Thursday 30 January 2014

Rainbow Honey Swatch and Review: Sweet Talk and Xoxo!

Hey everyone! Today I'm here with two Valentine's Day polishes that I received in a surprise swatch package from Rainbow Honey!

I was really shocked and excited when I saw the package in the mail, and they included a lovely note with a coupon code I'm allowed to share with you awesome people! From now until March 31st you can enter the code ILOVENAILBLOGS to get five dollars off of your orders!

Onto the nails! Get ready for a lot of pictures!

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk

First up we have Sweet Talk, a white crelly polish with medium-sized light blue, purple and pink glitters, as well as smaller pink glitters and even pink shimmer! The base almost looks pink on the nail because of all the awesome shimmer!

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk

Formula-wise this polish was perfect; it was super easy to apply and it dried very quickly! It wasn't even very bumpy without top coat despite all of the glitter, and I'm just wearing a thin layer of top coat over two coats of it here!

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk

I always love a good white crelly and this one is that and more!

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and Essie Bikini so Teeny

Next we have Xoxo over two coats of Essie Bikini so Teeny! The pink/red glitters really make Bikini so Teeny look purple instead of blue, which I'm actually happy about because I think purple looks really awesome with this polish! This baby has pink or red hexes in varying sizes (to me they look red but I've heard other people call them pink and I know I see some colours that most people consider pink as other colours), silver holographic microglitters, and even gold flakies that look different over different bases!

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and Essie Bikini so Teeny

The formula on this polish was a dream just like Sweet Talk, easy to apply and quick-drying! What you see here is one coat of Xoxo over my undies and a coat of top coat on top!

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and Essie Bikini so Teeny

I couldn't really tell how this polish would look on the nail by looking at the bottle, and I love it even more than I thought I would! I think it would look fantastic over any base colour!

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and Essie Bikini so Teeny

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and Essie Bikini so Teeny

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and OPI My Vampire is Buff

Finally, we have Xoxo again but over a different base! The base is two or three coats (on some nails two, on others three) of the famous OPI My Vampire is Buff!

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and OPI My Vampire is Buff

You can see the gold shimmer actually looking gold here, as opposed to pinky or orangey like it does over Bikini so Teeny! I seriously love this polish and how different and awesome it looks over different bases!

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and OPI My Vampire is Buff

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and OPI My Vampire is Buff

Rainbow Honey Xoxo and OPI My Vampire is Buff

Thank you so much for reading everyone! What do you think of these polishes? And which base do you like better for Xoxo? I'd love to hear in the comments! Happy Thursday!

Monday 27 January 2014

Above the Curve Merry & Bright over Nyx Bloody Mary!

Hey everyone! Today I have a swatch and review of the lovely Above the Curve Merry & Bright to share!

I'm finally completely (or just about) over my flu, so today's the day that I'll get back into Pilates! I'm pretty scared to do so because Monday's are the crazy cardio and HIIT workouts which I struggle with quite a bit! Cardio is not my strong suit because I have almost no stamina and it's hard for me to find enough motivation for crazy cardio stuff!

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

School-wise I have a midterm this week and most weeks for the foreseeable future, so I'm not ecstatic about that! I also have this crazy class with tons of write-ups, assignments, quizzes and even a 12-15 page term paper, plus four midterms in total. Like, what? It's a second year genetics course and it's not so bad so far because the material is incredibly simple!

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

Onto the nails at hand (get it? :P)! I started with two coats of Nyx Bloody Mary, a bright red jelly polish. Two coats wasn't quite enough for opacity, but I knew I was going to cover it in a bunch of glitter! I then dabbed on two easy coats of Merry & Bright and finished with two coats of top coat!

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

Merry & Bright is packed with every finish of circle glitter (matte, metallic and holographic) in varying sizes and colours, plus some silver micro glitter! The glitters were super easy to spread out evenly on the nail!

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

Nyx Bloody Mary and Above the Curve Merry & Bright

Thank you so much for reading everyone! I'd love to know what you think of this mani or glitter topper in the comments! Happy Monday!

Saturday 25 January 2014

Essie Lots of Luxe Swatch and Review!

Hey everyone! Today I have a quick swatch and review of a lovely new Essie textured polish called Lots of Lux!

I've had a rough week filled with the flu, some tragedies and now possibly a cold, so this will be a short post. I also have constant homework, studying and labs to do so I should probably work on those soon! On a happier note, I'll have swatches of Above the Curve's Valentine's Day Collection for you guys soon! They asked me if I'd like to do some reviews for them and of course I said yes; I absolutely love their polishes! I'm so excited!

Essie Lots of Lux

Essie Lots of Lux is a blue metallic texture polish with black/dark blue particles, and purple and light green tiny glitters! The formula was perfect and it dried pretty quickly, and this is just one coat!

Essie Lots of Lux

Since I've been pretty down and I haven't been up to writing this post, I actually can talk about the staying power of this polish. I've been wearing it since Wednesday night I believe, so two and a half days, and I only have the slightest tip wear near the middle of some of my tips. I also took these pictures almost twenty-four hours after I put it on and I can't see any tip wear!

Essie Lots of Lux

Essie Lots of Lux

Essie Lots of Lux

Essie Lots of Lux

Here's a picture of these with my lamps but without my light box to show off the shimmer!

Thanks so much for reading everyone, happy Saturday!

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Born Pretty Store Nail Sticker Review!

Hey everyone! Today I have some Born Pretty Store nail stickers to share!

I'm sorry this post is a day late guys (I like to post every two or three days) but I either have a mild flu or it's just coming on and it's going to get worse! I feel like a jerk coming to school and possibly infecting other people, but I have a lab due and a lab tonight that I can't really miss. I've hardly been eating and I've been sore all over and feverish so it really hasn't been fun! Yesterday I could hardly open the bathroom door at school because it was too heavy!

OPI My Vampire is Buff

I was going to have this post ready for you lovely people earlier, but when I picked one of these stickers off of the white paper they came on, I realized they were see-through and not white-based. I didn't have time to do a white base first that night and then I forgot I had these for a while because my nail stuff storage area is a mess. That's why I've included a couple of pictures of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls; the base I started with for this look. This is just two coats and a coat of top coat!

OPI My Vampire is Buff

I'm actually not overly keen on MBSW's formula, but I bought two when they came out so maybe this one is a bad bottle and the other will be fine! Mine is pretty thick (I could just add thinner) and it's as if the brush is too stiff because the bristles can leave bare spots from touching the nail. It also doesn't level out and dry smooth for me and you can't go over the same place a few times without some major balding action! Do any of you guys own this polish? Do you think I got a bad bottle?

Born Pretty Store Nail Stickers

Onto the stickers (link here, number YB-Q105)! On the package it says to put a coat of top coat on top of these babies for a better result (which I did here for these photos) but I found that made the stickers pull up around the cuticle which made them get caught on everything. I have a lot of hair and I brush it with my fingers a lot so after about thirty minutes of wearing these I had to take them off. I didn't notice any catching or lifting of these stickers before I top coated them so I would suggest not using top coat! Also, if you have long nails never fear! I only used around half of each nail sticker and my nails are decently long at the moment!

Born Pretty Store Nail Stickers

A few of my nails didn't fit any of the 14 stickers it came with very well (i.e. my thumb and pinky nails) so that can be an issue if you have oddly-shaped or small nails like me! I actually put the thumb ones on upside down so I had the more square end along my cuticle but even that wasn't square enough for my thumbs. I used the smallest sticker it came with on my index fingernails so there weren't any small enough for my pinky nails. I'd suggest cutting the stickers to size before applying them because they don't dissolve with acetone and I couldn't cut them at the cuticle with nail clippers or scissors after I applied them.

Born Pretty Store Nail Stickers

These stickers were really easy to apply and to take off and reposition if you didn't get them in the right place the first time! They were kind of stretchy so they were easy to pull on to make them lie flat (something I didn't have the hang of yet when I did my index finger nail :P). These stickers had a clear border around them so if they are a little too big for your nails you can see that border and it kind of wrinkles on the edge of your nail (see my ring finger nail). Taking these off was a bit of a struggle because acetone doesn't dissolve them or the glue on the backs of them. I soaked my nails in warm water like it said and scratched them off bit by bit which took quite a while. Keep in mind some of the issues I had could have been solely due to the fact that I've never used nail stickers before and this was my first try at it!

Born Pretty Store Nail Stickers

Thank you so much for reading everyone! What do you think of these stickers? I think they're really pretty and I love the tiny glitters they're covered in! Be sure to check out Born Pretty Store for any of your nail art needs, they have so many nail art supplies! Here's my code for 10% off!


Saturday 18 January 2014

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome/Multichrome Gradient Nail Art!

Hey everyone! Today I have a multichrome/duochrome gradient to share!

I have a bunch of homework to do this weekend and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed so I think I'll keep this post pretty short. What are your guys' plans for the weekend? Anyone else a bit stressed with school or work?

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

For this look I started with one coat of my favourite black polish, Revlon Espresso, for a nice and opaque base. I then went in with Black Sheep Lacquer Zaftig Zombie (green), Black Sheep Lacquer Blink (blue) and Black Sheep Lacquer Blue-Yea (pink/purple). Since these are duochromes/multichromes the colour of these polishes on their own is usually different than the colour they shine over black, which I think is super awesome! I had to take into consideration what each colour looked like over black to decide which ones to use and in which order to use them!

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

I have swatched each of these individually (both on their own and over black) in a very picture-heavy post you can find here! There is a fourth Black Sheep Lacquer polish featured in that swatch post called Forbidden Fruit that I didn't use here because my nails aren't really long enough!

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

One of my favourite things about this mani is that Blink contains small pink iridescent glitters and some ended up on my nails!

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

I even made a gif of me moving my nails from up to down because you can see the different colours more from different angles!

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

Black Sheep Lacquer Duochrome Gradient

Thanks so much for having a look everyone! What do you guys think of this mani? I'd love to hear in the comments! Happy Saturday!

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art Inspired by a Bouncy Ball!

Hey everyone! Today I have some fun multicoloured mosaic nail art to share!

Today was a fairly uneventful day for me, I did have an organic chemistry lab where we carried out an elimination reaction though which was fun! I'd love to hear what you guys did today in the comments, probably something more exciting than me huh? I'm getting more used to being at school again now that we've been back for a week and a half, and as I expected I'm enjoying school as usual! How are you guys feeling about school or work or both?

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

Last Friday night my family and boyfriend and I were checking out at Walmart when my sister and I noticed they had bouncy ball machines. We each ended up buying a small one and a large one and I loved my large one so much that I decided to recreate it's pattern on my nails! I thought about mattifying my nails to match the ball but matte nails don't last as long, and I feel weird about slathering them in lotions, balms, oils, etc as it partly removes the matte effect.

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

I started out with one coat of Revlon Espresso, a true one-coat black creme! Then from red to pink in rainbow order, I used: American Apparel Poppy, Color Club Almost Famous, China Glaze For Audrey, Julep Claire, Color Club Pucci-licious, and American Apparel Coney Island.

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

I used a small detail brush for the blobs and applied a coat of top coat on top! I find no matter how long I wait before top coating I always smudge my design a bit. For these nails I waited around an hour and a half to top coat after I'd finished and there still are a few smudges!

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

I apologize for all of the pictures here guys, I just really love this mani! I also found it a lot easier to paint than my first mosaic mani (link to the post here). I'm not sure which of them I like better seeing as they're quite different, I'd love to know what you guys think in the comments!

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

Multicoloured Mosaic Nail Art

Here's my right hand!

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I hope you're all doing well and I'd love to hear about anything you'd like to tell me in the comments! Happy Wednesday!

Sunday 12 January 2014

Above the Curve Friday the 13th Swatch and Review!

Hey guys! Today I have a swatch and review of a lovely Above the Curve polish to share!

I'm going to start right off by saying this polish currently sold out, but it's coming back on Friday, June 13th! I know that is quite a ways away, but I'm too in love with this to not share! This baby is called Friday the 13th and it's easily one of my favourite polishes already! I also picked up another polish when I ordered this one, so soon I can show you one that is available now, Merry & Bright!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

Yesterday was arms and abs day on the Blogilates calendar and dang, my arms are weak. I think it was a pretty bad decision on my part to do the arm video before the four abs ones, seeing as the ab videos involved planks and other arm-dependant exercises. It was a real struggle getting through the ab videos and I had to take a lot of breaks. I should probably do some arm videos or exercises everyday so I can work my other weakest part, my abs.

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

Now, onto the polish! Friday the 13th is a dark brown creme stuffed with linear holographic pigment. I seriously love brown polishes, especially gorgeous indie ones like this! I included four pictures that I took outside of the light box, but I'm going to go ahead and insert an Instagram video to really show the holo goodness!

Gorgeous right? I could seriously wear this polish everyday, except I'd feel bad not touching any of my other three hundred or so polishes!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

The formula on this polish was insanely good. This is ONE coat of this polish and not even a thick one! It's crazy how holographic this polish is considering how opaque it is!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

Can you tell how blown away I am with this polish? This brand is one of my favourites already just because of this beauty. They have tons of other awesome holos so definitely check those out if you love this one like I do!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

Here are a few pictures with my lamps but without the light box to show off the holographic effect! I guess it's either not quite a linear holo polish or it also contains scattered holo pieces, meaning it looks amazing in any light!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

It looks like the most beautiful holographic liquid chocolate, I almost want to eat it! It definitely makes me crave some chocolate!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

What do you guys think of this polish or post? Too many pictures? Let me know in the comments!

Above the Curve Friday the 13th

Thank you so much for reading everyone! How was your week? I've been doing assignments and labs as I get them, so for once I'm a little ahead of the game and not procrastinating! I hope you're all doing well and having a relaxing Sunday, I'll talk to you soon!