Bookworm Nails

Beaded Bikini Nail Art! Lots of Dots :)

2012-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

*Brushes off cobwebs*

Heeyyy :)

Okay so first, you might've heard that Google is getting rid of Google Friend Connect (the little bar that lists followers). So, like many other bloggers, I made a Google+ account for this blog :) You can add me, message me, whatever one does on Google+ here! I'll also add a Google+ widget in my sidebar shortly. Yayay!

Okay so today's nails are based on a bikini I just bought! Summer is coming quick :D

I used Sally Hansen White On (2 coats, kind of gloopy because it's old), Sally Hansen nail art pens in green and yellow, and another nail art pen (can't find the name :P) in hot pink! I decided to use little dots for the design to mimic the beads on my bikini.

And here's a picture of my inspiration:

Woohoo can't wait for summer in California :) Maybe this nail art is a bit early, haha.

Just a reminder! The 10% off coupon for KKcenterHK in my sidebar (below 'most popular posts') expires February 28th, so make sure to use it before then :)

Okay, let me know what you think of this in the comments!

Bookworm

Peachy Pink Manicure!

2012-01-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

Heyyy :OOO

So, long time no see :) Swamped with school, plus I've been waffling over whether I should get a daylight lamp to use for my pictures here. Decisions, decisions...

Anyways, I've been painting my nails and taking pictures, so this is what I wore last week :) I'll update with recent pics soon.

My kind of ombre manicure. I noticed these three Essie colors were complementary, so I decided they would look cute together. Therefore, it's kind of an ombre manicure (though I didn't really plan it that way :)

The polishes I used are: Essie Van D'Go (1 coat), Essie Pop Art Pink (3 coats), Essie Haute as Hello (2 coats). And I used Northern Lights Holo Topcoat in Silver to give it some sparkle.

A very soft and girly manicure :) I didn't know Pop Art Pink was sheer though! It wasn't marked when I bought it haha. I would still recommend it though, it becomes opaque enough after three coats. Thanks for reading :)

-Bookworm

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri! Chartreuse Chase + Bronze Ablaze

2012-01-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone :)

Today I have two swatches I've been meaning to do for a bit. These are Sally Hansen Insta Dri polishes, which you can pick up at the drugstore (I usually go to Rite Aid).

The first polish I swatched is Bronze Ablaze. The title says it all really, this is a dark gold/bronze shimmer with lots of gorgeous sparkle. There are also green and red undertones--you can even see a bit of the red in the sparklies in my first picture :) You can see the brush strokes, but only in direct sunlight. When I had this on in class, etc, I totally couldn't see any brushstrokes. I used three coats for full coverage, no topcoat.

Okay, next up is Chartreuse Chase. CC was kind of a puzzle for me, because when I think of chartreuse I think of a yellowish, bright bright green. But this polish I would describe as a cool toned, pastel chartreuse with blue shimmer. I used three coats, no topcoat. There are definitely yellow undertones there, but the bluish shimmer cancels out half of the brightness. Nonetheless, I think this is a really ladylike way to wear the more out there chartreuse shade of green. It's very cool and crisp, like a cucumber slice. I love it :)

I love both of these :) I love seeing classic brands release such great colors. What do you think? Pick up any good Insta Dri-s lately? Every time I go to the drugstore there's like 5 new ones!

-Bookworm

Chanel Le Vernis Spring 2012 May: Swatch+Review

2012-01-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Belated Happy New Years to everyone :)

My first post of 2012 (!!) is the final swatch of the three Chanel Le Vernis Spring 2012 colors. This polish is named May, and is a cool carnation pink. I used two coats with no topcoat, and I wore the polish for a week! Albeit, I'm only a student and not very hard on my hands, but still! Side note: it dried quickly :O

May is such a gorgeous petal pink polish. It makes your hands look gorgeous, odd as that may sound :) Since it's not a warm color I didn't think it would necessarily look good on my skin (which is has very yellow undertones), but it did.

What do you think about May? Must have or going to wait on it? I'd love to know :)

-Bookworm

Chanel Le Vernis Spring 2012- June Swatch+Review

2011-12-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hello hello :)

Today is the second of the three swatches I'm doing of Chanel's Le Vernis Spring 2012 collection. From what I've seen around the internets, June seems to be the favorite of the three so far. It's a limited edition color, and an interesting shade.

I would describe June as a pastel orange, like those Creamsicle ice cream bars (mmm). And apparently my description was almost right, as Chanel describes June as a "pastel apricot" :)

I used two coats (no topcoat) and my nails lines were totally covered, unless of course, you're in direct sunlight like my picture below, which skews things hah. Very creamy formula--even when I messed up and dragged the mostly dry nail brush over a wet nail, the polish smoothed right out on its own. I have to say, Chanel polishes, of what I've seen, are idiot (me) proof!

Yayay :) I think June is my favorite of the three, I must say. Next up is May. Your verdict? Is this the polish you've got your eye on? I would really like to know! Or tell me on twitter :)

-Bookworm

Chanel Le Vernis Spring 2012- April Swatch+Review

2011-12-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

How are you? Did you get what you wanted for Xmas?

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays :) I actually got some nail polish on Christmas--all three of Chanel's Spring 2012 polish colors! I will be posting all three as soon as there's enough sunlight to photograph the other two. Today I have April for you :)

April is a berry red creme polish that is a bit dusty. It's definitely not a bright berry red, but more subdued. I had full coverage in two coats, and applied a coat of Seche Vite on top. The polish applied smoothly with no streaking, and the consistency was the perfect medium between thick and thin. As a bonus, even without topcoat it was really shiny!

I definitely don't have any red polishes like April. It's a really unique color, I think. You can buy Chanel polishes online here. But more importantly, what do you think? Let me know in the comments!

-Bookworm

OPI Cuckoo for this Color Swatch!

2011-12-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

How are you?

Today I have for you a swatch of OPI's Cuckoo for this Color from their Fall 2010 Swiss Collection :)

This polish is teal, with teal/blue shimmer in it. It definitely looks like a true teal to me, not tilting too much towards blue or green. I took one photo in direct sunlight, and one in the shade outside. Indoors the color looks more like the photo taken in the shade, but the shimmer still comes through :) This is two coats, without topcoat.

Definitely click and enlarge this one. You can really see the shimmer :D

Very very pretty, I think! Are you guys still wearing darker colors like these, or are you shifting towards lighter shades as spring approaches? I'm in the middle, haha. Dark colors are too pretty to completely swear off :P Have a good day everyone :)

-Bookworm

Last week/This week's manicure! Back to Boho/OPI Muppets :)

2011-12-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Here's my nails from last week, and what I'm currently wearing. I got my first set of Color Club polishes on sale at Ross. I got one of the Back to Boho sets, and I love them :DD I really want to get some more sets, but they're so difficult to find :( Where do you guys get your Color Clubs from?

Okay last week was an OPI Muppets manicure, using Animal-istic and Rainbow Connection on my ring finger for a little glitter gradient. I think these two polishes are really hot together. Very bright and cheery.

And this week I'm wearing a Color Club Back to Boho tape manicure. I used Artsy Crafty for the base, and Nouveau Vintage for the 'golden rings'. I just taped off a line and painted the middle :) A nice break from my usual intricate nail art.

Now I'm off to get last minute Christmas gifts! I eagerly await your comments :)

-Bookworm

Nutcracker Nail Art!

2011-12-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hello :)

I've got some more cute winter nails for you lovely readers today! My accent nail is a....Nutcracker! Don't you love those funny little wooden things? We have a bunch of them at my house, so I was inspired.

Also, I decided to do a two for one and swatch Essie Size Matters from the Cocktail Bling collection. This is a true ruby red creme polish with beautiful depth after 2 coats.


This is who I based my nail on! Isn't he cuuute. But I think he's supposed to be scary...haha

A close up.

I've been wanting to do this nail art for a while. Glad I finally did it! Thoughts?

Thanks for reading <3

Bookworm

Layering! Essie Cocktail Bling + City Color Purple

2011-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Heyy!

My posting's been off lately, mainly because I'm just now getting over a bad combo of cold+stomach virus :(

Buuut today, I have a layering mani for you guys :)

I bought both of these polishes at the drugstore. I used two coats of Essie Cocktail Bling, which I'd describe as a cool-toned dove grey creme, and on top I layered one coat of an unnamed shimmery sheer purple from a brand called City Color. The combined colors are really pretty together, and create a whole new look for Cocktail Bling :)

Like it? Also, add my voice to the chorus of people who LOVE the Essie Cocktail Bling collection. I'm a creme girl, so these polishes are exactly what I love.Are you guys going to grab any of the CB polishes? Let me know <3

Bookworm

Sinful Colors Rich in Heart + Cutex's Featured Nail Artist!

2011-11-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

Helloooo~

Today I have a swatch of a lovely color I got from the drugstore for $1.99 (!) This polish wasn't in a particular display for Sinful Colors, it was just in the 'standard' colors section. Rich in Heart is a blackened burgundy with burgundy shimmer! I picked it up because I love the whole blackened beauty trend right now, and this shade is has a nice black shade to it without being too extreme. Two coats with topcoat.

You know I'm a sucker for shimmer.

Just for comparison, I put on Deborah Lippmann's Bitches Brew on my ring finger. As you can see, SC Rich in Heart is MUCH darker and than Bitches Brew (though in the store I though it might've been a dupe :P).

Okay now for the second half of the title of this post. I got some great news through twitter today!

I've never gotten any sort of recognition or anything for my nail art before, so this is was a really great surprise! The nail art they chose was the Elegant Chinese Ladies Nail Art,which is currently featured on their Facebook welcome page here: http://www.facebook.com/cutexnails

You can see all of the pictures for the Elegant Chinese Ladies Nail Art here (on my blog).

Cutex has a fun site where you can submit your nail art designs, so go submit yours here at cutexnails.com and they might choose YOU to be the featured nail artist :)

One last announcement! a beauty supply store you might've seen called kkcenterhk generously offered a special discount code for Bookworm Nails readers.

I thought you guys might appreciate it, since they sell all kinds of goodies for your nails like stickers and water decals. The code is right under 'Popular Posts' in the sidebar, and is for 10% off until February 28, 2012 :) You might've seen some nail blogger reviews of their excellent water decals around as well!

Phew! Okay, kind of long today, but I had so much to tell everyone :)

Notice the spiffy new comments section? What do you think? I want to be able to reply to you guys directly, and for you to not have to check back again for a response to a question, so I figured I'd try Disqus :)

Tell me your thoughts about anything and everything.

-Bookworm

Winter Gradient Nails

2011-11-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

Heyyy!

So, you might've noticed I redesigned my blog! What do you think? I think it's less cluttered now, so hopefully that's easier for you guys to look at haha. Yes, pink is one (the other is green) of my favorite colors :P

Today's nails were inspired by the soon approaching winter, and wanting to do something with blue and silver :) The base color is two coats of OPI Swimsuit...Nailed It!

For the gradient I used:

-Sally Hansen Celeb City
-OPI Crown Me Already
-Unnamed Wet N Wild mini (similar to CG Fairy Dust)

With Borghese Fst Dry Topcoat.

Like them? I actually hadn't worn Swimsuit before, but it's soo shimmery, I love it.

Okay, let me know your thoughts on my blog redesign and these nails :)

-Bookworm

Halloween Water Marble + Giveaway Winners Announcement

2011-10-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

So first of all I'm still having way too much fun doing Halloween themed nails, aha. I did a water marble yesterday using Sally Hansen polishes (black, orange, and Celeb City (silver)). My tip for water marbling is to use room temperature water :)

Admittedly, this water marble is a bit messier than I usually do, but I really liked how unusual the swirls looked :) Sometimes the little imperfections are more interesting, I think. So I left it as is. What do you think?

And now, for the winners of my 100 follower giveaway! Thank you to all who entered, new followers and old, for reading my blog and always leaving me comments and support :) I appreciate you more than you know.

Winner #1

Winner #1 is Ace from The Polish Lab! You have won your first choice of NARS Polish, Night Porter, and A Hard Candy body shimmer :)

You have 72 hours to respond to my email. Congratulations :)

Winner #2

Winner #2 is luvmylacquer! You have won the NARS Night Rider and a Hard Candy body shimmer :) Congratulations! You also have 72 hours to respond to my email :)

Again, thanks to everyone who entered This won't be the last giveaway I do, it was a lot of fun :D Also, I'm getting caught up on this blog finally! I'm planning some future posts that I think you'll like.

Talk to me in the comments!

-Bookworm Nails

Deborah Lippmann- Believe

2011-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today!

Thanks to everyone who entered my 100 follower giveaway! I hope to announce the winners some time next week :)

What I'm wearing today, Deborah Lippmann's Believe. This isn't a new color, but did you know that Deborah Lippmann and Juicy Couture collaborated for a Holiday 2011 collection? It's called Precious Metals. Believe is one of the polishes included, along with two other exclusive colors! The Beauty Lookbook has some swatches and a review here. Interesting, huh?

This color is fascinating to me because while it is a silver foil, it also has a distinctly (to my eye) copper foil mixed in. It makes the silver warm toned, rather than the regular cool tone.

Thanks for reading :) Now I need to catch up on answering my comment, haha. Later!

-Bookworm

Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled...Halloween Freehand Nail Art

2011-10-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Whooooo~Whoooo~ (That's supposed to be a ghost howling, haha)

REMINDER: There's just under a week left to enter my 100 follower giveaway! I'm giving away two brand new NARS Night Series polishes, and some Hard Candy Body Shimmers :D You can enter here: http://bookworm-nails.blogspot.com/2011/09/bookworm-nails-100-follower-giveaway.html

Okay~ Today I freehanded some nail art based on those bags of candy you can buy that are made to look like body parts :) Halloween candy is my life, seriously. I used one coat Sally Hansen White On, and two coats of China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada on top (a neon, hence the white on the bottom).

