Hello again!!!

It’s officially summer time in the Philippines and it sure feels like it! Whew! I’m melting over here, y’all! One of the best things about summer and nail polish is the flood of bright, fun colors and eye-catching nail art. Today, I’m sharing swatches of the new Urban Jungle 2017 Summer Collection from Girlstuff Forever. This collection is bold, fresh, and fun to wear. The formula on these is the perfect consistency so they are very easy to apply. These shades are all cremes that dry quickly, are long-lasting, and are also easy to remove. Win! Lets get to the pictures, shall we?

Urban Jungle Collection

Found Myself – This teal creme is perfection in two easy coats. This bold polish is not for the faint of heart. But for those of us that love a pop of color on our nails, this shade is a winner!

Away From It All – This is a pastel yellow creme that isn’t exactly a pale yellow, but also is not overly bright. It is clean and fresh. Take extra care when applying this one because, if you drag your brush, you will end up with bald spots and will need three coats instead of two.

Bare Necessities – This is a pastel mint green creme that is so refreshing! This one also needs a little extra care with application to prevent bald spots. You can get away with two coats if you are careful. I really want to recreate my Cherry Blossom nail art from years ago using this as my base.

No Compromises – Wowzers! This is a bold blue creme that will not go unnoticed! All you needs is two easy coats for this look. Isn’t it pretty?

Dreams Do Come True – When I first saw shots of the Urban Jungle Collection, Dreams Do Come True caught my eye and I was excited to try it. It did not disappoint!  This two-coater is a lovely purple creme which leans just a little bit towards blue. Just lovely! It’s my favorite of the bunch.

Each of these Girlstuff Urban Jungle polishes retail for Php 120 and can be purchased at any of the Girlstuff kiosks or directly from Girlstuff Forever. Check out Girlstuff on their website or Facebook to purchase your own Girlstuff polishes.

Which one is your favorite of the bunch? Please comment below.

I hope you have a happy and colorful summer ahead of you. Don’t forget to make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

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Hello again!

Another swatch post coming up! I’ve got a couple of glittering beauties to show you today. These are from the CND Vinylux Starstruck Collection. The full Shellac Starstruck Collection has several other stunning glitter bombs but, from what I can find out online, the Vinylux line is only composed of these two I’m swatching today. I’ve done two coats for each of these and topped them with the Vinylux Weekly Top Coat.

Emerald Lights – This emerald green jelly is gorgeous. It is loaded with green glitter and it is so sparkly.  I don’t have a lot of green polishes and I’m so happy to have this one in my collection now.

Dark Diamonds – I would describe this one as a black crelly loaded with lots of silver glitter. Very sparkly and fun to wear.

As you can expect with any glitter polish, these take a bit of extra effort to remove. Also, I did not experience any staining, even with the green, which made me very happy.

CND Vinylux Weekly Polishes feature  CND’s “ProLight technology” which is designed to increase the durability of the top coat with exposure to natural light. These polishes are awesome. If you haven’t already seen it, I hope you will check out my thorough review and wear-test of the Vinylux line. You can also check out my nebula nails using Midnight Swim. You will find that these polishes have great wear-time and they dry quickly too!

If you are interested in investing in your own CND Vinylux Weekly Polish or trying them out on your next mani/pedi  spa day, you can get in touch with CND Philippines @cnd_ph on Instagram and Twitter or at CDNPhilippines on Facebook to order or to find a salon near you.

Which is your favorite of the two? I love them both!

Have a great week and don’t forget to keep on smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

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Hello lovely people!

New brand alert! TenTen Nail Color by Nippon Cosmetics Philippines has been popping up everywhere. They have a lovely selection of polishes. There are bold and neutral shades, shimmers, cremes and glitter toppers. They have something to fit everyone’s taste. These polishes are also 5-free, which means they are extra safe for a pregnant lady like me! They are quick drying and long-lasting which is always a plus with any busy lady.

