Prettifying the world one nail at a time.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Goodies

Happy Easter everybody!

I NEEDED to do another easter design, because they're so cute, and I wanted to try bunnies. And chicks in eggs. My own nails needed to rest a bit (they're so damaged, I need to take care of them), so I did my moms nails, and gave here a crazy mani (with which she cannot leave the house, haha, they're not really sophisticated this time ;) ):

Whooooooooooooh! BUNNIES! <3





I used Essence "Upper green side" and "I'm bluetiful" for the blue, topped with "I love bad boys" to make it lighter. On the middle finger I added Rimmel "Cutie Colada" from their new Cocktail Colour in a Flash line, to give it more sparkle. The rest I did with stripers from Max and Janet, and some black polish and a dotting tool.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter!

xoxoxo
Captain

Saturday, March 30, 2013

ManiMania in Paris Part 2

Happy first day of the long Easter weekend!

Today I want to show you the nails I did for my Parisian friend <3
We did these at night, so we had time (although we had to wake up very early the next morning). This was not the first time I did her nails, and she is an excellent hand model. Her nails are fantastic: they are straight and big (but not too big, just big enough, if ya know what I mean ;) ). Her skin colour permits the most flashy colours and today I chose red (2 coats of Essence "Kiss on top of a rock"):


"Moulin Rouge"


As you can see, I wanted to marble, so I did that with black (from Max) (mind you, I only had about 10 bottles with me, so there was not much choice). At one side of the nail, I made a gold line (with Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours). Then I took out my dotting tool (since I didn't have my actual one with me, I used a bobby pin and a toothpick) and created the gold and black lace motif. Then I added topcoat and prayed for it all not to smudge while sleeping. It worked! <3

(Update: One of our facebook followers has been so wonderful as to assign a name to the mani, she's brilliant: Moulin Rouge. Thank you <3)

I miss her dearly now. We had such a good time together in Paris! Thank you my sweetie!

xoxoxo
Captain

Friday, March 29, 2013

ManiMania in Paris Part 1

A Good Friday to y'all!

When in Paris, I had the pleasure of polishing some nails :) I had very limiteds supplies, only about 10 polishes, but here goes! The first mani I got to do was on the hands of the cutest 4-year-old ever (my friends' niece):

I used Essence "I'm Bluetiful" as my base, and then drew the lines with my silver striper. Then I added the flowers with a bobby pin, using Essence "Shopping trip in Soho" (pink) "A walk in the Park" (green) and HEMA nr. 19 for the yellow. 




Then walked in a friend of my friend, who is now also my friend, and since we only had about 10 minutes, I decided to do a simple design on top of her already (albeit somewhat chipped) read nails, with my black and silver striper. 

These are the hands of my friends mom, to whom I am so grateful for taking me in for 4 days. She was so sweet and cooked all these delicious dishes for me; I was in heaven :)
I used Essence "Shopping trip in Soho" and created the gradient with the accompanying "Party all night long". Then with W7 "silver",  I added some flowers to the accent nails, and some black for the centres. 

Tomorrow I'll show you what I did on my friends nails, in part two of the mani mania :)

xoxoxo
Captain

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Crazy easter chicks

Hey lovelies!

Looking forward to Easter? I am! Here's a cute and crazy mani you can easily recreate (if you do, we'd love to see it, so please share your design on our facebook page!) :



My right hand, no deco on the eggs, just a splash of colour.


I used for yellow HEMA nr. 19 (dupe of Chanel "Mimosa") , for blue "Peppermint" by Rimmel, the orange is Catrice "For Bright Guys", the green and pink are Essence "Lime up!" and "Very Berry". I placed the googley eyes (that one of my lovely friends sent me as a surprise) in the still wet paint. Then I took a black striper for the little paws, and some red polish and a dotting tool for the beak. With some white polish and my dotting tool I created the dots on the "easter eggs" and with a white striper I painted the lines.

This makes me super duper happy to look at. Unfortunately I now (on day 2) have the weird craving to pull off the eyes. Let's see how long I can resist... I always have that with 3D stuff...

xoxoxo
Captain

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Paris, je t'aime!

Hi hi hi!

I'm back babies!
This is my simple Paris mani, I didn't have a lot of time... But I did get to try out my new glitter topper from L'Oreal, Confetti, a nice topper with  white and black glitter in two sizes, and some shimmer that unfortunately I couldn't capture here, but I will try some other time with another camera and sunlight ;)




The Lieutenant joined me, not to Paris unfortunately, but just for the mani :) I used two really fast-drying polishes as the base, because of the limited amount of time: Bourjois "Rose Cupcake" and "Rouge Velvet". I attempted an Eiffel Tower with my white striper, but it didn't turn out too well. Oh well... Paris was amazing, and I got to do people's nails over there, so yay! Will show you soon.


xoxoxo
Lieutenant & Captain

Friday, March 22, 2013

Outrageous Hair Tips

So we often get some questions about hair tips; 
Here are some other crazy things you can do, with stuff you can find at home, for some healthy and strong hair!



  • Olive Oil
Ok, so this has been done a lot before. But yet it is the easiest, and least smelly ;) All you have to do is, grab some olive oil, starting from the tips of your hair and spread it towards your head. And you don't really need any on your roots, because you already have (usually) enough natural hair oil coming from your scalp. Tie it up, or wrap it up, whatever you like as long as it doesn't get in your face and make you all oily, and let it sit for as long as you like. If you've got time, 1~2 hours, but if not, 30min or so will be good too! When you are done, wash it out, dry it, and enjoy the extra silky shine!!


  • Vinegar
Smelly shit. BUT it will clean out the pores of your scalp, squeaky clean!! And for sensitive skin/hair type, its one of the milder chemicals which your body will most likely be able to handle. Grab an empty water bottle, and pour in vinegar to water at 1:5 ratio. Mix it, and put a little bit at a time onto the top of your head while massaging it into your scalp with your fingertips. Any product residue or shampoo/conditioner remains, icky dead skin cells and dust, ALL of these will be cleansed out of your scalp! When this part is done, just wash it all out, (wash it REALLY GOOD, you won't get the smell completely out, but rinse as best as you can for minimal smell) and conditioner it as usual. If preferred, you can also shampoo ;) If the smell still bothers you after all of this, and drying it after you get out of the shower, then try spraying some kind of fragrance in your hair. This vinegar stuff is also good for guys who wear hair product every day. But guy OR girl, this is recommended once per month (or every other week if you prefer), to keep your scalp fresh and clean :D
Apple vinegar is best, but cheap regular white vinegar is also fine.
(* Do beware though, if you have any artificial colouring, or stuff non-permanent in your hair, the vinegar will also rinse that out too! So caution!)


  •  Mayonnaise 
Ewwwwww, I know right?
But hey, its got a nice fatty texture, with lots of nutrients (a bit too much for some albeit), and very thick.... it's actually EXCELLENT stuff for restoring damaged hair! Just grab a jar, dab a bit onto your hair-tips, and gradually spreading it upwards. You really only need it for the super damaged areas, so no need for any on the top part of your head. Wrap it up/tie it up, and let it sit for, say, 20 mins or so? then RINSE THE HELL OUT OF YOUR HAIR. aaaaaaaaand it's good to go :)
Shampoo it if you like, conditioner it if you like, but DO notice, the mysterious extra treatment your hair's gotten.... ;)



  • Lemons, or Chamomile tea
Ever wanted to get a brighter-ish glow to your hair? Or maybe just a shade bit lighter? But not want to damage it, with harsh chemicals or weird temporary dyes? Weeeeelllll, here's a SUPER CHEAP option: freshly squeezed lemons, or, chamomile tea!
Just soak your hair in some lemon juice (1~2 lemons should be fine) for a while (15~30mins?) and try it a couple times a month to let it gradually let your hair become lighter. Likewise for chamomile tea, it doesn't matter if its just from a regular teabag you get at a supermarket, just brew yourself some strong chamomile tea, cool it down first!! and then soak it into your hair ;) After that, same instructions as the lemons.



