My Dazzle Dry Anniversary! Bugs and Flowers Remake

It has been roughly a year since I first joined the Newsworthy Nail Art contest by Dazzle Dry Philippines, which earned me my first Trinity Kit (nail prep, base coat and top coat), and my first 2 colors.  And since that time I did my first nail art with Dazzle Dry, I never used any other brand.
With Dazzle Dry, I bid goodbye to yellow and damaged nails, waiting hours for my nails to fully dry, and toxic fumes.  I actually wrote about my experience in full a few months ago in an entry entitled Once I HAD Yellow Nails.

So for this entry, I decided to remake that first Dazzle Dry nail art I did a year ago that I called Bugs and Flowers.  But instead of remaking it exactly the same, I just followed the theme and did the details the way I would do it now to see how I have grown as an artist.

Here is what I came up with now:

And this is what I did a year ago:

As you can see, the two nail arts look quite different.  First off, I chose to use Forget-Me-Not, an opaque light blue, instead of Morning Sky, which is a iridescent light blue shimmer.  I also chose to paint the flowers, bee and butterfly differently, as well as chose white instead of black as the trails of the bugs.

Lets us look at the two creations side by side:

Personally, I am happy with how my remake turned out.  I think my details now are finer.  I have also always struggled with getting really neat edges, so I am glad to see that I have improved in that as well. I think I have gotten better too at taking pictures, although I still just use my smart phone because I don't want to shell out money for a fancy camera (lol!).  Just to share, I do not do any editing or filtering in my photos.  I found that all I need to do is open my window in the morning and take a picture.  It gives me the best quality and brings out the closest match to the actual color of the nail polishes.

So there you go, my little celebration nail art to commemorate 1 year of using a truly vegan nail polish system, and the only one in the market without nitrocellulose.  Using Dazzle Dry is special to me not only because it gave me stronger and healthier nails (and saved me lots of time), but also because it opened doors to beautiful friendships that have made the past year truly special.  So here's a heartfelt shout-out to Dazzle Dry -  Thank you and I love you!  Keep dazzling!

Deadly in Love

Hello Everyone!

It's been so long since I've written anything on the blog, but I do hope you will like this nail art that I've created recently.

Have you ever been so madly in love that you felt like your heart would beat out of your chest and that you'll just fall dead from cardiac arrest?  Then, you also can't eat, can't sleep, can't do the normal things that you do, that you might just as well be a zombie for that fellow? Well, I think that's what you call DEADLY IN LOVE!!

This design was actually inspired by a necklace a dear friend and I saw while shopping together.  I spotted a dainty looking necklace that had a skull for a pendant.  Quite unique, right? Rock, but still sweet.  When she saw it, she instantly associated it with Glamtastic, one of the colors from Dazzle Dry's Fall 2013 collection.  She suggested I do a skull nail art with it, and I thought it was a fabulous idea!

Here is what I made:

I call this art Deadly in Love.  I originally thought I would put skulls with bows on them, but I soon realized it was a common design.  So I thought, why not put a girl on one hand, and a boy on the other? Then, I can put hearts to make them look like they're in love.  So, skulls in love = Deadly in Love.  I think those of you who understand Filipino will also find it funny that this can be an illustration of the phrase patay na patay, which I think is the most literal translation of "deadly in love".

Like most of my freehand nail arts, I used acrylic paint to make the details of this design.  I find that acrylic paint is the most controllable medium when doing nail art because artists can achieve specific shades by blending different colors.  Also, mistakes can be erased with a piece of cotton dampened with water as long as top coat has not been applied.

I would also like to show you a picture of Glamtastic without the nail art:

Isn't it beautiful?? I think it was too pretty not to be included in this post.  This is probably one of the most photogenic polishes I have, but it is still way lovelier in person!  As you can see, Glamtastic will show different hues, depending on how light reflects on it.  I predominantly see purple, with touches of copper and green.

