A very belated Earth Day mani

Did this mani ages ago but never got around to posting it up. Here's my version of how I think Earth would look like from space (with a lot more purple). Yeah, I used a tad too much purple but I still think it's pretty nevertheless. I used an old concealer brush and some acetone along with about 5 different polishes to create this look. And although it took quite a bit of trial and error, I was surprised at how easy and effortless this technique was.

Anyhoo, short post today as I am really tired and falling asleep as I type. Hope you all like the mani xx
❤ Jun

Omg. Need. To. Try. This.

Source: http://laughingsquid.com/cinco-de-mayo-candy-filled-pinata-cookies/

Piñata cookies. Enough said.

First flakie!!

So. I did something really bad.

Left to Right: Cha-Ching, Scandalous, Popular, Strobe Light, Speck-tacular

Yep. I went out and bought myself a whole pile of new glitters. I have been such a magpie recently, only the glitter polishes ever catch my attention nowadays. But ohmygoodness am I excited about this one, especially since IT'S MY FIRST FLAKIE! EVER. I've been dying to get one for the last 8987398759879 years. Nfuoh is just too ridiculously priced (+ shipping makes them more expensive than Deborah Lippmann polishes) and Finger Paints and Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure are of course no where to be found. So my flakie lemming never got satisfied. Until I found Australis' Speck-tacular sitting inconspicuously among the top coats and base coats. OH HAPPY DAY!

Australis'  Crystal Colour Top Coat Speck-tacular over Sally Hansen Black Out and OPI Dating a Royal

It's so gorgeous and so affordable! I got it for around $7 on sale and it's a flakie topcoat, the best kind of flakie cos you can pretty much layer it over anything. Application was alright, I had to put on about 1 half coats for more dense flakes and drying time is so-so. It looks pretty similar to Finger Paint's Twisted, except less dense and with bigger flakes. But oooh it's so shiny I can't stop staring *googly eyes*. Haha, yes I'm a little mad currently on 7 hours sleep for the last 48 hours.

Just for fun, I chucked some matte top coat on. And I like it just as much, if not more! The colour of the flakes is still very visible and the depth of the polish can still be seen even with the matte coat.

Speck-tacular with Matte Top Coat

Oh boy. This buy has made my shitty week so much better.

Till next time! xx

P.S.: For those who have tried tons of flakies, please let me know your honest opinions on this one. I might be too happy about owning a flakie to even give constructive comments. :)

Late night snacking: Healthier alternatives

      Source: fitsugar.com

Being the typical highly-strung stressed-out uni student, I don't just want to snack, I NEED to snack. Especially at night. In fact, I think I eat more than I work the night before an exam or assignment deadline. It's like a vicious cycle. Stress => Snack => Guilt => Stress (because of the guilt) => Snack more. Yeah you get the picture. :(

So you can imagine my joy when I found this website. According to it, late night snacking is perfectly reasonable as long as you stay off foods high in fat, protein or fibre and keep the calorie count 200 and below. There are recipes for a lower calorie raisin peanut butter, almond meal cookie dough, and 120-calorie meatballs (from Martha Stewart). And everything just looks so yummyyy! There's also a list of types of food to avoid at night in case you were wondering.

Plus, did you know bananas can help you get better and deeper sleep? Apparently the high levels of potassium and tryptophan in them help put you to sleep quicker. There is now hope for those allergic to red wine (me), warm milk and sleeping pills.

So next time you feel like a late night snack, don't reach for that bag of chips or box of oreos. Have a banana instead or some yummy 120-calorie meatballs. I know this is a deviation from the usual nail stuff, but I thought it would be fun to share something random. Will be back with a nail post soon! Ta! ❤

Varnished Valkyrie's giveaway

This is pretty late, but it's something I couldn't not share. One of my favourite bloggers Varnished Valkyrie is giving away... (drumroll please...) Chanel's Peridot!! Yes you heard me right. 

 Source: temptalia.com

Uh HELLO? Who doesn't want Peridot?!?! So for my lovely followers who have yet to follow her, you can check out her blog here. And even if you don't win, her blog's fantastic so there's no loss there. ❤

Sally Hansen: Gem Crush Big Money

Yes I know. I have been a lousy blogger who hasn't posted in weeks. Truth is, I've been so tired I come home and fall into bed, hair half wet. And I've also snapped a nail so I haven't been bothered to paint my nails since. whoops. So, apologies for falling off the face of earth for a while.

Anyway, the important thing is that I'm back and I have a new baby! Hope this makes up for the wait :)

TA DA! Sally Hansen's Big Money from the new Gem crush collection. It's a beautiful gold fine glitter with lilac particles. GORGEOUS! And it looks even better on:

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Big Money (2 coats)

I think I'm in love! 

The application was a dream as well. As with most 'one-coat' glitters, Big Money dries almost immediately. And instead of the normal thin brushes Sally Hansen polishes usually come with, the Gem Crush collection comes with one of those new flat wide brushes, which was a major plus point because application was so easy for my poor polish-applying-impaired left hand. Two strokes for each nail and you're done! Not sure if these brushes work on all nails, but for mine it is perfect!

Again, photographing this baby was hard. Big Money has a transparent base with absolutely no black tint in it despite what the photos show. And just for fun, I tried Big Money over a few different polishes.

Left to Right: Big Money over 1) Sinful Colours' Aqua; 2) Sally Hansen Black Out; 3) OPI Dating a Royal 4) Color Club Alias 

Big Money over Nubar Reclaim

I really like it over Dating a Royal and Black Out. Nubar Reclaim's holographic effect is lost under Big Money so that's just a waste of a good holographic. Overall it's a pretty good layering polish despite being a pretty densely packed glitter but I still prefer Big Money on its own, in all it's glamour. Here's one more picture of that gold goodness. Can't wait to try out the other polishes from this collection! Happy Easter everyone! :) 

P.S.: To all my fellow Melbourne lacquerheads, Target in Melbourne (not sure about the rest of Aussie) is having a massive sale. I got this on sale for AUD7.50 which is a pretty good deal in Australia for nail polish. And if you're lemming more for makeup, lo'real is 50% off. Sale ends April 9th so be quick!

Simmer and Shimmer

Recently,  I got a lovely surprise when my dear friend Judy gifted me two beauties for my birthday - the glittertastic Simmer and Shimmer from the OPI Burlesque Collection and Lourve Me Lourve Me Not from La Collection De France. I know these are about a year late but I had to do a post on them cos they are so pretty!

I am a glitter fiend so obviously I couldn't wait to swatch Simmer and Shimmer. Simmer and Shimmer is a gorgeous glitterbomb of  predominately pale blue with orange, fuchsia, gold, green and silver. Not only that, the coverage is pretty darn fantastic for a glitter polish too. This is it in one thin coat:  

And I managed to get full coverage with just one more thick coat. Whooo how gorgeous is that!!I couldn't stop staring at my nails the whole time I had it on. I love this so much! Too bad glitter polishes are so extremely hard to photograph. This one is no exception. Pictures don't do justice to this polish at all.

The one complaint I had tho, is that the wear of this polish is terrible on me. Chunks of it chipped off after one day. :(

But I'm not complaining too much because it's just such a pretty polish. And what's more, I get an excuse to change my polish after a day. :b

Swatches for Lourve me Lourve me not will be up in the next post. Cheers all!