disco nails inspiration

 

I'm kind of crazy about nail art. I'm also kind of crazy about Disco Nails. From what I've collected, they are a Japanese nail salon known for their intricate and crazy nail art. A famous client of theirs is Eriko Nakao (who is a personal girl crush of mine!)

They also have a tumblr, which is where all the photos are from.

Aren't you inspired by these photos? x

Instagram Updates!

I've been a little lazy on uploading for the blog, so here's a little Instagram update!

1: My family and I went out for dinner on a whim the other week! We weren't really sure where we wanted to eat, so I randomly pointed at this Thai restaurant. Luckily, it was empty when we came in, so our food came quickly! As the dinner progressed, the place was packed full. Thai food is definitely one of my favorite ethical "categories"

2: Went a bit crazy on a thrift haul with my boyfriend! I scored everything in that photo for a total a little over $20. 

3: Last week or so, I had a scheduled meeting with an admissions advisor at FIDM SF, so I took a trip up there with my boyfriend. We were late to Sushirrito, so I went to Loving Hut and ordered bun cha gio chay, one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes.

4: Following pic #3, he treated me to a nutella crepe with pistachio gelato, yum!

5: My current nails! I was a bit excited to do 4th of July themed nails. I did an American flag (for obvious reasons) and use a nude with gold sparkles to represent Roman candles/sparklers. It was a simple twist, in my opinion.

6: I finally have 5 pots of Lush fresh face masks! I'm finishing up my 5th, BB Seaweed (2nd time! It's the best), and getting my free one soon.

I'll try to post again soon! Maybe a nail tutorial?

Hope June's been great for you folks! x

May 2012 Favorites

May has been a mixed bag for me. I finished my junior year of high school with mixed feelings. Anyways, my make-up has been pretty simple due to so many finals, exams, projects, and such. On any day I spotted eyeshadow, it was almost always neutral. I also went to my boyfriend's prom this month! Since it's nearly the end of the month, I figure it's time to include my monthly favorites.

L to R: Maybelline Fit Me! Powder in "310" | Wet'n'Wild Mega Last Lipstick in "Cherry Picking" | Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Bad to the Bronze" | Wet'n'Wild Color Icon in "Brulee"

A month or two ago, my friend who works at Target gave me his 30% off employee discount, so I picked up this powder. I was interested in a colored pressed powder since I was unsatisfied with my Laura Mercier loose powder. At first I regretted this purchase, but I've learned to love it! It's not matte, and leaves a decent lightweight coverage. I love that it adds a bit more coverage to any foundation or BB cream I wear.

I love these Wet'n'Wild lipsticks, and I think I've found my new favorite red. This is new to the permanent line (the shade). I grew tired of my bold true reds, and this just brought something subtly new. It's bright, but not true red. It comes off a lot different than it does in the tube!

The Maybelline Color Tattoos are fantastic. I particularly (and surprisingly) loved this shade the entire month. It's my go-to all over the lid shade. The word "bronze" originally turned me off to this shade, however I find that it's more a neutral shimmery shade... Bronze makes me think of more orange/warm tones. You can read my initial review here!

Wet'n'Wild truly kills it with their matte shadows. They truly make the best matte shadows I've ever, ever, ever used. They're soft and pigmented. This makes the perfect highlight and inner corner color.

L to R: Milani nail polish in "Totally 80s" | Maybelline Color Show in "Fierce n Tangy" | OPI "Mermaid's Tears" | NYC Quick Dry in "Lavender Cupcake"

I hope my selection doesn't seem too cliche. I wouldn't say it is! It's sort of a "twist" on the brights and pastels that often come to trend in the spring and summer time.

I love chartreuse, and I think Milani's "Totally 80s" captures it. This is the only nail polish I own from them, and I really want to try more. It's a great formula. Maybelline has a new range of nail polishes out, as I've mentioned in a previous post! I've been lurking around for a primary yellow and I've finally found it!

So looking at OPI's "Mermaid's Tears," you're probably just like, "God, another mint..." Wrong! I think this is a fresh take on the whole "mint" trend that's been around for the past three years. To me, this is more of a jade color and I love it! It looks so classy and polished. It looks really great with gold accessories and white clothes.

And then following the traditional pastel trend, NYC's "Lavender Cupcake" totally embraces the whole shebang. What attracts me to this color is how it looks like a pretty pastry (macaron perhaps?).

L to R: Physician's Formula Enriched Dry Skin Concentrate | Clean&Clear Advantage acne control moiturizer

Two skincare products that really helped my skin recover from a breakout are Physician's Formula's Enriched Dry Skin Concentrate (which I'm sure I've done a post on before!) and Clean&Cear's acne control moisturizer. PF's skin concentrate really helps hydrate and heal any dry skin of mine. I especially love applying it on my dry patches right after I shower. It seems to really lock in the moisture and keeps my skin feeling baby soft! It's helped with the healing process of my acne, since after they go, they get really dry. C&C's acne control moisturizer is something I used in middle school. The scent is nostalgic. Ha. It has salicylic acid in it, which is something I've been dying for in a moisturizer. I love wearing this during the day because it sits on my skin and creates a barrier between my skin and my make-up while treating acne. I'd definitely say it's helped clear up my skin.

What are your favorites for this month? Thanks for reading!

Wet'N'Wild dupes of... itself?