Like it? I love how bright the China Glaze polish is, like a neon slime green. Perfect for campy Halloween nails :) Lots of pictures of these nails because I love them!! Definitely my favorite nail art for a while.

Let me know what you think :)

Bookworm

Essie-Very Structured

2011-10-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Okay, today is one of the Essie Brand New Bag(Fall 201)1 polishes I bought a little while ago. Very Structured is a very dusty brick red. It's not a true red at all, it's closer to the color of a dark red clay :) It covered completely in two coats. I'm wearing Seche Vite on top.

Hmm, missed a smidge of polish on my finger. I never notice these things till I take pictures haha

This polish really complements my skin tone :) And it's a darker color, but not too dark. It's not a blackish color at all.

Do you have this polish? If not, does it look like something you're interested in? Talk to me in the comments :D

-Bookworm

Black and Blue Butterfly Nail Art/ Deborah Lippmann Superstar

2011-09-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hey hey!

Today I have two manicures, since I didn't have time earlier this week to upload what I had on my nails :) So it's kind of a dump post haha.

Earlier this week I wore two coats of Deborah Lippmann's Superstar, a perfect glitter for fall. Fall I usually don't associate with glitter polishes, but this one is subdued enough to work with a fall outfit, in my opinion :D

And if you follow me on twitter, earlier this week I said that I was planning to do my nails based on...one of my mom's shirts haha. So here's the shirt:

And here's how I did my nails using A Sally Hansen black creme polish (can't find it to give you the name, darn it), acrylic paints, and Confetti Polish's Ice Ice Baby as a glitter topcoat.

I was gonna have pink butterflies just like on the shirt, but I wanted to keep the manicure dark :P

Sooo how do you like it? It looked a bit bare, so I added the glitter (which I like :) My posting is so irregular, sorry (gotta love school)! But I'm on twitter pretty consistently, so you can always find me there @BookwormNails

Remember that my 100 follower giveaway is open until Oct. 17th, so you still have plenty of time to enter. Check the link in my sidebar!

Okay let me know what you think about this post, I'm eager to hear your comments. Now I'm off to read everyone else's posts and catch up!

-Bookworm

Beauty Blogger Roundup

2011-09-27T12:59:00.001-07:00

This is what I'm reading! Always some really interesting posts in here, so take a look and find something new :D

Beauty and Fashion Tech - Home Laser Hair Removal

Girl Gloss - MAC Styledriven Swatches

Polish Fixation - My First Jelly Sandwich!

Midnight Manicures - A Englands Holy Grail
Nailfiled- Caronia Bright Nights Collection

Bookworm Nails- Essie Power Clutch/Princess Tiara Nail Art

Beauty Thesis- How Old Is Your Makeup? Find Out With A Cosmetic Calculator [Resource]

Polish Insomniac - Stash Shots: Dior!

Beauty Info Zone - So when are you going to try Wen?

Nails and Noms - My First and Last Julep Maven Box, For Now...

Red Hair and Black Nail Polish - Nail Art Tutorial: Abstract Squares

Glitter.Gloss.Garbage MAC Quiet Time Nail Swatch

Addicted To All Things Pretty 20 Collections Krissy wants OPI to produce before she dies

Essie Power Clutch/ Princess Tiara Nail Art

2011-09-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Heyyy

I know it's been a bit, sorry! Buuut I do have some pics for you today :D Today is Essie's Power Clutch from their Fall 2011 Brand New Bag collection, and a little bit of nail art I did. I like doing nail art on the ring finger haha, as you might've seen...

Power Clutch is a slate grey, like a chalkboard! No blue tinge to it though, it's a true grey.

And then I spruced it up with a little white princess tiara with a pink pearl jewel.

Like it? I don't really know why I wanted to do a princess tiara haha, just seemed cute. My nails are so short now! Like I said on twitter, I kept scratching myself so I had to file them down.

Also thanks to everyone who's entered my giveaway and given me feedback about my blog <3 I appreciate it! And if you haven't entered, you still have lots of time to do so, if you like :) You can click on the link at the top of my right hand sidebar to go and enter.

Let me know what you think about this polish, my nail art, the weather, your health, whatever, in the comments <3

-Bookworm

OPI A-Taupe The Space Needle/ Fall Leaves Manicure

2011-09-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Helloooo

Some accent nail art today :) Since it's fall, I wanted to get into the spirit with some fall leaves nail art. The color on my nails is from OPI's Touring America collection called A-Taupe The Space Needle. It's a milk chocolate creme that covered in two coats :D

I ended up really liking the leaves because I used a sponge to make a gradient. I freshened up my manicure with Borghese's Presto fast dry topcoat and wow is it glossy (over Seche Vite)!

What do you think? Haha the only time I get to see the leaves change colors is when I'm on the East coast, in California it doesn't really happen (pretty as it is).

Remember to enter my 100 follower giveaway (ends 10/17)! The link is here: http://bookworm-nails.blogspot.com/2011/09/bookworm-nails-100-follower-giveaway.html

Okay, let me know you thoughts in the comments :)

-Bookworm

Bookworm Nails' 100 Follower Giveaway!

2011-09-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Big announcement today :DD

Starting today you guys, my followers, can enter my 100 follower giveaway! I'm so amazed that anyone cares about this blog or what I write, and I'm so thankful to everyone for being so kind to me. I hope something about my posts interests you or cheers you upI just paint my nails as a hobby, so I didn't expect anything like comments or follows in return, but I've had this blog since the summer and met so many cool people through it :) So thank you <3

Okay here's what you can win....

A brand new unused bottle of NARS Fall 2011 Night Series polish, Night Porter

And a brand new Hard Candy Glow All the Way Face and Body Luminizer

Or...

A brand new unused bottle of NARS Fall 2011 Night Series polish Night Rider

And a brand new Hard Candy Glow All the Way Face and Body Luminizer

Info and Rules:

This giveaway will last until October 17th at Midnight Pacific Standard Time, and the winner will be announced early the following week. Since this is my first go at this, this giveaway is only open to Continental U.S. residents (no P.O. boxes).
There will be two winners, a winner #1 and a winner #2, chosen using random.org. The first place winner gets their first pick, and the second place winner gets the remaining polish. New followers are welcome to enter.

Okay, here's some things you MUST do to enter :)

-You MUST be a public Google Friend Connect follower of this blog

-If you win, you MUST respond to the email I will send you saying that you've won within 72 hours

-If you win, you MUST email me when you've received your package, to confirm that it wasn't lost in transit or something :)

Use this form to enter the giveaway! You get one entry just for answering the first three questions, but you can get extra entries for following me on twitter, etc. The amount of extra entries you get for each action is indicated by the number in parentheses-- (+1), (+2), and (+3).

