No-frills Makeup

Just to kick off the regular blogging again, here's a short nail entry! I change my nail colour very often - not so much of toenails though. Here are some I managed to snap pictures of over the past month!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Hot Red

Urban Decay in Barlust - Don't you love the names UD comes up with? I do!

Urban Decay in Wrecked

These two UD polished are the miniature bottles from the Holiday Nail Kit 2011. They were a present from my girlfriends:)

photo credit: www.scrangie.com

The extremely shiny texture is thanks to Seche Vite topcoat. Nothing unheard of about how wonderful this topcoat is! I must say, though, that Seche Vite gets bloppy in the jar after sometime and it's not as easy to use and long-lasting compared to when it's first used. My nails tend to come off in big pieces rather than slight chipping.

Tony Moly nail polish (White)

A lot of my friends asked me how I did this without using a french tip sticker. Simple!

1) Use a toe clipper to get square nails

2) Use a pigmented white polish. It's not going to work with a watery one because you'd have to keep building up on the colour (and it tends to get messier if you have to keep applying repeated strokes)

3) Place the brush on the tip of your fingernail. Instead of swiping the brush, maneuver your finger from one side to the other, while keeping the brush at the same place throughout. Simply said, instead of moving the brush, move your finger! It may sound ridiculous, but it helps you get straighter lines :)

I applied three light coats in the picture above.

And the instagram-ed version of Barlust and Wrecked! Everything looks nicer instagramed, huh!

Follow me on Instag if you wanna and I'll follow you back ♥ It's more of my everyday pictures than anything beauty-related though! Username: elisenurasyidah

Hope you enjoyed this nail entry!

Hi everyone!

I haven't been wearing much (new) makeup or inspired to try any interesting looks, so I didn't see the purpose of writing any entries on makeup. I've been into organic skincare though! And I must say, my skin looks much more radiant now and I'm less dependent on makeup bases to illuminate my skin. To me, less is more. And the perfect makeup regime for me is to look flawless with minimal amount of makeup at the same time. Still on the search though!

My face has become much more translucent with no prominent white/black heads. I'll talk about this newfound facial regime in-depth sometime this week. So keep posted!

Anyway, the purpose of this entry is to feature my nails!

Left hand

Right hand

This idea, of course, isn't from me. I did a remake and tried to follow as close as possible to Bubzbeauty's tutorial (keep reading for the video). I think Rusty also tried this nail art in one of her entries weeks back.

These are the stuff I used:

I used a beige, nude colour for the bee's body instead of yellow becos I don't own a yellow polish. Been meaning to get one, but it's hard to get a flattering, warm-toned yellow :( Any to recommend?

More pictures. I didn't really take pictures of the cloudy nails cos those are pretty common.

I just felt like having something cute on my nails, for a change, after a week of having the Glittery gold tips (cue: previous entry). Definitely not easy to do cos you need a lot of time & patience! It was alright for me becos I had nothing to do at home so I had all the time in the world. Yet, some of the lines turned out messy. Would've worked better if I had the proper dotting tools etc, but hey, toothpicks work fine too nonetheless :p

This is the tutorial by Bubzbeauty, if you're interested ;)

I really like this so much. I've got happy nails! Hope they last more than a week :)

Just a quick entry on what's on my nails! I'm pretty much venturing out of solid colours - not really going into intricate nail art (I probably don't have the calibre for that anyway!), but just simple tricks that you can emulate too :) It makes a whole lot of difference!

Here I used:

Sally Hansens Hard as Nails in Sugar Babe

Random glittery gold Korean polish

The Face Shop topcoat

The gradient glittery tips elongates your nails. Helpful for me cos I have to always keep short, square nails cos of how brittle by nails are by nature. The glittery tips also add a girlish charm to any neutral colour. Wanna try the gold tips with a solid black base next time!

Easy, peasy lemon squeasy. If you wanna know how to create gradient nails, there's a lot of how-to videos on YouTube! :) I didn't watch any though so I can't say which tutorial is easy to follow. I just did my own interpretation by mere observation. It's not that hard ;)

I decided to spice up my nails with something different than the usual solid colours that I wear. Was browsing around YouTube for ideas and found two nail art design that seemed easy enough for me to duplicate! This is my first time fussing with nails though, so the outcome isn't the most perfect.

1) Newpaper nails

Tutorial by Cutepolish

Unlike the video, I used a white polish by LA Girls and a Victoria Secret's body spray to transfer the ink. I sprayed on the newspaper then place it on top of my nails, rather than dipping my entire nail.

The easy: Transfering the ink is quite effortless. You just need some form of alcohol (not neccessarily rubbing alcohol as mentioned in the video). I used three sources, and the Eau De Toilette spray actually works best. This artsy design is also more forgiving towards accidental effects, so it doesn't need to be perfect. If it turns out uneven, a topcoat will solve the headache. Tip: Work with an alcohol source that is more liquid, than gaseous mist.