The picture above shows three generous coats.  I had to use three coats because Glamtastic is actually made of a very sheer greenish-grey base with lots of fine glitter.  The first coat actually worried me because it made my hands look sickly, but the succeeding coats brought out the beauty of the color.  The number of coats was no problem at all though, as Dazzle Dry dries almost instantly (no exaggeration, I promise!) and does not feel thick at all even with multiple coats.  Application was a breeze :)

So there you have it, my little love-struck nail art!

Thanks for reading!

Winnie the Pooh and Piglet Birthday Nails

Hello everyone!

First off, let me give you a short background of how I came up with this idea for my current nail art.

My boyfriend and I celebrate our birthdays around this time - final week of July till the first week of August, so I really wanted a birthday-themed nail art.  But rather than doing something generic like cupcakes, gifts, or just balloons, I wanted a design that was specific to the two of us.

I will not post a picture of my boyfriend here, but believe me when I say that he resembles Winnie the Pooh (in a good, endearing way).  It has actually been a running joke among friends for about half a decade now, to the point that it has become an accepted fact that he is "Pooh".  And I, on the other hand, end up being Piglet because I am the tiny little creature beside him who is often seen wearing pink. I am not complaining at all about this.  As I said, I find it endearing, and I embrace it as one of our quirks as a couple <3

So with these things in mind, I decided to do a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet nail art to celebrate both our birthdays, and our relationship as partners.  Here is what I came up with:

Isn't it so cute?? I feel like I have toys on my nails!

I am honestly very proud of this design because I nailed both Pooh and Piglet, if I may say so myself!  I actually have a personal rule on doing nail art that is inspired by characters (from movies, television, books, etc.): I only do it if I am confident that my execution looks exactly like the original characters.  In other words, if I feel or see that my attempt is not successful at capturing what the characters really look like, then I immediately erase my work. It's just my way of paying respect to the original artists who are my inspiration.

Now about doing this design.  Allow me to write about my nail art by parts.

The sky with balloons:

I used Forget-Me-Not from Dazzle Dry (of course!) for the sky background.  I think this particular shade of blue is perfect for what I was going for -- a shade that would depict a bright, sunny, breezy day.  Forget-Me-Not is an opaque color with medium consistency.  It wasn't thick, but wasn't thin either.  Just right!  Two coats were enough to arrive at an even, opaque coverage.  I then used Portia's Wit, also from Dazzle Dry (DD), to make the clouds.  The balloons were painted using acrylic paint.

Winnie the Pooh and Piglet:

I used Frozen Lemonade from DD.  I find this color tricky to use because of its thicker consistency.  I used 2 coats of this to create an even base for Pooh.  However, I do caution you, because this particular shade can get streaky if application is not flawless.  Nonetheless, I find it well worth the practice because is pale, lemony, creamy yellow is definitely in my top faves from DD!  Super fresh and flattering.

The base for Piglet, on the other hand, is three coats of Strawberry Macaron from DD.  I needed three coats because though Strawberry Macaron is opaque, it lends itself on the thin side of the consistency spectrum.  I don't find this a problem though, as I find thinner polishes easier to use.  Anyway, I love this shade of pink.  I call it "Princess Pink", actually, being the perfect shade of light pink.

Details for their faces were drawn using black acrylic paint and detailing brushes.  For Piglet I used a dotting tool and Cherry Parfait from DD to fill in the dark pink areas of the ears and nose.

So there it is, my joint birthday celebration nails for my boyfriend and I! Happy birthdays to us, and may we spend the rest of our birthdays together <3

Thanks for reading!

Stars and Stripes on Red, White and Blue!

So... It has been A WHILE since my last post!  In fact, it has been a while since I last did art on my nails!  I have been so out of it the past couple of months.  I felt so uninspired, and though ideas continued to come to me, I just could not get myself to do art on my nails.  For weeks on end, I just switched between colors or glitters for my digits.

At first, it was just a mood.  I felt like wearing my nails plain.  But as the weeks drew on, I found myself already doubting if I ever will do art again.  For some reason, I lost confidence in my skill.  So when Gina of Dazzle Dry Philippines got in touch with me the other day to request a 4th of July nail art, I was admittedly apprehensive.  I was worried to let her down, and in the process prove that I've definitely lost it!

