Blast from the Past: La La La La La La La La La La La ....

In honor of 'The Smurfs' movie coming out today, I though this blast from the past would be appropriate! :-D

Try getting THAT out of your head!! *muahahahahahaha* Ok, anybody who's ANYBODY knows who the Smurfs are, and how...Smurfy they are. :-D I remember many a Saturday morning growing up waking up and watching the Smurfs on tv, since I grew up in the boonies, we didn't have cable, *GASP* (yes, that's for REAL. My parents STILL don't have cable) so Saturday mornings were the only time that cartoons were on TV, so we definitely made the most of them, most likely eating S'mores cereal, maybe Count Chocula, or perhaps my dad's amazingtastical fried eggs. (I am 29, and I STILL can't make fried eggs as well as he can.) Ahhh, the memories....

Can I also mention that two of my friends (and readers) got married today!! Congratulations Len & Sarah! I wish you both all the happiness in the world!!

And now, on to the nails! I did Papa Smurf on my thumb, Painter Smurf on my index finger, Smurfette on my middle finger, Vanity on my ring finger, and Brainy Smurf on my pinky. :)

I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the hats and eyes, Eyeko Saucy Polish for Naughty Nails for the tongues (when you see 'em, the stem and spots of the mushroom, and Papa Smurf's hat. For Smurfette's hair, I used American Apparel Manila, which I also used for the center of the flower on Vanity Smurf's hat. For the top of the mushroom, I used butter LONDON Minger, which I also used for the paint splatter on Painter Smurf's hat. For his paintbrush, I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with a mixture of Color Club Best Dressed List and American Apparel Manila. For Vanity's flower, I used Color Club Ms. Socialite, then I used a combination (not mixed, just whatever I picked up on my brush) of Pure Ice Wild Thing, L.A. Girl Army Green, and Zoya Shawn, and as always, I used American Apparel Hassid to outline everything.

I have to say, I think this manicure is pretty smurfy. the only nail I'm not loving on my left hand is Smurfette, she was the first one I drew before changing my technique, and she looks a tad wonky. Ah well.

Sorry, no Gargamel this time, perhaps when the Smurfs movie comes out next summer. :-D

I've Gone Public.

Public restrooms, that is. I honestly have no idea what spurred the idea for this nail design. I was driving home from work one night thinking (it's my best thinking time), and it hit me. I thought it'd be a fun, EASY, quick nail design that would be easily recognizable. :-D The irony? I detest public restrooms, seriously, I'd rather hold it 'til my eyeballs are floating than use a public bathroom. I'm not sure whether it is the fact that someone might *gasp* hear me, or germs, or whatever. Might be a combination of all things, I just don't like them. *shudder* Anyway...after that TMI moment, here you are... my bathroom nails. (Don't worry, I washed my hands)

Sorry for the grotesque cuticle injury - been stuffing DVDs into cardboard envelopes for hours (800 DVDs so far).

I used ALDO Sea You in Ibiza as a base, with Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud for the white symbols. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat for shine.

Zoya - Ivanka

Ivanka

If anyone knows how to do glass fleck, it's Zoya! They're not as brilliant with their nail polish naming though, as the name 'Ivanka' doesn't peak my interest at all... boring! However, Ivanka sure is pretty and that's what matters in the end.
This green glass flecked polish belongs to their Sparkle Collection that came out last summer. Ivanka is a grassy, almost forest green with flecks that show both green and gold. Green can be a difficult color to wear, but since Ivanka is cool toned it's a suitable color for lots of different skin tones. In the bottle you can definitely see some blue flecks as well, but sadly the blue flash doesn't translate well onto your nails at all.

Formula

Ivanka applied beautifully: the three coats went on smooth and even. With glass fleck you can have the fun that glitter brings, without having the difficult removal process after. I did notice Ivanka didn't dry that quickly, in conjunction with my Revlon quick drying top coat...

You can order Zoya nail polishes at Art of Beauty for 8 USD per 15ml.

What a Wallet

I've had this wallet for ages. I picked it up at Forever 21 at some point, buying it because I loved the retro look of the pattern. It's one of those hinged wallets that clasp shut. I never really use it anymore, but I was going through my stuff recently (I need to pare my belongings down) and came across it.

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme for the oval, butter LONDON Minger for the orange, Barielle Aura Angora for the yellowy mustard color, American Apparel Pinto for the burnt red, American Apparel Cocoa for the taupe color, then American Apparel Raccoon for the darker brown. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

How to: find your 'borrowed' photos with Google Image Search

How to find your stolen photos with Google Image Search

Play by the rules

Do you see the picture above this paragraph? It took some effort to get that photo there: I had to remove my old nail polish and repaint them with Mimosa by Chanel. After that I get my camera, take some photo's, sometimes more than a hundred! I transfer the pics onto my computer, import them in Photoshop, do some cropping, resizing and maybe even a little rotating. Which takes ages on my tantalizingly slow laptop. Finally: they're ready for upload! Sounds like a bit of work, doesn't it?
Well, it is! So with that in mind, you can imagine how frustrating it can be, when others just take your photos and repost them without even a hint of credit. Or worse: place their watermark on top of your photo. I normally don't mind, when I see my photos on the net, as long as there's a link back to my site. It's not much to ask, right?

I know this isn't the kind of post you'd expect on this blog, but I've written blogposts for fellow bloggers before, so I thought this article possibly may be of interest to some. With the new and improved Image search by Google, it's now extremely simple to track down your own photos. Let's have a look:

1. Go to http://images.google.com

2. Drag a photo from your hard drive directly into the search field

3. Hit the search button

4. Et voila: an overview of your photos!

Of course it's up to you, what to do next. If you want your content to be removed, have a look at this article.

Nfu Oh 51 Revisited

Nfu Oh 51

Oh Nfu Oh 51.. If there's one polish that got me into nail polish big time, this is the one. I've written about it before, but there's no such thing as too much attention when we're talking Nfu Oh 51. Come on, just look at it! It's like magic on your nails.
A beautiful blurple base, glowiness, flakies, no wait, DUOCHROME flakies, Nfu Oh 51 has it all. No wonder it's always out of stock somewhere..

The awesomeness that's Nfu Oh 51, is hard to capture on camera though. Sometimes it's leaning more towards purple and at other times it's definitely more of a glowy red. Especially in low light you can see the duochrome flakies change color like a chameleon: from red to orange to green. For this manicure I layered it over Claire's Magic, a purple polish with lots of shimmer, an absolutely perfect candidate to team up with #51.

Application

You can use #51 on its own or you can layer it like I did. If you want to wear it on its own, you'll need about three coats. If you're going to layer it, just one layer will give you the effect you see in the photos. The formula is kinda jelly and squishy, so I'd suggest using a quickdrying top coat with this. One layer of top coat will smooth out the flakies and add more intensity to the color.

You can order Nfu Oh 51 ($9.90 for 17ml) at Viis Ilusalong or ($12.50 for 17ml) at Fabuloustreet.com (I suggest paying with paypal as there were some credit card troubles in the past..) or at Nail XL (currently out of stock).

Koh - Blue Universe

Dazzle

Everything but boring. A good description for an extraordinary bottle of nail polish. Koh, a Dutch brand, happens to have some true stunners in their collection. And guess what? Blue Universe is no exception.

Blue Universe is a denim blue nail polish, enriched with duochrome flakies that flash from orange to green. That's just the beginning though, there's also plenty shimmer and glitter to feast your eyes upon. When I'm in the mood for a complex and distinctive polish, I can absolutely count on Blue Universe.

Application

Does it apply as beautifully as it looks? Yes, it does! Two quickdrying coats and you're good to go. It does need a final layer of top coat to give it that glossy look, because it does dry rather matte.
I do find the brushes of Koh polishes to be a bit thin, but nothing I can't work with. The two major letdowns of Koh polishes are their price and availability. I don't know about you, but I don't find €14,95 a bottle that cheap. If you're living outside The Netherlands, you might have trouble finding a place to purchase these Dutch gems.

In The Netherlands you can buy Koh polishes for 14,95 EUR each at Douglas, MOOI or Bijenkorf. If you're outside Holland you can try your luck over at their online shop.

Ps. these photos were taken with my compactcamera

Clearance Sales!

The following is going at offer prices!

Silver Shatter - $13 (3 pieces left)
Red Shatter - $13 (last piece)

Skull & Glossbones - $10.50 (3 pieces left)
Stranger tides - $10.50 (last piece)

Mini seche vite (3.6ml) - $5 each (2 pieces left)

While stocks last!
Contact valerie.gmh@gmail.com or 94577783 if interested.

Overdue Daisies

Some time back, I saw a design on Simply Rins and decided to use Mummy as my guinea pig! Moreover, I was dying to try OPI You Don't Know Jacques so I combined both and killed 2 birds with one stone. Hahaha.

It really is an extremely easy design and I was very satisfied with the end product! So was mummy. (:

As such, I'll be having a promotion for this design!

Going at $10 (inclusive of express mani)

Available only on 17th/24th July

Book an appointment now!

valerie.gmh@gmail.com / 94577783

It All Ends 7/15.

I’m totally writing this blog post in the theater waiting for the Harry Potter movie to start. I’m sitting on the stairs next to the wall because my laptop is too low on battery otherwise. As you might have surmised from other posts and if you follow me on Twitter, I am a 100%, bonafide, Harry Potter dork. No, I don’t dress up for the midnight showing, and some might argue that negates any credibility that I had as a Harry Potter enthusiast, but I tend to disagree. I wear my robes on the inside, and my insides are hearty shades of crimson and gold. I’m SO excited for this final chapter in the Harry Potter series, but it is, as is it for many of you, bittersweet. I think, as disturbed and sad as it may sound, that I’ll feel a little hollow (no, not Hallow), as I did after I finished the last page of the final book. A twinge of sadness, knowing that there won’t be anymore to read or watch of the adventures of our dear Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron. I’m SO looking forward to Molly Weasley screaming the line we’ll not shortly forget, departing from her usually jovial, friendly self to take her revenge on Bellatrix. (If you’ve read the books, you know what I’m talking about) It’s going to be amazing stuff.

For today’s nails, I knew that I had to do something to say goodbye to the series, since this is the last midnight showing that we’ll get to partake in for our beloved Harry Potter movies. I wanted to do something that I haven’t seen someone else do, something that I myself haven’t done either. I settled upon the amazing poster design for this 8th and final installment, with Harry and Voldemort head to head, with only the elder wand to separate them. I also did the Deathly Hallows symbol on the pinky, as well as the HP of the Harry Potter logo on the thumb. I photographed them, then splattered red polish on the ring and thumb to simulate the blood that was splattered on the series of posters, then photographed them again. :)

After the movie edit: Holy crap. That movie was incredible. 

I used CND Oilslick as a base, with China Glaze Millennium for the silver in the HP and the Deathly Hallows. For Voldemort, I used American Apparel Cotton, Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver, and A Beautiful Life Poison. For Harry, I used American Apparel Cotton, CND Oilslick, Zoya Helen, A Beautiful Life Poison, and American Apparel Raccoon (for hair). For the background on the Harry, Voldemort and Wand nails, I used Nicole By OPI My Lifesaver in different opacities, as well as American Apparel Cotton. For the Wand, I used American Apparel Raccoon, the CND Oilslick and American Apparel Cotton for the hands at the base of the wand. For the blood splatters, I used A Beautiful Life Poison. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche vite top coat.

NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!

H&M - Peppermint Fusion

Fresh!

Peppermint Fusion is fresh. The perfect color to cool off by on hot summer days. Not that we have many of those here in the Netherlands, but this polish will put you in the right mood regardless!
Peppermint Fusion's base has a dusty periwinkle or lavender blue color, with very fine, turquoise flashing shimmer. This finish actually reminds me a bit of some Chanel polishes, like Paradoxal or Riva, but luckily H&M polishes go for only a fraction of their price!

Formula & Application

Peppermint Fusion is not only a stunner to look at, in addition it also has a great formula. This lacquer applies very pliantly and easily, and only two coats will give you a pretty decent result. However, looking at the photos I took, it probably could have used a third coat. I didn't have any problems during application, Peppermint Fusion truly is a nice polish. But, ...there's always a but, after three days it did start chipping. Oh well, that just makes the perfect excuse to change your nail polish, right?

On another note

This post is probably on of the last posts you'll see where the pictures were taken with my old and trusted Sony CyberShot w120. Yes, there's a new love in my life and it goes by the name of Canon EOS 1100D. I can't wait to shoot my snapshots with this magnificent camera from now on!

You can buy H&M polishes for 3.95 EUR each at your local H&M store, and a selection of colors can be found in their online shop at www.hm.com.

China Glaze Metro (PREVIEW)

URBAN EDGINESS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

China Glaze Introduces 12 New Purely Pigmented Crèmes, High Coverage Glitters and Intense Shine Shimmers for Fall 2011

Los Angeles, CA – (April 2011):  City living boasts excitement, a cool, edginess and confidence that oozes from fashion forward women like none other.   City loving celebs like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Ivanka Trump, Rosario Dawson and Jaime King have style to spare and their fashion sense trickles down to everyone from working women to college kids. This Fall, China Glaze has captured the big city feel in 12 sexy, sophisticated shades that are on trend, exciting and will be on every fashion maven’s “must have” list.  Whether you prefer downtown funk or uptown class, China Glaze’s METRO collection pulls together ensembles and will undoubtedly make heads turn!  Colors in this collection include:

Skyscraper: A sparkling, glitter blue reminiscent of the sky over the city.

