Cosmetic Cupcake

Today I’m going to show you what was hiding in the cute black and red polka dot gift box Christina gifted to me in our birthday package. It contained 3 absolutely beautiful pieces of her handmade jewellery using OPI and China Glaze polishes! I was just speechless when I opened the box and from the pictures I'm going to show you I’m sure you’ll understand why. Christina makes beautiful items but even I didn't expect to receive such stunning creations!!


Christina creates stunning Japanese style nail art, decoden and kawaii deco items that she sells in her Etsy store Cels deconails. She also makes jewellery with nail polish and you can see her blog post that showcases some of her designs and Japanese nail magazines and Youtube tutorials that feature these rings here. Each piece is handmade with lots of care and attention to detail and then wrapped to perfection.

Polka dots eeeeeeek!!
Christina made these extra special pieces especially for me for my birthday!! I am so very spoiled to have such a great friend with such an amazing talent xD For the ring below and the matching pendant, Christina handpainted acrylic cabochons with the hard to find (HTF) OPI Merry Midnight on silver settings. Merry Midnight has been on my wishlist for sooooooo long and now I want it even more!!! At least I have 2 pieces of jewellery made with it now ^_^


If you follow me on Twitter then you would have seen my tweet giving a sneak peek of my ring when I received it a few days ago! As soon as I opened up the box and laid eyes on this piece it was simply love at first sight < 3 The ring is absolutely breathtaking and my pics do not capture the prettiness of the ring and the way the flakies and glitter just sparkle in the light! The setting is so elegant and simply devine, it makes the ring so grown-up and is just so very "me". I would soooo love an engagement ring in this setting if anyone wants to know LOL.


Christina also made me a matching pendant with another silver setting which is just as beautiful and special!
Ummm don't mind my reflection!
This sparkly red ring below is made with China Glaze Ahoy! from the Anchors Away collection and hibiscus stickers for the final touch. It's so cute and perfect for Spring/Summer! The colours from Anchors Away didn't really appeal to me but now I'd really like Ahoy! as it's such a cute glittery red and that way I can match the ring to my mani =D I love being matchy matchy haha.


I cannot describe just how much I adore these rings and the pendant my dear friend. They are SO beautiful and I love them so much. Thank you a million times over!

You can win 2 of these gorgeous rings made from nail polish in My Big Birthday giveaway! Or if you can’t wait, you can purchase Christina’s gorgeous rings from her Etsy shop Cel’s deconail. If you make a purchase from Cel's deconails before the end of my giveaway you can gain 4 extra entries to my giveaway - so what are you waiting for!


Thanks for looking!

The sun was out on my day off a few days ago so I seized the opportunity to try out GOSH Holographic in all its glory! I received this must have polish from lovely Aysh– I cannot thank you enough hun!!!!! =D


It’s so blinding!! I was so beyond excited to finally try Holographic when the sun was out that my swatch is really quite messy but I didn’t care! It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to apply however I found thicker coats were more forgiving as it does show bald spots easily when dry. All pics are 3 coats with no base or top coat and dry time was super quick. I’m going to let this FREAKING AWESOME holo speak for itself and just show you pics =D

Close-up:


Indoors in natural light:



More pics outside:



I LOVE HOLOS!! Do you? What's your favourite holographic polish?

Thanks for looking as always! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

My birthday isn't for another 2 weeks but I received 2 wonderful early birthday packages from my dear friend Christina this week! I always have loads of fun swapping with Christina but the packages she sent me this time were just SO extra special and were an absolute delight to open up as always!!


18 beautiful polishes plus yummy Greek treats too!! ^_^ OMG!! She included lots of polishes with pretty finishes that I don't have many of because I always buy the same old ones so I'm excited to try them! See the cute black and red polka gift box amongst the goodies? Christina made me 3 absolutely beautiful pieces of jewellery with nail polish as my birthday gift that I'll show you in my next post - they are simply stunning and deserve a post of their own!

From L - R: Art Deco 275 and 280, Erre Due pink and red (no names), Irine 74 and Deborah Shine Tech 19 and 36.

From L - R: Essence goodies! Essence Denim Wanted! High Waist Pink, Colour & Go Fabuless, Glitter topcoat and multi dimension purple dimension. Also some French glam nail stickers, French manicure and pedicure pen and a Sparkling cherry lipgloss.

From L - R: Golden Rose Nail art polishes in 109, 120 and 112, Beauty Line Cosmetics 511, Urban Decay polish and H & M Razzle Dazzle.

Thank you so so very much my dearest Christina for an absolutely wonderful birthday package <3 It feels like my birthday is here already because of you!

Thanks for looking! =D

Today's NOTD is from a few days ago when I wanted something quick and easy to apply but still awesome looking. So of course I went for a holo! I decided to go with another pretty Ozotic Pro from my collection.


The Ozotic Pro holos have a scattered effect and I really really love the look of them. They are somewhat glittery and take a few coats to build up intensity and cover VNL but they dry so quickly it's no big deal! Ozotic Pro 606 is a pale lilac scattered holo that looks awesome when it catches the light but is also subtle. All pics are 3 coats without base or top coat. It's so darn pretty in real life that I couldn't stop looking at my nails all day! A man on the bus saw me admiring my nails and gave me a funny look haha.

Close-up:


Blurred to show the holo effect! I wish I could have taken some pics during the day but there wasn't much sunlight when I wore it.



I just started at my new 2nd job today and although I'm having reservations about it I'm going to try it out and do a few shifts on the weekends. Posting will be less frequent as I'd like for the time being but don't worry I'll still be here! I've got loads of new polishes to play with as well as lots of products to review so stay tuned!

I also want to wish my beloved friend Christina a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!! I hope all your birthday wishes come true my dear =D Have a FABULOUS day!

Thanks for looking! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

I have for you today a manicure inspired by a design I saw in Nail Up's 2011 book which I picked up in HK last year and just had to try for myself. I am seriously addicted to these magazines and their wonderful designs!! I always have trouble naming these manicures but this design had "Minx" at the bottom of it so let's just go with that!

I wore this yesterday when I went to a fabulous blogger meetup organised by lovely Tara from Keeping Up With Me. It was awesome to finally meet the lovely Sydney blogger ladies Jenny from My Funny Valentine, Anita from Love Vulcanella and Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries in the flesh after reading their wonderful blogs and talking to them on Twitter!! The day went by FAR too quickly and I'm so excited for the next meetup which will hopefully be very soon! Jenny wrote a great post with some gorgeous pics of what we got up to here.


The inspiration below for my mani. I didn't have all the elements that they used in the design unfortunately so as usual I did it with my own twist!


What I used:


Pinkies: I used 3 coats of China Glaze Lemon Fizz and applied a black star, silver and pink rhinestones.

Ring fingers: I used 2 coats of Ozotic Pro 604 (a gold scattered holo!!) and a few coats of Milani Jewel FX in gold.

Middle fingers: I used 2 coats of BYS Black Satin as a base. I then konaded full nail dots image from Konad plate m79 with white polish but it wasn't as opaque as I liked so I used a dotting tool and went over the dots with Nfu Oh acrylic paint in white.

Index fingers: I used 2 coats of China Glaze Something Sweet and then applied a black star and silver rhinestones and half pearls to the bottom of my nail.

Thumbs: Same design as middle fingers.


It didn't take me very long to do at all actually and I loved the result! The black and white polka dot would have to be my favourite and reminds me of a Minx design. Would you be interested in seeing me do some more inspired Japanese nail magazine manicures in the future? Many designs use acrylics which I can't do but the other designs are surprisingly doable! Let me know in the comments below what you think!

Thanks for looking as always! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

I have for you today a simple NOTD using Barry M Dusky Mauve that my dear friend Christina gave me in our last swap. I'm sure you've heard that it's a dupe for the much hyped about Chanel Paradoxal which was released last year. I'm so way behind on colours, I don't really stick to trends with my polish or fashion and just wear whatever I feel like haha =) Anyway, when Paradoxal and her dupes 1st came out I honestly didn't get the hype surrounding it. These sorts of colours are lovely but not reeeeally my kind of thing. However my opinion slowly changed as I saw more swatches of it and finally got to try it out for myself!


Dusky Mauve is a taupe loaded with purple shimmer. It's gorgeous on the nail and I was very surprised that I liked it! Above and below is 2 coats without topcoat.

Close-up:


Of course I couldn't leave it alone so I added 2 coats of OPI Sparkle-icious to my accent fingers for a bit of sparkle! Topped it with a coat of Coffret D'Or gel mode topcoat for a glossy shine. Just a simple NOTD at the end of a busy day!


Do you have any of the Paradoxal dupes? What do you think of these types of colours?

Thanks for looking! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

A few weeks back I received a wonderful email from the gorgeous and very lovely Aysh who blogs over at Truly Madly Deeply. Aysh blogs about beauty, nails, fashion and also about lifestyle stuff which I love to read! I also love her British ramblings and sayings - like "chin wag" and "bits n bobs" =p She VERY generously offered to send me her extra bottle of GOSH Holographic as she knew I desperately wanted it. I was absolutely floored by her generosity!! I am constantly amazed at the kindness of others in the beauty blogging community =) Of course I couldn't thank her enough and took up her once in a lifetime offer!!


Not only did Aysh send me a bottle of the wonderful GOSH Holographic but she also included some Barry M polishes that were also on my wishlist and a packet of one of my favourite choccies Daim!! *jumps up and down in excitement* I must read like an open book because all you wonderful ladies know my tastes and likes down to a t somehow lol.


The very awesome GOSH Holographic (!!!!!!) and Barry M Berry Icecream. Unfortunately the bottle of Barry M Mint Green Aysh sent didn't make it though =( As you can see below the whole top of the bottle broke clean!! It was such a gorgeous green too ARGH. The GOSH bottle was cracked a little too but the glass is so thick it didn't do much damage phew. Damn mail people! The polish leaked everywhere in the package but thank goodness for remover! The bottles looked like brand new after I was finished with them hehe.


Thank you so much for crossing these off my wishlist Aysh and for the yummy choccies!!! You are such a gem! It's been so lovely getting to "know" you hun and I can't wait to try these out =) I'm glad you liked your package too! Unfortunately it's overcast here in Sydney at the moment so I'll have to wait to try out the GOSH. Make sure you check out Aysh's blog here! She does gorgeous FOTD, NOTD and reviews too =)

Thanks for looking! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

Hi ladies! Just a super quick post to show you my very quick Valentines Day manicure. I've been very busy these last few days with work and social events so I haven't had a chance to do much blog stuff or blog reading unfortunately. Haven't really had time to do much including sleep x) I also went for a job interview on Saturday for a 2nd job and was offered the position on the spot! WOOT! They were desperate what can I say haha. It's a casual nurse position mainly for the weekends so with my current fulltime job I'll be working 6-7 days a week soon. This means much less leisure time but enables me to save up for things a lot sooner!

I'm not a big fan of Valentines Day as I think it's turned into such a cheesy holiday to give retailers an excuse to hawk unnecessary items to unwitting men and women in the name of "love". Love should be celebrated and appreciated EVERYDAY not just when Hallmark tells us too! It didn't stop me from still doing a Valentines mani or planning a nice Thai dinner tonight for me and the boy though lol. I was planning to do a soft, pinky manicure as the boy prefers my nails simple but as usual I got carried away!


I started off with 2 coats of Borghese Bellissima Rose. Bellissima Rose is a gorgeous dark berry pink almost red creme. It's a gorgeous colour! The brush was fantastic to use and meant I had very minimal cleanup. The polish is very opaque and 1 thick coat would be sufficient but I did 2. Dry time was good and the polish dried to a very glossy finish.


Close-up:


I then added heart nail stickers, rhinestones, half pearls and dazzlings to complete the look.



I hope you all have a lovely Valentines Day! Don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway!

Thanks for looking! =)

Thank you so much for the well wishes and overwhelming response to my Birthday Giveaway! You guys rock! Just a quick post tonight to show you my celebration manicure to celebrate my 1st blog birthday. Yes I am corny like that and use any excuse to celebrate with a mani OK! I've wanted to do a cupcake manicure for a very long time now but I decided to save it for this blog milestone =D Here is my Cosmetic Cupcake manicure!


I wanted some bling so I went with 3 coats of the awesome Rescue Beauty Lounge Frugalista on all fingers except accents. I hauled this beauty in the 50% off sale last year and am now kicking myself for only purchasing 4 polishes.

Close up:


Frugalista is a gorgeous silver and purple glitter and I now know why Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes are so hyped about! The polishes are just gorgeous and it was easy to apply and quick to dry.


I then freehanded cupcakes on my accent fingers by following Rina's great cupcake tutorial. You might notice that my cupcake is in the same colour scheme as my logo! It by no means looks like the work of art Claude made for me but I tried =p I didn't even attempt the lippie and nail polish bottle as it would have been a fail haha. I am still completely in love with my logo!!

For this design I used a coat of Butter London Pink Ribbon as a sheer base. I then used China Glaze Sugar High to freehand a thick French tip and used Kiss nail art striper in white for vertical stripes to complete the cupcake liner. I then drew a large half circle on top of the cupcake liner using Ulta 3 chocolate cake and added dark red bullions to make sprinkles.


The pic above is of the design on my right hand (which I hardly show) as I actually preferred the way I did the cupcake. I got lazy with my right hand and didn't add the cherry which I did using China Glaze Empowerment. I topped it all with a coat of Coffret D’or gel mode topcoat which Christina gave me in one of our swaps. The topcoat makes my nails so lovely and shiny! I have yet to fully use it properly though.


I'm now trying to think of a mani design for my actual birthday! What would you suggest?

Thanks for looking and don't forget to enter My Big Birthday Giveaway! I'll be catching up on comments tomorrow x)

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

Thank you for entering!

Winner will be announced shortly


Today marks the 1 year birthday of my blog. YIPPEEE!! Time has flown by so quickly and I cannot believe I’ve reached this milestone already! It only feels like yesterday that I decided to start blogging as I enjoyed reading other blogs so much. I absolutely love blogging and it's been so much fun sharing my manis, hauls and food adventures with all of you! It’s been wonderful “meeting” so many lovely ladies who also share my love of nail polish and beauty. Thank you all so much for following, commenting and for the wonderful support over the last year, I am humbled and truly appreciate it!

My birthday is in March so to celebrate both birthdays I am having a Birthday Giveaway as a way to say thank you to all my wonderful readers! This time there will be TWO lucky winners!

1st prize - one lucky winner will receive:

BYS Through the Looking Glass,
BYS Adventures of Alice,
BYS Down the Rabbit Hole,
BYS UV polish in pink and
BYS cracking polish in mauve
Ozotic Pro Multi-chrome in 502,
Ozotic Pro Holographic in 608 and
Ozotic Pro Glitter in 201
NYC Color lemon,
NYC Color magenta,
NYC Color berry fuchsia and
NYC Color aubergine
Some goodies I love which I purchased from Hong Kong with this giveaway in mind! Beauty World gradient kit in blue and EOS lipbalm in honeysuckle. Check out my manicures using the purple gradient kit and pink gradient kits for what to expect. The EOS lipbalms are one of my favourites and I so wish they sold them here in Aus!

17 GCOCL nail stamping plates (A01 – K05) which includes the awesome Hello Kitty plate A02 plus a generic stamper and scraper.

A brand new tub of the very awesome LUSH Lemony Flutter cuticle butter.

Runner Up prize:


This prize has been VERY generously sponsored by my dear friend Christina from Cels blog!! =D Christina creates stunning Japanese style nail art, decoden and kawaii deco items which she sells in her Etsy store Cels deconails. She has very kindly custom made TWO amazing nail polish rings for me to give away to one lucky winner!

This golden sparkly ring is made with OPI Extra-va-vaganza from the Burlesque collection and a sweet pearly heart in a size 9 or L.

This glittery red ring is made with a silver base using TiNS the Mars and the size is adjustable. Christina's nail polish rings look fabulous and are beautifully made. They add the finishing touch to any outfit!

Make sure to check out Christina's Etsy Store for more wonderful handmade items - she makes other nail polish rings, Japanese nail art items and also iPhone cases and deco items. She will also happily custom make items too so don't hesitate to ask her! I covet every item she makes xD I cannot thank you enough for donating this wonderful prize Christina!!! I love these rings so much I am very tempted to keep these for myself instead of giving away haha. Don’t worry I won’t do that though!


Here's how to enter:
1. You must be a public follower via Google Friends Connect. If you are already very kindly following me, THANK YOU! Please ensure you leave your Google Friends Connect name so that I can easily identify you. Unfortunately I cannot enter you if I cannot find you. Please also leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! (Mandatory - 1 entry)

For additional entries (and there are MANY this time!):
2. Post about my “Big Birthday Giveaway" on your blog – either in a separate post or on a sidebar with the first photo from this post. (2 entries)

3. Tweet about my giveaway once. (1 entry) Please tweet:

I'm entering @cosmeticcupcake Big Birthday Giveaway to win Ozotic Pro, BYS, GCOCL, Lush, jewellery and more! http://bit.ly/gB4ir0

4. Like Cels deconails Facebook page. If you already "like" her page that certainly counts! (1 entry).

5. Stop by Christina's Etsy store Cels deconails and check out her wonderful creations! Favourite the item you like most and let me know what you chose. (1 entry)

6. Add Cels deconails to your Etsy favourites. (1 entry)

7. Make a purchase from Cels deconails between now and the end of my giveaway. Please let me know your Etsy username and what you purchased to qualify. (4 entries)

8. Readers who comment on my blog regularly will receive one extra entry to show my appreciation. I truly appreciate your feedback and that you guys take the time out to comment and read my blog =)

Please fill out the form below with all your entries once to enter! Please do not submit your details in the comments of this post - I will NOT count these.

Giveaway is open internationally and will close on March 6th at 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Good luck!