Abstract Green Brain Nail Art & American Apparel Malibu Green Review!

Yo yo yo my lovely people! Today I have some vine/brain like nail art to share!

Today was my boyfriend and I's three year anniversary! We had a coffee date and then really yummy Japanese food for dinner so I'd say it was a success! I planned the whole afternoon/evening and I was even able to pay because of the tutoring I've done recently :). School-wise I'm waiting on getting some midterm marks back that I'm really curious about! Since I've been more motivated for school my next step is being motivated enough to clean my room. I think I'll tackle that tomorrow after school, I really love having a tidy room so I'm excited to get it back in that state!

Anyways, onto the nails!

I started off this look with one super opaque coat of American Apparel Malibu Green. It is even opaque up against the light like this, and I wasn't even being careful and trying to make it a one-coater :O. It dried really quickly, had a lovely formula and dried to the shiniest and smoothest finish! I have heard people say that it stains, but I doubled up on base coat and my nails were as white as usual after taking this off!

I then went in with a new small paintbrush I picked up from Michaels recently and American Apparel 7th and Alameda. I waited a while before I applied top coat (Essie Good to Go) but as you can see, I still smudged my design. I think I'll go back to doing a quick spritz of hairspray before top coating to avoid that!

The one coat of top coat wasn't enough to smooth the design out, so it ended up being a bit of a bumpy 3D look. I thought that was pretty cool and I think it would have looked neat with a matte top coat, but I'm worried that matte top coats make your polish chip faster so I didn't try it out. I feel like once I make one mani matte I'll fall completely in love and be obsessed with the look so I'm kind of putting it off I guess

What do you guys of this look, these polishes or American Apparel polishes in general? I really love the formula and the brush and I actually have an entire row of my nail polish rack with these babies packed sideways (so quite a few :P)!

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I'll probably be back with some KB Shimmer or piCture pOlish swatches because I've bought from both brands for the first time recently and I can't wait to use them! Happy Thursday everyone! =)

Glittery Aqua to Purple Gradient Nails Featuring B Squared Lacquer Polishes!

Hey everyone! Today I have some gradient nail art to share!

I've been doing better motivation-wise lately and by tomorrow afternoon I'll have written my first midterm in each of my classes. I've felt really good about the other ones I've written and unlike last semester I think I'll do well on all of my first midterms! I've also been tutoring my second cousin in math recently and I'm so happy that it has been going well! He's really understanding things and I'm so glad that I can help with that! What have you guys been up to lately? In nail-related news I got a proper soft box and these are the first pictures I've taken with it. What do you guys think of the pictures? Do they look any different?

Onto the nails!

I started off with three coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff and a coat of top coat (Essie Good to Go). I love MViB for the colour but I really dislike the formula. Even three average to slightly thick and careful coats won't get this polish opaque on all of my nails. I wanted to use it as a base for nail art in a way that would let it show through, but then I just ended up sponging over it and covering it completely :P.

A day or two later was when I did the gradient. I painted a thick stripe of B Squared Lacquer All Aboard and one of Purple Unicorns beside that on a dampened sponge. I sponged on three layers of the colours, making sure to paint more polish onto the sponge between each nail.

I then decided it was missing something so I slapped on a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle followed by a coat of top coat. I did a whole lot of cleanup and I was done!

What do you guys think of these nails? I thought they came out a little too subtle and pale but now that I look at the pictures I don't think so as much. Let me know!

Thanks so much for having a look everyone! I think this will be the week that I start posting twice a week, so I'll be back with some green viney/brainish nails on Thursday! Happy Monday! =)

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! :)

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!

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! =)

Simple Leaf Nail Art Inspired by Jaunty Juli & Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat Review!

Hello my lovelies! Today I have some simple leaf nail art to share as well as a top coat review!

