Vosges Visage

I've made it no secret…I LOVE chocolate. Love. IT. I like it dark, milk, white (which isn't really chocolate), filled with caramel, with nougat, with nuts, with peanut butter, BACON?!?!?!, even with coconut, which I hate in any other situation. Anyway, to the point, I get a catalog from a lovely chocolatier called Vosges from time to time, and besides the fact that their chocolate is amazing (seriously, try Mo's Bacon Bar in Milk Chocolate, it will change your life), the art on the Easter catalog was awesome, and I've kept that catalog for months in anticipation that I would do nail art based on the cover illustration one day…and today is that day… :-P

The inspiration

The nails

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with MAC Showy for the line work, Orly Pink Chocolate (perfect right?!) for the pink, American Apparel Palm springs as the peach color on the index finger, OPI Who the Shrek Are You? for the lighter green color seen on the thumb and cuticle edge of the middle finger, and Nubar Green Tea for the leaves on the middle finger. I topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat to give it a tempered chocolate-like sheen and strength. ;)

Matte vs Glossy Ideas

Hi everyone! The weather is not playing along today, it's sooo dark that swatching is utterly useless. So that's why I came up with this little blogpost. Maybe you remember the above picture? I'm not a big nail art fan, but I'm a sucker for subtle stuff. I used a Konad image plate (M57) and stamped a top coat on a matte base, and I really liked the look of this combination.

You don't necessarily need Konad to combine matte and glossy, you'll only need a matte nail polish (or matte top coat) and a shiny top coat or clear polish.

more examples

I came up with some examples, that might be boring for many, but I'm eager to try out myself. If you've got some nice suggestions, please do share!

Matte base with glossy tip	Glossy base with matte tip	Moon mani on matte base	Moon mani on glossy base	Slim glossy tip on matte base
Glossy Ruffian on matte base	Diagonal half	Glossy dots with dotting tool on matte base	Glossy anchor, either stamp or freehand	Glossy stripes, with a striper on matte base

Of course the options are endless! And you can choose any color you wish!

Well dear readers, this was it for today, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the last day of the weekend!
- Michele

The Heat is On

Ok, so the title has nothing to do with the nail art today, which is unusual, but I was at a loss as to what to call this one. However, I DO know that it is hotter than Satan's scrotum here in Vegas today, it's like Lucifer himself has rested his balls on the chin of Las Vegas. Last week it was in the 60s-70s-80s or so.... then it jumped to the hundreds in the last 2 days. WHY, GOD!?! :-P I swear when I go out in the sun I can actually smell my skin sizzling. Sexy, eh? It's so hot my eyelids are sweating, I wasn't built for this crap. :-P

Anyway.

I finally got around to using my butterLONDON Artful Dodger, I've had it for months!

I used butterLONDON Artful Dodger as a base color for all nails but the ring finger, which I used L.A. Girl Army Green. For the large dot, I used American Apparel California Trooper, and for the brown lines, I used MAC Showy. Topped everything off with two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Don't forget to check The Daily Nail: REVIEWS later tomorrow, there will be some new reviews & swatches!!

Also, I will have the answers to the questions asked on the 'Thank You For Being a Friend' post. I typed them all up, but got an error when I published my comment, so I lost all I typed (this time I'll be smart enough to type it in another program and cut & paste. :-P)

Eyeko - Posh Polish & a taupe comparison

Taupe

Lately I've been on a taupe kick. I'm not sure why because usually I like to wear bright, bold colors that stand out. But somehow I'm really digging taupe, I think it's a very classy color that's easily matched with a lot of outfits. It's a neutral, but definitely not boring in my book.

According to Wikipedia there are many types of taupe:

dark taupe	med. taupe	pale taupe	mauve taupe	sandy taupe	grey taupe	rose taupe	purple taupe

Eyeko Posh Polish, for Ladylike nails

Recently I received Posh Polish by Eyeko, and I quite like it. This creme polish applies pretty smoothly, completely opaque in 2 coats and no other funny problems worth mentioning. I didn't use a top coat this time, and as you can see it's not incredibly glossy on it's own.
Like all Eyeko polishes this one came in such a cute packaging, it says: Posh Polish, for Ladylike nails. And even I do feel like a lady wearing this, haha.

Taupe Comparison

However, I own a lot of taupes, and this one isn't my favorite of the bunch, simply because I like my taupes a tad darker. To show you how it compares to some other taupes I have, I threw in this little comparison:

I do feel like I should have included OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, Over The Taupe and maybe even Chanel's Particuliere, but I couldn't justify buying more of this shade after already owning all of these haha. So please forgive me!

As you can see Eyeko's Posh Polish is quite on the lighter side. I think my favorites are the two Catrice polishes: From Dusk To Dawn and Lost in Mud!

What is your favorite taupe polish?

Eyeko polishes cost £3.50 (€4.- or $5.40) for 8.5ml. Eyeko products can be bought online at www.eyeko.com. Their shipping is extremely cheap: either free (if you're in the UK or Europe) or $5.40 for all international orders.

This polish was sent to me for review by Eyeko

Doin' Doughnuts

So today, this, the first friday in June, is National Doughnut Day here in America. Sounds like a silly, sugar-filled excuse to eat deep-fried dough coated in melted deliciousness, but really, it started in 1938 as a fundraiser for the Chicago Salvation Army! This is a holiday I can get behind. :) Trust me, I headed to my local Krispy Kreme store to get my free doughnut, a delicious lemon cream filled one. Mmmm. I also 'had' to pick up a couple glazed for the road. I think I'm one of the weird folk that doesn't like them very much when they're hot from the fryer- I actually prefer them cold, like almost frozen. :-D I decided that in honor of National Doughnut Day, I would do Krispy Kreme nails, since they're super delicious. :-P (even though the best doughnuts come from back home in Michigan at H&H Bakery, where I worked and went to all the time when I was younger).

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Nubar Forest applied with Konad Plate m79. For the iconic red K's, I used a mixture of American Apparel Downtown L.A. and A Beautiful Life Poison. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Ok, time for sugar coma. (because yeah, I ate that doughnut I'm holding in the picture, and the lemon one right before it. ;)

How to: Rescue a nail!

Oh shoot. Cracked a nail?

Don't give up on it immediately! After a lot of stamping with the feet and cussing around, I usually just rip off the cracked tip. And yes, this usually makes me very sad. But no more sadness for me, because a while ago I discovered these neat little things called silk wraps.
A silk wrap is a synthetic nail reinforcement that is made from pieces of silk material. There are wraps made out of linnen and fiberglass too. If you don't have silk wraps lying around, you can use a tea bag as well!

You can also use silk wraps if you just happen to have weak nails or if you have cracked an artificial nail. And no one will notice them!

I like to use the Essence SOS Nail Repair Pads, one package contains 10 self adhesive pads. You can use every brand you like, these were easy to get for me. I think these aren't the strongest, but they do look mighty natural.
Self adhesive is the way to go, it makes everything so much easier.
I also use the Essence brush on nail glue. The brush makes it also easier, you definitely don't want to frustrate yourself using something with a teeny tiny spout. I'd suggest cutting the silk wrap into the right size before starting anything.

So far I haven't used these on myself, but I think I've applied them about seven times on my mom's nails. At first I was really struggling with it, but after a while I got the hang of it.

How to apply a silk wrap

1. Start off with a clean and nail polish free nail. Disinfect it with alcohol and roughen it up a little with a file.

2. Apply a little bit of glue on the crack. You can use an orange stick to keep everything in place while it's drying.

3. Place your fitted silkwrap on your nail by using tweezers. Leave a tiny gap, so you won't glue down your cuticles. Use the orange stick to push the entire thing down on your nail.

4. Apply one coat of glue on top of the silk wrap. Let it dry completely before going to the next step.

5. Apply one more coat of glue. When it's completely dry, use a buffer file, on the glue only, to smoothen everything out. Also file down any pieces of silk wrap that might stick out at the tip.

See? This wasn't that hard, and it's hardly noticeable! If the tear is pretty severe you might want to place a second silk wrap, to make it even stronger.
Depending on how many times you paint your nails these can last a pretty good time, let's say a couple of weeks. I know my mom is wearing a silk wrap that is already lasting four weeks! There is one thing though, you cannot use nail polish remover that contains acetone, because acetone will dissolve the glue.
If you want to get rid of the silk wrap, simply soak your nail in acetone for a few minutes and the silk wrap will come off just like that.

This was it for today, thanks so much for reading and till next time! -
Michèle

That Hat

So for my birthday this year, I used some of the money gifted me to buy a hat, yes, a hat. I am a lover of all things chapeau. I have a particular fondness for fedoras and stylized fedoras. I also recently acquired a newsboy cap that I wear far too often. Anyway. Today's nails are to match my newest acquisition in the land of hats....

That hat:

The nails:

The comparison:

I used American Apparel Office as a base color, to match the hat, and then painted a thin line of American Apparel Cotton along the tip edge of the nail, and a moon at the cuticle edge. For the lines, I used American Apparel Hassid, I wish they were more even, but my brush kept splaying out its bristles, I think its time for a new one. I topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

A picture of my birthday cake. (the Fire cake! :-P I first came up with the idea and made this when I was 16. :)) I love fire, and I think that this cake looks like fire when you cut into it, sometimes they turn out better than others, and this was a fair/medium example. Turns out, if you don't make something for 13 years, you fall out of practice. ;)

Also, a picture of the lovely flowers my parents sent me! :)

one of the mums:

Airbrushed nails!

Airbrushed blue lace! Nail design inspired from June10 Nail Max issue. This issue is full of denims, florals and laces designs. LOVE!

My camera failed to capture the actual shade of blue. -____- The actual color looks more contrasting, a lighter blue base and a darker blue airbrushed lace design.

Airbrush is love. But it's also messy and tedious. HAHA. Pretty nails sure don't come easy.

Some samples I did few weeks ago but I know took forever to post them on my blog. Sorry!

Design from Nail Max. Pink airbrushed stripes. Embossed flowers and crystals.

Design from Nail Max. Airbrushed black and violet hearts on a white gradation base.

Design from Nail UP! I modified the base color from Peach (original design) to orangey yellow. And airbrushed black laces on!

Airbrushed nails!

Airbrushed blue lace! Nail design inspired from June10 Nail Max issue. This issue is full of denims, florals and laces designs. LOVE!

My camera failed to capture the actual shade of blue. -____- The actual color looks more contrasting, a lighter blue base and a darker blue airbrushed lace design.

Airbrush is love. But it's also messy and tedious. HAHA. Pretty nails sure don't come easy.

Some samples I did few weeks ago but I know took forever to post them on my blog. Sorry!

Design from Nail Max. Pink airbrushed stripes. Embossed flowers and crystals.

Design from Nail Max. Airbrushed black and violet hearts on a white gradation base.

Design from Nail UP! I modified the base color from Peach (original design) to orangey yellow. And airbrushed black laces on!

Bridal nails. Pink frills and mini bows!

Here's 2 sets of sweet and girly bridal nails.


Shimmer stardust all over!


Mini twin bows. Kawaii! :D

Girly pink frills to match her gown. ;)