Zoya Caitlin and MASH Dried Flower Decals

Zoya Caitlin

Caitlin is a grey creme that can look purple or bluish depending on the light and takes 2 coats to become opaque. (The application on my middle finger was a fluke... I blame my non-dominant hand.) It had a smooth, easy-to-control formula and levels well. It dries with a nice gloss and dry time. I had this on for almost a whole week and there was little chipping and tip wear. I have come to expect great quality from Zoya. I can't wait to try out my other Zoyas! :D

After a few days of wearing just Caitlin, I got a bit bored of her. I also haven't worn anything pink on my nails in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (which is this month) yet. I received my MASH dried flower decals from Amazon and decided to try them out. I found that they were quite delicate and could easily be torn apart if not handled carefully. But when applying one onto the nail, the flower was much stiffer (but not too stiff that you can't mold it to your nail) than I thought it would be. I used an orange stick and a little bit of clear polish to pick up the flower and apply it on my nail. It wasn't too hard, thankfully! I used two coats of Butter London Hardwear P.D. Quick Topcoat and the flower stayed until I took off my mani. When I removed it with diluted acetone, the flower sort of "melted" off onto the cotton ball. I feel like it was a bit overpriced ($5.97, sold by MASH Nails and fulfilled by Amazon), but I didn't know of any other way of getting them. :( I say give dried flower decals a try! They're pretty and really fun! :D

The other colors that MASH offered. The container was easy to open. Be careful that you don't lose any flower decals!

A close-up to see the details on the flowers.

What do you guys think of flower decals? Willing to try them?

P.S. School has not been very forgiving. 3 straight weeks of midterms so far. I'm losing sleep and missing meals in an attempt to get more studying time. Not good! Keep expecting erratic posts.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

What I've Been Up To

Hi guys!

I'm sorry I left you guys hanging and don't post as often anymore. Since I didn't do as well as I hoped last school year, I've been studying a lot... I still want to graduate in 3 years (this school year is my second year already) so that's added pressure. Lately, I've been isolating myself in the school library until the evening or late at night. On top of all this, I've been trying to get more sleep and stay healthy. Some of you guys are probably thinking that it's "just studying", but I'm trying to get in dental school (and graduate earlier than my program) and I have a lot of other people I have to compete with in my program (and from other schools as well). Sometimes, I think I'm lagging behind and/or can't match up to them... I hope you guys understand.

Since I had 3 exams on Friday, I decided to crash and take a break. I bought 50 clear swatch sticks from Amazon and I used most of them up (one I messed up on and another cracked) to swatch all the Fall colors in my collection. I have to buy more so I can swatch two more Fall colors and the Spring, Summer, and Winter colors. Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed in the quality of the swatch sticks. I had to file down the ends of the sticks and the nails and, with enough pressure, I could probably break them in two.  It was also pretty expensive (around $18 or so dollars). It doesn't help that I found a swatch stick with a cracked nail either. Though they did include some Doraemon fimo slices! The swatch sticks were sold by La Demoiselle and fulfilled by Amazon. Since I need more swatch sticks, I'll just wait until my friend (the one mentioned at the end of this post) orders from Born Pretty Store again. Their merchandise is cheap and appears to be of good quality. I'll let you guys know how they are.

Here is what I've been working on (the Fall colors are mostly done!):

(I care a lot about politics and the upcoming election, huh?)

Once I'm done with the Spring, Summer, and Winter colors, I'll do a whole post on what colors I chose for each season. :D

Last weekend, my roommate and I hosted a little nail polish/nail art party with a few of our friends. Three of my friends did their nails, but I only have pictures of one of them... But only because she photographed her own nails. She decided to do a Batman-and-Joker mani! I think it's pretty cool! :D

Left hand:

Color Club Almost Famous (not too sure though)

Essie Licorice

Right hand:

Essie Blanc

LA Colors Striper in Red

Maybelline Ice Queen

Sinful Colors Clementine

an Ulta green or Maybelline Go Go Green

My friend has a tumblr that you guys can check out here! She posts a lot of awesome nail art and Tom Hiddleston stuff, along with other things. (You've been warned! LOTS of Tom Hiddleston!) Enjoy! :D

Now, I'm going back to studying.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Zoya Yara

Zoya Yara

Yara is my first Zoya polish! :D She's an olive green with gold shimmer and is opaque in 2 coats. (As you all know, I'm a sucker for gold shimmer!) I am quite impressed with the formula: Zoya uses a vegan-friendly formula so I wasn't sure what to expect. Yara applied well, flowing nicely onto the nail. She dried shiny, quickly, and darker than the bottle color, which I'm fine with. I love all the olive greens! *a meme reference* I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear her quite a bit this fall and winter!

What was your first Zoya? If you don't have one yet, then which one would you purchase first? I'd love to know!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

P.S. Off topic, but I scored 3 Butter Londons (4 if you include the top coat that's part of the package deal) for $16.88 (includes shipping and handling and tax)! Wallis, All Hail the Queen, and West End Wonderland are finally crossed off my wishlist!

Finger Paints Late Night Rendezvous

Well, look who's back! I've been gone for a while because of school, sleep, and eating. That's really all I've been doing... :( I really missed blogging! However, I don't think I can do posts semi-regularly anymore, and I'm not going to try because I don't like empty promises. Let's just enjoy the journey once again, shall we? :D Now, moving on...

