Recent nail art - an imagefest!

So, I'm making up for lost time here..... a spam-a-thon of nail art images and their product descriptions....
(I'm hoping this begins to generate some new nail art followers through the blog directly and via my twitter feed, @gissy_manda.)

For the record, most of my nail colours are OPI, essie, Maybelline, butter LONDON, orly, ibd and China Glaze lacquers, and ibd Just Gel or CND Shellac.

 

I was given a set of Manicare GlamNails nail art pens for Christmas and thought they'd make a lovely squiggle feature on these nails. Unfortunately the pens didn't set. I didn't apply a top coat either, but I suspect a wet pen mark would just smudge under a top coat.

ibd lacquers "She's Blushing" and "Black Lava" with OPI Matte Top Coat and Manicare GlamNails art pens

 

Hand painted fluoro leopard prints. Easy to do even with an unsteady hand.

Fluoro leopard spots using a variety of ibd lacquers

 

ibd Just Gel colours are easy to layer and create art. No colour bleeding and opaque enough to create a strong contrast.

idb Just Gel nailart using a dotting tool

 

I've found ibd Just Gel to be one of the easiest LED set gel colours available. The brush is plastic, which isn't always preferable, but with the consistency of this gel, the application is always smooth and flawless.

ibd Just Gel "Luck of the Draw" with sticker art

 

Like most nail art addicts, I've become a Born Pretty Store convert for my water decals! These are style G130

ibd lacquer "Smokey Plum" with water decals

 

I'm still trying to master sponged gradient. Perhaps my colour choices are wrong, or my application to the sponge is incorrect, but, this is one of the best attempts I've had.

OPI lacquers "Teal the Cows Come Home", "Blue my Mind", "Purple with a Purpose" and Essie lacquer "Secret Stash"

 

I don't have the details to hand about the lacquer colours here, but a single base coat was applied with random orange sponging over top. The stripes were achieved using thick black acrylic paint.

Tiger Stripes lacquer nail art

 

I first learned of Dollar Nail Art when I was looking for a reliable foil supplier. I'm always happy with the result of foil. They adhere well to tacky CND Shellac, or the provided adhesive, and they seal well with either CND Shellac Top Coat or ibd Just Gel Top Coat.

foil nail art

 

I love this effect - it looks so much like Azurite with Chalcopyrite veins (that's my inner geologist talking there!) This effect was achieved by painting a blue base coat ("Keks" is an awesome not-quite-matte colour, with a rubber look - you have to try it to see what I'm talking about!) and dropping black lacquer in to a cup of water, as if for marbling. Then spray the black surface with hairspray and watch the black spread and break. Dip the nail. Highlight with gold glitter lacquer.

butter LONDON "Keks" with idb "All that Glitters" and "Black Lava"

Malaysian delights at Mamak

Last week I got to indulge my tastebuds in some Malaysian delights at the very well known Mamak restaurant, Chinatown. I must say it's a favourite of mine when I'm down that side of Sydney city.

Dining for two, we could not go past the Roti Canai. Mamak is known for it's fluffy and crispy ball of roti, and it's a true show watching the chefs create this masterpiece.

Roti Canai $5.50

I've never been a fried rice fan, even if you call it nasi goreng! But, I've been through most of the menu at Mamak over the last couple of years so I figured it was time to try this item. There was a nice zing in the rice and the lime really added a kick to the flavouring.

Nasi goreng $12

Rojak - I tried this on my previous visit and was instantly addicted. The prawn chips on top have a unique twist where they have whole baby shrimp encased in them. The yambean and cucumber strips add a lovely fresh crunch with the sweet satay sauce. And the coconut cake within the salad is just incredible.

Rojak $14

Mamak - Chinatown
15 Goulburn Street,
Haymarket, Sydney
T: (02) 9211 1668
No reservations
lunch 11:30 - 2:30
dinner 5:30 - 10:00
supper til 2am (fri & sat)

Making up for lost time

It's approaching 12 months since my last blog post. Yes, I got slack, but the lack of audience was disheartening!

So, my tendrils have stretched a little further in to nail and food circles during the past year, so hopefully this time, the word spreads and encourages me to keep blogging with the four F's - fun, fitness, food and fashion. I guess my nail posts (trust me, you'll be bombarded with them) fit in the fashion category - or I could say fingernails!

