Glamorous in Celeb City

After nearly a week of having *gasp* naked nails, I am back with a polish that has quickly wormed its way into my heart. I could totally wear this polish for weeks at a time. It can be dressed up or dressed down; it's just plain amazing!!


What is this polish you ask? Well, it's Sally Hansen's Celeb City. The name speaks for itself, because I feel like a total Celeb in this color.


Celeb City is a gorgeous metallic silver, but even that doesn't describe its awesomeness. The only thing I can think to compare it to is sheet-metal or aluminum foil and even that's doesn't do it justice. I can only hope that the pictures I managed to get speak for themselves.


Ignore the short oddness of my index nail. Sadly, I managed to break it just before painting my nails and haven't had the chance to even it out yet.


Artificial Light w/Flash


Natural Light (Cloudy Sky)


Natural Light (Full Sunlight)


Here is something new I'm trying. I picked up a reading light yesterday. You know those ones that clip onto books, or in this case attaches to my ereader. It has a very white/blue light. I found that I adore what it does to these nails!



Close Up with Reader Light


There are only two cons I can see with Celeb City.


The first is the smell. If you have a sensitive sniffer this polish will likely drive you to a migraine. It has a very strong scent while using and to a lesser extent one that sticks with your nail for a while. However, it didn't really bother me. I actually kind of like the scent. Maybe it's like the smell of gasoline; some people love it while others hate it. I'll leave you to be the judge.


The other con is that you have to be so careful not to put any nicks or marks into the wet polish, because they will stand out like a blaring neon sign. I managed to put a nick in the polish of my middle finger and it was visible from a mile away. Still, it was very easy to fix. I just put another coat of polish on my nails and paid special attention to filling in the nick. Problem solved.


In all, I say this is definitely a must have for the glam addicted or the polish collectors.

pekal

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Blushing Purple Cows

Wow! Ten followers already? Thank you guys so much! I appreciate each and every one of you. :)


My day started early, and I’ve been on the go ever since. This means my pictures aren’t up to my usual standards since they were taken in the car. I apologize for this.


The nails themselves are my take on an early Valentine’s nail. I didn’t want to do the standard hearts so I went with an adorable blushing purple cow. I don't know why my mind immediately goes to cows on Valentine's Day ... might have something to do with the Farmville traditional cow available around this time. The cow is all hand-painted so each one is unique.







Colors Used
Sally Hansen - White On
Beauty Concepts - Unnamed Black
L.A. Colors - BCC 590
Essence - Gold Rush
Bon Bons - Unnamed Pink

pekal

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a-england Avalon

I hate to start a blog post with apology, but I'm really sorry that it's been over a week since my last post. I was working with the advance voting for our presidental elections and had to work like ten hours a day for seven days straight. So you can imagine that I was quite tired in the evening. Also I had this one essay that I had to do while working, but luckily my lecturer was kind enough and I was able to move the returning date to yesterday, so with all that I really had no time to do any posts. And the elections will be tomorrow and if none of the candidates receive more than half of the votes there will be a second round and then I have to do another seven days of working. It is very possible that this will happen and this time I'm planning to do some post beforehand and time them for you, so don't worry. But that's all, I just wanted to let you know what the situation was, lol. Let's move on to the polish, shall we..

Today I have one really pretty polish for you that was really a pain in the butt to photograph and it still doesn't look quite like it should, but here it is anyhow.


So this is two coats of a-england Avalon and like I said, it looks too blue here in my pics (or at least it does on my screen). It is more red toned in reality. It is a quite awesome polish as it was really easy to work with and the color is also so pretty. I can't really wait to see what the new collection from a-england will look like!

I also did a little glitter gradient with Avalon as my base and Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope as the glitter:

pekal

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Pure Ice - Rumors

I decided to start the week off right and give my nails a little TLC after noticing some peeling at the tips when taking off my feeling purple mani. My nails spent yesterday polish free with layers of various creams slathered on them throughout the day and are feeling much better for this.


However, that TLC was nearly ruined when I opened a new bottle of white only to find it the consistancy of water. It is the only white I currently have so I thought maybe I could apply two or three very thin layers and make everything work, but I was wrong. The polish migrated off into the creases of my nail no matter how thin I made the layers. Finally, I had to give up on any designs that would focus heavily on white until I can pick up a new bottle.


So, instead of a design I'm choosing to do a simple swatch of a color from a nail polish my mom bought for me. She knows me so well!! ♥ It's been sitting in one of my nail polish drawers since before Christmas so I think it's finally time to give it a try. I find it such a gorgeous color and would love to see how it looks in matte or swamped with glitter. However, I decided to leave trying matte and glitter for later. I really want to just showcase the true extent of this beauty of a color.


Pure Ice Rumors is a little bit red, a little bit purple, and a whole lot of mauve—old mauve that is. I find the polish just the right consistancy for a smooth stroke. This is the consistancy with which I can cover my whole nail in two or three smooth strokes without having to go over the nail repeatedly. Also, the color goes on nearly opaque in just one coat. I'm sure some people wouldn't even think of putting on a second coat, but I prefer a truly full coverage look so I'm going for two coats. I will say I'm impressed with how quickly this polish dries given it's not marked quick dry.


Isn't it a gorgeous color? I'll admit it's a teensy bit dull on its own having none of the shimmer of Zoya polish or the shiny brightness of China Glaze, but the color is great IMO. Give it some flash with a stamped design, a bit of sparkle, or some bling and you'll have nails that really pop!


Artificial Light

Natural Light


Here it is in natural light after stamping with Wet n' Wild Metallica. I'm still not 100% on the stamping wagon. My stamper gives me no end of trouble. I'm quick and efficient when working and I keep the pressure consistant across the nail but half the stamp is nearly always left behind. I'm not sure how people get such clear and whole designs, but I bow to their expertise! Still, even with only half the design on the nail it is eye-catching. I'm 50/50 and will continue to use the stamper until I make up my mind. :)


Artificial Light Stamped


Natural Light Close Up

So, what do you think? Is it totally one of your faves too?

pekal

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Feeling Purple

I went to bed last night with the polish laid out for a pattern inspired nail design. However, I woke up today feeling ... purple. Instead of going for my fallback of matte purple I decided to attempt my first gradient.


How hard could this possibly be, I asked myself? I've watched videos and read blogs about this topic before. It seems pretty impossible to screw this design up.


I should know better by now than to ask what could possibly go wrong. My feeling purple day has left me feeling pretty blue.


I instantly picked up my new sponge and began dabbing the color on. Everything was going great. I was a bit disappointed that my two dark purples were hard to differentiate, but that was okay. There was enough of a color difference along the entire nail to make up for that. I let it dry a bit before I went to work with an old clear polish. The colors started their typical watercolor effect, as they always do when I use a sponge, but that was what I was going for this time. Great, right? Except that not all the color was blending and not all the color was staying on the nail. The color was picking up in places leaving the light base purple where there should be dark. Other places just weren't blending. It was like a train wreck. I couldn't look away, and I certainly couldn't stop once I had already begun. I finished up and decided to add some sparkle to the tips with a purple/blue glitter. Maybe this would act as a disguise. Well, it didn't ... but the glitter made me feel better.


Overall, this wasn't a complete disaster. I'm just such a drama queen perfectionist if I don't reign myself back that to see such a splotchy, streaked design leaves me cringing slightly. That said, most people in everyday life don't look at my nails through a microscope. The gradient effect is in full force and looks stunning from far away. However, my perfectionism makes me all the more determined to perfect my gradient making abilities so that the design looks just as stunning under a microscope.




I welcome hints, tips, ideas, and requests. I can't promise to do every request, but I'll certainly try my best. All I ask is that you be polite. :)


Polishes Used

  • Sally Hansen Double Duty
  • Sally Hansen nailgrowth Miracle in Loyal Lavender
  • L.A. Colors Color Craze unnamed purple (BCC 590)
  • Revlon in No Shrinking Violet
  • Sally Hansen in Deeply Violet
  • L.A. Colors Color Craze unnamed glitter (BCC 582)

pekal

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Zoya Dannii

I'm gonna keep this quite short and quick, because I really have to go to sleep so that I'm able to do another 10 hours of work tommorrow.. Don't worry, this is only temporary thing and won't last long. Anywho, here's one pretty Zoya polish for you.


This is Zoya Dannii and I have had these pics sitting in my file for quite a long time, so I don't remember how many coats this was. I'm not really sure why I didn't post this sooner, because it really is a beautiful polish. I probably had no real reason, but here it is now anyhow.
And now I really need to get some sleep, see you again soon!

pekal

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Red Flowering Trees

I did a design similar to this last year for Mother's Day using a Japanese cherry blossom tree, but I didn't want to redo the same design. With this in mind, I decided to try my hand at some new techniques and color combinations.


This is only the second time I've tried sponging color onto a nail. I can't seem to keep the speckled look once I add the top coat, even if I allow the color to dry completely. It all blends together in the end. While this gives a pretty, slightly watercolor look, it's not usually what I'm going for. Thankfully, I was very pleased when the colors blended on these nails. Overall, I really like them and am happy to share them.




A word of warning to those wishing to try sponging—don't use a cheap sponge. I have little bits of the sponge I used stuck in the polish.


Polish Used
* Sally Hansen Double Duty as Base Coat
* Wet & Wild Tickled Pink
* Sally Hansen Chocolate Creme
* China Glaze Poinsetta
* New York Color Lincoln Center
* Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat
* The light gray is a self-mixed combo of Pure Ice Super Star!, New York Color Sidewalkers, and Sally Hansen Wet Cement.

pekal

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Orly Nite Owl

Today I have for you the manicure that I went with to Dubai. I wanted to use a neutral color and something that wouldn't look too bad even if it would chip a bit as I knew I would be wearing these nails for a while as there isn't usually time to paint nails when you're on a vacation.. But I of course also wanted to have pretty nails, so I ended up picking Orly Nite Owl for my vacation manicure.



And what a pretty one it is! I have two coats here with base and top coat. Nite Owl is from Orly's fall 2011 collection called Birds of a Feather. All the hype about this collection has gone to Fowl Play and I do love that one too, but I think Nite Owl haven't got the love that it deserves. It is soooo pretty and to me it is also unique, as I don't have anything quite like it.

pekal

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First Post!

This is so exciting! My first post. Having a nail blog is something I have been contemplating for a while, and I finally feel able to begin.


I love doing my nails and others nails ... and fake nails. Nothing makes me happier than to see a flash of color or an adorable design as I go through my daily routine. I'm hoping this blog will help me share that happiness with people who aren't family and friends. :)


You'll see a little of everything around here. I dabble a little in nearly everything, and my nails are painted 24/7. Whether it's a simple paint and go, a stamped design, or nail art that sometimes takes me all day to complete you'll see it here. So stick around and see what pops up.


Just a warning before we kick this post off right. I hardly ever cut my nails. I'm always in one attempt or another to grow them out. They don't cooperate most of the time. What this means is that my nails are almost always in varying lengths and things might get quite ragged at times before they grow back in enough for shaping. I know this is a major peeve for some people ... so, you have been warned. :)


So, I say we kick this post off with a color swatch since this is my current mani. I bought more than a few polish collections and samplers in the after Christmas sales, and I finally got around to trying one. This is Orly's Star Spangled (two coats, no top coat), and it is certainly shaping up to be one of my favorites. I told my mom I feel like I'm wearing Dorothy's ruby slippers on my nails. Great color!!


 By no means am I clean when putting on polish. :) Star Spangled is a wonderful shade of red. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I feel like I'm wearing Dorothy's red slippers.


 A look at the side. This is a must have color for the red and glitter fanatics.


What color swatch is complete without a close up view of the glitter? These nails really sparkle in the sun but are just as great in a room with little light.

pekal

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China Glaze Ring In the Red over Zoya Sooki

Happy New Year to all my readers! Today I have my Christmas manicure to show you, lol. I know I'm quite late with this, but I had no time to post it when it was relevant and I really want to show it to you, so here it comes.

So this is two coats of China Glaze Ring in the Red over one coat of Zoya Sooki with base and top coat. This mani was surely a Christmassy one with all the sparkle and red color. I really enjoyed wearing it and it did hold on quite nicely as this picture is taken after few days of wearing already. So I really liked this mani, though I couldn't help thinking that I should be wearing my (and everyone else's) favourite Christmas polish, China Glaze Ruby Pumps. On the other hand I did wear that last Christmas so maybe little change is good, and I can wear Ruby Pumps again next Christmas.

pekal

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