no idea it would translate so beautifully on the nail! Dark olive green with oodles of gorgeous gold shimmer glimmer oooooooooh.

Two coats, very forgiving and no brushstrokes! LOVE!

quarter of a cent-cherry

2011-03-13T04:00:00.003+08:00

Sometimes when I talk to Droo on the phone, I ask him to pick out a nail color for me. For this mani he said, "sinful red." So I picked Quarter of a Cent-Cherry from OPI... beautiful glossy red creme in 2 easy coats. Doesn't flood cuticles at all! Really obedient formula. I also love the square flat brush on this one.

Doesn't get prettier than this, ladies. Also, how cute is the name!!?

marine

2011-03-11T19:34:00.002+08:00

Oy this is just gorgeous... YMCK's Marine. Gorgeous dark teal, 2 coats. Such an appropriate nail color name, considering I ran my first 10K today! (That's 6 miles, and my time qualified me for the 10K race next year!)

crazy daisy!

2011-03-10T23:22:00.005+08:00

So I'm on my 4th month of low-to-no-buy, and recently found out one of my frequented nail shops now has a new branch. So I hopped over there today after ballet class, thinking I would just take a look at all the wonderful new collections that I've been missing out on... Zoya, China Glaze, OPI and Essie to name a few... and you won't believe this, but -

... I ended up walking out of there with just ONE bottle of polish.

One, Miss Bun?! You ask. Yes, bunnies. JUST ONE. And it was.... OPI's I Vant To Be A Lone Star from the Texas Collection. I can't believe it. Out of Zoya's Intimate collection, China Glaze's Anchors Away collection and Crackle collection, OPI's Kate Perry collection and Texas collection, and Essie's spring 2011 collection, I ended up with just ONE bottle. I ended up crossing out maybe 20 colors from my wishlist after my little visit today.

Dear lord, have I hit a new low with my love for polish? Have I dwindled? Has the passion died? Am I holding onto a dying flame?

Nah, fret not. (Yes Pam, that means you.) I'm still in love with polish, and I'm always making sure my nails are in pretty colors and perfect condition. But I think I have a new outlook regarding my love for it and what I want to do with this blog. I've been doing a lot of other things lately, taking a break from filming, and taking care of myself - namely picking up running and ballet again. But that doesn't mean I don't read up every collection without ooh's and aah's. Reading my daily feed of nail blogs is still my favorite thing to do when I wake up and have breakfast. Happy sigh.

Anyway. NAIL POLISH 4LYFE! <3 <3 111!!1!

zulu! (and...we're back)

2011-01-12T22:31:00.007+08:00

HOWDY. I'm back. First of all, let me just get this out there right now, like NONE of you know this already: I love Pam. And all the supportive messages I received. And during this very cleansing time away from everybody, I still played with polish. Slowly I was picking up my bottles again. I was playing just on my own, and not broadcasting it, not sharing it with anybody, and I wanted to, but I wanted to be by myself for a little while.

Then things started to make sense again, whatever was bothering me, Droo really helped, and I really just needed some time alone. I still continued with painting my nails and it was really nice to go bare and take a break, but then I found myself missing the polish, and I came back. I was still reading my favorite blogs and keeping up with different polish collections that were coming out (HELLO Chanel: Riva, Black Pearl, whhhhat? And China Glaze: Anchors Away.... omg! Zoya: Intimate - heart attack, kthx)... the list was endless.

So, I'm back to share and write about the one thing in my world that makes me completely stress-free: polish. All the pretty colors I've made note of that I haven't posted yet. There's no reason that whatever was bothering me should take over this one piece of happiness of mine, too. So there.

Plus, NARS Zulu doesn't really leave room for me to mope. It's so pretty. Sigh.

Two coats, gorgeous dark green jelly. I wanted this when I knew it was so coveted but I wasn't really the OMGMUSTHAVE camp. Until I had it in my hands, that is. Now I know why it achieved HG status, why it was the Must-Have color in every nail polish head's cabinet. It is now a staple green for me.

So I have this cuff bracelet that goes with EVERY color of polish that I own, and I'll show you in another post. I'll show you exactly what I mean. But doesn't it look so lovely up there? Yes, NARS Zulu. Thank you for bringing me back.

the long goodnight

2010-12-10T22:47:00.002+08:00

Lately I've been caught up in a moment of personal crisis regarding several issues, a major one which is familial in nature, and the incident has immensely shifted my weighing of priorities in life. The worst part of it is over, I reckon, the whole emotional and denial part of it, and now I'm just beginning to rear from my shell again... a telling sign is surely how I'm updating my beloved blog.

I started this blog when it was definitely a happier time for me: life was going pretty swell, I had a job I love, family I care about that I most definitely knew loved me, a supportive and most likely the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ever ask for.... and a whole cabinet full of my lovely polishes, colors that reflect very much so the love I have for life.

That palette has completely done a 180 at the moment, and as I look at my cabinet now, it seems like no color would do. No color could possibly match how I'm feeling. I was still painting my nails while the blowup happened... and I found it therapeutic. But today, I took off my polish, and... I didn't paint a new color on. I just left my nails bare. I believe this is the first time my nails will have been bare in over 6 months.

Instead of retreating into the comfortable nest which is my nail blog and painting my nails, I find myself becoming a recluse... even with my nail colors. I've lost it... the sparkle, the sparkage, the spark... and I don't know how to get it back. Painting my nails seem such a frivolous, silly thing that just cannot help my situation no matter how I look at it. I'm so sad that I don't even have the urge when I pick up my favorite red polish... and red was always the color I went to, even during sad times.

I don't know what to do.

59

2010-11-16T16:42:00.006+08:00

WHERE on Earth have I been! What a serious lack of posts on gorgeous nail color. I would say shooting two films back to back, visit from LA boyfriend, family engagements and such would do it. The last few weeks have seriously kicked me to the curb!

Interestingly enough, my polish twin and I seem to have a parallel in regards to posting: both Pam and I have been so busy with life that blogging seemed secondary.

Big news: my hair is now BLUE! Having had it RED for seven years, I decided I wanted a change. I immediately missed the red after the rinseout, but it's a nice change until the red makes a comeback.

Yes, I love the blue. It's a nice change. My brother says I look like an anime character. Between washes the blue is fading out to be a grey-lilac.

In polish news! I can't wait to post about Pam's amazing second package to me, new fall colors and various collections, but first, I would like to introduce to you what is perhaps one of the most underrated, unknown polishes with amazing application. The quality of this is excellent. One coat and you're good to go. I mean, look:

The brand is LAKA. They're from Israel I believe. I first heard of this wonderful polish on Smile's blog and when I saw the amazing inky blue I just had to get it... and I did, among other colors! Of course I had to get a red. This is LAKA 59, a crimson red creme. This was a one-coater!

Smooth like a dream. Lovely crimson red. Aaaahhh. Now, back to business! Posts on manis from the last few weeks, Cosmoprof, The Most Amazing Boyfriend in the World, PAMMY McPAMMERSON, and more! :D

khaki vert

2010-10-13T13:23:00.003+08:00

LOL. This was the color that almost cost Pam a kidney and a lot of heartbreak. Chanel's Khaki Vert. I love this color so much that I already have my backup bottle. And it makes me breathe a sigh of relief to know that she has secured herself a set of this too. The polish Gods have heard our prayers.

The best part was that it was a creamy one-coater. Chanel loves my nails and my nails love Chanel right back.

Gorgeous grey-green for the fall. I'll be wearing this a lot! :D

rose insolent, spotted!

2010-10-12T16:07:00.002+08:00

Dear Chanel's Rose Insolent,

Was that you? Was that you on those fingers this morning on the subway? I spy with my little eye, I think it was indeedy. It could only be you. That poppy pink is unmistakable. Coupled with the arrival of fall, it only makes sense that someone posh would wear this AND frequent the TST subway stop.

Yes indeed. You look so good.

Love, Nikki xo

merlot

2010-10-12T12:18:00.015+08:00

WHERE have I been! On set, of course. I work in film, and for the past three weeks we shot on location (an A-movie that will come out next fall, but I'm to keep mum about it at the moment) and so Hollywood came all the way over here to the little city of Hong Kong and it was a, sigh, beautiful relationship.

When I'm on set, I'm down and dirty doing all kinds of grunt work, and so having the perfect manicure is probably the last thing on my mind. But I do like a splash of color on my nails, and because the god-awful shooting schedule that I lead for a few weeks unables me to change my polish, it is really important that I have a color that STAYS. And stays. And stays.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have found my HOLY GRAIL RED.

Jessica's Merlot.

It is a jelly-like red that drips wine. 2 easy thin coats. But, enough of this small talk. Let me show you how this polish stayed:

^ Day 1.

^ Day 2.

^ Day 3.

^ Day 4.

^ Day 5.

^ Day 6.

^ Day 7.

^ Day 8.

^ Day 9.

^ Day 10.

AT THIS POINT, we had a brief break in between shooting, so I was able to finally take off Merlot for my next week of shoot. TEN DAYS. LOOK at it. Minimal tip wear, and this is a FILM SET we're talking about. ON LOCATION. OUTDOORS. 12 hours + everyday. No chips, no dents, no marks. It stayed as shiny on Day 10 as it did on Day 1 when I first painted it on. Mind you, this was without additional top coats throughout the week. It is that perfect.

By Day 10 I had serious dark circles and Exhaustion 5000, but my nail polish stayed glossy and wet. And gorgeous. And red.

Say it with me now, folks. It's MERLOT by Jessica.

marilyn

2010-09-17T10:01:00.021+08:00

In 1953, when asked by a reporter, Marilyn Monroe famously replied, "What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel Nº 5, of course." She apparently also bathed in water liberally dosed with an ounce of the scent.

In summer of 2006, Chanel released a nail polish by the name "Marilyn." When I caught glimpse of it at a local Chanel counter here, behind a makeup counter tucked in a corner, I immediately fell in love with it. It was a beautiful, classy pink-red with silverish sheen-like shimmer. The shimmer was so fine and subtle, but sparkly! Alas, it was not meant to be. The tester bottle at the counter was just sitting there for a long time collecting dust, and they had long run out of bottles. I begged to buy the tester bottle, but to no avail. :(

Not one to give up , I immediately stalked ebay for it. Nope, no Marilyn. No pink-red shimmery Marilyn polish greeted me in search results. So I waited, and waited.

I had bought another polish on ebay, and had struck up a friendly conversation with my seller. Somehow, my quest for Marilyn got out.

I have a bottle of Marilyn, she said.

WHAT.

Far from hitting three digits, she sold me a bottle of Marilyn! I was SO amazed and touched. I couldn't believe my luck. And finally, Marilyn arrived.

Here she is.

I KNOW. I know. I mean, yeah. I have no words.

She is smooth. Sparkly. On the nail, the pink-red translates into a shimmery deep coral pink. The color looks like it jumped right out from the pages of a 70's storybook. The best part?

Marilyn was a one-coater.

Sigh. Talk about making a statement.

Look at it, in the sun. I am so happy and so lucky to have her in my cabinet. Note to self: backup bottle, stat! :D

ming blue

2010-09-15T14:34:00.008+08:00

I'm Chinese, and I can tell you that cobalt blue is a very traditional Chinese color, if not more so than red. I need to post about a gorgeous new Chinese blue that I have come across lately. It is dangerously close to knocking out all the other blues off my Blues List.

The Ming Dynasty (明朝) was the ruling dynasty in China from 1368 - 1644. It was one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in Chinese history. The development of underglaze blue to decorate white porcelain began on a regular basis and with great skill at Jingdezhen (景德鎮) in the Yuan period (元朝), and was perfected during the Ming Dynasty.

Until the Ming, the blue pigment—called cobalt—was imported exclusively from Persia (present day Iran, where the color Mohammedan blue come from) but fortunately a native cobalt was discovered in the early part of the Ming era. The most vital innovation relates to the modulation in the blue pigment, which can range from a grayish, washed-out blue to blue-black to a brilliant blue.

(Above right: A Ming Dynasty celestial globe vase with dragon and floral design from the Yung-lo reign, 1403-24)

Imagine such a gorgeous blue in the form of a tiny bottle of color in modern day. Well, Jin Soon sure did it. If you took the blue from a Chinese vase or Chinese printed cotton fabric, and sprinkled in lots of glittery silverish blue and navy sparkles, it would look like this:

MAC's Ming Blue, from their Fall 2010 Nail Collection. I had barely gotten over the juicy tangerine brilliance of Imperial Flower, when I then painted this on.

Two smooth coats, with one coat of Essie's Good-To-Go. A very brilliant, rich cobalt, and the sparkles really peek through the color.

Jin Soon, you do them Chinese colors right! Dead-on!

I am really loving the colors from this collection. Yes I'm a bit biased because of the whole Chinese theme, but can you blame me? So pretty. :)

DID I MENTION THAT I AM NOW A BELIEVER OF MAC POLISHES? I AM.

Sources: here and here.

imperial flower

2010-09-13T11:33:00.008+08:00

This is my first MAC mani, ever. And I am now a believer.

Such a beautiful, sparkly, tangerine pop color. LOOK﹕

Yeah, I sighed too.

MAC's Imperial Flower is from the Fall 2010 collection by Jin Soon, inspired by colors from Imperial China. Lemme tell you something. Being Chinese, I can vouch for this: Jin Soon did them Chinese royal colors right!! :D

OPI's Hong Kong Collection pale in comparison to this collection. I love the HK Collection too - naturally, since I'm from HK, hee - but Jin Soon's China colors totally have my heart. Totes.

Smooth, buttery application, 2 coats. Topped with 1 coat of Essie's Good-To-Go.

The sparkles are SO pretty. Golden and orange and yellow and there is just a hint of red in the color base itself. No wussy yellowish orange here. This is a loud, poppy, gorgeous tangerine. :D

I can't WAIT to try out the other colors! Happy happy.

I hope this post cheers up a dear girl that I know, because when I think of her sunshine face, this is a color I would associate her with.

mystery taupe!

2010-09-11T17:46:00.002+08:00

Dear Random Lady on the Subway This Morning,

I COULDN'T help staring at your AMAZING nail polish this morning as I stood next to you silently on the subway!

WHAT is this color!?!! WHAT IS IT!!

a) Essie's Mink Muffs

b) Chanel's Particuliere (I think it's too dark to be this)

c) China Glaze's Recycle (bordering on grey? Maybe?)

d) Some other amazing polish that I had never heard of which I never will because I got off at the next stop and didn't have time to ask you about it

TAUPE LOVE!

turquoise & caicos

2010-09-11T12:29:00.010+08:00

I have a very interesting relationship with this color. It wasn't love at first sight - in fact, it wasn't love at second or third sight, or even twenty-fourth sight at all. I actually had a full sized new bottle of Essie's Turquoise& Caicos in my cabinet, sitting there quietly for weeks last month, ready to get shipped off to Miss Pam as one of the many goodies in my package to her. And I didn't bat so much as an eyelash at it.

Well, as soon as I saw Pam swatch it, I immediately did a U-turn. I was more like this:

And just like that, I knew I HAD to have it. It lingered on my mind for WEEKS.

The other day, when I passed by this little pharmacy that sold Essies, I found a little bin they had that sold the box set bottles individually. I saw a mini bottle of Turquoise & Caicos. Naturally, it came home with me:

^ Oof. Look at that gorgeous turquoise.

^ Sorry, why did it take me this long to get this again? I can't remember. I don't recall what my polish life was like before Turquoise & Caicos.

Thanks to Miss Pam, who let me see with open eyes how I could have missed a color this special, this beautiful.

LOOK AT THAT MINI BOTTLE! It is super adorable. This was two thin coats, with one coat of Seche Vite.

I might just have to go get a full-sized bottle now. :D

***********************************

09.11.2001

Never Forget

***********************************

chocolate kisses

2010-09-10T16:27:00.006+08:00

When you need a little sweetness in life, whaddaya do? You eat chocolalala...no, you don't. You PUT chocolate on your NAILS. :D

Meet Essie's Chocolate Kisses. The only appropriate name for this color. Rich, thick molten brown creme, with a base of red. This could easily be either a dark reddish chocolate, or a brown vampy red. (I'll be interested to pair this side by side with Rouge Noir, for example, but I think Chocolate Kisses is definitely more brown.)

Two coats, with one thinner first coat, then a thicker second coat. When I did the second coat it really seemed like I was painting liquid chocolate onto my nails. I got really giddy! Topped with one coat of Essie's Good To Go. The actual color is more like the photo on the left, with the right photo under stark lamp lighting.

I think it's strange how these chocolatey nails made me WANT chocolate. Since this mani last night I've already eaten a lot more chocolate than I usually do. :D

beautiful music!

2010-09-09T09:31:00.007+08:00

The last two days have been kinda rough on me... all work-related. It didn't leave much room for happy thoughts. Then, I found out something when I got home.

I found out that there is more than ONE in the ARMY OF PAM.

I received another package in the mail from Pam, like she said I was going to. But. BUT! The package was posted... from HONG KONG. Not from Manila.

What did that mean?

That Pam somehow magically flew over to Hong Kong, posted a package to me, and flew back to Manila?

Or was it Jason and Momon again?

No, no it wasn't. It wasn't either of those. It was Smile (how awesome is that name) who posted on behalf of Pam, and I can't even begin to tell you how dumbfounded I am.

Let's not forget what was inside the amazing package:

^ This box is FULL OF WIN. It says Beautiful Music! all over it with crazy funny doodles.

^ CANDLES. One ginger, one green apple! The apple one, in particular, smells SO juicy. According to Pam, they are handmade candles by Smile.

^ Chanel's Steel and Strong, from the new Soho collection. How Pam manages these things just baffles me.... AND NOW I KNOW, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE IN THE ARMY OF POLISHPOLICE.

Thank you thank you girls. You made me smile lots. :)

dita

2010-09-07T11:47:00.006+08:00

I would like to think that this color was named after Dita von Teese. It really reminds me of her, too! I have Pam to thank for this color. It was part of the surprise package she got for me.

This was a glorious one-coater. A high-gloss, scandalous poppy pink creme that applied itself. Topped with one coat of Essie's Good-To-Go - which is becoming my favorite fast-dry top coat instead of Seche Vite.

^ It is TOTALLY gorge.

^ A one-coat dripping with punchpink goodness.

^ :D

Dita was on my wishlist for the longest time - and Pam killed it. I'll take a martini bath with that too, plz.

pretty edgy

2010-09-07T01:01:00.002+08:00

This post is entirely for Pam. :D

The first time I saw Pretty Edgy at the nail polish store that I frequent, I was hesitant. I had just begun to venture into greens, and I only had Refresh-Mint then, a very minty, pastel green. I didn't know how I felt about stark greens, true greens, let alone dark greens... ick. The thought of it made me churn because I didn't think greens looked good with Asian skintones.

I was SO, so wrong.

During one of my trips at the store again, I decided to give Pretty Edgy a try.

It's a pity that the brightness of the green didn't pick up that well, because it certainly is a tad brighter than these photos. (These photos make it look like OPI's Jade is the New Black.)

2 easy coats of gorgeous green gelly goodness. Yes, I spelt jelly with a 'g' because I was on an alliteration high. I mean, look at the crazy things this beautiful color does to me.

This color alone converted me into a green junkie. From this point onwards, it was over. Green all the way: Envy, Veruschka, Emerald Sparkle, Shawn, lord you name it, it's on my shelf.

Pam has a more accurately portrayed color of Pretty Edgy:

Sigh 5000.

Yeah. I KNOW. Isn't it?!?!!!

rouge fatal

2010-09-03T20:52:00.006+08:00

Chanel's got the name on this one right, because it took my breath away. Away, I said.

I only had Revlon's Minted on for one day, before I couldn't wait to try out other goodies from Pam. (hearts!) True to my usual ''1 bright 1 dark" alternating color philosophy, I opted for a darker color this mani. Rouge Fatal is a muted red with just the slightest hint of brown.

Okay, get ready for my declaration haiku as I stand on my soapbox:

ROUGE FATAL,

ONE-COATER.

SO MUCH GLORIOUS,

ON ME,

TEE HEE!

/soapbox

Seriously. A Chanel one-coater? It's true. Something was done to the formula at Chanel's crazy color lab, because the application is SMOOTH as silk and required no effort. You're looking at 1 base coat, 1 coat of Rouge Fatal, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

^ 1 coat of base + 1 coat Rouge Fatal

^... the above, + 1 coat Seche Vite.

It's dripping with red. LOVE. *sigh with me now*

polish police's hk mission!

2010-09-03T12:40:00.026+08:00

So, back in May, when my nail polish craze fully flourished, I did some Googling and found out about nail polish blogs, which was so full of awesomesauce in concept alone. The first nail blog I came across was POLISH POLICE. I remember thinking to myself, LOL. Do people think POLISH as in nail polish, or Poland polish? Such a cute blog name. Well, little did I know that the more I read about Pam's crazy ramblings about her little bottles of color, the more I got to love her quirkiness, and marveled at the similarities between us.

