Serum No. 5 Glowin of Eden, Lavendaringly Bright, Blue Blazes

Happy Sunday Funday!

Some of my favourite polishes to use are creme pastels. They are usually opaque in 1 coat and light in colour. I have a few from Serum No. 5's SS14 collection to show you today. The first part of the collection is full of fun pastel glow in the dark polishes and a black, gray, and white. More information on Serum No. 5 can be found here: http://www.serumno5.com

Photo from http://www.instagram.com/serumno5

The ones I have to show you today are Glowin of Eden (green), Lavendaringly Bright (lavender), and Blue Blazes (blue).

First one up is Glowin of Eden, a bright mint green that glows green in the dark.

With these glow in the dark polishes, I found the formula to be a little thick and a bit streaky so a trick I used is I applied 1 layer of a base white polish first then applied the coloured polish. With this trick, I only needed 2 light layers. You can still achieve a full, opaque, streak-free mani by applying 3-4 light layers of the polish by itself. 

It has a slightly matte finish so I applied a top coat to make it shiny. Here is the glow shot (I have Serum No. 5 Sky Lights on my ring and thumb):

I charged my nails (put polish under a light source so it absorbs light) under a UV light for 20 seconds and was able to achieve this bright glow. You can also charge them under regular light and sunlight.

Next up is Lavendaringly Bright, a lavender purple pastel that glows bright violet purple in the dark.

Like the mint green polish, this one needed a base of white to avoid having to apply several layers of polish. Here I used a white base and 2 layers of purple polish. This one was a bit textured when it dried but this was smoothed out with a top coat.

I combined Glowin of Eden with it in this design.

Here is the glow shot which I took after charging the polish for 20 seconds. The purple turns ultraviolet in the dark. Very cool!

And the last polish I have to show you is Blue Blazes, a Sky blue creme that glows blue in the dark.

Here it is with a white base and 2 layers of blue polish:

I didn't apply a top coat here. It is a very pretty blue.

And here is the glow shot. It's so blue!!

Of the 3 that I have, Blue Blazes is my favourite because of the bright glow and easy application.

Serum No. 5 is an independent brand created by Victoria Dao. She is best known for her glow in the dark polishes but she also makes cute glitter and holographic polishes. She will be releasing part 2 of SS14 soon and I have heard that they will be neon glow in the dark polishes! How fun!

Toronto Raptor Nails

Hi hi!

I recently achieved 2 big accomplishments in my nail life: being featured on TV and reaching 20,000 followers on Instagram! These are 2 things that I never thought I'd ever achieve when I first started using toothpicks to make flowers on my nails.

On Thursday April 17, 2014, a local TV show in Toronto called Breakfast Television on City TV was holding a contest to win a pair of Toronto Raptor basketball tickets for their first playoff game in 6 seasons. They wanted picture entries to show how big of a raptors fan you were. On a whim, I submitted a picture of my nails which I had done to show my support for the team. When they were announcing the 3 finalists, my name was the third one read and I was ecstatic!!! I was jumping and screaming so much because not only was I a finalist, but they showed my nails on TV and the hosts were raving about them!!! I couldn't believe it! They were amazed and couldn't believe that I painted them myself. Lol! I get this a lot so when I was painting them, I took a couple of pictures during the process to prove that they were hand painted. ;) I was getting a tad nervous when the hosts were debating who should be crowned the winner, but then revealed that all 3 finalists would win tickets! I couldn't believe it!! I had tears in my eyes!!

Here's a shot of my winning entry:

( I submitted the unwatermarked photo to avoid allegations that I took the picture from a webpage)

And here's a photo of one step in the painting process:

These took me almost 2 hours to complete. I put the circle claw logo on my right middle finger and thumb as well.

I have entered nail contests before but this was the one that I most wanted to win. The playoff tickets are hard to come by and very expensive so without this opportunity, I probably would not have been able to go. I am extremely grateful to City TV and Breakfast Television for recognizing my hard work and dedication.

Here's a pic of me at the game with the awesome free t-shirt every ticket holder received!

It was absolutely an amazing experience and even though my team lost, the atmosphere was unlike anything I've ever felt before! I had chills! If you ever have a chance to attend a playoff game, seize the opportunity and make the most of it!

My second accomplishment achieved this week was reaching 20,000 followers on Instagram. I remember when I first started doing nail art 2 years ago, I was watching YouTube tutorials on how to do simple flowers with toothpicks. Who would've thought that 2 years later, I'd be producing my own tutorial videos and having such loyal followers, accompany me on this journey. I am so honoured that each of you found my art worthy enough to click that "Follow" button. I am inspired every day by the artists whom I follow on Instagram and I hope that I am doing the same for you.

