Swatch Spam !

I have a few indie polishes to share today!

I post more frequently on my instagram, but I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging more often.
Instagram is super convenient to post, even on the go, (stupid blogger app never works properly)
but blogging lets me elaborate more.
So I usually save my blog for more long winded reviews. :B

Jindie Nails - Burrrberry
Jindie Nails is another brand which I love for glitter-crelly combinations!
Eh unfortunately for Singapore nail polishaholics,
Mei Mei Signatures has limited stocking for Jindie Nails' newest collections.
My to-die-for Jindie Nails' polish? Dead Roses, a limited edition polish.

Burrr-berry is a white crelly with sky blue, medium blue and magenta circle and hex glitters.
Opaque in 2 coats.

When I see this, it makes me feel like eating berry yoghurt! :D

Powder Perfect - Crinoline

A neutral nude crelly with copper and mint hex glitters.

Opaque in 3 coats

Glam Polish - That Old Black Magic

Black scattered holo, with micro glass flecks.

2 coats for opacity

Feels like a blackened rainbow!

Lumina Lacquer - Take Back the Night 

This is after I applied a matte top coat!

It's actually a black creme with silver micro-glitters and blue-turquoise iridescent hexes.

2 coats, but due to the thick consistency of the polish, 

you can apply one coat over black base to keep the layers thin.

Glam Polish - Don't Go into the Woods.

Part of the Dark Terror Limited Edition set collaboration with Mei Mei Signatures

Dark forest green holo.

1 easy coat did the trick!

Emily de Molly - Harmony

Soft gray with small white, purple and teal hex glitters.

I love the unusual color combination of this one.

Generally my color picks are usually brighter.

Glam Polish - Dark Water

Deep purple holo with micro-glass flecks which I was unable to capture nicely. ):

The accent nail is Color Club - Harp On It, a super strong silver holo!.

Glam Polish - Another Galaxy

Sky blue crelly with teal, blue, and indigo glitters of various shapes; circles, stars and hexes.

This was an old favourite of mine! :D

Indies are my favourite, perfect for days where I'm feeling lazy to do nail art, but still want a mani on. :D

My #31dc2 .. Finale !

Now that I've finished my HK travelogue, I'm free to update on my nails!

I did a small update on my first 10 themes here.

Now on to the next 20! HAHAH.

You can find my nail art gallery on Instagram via the hashtag #jtsmani.

Day 11: Flowers

This style is inspired by one of my favourite nail artists Will Paint Nails for Food, who does quite a lot of floral nail art!

I love her florals, because it has that organic feel, which is probably due to her brushstroke method.

You can take a look at her floral work here

Eh sadly I dont think I've got the method down yet.

Day 12: Intricate

Inspired by.. a pattern on my grandma's pillow.

I love the thumb, ring finger and pinky.

Day 13: Geometric 

Finally had a chance to try handdrawn houndstooth patterns!

I had fun picking out an unconventional color mix for this.

Quite satisfied with the pattern too.

Day 14: Paisley
Eh I'm not very good at this ah. 
Let me make it up by using a gorgeous base okay?

Glam Polish's Tales from the Darkside - a rich purple with glass flecks that appear pink, and give it depth.
It is part of a limited edition collaboration with Mei Mei's Signatures; the Gruesome Movie duo.

Day 15: Galaxies

I used to only utilize shades of blue for galaxies, but I decided to try something new.

Mixed in turquoise and magenta this time :D

I also dotted a bit of white and smudged it before it dried, to give it the 'distant star' effect.

Day 16: Landscape

Decided to do Singapore's city scape!

I actually layered glow in the dark top coat between the sky, and details.

Sadly the effect wasnt strong enough.

Day 17: Favourite Season

I can't decide between autumn and winter!

Used to love winter, and always dreamt of snow.

After my visit to Korea, I decided I loved autumn too! 

Super cooling and windy, plus all the gorgeous almost naked trees.

Day 18: World Culture

I've chosen to show my Chinese heritage

Red is our traditional color for prosperity and fortune, while gold/yellow symbolizes good luck. 

I've also painted a Phoenix - could you tell? - which is one of the sacred creatures of Ancient China.

It is often depicted on traditional wedding costumes, or together with a dragon.

Day 19: Art

Not on my nails, but I've fallen in love with nail polish jewellery. 

The initial idea was to capture a polish you loved into a jewellery piece.

I upped my level this year by doing nail art on the cabochon. 

It's not easy to layer them so that they show up the right way, but it's so fun and I'm addicted. 

Who says nail art is only restricted to nails itself! :D

Day 20: Supernatural

Favourite supernatural creature? Zombies!

Vampires are also loved, but zombie nails are wayyyy more fun to do.

GWARRRRARARARRRNNHHHG. 