  • Mouth wash, or Salt
Have any dandruff problems? Try washing your hair with some of that mouth wash you have on your counter top! Just a few cups onto your scalp, leather it in real good, enjoy that freshy smell/feeling, and rinse it off!! Another possible option is salt, especially if you've got oily dandruff. Sprinkle some of that twinkle onto your hand, and massage it in to your pre-wet hair. If you are lucky enough to be living near the ocean, go for a dunk in there! Nothing will beat sea water with all its minerals and good stuff. But remember this: they key to dandruff free hair is RINSING SUPER WELL, and then DRYING your hair RIGHT AFTER you get out of the shower. And enjoy some of these off the counter tips, while you're at it ;)

So there you've got it! Some cheap and easy tips to help your hair be fine and shine :)

Over and out!
xoxoxo Lieutenant

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Crazy braids

Hi hi hi!

It's the Lieutenant :)

So if you've got long hair, and want to look for something fun to do with it, here's a few braids you can try out yourself!

First, if you don't know how to do a French braid, take a look at one of the YouTube tutorials, like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32vYs9wKXE8&sns=em
French braids look kinda complicated, but they're actually real easy!

Once you've figured out the French braid, try a few twisted versions of it, like these ;)

The ones as shown in the pictures, are perfect for keeping your long hair healthy as it doesn't tangle throughout the day or get damaged from rubbing the strands against each other like it does when you just have it loose. Also static is a real cuticle killer :P
In addition, close fitting braids like this are really kind to your scalp as it doesn't pull you skin with the weight of your hair as is usually the case with regular ponytails and buns.

Ever get that sore scalp feeling after you take your hair down at the end of the day? That's the skin on your head stressed and screaming for relief :S Use this style to let it have a break without getting your hair in the way ;)

Hope this helped a bit for the hair lovers out there!

Thanks for reading ;)
Xoxoxo Lieutenant



Captain loves it :)

This too.. <3

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Gradient and glitter goodness

Hey hey!

Quick post;
So, on my right hand, I started out with the same ombre as for the butterfly, but didn't feel like trying to paint with my left hand, so I just did an ombre, adding some extra NYC "Revolving Red" on the tips (as in the previous post, it already had Catrice "Sing: Oh, Champs-Élysées" as a base, and then sponged on Essence "What do u think?" and "Fame Fatal", mixed with a little pink polish). Then I added Essence "It's just a little crush" over it, which gave it a frosty finish. The next day, I had been cleaning, so it had chipped. I decided to tape it with a glitter polish from Max:




That's it! 
Soon you will learn from the Lieutenant how to make crazy braids in your hair :)

xoxoxo
Captain

Monday, March 18, 2013

Butterfly of Love

Hello beauties!

As promised, a blog post about my entry in Tip Top Nails South Africa's nail art contest! The theme of the week was "hearts and animal print" and the task was to perform this with only nudes, pinks, reds, purples and browns (and this  time, black was permitted), as it was last time. After long contemplation on WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO BE ORIGINAL, while still being beautiful, it hit me: Butterfly wings! I had never done this before, so now was the time:



I used Catrice "Sing: Oh, Champs-Élysées" as a base, and then sponged on Essence "What do u think?" and "Fame Fatal", mixed with a little pink polish. Then I took my black striper from Max and freehanded the wing structure. I started with a diagonal base, and then a curved line at the top. Then I connected them and curved the edges where they meet. Then I put a little Essence "It's just a little crush" on the bottom of the wing. Then I took the red "Fame Fatal" and my dotting tool, and created the hearts. I sealed it all in with topcoat, and done! 

I took a look at all the other entries, and nobody else had a butterfly design, so yay! Me happy ^^

xoxoxo
Captain Lothwen

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Paddy's Plaid

Hi there!

So, tomorrow is St. Paddy's Day! Since Lieutenant already got to wear green on her nails, I figured I deserved some green as well ;) Here they are, my fingers decorated in green, loosely based on Cutepolish design:




I used Essence "We Rock the Green", my beige striper from Max and my black striper from Janet. The gold is Essence "Metallic Champagne", a discontinued striper. I didn't have a lot of time, so I stuck to this simple design.

Enjoy the weekend!

xoxoxo
Captain


Thursday, March 14, 2013

New Essence Glitter Topper swatches

Hey hey!


So, Essence nail polish was on a discount at my local drugstore, so I picked up some glitters! I'd like to show yo two of them, and also my favourite Blue polish, that my second cousin gave me as a present :) Let's start with the blue:




This is Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours nr. 320. It's a fast-drying bright blue polish, with a broad rounded brush, that applies easily and only needs 2 thin coats for full opacity. 
Next there is the first Glitter: 
This is Essence "Glorious Aquarius", a sparkly blue glitter topper. It's not densely packed with glitters, but it's nice. There are blue and silver hexes and blue mini hexes in there. Application is somewhat difficult, because of the low density.

And here we have "Glitter on Me", densely packed this time, with silver holo micro glitters, and multicoloured stripes. Like a disco ball in a bottle! Application went smoothly, I'm very pleased with this one. I applied it over Glorious Aquarius, which are the blue hexes you see here and there.

Then I applied a milky white polish from HEMA, from their "wet look" series. This is the effect:
Artificial Light

Artificial Light


Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight

Likey likey! It's like a party! Suddenly one can see the hexes from Glorious Aquarius again, and combined with the multicoloured stripes, it's really nice! The blue isn't as bright anymore, it has been muted to a nice spring colour. But I still like it a lot. So is this what they call a sandwich?

So what do you think of this experiment?



UPDATE:
I underwent a heavy case of tipwear, so I added a geometrical tip to the design, with Catrice "Pinky and the Brain" and a brush of which I clipped off most of the hairs:


I kinda liked it :)

xoxoxo

Lieutenant & Captain

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Lava Flow Swatches and Nail Art

Hi dear followers!

Today I want to show you this beautiful polish I picked up the other day, W7 "Lava Flow". It is, like "Salt 'n Pepper", a white jelly with glitters, but this time, not only black, but also red ones! Small black and red hexes and some larger red hexes as well. Here it is:

Lava Flow in direct artificial light


Daylight

Daylight

Then, I decided to mattify it with HEMA matte top coat. It's even better then! Look:

Matte, artificial light

LOVE IT! All of a sudden, it looks so much smoother! Of course, after that, some nail art needed to be done, so I took out my striper and freehanded this:

Left: Artificial light. Right, Daylight
Daylight

Let's call it Lava Flow Deco. I love how the glitters look when mattified, and home the glossy black accents spice it up! It looks very sophisticated, all of a sudden :)

What do you think?


xoxoxo
Captain

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

St. Paddy Skittle


Hello beauties,
And happy Tuesday!
Everybody is doing St. Paddy's Day designs, so even though we don't celebrate that, we thought we'd give it a shot. After all, green is fab ;) So here's the skittle:





We used Catrice "King of Greens" (dark green), Essence "Ice Crystals on My Window", W7 silver, Etos Quick Dry (light green) (which was then topped with Essence "Stop for an Ice Cream") and La Femme (white drawings). The glitter on the pinky is a gold topper from HEMA. The upper photo is the mani with a glossy finish, the lower one has a matte finish (also from HEMA).

Captain needs to work on her clovers. But still, it's a happy bunch of fingers!

xoxoxo
Lieutenant & Captain