The hard: You need to ensure that the base colour dries completely (preferably one whole day), if not the alcohol will smudge and ruin your polish. Give time for the newspaper ink to dry on your nails, before applying topcoat. If not the topcoat will drag the ink causing it to smudge.

Just thought I should explain a bit cos the tutorial makes it seem easier than it actually is! I had to do a bit of trial-and-error. But it's so fun to do!

2) Floral Summer Nails

Base colour: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sugar Babe Flower design: LA Girls Disco in White (same as newspaper nail art) Topcoat: The Face Shop Nail Supplement.

And a clean toothpick!

Tutorial by Fashionbeautybug

This is sooo easy to do, yet it adds something extra to your nails! Totally effortless :)

Let me know what you think!

Super Dolly Fantasy Colour by Sasatinnie which I bought a few days ago posted in this entry. There's no name or number code for it, but it's a translucent stone washed blue, almost a grey.

I had four coats on. It's definitely not an opaque tone. Looks nicer in the bottle with its blue, red and silver micro glitters!

Overall, it has a disappointing, runny formula. I'm not too sure about its darker colours. The only thing I appreciated is its quick dry formula. At least painting 4 coats and waiting for them to dry wasn't a pain!

I think this colour will look lovelier on fairer toned individuals. It kinda make my hands look a little sickly :( Shall keep them on nevertheless, the shade is starting to grow on me!

♥ ♥ ♥

Sasa is having their sale again, this time at Northpoint's main lobby. Products are going at 20-70% off. I believe the sale is on till this Sunday, 1st May. Their sales are quite frequent. I suspect that they are clearing stocks before the products expire (not all though). So you might wanna check the expire dates first to see if you're okay with them.

So the bonus question is, what did I buy?

Haha, nothing much really. Still saving up for my Korea trip.

Maybelline Long Extreme Stiletto Mascara  $11.30 (UP: $18.90)

Quick lash swatch!

Left side: With Stiletto mascara, Right: Without

It isn't the greatest mascara, but I was amazed at it's lengthening power. Separates well and not clumpy at all.The mascara is super dark too, which makes my lashes look moist. Bonus! 

Not much volumizing seen. But the mascara only promises lengthening, so. It's waterproof, so an oil-based makeup remover is a must. No doubt, it removes easily, but I've never been a fan of waterproof mascara. It's a hassle to me, but that's just me!

P/s: This mascara from the sale expires July 2011.

Got these too!

Sasatinnie polishes 2 for $5 (UP: $5 each).

I'm always drawn to navy hues! Looks a little watery though. I haven't done a nail swatch yet cos I still feel like having OPI's Done Out in Deco on my nails :) 

That's all for now! Hope everybody's TGIF mood is even perkier this week cos' the Grow & Share fund is in! :D 

♥ ♥ ♥

I am currently crazed over this brilliantly pretty colour, so thank heavens to whoever who decided to tweak purples into a HOT PURPLE colour :) hot pink, so it's hot purple, geddit? hahaha. I am having this major crush on anything fuchsia, it goes without saying :p

I didn't edit the photos to wash out my face. this is what happens when I attempt to take pictures with the overly-bright flash of my Samsung jet handphone.

I used this baby for my nails in the above pictures :)

I love how the colour pops out from everything else! No Spain No Gain is from the Coleccion De Espana Fall 2009 collection. there's no way in the world I would've known that - I just checked it online :p

this is my first time getting OPI nail polishes and I must say, I love how thick it goes on the nails, yet it dries super fast. I got a couple more. my school campus happened to have a pushcart selling OPI and Orly for a few weeks (if I'm not wrong) so since it was so convenient, I could not like not buy it :p

this one's meant for my bff :)

I have been thinking of putting MU-spending on hold first after I get the last few things that I so badly want and then, FULLSTOP. there's so many things I wanna review on, but I kept doing haul entries!

and the "last few things" that I want are: E.l.f Studio Eye Transformer, E.l.f Studio Kabuki Brush and Etude House's Proof 10 primer. PERIOD. this mini wishlist MUST NOT extend.

thanks for viewing!

another neutral, subtle look since I only had just 90 mins of class today. and well yea, tuition after that. I think it's a waste of makeup to just doll up, snap photos and wash them off so, might as well experiment when I'm getting ready to go out :)

p/s: ignore my flyaways :p

I played with 5 colours for this look -- mostly bronze, gold and brown tones. again, all solely from the 88 original palette. along with gold shadow base, eyeliner and mascara.

I'm gonna be posting a lot of looks from this palette just to experiment and maximise the colours. not to highly promote this product, but I'm just implementing colours into my regime for a change cos I've always been a kohl-rimmed girl more or less, hahaha! besides that, I'd just like to share my learning/experimental journey -- with those who are interested of course! again, like I said, I'm gonna skip on this product review cos there's already a lot of raves from other makeup bloggers/youtubers on this palette. if u want an honest HONEST review about this palette from me, just leave a comment and I'll give my 5 cent's worth ;)

if u already have the palette and u wanna know which colours I used, do comment too <3 I'm not gonna list the colours down now becos there's no specific names to each colour, so u probably won't even know which I'm talking about.

anyway, I got this beach dress at a steal! I can't believe I ever went into hula&co, forever21 and Secret Island thoroughly looking for this kind of simple, white flowy tube dress, but it's so hard to find!

saw this going for $10 at a pushcart! I didn't have to think twice :p

yes, this is my retarded room and retarded bed with retarded goggles hanging at the back! lol. anyway this dress can be doubled up as a long skirt too :) wait, maybe it's the other way round. haha! the pushcart auntie told me it's a skirt :p

last but not least, I got rid of my funky green nails. and ugh, my nails are stained. still, I refuse to use a base coat just becos I don't have enough patience to wait and wait... and wait, for everything to dry properly.

threw on a fresh colour :) Couleur Inc in Purity. I love how the colour looks like cotton candy! I mentioned about this nail polish in an entry here. I applied two coats only, though I think it'll look more milkier with a third coat but I got too lazy.

ok done :) I sure hope tmr doesn't rain! please, dear god! goodnight now, I'm gonna watch a rerun of The Da Vinci Code now:) thanks for reading!

painted a new colour! this is the Couleur Inc nail polish in Furud which I did a haul entry on last week.

I initially though it was of a pastel base, but it isn't actually.. but I like it better like this! it's a sort of milky jade hue. the colour is actually slightly darker in person. my camera flash washed the colours off a bit. but what I love is that the colour is true to the exact shade u see in the bottle. I only applied two coats (without top coat) and I'm satisfied :)

application-wise, the liquid runs a little watery but when applied to the nail, the liquid sort of settle in and becomes more gooey. and when it dries up, the coat becomes thick. it's better than The Face Shop polishes, for me. the latter doesn't dry up thick. and Couleur Inc is one of the cheaper nail polishes with the easiest application, I must say. I barely had to do any touch ups after that. I love it :)

retails at $4.30 per bottle.

I bought this today. the E.L.F Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Luminance.

I know it says bronzing powder, but I'm planning to use this as my highlighter thus, I picked the lightest shade. the darker more 'bronzer-looking' shades are pretty too.. there's two more shades, Sunkissed and.. man, I forgot the other one.

retails at $6.90 each at Sasa. it's really good, in terms of colour payoff, for something as affordable as this :)

here's the swatch. on the left left side, I blended the powder to show the pretty sheen -- perfect for face highlighter! or used as eyeshadow highlighter on ur brow bone. it's more of a sheen rather than glitter, so it's safe to apply on the highlight areas of ur face without looking like a glitter ghost :p the swatch on the right is just a quick finger swatch to show u the true colour.

and the colour is really true to the colour u see in the compact too! colour is really pigmented and totally blendable :) I can't find any downside to this yet. but I am totally loving how this adds the fresh, dewy glow to my face!

right, that's all for now. gotta get back to studying for my last mid-term paper tmr! go syidah, go! and then friday will come soooooon <3

I got these yesterday at woodlands' john little :)

Couleur Inc Nail Polish in Purity (pink) and Furud (green)

I was so attracted by their array of pastel colours. wanted to get a pastel baby blue, but I've been buying too many blues so maybe I'll skip them for a while. picked up the natural-looking pastel pink instead. came home and realized that I have already have one of that same shade, but not of this brand. my best friend pointed out that I always tend to buy nail polishes of this range of colour - natural pinks, brown pinks, nude pinks etc. haha! but not hot pink la, that's HER colour :p

the consistency of the Couleur Inc polishes looks  a little watery though. I hope it's not too diluted when I apply it. will probably need a few coats to get the colour out. will let you know when I've tried it :) retails at $4 something per bottle.

Maybelline Color Sensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor lippies

left: Pink Peach, right: Toffee Cream

retails at $15.90 each.

Angel Rose is the one I bought about a month ago. you can see the lip swatch here.

I prefer Pink Peach to Angel Rose because the pink hue is more vibrant and pops out against my skin. I find that Angel Rose washes my face out because of its pale pink tone. but I think this will suit fair-skinned girls really well.

Toffee Cream is the first brown-coloured lipstick that I own! for me, it is really not as brown as the swatch seen above. the colour is more of a honey orange-brown, yet nude at the same time. I'm guessing it's because the brown hues in the lipstick matches the browns of my natural skin tone, thereby appearing subtler. this might look odd on fair-skinned girls. I love that it gives me a healthy bronze glow when applied together with a brown blusher. haha yes, I am so into browns at the mo.

last item came from the mailbox.

e.l.f Blending Eye Brush. got this from ebay at $3.99.

for a super affordable brush, the bristles are super soft! blends eyeshadow pigments really well as well, diminishing harsh lines.

alright, I'm gonna dinner now and play sims afterwards. can I like shut off my brain for just one night? this week has been too much to handle. alright, thanks for reading!