Goodbye Talia

This mani is dedicated to the passing of the sweet Talia Joy. R.I.P. and thank you for the memories, your inspiration and courage will always be remembered.

(Polishes used for this mani: various Too Fancy Lacquer prototypes)

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!

Glitters Gradient Mani with Shimmer Polish Leslie and Zoya Heather

Glitters Gradient Mani with Shimmer Polish Leslie and Zoya Heather

There are a few nail art manis I want to improve on, and glitter gradient mani is one of them. It is actually harder than it looks to get the 'right' amount of gradient on the nails (mine always looks like a big blob of glitters at the tip than a gradual fade away), but if you just dab a drop of glitters to the tip of your nails, then drag it to the middle with a few light strokes, you will get the hang of it after a few practices!

I used Zoya Heather, a light lavender creme which is a very good canvas for many layering options. Leslie from Shimmer Polish, a clear base polish with tiny lavender and periwinkle glitters, is then used for the tips. I am really liking the combo, because Heather shows off Leslie perfectly. I hope you like this mani as much as I do!

Sasatinnie SPR209 with Stamping

Sasatinnie SPR209 - three coats with no top coat

Sasatinnie SPR209, a candy pink with gold pink and purple shimmers, reminds me a lot of Essie Your Hut Or Mine. The shimmery look is gorgeous, and it dries to a fairy glossy finish, which is a bonus! The only negative about this polish is the brush, it is way too short and is not comfortable to hold, but at this price (about $1USD for 5ml), I cannot really complain.

I then did some quick stamping using a faux plate and Color Club Antiquated, a champagne gold foil that is awesome for stamping. How do you like this mani?

A England Lady Of The Lake With A Hint Of Spring

A England Lady of the Lake - two coats with top coat

Although we are still in the middle of winter, the weather has been quite warm and lovely lately, so I decided to do a simple dotted flower mani. I used A England Lady of the Lake as the base, a gorgeous dark purple scattered holo that applies dreamily. Check out that prismatic glow!

I then added a few dots using my dotting tool to finish the look, what do you think?

A Simple & Fun Freehand Nail Art Mani

I woke up feeling especially artsy today, so I decided to paint my nails with some fun designs. Fishtail braid, leopard prints, and love hearts, which design do you like best?

Polishes used for this mani:
Pink - Zoya Dana
Blue - Zoya Breezi
Black - Wet n Wild Black Creme

Simple Nail Art - Holo Dotted Mani

After seeing The Nail Network's dotted mani (click here), I was inspired and wanted to try it out myself. I love how the holo dots make an otherwise bland creme mani pop!

Zoya Malia with Layla Cloudy Violet dots

China Glaze Immortal with Jade Magia Negra dots

Have you tried this dotted method before? Do you like it as much as I do?

Simple Nail Art Manis

I felt somewhat artistic last week, and so I have done two simple nail art manis. The first dotted mani was actually inspired by my umbrella, and the second mani, the fluffy cloud mani is my go-to nail art because it is so easy to do! Which look do you like more?

Nail Stamping with Barry M Denim

Just a quick post today. I did a fancy French tip mani with stamping over Barry M Denim. A few words on the polish itself, Denim is amazing! A true one coater, it comes to life with gorgeous shimmer when you apply a top coat. I'd definitely try to use it as a stamping polish next time.

What do you think of this mani? I think this is easier than doing freehand French tips!

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!

Simple Nail Art with Mani Tape

Nail Art with Chanel Miami Peach and OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam

Today I have a simple nail art mani for you. My old mani (you can read the related post here) is getting some tip wear, but it is still too pretty to be removed, so I stuck some mani tapes on, then layered OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam over my nails to create a new look! I chose I Don't Give A Rotterdam, a dusky periwinkle to contrast with the bright and summery looking Chanel Miami Peach.

Do you like this look? It is such a simple technique, yet it adds an interesting twist to an other plain mani!

My Favorite Polish, Stamped!

Stamping with Catrice Dirty Berry

I wanted to do some stamping, so what's better than pulling out one of my favorite polishes ever and use it as a base? I choose a French tip pattern to stamp with, and I am quite glad with the result! I think this is my best stamping effort so far! *shameless*

What I used for this mani:
Base: Catrice Dirty Berry
Stamping polish: Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire
Stamping plate: QA 13

I can't help but to show you again how pretty Dirty Berry is. The holo shimmer, the soft burple color, what's not to love?

Check out the subtle holo shimmer!

Cult Nails Let Me Fly with fluffy cloud accent

Cult Nails Let Me Fly with a fluffy cloud accent

Hello! I will be off to Thailand Koh Samui for a few days this week, so I want to do a beachy mani with a little extra! I have never done an accent nail before, but I am pleasantly surprised by the result, because it really brings out the cute cloud mani finger!

I used Cult Nails Let Me Fly as the main mani polish, a sparkly green and silver shimmer with a teal creme base. I adore both teal and shimmer, so Let Me Fly is right up my alley! Love love love the shimmers that shine through!

The formula is perfect as usual when it comes to Cult Nails, and you can easily get away with one thick coat (I did two coat here for swatch purpose). As for the accent nail, I use Pupa L316 and China Glaze Grape Pop to complete the look.

I hope you like this special mani, and I will see you when I return from Koh Samui!

A possible Tristam dupe? Neno DS15

Neno DS15 - two coats with no top coat

What is it with Asian polish and the lack of names? Surely a name as lame as 'Dark Blue' is still better than none? Unfortunately, this gorgeous Neno polish is stuck with DS15, but that is the only imperfection it has.

DS15 is a royal blue scattered holo, and although the prismatic effect is not very pronounced, it certainly adds depth and a mysterious glow to this lovely polish. DS15 reminds me a lot of A-England Tristam, and I will be doing a comparison in the near future, so watch this space :)

The formula of DS15 is perfect, an easy two coater that dries quickly. I got this polish from an online China website, but sadly it does not ship internationally.

I thought some silver stamping would complement DS15 nicely, so here it is:

Neno DS 15 with stamping

Nail Stamping: Cheetah print mani!

Just a quick post on my Cheetah print mani today. This is one of the more popular stamping manis out there, because it is funky, fun and easy to do! Even though the stamping could be crisper, I am quite happy with the final product!

Do you like it as much as I do? :)

What I used for this mani:

Base Polish: Catrice Carl Says Tres Chic
Stamp Polish: WnW Black creme
Stamping Plate: cheetah print from Fauxnad m57
Random blue dots: Nubar Nail Art Pen - Blue Frost

It's Skin PP106 + Stamping

Apologies for the boring title, but I hope you don't find my mani boring! I wanted to do something fancy yet simple looking, so I did a funky French tip and stamped a lace pattern (using Fauxnad m71) over It's Skin PP106. Although I still suck at stamping, this mani doesn't turn out too badly, I hope you like it too!

It's Skin PP106 - two coats with no top coat

On its own, It's Skin PP106 from the Luxury Effect line is a soft lilac purple with a medium scattered holo effect. Formula is easy to deal with, and is opaque in two coats. I got this polish when I was in Seoul earlier this year, and you can try your luck at eBay or GMarket if you want to get your hands on it.


What I used for this mani:
Base: It's Skin PP106
Funky French Tip: Hits Zeus
Stamped with: Kleancolor Metallic Aqua
Stamping Design: Fauxnad m71

Water Marbling - what a disaster!

The title of this post says it all really. I had my first attempt at water marbling today, and look how wrong it turned out. Air bubbles everywhere, not to mention I had so much trouble because the polish just won't spread out properly in the cup!

I then did some research and found an excellent tutorial guide on water marbling from Laquerish. I would definitely follow her tips before I try water marbling again!

Yet another Cloud Mani

Cloud Mani

If you don't know by now, I am in love with cloud mani design, it is just so simple to do and yet so cute!

Polish Used:
Base - Zoya Carmen (this is a special polish to me because it is my name!)
Big Cloud - A-England Galahad
Small Cloud - Zoya Rea

Nail Art: Funky Cloud Tips

Just a quick post today on another cloud tip mani I did.

Cloud Tip Design using China Glaze Traffic Jam and Nature Republic SBL031

Since I am getting some tipwear with China Glaze Traffic Jam, I covered the tips with cloud design using Nature Republic SBL031. I was going to add another color to the cloud, but decided against it because I think it looks pretty good already!

Cloud tip design has quickly become my go-to mani. It is so easy to do but looks oh-so-cute. Do you like it as much as I do? :)

Nail Art: Fluffy Cloud!

I have been lacking motivation to blog lately; perhaps it is due to the lack of comments, or loss of followers, or just pure laziness. Or it is a little bit of everything. So to make up for it, I am showing you an awesome mani today!

I first saw the freehand cloud design on Nailside (she comes up with the most awesome freehand mani designs, so check out her blog if you haven't done so already!), and immediately fell in love with it! After several attempts, I finally came up with a half-decent mani of my own.

Since Nailside's cloud tutorial is very thorough already, I won't go into the details. I have one handy tip for you though: to create the round-end 'cloud' tip, leave the brush on for a few seconds to form a pool of polish. Also I find it easier to draw the cloud with a narrower brush, i.e. Zoya!

Polishes used for above mani:

Base - Zoya Kelly
Bigger Cloud Tip - Zoya Moxie
Smaller Cloud Tip - Zoya Caitlin