Vintage Musings Of A Modern Pinup

smART Nails Decals Review & Nail Art

2015-01-03T22:23:00.003+11:00

smart Nails sent me some decals to review for them and here are the designs I picked out. I tried to go for full nail decals, rather than small pictures.

First up I got PO17, or Big teeth.

First off, the decals are colored a light grey transparent. Which means that on the nail, it's barely visible. While doing this jagged design I had to really look very closely as I was painting the polish, as I couldn't see where the points ended. On my manicure you can see where I did not quite polish to the ends of the decal. On the other hand I realised this and was more diligent on looking for the ends of the points.

See, quite transparent.

And the finished result using Hey Jude by Enchanted Polish.

Next up I tried PO19 or the Spirals. I knew that I had to make sure to paint over the decal as once again, the decal was hard to see over my polish color.

I loved the end result! It looked rather groovy baby.

PO45 Splats. These looked great! I used the Color Club Poptastics for the Splats, but again.....make sure those decal designs are painted right over to the ends!

And lastly for today is PO64 Chevrons. These turned out a bit of a fail as I used hand cream an hour before I stuck the decals on. And because of this they refused to tack down completely, resulting in the polish running underneath. This was user error, so make sure you are oil free before using nail stickers...even if you used hand cream an hour before!

They were doomed so I didn't bother cleaning up, the polish got changed shortly after.

For $1.99 they are a cheap nail art option. If you are nail stamping challenged these might be a bit easier for you to try. If you adept at stamping, then these may be a fun alternative. I also got the Mickey and Hello Kitty faces which I'll play with soon.

smart Nails have a FREE SHIPPING promotion on for the month of January......which ones are you going to purchase?

A Whole Bunch of Thrifty Finds!

2014-12-26T23:30:00.000+11:00

I realised I haven't done Thrifty Finds post for absolute months, so here is almost everything I have found in one long post!

All things kitsch with Sherlock shakers and Royal Doulton Merryweather plates (if anyone has 2 teacups, please let me know!)

Kissing mousies shakers!

Jailbird shakers and cookie jar.

An original retro oil painting of Hong Kong.

50's kitsch 3D frames and a 50's tennis set.

70's hobnail glasses set and a cool scarf.

A plethora of amazingness in one day! Bobble head shakers, ugly pig cookie jar, squirrels...oh my!

A new West German vase.

A 60's enamelled starburst sculpture and matching smaller one.

These things are worth a fortune now.

A bunch of 30's Japan napkin rings!

More 30's napkin rings, a pink doggie and sumo!

And last weekend's finds of Disneyania, a bear pulling a fish, cake plate

and a piece of West German pottery.

That's my cheap Thrift finds for the last couple of months, how did you guys go?

Pinup Girl Clothing Hawaiian Hideaway Dress

2014-12-23T11:40:00.001+11:00

I have the purple and pink colorway in this dress set and love it. So when Pinup Girl had their Black Friday sale, I sort of ordered this colorway as well. I also had it taken up a couple of inches in the hem and the bolero sleeves sewed back so the purple lining is shown......so I guess there is no reselling this one ever! My hair was nicely curled, but when it's a muggy 33C, hair tends to go limp very quickly.

Dress sets are perfect for stacking up bangles and adding over the top accessories.

I do wish that it wasn't so booby. I like to cover my cleavage and get very self conscious when I can't do that. Being a short 4'11" means that EVERYONE can look straight down your top......and everyone usually does. I have found that cleavage is a problem for almost everything from Pinup Girl Clothing, please bring out more items that COVER the girls PUG!

50's reproduction Hawaiian dress: Pinup Girl Clothing
Raffia Wedges: Irregular Choice
Hair Flower: Uncle Fezter
Floral Sunglasses: Sheinside
Bakelite: Here, There and Everywhere
Nail Polish: ILNP Electric Carnival

ILNP Electric Carnival

2014-12-20T14:46:00.003+11:00

The Australian bulk order of the new Ultra Chrome flakies from ILNP finally arrived! I have a fab video of this polish in full sparkle action, but unfortunately Blogger refused to upload it. So head on over to my Instagram page, @konadlicious, to see it.

I did 2 coats of Electric Carnival over 1 coat of black. It would have gone opaque on it's own, but I want to preserve this color for awhile as it will be one I'll be wearing often. I'll be showing my next 2 color choices from this collection soon.......which colors did you guys get?

Vintage Turquoise

2014-12-05T23:22:00.001+11:00

It's now Summer and my Winter Boho days are behind me for another few months. Pretty dresses are now to the fore of the wardrobe, along with Bakelite stacks and rhinestones. It is nice to change decades every few months, I do recommend it.

The Lion King Nails with MOYOU London

2014-11-25T23:30:00.000+11:00

Moyou London had a free worldwide shipping offer on couple of weeks ago so I went on over and had a look. For someone who has a couple of hundred stamping plates, I keep away from Nail Plate sites as I really do not need any more. BUT Moyou had so many cuuuuuuuuute designs! So I got some. Only a few.

The Explorer plate drew me in for it's shillouette landscape stamp. I knew it would look fab against a gradient. When I posted these on IG, someone said it looked like The Lion King.

For the gradient I used Color Club's Poptastic collection: Almost Famous, Psychadelic Scene and Jackie Oh. I stamped with Cult Nails Fetish and finished with Seche QD.

And the left hand which got a giraffe and Bison.

Who else got this plate and did you think it was easy to use?

COLOUR By T.B.N Moisturising Lipstick Swatches

2014-11-23T23:00:00.000+11:00

Totally Beauty Network challenged me to try their new COLOUR range of lipsticks and dared me to find better value for $2.50. Yes, $2.50 for a lipstick! The new COLOUR by TBN collection has 20 shades, all with the added benefit of Aloe Vera and Vitamin E to help care for our lips.

My first impression was that the packaging was rather fun. Each case reflects the color, so it would be handy knowing which lipstick you are grabbing without needing to check the bottom for the name. The bullet is silver and the logo is embossed on the black bottom. The cases are very lightweight and the lipstick had a nice fragrance, not a nasty one like you would expect from a cheap lipstick.

Each color swatched very smoothly and evenly in 2 swipes. The swatches are from left to right:

Our First Kiss 870 which is a Dusty Pink.

Pucker Up 872 which is a Flamingo Pink.

Lovers Smooch 876 is a Bold Pink and

Lip Attitude 877 is a Plum.

Hurry Up and Kiss Me 879 is a Ruby Red.

Pout Those Lips Girl! 888 is a Plum.

And Kiss and Make Up is an Orange.

As you can see, all the colors are very pigmented after 2 swipes. I kept Hurry Up and Kiss Me on for several hours and it stayed magnificently. I was surprised that a $2.50 lipstick could *surprise* me and I am glad that TBN gave me the chance to try something I normally would never would have purchased. The range also includes colors such as Magenta and a Gold, which I am interested in seeing....maybe I should go seek out a stockist? To find one near you go to the Total Beauty Network website or call 1300 765 332.

50's Florals, Bakelite, Celluloid and Miss L Fire

2014-11-21T22:30:00.000+11:00

This dress sat on my watch list for a couple of months and every week it kept being relisted until eventually the seller stuck a best offer on it. I offered quite a low price and it was accepted. It arrived last year too big in the bust and this year it's too tight. When I gain weight it goes to my stomach but it looks my bust has increased by 2" for some other strange biological reason.....any ideas??!

1050's Floral Dress: eBay

40's Celluloid Necklace: prettykitty13, Etsy

Shoes: Miss L Fire

Bakelite: Here, there and everywhere.

Irregular Choice Gold Disco Bunny Shoes!

2014-11-19T18:31:00.004+11:00

So, the husband saw these Irregular Choice shoes on the presale alert and told me to buy them. He said they were too fabulous to pass on...so I did. They were actually a tad too 'blingy' for my taste, but who am I to knock back husband sanctioned gold bunny shoes??

Yes, the sequins change from blue to green with the light.

(Excuse my dowdy house dress but it was just all too exciting!)

My Instagram photo has the hashtag #wherethehellamigonnawearthese and my opinion hasn't changed.....just what the hell am I going to wear with these shoes?!

About the wear, I am a standard size 37 in Irregular Choice and these fit perfectly. Some have mentioned they run small but they do not. These are also much more comfortable than the cream Thumpers I own, which is surprising considering they are the same style shoe.

