Christmas Nails

Happy Holidays! Its been a while. Life can really occupy our time and I havent been as available for my blog as before...so I had to take a break. An extremely long one I know. But Im back and I have Christmas nails to share with you, I got the inspiration for this from a post on the Zoya blog.

In the spirit of the holidays I just couldn't resist using the ever so famous and loved China Glaze Ruby Pumps. The sparkliest and shiniest red glitter polish. Its an amazing color although it has photgraphed a tad bit brighter than in reality. In real life this color is soo stunning that Im constantly looking at and moving it in the light to see the glitter shine. I love it alone and with other designs, and its perfect for the winter! A definite must-have.

The tree on my ring finger was made using:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Zoya Envy
China Glaze Ruby Pumps
Jordana Supernatural
and Radiant no 150

So What do you think...is this look Holiday worthy? If youve done any holiday themed nail art please leave a link in the comments so I can check them out. I would love to see what you guys are rocking this Christmas day!

NOTD: Girly and Glittery

Hey guys! Hows it going? So I'm feeling really good, I have a really manicure on...listening to an awesome song..."Pennies and dimes for a kiss!" Figured it out yet? Lol, I dunno I really hated this song when it first came out and know not only has it rubbed off on me, I'm singing at all randomnly awkward times of the day. I just think its so quirky and cute. Haha, anyway so my mood is pretty high. And what is this manicure that I'm so insane about. Well see for yourself.

What is this utter fabulousness I have on you ask? Well, If you must know its a lovely little color by none other than Bourjois. I think this is supposed to be from their new collection (well probably not so new but anyway) thats called the 1 Seconde Polish with Gel texture. I would like pass by the stand and just I dunno wasn't interested. But one day while at work (obviously working very hard) I was flipping through a magazine and saw this color and I was like "wait...is this a Kim-Pletely In Love!". So on my way home I stopped by and got it. Along with the color on my ring finger.

Anyway so the pink is Bourjois Nail Polish in Rose Delicat which is a light pink filled with multicolor shimmer, a-la Essie Pink-a-boo. Which I will be doing a comparison of soon. The reason why I was intrigued with this is because as you all know the formula on Pink-a-boo is more like Pink-a-poo! I mean its pretty bad. So I thought a 1-second polish should be good for all the coats you have to do with a sheer baby like this. So I got it, and I wasn't displeased. The formula was really good. It dries super quickly and because the color isn't as light as Pink-a-boo it didn't need too many coats. For me 3 coats was the perfect amount. Also, the brush on this bad boy is to die for. The best brush I've used in EVER. I mean its the perfect width and length and in one swipe my nail is covered completely, therefore no dragging or streaking or anything. And it says it has a gel texture, ok I dont think so but it does look super shiny and just overall tidy, so yeah thats great. Love Love Love it. The polishes in this collection sell for 6.75 JD (10$) at Sharmiran. I do thinks its overpriced but for the brush and my lack of drying time its worth it.

As for my ring finger its by a brand called Radiant. I've never heard of it before but they have soooo many colors I'd thought I'd give it a go even though I dont really like spending alot of money on a brand I dont know. It costs 4.75JD (7$) at Sharmiran. This color doesn't have a name its no 150. Its just a metallic gold glitter. Love it...even though I feel like its very holiday-ish I still think it works perfectly for summer colors like maybe a turqoise. Anyway so yeah thats about it.

What do you think of the Bourjois...is it worth 10$? Leave your comments down below.
xo Nail Diva

Some Nail Art

Hey everybody! So lately as I'm sure most of you know my nails havent been in good shape. Their getting shorter and shorter everyday and I'm really just trying to detoxify them lol. I've actually made a pact with myself to stop buying any polishes that arent 3-free. This is much harder than I originally thought it would be but its a step I had to take because I'm totally unhappy with my nails. So having said that I havent been doing anything to my nails. So today I decided I would share some lovely nail art I've seen over the internet...hopefully in a week or so I'll do some of the design on my nails. But for now, this will have to do!

I'm not sure who this design belongs to. But please not this is NOT my design...its just a really cute manicure that I found on the web...I cant remember where. I absolutely love how soft and girly this design is. Its definitely something I want to try and recreate.

Omg...Do I even have to say anything! This manicure is amazing. Not only is this color making me soo jealous (its practically the most perfect peach ever) but the black bow is to die for. I found this from PrettyProject.tumblr.

How adorable is this manicure? I absolutely love the whole randomly put together look...its soo cute. This look goes back to the-nailfiles.blogspot.com. I am definitely trying my luck with this look.

And this final look belongs to the amazingly super talented tartofraises. I mean this girl is soooo talented that I haven't seen her do one look that would take me less than 3 hours to complete, and she does it in like 10 minutes. Pure talent!

Anyway, so this is where I've been looking for inspiration. I really need to give these looks a-go. I think when my nails are in better shape I'll do like a copycat week or something.
Btw, in case your wondering...I dont think its ok to steal other peoples designs. So if this seems like I'm stealing, just read a little closer and you'll see that I give credit to where I got these designs from and who they belong to. I think its ok to take inspiration from other peoples work, otherwise they wouldn't put up these pictures all over the web and give tutorials on how to recreate the look. Thats just my opinion, and thats how I roll!
So thats all for now,
xo Nail Diva

Are You Happy With Your Basecoat?

Hey everybody! Hows it going...I'm enjoying my weekend and taking a break from all the Summer heat by staying mostly indoors and just lounging around. And Boy! am I loving it. Anyway, so as you all know I've been getting really sick of my old basecoat and mentioned that I needed to find a good one and asked my readers if they had any suggestions. So one of my readers, Maria, mentioned that I should try Color Club Smooth Operator Tinted Ridge Filler. So that same day, I headed out to Sharmiran...my go to beauty store. And I found it. Today, I have a comparison to share with you all. My old basecoat Flormar Nail Therapy Ridge Filler vs. Color Club Tinted Ridge Filler and Smoother, vs. Jordana Nails be Longer Basecoat. Just a little heads up, I have very unhealthy nails that are basically filled with ridges. Some nails more so than others but I think all my nails need to have some sort of smoothing basecoat over them before I can apply polish. If your nails are like that I think you'll benefit most from this post since this is mainly about ridge fillers. So check it out!

Index finger- Flormar Nail Therapy Ridge Filler
Middle Finger- Color Club Smooth Operator Tinted Ridge filler and Smoother
Ring finger- Jordana Nails Be Longer Lengthening Basecoat

I think my ring finger is the least affected by ridges out of all my fingers but you'll still get the point. As you can see my index finger doesn't really have ridges showing but the nail polish looks clumpy and totally un-smooth. Thats with the Flormar Ridge filler and thats whats been bugging me for such a while. That although my ridges dont show, the nail polish still doesn't look crisp. Then you have my ring finger with just the basic basecoat. Its fine but you can still see some ridges peeking through and the overall look isn't the most flattering. On some more heavily ridged nails it wouldn't do squat. Therefore for me this basecoat is totally not an option. Finally you have my middle finger with my newly purchased Color Club Ridge filler. You cant see any ridges and the color applied on smoothly and stayed that way. It is tinted but it doesn't really make a difference its more of a wash of color. And I've tried this with many different colors and finishes and its effect is quite great. I still dont know if this is the best ridge filler out there but it is one thats available in Jordan...so thats a start. I do recommend this actually and I will continue to use it so thanks Maria for filling me in on this.

So Whats your favorite Basecoat? Please leave your thoughts or comments down below. I'd love to hear some feedback on this!
xo Nail Diva

Guest Post for Be Beautiful

Hey everybody! Today I'm doing a guest post at Be Beautiful. Its my Vintage Rose nail art look with a worded tutorial. Please check it out if you'd like to. And let me know what you think.