Here's a couple of bonus pictures of my earlier nail art. I attempted to do raptors nails 84 weeks ago. I can definitely say that I have come a long way!

And here's one of my first nail photos ever posted on Instagram:

Practice makes perfect!

Here's how my cherry blossom nails look now:

I am thankful that I can do this hobby of mine and have the tools to be able to expand my nail repertoire. We all started somewhere and if you have a dream, go for it. Don't be discouraged or let others negativity bring you down. Thank you again for all your support!

xoxo

Shay 

 

Polished by KPT - Love in Bloom, Don't be Ranunculus, Hyacinth

Happy Sunday!

Today I'll be showcasing the other 3 polishes in the March Into Spring Collection by Polished By KPT, Love In Bloom, Don't Be Ranunculus, and Hyacinth. More information on how to purchase these beauties can be found at www.polishedbykpt.com

First up for today is Love In Bloom, a thermal polish that changes from a pretty purple when cold to a cool-toned fuschia pink when warm. There is pretty purple shimmer in this one. Pictured is 3 thin coats, no top coat with a slightly matte finish. This is a transition shot showing the change from warm to cold.

Here is the cold state. Because my house was quite warm at the time, I couldn't get a picture of the polish fully purple.

Here is the warm state. It's a pretty fuschia pink.

And here is the comparison shot:

It contains purple, silver and pink shimmer.

Next up is Don't be Ranunculus, a thermal polish that changes from maroon red when cold to dusty mauve when warm.

Here is the cold state:

And here is the warm state. I love the drastic change in this polish. The red is bold and the mauve gray is subtle. Lovely!

I painted a ranunculus flower for the accent nails.

Here is the comparison shot:

And a close up of the silver and greenish shimmer:

And last but certainly not least is Hyacinth, a beautiful thermal that goes from a bright royal blue when cold to a pretty periwinkle when warm.

This is also a favourite of mine. Here is the cold state:

Here is the warm state (I love periwinkle!!)

And the comparison shot:

There is pretty silver and blue shimmer in this one:

Polished by KPT products are 3-free (no DBP, toluene, or formaldehyde) and are hand made by Katherine Tran, a wonderfully talented and sweet entrepreneur. I'm so impressed with the application of her polishes, her customer service, and the quality of her products. She has improved her packaging of her polishes which now come in their own individual boxes (I'm a sucker for polishes in boxes!) I highly recommend this brand because of the uniqueness all her thermal polishes have. Visit her Instagram page @polishedbykpt for more information!

Polished By KPT - Let's Get Peachy! and Blossoming

Hello lovebugs!

Spring has sprung and the weather is finally starting to warm up. To celebrate the transition from dull and dark colours of winter, I have some fun, bright, vibrant colours from Polished By KPT to share with you today! This is the March Into Spring collection available now at www.polishedbykpt.com

These 5 beauties are thermal polishes that change when there are changes in your body temperature. Pictured from left to right: Let's Get Peachy!, Blossoming, Don't be Ranunculus, Love in Bloom, and Hyacinth.

In this post, I'll be showcasing Let's Get Peachy! and Blossoming.

Let's Get Peachy! is a golden yellow polish with gold shimmer. It changes from bright apricot yellow when cold to pale peachy yellow when warm. Below is 3 thin coats, no top coat. It has a slightly matte finish.

Here is the cold state: 

And here is the warm state:

The thermal change is subtle but noticeable. Here is a comparison shot:

Here is a close up shot of the bottle. You can see the gold and yellow shimmer.

Let's Get Peachy! is bright and the gold undertones make it sophisticated and easy to wear.

Next is Blossoming, a vibrant coral pink with gold shimmer. It changes from hot pink when cold to light pink coral when warm. Pictured is 3 coats, no top coat. It also has a slightly matte finish. This photo shows the transition from warm to cold.

Here is the cold state: 

And here is the warm state:

The thermal is quite sensitive and changes quickly. Here is the comparison shot:

Here is a close up of the bottle where you can see the pink and gold shimmer.

Blossoming is one of my favourites in this collection because the coral tinted pink is warm but still bright and perfect for Spring.

Because of the Spring floral theme of this collection, all of my accent nails feature flowers. I will be posting a tutorial for the cherry blossoms on my Instagram page soon.

Happy Spring!

xoxo

Shay