In a less sunlit area:

Finger Paints Late Night Rendezvous

Late Night Rendezvous is a mermaid-esque blue shimmer that flashes green. I used 3 coats here because it was a little patchy, but it can be passable in 2 coats. It had a really nice formula and dried quickly. Late Night Rendezvous was shiny and reflective, almost metallic-looking. Though it looks rough in the photographs, it was actually smooth to touch. The shimmer particles are just somewhat larger than normal. I took several photos of Late Night Rendezvous, attempting to show its beauty and the green flash, but I couldn't capture it. You have to see it in real life in order to see its full glory!

See you guys on the other side of the day! So so happy to be back!

Michelle

P.S. Loving the current length of my nails. I think I'll keep them this long from now on.

Versatile Blogger and Liebster Awards - Again! :D

 

Hi everyone! I was recently nominated for the Versatile Blogger and Liebster Awards again by Caroline Jewel of Caroline's Nails! Thank you so much! :D Caroline Jewel is relatively new at blogging. She primarily swatches and reviews nail polish, but there are also beauty product reviews and makeup looks here and there. Check her blog out!

7 Facts for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. I have been a huge fan of Animal Crossing ever since it came out for Game Cube. (Does anyone still remember that console? It was back in the early 2000's when it debuted.) I have Animal Crossing for Game Cube, Nintendo DS, and Wii! It steals my heart every time and I honestly don't know why! Maybe it's the appeal of creating your own world and leading your own life without having any responsibilities...

2. My nickname is Boss. (Yeah, I'm cool like that... Did I say this fact already???)

3. I found out about Korean and Japanese music in 5th grade and have been listening to it ever since. (I do listen to English music -and some Spanish music- if you're wondering.)

4. I'm going to start my second (and, hopefully, second to last year) year of college soon! (Throughout the summer, I really wanted to see my college friends, but now, I just want to stay at home with my parents. ;__; )

5. I have over 100 CDs of Korean and Japanese music.

6. I love manga and anime. I'm trying to get back into that world.

7.  My favorite literary pieces are Las Ataduras (The Bonds That Tie) by Carmen Martín Gaite and San Manuel Bueno, el mártir (Saint Manuel Bueno, the martyr) by Miguel de Unamuno. Both are Spanish works. I think El Burlador de Sevilla by Tirso de Molina is really funny. (Love the servant's name, Catalinón. *giggles* )

11 Questions for the Liebster Award:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog because many of the big time bloggers don't really review drugstore polishes (Sally Hansen, for instance) while some swatches of brands like Love & Beauty are really hard to find or nonexistent. I wanted to provide a one-stop blog for both drugstore and salon (such as OPI) polishes. Once I get my hands on some indie polishes, I will swatch them as well! :D

2. Do you ever feel like you won't get more followers? Do you ever lose hope and think 

that blogging was a bad idea? Why?

At times, I do. Many polish blogs are popping up nowadays. What makes my blog truly unique? I don't post everyday while other bloggers do. As such, they get followers more quickly than I do. However, I can't write posts for the sake of posting everyday. I just try to be honest with myself and remind myself that I'm doing this because I think it's fun.

3. What keeps you motivated to keep blogging?

Definitely trying to find a swatch of a polish, but end up finding absolutely nothing!

4. What is your favorite brand of polish?

For drugstore polishes, Sally Hansen. For "brand" name polishes, OPI. I am always impressed with the quality of their polishes.

5. What is your favorite nail art trend?

Right now, I'm really loving the block/stripe gradient trend!

6. How do you wear your nails most of the time? Long, short, medium? Plain color? Crazy art? Stamping? I want to know!

A lot of the time, my nails aren't polished at all. As for nail art, it really depends on my mood and if I'm willing to spend time doing it. I like short-medium length nails because I can do labs without them being cumbersome and they still protect the skin that is attached to my nails so it doesn't feel sore.

7. What is your favorite manicure that you've ever done? Post a picture or link!

Unfortunately, I don't have one. Whenever I paint my nails, I usually leave them plain. I really need to play with my nail art tools!

8. With nails, beauty, and blogging out of the way, what are your other hobbies or pastimes?

Recently, I've become addicted to Animal Crossing: Wild World for Nintendo DS again. ;___; (Why did this have to happen 2 weeks before college starts again?!) I also like sleeping, listening to K-pop and J-pop (Korean and Japanese music, respectively), and drawing. I really miss drawing!

9. What is your favorite song?

This is really tough, but it has to be 검은 행복 (Black Happiness) by T (also known as Yoon Mi Rae). T is a rapper and singer in South Korea, and is half African American and half Korean. However, she was born and raised in the U.S. This song is about how she was bullied because she was mixed, how people treated her mother, her guilt, and how music saved her. She, her husband (also a fellow rapper), and their really young son also got really racist backlash from some South Koreans. (Despite their advancement, South Korea is still pretty conservative.) I urge you to listen to 검은 행복 and follow along with the English subtitles. 

10. Who is your favorite band/artist?

T. Hamasaki Ayumi and Kalafina are close runner-ups though!

11. What are your top 5 favorite blogs?

Scrangie, Vampy Varnish, Let Them Have Polish!, Burkatron (DIY projects, FOTD, and nail art!), and Dr. Frankenpolish (which is now pretty much defunct). 

Aaaaand... Sorry for the lack of posts recently. As I've mentioned, I'm studying for the DAT (Dental Admission Test) that I have to take during my winter break and packing for college. All my nail polish is packed up and I don't want to mess with it.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle