Monday 26 January 2015

Dark Green Glittery Nails Featuring Hex Nail Jewelry Charms and Star Candy Polish Orion!

Hey everybody! Today I have some nails featuring some Hex Nail Jewelry and some Star Candy Polish to share!

I'm currently in my busiest week of the semester, which in a way I'm happy about because I'm getting it over with fairly early. I have lab write-ups, pre-labs, midterms and lots of tutoring to do! I'm still struggling with having the motivation to work on those things (apart from tutoring) but I'm trying to make myself work on it because I really have to. Do you guys have a lot of stuff to do this week too? Anyway, onto the nails!


I started off with two easy coats of Revlon Rain Forest, a gorgeous dark green polish with gold shimmer throughout. Then, on all of my nails except the ones I planned to put charms on, I applied one coat of Star Candy Polish Orion (I posted about it previously, here). I adhered the charms to my nails with a glob of top coat, and I applied one coat of top coat to most of my nails and two to the ones with charms (as always, Essie Good to Go).


These nails turned out a little more fancy and glamorous than I'm used to, but I found them so pretty that I didn't mind.


The studs stayed on for the duration I wore these nails for (at least two days, I'm not sure how long exactly) and weren't threatening to fall off. I really love Hex Nail Jewelry for that, their charms stay on very well!


How cool is this Sun charm? I know my right hand can't pose without looking ridiculous, I'm sorry!


What do you guys think of these nails or these charms? I'd love to know! I'll be back with some pastel gradient nails in a week that you would have seen if you follow me on Instagram! Happy Monday! :)

Monday 19 January 2015

Snowy Nail Art Featuring Born Pretty Store Snowflake Decorations!

Hey everyone! Today I have some wintery nails featuring some Born Pretty Store snowflake charms to share!

Look at this, I'm posting for the second week in a row and keeping up with my proposed schedule! Say what? I'm even thinking of trying to get two posts in on weeks where I'm not so busy and eventually maybe two posts a week regardless. I think getting back into blogging has helped me motivation-wise already. Taking a break from here and not doing my nails wasn't taking a break, it was not doing the things I enjoy and doing things I don't enjoy like procrastinating at school and stressing myself out. Anyways! Onto the nails!


I started off with one coat of the base coat I've been using recently (Orly Bonder) and then to most of my nails I applied two coats of a lovely texture polish, OPI Solitaire. For my snow-capped nails I just used a small detailing brush (Winstonia Kolinsky Sable Brush in #000) for the white part (done with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls) and Black Sheep Lacquer Blink straight from the bottle for the duochrome topper. For my remaining nails I applied two coats of MBSW and while the second one was still wet I applied the snowflake charms (number 8 of these, though I seemed to have a 9 thrown in as you can see in these pictures).


I ended up tripling up on top coat for the snowflake nails (as well as pushing the edges down while they dried into the white base) and the corners still came up and got caught on everything. If that doesn't bother you then these charms would work for you, but in my opinion they're only really good for pictures and not practical to wear. They are super pretty though!


I'm getting a proper soft box/light box in the mail soon and I'm really excited about it! Lighting and white balance is something I'm constantly trying to improve on and I think it will really help!


Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! What do you guys think of this look or these charms? Does it snow around this time of year where you live? Let me know in the comments!


If you guys decide to pick up some nail art stuff from BPS be sure to use my coupon, SKBQ10, for 10% off!


I hope you guys are having a good week so far! I'll be back with some dark green glittery nails featuring some Hex Nail Jewelry charms soon! Happy Monday!

Monday 12 January 2015

Born Pretty Store Nail Frame Review Featuring Purple Flower Nails!

Hey everyone, happy new year! Today I have a review of some Born Pretty Store hollowed-out square studs to share!

So I'm back to school again with a few new year's resolutions, not only for school but for blogging as well. I struggle with motivation in basically every aspect of my life, but I think if I can stop procrastinating so much I'll be more motivated and less stressed out. I've been really excited by nail art and nails in general on Instagram and Reddit lately, which is sadly something I couldn't say for months and months before now. It's as if school has been so stressful that doing my nails and blogging just felt like more work I had to do so I wasn't excited about it. So hopefully I'll start posting more regularly, I'm aiming for once a week! Anyways, onto the nails!


I started off with two coats of OPI Lost on Lombard over my previously base-coated nails. A minute or less after applying the second coat to my ring fingers, I added the gold frames with a brush dipped in top coat. I allowed that to dry and then applied a coat of top coat (back to my favourite; Essie Good to Go). 


I then went in with a small paint brush or a dotting tool and American Apparel African Violet (dark purple), Butter London Toff (medium, warm-toned purple) and OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around (pinkish nude).


The hollowed-out square studs (or nail frames as I like to call them) were very easy to apply and work with. They were thin enough to curve to fit my nails, really the only problem I had with these is that the corners lifted off and one of the studs ended up falling off. There is a super easy solution of course, just double up on top coat! I really love the look of these, and as a bonus you can apply them upside down for a copper-coloured frame instead (though the gold side isn't completely flat so they may not stay on as well).


Here is how my right hand turned out, pretty good minus the smudging! 


What do you guys think of these nails? I'd love to know in the comments!


Thanks so much for taking a look everyone, be sure to use my code (SKBQ10) if you decide to pick anything up! I'll be back soon with some wintery nails, happy Monday! =)