Blogazons Roundup 12/29

Ready for some great posts? The Zoya Lovely collection swatches, lots of nail art, plenty of great makeup reviews and lots more.

• Makeup Demon: Makeup idea for Christmas, New Year or other party. Let's sparkle!
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: The Zoya Lovely collection is full of fun, airy pastels! See Destany's swatches.
• Pinked Polish: A Mani featuring polishes from two of my fave Indie polish makers!!!! And It's Pink :)
• Amber Did It!: Amber flies high with Philadelphia Eagles nails in her NFL Nail Art Series.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: Looking for a fabulous new eye cream? Lola's Secret Beauty Blog loves vbeauté Eye Never Nourishing Eye Crème because it does EVERYTHING a great eye cream should do!
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: Quick and Easy Tips for Holiday Makeup.
• Ishah x Beauty: Check out this gorgeous Pop Art inspired nail art tutorial.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel once again indulges in her new obsession with Lush.
• TheFabZilla: TheFabZilla shows her two looks from Christmas Eve & Christmas Day!
• Lacquer Buzz: Christmas might be over, but it's not too late to take a look at this cute Santa and Elves mani!
• Beauty by Miss L: This week Miss L created golden Christmas manicure.
• Beauty Info Zone: There's so much to love from Lush, everything is so cute including the names. Check out Mr. Punch soap to see why you need it.
• Vicerimus: Just spotted a lizard! If you are a bit tired of blogs busy with Christmas nails (which are all awesome!) and want something else for a change, take a look at this reptile-inspired manicure (it's not an OPI Just Spotted A Lizard swatch post, though :P).
• Liesl Loves Pretty Things: West End Wonderland Part 2! Last week Liesl showed off the lippy. This week it's Butter London's gorgeous polish.
• Lisa's Nail Obsession: Pink gold on my fingernails? When I'm dressing up why not?
• Mama Fashionista: It's time for MAC Matters! See what Quinn picked as the 2nd item from MAC to build her "core collection!"
• Betzy's Makeup: My go to makeup look for running errands on weekends.
• SoFlaJo: AutoNation shares Christmas at Broward Nursing Home.
• Baking Beauty: Baking Beauty Rounds Up The Best New Year's Eve Manicures.
• The Beauty Delicacy: Ego-Friendly nails with Sation nail lacquer. A multi-glitter must have for every polish collection!
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction shared her review on Anastasia Beverly Hills Hypercolor Brow and Hair Powder.

New Year's Eve nails. Super fierce, glitter gradient.

Blam! I give you, a glitter bomb.

Essie Stroke of Brilliance exploded all over my nails, and I think this look would be killer for NYE.

I actually did this mani a while ago, when I still had my fierce-ass claw-tip stilettos. If I could, I would go back to that nail shape, but claw-tips and new baby don't mix well. For this glitter gradient, I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Social Ladder as a base and dabbed Stroke of Brilliance onto the tips, waited for it to dry and then worked my way up the nail, dabbing and stroking the glitter into place. I did about 3 coats of glitter, then 2 coats of topcoat to smooth everything out and voilà!

I was actually testing out the Elmer's glue peel off base coat for the first time, so my edges are a little rough. Otherwise  I love love LOVE this mani. Stroke of Brilliance is such a perfect party glitter without being super over the top, like a can of confetti threw up on my nails. You feel me? I may just have to recreate this for my New Year's nails, albeit without the claws.

The only Christmas Tree we have this year is on my nails.

This year we had planned to get a live tree, since we're in our own house which has nice high ceilings. Unfortunately, with the craziness surrounding the birth of my newest baby boy, time totally got away from us and we didn't end up getting any Christmas tree! So to console myself, I decided to put one on my nails for tomorrow :)

These are my Christmas Nails!

3 coats of Zoya Tori on my thumb, 1 coat of Zoya Jules and 2 coats of Milani Gems on my index, 3 coats of Zoya Jules on my middle and pinky fingers, and 3 coats of Zoya Tori on my ring finger. The Christmas Tree was done with dots of Jules and Essie Good As Gold and a dab of Gems for the star on top.

