Syrup Nails!

For you who doesn't know, syrup nails are when you layer one color on your nails but in varied depths across the nails (usually more intense towards the tips), resulting in an ombre / gradation effect that looks like syrup being poured, hence the name. The difference with ombre/gradation effect is that syrup nails are done using only one color, usually a jelly.

This is my first attempt in syrup nails and I'd say it's decent! I used Deborah Lippmann's Call Me Irresponsible for this post, it's a red-based violet jelly. Here's how it looks with flash:

As you can see, I haven't mastered it yet so the transition isn't that smooth but in my defense, you can't tell unless you're holding them next to your eyes.

Here's the step-by-step:

1. Prep the nails (for me it's OPI's Nail Envy + Natural Base Coat)
2. Paint 1 coat of polish over 2/3 of your NAIL from the tip
3. Now paint a second coat over 2/3 of  the PREVIOUS COAT from the tip
4. Repeat step 3 for the next 2 coats, each coat gradually gets shorter while working your way to the tip
5. Run 1 last coat, this time from the base all the way to the tip
6. Finish the look with a top coat

I love violet/purple gradation because it reminds me of midnight sky.

Lippmann's Call Me Irresponsible is perfect for syrup nails because you can see the hue changes from red to blue as the color deepens.

You can also play with syrup nails, for example you can play with the length of gradation, reverse the intensity by getting more intense to the base, or paint mattifying top coat over it for a more funky finish.

 Happy Syruping! ^_^

NOTD - Indian Ocean + Happy Birthday

My second post of the day....of nail polish....yay! This is my NOTD, it started off with plain Indian Ocean by Models Own from their Beetlejuice Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

 A sheer pale blue with violet-pink glitter. The glitter is in the same manner as Essie's Kisses and Bisses, although Essie's version is much more fine and subtle.

 Very pretty and has an ethereal quality to it. It feels more spring than summer to me. It is quite sheer so you have to do a few coats for the color to show through. What you see here is 3 coats. Here it is with a flash:

  This is my 1st and probably the last Models Own polish I will own though. Why, you ask? Well, when I was applying it, I sniffed a familiar fume that I usually smell when I use Seche Vite, and I was right. I did a little googling and found out Models Own is not Big 3 free. Bummer.

So, towards the end of the day I was excited to try out a newly acquired Happy Birthday by Deborah Lippmann. It's a very famous polish for you who doesn't know, quipped as 'Party In A Bottle' for all the glitters. Here's how it looks layered over Indian Ocean:

With flash:

What you see is 2 lazily-applied coats. It was fun but I think it's better layered over something darker or heavily painted on its own. Application for Indian Ocean was smooth and easy. Lippmann's Happy Birthday needed a little maneuvering to evenly spread the glitter across the nail.

NOTD: Models Own's Indian Ocean + Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday