Category Archives: Swatches

05 Feb

L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby with Edgy Tips

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner but, instead of flowers and hearts, I’ve got something different for you today. These colors are typically what you would see in a Valentine’s mani but it is edgier than most “romantic” looks. I wasn’t really going for an anti-Valentines mani, but I did want something special.

I saw a picture online ages ago of a line work mani by Haus Of Lacquer and I really liked the look, although I doubted I could pull off that particular look. I stumbled across the picture again this week and decided to a modified version of it and this is what I ended up with. I love it!
L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby with edgy tips

I started with 3 coats of L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby (You could get away with 2 easy but the color is much deeper with a 3rd coat) and then used my striping brush and free handed the lines with Sally Hansen X-treme Wear in Golden-I. I will be getting a back up bottle of Golden-I when I go to the US in April. It is perfect in every way!

L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby and Sally Hansen Golden-I

You have heard me rave about L.A. Girl 3D Effect polishes in the past, and I still can’t get enough of them. I’ve used Sparkle Ruby before, but my nail shape is different and I still love it. I will have to see about getting my hands on the colors from this collection that I don’t have.

L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby swatch

I’ve included a light box shot (above) and one with some direct light (below) so you can see some of the holo sparkle and the depth. Just gorgeous!

L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby swatch in direct lighting

Are you a flowers and hearts kind of girl, or do you like things more on the edgy side? I personally love girly things, but I am challenging myself to try new things and looks that I have shied away from before. I do have some girly ideas up my sleeve, but I’m learning that I like some things I didn’t think I would! It has been fun!

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

Hugs,
Rach

02 Feb

Caronia Stellar and PUEEN Stamping

Hi!
I’ve got a just quick post for you today. I finally got my hands on Caronia Stellar this week. It was so pretty in the bottle that I just had to put it on ASAP.

Caronia Stellar swatch

It did NOT disappoint! I used two easy coats here. The formula of Stellar was identical to Trance (check out my review). It dried quickly and it is so shiny and vibrant. It is definitely an eye-catching shade. I think it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Caronia Stellar and PUEEN Stamping

I decided to add some stamping and settled on this lace and roses image which is off of plate 27 of the PUEEN Love Elements set. I didn’t use stamping polish so the black isn’t as pigmented as I would like but I still love how they turned out.

What is your ideal Valentine Mani?

Here is hoping you have a great weekend!
Hugs,
Rach

 

26 Jan

Review of Caronia Trance and Moonlight

Hello!
I’ve got not just one but TWO polishes up for review today! Both are by a local polish brand Caronia.

First up is Trance which is what I would describe as a purple foil. It is VERY shiny and oh so pretty! Those of you who have been around a while know by now that I have a special place in my heart for purple polish.

Caronia Trance swatch

I used 2 coats here. The formula was a bit thick but easy to handle. Clean up was very easy and I wore it all day without top coat and had no wear on my tips. Two thumbs up from me.

Caronia Trace swatch 2

I actually put off buying this one because I thought it was too similar to Amethyst by Chic which can be seen here. They are actually quite different. While Amethyst has glitter bits and dries to a semi-matte sort of textured finish, Trance is a foil with a shiny and smooth finish.

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Next up we have Moonlight which I would describe as blue and purple shimmery duochrome glitter in a black jelly base. I’ve used two coats over Trance here because I already had it on and I wanted to make sure I had no VNL. After applying it, I think I could have gotten away without the base.

Caronia Moonlight swatch

Isn’t it pretty? I picked it up a couple of weeks ago. I had not seen this shade before and I was surprised by it. I haven’t had much experience with duochromes and multichromes. I think this would be a duochrome but I also noted gold tones in certain lighting. I could not photograph it though. If you have any tips on photographing these types of polishes, I would love to hear them.

After applying topcoat (which bubbled a bit because it had been raining for almost 2 weeks straight) I added a little Swarovski crystal accent. I purchased these from Blooming Nail Cebu.

Caronia Moonlight with Swarovski accent

Which is your pick of the two? Both of these Caronia polishes are available in department stores, grocery stores and pharmacies in the Philippines. These shades come in 8ml bottles for approximately 34.75 Philippine Pesos.

What do you think of my review post? I’m still getting the hang of describing polishes for you. I would love to hear your feed back or any suggestions of what other info to include. Please leave a comment. I hope you have a great weekend!

Hugs,
Rach

05 Jan

Girlstuff Joy and My Blogiversary!

Hi Gals!
Happy New Year! I hope you have had a fun 2014 so far. We were able to spend a week with some dear friends relaxing and laughing the days away. I did nails for several people and it was a lot of fun. That explains my absence around here these past few days.