Meet Pam:

Just this photo alone illustrates how awesome she is.

I mean, a girl who writes a love letter to her black nail polish. Trust me, it's a tear-jerker. Pam's love between her and her nail polish is pretty darn special.

It was just a matter of time before Pam found me out, just another lurker of her bloggy goodness. And we started commenting. And we started linking. And we started talking. Oh Lord did we start talking.

Suddenly, I FOUND MY POLISH TWIN. Just like that.

Here's the crazy part: Pam and I both simultaneously started to cook up a surprise package full of polish goodies for each other.

The crazier part: we would cross-check each other's wishlists and inventories. Daily.

THE CRAZIEST PART: Pam's best friends Jason and Momon were going to be in town, bringing with them Pam's precious package for me. And in return, I was going to pass them my surprise package for Pam.

This happened yesterday:

Which was an event within itself, because Jason and Momon are the biggest, most lovable bears ever. And we talked about Pam, and more Pam. LOL.

But, let's take a look at the crazy goodness.

^ It all looks pretty harmless inside the bag.

^ NOT.

^ Zoya's NIKKI. That's my name!!

^ Zoya's Paz and Dita.

^ Zoya's Nina and Pinta.

^ REVLON'S MINTED?!?!?! WHAT!

^ Chanel's Rouge Fatal. This was nowhere to be found here. So you can imagine the screams that ensued. Plus, I LOVE RED.

^ THIS was mind-blowing. The thought of wanting one of these passed my mind, AND HERE IT IS, IN MY HAND.

^ I think Pam is trying to open dangerous new doors for me by introducing me to nail art. And I LOVE THESE.

^ A hand-written card with cupcakes on it. I was grinning so wide, the Cheshire Cat ain't got nothing on me.

I mean, Revlon's Minted? CHANEL'S ROUGE FATAL?

WHAT.

So after I finished oogling over the gorgeousness of everything (which was almost an hour,) I had to put on Minted.

^ I have no words.

^ Minted Candy Apple-ish, but more green-based than blue.

^ It was so creamy and perfect. 2 coats. It was everything I thought it was going to be, and I can't stop loving my nails with this color on.

I can't even begin to say what I loved more, the fact that Pam COMPLETELY ERADICATED MY ENTIRE ZOYA WISHLIST, or the fact that she GOT ME THE POLISH WITH MY NAME, OR the amazingly cute card she had put inside the bag, or... ARGH, I can't even list out the rest.

So, POLISH POLICE, consider this MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED.

skittles pedi

2010-09-02T10:59:00.004+08:00

Dear Lady on the Subway This Morning,

I adore you. Your skittles pedi rocks. Who cares that you're about 50. Skittles pedis will never go out of style.

Keep it Klassy,

Miss Bun

xoxo

lifesaver

2010-09-01T12:46:00.008+08:00

I am in SUCH a good mood today.

Work is going really well. I'm happy because one of our main cast members FINALLY got a lockdown and green light. That makes me happy because it's one more thing crossed off my list. And then. I'm meeting up with Pam's BFF and his BF - and it's kinda like meeting Pam. I'm so giddy.

AND THEN. THIS.

Essie's Lifesaver. I'm really not an orange person, but this orange is different. It's a very juicy, tangerine orange, with the most beautiful gold shimmer.

2 coats of sun-kissed goodness of a creme. The shimmer really makes the color adorable. I think this is from an older formula because the label is black, and look, the "e" is missing from the bottle top! The newer formula doesn't have such a golden shimmer. There is *just* a small dash of pink shimmer in the old one, too, which makes it special.

Look how great that looks against my denim jeans. :D

The other really happy thing is that I HAVE SECURED MYSELF TWO OF MY LEMMING POLISHES. They're both Chanels and... oh, today is just a great day. :D

watermelon

2010-08-30T10:59:00.007+08:00

Last night, I had wanted to get a mani in before bed, but I kind of fell asleep after my base coat. (That sounded funny even as I typed it LOL)

Then this morning, I woke up a little later than I intended to, and I was rushing. BUT I COULDN'T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH BARE NAILS. AGHH. So I opened my cabinet and grabbed the first pink I saw: Essie's Watermelon. I got this a while ago and hadn't tried it. So I did.

AND IT WAS, ONCE AGAIN, A ONE-COATER.

(What is with me and this lucky streak of one-coaters?)

It went on smooth like silk. A bright, poppy pink that had a touch of neon in it, because the camera couldn't pick up the brightness of the pink. I used one coat, put on a necklace, slipped on my Converse shoes, and put on a coat of Seche Vite. It was literally a 5 minute mani!

Thank you for brightening my day, Watermelon. You're juicy and silky and dry to a high-gloss creme and you bring a little color back into a much needed fresh new week. :D

raven

2010-08-27T13:27:00.002+08:00

Sometimes, only black will do.

starry starry night

2010-08-21T22:36:00.019+08:00

Every morning when I open my polish cabinet, I'm greeted with rows of pretty colors. One particular polish stands out -- it is not the loudest color, nor the flashiest color. But it is always the first one I set my eyes on. Behold the most prized gem of gems in my polish collection, the queen bee of my polish hive, the apple of my polish eye in my little polish cabinet: Essie's Starry Starry Night.

I won't lie: I spent the fortune of an extremely small island to obtain this. If you ask me, I'll tell you it's absolutely worth it. Everyone has their vices and things they will go great lengths for. I have several of those and one of them is nail polish. But hey, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

^ I started with my nails bare. Look at that label! It's old school Essie! :D

^ Look at that gorgeous sparkle peeking through. This was 8am this morning.

^ On the side of the bottle is this beautiful glob of silver glitter. It looks like the MILKY WAY!!

^Here it is after 1 thin coat. I LOVE jellies, and this navy is SO blue.

^ The sun wanted to say hello through my window. After 1 coat. And then:

^ Here it is. After 2 coats. Done. _insert dreeeeeaaaamy sigh_

^ If it was ever possible to capture the night sky into a bottle, this would probably be it.

^ The night sky. In the sun. :D

^ After 1 top coat of Seche Vite on top.

^ Starry Starry Night on my nails, and IN MY RING! An ingenious creation by Tracey from GingerKittyDesigns. I got myself one of Tracey's fabulous rings when I first found out about Starry Starry Night, thinking to myself that I would never be able to personally own a bottle myself. Now I don't have to keep looking at Starry Starry Night captured in my ring... it's on my nails too! :D

^ Starry Starry Night in 11am sun.

^ Just putting on this color can magically make it a good day for me.

Starry Starry Night was a very smooth jelly to apply and I only used 2 coats. I really enjoyed "building up"the night sky effect with the jelly base. It was everything I had dreamed of and heard of!

Again, don't give up if there is something you long for and want really, really, really bad. You just have to keep looking relentlessly. In the meantime, to satisfy your craving, you can get one of Tracey's fabulous Starry Starry Night rings here.

NARS fall limited edition skinny!

2010-08-20T18:37:00.005+08:00

Here they are, here they are! It's true, IT'S TRUE!! I got this directly from NARS in my inbox this morning. How can I resist!! Exhibit A:

OMG OMG OMG. BREATHE. BRRREEEEEEATHE.

NARS, I love you. Dreams do come true. Thank you for showing me that if you dream about something long and hard enough, it WILL come true... cue MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, ZULU, FULL METAL JACKET!

What a beautiful Friday it is.

hard rock party

2010-08-18T01:12:00.005+08:00

The other day, I was walking around Seibu and I came across a little nook that sold JESSICA nail polishes. There was a whole wall lined with Jessica polishes, all the pretty colors of the rainbow. Yaaay! Jessica in Hong Kong! But no, I didn't walk away with any. Instead, another nail polish caught my eye, by the name of a brand called YMCK professional. I have never heard of YMCK before, and they were a small boutique line from France, apparently.... and they only had about 45 colors. I adore their brand name, being the geek that I am... and this really pretty, light teal color caught my eye. I flipped the bottle over and the name of it was "Hard Rock Party." Pretty cute! So I bought it, along with another color, a dusty inky blue called Marine. (It was around US $10 per bottle... so that makes it a boutique polish, I think.)

Anyway, I tried out Hard Rock Party tonight:

Ooooh, you must be thinking. Pretty, right? What if... what if I told you that this was, again, a one-coat wonder? An absolute glossy creme dream?

Cuz it is. :D

^Not to mention the cute little clear swirly applique sticker on the bottle top!

^Go on. ENLARGE. Sigh with me... yeah, that's right.

^I did a little digging, and here is the collection where Hard Rock Party is from. This was a 2009 Spring Collection called Punk Rock. From the top, Let It Rock, Street Dance, Punk Up, and Hard Rock Party. Names are a bit boring, but the colors look gorgeous!

Application: it was SO smooth. For a polish that I've never heard of before, I was really surprised... and utterly giddy about the smooth application. I felt like I just ate a whole box of Turkish Delight all by myself. Aaaahhhh. OH. Also. All of their polishes are 4-FREE. (No formuladehide resin, toluene, dibutylphtalate and camphor.)

I'll be going back and looking at their other colors... I'm now a fan! Expect to see more YMCK polishes on here. :D

Sorry...did I mention THIS WAS A ONE-COATER? (This was a one-coater.)

jelly apple

2010-08-17T01:52:00.007+08:00

There are few things that are as satisfying as a nail polish whose application is so buttery smooth, soo creamy, sooo effortless that it feels like liquid second skin on your nails.

And then, imagine all of the above - but in 1 coat.

One single coat only.

Collective dreamy sigh.

Essie's Jelly Apple is one such beauty. I can't even describe it. Observe:

^ONE coat.

^You heard me.

Did you see that? Go on, click on it. ENLARGE. It is a SINGLE COAT JELLY that is dripping with good.

Then, I got in this sparkly kind of mood. I'm usually not a sparkle girl. But I was tonight. So I put on a coat of Essie's Silver Bullions. Exhibit B:

Yeah, I heard you sigh.

Only, the full name of this should really be Silver "Candy Man" Bullions. Remember that Candy Man song, that goes -

Who can take a sunrise
Sprinkle it with dew [...]
The Candy Man can
cuz' he mixes it with love
and makes the world taste good

Yeah. That's how I felt about Silver Bullions.

The same can also be said about China Glaze's Ruby Pumps, which is then painted over the Silver Bullions>Jelly Apple:

Who can take a rainbow
Wrap it in a sigh
The...

...Ruby Pumps can.

Excuse me while I go take a nap on a fluffy pink candy cloud with red and silver glitter and all that amazing shit...

jade in five ways

2010-08-16T21:31:00.005+08:00

...because you can never get enough of this color.

Here it is in five different photos this week as my mani.

^Jade and an Oreo.

^Jade and my wallet.

^Jade and my favorite M&Ms: seasonal mint crunchy shell!

^Even my two kittehs, Snowy and Toto, can't resist Jade.

^Jade and my lip balm.

Now that I have so many colors to play with, I seldom go for the same color for more than 2 days. But it is now day four, and I'm still loving Jade.

It doesn't get old. Mad love! Happy sigh.

PAM, this post is for you. :D

chanel jade

2010-08-13T13:25:00.003+08:00

Once in a while, you'll come across a particular color that is so special, so pretty, that you can't help but oogle and marvel and stare at it giggling like a crazy all day.

If love could come in the form of a mailed package, this would be it.

Chanel's Jade.

The shimmer. Oy, the shimmer. You can probably call it micro-shimmer or micro-sheen. It's bright green and pink and happy and, sigh, I can't continue.

I hope my bottle never runs out. This is now one of my favorite colors. I could wear this all summer long, and wear it in the fall AND winter, and I will never get tired of it.

I believe every girl should have a bottle of this. It is that pretty.

It really IS that gorgeous.

And I consider myself extremely lucky to have this in my collection. :D

spontaneous julieanne ruffian!

2010-08-12T13:46:00.004+08:00

Whee... tried my first ruffian manicure, it was pretty easy, just adding a thin coat of another color onto my current mani.

Violet creme is China Glaze Spontaneous from yesterday, dark glittery purple is Zoya's Julieanne.

Did I mention I love my nails short? Short short short.

spontaneous!

2010-08-12T02:32:00.005+08:00

Lord, what I said about orange in my previous post could easily apply to purple as well.

You see, growing up, purple was everyone's favorite color but mine. My mom's, my aunt's, my friend's, I mean, even those gosh darn Sweet Valley twins and their stupid (BUT AWESOME) Unicorn Club had to wear something purple everyday.

Everyone, but me.

WELL, MOVE ALONG, EEYORE, because I'm totally loving purple right now.

China Glaze Spontaneous, I have you to thank.

This is such a muddy, pretty creme purple. I debated between Grape Pop and this one, and I picked this one. (Um, I ended up getting Grape Pop later, too. TOUGH DECISION FAIL.)

This color makes my nails look effortless and full of bright, happy purple awesomesauce.

I've finally made friends with purple.

if orange juice were a nail polish...

2010-08-11T01:50:00.004+08:00

...this is what it would look like.

Seriously, it doesn't get any cheerier than this color. This is Zoya's Jancyn, and I need a little sunshine in my life at the moment, because the verdict is out: I have BRONCHITIS! This explains the chronic coughing! That stayed on for weeks!

So to cheer myself up I put this on, to make myself feel productive and useful - in the nail-painting department, that is. I've given up motivation and joy to do anything else other than sleep, eat (but a few mouse bites,) work on my translations and paint my nails. It's been very therapeutic but I feel so digustingly groggy that it leaves me little to no attention span to do much else.

Here it is, then: a bright, cheery color, just like orange juice. A year ago, I would have looked at this color with DISDAIN and said to myself, oh hellnaw. There is no way I'm going to wear that color on me nails. I just can't pull it off. Now, I can't stop experimenting with new colors such as this one.

This was creamy smooth and 2 thin coats did the trick, topped with Seche Vite.

an ode to Seche Vite

2010-08-09T12:11:00.008+08:00

Dear Seche Vite,

I just wanted to write this entire post about you. You see, I love you. That's how simple it is.