This is the look, head over there to find out how I did it.
xo Nail Diva

Another reason why you NEED Barielle Elle's Spell

Hey guys! So I know that maybe some of you are wondering why of been doing so many different looks with the same polishes. And well the answer is simple...because these polishes are so versatile. I'm just doing them justice. So I've shown you a bunch of different looks for Barielle Elle's Spell as to layering combo's and if your still not sold on it...
Well you will be after you see these pics.

Mmmmhm! What did I tell you? How awesome is that? I first saw this look on Makeup Withdrawal's blog and immediately knew that I was going to get my moneys worth out of Elle's Spell. I mean how many different looks can you make with this beast?
Does this remind you a bit of Nfu-oh 51? Maybe I should do a comparison when that finally makes it into my hands.
Also, is the flakie polish craze over? Cuz for me its just begun...I mean like I want every possible color flakie there is. Anyway, I hope you liked my combo...Oh yeah before I forget for the base color...its not very important because its a Seventeen polish which I know is hard to find but basically every polish company has a color like this out..its just a vibrant deep purple. So yeah thats about it.

So are you still into the Flakie thing?...leave your comments down below. Cant wait to hear from you guys!
xo Nail Diva

Glitter Comparison: SpitFire vs. Magic Attraction

Hello my loves! Today I have a massive glitter post for you today. You know, I purchased Pure Ice SpitFire on a whim thinking that it could be a close or exact dupe for OPI Teenage Dream. Since I dont have the two I cant compare them for you. But while I was looking through my stash I came upon Color Club's Magic Attraction and immediately felt curious to know how they would look next to each other. I even felt a bit upset because I felt like it was further from Teenage Dream than I originally expected. I still dont know how sold I am on it as a dupe but I am happy with a pink scattered holographic glitter polish....so yeah! But anyway heres my comparison.

Index and Ring: Color Club Magic Attraction
Middle and Pinky: Pure Ice Spitfire

So as you can see they are very close but definitely not dupes. Magic Attraction is a more densely packed glitter in a clear base with some holographic shimmer in it. Spitfire is a more sparsely placed holographic glitter in pinkish/clear base. These pictures are 2 coats Magic Attraction vs. 2 coats Spitfire. With Spitfire I still had some VNL going on but with Magic Attraction the opacity built up very well. The formula on Spitfire was a bit less attractive than Magic Attraction because it was on the thicker side. Magic Attraction slides on nicely. But the bigger sized glitter pieces in Spitfire win me over completely. Although they are close I dont mind having them both in my collection because I know I will get use out of both of them. So thats always great.

Oh yeah, and I bought this totally cool ring the other and I'm just dying to show it to you guys. Woot...Woot!

How awesome is my snake ring. Ha ha. Love it. I purchased this from Muse for 4.75 JD's just in case your wondering. So yeah thats my post for today. Talk to you soon and have a great day!
xo Nail Diva



J. R. Watkins Ultra Rich Hand Cream and My Hand Care Routine

Hey loves, so I felt like writing something about this amazing hand cream that I literally can't believe exists. But, instead of just doing a simple review on it I thought I'd also share a bit about my hand care routine. Now this routine I describe isn't stringent, meaning that half the time I don't do it. But you can bet your beautifully polished nails that when my hands are in need of some TLC I turn to this routine and see the benefit automatically. So if you want to see more... Just read on!

First I'm going to start off with the product in the post title and that would be J. R. Watkins Ultra Rich Hand cream. Have you ever heard of it. I don't know too much about this company But from what I've gathered they stress about natural products being in their ingredients and this is from their site "... Contains only natural, enviornmentally friendly ingredients from renewable Resources, avoiding chemicals like parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and more..." All in all I like a company that stresses natural products because who wants a load of gunk all of their hands that could potentially be harmful. Uhhh, no one that's who!

Ok so the reason why I'm so in love with this cream is because as those of you who have followed me through winter know I have quite a hand issue. I actually have something called Raynauds phenomenon or syndrome which is a vasospastic Disorder that causes blood flow to become restricted to the fingers and toes. Basically they become discolored, enlarged, and in my case extremely painful. From periods of severe swelling back to normal size the skin on my fingers become very tired and super dry. The skin begins to peel and well its not the prettiest thing. This winter along with using anti-inflammatory drugs I used this hand cream. I immediately felt the difference. My hands stay soft thought multiple hand washes. I go out and come home with the same soft hands I left with. And on top of all that I'm in love with the smell. It's not your typical smell but it sure does tickle my fancy. It smells like clean fresh picked cotton or sheeps wool. Does that make any sense? Anyways love the smell. Impeccable! It doesn't give the hand that nasty oily feel that some lotions do, and this is great for cracked skin so if you have super dry elbows, knees, heels...this should do the trick. And plus this only costs 7.99$ so that's great too. I don't know what stores this is available from but you can order it online directly from their website.

As for my hand care routine what I like to do is a bit different but not tedious at all. I like to start off by cleaning my nails completely, then take my four step nail buffer thing and just using all of the sides on my nails until its all buffed and shiny. Next I use my Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover and remove my cuticles. Next I take jojoba oil and rub it all over my nails. Then I take Vaseline ( the jelly kind) and dab it on the dryer places on my hands and just wait until my skin has naturally absorbed it without rubbing it in too much. Then I take my J. R. Watkins hand cream and smooth it on all over my hands and nails. Finally a bit of cuticle cream and I'm good to go. And I'll do all of those steps when I'm just lying around getting ready for bed. Trust me its a very do-able process. I know that some people use Saran wrap on their hands to lock in the moisture but I hate that stuff it really bothers me and I could never stand it on my skin so what you could do is put on some light gloves and just leave them for a while and that should do the trick, although I don't know where they sell light cotton gloves except in Jordan lol. Maybe I'm wrong.

So that was long, I hope you've enjoyed this. Take cares my pretties!
Xo Naildiva

OPI Funny Bunny...Jelly/Flakie/Matte LOVE!

Hey girlies! Hows it been. I've been mentally stressed out over my distraught nails. I feel so bad for them and they are breaking more and more each day. I'm sure its because of my new work and lack of any protection on them. But they need to air out...and in the process they are getting much worse. So much so that my pizzaz for doing my nails has dwindled. That combined with my repeated catastrophic attempts at water marbling has helped me reach an all-time low. I hope this doesnt last for long because I need to get my spark back. Its not like I'm not buying nail polish, I am almost every day. Its just I havent been doing all the nail art I wish I would with all the new polishes I have. Grrr. Well anyway.

So today I want to show you something I'm IN LOVE WITH!. Like Hello! The base is OPI Funny bunny as you can tell from my post. Then I put some Essie Shine of the Times over it to make it more fun. Then I mattified it and my end result was something I was gawking over for literally hours!

So you know I wish I had a better camera specifically for polishes like these because honestly you in no way can see the depth of this polish simply through these photos. IRL they catch the light at every which angle and it in turn catches your attention and its a never-ending cycle. So these pics are before the matte topcoat. If you want to know how I got the previous combo, all I did was two coats of OPI Funny Bunny, which is a white semi-sheer jelly...not so extravagant on its own but really makes a difference in this manicure as opposed to a white creme. And here are the pics after the matt topcoat.

I think the last picture is the clearest because I used a much better camera for it. I just adore the awesome effect the matt gives it. I feel like it captures all the flakies in still time and you can see all the different light flickers together. I couldn't think of a better way to wear this mani than simply as it was. Love Love Loved it! Try it out you guys...You wont be disappointed.

Well not as disappointed as I am with my sad sad nails. I dont know what to do? Has this every happened to anyone of you? Any tips?

Thats all for now loves!
xo Nail Diva

Arissa Rosette...A little out of my comfort zone!

