Saturday, 20 March 2010

A 'Mary' Widow, Perhaps?


The title is a spin (pun intended) of the term Merrywidow- a type of lingerie, and because the colorful gender of Black Widow spiders are the females....the males are dull and brown. (I know the title is a stretch, but I tried. ;)) In just a few short months, our backyards will be overrun with these stupid things, with their ominous-looking red hourglass markings, and their venomous bite. I had never seen one until I moved out west, and man, they're everywhere. Creepy buggers.



I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, and then painted the hourglass with China Glaze Salsa over Sally Hansen All the White Stuff. Two coats of Seche Vite top coat to seal the deal.


H&M Red Nail & A little bit more on nail polish

H&M Red Nail

Hi everyone! Today I'm wearing something very traditional, but I'm liking it nonetheless! There's just something about pinup red that I absolutely love. There's not much to say about this particular nail polish by H&M, it's red. And surprisingly they called it 'Red Nail' ;-). But: the formula is outstanding, this jelly just glides on and it only needs 2 coats for complete opacity!

Red nail polish is incredibly timeless, I'm always mesmerized when I see a pinup or Hollywood actress from the 40ies wearing it. I decided to look into the history of nail polish, and decided to share with you what I found!

For example, did you know that nail polish can be traced back to at least 3000 BC?
Polish originated at that time in China. The early mixture was a hodgepodge of bees’ wax, gelatin, gum arabic, and egg whites. The Chinese also added the petals of flowers such as roses and orchids, and alum to their polish.
During that same time, upper class members in Egypt wore nail polish similar in texture to lacquer paint. The paint signified money and prosperity. I wonder what color Cleopatra preferred?
 

Rita Hayworth
During the Chou Dynasty, around 600 BC, the royal colors were metallic gold and silver. Nail polish was only meant for people of the Chinese upper class. If the lower class attempted to wear nail polish, they could be punished by death. The polish at the time was colored with natural pigments. I bet they would have drooled over the Orly Fx's ;-).

Modern nail varnish was invented in the 1920's. Charles Revson formed the Charles Revson company with his brother and Charles Lachman, a chemist. They employed a French make-up artist, Michelle Renard, who wondered if the new technology used for painting cars could be used for the nails. She managed to create a modern lacquer made of the same nitrocellulose disolved in solvent, that was used on cars (except not the same strength).

The Charles Revson company became Revlon (they added the L in the middle of the name for the other co-founder Lachman). The first Revlon nail polish went on sale in 1932.

But if it wasn't for Hollywood, nail polish wouldn't have become so big. Colour movies had just arrived, and audiences could see their favourite actresses wearing the exotic reds and mauves of the Revlon company. Painting your nails and buying the matching lipstick gave you a bit of Hollywood glamour even if your clothes were cheap. Other cosmetic houses soon followed and added nail polish to their ranges too.

By 1940, long red fingernails became very popular, due to Hollywood starlets and pinups, especially to actress Rita Hayworth, I just love her. Since then, red nails remained on top, either long or short. Funnily enough, prostitutes were the first ones wearing it before it became mainstream! I'm not sure what to think of that haha.

      Bette Davis
Source: all over the place ;-D

So now you know a little bit about the history of nail polish! I hope it didn't bore you to death, haha!

Thanks for stopping by and I want to wish you all a great weekend!

Bridal nails with fuschia pink lace

Ok I really need to share this set of bridal nails with you girls! Fushia pink lace on a soft pink glitter base! Excited excited excited! Anyway, the photos are really disappointing. I like it soooo much better in real life.


Very pretty! This is gonna match her day and evening gown perfectly. Ahhh.


A closer look on the lace and soft pink glitter.


The perfect wedding nails to have.

Bridal nails with fuschia pink lace

Ok I really need to share this set of bridal nails with you girls! Fushia pink lace on a soft pink glitter base! Excited excited excited! Anyway, the photos are really disappointing. I like it soooo much better in real life.


