Happy New Year

I want to thank each and everyone one of you who have stuck with me this past year. It's been really difficult to blog with being nauseous through my pregnancy and now finding time to do nail art while managing a kiddo full time. Hopefully I will be back to being awesome soon. :D

Here's wishing you all a very heartfelt happy new year!! May you get all the polishes and plates you desire! 

Just a quickie mani I managed right now. The pinkie was supposed to look like party hats.. But let's assume it's ribbons flying around.. Lol. Have a fun night, party hard and be safe!!

Christmas Nails

Merry Christmas to you all!!!!!

Recently Maybelline released 40 new polishes in India under the ColorShow Line and boy aren't we glad!! Super cute shades, Decent drying time and nice finishes. What more can you ask for?

Well call me a cribber but I want moreeeeee!! So please launch the Polka Dots and the Street Art Collection here too! :D

Anyways till that happens I will enjoy these!

Swatched here is Keep-Up-The-Flame*. Bright tomato red. Slightly sheer. Below is 2 coats and you can still see my nail line. Dries quickly..say max 8-10 mins. Nice consistency..smooth to apply.

Now I need to pick a few more from this line..mainly Bold Gold, a white and a black. Any more suggestions??  These costs Rs.75/- a pop for 6ml so they are one of the cheapest in branded polishes in India. Not 3 free though

I managed to do some nail art just in time for the festive season. 

Stamping polish: Konad White

Stamping plate: BM 319

Glitter topper: Kleancolor I do, Romeo 

For the accent: Gosh gold and glitter from born pretty store.

Happy Holidays!!!

* product sent for review

Cute and Girly Nail Art

Here's a fun and girly design if you are all tired of seeing the holiday designs from all over the world.

Base: Unnamed Sandy dusty purple

Stamping plates: OB 37. 

Enjoi your holidays!

Classic B&W Nails

Have a classic today.

Base Colorbar Exclusive 37 (White). its Streaky.

Stamping with Konad black.

Stamping plates: BM 306 and BM323 on the accent.

Accent got smuged :-/

but I like the combo.

Designer Nails: Multi Color Stamping

Quick post:

Base: Maybelline color show orange fix

Multicolor satmping with konad pastel yellow, blue and pink

stamping plate KD 21

Top Coat: SV

Will blabber later. Hope u like this mani!!

Simply Studded: Simple Nail Art

This is "that" mani which got scraped last time.

Such a pretty shade! Its OPI's Funky Dunkey from the Forever Shrek collection.

I love it even more when matt-ified. Mental note to self: use this polish more oten.

I had these studs with me form the born pretty store. Thought they would make a simple and sophisticated nail art look.  These are 1.5mm in dia. Here's a link for them---> Link  

They are really cool and simple to apply. Just dot a clear top coat using a tooth pick and stick them. 

Look at the quantity they send! I dont think I'll run out of these in this lifetime! 

I really liked using them and might probably get the other varieties they have in these studs..square, elliptic, hearts and neons too! they also have this box of mix shaped ones (link)

Stayed on my nails for 2 days, would have lasted a day more but I kept picking on my nails.

They sell for $5.86/bag but you get 10% discount if you use code KJ5X31

:D

*Born pretty studs were sent for review but the opinion is an honest one.

Neon Splash

Some days no matter how hard you try..painting nails and making a blog post is just not on the cards.

The other day I painted my nails a lovely purple and thot I'd try my hand at a stamping mani next day once my lil bub goes for an afternoon nap. But the mani had other plans...to ruin itself. by night the thumb was scratched..next morning the pointer went down and by noon the ring  finger nail got scraped too! 

So instead of doing a mani I got bugged and removed the whole thing and stubborn as I am I will put the same shade again and turn it pretty.

Till that happens enjoy this splash of neon bug that has got to me.

All I see is neon everywhere so much that its now starting to put me off! Every shop, indian/western, tv channels all have people sporting neon. So I just had to do a mani and get it out of my system. haha.

Colorbar: Pina Colada (see swatch here)

Miss Claire Bright pink

Base: L'oreal Macaron Noisette (see swatch here)

Topped with SV

You still got the neon craze?