CG in the City: Glittering dusty purple, bronze and silver multi-tonal glitter, perfect for a pop of edge from West side to East side.

Urban-Night: Exactly what you need for a night on the town – rich purple crème.

Traffic Jam: Stop traffic with a breathtaking, raspberry pink crème.

City Siren: The perfect deep, red crème to match any outfit. 

Loft-y Ambitions: Burgundy shimmer and cocktail hour – nothing better.

Brownstone: Burnt terracotta crème mirrors the quaint townhouses of the city.

Midtown Magic: Burgundy base with flecks of gold shimmer captures the latest fashion trend.

Street Chic: This gorgeous beige crème is the perfect go to shade letting your clothes do the talking.

Concrete Catwalk: Steel grey crème is amazing for a chic mani.

Westside Warrior: For the trendsetting woman this camo green crème is to die for.

Trendsetter: Mustard yellow shimmer translates beautifully from hot dogs to nails.

Fall in the City is a magnificent time and China Glaze has interpreted the hues of the urban jungle into their limited edition METRO collection.   Escape your everyday and indulge in the city life!

The China Glaze METRO collection will be available in a “Downtown” 6 piece box collection (includes Skyscraper, Concrete Catwalk, Westside Warrior, Trendsetter, Loft-y Ambitions and Midtown Magic), an “Uptown” 6 piece box collection (includes CG in the City, Urban-Night, Traffic Jam, City Siren and Street Chic and Brownstone), a brand new, amazing 3D 12 piece counter display, a 36 piece rack display, and as open stock colors.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks,  Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

Multi-Colortural

I'll admit it, I have a lot of nail polish. A lot. Are there colors that look similar? Yes. Are there colors that look different? Of course. Do I need all of them? Probably not. Regardless of need, I keep hoarding them, and adding more and more to the collection. The other day, I was going through the collection- organizing/putting away, and an idea struck me. I wanted to do a color study, like old times——like in college. So I gathered my colors up for each nail (I did each nail one at a time - I only have so much room on my nail table for polish), and set to work. I wanted to see what the mish-mash of colors of the same family (albeit in different finishes, hues, tints, etc.) would look like. Well, it's interesting. Not quite what I envisioned, but it's different...and sort of looks like rainbow camouflage, which I'm guessing there isn't a huge market for, seeing as it would have the entirely opposite effect of what one desires when donning camouflage attire. Anyway. This manicure was done using a total of 61 different colors, 62 if you count the Seche Vite. ;)

I used:

American Apparel Cotton as a base, with...

Thumb: Reds

American Apparel Berry, A Beautiful Life Poison, Barielle Elle's Spell, China Glaze High Maintenance, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, China Glaze TMI, Claire's Stilettos, Essie Blood Curdling, Nicole by OPI OMB!, Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love, Zoya Kimmy, and Zoya Reva.

Index: Oranges

American Apparel Pinta, butter LONDON Minger, China Glaze Ginger, China Glaze Japanese Koi, China Glaze Papaya Punch, China Glaze Peachy Keen, CND Electric Orange, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Lotus Herbals Orange Alert 82, OPI Extra-va-vaganza!, Zoya Lianne, Zoya Rica, and Zoya Tanzy.

Middle: Yellows

American Apparel Manila, Barielle Aura Angora, China Glaze Classic Camel, China Glaze Cleopatra, China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, China Glaze Lighthouse, Essie Funky Limelight, Nubar Hot Yellow, Orly Luxe, RBL Square Pants, Sally Hansen Expres-So Yellow, and Zoya Pippa.

Ring: Greens

American Apparel MacArthur Park, American Apparel Malibu Green, American Apparel Neon Green, China Glaze L8R G8R, China Glaze Starboard, CND Green Scene, Frida Nails Grass Green jelly, Nubar Reclaim, RBL No More War, Zoya Ivanka, Zoya Shawn, and Zoya Envy.

Pinky: Blues

American Apparel Cameo Blue, China Glaze 2NITE, CND Anchor Blue, Lotus Herbals Ocean Love, Nicole by OPI Me + Blue, OPI Absolutely Alice, ULTA Moody Blues, Zoya Crystal, Zoya Breezi, Zoya Kotori, and Zoya Tallulah.


Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat. :)

MORE NAILS MORE NAILS MORE NAILS!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I hope you enjoy these pics and it was worth the wait :)