Wednesday, March 31, 2010

opi top coat VS seche vite

Its official that Seche Vite is the most popular
freakin top coat out there at the moment.
Either you own it or want to own it. 
If you are into nail art that is...
But what about OPI ? 
The Start to Finish was my favorite for the longest time.
We dont have Seche Vite here but we do have OPI.
But, as soon as I bought some in NYC , I 
quickly abandoned my old OPI.




Why ?

Well, Seche Vite is a thinner formula - it dries the
polish thoroughly.It seals in the polish giving it a
glossy protected covering.
It does not dry polish as fast as people exaggerate
on youtube but it surely does set the polish 
amazingly well. 



Now, OPI top coats do not take that long to dry itself.
Much better than those cheap drug store ones.
Those take FOREVER to dry. I hate most of them ! 
But, OPI's do not really aid in the setting of the polish.
Mind you - Im talking about polishes other than OPI.
If you are using OPI Nail Polish and then a
OPI Top Coat there will be no problem
as OPI Nail Polish dries relatively fast anyway.

OPI Start to Finish is thicker than the Seche & actually
kind of 'reconstitutes' the polish in a way
(for lack of a better word) 
what the heck is the opposite of 'set'  ?   >.< 

Basically if your polish is dry to the touch and you
place OPI top coat over it it will become kind of wet again. 
If you touch something you may get smudges. 
But - this is also a plus. 

If you are doing nail art with rhinestones usually
you paint your nails, put on a top coat and then place
the stones on the wet tacky top coat.
But, seche vite is so thin and sets the polish so well 
that you dont have the time to carefully place your stones
one by one. It dries up - does not get tacky and doesnt allow
you to push the stone right down into the polish 
like you can when using an OPI top coat.

Side Note: 
I lovvve Sally Hansen Diamond Strength for a base coat
But I havent used a drug store top coat for years. 
Thats why Im comparing these 2 pricier 
ones if you were
wondering. 

I hope you get what I mean...haha.
Basically both are good for different reasons.
Overall I prefer Seche Vite but its crap for
applying rhinestones.
So, in the end I still need my OPI ! 

: ) 



Monday, March 22, 2010

Nails of the Week: Gold Fade

I absolutely love this color by Etude House
Its in the color of BR003 in the Dear Darling 
Collection. Its so cute and delicately glittery.
There are lots of other brands that look similar
though.




Using your gold shimmery polish
paint the tip of your nail. 


Get a sponge and place a line of polish on it.
If you dont have a nail art sponge simply mix
your polish with a bit of basecoat and apply.
We are just trying to create a more sheer layer
of gold.



In stippling motions apply sponge up to
1/2 the nail. 


Seche Vite brings out and captures the shine
of glitter polishes beautifully. I highly recommend
this as your top coat. 


& we're done : ) 






Simple and Sparkly !


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Nail Questions ? Ask Away !

So, many people have been sending me inbox messages
to my youtube.  I answer all of them but I was thinking
sometimes other people might have the same questions. 
I used to have really horrible nails / cuticles and if you have
any questions I can offer some tips that helped me.

On Form Spring others can see the questions / answers
and it may also help them.  So feel free to ask me .. well..
anything : )  Give requests there if you wish as well. 

http://www.formspring.me/kawaiinails

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Nail Dont #1


One important thing to remember is when using
 a 4 sided nail buffer or filer - try not to buff the top of your nail.
The first side of the nail buffer usually says
'Nail Edge' & thats all you should use that part for.
The other sides are less abrasive and are okay to use but be gentle.
The reason is that once that part of the nail grows out
and becomes the nail tip it will be brittle and weak because 
most of the top was buffed away.
The nail does not grow in thickness only length.
So what ever is buffed away from the top is just gone.
This is why I don't get gel nails often - because I would be 
using my natural nails, they buff away like crazy to the top
and then do all the lovely design.
But, once I removed the gel my nails looked like hell &
kept breaking until I got them to a stable point. 

Tip: When using a 4 sided buffer use each side 10 times for each nail
going in the same direction not back and forth 

P.S -  I have twitter now : www.twitter.com/xkawaiinails

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Lush Love


Omg ! 
Im in love.
IN LOVE !