Simple festive nail art

Nothing too fancy today. Just a lil twist to a plain mani.

The red is something I picked from my moms stash though I doubt she had ever opened it.

the gold is a chambor jewel nail polish no.12. Mom said dad picked this Chambor for her when he went to a shop and she couldnt find a decent polish in her stash. I went Awww..how chweet!

Wore this to an indian baby shower function for a relative.

Someone once told me these are called brazilian tips.

Holo Leopard Print

Another easy to do nail art. only dotting tools required.

BK holo polish. Strangely the gold polish turned slightly pink to a champagne shade in sun light.

Everytime I apply holo polish, I cant stop staring at my nails.

 Like it?

Four Fountains Spa visit

Girls just wanna have fun! So you go shopping till you are dead tired and then end up at a spa to get "untired".

That's just what I did. Went out shopping for my little one. Had to buy a few basics and some nice clothes since he has started to outgrow some of the older ones a bit. Then between all the shopping, feeding, diaper changing, I got tired. So I walked in to the Four Fountains Spa at malad near one of the biggest malls we have here in mumbai. 

 

I was nicely greeted upon my arrival and given a menu of the various services provided by the spa. I was asked a few questions regarding my medical history and some routine things. They were kind enough to explain to me since I had recently had surgery it was not advisable to do certain kinds of massages just yet. So they suggested I take the relaxing aromatherapy massage as I would benefit from it since they saw I am a new mom lugging my kiddo around with me.

They gave me a short tour of the 6 different rooms in the spa while a room was being prepared for my spa therapy. There is a small locker in each room to keep your valuables and cell phones.

These are the different names of each room depending on the therapy you are gonna be doing.

interiors of the place

My room

Locker and the aromatherapy oils

My therapist Ms.Anjana politely explained what the therapy would be and how long it would take. After changing into disposable clothes provided by the spa my massage started. The ambience was really soothing with dimmed lights, cool temperature and soothing instrumental music playing in the background. She started by wiping my feet with a washcloth and light massage strokes starting from my back, moving on to neck, shoulders and arms. 

 

There is something about the hands of massage therapists. They feel so warm, smooth and light that they seem to take away the tiredness out of your body with each stroke. Finally she massaged by legs and flipped me over and worked her way up with torso, arms and shoulders and finished with a few flicks on my head.

After the massage was over I took a shower in the adjoining bathroom. Overall the rooms and bathroom was very well maintained and quite hygienic. And this is coming from me, someone who gets OCD-ish about taking a shower in any place that's not my home. 

On a different note: 

I kept worrying a bit about what if my baby woke up and needed me coz I had left out with my mum. And she assured me that if needed they wud bring him to me but I must completely relax and not worry about him. Now that really took the  tension of my head and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Thankfully my baby behaved well and only got up after I got done.
Also hubby had a spa session at the same time since he was travelling about the country the past few weeks and needed a good spa session. He was also pleased with the service he got. He had selected an hour long swedish spa (Rs.1699/- paid by us) done by a male therapist and was quite pleased with the service.

Price wise the spa is a little pricey with an hour long massages starting at Rs.1700/- ( check prices here) but is well worth the ambience and the service. If you are a tired of your daily routine life and just need to unwind I seriously suggest a spa therapy a month would do you good. (or if u r a new mum like me..you must make time for yourself and book your self a spa).

They have multiple branches in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Goa. Another interesting thing for mumbai-ites is Spa on wheels where they get a spa van to come right under your house for foot therapies. Get un-tired.


P.S. My massage service was sponsored by the spa but my husband's was paid for by us. However the opinions are my own and honest.

Glitter Gradient Nails

Hi,

I am still doing simple nail art these days. Though things are getting better with the baby (mostly!) we kind of have a schedule where I get a couple of hours here and there to myself while he naps (again mostly). So here's a glitter gradient I did.

Base is China Glaze Re-fresh Mint. Loving this colour at the moment.

Glitter gradient is with Jordana LA City Nights. It's a mix of medium turquoise and purple micro glitter.

I love how simple and neat this turns out without too much hard work.

You should try a glitter gradient if you like glitter nails but dont wanna go OTT with it.

