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 ! 

: ) 

Funky London Nails

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 !

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

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

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. 

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 :

cleopatrastyle-usa 

At $3.99 a bottle you cant go wrong ! 

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 : )