You may not realize it, but it was one year ago today that I decided to take the plunge and start my blog. Happy Blogiversary to me! You can check out my very first post here. I’m amazed at the feedback I have received. Thank you all for your support for me and my blog this past year. I am so glad to have such great gals (plus the handful of guys out there, yeah, I know you are watching, too) interested and inspired by my nail art. I have to thank my husband for being ridiculously supportive and willing to teach his tech-challenged wife about HTML and how to use different social medias. I also have to thank my mom and the Shutterbug for encouraging me to start this blog in the first place and not letting my self-consciousness and insecurity stand in the way of sharing my passion with the world. I have had so much fun getting to know you and making friends with many of you via email and FB. Your likes, shares, and comments mean so much to me. Here’s to more fun and fabulous nails in 2014!

Girlstuff Joy with gold studs

Hoping our year is filled with joy, the polish I’m sharing with you today is Girl Stuff “Joy”. Joy is a gorgeous purple with loads of shimmery gold. I’ve used two thickish coats as the formula is a bit on the jelly side. I LOVE this polish! The purple is a beautiful shade, but the gold shimmer just makes me flip over this polish. It is so interesting and sparkly. Application was easy, and cleanup was a breeze too. As you can see, I also added some studs I purchased from Blooming Nail Cebu. My nephew asked me why I had seeds on my nails. Ha!

Girlstuff Joy with gold studs 2

Aren’t they pretty?
Here it is on its own.

Girlstuff Joy swatch

I acquired Joy when I won my very first giveaway a while back. I won Natalie Brookes’ Instagram giveaway and I love the prizes! I won 4 girl stuff polishes, 1 full sized Seche Polish (not pictured because I’m a goof and spaced out) and a Seche travel French manicure kit. I also won an XL Stamper and 3 special stamping polishes and four XL stamping plates. Lots of awesome goodies! Thanks again to Natalie for the giveway!

Giveaway contents
Well, that’s it for me today. I hope you have had a great weekend and that you have a great week ahead. Hugs to you all!
Rach
27 Dec

Caronia Tea Rose Christmas Nails (and My New Nail Shape)

Hi Gals!

I finally did it! I have been wanting to try a different nail shape for such a long time. It has taken me months to work up the courage to take the plunge and file away, but I finally did it! When I initially finished filing these I had them pointier than this, but I wasn’t quite ready for that yet so I filed the points down a bit. These are definitely an easier transition point. Tadaaaaaa!

Caronia Tea Rose with green rhinestones and foil
I do like them a lot, but I think I will like them even more when I get the shape just right. For this look, I started with just one coat of Caronia Tea Rose for my base. I have said it before and I’ll say it again… I LOVE this polish. How many reds are there out there that have this kind of coverage in one coat? Do you have one? Or a red that is a creme? All the other reds in my collection take 3 coats and are jelly-like or shimmery and thin. This is practically a one-coater. The formula is on the thick side so it makes application a bit tricky, but using a little care and taking your time makes all the difference. After Tea Rose dried, I took out my clear coat and after wiping most of the polish off the brush, I applied some over the red with random, splotchy strokes. Then after just a few seconds, I applied nail foils (#32-green on the accent nail and #17-red on the rest) that I purchased from Blooming Nail Cebu. I added some green rhinestones I purchased off Amazon quite a while back.
Caronia Tea Rose swatch
What do you think of my new shape? I’m not sure why the middle finger ended up looking so round compared to the others. Perhaps it’s due to my very limited skills in shaping nails. Here is hoping I will soon have perfected the shaping, and they will all look the same. A girl can dream, right?
These are the nails I sported on Christmas Day. They were perfect for the day, and my new nail shape was a big hit with the family. I wanted to share a couple of nail related gifts I received over the holidays too.
Colored feathers, glitter, and pearl studs
I was given these lovely nail art goodies by Blooming Nail Cebu. I am especially excited to try the feathers! Thank you Blooming Nail Cebu!
Nail polish racks built by Mr. Nailinator

Check out my new polish rack on the left! Mr. Nailinator was so sweet to make me another one since the one he made me in February was all filled up and even my overflow baskets were overflowing and cramping my style. As soon as he mounted it on the wall I filled it up and only had room for 2 more bottles. I bought my sister-in-law two polishes for Christmas, and she had them both already, so I let her trade them out for two polishes from my back up stash. I didn’t own either of the colors I picked for her so now my polish racks are completely full! Yikes! Believe it or not, those two are the only polishes I acquired for Christmas. I think I fit the category now where my friends and family don’t buy me polish because they don’t know if I already have a color or not.

Did you get any polishes for Christmas? I would love to hear what your favorite gift was that you received or gave to someone. I love getting little gifts, but I also love giving gifts.

I hope you have a blessed day.
Rach

 

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