Anyway, a quick overview of months past:

• I passed my Certificate II in Nail Technology early this year. Whilst it's not developed in to a little part time business, I have more than sufficient quantities of products to do so if required. Plus it means I have all the toys to play with on my own nails.
• I'm still cooking and doing cake decorating. I recently undertook a full day course for a Novelty Cake at Planet Cake here in Sydney. It was a massively long day but well worth it in the end, especially since I scored the class at half price! I'll put a post up shortly about the end result and all the lessons learned during the course.
• The fitness part of the blog may be lacking somewhat. I let my gym routine slip. Actually, it's effectively non-existent these days. I did get in to Body Pump class for a while, but then the instructor left and I lost all interest. I also had a few sessions with a new PT, but then she went on maternity leave. I'm hoping she's to return to training soon because I felt like it could be a very beneficial relationship. I have kept up some of the weight training, and my last leg press session saw me get to an 8 rep set of 320kg.

Hope to see a few more faces on board here in the coming months.

Nail art updates

After yet another hiatus in posts, I thought I'd present a compilation of my recent nail art attempts so you get to see them all in one go.

Christmas water marbling. As with the previous water marbling post a three colour marble was achieved using China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover", China Glaze "White on White" and OPI "MINNIE RANGE RED." I make note of a very important point here - the China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover" causes significant yellow staining on my acrylic nails, despite the nails being sealed with CND's Shellac UV Top Coat.

China Glaze "Mrs Claus"
This is a beautiful colour - one coat is a sheer pinky glitter, two coats and it turns a deep salmon red colour. I've not attempted a third coat to see just how red it can turn, probably because even at two coats it's near impossible to remove (since I don't want to use an acetone polish remover because of the acrylics.)

This is one of the few acrylic enhancements I've received from the salon I go to in Sydney. I was eligible for two free nail arts because of the client reward system, so I extended the 2 nails to all ten. This is CND's latest release called "Additives". The fine gold powder is gently pressed on to Shellac UV Top Coated nails as they come out from under the lamp. The thicker the powder, the more solid the colour. Another top coat was applied over the Additive.

Base acrylics - CND Warm Opaque Pink.
I found some old Revlon decals in my nail art stash, so I tipped each nail with them, and then lightened up my ring fingers with some lacquer dots.

China Glaze "White on White" with an OPI "Black Shatter" overlay. I loved this effect - stark, bright and bold. And matched pretty much any outfit.

OPI "A Roll In The Hague" with OPI "Black Shatter" overlay. This combination didn't turn out as bright as I'd hoped, but it would  make an excellent pattern for Halloween.

Because of the wide stiletto tips I have my nails filed too, I thought about adding some art to highlight the shape. And what better feature than little strawberries on the tips! This shot is from the first attempt and I have tried a few times since with neater results. But you get the idea! Just note, this used that horrid China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover" green, so when I removed the lacquer I had yellow stain marks on the acrylic. I cannot emphasise enough how disappointed I am with this colour.

I think my inner child guided me to this nailart - it was Easter long weekend and upon reflection, these seem to look like something which would have appeared in the Cadbury Joyville advert! Base colour is OPI "Purple With A Purpose", white dots are achieved using a dotting tool and China Glaze "White on White."

If you know anything about me, you'll know I have thing for leopard print. So, I couldn't resist attempting painting my own leopard pattern. This was achieved using China Glaze Magnetix "You Move Me" as the base, and just a cheap black lacquer I found in my stash!

Streets of Saigon - Westfield Sydney

My weekend adventures around Sydney city usually stir up a decent appetite. So, I try to discover new delicacies on every visit.

Today I wandered in to Westfield Sydney, level 5, to Streets of Saigon. From what I understand, the owner is of Vietnamese origin and aimed to create a dining experience authentic to her home cuisine. And it certainly appeared authentic to me - plenty of menu options for rolls (cold rolls, spring rolls, variations on each of these at $9.90 a serving), Pho, rice and noodle dishes.

I opted for the Bun Cha Gio - spring rolls on a bed of lettuce, mint, cucumber, carrot, rice vermicelli and associated dressings. At $13.50 a meal, I was pleased with the serving size. The spring rolls had plenty of flavour, being able to taste the prawn filling. And they weren't deep fried to a total crisp which kept them light and able to absorb the vinaigrette. The self service cutlery bar also has plenty of fresh chilli and bean shoots to add as extras to your meal.

Bun Cha Gio, $13.50

Overall, a lovely meal, quick service, simple surrounds and good value for money.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to sample any other delights from Streets of Saigon, but first impressions will definitely call me back for seconds another day!

• Westfield Sydney, Level: 5
• Store: 5004
• Phone: (02) 8072 7050

Tea... for two... T2

I've always been a tea drinker. And in my family household it was never "dunk a bag in a mug" kind of tea. Even if it was teabag tea, the bags were always steeped in the teapot (the Royal Albert Old Country Roses set) and the cups were served with the appropriate saucer below (and usually a home made chocolate chip cookie on the side!). I purchased a Breville Tea Maker for my parents a few years ago. It soon became the best appliance in the kitchen, and subsequently one of the highlights of my own kitchen too. The beauty of this tea maker is the ability to set temperature and brew time as appropriate to the tea leaf type, and even the timer-on and keep warm functions get their fair use.

There's a regular supply of Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Orange Pekoe and green tea (China Siaou Chu Pearl and Sencha) but for something different I have taken to stocking up on fruit tisanes from T2. My current T2 favourites are:

• Pumping Pomegranate - apparently the PP lovers of the country went in to meltdown when T2 ran out of all stock!
• Spring
• Fruitalicious
• French Earl Grey
• Honey Vanilla
• Southern Sunrise
• Ayurvedic Passion
• Lemongrass and Ginger
• Toasty Nougat

I make a full pot of Spring, Fruit or SS and keep it in the fridge as iced tea. I find it easier to drink than plain water, and it can be flashed up with some slices of fresh fruit and berries in a pretty jug to serve to guests.

I also like the "T2 all sorts two" box. It is a collection of loose leaf teas which are packaged in individual bags. The flavours include Melbourne Breakfast, French Earl Grey, Gorgeous Geisha, Brisbane Breakfast, Oolong, Red Fancy Fruit, Sleep Tight and Sydney Breakfast. It provides a gentle introduction to flavoured teas, green tea and rooibos blends and I cannot recommend the mixed packs highly enough for convenience and variety.

Water marbling - nail art

Since moving away from Queensland, my nails just haven't been the same. My new salon in Sydney charges a fortune for any art (even if I provide the materials) or coloured acrylic. Consequently, I've had to resort to maintaining a simple French manicure style. I have changed the nail shape - from a big chunky square edge to a more refined point/oval - but the essence of my daggers remains!

I've been in search of a way to use my large collection of nail lacquers and art materials to brighten up my precious talons. After discovering the water marbling technique via various nail blogs and YouTube videos, I decided to give it a shot for myself. I had seen several examples with similar colours and shades with a melding effect but I wanted something more bold and bright.

First attempt: Groovy Swirls
OPI The "It" Colour (yellow)
OPI A Roll In The Hague (orange)
OPI Purple With A Purpose (purple)

I'm quite fond of this colour combination, but the opacity of the yellow started to bother me, being able to see the white French tip underneath.














Second attempt: Pelagic Patterns
China Glaze Four Leaf Clover
OPI Teal The Cows Come Home
OPI Blue My Mind
China Glaze White on White

I thought the blue green hues would add a nice blended effect. Using white in a marble can be quite hit and miss - dark colours (such as black) can bleed in to the white and create a grey tone, or, the white can be so thin and translucent you simply lose the effect altogether. Again, the white French tip is visible with this combination which detracts from the effect. Oh, and it's been commented that these colours make it look like I've smooshed toothpaste on my nails!


Third attempt: Pink Candy
OPI Cha-Ching Cherry
OPI Ate Berries In The Canaries
China Glaze White on White

I really am a girly girl when it comes to pinks lately. The slight variation in pink and red hues here blend very well, and the white adds that crisp pattern. You may notice too that my acrylic infils have been done entirely in CND's Warm Pink (Opaque). I figured there was no point paying that $10 extra per month for French tips when I'm only going to be covering over them. Plus, they look fine on their own without any other colour.










HINTS AND TIPS:

• always use filtered water in your marbling, just to ensure it's as clean as possible
• vaseline around the finger seems to be the most effective way of preventing all the excess lacquer from sticking to the skin. Also, a very thin layer is sufficient (as opposed to the massive slick I applied when first testing out the method).
• don't topcoat the nail too soon after marble application - it will cause the lacquers to melt and bleed
• metallic lacquers do work but not as well as a solid colour. I'm yet to try any glitter lacquers but I can't see they would work well at all

The cheat's Tiramisu

Last week I reinvigorated my cake decorating skills to make a three layer (single tier) birthday cake for two colleagues. There was plenty of left over sponge, and that sponge which had been trimmed to level off each layer. So, rather than waste it, I froze it, figuring I'd find something to make with it at a later day. Well that day came today.

I've always been a fan of a rich, strong Tiramisu, but I rarely have the time or inclination to make a full dish from scratch. So if you're like me and want to find the quick and easy way to make things, here's the recipe (minus quantities as I do!) for you!

Brew some good quality coffee and allow it go cold. Mix in some Frangelico and Kahlua to taste.

