Kuala Lumpur: City in motion

After 4 years, I've been again to Kuala Lumpur. To the ones who don't know KL, it's is the capital city of Malaysia, located in southeast Asia. It's one of the fastest growing cities in the area. It's a mix of a modern clean asian city and a messy old fashioned asian province town. The latter is slowly disappearing, especially in the city centre. Since 4 years ago, when I was last time in KL, so many new buildings rose from the ground: It's amazing! Around the famous Petronas twin towers, there's so many new highrise condos, I wonder who will live there and how will the higher densitiy affect the already highly congested traffic.
I hope to return there next year, because KL is always worth to visit. You see so many different people from all over the world. The cab is cheap, the food is delicious and affordable, shopping is great in this period before the New year and Chinese new year. I recomment to everybody who's in this part of the world: Visit Kuala Lumpur! You won't regret it. Photo: KL at night. Hint: December and January are very rainy, so don't forget your umbrella.

[My MALAYSIA page][My KUALA LUMPUR page][All photos by MKL, 2008]

Rihanna Smiley Face Nails!!!

OMG!

Look at this awesome picture of Rihanna I just saw on BellaSugar:



Smiley face nails! You may already know that Rihanna is one of the few celebrities I like because of her unique sense of style and complete creativity and fearlessness when it comes to her nails and makeup... Now I think I love her even more! (Even though I've never heard any of her music...)

She's one of us! How awesome!

Rumors about OPI South Beach Spring 2009...

Someone just sent me this description of OPI's Spring 2009 Collection (South Beach):

Done Out In Deco - Lilac
Clubbing Til Sunrise - Tangerine
Suzi & The Lifeguard - Pink
Conga-Line Coral - Orange-Rose
Overexposed In South Beach - Purple
Bronzed To Perfection - Brown
Party In My Cabana - Pink
Sand In My Suit - Nude
Paint My Moji-Toes Red - Red
Miami Beet - Violet
OPI On Collins Ave. - Red Orange
Feelin’ Hot-Hot-Hot! - Flamingo Pink

Hmmm... Gotta say, it doesn't sound very interesting to me.

EDIT: Pics!!




Aw man.... How lame! I like one of the colors- Done Out In Deco- and that's about it. What the hell, OPI? The crappy 90120 collection was bad enough, but now this? Haven't you released these colors about 50 times already?

*sigh*

Special thanks to the lovely Emelie for letting me use her pictures!

Swatches: China Glaze Romantique Spring 2009 Collection

If you noticed, the other day (on Twitter) I said these were ugly and disappointing, and I didn't even want to swatch them.

Well, the sun was out yesterday and I got around to swatching them and I think I've changed my mind!

In the bottles they do look pretty ugly. Bland, boring, would never catch my eye on a shelf among other more interesting polish collections.

However, on the nails they're actually really cool. They're a frosty metallic texture. Not really chrome or reflective, but a smooth shimmery type of metallic. Sort of futuristic looking. Not all of the colors are 'my thing', but there are a few that I'm seriously digging.

These are sold in two halves like past China Glaze collections, a warm selection and a cool selection. I don't remember which are which, so I'll present them alphabetically.

As always, please click on the pictures to view them full size- I try to leave them really big so you can see the detail of the polish :)


Admire. See? Isn't it cool? Admire is a cool silvery pinkish color. For once, a pink that is flattering on me!


Adore. I don't know what color this is. I want to say blue, but it seems more... teal? Is it turquoise? I say it's blue. This is one of my favorites. Spaceman blue. (... Cause you're the one that I adore... We must never be apart....We must never be apart... )


Awaken. Awaken, take the land that must be taken! Okay, sorry, had to do it. Ten points to anyone who gets the joke :) Aaaaanyway, it's a gorgeous blued-charcoal metallic. Looks really similar to some of China Glaze's other charcoal metallics, but the texture of this one is superior. Smooth and opaque, very lovely.


Cherish. A frosty mint green. This one was disappointing to me. How many light mint greens do we need, honestly? I can think of four other polishes I have that look like this. Nail polish companies: stop making light greens. We want rich, deep, saturated forest greens!!! Cherish the thought of always having you here by my side...



Delight. Kind of a bronzy brown with a reddish mauve tint to it. This is one of the ones I thought looked really ugly in the bottle, but once I put it on my nails I decided that I liked it. (Uhh... sky rockets in flight??)



Devotion. Sweet devotion, it's not for me... Just give me motion and set me free.... Seriously, all of these names are reminding me of songs. Maybe they did that on purpose. Devotion is a gorgeous frosty silver. Right up my alley, I'll definitely be wearing this one.


Emotion. Sweeeeeet emotion.... Metallic medium warm-ish pink. Plain, but pretty. The color doesn't wow me but I like the finish. I would probably never wear this, but I'm sure it will be a popular color. But I need some time of from that emotion, time to pick my heart up off the floor...


Harmony. Unforgettable harmony. Holy crap, did I just sing Barry Manilow lyrics?! I'm embarrassed for myself. *ahem* Harmony is a drop-dead gorgeous metallic purple. I really love this one. It's bright and shiny and PURPLE!!! .... together in perfect harmony...



Joy. Have I no control, is my soul not mine? Am I not just man, destiny defined? (That's one of my favorite songs ever. Anyone know it?) Joy is a really stunning muted purple metallic. This might be my favorite of the entire collection. Truly lovely. Joy to the world...


Magical. There's not too much magic in this one. It's a pretty yet bland pinkish silver. Kind of... champagne? It's not really gold, but it's too pink to call it pure silver. I can't think of a song lyric for this one.


Passion. Wow, I can't think of a song lyric for this one either! Totally gorgeous light gold metallic. Might be tied with Joy for my favorite. I would wear this all the time. It rocks.
(Ooh, I think I have a song. Amy Rose's theme in Sonic Adventure is called My Sweet Passion...)


Poetic. I'm not sure what to call this color, either. Light metallic dusty rose? Mauve? Pretty but again, not anything special. It doesn't wow me, but I still like it.


Overall, I do like this collection. As I said, my first impression of it was that it was really ugly and boring. It's not. The bottle color is very deceptive, because once you put these on your nail they're really fascinating. And the more I think about it, the more I appreciate China Glaze for doing different collections. I mean, look at some of the other collections that were released recently. Essie Winter, OPI La Collection de France and Holiday in Toyland, Lippmann and Rescue Beauty Lounge's recent collections... This collection is nothing like any of those. I'm not sure if it's because it's meant for a different season, but this is totally unique. Essie would have released red and pink cremes, OPI would have done maybe some interesting vampy shimmers, but China Glaze released pastel metallics. I like that.

The formula was pretty nice on these. It was still a little runny and goopy like three-free polishes tend to be, but these went on nice and smooth with minimal running or streaking and they were surprisingly opaque. The were a little quicker to dry than usual as well. I have no complaints.

The names are really hard to remember. It's like OPI's Designer Series with the one word names that aren't the least bit memorable or descriptive and they're all really similar. Design, Desire, Extravagance, Exclusive, Elegant... How am I supposed to mentally connect the name of the polish with the color? I need a cheat sheet or something.

I found it amusing that most of the names immediately made me think of songs. I suppose that the names are generic enough that the words are used in a variety of songs, and maybe they meant it that way. Maybe I'm just nutty.

So... what do you think? I say: Awesome finish, bland colors, but a very versatile and pretty collection.

Zoya and Qtica Holiday Gift Sets

Every year I say, "Oh, I'm going to get my Christmas shopping done early, I'm going to have everything all wrapped up weeks before Christmas! I'm not going to be one of those crazy people out shopping on Christmas Eve..."

And every year, inevitably, I end up being one of those crazy people out shopping on Christmas Eve. Every. Single. Year.

Instead of doing what I do, why not just shop online? No crowds full of hacking, coughing people and snotty-nosed kids running through the store screaming while their parents are busy elbowing you in the ribs to get the last insert popular item here off of the shelf before you do....

One thing I really love are gift sets. I've always been attracted to gift sets. The way they're packaged with special shiny paper, all the little products inside all lined up and pretty looking. I just love them! When the gift sets are filled with beauty products, it's even better.

Not very many nail companies do good gift sets (or any gift sets for that matter). OPI has some minis and little bottles of lotion, Essie does some minis, CND sometimes has special polish... Nothing impressive, really. Nothing even different than what they do the rest of the year.

So who has the best gift sets? That would be Zoya. They're actual, useful, jam-packed full of awesomeness, honest-to-goodness gift sets. I'll show you a few of my favorites (the ones I'd love to unwrap on Christmas morning instead of another pair of driving gloves.)

In my opinion, this is the best gift set of them all. It has all of my favorite things! The Holiday Nail Gift Kit has three of "my holy grail" products: Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator, Qtica Intense Cuticle Repair Balm and Qtica Half Time Polish Drying Accelerator, plus one product I like but just don't use all that often- Qtica Extending Topcoat. I would love to receive this gift, and I'd love to give this gift as well. At $25, it's a very affordable gift to give. It's also a great deal- it comes with full size products, and the Nail Growth Stimulator alone costs $20.

The Natural Nail Growth Stimulator had me skeptical at first, but after using it consistently for months, it's all I use now. I'm sold. It really does help my nails grow quickly! You can see the evidence just by looking at the pictures I post here. I really like this base coat. It helps prevent staining, it helps my nails grow, and even though Zoya says there aren't whitening ingredients in it, I feel like it really brightens my nails.

The Cuticle Repair Balm is just amazing. It's not greasy or liquidy- it might take a while to get used to because it's so different from the usual cuticle products. It's a thick, rich, heavy-duty balm that really hydrates and locks in moisture. It even lasts through hand washing. I use this when I've been neglecting my cuticles and doing heavy cleaning without gloves, and it pretty much fixes them immediately. It also has no scent, so it won't bother you if you're sensitive to scents.

