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Red Texture Nails - Not the typical matte look

Can't believe it's been almost a year since my last nail post! Truth be told it took my nails this long to heal from all of last year's experiments. Yes, they were that weak for that long (unfortunately).

Now that my nails have shown improvement, I have been a little over excited to try new designs or just have them painted in general. Bad move for the next few months? Probably...

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225

I haven't done anything matte in such a long time. I have seen these not-quite-all-matte designs floating around the internet here and there before. It was an easy decision for me to incorporate my nail stamping kit into this experiment since I just didn't feel like cutting up strips of tape at 11PM. (Late-night nails session at it's finest.)

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225

I started the process with a layer of OPI's Base Coat, then 2 light coats of Sally Hansen's 610 Red Zin, and 1 coat of Essie's Matte About You.

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225

After going through the different image plates on hand and choosing a design, I used the same red polish to stamp the image onto each nail. I am nowhere near perfecting the nail stamping technique but I am much better at it than when I first got them. Definitely something that takes some practicing.

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225
Close up of the texturing created

It is difficult to see without really taking a close look but hey it is still atypical. It isn't just all shiny or all matte. The mix of the two makes it a little more interesting, at least I like to think it is. The only negative to this whole matte thing is having to forgo a top coat. The edges of my nails are already starting to lose polish.

Does anyone have any tips for making matte designs last longer or is this something that just can't be avoided?

Gold & Navy Nails

My first attempt at the whole nail stamping thing. Definitely not perfect & all about trial and error!
The pinky and ring finger were redone a couple of times since I started off from left to right.
I was about to give up because things just weren't turning out well. But then I finally got the hang of it. (I think...)
After I've used these a few more times, I will share all my tips in a later post. Don't want to be too hasty with my opinions yet.

L to R:
Seche Clear (1 layer)
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Petrol (1 layer)
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - 110 Wedding Glitters (2 thin layers)
Revlon Extra Life No Chip Top Coat (2 layers)

Shany Cosmetics Stamping Nail Art Image Plate - 25 piece set
Plate: SH211

I can't wait to use the stamping kit for holiday-ish nails!
Going to get right to that after my last final on Monday.

Have you tried nail stamping designs before? Any tips & tricks?

Pastel Rainbow Nails

L to R:
Seche Clear ... Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer ~ 509-HD,
American Apparel Rose Bowl (pink) ... OPI Rumples Wiggin (purple),
OPI What's with the Cattitude? (blue) ... Revlon Buttercup (yellow),
American Apparel Office (green) ... Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Anti-Chip Top Coat
My nails are finally strong enough for polish! I felt like I haven't done my nails for yearrrss (it's probably only been half a year lol). I had such a hard time deciding what color to choose. So I ended up using 5 colors instead to make the decision easier. Who ever said we can only use one polish color at a time? :P Would you do the same or was I just a little bit too excited?

Lunar/Chinese New Year Mani

The New Year was actually last week, but festivities usually last for longer than that! & Before this look would become irrelevant...Here's the mani I did for the holiday.



Gold base: Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer ~ 510-3D
Red polish: Complete Salon Manicure ~ Right Said Red

Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour Concert NJ 110912

This post has been delayed for long enough. But as the saying goes...Better late than never! All these photos are showed in order of when I took them. Maybe it'll help make it seem like you were there too. I'll try my best to find the name of songs they performed and add it in as well. Sorry for the blurry photos. Most were taken with my iPhone. (Prudential Center made a big announcement saying there were no cameras allowed. But once we got inside, the rule wasn't even enforced that heavily.) I've already cropped most of them to show the most important subjects a.k.a. the members :D Hope everyone enjoys!

My mani for the concert! ^__^
Yellow base: Revlon -  Buttercup
Blue glittery layer: Sephora by OPI - Underwater Fantasy

Can you tell? I was VERY excited! ^__^


My friend and I reached Prudential Center around 12PM and we were at the corner of the block. If only I didn't go to my one class that day, we could have had MUCH better spots. The people in front of us during the concert had been lining up since 9AM!
Once the VIPs got these bands, everything was a bit more organized. They actually had everyone go inside for the concert more or less according to these numbers. We weren't shooed back outside like the 2NE1 concert attendees were. All the VIPs with wristbands filed into the lobby/waiting area and lined up sequentially. I was #585. But there were 700+ numbers too! I dare say I think there were maybe even up to 1000 "VIPs". Whoever planned the concert really wanted to get all the profit that they could get >__>;; I don't think there was any empty space in the General Admission/VIP area.

The goodies that came with being a VIP ticket holder. Besides being able to attend the soundcheck, these made the VIP package worthwhile. The light sticks and shirts were pretty expensive at the merchandise stand!

There were fans who brought along tons of these kind of banners to pass out. I didn't even hold mine up because I was annoyed by others who held up their posters. I definitely didn't want anyone else to be in my position.

He did not look happy/impressed :P

My spots on the floor for the soundcheck and the concert were alright but still much closer than I thought I originally thought I would be in. If you can imagine this...there were the rails to separate fans from the stage. Then one row of fans, another row of fans, and I was in the third and last row in the particular area my friend and I chose to stand. After that we had to leave a space between us and another rail for people further up and closer to the center of the stage/catwalk to go in and out of the crowded mosh pit. And believe me when I say there were TONS of times when people (or more specifically this one particular person) who kept going in and out, in and out of the mosh pit. Us 3rd rowers were constantly jostled against each other throughout the entire concert. Huge bummer!

The seats ALL around us pretty much looked like this until a little while AFTER the concert began. I was worried it would stay empty because the concert was literally a few of days after Hurricane Sandy hit. But the fans pulled through :]
Songs Played: Still Alive Intro, Tonight, Hands Up, Fantastic Baby, How Gee, Stupid Liar
I wish I was closer to the main stage. Since I'm short (despite wearing heels), whenever they performed over there, I was only able to watch them through the big screens :[ My phone had a better view than I did xD







Song Played: GD & TOP ... Knock Out (뻑이가요) 
I wish I was able to see more of TOP. Of the few times he came over, my view was usually blocked by the girl's sign who was standing in the first row (she was a uber big TOP fan and brought a LED sign just for him). Those signs look better when you're not the person standing behind them :|







Songs Played: Crayon, One of a Kind, short English rendition of Crayon


Song Played: GD & TOP ... High High
Clearly the security personnels were not very impressed!
Everyone in my area couldn't believe the people at Prudential Center decided to place such a tall guy right by the stage. We were all so short compared to him! See those raise arms in comparison to where his head is? :X

Songs Played: Seungri ... Strong Baby and 어쩌라고 (don't have photos for that)
Songs Played: 가라 가라 고, Number 1, Cafe, Bad Boy
Songs Played: Blue (Fans were suppose to wave their blue light sticks during this song but since the Samsung booth gave out blue bangles, the outcome of the 'event' wasn't as dramatic), Love Song, Monster, Feeling
Probably the only 'good' photo I have with all five members in it.




Songs Played: Taeyang ... Only Look At Me and Wedding Dress (no photos)
Song Played: Daesung ... Wings
As corny as it sounds, he really did look like an angel :P
& Let me tell you...he sounds just as amazing, if not better, LIVE! :D

Song Played: Haru Haru (I have to admit did get teary eyed when the whole audience was able to sing the chorus of this song!), Lies, Last Farewell


Encore: Heaven, Bad Boy, Fantastic Baby, Feeling
One of the few clear photos I have of Taeyang. He didn't really come to the part of the stage that I was in as often. 

Something I thought was interesting. I didn't know that those Big Bang towels that were sold were actually meant for this.  A fan really close to the stage threw (I'm assuming) her's up and Daesung actually caught it! He wiped himself a bit and threw it back down.


I read about Daesung and his water flinging from the day before's concert goers. I was so surprised I'd be in the section that he chose to do this in though :P Yes things like this made me giddy. What can I say? I'm a fangirl too! :X

This fan behind us was SOO lucky! During the concert she asked my friend to throw a giant panda up to the stage for Seungri. Soon after when Big Bang came out to throw things for the audience, Seungri got in his stance and swung this jacket out to her direction. If I remember correctly she and another girl both caught it. But obviously she won the tug-of-war :P It wasn't until after I got home and did some 'researching' that I realized the LED sign she held up during the concert (that said VI) was actually Seungri's other stage name. Everything clicked! I think he really was trying to aim for her. Congrats to her! She must have been over the moon happy :D Those jackets, new and not worn by Big Bang, already were selling on YG Ent.'s ebay site for $100+!
Big Bang definitely did not disappoint! I was so amazed that they were performing with a LIVE band. I have no idea what it's like to be at a club. But I assume the atmosphere with the loud heart throbbing music that filled the venue would be kind of similar? Of course sans the screaming and singing fans xD

Everything went very smoothly and the concert started on time. No mishaps at all on their part. (I, on the other hand, lost a camera pouch toward the end of the show & my feet were dying from standing all day in heels.) Besides the great concert, I learned the importance lesson behind the reality of being a seatless VIP.
1 ~ Hardcore fans really do not care if other fans' views are blocked because of signs. They really will hold up those up HIGH for the entire concert!
2 ~ Being short is very disadvantageous.
3 ~ Having good spots where it is possible to actually see the members comfortably requires lining up VERY early, especially if it was a sold out show. Lots of people were not from New Jersey or New York!
But the amazingness of Big Bang really did make those problems bearable. Even after 2 months, the songs on my phone are still exclusive all the songs Big Bang performed that day. The more upbeat songs are actually really motivating exercise music! :P

*****You can ignore the next part of you're not interested in me babbling on any longer. Just a lot of fangirling going on here. More so for my terrible memory's sake than anything else :]*****

Most of the photos are of Daesung and Seungri because they came to the side I was in most of the 5 members. Before the concert, I didn't really have a bias toward any specific member. Everyone had their own charm. I always loved Daesung and Taeyang for their voices. TOP always had the charismatic/mysterious appeal and G-Dragon gained a place in my heart after his recent solo works. (Sorry Seungri fans...don't hurt me! :X) Afterwards, my standings for everyone are pretty much all over the place. I saw such a different side of Daesung from what I had seen of him on TV, he definitely went up in my ranks. Plus hearing his amazeball voice live...omgosh. Words cannot explain! Since I didn't get to experience the same amount of Taeyang as others did during the concert, my bias for him is more or less the same. However, I can tell everyone that his voice is also amazing live. G-Dragon's performance was also very memorable. Especially when he started to rap an English edition of Crayon (I'm very bias toward those who can speak English xD). TOP and Seungri's ranks in my books therefore were moved down. Not at all because they were bad! It was mostly because I literally got to see TOP perform only 3 or 4 times in front of me (so I missed his cute/aegyo moments).

Are you a fan of Big Bang or any other KPOP group/idol? Who are you biases?
Would anyone be interested in seeing the videos?