Well, what can I say about myself? I’m an American woman who got my first taste of crazy nail art living in Tokyo. I’m now bouncing around Asia, in Singapore for the short term. I’ve been overseas for 11 years now and have worked and traveled all over the world. I get a lot of inspiration from things I’ve seen on the road, but little pieces of my past also bubble into my art and posts. I’m obsessed with color!
I mix (us nailfiends call this “frankening”) nail polish to make my own original franken-colors. Some are fabulous, some are awful, but I always have fun experimenting! I also started doing nail art around in 2010 and attended nail school in Tokyo in 2011.
Some of my nail art is for sale on Etsy site at http://www.nevertoomuchglitter.etsy.com
Other places to find me include on Facebook and Tumblr.
Besides for the nails, I’m a part-time artist. I love all things creative: taking photos, drawing, scrapbooking, printmaking, beading, etc.
Other stuff I like includes: motorcycle riding, traveling, tea, reading, and of course, glitter.
Hey – I have kind of a weird request that I want to talk to you about… would you mind contacting me: stephanie@polishaddict.com. (I would have emailed you but I can’t find contact info on your site.) <3
Hi there… First of all, I love your blog and all your creativity! I am going to be visiting Tokyo in April and would love to know what shops you would recommend when looking for some unique polish. I am interested in high end and low end. I thought I’d ask the most informed person (you) instead of asking random people once I get there! Thanks!
Hi Kristina,
If you’re coming to Tokyo or another big city in Japan, you can get a good selection of nail polish pretty cheaply at a store called “Don Quixote,” they sell all kinds of goods including makeup. There are quite a few branches of these stores around Japan and Tokyo. ドン・キホーテ is the name in Japanese, pronounced Don Kee-Ho-Tay. You can also get gradation liquid, nail decals, etc. there. as well as some odd Japan-only cosmetics.
Popular brands here are Pa, which has tiny bottles and a lot of different colors, but only so-so formula, Majolca Majolca, a little expensive but unique colors, Shiseido, an expensive Japanese brand but still cheaper than OPI or international brands. There are a lot of department stores with Shu Uemura brand ($20 US or so per bottle), Anna Sui, etc. but those are pricey and can be bought outside Japan, I think.
Drugstores also have an OK selection of polishes, some better than others. I recommend Don Quixote the most. Also, you can get some interesting polishes at a Japanese 100-yen shop, where everything is about $1 US. My favorite 100 yen shop is called The Daiso (ザーダイソ 百円ショップ）. I get a lot of my jewels and glitter there.
I hope you have a great time in Japan and this helps a little bit!
WOW! Thank you so much for all the specific info… I really appreciate it, and I’m sure it will come in handy. Many thanks!
Wow, I just discovered this awesome blog today (through a friend)! I’m also really obsessed with nails and nail art and nail polish and spend hrs at a time on “prettifying” my nails
.
Just a quick question that I have – you paint your nails and change them so often, do you ever experience yellowing of nails? If you don’t, is there something to prevent them from turning yellow? I notice it happens to my nails if I keep dark colours on for a long period of time :S.
I hope you haven’t explained this once before, but I’m busy backtracking through your posts now and I haven’t found anything like a “FAQ” page? XDD.
Welcome Candy! Thanks for stopping by!
I should make a FAQ- that’s a great idea.
I do sometimes get yellow stains on my nails- I do change colors pretty often, but it happens.
1. Always use a base coat under dark colors, or even a light shade of polish.
2. When I get stains, I mix up baking soda a dab of whitening toothpaste and some lemon juice and use an old toothbrush to “brush” my nails. I’ve also tried baking soda in a base of almond oil, which leaves nails soft but is not quite as effective. Add the ingredients together to make a slushy paste- you don’t need much.
^Ohh, that’s awesome
. Thanks so much for the tips!!
Hello! I just found your site yesterday! and I can’t stop coming back and looking! You RAWK!!!!!!
Thanks very much for stopping by, Curvyred13! Come back soon.
I also had a question about painting and changing your nails so frequently. do you find that it weakens your nails or makes them unhealthy? i had been changing my polish pretty often and found that my nails started splitting and peeling. i’ve had to lay off the polish for a while.
Hi Scarlet,
Yes, I did have some problems with dry nails, which contributes a lot the peeling and splitting. The acetone in polish is a major cause of drying out nails. Try a non-acetone remover and cuticle oil all over your nails + cuticles. I also use OPI Nail Envy, a strenghtener, under my polish. But be careful- if you overuse strenghtener, it can make your nails so hard that they become brittle and snap.
I wrote you before about traveling to Japan, and I am actually here right now. I went to Don Quixote in Skinjuku and it was so amazing! I spent so much money. I wansn’t able to find the gradient liquid though. Can you give me more specific information on this, the brand or the type of packaging so that I can hopefully locate it?
Thank you so much for your help so far, and if you have any other recommendations I would be very appreciative.
Thanks!
Kristina
Hi Kristina! I hope you’re having a great time! I actually live really close to Shinjuku
Here’s a photo:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/images/B0010LJI2O/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=160384011&s=hpc
There are two types- “Lame” (glitter) and plain. It’s called “Gradation Liquid” but you have to attempt to say it with a Japanese accent of they won’t understand. Like “goo-ray-day-see-yon ree-koo-we-dough”- it’s 9 syllables. Don’t stress any of the syllables.
It’s written like this in Japanese: (ネイルの)グラデーションネイルリキッド
Are you still in Shinjuku? If so, I have some time to meet today (Saturday, May 30) since I live pretty close to there. There’s a huge dollar store near my place. Email me at nevertoomuchglitter@gmail.com
I have been really into Japan for a while and I was wondering what you recomend to help me learn Japanese. I would love to vist Japan someday but it probably would be hard to get around not knowing the language.
If you can, email me @ thatgreengentleman4ever@gmail.com
Love,
Anne
I absolutely love your blog. You’re nail art is so beautiful. Do you have anything on your nails? Like an acrylic layer for example? They always look so lovely.
Do you have any advice on how to care for your nails (pre-nail art!) My nails are in a real state and my nail polish bubbles.
Thank you
Kind regards
Jodie
Thanks for stopping by! I have worn gel overlays in the past but now they’re totally naked except for polish. Unfortunately, I just broke three nails while bowling last weekend. Usually they’re pretty solid, but bowling was rather fatal.
For stronger nails, I recommend:
1. Take Biotin supplements. Biotin is Vitamin K and should be cheap and readily available. I figured it wouldn’t hurt and might even help. I have less breaks since I’ve been using it. You could also try one of those “Hair, Skin and Nails” multi-vitamins.
2. Make sure your nails are moisturized, either with oil or cream. They tend to split and peel if they are dry. But try to keep them out of water for long periods of them, because they get very weak when they are wet.
3. Use a strenghtener- I use OPI Nail Envy, but there are many good ones. Once your nails are fairly hard, stop using it and switch to a “maintenance” strenghtener. If the nails get too hard, they will be brittle and prone to snap.
4. Try a Calgel overlay if your nails are really weak- it can allow them to grow out without breaking, but tends to be expensive. It won’t add length to the nails but will add a strong coating.
Good luck!
Thanks for your advice!
hey your wordpress really opens my eyes to how nails can be!!!
loving your work but I have a question. How do you really mix those nailpolishes? In old bottles or containers?
Thanks for stopping by. I mix them in a silicone muffin tin and usually only make enough for one manicure unless I really like the color.
Hi, I really enjoy your blog! I actually stumbled across it when I was doing research on nail stuff in Japan before my trip this past August. It came in handy as a shopping resource! Anyways, this is totally off topic, but I was wondering if you knew anything about Japanese music. While I was in Shibuya, they kept playing this song (female singer) and I really liked it. Can’t find it so far, and don’t know quite where to look. Any advice you have would be much appreciated. If you can email me: chickebaby2002@yahoo.com
Keep up the great nail art….by the way, I’m so jealous that you live in Japan. I loved it there! Thank you!
Thanks very much! I hope you had a wonderful time in Japan. Living here has its ups and downs, but I’ve enjoyed my experience immensely and learned a lot. But sometimes I find myself really wanting some real cheese!
Hello! I actually have a question, where do you get those fake nails that have 5 on each side? I’ve seen the ones with 11 on each side and I buy them from the Japanese dollar stores here in California, called Daiso Japan. The ones with 5 on each side are a bit longer and suit my nails better so I’m really curious
I feel like they can be bought somewhere here since I live in a rather large asian community…hahaha
online sites could help too i suppose! Please and thank you! >_<
are you coming back to u.s. soon? just wondering if this way you can bring back the TiNs polish since you said you can’t ship it anymore? It’s so strange that they don’t allowing ship nail polishes. =/
btw i like your franken pink stuff they hot!
I should be back in early 2012 but I’m not flying back into the US since I’ll be doing a little travelling first. The reason nail polish can’t be shipped by air is because it’s technically a flammable and hazardous material.
In that case, I’m really dangerous!
Hey! I have a question about removing glitter polish – even when I put a basecoat on my nails, when I put glitter polish on, it is impossible to get off, and sometimes I end up scraping and damaging my nails when I try to remove it. I have thin nails to begin with, and now they’re even more flakey – help! Do you have any advice?
Glitter polish is tricky and takes a long time to come off but don’t scrape it! Buff it LIGHTLY with a fine file to break the nail polish seal, then apply a polish-soaked cotton ball on the nail. Wrap it up with a small square of tinfoil so it stays on. Repeat for each nail and check it after 5 minutes or so. You will probably still have to do some cleanup- a piece of felt soaked in polish remover works pretty well without scraping too much. Don’t forget to give your nails and cuticles a nice helping of handcream or cuticle oil afterwards. Hope that helps!
Welcome to Singapore!
Thank you very much! I’m going to be bouncing around a lot and heading back and forth between here, Tokyo and the US, but it’s a nice place for a little pit-stop.
And the food is delicious!
Hi, I am an Indonesian and I live in US for over 10 years now. I am amazed how you can live in Asia for quite a long time. Anyway, I want to know if I can work together. Please contact me. Thank you.
You are so talented and I absolutely love your nail designs! And how is Singapore so far? As a local myself I cannot stand the weather!
Thanks so much! I’m still working on getting used to the weather here! I do miss the seasons a lot and have to giggle a bit when I see “Autumn Sale” with coats and sweaters. Where the heck are we supposed to wear that stuff?
Hello!!! I just recently stumbled upon this blog and I am OBSESSED. I am a self proclaimed nail polish addict, like you I can’t stay with a particular color for more than a few days. I am reading all of your posts, I’m on the matte valentine’s day hearts
I wanted to ask you if you use a lot of matte top coats? (That particular one was essie, and I know how you feel about them) So I wanted to know which one you would suggest…I also bought one recently but it only really made one nail completely matte, and by a few days they were shiny. Speaking of matte, I made my first eye shadow nail polish! I love love loved the color, and it was in fact matte! But it was super-duper chunky, so I just threw over a coat of crackle! Love your blog 
I´ve nominated you for Very Inspiring Blogger Award, read more here: http://kiyominails.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/very-inspiring-blogger-award/