The Half Time Drops are a total staple for me. I was introduced to them when they were included in my first Zoya order as a gift with purchase, and I've been hooked ever since. You apply it to your nails after you put on your topcoat and it helps the polish dry faster. I notice that when I don't use the drops, it does take longer for the polish to dry. I don't know how this works, but it does. It also has the added bonus of preventing dents while your polish is wet. The oil adds a layer of protection that you don't get with just a quick dry topcoat. It makes the polish a lot more forgiving- you won't be able to smudge them or dent them as easily while they're drying. Again, no idea how this works, but it does, and now I use them all the time.

My second favorite gift set is this one. It's called the Holiday Mini-cure, but I call it genius. Genius! It's a mini color lock system, a mini bottle of Remove+ (the Cadillac of Polish Removers) and a mini bottle of Zoya Lacquer in Shiloh. It's like an Intro to Zoya set.

Two reasons I think this is a smart gift set:
1. Maybe you don't want to drop the $36 on the full-size Color Lock System because you've never used it before and don't know if you'll like it, but you still want to try it. This set is $15, comes with the entire system in mini size, PLUS a mini polish. If you don't like it you're not stuck with full size bottles that you spent a lot on. If you do like it, this brings me to my second reason...

2. It's a portable nail survival kit! Maybe you travel a lot, or maybe you're like me and like to always be prepared. This kit has everything you need in one place, but takes up very little space because it's mini! You can keep it in your purse or your car or your desk for a nail emergency.

Like I said, it's an Intro to Zoya. Great idea, especially for people who like to have long-lasting manicures. They also have just the Color Lock items- Anchor, Armor and Hurry Up- in a mini trio for $12.


And my third favorite gift are the Color Cubes. It's a cute little set with a full size Zoya Hot Lips gloss/balm plus a coordinating mini Zoya polish for only $8. It's a perfect stocking stuffer, or a good inexpensive yet still luxurious gift that I'm sure any girl would love. My top picks would be:

• Enchanted Evening which has Hot Lips in Starlet (which is drop-dead gorgeous) and mini lacquer in Evangeline. The colors would be flattering on most skintones, and the colors are not too flashy but still unique.
• Sugar Plum Party which has a Hot Lips in Visa and a mini lacquer in Casey. Casey is one of the most gorgeous vampy colors in existence. It's impossibly stylish and very sexy.
• Fairy Dust includes Hot Lips in Paparazzi and mini lacquer in Austine. Gold is hot for the holiday season, and these are two nice, wearable metallic gold shades.
  

Really, all of them are nice sets, but those are my favorites.

I'm really impressed with Zoya's gift sets. They're all practical yet lovely. For the price, you wouldn't expect something as nice as these. I'm on a super-tight budget this year, and the prospect of being able to give gifts that are affordable but still *nice* and useful makes me very happy. I might have a hard time giving these because I want to keep them for myself... Heh. *shifty eyes*

OMG...

I'm sorry, I just have to ask....

Who just hit my blog by googling "exploding hookers"??

Do I want to know? Maybe I don't want to know...

Exploding hookers. Awesome.

Blue Cross Holiday Polishes - Snowmen and Ornaments

I'm a huge fan of anything seasonal and festive- I wear jack-o-lantern perfume in October and I'm not at all opposed to wearing a kooky Christmas sweater in December, so , naturally, when I saw these little cuties sitting on a grocery store cosmetics shelf it was love at first sight. (Wow, that was one terrible sentence. Yikes.)

The first thing that caught my eye was a set of mini glitter polishes. None of them have names, but the set is labelled "Ornaments." My favorite of the bunch (and the only one I've photographed so far) is this purple jelly glitter. At first it seemed like a purple version of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, but it reminds me more of Zoya Roxy on the nail. I wish this came in a full size.



(That looks like a cat hair on my index finger... I have no idea where that came from. )


Slightly different lighting.

The other colors in the set are all jelly glitters- green, pale blue, red, and clear-ish with pastel glitter. I have heard rumors that there are sets with different colors, but my store only had one set.

Next to the Ornaments set was a display full of the cutest little polishes ever- Snowman head-shaped bottles with super awesome glitter polishes inside!

My favorite is this red and green glitter:


This lighting shows the red more...


But this lighting shows the green a little better.

I just loooooove this polish! I've worn it three times since I bought it. It looks great on its own- these pictures are three coats- but it looks way more cool over black. One coat over black is super sparkly and festive, but since you're only doing one coat the red and green don't blend to make a brown look. Love it love it love it! I haven't tried this over white or other colors, but I'm sure it would look awesome. Maybe over gold too! The glitter in the red and green snowman is very fine, almost microglitter. It's nice and smooth and not difficult to remove.

The other colors I picked up were a hot pink shimmer and a red and silver glitter.


This is the hot pink...


... Which seems totally out of place among the wintery, Christmassy holiday colors.




This is the red and silver glitter....


... A medium sized red and silver glitter in a red jelly base.


These are only a few of the colors I saw on the display. I believe there was a black, a shimmery white, maybe a few others- but these were the sparkliest ones, so these were the ones that caught my eye and came home with me.

If you can tell from my pictures, they snowmen have little hats! How cute is that?