Mani Monday... Holo Myths

Moving forward I will be posting a nail themed or oriented blog every second Monday, calling these entries Mani Mondays.

This Monday my nails are done in a beautiful teal color called Myth by Akzentz Luxio. We decided to jazz them up a bit using a holographic powder finish. We choose to switch it up by doing some of the nails fading into holographic and some nails completely holographic. We also decided to add a couple crystals to some more fun to my nails.

Once I got home I decided to add more sparkle to my nails by going over the pure holographic nails with a sparkly top coat. I also added a glow in the dark top coat to my middle fingers. 

This beautiful manicure was done by extremely talented and lovely Kate owner of Nail Kandy. Make sure to check out Kate's work on Instagram. You can find Kate in Toronto at New Tribe Tattoo (by appointment only). 

I absolutely love these nails and can't wait to post my next manicure! Any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below. I'm also always looking for new nail design ideas so if you have any you would like to see please let me know.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Alien Invasion

I haven't posted a nail blog in forever, and this specific appointment was pretty cool. To catch everyone up I recently moved to Toronto. Since I was now living downtown this meant I need to find a new manicurist to do my nails. I had to try a few places before I found a couple spots that would make me happy. About a month ago a decided to book an appointment with someone I had recently seen on instagram. It was definitely a new but fun experience.

I got my nails done in a tattoo shop and was beyond excited to do so. Being involved with the cosmetic industry I am obviously into make-up, nail, and hair social media. I love following local shop and artist because I love to support my city an the talented people who live in it. I was actually following something completely unrelated, an e-juice company called Cheap Thrills, when a girl who worked for them posted her wicked new manicure on Instagram. She credited a nail artist I had never heard of before, so of course I had to check them out. The name of the company is Nail Kandy, and it is run by a lovely girl named Kate.

The first thing I discovered was that Kate works out of a tattoo shop, something I would find instantly appealing. I decided to email Kate right away to see what her pricing and availability was. She got back to me the very next day and was extremely helpful in giving me the pricing I needed as well as the availability she had. I, of course booked my appointment right away. I continued to search though her Instagram account out of interest, and excitement that I had an appointment to get my nails done too.

Over all I was very happy with my nails. I decided to go with a super fun custom teal shade with a chrome finish. A perfect back ground for some alien nails. The little alien and ship was free hand drawn by Kate. I absolutely loved that she included a little tiny alien inside of the ship. 

Nail Kandy is located in Toronto inside of New Tribe Ink (Queen St). If you would like to check out Kate's work you can find her on Instagram at @nail.kandy. All contact information is available in her profile. Remember to follow and show her some love!!

 Peace & Luv

Nails... Sea Shell

This week I choose to do my nails in a very pretty but simple way. They have a very natural look to them, with a very shiney but sheer opal finish. 

This week I had my nails filled. They were orginally done and filled with UV gel. UV gel is known to be better then other products like acrylic for your nails. It also gives your nails a much more brillant shine. The only down fall with getting uv gel nails is the price point. They do tend to be anywhere from $10-$15 more then acrylic nails, but depending on what you value in your nails the price may be worth it for you.

I then had my nails painted in a shellac polish by ibd called Sea Shell Pink. It is a beautiful soft pink with an opal finish. This color is extremely sheer and will probably need quiet a few coats. My nails have three coats applied to them. I personally could have gone for a couple more coats to really let the color shine through. Just remember you don't want to layer the polish on your nails too thick or you'll create a wonky odd looking nail.

I enjoy this very pretty and natural look. It's definitely something diffrent then what I would ususally wear, but I really enjoy it because it looks so clean. 

I got my nails done at Urban Nails in Toronto, located on the Danforth. Ask for Michelle. She is bomb! 

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below.

Peace and Luv

Nails... Holographic Starry Night

Today's nails remind me of a deep ocean, or the night sky. My nails are painted a deep dark blue mixed with small silver sparkles and blue reflective flakes. 

This time around I deicded to start my nails off fresh. The last time I got my nails done I didn't go to my usual salon and found that where I did end up going sadly did a terrible job. A week and a half later I got all my nails taken off (which majority of them were already falling off) and got myself a brand new set. I must say I was very happy with the outcome this time. I actually tried another salon called Urban Nails (on the Danforth in Toronto). My nails were done by Michelle, and she did a fantastic job. She is a sweet heart and I work definitely reccomend her work.