Day 21: Holidays

This was done during the Christmas season, so it's gotta be xmas nails. Hahah.

Gorgeous sparkly emerald green holo is Glam Polish's Conjuring! 

Gifted by #buddingyeast Bimb. :D

*yup, I'm a Glam Polish Fan.

Day 22: Glitter

Glitter base and glitter placement!
Enough glitter for you? ;p

Day 23: Indie Polish

I pay tribute to my first indie - Ariel by Sea Lore Polish ! 

Inspired by my favourite Disney Princess, its a glitter bomb.

Filled with iridescent green flakes, and Ariel's signature red, purple and emerald as hex glitters.

For those who don't know, indie polishes are handmade polishes produced by non-mainstream brands. 

Majority of my collection are indies because I love the thought and creativity behind each polish.

Kudos to all the indie brands - for the effort put into the crafting, quality checking and love in each bottle of magic.

Day 24: Half moon / Ruffian. 

For this technique, your base color (mine is forest green) is your curved border color. 

Then apply the block (mint green) in a curved manner. 

No messy tapes needed! 

Hope that helps!

Day 25: Abstraction. 

Stained glass windows !

I hope you can tell its a flower on the middle finger, and a moon on the pinky. :x

I applied a white base, then drew random outlines in black.

Filled in the spaces with colors to get the imagery.

Day 26: Realism

Cracked my head over this prompt, then pok gave me the idea when he was wrestling with my penguins.

Since I've been doing cartoon penguins, how about real ones?

SO ADORABLE RIGHT. 

I love penguins, nuff said.

Day 27: Gradient

I realise this wasn't my best attempt at a gradient, but I wanted to show a fading, monochrome effect.

I do my gradients differently from most people.

Instead of a makeup sponge, I simply dab on straight with the polish brush, 

and use my fingers to tap and blend. :)

Levon (who is also into nail polish, though not as crazy) suggests plastic bags to blend as well! 

Day 28: Studs

Drew these studs by hand! Does it look realistic?

I actually lost my packet of studs which I was planning to use, oops.

I dont usually use embellishments actually.

Too difficult to remove, and has the tendency to accidentally catch on to fabrics.

Day 29: Inspired by a Polish 

Ring finger is the inspiration: a black jelly with rainbow hex glitter. Bought by my pok :D

A darkened rainbow is the result!

I did a rainbow gradient, then applied a thin coat of black over it. 

Smudged it by tapping with my fingers before it was dry. 

Day 30: Tape/Nail Vinyls

Ack not a good job. 

Lines were slightly crooked as I left the tapes on for too long.

Should always remove tape while polish is still wet, not semi-wet.

Day 31: Recreate your favourite challenge!

I would have done Favourite Animal, and featured a cat this time (Pusheen~!), but I didn't have time!

So I did a recap video of my 30 designs.

I enjoyed doing 2014's #31dc2 challenge, 

because it has helped a lot, in terms of providing me inspiration for designs.

I'm glad I challenged myself to think out of the box, yielding some pieces which I really loved!

I look forward to this year's #31dc ! 

Do feel free to comment if you'd like to know what colors I used for any designs.
I'd love to hear some feedback on my techniques as well. (:

Random Swatches !

I've decided to post a bunch of my nail swatches together.. 

simply cause I'm too lazy to post one by one. hahah.

First is OPI: Peace & Love & OPI

Steel gray duochrome, which flashes plum purple and forest green.

Three coats for opacity, I would recommend layering it over black to for easy application.

Smooth and not streaky.

Emily de Molly: Hole in the Sky

A periwinkle creme, with tiny lavender and white dots, and holographic hex and circle glitters. 

Three coats for opacity, but two coats gives it a more delicate and subtle look.

Emily de Molly: The Fifth Element

A turquoise crelly base with teal, red and silver holographic hexes. 

Opacity in two coats

Mattified.

China Glaze: Strap On your Moonboots
Holographic dark blue.
Opaque in two smooth coats.

Pretty & Polished: The Fifth Beetle

A duochrome, thermal topcoat. 

Basically 3 in 1, so worth the price.

Clear when warm and dark when cold.

I layered it over a light cream base, so I dont know the effects of it over other colors.

Pretty & Polished: Cosmos and Effect

A gorgeous holographic multichrome polish.

I layered it over black, as applying on its own made it sheer and didnt show the full effect.

It felt like a chunky glitter topcoat, so I'd highly recommend it to be worn over a base.

Oh yeah, there was so much happening in the sunlight!

First the pretty dark purple-blue-forest green multichrome effect,

then the holographic glitter effect.

I swear, Pretty & Polished makes their polishes work overtime. 

#mosthardworkingpolishes LOL.

Glam Polish: That Old Black Magic.
Black base with rainbow holographic glitters .
Two coat magic. :D