TenTen Nail Color polishes are available for purchase individually (100-130 pesos per bottle) and are sold in three-piece collections (275 per collection). I was checking out the collections available on their website and I notice that most sets include a bold pop of color, a metallic, and a neutral (or more “work safe”) shade. Sometimes the bold color is also the metallic shade and sometimes the neutral shade is metallic. If you purchase only one collection, you have some options to suit different occasions. They have several collections to choose from including a couple of three-piece neutral sets.

I was kindly sent the Roman Holiday Collection to swatch and that is what I will be sharing today.

The Roman Holiday Collection

S57 – First up is this bold, wine-colored creme. Two pigmented coats provide full coverage. It was a bit hard for me to photograph, but the color is really deep and pretty. I love dark colors so this one ended up being my favorite of the bunch.

T75 – Next in the collection is a silver metallic polish that has great coverage in two coats as well. As you can see, no streaking here! This is a great silver polish and gives great shine!

S49 – This is a sandy nude creme that took two careful coats for full coverage. This one is definitely work appropriate and I can see it being a great base for some floral nail art or for another Zentangle job!

All of these polishes applied easily and were also easy to remove. I enjoyed wearing them and would definitely be interested to pick up more of them in the near future (Hello, Bangkok Nights Collection!).

You can purchase this collection or any of their products by visiting their website or one of their stores. You can also follow Nippon Esthetic on Facebook to keep up with their new products like the matte polishes they just released.

Have you tried TenTen polishes yet? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments.

I hope you have a great day! Don’t forget to smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

The post TenTen Nail Color Roman Holiday Collection Swatches appeared first on The Nailinator.

Hello lovely people! 

I’ve been away from the blog for a while, I know. I was in the US for 3 months and we traveled a lot so that wasn’t very conducive to doing nail art or blogging. But boy, we had a great time visiting with our family and friends in Texas!

I’ve got some swatches for you of a lovely holiday collection by one of my favorite polish brands. Girlstuff Forever’s Holiday Collection 2016 is inspired by some popular holiday indulgences. All three shades in this collection are lovely and I think they would all be considered work appropriate. All swatches are two coats with top coat too. 

First up is Creme De La Creme! This is a creme polish with a bit of a shimmer that adds a lovely luster to your nails. It takes two coats for this lovely neutral color which I imagine would be flattering on most skin tones and is a great base color for any nail art.

Next up is You Had Me at Merlot! This deep burgundy shade is also a creme that looks great in two coats. If you could see at my nail polish collection you would be able to tell I have a thing for dark polishes so you may guess that is my favorite of the lot. Your guess would be correct and, yes, I’m wearing it right now.

Finally, let’s finish off with Death By Chocolate. I love the name of this brown creme polish that actually looks like melted chocolate! Yum! This is also an two easy coats and it is such a nice shade of brown!

Overall, I like the Girlstuff Holiday Collection 2016 as it has bold and neutral colors that are inspired by food! Haha! You can expect the same great quality from these polishes as with other Girlstuff collections. I am always impressed by how well the polish holds up over time. Each of these retails for php 130 and can be purchased from one of the Girlstuff kiosks or directly from Girlstuff Forever. Check out Girlstuff on their website or Facebook to purchase your own Girlstuff polishes.

If you are planning on grabbing any or all of these for gifts for family or friends (or for yourself) this holiday, I would definitely recommend you also grab a bottle (or TEN) of their Fast Dry Top Coat. It’s like liquid magic, y’all!

Which one of these if your favorite? Now I feel like I need to hunt down some chocolate to nibble on. Ha! I hope you are having a great week. Make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

The post Girlstuff Holiday Collection 2016 Swatches and Review appeared first on The Nailinator.

Howdy folks!

I’ve got an awesome product to share with you today! Introducing the new and amazing Girlstuff Solique UV-Glow Top Coat!

How great is this topcoat? One easy coat of this and your nails will glow under any blacklight/UV light! The closer you are to the light source, the brighter the glow. So much fun, right?

This is what these nails look like in regular lighting. You can wear this as a topcoat over any polish or you could even wear this alone as a protective clear coat and still enjoy the glow under a blacklight.

Since this long-lasting topcoat is part of Girlstuff’s growing Solique Gel Polish line, you might want to check out my full review on the Solique Gel Polish line so you can see what you can expect from this Solique topcoat.

I’ve had a lot of fun with this product and I know you will too. Here’s a short video I took so you can see the glow in action!

Isn’t that great? This Solique UV-Glow Top Coat polish retails for Php 200 and can be purchased at one of the Girlstuff kiosks or directly from Girlstuff Forever. Check out Girlstuff on their website or Facebook to purchase your own Girlstuff polishes.

I hope your weekend is a fun as this top coat! Keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

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Hi folks! I’ve got some fun swatches to share with you today.

Girlstuff Forever recently released their Rave Neon collection and I’ve got 3 out of the 4 polishes from the collection to share with you today. As you can expect with all Girlstuff polishes, these polishes dry very quickly and are vibrant and long-lasting! They are also easy to remove and did not cause any staining on my nails.

Pro tip: Always wear topcoat to prolong the life of your mani. Girlstuff Fast Dry Topcoat is my personal favorite. I can do my nails and go to bed 10 mins. later without waking up to sheet marks. Not even kidding you!

Now on to some swatches!

Breakbeat – This an eye-catching shade of orange that takes 2 coats for opacity. It’s definitely the one to pick if you want your nails to “pop”!

Lounge – If you like green polishes, I’m sure you will love this one. The color is so fun and out there! This one is opaque in 2-3 coats.

Chill – This one is my favorite of the three in the collection that I have. It’s a stand out blue that I’ve already worn twice. You can get by with 2 coats of this but I’ve used 3 here since I goofed and nicked my pinky nail after the second coat.

Techno – There is a bright pink shade in this collection but I don’t have it on hand to swatch. But I’m certain you will find it has the same quality as the three I have shared. If you are looking for a collection that will add some color to your digits, you have found it.

Each of these Girlstuff Rave Neon polishes retail for Php 120 and can be purchased at one of the Girlstuff kiosks or directly from Girlstuff Forever. Check out Girlstuff on their website or Facebook to purchase your own Girlstuff polishes.

I hope you have a great day! Don’t forget to make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

The post Girlstuff Rave Neon Collection Swatches and Review appeared first on The Nailinator.

Hello loves!

I have been a bit busy the past few days with some holiday preparations. I’m sure many of you can relate. I spent part of my day doing some last minute shopping with my wonderful sisters. We had a blast hanging out as we usually do. I’ve finished cleaning  the kids room and weeding out the toys and clothes they have outgrown. I have butter set out in preparation for whipping up some cookies later, so I decided to take a moment to write a quick post to share some swatches with you of the Girlstuff Forever Holiday Collection 2015 which I received last week.

This collection is made up of three gorgeous shades that provide quite a bit of variety.

Utopia is a gorgeous icy blue crelly loaded with silver shimmer. Two coats will give you full coverage. I love this one for the holidays and can totally see myself wearing this at other times of the year. Maybe during a beach vacation?

Next up is Zenith, which is kind of a cross between a frosted and chrome polish. It is a two-coater and gives a very festive feel! I promise, any bubbles you see in this swatch were total user error. I was multitasking and running on too little sleep. Please forgive me. It is very pretty, and I’ve been enjoying wearing it the past several days.

I’ve saved my favorite of the lot for last. At first glance, I thought Temptation was dark blue with a slight color shift. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a dark purple crelly loaded with blue shimmer. This is two coats and it is SO PRETTY you guys! The picture above really doesn’t do it justice at all. Behold the macro shot!

Gorgeous isn’t it? I absolutely love polishes like this one.

Well, what do you think of this holiday collection by Girlstuff? Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you have plans to enjoy some quality time with the family during the holidays. I am thrilled to have my hubby around for the next two weeks. Have a great night (or day) and keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

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Boy, oh, boy am I excited to share this post with you today!
A couple months ago, Girlstuff released their new Solique line of Gel polishes. These “gel” polishes are meant to be used as a system with the nail color and top coat and they promise the durability and shine of gel polishes without the need of a UV lamp to dry them or special remover or soaking to take it off.  They are supposed to dry within minutes and give you high shine with extended wear. It all sounds too good to be true!

