Last Hurrah for Summer – Caronia Sweet Bliss Collection

 Warning, this post is long and a bit pic heavy.

Hi everyone! Did you miss me? I know I haven’t been active for quite some time now. Aside from my internet connection issues, I still have some personal matters that I have to deal with. I might not be able to post regularly yet, but I wanted to show you something before summer ends here.

Unlike other countries, Philippines only have two seasons, summer and Rainy (similar to fall for other regions). Summer is from the month of March until early June, or until our weather men advises us that it is already the start of rainy season. I’m not quite sure if they have already announced that but it has been raining for the past few days and we are already experiencing typhoons (which is actually normal here). But I wanted to catch up on my posting and since summer is just starting on other countries, so I will be showing you guys a summer collection from a local nail polish.

Caronia Philippines is an established local brand of nail polishes and nail care products. They have been in the industry as far as I can recall. Last year (2011), they launched a summer nail polish collection which is called the Sweet Bliss. I fell in love with the colors when I first saw it and I promised myself that I will complete the set. Baby Pink is the first polish that I bought. I then had On the Go and Sun kissed. I brought these babies on my vacation in Holland. Unfortunately, I have to leave them behind on my way home. I was able to grab the last three polishes to complete the set last September when I got back in Manila, but I had to wait for the other polishes so that I could show them to you. Last week, my mom sent me my nail polishes, so I was able to swatch those polishes and show these to you.

Caronia Sweet Bliss Collection

Caronia Sweet Bliss Collection

From left to right are Sweet Surprise, Sun Kissed, On the Go, First Crush, Summer Fling and Baby Pink. This post will be an all Caronia Manicure. I also used Caronia Cuticle Remover, Caronia Cuticle Sanitizer, Caronia Nail Hardener and Base Coat, Caronia Fast Dry Top Coat and Caronia Kwik-Dry and Cuticle oil.

Caronia Manicure Set

Caronia Baby Pink

This is Baby Pink, a light pink regular crème polish. I could still recall the first time I used this polish; it went on smoothly on two coats. Unfortunately, this photo does not show that. I suppose this is because this bottle is an old and the polish is a bit thick.

Caronia Baby Pink

If you would notice, it looks bumpy on my nails. That is because it is. On my nails are three thin coats. It’s a bit sheer so I had to go on three. But I can no longer make it even. I think I’d need to purchase new bottle. Did you notice that it is shiny? One thing I like about this polish is that I wouldn’t need a top coat to make it shiny. But I think I’d need those to make it even. No top coat was used for this polish but it look like it does. Over-all this polish is okay.

Caronia Summer Fling

This is Summer Fling. Summer Fling is the red crème polish, but it’s more on the pink tone. It looks pink to me than red, especially if you place it beside other reds, but it looks red if you place it beside pinks.

Caronia Summer Fling

One good thing about this polish is that it is a one-coater, although making it two wouldn’t harm as well. On my nails is one medium coat. Application is a breeze and the consistency id okay; not too thick, not too thin as well.

Caronia Summer Fling

This bright red-pink polish is also shiny that it does not need top coat. Here’s a closer look on my thumb.

Caronia Summer Fling

Caronia Sun Kissed

Next one is Sun Kissed, this is one of my favorites in the collection. It’s a yellow-orange regular crème polish. I’m starting to think that I have a love-hate relationship with oranges. I’m not really fond of orange but this has become an exception. I love the color on my nails.

Caronia Sun Kissed

I did not have problems with the application. All you need is two thin coats and you’re good to go. Just like the first two polishes, this is also shiny by itself.

Caronia Sweet Surprise

I know you guys already know Sweet Surprise. I already made a review on this one a few months back. If not, you can see it here.

Sweet Surprise is a bright yellow frosted polish. This is the only polish in the collection that is not crème. The glitters are so tiny that it’s not so visible. It looks like a regular crème to me.

Caronia Sweet Surprise

On my nails is two thin coats. I didn’t have issues applying the polish. It also shines by itself without the use of a top coat.

Caronia Sweet Surprise

Caronia First Crush

Our second to the last baby is First Crush. You might’ve seen it on my Purple Plaid post. Looking back, I saw that I promised to make a review and swatch of this polish. I know it took me quite sometime to do that.

Caronia First Crush

First Crush is my favorite among the six polishes. It is a lavender crème polish. This is a good one coater. But I would suggest using two if you intend to put on top coat. On my nails is one medium coat without top coat. Application went on smoothly and the consistency is just right.

