Sinful Colors #26 Snowing Gold

Look what jumped into my lap while shopping clothes from the seasonal sale in Seppälä*... It's Snowing gold by Sinful Colors. I wasn't about to buy any polish anymore this month... For including this one and a 1 euro find Capricorn by Wild and Crazy this month's total is 13 new nail colors...



I'm not so into gold polishes but this seemed interesting in the bottle. And indeed it is.

The color reminded me of something I have recently seen... Then I thought, yes, doesn't it look like Oro from upcoming Nubar Venetian Glass Collection?


Here's Siobhan's swatch of that Nubar: The Nailphile

She mentioned the new Nubars from that collection beeing quite opaque, whereas this one required 3-4 coats. And I got sheet marks for laying the 2nd coat on before bedtime. Next two coats I put on in the morning.

This is without top coat as usual.


I don't normally wear shades this warm. On winter time, when it's cold and my hands look more pink, this would not be my first choice of polishes. But have to admit it's a beautiful color. Especially paired with fresh green.


Summer and sun...

* Seppälästä tätä ja paria muuta "syksyistä" Sinful Colorsin kynsilakkaa 2 e/pullo, Wild and Crazyjä alekopasta 1 e/pullo


Hard to believe it's already end of June! My summer vacation starts this week and the best days of summer are still ahead. Here's one of my favorite songs of the season. An anthem if you may. You might recognize the singer, it's Per Gessle from swedish pop band Roxette. This band's called Gyllene Tider which translates to "Golden Age" - goes well with this mani :D

Haul: Nubar Night Sky Collection + 3 more Nubars

When I heard some more recent Nubars are out there to order in Finland* I took a quick look to my wishlist and sent in the order. I'm so happy these are affordable here ...now that it's so hard to order from overseas.

I knew I wanted the whole matte Night Sky Collection. Here it is from left to right: Diamont Top Coat Seal & Shine, then Sunset, Twilight and Midnight.

I also wanted Knight's Armor from Fortress Collection and Spark from Prisms Collection, there at the end of the line. I seem to be very drawn to the dark side again :D


Here in differend order, with Night Sky ones being in the middle. Actually I also bought holo green Reclaim to cheer me up, but misplaced it already while so excited....

Click the pic to view it big

Here's the Night Sky gang again. Not much to look at while in the bottles but I'll soon wear them... Seemed to apply alright on the fake wheel.

Hope they'll bring me as much joy as Russian Navy Suede by O.P.I.

Here the odd ones again: Knight's Armor - the name being very suitable (haha, but really!) and Spark - a holo shimmer.

* Jotain edukasta ja ihanaa sentään Suomestakin. Nämä Nubarit on niin nättejä... Tuotteet tilattu netistä Looksdesign.fi *

I'll be playing more with these soon but my current mani is a golden one, with yet another new polish. I'll post the pics tomorrow :)

Midsummer themed nails

Well it's past Midsummer and yet it feels so cold... Not much of sunbathing weather - any day in June... But that's ok, at least we have the sun to celebrate around the clock even if it doesn't warm us LOL.

Midsummer / Summer Solstice decorations include birch branches and lots of green. Some burn bonfires. While I was a kid our neighbour used to cut some young birches and place them on our porch on Midsummer's Eve, one on either side of the doorway. They smell divine. Also some branches were used to make a bath whisk, to use on sauna. At the moment we have our city birches on the yard so no way of cutting a branch of them... But I do use young leaves to brew some tea :)

To read more about Midsummer traditions, here's a wikipage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer#Finland


On this design I wanted to make birch trunks. Just simple and close to natural - as it is the nature we celebrate. I chose pearl white (Enamel Art 1000 2-way nail art pen) for I think it looks beautiful with pink.


Made 3 stripes on either nail with pearl white. Then used a toothpick and a drop of black to make the black pattern. Must not be too evenly spaced to look more natural, so anyone can do it - even on the right hand.


Here's how I hold the pick when I do my dominant hand: secure the left hand against the table, bring the right hand right close to it, leaning the toothpick against spreaded index and middle finger and thumb - using the index finger to press the motion.

While doing this particular design it takes a bit of a time and the hand can get shaky. So if you want to take a break, remember to pour just a tiny drop of black so it won't dry out.


Finally updated the banner too. Was about the time the snow melted in my hands or what do you think? :)

Hope you've had a great Midsummer weekend!

Inglot #151

Here's my very first Inglot swatch. Intuitively selected, just marched in the store in a hurry, took the first bottle that called out to me, and headed to the counter. Bubblegum pink with beautiful pearly sheen. #151.


Love it in the sun, so quite a few pics here...

Applied nicely, few streaks I see here on the pics but not detectable to the eye. This is 2 coats, no top coat.

I planned on doing some nail art over it, but it's so pretty to look at by itself. I will put some Midsummery theme on it though during the weekend.

Have a great Midsummer's Eve!

Nail Art Contests for Summer

Many nail art contests going on - so why not put all the favorite colors to use now? :)

Tartofraises is having her 3rd contest, with a theme "Summer". Stamping nail art also allowed but as a part or design - not as an entry itself. Limited number of entrants allowed but there's still room for 30 more contestants (last time I checked)! Check out her contest and updated amount of contestants here. There'll be 4 winners.

Next one is 3TanjaJ3's contest with a theme "Vacation". Must be done using Migi Nail Art pens. Ends July 2nd. Read the rest of the rules here:



Then there's madamluck's Fun In The Sun. There are 3 levels to enter: beginner, intermediate, expert. Ends July 25th:



BeenaBop is having a contest that spans to August 1st. Her theme is "Handbags/purses". Even if you're not planning on entering this contest you can find creative ideas by tuning in to the theme and going through Google pic search and such: color combos, buckles, buttons, zippers, pockets, trimming... Endless source of ideas right there :) Here are the rules to enter And as with all videos, you can also see the received entries on video responses:

Let's start painting :)

The new ones - too dark for June?

... This is what I came home with*. Some darker polishes for a change. I think it stuck on my mind seeing some luring pics of Ulta Glam Goth sets around the blogosphere - so me wants dark too!

The blue-grey you've seen already on me here, so here are the others from left to right: #195 by Depend, #151 by Inglot (my first Inglot!), #251 Cedar Green by Mavala, #736 by L'Oreal Resist & Shine and #734 by L'Oreal Resist & Shine.

So dull that only one of the bunch has actual name instead of just number!

Here they are in the shade. You can see how dark the last 3 are, the tealy blue is almost black. They are with just one coat. Cedar green is 2 coats here. I don't have many greens so it was a nice addition. Also, the dark ones here were all on sale for 2 euros each*. There would've been O.P.I.'s Here Today Aragon Tomorrow for half price and I almost got it.. But my green "season" is yet to come, I don't wear green all too often, so I decided to take this little green Mavala with me instead of that.

* Ostokset Vantaan Jumbosta, useammasta putiikista...

My throat feels a lot better and hopefully I'll be able to celebrate Midsummer's Eve tomorrow with a barbeque. Until then just lots and lots of tea. Rooibos tastes mild enough when drinking cup after cup...

I'll be back soon with that pink Inglot :)

Classy blue-grey: Depend #170

I did get some new bottles while away... Among them my very first Depend. I had a hard time deciding what I'd get, they all looked too familiar in their bottles - except for this. I knew I had nothing like this yet. It's #170, blue-grey, shade depending on light.


More light reduces the blueness a bit. And this is just ONE coat, without top coat! It applied like a dream really. Love the small bottle yet steady brush. And I've had it on for almost a week without a damage! Costing just 2.90 euros (about 3.60 USD but that is cheap in Finland) it's earning its place on my top 10 favorites.

After putting this on and searching for swatches on the net, I read from Alizarine Claws that this is close to MAC Liberty of London Blue India. Except for the Mac is more of a teal than this one.

Sorry for only the indoor pics due to me being sick. But this won't be the last time you'll see me wearing this polish that's for sure!

I think this color fits my mood (still sneezing) as well as the more square shape I have now that I filed down a 2 months growth... Feels cozy yet not mousy :)

I also got a friend for her from #195 which is a gorgeous light blue with silver shimmer. I have it on my toes at the moment, and it's so much more beautiful than I thought it would be! I'll show it on my tips some time later. Now I'll go and find an empty wheel to swatch the rest of my purchase. There's a sunny day coming...

Have a fun day :)

Piggy nails

Wow I am so behind on posts! I was away on business last week and cought a cold right after. Air conditioning on the plane or just a coincidence, but I've got a sore throat ever since and a fever for a couple of days.