Nonetheless, the trooper in me decided to go for it.  The very next day after Gina spoke to me, I got to work, and I was surprised at what I came up with!  The challenge, aside from following a 4th of July theme, was to make it purely freehand.  Here is my design:

It was particularly challenging to come up with a freehand 4th of July nail design because it would usually call for sharp stripes and stars.  I thought of doing fireworks, but i could not shake off the call for stars and stripes, so that is what I did.

Details for this nail art were made using a fine striping brush and acrylic paint.  I find it easier to draw straight lines by holding my painting hand relatively steady while rotating the finger I am painting.  For the stars, on the other hand, I carefully drew the outlines the way I would on paper, then filled them in.  This is, actually, my first time to ever paint stars on my nails freehand. ★

These are the nail lacquers I used and what I think of them:

Dazzle Dry High Velocity Red:

A bright red polish that runs on the thin side.  Application is very easy and goes on even.  I used three coats to get this rich red shade, although two coats would definitely be sufficient for most people.  I recommend this for people looking for a basic red polish that looks juicy and fun, rather than seductive or sultry.

Dazzle Dry Blueberry Sno Cone:

One of my favorites!!  It's an opaque cobalt blue that is bright, loud and fun! Application is a bit trickier though, as consistency leans on the thick side.  Then again, the brush in the Dazzle Dry bottles are user-friendly, so that helps in achieving that nice, flawless finish.  I used two coats of Blueberry Sno Cone to get an even, opaque coat on my ring finger.

Dazzle Dry White Lightning:

Definitely a staple for nail art -- the whitest white you would ever find in nail polish land!  Consistency is thinner that Blueberry Sno Cone, although still on the thick side.  Two coats were enough for me to get a clean, opaque white for my index finger.  I love White Lightning because it always gives me a clean base everytime I want a design that requires a solid white background.

Dazzle Dry Silver Lamé:

Believe it or not, I have had this bottle in my stash for more than half a year and this is the FIRST TIME I've used it!  I don't know why I never did, actually.  It's so glamorous!  It's silver with shimmer that makes it look like it has very fine grains in it, yet remains unbelievably smooth.  I don't know how Dazzle Dry made this one, but I'm sure glad they did.  I am glad I added this to my design.  I just had a gut feeling silver would make the look pop, and it did.  Application is also easy because consistency is perfect.  I think I've just added another one to my Dazzle Dry favorites (as if I don't already have enough!).

So there it is, my latest nail art -- my first ever 4th of July nail design! Special thanks to my dear Gina who never stopped believing in me even after I myself have started doubting.  ❤

Happy 4th of July to all!

Chocolate and Flowers

Hello, everyone!

My nail art for this post was not actually inspired by chocolate, as the title suggests, but rather by a children's dress!  Check it out:

The other day, I received a nail art challenge from Gina Lee of Dazzle Dry Philippines.  She sent me a a picture of the fabric used on a little girl's dress she saw in the tiangge.  It was a floral brown and orange piece.  Here is the picture she sent me:

I instantly felt up for the challenge, seeing how cute it looked! 

Because my orange Dazzle Dry shades are limited, I chose to use Tropical Sunset, and combined it with Manhattan Mink to start off with a half moon manicure as the base for this design.  It can barely be seen though, as most of it ended up covered by the flowers.  

I am personally not a fan of orange (thus my limited shades), but I'd have to say Tropical Sunset is a pleasant surprise.  It is a warm orange shimmer that is definitely easy to apply, given its perfect consistency.  I also appreciate that two coats provide full coverage. 

I also used two coats of Manhattan to get an opaque finish, just like Tropical Sunset.  If you do the math, I had four layers of lacquer on my nails, not to mention the acrylic paint I used to paint the designs.  But despite the number of layers, my nails were not bulky at all. :)

I suppose the star of this nail art is Manhattan Mink.  It definitely captured the chocolate brown-ness of the fabric.  I also love its richness without being too thick.  

