China Glaze It's a Trap-eze!

It's time to switch the gears! This is China Glaze It's a Trap-eze! from the Cirque du Soliel: Worlds Away collection, which was released last December 2012. It's a glitter explosion! I'm telling you!

It has a milky jelly base packed with tons of chunky glitter in white, silver, green, cyan, orange, yellow, and magenta. It's a circus in a bottle! So festive! This polish reminded my husband of Easter eggs and pop tarts! :) I love it when he has an opinion! Hehe!

I tried to do some nail art with it and this is a heart made with my Sharpie fine point permanent marker, sealed with a top coat! Hehe! :) Again, think about how much fun it would be to design your nails with markers, just like Easter eggs! :D Makes me want to use this again for Easter, layered over a Skittles mani of various pastels! :)

It's a Trap-eze! is FUN, FUN, FUN! If you're feeling down and you need something to cheer you up, this is an instant pick-me-up! You can wear it alone or layer it on top of your favorite bright polish. It's probably not for everyone though.. you gotta love your glitter polish.

I love how the glitter is very dense, you don't need a lot of coats to build it up. You can leave it at 2 coats, but I went along with 3 for full coverage. I enjoyed slapping on those glitters so easily.

Here it is in one coat, so you can see its potential as a layering glitter top coat. 

This is quite a sentimental entry because It's a Trap-eze! is my 50th bottle of polish from Polished Inthecity! :-O Gosh! How time flies, when you're having fun! :D

Polished Inthecity reached 1,500 followers in Instagram this week and this is my celebratory manicure for this significant milestone!

Polished Inthecity is the reason why I got started with blogging and has always been there to motivate me. This takes me back to my first ever blog post. Oh, the memories! Thank you, my dear friend! And CONGRATULATIONS!! :)

Love you lots,
Karen :)

Color Blocked Nails Inspired by the New York Fashion Week featuring Essie Butler Please

I'm very excited to share with you my latest creation! I feel so fashion forward! :D I cannot tell you how distracted I am... There's something about this design that makes my fingers look so long and slender. It's a cool illusion for those who have shorter than the average fingers and nails, like me. :)

This design is first inspired by @susieq1980 's tape mani. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to use the tape properly, so I ended up doing a freehand for my version.

It's also inspired by @martawarmuz 's #skittlette trend. Marta, from ChitChat Nails, defines this as a manicure consisting of two, or three, different accent nails on each hand; as opposed to skittle nails, wherein each nail should have a unique design. I love me some Marta's skittlettes! :*) Here are my favorites!

I've also been dying to use my new favorite blue, Essie's Butler Please from the 2012 Winter collection. Isn't it sooo pretty? Just look at how bright that blue is! I don't understand why there's so much hate around the formula or application. It dries matte, fine, any topcoat can fix that. It's not streaky or uneven. It's a solid two-coater and I'm glad that I took a chance on this. I love it!

I've also seen so many new trends from the New York Fashion Week Fall 2013 runway shows, that I can't help but do something new and creative! :) It helps to be surrounded by so many talented people with overflowing creative juices! Hooray for Instagram! Some trends that I incorporated into this look: milky white polish, dark shades, diagonal color blocking, and gem accents, in place of a glitter gradient.

Here are some links to the 2013 nail polish trends, straight from the runway:
Harper's Bazaar
Glamour
StyleList

I used the following polishes: Dazzle Dry base coat, Dazzle Dry top coat, Essie Waltz (an elegant sheer white),  Essie Butler Please (an indulgent bright blue), and Orly Liquid Vinyl (black). Then I used Swarovski crystals for the gem accents.

I went through 4 iterations. Haha! From upper left, clockwise: 1) freehand mani, 2) with OPI Crown Me Already glitter gradient, 3) with rhinestones and sponged tips, and 4) with rhinestones only. Which one of the four do you like the best? I knew I wanted to add something to spice it up. If only I had silver metal studs, I think they would have been perfect!

Lastly, I thought I'd just pose with my favorite "cuticle cream", Jack Black's Industrial Strength Hand Healer. It's the exact same color. Hehe!

It feels good to be back! Happy reading! :)
 

Valentine's Day Nail Art

I came up with this design a while back, but saved the whole manicure for Valentine's because I thought that it would be perfect for the occasion. Those glitter hearts are something! They're just the right pearly pink that's so dainty and romantic.

For my base coat, I used Dazzle Dry. Then, I put on 3 coats of Dazzle Dry Touch of Love, which is the perfect shade of pink that complements the hearts, and the name of the polish is just spot on!



Alternatively, you can use Orly Confetti. They should look similar, except that Confetti is more sheer and might need more coats. Both polish will give you that jelly or crelly (somewhere in between a creme and jelly, you know, not a flat solid creme) effect.