Have fun! And again thanks for reading and commenting, I read every single one :)

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Mavala Reno/ Vintage 50s Ivory Lace Dress

2011-09-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Helllooooo :)

Today I polished my nails with Mavala's Reno. Mavala is a European nail polish that comes in lots of colors, as you can see on their site here. They sell these at my local beauty shop though, and since the brand was unfamiliar, I bought a couple :D

This polish is called Reno, and it is an ivory creme with a bit of pearly sheen to it. I used 3 coats.

Such an elegant color! It makes me think of an old wedding dress.

This polish paired really well, actually, with a vintage ivory 50s lace dress I have! The color is almost exactly the same as this dress :O

Here's a full length shot of the dress :P


And a closeup on the skirt.

I bought the Mavala polish a while ago, but I think it was about $6 or $7 (USD) for .17 fl oz. This color is so pretty and unusual, I like it a lot! I have a white polish, but now I have an off-white polish too :D

-Bookworm

OPI Touring America- My Address Is Hollywood

2011-09-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys :)

Today's nail polish is from OPI's Fall 2011 Touring America collection, and is called My Address Is Hollywood.

This polish is a salmon pink with subtle pink and gold shimmer. I only needed two coats. I wore this polish with a few Indian bangles, so I took picture with them haha! Love these bracelets, and this polish :D

You can see the shimmer here :)

I bought a few other polishes from the Touring American collection, I really liked the neutral polishes! What do you think about this collection? Bought any of the polishes? What do you think of My Address Is Hollywood? Let me know in the comments ;)

-Bookworm

Galaxy/Space Nails!

2011-08-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hey hey!

Today I did the Monday Nail Art challenge for Polishholics Anonymous, a facebook group I'm in for nail/beauty bloggers :D The winning theme for this week was galaxy nails! I used a foundation sponge and a bunch of colors to do these. The base color is China Glaze Black Diamond, which is a gorgeous black creme with tiny silver speckles (2 coats).

This is my first time doing galaxy nails! I put the Big Dipper on my ring finger haha :D

Okay yayyy! I'm happy with how these came out, I was afraid the colors wouldn't blend well. Sooo tell me what you guys think. Do you like these? Have you tried galaxy nails? Thanks for reading :)

-Bookworm

OPI Megawatt?! Swatch

2011-08-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone :)

Today's manicure is OPI's Megawatt?! Isn't the name great? And appropriate, since this polish is just the color of a lightbulb! Take a look ;)

Megawatt is a yellow-green shimmer with a whitish base. On the nail the polish looks pearly. Megawatt is more opaque than I thought it was, and I used three coats in these pictures :D

You can see the yellowish tint a bit better in the last picture, taken in the shade. Megawatt just glows on my nails, I love it :)

Also, I'm preparing a giveaway since I hit 100 followers not that long ago, just so you guys know! So keep and eye on this space for that, it's coming very soon :) I'm so thankful for all of my readers, and bewildered at times that you guys take the time to read and comment. I just wanted you guys to know that, even without me doing a giveaway to show my appreciation!

Okay, have a good Friday! Woohoo :D

-Bookworm

Nail de Royale Review!

2011-08-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Heyyy :)

So a company called Nail de Royale was kind enough to send me a few of their products for me to review :) They are a nail supply company based in California, and they sell anything you would need for your nails including China Glaze, Essie, Nubar polishes, Swavorski crystals, cuticle oil, UV lamps, etc! Here's what they sent me:

(L-R) La Rosa Crackle Shatter Polish in Feeling Blue? and Omega Labs Nail Art Striper Brush (no color listed, but it's dark red)

(L-R) Truth of Isis Solid Star glitters in Sunset and Spring Desire Star


Enlarge this one, it's a closeup :)

So, I used the two Isis glitters in a manicure on top of Essie's Sand Tropez. These glitters are really easy to place one my one on the nail, and would also make great frankens (say, in a jelly polish :) They also are of a good size, they weren't too big for my nails. I really recommend these for nail art since they're so easy to manoeuvre. I'd like to try a gradient with these :P


I didn't put top coat so you could clearly see the width/size of the glitters, but of course you would put top coat on :)

Next, here is the crackle polish and the striper they sent me on my nails.

As always with crackle polishes, you can apply it thin. thick, diagonally, horizontally, etc to get different effects. This polish 'cracked' quickly and dried to a matte finish. I think the color and finish of this polish would look lovely any way you applied it. Just look at that bright, almost neon blue!

The nail art striper was a rich dark red, perfect for some fall nail art. As I demonstrated on my pinky, you can really vary the width of the lines you paint, depending on pressure. The brush of the striper is thin and good for details, and the nail polish itself is not watery at all, but very pigmented and would show up on a range of polishes. I was really happy with this striper :)

I'll definirely check out Nail de Royale in the future, since I really liked the products they sent me, and they may have sold me on this (long past) crackle trend haha.

Nail de Royale's website is here, you can find them on facebook here.

Tell me what you think about my review! I always want to know :D Thanks for reading :)

-Bookworm

*These products were sent to me by Nail de Royale for review. You can read my disclosure policy for further information :)

OPI Planks A Lot + OPI Crown Me Already!

2011-08-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hello :)

Today's manicure is OPI Planks A Lot (2 coats) with OPI Crown Me Already (3 coats) on my ring finger for accent. I don't own too many purples, but this one is really pretty because it's more subdued. As I said on Twitter, purple and silver aren't usually a combo I like, but I think these polishes complement each other nicely! And Crown Me Already is sooo glittery!

OPI Crown Me Already has silver glitter as well as small, medium and large hexagonal glitter! And I was able to get all of the glitters on my nails pretty evenly :)

Are you guys into the accent nail thing? I like it sometimes when I want to spice up a mani, but sometimes I just want all my nails consistent haha. Okay talk to me in the comments, and thanks for reading!

-Bookworm

Blogger Roundup 8/7-8/13

2011-08-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yayayaya! Catch up on last week's posts :)

Kewt-ified Nails Where's My Pinata? The Layering Combo You Didn't Know You Needed
Bookworm Nails NYC Colors Black Magic Halloween 2011 Review, Swatches, Pictures
Midnight Manicures Catrice - Dirty Berry
Beauty Thesis Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara

Beauty Info Zone Myrabelle Mascara Shield, does it make life easier? Reve Noir Inglot Canada/US Pricing Discrepancy
Girly Bits Covered in Flowers Nail Art
Nails and Nom NOTD: L.A. Colors - Jewel Tone Over Black

Royal Beauty Designs Product Battles: Crown Brush C433 Pro Blending Fluff vs. M.A.C. #217
Daily Polish Love Mascara but hate applying and removing it every day? Ever tried semi-permanent mascara that lasts for 4 weeks? Daily Polish checks it out!
Addicted to All Things Pretty OPI Samoan Sand has a Dupe

Glitter Gloss Garbage Selling Swag? Nay or Yay?