I'm sorry I've been posting so sporadically guys, I'm really going to try and get into some routine with my blog even if it means just one post a week! I am very overwhelmed and unmotivated at school lately and I think that lack of motivation has carried over into my nail life. I haven't even put away and reorganized my nail polish all semester and that's something I do often and love to do! Would you guys be interested in seeing an updated collection post when I finally get organized? I'd love to know!

So about three weeks ago in this post I mentioned that I ran out of my absolute favourite top coat (Essie Good to Go) and so did London Drugs, and instead I picked up a bottle of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat. I went from loving it, to thinking it was okay to hating it in the last three weeks. As you can see from these pictures, my nails are bubble and bumpy city! The bumpiness is the first thing I noticed about this top coat; it doesn't even smooth out a layer of polish as thin as a stamped image! That is why I thought this polish was alright for a little while. Now I've discovered it either doesn't play well with certain polishes or needs the polish under it to be completely dry (which is exactly not the idea for fast-drying top coats) for it to not bubble up like crazy. Either way, my Essie Good to Go has none of those problems so I've already picked up a new bottle! I do like that this top coat smells kind of like vinegar (yum!) and dries quite shiny and pretty quickly though! However, I am also finding that I get tip wear quite a bit faster with this top coat. Usually in one day or less in as opposed to four or more days in with my Essie one.

Now, onto the nail art! These were inspired by these nails by the lovely JauntyJuli! I started off with a base of two thin coats of Revlon Espresso and a coat of top coat. I wore that alone for a day (complete with a ton of bubbles from the top coat). The next day I went in with American Apparel Mac Arthur Park (green), OPI Did Somebody Say Party? (orange) and Essie San Tropez (nude) on either my Winstonia Kolinsky #0000 or #000 Brush (I used both for different leaves).

I allowed my nails a lot of time to dry, and then I decided I wanted to add some gold leaf top coat to the empty spaces. I used Jessica 18K Gold Leaf Top Coat for this, but it doesn't have a lot of flakes per volume of top coat so it was a struggle. I then waited a while longer and applied a coat of top coat. The lack of gold flakes per clear base also caused those areas to stick out very badly because as I said above, this top coat does not level anything out at all.

Here is my camera-shy right hand! This is seriously the only pose it can do so I'm just going with it haha.

I think I would have liked these nails a lot better if they didn't look so bad in macro pictures! What do you guys think of these nails or this top coat? Do you use it and love it and is it just me having problems?

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I've ordered a bunch of Hex Nail Jewelry charms so I'll probably have a post up on some pretty soon! Happy Tuesday! =)

Born Pretty Store Glitter Set Review Featuring Light Blue Iridescent Glitter Nails!

Yo yo yo my lovely readers! Today I have some iridescent glitter nails and a Born Pretty Store review to share!

School has been kicking my butt lately, as I'm sure you've noticed based on my lack of posts. I say kicking my butt but I have been doing well, it just takes a lot more time because there is a lot more material and the tests can test on any little thing from the notes or the lectures. I'm finding university quite a bit harder than college test-wise, to the point where I feel like going to college first didn't make it an easier transition. Anyways, I'm on a reading break right now so I have time to breathe and write blog posts! Onto the nails!

I started off with two coats of Essie Bikini So Teeny (over a base of OPI Nail Envy) and let that basically dry. I then went in with the blue/purple looking glitters from this Born Pretty Store glitter set and a nail art brush dipped in top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri)! After applying each glitter I pushed it down lightly with a finger in attempt to get them to lay flatter. I then applied a coat of top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri) followed by some cuticle oil and I was finished!

Some of the glitters were stuck together so I accidentally applied two glitters stacked on top of each other on some of my nails (I found that out when I removed these babies). The biggest problem with this mani though was the top coat I used; I've come to find that Sally Hansen Insta-Dri does not level anything out whatsoever so these glitters popped off quite readily. I've done other glitter nail art before with Essie Good to Go and none popped off, so I really need to buy another bottle! After eight of the eighteen glitters had popped off, I tried popping one off with my nail and they flew off very easily and with a lot of force (one actually went into my eye :P).

I still quite like how this mani turned out though! I posted a video of these gorgeous glitters in action on my Instagram, so check it out if you're curious! I really enjoyed working with these glitters, they didn't seem to make my super peely nails peel (which glitters usually do). The set comes with some gorgeous holographic glitters too, including black ones that look SO cool.

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

Be sure to check out Born Pretty Store if you're looking for any nail art stuff, they have quite a lot of awesome things to choose from! You can also use my coupon code (SKBQ10) for 10% off!

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I know I've said this a lot lately but I'll really try and post more regularly! I'll have one more Born Pretty Store review for you guys soon and then probably some cool nail art with my new tiny Winstonia brushes! Happy Wednesday! =)

Born Pretty Store Double Sided Stamper and Scraper Review Featuring China Glaze X-Ta-Sea!

Hello everyone! Today I have a Born Pretty Store review to share!

I've come to the realization (as I often do) that I should be studying a little bit everyday rather than spending all of my time studying for midterms in the few days leading up to one. That way I could post more frequently and be less stressed. But like I said, I always say that and never actually do it. Today I'm going to start doing the readings before the lectures! Baby steps haha.

Anyway, I started off with two easy coats of China Glaze X-Ta-Sea and a coat of top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, London Drugs was all out of Essie Good to Go when I went in but I'm really loving this top coat too).

A day or so later I went in with Julep Nora, Bundle Monster Plate BM221 and a double sided stamper and scraper from Born Pretty Store. I actually found that the smaller and thinner scraper scraped the plate too deeply so when I tried to pick up the image there was hardly anything there. I have heard that Bundle Monster plates have shallower designs and since I don't own any Konad plates, it's hard to say if that's a problem with the scraper or the plate.

The larger and thicker scraper worked like a charm though! The stamper also was really great and the bigger white end is so squishy and awesome! The polish I decided to use (Nora) seemed to dry really fast and had a strange consistency, and I'm convinced that's why the image didn't transfer completely. I quite like the distressed floral look though!

I finished off everything with another coat of top coat and I was finished!

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

Be sure to use my coupon code SKBQ10 if you decide to pick up any nail art stuff!

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I'll be back with some Halloween nails very soon! Happy Wednesday! =)

Rainbow Geometric Nail Art Inspired by MrCandiipants and my Samsung Galaxy S5 Background!

Hello everyone! Today I have some rainbow geometric nail art to share!

I have a bit of a break in my midterms right now so I'm trying to study a bit everyday so I can be more consistent with my blogging! I think part of me needed a break from blogging to get adjusted to university and all of the changes that go along with it. I have a cell biology class starting soon so I'm very happy that I was able to bang this post out and get it up for you lovely people!

For this look I just used a very small paint brush with short bristles and painted on random geometric shapes. Next time I'll try to use an even thinner brush as well as maybe a longer one for sharper corners! These were inspired by this design by MrCandiipants as well as the well-known Samsung Galaxy S5 background (because I just got this phone and I'm loving it)!

I used a whole lot of colours for this look as I'm sure you can tell! The white base is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and then from red to purple and then pink, in rainbow order: OPI Red Hot Rio, OPI Toucan Do It If You Try, American Apparel Neon Yellow, Color Club Edie, Julep Claire, Essie DJ Play That Song, and American Apparel Angeline.

Once everything had dried I did the hairspray trick (sprayed all of my nails with a thin layer of hairspray and let it dry) so I wouldn't smudge my design with my top coat. Once the hairspray had dried I just applied one coat of Essie Good to Go Topcoat!

Above is my elusive right hand! I find it really hard to pose this hand the way I normally do with my left hand so I usually do this pose because it's comfortable and easy to hold steady.

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

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I'll be back with some Born Pretty Store reviews very soon! Happy Thursday! =)