After the base color, I did 1 coat of The Face Shop WH003 glitter hearts polish, which only ended up being the small holographic glitter. Hehe! It took some effort to pick up the hearts one by one and place them on the nail, but it's well-worth the extra work. Still so much easier than having to do some real nail art! After the hearts, I covered everything with the Dazzle Dry top coat.

This is just all about layering. I think this could've looked better if the hearts were more randomly placed though. :) But I was happy with how it came out in the end.

And that's it! I leave you with these two music videos from the Plain White T's!! Enjoy and spread the LOVE! <3

Rhythm of Love


1, 2, 3, 4

Skulls Nail Art for Halloween

This is another post for Polished Inthecity. Because I know how much she loves her skulls accessories, I updated my manicure with this design to match! :)

Not sure if you can tell. Perhaps it's more obvious with a white background. They're supposed to be skulls, okay? :)

It's perfect for Halloween too, don't you think? It's inspired by this tutorial from @simplenailartdesigns in Instagram. The video is also available in youtube.

This design is very easy to follow and to do with my Sassy nail art pens. I just used the mechanical tip to draw it. Sharing with you my collection of 10 colors!

Trust me. If you want to do nail art, you got to have these in your arsenal. At Php 36 a piece, there's nothing to lose! I got these from various Watsons branches. I've been to the ones at Eastwood by the 1800 bldg., at Virra Mall, and at SM Hypermart in C5. I'm not sure if this is the complete set, but I'll be sure to get all the colors that I can find.

The following skulls-themed accessories will be available at the Mercato bazaar. But you can also get them online at Polished Inthecity's Facebook page.

BR1 Skulls @ Php 60 each

BR2 Skullz with chain @ Php 60 each

Pirates and Bullets @ Php 280 each

Here's a creepy picture for you. Trick or Treat!! :)

P.S. Thanks, Raissa. We finally found some use for this creepy marshmallow pickle head. Haha!

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Floral Nails

Last week, I was about to let go of my nail art obsession. For some reason, I just got tired of the smell of polish and wanted to stay away from it for awhile. I was polish-free from Monday to Friday until inspiration hit me.

My friends have been feeding this obsession of mine ever since, but even more so when I started doing nail art. They've been posting nail art pictures on my Facebook wall, somehow challenging me to replicate those designs. My friend, Kim, presented me with challenge #2 (the first one being aztec nails, which I still don't have a full entry about).

Anyway, going back, here's how challenge #2 turned out. It's so feminine and dainty!!

See the resemblance to the original?

Unfortunately, I cannot give credit to the original since we can no longer trace back where this came from. So if anyone recognizes the creator of this, please do let me know so that I can give due recognition.

It was challenging but fun at the same time to do this because it's my first time to do roses! Here's a tutorial that I found showing you how quick and easy it is to do. I got this link from another one of my idols, Polished Perfectionist. She does AMAZING roses (among other things!!!)!  Check out her blog entry entitled "Sweet Roses" here.

The challenge: I had a bit of trouble coming up with a close color match.

I don't have a pale yellow polish (this looks like China Glaze Lemon Fizz) so I invented my own. First, I layered Orly Spark, a bright yellow, with Essie Waltz, a sheer white, which beautifully tuned down the brightness and saturation, making it a light and dainty yellow pastel.

I also don't have a light gray polish. So I layered my OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, my go-to white polish, with OPI My Pointe Exactly, a sheer gray and one of my favorites from the NYC Ballet Collection. I made thin coats just enough to get a color match so as not to make the polish too thick.

For the flowers, I followed the video tutorial above and swirled Orly Spark and Sassy Nail Art in pink. For the leaves, it was a combination of China Glaze Exotic Encounters and China Glaze For Audrey.

Lastly, for my topcoat, I skipped Sally Hansen Insta-dri Anti-chip top coat and Seche Vite dry fast top coat this time around because I got sick of the smell. Instead, I turned to Orly Sec-n-Dry. It's not as thick, glossy, and long-lasting as the other two, but it smelled less toxic and did the job.

Here are all the nail polish colors that I used (excluding my base and top coats). From left to right: Orly Spark, Essie Waltz, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, OPI My Pointe Exactly, Sassy Nail Art in pink, China Glaze Exotic Encounters, and China Glaze For Audrey.

Want to see more pictures? ... You don't have a choice! :D

I showed this to Kim in person over the weekend and she said that this is her favorite nail art to date! Yey! I was so touched and reenergized to do more!!!

I also had fun matching my outfits with this design. I didn't realize it would be so wearable! Just think feminine and floral, or yellow and gray combo.