Aladdin Lamp Nails

2011-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Heeey ;)

Today is some nail art. I bought Brownstone from the Fall 2011 China Glaze collection a little while ago, and it's such a rich, deep color! The color gave me the inspiration for some Aladdin/Arabic-esque (haha I guess that's what I'd call it) nail art. Hmm, not sure what I think of this one, but I'll let you be the judge. I used acrylic paints and L'Oreal Blue Marine (I'll swatch that one soon :)

I only realized after that the Genie in Aladdin was blue too! Haha. Have you picked up any of the new China Glazes? What do you think of this nail art? I might try a variation on this theme again :) Okay, now I'm off to read all the new nail blog posts! Talk to me in the comments :)

-Bookworm

NYC Colors Black Magic Halloween 2011 Review, Swatches, Pictures

2011-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

So I saw the new NYC Colors display at my local Rite Aid and bought two of the lip products and a polish from their latest collection for Halloween, which is called Black Magic.

I won't normally have anything but nail polish on this blog, but since it's fairly new and the colors are interesting, I thought why not show you the lip gloss and lipstick as well! Here's the three items I'll be showing you :)

(L-R) NYC Lipstick in Ghostly White, NYC Quick Dry Polish in Pumpkin, NYC Kiss Gloss in Blackula

First up is a swatch of an In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry polish called Pumpkin.

Pumpkin is a orange creme polish with gold shimmer mixed. Overall, the polish tilts more towards orange-yellow.

I used two coats and my nails lines were still a bit visible (which I don't mind), so three coats would probably cover all that. This is a great warm color for fall, but it's bright enough that you can wear it during summer too, in my opinion.

Gooorgeous! You can really see the gold shimmer here.

Next up are a NYC lipstick called Ghostly White and a lip gloss called Blackula.

A close up shot of Blackula. You can see the silver glitter in it.

Ghostly White is on the left, Blackula on the right

Ghostly White alone

Ghostly White with some Blackula on top

Blackula by itself...Arghh so hard to photograph

I know the picture for Blackula isn't the best, but every picture I took didn't show the black color.

Ghostly White is a white shimmery lipstick. It didn't have a grainy feel on my lips even though it has shimmer in it. It was fairly opaque, but the shimmer makes it more sheer than a plain white lipstick. You would have to build up the color if you wanted total coverage.

Blackula Is a black lip gloss with tiny silver glitters in it. I think would look great over red or purple lipstick, if you wanted to look a bit vampy. It is a very pigmented gloss (you only need to apply a bit or else you look super-goth) and you could build up the color to be very sheer or very very dark.

I was really happy with these purchases, I love all three of these unique colors. But what do you think of these Halloween-themed products? Thanks for reading :D

-Bookworm

Beauty Blogazon Roundup

2011-08-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

Keep up to date on the coolest nail, makeup, and anything else posts from this week!

Beauty Info Zone Side by Side - Annmarie Giannia Skincare
TheItColor SnakeSkin Nail Tutorial
Style Eyes Review Sephora Instant Moisture Mask
Nailfiled Newspaper Mani x Color Club French Tip
Painted Pixies Blissful Euphoria
Bookworm Nails Elegant Chinese court ladies nail art
Daily Polish OPI's Fresh Frog of Bel Air from the Muppets Holiday Collection!
Mad Manis Take Two: Wedding Appropriate French Manicures
Life and Polish Essie Ruby Slippers
Beauty Mamas Candy Doll Lip Concealer Review
Royal Beauty Designs Product Battles: Laura Mercier vs. Elf Tinted Moisturizer
Midnight Manicures Barielle's Summer 2011 Karma Collection - Part 1
Glitter.Gloss.Garbage MAC Opulash Optimum Black Before and After

Addicted To All Things Pretty Brown Girl's Tan Too!

Remember to follow or 'like' these ladies if you like what you see :)

-Bookworm

Essie Absolutely Shore + Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling

2011-08-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

So as requested by you guys in my last post, today I have a swatch of one of the Essie polishes I bought recently. This is three coats of Essie Absolutely Shore (Summer 2011) with one coat of Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling on top. Absolutely Shore is a milky, slightly grey light green. It applied very evenly with no bald spots, and was true to how the polish looked in the bottle.

I originally just painted my ring finger with Bring on the Bling, as you can see below... (Click to enlarge)

But then I liked it so much that I painted all of my nails with it!

Bring on the Bling definitely isn't the average topcoat. It isn't super glittery, but instead very understated with a hint of sparkle. It spices up your manicure without being over the top :)

Thanks for you responses last time, it was fun to do a polish picked by you guys! I'll do this again soon, definitely. So, do you have this Essie? Are you going to get it? Have a dupe for it already? Let me know :D And thank you for reading :)

-Bookworm

Recent August Purchases!

2011-08-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone :)

Today is just a short post with pictures of some of the polishes I've bought recently!

L-R Borghese Limoncello, Borghese Capriccio Blue, L'Oreal Blue Marine

My first Borghese polishes! I've seen this brand reviewed but I never saw it in stores. I wanted to try some of their colors :)

L-R OPI Crown Me Already!, OPI Swimsuit...Nailed It!, Essie Absolutely Shore, Essie Meet Me at Sunset

L-R (All Sinful Colors) Adventure Island, Seaweed. Open Seas

I HAD to get these after I saw them reviewed on vampyvarnish. I had to hunt for them though!


L-R China Glaze Swing Baby, China Glaze Black Diamond, Mavala Reno, Mavala Silver

Yayayay! So, I have a question for you guys. Which colors are you interested in seeing swatched (or used in nail art, either one)? Let me know and I'll make a post with it! Thanks for reading :D

-Bookworm

Chinese Ladies Nail Art/OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

2011-08-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Today I did some nails art based on an old Chinese carved table my mother owns :) It has all of these really elegant Chinese ladies drinking tea, looking at flowers, etc. I love it, so I decided to give it a go. I used 2 and 3 coats of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape (some nails had bald spots, others didn't...) It applied very well, but was a bit more sheer than I expected. And I used acrylic paints to draw the ladies.

Kind of a picture spam haha! I'm really happy with these nails, but what do you think? If you look, you can see that each lady is holding a different flower :) But boohoo I broke my thumbnail down to nothing, so I just painted it since there wasn't enough room for a lady. That's why you don't see my thumb, just so you know haha. Okay, let me know your thought, hopes, dreams in the comments ;)

-Bookworm

Beauty Blogazon Roundup

2011-08-01T22:31:00.001-07:00

This week's best and brightest :) This is what I'm reading right now, make sure to give it a gander ;)

Edit: All good now, thanks to the lovely Jeanie at Midnight Manicures!

An experiment in frankening: Oxidized Copper Painted Pixies
Catrice Out of Space collection - swatches and review Nailderella Nails
Day Five Hundred and Thirty Four - Opi "It's MY Year" Daily Polish
Not Pink Wednesday at Midnight Manicures
China Glaze Tantalize Me Life and Polish
Candy Candy Candy I can't let you go Polish Pauper
Obnoxious Punktastic Nails Mad Manis
Blast from the past: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy! Polish Insomniac
Going From a Daytime to a Night time Look Royal Beauty Designs
My Favourite Crown Makeup Brushes Style Eyes
Deborah Lippmann It's Raining Men (My first Deborah Lippmann post!) Bookworm Nails
Napoleon Perdis Front Row Red Lipstick Review Addicted to All Things Pretty
OCC Liptar-Hoochie Glitter.Gloss.Garbage

Deborah Lippmann It's Raining Men :)

2011-07-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Unfortunately for me, the only place where it's raining men is on my nails, haha! It's Raining Men, by Deborah Lippmann is a true cherry red. In the pictures below I used three coats, since I could still see my nail lines after two. I've had this polish on for 4 days, and it has chipped a bit on my left hand, but much more on my right hand (I'm right handed :P) Anyways, this is the best red polish I own because it doesn't tilt too orangey or too pinkish :)

Do you have this color? If so, you should pull it out and try it on ;) By the way, when I took these pictures it was SWELTERING. It's going to be a hot August... Keep cool, everyone (and let me know your thoughts in the comments) :)

-Bookworm

Beauty Blogazon Roundup

2011-07-27T18:08:00.001-07:00

Serving up your weekly pick of AWESOME.

NOTD: Delicious Diamonds over Dull Duochrome (hehe) Drebel

Re-Swatch: OPI DS Sapphire Life And Polish

LTHP shows us polishes with a great cause. Let Them Have Polish

Vintage Pink Lilly Pulitzer Print Nails: Bookworm Nails

Dr's Remedy Hot Hot Hot Summer Shades for Summer 2011 - Midnight Manicures

Blue Hydrangea by Nubar Nailderella Nails

Cotton Candy Skies Polish Pauper

Too Dupe or Not Too Dupe? ChG Nova v. OPI Servin' Up Sparkle Polish Insomniac

How does Urban Decay's Meltdown hold up? Beauty Thesis

My Favourite Foundation Combo Style Eyes

A-England: Avalon, King Arthur, Tristam Swatches & Review Nails and Noms

100 followers and a Giveaway! Painted Pixies

Make Up For Ever Giveaway Addicted To All Things Pretty

OPI Touring America Glitter.Gloss.Garbage

OPI Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow Swatch

2011-07-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Today's nails are an OPI I bought recently :) Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow is a dark army green creme. It was opaque in two coats, but if you're picky you could do three to be sure. It applied like a dream (this is OPI we're talking about) and it's a gorgeous, rich color. I'm definitely saving it for fall!

Here are some pictures in direct sunlight and one in the shade :D

My affair with dark polishes continues, since I am really happy I decided to pick this one up! What do you think? Let me know in the comment box :) Thanks for reading, as always ;)

-Bookworm

Vintage Lilly Pulitzer Nails

2011-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello :)

Sooo today I did some nail art based on a 1960s Lilly Pulitzer dress I have! I used one coat of Sinful Colors 24/7 over white (um, how did I not realize that this polish is a neon? haha). This pink seems to go with every nail design I do :)

Here is my inspiration:

And here are the nails in natural light and in the shade:

At first I didn't like this nail art, but now I do haha. For some reason while I'm doing it I never like it...Strange. Do you like it? Let me know what you guys think :)

Thanks for visiting!

-Bookworm

Red Ginger Flower Nail Art/ Guest Post on Midnight Manicures

2011-07-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Today I am the guest poster on Midnight Manicures, so you can click here to see the post I did there.! Here is a sneak peek ;) If you like, you can leave me a comment there and let me know what you think. You can leave a comment here too, if you like :)

By the way, I have mostly recovered from my stomach virus, so you can expect that I'll be slowly going back to my old update schedule. Sorry that I've been so MIA lately!

This is also my first nail art using acrylic paints instead of nail polish! I was really happy with them, they're so much easier to control, and they dry faster :) I went polish shopping the other day, so also expect some interesting swatches. If you'd like to see the full set of photos I took of my nails, check out my tumblr: http://bookwormnails.tumblr.com/ I always upload all of my pictures there :)

Thank you for reading :D

-Bookworm

Record Music Nails!

2011-07-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hello guys!

Today I did some nail art. I tried drawing a record and some music notes! I like how they turned out, but I want to try using acrylic paints for nail art instead of nail polish too. The base color is Sally Hansen's Mellow Yellow, with two coats.

How do you think it turned out? I'm a bit proud of the little record, as I'm new to nail art, haha. I really like this yellow too, since it only took two coats and yellow polishes are supposed to be difficult. And it's so bright and sunny! Okay, that's all for today! Thanks for reading :D

-Bookworm

Blue Glittery Striped Nails :)

2011-07-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey :)

Yesterday I used Essie Coat Azure and Hard Candy Sky, then decided to spice it up with some stripes! I used OPI Skull and Glossbones and Sally Hansen Celeb City for the stripes. I really like the horizontal stripes on the nails painted with Sky! They came out well, I think. On my ring finger I also put on a coat of Confetti Nails Ice Ice Baby.

A few pictures in direct sunlight.

And a few in the shade:

What do you think? I should get a striping brush maybe, so my lines are straighter...you don't even want to see my right hand haha. Alright, now I'm off to watch Did You Hear About the Morgans? Love that movie. Thanks for reading :D

-Bookworm

Essie Pretty Edgy/ Freehand Orchid

2011-07-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Happy Pink Wednesday! This manicure only has a touch of pink, but I like it. I used two coats of Essie Pretty Edgy, which applied smooth and opaque. It's from Essie's Summer 2010 collection. One coat of Seche Vite on top :) I freehanded a white orchid from a photograph on top a bit later. How do you think it came out?

One photo in artificial light. You can see the shading on the orchid better here.

And I took a picture with a vase I thought complemented my polish :)

I like this shade of kelly green. It's so bold, and it looks good with my toes, which are lavender right now :D Show me your Pink Wednesday manis, if you did one. You can tweet the link to me @BookwormNails, if you like. Let me know what you think about this mani?

-Bookworm

Beauty Blogger Roundup 6/26-7/2

2011-07-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Check these talented ladies out ;)

Welcome to the Jungle, Baby!-Polish Incomniac
Raspberry, blue and green Candy Mani- Nailderalla Nails
Mani/Pedi & 50 Followers- The It Color
LTHP Celebrates 1,500 Followers with Circus Nails- Let Them Have Polish
June 2011 Favourites- Style Eyes
Challenge: 30 Days in Video 1/30-Beauty Thesis
Canada Day Celebration Mani- Life and Polish
Rainbows and Holographic Polishes-Midnight Manicures
Sequined party dress and navy blue shimmer polish- Bookworm Nails
Nfu Oh 65 - The Blue Holo Queen- Nails and Noms
Natural Hair Parade Event at Carol's Daughter- Addicted To All Things Pretty
MAC Blogger's Obsession Collection, All My Purple Life- Glitter.Gloss.Garbage

China Glaze Up All Night

2011-07-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July everyone :D

Today I have China Glaze's Up All Night. I used one coat because indoors I couldn't see my nail lines. In my pictures you can see my nail lines on one finger, though, because of the direct sunlight.

