Konad Haul

I did it! I finally ordered some Konad stuff from OC Nail Art! Yay! It's February already, and I'm still struggling to stick to my New Year's Resolution, but let's see how it'll work :)

Stamper and scraper (4,99 USD, it seems they now carry a new 2 sided version of stamper only), and 10 ml Special Stamping Polish in Metallic Gold (6,99 USD)

Two "Full nails" plates M73 and M64, and one "French tips" M56 (6,99 USD each)

Shipping is free on orders above 20 USD for USA and Canada, and on orders above 40 USD for International (before shipping and taxes!). If your order is below 40 USD, shipping is 10 USD.

Note: I ordered before 15.1.2010, when the shipping was free on orders above 20 USD.

I also used 30% discount code GETCHA (of lovely Brooke from Getcha Nails Did). Now "OC Nail Art will donate 30% of your order (before taxes and shipping) to the American Red Cross for Haitian relief efforts!  Use coupon code HAITI when you order online."

Ordered on 12.1 (Tuesday), received my order on week 3 (sometime between 18-20.1). Super fast shipping!

My initial thoughts:

I love my plates. All the patterns seem so interesting! I understand they might be quite difficult to use for a beginner, but anyway! I love challenges! lol And I have tons of ideas! Gotta find time for them. Stay tuned! :)

I tried "konading" one nail with Konad Special Stamping Polish in Metallic Gold. Hmmm, is it just me, or is it indeed a little bit watery and "not so pigmented"? :/ Have yet to investigate this issue...

I guess there is no need asking "Have you  tried Konad". Am I right? :)

PS My 2 absolutely favourite posts about Konad: 

Tips&Tricks: How to stamp Konad images from Emerald Sparkled

Konad Q&A from Do Not Refreeze

Check them out! :)

Wet'n'Wild Rock Solid Nail lacquer in Pretty In Pink Diamonds

Natural "light", flash

Natural "light"

Note: Sorry for a "slightly used" look. I blame intensive hand washing and cold weather for this! :)

10 ml (0,33 oz), exp. date: 18 month after opening, "made in PRC" (i.e. The People's Republic of China)

I guess it's Toluen and Phthalate Free (contains Formaldehyde Resin!) like it's "sister" Pink Sapphire from the same collection. For some reason the list of ingredients is missing on this one, so I can't be sure. :/

Claims: "Infused with micro fine diamond flecks for rock solid strength and platinum performance."

Colour: pale orange with very fine golden shimmer-flecks. Have no idea how Wet'n'Wild guys came up with Pink Diamonds name! :)  It's not pink at all!

Finish: shimmer.

Application: pretty smooth application , but quite sheer. I usually apply 3 coats for a full coverage.

Retail price: 3,95 EUR (quite often Wet'n'Wild products are on "Buy 3 pay for 2" offer).

Pros: wearable shade, nice brush, pretty bottle (with a "diamond" on top!), good application.
Cons: sheer, list of ingredients is missing, smelly (!).

PS Can't wait for spring/summer? Put this shade on and pretend spring/summer is here! :)
PPS This polish is one of hubby's faves! :) Does that ring a bell? lol

What's your favourite orange nail polish?

Nail decoration haul

One sunny day (September was quite sunny here :) ) I decided to try painting on my nails instead of painting on paper only. :) A couple of weeks ago I finally received my Ebay order. Here is what I got (copy-pasted these weird "names" from Ebay):

"Dappen dish for color mixing nail art palette" (set of 2)

These plastic dishes are very handy when it comes to mixing several shades together, or when painting own nails (so that you don't have to constantly open-close the bottle).

"Round nail art display practice wheel" (set of 10)

I already had the same set of "display practice wheel" prior to this order. It is extremely helpful in organising nail polish collection, in layering different shades and in trying out new designs/styles/ideas before making "the full hand mani".

Once I get my long-waited Essie Matte about you, I'll reorganise my wheels! :)

"Design pen painting brush dotting tool nail art set" (set of 16)

There is pretty good variety of different brushes in this set. It would be nice to have even smaller brushes (for tiny details) though. Bristles are quite dense, but not as good as your usual nail polish brush. I'd say these brushes are more difficult to navigate. I thought it would be much easier to draw something on the nail. I was wrong! It's not the same as just painting on paper! Why are my nails so small? lol

PS You can check my first try under "Christmas nails" title

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle (with a little something :) )

Remember my Candy Cane Christmas nails? I decided they were too bright for me, so I chose CG Emerald Sparkle to join the company of the tiny mistletoe (I considered it to be quite modest). :)

Artificial light, flash

Artificial light, flash

Let me introduce you my "fully-emerald sparkled" right hand! :)
Natural light, flash

Natural light. Finally, some decent shot without a flash! Yay!:) Check the warmth (well, it's THIS warm under the certain light) and depth of this green!

Note: My hands are super dry (usual problem in winter!). I'm still on a mission to find my HG hand cream!

14 ml (0,5 oz), exp. date: 36 months after opening, made in USA.

Loves You Snow Much collection. Holiday 2008 (original), re-release in 2009.

Nail lacquer with hardeners (Kaolin/China clay).
Seems to be 3 Big free.

Colour: dark rich green jelly base with a bunch of bright green glitter. It is more of a warm tone green. It indeed looks like a gemstone. It kind of glows from within. And it sparkles! :) Stunning!

Finish: glitter.

Application: pretty smooth application (a little bit runny consistency, but nothing serious), 2 coats is enough for a full coverage.

Retail price: 2,5 USD - 11 EUR.

Pros: gorgeous shade, cute bottle (!), perfect coverage, nice brush (could be rounder though), big 3 free.
Cons: pretty strong smell, a little bit runny consistency, time-consuming removal process (hey, it's GLITTER!) - try foil-cotton ball method, the fact that it's so expensive here!

PS GORGEOUS! A MUST-HAVE, especially if you like GREEN! :)

PPS If the starry night were green (for the unknown reason) it'd look like Emerald Sparkle! lol

Christmas nails

The other day I finally decided to try my nail decoration set (will write about it later) I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Promise not to laugh! :)

 

 

All the colours are shimmery. Hence, they look so washed out. :/ Yep, artificial light and flash again. :)

The inspiration: candy cane and mistletoe (obviously :) ).

What I used:

1. Poshe Fast drying base coat.

2. Mavala Nail color cream in Nr. 49 White (2 coats). Honestly, it's the worst polish I own! Brush strokes are everywhere! And the brush is difficult to "navigate"!

3. IsaDora Wonder Nail Extra long lasting Quick Dry in Nr. 620 Sparkling Diamonds as a top coat (check my review if you're interested) (1 coat).

4. Poshe Fast drying top coat.

5. So called "Dappen dish for color mixing" and 2 different brushes from nail design set.

6. China Glaze Emerald Sparkle - for leaves.

7. Rimmel 60 seconds Vinyl stars nail polish in Nr. 627 Movie Star - for stripes and "berries".

PS No Konad, because I don't have one! lol

All the painting was quite time-consuming, because the polish was drying out VERY quickly (if only it would act like that on my nails! lol) on that "dish", so I had to open-close the bottle quite often. I usually don't spend that much time on doing my nails. :) But I just had to finish this!

It looks so sweet and girly, totally "not me". :) Nevertheless I'm quite pleased with my first attempt, especially with a tiny mistletoe. :) *thinking of something else to try!*