Candy Japan

So this post is completely not nail related... in fact, I have nude nails at the moment because I have to do some major repair work to fix some splits.

However, I had to tell you about the funnest thing ever!  Candy Japan.

My husband is fascinated with Japanese culture and loves the idea of the weird (at least to us anyway) flavors of  things like candy and chips.

A few weeks ago I read an article about Candy Japan on GeekMom and I knew I needed to get it for my husband.  The idea is simple, for a small fee ($25USD) you receive 2 shipments of novelty candy straight from Japan.  It's a subscription, though it doesn't require you continue after the first shipment.  This is also not going to be something we've all seen like Pocky either.  The shipments are supposed to be candy that is not sold outside of Japan.  Each shipment will be sent with an email to the subscriber explaining what the candy is, and any information about preparation it may need.

Yes, I said 'preparation'.  For Candy.

Today we got this...

 Um, yes, that's a toilet you see there....

So I had read from my email...

Moko Moko Mokoretto

This is possibly the strangest candy we have sent so far. It's a kit for putting together a toilet seat, with powder that starts to expand when put into the tank, mixed with water.

How-to-make instructions on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6hUfFreu2k





How funny is that?  

So we put it all together and mixed the blue powder.

All the instructions were in Japanese - thank goodness there was a video

It looks like the package is suggesting to use it to grow a cactus afterward.  I plan to use it for my blythe doll.

This looks like it comes in 4 different colors, white, pink, blue, and green.

We got the white one with green face stickers and shamrocks.

We made a happy little toilet.

So this is after we put the blue powder in the tank.  The tank connects through the bottom and back up into the bowl.

Here it is after we poured in water and gave it a little stir.  Bubbly.  

Our son was guinea pig #1 to taste it.  His "yum" face gave a seal of approval and my husband and I both tried it.  Funky is the best word I have to describe it.  It's fizzy like it's full of baking soda and citric acid for sourness.  No idea if it was supposed to be blueberry or not.

All in all, it was fun to put together and to speculate what it might taste like.  My 9 year old son was very excited.  From what I gather most months you receive 2-3 different kinds of candies but because everything has to fit in a standard letter size envelope in Japan this large candy was the entirety of our shipment this time.  We'll get another in a few weeks and I'll probably share that with you too.

My poor nails!

I know it's been awhile since I have had a full blog post and here's why:  My nails are SUPER split!

I've never had splits like this before, ever.  I think the last time I had acrylics done they just wrecked my nails.  I'm nearly grown out, but it will probably be another couple months before all the damage has had time to grow.  So I've still been doing them often just not photographing them.

That was until I did this pretty little mani....

Dragon Scales

It was really late when I finished them, and this pic doesn't do them justice, but I'm really happy about the results.  When I move my fingers little reflective hexagons shimmer at me.  

I used Illamasqua Baptiste for the base then stuck on little hexagon glequins that I recently got from Amazon.  

You can see on my middle finger a dip in my nail... well it's split way down into the quick.... so is my thumb...  this makes me a sad panda.  

Anyone have suggestions for how to prevent / treat this?  I switched to a glass file but it hasn't stopped it.

Day 15 - Untried Polish Challenge

Ugh so I am so late on this one - sad because I did the manicures days before they were "due" anyway.

So to try and make up for it, today is a two-fer...

Creme and Was a gift.

This was my first attempt at a half-moon mani, or a Dita Von Teese.  I've always managed to mess them up terribly.  This time it worked out and I even wore it for a couple days.

 I used Essie Licorice for undies and Zoya Neely for thet tips.  I chipped my index fingernail and didn't notice until after the pics were taken.  Oh well.


As for the gift polish I created a gradient using OPI French Quarter for your Thoughts and China Glaze Budding Romance which was the gift polish.  Thanks Cynthia :).  I used Zoya Codie as a stamp polish using Pueen #04 plate.

And that's it folks - totally done with this challenge.  It's been awesome.  Make sure you check out the other ladies who've done the challenge with me and follow their blogs.

Masha at Lost In Lacquer
Raine at Lacquer Lily
Amy at Fancy Side

Amanda at Designer Nail Accents
Sam at Polished Art
Lizajane at Organic Neglect
Blueberry Pie at Blueberry Nails

Missy at Gnarly Gnails
Uni at Acetone FIles
Isabel at Little Fairy

Raux at Raux Polish

Alison at UKNailRunner

Day 14 - Untried Polish Challenge

So it's Day 14 of the challenge and it's time for a little GLITTER!

Actually, I'll be honest, I'm both a lover and hater of glitter.  I love a little bling on my nails but hate having to remove it.

I've heard that you can use Elmer's School Glue as a base coat and within a day or so it will basically just peel off.  I tried it a few nights ago with a cream polish and it gunked up and ruined the manicure.  I think the trick is to let it really really really dry before you paint over it.  I'll have to try it again and let you know.

Okay for this challenge I used Deborah Lippmann's Lady Sings the Blues.  I know I said before that I am not a big fan of blue, but this really falls in the indigo range.  It has a purple'ish tint like new jeans.

This is one of those that I love in the bottle more than I love on my nails.  The glitter is nice, but not my favorite.

It's a deep blue crelly with micro and med silver glitter.

Remember to check out the other ladies doing the challenge...

Masha at Lost In Lacquer
Raine at Lacquer Lily
Amy at Fancy Side

Amanda at Designer Nail Accents
Sam at Polished Art
Lizajane at Organic Neglect
Blueberry Pie at Blueberry Nails

Missy at Gnarly Gnails
Uni at Acetone FIles
Isabel at Little Fairy

Raux at Raux Polish

Alison at UKNailRunner

Day 13 - Untried Polish Challenge

Being a true child of the 80's I am absolutely in love with the Neon trend. So for my in season challenge I had to go bright orange as it's my favorite color. 

I used CG's Japanese Koi with a coat of Fairy Dust over for a little sparkle. 
The stamp is BM-221 with Konad Black.

I actually have worn this manicure for 3 days (until it started chipping) because I loved it so much.

Day 12 - Untried Polish Challenge

Today's challenge is prettiest polish.  It's weird because I thought this would be an easy challenge but I honestly struggled with it.  My most prettiest polishes get used right away so while none of them are ugly (see previous challenge post) the ones I'm less excited about might sit for a little longer.

That being said, I'm very pleased with the polish I used today.  It's much prettier on than it is in the bottle.

Liquid Sky Lacquer - Fuchsia Illusion

This is an awesome thermal holo polish.  Two coats for opacity, but I did a third just because.  It changes from a dark violet when cool to a lighter fuchsia when warm. 

For this picture I ran my middle nails under warm water because my house was cold and not showing the transition well.  This makes for a neat French manicure on longer nails since the tips are normally cooler not touching the skin.

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