My stash.

Hey there,

Thank. God. It's. FRIDAY.

So, in order to welcome this weekend where I'll have to work from home and take a legal english exam (nay...) and get to sleep some more than usual, be with The Boyfriend and do my nails (yay!) I wanted to show you how I order my stuff.

Now, I don't know what volume of polish you expected, and it's really a tiny collection compared with the amazing stashes I've gotten to see through the net. It's all I have for now, and I amb happy to say I am no longer in a crave for buying new polish, so the family is not growing as fast as it once did.

Those are my 140 bottles of pleasure:

I store them in those two nail polish racks I bough off eBay which are supposed to hold 50 bottles each, but as you see hold at least 20 more each. I try that the polishes follow a chromatic order (does that make sense?) but it's not always easy. I think I managed pretty well overall.

Then those are my nail art things:

As I said, I'm not all crazy for trying new polishes all the time anymore; I discovered I can play with the colors, textures and I love it. It's my time for being creative and express my mood and personality, a time that I take for myself and that is gratifying every time I take a look at my hands. It makes me feel good.

So at the top there are some studs and chains, some decorative fruits (never used), some reinforcement stickers and water decals (in the little pot which is actually an eye cream pot), some stickers and rhinestones and a whole lot of french manicure and chevron guides (those are essential). In the middle you can find my dotting tools, nail stickers of various brands and nail art brushes. And at the bottom we have the striping tape, glitter and glitter stars, the one magnet that I own and finally my make up sponges.

Then I have the stamping bazar:

So here I have the cheap and heavy pigmented polishes I use for stamping, some Konad plates and the second release of the Bundle Monster plates. Not much.

And lastly, the stuff I don't use and thinner. Some nail wheels, some base coats, top coats, empty bottles, false nails, spare nail files and cuticle removers. All that crap I can't throw away just in case I might need it. And after all, when I need it, I don't even remember that it's in there, and I buy it anew. So this bag keeps growing bigger and bigger. C'est la vie.

Well that's all. Let me know what you think, you curious creatures!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Clouds with Péridot

Ladies and Gents,

I hope your weekend rocked in an inversely proportional way compared to mine. I lack time lately, and that makes me value even the time I get to wait for a cab. I tell myself that I wait because I can, and I try to take a deep breathe. It doesn't always work though.

So, I had to choose between my nails and my adored BF this weekend, and I chose him. Thus, I am showing you something I rescued from my archives... It's from last christmas I think. 

I used Nailside's cloud technique, you should give it a go if you haven't tried that yet :) After reflection, I think I prefer to use that as an accent nail and not as a full mani, but it looked pretty good either way. So here it is.

I used China Glaze Sea Spray as a base, Chanel Péridot and China Glaze Liquid Leather. 

You all take care, enjoy the sun, and keep smilin'

Going nude in Dior

Hi there!

I hope your weekend is being amazingly good! Here's the manicure I'm currently wearing. Yup, a good girl's manicure. I really love to go back to basics sometime. Please welcome Dior Ivoire (3 coats).

 To be honest that was not what I had planned when waking up this morning, but I guess I really needed a palette cleanser after all, for I've been enjoying this mani all day long. I didn't even add funky french tips. Refreshing :)

I'm thinking on making an entry on my stash and how I order things, for I am moving out next month and I think it would be a great moment for it, but that will only happen if the señoritas out there who take their time to drop by and read those lines are interested in such a post. 

I also have some bottles of polish I know I won't use anymore, somme Anny, Kiko, Sinful Colors... Do you have an idea of what I should/could do with them? What do you do when you have polishes that don't suit you for whatever reason?

Let me know your tips and thoughts :)

Keep it up!

Gimme studs!

Señoritas,

Happy Saturday ^^ I hope you are enjoying your free time.

That's my manicure for the weekend: I put on ONE coat of Kiko nº 320 Beige Mauve, sponged the tips with IsaDora Gold Sparkles and... 

Added some studs I ordered from Born Pretty store :)

Now, I don't usually go for gold, but I'm happy I made an exception here! I Think the studs add some harshness to the delicacy of the sponged tips; I'm always on for contrast.

I also decided to put some order in my nail art things, which were all in two big beauty bags. It was quite messy. Have you ever lived that annoying situation when you realize you have to look in there to take something you forgot. That always happens right after you've put on your base. In both hands. 

Let me tell ya, it's not going to happen anymore. Problem solved.

Take care!

The Blues

Ladies,

Here's the thing. I was quite satisfied with my sponged manicure, so I really didn't feel like taking it all off. I just need to have the time to enjoy my manis some more at times, but when Monday is in its way I just surrender to work-safe (but still cute) polishes. My yearly evaluation has passed, it went fairly good (I'm a tiny bit proud, hee hee) and I'm heading to the department I belong in a little more than two months. I know, it's awkward, but I'm just a tourist here in Business Law Department. And I say it's time to rock the place some more. They can be so dusty...

So I simply taped a line in the center of my nail with the oh-so-loyal striping tape, and painted over it with Essence's Into the Dark (from the Vampire's Love Collection). I thought its silver shimmer would match my base color (CG Sea Spray), and it most certainly did.

What do you think about that? Yay or nay?

Take care!

Blue Sponged Mani

Ladies,

How is your weekend going? I hope you are all perfectly well, under a hot sun, drinking a mojito and conversing with one of your dearest friends. Okay. It might be slightly early for a mojito. If so, please read "Coffee" insead. I don't want you to believe everything that is said about Spanish people, and "fiesta" all day long. Trust me, it's a myth. We're so much worse (smile).

My base is China Glaze Sea Spray, and I did the sponging with Kiko nº300 - Pearly Malachite Green. 

I felt totally on for some "let's get dragged by the trend" and went for a sponged mani today. Apart from having it on my to-do list and being on the mood for something simple (yet effective), I really wanted to try Sammy's tutorial (The Nailsaurus); it has been a major HIT on the nail polish community lately, and I am sure you've seen it a hundred times, and tried it at least once. If not, you should.

This technique makes sponging really easier than the classic "let's pick a hundred colors and do a massive mess". My pictures do all the talking, I'm only going to say that the whole manicure took me around 1h30. And I took all my time, blogging when letting the base dry an all that. I even failed at my first attempt, when using a dark green for the sponging which made my mani look awfully dirty. Gross. I realize I didn't take any picture; I should have.

You take care, and keep it up with your nail porn!

X nails and other stuff

Hi Ladies,

Long time no see, I hope this marathon I'm currently living will soon decrease, for I'm startig to feel I really miss my beloved habits... I just want to say, at least it's for a GREAT cause :)

Here is a manicure I quickly did on Sunday, simply taping off the "x" and topping the red with a layer of black. I thought using striping tape would make my "x" almost unnoticeable; I'm glad it wasn't so.

As I didn't have much time, I just added some fun to the manicure I had been rocking all week long. It's Anny Open My Heart, and as you can see it's pretty darn well behaved. Yup, the previous picture was taken after 6 days of wear. Awesome, I say. And, for your viewing pleasure, you have it below on Day 1. It's a jelly, so it's definitely not one of my faves, but it's worth to be in my stash. Humm... what isn't, really?

And lastly, I wanted to share with you an experiment that turned out quite good. I'm craving for a chained manicure, and the sweet lady from Copy That Copy Cat told me she uses jewellery chain. I was quite lost, and didn't find what I was looking for on eBay. I know, I know. How is that even possible?

Well, I didn't want to let go so I just did a random search, and came across that necklace...

Not that I would wear that as a proper necklace. But look closer... Yup. Chain. And perfect for nail art. How cool is that? This remedy costed me about 3 dollars, free shipping. If you're interested, just search for "multi-chain gemstone pendant", and voilà!

I hope you find that messy remedy useful :)

Take care, and be bad!