So Fly

Hey everyone! So I know a lot of you have been asking about my light box. I don't want to disappoint, but... my light box looks totally ghetto! As many of you know, I am currently in college and don't have many resources to scrape together a light box. I used what I had around my apartment and it works beautifully for me! I will be posting the tutorial in my next entry (I started off doing this as nails and light box, but the post was just too long).

First... my "So Fly" manicure! This is THE manicure that inspired me to start doing my nails. I had gotten my nails done in Taiwan in a similar color and design. I loved the edgy look, and it started me on my love for nail polish, particularly dark and interesting shades. It was also the first (and only) time that I got acrylic nails done - I just don't like the feeling!

Here is the original nail design:

(with my cousin's nails in pink!)

Now in with the new... Chelsea Kaleidoscope! The color is a gorgeous purple/green/gray duochrome.

And now with my version of the feather-y design. I admit, I am TERRIBLE at doing feathers!

Don't you just love duochromes? I think duochromes are my favorite "kind" of nail polish - it's just so much fun turning your hand and seeing the colors change!

Stay tuned in my next post for the light box! I did take photos of it, I'll post it as soon as I can!

Light Box

After seeing all you wonderful ladies post about using a light box, I Googled how exactly to get one of these things that would make my pictures look better. I ended up making my own little light box! It's a little too small right now, so I'm trying to find a bigger box to make another light box. So far, I haven't done my nails for the last week because I've been completely swamped with exams (although I did pretty well!), but I'm going to do my nails on Saturday, at the very latest. I feel like I deserve a manicure after the chem and bio exams.

Anyways, while I didn't take any nail pictures, I took some bottle shots and pictures of random objects lying around my room, just to test out the light box and my camera! I'm still working on learning how to use my camera completely, but so far I love my little pink Canon PowerShot!

I had some fun trying to make little captions and a "watermark" of my blog! I hope to improve on the design and make it cuter, but for now these are a couple samples!

And now for some random spam of objects that I thought looked cool in the light box! I'm also missing a light bulb right now, the lighting looks really off. I'm open to any suggestions and comments about the photography! This has been a fun stress reliever for me!

My sorority!

What do you all use to take your nail photos? Do you find it extremely frustrating that some colors (*cough* China Glaze Custom Kicks) just won't look right on your camera?

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

I bought the Hong Kong Tiny Takeouts as part of my last nail polish giveaway, and OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui caught my eye. The color was so pretty that I decided to buy a full bottle of it for myself! The color is so soothing... I can't really explain it! The formula is great, this is a one-coater (shown here with only one coat, as I've gotten really lazy).

Next up, I have a special set of guest nails! My roommate and I had a nail date, so I did her nails! Excuse some of the parts where the nail isn't fully covered or I made some mistakes - I'm still learning how to do other people's nails better! I've improved so much with doing my own nails since the summer, but I only do other people's nails on occasion. If you do nails, you know it's different because you're at different angles!

I call this sweet confection Cotton Candy. I used China Glaze Light as Air as the base, with various different nail polishes for the designs! I got the cupcake idea and the stripes from another blog (http://emeraldsparkled.blogspot.com/); I love her designs! Thanks for letting me *attempt* to duplicate the designs!

All my pictures have been not as good, because I never have time when the sun is out to take pictures of nails. Flash/indoor lighting makes for not as pretty pictures!

China Glaze Light as Air

I absolutely LOVE this polish. Yes, I know we're mid-autumn right now and China Glaze Light as Air is totally a spring shade, but I needed a pick-me-up before the onslaught of exams. The polish is a gorgeous light purple (very, very light), and the application is smooth as butter (and a one-coater too). I feel like pastels can be thick and difficult to apply, so I braced myself for chalkiness. The polish totally proved me wrong! I'm in love!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps & Lubu Heels

Hi everyone! Today, I am wearing China Glaze Ruby Pumps on all my fingers, except China Glaze Lubu Heels on my ring fingers. I am going to be a devil for Halloween (only one of the best holidays ever!!!) so I thought the manicure would be quite appropriate!

I originally did a fun version for the devil manicure (as pictured below), but then I decided to switch it up to something more plain, but prettier.

My fun devil manicure! Like the moustache?

Ruby Pumps and Lubu Heels - blurred to show the gorgeous glitter!

Hands down my FAVORITE red!

What is your favorite red polish? What are you doing for Halloween? Have a fun and safe weekend ladies!

OPI Jade Is the New Black

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've last posted, but that's because I've been on a nail hiatus... I've been using China Glaze calcium nail fortifier. Honestly, I have no idea if it has worked at all, because after a few days, I got very impatient and started using nail polish again. Although I must say that the fortifier is nice to wear when I'm not wearing polish because it does seem to keep my nails together (they seem to be breaking a lot lately). Anyways, on to the polish! OPI Jade Is the New Black is from OPI's Hong Kong collection. The color is gorgeous, and very true to the name - I own a few pieces of jade (from the lovely boyfrann), and the color is nearly identical (although the polish is obviously a creme and darker).

While I still love my glitters and shimmers, I find that I wear cremes much more often now. I think they are more "neutral," and therefore go with more outfits. What do you guys think? What is your favorite type of nail polish?

P.S. I got a new camera! I love it - Canon PowerShot 1300is. Do you think the picture came out better?

Color Club Soft as Cashmere

Happy Friday! I wanted to have sophisticated fall nails, so I decided to use Color Club Soft as Cashmere. When I looked at swatches for Soft as Cashmere, it appeared a lot more grey to me than it actually is (or maybe I just have poor memory). Anyways, on me it looks very grey-beige (or as people have been calling it, greige). I like it a lot and I think it looks quite flattering, but I want to purchase a true grey next time! China Glaze Recycle looks promising, no?

Stay tuned for new pictures! I recently purchased a Canon PowerShot SD1300is (in PINK!) and it's coming in today! I'm so excited to start using it and figure out how to make my nail pictures even better. My old camera is a family heirloom in a way, as it was passed from my dad to my sister to me. Unfortunately, it's reaching the retirement age (pretty darn old camera); it's still an amazing camera and I'm still keeping it around of course!