I was convinced to change my nails again from acrylic to gel once again. Gel is better for you, tends to last longer and is over all more shiney and natural looking then acrylic nails. Plus the price diffrence really wasn't a huge jump. (Less then $10) 

As usual I got a shellac coat on my nails instead of just regular polish. I find that shellac really does last longer, even on false nails. I also find that it strengthens the nails and do not allow them to break as easily. Unfortunately I am not sure who the shellac is made by but it is called Night Sky. As mentioned perviously Night Sky is a deep dark shade of blue with tiny sliver sparkles. The shellac is very nice on it's own. I wore it for a good couple of days before adding my own decorative touch.

A couple days later I decided to add another decorative top coat to my nails. This "top coat" is called The Holographic by Loréal. (I love the look of the reflective flakes but have absoluely no idea why anyone would call this a holo polish.) In the bottle it looks like a cloudy, clear polish with reflective flakes that shine blue or purple depending on the light. Once applied to my nails it really gave them that extra dimension and that shine I'm always looking for. I then applied a top coat to seal in the reflective flakes and protect my nails.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below. Happy Sunday everyone!

Peace & Luv

Nails... Silver Halo Sparkle

Today's nails are all about the holo. I am absolutely dying to have completely holographic or shiney chrome nails. While todays nails are neither of the above they definitely sparkle and shine.

I am wearing false nails made from acrylic powder. The nails are covered in a silver glitter that has a holo sparkle. There is a gel coat by CND applied on top of the glitter to create a smooth finish. I applied another silver holo sparkle on top from Gwen Stefani's collection by OPI called In True Stefani Fashion. I also applied another holo glitter polish by OPI's Nicole called Party Bus. I then topped the nail with a gel top coat.

These nails are very simple but truly stand out. Also my nail tech had a couple new gems and decals she wanted to try out so I decided to try this cool rainbow reflect cube. I personally wish the placement was different, and probably should have dressed up with a few more gems but it seems pretty cool none the less.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the space provided below. Up next will be fancy chrome nails. I'm super excited and can't wait to rock them.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Dragon Scales, Mermaid Tails. Fairy Dust, Sparkly Nails

This month I chose to go with a some what more simply designed nail. With that said I am still in love with them. They remind me of dragon scales, no wait mermaids tails, no wait fairy dust, no wait... Theysparkly  and shiney nails are eye catching in any lighting. I love they way they sparkle and shine from any angle.

These nails were created by using a gel coat and them sticking the glitter peices to my nails by either dipping my nail into the glitter or tapping it onto the nail. She used a combanation of glitters. A super fine purple sparkle and some big chunky green glitter peices. The larger glitter has a duo chrome shine basically giving off multiple colors depending on the light and angle you are looking at it from. When you hold a few of these glitter pecies in your hand they actually look purple, so be careful when choosing a color. Looks can be deceiving. My nails were sealed and toped off with another gel coat to make them smooth and shiney.

As always my girl Lynn at Y2K nails in Brampton made these happen. She is fantastic and would recommend her to anyone, but especially those looking to try or do something new. These nails are super fun and really well done. They always last me at least 4 weeks. ( :( I know, I know. Get em filled.)

Next time we will be kickin it a little old school. I plan on getting some 3D art so make sure your looking out for that. If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment box below.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Mad Love

So first off I must say these are some of the coolest nails I have ever had. I would probably call this set my personal favourite. These nails consisted of everything I love in the way of nail art or how I personally like to rock my nails.

We used all kinds of fun stuff like glitter, mood polish, tribal like designs and lots of gems. This was the first time I had one of those awesome crystal or stud coverd nails. 21 crystals on one finger baby!! >.< To be honest I would have worn any one of these nails as an entire set. I'm already pretty inspired for the next couple sets.

(In the photo above my index fiinger /w 3 gems & middle finger /w 3 gems also changes shade from Black to Grey when warm.)

I got these bad ass nails done at Y2K in Brampton. They were created by a very talented young lady named Lynn. (Seriously, this is my go to girl. If you are in Brampton and like a good freestyle or heavily designed nail, see her.)

I would love to go into more detail with what was used for these nails but we had so much going on with so many different gel polishes and products. As usual my nails are arcylic. I always ask for shellac or gel polishes to be used because I find it lasts a lot longer and seems to make my nails stronger. Even the tribal style designs were done with a gel color. I know a Black to Grey mood polish by Perfect Match was used.

Reccently I have been really into clear nails with a patterned design or just some glitter on it. Probably a hint at nails to come in the future. ;)

As always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment box below.

Peace & Luv

Nails... New Years Eve 2016

Usually when I go to get my nails done I don't usually choose to get any crazy designs or go all out with them. This is honestly is usually due to one of two reasons. One being that I am in too much of a hurry to get anything done and can't be bothered to worry about trying to take care of the design (being careful nothing is falling off) and two why am I paying someone else to do a design or add gems when I can do it myself at home. With all this said I choose to treat myself and get a wicked design right in time for New Years.

I wear false nails. They are a basic acrlyic nail. The polish covering my nail is a gel reaction polish called.. by... This color is a bright shade of hot pink when cold, and a beautiful light peachy shade when warm. This polish has a light sparkle giving it a more pearly finish. The glitter polish on my right thumb and left pinky is by Essie. This glitter polish is called ... (I chose to apply this glitter myself at home.) The designs done on three of my fingers were ceated with a gel color called ... My manicurist used a thin brush dipped in the black gel to create the design. (Everything was painted on by hand.) The three fingers with the gems on them were applied wit a clear gel as adhevisive.

This design was inspired by other nail designs found online. I got my nails done by Lynn at Y2K Nails in Brampton. 

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box provided below. Also feel free to send or tag me in any of your New Years nail pictures. Add or tag me @WarPaintLuv 

Happy New Year everyone! Best wishes to you all in 2016. Have wicked fun and be safe. 

Peace & Luv

Happy New Year!! Welcoming 2016.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope everyone has had a fabulous holiday seaon filled with lots of love, joy and laughter.

This year I plan on truly bringing War Paint Luv back to life. Yes, last year (even before last year) I began to slack a little on the amount of entires I was posting in my blog. It was for a lack of interet. Life had simply become busy and my attention was needed else where.

Now Im back and this year I will be posting at least two weekly blogs. One being brand and collection related and the other being a "Look of the Day". Of course there will be plenty of other beauty related posts to be seen such as nail blogs and product reviews.

As always I am open to suggestion so If you have a specific idea or topic you would like to see written about please email me at warpaintsarah@gmail.com.

I am truly excited about 2016. I look forward to this year bringing lots of fun and adventure. Best wishes to you all.

Peace & Luv 

Nails... Heart's Desire

Today's manicure is call You're Heart's Desire. My nails are acrylic and shaped to a point. The shellac Im wearing is called Heart's Desire by Perfect Match. It is a Mood shellac that changes color based on your nail and body tempature. This perticular shellac changes from a bright cherry red to a dark cherry red. I am absolutely in love with this shade of dark cherry red. I chose this polish in theme of fall and Halloween being right around the corner. Blood splatter to follow... ;)

(My nails are wet in this photo because I had to run them under hot water. They wouldn't stay warm. Lol.)

If you have any questions, comments or halloween nail ideas please leave them in the comment box below.

Peace & Luv

Nails.. Angelic Dreams

As usual I got my monthly acrylic nail “fill”- basically I get where my nails have grown out filled so my nails look fresh and some what real. ;)

I chose to use another “mood changing” polish from the Perfect Match collection. There are so many shades to choose from that I still have new polishes to try.

For those who don’t know what “mood changing” polish is it’s basically a gel nail polish that changes color based on your body heat or the temperature around you. For example your nails will change color when your go outside if it’s cold out or when you wash your hands. It’s pretty fancy stuff.

This time I decided on a shade called Angelic Dreams. Angelic Dreams will change from a light blue (cold) to a creamy solid white (warm).

I am still in absolute love with these polishes. I get comments on my nails all the time because of the changing color. They are super fun!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please leave them in the space below.

Peace & Luv

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polish

Sally Hansen has come out with a new polish called Miracle Gel. Its claim is that it acts just like a gel polish with out the inconvenience of having to use a UV light. It suppose to be strong and shine like a gel polish, as well as last anywhere between 10-14 days.

 

Before I actually tired this polish I was a little sceptical. I didn’t know how the “gel” was going to work without a UV light. Was it really going to last? I was looking for a tough, long lasting nail polish that I could do anywhere. 

 

Once I tried the polish myself I was able to make a final decision. I was happy to find the gel polish didn’t take as long as I thought it would to dry. If even layers are applied with a few moments to dry in between the polish seems to dry over all pretty quickly. I was quiet pleased with the final product. The polish lasted easily over 10 days without chipping, or loss of shine. 

 

I have now accumulated 3 different shades, as well as a top coat.

 

Top Coat #100 – Clear 

Tidal Wave #360 – A deep true blue (Matte)

Too Haute #520 – Dark magenta (Shimmer)

Crème de la Crème #430 – Pale pink (Satin) 

 

Sally Hansen has offered a wide variety of colors for people to choose from. 

These polishes are sold at Wal-Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart or where other Sally Hansen nail polishes are sold. They usually retail for anywhere between $8-$11 CND.

