Les Nail Smiths: August 2015 - Mermaid

Can you believe it's LNS' First Anniversary?! I can hardly believe Millie and I have been doing LNS together for that long, not to mention it's been one year of my life that passed by in a blink of an eye! (Ok, so maybe some days were much, much slower than others, but...) I chose "mermaid" for this month's prompt. When I think of mermaids, I think of blues, greens, and sparkles so that's exactly what I did!

And just to clear things up to avoid misunderstandings, I will do LNS whenever I can and want to. As I've said before, my school, future, and life are my priority now. (Trying to "adult" is a very lengthy and difficult process!)

I've always wanted to do a syrup gradient mani so I decided to use OPI I Can Teal You Like Me, a sheer blue tint, for the base. I first applied one coat of the OPI and then some light blue iridescent glitter with a fan nail art brush, both of which are from Born Pretty Store. Then, I followed up with multiple coats of the OPI on the middle and tip parts of my nail to create a gradient. Finally, I topped the tips off with China Glaze Fairy Dust for a dusting of its magical properties. I finished the mani off with a top coat. The whole look makes me think of mermaids swimming through a hidden, pristine lagoon with its seaweed caressing them as they pass through.

Make sure to check out Millie's awesome LNS mani too!

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Deborah Lippmann Naked

Self-purchased

Deborah Lippmann Naked is a pinky beige sheer nude. I used 3 coats. Surprisingly, Naked wasn't as sheer as I thought it'd be, despite needing so many coats to become opaque. The formula was wonderful because it was very easy to apply, making Naked now one of my go-to nude shades. It's perfect for work and palate cleansing so I can see why it's so popular. It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Seoul/Hong Kong/Macau Vacation Mani

Here are my and my mom's manis for our vacation a few weeks ago! Mine is inspired by one from @dayofdays_ from Instagram. As for my mom's mani, my mom wanted to use some nail stickers she got from Daiso. These pictures were taken in Ihwa Mural Village in South Korea. I think the humidity made these pictures blurry since it fogged up the camera lens.

My mani:

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow

My mom's mani:

Essie Topless & Barefoot

Daiso Nail Stickers

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Important Notice

Hello, everyone! I was on vacation the past two weeks, but I made sure to schedule posts during my absence. After my vacation, I realized that I didn't enjoy blogging as much anymore. I was doing the ABC Challenge in order to have material and force myself to post at least once a week. I've decided to cut back on everything beauty-related; I've even started a major destash of my polish collection today. Blogging just isn't a priority anymore, though painting my nails and posting the occasional swatch or nail art will continue to be my hobby. Hence, the ABC Challenge will be suspended. Les Nail Smiths will still continue, though I didn't have the time and energy to do this month's.

As you all know, I'm going to graduate school next school year. Therefore, everything I've been doing as a hobby or as a way to relax will take the backseat. I'm going to focus my energy on doing well in my program, doing extracurriculars, volunteering, searching for a job, and other important tasks.

Thank you for this journey. It has almost been 4 years! I will come by every once in a while.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: C - Black Cat Lacquer Celestica

Self-purchased

Black Cat Lacquer Celestica is an ethereal pale grey crelly with iridescent square and hex glitters and holographic microglitter dust. I used 3 coats. The formula was great because it was easy to apply and I didn't have any trouble getting out the glitters. As a habit when dealing with glitter-infused polishes, I left the bottle upside-down before polishing. When dried, it looked unflattering because the the crelly base sunk while the glitter protruded so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle