NYX Advanced Salon Formula Nail Polish - Review and Swatches

Hi everyone! Today's post is a quick swatch post about a gorgeous polish that was lying in my stash. Every month I participate in a birthday collab where the group creates some mani for the birthday girl. This month I was supposed to recreate the mani of one of the birthday girls and I was looking for a pink polish that was bright yet a soft pink. I have a few popping pink colors but couldn't remember having this beautiful pink polish from NYX that I got a couple of years ago.

NYX Advanced Salon Formula Nail Polish - Review and Swatches - NPS 227

The polish doesn't have a name and is numbered as NPS 227. The pink shade is like the traditional rose pink color with hints of magenta shimmer. It sort of gives it a slight holo effect.

Whisper Ultra Soft - Think Pink For Comfort

Every woman has the freedom to go out in the world and achieve her dreams. And before she makes a mark for herself in the world, she must be comfortable in her own skin. We all know how miserably uncomfortable those days of the month can be; you're extra tired, your emotions could be causing havoc and above all the physical discomfort.

Ever since I was in school Whisper made those days easier to get through. My mom introduced me to the brand and I've never had the need to try anything else. Whisper has gotten better with its own set of products excelling in this space. Recently they have come out with a new pack called Whisper Ultra Soft which is 2 times softer for extra comfort.

Whisper Ultra Soft - Think Pink For Comfort

The pack is pink in color symbolizing the extra softness that the product offers.

The pads are really soft to touch and come with an almost cotton like fabric outer layer. This is layer also extends to the wing area ensuring you get a soft touch throughout. They stay dry and make you forget that your day is any different than others. You can move about and go about your daily life with complete confidence.

Price: Rs 135 (for a pack of 15 size L - you can buy it online HERE)

Press Release: NARS Backstage At Thakoon Spring/Summer 2014

Diane Kendal for NARS Cosmetics -  - Thakoon SS'14

NARS created the look for the Thakoon SS’14 runway show. 

 

SHOW: Thakoon SS’14

 

LEAD ARTIST: Diane Kendal for NARS Cosmetics

 

LOOK: "It's all about lashes with fresh skin, a bit of dimension, and a pink lip."

Purely Pro Cosmetics Universal Blush - Review

This is a quick review of the Universal shade blush that I got in my February vellvete box - its a lovely blush from Purely Pro cosmetics.
Gift Cards for Mum

Purely Pro - Universal Blush

About the product

"Our soft blush powder comes in a special light texture which glides on smoothly and evenly. The sheer formula is lightweight and highly pigmented providing the perfect product to enhance the cheek bones and create contours. Purest ingredients. Long-lasting. Highly-pigmented. Professional quality. Not tested on animals. 

How to use:

To apply, swirl your brush across the surface of the blush and then tap lightly to dust off excess pigment. Lightly apply the blush from mid cheek to temple - tracing the cheekbone for a contoured look. Else smile and apply it to the apples of your cheeks for a more youthful look. If you're not a blush user and don't have a brush, don't worry -your fingers, if used gently, can create an equally magical effect. Just make sure - you blend, blend, blend till you get the right amount of pigment. "

Purely Pro Blush Shade Universal

Packaging - Purely Pro Blush

The blush comes in a small round packaging silver in color, nothing special but makes it look chic. It has a screw top and I would have loved it had the lid been attached - that ways its easier to use when on the go.

Sponging Nail Art - Soft Pink - tutorial

The only way to decorate my nails was to apply direct nail paint. Then I played a little with mixing two colors in different patterns. Later I advanced to drawing patterns using a brush or toothpicks. More recently I started dabbling with stamping. I had never heard of sponging as a nail art technique until I saw some posts on stylecraze. So I googled and found this interesting tutorial on nail art using sponging

It looked so pretty I thought of trying out something similar. The steps seemed simple so I went ahead. First a look at the finished nails.

Now for the steps - I started with a small sponge piece. The sponge was only big enough to cover my thumb. I like having control over the thing I am holding so I made sure it wasn't too big. Next I took white nail paint and put some on the sponge using the nail paint brush.

Then I gently sponged it all over my nails. To cover all fingers of one hand I had to apply nail paint twice to the sponge. The more depth of color you need the more sponging you will have to do. Also if you use a sponge with very fine holes then the look of the paint on your nails will be denser.

As you can see in the picture above I did not care about the extra paint going outside my nails. That can be cleaned off later.

Once the white color dryed (which was very quick due to low density of paint) I repeated the process with a pink colored nail paint (lotus cozy mulberry). This time I started sponging a little downwards from the nail bed - this makes the white visible as you can see in the picture below.

 The final step was to use a darker shade of pink (Lakme 9 to 5 ) This was sponged only on the tips of the nails. I used a Q-tip - dipped it in nail polish remover and cleaned the sides of the nails with it.

Then I gave the complete nails a layer of top coat. When it dried out I used my stamping kit to stamp on snowflake like flowers to alternate nails starting with the thumb. I finished off by putting random dots using a toothpick. Stamping and dots were done using the same white nail paint that I used for sponging.

A final layer of top coat and I was done.

 And here is a picture of the sponge piece that I used.

Nail paints used:
1. Lotus Herbals Color Dew Pure White (81)
2. Lotus Herbals Color Dew Cozy Mulberry (94)
3. Lakme 9 to 5 Lavender lush
4. Top coat - Lakme clear glass

I hope you like the above step by step description for this very easy method. I know a lot of you out there are experts at this technique - please do give suggestions on how to I can improve this next time onwards.