Penguin Soiree

Some of you may notice that it has been a while since my last nail art post, and some may even note that this is odd since Christmas is such a great theme for nail art. This is basically because I have been joining nail art contests and couldn't share my creations on my blog before they publish it :)

Nonetheless, I made this Penguin Soiree nail art for tutorial purposes.  It's a perfect nail design for beginners -- it's easy, fun, and would be fantastic for casual Christmas get-togethers.  Inspiration for this design came about as I remembered I am going to an out-of-town Christmas party this weekend with Penguino Motors Corp.  Their company is all about cars, but I am not ready just yet to sport tools on my nails.  So, I thought drawing inspiration from their company name should be just right. I wanted my penguins to look less common, and so decided on having blue and pink penguins.  The gentlemen sport proper bow ties, while the ladies have green scarves to keep them from the cold.

Penguin Soiree nail art

I used three colors from Dazzle Dry to create the design: Blueberry Snocone, Cherry Parfait and White Lightning.  Blueberry Snocone and Cherry Parfait gave me the perfect bright blue and pink shades that I was looking for.  White Lightning, on the other hand, gave me a very pleasant surprise.  It was a very pure and opaque white, that just two moderate layers (or three thin layers) gave me full coverage to get that clean white center for my penguins.  You will understand why an opaque center color is important later as I go through the steps.  Dazzle Dry was also perfect for this as it dried really easily so I had practically no waiting time in between layers :)

Now on with the tutorial!

Materials:

1. Nail Prep
2. Base Coat
3. Top Coat (items 1-3 from the Dazzle Dry Trinity Kit)
4. Blue polish - DD Blueberry Snocone
5. Pink polish - DD Cherry Parfait
6. White polish - DD White Lightning
7. Black polish - The Face Shop (TFS)
8. Orange polish - TFS
9. Acrylic paint
10. Think paint brush

*You may use acrylic paint for numbers 7 and 8

Procedure:

After sanitizing with nail prep and applying base coat, paint nails alternately with blue and pink.  In this picture I have 3 coats of Blueberry Snocone and 2 coats of Cherry Parfait.

Carefully paint the centers of your nails white, leaving a thin margin near the edges.  This is why an opaque center is necessary!

Paint extra thin French tips, matching the borders on each nail.

Use a dotting tool to create penguin details.  I used a small dotting tool for eyes and beak, and a big dotting tool for the feet.

Use acrylic paint to make the bow ties and scarves.  To make the bow tie, i made a wide X mark, then filled in the sides to make triangles.  

Apply top coat, and you're done!!

Let's look at some more pictures of my nails:

With Blueberry Snocone

White Lightning - a nail artist needs a trusty bottle of white polish!

With Cherry Parfait

My penguins are all dressed for the party!!

Helpful Tips:

• When doing border nails, make sure each layer is dry before moving on to keep the colors from bleeding to each other.
• Choose opaque colors for both the centers and the borders.
• If you are not comfortable yet with drawing, you may stick with plain penguins without the bow ties and scarves.  They're still cute anyway!!

I hope I've helped!! Happy Holidays to all, and thank you for reading!!

Girlstuff Nail Lacquer Product Review

Last week, I had the honor of receiving 9 bottles of nail polish as a gift from Girlstuff!! They have been seeing my nail designs and wanted me to try out their lacquers.

Bottom picture shows (from left to right): Defy, Nina, Joanne, Lemon Rocks, Carmen, Sparkling Blue, Judy, Lav and Plink

Once I received the package, my first impression was, "Are they sure these are for grown ups?"  The packaging is so cute, in a kiddie way! But after getting to know the brand more, I then understood the rationale behind cutie kiddie packaging.

Girlstuff nail polish is actually formulated to be especially safe for pregnant women and kids, being 3-Free (Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate, and Toluene-Free).  Being so, they are mainly available in the children's accessory sections of both SM and Rustan's Department Stores, as well as in their Girlstuff kiosk in Mall of Asia and the Girlstuff Nail Polish bar in SM Annex.  They also sell other kid-friendly items such as washable nail polish (for those kids who want to practice applying polish themselves!) and nail stickers. Oh, and they promise these nail lacquers will not turn your nail yellow!

But despite being made for kids, grown ups will also enjoy using their products, as I soon discovered.  For my first trial of their nail polish, I opted to keep my nails plain so I can closely study the texture and quality of the nail lacquers.  Here is a list of my observations:

1. The nail lacquers have a much milder smell than common nail polish brands.  This is probably due to its mild formulation.
2. It dries fairly quick.  First hand was touchable, though not completely dry, after application on the second hand (given that the coats are very thin). 
3. Quality is very smooth.  Application is easy and not streaky.
4. High shine even without top coat.
5. Though it dries fairly quick, it is still advisable to watch your nails a few hours after application as it does not become rock hard instantly (formaldehyde is responsible for that, if I remember right).

Because pink is my favorite, I chose to try out the light pink shade they sent me first.  Here are some photos:

Girlstuff in Plink without top coat

Girlstuff in Plink with top coat

Holding the super cute bottle from Girlstuff 

And I love how it matches with my favorite lip gloss from The Face Shop!

As you can see from my top picture (showing the colors I received), the colors they sent me are mostly brights and pastels.  They asked me beforehand, and I did tell them that pastels and brights are my preference.  Some of you might be under the impression that Girl Stuff, being made with kids in mind, may not have any of the classic colors we love such as taupes and reds.  I asked about this, and I was happy to know that they do have classic shades to fit those who are shy to wear brights on their tips.  There is Macchiato (light beige), Blush (neutral pink - I want to see this!), Scarlet (basic red), Lila, Patine, Chestnut (maroonish-brown), Twilight (black) and Moon (silvery blue).  They currently have about 40 shades, and are releasing 10 new shades this month.  They also carry base and top coats, but because I do not have these I used my Dazzle Dry system with their lacquer (nail prep, base and top coat).  The two brands worked wonderfully together.

It is also interesting to know that their lacquers are only priced at Php 100 for the basic colors, and Php 140 for the glittered ones.  They are also directly imported from France! 

In general, I think Girlstuff is a great option for those who want less harmful nail polish but cannot afford more premium-priced brands (will not mention any brands here!).  It is also a good starter brand for teens or adults who want to explore nail polish but are not ready to splurge just yet.  Overall a good product worth supporting!