Today my boyfriend and I were biking around running errands and stopping by stores here and there, and we stopped by CVS! There, they had the latest Wet'n'Wild LE summer collection nail polish range, which I can't remember the name exactly... But the display had fireworks, which I'm sure inspired the nail polishes! I picked up two I was interested in (I forgot to get the names of ALL the polishes! Sorry!), and stopped by their "Spoiled" nail collection (which by the way, is only available in CVS stores)... and I noticed something interesting...

Left: Wet'n'Wild Spoiled | Right: LE Wet'n'Wild Fast Dry

Yup! There you have it! They're basically the same nail polish! The LE Fast Dry (right) one seems like it has a lot more glitter though. I can't make any comparisons on the formulation, nor can I really comment on the formulation of either! I've yet to try the Spoiled nail polish, and as for the Fast Dry formulation, I've only tried Grey's Anatomy. So no comment on the glitter formulations! They both retail at $1.99, however Spoiled contains 0.5 oz, while the Fast Dry contains 0.45 oz. Not a big difference there, folks. I guess it all comes to to whether you want value (0.05 difference!), formulation, glitter density (?), or perhaps brush/applicator quality!

Left: LE Wet'n'Wild Fast Dry | Right: Wet'n'Wild Spoiled

Again, I do have to apologize for not taking their names down or comparing all of the polishes! It skipped my mind. But then again, I think this would be a time to utilize Google in case you were interested!

yellow (nail) fever

for the past month (or at least what seemed like a month!), i've been on the hunt for a primary yellow nail polish. for the most part, i'd only come by yellows that were pastel, filled with shimmer, or metallic. blegh! a lot of companies seem to avoid yellow because it's as tricky as white. the color tends to create streaky and sheer formulations... so when i saw this at my local walgreens on a new display, i bought it right away!

i'd heard a lot about these polishes - particularly their cheap cheap cheap price! the display i picked it up from had no price tag, but i figured it'd range from $2.99 - $3.99, since that's the price range i've seen it for online. but no! it was a shocking $4.99! i wonder why my walgreens (or maybe it's just america?) has it for so pricey. the packaging doesn't make it seem like you get much... i'm guessing it's just because it's a *new product*. anyways, i'm sure, or maybe just hoping, the prices of these puppies go down. there are so many pretty colors i'd love to try! 

♡ NAIL POLISH SALE ♡

hey readers! i'm cleaning out my nail polish collection and selling polishes for cheap! most of them run for $1, and there's even some freebies, so check it out ♥


photographed in sunlight


photographed in indoor lighting


detail shots of glitter polishes (4 7 11)


detail shots (8 9 10)

vein-y nails!!

the example from rookiemag. hannah's hands are so much prettier than mine...

after seeing a post on rookiemag on giving yourself a veiny manicure... and being a total geek for human anatomy/physiology... I JUST HAD TO! i actually saw this quite some time ago, and i've been really lusting to do this for the past week! i don't know why i didn't do this sooner.

L to R: "red" by forever 21 | "go overboard" by essie | "private viewing" by wet'n'wild megalast

the tutorial is extremely simple. you can go read the step-by-step how-to on rookie mag, but in short you just:

1. paint a nude base color
2. get a tool (i used a bobby pin, you can use a nail art brush or whatever!) and create a red vein
3. repeat step 2 except with a blue vein
4. carefully (i did shit on this step HAHA) create a heart... or whatever you want!
   

my left hand. i left the pinky without a blue vein because of laziness... but i like how it looks!

to be honest, my nails didn't come out as nicely as hannah's... but i like it! when it comes to DIY type of junk, i'm not all too hard on myself because i just breathe in and out, accept that i'm no pro, and then enjoy my creation! of course, i will strive for perfection, but i'll take my creations as they come. also, practice makes perfect. but you knew that.

my right hand! i'm a lefty, so this side came our better.

honestly, i'm really digging these. like, a lot. i can't wait to show these babies off to my physiology teacher... haha. ANYWAYS, i don't think these nails too me too long. i didn't keep track of time though, since today was just (another) lazy sunday for me.

spring nail polish favorites

so i know it isn't exactly spring yet, but we're nearing it! warm weather, come to san jose already!

so there's basically three 'trends' (not sure if they are trends, but 'styles' i've been digging!) i'm enjoying right now are: duo chrome / beetle-y, muted bolds, and neon.

duo chrome / beetle - so basically i've been really into duo chromes. to summarize, duo chromes are like holographic (micro) glitters that change color depending on how the light hits it! some cars have this effect too, but i don't know them well enough to go on about that. the two i featured are 'beetle' by hard candy and 'grey's anatomy' by wet'n'wild. you can see the duo chrome effect in the photos!

muted bolds - the one i'm featuring is essie's 'go overboard', which is new to spring 2012. this is the only color i've worn twice in a row (as in, as soon as it chipped after a week, i painted it again until it chipped!). i LOVE this color. i never liked a blue nail polish before until now. what i mean by muted bold is like... i've been into colors that are sort of deep, but standout-ish. colors that you'd find in a crayola marker pack in "BOLD." haha.

neons - i never ever thought i'd be into neons. ever. however, i love milani's 'totally 80s' from their neon collection. it isn't really neon, though. it's more chartreuse to me, but i still love it. people have frowned on it and said it looked ugly, but i think it looks really good with a tan! the last bottle in the photo is urban outfitter's 'jerk,' and it is a true HIGHLIGHTER yellow/green. they both have this velvet finish. it's pretty cool, actually. these would look good if you put a matte top coat over it! i love the way these two look when i wear black clothes.