NailGlaze

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Challenge 1: Red Nails

It is time to present my first manicure this year! This manicure is the first from the 31 Weeks Challenge; this is basically the good old 31 Days Challenge, done weekly. This way it will be easier to come up with the new manicures.

The plan looks like this:

As base color I used a neon pink polish in 2 coats (Brooklin Nr. F2). On top of the pink polish I applied randomly some nail tape and on top of all a layer of red polish (Bourjois Nr. 11 Rouge in style; also used here). As top coat I used the OPI Top Coat.

This is the first time I use these tapes and I am satisfied with the result. I will definitely use them again.

I am doing this challenge along with:

Brooklin - Nr. F2 (unfortunately this is the best picture I could take. In the reality it has a neon pink color)

Bourjois Paris - Nr. 11 Rouge in style

Nail tapes (10 pieces, brought from ebay.com)

The next challenge is Polka Dots and will be posted on Saturday, the 26th of January 2013.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Changes and plans for 2013

There is so much going on these days (and the past weeks), that I didn’t even have time to blog properly, even though it was a New Year’s resolution to post more in 2013 compared to 2012.

First of all there’s a massive change related to my blog (as you may have already noticed): it has been renamed from “Lililala’s Photo Nail Blog” to “NailGlaze” and it has its own domain name. From now on you can visit my blog at http://nailglaze.com. I haven’t changed the older posts, the photos are still watermarked as Lililala, but after all, they were written and posted as such, by me. They still are my “little children” J . Besides the name, I have also changed the layout of the blog. I hope this year I will make other changes to the layout, until it looks just like I imagine it.

Other facts about the blog:

I have created a new page where I have made a summary of 2012’s manicures. You can visit the photos by clicking here.
I have created a new page for my wish list. You can visit the wish list by clicking here. Once a wish is fulfilled, I will place a link next to it. This way it will be easier to track these dream polishes.
It was a New Year’s resolution to complete a Challenge this year. I have chosen the 31 days Challenge. The starting date is yet unknown.

At this moment I have 19 new polishes and nail care products to blog about. Some were brought from local stores, some were ordered onIine and some of them were a Christmas gift. I can’t wait to try them all! :-D

Thursday, January 3, 2013

My Nail Care Ritual

For me, taking care of my nails is at least as important as wearing some nice manicure. One isn't possible without the other. You can buy the best nail polishes and be a talented nail artist if your nails don't cooperate.

Today I will present to you some nail care products I use.

1. Acetone free nail polish remover
Make sure you use an acetone free remover, otherwise you will get your nails and cuticles dried out. It is true that acetone works faster but a non-acetone remover will be more gentle on your nails.
I have to admit I do use acetone based remover but only for glitter polishes and after removal I strictly follow the steps below.

After removing the polish I like to use Nail Polish Remover Pads to clean my nails. I use L.A. Colors pads. These come in various scents (I own the Peach and Grape scented), are acetone free and have an oily texture so it doesn't dry out my nails and cuticles.

2. Cuticle remover
After removing the polish I like to remove my cuticles. For this purpose I use the Coral Cuticle Remover.

You have to apply it on your cuticles, wait 5 minutes until it dries and remove the dried cuticles with an orange stick.

3. Nail hardener
After trying lots of nail hardeners I stopped at the cheapest and surprisingly the most effective one: Farmec Treatment Expert with Vitamin B5.

Left: old formula which used to dry out cuticles
Right: new formula with keratin and calcium pantothenate. This is a much better formula compared to the first one.

4. Vitamin A and Vitamin E
To keep my nails healthy I give them some vitamins :-). I use Vitamin A and E in oily formula. Being 100% oils they will dry pretty hard. I usually apply them before going to sleep. In the morning I will have hydrated nails and cuticles.

5. Base Coat

The best base coat I have ever used is definitely the Rimmel Stronger. This is a 2 in 1 product: base coat and nail hardener. It dries quickly (approximately 30 seconds after applied) and gives a discrete gold shimmer effect to the nails.

So...this is my nail care ritual in a nutshell :-).

I hope this post will help you keep your nails happy. Feel free to share you ritual by leaving a comment to this post.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Spanish tradition says that wearing new, red underwear on New Year's Eve brings good luck. I have changed this tradition in wearing red nail polish. Hopefully it will bring me good luck in 2013!

On page "2012" or here you will find all manicures presented on the blog in 2012.

Red base color: Bourjois - Nr. 11 Rouge in style

Top coat: Nubar - Nr. G715 Black Polka Dot

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas

Hi Everyone!

I am in the glitter fever this Christmas. I just can't stop using them (although they are so hard to remove :-) ).

For this Christmas I have chosen red and gold as base colors and added (you would never guess what...) some red and gold glitters! Yeah!

In order of appearance, from right to left:

China Glaze - Nr. 1020 Poinsettia

Essence - Nr. 140 Go Bold!

Isabelle Dupont - Gold

Essence - Nr. 121 Gold Fever

China Glaze - Nr. 883 Mrs. Claus

As seen in the picture, I haven't painted my hand the same.

Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Two Colors + Shatter

Lately I have some problems with my nails: they won't grow. They break and exfoliate no matter what I do :-(.

I have chosen these colors for short nails: