Completely Dotty - Mode, Bys, Ulta3, LA Colors

This is my nail art entry to Concrete and Nail Polish's Nail Art Contest. The theme is a nail art that we think she'll like. I have noticed a trend on April's blog towards blue and pink manis, as well as freehand nail art. I thought dotticure nail art would be something she might find interesting then!

Nail polish used here:

Blue - Mode Hook Me Up

Pink - Bys Colour Change Bright Pink

Black - Ulta3 Black Satin

White - LA Colors French White

The mani started as the following:

This is obviously an indoors picture, because I do most of my nail art at night. I did half of these with tape, and the other half freehand. It's a little bit shakier freehand, but not too noticeable and I'm really just too impatient to wait for the polish to fully dry before I can use tape, even with the use of fast dry topcoats.

After that, I just went wild with the dots.

I dropped a blob of nail polish on a plastic 'palette' - or anything plastic, really - and went crazy with my dotting tool. I need steadier hands, and I really should get an extra dotting tool because I'm trying to make smaller dots with a tool that isn't catered for dots that small.

I don't plan a pattern, but I try one out on one nail first and then, I just replicate it to the others. They look similar, but they're not exactly the same because the size of my nails vary too much. I thought it would be interesting to leave the accent nail a little different.

My thumbnail was something different, because it was waaaay too wide compared to the rest of my narrow nails.

I need more practice with dots!

Bright Copper Kettles - BYS Colour Change Copper

Our giveaway is ending in a couple of hours! If you haven't already, hit up our giveaway post to join!

Aren't long weekends great? =) In my case, I'm catching up on planning my trip and scheduling posts for when I'm gone, phew! Today I have a colour change polish to show you - BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper...

[BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper]

This one is a coppery colour when warm and a soft purple-brown when cold. Eeeps, look at that bubble on my ring finger!

[Bottle to nail: BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper]

Here is how it looks in the bottle. It's a thin formula but non-streaky and needs about 3 coats to reach this opacity.

[3 coats: BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper]

Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who always has cold hands! I don't use colour change polish much because it's almost always stuck on the "cool" colour for me...

[BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper: Copper (warm) and brown (cold)]

[3 coats: BYS Colour Change Nail Enamel in Copper]

As always, colour change polish looks better on longer nails so that the temperature difference and colour change is more obvious!

Success and Failures - LA Colors French White, Orly Orange Punch, Bys Bright Pink

I totally forgot about my Thursday post until pretty late, so let's make this a quickie!

I read about dry water marbling from Cathy at More Nail Polish, and I just had to try it out!

[Base: LA Colors French White
Dry Water Marble: LA Colors French White, Orly Orange Punch, Bys Bright Pink]

So this is my first attempt at dry water marbling! The thing is...I haven't tried water marbling before, because it seemed like such a mess, so that's why I was willing to give the dry version a shot. This is a random mix of patterns, because I still haven't mastered the ability to create even patterns before the nail polish dries in a complete clump.

[Base: LA Colors French White
Dry Water Marble: LA Colors French White, Orly Orange Punch, Bys Bright Pink] 

I won't go into the method since far more skilled people have covered those. But I will mention some mistakes I did. When tearing off the plastic, bits of nail polish had come off and one big piece stuck to the nail on my ring finger. You can see the random orange piece there. It just would not come off, oh dear. So I think I should have tried harder to be neat about the whole thing.

I still have a long way to go when it comes to dry water marbling, because here's my second attempt at it.

[LA Colors French White, Mode Glamazon, Essence Viva La Green]

How is my second attempt so much worse than my first attempt? Sad, sad, sad. For one thing, the pattern was way too big. The second thing was that the layer of polish was too thin. It chipped so badly at the edges when I removed the plastic, and then bubbled weirdly after that. The third, unexpected problem was that purple polish ran when I applied a top coat. I had to share this sad failure, though looking at the picture does make me cringe!

So have you guys tried dry water marbling? Do you have any tips to stop the layer of nail polish chipping at the edges when the plastic is being peeled off or how to add lots of colours into the water and still be able to make a pattern before the mix of polish dry up?

Changing Skies - BYS Color Change Glitter Blue

I'm on the road right now, so I was digging around my old photos for nail pictures when I found this. I'm going to keep it simple for the next couple weeks, and this polish is simple and pretty.

[Three coats: BYS Color Change Glitter Blue]

BYS Color Change Glitter Blue dries matte. It has a scattering of white/silver glitter, and it is a pale blue when warm, medium blue when cool. I really love this polish because it's such a delicate blue, and I find that this polish changes colours really easily. If you have longer nails, it looks like a sweet blue French manicure.

[There coats: BYS Color Change Glitter Blue]

 I washed my hands in cold water so you can sort of see how the polish looks when the colour changes.

[BYS Color Change Glitter Blue with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat]

I like the polish better with a clear topcoat over it to make it glossy.

That's it for today!

You're hot and you're cold: BYS Green and Bright Purple

This seems to be the week of early Christmas work events so I don't have the time to edit new photos. However, I did dig out old photos of nail polishes that I really like.

So consider this my temporary entry on the BYS Color Change polishes! I always feel like any of those mood/colour changing jewelery and polishes are probably marketed towards kids, but frankly, I don't care! The nail polishes are too lovely to be worried about maturity! :D

My hands are wet in the first two pictures because I was trying to catch the different colours under different temperatures.

Indoors and warm: BYS Green N305

Indoors and cold: BYS Green N305

I was in a warm room and my body temperature does tend to run warm, so it was difficult to get a photo before the colour started changing again. I'm wearing base coat and top coat, which doesn't affect the polish's ability to detect temperature change.

Outdoors: BYS Green N305

This is how my nails typically looked while I was outside. The weather was similar to the tail end of winter. My nailbeds were warm, which is why it was a green-yellow, and my tips were cooler, so they were a dark mossy green. The colour difference from one temperature to another is spectacular.

These particular two shades together remind me of a Malaysian dessert called pandan kuih lapis. (I don't know the photographer, but it's one of the better pics of the dessert that I can find.) I really felt the urge to lick my nails when I was wearing this. :P  The jelly-ish green just looked so yummy!

What I like about BYS Color Change is how sensitive it is to temperature change. I've confused a few friends and colleagues with these polishes, getting comments like 'I thought this was green just a moment ago??' It also makes washing your hands and coming in from the outside a suddenly much more fun activity. Or maybe I'm just easily entertained...


Okay, here's a glimpse of another of my favourite color changers:

Indoors: BYS Bright Purple N288

Isn't that just stunning? The polish itself has a very faint shimmer, which makes it even prettier when looked at up-close.

I think colour changing polishes tend to look better when the weather is cool (but not freezing). You can really see the difference in colour on the tips of your nails if you have longer nails too.

I'll have more photos once my nails grow out again! :)  That's a promise!

Jme's Past Plischtures - Catching Up Like A Boss

Here we go, these are a few nail polishes I swatched in the last few months and that I quite liked.

Most of the glossy polishes have either Seche Vite Quick Dry, or Orly In A Snap over them because I am impatient, and because the topcoat tends to make them shinier which is always a plus.



[Ulta3 English Rose]

Ulta3's English Rose is a very pretty red with gold shimmer. I find Ulta3's formula to be rather nice and I like that it isn't streaky like some shimmers.

[LA Splash Ocean Sprinkles over Zoya Tiffany]

I don't have any pictures of LA Splash's Ocean Sprinkles on its own, but it is a light blue-base jelly-ish polish with sparse gold glitter in it. I quite like it and often layer it over other polishes to get that blue hint and glint of gold.

[Orly Here Comes Trouble]

Orly Here Comes Trouble, which is an amusing name to me, consists of small hexagonal glitter among other tiny glitters! Would look gorgeous as one layer against black I think, but only needs two coats for full coverage.

[China Glaze Tarnished Gold and Platinum Pieces over Nubar Night Sparkle]

I have read that the metallic crackles are as good as the creme crackles, but I don't find this to be the case. I think China Glaze's Black Mesh (as seen below) cracks a lot better than China Glaze's Tarnished Gold or Platinum Pieces, both of which tends to be a bit thick.

[China Glaze Black Mesh over Revlon Tropical Temptation]

I do love Revlon's Tropical Temptation, because it's such a cheerful, summery colour. With China Glaze's Black Mesh over it, the mani suddenly gains a cool edge!

[XOX 24 (white-blue) over China Glaze Black Mesh over Zoya Tiffany]

XOX 24 is a sheer white polish packed with electric blue micro-glitter. I have tried it layered over all sorts of dark colours and it really does give manis a zingy, almost sci-fi look. However, XOX polishes also smell incredibly foul. Eaurgh. Use only in well-ventilated places.

[China Glaze Black Mesh over Ulta Silver Glitter]

Black crackle polishes against bright glitter ones are gorgeous! Ulta's Silver Glitter is a dense silver glitter with random holo glitters through it. Quite pretty and only requires two coats for full coverage if your nails aren't very long.

[BYS Cracked Red over China Glaze Black Mesh over Ulta Silver Glitter]

BYS Cracked Red doesn't crack much. It cracks slowly in fine spiderweb cracks as it dries. But it does make the polish easy to flake off in cracked pieces, so you can control how it looks. I think this one looks like an odd macabre goth polish. Topcoat over the lot makes the red crackle stay on.

[China Glaze Atlantis from index to ring finger, Mio Piccolo 03 on pinkie and thumb]

China Glaze's Atlantis is a holo glitter in blue-green jelly base that dries matte. Needs about three/four layers for full coverage. Mio Piccolo 03 (from Korea I believe) comes in a small little rose-shaped bottle, which is quite cute.

 

[LA Splash Embellished]

 LA Splash Embellished (which is actually spelled Embellshed on the bottle) is a very striking magenta polish with holo glitter. One of my favourites from LA Splash.

[LA Splash Sparkling Torpedo]

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh, LA Splash's Sparkling Torpedo is another favourite. Densely packed silver holo glitter, one of the most holographic polishes I have seen. It also dries smooth instead of rough and gritty, unlike most dense glitter. The formula is a little gloopy, but the negative is well worth the pretty you get. Needs about two/three layers for full coverage.

[Essie Matte About You over Nubar's Nubar 2010 over OPI My Private Jet]

I love flakie polish, yes I do. Oh, and because I use matte polish over OPI My Private Jet, the holo disappears of course. But the duochrome (triochrome?) flakies from Nubar 2010 are still as gorgeous as ever.

[Nfu Oh Nfu 40 over Savvy Coal]

Nfu Oh's Nfu 40 (not terribly creative names here) is one of my favourites of all times! From certain angles, it has a purple tinge my camera is not picking up, and it's more blue or green depending on how you turn your hand. Blurple-green flakies are so lovely, and they really remind me of opals, so I had to do a comparison:



How gorgeous is that? Just looking at the pictures make me want to try them on again.


That's all for my catch-up post for now! Tell me what you think~