 

Peace & Luv

Nails… Heavenly Angel

A few weeks ago I went to get my nails filled and polished. While checking out their selection of nail polishes I discovered the salon had polish by Perfect Match called MoodGel, a color changing nail gel polish. I was, of course very excited about this and had to try it.

 

When I checked out the ring of sample nails I was happy to find a decent variety of colors. Don’t get me wrong there weren’t a bunch of shades in every color but there was definitely something for everyone. The real magic happened when I ran the sample nails under hot water and watched all the colors change. (The polish is based on temperature and will change depending on if your fingers (nails) are hot or cold.) 

 

(Above photo is during color change.)

The first time I tried this polish I had my nails painted in a shade called A Bit Chilly. It was a shade of blue that went from a bright blue when warm to a dark blue/black when cold. 

 

This time I tried a shade called Heavenly Angel. It’s this beautiful shade of Magenta pink when cold that turns into a creamy white when warm. I have fallen in love with this dramatic transition. I love the fact that this polish goes from bold to neutral. Another thing I love about these Mood Polishes is that once they do start to cross fade they create a beautiful ombre. 

I have tried to purchase these polishes myself but have had a hard time finding them in stores. I have however found them online at places like EBay or Amazon. I have also found them on specialty nail sites. These polishes go for anywhere between $10-$14 US.

 

Peace & Luv

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Review

Since Sally Hansen first released thier Miracle Gel polish I have wanted to try it. I was pretty excited to see what I thought of the product simply because of all the mixed opinons I have heard already. (With that said, I do not base my reviews on any other opinon except for my own. -Just sayin.)

Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel Polish is suppose to give the wearer the look and feel of a gel polish with the covince of being able to do your nails at home without using an LED or UV light to cure the polish. 

When I first heard of this idea I loved it. Quick and easy, but was it too good to be true?

The bottles themselves are pretty standard size (14.7 ml/ 0.5 fl oz) The packaging is simple and straight forwards. Sally Hansen seems to offer a good variety of colors too. 

I purchased these polishes at Shoppers Drugmart for $11.99 each. Definitely a little pricy for a bottle of nail polish, however it is suppose to act like a gel polish and should last much longer then a regular nail polish. I feel like for these reasons if the product works, its worth it.

Creme De La Creme (430)

Miracle Gel Top Coat Clear (100)

On the label it says to apply 2 coats of your colored Miracle Gel polish. Then apply a coat of your Miracle Gel Topcoat. 

I applied this exactly on one of my test nails and found the color to streaky and transparent. I tried appling more coats of polish and found it took me 4 coats before I achived the opaqueness I was looking for. I found the drying time between layers of polish to be a little trickly. The layers of polish dry quickly to the touch, however will remain soft for a few hours afterwards so you still need to be careful.

When I applied the topcoat I found 1 coat didnt really give me the amount of shine I wanted. I was disappointed to see the Miracle Gel topcoat wasnt as glossy as I had expected it to be. You may want to apply a second coat. When appling to my own nails I waited a while (45-60 mins) before appling the second clear coat. Again you may have to wait a while for this polish to completely dry.

I also wanted to try and compare a couple things with this polish. At one point I did put one of my test nails under an LED lamp to see if it would dry or cure any faster or stronger. It definitely helped the polish dry faster snd seemed to make it stronger. I also tried comparing the Miracle Gel topcoat to my regular nail polish topcoat. I found that my regular topcoat was just as if not more shiney and glossy then my Miracle Gel topcoat. 

I applied this polish to my toe nails about 5 days ago and they are still polished and looking nice. A couple days into thier wear I did apply an additional top coat to help keep them looking fresh and shiney.

Hope you found this blog helpful. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Hotski to Tchotchke

Today I did one of my favourite things to do, got my nails done. I was feeling a little adventurous and wanted to try something a little diffrent.

Every 2-3 fills (depending on what kind of shape my nails are in) I like to get my false nails removed and a new set applied. My main reason for doing this is to prevent any fungus or infections. After a while your real nail grows out. The arcylic or gel or whatever you choose to use could seperate from your real nail and allow water to sit inbetween, cause a fungus or infection. 

So this was my time to switch up nails. When they asked me about shape I decided to try something diffrent and go with a almond (stiletto-ish) shape. I really like this look on other woman. Its a retro look that has been given a modern flare. At first I will admit they were a little intimidating. (I felt like I had a new set of claws. It was kinda awesome.) After a short while I did get used to them. It wasnt hard for me to switch from my usual square shape.