If you enlarge the photos you can see that Up All Night has little flecks of lighter blur shimmer, which makes this navy polish different and really pretty.

I though this polish paired nicely with a dress I got last Christmas. It's from the 80s, and though you maybe can't see it in the photo, the top third of the dress is a different color (each third is a different color).

This color is really pretty! It looks super dark in the bottle, but it's not that dark on the nail. Have you tried this color? Okay, hope everyone has a great Fourth of July weekend :)

-Bookworm

Essie Peach Daiquiri/ Patterned Pink Wednesday Manicure

2011-06-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Heeey :)

Today I used my nail art brushes from Born Pretty, and a few rhinestones from them as well, to create a patterned Pink Wednesday Manicure. It looks a bit tribal as well, doesn't it?

I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, and Essie Peach Daiquiri. And Sally Hansen Hard as Nails topcoat, always a classic :)

Happy Pink Wednesday! I really like hand painted nail art, so I wanted to give it a try. What do you think? Do you like hand painted nail art, or are you more of a stamper? By the way, I just got my first shipment of Deborah Lippman colors, so I want to do a manicure with those in the future! Don't her fall colors look amazing? Thanks for reading ;)

-The Bookworm

Warm Gold Pedicure/ Essie Shifting Power

2011-06-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, how's your Monday?

I had an in-home spa day on Sunday. I did my cuticles, filed my nails, soaked my feet, etc. It was a lot of fun to do it myself! I think I'll make a future post about what I use to keep up my hands and feet. Interested?

So for my pedicure I decided to try one of my new polishes, Essie's Shifting Power. Shifting Power is from Essie's Winter 2008 collection, and it is a warm gold. I consider this polish a frost, since there are obvious brush strokes (I'm not bothered by brush strokes, though). It applied like a dream. In these pictures I have two coats, but just one coat would make a nice wash of subtle color, I think :)

This polish matches my gold Havianas haha! All of these pics are in direct sunlight. Click to enlarge.

This shade is going to be a staple of my polish collection. It's a flattering color on me, and I think it could work for a lot of people. It's a soft gold, not a super bright or glittery. What do you guys think of this color? Do you also think that feet are strange appendages? Let me know! Thanks for reading :D

-The Bookworm

Blogger Roundup 6/19-6/25

2011-06-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

This week's blogger roundup :) I'm on this list :DD

Lip Tar and MAC Surf Baby Lipstick Give Away Winner on Cosmetically Challenged

Hard Candy Beetle on the Life and Polish blog

Zoya Touch Swatches on Kewtified

Animal Manicure on Bright Lights Big Color

My First Nubar on A Day in the Life

PritiNYC Summer Day Kit Swatches on Polished to the Nines

Multidimensional Mani on Nailderella Nails

Review: Mary Kay Love Lash Mascara on Style Eyes

Pink Glitter Mani on Bookworm Nails

Battle of brush cleaner on Purple Eye Diamond

Get to know JoElle Skincare on Creatively Yours By Ro

Continuing Education in Artistry on Royal Beauty Designs

Review: e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Plum Purple on Beauty Mamas

Real French Perfume from Fragonard on Reve Noir

Enter the Nicole By OPI Texture Giveaway on Addicted to All Things Pretty

500 Follower Giveaway 6 winners on Midnight Manicures

You're Moody, Bish on Lambchop Mobile
Home Laser Hair Removal Guide on Beauty and Fashion Tech

A rainbow tape mani from Let Them Have Polish
Are You Down With OCC? Polish Insomniac is.

Essie Ruby Slippers on Nails and Noms
Walking the Plank on Polish Pauper
Get in the Mood for Friday with Tara’s Nails

Are you tired of the bandwagon trends? Glitter Gloss Garbage is.

Saturday Purchases

2011-06-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, hope your weekend is going well :)

I thought I'd show you guys what I bought today from one of my favorite beauty stores :) It's a salon/store, so all the Essie bottles are the nice, .5 oz salon version, not the papery .46 oz drugstore versions :P

The only color I don't think showed up well (as it's nighttime, these pictures are with flash) was Tennis Corset. I was in love with this color when I first saw it. It's a sheer, milky white with gold shimmer.

Left to Right (all Essie) : Velvet Voyeur, Little Brown Dress, Pretty Edgy, Tennis Corset, Haute as Hello, Shifting Power

Left to right: China Glaze - Up All Night, OPI- Big Hair, Big Nails, OPI- Gargantuan Green Grape

Gargantuan Green Grape (gotta love OPI's names haha) is actually a lot more green and a bit brighter than my picture. Also, yaay for my first jelly polish, Big Hair Big Nails :DD And a big yaay to Born Pretty for getting my order here super fast! Way faster than their estimate, and now I have a bunch of great nail art tools. I totally recommend them :)

By the by, I'm really into dark polish all of a sudden as evidenced by the CG and the two dark Essie polishes. Which is no good since it's the middle of summer haha! Have you all tried the polishes I bought today? Or are some of the colors new to you? As always, thanks for reading :))

-The Bookworm

Pink Wednesday Manicure!

2011-06-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hello guys!

This is my first Pink Wednesday Manicure :)

I used three coats of Sinful Colors' 24/7. It's a hot pink neon, and without topcoat dries to a flat finish. Like the other Sinful Colors Polish I tried out, 24/7 was streaky and watery, but it evened out eventually. I used a Sally Hansen top coat and some glitter I got from Victoria's Secret called Pout to make my tips and accent nail. I used NYC 'In A New York Minute Quick' Dry Nail Polish, which seriously dried quickly on top of my dry polish. It's my favorite aside from Seche Vite!

You HAVE to see these in High-Def. Click on them to enlarge :)

Super pink right? They're even brighter in person, believe me. I really like this though, it's so wonderfully girly. What do you think of the glitter/color combination? Thanks for the recommendations for base coats in my last post, by the way :) Thanks for reading, hope you liked!

-The Bookworm

Top 10 Award

2011-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies :)

I was tagged for the Top 10 Blogger Award by the talented MarShee! Thanks MarShee!

Top 10 Award:1. Thank the person who tagged you and link to their blog.
2. Put the Top 10 Award logo on your blog.
3. List your top 10 cosmetics.
4. Choose 10 bloggers to tag, link to their blogs, and let them know.

My Top 10 Cosmetics

1. Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama - Blackest Black

2. LOreal Voluminous Mascara - Black

3. Cover Girl Outlast Lip Stain

4. Le Metier de Beaute Cream Blush

5.LOreal Studio Secrets Anti Dull Skin Primer - Medium

6. Moroccan Oil Products

7. Coastal Scents Warm Palette

8. Cetaphil Face Wash

9. Oil Blotting Sheets

10. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (I use this atop the Anti Dull Skin Primer)

I now tag:

1. Capture the Littlest Things

2. Nailfiled

3. Be Beautiful

4. NeeLai

5. ANOTHER Bottle of Polish?!

6. Imperfectly Painted

7. Black nail polish and Lip Gloss

8. Libby's Pink Vanity

9. Nails by Kate Vergara

10. Candy Coated Tips

Have a great Tuesday, everyone :)

My Nails Today: Essie Sand Tropez

2011-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Yesterday night was my friend's debutante ball :DD She's a sweet girl and a good friend, so it was nice to see her all dolled up and enjoying herself. As I said on Twitter, today I'll show you how I did my nails to go with my outfit :)

I wore a vintage 1950s red lace dress I bought from Etsy a bit ago. Because the dress was so bright, I wanted to keep my nails simple and neutral. So I decided to use a color I bought but hadn't yet tried-- Essie's Sand Tropez.