Who else got some gold character heels?

Chi Chi Bubble Gum Pop Confetti Set

2014-11-16T13:24:00.000+11:00

Target had a sale on Chi Chi cosmetics recently, and from previous experience I knew their pack sets if polish are usually pretty good value. The pastel set I reviewed awhile ago was excellent value for money. This Bubble Gum Pop Confetti set was $13 on sale, so it breaks down to $1.62 per polish.....pretty damn cheap by Australian standards.

Unfortunately, the formula on this set was pretty average. It took a good 3 coats for opacity and then the glitter was too thick to look clean and flat. I tried to move the glitter around for better placement, but it left bare patches in the polish and when I tried to fix this next problem, the polish built back up again and was left gloopy. To finish swatching these took a huge amount of will power.

Chi Chi don't name their pack polishes unfortunately.

Pale Blue

Mint Green. This was the most horrid formula out of the bunch. I'm sure a couple of coats of topcoat would have helped the glumpiness, but it was just too horrid to bother perfecting.

Lilac. The formula on this color was the best, as the polish didn't have as many glitter colors as the rest. This one, with top, would be quite wearable.

Pale Pink.

Dark Pink

Peach

And White. This was probably my favourite but I have several white with rainbow glitters in my collection and all are much better polishes than this one.

Have any other Aussie's purchased this set from Chi Chi? What did you think of it?

OPI DS Titanium

2014-11-11T23:30:00.000+11:00

My wicked partner in fashion crime, Cori from Poodles and Pincurls, sent me a care package! Just between you and me, I think she's after my whole wardrobe...we are the same size in clothing AND shoes AND have exactly the same taste......I'm so glad she lives on the other wide of the world or I might find my cupboard bare!

This is 3 thin coats of OPI DS Titanium. And since I put it on I can't get Sia's song out of my head! Finished with Seche Vite QD.

Zoya Wednesday

2014-11-09T21:00:00.000+11:00

Zoya Wednesday is a slightly murky mint green and lended itself well to a leopard print stamp. I stamped with Konad Red which turned brown over Wednesday! Some polishes will do that if you don't add a top coat before stamping. Finished with Seche Vite QD. Above photos in natural shaded light, below is under artificial.

Bead-licious Lampwork Beads

2014-11-06T20:35:00.000+11:00

I have my biggest annual Bead Wholesale Show tomorrow and here's a snippet of what I've been busy making in recent weeks. All made from glass and you can read more about my lampworking process on my glass blog: Beadlicious.

If you are Victoria based, come and see me at the Kingston City Hall this Fri - Sun in Moorabbin, Melbourne!

Color Club Pucci-Licious

2014-11-04T23:30:00.000+11:00

Just simple, which is what I like lately. 2 coats of Color Club Pucci-licious, China Glaze 2030 stamping and Femme Fatale Eventide glitter.

Getting Fruity

2014-11-02T20:29:00.001+11:00

We've had a regression back to cold Winterish days and once again the cardi's have had to be pulled out. I can count on one hand the amount of warm Spring days there have been....and Spring is almost over!

Dress: Modcloth

Shoes: Irregular Choice

Cardi: Cocolatte

Fruit hairclips: Etsy

Sportsgirl Confetti

2014-10-30T16:37:00.000+11:00

One layer of Sportsgirl Confetti over Color Club Poptastic. Sometimes a really simple manicure gets the most comments and stays on your nails the longest.

Anybody else find that?

Carmen Miranda with Trashy Diva

2014-10-27T22:30:00.000+11:00

We were rushing to catch an 8am train when the husband told me to STOP, pose then jump into the car. Amazingly, he did a better job in a spilt second than 15 minutes of 'proper' posing.

No full length shots, but really it was all just boring after the fruitiness and colorfulness that was my top half. The dress is by Trashy Diva and I LOVE everything about it. I love how there are only snatches of color on it so I can accessorise over the top. I love the fabric and how it just hangs nicely and without ironing before hand if you can't be bothered. I also love the length and how I didn't have to pay a tailor to take off 5 inches for me!

Arm fulls of Bakelite for maximum jingle jangle. And my ring is glass and made by me.

And my nails even co-ordinated.