I have two rabbits that chomp on hay like it's going out of style, and when I feed them hay after my manicure, I am astonished that my nails come out of the hay bin completely dent-free and perfectly shiny - keeping well in mind that I had only done my manicure 15 minutes prior.

Happy sigh. Seche Vite, you're truly a nail girl's BFF.

Love, Me.

^ My cat Toto agrees with the atrocity of the hay's hardness, which normally would equal instant manicure death; (just LOOK at those stalks!!) PeeWee and The Joker, my little bundles of fluff.

heli-yum

2010-08-07T20:27:00.005+08:00

Instead of "Heli-Yum", an obvious play on the word helium related to balloons from China Glaze's Up and Away collection, this poppy neon pink should really be called HELLA YUM, because that's how I felt when I put this on.

So... I'm still sick. I had to go to the hospital where they have a 24hr out-patient department, to get this fever out of my damn body. I also have not stopped coughing. It's week 4. This is just annoying now. Don't you hate it when you can't do anything about your body besides let the virus run its course!

But the color of this creme makes me happy. This was an amazing ONE coat. It's so smooth and richly pigmented, it was opaque in one coat! I love how bright is, it's a darkly neon pink that just screams at you. I love it.

In other polish-related news, I have amazingly managed to acquire a bottle of Chanel's Jade. It's making its pretty way to me at the moment, and will be here in a week or so! Words can't describe the excitement. :D

schiap

2010-08-05T14:51:00.007+08:00

What a lovely color this is! It's Schiap by NARS. The first time I saw this color I fell in love. It's such a pretty, powerful pink. Here's a fun fact about the name, in an interview with Francois Nars:

"What's the story with your Schiap lipstick and nail polish shade? Why do you think it's so iconic for your brand?

NARS: It's named after Elsa Schiaparelli, the designer who's also the grandmother of Marisa Berenson. She invented the shocking pink in the 30s, which propelled her to fame. "Schiap" was her nickname. We worked hard to make it as close as possible. It's a bright bright bright pink--not Barbie pink, nor Pepto Bismol pink."

Aww. With a fun fact like that, what's not to love? Here I am with Schiap, in 2 thin coats:

Such a happy, gorgeous color! :D

NARS ((#&($@&(#!#!) AAAGGGHH

2010-08-04T15:08:00.002+08:00

NARS is re-releasing these beauties! I literally SQUEALED when I saw this. AGH!! From left: Mash, King Kong, Midnight Express, Zulu, Full Metal Jacket.

The apple of my eye in this group is MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. It's on my List. Go on, click on it, you know you want to. The little tab on the top of my page.. my list of wants. Midnight Express is on there.

I can't even contain myself. This is too much. This fabulousness comes out in the fall. Happy, happy sigh!!!!! :D

Source: Sweet Life

first buff!

2010-08-02T11:26:00.010+08:00

Happy, happy sigh. I can't believe it took me this long to do this, but I did it: I buffed my nails! :D

I cannot believe how much I LOVE having them buffed. They feel so smooth to the touch, no ridges, and by the time I got to the shine, oh wow. I mean, it looks like I have a coat of clear polish on. Um, what? How did I miss out on the wonderful fabulousness of buffed nails before?!

This all happened when I picked up an OPI buffer out of pure curiosity last week.

^ So... this is what my nails look like bare, pre-buffed. RIDGES GALORE, yikes.

^ The buffer I got was a file-like semi-soft board of 3 sides: the black was the 1st surface that smoothed out my ridges, followed by using the white side. The grey side was the 3rd and final side, that polished the buffed nails to a shine.

^ LOOK AT THAT SHINE. I... I have no words.

This is how I felt the entire time I was looking at my nails:

I'm a believer of buffed nails now! Of course, I am aware of all that Other Stuff: don't smooth out the ridges too deep, only do it once a month, la la la. The results are amazing and I love my buffed nails au natural.

paradoxal

2010-07-31T18:07:00.006+08:00

Whoa, what's going on, is it Chanel Week over here? Apparent-LEE, because here's a third post in a row about a Chanel polish! I know that there are mixed reviews about Chanel nail polish, but for me it will always be special and amazing, partly because there are sentimental reasons for me behind it. (That's for another post.) I was STILL sick the past few days, and I stayed home from work, which BLEW, I just hate not going in to work. :( But when you have a hacking cough that just won't go away, what good are you to peeps around you? Sigh.

Orange Fizz was getting a little too cheery, so I put on Paradoxal - maybe I just can't wait for the fall! I'm updating my list of favorite colors - Paradoxal is definitely on it. I can't even photograph it correctly. It has a "secret shimmer" that doesn't show up unless you're in the sun, and even then, only when the sun hits it a certain way. Once painted on, it turns into this muted, greyish-taupish purple, and it's so gorgeous I can't stop looking at my nails. My photos do not do this polish justice whatsoever.

This was 2 coats, with 1 top coat of Seche Vite.

For more ACCURATE color of this baby and also some of The Most immaculately manicured hands on teh internets, go take a look at Michele's post on Paradoxal over at Lacquerized.

I'm much better today, and I'm going back to work on Monday, full sail.

orange fizz!

2010-07-28T19:54:00.009+08:00

I've been sick all week... a fever last week that turned into this horrible, hacking mess of a cough this week, and I was too sick to go to work for two days, and it sucked. I was really beginning to like work too, on this new project, and being held back due to personal sickness is really Teh Suck in my book.

Anyway, I was too crummy to do anything else but drift in and out of sleep, and I thought I would post about my new color earlier this week.

I love, love this color: Chanel's Orange Fizz. I believe this came out last summer and I just recently bought this from the Chanel counter; thought I would try out an orangey-coral since it was summertime. What I didn't expect was how much I was going to love it! I've never worn orange polish before, because I don't think I can carry it well, and I was surprisingly delighted after I put this on.

Never mind that it is creme in the bottle, but once painted on, it translates into this lovely coralish orange with a pink tint to it. The best part was that in the sun, you can make out the slightest, just the tiniest bit of shimmer to it, and it's a "secret shimmer" - and that makes it ever the more adorable!

Application: smooth like butter, this was two coats with Seche Vite top coat.

It definitely brightened up my otherwise kind of humdrum, coughing-all-the-time week, and converted me into a coral believer! :D

the little blue box

2010-07-26T16:08:00.006+08:00

Hey, I was thinking to myself. This blue that I'm wearing looks like the blue of a Tiffany box. Since I was wearing Chanel's Nouvelle Vague already, I thought I would dress it up by adding a little variation.

I painted white tips on my nails with Essie's Marshmallow, and when it was dry, I topped it with an Essie matte coat. Ooooh. It has that porcelain look, just like my Mom's porcelain Tiffany box.

I love this thing! My mom got it in Japan many years ago, released by Tiffany & Co. From the photos, the box looks really blue and loses some of that turquoise.

I showed Mom my Tiffany "tips" and she said I should have drawn a little white bow on one of my fingers. Darn it. I should have! Maybe next time. :)

nouvelle vague

2010-07-24T15:38:00.005+08:00

Today is a good day because I have such a pretty color on my nails that I feel giddy just talking about it.

Everything that was said about Chanel's Nouvelle Vague is true: the shimmer, the shy blue shade, the almost-but-not-quite For Audrey blue, the excitement upon ripping into my package when it came through the mail to me!

This little number was out of stock at all the Chanel counters and boutiques around here. Not one to give up, I resorted online - and was lucky to find one that wasn't outrageous in listing price! When it arrived, I oohed and aahed at the shimmery blue. Even in the light you could see the almost pastel green, jade-like blue shimmer.

It went on like a darling and I used two coats. I love it so much! It's an incredible feeling to wear a color that excites you and makes you smile. I couldn't stop looking at my nails all day long. I love it love it love it!

simply red

2010-07-22T19:24:00.005+08:00

Today, I want to talk about...simply red.

HA! Just kidding. No offense, Mick Hucknall. But that's not what I mean. I mean sometimes, you just want a brilliant, true red - for your nails.

My favorite color is red, (cue the red hair, the red just-about-everything) so I think that's why I try different colors for other things (cue the turquoise-y color of this blog) but sometimes, you just want a brilliant, true red. I wasn't always into red as a nail polish though. When I was younger I thought it was a "mom" color and I never thought I would like it on myself.

WELL so much for that. You see, I tried OPI's Comet Loves Cupid, and you just can't get more true-red than this. This was one of the colors that came with the Christmas mini-set last year, and I've had it for a bit but never used it. So yesterday, I did.

Eeek! Just LOOK at the bottle! It's so TINY! Mini ANYTHING, by default, is cute. So I thought to myself, since it's a mini, the application would be a nightmare because of the naturally tiny brush. But... noooo. This was still amazing to apply, and the polish was smooth and creamy. I love cremes. Did I mention I love cremes? (I love cremes.)

Just look at that pop. I had a girl's night out last night, and over dim lighting at dinner, the fresh blood-red of my nails really shone! I did two coats easy, topped with Essie's Good To Go.

I now most definitely, definitely LOVE red on my nails...and red shades are probably the color I have most! (I love cremes.)

strawberry summer!

2010-07-21T12:07:00.011+08:00

A little while ago I saw Wan from i love nail polish do some amazing strawberry nails, and I knew I had to try it out! Now I'm not a fan of nail art, because I think some of them can be over-the-top and gaudy, but what Wan did was just perfect!

I didn't have the nail polishes that Wan used on hand, so I had to find the right colors for subtitutes first. I looked through my little cabinet and I picked Zoya's LC for the strawberry red, Orly's Green Apple for the leaves, and OPI's Banana Bandana for the seeds. So I put on Zoya's LC for the base red first. I used two coats and it's this amazing cherry red creme that just pops! What I love about it also was that it had a slight pink tint to it.

So after it was all dry, it's time to break out the brush! I didn't have a striping brush, so I just used a watercolor brush that I had around. I ended up just using the in-cap brush from the Orly Green Apple polish though, and it worked out fine too! Then I used a toothpick to dip into the yellow polish, and carefully did the seed dots. After it was all dry, I put on a top coat of Seche Vite, and it looks amazing!

I opted to just do the ring finger on my left hand, and the thumb on my right hand. I really like how subtle it is, two strawberries were enough for me! So juicy and yummy, such a great idea! Thanks Wan! :D

i've got the power!

2010-07-20T16:45:00.007+08:00

The other day I met up with my good friend Karen, and we went to watch Toy Story 3. What a beautiful movie. :) So what I noticed was that Karen had a beautiful manicure. I had to take a picture of our hands side by side for my blog. She's wearing Nicole by OPI's I've Got the Power, this shimmery magenta, and on my hand... Essie's Honey Bun from last post, and my favorite ring.

I'm the one on the left with the red bag, Karen's the one in green. I love Karen! She's pretty, intelligent, and stylish... and REALLY deserves someone who loves her and appreciates her for who she is. I LOVE the name of her polish. :D

honey bun

2010-07-19T15:12:00.008+08:00

I'll admit it: I'm partial to things that are named after rabbits. So when I found out Essie has a color called Honey Bun, well - I bit! The number on this is 050, so it's one of Essie's older colors.

Never mind that it is a dusty, coral-ish pink, which is a shade I'm growing to love, but cue the micro gold shimmer that's only visible in sunlight!

Guess that's the "honey" part of the polish:

This was two coats only, and smooth like butter to apply. Dries to a glossy, liquid finish. It's definitely one of my favorite colors now!

soft french

2010-07-16T14:01:00.007+08:00

I love French bread with soft cheese. It is maybe one of the most delicious things to eat, ever. If cheeses can be divided into hard and soft kinds, well so can the French manicure! :D

I've had my Anna Sui pink polish on for two days (see previous post) and it was such a pretty, subtle shimmering pink that I wanted to keep it, but I was thinking about spicing it up a bit. I thought to myself I could do a French tip! So I did - with Essie's Marshmallow... the result was a very soft, muted looking white, which I surprisingly loved!

THIS is where it gets interesting.

After I did the white tips, I thought that the pink was a little too pink. So you can guess what I did next: I put on a coat of Essie's Matte About You.

The results? Oh it's absolutely DELISH. It's what I would like to call a "soft" French, matte and much softer than the shiny, stark white tips that I did. The matte top coat really gives the nail a buffed look, with the softest hint of shimmer underneath!

Here is another photo, with an ice-cream cone this time. This flavor is a favorite of Droo's and mine. We eat it all the time when he was here earlier this summer, topped with crushed Oreos. :)

stop and smell the roses

2010-07-14T13:38:00.005+08:00

I'm so happy today, and I just want to share why:

Anna Sui nail polish.

That's right. Not only does it look soft and feminine, but the best part is that after you paint your nails, THEY SMELL LIKE ROSES.

You can't get any better than that, if you're a nail polish.

This was Anna Sui 700, in a soft, iridescent pink. The glitter is almost like a micro-shimmer, so it just looks like a soft sheen from afar. I'm not really a glitter person, so it's perfect. This was 4 coats with a top coat of Seche Vite.

And my nails STILL smell like roses with the Seche Vite top coat. A subtle, rosy scent. By the way, can I just mention how pretty the bottle is? IT'S A ROSE. *Happy sigh*

something blue

2010-07-12T13:46:00.007+08:00

What a weekend... had to put in a good chunk of hours on my translation, and I'm still working on it today. World Cup just ended, and I feel this big void in my heart. I miss Droo, too. It's getting harder being apart again. It's especially hard when he's so cute and dashing...and very far away. :(

Anyway, to perk myself up, I did a new color yesterday. I had picked up Essie's Mint Candy Apple a while ago and I've been aching to try it. When I first put it on I was a bit taken back by the brightness of the pastel shade, but by the time I finished the entire manicure I was in love!

This is my second Essie application... my first was Mink Muffs three weeks ago and it was DIVINE. Thinking it was pure beginner's luck, I used Essie again to find that it is indeed creamy and smooth! The formula is self-leveling too, and with a top coat there were zero streaks. This was two coats only.