Tear off a chunk of the sponge and place in the bottom of the bowl/glass. Pour over some of the coffee mixture to allow the sponge to go nice and soggy. Add some crumbled bits of Milk Coffee biscuits on top (I was hoping this would add some crunch to the Tiramisu but it just added to the sponge density with the absorption of the coffee - oh well).

Using Philadelphia Cream for Desserts, spread a nice even layer over the top of the sponge/biscuit. Pour a little coffee mixutre on top to ensure the flavour is strong.

Repeat the process starting with another layer of sponge, and finally finish with Cream and some crumbled biscuit and sponge bits.

Dig in and enjoy!

Nail Art Trials

Since the TieDye Surprise nail art discovery, my fascination with different nail art products and techniques has taken over. The delivery of Dollar Nail Art products kept staring at me, asking to be played with! So, I obliged. In the week leading up to my monthly nail infill appointment, a couple of my acrylics snapped off, so I used the natural nail beneath to practice the application of some foils and new lacquers. The results are below:

OPI "Ate Berries in the Canaries" lacquer covered with Rose Frost foil applied in random patches. I learned that when applying a top coat over foil, it's best to quickly apply the first coat, and not drag the brush too slowly along the foil. It causes some colour transfer to the top coat brush. The second top coat doesn't experience this issue. Also, using a UV top coat doesn't seem to cause the foil colour transfer.

OPI "Purple with a Purpose" lacquer covered with Laser Optics foil attempted to be applied in one straight sheet (didn't quite work out that way!)

OPI "Purple with a Purpose" lacquer topped with OPI Gold Shatter. Learning the right application for the Shatter isn't as easy as it looks. I'm still working out the best thickness and coverage to use, for both the Gold Shatter and the Black which I have. But I can say for certain that Shatter must be applied over freshly dried lacquer for the effect to take. I had tried applying Shatter directly on top of an old UV set top coat and it simply painted on like a thick, gluggy lacquer without any crackling occurring.

OPI "Purple with a Purpse" lacquer with White AB Ice Chips applied over the top.

I also had play with Sparitual "Bon Appetit" lacquer with some copper nugget on Mum's nails. The effect is great, but I still have to work out the best way to apply and build the nuggeting for either a total coverage or a pattern,




And the piece de resistance ... my latest set of acrylics:

These are CND Shellac in "Black Pool" with Dollar Nail Art Roman Marble foil over the top, and CND Shellac Top Coat. Most nails were foil covered in one piece, except my thumbs which required an application in two halves (top and bottom).

Nail Art & Pretty Bits

Those of you who are associated with my twitter or Facebook accounts, or even me in person, would know that for years now my nails have been like my signature. The sheer length and size of them seems to attract comments such as "how do you do anything with those?" Well, after having acrylic nails for eight years I can tell you that I don't notice them - they are part of me and I've adapted to doing every daily chore without issue (well, except for opening the laundry trough cupboard, but I blame the magnet for that since I'm not the only person in the house who has troubles with it!)

Most recently my nail technician moved from doing french tip style nails on me to doing some full nail cover art. My first full cover was a CND Shellac "Rock Royalty" covered with a TieDye Surprise foil. The foil was applied in random patches as opposed to the full sheet effect. The nail was sealed with the CND Shellac Top Coat.

I became totally fascinated with the foil so I did a little internet searching. Having seen the vial my nail tech had containing the foil it was quite easy to identify the real product when I found the online supplier Dollar Nail Art. This is one of the greatest sites containing nail pretties and it's fair to say I became blinded by all the sparkly bits!

So, a friend of mine (also consumed by nail pretties) and I split an order of products from Dollar Nail Art. The haul cost $39, inclusive of postage and was delivered (from the US) within a week of placing the order. I was mightily impressed! We picked up stock of laser lace, nuggets, foil, glitter, ice chips and flats.

So here's the breakdown of the products above:

Purple and Gold Butterfly Flats, and Metallic Pink and Gold Heart Flats

Laser Lace in lime, raspberry, gold and sky blue.

Nuggets - Gold, Silver and Copper

Ice Chips in White AB, Fuchsia and Sky Blue

Foils: Gold Dots, Laced Gold, Roman Marble, Elven Gold, Gold Crush

Foils: Ocean Mist, Rainbow Swirls, TieDye Surprise, Silver Dots

Foils: Majestic Tides, Aegean Tides

Foils: Peach Burst, Rose Frost

Foils: Firelight, Laser Optics

Pastel Glitter: Green Pearl

There are some more blog posts coming up showing how these products have been used. Until then, enjoy the sparkly bits here!!