Lush : 
Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter
=  Amazingness

Ahhh. 
Its so moisturizing 
So good for the skin
Perfect for cuticles , elbows, knees, lips
Anywhere that needs to be refreshed and softened.
The ingredient list has shea butter, mango, avocado
etc.  All natural, vegan & HOME MADE ! 
My boyfriend cut his finger almost clean off
& I applied this to his finger a couple times
and he said it was starting to heal up
as if we are applying ointment or something on it 
Its just great ! 
You have to try it ! 
$13.25 
www.lushusa.com 

Some people dislike the smell of it
But, I dont mind it at all.
If you dont like it you will probably get used to it. 
The smell does wear off.
What does it smell like ? 
Well.. Lemons mixed with that Health Food Store smell. 
Kind of.

: ) 

Compared to Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
its way way thicker and has a moisturizing quality
which surpasses my dear old Burts.
However, most people prefer the smell of the 
Burts Bees Cuticle Cream. 

Monday, March 8, 2010

China Glaze Haul



Pic from www.temptalia.com
Those are her swatches  ! 


All of the colors are just so gorgeous
from the Up & Away Collection.
So springy, fresh and just 
fabbbbb. Its my fav collection
Ive ever seen from China Glaze
as I love every single color. 

Today I purchased 
Sugar High (top middle) 
Re-Fresh Mint (3rd row middle) 
Grape Pop (bottom middle) &
Light As Air ( bottom right)
from this collection. 

I got them all on ebay !
This will be the first time 
that Ive used China Glaze ! 

I also ordered IV -gorgeous pink, 
Recycle - a fab grey color, 
Love Letter - a pinky sheer gloss
& the famous For Audrey
I cant wait to try them all out ! 

If you cant find China Glaze near you
just get them on ebay from the seller :
At $3.99 a bottle you cant go wrong ! 

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Tips for Rhinestone Application





So many people often wonder the best way to apply
rhinestones & how to keep them lasting long. 
So , heres what works for me. 

To get rhinestones to stick well you should
use a top coat  on top of your nail polish and place
the rhinestones on.

Make sure you push the rhinestones in so that
they are basically in between the polish and the top coat.
That way they are sealed in. 
Then what you should do is add a high
shine top coat to seal them in even more. 
If you are using Seche Vite which works well, 
make sure that it doesnt dry before you place it on. 
Nail Polish doesnt completely set 
for several hours normally. But, with Seche Vite
the process is sped up so make sure the stones are
right in there before it dries.

If you want long lasting rhinestones you can 
use a nail glue. Nail Glue does not harm your
nails as its on top of the polish or 
base coat, usually.  

For me to remove my rhinestones using nail glue - 
I actually put my nail horizonatally
in my mouth and actually pull off the entire layer 
of rhinestones.It sounds horrendous but it works 
like a charm ! Its hard to remove
them when they are stuck on with glue ! Haha ! 

To apply the rhinestones I usually use a regular 
old match these days. 
I have found that its the most effective way. 
I dip it into a small bit of base or top coat which
allows the stones to be picked up more
easily. 

Most Top Coats create a cloudy finish to rhinestones
so make sure you test yours out first. 

The only way to have rhinestones that last for a 
super long time is to basically have Gel Nails. 
However, with these tips you should be able to get 
about 5 days out of your nail look with rhinestones. 

If you are deco-ing with rhinestones then you 
should use a clear epoxy glue that doesnt dry instantly. 
This gives you time to move things around. It also
prevents that cloudy look to your stones. Some
super glues give off a strange finish. 

I have a couple places where I purchase my
rhinestones and deco pieces.

For bigger more detailed pieces , esp deco pieces : 
fullmoon07xxx.ocnk.net

For generic rhinestones:
www.ebay.com
Just search '1 mm rhinestones' or '2 mm rhinestones'
You will find lots of cheap ones from Asia etc !

If you dont want to get them online you can try your local
pharmacy or Beauty Supply. I know pharmacys have 
the basic silver ones by Sally Hansen. 
I use those too : )