"Night time is the right time for manicures." -- Mai K.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

China Glaze 2014 City Flourish Collection

My 4 picks from China Glaze 2014 City Flourish Collection.

From Left to Right:

At Vase Value
Lotus Begin
Metro Pollen-Tin
Peonies and Park Ave

I wish I could have the entire collection but I am glad I got my hands on these four beauties bc of Sally's Beauty Supply Store's BOGO deal. I cannot wait to swatch these babies!

I've gotta say, I am a huge nail fanatic of China Glaze but I'm not a nail polish hoarder sadly but gladly!! LOL! I do love me some polish though! ;)

Happy paintings!
Yours Truly,
Mai

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Today's nail polish haul!

Did you get your BOGO nail polish yet from Sally's Beauty Supply Store?

When I saw the e-mail for this BOGO deal at Sally's Beauty Supply Store, I went to grab China Glaze's 'Metro Pollen-Tin' & 'A Vase Value'. The OPI 'Mod About You' was nail polish I've been wanting for a while now since I can't buy any indie polishes yet.. These will do for now!

Swatches of these will be done soon when boys and I feel better! :)

》If you haven't gotten yours yet, Go get this deal!! It ends tomorrow Feb 27th, 2014!! Remember, its only for any China Glaze, Finger Paints, Orly & gel polishes! 2 transactions per person/member!!!《

♡ Happy paintings! ♡
Mai

Saturday, February 22, 2014

☆Exciting news!!☆

I am excited to announce that I am getting an opportunity to review some products from www.bornprettystore.com!

In spite of my first experience with them, I'm definitely sure they were experiencing some delays at the P.O. or either ran out of stock on certain items. On another note, I am thrilled to be apart of testing out products and giving my reviews on them!

If anyone of you are interested in purchasing any of their products, Here is a 10% off coupon code for you: BTJ61. The coupon can be used with most of the products on the site except items on sale. Another great thing is that there's Free Shipping!

Happy paintings AND happy shopping!!

www.bornprettystore.com

♡, Mai

Please, click on the link above thats in blue!
(this photo isnt a link.)

Friday, February 21, 2014

Too many polishes = Failed manicure!

I don't know what I was doing here.. but it was definitely not a simple manicure at all! I used too many polishes to create this! LOL!  @chinaglazeofficial 'White On White' for the base, a gazillion times of sponging @orlynails 'Snow Cone" & 'It's Electric', @sally_hansen 'Pacific Blue', The Face Shop 'BL601', @wetnwildbeauty Fergie 'Mountain High', @sinfulcolorsprofessional 'Nail Junkie' & a golden striper polish 'Flower Girl'. Don't you agree now, that I've used TOO many polishes? Hahaha! You can't even see majority of them on this manicure! ^0^ I just ran out of Saran Wrap too, so this was definitely a failed mani. For me at least! Anyway, its been a long day for me so have a good night! ;) ♡

#MaiPaintedNails #ChinaGlaze #Orly #SinfulColorsProfessional's #SallyHansen #WetNWild #Fergie #TheFaceShop #NailLacquer

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Finding the perfect nude base for a perfect French manicure.

It's definitely been a while since I've done a French manicure. I've been searching for some of the prettiest polishes in a nude shade for the perfect French manicure. I felt lucky today as I was going through my stash of polishes this afternoon.. I found four polishes that I though would be great for a French manicure.

(From the index finger nail to the pinky nail, the names are:)

Barielle 'Princess', Essie 'Sugar Daddy', Rimmel London French Manicure PRO 'French Lingerie' & Wet n Wild megalast 'Private Viewing". On the pinky nail, I kind of didn't like how beige the polish was so I topped China Glaze ' Temptation Carnation' over the entire nail. It gave it a nice, shimmery, soft subtle finish look & I really like it!

I used two coats of each nail polish for the French manicure base. For the white tip, I used Wet n Wild Wild Shine 'A Blank Canvas' & Seche Vite fast drying top coat.

You can't go wrong with a French manicure. Going for a simple manicure is always the best choice for a special occasion or if you are just not into the more intricate nail art. With a French manicure, you can always add a little bling for it to be more flirty and Princess-y fun! On the middle finger nail, I made a gold beaded heart necklace and the ring finger nail, I used Sinful Colors Professional gold striper polish in 'Flower Girl' to outline the white tip & added two gold caviar beads.

I'm glad I found a few polishes this afternoon. I couldn't wait to try these out and share the results!! I hope you enjoy these!

Happy paintings ladies and gentlemen!!

×♡, Mai

Friday, February 14, 2014

Squishy rainbow sponge manicure pt. 2

Happy Valentine's day! ♡

Here's my part 2 of my Squishy rainbow sponge manicure from last night with nail art! I wanted to actually do something whimsical and magical but it turned out rather girly and Princess-y like. I am digging this mani bc of how pastel-y and girly it is!

This manicure consists of all these adorable holographic loose glitters (ordered from Amazon.com under $2 with free shipping and handling!), gold caviar beads (purchased from the Dollar Tree - came with 5 other colored caviar beads), gold butterfly charm (ordered from Amazon.com -- also came with 6 other logos & charm designs, pastel pearls and gems (both purchased with free shipping and handling from Amazon.com also!)

Free hand nail art was done with acrylic paints and the base done with a makeup sponge using the following nail lacquer listed below.

Squishy rainbow sponge manicure all done with Sinful Colors Professional - 'Unicorn', 'Sweet Tooth', Salley Hansen Xtreme Wear - 'Peach Beach' & 'Mint Sorbet' & China Glaze 'Fairy Dust'.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

▶How to: do a Squishy rainbow sponge manicure

This sponge technique was pretty easy to do. I had so much fun playing with all four polishes on this manicure! It reminds me of something whimsical and magical! I just may put some cute nail art over it! ^-^

How to: do a Squishy rainbow sponge manicure

1) Apply a base coat. Let dry.

2) Apply a white base. Let dry.

3) On a makeup sponge, dab one of four colored polishes on to the sponge.

4) Dab/pat the sponge on to a small area of your nail til you get enough color showing.

5) Repeat #4 but with another colored polish til you've used all four polishes and have covered each nail entirely.

6) Apply China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' or whichever favorite glitter top coat you like over the rainbow manicure to smooth out any oopsies.

7) Lastly, apply your favorite fast drying top coat & you're done! ( My favorite is Seche Vite :)

I hope this step-by-step was easy to follow and helpful to you! If you find any of my nail art inspiring, please tag / hash tag me @paintmainails on Instagram so that I can see yours!! Your inspired mani may get featured on my blog, Facebook AND instagram accounts! ^-^

I hope you all enjoyed this manicure! Wishing y'all a good night + a lovely and happy Valentine's day!

×♡×♡×→Mai

Here are the polishes (from Left to Right) that I used on this
Squishy rainbow sponge manicure all done with Sinful Colors Professional - 'Unicorn', 'Sweet Tooth', Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - 'Peach Beach' & 'Mint Sorbet' & China Glaze 'Fairy Dust'. 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Happy Valentine's day, "I ♥ mew!"

Happy Valentine's day, "I ♥ mew!" ^-^ I wanted to share one more Valentine-y mani before the actual day. I will be spending it with my three naughty love birds (my sons) ;). Who will you be spending your time with on Valentine's day?

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

▶How To: Care for your cuticles & nails◀

On this cold, harsh wintertime.. My hands/skin and cuticles are going through a rough time due to constant hand washing and frigid weather temperatures & taking care of my kids. I like to try to moisturize my hands on a daily basis at least twice a day along with taking care of my cuticles and nails.

Here are some of my tips on how I like to groom my nails!

1) I cut my cuticles if needed be, depending on how dry they are to keep my nails looking cleaner before I start on my manicure.

2) I push my cuticles up and file my nails.

3) Apply one coat of Duri Rejuvacote (nail growth system helps your nails grow faster and longer w/ stronger nails -- can be found at Wal-Mart $10 or Amazon for $7+free s&h!)

4) Apply cuticle oil by Essie apricot cuticle or Beauty Secrets cuticle oil around my nails.

5) Massage Hard As Hoof cuticle cream (moisturizes & softens your cuticles and helps to make your nails grow stronger!)

6) I lotion up with Cocoa Butter Formula lotion by Palmer's! Its by far one of my favorite lotions because I have eczema and its actually moisturizing, fast absorbing AND suitable for eczema prone skin!!

Another thing I've noticed from having less nail breakage, is to file your nails to the round squoval shape or almond/round shape because I can guarantee you that you will have less breakage and chipped nails!! Knowing this is bc I'm a square nails type of girl ;), I deal with chips here and there and I always end up filing them into round squovals so, I don't completely cut them low to nubs anymore.. I reshape them round til they grow back so I can file it back to square.

The cycle usually repeats after one nail breaks but this method always work for me!  I hope you find my tips on how to care for your nails helpful and that it'll work for you during this cold, harsh winter as well!  :) Stay safe & warm! ♡

China Glaze 'Sand Dolla Make You Holla' swatch

This adorable beauty is called 'Sand Dolla Make You Holla' by China Glaze 2014 Sea Goddess Collection.

This polish is an off white/pinkish crelly texture base with multicolored micro glitters in it. I find it so cute and fun because it reminds me of colorful, glittery sand and cake?! :)

In this swatch, I used 3 thin coats for a complete coverage with no top coat.

Macro shot with 'Matte Me Crazy' top coat.
Macro shot with Seche Vite top coat.