I don’t normally wear polishes for a whole week, but the timing of me receiving these pretties and testing them out was just right as we were neck deep in a MAJOR renovation of our office building. Since October, I have either been helping the hubs with the renovation or working extra hard at keeping things going smoothly at home so that he could focus on the renovation. I put these polishes through some serious testing! Let’s check out the color options before I get into the wordy bit.

Solique Gel Polish By Girlstuff Swatches

Manila Girl – is a fabulous red with a fabulous name (For those of you outside the Philippines, Manila is the country’s capital city.). This crelly is a two-coater and very squishy looking. I love a good red, and this did not disappoint! Easy cleanup and no staining! Yay!

Such A Fantasy – is a girly, pink cream that needs two coats. I guess it is the crowd-pleaser of the lot because I got heaps of compliments while wearing this.

Love Me Like You Do – is very chic, light-gray creme that I think is a timeless, classy shade.  With a little care this is a two-coater. I say that because I was watching a movie while applying this one, and I messed up a couple of nails and had to put a third coat on. It still dried super fast!

Hush – is a lovely, almost white creme that has just a whisper of pink to it. It’s perfect for people like me who like the crispness of white nails but don’t like it to look like I used correction fluid on my nail. Hush is a two-coater, which is hard to find with a polish of a delicate tint like this.

Midnight Dreams– is a dark blue crelly loaded with tiny, shimmery flecks. It has a purple luster that can be seen in certain lighting, but I wasn’t able to capture that, as you can see. It is a two-coater and the only dark shade of the collection.

Baby Blues – is a pastel blue creme that stands out without being too in-your-face. With care, you can get away with two coats of this baby.

The Review

Wow! Wow! Wow! You guys, this system is AMAZING! First, let me remind you that these polishes are meant to be worn with the special Solique topcoat. Also, I have never used or worn regular gel polish myself, but I have heard the pros and cons of them.  I have also removed gel polish for a friend and know the difficulties of gel removal.

Application – The formula on these is a bit thicker than most regular polishes so you may need to take more time and care when applying. I found that using more product on the brush helps as well. Cleanup around the cuticles was no problem.

Drying time – This is a quick drying system, and including the three coats on a couple of nails that I messed up a bit, my nails were dry in a flash. No need for a UV lamp like regular gel polishes.

Removal – When I removed my friend’s gel manicure, it took ages. Lots of soaking (with pure acetone…boo!), waiting, and rubbing on the nail to get it all off. With Solique Gel, I used my favorite non-acetone polish remover on a cotton ball and it came right off.

Wear time – Now to the part that I’m sure you are really curious about. How did Solique Gel Polish hold up over the test of time? Did I get the extended wear promised? Let me answer that by showing you a picture of my extended wear test results of Hush (with a bit of glitter). Keep in mind that this manicure endured a certain number of days of taping, floating, and sanding drywall, and sanding and staining wood panels – in addition to all my regular chores and work at home.

How many days old would you guess this manicure is?

Five days old? Nope!

Seven days old? Not even close!

Ten days? Keep guessing!

This is actually FOURTEEN DAYS of wear and tear! Have your nails ever looked like this after wearing the same polish for 14 days? I know mine haven’t!

You can see a bit of wear on the tips but it’s still totally passable for a nice manicure. While I have heard of the amazing strength and wear of gel polishes, I never expected these results from a polish that applies, dries, and removes like a regular polish. The biggest issue I have after 14 days is the gap from the new growth of the nail since I applied the polish

Still not convinced? How about this 10-day wear shot of Love Me Like You Do (with some subtle holo stamping).

Oh yeah! If you want to cut down on your salon visits or how often you do your nails at home, then you will love this new product.

The downside – Really, the only downside to this system is that the color selection is limited. But they just released a new shade so they are already adding to the line. Yay!

 Final thoughts

These would make a great gift for yourself or for a special someone in your life. Keep in mind that the Solique line is meant to be used as a two-part system. These amazing results cannot be guaranteed if you do not use the Solique topcoat.

