23 Nov

Girly Halo Hues Gradient with MJ XXVI Stamping

Hello lovely friends!

I noticed that I have had a harder time keeping up with the blogging these past few months. I’ve got a good reason though. For the past three months we’ve had some visitors, I’ve been helping hubby with a huge renovation project, keeping up with school with the kids and had a few health issues to deal with. The good news is that the renovation is almost complete and I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal. I’ve still been doing my nails so I’ve got some fun looks lined up to share with you.  I am so excited to get to some Christmas nail art very soon!

Today I’ve got a pretty gradient and stamped mani to share with you. I started off with one coat of Miss Bliss. Then I taped off my cuticle area to minimize the clean up and sponged Eternal Beauty on the tips of my nails. Then I used my fabulous MJ XXVI stamping plate from My Online Shop. This plate is my FAVORITE floral plate. I can’t get enough of it.

Edited to add: I just noticed that My Online Shop is having a 10% off sale from November 24-30. Enter the code BLKFRIDAY2016 at checkout.

Color club Halo Hues Gradient With Stamping

Aren’t they magical? So girly and sparkly! I loved wearing these and I received lots of compliments on them. That’s always fun! Now for a mandatory macro shot….

Macro of Color Club Gradient with Stamping

Soooo pretty! This is one of my favorite designs I’ve worn so far this year. Gradient nails are so easy to do and the possibilities are endless. If you haven’t tried a gradient look, then grab a sponge and your favorite polishes and go ahead and give it a try! Maybe I should make a photo or video tutorial for you?

I’ve been testing out a new product that I’m so excited to share with you. Keep an eye out for my next post! Have a fantastic day!

Hugs,
Rach

 

12 Oct

Waterfall Nail Art Featuring Girlstuff Diana

Hey gals!

Yes, it is Monday! But my Monday is almost over, and it honestly hasn’t been too bad. I decided to turn the air conditioner on today and enjoyed a blissfully cool day at home with the kids making up goofy stories, working on cleaning their room, and doing school. We also enjoyed learning about iguanas and sea turtles!

Today I’m sharing a quick and easy nail art look that can take an already fine-looking manicure to the next level. If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably already seen the first picture below. (Keep scrolling for something new though!) I started with Girlstuff Diana which is a lovely dusty blue creme with a hint of purple to it. (Blurple! Yay!) For my accent nail, I chose L.A. Girl 3D Silver for some sparkle.

Girlstuff Diana with silver Accent nail

To add more pizzazz, I  used a thin striper brush and added some stripes at the base of my nails tapering off toward the tips. As you can see, I used gray, white, black, and silver polish for the stripes. Easy peasy! They call this “Waterfall” nail art.

Girlstuff Diana with nail art

I always love trying new, super-quick nail art looks. Don’t you? Please comment and share your favorite go-to nail art look for when you need something quick and easy.

I hope you are having a great day. Keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

25 Sep

Swatches of CND Vinylux Rouge Red and Rock Royalty 

Hello lovely ladies!

I’ve got a couple of swatches to show you today from the CND Summer Brights Collection. Even though these are part of a summer collection, Rouge Red would totally work for the Christmas season and Rock Royalty would be a bit hit in the fall. Here we go!

Rouge Red

CND Vinylux Rouge Red swatch

Let’s start with my favorite of the two. Rouge Red is a crelly and, in my opinion, is The. Perfect. Vintage. Red! When I put it on my nails I thought the color looked like something straight out of a vintage nail polish ad. Do you agree? I used two coats. In the image above you can see a little VNL (visible nail line), but I didn’t notice it at all in real life.

 Rock Royalty

CND Vinylux Rock Royalty Swatch

Next up is Rock Royalty which is a gorgeous dark purple creme that has teeny tiny blue and pink flecks mixed in so it has a lovely glow to it. I LOVE wearing purple on my nails. Rock Royalty made me very, very happy. This is another two-coater.

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. They are very durable and dry quickly. Read my original review and check out my 7-day wear photos to learn more.

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? Purple and red are my two favorite shades to wear on my nails so both of these are winners to me.

Thanks for reading and for sticking around even though my posts have been kinda sporadic the past few months. I have still been doing my nails but blogging is on the back burner most days as I have my hands quite full with my precocious  6-year-old and my imaginative 4-year-old that I home-school. Family first! But I thank you for your patience.

I hope you are having a fabulous week and that you get to make someone smile today.

Hugs,
Rach

26 Aug

Zentangled Nail Art (Ft. Girlstuff Sophia) 

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!

Girlstuff Sophia with Zentangle Nail art

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.

Girlstuff Sophia Swatch

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

 

22 Aug

Nailaholics SM Cebu – Salon Review

Hi gals!

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.

Nailaholics Exclusive room

 

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)


Rachael Getting Her Nails Done

 

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!

Ruby Wing Festival

 

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.

 

Nailaholics Imported Polishes

 

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.

View of inside main salon area

 

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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