Hello World! Whats happening? Today I want to show you a color I usually-correction- Always! shy away from. I obviously didn't buy this color...my mommy did, but since I have to try out every nail polish that is brought into my home, this was no exception. I was actually surprised. ok I'm not In Love with it but I do like it. Check it out!

Arissa Rosette (sun)

Arissa Rosette (shade)

I'm sure its obvious that my ridge filler isn't doing its job. And this shade isn't helping either. But I am on the hunt for a good ridge filler. I'm thinking I'll try out Zoya or Essie. What bothers me is that they have like nail strengthening base coats but they dont have ridge filler/nail strengthening basecoats. Like is that impossible to do or what...cuz I need that. This is the third time I've cut my nails down in 2 weeks. They are so unhealthy. Anyway I've drifted off topic.

Arissa Rosette is a medium dusty rose color. In the bottle its like very muted but as you can see in the sun the polish almost has a metallic look to it. In the shade your getting exactly the bottle color on your nails. I've said this on my previous review of Arissa...this polish has very good formula. Its consistency was rather thin but very controllable. I applied three coats as it is kind of sheer. The brush on this isn't as wide as I would love but its good. Overall, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried this on. I dont think this polish is for me though, and I probably wont be wearing it. I do recommend it though for people who like soft muted colors.
Thats all for today.
xo Nail Diva

Max Factor Dazzling Blue Layering Swatches

Hello all! Forgive me for my absence between posts. I honestly dont know how this keeps happening. Everytime I come back to write a post I realize its been like 4 days since my last. Shame...Shame! Hopefully you'll forgive me once you see these swatches. This nail polish was given to me as a gift from my sister-in-law along with alot of other polishes, some of which I've already posted about. Anyway I kept bugging her about finding Fantasy Fire for me and so she came with the next best thing. Well almost! Oh yeah and before I forget...I officially made my first nfu-oh purchase. And yeah, you guessed im sure, it was nfu-oh's famous 51. If your interested in getting one I found mine on fabuloustreet for 11.25$. Now I just have to wait, patiently mind you, until I get it. Anyway, so back to the swatches.

Max Factor Dazzling Blue over Sally Hansen Black Out (Sun)

Max Factor Dazzling Blue over Black (shade)

So these swatches are 2 coats Max Factor Dazzling Blue above 2 coats black. I gotta say as much as I like this color I didn't particularly enjoy it too great. I think its because its in that blue/green range which I'm generally not too fond of but somehow have so many polishes in the same range. I do appreciate its shiny-ness and its subtle shimmer. I liked it much better over white.

Sorry for the crappy-ness of this picture but it still gives you an idea.. Pretty, eh!
Anyway, thats all for now. Peace!
xo Nail Diva

Has Orly Fancy Fuchsia changed my mind about Summer Neons?!

Hey everybody...So as you can tell from the title that this post is going to be about the neon Fancy Fuchsia. If youve every read any of my posts about neons (which I hope you have) you'll know that I'm not the biggest fan of them. Mainly because they have become such a staple in most Jordanian girls polish stacks that the sight of neons almost makes me want to vomit. Having said that...I think I may have changed my mind and underestimated the power of a carefully chosen pink neon.

I wont even pretend to know how to describe this color because that will only exemplify my profound inability to talk color. But be warned these pictures arent completely color accurate even though I really tried to get the color to show up right. I'd say the closest one to the real color is the second picture. The only thing I will say about this color is that I believe this pink has blue undertones so that it gives it a vibrant yet deep color. So it is neon but its not the most in your face popping kind of pink. Actually this pink is going to be rocked on my nails for alot of this Summer. So if your like me and tend to shy away from neon pinks definitely do give this color a chance and you will be pleased. Now I think I have to go back and try out some other neons. Who knows maybe I'll become a full blown neon lover!!

P.s. For my Jordanian readers, Orly is now available at Mikiaji (Mecca Mall) and select Sharmiran.

