Lacquer Hacker!

Avengers, Assemble!

2012-05-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

I did my nails Avengers-style this week because we went to the midnight premiere and this was my way of dressing up! (Much more commitment than a simple t-shirt, no?) Anyway, I didn't want to make this post too wordy, so the rest is all pictures. Enjoy!

A for Avengers! or Captain America...

I am Iron Man, NANANANANANANANA

Black Widow slash Scarlett Johannson's boobs

Agent Coulson! aka Phil ;)

Nick Fury aw yeah

Hawkeye!

Captain America! Beautiful, beautiful, Captain America...

HULK SMASH

Thor's mighty hammer! ...And my sad attempt at lightning and stuff...

Avengers Assemble!

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

2012-04-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

My goodness, it's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that, I suppose nails haven't really been on my mind recently. I've been doing a lot of singing and attempting to write some new songs, which has become an incredibly frustrating task. I have been doing some serious thinking about shtuff though, and to hear more on that, you can head over to my other (more personal) blog, at chunkymonkeytales.blogspot.com.

Now, about the nails! The whole reason you are looking at this website! (I think?)

Originally, I just wanted to do a glitter fade with my two new nail polishes, Ray-diant and Dragon Breath (both China Glaze, from my awesome coworker). After it was done, I realized that I had accidentally given myself a Hunger Games manicure (Effie Trinket, people, come on). I have decided to embrace this and hence the title of this post.

I'm not going to explain any further than that because if you really don't know aaaaanything about The Hunger Games, I'm just gonna let you do a quick Google search. How have you not heard about it? How do you not know what it's about? Seriously people, my goodness. My goodness.

Okay, less hunger-gamey than it seemed to me.

I swear, in the daylight, this really looked gold.

Stupid flash, changing colours of stuff in my pictures.

THAT'S BETTER!

First coat of Dragon Breath. Weird, huh?

2 coats! Looking better...

Glitter added, but before the topcoat. Topcoat really makes everything better.

This is my best photo, so here it is twice. You're welcome.

In Order Of Appearance:

China Glaze Dragon Breath

China Glaze Ray-diant

Goldfinger, The Man With The Midas Touch.

2012-04-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

Long time no see! Okay, truth be told, I have not been too busy, just lazy. And I hadn't painted my nails anyways, so nothing to post about! I try to give my poor nails a break once in a while just to let them breathe, but it doesn't make for very interesting pictures.

Anywho, the manicure I gave myself this week was gold-themed (if you didn't get the title, you must catch up on your Bond movies, my god). At first, I was going to just review the gold polish (Luxe by Orly), but then I wanted to add some PIZZAZZ. And when you are craving pizzazz, rhinestones are a necessity.

I must say though, if you are considering adding a gold nail polish to your collection (if you even have one), this is an amazing nail polish. NO LIE - IT NEVER CHIPPED OFF. I wore this for almost two weeks, and it only started looking ragged when I picked at the rhinestones so much they fell off. I love love love this nail polish. And it doesnt leave streaky brush marks, which, for a metallic, foil-y polish, is pretty rare and awesome.

5 stars!

I was going for a half-moon manicure made of rhinestones.

All the fingers were gonna look like this, but...meh...

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Bonder

Orly Luxe Mini (4 reeeeally thin coats)

Seche Vite Topcoat (to set the colour before the decals)

Cala Rhinestones Yellow

Seche Vite Topcoat (2 thick coats over the whole design)

Blueberry By NUBAR (Swatch & Review)

2012-03-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is the blue nail polish I have been looking for all my life.

Unlike the colour red, which is available from every nail polish brand in every shade under the sun, blue is a little trickier to find. Of course, some of you will no doubt say, "But Celina, I see blue nail polish everywhere. I even own one or two myself. This is not a rare colour. It's BLUE for crying out loud."

But you will be wrong.

And you know why? Because I am picky. And it has taken me many years of searching to find a "true blue". Not navy, not teal, not aquamarine, or I don't know, cerulean, whatever that is. No, I want a really bright, royal blue that is exactly what comes to mind when you think of primary colours. A Superman blue.

Wear-wise, the formula on this was pretty good. It's a nice smooth jelly* polish which goes on rather thick - I really had to scrape off the excess polish from the brush. Opaque-ish in 3 coats, but I did 4 for full opacity. I tend to prefer layering thin coats because your first nail is dry by the time you get to the tenth one.

Minimal chipping, which is good, and I topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite.

On to the pics!

This is what it looks like on the bus...

I guess I would say this is natural and flourescent light mixed together?

With flash

Flourescent light, mostly. This looks a lot more navy here, no idea why.

Aaaaaand natural-ish light again.

*A jelly polish is one that at first coat, looks sheer, but builds to opacity by the 2nd or 3rd coat. These nail polishes have a quality of depth to them, and are considered pretty much the holy grail of nail polish formulas. They tend to be shiny and bright, and easy to apply.

Basket Case by ORLY (Review & Swatches)

2012-03-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

This is THE pink. If you love pink nail polish, or desire to, I must tell you now, this is the only one you'll ever need. Okay, I might have more than that, but I really do think this is the perfect Barbie hot pink.

Plus, its got a good name, and that's really 90% of why I buy.

Formula-wise, it's a good polish, but it did take me 3 coats to cover up the streakiness. I could've even gone for 4 coats, but...meh. That said, I got the mini version, and I have heard that the full size Orly polishes are better. My other Orly minis didn't have as much streaking though, so it could be just this colour.

These are the only pictures I used because they were the most true-to-colour. All the other pictures I took were fine, photo-wise, but made the nail polish look like a totally different shade of pink. These pictures were taken around sunset.

Please ignore the big chip on my index finger, I was playing guitar without a pick.

Rockin My Birthday Suit

2012-03-17T02:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the super late post, my week has been pretty hectic, being my birthday week and all. It was an awesome week (still going strong) and these are the nails I was rocking for my nights out on the town. Fitting, I think.

Nail Polishes Used:

Orly Goth

Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (Ring fingers only)

OPI Alpine Snow

Orly Instant Artist Fiery Red

Kiss Striper Polish Silver Glitter

My Neighbour Lela

2012-03-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

As you may have already seen, my last post was Totoro nails.

Today, this post is about...Totoro nails. The difference is that these are on my friend, Lela, the biggest Totoro fan I have ever known. Her room was full of stuffies, so we had plenty of inspiration. I really love how these turned out, but the lighting was a bit dark, so forgive the picture quality!

Base Colour: Colour Club Take Me To Your Chateau (Mini)

Grey O Totoro: OPI Suzi Takes The Wheel

Blue Chu Totoro: Orly Blue Collar (Mini)

White Chibi Totoro: OPI Alpine Snow (also used for eyes)

Black Sootballs/Susu-Wataris: Nicole By OPI Razzle Dazzle (Also used for eyes)

Totoro Whiskers & Nose: Kiss Nail Art Striper Black

UPDATE!!!!

I totally forgot to upload the pictures with flash. Here they are!

Tonari no Totoro!

2012-02-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

You can thank my friend Lela for this one. She put the idea in my head a while ago and I finally thought up some designs that could do it justice. That's right, ♪ TO-TO-RO, TO-TO-RO! ♪

The soot balls were my absolute favourite to draw. They're so damn cute, even if it's hell drawing them with a toothpick. As far as Totoro and the Totorinos go, the ears were the trickiest. I used this and this as my inspirational pictures. I didn't use topcoat in any of the pictures except the first. Now, here's what you came here for, the nails!

Polishes Used:

Orly Blue Collar

OPI Alpine Snow

Nicole By OPI Razzle Dazzle

OPI Suzi Takes The Wheel

Orly Instant Artist Fiery Red

What do you think? Lemme know in the comments.

Blue Valentine

2012-02-27T01:18:00.000-08:00

Consider this Part 2 of Pretty In Pink Ombre, now in blue!

I layered on Shine Of The Times in a diagonal stripe, which I really love.

Darkest to Lightest:

OPI Roadhouse Blues

China Glaze First Mate

OPI Dating A Royal

Orly Basketcase

China Glaze For Audrey

Essie Shine Of The Times

Pretty In Pink Ombre

2012-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

I think I'm in love. With ombre.

It all started with I saw this picture of Lauren Conrad's hair, and it continues with my nail polish (Talk about head-to-toe).

Courtesy of The Beauty Department

So, here I am, with finally enough shades in one colour to do this properly (I also did blue on my toes, but I'll spare you the pain of seeing my feet).

Topless and Barefoot (on my pinky) looks taupe-y here, but in real life looks like a soft, dusty pink. For whatever reason, it looks brown in photos.

From Darkest to Lightest:

Essie Wicked

Revlon Bewitching

Essie Movers and Shakers

Sally Hansen Pink Blink

Essie Topless and Barefoot

What are your thoughts on the ombre trend? Love it or hate it?

Marble-ous 2.0 (Equally Frustrating)

2012-02-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, seriously, I am never doing this again. The result is cool, but Jesus, it takes so long and it's a pretty frustrating process. The effort is not worth the reward, I say. But hey, that's just me. I know lots of people looove doing marble nails, but I am not one of them. It's not that I don't like the look, but it took me 3 episodes of Dexter to get these nails done (and yes, I do measure time in TV).

Polishes Used:

OPI Alpine Snow (one coat for base colour)

Zoya Dea

Zoya America

Revlon Bewitching

OPI Planks A Lot

I think that's all the colours, but I can't remember because I kept switching around and experimenting.

Alpine Snow by OPI (First Swatch & Review!)

2012-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

How often do you run out of nail polish?

I'm gonna go with "never" because seriously, unless you're spilling it everywhere, it lasts until it dries out, usually halfway to two-thirds down the bottle. You never "run out."

That said, I have just gone through an entire bottle of Essie Blanc in the last 6 months. White is a staple colour for me. I use it in every other manicure, from french tips to skulls to backgrounds for water-marbling. Blanc was fine, but I was looking for something new. Something like....

Alpine Snow! This is the white most used in the nail art world (or at least the blogs I read), and I think that honestly, the formula is not noticeably different from Essie. White is always streaky, but what makes Alpine Snow better for me is the brush. OPI brushes are wide and easy to maneuver, and that makes them top-notch.

Leave a comment if you have a request for a future review!

Bleeding Love

2012-02-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

These nails were inspired by a post on Refinery 29 that I fell in love with. Click for the slideshow tutorial, plus a few more which are also adorable.

You may have also noticed that I added a watermark to the photos and yes, from now on, it'll always be there.

I messed up the thumb so badly that I ended up just painting it all red and blinging it up. Not too shabby.

Polishes Used:

Essie Topless & Barefoot

Orly Instant Artist Fiery Red

OPI Gettin Miss Piggy With It

Bzzzz!

2012-02-17T22:41:00.002-08:00

These are from a Cutepolish tutorial that I've been dying to try since I watched it months ago. The weather has been so awfully gloomy lately, I wanted my nails to be the opposite!

Here's the inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIzNTNZqZDU

In Order Of Appearance:

Sally Hansen Lightening

Nicole By OPI Razzle Dazzle

Cina Nail Polish Pen White

A Bear-y Happy Valentine

2012-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well, belated Happy Valentine's Day to you all, and now on with the nails! They have nothing to do with the day of love - or so it would seem! - because my boyfriend actually got me a Build-A-Bear, and these were inspired by him (the bear, that is).

I used pretty much the same pattern as my skull nails and my pacman nails, so they were pretty easy for me. I got lots of comments on these, they're pretty adorable.

Here is my bear in in-action, his name is El Bearemy. I wanted to call him El Bearemy Awesomesauce, but it didn't fit on the Build-A-Bear "Birth Certificate." (I know right?!)

Sorry about the messy fingers, I took the pictures immediately.

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Blue Collar

Zoya Dea

Essie Topless & Barefoot

Essie Blanc

Nicole By OPI Razzle Dazzle

Death: It's A Dirty Job, But Somebody's Got To Do It

2012-02-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THESE NAILS. And yes, imagine me shouting that.

This manicure was inspired by my new book, A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Basically, it's about an average neurotic dude who becomes Death. I'm on the 2nd chapter and so far it's pretty great.

I think my skulls look like itty bitty Jack Skellingtons, which was completely accidental, but it makes me happy.

And now because I can't stop loving my nails, click this link! Is it possible to want Halloween and summer at the same time?

In Order Of Appearance:

Nicole By OPI Razzle Dazzle

OPI Alpine Snow

Kiss Nail Art Striper Black

Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair

2012-02-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is from the song San Francisco by Scott MacKenzie, a song I learned in grade 9 for the spring musical. Ahh, good times.

I love this pink! It's a lot more neon than it looks in the picture. It's a colour I would actually wear alone, it's so pretty.

I didn't use topcoat this time.

Movers & Shakers is a great pink, but it took like 5 coats to become opaque.

In Order Of Appearance:

Essie Movers & Shakers

Essie Blanc

OPI Dating A Royal

French Navy

2012-02-03T21:38:00.001-08:00

This is a quick post about a quick manicure. I just got my new konad image plates in the mail, and I had to try them out asap. I'm not sure what this pattern is supposed to be, if anything, but I like it!

I titled this post after a song I love, French Navy by Camera Obscura. Check it out!

Colours Used:

China Glaze First Mate

Konad Special Polish White

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night...

2012-02-03T21:16:00.002-08:00

No unpainted nails shall escape my sight! This is my dad's super-thumb.

I forgot to take pictures right away, so my dad had a few days to chip his thumb. Ignore that.

My dad holding his favourite coffee cup.

Colours Used:

CND Green Scene

Cina Nail Artist Pen White

Essie Blanc

Take A Break, Cupcake!

2012-01-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Don't these nails make you just WISH you were watching the sunset, sitting on the edge of a dock, dipping your legs in the ocean, stuffing your face with cupcakes?

Inspired (generally) by www.cosmeticcupcake.com, I tried my hand at cupcake nail art, which seems to be getting pretty popular in the nail art world.

I'm really happy with how these turned out, and I just think it's too adorable not to do again someday.

The only problem is now I'm really craving cupcakes. After work I'm definitely taking a trip to my favourite cupcakerie on the Drive.

Above: My makeup case has seen its fair share of experiments...

Polishes Used:

Orly Bonder

Essie Blanc

Orly Blue Collar (such a beautiful blue, and it applied perfectly in 2 coats)

Sally Hansen Pink Blink

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday

Kiss Nail Art Striper White

Seche Vite Topcoat

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows

2012-01-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today has been a little dreary, so I did a little rainbow experiment!

I love my Orly striper polishes. If I had purple and green, the collection would be complete. Here I had to use full size nail polishes with itty bitty paintbrushes.

The decals on my thumb and ring finger are tiny dried flowers, a gift from my coworker.

Polishes used:

Orly Bonder

Essie Blanc (2 coats)

Orly Instant Artist Stripers in Fiery Red, Orange Peel, and True Blue

Art Club Striper Yellow

CND Green Scene

OPI Planks A Lot

Seche Vite Topcoat (2 extra coats over flowers)

Lady In Red

2012-01-26T01:30:00.001-08:00

Here's a simple, girly manicure using my newest polishes. Nothing much else to say about that, soooo here's the pictures!

I'm still working on my Konad stamping skills, but it's definitely getting better/easier.

I threw a little glitter onto my accent fingers, but it's not as sparkly in these pictures as it is in real life.

Here's my new Special polish, and it is a LOT better looking. Apparently the stamping polish is 5 times thicker than a regular polish.

Above: Outfit pic!

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Bonder

Essie Red Nouveau

OPI Gettin Miss Piggy With It (Accent fingers only)

Konad Special Polish White (with plate m59)

Seche Vite Topcoat

Meow!

2012-01-25T02:54:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update, about a package that came in the mail today from nailpolishcanada! I bought the special Konad stamping polish, and what a difference it makes. The design is perfectly opaque on my hands.

For this design, I used Essie Topless & Barefoot as the base colour, then sponged on Zoya Dea in random spots before stamping from image plate m57.

Above: Before clean-up, ignore the mess.

Don't you love how it matches my sweater?

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Bonder

Essie Topless & Barefoot (3 coats)

Zoya Dea

Konad Special Polish Black

Seche Vite Topcoat

Inspiration

Konad Attempt 2.0 (Quickie)

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie post for y'all today, I did this last week but I didn't have time to post it or take proper pics. This was on my morning commute on one of the ugliest days of this winter. My bright nails made it a bit happier, I think. :)

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Bonder

OPI....(I borrowed it from a friend and I completely forgot what it was called)

OPI (Borrowed from same friend, but its just a plain black)

Konad plate m57

Glow-In-the-Dark Rose Nail Decals from NailPolishCanada.com

Seche Vite Topcoat

Thanks, Miss Piggy!

2012-01-23T02:04:00.000-08:00

I officially have the most amazing coworker. We traded shifts - no big deal at all - and she bought me a whole bunch of nail goodies as a thank you! I tried to combine all the items into one manicure, but it was kind of intense for me (the rest will be in an upcoming post).

I have been fawning over this polish for a long time, and she actually got it for me by some fluke of the world being awesome. Gettin Miss Piggy With It is my favourite things combined = red + glitter + Muppets.

I layered over Essie Wicked, which I already own.

She also got me these cute little white flower decals, which lay nice and flat, which is great.

I wanted to see how the glitter would look matte, and I quite like it! But I think it would look even better over a true red.

More pics (Sorry for the messy cuticles, I was too lazy to clean up before whipping out the camera)!

My logo, as well as my various experiments.

In Order Of Appearance:

Orly Bonder

Essie Wicked (3 coats)

OPI Gettin Miss Piggy With It (1 coat, can you believe it?)

Nail Decals (Ring + Thumb)

Seche Vite Topcoat

Essie Matte About You