Caronia On the Go

And last but definitely not the least is my second favorite, On the Go. I already swatched this on my Tumblr account but haven’t written anything about it yet.

Caronia On the Go

On the Go is a teal crème polish. It’s pigmented that you only need one medium coat to achieve bottle color. I’m happy with the formula since it did not became thick even after a long time, unlike my Baby Pink. No problem with the application and shine okay without top coat.

After finishing all those swatches, I decided I’d use them altogether. I didn’t want to do the nail swirl, so I decided I’d do a gradient instead. I started on with different colors on my nails.

Sweet Bliss Skittles

Sweet Bliss Skittles

I find those bright summer colors very lovely on my hands that I actually considered not using any design anymore. But at the same time, I find it boring so I still went and do some sponging on the tips. Here’s the final result.

Sweet Bliss Gradient

On my thumb is First Crush and On the Go, on my index is Sweet Surprise and First Crush, on my middle finger is Sun Kissed and Sweet Surprise, on my ring finger is Summer Fling and Sun Kissed and on the pinky is Summer Fling and Baby Pink. (First colors are based color sponged with the second color)

Sweet Bliss Gradient

Here’s how my non-dominant hand looked like. On thumb is Sun Kissed and Baby Pink, on my index is First Crush and Sun Kissed, on my middle finger is Summer Fling and First Crush, on my ring finger is Sweet Surprise and Summer Fling and on the pinky is On the Go and Sweet Surprise. (Again, first color is the base, sponged with the second color)

Here’s a closer look

I’m not that happy with how this turned out. It’s so bumpy. All those “fibers” from the sponge were left on my nails. This is kind of unusual since my other <hp>sponge designs didn’t end up like this. I should’ve left the bright skittles. But it’s too late for that. Here are other shots of the gradient.

Sweet Bliss Gradient

Sweet Bliss Gradient

So that’s it for this post. I really hope to be back on track, but I guess it would take a couple more weeks for me to be able to post regularly. But I’ll try my best to post every now and then in between.

Please tell me what you think by leaving a comment.

Hello Guys! I badly need your help

I recently joined a locally held contest which will run until the end of the month, and I badly need a LOT of votes. I am way way behind. I would really appreciate it if you could vote for me. A person can vote once a day, so if you could vote for me everyday it will really help me a long way.

Here’s how to vote:

• Visit and like Caronia Philippines fan page by clicking here. 
• Register on their Caronia Nail Swirl Madness App, you can simply click here. 
• Once done, you now vote for my entry by clicking here. Just to make sure you’re on the right entry, mine is entitled “From Dawn Till Dusk” 

Again, a daily vote will be v ery much appreciated. If I can return the favor or if there is anything that I can do for you in exchange for the votes you can message me on Facebook, ask on my Tumblr, or email me at naiilartlover@gmail.com


Thank you very much in advance!

Rainbow Dots

Hello ladies! After finishing the challenge, I had my nails take a break. I didn’t have enough time to actually paint them that is blog worthy. But I have something I did after that break. And this is what this post is all about. I just have to warn you that this might be a bit picture heavy. Well, at least in comparison to my other posts. Although I have done this weeks ago, I decided not to post it until after they announce the winner.

Caronia is an established nail polish brand here in the Philippines. They have been in the business as long as I can remember. They do have a monthly promotion wherein they give away lots of goodies for nail care and the likes. I enthusiastically join every month. Last month’s contest is to create a nail design that is inspired by dots, circle fruits or fireworks. I kept thinking on what to do. I remembered wanting to do the kiwi fruit. So I did.

I painted my nails the fruit when sliced and tried to do accent nails on how its “skin” looks like. But I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. Most of the people that see the design don’t even recognize it. So I decided this isn’t the one I’d like to enter in the contest

Then I’d thought of doing some dots.

I decided I wanted to do some rainbow colors. And with the help of a dotting tool, I was able to achieve the pattern I wanted. I really wanted to use a Caronia polish. So I used Caronia Brick Red. But the polish is dark and it isn’t really noticeable, especially on a black background. But when you look at it closely, you’ll be able to see them.

I love how the design turned out. Even though my spaces aren’t symmetrical and my circles aren’t of the same size, it still satisfies what I was trying to aim. So I’m pretty happy with it.

The contest requires taking pictures of our nails and it is also necessary that our faces are showing. So I had my sister take pictures of me. we had fun doing it that she took a couple of shots. Here it is.

And here is my entry.

This is the picture that showcases the nail design, because most of it requires you to zoom the picture for you to see it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t win the contest. But I will still be as happy to join each contest that they will hold every month with the hopes that one day, I will win a gift pack from them. 