 

(Photo's were taken one full week after having manicure done.)

As far as polish and color goes I stuck with my other new trend, Shellac. I feel like the Shellac or gel polish helps keep my nails stronger and more durable. Today I went with what Ive been calling a mermaid color, CND's Hotski ti Tchotchke, a bright and pearly Teal. My nails were topped off with the CND Dimond Shine top coat.

Peace & Luv

Sparkling Green Holiday Nails

Today's manicure was very stright up & basic. I got my usual acrylic fill, with a sparkling green gel polish to keep im theme with the holiday season. 

To create this glittering look we started with a shimmering teal gel polish as a base coat. Once that was set by UV light we began to apply the sparkling green gel polish. I used one coat for the base coat & 3 coats of sparkles to really make sure the entire nail is opaque.

This is a very "basic" look but really quite effective. I have been getting many compliments on my sparkling christmas nails. They arent too over the top but enough to notice.

You can alway add extra Christmas decore to your nails by painting on a snowman or maybe a Santa hat. Get creative with yout nails & let your imagination run free.

Merry Christmas everyone!! Have a safe & happy holiday!!! 

Peace & Luv

Nails... Gel Polish Manicure- The Pro's & Con's

About a week and a half ago I went to get my acrylic nails filled. While getting them done I decided to try a gel nail polish instead of my regualar polish & top coat.

The only reason I decided to switch was because it was my birthday the following week & thought I would treat myself to something new. I had gotten nails painted with gel once before but my experience with them was a bit of a toss up. I always enjoyed the look of shiney gel nails, however I was never super excited about the price. (Almost an extra $15 in my case.) I also found that the gel polish would fade and slowly rub off when I would use rubbing alcohol while doing make up. Luckily this time around I havent had the same problem. 

This time Im actually really enoying the look and duriblity of my nails. They seem to be a bit stronger & dont seem to be chipping or fading. (1.5 weeks) They are still beautiful & shiney- just a little grown out.

Earlier today I was reading an article about the pros & cons of wearing gel nails or polish. It seemed to me that the biggest concerns are the damaged caused to your nail beds, the frequent soaking of nails/hands in acetone to remove gel polish or gel nails and hands being left directly under UV light to dry. 

Yes, after a prolonged period of time you could begin to see damage to your nails, but that is with anytime of false nail. It helps to ensure you are getting them done somewhere where they know how to do gel nails properly. 

The acetone was a concer because of how much it dries out the nails and skin. I believe it is even absorbed into the blood stream through frequent skin contact. May salons have begun to use acetone soak pads on each nail instead of having the client completely submerge thier whole hand into the acetone.

The UV light helps to cure & dry the nails, layer by layer- which basically means yout hands sit under a UV lamp for half the time you get your nails done. The UV rays, of course are the best thing to be having our hands sit under. As much as there isnt too much of a solution right now, some brands have begun to use LED light which is much better for our skin.

When wearing false nails for an extended period of time you also need to make sure that there are no cracks or spaces for water to leak in. Not only does this allow yout nails to come off faster but it can cause even more damage to the nails, including fungal infections... Yuck. Only get your nails "filled" once or twice, not as long as they will last.

I will admit when I get them filled I will probably stick with the gel polish. If you have any questions or concerns about a new product or trying a new product always make sure to research & ask the questions you want answered. 

Peace & Luv

Nails... Blue-Ming Leopard Print

As much as I loved my neon Blue nails I can never stick with a basic manicure for long. So to switch it up I add a leopard print pattern.

To create this design I used Color Club's Blue Ming as my base coat. Then using Sally Hansen 3D polish in Laser I created the coloured spots. Next I used Sally Hansen's I love nail art pen to add the black around the coloured spots and in random areas on the nail. I then finished the design off with a quick drying topcoat.

This is one of those nail designs anyone can do. It may take a bit of practice but can be mastered in little time. Hope this inspires you to try something bold & new with your nails.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Color Club's Blue-Ming

Yesterday I got myself a fresh set of acrylic nails, painted in a bright Blue called Blue-Ming.

Blue-Ming was created by Color Club. It was featured in their Blossoming Collection from Spring 2012. 

 

This shade of Blue is a perfect color for any summer day.

Stay tuned for the decked out version of these nails... Leopard Print. Blog to come soon!

Peace & Luv

Nails... Miso Sparkly

Recently I had my nails filled. I wanted to get my nails painted a shade I didn't usually go with, so I chose OPI's Miso Happy With This Color. After a few days I needed to mix it up a bit and of course add some sparkles.

For more pictures and how I created this look, follow the link below...