Solique polishes cost 180Php per bottle and the Solique topcoat is 200Php per bottle. They can be purchased at any Girlstuff kiosk or directly from Girlstuff online. Their customer service is fantastic, so do not hesitate to contact them for any inquiries or shipping. You can also check out their website and contact them about having polishes shipped to you. Check them out on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @girlstufforever to keep up with their news and promotions.

I hope you found this review helpful. I love sharing great products with you and I try my best to be thorough and to include information that I personally find helpful when choosing products. Do let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

Enjoy the holiday rush but don’t forget to stop and smell the roses (or in my case stop and hug the kiddos). Have a lovely day and keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

The post Girlstuff Solique Gel Collection Swatches and Review appeared first on The Nailinator.

Hello!

Two posts from me within a week? It’s like old times again! I’m sharing a look I wore a while back. I have recently been on a Zentangle kick and, after making cards and borders for projects, of course the next step was to bring the tangling to my nails!

I started with two easy coats of Girlstuff Sophia. Sophia is a very pretty beige shade with pink undertones. Looking at the bottle, I honestly wasn’t 100% sure it would be very flattering on my skin tone but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVE it! I was also happy to find that I only needed 2 coats for full opacity and it dried quickly. The Zentangled designs are done with black acrylic paint and a teeny tiny brush. Aren’t they awesome!?!?  Here is a shot of Sophia on its own.

I love that I’ve been finding some neutral colors that I like on my skin tone. By looking at my polish collection I can see that I really favor dark colors. I find it very refreshing to have a clean neutral tone on my nails from time to time. Neutrals also make  great base for nail art.

What is your favorite neutral shade to sport on your nails? And have you ever done any Zentangling? Please take a moment to share in the comments. I hope you have a zentastic day!

Hugs,
Rach

The post Zentangled Nail Art (Ft. Girlstuff Sophia)  appeared first on The Nailinator.

I’ve got a little something different for you today. I had the opportunity last week to visit Nail-a-holics at SM Cebu and try out one of their wide variety of services . This service was offered to me free of charge and, as always, I’m sharing my honest opinion with you today. I hope you find it helpful.

I’ve always wanted to try a paraffin treatment, so the service I chose was their Atlantic Sea Moist Paraffin Pedicure. I made an appointment and they were ready for me as soon as I walked in (a few minutes early even!).  The ambiance of the salon is very nice and has a beachy feel to it. It was clean and the staff was friendly and willing to put up with my interrogation many questions. (Insert rare photo of me)

Marie and Jenna were the lovely ladies who prettified my feet.  The Atlantic Sea Moist Paraffin Pedicure starts with filing away dead skin followed by a sea salt foot scrub. Next comes the pedicure which is done with sterilized tools. Finally, it was time for the paraffin which is a layer of paraffin wax applied over the whole foot, wrapped in plastic wrap and left for 15 minutes. After peeling off the wax, apply your polish of choice, quick dry, and you are done! I picked Ruby Wing Festival. I left with my feet feeling soft and my nails very sparkly!

While I wasn’t “wowed” with their selection of local polishes, they do have a nice selection of imported polishes to choose from (which they charge a bit extra to use).  They also have a selection of gel polishes. If you have been wanting to try out gel polish, then this is the perfect time to do so. They are offering 20% off their gel polish services until the end of August. Gel polish is best removed at a salon by a professional so, after your gel mani/pedi, Nail-a-holics offers free gel polish removal for when you are ready for a change.

Would I recommend this salon to you? Yes! In addition to the fact that they are very strict about hygiene, I found their staff very knowledgeable about their services and proper manicure procedure. They offer other services like waxing, back massage, and basic nail art. You can even book a private spa party! I was told that every member on their staff is trained to do all of the services their salon offers. Impressive! I also like that they accept walk-in customers, but for those of us who might be pressed for time, they also accept appointments.

Thanks again to Nail-a-holics SM Cebu for the pampering. I truly enjoyed myself and was very impressed with your salon!

For my followers in the Philippines, Nail-a-holics has branches all over the place. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with their latest promos and sales.

I hope you found this helpful review helpful. I know I haven’t been posting much lately but we are getting into a groove now for the new school year and I hope to be able to share more fun nails in the coming months. I hope you had a great week and that your weekend rocks! Make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

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