Valentine's Cupcakes

Hello dear readers! Valentine’s is fast approaching. Although I do not have a partner to celebrate it with, I am happy on how my life is going. And with my love for nail polish, who needs them anyway? (Of course, I’m kidding. I will still want to spend the rest of my life with someone). Another reason that I am not that excited for the season is that I still feel that it is unnecessary. I believe that you don’t need Valentine’s Day to be sweet and all to your partner. You should do it all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against celebrating Valentine’s. It’s just my opinion.

Anyway, despite the fact I stated above, I still feel obliged to do a Valentine’s nail design. This design is inspired by Halloween Cupcake and Christmas Tree Cupcake, both done by the Simply Rins.

The idea is the same: to create a cupcake that has the symbol of the season. So instead of cherries I added hearts on top. I used Caronia Brick Red as the “cup” and striped some pink polish using Sassy nail art brush in pink. I added the icing using Sassy 2 way Nail art pen in white.

Using BNC 2 way nail art pen, I added the hearts as toppings. I wanted to add more colors as sprinkles. So I used a thin brush and the neon polishes that I have.

This is my first cupcake design. Although I did have a hard time achieving the “drips” on the icing, this design is easy to do yet very attractive. Maybe I’ll try to do a conventional cupcake someday.

Let me show you my biggest cupcake which is on my thumb.

So that’s it! How are you guys celebrating your Valentine’s Day?

Day 31 – Recreate your Favorite Challenge

Day 31 – Recreate your Favorite Challenge

Hello! Today will be the day the challenge bids farewell to all of us. And for Day 31’s rules is to Recreate your Favorite Challenge.

But before I do that, I just want to share with you the gift I received from my sister last New Year.

This pack includes Sassy 2 way Nail Art Pen in Black, Bobbie Purple Passion and Chic Missy Daisy. I looove all of those and can’t wait to try all of them.

So going back to the challenge, I decided to recreate Day 17 which is glitters. This day isn’t my favorite. But I decided I’d do this for two reasons. One is because I wanted to make up for not posting a better glitter polish and two, so that I’ll have a reason to use my new polish.

I thought I’d use Bobbie Purple Passion. Purple Passion is a very pale purple polish with tons of micro holographic glitters. Here’s how they look like inside the bottle.

Aren’t they lovely? I fell in love the moment I saw it. I tried putting it as it is. But the polish is so sheer that even 3 coats can’t make it opaque. I decided to put a base color instead.

See what I mean? I used Essence Got a Secret as the base color. And even at this angle, you can see the shining shimmering splendid holo glitters. Got a Secret is a gray polish but it started looking like lavender after using Purple Passion. The formula is super okay and application is a breeze. I had 2 coats of Got a Secret and two coats of Purple Passion. One more good thing about this is that it dries quickly and not as thick. I remember my other Bobbie polish will feel thick on my nails.

Here’s a better look at the glitter goodness.

And a closer look.

I think this polish would work well if it will be used like a top coat. I will try to use this on top of different colors one of these days. The polish is so awesome that I cannot stop staring at my nails even the day after (I decided not to remove it yet). These photos do not even give justice on how splendid this polish is. And for just PHP35 (approximately US$0.81), this polish is totally worth it.

What do you guys think?

Day 30 – Inspired by a Tutorial

Hey lovelies. J We’re at the edge of finishing the challenge. I have for you today a mani that is Inspired by a tutorial.

Panlovespolish is the first nail blogger I ever followed. Even before I discovered that there are a lot of nail bloggers, even before I started doing my own nails and even before I made my own nail blog. Her swatches are awesome. And she does a lot of great nail art and a tutorial for them. I already did a couple of nail designs that are inspired by her. Too bad she is not that active anymore. L

So for this second to the last installment, I decided I’d do a nail tutorial from her that I haven’t tried yet, her “Fun” Dots.

I added some twist to her design.

  

Instead of just doing it diagonally, I decided to write “Year” and “2012”. I think it’s a cute thing since we are fond of wearing and using circle and dots during New Year ’s Eve. It’s also my way of saying hello to the New Year since I wore this design a day before the New Year’s Eve.

I also want to take picture of my hand side by side so that you can read it as a phrase. But my sister had hard time doing that. She kept on laughing at my fat fingers; she said it looks like crab. Hahaha! This is the most decent picture she took.

What do you guys think of  the design?

Colors Used:

Essence Do a Floating Pirouette

Essence Found my Love

Les Couleurs de Salome

SanSan Violet Glam