NARS Orgasm lip gloss and nail polish gift set.

Image from sephora.com

Not content with giving us the blusher, lipgloss and the multiple, NARS has taken their most infamous hue to another level -- the nail polish. NARS nail polish in Orgasm is only available in a limited edition set on Sephora for the time-being, but given that this glowy peachy-pink is an easier colour to love than Zulu, which is currently being hunted by the most hard core of hard core polish fanatics since its disappearance, Orgasm will hopefully enter NARS's small but cultish permanent nail polish collection.

Macho, macho man: Man Glaze nail polish

Mr. g33kchic once showed up at a lunch date I'd scheduled with him and g33kchic boldly sporting black nail polish. This was in Mid Valley, mind you, one of the most crowded and bafflingly popular malls in Kuala Lumpur. I was duly impressed, and even more convinced that g33kchic had chosen the right mate for herself. When I came across Man Glaze nail polish, I was reminded immediately of his chutzpah and confidence (as well as his infinite well of patience as he followed g33kchic and I from one cosmetic counter to another on more than one occasion!). The polish is a matte finish formula and only comes in two shades -- Harum Scarum (black) and Jailhouse Rock (grey). I like brushed steel and the idea of matte polish, but I'm not sure if I want my nails to look resemble mini non-stick frying pans. As for the packaging, it's clear that it isn't the Essie crowd they're after. Man Glaze is like, so hard core since they sell for US$6.66 per bottle. Rock on, dudes! Whoooooooooooooo! *makes devil horns*

Rescue Beauty nail polish in Stormy.

I am not a pink girly-girl for the most part and revelled in last season's deep nail colours, especially black and navy. Warmer weather demands lighter shades, however, so I'll use grey polishes ike this creamy cement shade from Rescue Beauty as I make the transition into summer:


Conversely, g33kchic is using a wonderful metallic steel grey from Kit Cosmetics to transition into fall in Melbourne. This just goes to show how versatile this shade is, unlike black. :) Rescue Beauty polishes are Toulene, Formaldehyde and DBP-free, three cancer-causing chemicals that are found in many nail polishes. They are available for purchase online for US$18 each.

First Attempt for Dark Nails

This Fall/Winter season calls for short, dark nails in multiple hues of reds, wines and rich greys as seen from Chanel.

Speaking of Chanel, they do the most deliciously-dark matte black polish. Retailing for a whopping RM70 per bottle, this unemployed had to find another solution. Fast!

That's where your local Watsons came to save the day. Silkygirl does a black that's called Jet Black that is rather similar to the one from Chanel that I'd been coveting. Look, I'm a novice with dark nails. There's absolutely no reason why I should be spending so much on a nail polish. A good base and top coat, yes, but not yet, for nail polishes.

And, stealing Shryh's idea of displaying both the results of the nails as well as the bottle, here's my very first attempt.



It's a lot of work waiting for each layer to dry before another one is painted on. What with trying not to go over the edge and paint the skin, trying to leave the cuticles unpainted, it's a major pain in the ass! With dark polish, I've been told to stick to short nails for a chic look. Any longer, you'd be going for the vampish, Halloween look.

I still love the effects, though. The hard work paid off and I'd love to have a navy blue and a shimmery plum colour next.

MAC nail lacquer: Whirlwind

With flash:


Without flash:

Whirlwind is one of the two shades of nail lacquer from MAC's Blue Storm collection. The website describes Whirlwind as "metallic royal blue with green, blue and purple pearl" in a frost finish. This could very well be true, but that's one confusing description if anything. Looking at my nails, all I can see is dark metallic blue-green. I love the colour, which goes incredibly well with my skin tone, and in the off chance that the prayer whispered into the internet abyss will be heard by Roland Mouret, I would love a Galaxy dress in this hue.

MAC nail lacquer: Wildfire

I have been very, very bad this month and I will be bad for the rest of the year until the Alexander McQueen for MAC collection at the very least. After I failed to find a blouse I liked enough to purchase during my lunch break, I consoled myself with a bottle of MAC nail lacquer in wildfire (black with red pearl) from the Smoke Signals collection. It looked so pretty in the bottle I bought it without even testing it, which almost turned out to be a tragedy. The first layer went on sheer, and I nearly cried with disappointment because I was promised a cream formulation. But a second coat transformed my nails and gave them a gorgeous black-purply sheen that was surprisingly more purple than black.

With flash, which shows off the colour and finish better.

Without flash.

Apologies for the bad pictures - they were taken in a hurry. Also, as these were taken on the third day of application, there is slight tip wear. Funny how one doesn't notice how much we use our fingers until one gets a manicure or applies a new coat of polish.

Wedding beauty.

Long story short - our lovely g33kchic got married to her sweetheart of 7 years on 25 August 2007. I went over to her house early in the morning to watch her get her makeup done. Many brides from our hometown go the whole hog on their special day - renting 3, 4 outfits for the day and hiring makeup artists to transform them into unrecognizable glamourpusses. Consequently, they look amazing in studio photos, but pictures taken by their guests inevitably reveal the caked on foundation that is 3 shades too light for their complexions.

g33kchic's attitude, which I share, is that the bride should look like herself on her wedding day, but look her absolute best. She thus opted for a neutral palette of shimmery nudes and browns carefully selected to include her favourites and 'holy grails' from her makeup collection.

All that a bride needs - I'm referring to the coffee, of course. ;)


Makeup checklist - brides usually tuck blotters, gloss into a small pouch the bridesmaid carries. Our g33kchic brought this bag, which was the size of a small football!


Eyeshadow - Dior 5 shadow palette in Frosted Earth(limited edition)

Bride's holy grail blush - Benefit's dandelion

Nail lacquer - Chanel's Pink Satin. I thought this would be prettier than a picture of the bottle itself.

Other items used - Laura Mercier primer, false eyelashes, Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nudes shadow palette, which was used for contouring!

By the time she donned her veil and gown before leaving for the church, she was truly a vision in white.