Thats all for now.

xo Nail Diva

Essie Shine of the Times layering swatches

Hey girlies! I've been meaning to put this post up for a while now its just been so hectic. Anyway, I wont bother you with the details...so I'll just get right to it. I layered Essie Shine of the times over black, white, coral red, and by itself just to give you an idea of what your getting from this flakie.

From Left to Right:
Essie Ole' Caliente under Essie Shine of the Times
Sally Hansen Black Out under Shine of the Times
Sally Hansen White on under Shine of the times
Essie Shine of the Times alone- 3 layers

Anyway so these pictures speak better than my description of them. But all I want to say is that this has definitely become a staple in my collection. I love it the most over the white because it makes me feel like a snow princess. I like it over black as well but that feels like a very fall-ish color to me. I'm gonna be doing a version of this white soon and posting it up. Just a sneak peak: it involves OPI Funny Bunny. I think its gonna look amazing! Until then,
xo Nail Diva

Pre-100 Follower Giveaway Winner Announced!!

Hey everybody...just a quick post. I finally figured out whats what with regards to the participants in my giveaway. Anybody who had given false information was disqualified and there were actually quite alot which is shocking because its so easy to do the stuff I had added. Anyway and then the winner was chosen from those that remained. And finally the winner is.... *Aimee Sanborn*. Congrats Aimee, I will be contacting you very soon to get your information. If Aimee doesn't reply within 24 hours of my notifying her I will choose another winner. Sorry for those who didn't win, better luck next time.
Much Love.
xo Nail Diva

Misa Lovebite + Essie Shine of the Times = Major Manicure Love

Hey girlies! Hows it been, it feels like I haven't posted in forever. But thats only because I loved my last manicure so much I rocked it up until yesterday. Thats Cray Cray right? Well anyway, so today I want to show you an experiment I tried out the other day and was absolutely ecstatic about showing you guys and then somewhere along the way I forgot about it. Anyway, First and Foremost let me just say I think the greatest addition to my polish collection has been Essie Shine of the Times. I mean it takes any old blah manicure and turns it into heaven. But only after this manicure did I realize the true glory behind this polish.

This is exactly what I wanted Barielle Elle's Spell to be like. Even when I layered it over Misa Lovebite it still didn't give me that extra oomph I was looking for. But this manicure...boy oh boy. The darkness of Lovebite nicely offsets the brightness of Shine of the Times. And no matter which direction you turn your hand the light will automatically catch the flecks and bring something extra to the table. I probably wont be wearing this in Summertime because I like to give each season its own features but I know that I'll have this on all throughout fall and winter. So if you have Elle's Spell and like me wish for more give this a try and tell me what you think. And I'll be posting up a couple more things with Essie Shine of The Times in it so stay tuned.

P.s. My Pre-100 Follower Giveaway ends tonight...so gets to entering!
xo Nail Diva

Summer Zebra Mani

Hey girlies! So this morning I woke up and realized how long its been since I've done anything on my nails that could count as nail art. Forever, thats how long! Anyway, so I immediately took out some funky colors and got to work. I'm absolutely adoring how this came out and I'm sure this will be on my nails for a good while, as I rock it out! Hello.

How awesome is that? So obviously I used Barielle Blossom on my index and pinky. It was also sponged onto my other two nails. I also sponged in Inglot 961, Sally Hansen Green with Envy, and Maybelline Divine Clementine on a white base for my middle and ring finger. Topcoat sealed the deal and I was good to go. So easy to do and didn't take more than 20 minutes to do including dry time. Btw, when you sponge on colors it generally doesn't take a long time to dry so you dont need to wait as long as you would for your regular coats of polish. This wasn't my cleanest manicure ever but it definitely was a great one. So summery. Oh and the zebra design is from one of my Konad plates. I consistently go back to the same plate...I dunno why!
Anyway, thats all for now. Dont forget to enter my Pre-100 Follower Giveaway.
xo Nail Diva