Pretty easy, but pretty gorgeous and festive! I love the colour combos :) It feels like Christmas. We aren't Christian, so to us Christmas is really about family time, good food and presents for the kids. I hope you have a great day tomorrow, whether you celebrate Christmas or it's just an extra holiday you get to spend with your family :)

Melty Ice Cream nail art: China Glaze It's a Trap-eze & Something Sweet

So, my ridiculously lovely and generous friend Malisa saw my wishlist post and for my birthday got me China Glaze It's A Trap-eze from the Cirque du Soleil collection! Thank you, thank you, thank you Malisa!

I desperately wanted this polish because it's a gorgeous milky, colourful glitter and also because of the name. I'm a meme lover.

Well, it's even more awesome than I expected it to be and I had to put it on straight away. I had been dying to try out a nail art look I saw on Chalkboard Nails, so I used It's A Trap-eze and China Glaze Something Sweet and had at it. Hers is absolutely gorgeous, mine is but a humble homage to her greatness :)

Lookit all that yummy glitter *drool* °_°

I did three coats of Something Sweet on my index and pinky, then two coats of It's A Trap-eze on my middle and ring fingers. It was opaque in just two coats, PERFECTTTT. Then I got a dotting tool and did dots of Something Sweet over It's A Trap-eze as the ends of the drips, then used a thin nail art brush to connect the drips to the line at the top. It's really pretty easy, since you don't have to be super precise. Then I did two coats of top coat to even out the texture and give it a nice glossy shine.

This look reminded me of melting ice cream cake, which then resulted in me getting this ridiculous song stuck in my head....

Ice cream, ice cream, i-i-ice cream paint job...

Close up of an accent nail.

I'm so in love with this look and with It's A Trap-eze in general! A gorgeous milky glitter that's opaque in 2 coats, what more could a girl want? Maybe an ice cream cake? I really want more of these milky glitters, they look so pretty.

Does anyone know of other polishes that have the same effect? I think the Japanese brand pa makes some. Have you picked up any of the China Glaze Cirque du Soleil polishes?

*Pop Art Inspired* Nail Art Tutorial and Giveaway

Hello! I have something special for you all, a nail art tutorial by my BFF, Mai of Rainy Nails. We are going to be doing a series of nail art tutorials and giveaways and this is the first! I'm really excited to share these with you guys :)

Mai has been a licensed nail technician since 2008. She does Japanese deco nail art, gel nails, acrylic sculpting, freehand nail art and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes me super jealous when I compare it to my novice attempts lol.

Here are some examples of the beautiful designs she does.

I love her mini works of art, bitch doesn't do my nails for me enough! :p (J/K Mai, I love yooooou!) <3

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Hello, this is Mai! Today I have a Pop Art inspired nail art tutorial for you. I love the bright colors and stark contrasts of Pop Art and this pattern is like a fresh twist on a leopard print. It is very trendy while still being girly and cute :) Also, we are giving away this set of pre-designed nail tips!

'Pop Art Lips' Nail Art

1. Paint a coat of base coat and then 2 coats of a bright nail polish color. Try painting with 3 strokes; center, right and left. If you miss a spot, don't worry about it. If you are fast, you can just paint it very quickly. If you aren't, it's better to leave it. The more strokes you do, the more the polish gets thick, streaky and uneven. Wait about 2 minutes for the first coat to dry, then paint it again with 3 strokes. This time, you can paint over the part you missed the first time. 

2. When the polish is dry, use a contrasting color acrylic paint or nail polish and striping brush to draw lip shapes and small irregular dots, like leopard print. This doesn't require a pristine line, so just let yourself go and draw. 

3. Use black acrylic paint or nail polish and a striping brush to draw shadows. Keep in mind, try to draw the shadows on the same angle. For this design, I drew the shadows towards the bottom right. 

3. Wait 2 minutes for it to dry so you avoid streaking or smudging the design and then do a coat of your favorite top coat. Done!

This is a really easy design, but it looks super cute and adds a pop of something special to your tips.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! -- Mai @ Rainy Nails.

Here's an image for easy pinning! ;)

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Giveaway!

