Jin Jin's Adventures

The Gracia Gel I used last week was still intact. I noticed some lifting near my cuticles by day 4, but the gel stayed on the nail and didn't come off. I noticed that Gracia gels come in many different colours. I'm very tempted to get a few more to try!

This weekend, I researched on folk art and looking at how I can incorporate those hand drawn flowers onto my nails. The hard part is to also teach my left hand to draw as effectively as my right so that both my hands can have the same floral pattern. I am not sure how many hours of practise this will take!

Here are some nail art I did a while back. When I first started to grow my nails long, I like them shaped like this. Do you guys prefer them square or oval?



The above was done with 3 coats of OPI Happy Anniversary. This was one of my first nail art where I tried using Striping Tape. One thing I learned applying them on is that you'll need thin sharp scissors to cut them off or else you'll end up with tiny bits hanging out of your nails. Also, there seems to be a clear transparent film on top of the tape, which I think is used to protect the metallic colour. This transparent film will lift off with wear. So either pile on lots of top coat to seal the tape or put some nail glue at the ends of each tape to keep it from lifting off.


This nail art was done with 2 coats of OPI Aphrodite's Pink Nightie. I loved this colour so much I actually finished using an entire bottle and bought a replacement bottle. Now a days, I have so many bottles of nail colour that I hardly ever had a chance of finishing a bottle of nail lacquer! The above nail art was completely done by using nail stickers. I found these cute lace stickers laying in a dusty coner in the shop heavily discounted. They were made of rubber (I think) and were very easy to apply. However, after just 2 days, the bottom lace bits started to chip off. By the end of a week, only the top part of the lace was still intact!

I am now slowly trying out all the new gel products I bought earlier. On Monday night, I started working on removing my previous nail art and getting my nails ready for gel. The whole process from removal, to reshaping, cleaning cuticles and applying the gel took me 5 hours! I went to bed at 2 am and spent the most of Tuesday living like a zombie!

It took me a while getting used to applying gels as they were much thicker than nail polish. This design was done by drawing alternating lines of 2 different coloured gels and then dragging a thin brush across the nails in sections. Each time I complete one nail, it needs to be cured under the UV lamp. I was impatient and did 3 nails on my left hand before curing and that just messed up the whole marbling effect. As the gel do not set unless cured, it will still move around when your hand moves. Therefore it's best to cure them one by one.

I also tried using one of the 3D gels I got. This one is a light purple colour with lots of sparkles in it. The sparkles made it a bit more difficult to mould but the effect was very pretty.

Wow this is the first weekend in a long while that I did not redo my nails! The previous nail art had heaaps of acrylic flowers covering the nail that it lasted quite a while.

On Sunday, a collegue came over to get her nails done. She wanted something pink. This was what I did for her. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get this done until after sun down. It would have been nice to photograph this in natural light. This is 2 coats of Essie 'Castaway'.

I am so happy to finally receive my box of new 3D gels!!!! I was so totally in love with the first Jar that I went back and got all 24 colours! It's so easy to mould them into shapes and the main advantage is that there's no smell! This box set is so cute it comes together with a 3D gel brush and a glass pallette to place or mix your 3D gels before applying onto the nails. For those who's never seen 3D gels, they are not runny like the normal gel. The texture is pasty and does not dry out like acrylic unless you cure it under the UV lamp. Of course do not leave the jar uncovered near the sun or it'll hardden as well!

I also got the following goodies! A new box set of acrylic paint from Japan.

An interesting product called the Magical Pick. It picks up all rhinestones without ever dropping it. I don't have to use the clumsy tweezers on small rhinestones again!




Also got some very fine nail art brushes made in Japan, a sponge brush, a new Nfu Oh nail polish and something called progress coat. I'll explain how progress coat works next time.

Lastly, I got some 3D nail stickers from Deco Nail and bibi deco. They make one of the best quality nail stickers! It sits perfectly against the contours of your finger nails and they're all so pretty!

After the rest of the world have tested and reviewed the new Mac nail polishes, the Style Black series have finally arrived in Perth! Unfortunately, I have been very busy and missed out on the first few days when it hit the stores. By the time I got to the mac counter, a lot of the products were already sold out!

However, I did manage to grab a bottle of Seriously Hip and the Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask. I wanted to try Baby Goth Girl too but that's also gone :(

Last week I tried making a 3D gel rose and was very happy with the result. I called the store immediately the following day and booked a whole box of 3D gels in different colours! I'll be practising making different kinds of 3D nail art and hope to post them up soon.

Part of my haul last week include this very cool Silver Acrylic Powder. When it's wet it looks like a drop of mercury. However, it dries up giving a matte silver look. I really like the texture of this acrylic powder because it sets really well and was very easy to mould. This acrylic powder series also comes in gold and bronze, but I only got the silver one this time.

I'm very happy with this week's nail art, It'll be so cute to match it with a pair of silver peep toe shoes. I'm thinking of doing a matching design on the toes too!

Today is officially the most hydrated day of my life! I drank 1 and a half liters of water within half and hour and had to hold for 1 and a half hours before I can let it all out! It was such a torture. The reason behind all these drinking is because I had to get a pelvis scan done. The husband and I have been trying for a baby the past 2 years without success and we've finally decided to see a doctor to get some tests done. I'll be seeing the doctor in couple of weeks for the results. Hope everything is ok.

I went to restock my nail supplies yesterday and look what I've got! My first UV Lamp and Gel Set!


I tried the 3D gel today and it was amazing! I regret getting just 1 colour now :(
3D gels are so much easier to mould into shapes because they do not set unless you put them under the UV lamp. You can take your time to mould the gel to your desired shape and then set it under the UV lamp. With acrylic, you have to work fast. Once it dries up, your shape is fixed. Also, there is no smell at all as compared to using acrylic because there's no need to use the monomer liquid. I took off the lace on my first 3 fingers and tried painting the following 2 flowers using the 3D gel. (The lace came off easily after soaking in acetone for 10 minutes). Please excuse the mess around my fingers. I didn't have time to clean up the nail polish and dry skin because I was rushing to take these photos before the sun set. I hate taking photos using flash.

Lace nails are really getting popular now, however, as far as I'm aware, the Japanese have been using this technique for a long time. It's quite tricky to stick real lace to your nails. This is my first attempt and I'm only 60% happy with the result. For this nail art, I used nail glue to stick the lace onto my nails. The problem with it is that the lace pattern disappears once too much glue is used. It also disappears if you use too much top coat. Another problem is that the lace becomes VERY hard once it's in contact with glue or top coat. The lace bits sticking out at the edge of my nails keep getting caught in my hair, knit clothings and stockings!


Despite the above, I feel that lace nails instantly brings on the romantic feeling. It's very appropriate for weddings and special occasions. I recommend using them on fake nails and wearing it for a couple of days only. I've washed my hands several times now after getting this done last night. The lace is still intact and dries very quickly after getting my hands wet. The nail colour used this time is OPI "Isn't It Romantic?". It really is a romantic colour. I had to use 3 coats for this because the colour is very sheer.

Question now is how am I to remove the lace? I hope it comes off after soaking in acetone! hehe...