Last Saturday, I went to a 1st year birthday party and to a wedding afterwards. I wore this a pale blue fitted top from Armani Exchange paired with a nude ruffled skirt from Zara. I then synched my waist with a big nude rose gartered belt also from Zara. (You can barely see it on the picture to the left, below!) For my shoes, I wore my Tory Burch wedged sandals for all-day comfort! Too bad I don't have a full body picture! But here are some pictures I took that day.

We took several pictures with the wine because it's extra special at P9,850.00 a bottle. :)

See if you can try to imagine and piece my top together with the skirt below and the rose belt worn to the side. :)

On Tuesday, I went to the office and paired my nails with a Mango elastic waist dress in green, Mango chain detail waist belt, Tory Burch wedge sandals in knot, and a Louis Vuitton Speedy in Monogram Mini Lin cotton and linen canvas. Again no picture, but see below how I tried to assemble the look. I love the proper, sophisticated look. :)

On Wednesday, I went with Jor-el for a check up at the hospital. It was raining, so it was time for my boots to come out and do their job. This is more of an edgy look but still played with the pastel yellow and dove gray theme. It struck me that I had to take a picture! I'm wearing a Mango pale yellow spaghetti strap, Zara dove gray cardigan, Zara navy blue distressed shorts, Zara black leather ribbon belt, Kenneth Cole black knee high boots, and my Forever 21 layered necklace. Kinda funky for your taste? Must be the Taiwanese in me! Heehee :)

So! Do you have any challenges for me? I'm all ears! Leave a comment and I'll try my best to do it!! :)

Thanks for reading!


* UPDATE: Wanted to share with you the picture that I posted in Instragram.
I love love love these adorable frames!!! :D

  

Karen & Erica's 2012 Birthday Party

September 15, 2012

This year, it was a sit down Surf and Turf dinner + Hello Kitty + Tonic Bags and Shoes + Polished Inthecity Nail Art PARTY!!!!

I'm still on a high over it! Jor-el bought 18 pieces of 14-16 oz. steaks for all of us to feast on!!! If you've seen them in real life, you'd be flabbergasted! :-O

Thank you Chef Jor-el Soyangco for our plated surf and turf grilled steak and prawns with a siding of mashed potatoes and our smoked salmon with kesong puti salad in blueberry vinaigrette!

Thank you Chef Nicco Santos for our watercress and spinach soup, mushroom and truffle cream sauce pasta, and our late night salpicao!

We even hired a waiter to serve and bus out our plates! How cool is that?! :)

It was so sad we didn't have pictures of the food though!! All I have is this picture of the leftovers with the boys. :(

I got Erica black Lydias from Tonic Bags and Shoes for her birthday! I wore my platinum ones, while Anne wore her gold ones. All thanks to the ever-talented Kim Chupeco!! We love your work!!! <3

Our friends, Kali and Rach, got us these really cool Hello Kitty glasses! Now, I have 4 in my collection!!

Took this the day after the party, with my new Hello Kitty glasses! :)

The night progressed with the girls doing their nails for each other. :) It was so much fun!!! Look at the smiles on our faces! After trying it out themselves, my friends realized how easy it was to do! The night was shortlived and I'm still hoping that I can invite them over to the house for another round!

Nail Art #1: Kate Spade Dippin' Dots for Kali

with China Glaze Peachy Keen, China Glaze For Audrey, and Orly Pixy Stix

Nail Art #2: Fun Nerds Dots for Shirley

with Orly Spark, Orly Rage, Orly Pixy Stix, China Glaze Peachy Keen, and China Glaze For Audrey

Nail Art #3: Silver Accents over Pink for Elaine
with some Orly pink polish and Wet 'n' Wild Wizard

Nail Art #4: Sponged tips for Erica
with Orly Rage layered on Essie Sand Tropez

Nail Art #5: Aztec Nails for Kacy
with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, L'Oreal Electric Pink Creme, and Sassy Nail Art in black

Nail Art #6: Paul Smith Stripes for Kim Lee

with Sassy Nail Art in black, red, and Orange striped over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Nail Art #7: Black Swan sponged tips over silver foil for Jeelai
with Wet 'n' Wild in Creme Noir over some silver polish

The last 3 to leave, with yours truly. You can see the full post about my cupcake nails here. :)

Can you believe it?!?! 7 nail art designs all in one day! Phew! Perhaps I can retire at this point! Haha Who am I kidding?!?!

But before I end this post, I'd like to share with you my favorite picture of them all! It was an honor to have our first ZESh baby, Kirk, attend his first ZESh party!!! I'm a proud Auntie!! :) Isn't he just adorable? <3 Calling Kirb and Vince, please bring Kirk more often! Anne and Hans, bring Ethan next time too, okay? :)

Celebrating love and friendship on our 28th! Of course, a little bit of nail polish and Hello Kitty wouldn't hurt too! :)

Have a great Wednesday to all of you!!