The color itself is a lovely ice-creamy color, and although not quite a Tiffany blue, it's a very pretty, shy pastel that resembles it.

It took two Essie colors to convert me: it is now my favorite polish! I don't mind the smaller brush, since I have smaller, gumdrop nails.

swatching

2010-07-10T00:36:00.006+08:00

So as I'm coming to find out quite quickly, keeping track of one's polish colors is FUN. The girls at CHER2 (my regular stress reliever after work) gave me a few color wheels... and I found myself happily painting away this afternoon. And now I have a few pretty "flower" wheels, so I can better keep track of my colors. I decided to organize by color and not by brand.

Oh it makes me so happy to look at all the pretty colors.

Upon telling Droo what I was doing, he goes, "So now you can plan ahead and have your nails match your outfit." BOYFRIEND IS CUTE. :)

By the way I wanted to shoutout to GRACE, whom I met at CHER2 yesterday! HI GIRL!

funny bunny!

2010-07-09T11:50:00.007+08:00

So... Germany bowed out in the World Cup, what else can be more tragic? I seriously cried after they lost. Since following the Cup I've grown to love the German team, their playing style is so refined and fluid - and for such a young team, too! I MUST post my World Cup nails some time, I promise.

Anyway, Zoya's Yummy lasted all but a day on me... I decided I really didn't like the blue after all. So I did a white this time, OPI's Funny Bunny, it is a soft white creme with the faintest, faintest of shimmer, but you can only really see it in the sun, and even then it's just a little bit:

It was a (*@&# to put on, because it took me FOUR coats, and still you can make out the tip of my nail, but it ended up being such a pretty white that in the end, it was totally worth the effort.

So after a day of this, I put on a coat of Essie's Matte About You:

... and I LOVE how much it looks like porcelain! It reminds me of my mom's Lladro porcelain figurines. I've also decided that I love white as a nail color, it's so fresh and pretty.

I'll admit that I like the name of this color too, because it's me! I'm a funny bunny.

bye uruguay!

2010-07-07T04:50:00.019+08:00

So it's World Cup time and I'm watching the Netherlands Uruguay game with Droo. (We're chatting on the computer as the game is happening.) The following conversation ensues:

droo: how are your nails?

bun: wow did you really just ask me that?

bun: you are so awesome.

droo: GO HOLLAND!

bun: i'm loving this sky blue on my nails

droo: wait!

droo: URUGUAY is in SKY BLUE!

droo: take it off NOW!

droo: have you been putting it on throughout the first half?!

droo: you're the curse!

droo: OMG!

droo: take it off!

bun: SORRY!

droo: take it off!

bun: bear oh no!

bun: sorry sorry sorry

droo: we athletes are superstitious. but I'm mostly messing with you LOL

It's amazing to have such a cute boyfriend. :D

The sky blue I picked is Zoya's Yummy....it's such a pretty, rich blue! Would this classify as a robin's egg blue? (But then I always thought that was a little paler and maybe with a greenish tint.)

Here's what it looks like in warm lighting and in stark lighting.

isn't this how they do it

2010-07-07T00:15:00.005+08:00

I can't stop looking at this pale yellow color I've been wearing the last three days. Again it's OPI's Banana Bandana, and I am in love. So apparently you have to pose with your painted tips wrapped around the bottle so people know which color it is. So here is mine:

And just look at how nice it is when I'm holding onto my favorite juicebox:

It's creamy and perfect and I NEVER thought I would like yellows ever, but here I am giving it a chance and I like it! :D

I wanted to put on a new color tonight and asked Droo what color I should use. He said I should use orange in support of the Netherlands in their game against Uruguay tonight. (Note to self: post World Cup nails pls thx.) Sadly, I did not have any orange - again, don't think orange is my color - so it will have to be something else. I haven't decided yet. This is too much fun.

lace nails

2010-07-06T00:30:00.006+08:00

OMG. WHAT. Note to self: MUST learn how to do this, SOON. Real little lace pieces on nails! :D I like.

sunday colors

2010-07-05T14:36:00.005+08:00

Here is a picture of my Aunt Betty and I... mine is OPI's Banana Bandana, and hers is China Glaze's Second-Hand Silk. She has had hers for a week with no chipping, and mine were freshly done the night before.

I really love this yellow, it is pale and creamy. I used 4 coats. Perfectly sunshine for a Sunday!

late bloomer

2010-07-05T13:07:00.006+08:00

So....lately I've turned into this CRAZED nail polish addict, and there is seriously no precedent to this. I used to bite my nails pretty badly, and only really stopped biting them as late as 2003: when I got my tongue pierced, all of a sudden I just stopped biting my nails.

I mean, I've played around with polish when I had bouts of attempts to quit biting my nails back then, but those lasted for a good 5 seconds and I didn't know the difference between OPI and Revlon if my life depended on it.

I started picking up nail polish because my Aunt Betty had this beautiful frosty white color on her perfectly manicured hands. I was hooked and bought a bottle the very next day. What I didn't realize was that since I had stopped biting my nails years ago, my nails had grown back quite prettily, so I was real surprised when I saw that the polish looked so lovely on my nails. I was in love!!!

Now I can't stop having pampering sessions of manicures at home, picking out bottles of OPI and essie, preferring China Glaze over Zoya, WEIRD GIRLY STUFF LIKE THAT.

I'M A LITTLE SCARED, TBQH.

The thing I want to share is this: I feel soooooo happy when I see my nails painted and all done up. I feel HAPPY. I mean, is that just...over-the-top vanity, or I'm what they call a 'late bloomer'?

To all of this, my boyfriend Droo's reaction: "Bun, are you blossoming?!"

Why yes, I think indeed I am. So all you girls (and guys) out there, next time you bump into me, say hello and ask me about my current nail color, or better yet show me yours!

redhead, rednails

stephanie

lael

big apple red

aloha (the polish!)

aloha (hi, not the polish!)

kristi

lava lamp

downtown LA

bikini bottom

warhol

one less lonely girl!

sneaker head

office polish-tics

edyta

quarter of a cent-cherry

marine

crazy daisy!

zulu! (and...we're back)

the long goodnight

59

khaki vert

rose insolent, spotted!

merlot

marilyn

ming blue

imperial flower

mystery taupe!

turquoise & caicos

chocolate kisses

beautiful music!

dita

pretty edgy

rouge fatal

polish police's hk mission!

skittles pedi

lifesaver

watermelon

raven

starry starry night

NARS fall limited edition skinny!

hard rock party

jelly apple

jade in five ways

chanel jade

spontaneous julieanne ruffian!

spontaneous!

if orange juice were a nail polish...

an ode to Seche Vite

heli-yum

schiap

NARS (*(#*&($*@&(#*!#!) AAAGGGHH

first buff!

paradoxal

orange fizz!

the little blue box

nouvelle vague

simply red

strawberry summer!

i've got the power!

honey bun

soft french

stop and smell the roses

something blue

swatching

funny bunny!

bye uruguay!

isn't this how they do it

lace nails

sunday colors

late bloomer

NARS ((#&($@&(#!#!) AAAGGGHH