Khaki Squared

Always wanted to try studs in my manicures, but I never could choose which sizes and colours appeal to me more.. A chance turned up recently, when KKCenterHK offered me to post a review on their studs, allowing me to choose whichever I wish to try out. Only then I figured out that I want something middle-sized and silver/gold. Let's start with the gold ones.. :)

...right after I shortly introduce you the base colour - Cliché Khaki. What's so special about it? It killed one of my lemmings which I would probably never own anyways: Chanel Khaki Vert. I know it's not a dupe, and probably H&M Hunt Me Down resembles Chanel even more, but it was this polish that killed my desire for Chanel. And saved me some 200€ lol.

Cliché Khaki is also a... khaki semi-jelly, cold-shaded. Application was great and I only needed 2 coats. The formula is on the runny side, but everything dries fast.

Overall, it's a great shade, and I showed it once already - that was some years ago. By showing it again I'm just trying to show how much I like it :)

And this is how the studs arrived: great packaging idea in my opinion, this little jar is so convenient to work with! The studs themselves are shiny, coloured in gold and 3,5mm in size.

So, after stamping the square pattern with BM-322 and CG 2030, I quickly applied the studs and covered everything with the top coat - this is how I got the "look" :) 

Summarising here.. what you should know about these studs is:
+ they are easy to use and to glue on just one drop of clear polish (top coat);
+ they last pretty long without falling off (esp. with a top coat);
+ you can reuse them (yes yes!!);
- it's was a bit hard to pick them before application lol - or I haven't figured out how to do it yet :D
Overall I'm more than satisfied!

Lastly, I'm sharing a 10% discount code for KKCenterHk online store with you: just enter "ritterbraten" before paying! Check their shop, they really have interesting stuff for nail art and other beauty supplies : )
*The studs were kindly provided by KKCenterHk PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

Vitrage Nails

Vitrage patterns always catch my attention, both in art and home deco. For a long time I was wondering about the possibility to incorporate mosaic elements into a nail design, and unexpectedly a solution was found - nail water decals by KKCenterHk.

The decals I was using are actually not separate pieces or nail strips, it's a single decal sheet which you can cut in whichever shapes you like. Probably that's why it's called DIY water decals. By the way, KKCenterHk has a great variety of decals and patterns, check their web-site to see the whole range. Actually, I was expecting the size of the decal to be larger than it is, in reality it's around 5x7cm, so it's only enough for 1 full manicure if you decide to cut into full nail strips. 

So, how was I using it? Firstly, I painted my nails with good old China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle, and then the fun began :)
What you should know about these water decals is:

- you have to remove the protection film! Very important.

- you have to cut the desired shape before dipping the decal into water.

- you have to soak these decals longer than usual: 10 to 15 mins according to the KKCenterHk web-site, I'd say you better wait up to 15 and then gently try to remove the paperback. If it slides - then the decal is ready to be placed on your nails.

- you have to be gentle and careful all the time, these decals are very thin, especially without the paperback.

- you have to use the top coat over the decals, 2 coats are even better than one.

To be honest, I had to practise a bit before I managed to place the nail stripes accurately and seal them. While wet, the decal slides over your nail, which is good cuz you can reposition it at any time, but also tricky when you try to keep it on place. Working with smaller pieces (i.e. not full nail) is much easier, and next time I will rather cut just parts of the patterns.

Overall, I liked the experience of playing around with these decals - it was also quite new for me. Still way to go to reach the perfect application but I'm looking forward to further practising! :) 

*The water decals were kindly provided by KKCenterHk PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

Striping Tape Manicure

Out of many nail art tools and techniques, striping tape was something that I always wanted to try. That's why I when I finally got it, I was fiddling with it like a monkey with a piece of jewellery, not knowing what to do with the tape : ) But in the end I came up with a simple design like that:

The base colour I used is a wonderful black holographic polish Smart Girls Get More #59. I already showed it in its full beauty here, so I'll just say again that I love the name of the brand and the fact that it's a 1-coater!

And the silver striping tape was kindly sent to me by KKCenterHk - a nail art and beauty supplies store. The tape is of a decent quality, it sticks well, even after several attempts. The silver colour doesn't smudge when you apply a top coat. For me it was quite easy to work with the tape.. I also liked that it's thin, so it doesn't look too bumpy when applied on nails. The only thing I have to note: such type of manicure requires a good layer of top coat, otherwise the tape will go off after your first shower : )

And here's the result once again.. I also placed a silver rhinestone to make it all look more sophisticated.

And once again, I'm sharing a 10% discount code for KKCenterHk online store with you: just enter "ritterbraten" before paying! Check their shop, they really have interesting stuff for nail art and other beauty supplies : )

*The striping tape was kindly provided by KKCenterHk PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

Lemon Sugar & Water Flowers

Seems like forever since I last used any type of nail decals! I don't even have a reasonable explanation to that, I was just into other stuff like stamping, layering, flocks, thermo polishes and what not.. Well, it's time to show the decals now, especially such lovely ones! 

As a base I was using Avon Lemon Sugar (sent to me by Antallex), which deserves its own story. The polish is a pastel yellow creme with quite smooth application qualities for such a texture: opaque in 2 medium coats already.

My camera TOTALLY freaked out while I was trying to shoot swatches of Lemon Sugar, so I had to resort to my NotePhone :) I'm still not sure if I managed to catch the colour correctly.. So if you see any green there - it's not, the polish is a plain pale pastel. 

And here comes the fun part: water decals from KKCenterHk! As I said, I haven't used decals for ages, and water decals for... never! So yes, it's my first experience. In theory, I always knew how they work, but I didn't think that the application process is much easier than it looks on a tutorial video. Remove the protection film, put them to soak for 30 seconds, place them wherever you plan and bam! you have cool nails : ) And top coat. Fini.

I should also say I was very happy with the quality: the decals don't tear, the pattern doesn't smudge when you apply top coat, they stay forever AND - I was fearing this the most - they are easy to remove! 

My poor friends thought I actually drew all this flowers and patterns myself with a brush.. Hehe!

And the last thing: I really recommend you to have a look at KKCenterHk online store. They have lots of things for nail art and decoration, as well as make up stuff, eyelashes, eyeshadows, wigs etc etc. Aaaaand you can get 10% discount if you enter "ritterbraten" at the check-out : )

*The water decals were kindly provided by KKCenterHk PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.