Nail Art Sunday

Dotticure Mani with Zoya Kendal and Essie Merino Cool

Hello peeps! Sorry I have been MIA for awhile, but for good reason (more on this later)! Today I bring you a simple dotticure mani I did using Zoya Kendal as the base, and Essie Merino Cool for the dots. Simple yet cute, and very easy to DIY too!

Dotticure Mani with Zoya Kendal and Essie Merino Cool

So I have been making my own polishes and frankening lately! I am mainly creating holographic polishes at this stage, since everybody loves holo! If you would like to see my collection so far, please visit and like my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TooFancyLacquer. Can't wait to see you there!

Epic Swatch Spam! *photo heavy*

Sorry I have been MIA for awhile! I have been slacking off a bit, so today I am going to spam you with all my mani swatches while I was away! I hope you will enjoy this massive post! (some of these photos have already been posted on my Instagram account, you can follow me there @cacanails :D)

Hits Suspiro over Essie Smooth Sailing - a periwinkle jelly base with blue, pink, purple and silver glitters

Sonama Nail Art Custom Polish - three coats. A beige pink milky base with silver, pink and green square and hex glitters 

Innisfree #105 over Zoya Neeka - #105 is a clear base polish with matte white hex/bar/square glitters, along with rose gold and copper hex glitters

Innisfree #111 over OPI I Don't Give A Rottendam. #111 is a clear base polish with matte black and white bar/square/hex glitters, sprinkled with the random pink hex glitters.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie - I might be crucified by the polish world for saying this, but I don't particularly love this much coveted polish. Yes, the shimmer is pretty, but there is something about the shade that just doesn't look right to me

Girly Bits Visions of Sugar Plum over Zoya Tru. The undie choice is a fail, I tried to find something that is similar to the base color of VoSP, but it turns out Tru is much darker. Nevertheless, VoSP is a lovely jelly berry packed with pink, silver, orange and blue glitters 

Enchanted Polish Awesomeness with OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous as French tips. Awesomeness is a metallic purple holo. I apologize for the poor quality of the swatch, I just cannot capture the true awesomeness (pardon the intended pun) of this polish and holo to save my life! 

Last but certainly not least, we have Enchanted Polish Witchful Thinking. A clear base polish packed with dusty rose glitters and micro holographic glitters, Witchful Thinking is definitely as enchanting as it could be! Here it is layered over Zoya Pinta

Saran Wrap Mani for Fall

Saran wrap mani: China Glaze Below Deck on middle and pinky finger, Essie Merino Cool on index and ring finger, all layered with China Glaze Swing Baby

Saran wrap mani, cling wrap mani, glad wrap mani, however you call it, is one of the simplest DIY nail art techniques where you don't need to be Leonardo Da Vinci to make it look awesome and artistic!

All you need to do is scrunch up a small piece of saran wrap, apply a small amount of polish on it, then dab the saran wrap lightly on your nails, it is that simple! The finishing look is so soft and elegant, and it definitely adds an interesting touch to an otherwise unremarkable mani!

Fall has finally arrived in Hong Kong, so I pull out two polishes that remain me of my favorite season. Although China Glaze Below Deck and Essie Merino Cool are very similar,the latter lean towards a blue/grey shade, whilst Below Deck is more pink/purple based and has a warmer tone. You probably don't need both unless you are a polish addict like me!

So how do you like the saran wrap nail art technique? Have you tried it out yet? If you have, I'd love to check it out!

OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam and Quick Comparison

OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam- two coats with no top coat

I Don't Give A Rotterdam is from OPI the Holland Collection 2012. It is a dusty cornflower blue packed with silver glass flecks. As you know I am a sucker  for shimmer polishes, so this one is right up my alley! The cool tone base also suits my likewise skintone very well!

When I first saw swatches of I Don't Give A Rotterdam, it instantly reminds me of Essie Smooth Sailin' (another favorite of mine), so I wanted to do a quick comparison. I also included OPI I Have A Herring Problem (also from Holland 2012) for good measure.

From L to R: Essie Smooth Sailin' vs OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdamn vs OPI I Have A Herring Problem

Wow was I totally wrong! Smooth Sailin' is a much brighter and vibrant blue than I Don't Give A Rotterdam, whilst I Have A Herring Problem has a strong teal base to it. Both Smooth Sailin' and I Don't Give A Rotterdam are filled with silver glass flecks, and I Have A Herring Problem is filled with gold flecks. Each polish is lovely on its own, and I am glad they are definitely not dupes! (my lame excuse for owning all three hehe)

Layering: Cult Nails Unicorn Puke over Essie Coat Azure

One coat of Cult Nail Unicorn Puke over two coats of Essie Coat Azure, with top coat

Hello everyone! Just a quick post today to show you my latest layering experiment. We already know Cult Nails Unicorn Puke looks good over darker polishes, so I want to try it on something lighter this time. I picked  Essie Coat Azure because it shares a similar base color to Unicorn Puke, and I think it turns out pretty well, do you agree? :)

Layering: Missha Pink Pearl over Essie Power Clutch

Missha Pink Pearl top coat (one coat) over Essie Power Clutch (two coats)

I have had this Missha Pink Pearl top coat hidden away for awhile now, and finally I get to try it today! It is a clear base top coat packed with multicolor shimmers, and boy am I totally wowed by the gorgeous effect! This top coat gives out a soft, almost pastel-looking shimmery look, and all the different colors just blow me away. Here is a closer look:

Isn't it just amazing? I can see yellow, lilac, pink, blue, orange and green tiny shimmers shining through. This would definitely jazz up any creme polish to make it a little extra special!

Essie Power Clutch - two coats

And here is Essie Power Clutch by itself. It is a dark grey creme from the 2011 Fall Collection. Formula is good and easy to apply, and it is such an appropriate shade for the Fall/Winter. It also makes a great base for layering because of its darker color, I can't wait to play around with it some more!

Finally, the perfect Pink! Essie "Your Hut Or Mine"

Essie - Your Hut Or Mine

Like many polish lovers, I have many bottles of pink polish in all shades and finishes. Yet for some reason, I don't have a go-to pink polish until now. May I introduce you to Essie - Your Hut or Mine.

Your Hut or Mine is from Essie Resort 2011 collection. It is pink coral with subtle orange and gold shimmers throughout. Apologies that my crappy iphone camera failed to capture the gorgeous shimmers, I am hoping to make a DIY light box in the near future so that I could take better nail pictures!

The formula is very nice. Essie polishes have been known to be too watery sometimes, but this one is just perfect. Two easy coats and I get full opacity. I think I have finally found the perfect pink polish that suits my skin tone!

I have been quite impressed with Essie lately. Along with Smooth Sailing, Your Hut Or Mine has become one of my latest favorites. Perhaps I like shimmer polish more than I think?

The above manicure is done with one coat of SV nail treatment, 2 coats of Essie, and one coat of CND Super Shine.


Edited: I was bored and wanted to do more to my manicure, so I pulled out my stamping kit and added some leopard prints to my nails using Fauxnad plate #m57 and Color Club Wild At Heart. What do you guys think?

Can you see the tiny holos trying to escape from the bottle?

Essie - Smooth Sailin'

Essie Smooth Sailin'

I did not think much of this polish when I saw the press release of this Essie Resort 2011 Collection, but once I saw swatches of Smooth Sailin', I know I must have this polish.


Smooth Sailin' is a purple-ish blue shade with gorgeous silver shimmer particles. It is quite a unique polish, very pretty without going over the top. I cannot stop staring at my own nails all day!


Although Smooth Sailin' reminds me of Essie Coat Azure, it is of a darker blue than the latter. I might do a swatch comparison later. The formula of Smooth Sailin' is excellent. I have no trouble applying it, and it is fully opaque with just two coats.


This manicure is done with one coat of SV base coat, two coats of Essie, and a coat of SV top coat to finish off.