POSTED ON: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 @ 3:05 PM | 0 comments
Being stuck at home on crutches all day long isn't fun at all. In fact it's boring me to tears and I only have my dear laptop and bottles of nail polish for company.
She painted her nails a white base but I was too lazy so I only used my usual OPI Nail Envy as my basecoat. I used 3 colors for this mani: lilac from Nature Republic PP402, a matte baby blue from Etude House and a very light baby pink from The Face Shop.
Although this mani wasn't as pretty as I had expected it to be, it was definitely fun to do! Blotting on the colors and using the saran wrap to spread out the colours onto the whole nail, yes it was very enjoyable and therapeutic indeed! A topcoat does wonders here in blending all the colours together once I'm done to give it a smooth finish. The end result is this pastel coloured watercolour nails, also somewhat marbled or whatever you wish to call it. Oh but cleaning up was a chore with the colours spread all around the nail so I would recommend taping up the sides of the nail (just like when doing water marbling), using some cuticle oil or this really interesting product called Liquid Palisade (which I will blog about soon!).
Daddy drove me out to Sushi Tei for lunch today. We shared a yummy seafood and vegetable hotpot and of course dessert to end of our lunch. The picture here is our dessert, they look a little like mochi but both of them are in fact ice cream. The pink one is strawberry ice cream covered in a milk chocolate shell and the green one is green tea ice cream covered in green tea powder. Yes that cheered me up a little for the day after seeing videos from my friends at yesterday's training which reminded me that I most probably might not be cheering again. ):
Love,
Lorraine
#SGSwatchFestFringe - Iron Man
POSTED ON: Monday, April 29, 2013 @ 5:24 PM | 0 comments
Exams are over and I thought I could look forward to an exciting summer through fulfilling my internship requirements and training for performances with Flare. But how unfortunate can I get to injure myself again from Saturday's training. Now I have a very painful + swollen ankle/joint and possibly need a surgery to screw my two separated bones together again. Sighhh ):
Now I am most worried about starting my internship on time or even starting it at all. I really need an internship and it was really difficult to finally get this one. Praying that I will be well enough to start work next week and that I won't need any surgery. Please pray for me too.
Alright, back to something less upsetting. #SGSwatchFestFringe! It was yesterday so I'm one day late, oops. This is my first time participating in #SGSwatchFestFringe, kind of like a mini impromptu version of #SGSwatchFest event that is held on Instagram. This weekend's theme for the mini event is Iron Man. Yes yes, it is to celebrate all the hype over the movie that was just released in Singapore last Thursday, 25th April.
I am not a fan of superhero movies but here's a mani to join in the fun anyway. (:
Base colour Rainbow colour 23 from a random shop that sells hair accessories and cheap nail stuff at AMK Hub. The gold colour is OPI's GoldenEye. Used the saran wrap technique to create the marble effect. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as I had expected since the gold wasn't as obvious as I would have liked it to be. Should have know since Goldeneye was a glitter suspended in clear base to begin with. Didn't bother with clean up or topcoat, cleaned it off the moment I was done with taking a picture of it.
The one below shows the pretty red polish as my base color. Should have worked with that properly and did a little nail art instead of the saran wrap technique. Oh well.
Do check out the other ladies with their Iron Man inspired mani on Instagram with the hashtag #SGSwatchFestFringe! (:
Happy summer holidays!
Love,
Lorraine
Orange!
POSTED ON: Thursday, April 25, 2013 @ 1:39 PM | 0 comments
This week is Nail Deck's last week at SMU so here's my last two bottles from the stall. China Glaze's Sun Of A Peach and OPI's Jinx from the Bond Girls Liquid Sand collection. I realized I lack orange polishes...
I bought Jinx for WanLin to thank her for recommending me my internship but I couldnt resist swatching it on my left hand. I'm sorry WanLin!!
I usually don't fancy textured polishes but this one is really pretty. The texture is great and the colour is just strikingly beautiful, a little less red and more orangey than what you see in the picture here.
Our dear angmo girl with gorgeous abs flew back to UK this morning. Most of the Flare kids stayed over to sing k (except Azel and I) before heading to the airport at 7am in the morning to send her off. We had our last breakfast with the exchange girl at Ya Kun and it was a sad goodbye as we queued up to get a hug each from her. The past one year has been great with her around. Flare would never be the same without you Cassy. Hope you've enjoyed your exchange in Singapore, all the best and take care. We will miss you truckloads.
And to quote Alvin Richard:
"There's no good in goodbye."
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest - Earth Day
POSTED ON: Monday, April 22, 2013 @ 10:07 AM | 0 comments
"Acknowledge this amazing planet we call home and take action to protect it."
#faceofclimate
#EarthDay
Today is the 22nd April so it's Earth Day! Hence the theme for today's #sgswatchfest hosted by @lacqueredaffair, Green for Earth Day. Here's a little bit about Earth day...
Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson had the idea after witnessing the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He realized that if he could infuse energy into the public about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.
Today, world leaders are more concerned about environmental issues and many have pledged to clean energy and other environmentally friendly actions.
Source: http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement
So here's my green mani to promote environmental awareness and environmental protection. I used Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet and OPI's My Vampire is Buff as the base colours. I love the little dotted heart but I really dislike the clover. This clover didn't turn out the way I expected, nope not at all. ):
I do think doing these little manis to promote a certain cause do work. People I meet would compliment me on my nails and I would always take the chance to explain the themes/inspiration behind each mani. So yes, #sgswatchfest and such campaigns are really a great idea!
Here's the photo I took off @lacqueredaffair's Instagram for the Earth Day theme. Do stay tuned for further themed manis for #sgswatchfest!
Hurray exams are over! Summer is here! I have all the time in the world to do my favourite things! e.g. shopping, eating, painting my nails, spending time with the people I love...
To all my friends who still have a few more papers to go, all the best and hang in there guys, summer is right here waiting for you! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Dreamer + Disco Ball
POSTED ON: Saturday, April 20, 2013 @ 10:02 AM | 0 comments
I couldn't stand looking at those ugly air bubbles on my nails any longer so I decided to paint a coat of Sally Hansen's Disco Ball over Revlon's Dreamer.
(Colour more true to this photo as compared to the one in the previous post. This one is taken with natural sunlight whereas the other one was taken indoors with the warm yellow lighting in my room.)
It looks so much better with the little glitters and hides the air bubbles well too! Yes I am somewhat satisfied now. (:
Great, now I can get back to reading through my Marketing notes for the last time for my paper which is in less than 3 hours.
Good luck to me!
Love,
Lorraine
Revlon's Dreamer
POSTED ON: Friday, April 19, 2013 @ 10:04 PM | 0 comments
This is Revlon's Dreamer, without topcoat. Application wasn't as smooth as my first Revlon polish Raisin Rage, it was a little streaky and left a few small air bubbles on a few nails. Not sure if it's due to the quality of the polish or because of the fan blowing directly at me (it's a necessity in this hot weather). But yes I really hate those air bubbles! ):
The cornflower blue is quite pretty and it is a nice calm colour but I think I would prefer it with some glitter so I'll find something as a topper tomorrow.
Conclusion: No more Revlon polish purchases for me.
The second photo is my little pinky with Blaze Colour Changing lacquer that was supposed to change from yellow to orange in the pressence of sunlight. But despite me sticking my hand out of the window for a good 5 minutes to get maximum sunlight and even sticking my hand out to absorb sunlight when I went out for lunch today, nope no orange to be seen ):
Well at least I got myself a bottle of yellow polish, this is my second bottle of yellow polish since I don't really fancy the colour yellow anyway.
Last paper tomorrow afternoon. I can smell freedom coming near!
Love,
Lorraine
Boston Marathon Bombings
POSTED ON: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 @ 4:01 PM | 0 comments
"Two bombs struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, turning a celebration into a bloody scene of destruction.
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said Monday night that the death toll had risen to three. Scores were injured at the scene.
One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy, according to a state law enforcement source.
Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated, with at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. At least eight of the patients are children.
At least 10 people injured had limbs amputated, according to a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation.
Several of the patients treated at Massachusetts General Hospital suffered injuries to lower limbs that will require "serial operations" in the coming days, trauma surgeon Peter Fagenholz said Monday night. Some injuries were so severe amputations were necessary, Fagenholz added.
...
The terrorist attack, near the marathon's finish line, triggered widespread screaming and chaos, shattered windows and barricades and sent smoke billowing into the air at Copley Square.
The blasts were about 50 to 100 yards apart, officials said, on a stretch of the marathon course lined with spectators cheering runners through the final yards of a 26-mile, 385-yard endurance feat."
So on this day, while many innocent people worldwide are suffering from racial discrimination and mindless attacks at each other, here are purple nails that go out to the victims and people of Boston as seen on @lacqurerdaffair's Instagram. I am well aware that people in the Middle East are also suffering from such incidences and I definitely do not wish for any of these to happen.
And of course people in Boston or anywhere else do not care what colour we paint our nails today, but this is just to openly support a positive cause which is within my means. Just like World Autism Day or Earth Day where painting your nails blue or green wouldn't make any difference to the cause. FYI I do donate heaps of my old clothes, toys and other household items to the Salvation Army every month so I guess I still do my part in helping the needy.
To the people who are affected by such incidents all over the world, stay strong and may we hope for peace.
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest part II
POSTED ON: Monday, April 15, 2013 @ 10:49 PM | 0 comments
As mentioned in the previous post, this month is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month which is also the theme for yesterday's #sgswatchfest. So here's Part II of #sgswatchfest hosted by @purrplecatclaws. This is what's on my right hand, using the same colors as I did on my left hand. OPI's Goldeneye and Lincoln Park After Dark. And the glitter is shipped from the US from some online shop (I can't remember where exactly...). Stamped on the paw prints using a plate I got from mashnails.com. Sorry about the picture quality. The lighting is pretty bad here since I took this photo at night and my house has warm yellowish lighting.