Till I see you next. Ta-daa

Belated Summer Stripes

Now this is a mani I had done before the smell of polish got to me. Hence the title. It was summer then you see.

Base is a hot pink miss Claire polish. No shade name.

I had tried to make random sized stripes in random order but somehow the final effect was not something I had wanted. Probably not a good combi or my freehand sucks or both.

Ok now I go try something else. Ta-da

International Giveaway: sponsored by Kalgi Arts

The other day I was browsing and came across this FB page Kalgi Arts that sells some neat indian contemporary and modern jewelry. I ended up buying some from there and got talking to the owner of the Franchisee, a peppy gal called Khushbu. We got talking and in turn I found out she is a nail art buff too. Now she has generously agreed to sponsor a cool giveaway. There are 4 prizes in total.

Do check out the FB page there are some really cool designs that would suit all occasions, formal or informal. 

(Kalgi Arts FB page link)

1. Peacock earrings encrusted with pearls and ruby worth $25
2. Stone encrusted Indian cuff bracelet worth $10
3. Statement neck piece in blue worth $12
4. Neon neck piece worth $8

Here's a short write up about the company: 

Kalgi Arts India is engaged as eminent manufacturer, wholesaler and exporter of all kind of Imitation Fashion jewellery. Countries spanning all continents have acknowledged and appreciated our jewellery and our services. BEST QUALITY is the buzzword of our firm, this is the primary reason behind the sustenance and increasing numbers of our clientele.

For quantitative export inquiries mail us on info@kalgiartsindia.com; 

To place retail orders mail us on order@kalgiartsindia.com

This Giveaway is open internationally till 12th Sept 2013
Enter this giveaway thru rafflecopter: Easy peasy just enter here!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lemon-sicle!

New day new mani. Although it is not as easy as I Thot it wud be to squeeze in a mani amidst all the feeding, burping and diaper changing. But mischief managed!

I am keeping it simple for now. No fancy stamping. Barely managed to put this and I thought I had let it dry but pics show I dented my pinkie. Hmmmm.

Base is china glaze lemon fizz. A nice pastel yellow but slightly streaky. Maybe a second coat would have made it smoother. Topped it with multicolour matt glitter called Pride by twentyseven polish for accent on ring finger and thumb. 

Did u like the combi? I was sure I didn't wanna use a white base though it would hav showed the glitter in a better way.

A break and some news!!

Hiiieee,

Sometimes a break does you good. Sometimes a break makes you realise how much do you actually miss something! And sometimes it can make you realise that some things might not be as important as you thought. And something needs priority over others.

Yeah... what can I say. My blog and nail art is important to me and I missed it like crazy!

So why the break u ask? Well ... The news is I am a mommy!!!!!! 

My cute little bundle was born on 13th of June and is almost a month old now. And he has cutesy lil nails himself. 😊

During pregnancy the smell of polish made me mad and drove me nauseous. I tried to paint my nails a few times but my mind was just not into it. Saddened me quite a bit I tell ya! 

I tried again today and I didn't gag!!!! However let me warn you I have nubbins like nubbins I've never had before. Ahh the price we pay for love! But I m happy that I have polish on my nails after 6-7 months and I cudnt care anymore abt my cuticles or the shape or size of my nails. (For now that is).

On my nails today is BK holo no.5. A dark red holo with strong holo effect. 

On its own it looked more like fuchsia on me. I have applied 2 thin coats. But maybe next time I'll use a red base.

Next pic is in natural light. But on a really dull rainy day so the holo isn't flashing

Though the baby does seem to take considerable time and attention I shall be posting as and when possible. 

Yay! M a mommy! I know it's tiring and all that but frankly being a mummy isn't as stressful and scary as I imagined it would be. Also I am staying with my mom a couple of months to help me out with the baby so I am really grateful for everything she does. Moms r d best!! ❤❤❤

A hearty thanks to you all for still sticking with my blog. A lot of readers were concerned and messaged me directly to ask about my whereabouts. Thank you!

Also I did read that GFC is out so please follow me on bloglovin.

See ya soon!

In the mood for some polish! ChG Velvet Bow

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hi Ya, Long time no mani! But today I mani-ed!!! Sorry for being AWOL!

but lotsa things going on. Missed u guys!

Base: ChG Velvet Bow

Sally Hansen: Strobe light

Revlon: Sunshine sparkle

The base is lovely dark creme polish. Smooth in 2 coats. Topped with SV.

I was going for a gradient effect with the glitter, but eh!!?

Accent is dotted with Revlon sunshine sparkle, not one of my favourites. Its tacky, streaky and takes ages to dry.

Well, here's hoping to catch you again soon!

L'oreal Color Rich Le Nail Art Stickers: Review

Hellooo!! Good morning or afternoon!

Long time no see. I finally managed to open the locked polish cabinet and as luck would have had it, my internet service was conked off for a few days. Life is seriously difficult without internet!!

Today I have on review, L'oreal Paris' Color Riche Le Nail Art Stickers.

L'oreal has recently released these 3-D nail art stickers here in India. 

Here's a small snipet from their PR on these: 

"Need a manicure but don’t have time to wait for the polish to dry? Get ready to get FashioNAILable with L’Oreal Paris Le Nail Art stickers.

Inspired from luxury fabrics, these stickers are easy to use and can stay on for upto10 days.  We have three timeless collections that create ultimate nail wardrobe ranges:

Couture- Nail stickers that are inspired from the latest catwalk trends

L’Or- The timeless black and gold nail art stickers can add a vintage feel to your look

Diamantisse - Diamonds are a girl’s best friend! These stickers aren’t just stickers, they are nail diamonds!

What makes these nail stickers so unique?

The Nail Stickers are easy to apply. You just have to select a sticker that fits your nail, apply the sticker on your nail, fold the remaining over your nail tip and file off the remaining.

What makes these stickers different from the others?

1.       Zero Application Mistakes: Since the stickers are easy to apply, chances of any mistake is nil

2.       Zero Dry Time: Since these are stickers, you do not have to wait for it to dry! It saves you of all the misery of waiting for your nail colour to dry. Isn’t that a blessing?

3.       Doesn’t require a nail colour remover: When you feel like changing your sticker, all you have to do is, peel it off. It’s that simple!

4.       Zero Nail Damage: Worried if these stickers will damage your nails? Here’s the good news. The stickers are safe to use and will not damage your nails.

  The nail stickers not only glam up your look but also give your personality a whole new definition. Truly, nails are your style canvas! It’s time to get FashioNAILable, instantly!

Give your nails a luxurious makeover. Treat them with sophistication with Le Nail Art Stickers. Match your mood and your outfit with these fun nail stickers. All it takes is few minutes of your time."

I loved the black and gold ones the most. These stickers are textured, hence the 3-D claim. Designs are nice and very wearable. you can check other designs here: Loreal's facebook Page

 These Stickers cost: Rs 299/- for a single pack for 18 stickers. Adjusting for various sizes and fits of a person's nails, you'd get one wear out of these. They are sturdy material and wont tear when you remove or apply them.

However I find the pricing a bit steep for one manicure. But yeah considering if you are someone who goes to nail spa's for ur manis, this is a cheaper option.

I have a small pic demo if you are keen to try them: coz I found it a bit tricky to apply them cleanly.

1) remove the sticker from the package. Peel by holding the end of the sticker that will go on your tips. So incase you get a crease or fold, that end is extra long and will be cut off.

2) First place the tip of the sticker carefully over the base of your nails, aligning the sides in a straight line. See pic below. 

 3) now as shown press the sticker in sequence as shown, slightly tugging at the sides/ends to make sure there are no creases and folds in the centre and sides.

4) You can cut off the excess with a scissor or file it down as shown on the package. just be gentle when filing and do it in one direction from top to down. and you're DONE!! 

Ta-daaaa! 

I managed to place most stickers nicely except the pointer finger which got a bit creased at the tip and side.

Overall they r a bit pricey and tricky to apply. While id o like the textured feel, they didnt last me long. One shower and I had the ends starting to loosen up. I'd recommend these if you dont have the time to do a fancy mani and are really keen to spice up your nails for an evening.

Till I see you next! xx