We are giving away this exact set of gorgeous 'Pop Art Lips' nail tips to one of you lucky readers ;) All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

The nail tips used are the brand 'Kiss' from CVS, medium length, oval shape. 

Thumb: size 1

Pointer: size 6

Middle: size 3

Ring: size 5

Pinky: size 8

Giveaway is open to US only, ends Jan 2nd, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Holiday Wishlist (please pay extra attention to this if you are married to me).

Ok so 'tis the season of holidays, but for me it's also my birthday month!

Therefore, I feel doubly entitled to make a wishlist :p Whether it will be acknowledged or not is a completely different story =_= My husband doesn't even read my blog... I guess that makes it easy for me to start bitching about him on here? Maybe if people start telling him I'm dishing all our dirt, he'll pay more attention ;) I should also mention that my husband and I have... the same birthday. Yes, not only does he not like to make a big deal of his own birthday, he thinks he doesn't have to make a big deal of mine.

So here I am, making a wishlist that will most likely pass by the wayside without a second glance.. it is just here for your (and my) enjoyment ;) (No but seriously hun, I hope you're reading this :p).

1. China Glaze It's a Trap-eze / 2. Forever 21 Quilted Heart Shoulder Bag / 3. Forever 21 Eyelet Peter Pan Collar Necklace / 4. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette / 5. Nekomimi Beanie / 6. Lime Crime Les Desserts d'Antoinette Nail Polish Collection / 7. OCC Yaoi Lip Tar.

I'm sooo obsessed with all of these products (can you tell I love bright colours and pastels?). It's a Trap-eze is so pretty and whimsical looking, like confetti and cupcakes and all that kind of fun stuff. The heart bag from F21? Do I even NEED to explain that one? SUPER cute. Peter Pan collar? Ditto. Also, so on trend in Asia right now. I need more neutral eyeshadows like I need an arrow to the knee, but I love the quality of Urban Decay cosmetics and matte neutrals are such a staple. The Nekomimi (cat ears) beanie is something I've wanted since I saw a couple of my fave bloggers post about them while they were in Japan. I am in love with pretty pastel nail polish, and the Lime Crime ones have such cute names (like Peaches ♥ Cream, Lavendairy). I love OCC Lip Tar and this one is a metallic, bright fuschia called Yaoi. As an Anime/Manga lover, it is a necessity.

What's on your holiday wishlist? Are there any products that you are just so absolutely in love with that you feel like you MUST have them? These are definitely mine :)

Life Update: New Baby, Birthdays and more.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.

My beautiful baby boy was born a little over a week ago and after much debating, arguments, tears (on my part) and compromise, we named him Cassius :)

He is a beautiful, happy baby who just wants to eat, sleep and quietly listen to what's going on around him. My older two boys were so happy and excited to meet him and have been extremely good with their little baby brother. I feel very blessed and content and I am recovering from a natural birth very quickly :) Having my husband and Mum around to help has been really great.

On Saturday we went down to Santa Monica pier and met up with an old friend of mine from Australia. It was a nice day, spent walking around, taking photos, shopping and drinking ice cold milkshakes even though it got freezing after the sun went down.

Cassius slept pretty much the whole time. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

That night we had dinner at Kaido Sushi on Santa Monica Blvd, it was quite good.

Crunchy Roll, Unagi Roll and Rainbow Roll

Sunday was my 27th birthday. It's strange, but as the years go by I feel less and less excited by birthdays. This one passed very quietly, a gift from my Mum and the kids in the morning and then a little cake from my lovely friends at a Christmas party we attended.

Since it's my husband's birthday as well (yes, we're on the same day), we are thinking of just going out to dinner some time during the week and having some alone time. Since he hasn't gotten me a gift yet, I'll be posting a 'holiday' (and birthday) gift wishlist in the next couple of days ;) Let's see if he actually reads my blog, ha!

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend and please forgive me if my updates are sporadic (more so than usual)... My lovely friend Mai will be doing a guest post on a nail art tutorial and ... a giveaway! Stay tuned, I think you will definitely like what she has in store :)

And don't forget to enter the Blogazons $500 Giftcard Giveaway!