Anyway, I asked Gina to come up with a name for this design, as it was her idea in the first place.  She said it reminded her of chocolates and flowers, and so we shall call it that.  :)

I erased this though soon after I made it because I felt that it had too much going on.  What do you think?

Thank you so much for reading!

Kanga and Roo at Bedtime - Mother's Day Nail Art 2013

My mom is known among family and friends for her great, scrumptious dishes.  But since I was a very picky eater as a child, my fondest memories of my childhood with her are not of her dishes, but of how she used to read me stories at bedtime.  I would also often sneak up to their bed and ask if I could sleep with her whenever I'd wake up from a bad dream.

So as a tribute to Mommy, and the other great moms out there, I decided to paint pictures of Winnie the Pooh characters Kanga and Roo at bedtime.  

I patterned the pictures after a photo of Kanga tucking Roo in.  I can imagine her reading a bedtime story to him, or even singing or whispering comforting words to him to let him fall asleep -- Just the way my own mom used to do it when I was a little girl.  

To create this design, I used Dazzle Dry's Aegean Cruise on the blue nails, and White Lightning as a base for my nails with characters.  I then used acrylic paint to paint the characters, and stamped pale yellow stars (The Face Shop YL 01 and Mash-11 image plate) on all the other nails.  

Aegean Cruise is one of my  Dazzle Dry favorites.  It is a sheer light blue shimmer, although darker than Morning Sky. It has a thin consistency that makes application easy. I used three thick coats to achieve this pearlescent opaque finish.  It is amazing that my nails did not end up feeling bulky after applying as many coats as I did. 

White Lightning, on the other hand, is an opaque white.  It is the whitest and purest white that I have ever seen in polish.  Because it is opaque, all I needed was 2 medium coats.  The cleanliness of White Lightning made painting the characters easy because I did not need to worry about opacity.  This is definitely a keeper for nail art enthusiasts! 

Let us have one last look at the details of this nail art:

I would say I'm happy with how this nail art came out.  The nails came together to create a comforting look.  Looking at my nails reminds me of how much I enjoyed listening to her stories before, and how good I felt when I was with Mommy at bedtime.  I may now be all grown up, but I know I would always be her little girl, the same way that she will always be my Mommy.  

Black Butterflies on White (inspired by Anne Hathaway's SAG Awards Butterfly Manicure)

Hello Everyone!

You may have noticed that I have not been posting as many designs recently.  This is mainly because I have been obsessed with plain nude or white nails as of late.  There's just something about clean, light-colored nails that appeals to me -- when done correctly, they look very polished and sophisticated, even when nails are kept short.

But despite this recent obsession, I still miss drawing on my nails.  I therefore decided to recreate my favorite celebrity manicure from this year's SAG Awards -- Anne Hathaway's butterfly nails!

Here is my recreation:

And for those who are interested to see Anne Hathaway's nails, here is a picture of them:

My butterflies are not exactly the same as hers, but I would like to think I did a pretty good job nonetheless.  I also did not want to copy hers directly, as I wanted mine to have a touch of individuality still. :)

Instead of using a bright white polish like Anne Hathaway, I opted for Portia's Wit by Dazzle Dry.  It is an off-white color with undertones of pink/beige.  It is actually my current favorite, given my recent obsession with nudes and whites.  It strikes the perfect balance between nude and white.  I also find it quite flattering.

Here is a close-up picture of my left hand:

And my right:

I am quite happy that I picked Portia's Wit for this nail art.  I find that black on bleach white creates a very stark look, while Portia's Wit provides a warmth and softness to the design while still providing that contrast that is the essence of this design.

For those wondering how I made the butterflies -- well, there is no secret.  I used Mars Black acrylic paint together with a striper and a detailing brush, and hand-painted the butterflies.  No tricks used in this design, I'm afraid.  Just some good old-fashioned perseverance.  :)

Well, thank you very much for reading!  I hope you liked this one, and that I did the original design some justice.  :)