Essie polishes always have the best consistency and application! I bought my first Essie polish when I was in middle school, haha. I don't remember the color's name, but it was a standard light pink. Back then Essie was only in salons, I think.

I applied two coats of Sand Tropez, and a coat of Seche Vite on top :) I love the color of this polish to DEATH. It's so gorgeous, and exactly the color of sand :O

NOTE: Remember, you can always click on my pictures to enlarge them.

And here are some pictures of the polish by itself, in natural light:

Actually, today I have a question for you all. What base coat do you all use? Would you recommend it? I'm trying to find a better base coat than the one I'm using now (Sinful Colors Basecoat), because it really doesn't make my nails stronger, lengthen the life of my mani, etc. But I figured I'd ask you guys first! Let me know your thought on this post and on your base coat in my comment box :D Thanks for reading :)

-The Bookworm

60s/80s Nails

2011-06-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hello guys :D

So I did my nails yesterday using tape. I tried a new style, so it's a bit messy, but hopefully you'll enjoy it :) I think these nails look very 1960s or 1980s because of the geometric pattern and the neon colors!

I used one coat of Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear Nail Color in White Out (to give the neon color opacity) and two coats of China Glaze's Sun Worshiper on top of the white. For the stripes I used one coat of Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Blue Me Away. One coat of Seche Vite on top :)

I have a gumball machine in my room, so I used some of the candies in the pictures :D What do you guys think of this design? What designs have you made with taping? It can be a bit tricky, haha. Thank you for reading! Have a good Saturday :D

-The Bookworm

Konad Design: BM -204 :D

2011-06-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to try out the new Bundle Monster plates I bought from Amazon, and I wasn't disappointed :D

I used two coats of OPI's Skull and Glossbones as a base, and Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Cherry Red. One coat of Seche Vite on top, and I used BM plate #204.

My middle finger didn't come out as good, hahah oh well

This was my first time using Konad and Bundle Monster Plates :) What do you think for my first try? Do you like this color combination? Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!

-The Bookworm

Sinful Colors Unicorn Swatch

2011-06-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone :DD

First of all, I love yellow nail polish. It is without a doubt my favorite polish hue. I have to physically stop myself from buying a yellow polish every time I go to the store. Yet, sometimes I falter. Which is why today's posting is about a pastel yellow shade from Sinful Colors called Unicorn. I bought mine at Walgreens.

This is four coats of Unicorn, with no topcoat, but instead some lovely summer cherries ;)

The consistency of this yellow creme polish wasn't great, but for $4.99, *shrug*. It doesn't have any shimmer or glitter. The individual coats were extremely thin, which is why it took four whole coats to even my nails out. And darn it, I couldn't keep it from bubbling this time.

I will say that the color alone was worth the purchase, as the shade is creamy and this particular yellow reminds me of Easter. Lovely. The color was true to the bottle, and dried shiny, always a plus. Maybe if you aren't into summer's bright colors you can substitute this for a brighter yellow :)

What do you guys think of this manicure? Is there any nail polish color you always gravitate towards? What kinds of yellow polishes do you have? Let me know in the comment box. And remember that you can add me on facebook and follow me on twitter, if you're so inclined :DD

See you next time :)

The Bookworm

Confetti Nail Polish Swatch, Milani Jewels Gold

2011-06-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow worms!

So today I went to CVS and happened upon a display of a brand of nail polish I hadn't seen before. So, I snapped a picture of the display :) The name of the brand is Confetti Nails. Click to enlarge.

There was really only one color that caught my eye, but they did have some interesting colors in the very last row. They had a dark shimmery purple, and a shimmery yellow-green in the last row which you can see in the bottom right hand of the photo below. I took a close up shot of the display as well so you can get a better look.

Interestingly, don't you think this color might be a dupe for OPI by Katy Perry's Last Friday Night? I don't own Last Friday Night, but they look awfully alike. What do you think?

Anyways, the color I bought was called Moonstruck (and I grabbed the last one, yesss my precious...) It's a lovely taupe that looks purplish in different lighting. The application was a little watery and streaky, but with a second coat it evened out nicely. I didn't see any of the Big Three chemicals (Toulene, Formaldehyde, or Dibutyl Phthalate) mentioned in the contents of the polish, so it appears to be 3-Free. And, it was only $1.99, a real deal for what an interesting color it is :D It dried in only a few minutes to a glossy shine. And...I LOVE IT. It's so pretty! Gaze at its wondrousness (is that even a word?)

I also bought Milani's Jewel FX in Gold today, and I thought it would look really cute over Moonstruck, so I put two light coats of the Milani on top. I really like the contrast between the neutral polish and the shiny gold glitter. This photo is in artificial light, but this picture is a more accurate portrayal of Moonstruck's taupe/purple color.

Gosh, I'm crazy about neutrals right now. I bought like three the other day, which I will make a post about. Are you guys into neutrals? I didn't like them for years, but for some reason they look really sleek and cool to me lately. Tell me what you think in the comments :D I hope you enjoyed this post, see you again soon!

The Bookworm

Intro+ NARS Ecume Review, Swatch

2011-06-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hello world! I decided to make a blog so I can document what I do with my nails, techniques I try, colors I buy, etc. I hope anyone who comes by (like you, reading this right now) enjoys my pictures and ideas :D

To start with, I bought NARS Summer 2011 color Ecume a few days ago. I was attracted to the color because I thought it was a smart take on the neutrals trend this summer. It's like ultra neutral, to the point of having zero color haha.White nails also always look good tan skin as well, in my opinion.

Note: You can click on the pictures to see them larger

This is two coats of Ecume. It was super opaque, and I had no visible nail lines after the second coat :)

I love this white creme polish. The application was really smooth, but I will say that for some odd reason it dried really quickly on my nail, so you have to apply it fast. But when it dried it was super shiny and hard (maybe the shine explains how quickly it dried). The shiny finish was my favorite aspect of this polish. The picture above is without top coat!

One more picture in natural light, starring the mango I plan to eat :DD

That's all for now, but I have lots of ideas in my head for future nail art posts. I just wanted to show what my nails looked like today :)

If you read this and liked it, please check back! I made a Facebook and Twitter for my blog (I don't have either one in real life so it was fun to have an excuse to sign up and see what they're all about O-O), so you can add or follow me by clicking on the little buttons. If you like, you could also add me through Google Friend Connect :O

Keep your eyes peeled for more :D Thanks for reading~

-Bookworm