But this is what I wore before the trip. It's the lightest of the Claire's I got for Summer. I hadn't properly worn it yet. On the sides equally new to my hands M118 Grey Sparkle to Silver Crystal by Nubar - because it just happened to be on my purse when I felt naked wearing just Claire's coral... And I have always black nail art liner with me, so the good old x-french came to place. At home defined the x with silver. It was just a quick manicure but felt comfortable. And I like pigs :)

Take a close look, because I cut the length down quite a bit this week. While on the way I had easy-to-maintain manicure with Millennium by China Glaze. Don't have pics, because when I got home I was really feeling my nails are too long, almost ashamed of them. Really felt like a freak after seeing all the chic nails almost every other woman seems to have... And the foil effect just made me feel even more like Edward Scissorhands...

But the lacquer itself, Millennium, it's so perfect and stayed on like a dream. And now I'm a bit sorry I didn't take pics because I realized I had no outdoor pics of it yet! Here are the older indoor pics.


Now that I'm back home surrounded by beautiful nail blogs again I don't feel so alien. Aaah... But I'm not sorry for cutting them down a bit. If nothing else, they feel much stronger again.

I'll be back tomorrow with a bit more petite nails :)

Sweet May activities

Remembered I hadn't listed the things I've done to fit in my bikinis last month...

Well the first week went by with cakes and celebrations... I didn't attend to any class! But from then on:

2 x Pilates
2 x Deep stretching
1 x Astanga yoga (my fist time: great, great, effective!)
2 x Zumba
1 x Water gymnastics (my first time: loved it, will do more!!!)

There were fewer classes to choose from in the May as they made adjustments to the schedule. There were actually no more Pilates than those 2. I also worked long hours so I couldn't get to the classes that started before 6 p.m.

But I did ride a bike ("new" used bike, the stolen one hasn't yet been found) to work almost every other day and did some stretching on my own. This is not enough ...and compared to my months's diet with evil Ben&Jerry's comforting me at nights after busy day at work... I'm not making much progress.

This month I'll try my old tricks in addition to the held classes. I'll do my routine on my own during lunch hour if I have to because I don't want to slip back to the sofa. When too many days go by without real stretching my shoulders get rounder, neck gets shorter, my whole posture gets down. My body ages like 5 years in a one lazy week!

Now we're almost in the middle of June and I am making progress. Just left wheat, meat, sugar, salt and milk products for the weekend and my little emerging double chin vanished - in 2 days! Without starving I might add, for I've been eating loads of fruits, vegetables, nuts, raisins, dried apricots etc. Under arms benefitted from this change in the diet too.

Feeling lighter already. I hope this weekend diet helps me to reduce my crave for anything too salty or sugary for a while :)

Here's a pie I whipped up last weekend. Digestive biscuits crushed with rape seed oil, topped with fresh cheese sweetened with lemon juice and a bit of raw sugar and berries.

Sweet weekend :)

Fizz Leopard nails drowned in Deep Orange Ocean

In pastel yellow it was so playful... so I spiced it up with gorgeous flakie Deep Orange Ocean by Sinful Colors. I put 1 coat over the whole nail, and then 2nd coat from half way up, and 3rd coat to the very tip. To make it look gradient. Would've been wiser to do the gradient under the pattern, yes, but I just got the idea after seeing how pale it was on its own :)


The flakie on top did smudge the black spots a bit but other than that it was a perfect fit for the design. Definitely brings out the more wild side of the orange spots and the whole pattern.

Have a great start for your weekend!

Strawberry nails

Here are little strawberry nails I got to paint. I thought Contempo by Nubar would be a good choice for this little mannequin, being "healthy" nail polish...

... And being gorgeous color in its own right :) For it's matte I thought I'd add clear dots for a lively look. With a toothpick as usual. The green leaves are with Nail Star nail art pen.

They look more delicious IRL. I wish there was sunshine to capture the real deal but it's a very cloudy day. Luckily we got our own sunshine here nevertheless the weather - the baby sister came to see her big sister's strawberry nails, in her brand new strawberry dress:

Have a sweet day :)

Lemon Fizz Leopard

Bright and bubbly for a change! Actually this is double-fizz leopard. Base color is Lemon Fizz by China Glaze and the spots are made with Orange Fizz by Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine. Been wanting to get them together since I first got them :D

... Black half cirles are made with regular black polish and a toothpick. As you might have noticed, toothpicks are my favorite nail art tools < 3


Here's a closeup. Verrry random spots, verrry irregular lining. As we know, pastel yellow is not the smoothest surface to work with - but that just works for us in designs like this. That's wild enough!

I had a tear on the nail on my ringfinger. There's a patch on it and the polish looks quite rough on it. That bothers me a bit. Also light laquer like this makes my nails look wide and I'm so used to darker colors lately... Might need glitter to be totally satisfied with this look...

Thanks for stopping by!

Sapphire by Nubar layered

I had really hard time removing the latest mani... You know, the glitter just stands there and the red spreads on the nail beds... So after getting it all off with tender touch and nail polish wipes, I let my nails soak in oil without polish. In the morning jumped out of bed, had to get to work, had to get the color on ASAP.

My quickie manicure is Russian Navy Suede by OPI so that did it, again. I didn't take new pics but see my first take on it here. Now I was all polished and it matched my jeggings quite perfectly :)


But when I got back home I had to spice it up, and remembered that this Nubar was waiting for its turn. So I laid a coat of Sapphire over Russian Navy Suede and this is it! Really sparkly blue but still there's suedeness left (and tipwear that's common with suedes).


Now I have no idea how many coats it would take to make Sapphire stunning on its own. I'll have to give it a try another time. I had nothing to complin about how it applied. No doubt it is beautiful alone too but I'll get on to more summery shades for a change.

And I just painted myself in the corner again, with this combo. Not a tad easier to remove than the previous manicure... Oh well, next time with lighter shades.


After 10 more days my busy schedule should ease up and I can get to videos and all the stuff I've been putting off. Can't wait to get some new content on the YouTube account also, for every day I get new subscribers over there :)

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Sis's Ultraviolet zebra

I had my sister here over the weekend and was pleased to do her nails. She kindly allowed me to use the pics (did I ask? I might've just announced it...).

We decided to hop in the train and leave the town for the night, so we were in a hurry to put on the polish. I wore my Contempo-Rainbow nails with black outfit. She wore a stunning top with purple and black so she chose Lilac dream by La Femme Beauty as her base color. To add the spice, we layered Ultra violet by Color Club on top of it.

Here it seems as hot pink but it does lean to purple.

The black stripes were made on the rails but luckily the pattern only benefitted from the speed - lively stripes LOL Disclaimer: The cart was almost empty so fellow passengers were not affected by the fumes.

I know I could do better but were so excited about the night. And her nails are so cute they don't necessarily call for so much bling.

I was really happy to have her here. I wish she lived closer. I'd do her nails anytime she wanted (and would get better on doing it!). Too bad it's not possible to do manicures online :D

Nail art wheels

Here are the new wheels of bling! I ordered them from Bundle Monster, through eBay. 17.99 USD + 4 USD for international shipping.

Initially I found these after searching for their fauxnads... But I use my stamps so rarely there's no need for me to order any more plates - let alone 21!

Eli nämä siis eBayn kautta, 10 kelaa kynsikoristeita. Hintaa tuli postikuluineen noin 18 euroa, suoraan postilaatikkoon toimitettuna :)


Here they are, all but one. I managed to misplace it already! There were yellow flowers and some beads and... Well I'll find it soon. Click to view the pieces larger.


There are rhinestones, beads, hollow hearts and stars, full hearts and stars, and so on... Very wide variety of colors.

These beads + teardrops make me think of lingonberries and leaves. Would be a cool mani :)







There are also little bunnies!

Great selection of differend shapes, I'm pleasantly surprised by them. I thought there might be some beads and then some stars and regular rhinestones... But really a great assortment.

Together they make (according to Bundle Monster) over 14 000 pieces! Takes a while to use them up I'll say...

My only rant is that they don't stay in their compartments. They don't fall out of the wheel but they mix with each other. Not a big problem though.

It also would be more practical if the pieces were organized by color or by shape. Now they seem to be divided so that every wheel looks equally exciting and colorful. But who knows, maybe I'll find time to play with them and categorize them in their little compartments by some feature LOL

These wheels are not as big as the ones I have. Nevertheless they contain so much bling I have no need to hunt down any nail art pieces soon :)

Thanks for stopping by!