Very pretty! This is gonna match her day and evening gown perfectly. Ahhh.


A closer look on the lace and soft pink glitter.


The perfect wedding nails to have.

Friday, 19 March 2010

OMG, Like, Totally 80s!


Sorry for the lateness of today's post, I estimate that of the past 24 or so hours, I've been awake only a handful of them..maybe 4? Today's mani is also simple, and I get to use one of my new polishes that I got the other day from ROSS!! (Super cheap, too!) The colors totally remind me of 80s fashion colors, hence the title.



I used Color Club Pure Energy from the Electro Candy Collection as a base, with Massini Power Pack applied with a pipe cleaner. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Back to bed. Sleeping is my only relief from the neck and shoulder agony right now. It even hurts to breathe. The chiro yesterday didn't help much, but it didn't hurt that he was smokin' hot, either. ;)

OPI - Absolutely Alice

OPI Absolutely Alice

Hi guys! For today I have one of OPI's masterpieces to show you. You've probably seen it around by now, but I was saving it for a special occasion: seeing Alice in Wonderland! Yesterday I finally got to see the movie I was so excited about. Naturally I just had to wear Absolutely Alice!

This gorgeous medium blue glitter with its golden particles is really something else. My picture isn't doing any justice to it at all, trust me. Application was alright, I applied 'only' 2 coats, since a 3rd caused my nails to look lumpy, and we don't want that do we ;-). The finish is kinda rough, so I applied two layers of David top coat. It's so shiny and sparkly, for me this is the star of the Alice in Wonderland collection.

So, my nails and I were ready for the movie. Even though I liked it, I was rather disappointed. This movie was a stunner to look at, but gorgeous visuals aren't enough in my book: the characters were lacking some serious depth. And skills for that matter. Even Johnny Depp didn't sweep me off my feet this time. Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen was just perfect though, I adore her.

I'm a huge Tim Burton fan, but this movie is hopelessly bland. Have you seen it? What do you think?

Thursday, 18 March 2010

I'm With the Band-ana.


Howdy, y'all!! (best read with a country accent) Today's nails have been in my mind for ages, ever since I got the plate actually... I totally think that the paisley design on plate m60 looks like a Bandana print... so I did bandana nails.



I used China Glaze Salsa as a base on the red nails, and American Apparel Mount Royal as a base on the blue nail. For the pattern, I applied Sally Hansen All the White Stuff with Konad Plate m60. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat, so my nails will be ready for any rodeo that comes along!! :-P

K, I'm going to lay down, just got back from the Chiro, which felt good for about 5 min after, and now I'm in pain again. *sigh*


Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Nails and ring set

Here is another ring-nails set that i came up with recently.
It looks a little more like winter rather then spring, but i still like it.
I sponged the light green transparent ring with the same zoya nail polish that used as a base coat for my nails. I was trying to make keep the ring semi transparent, but it did not turned really great, and a ring is nos as bright and even as nails, but however i am really pleased with the drawing on the ring.
I really love to make nails-ring sets - i think all together it looks fantastic, and catch lots of attention. Everybody are asking me where did get this service. lol



ROCK STAR AND MUCH MORE







Drink Me, I'm Irish!


Ok, so I'm not Irish, but with my naturally pale skin, freckles, and red hair, I certainly look the part! :-P Sooooo, in honor of St. Patty's Day, I painted pints of Guinness on my nails (and some shamrocks, of course!!) My favorite part is that the brown I used is MAC's Rick, Dark, Delicious....could there be a more PERFECT color name to use for Guinness?!



I used MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious as a base, then mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the 'head' or foam. For the Shamrocks, I used Pure Ice Wild Thing. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

And, to match my nails.....

GUINNESS CUPCAKES!!!!





Here is where I found the recipe, since so many people were interested in it:

Guinness Cupcake recipe

Sláinte!