Really love my mani this round but they're starting to chip and peel off after a few hours of furious typing on my laptop during exam today. Thus, I would have to clean them off tonight. Very unfortunate. ):
After two long and tedious exam papers today, I headed to Robinsons at Raffles City for a little retail therapy and to reward myself for completing two papers (ahh yes they're just excuses for getting more nail polish). Robinsons was having 20% discount on most items to lucky me! This is Revlon's Dreamer. A dreamy pastel blue creme polish, slightly darker than sky blue I think, with a tiny hint of grey. Some nail bloggers described it as cornflower blue. I have no idea what's a cornflower neither do I have any idea what shade of blue that is. I quite liked my first bottle of Revlon lacquer Raisin Rage so let's see if this one lives up to it's reputation too! Keep a lookout for swatches soon! (:
Alright, two papers down today so I'm left with two more papers to go! I really need an internship this summer but I'm looking forward to 3 months without school anyway!
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
POSTED ON: Sunday, April 14, 2013 @ 12:11 PM | 0 comments
#sgswatchfest started out with a couple of nail enthusiasts in Singapore who wanted to do twinsie posts on a particular polish and it grew to a weekly(?) event with a different theme each time.
Today's #sgswatchfest is hosted by @purplecatclaws to commemorate the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month. The general colour guideline was orange but when I think of animals, I think of cats and I love black cats even though some people believe that they bring bad luck. So here's my mani that's mainly black and gold to show my support to the cause and #sgswatchfest!
A simple mani with striping tape using OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and Golden Eye (somehow i've been using these two polishes a lot these days...). And a paw print on my thumb and 4th finger using a normal paintbrush. This is without topcoat and I have barely used any topcoat since I decided to stop using my Seche Vite after it shrank many of my manis and since the current one is drying up. I have about 2.5 bottles of Seche Vite topcoat left and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a new brand of topcoat that I can easily find in Singapore. Anyone has anything nice to recommend? (:
Somewhat related...
Singapore has an association called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). They provide a range of services such as:
- A 24-hour emergency service for sick, injured and/or very young animals
- Investigation of cruelty complaints
- Public education programme for students and adults
- Sterilisation voucher programme for community animals (also known as stray animals)
- A clinic for basic treatment for community animals
- Adoption programme
- A service for lost and found pets
- Advocacy for the humane treatment of animals
- Running an animal shelter and supporting quarantine for unwanted, abused and abandoned animals
As a non-profit organization, they rely mostly on donations from the public to run their activities so do help them by donating generously, volunteering at their shelter or even adopting a pet from them instead of buying one from the stores.
This second mani was done some time this week but I was too busy studying for my final exams to post it midweek. A green gradient with a little yellow stud on each finger. And OPI's silver crackle polish on the thumb. A simple one, just for fun when I got bored of studying.
Okay so exams officially start in about 24 hours. I have 2 papers tomorrow but I just spent the whole morning painting my nails. My friend joked that if there was a module in university about nails and stuff, I would ace it easily. Haha I wish. So now it's back to reality, back to my books and notes. All the best to everyone taking their exams too! Press on and summer will be here in no time!! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Polish Days - 7 Deadly Sins
POSTED ON: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 @ 1:55 PM | 0 comments
It's time for Polish Days! Here's my first post for Polish Days started by Hannah from Polly Polish. She comes up with a theme every month and this month's theme is "7 Deadly Sins" - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy or pride.
And when I saw these 7 sins, the first thing that came to my mind was "green with envy". So I did a simple mani with a green gradient and silver nail tape. I finished this in about 1.5hrs when I woke up this morning and it's pretty messy so I guess it won't stay on my nails for long. Definitely not more than 2 days.
As you can probably see from the picture, my Seche Vite topcoat shrank the darkest green quite a bit, revealing the tips of my nails. Annoying Seche Vite, and I still have 2.5 more bottles of it to go before I can change to another brand of topcoat.
Here are the 4 greens I used for this mani. From left to right, Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet, China Glaze's For Audrey, OPI's Can't Find My Czechbook from the Euro Centrale collection and a dark green from Beadstreet.
Please do check out the other lovely nail enthusiasts with their take on the "7 Deadly Sins" below...
Love,
Lorraine
Golden Eye
POSTED ON: Sunday, April 7, 2013 @ 2:19 PM | 0 comments
Here's Golden Eye from the OPI Skyfall collection. Very dense bright yellow/gold glitter in a clear base. I think it looks a bit too over on its own so I tried a darker base underneath it. The picture on the left shows two coats without topcoat and as you can see, it's thick enough for full coverage. My fourth finger has OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark as a base and one coat of Golden Eye over it. I think that looks somewhat better and less in-your-face. I guess it'll be more for designs instead of on its own then!
I kind of miss doing designs but i have so many untrieds, so more swatches to come in the next few weeks!
Summer's just around the the corner, exams will be over soon! Hang in there everyone! (:
Love,
Lorraine
POSTED ON: Thursday, April 4, 2013 @ 10:00 AM | 0 comments
It's been two weeks since our cheerleading competitions.
Even though we didn't achieve our original goal of Top 3, I still think we're awesome and will still be champions in my heart. Despite all the injuries suffered, it has been a fulfilling journey nevertheless and I would like to thank a few special people who made this journey so unforgettable.
First of all, my dearest girls team SMU Flare Team Gold. Clara, Huiting, Azel and Sandra. Thank you Clara for agreeing to compete with us despite your busy work schedule and other commitments. Thank you for fighting every stunt so hard for us and compensating for our lack of skills. Thank you Huiting for putting up with my nonsense/black face, you're really strong I and really enjoyed basing with you. Seeing you roll around and do funny random things made training less painful, stressful and tiring! And my dear juniors Azel and Sandra, thank you for dedicating your time to Flare and for training hard with us for this competition. I know you both would love to fly too, I assure you that you girls will definitely get your chance during summer performances. So train hard, continue to do Flare all girls team proud and continue this legacy!
Next to our dear coed team, SMU Flare Team Blue. Thank you for always spotting us, encouraging us and pushing us to never give up even when we're dead tired. Seeing you guys improve so much over a short 3 months is really an inspiration and I'm glad you guys did well in the end. Congrats to Rachel and Ernie for their achievement at their final competition with Flare. Kangwee and Cow do continue to train hard and bring greater glory to Flare. And of course, thank you Cassy for training and competing with Flare despite your busy schedule as a law student. Hope that you've enjoyed training with us as much as we enjoyed your company. We'll really miss you when you leave Singapore!
Coach Zhaoming for believing in our team and pushing us to do greater stunts with higher difficulty levels. For always spotting us and correcting our mistakes (be it in a nice manner or not). For choreographing a routine that we really believed in and had great potential. For never giving up on us even though we were all new bases and had significantly less strength as compared to the previous girls team.
Also. thank you all the calaFlare kids for supporting us in one way or another e.g. buying food for us, encouraging and supporting us all the way, doing our hair and makeup for us. Flare would never be complete without you guys.
And last but not least, a big thank you to all my friends and family who were understanding of my busy schedule, who were concerned about my injuries and who supported us throughout this journey.
Alright back to nail stuff. Here's a swatch of my first Barielle polish, Falling Star. I quite like the contrasting colour of the orangey gold glitter. They're quite pretty but really hard to capture on camera. Maybe it's time I start taking photos with a proper camera instead of using my phone's camera...
Saw this shark bite nail design online and I think it's pretty cute! Probably gonna try this design soon! (:
Love,
Lorraine
OPI Swatches
POSTED ON: Monday, April 1, 2013 @ 8:35 AM | 0 comments
So cheerleading competitions are over and I'm starting to grow out my nails again. The OPI Nail Envy for sensitive and peeling nails are working pretty well so far as I noticed my nails are less brittle and are peeling less. Definitely better than the Sally Hansen one so I'm sticking to this.
So my first swatch here is OPI's Don't Burst My Bubble from the Oz The Great and Powerful collection. It's really really sheer and even three coats wasn't enough to completely cover the nail till it's opaque.
The second one below is OPI's What Wizardry Is This? Pretty bronze coloured textured polish with a rough finish that shines beautifully under artificial light. For those who prefer a smooth shiny finish, a thick coat of topcoat would do just the trick.
Oh yes and I bought another bottle of polish today from Nail Deck. OPI's Golden Eye from the Skyfall collection. Been wanting to get a gold polish ever since I lent mine to someone who never bothered returning it. Golden Eye contains dense bright yellow glitter in a clear base. Can't wait to swatch it soon so look out for it! (:
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I have a fetish for unicorns and whales, I live in Narnia. Do not fret, dear friends, for I have candy for all of you. Okay, you get the point. About you, wish list, your gallery, Tagboard here.
Do not remove credit, for I have a dragon that can eat you up. Thank you!
POSTED ON: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 @ 3:05 PM | 0 comments
Being stuck at home on crutches all day long isn't fun at all. In fact it's boring me to tears and I only have my dear laptop and bottles of nail polish for company.
She painted her nails a white base but I was too lazy so I only used my usual OPI Nail Envy as my basecoat. I used 3 colors for this mani: lilac from Nature Republic PP402, a matte baby blue from Etude House and a very light baby pink from The Face Shop.
Although this mani wasn't as pretty as I had expected it to be, it was definitely fun to do! Blotting on the colors and using the saran wrap to spread out the colours onto the whole nail, yes it was very enjoyable and therapeutic indeed! A topcoat does wonders here in blending all the colours together once I'm done to give it a smooth finish. The end result is this pastel coloured watercolour nails, also somewhat marbled or whatever you wish to call it. Oh but cleaning up was a chore with the colours spread all around the nail so I would recommend taping up the sides of the nail (just like when doing water marbling), using some cuticle oil or this really interesting product called Liquid Palisade (which I will blog about soon!).
Daddy drove me out to Sushi Tei for lunch today. We shared a yummy seafood and vegetable hotpot and of course dessert to end of our lunch. The picture here is our dessert, they look a little like mochi but both of them are in fact ice cream. The pink one is strawberry ice cream covered in a milk chocolate shell and the green one is green tea ice cream covered in green tea powder. Yes that cheered me up a little for the day after seeing videos from my friends at yesterday's training which reminded me that I most probably might not be cheering again. ):
Love,
Lorraine
#SGSwatchFestFringe - Iron Man
POSTED ON: Monday, April 29, 2013 @ 5:24 PM | 0 comments
Exams are over and I thought I could look forward to an exciting summer through fulfilling my internship requirements and training for performances with Flare. But how unfortunate can I get to injure myself again from Saturday's training. Now I have a very painful + swollen ankle/joint and possibly need a surgery to screw my two separated bones together again. Sighhh ):
Now I am most worried about starting my internship on time or even starting it at all. I really need an internship and it was really difficult to finally get this one. Praying that I will be well enough to start work next week and that I won't need any surgery. Please pray for me too.
Alright, back to something less upsetting. #SGSwatchFestFringe! It was yesterday so I'm one day late, oops. This is my first time participating in #SGSwatchFestFringe, kind of like a mini impromptu version of #SGSwatchFest event that is held on Instagram. This weekend's theme for the mini event is Iron Man. Yes yes, it is to celebrate all the hype over the movie that was just released in Singapore last Thursday, 25th April.
I am not a fan of superhero movies but here's a mani to join in the fun anyway. (:
Base colour Rainbow colour 23 from a random shop that sells hair accessories and cheap nail stuff at AMK Hub. The gold colour is OPI's GoldenEye. Used the saran wrap technique to create the marble effect. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as I had expected since the gold wasn't as obvious as I would have liked it to be. Should have know since Goldeneye was a glitter suspended in clear base to begin with. Didn't bother with clean up or topcoat, cleaned it off the moment I was done with taking a picture of it.
The one below shows the pretty red polish as my base color. Should have worked with that properly and did a little nail art instead of the saran wrap technique. Oh well.
Do check out the other ladies with their Iron Man inspired mani on Instagram with the hashtag #SGSwatchFestFringe! (:
Happy summer holidays!
Love,
Lorraine
Orange!
POSTED ON: Thursday, April 25, 2013 @ 1:39 PM | 0 comments
This week is Nail Deck's last week at SMU so here's my last two bottles from the stall. China Glaze's Sun Of A Peach and OPI's Jinx from the Bond Girls Liquid Sand collection. I realized I lack orange polishes...
I bought Jinx for WanLin to thank her for recommending me my internship but I couldnt resist swatching it on my left hand. I'm sorry WanLin!!
I usually don't fancy textured polishes but this one is really pretty. The texture is great and the colour is just strikingly beautiful, a little less red and more orangey than what you see in the picture here.
Our dear angmo girl with gorgeous abs flew back to UK this morning. Most of the Flare kids stayed over to sing k (except Azel and I) before heading to the airport at 7am in the morning to send her off. We had our last breakfast with the exchange girl at Ya Kun and it was a sad goodbye as we queued up to get a hug each from her. The past one year has been great with her around. Flare would never be the same without you Cassy. Hope you've enjoyed your exchange in Singapore, all the best and take care. We will miss you truckloads.
And to quote Alvin Richard:
"There's no good in goodbye."
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest - Earth Day
POSTED ON: Monday, April 22, 2013 @ 10:07 AM | 0 comments
"Acknowledge this amazing planet we call home and take action to protect it."
#faceofclimate
#EarthDay
Today is the 22nd April so it's Earth Day! Hence the theme for today's #sgswatchfest hosted by @lacqueredaffair, Green for Earth Day. Here's a little bit about Earth day...
Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson had the idea after witnessing the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He realized that if he could infuse energy into the public about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.
Today, world leaders are more concerned about environmental issues and many have pledged to clean energy and other environmentally friendly actions.
Source: http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement
So here's my green mani to promote environmental awareness and environmental protection. I used Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet and OPI's My Vampire is Buff as the base colours. I love the little dotted heart but I really dislike the clover. This clover didn't turn out the way I expected, nope not at all. ):
I do think doing these little manis to promote a certain cause do work. People I meet would compliment me on my nails and I would always take the chance to explain the themes/inspiration behind each mani. So yes, #sgswatchfest and such campaigns are really a great idea!
Here's the photo I took off @lacqueredaffair's Instagram for the Earth Day theme. Do stay tuned for further themed manis for #sgswatchfest!
Hurray exams are over! Summer is here! I have all the time in the world to do my favourite things! e.g. shopping, eating, painting my nails, spending time with the people I love...
To all my friends who still have a few more papers to go, all the best and hang in there guys, summer is right here waiting for you! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Dreamer + Disco Ball
POSTED ON: Saturday, April 20, 2013 @ 10:02 AM | 0 comments
I couldn't stand looking at those ugly air bubbles on my nails any longer so I decided to paint a coat of Sally Hansen's Disco Ball over Revlon's Dreamer.
(Colour more true to this photo as compared to the one in the previous post. This one is taken with natural sunlight whereas the other one was taken indoors with the warm yellow lighting in my room.)
It looks so much better with the little glitters and hides the air bubbles well too! Yes I am somewhat satisfied now. (:
Great, now I can get back to reading through my Marketing notes for the last time for my paper which is in less than 3 hours.
Good luck to me!
Love,
Lorraine
Revlon's Dreamer
POSTED ON: Friday, April 19, 2013 @ 10:04 PM | 0 comments
This is Revlon's Dreamer, without topcoat. Application wasn't as smooth as my first Revlon polish Raisin Rage, it was a little streaky and left a few small air bubbles on a few nails. Not sure if it's due to the quality of the polish or because of the fan blowing directly at me (it's a necessity in this hot weather). But yes I really hate those air bubbles! ):
The cornflower blue is quite pretty and it is a nice calm colour but I think I would prefer it with some glitter so I'll find something as a topper tomorrow.
Conclusion: No more Revlon polish purchases for me.
The second photo is my little pinky with Blaze Colour Changing lacquer that was supposed to change from yellow to orange in the pressence of sunlight. But despite me sticking my hand out of the window for a good 5 minutes to get maximum sunlight and even sticking my hand out to absorb sunlight when I went out for lunch today, nope no orange to be seen ):
Well at least I got myself a bottle of yellow polish, this is my second bottle of yellow polish since I don't really fancy the colour yellow anyway.
Last paper tomorrow afternoon. I can smell freedom coming near!
Love,
Lorraine
Boston Marathon Bombings
POSTED ON: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 @ 4:01 PM | 0 comments
"Two bombs struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, turning a celebration into a bloody scene of destruction.
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said Monday night that the death toll had risen to three. Scores were injured at the scene.
One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy, according to a state law enforcement source.
Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated, with at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. At least eight of the patients are children.
At least 10 people injured had limbs amputated, according to a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation.
Several of the patients treated at Massachusetts General Hospital suffered injuries to lower limbs that will require "serial operations" in the coming days, trauma surgeon Peter Fagenholz said Monday night. Some injuries were so severe amputations were necessary, Fagenholz added.
...
The terrorist attack, near the marathon's finish line, triggered widespread screaming and chaos, shattered windows and barricades and sent smoke billowing into the air at Copley Square.
The blasts were about 50 to 100 yards apart, officials said, on a stretch of the marathon course lined with spectators cheering runners through the final yards of a 26-mile, 385-yard endurance feat."
So on this day, while many innocent people worldwide are suffering from racial discrimination and mindless attacks at each other, here are purple nails that go out to the victims and people of Boston as seen on @lacqurerdaffair's Instagram. I am well aware that people in the Middle East are also suffering from such incidences and I definitely do not wish for any of these to happen.
And of course people in Boston or anywhere else do not care what colour we paint our nails today, but this is just to openly support a positive cause which is within my means. Just like World Autism Day or Earth Day where painting your nails blue or green wouldn't make any difference to the cause. FYI I do donate heaps of my old clothes, toys and other household items to the Salvation Army every month so I guess I still do my part in helping the needy.
To the people who are affected by such incidents all over the world, stay strong and may we hope for peace.
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest part II
POSTED ON: Monday, April 15, 2013 @ 10:49 PM | 0 comments
As mentioned in the previous post, this month is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month which is also the theme for yesterday's #sgswatchfest. So here's Part II of #sgswatchfest hosted by @purrplecatclaws. This is what's on my right hand, using the same colors as I did on my left hand. OPI's Goldeneye and Lincoln Park After Dark. And the glitter is shipped from the US from some online shop (I can't remember where exactly...). Stamped on the paw prints using a plate I got from mashnails.com. Sorry about the picture quality. The lighting is pretty bad here since I took this photo at night and my house has warm yellowish lighting.
Really love my mani this round but they're starting to chip and peel off after a few hours of furious typing on my laptop during exam today. Thus, I would have to clean them off tonight. Very unfortunate. ):
After two long and tedious exam papers today, I headed to Robinsons at Raffles City for a little retail therapy and to reward myself for completing two papers (ahh yes they're just excuses for getting more nail polish). Robinsons was having 20% discount on most items to lucky me! This is Revlon's Dreamer. A dreamy pastel blue creme polish, slightly darker than sky blue I think, with a tiny hint of grey. Some nail bloggers described it as cornflower blue. I have no idea what's a cornflower neither do I have any idea what shade of blue that is. I quite liked my first bottle of Revlon lacquer Raisin Rage so let's see if this one lives up to it's reputation too! Keep a lookout for swatches soon! (:
Alright, two papers down today so I'm left with two more papers to go! I really need an internship this summer but I'm looking forward to 3 months without school anyway!
Love,
Lorraine
#sgswatchfest Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
POSTED ON: Sunday, April 14, 2013 @ 12:11 PM | 0 comments
#sgswatchfest started out with a couple of nail enthusiasts in Singapore who wanted to do twinsie posts on a particular polish and it grew to a weekly(?) event with a different theme each time.
Today's #sgswatchfest is hosted by @purplecatclaws to commemorate the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month. The general colour guideline was orange but when I think of animals, I think of cats and I love black cats even though some people believe that they bring bad luck. So here's my mani that's mainly black and gold to show my support to the cause and #sgswatchfest!
A simple mani with striping tape using OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and Golden Eye (somehow i've been using these two polishes a lot these days...). And a paw print on my thumb and 4th finger using a normal paintbrush. This is without topcoat and I have barely used any topcoat since I decided to stop using my Seche Vite after it shrank many of my manis and since the current one is drying up. I have about 2.5 bottles of Seche Vite topcoat left and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a new brand of topcoat that I can easily find in Singapore. Anyone has anything nice to recommend? (:
Somewhat related...
Singapore has an association called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). They provide a range of services such as:
- A 24-hour emergency service for sick, injured and/or very young animals
- Investigation of cruelty complaints
- Public education programme for students and adults
- Sterilisation voucher programme for community animals (also known as stray animals)
- A clinic for basic treatment for community animals
- Adoption programme
- A service for lost and found pets
- Advocacy for the humane treatment of animals
- Running an animal shelter and supporting quarantine for unwanted, abused and abandoned animals
As a non-profit organization, they rely mostly on donations from the public to run their activities so do help them by donating generously, volunteering at their shelter or even adopting a pet from them instead of buying one from the stores.
This second mani was done some time this week but I was too busy studying for my final exams to post it midweek. A green gradient with a little yellow stud on each finger. And OPI's silver crackle polish on the thumb. A simple one, just for fun when I got bored of studying.
Okay so exams officially start in about 24 hours. I have 2 papers tomorrow but I just spent the whole morning painting my nails. My friend joked that if there was a module in university about nails and stuff, I would ace it easily. Haha I wish. So now it's back to reality, back to my books and notes. All the best to everyone taking their exams too! Press on and summer will be here in no time!! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Polish Days - 7 Deadly Sins
POSTED ON: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 @ 1:55 PM | 0 comments
It's time for Polish Days! Here's my first post for Polish Days started by Hannah from Polly Polish. She comes up with a theme every month and this month's theme is "7 Deadly Sins" - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy or pride.
And when I saw these 7 sins, the first thing that came to my mind was "green with envy". So I did a simple mani with a green gradient and silver nail tape. I finished this in about 1.5hrs when I woke up this morning and it's pretty messy so I guess it won't stay on my nails for long. Definitely not more than 2 days.
As you can probably see from the picture, my Seche Vite topcoat shrank the darkest green quite a bit, revealing the tips of my nails. Annoying Seche Vite, and I still have 2.5 more bottles of it to go before I can change to another brand of topcoat.
Here are the 4 greens I used for this mani. From left to right, Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet, China Glaze's For Audrey, OPI's Can't Find My Czechbook from the Euro Centrale collection and a dark green from Beadstreet.
Please do check out the other lovely nail enthusiasts with their take on the "7 Deadly Sins" below...
Love,
Lorraine
Golden Eye
POSTED ON: Sunday, April 7, 2013 @ 2:19 PM | 0 comments
Here's Golden Eye from the OPI Skyfall collection. Very dense bright yellow/gold glitter in a clear base. I think it looks a bit too over on its own so I tried a darker base underneath it. The picture on the left shows two coats without topcoat and as you can see, it's thick enough for full coverage. My fourth finger has OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark as a base and one coat of Golden Eye over it. I think that looks somewhat better and less in-your-face. I guess it'll be more for designs instead of on its own then!
I kind of miss doing designs but i have so many untrieds, so more swatches to come in the next few weeks!
Summer's just around the the corner, exams will be over soon! Hang in there everyone! (:
Love,
Lorraine
POSTED ON: Thursday, April 4, 2013 @ 10:00 AM | 0 comments
It's been two weeks since our cheerleading competitions.
Even though we didn't achieve our original goal of Top 3, I still think we're awesome and will still be champions in my heart. Despite all the injuries suffered, it has been a fulfilling journey nevertheless and I would like to thank a few special people who made this journey so unforgettable.
First of all, my dearest girls team SMU Flare Team Gold. Clara, Huiting, Azel and Sandra. Thank you Clara for agreeing to compete with us despite your busy work schedule and other commitments. Thank you for fighting every stunt so hard for us and compensating for our lack of skills. Thank you Huiting for putting up with my nonsense/black face, you're really strong I and really enjoyed basing with you. Seeing you roll around and do funny random things made training less painful, stressful and tiring! And my dear juniors Azel and Sandra, thank you for dedicating your time to Flare and for training hard with us for this competition. I know you both would love to fly too, I assure you that you girls will definitely get your chance during summer performances. So train hard, continue to do Flare all girls team proud and continue this legacy!
Next to our dear coed team, SMU Flare Team Blue. Thank you for always spotting us, encouraging us and pushing us to never give up even when we're dead tired. Seeing you guys improve so much over a short 3 months is really an inspiration and I'm glad you guys did well in the end. Congrats to Rachel and Ernie for their achievement at their final competition with Flare. Kangwee and Cow do continue to train hard and bring greater glory to Flare. And of course, thank you Cassy for training and competing with Flare despite your busy schedule as a law student. Hope that you've enjoyed training with us as much as we enjoyed your company. We'll really miss you when you leave Singapore!
Coach Zhaoming for believing in our team and pushing us to do greater stunts with higher difficulty levels. For always spotting us and correcting our mistakes (be it in a nice manner or not). For choreographing a routine that we really believed in and had great potential. For never giving up on us even though we were all new bases and had significantly less strength as compared to the previous girls team.
Also. thank you all the calaFlare kids for supporting us in one way or another e.g. buying food for us, encouraging and supporting us all the way, doing our hair and makeup for us. Flare would never be complete without you guys.
And last but not least, a big thank you to all my friends and family who were understanding of my busy schedule, who were concerned about my injuries and who supported us throughout this journey.
Alright back to nail stuff. Here's a swatch of my first Barielle polish, Falling Star. I quite like the contrasting colour of the orangey gold glitter. They're quite pretty but really hard to capture on camera. Maybe it's time I start taking photos with a proper camera instead of using my phone's camera...
Saw this shark bite nail design online and I think it's pretty cute! Probably gonna try this design soon! (:
Love,
Lorraine
OPI Swatches
POSTED ON: Monday, April 1, 2013 @ 8:35 AM | 0 comments
So cheerleading competitions are over and I'm starting to grow out my nails again. The OPI Nail Envy for sensitive and peeling nails are working pretty well so far as I noticed my nails are less brittle and are peeling less. Definitely better than the Sally Hansen one so I'm sticking to this.
So my first swatch here is OPI's Don't Burst My Bubble from the Oz The Great and Powerful collection. It's really really sheer and even three coats wasn't enough to completely cover the nail till it's opaque.
The second one below is OPI's What Wizardry Is This? Pretty bronze coloured textured polish with a rough finish that shines beautifully under artificial light. For those who prefer a smooth shiny finish, a thick coat of topcoat would do just the trick.
Oh yes and I bought another bottle of polish today from Nail Deck. OPI's Golden Eye from the Skyfall collection. Been wanting to get a gold polish ever since I lent mine to someone who never bothered returning it. Golden Eye contains dense bright yellow glitter in a clear base. Can't wait to swatch it soon so look out for it! (:
Alright, back to something less upsetting. #SGSwatchFestFringe! It was yesterday so I'm one day late, oops. This is my first time participating in #SGSwatchFestFringe, kind of like a mini impromptu version of #SGSwatchFest event that is held on Instagram. This weekend's theme for the mini event is Iron Man. Yes yes, it is to celebrate all the hype over the movie that was just released in Singapore last Thursday, 25th April.
Do check out the other ladies with their Iron Man inspired mani on Instagram with the hashtag #SGSwatchFestFringe! (:
I do think doing these little manis to promote a certain cause do work. People I meet would compliment me on my nails and I would always take the chance to explain the themes/inspiration behind each mani. So yes, #sgswatchfest and such campaigns are really a great idea!
Really love my mani this round but they're starting to chip and peel off after a few hours of furious typing on my laptop during exam today. Thus, I would have to clean them off tonight. Very unfortunate. ):
A simple mani with striping tape using OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and Golden Eye (somehow i've been using these two polishes a lot these days...). And a paw print on my thumb and 4th finger using a normal paintbrush. This is without topcoat and I have barely used any topcoat since I decided to stop using my Seche Vite after it shrank many of my manis and since the current one is drying up. I have about 2.5 bottles of Seche Vite topcoat left and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a new brand of topcoat that I can easily find in Singapore. Anyone has anything nice to recommend? (:
As you can probably see from the picture, my Seche Vite topcoat shrank the darkest green quite a bit, revealing the tips of my nails. Annoying Seche Vite, and I still have 2.5 more bottles of it to go before I can change to another brand of topcoat.
