OMG, So Kawaii!

Hi everyone!
I recently started learning Japanese, so I decided to practice writing a few characters by painting them on my nails! I don't have the best handwriting, and I might have written the characters or the words themselves wrong, so correct me if this doesn't look right:

I wrote two characters per nail, and the thumb has a little character that I made with my friends. The whole thing says "Kawaii Desu!!", which means "Is/It's cute!!". The background of the nails is supposed to  be note paper, which I hope is pretty obvious. Here are the individual nails, showing the characters as they are supposed to be written, from left to right:

So, I hope you like these! By the way, sorry about the wacky format... these pictures just wouldn't cooperate!
Oh, and one more thing...
I won Princess Polish's contest! Technically, I only got the silver medal, but that still ensures that a yummy chrome Essie is coming my way!
If you haven't visited it before, do check out her blog. It's really cool!
Keep reading for more manis!
'Til next time,
Caroline S.
<3

A Day At The Spa

Hi everyone!
Today I just got back from my weekend-long vacation. However, next week I'm going to California for  about a week and a half, so I won't be posting during that time! Fortunately, I'm working as hard as possible to post at least two more times this week, possibly more.
Before I did my nails tonight, I decided to come up with a plan so that I didn't have to keep getting more colors and redoing things if they didn't look right. I (quite randomly) decided to do spa nails!
The thumb is a bowl of salad (refreshing!), the index finger is a bottle of nail polish, the middle finger is a bunch of pebbles, the ring finger is a face with cucumbers and face mask, and the pinky is a towel that says "spa" (though I accidentally painted it upside-down... oops!). Here are the results:

Am I a fan... Frankly, I'd say these nails creep me out a little bit. My favorite by far is the salad, and even that didn't turn out as planned. However, the worst part was the base coat. I used Deborah Lippmann Sarah Smiles, a sheer, light pink. Since I wanted to have an opaque base, I ended up doing four coats and probably needing a fifth! Fortunately, that was mostly covered up by the designs.
For the designs I used Wet and Wild Black Creme, Wet and Wild White Creme, Sinful Colors in a green I don't know the name of, OPI InStyle Red, NK Grin, Illamasqua Taint, and Simple Pleasures peach polish.
I'll probably be doing another design on Monday or Tuesday. It depends when I have the most time!
No word yet on the olympic nail art contest. Hopefully the winners will be announced soon!
Speaking of the olympics, did anyone else love the closing ceremony? I really loved it, and it is so wonderful to see the amazing athletes doing what they have trained their whole lives to do.
On that note, have a wonderful week, and keep reading for more nail art!
'Til next time,
Caroline S.
<3

Just Kisses

Hi everyone!
Today I was stuck inside with a bit of a cold, so I decided to paint my nails again out of boredom! I came up with the idea to paint a lips pattern using only three colors: NK Grin, Wet and Wild Black Creme, and Simple Pleasure red polish. I really like the results!
Here are the finished nails:

I started by painting my  nails with a base coat of the green Grin. Next, I painted little lips shapes with Black Creme. Finally, I topped it with the red and touched up the centers with more black.
I really like how these turned out, even though they took so long to paint! However, I think it was worth it. Besides, I finally figured out a better way to photograph my nails! I found a place in my apartment with perfect lighting and a pretty backdrop. Yay!
In addition to this awesome manicure, my grandmother recently sent me a package with so many different nail polishes! Thank you so much, grandma! I will definitely put them all to use!
Keep reading for more nails!
'Til next time,
Caroline S.
<3

Tribal Dance

Hi everyone!
I'm back with my newest design, a retake on my original tribal design!
You may have seen the original post that I did on my tribal nails. If not, the link is here. Anyway, being one of my first blog posts, looking back now I realize that it was pretty poorly painted and photographed. So, I decided to compensate by creating a better, simpler, and well-photographed version of the ever-popular tribal mani. This one is very simple, since it was done with only two polishes: a base of OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and with accents of Wet and Wild Black Creme (btw, I'm really loving this black). In addition, unlike the original design that I did, this one features only one pattern. Finally, I actually got a much better photograph!
Here is the finished design:

Okay, so I'm still working on the photography skills... To my defense, the camera I'm using isn't exactly a Nikon... oh well. I'll get it right eventually. 

On another note, I will find out the results of Princess Polish's contest on Sunday! I probably didn't win,  but there's always a chance! Anyway, I just love looking at all the contest entries. 

I hope you like these nails! Keep reading for more manis!

'Til next time, 

Caroline S.

<3

Go For Gold!

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I found out some bad news... my nail art brushes are shipping from HONG KONG!!! That means they won't be here until the middle of August. However, I went on a search at the nearest beauty store (Ricky's) and found some amazing brushes in the testing area! They are just eye makeup brushes, but they reminded me of nail brushes, so I got some. It just so happens that they worked amazingly, and I was able to complete my newest manicure, which also happens to be my entry in Princess Polish's Olympic themed manicure! I will hopefully receive my order soon, but until then I will be making the best of these brushes.
The contest entries were supposed to be Olympic themed, so I thought about the most original ideas that I could. Finally, I decided on making opening ceremony-themed nails! The thumb features the rings and the words "London 2012, Go For Gold!". The index finger has a smokestack for the Industrial Revolution, the middle finger has a crown for the Queen, the ring finger has an umbrella for Mary Poppins, and the pinky has a British Flag, of course! I am really happy with these, and I hope they win the gold medal (or the gold nail polish, that is)! Here are the nails:

This picture was taken before I added topcoat. Unfortunately, though the topcoat dried very fast, it smudged the nail art and pulled at the designs, leaving some parts of the mani a streaky mess. Fortunately, another mani should be coming soon!
I used sooo many polishes to paint this mani. Here are the names (I also mixed several polishes to create different colors): Wet and Wild White Creme, OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh, Simple Pleasures pink polish, Sinful Colors (A shade I can't remember the name of), Essie Aruba Blue, Simple Pleasures blue polish, Wet and Wild Black Creme, Love and Beauty Light Yellow, OPI InStyle Red, NK (also a shade with a name I can't remember.. both of these are new polishes), OPI Little Brown Dress, OPI I Vant to be Alone Star, Simple Pleasures purple polish, and Wet and Wild Metallica!
I am really excited about these, and I can't wait to see the results of the contest!
Keep reading for more nail designs!
'Til next time,
Caroline S.
<3

Tumblr Time!

Hi everyone!
Sorry It's been so long since I've posted... All my tools are ruined, and I really can't do much until my new ones arrive in the mail. I can't believe they haven't come yet!
On the bright side, I just finished the blog's new tumblr! It's got the same name as the blog: Happy Lacquer Girl. The web address is: http://happylacquergirl.tumblr.com/ ! I haven't posted anything yet, but I will start posting on both tumblr and blogger as soon as my new nail tools come. I have decided to enter Princess Polish's olympic-themed nail art contest! I'll post my entry as soon as it's finished.
Don't forget to check out my tumblr!
'Til next time,
Caroline S.
<3