Dress: Trashy Diva

Ring: Bead-licious Glass

Hair Flower: Uncle Fezter Flowers

Vintage Celluloid Necklace: Prettykitty13

Lipstick: Stila Beso

F.U.N Lacquer KING and QUEEN Holographic Foil Glitters

2014-10-25T17:12:00.002+11:00

FUN Lacquer recently showed swatches of their new collection on Instagram and I pretty much went straight to the site and got them. There was a discount code so that made me feel a little better.

Above is King, a holographic gold foil glitter. It is opaque enough in 2 coats but I like 3 for photos. The holographic rainbow shine is more prominent in real life and also more prominent in Queen, which is pictured below.

Queen in shaded natural light. As you can see it is a silver foil glitter but in direct light it becomes holographic......

I have a video on my Instagram showing the rainbow BLING with Queen, if you wanted to view it you can see it under @konadlicious.

Did anyone else grab these 2 colors from F.U.N Lacquer or did you purchase a similar color?

My Vintage Navajo Turquoise Jewellery Collection

2014-10-17T20:30:00.000+11:00

When I was a teenager my Nana gave me a 1970's turquoise ring. I then took a fancy to all things turquoise and as I got older bought myself a couple of bracelets. However I had always lusted after a large Squash Blossom necklace, but for some reason never bought myself one. After looking at them again a couple of months ago I was shocked to discover that the prices of anything Navajo related, and especially vintage in era, had sky rocketed in price! Jewellery that was once in an affordable to cheap price range is all of a sudden selling for almost crazy prices.....is turquoise in 'fashion' again??
Squash Blossom necklaces were almost out of my reach financially!

I panicked.

So bought 2 of them.

My collection as of now.

My vintage origins started when I was a teenager and I dressed in 70's clothing. The hippie Boho era called my name and it has never really left. I do prefer my 50's cupcake style of dressing but in Winter I do revert to my inner Boho child. I intend on morphing back into a hippie chick in my elderly years.....I think I will rock it.

I collect vintage sterling turquoise as I can be assured that the Turquoise stone is natural and of a high standard. Modern pieces are now mostly 'block', or plastic, Turquoise. Modern, cheap pieces come in a nickel silver setting instead of a sterling silver setting. If you are purchasing turquoise for the first time, please be wary of anything on eBay. Block Turquoise is also being made with a black matrix running though it and to the untrained eye can look exactly like the real thing! Read the descriptions carefully and if in doubt, email the seller and ask the origin of the turquoise, any makers initial stamps, and what silver content it tests for. American turquoise is found in vintage pieces and therefore more valuable than the modern Indian found turquoise.

Also, have a price in mind and stick to it. My large needlepoint cuff bangles were purchased at very low prices, while others the same size and age sold for hundreds of dollars the same week on eBay. Search, search, search, put items on watch and compare prices before purchasing.

Makers can also reflect the price. You may find a needlepoint cuff for $1,000 but the maker was a well known silversmith. And then you may see an almost similar cuff for a tenth of a price. The only difference is that silversmith is/was not well known. If you don't care about makers, like me, then a lower priced piece, but just as well made, will be fabulous for you.

This Squash Blossom is on it's way to me. It is a massive size with each blossom measuring 2" and the Naja 3.5" in diameter. I got it for an incredible price on eBay ( I think it flew under the radar...phew!) and I feel incredibly lucky The Sexy Man said I could have it as my wedding Anniversary present.

Who else collects turquoise? And can I see your stash photos?! I do love stash pics.

Sally Hansen MIRACLE GEL Hello Kitty Nails!

2014-10-15T23:00:00.000+11:00

It's all Japanese Kawaii in our house lately! We are going to Tokyo next year and the kids are learning Japanese, studying up on Manga and writing Must Buy shopping lists! So naturally, Hello Kitty has been shoved in my face a lot recently.

Please drop me a comment and recommend anything Tokyo related I need to know!

I used 3 coats Sally Hansen's All Chalked Up from the new Miracle Gel collection. I *think* the Hello Kitty stamping plate was a cheapie from eBay, the number is QA12 if that helps anybody. The glitter is Pink Panther from Lush Lacquer. Photo editing tool is the Beautiful Mess app.

On a review note on the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel colors; they are really lovely to apply. The formula is smooth and most are easily opaque in 2 coats. I did a Top Coat gel review in my last post if you were wondering on the wear.

A Fabulous 1950's Dress

2014-10-13T22:00:00.000+11:00

Why is it whenever we put ourselves on a NO BUY ban, we always see stuff we absolutely NEED??

I have had a no more dresses ban for a......few......couple......of weeks and was doing so well until this dress came up on eBay (AND Pinup Girl Clothing released Hawaiian dresses). I watched it all week before deciding that this style of dress in a rare womanly size, hardly ever come up for sale anymore so it was more of an investment. Right?!

Even tho all black is a color I only wear at funerals, the buttoned neckline and shoulders is just so lovely and I am a sucker for large hip pockets.

Needless to say I am back on my No Buy. Please wish me luck.

50's Dress: eBay
Shoes: Irregular Choice

Sally Hansen MIRACLE GEL Wear Review

2014-10-11T21:30:00.000+11:00

I'm reviewing the wear on the new NO lamp Miracle Gel polish system by Sally Hansen today. For this manicure I used 2 coats of Pinky Rings for the pink ice cream. I let them completely dry then pressed on drip decals from Dead Set Babes. For the cones I used 2 coats of Birthday Suit from the Miracle Gel range and stamped with a Konad plate. I carefully peeled off the decals and placed glitter from Sportsgirl called Confetti. I finished with the Miracle Gel Top Coat to activate the Gel feature and to make my manicure last for an estimated 10 days.

So, how did it last?

I went with the same manicure for 5 days before calling it quits. The photo below in my non dominant hand. As you can see there is one tiny chip on my ring finger and minimal tip wear. So far so good!

The photo below is my dominant right hand, and the wear is much more noticeable.

On a lasting basis, I don't think I saw much difference between this Miracle Gel Top Coat and my Seche Vite Quick Dry. I can easily get 5 days from Seche, and a non chip 5 days too. I can't see this lasting for the estimated 10 days.....unless you are the faff around and don't really do much type. I washed my hair twice, washed kids hair, did dishes in hot water twice a day, made glass beads, and scrubbed a bathroom with bleach...so any manicure would do well to last through 5 days of that without chipping.

It's also important to know that the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel color polishes are just 'normal' polishes unless you add the Top Coat at the end. It's the Top Coat that activates the gel feature.

Did anyone buy this Top Coat system and what did you think?

Sally Hansen MIRACLE GEL Nail Art Week

2014-10-09T15:51:00.001+11:00

Sally Hansen Australia recently sent me a box of their new NO LAMP Gel polish called Miracle Gel. It is normal nail polish and applied like 'ordinary' polish but the Gel features are activated when you finish your manicure with the Miracle Gel Top Coat. I do have a review coming up next post with the wear, but today I have a couple of manicures with a few of the colors I received.

I used Pinky Rings and Pink Tank on the ring finger. 2 coats of each. I stamped with Konad plates and finished with a few little Mint green rhinestones.

Isn't this blue glorious? It really is that bright! I am in love with it!

This was 2 coats of Tidal Wave and stamped with a Konad plate. Finished with some little holographic stud thingies from Born Pretty.

You can see more of my @sallyhansenau #omgel manicures on my Instagram page, @konadlicious. Or stay tuned for some more Miracle Gel manicure coming up this week.

Has anyone else tried this new system and what did you think about them?

Recent Nails

2014-10-01T15:01:00.000+10:00

OPI Bubble Bath stamped with Cult Nails Fetish and finished with Essie Matte top coat.

Crows Toes Heartless, 3 coats.

China Glaze Surfin for Boys stamped with Konad White.

Avon Warm Black stamped with Konad White. Note how the Avon turned the white a lilac color after top coat was applied!

And these were gross and disappeared straight away. A failed gradient with Color Club Poptastic colors.

Art Deco Chevron Nails

2014-09-28T23:30:00.000+10:00

These nails were a style that looked much nicer in person. The lines looked crisper and the gold was super blingy. They were also super hard to get a photo of!

This style is really easy to do if you have chevron decals. I get mine from Dead Set Babes and they are easy to use and cheap. I simply painted the nail red, wait for it to dry completely, added the chevron and painted all over with Lacquistry Amazeballs. Take off decal straight away before it dries. Finish with a top coat.