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! =)

Rainbow Honey Sapphire Weapon Swatch & Review!

Hello everyone! Today I have another gorgeous Rainbow Honey polish to share!

I think the cold I have is on its last legs and I'm pretty excited about it! The cold and flu season seemed to start before the weather cooled down this year, as today was the first weekday it rained since I've been back at school. I have this massive backpack that I carry too much stuff in, so a week or two ago I took my rain jacket out from the bottom of it. Of course, I forgot to check the weather or repack it now that it would have been very useful :P. Anyway, I'm very happy that the weather is cooling down and happy to walk around school in the rain! Onto the nails!

Rainbow Honey Sapphire Weapon is a beautiful dark blue jelly polish with gold and green shimmer. The base either has a hint of green in it or the shimmer makes it appear that way, which makes the polish almost appear duochromatic!

Application-wise this polish was a dream! The RH mini polishes have really nice brushes contrary to most mini polishes. I found the consistency really perfect as well, so it was a lot easier to paint my nails in a neater fashion and I didn't have to clean up as much as usual!

What you see here is two thickish coats of polish and three thin coats would have worked as well if you're into that! It dried nice and quick and I topped it off with one coat of top coat (Essie Good to Go)!

EDIT: This polish did stain my nails a bit so definitely double up on base coat!

I've been wearing this polish for three days now and I have a bit more wear than I usually do at the three day mark. I did my base coat (OPI Matte Nail Envy) a day or two before and I could have had some oil, balm or lotion residue on top of that base. I don't really think it was the polish's fault as I usually wash my hands better or apply another coat of base coat before polishing days after doing a coat of base coat!

What do you guys think of this polish or Rainbow Honey in general? Also, should I make macro shots a thing on my blog from now on? I really love them!

Thanks so much for reading everyone! Again, I'm not sure what nails I'll have for you next time but I'll probably repaint them tonight and post them on my Instagram! Happy Tuesday! =)

Nails I've Never Posted: Take One!

Hey everyone! Today I have five manis I've never posted to share!

So I guess I shouldn't make promises about when I'm going to post next, I should just do it as often as I can and get into some kind of schedule :P. I had some pictures ready to go several days ago but they were so colour inaccurate that I didn't see any reason to post them. After that, a cold hit me like a ton of bricks that I'm still suffering from. There's this constant phlegm in my throat that no amount of water will displace (sorry if tmi) so I feel like I'm almost choking all day long. After taking a bit of a break from nails and a massive break from reading the blogs I follow (that I'm not sure I can ever catch up on) I really am excited and madly in love with nails again!

School-wise things have been pretty boring and all of my lectures have been reviews. There is one class that will be definitely include things I haven't heard before and one that will probably involve some new stuff, but it looks like my other two classes cover exactly the same things as the second year versions of them. Hopefully they'll be in slightly more detail or else what the heck am I paying for? :P Anyways, onto the nails!

First up we have Sonnetarium Raspberry Sorbet, which is surprisingly orange and maybe slightly different than the majority of the ones they sell. I love it anyway and I'll have to wear it again and get some proper swatch pics! I think this is two coats (but I think it would have benefitted from a third) and definitely a coat of top coat!

Next up we have another adorable Sonnetarium polish called Cucumber Salad! What you see here is two coats (I think) and a coat of top coat!

Here we have the only nail art I did while in Switzerland, using two coats (I think) of Sinful Colors Dreamer, some OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around and a coat of top coat. I really love my nails this short and the next time you see them they'll be about this short! 

Next we have the only other nails I did in Switzerland, just two coats of Revlon Entice and a coat of top coat (again, probably two coats, I'm not 100% positive).

Finally, we have a horribly colour inaccurate picture of the polish I mentioned at the beginning of this post. This is one super easy coat of Sonia Kashuk Sweet Dreams, a much more purple polish than it looks here. It is still a pink polish but it has quite a bit of purple mixed in. Below you can see a much more colour accurate picture of it that I posted on my Instagram!

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

Thanks so much for having a look everyone! Again, I'm not sure what I'll have for you next but I'll probably paint my nails tonight and post a picture on Instagram! I also have at least four more manis I've never posted on here to share in another post like this! Happy Friday! =)

Butter London All Hail The Queen Swatch & Review!

Hello my lovely readers! Today I have a swatch of a gorgeous neutral polish called Butter London All Hail The Queen to share!

I know it has been forever and a day since I posted but now that I'm back at school (and therefore back into a routine) I'll be back to posting every two or three days! I find my posting is more frequent and less sporadic when I'm in school despite the decrease in free time, probably because I already have a bit of a schedule going on so I'm kind of in planning mode. Anyways, onto the nails!

I ordered this polish quite a while ago when Butter London had a sale going on as well as a free shipping over blank dollars promotion. I've come to realize I have a mad love for brown polishes but I still sometimes worry that they're a bit boring. That's definitely not the case with this mid-toned holographic beauty!

Hidden in this polish is also a very fine pink shimmer, so when you're out in the Sun and you look at the glare on your nails it's more pink than white! I really love the added shimmer because it makes the polish even more interesting and it was a lovely surprise to notice!

What you see here is two coats and a coat of top coat, which isn't fully opaque when you hold your nails up to the Sun. That's okay with me because I was in a hurry and it's opaque enough for my light box!

This polish applied like the first half of the brand's name, butter! It was so easy to work with and so fast-drying, and even though I used the same top coat I always use (Essie Good to Go) this polish looked even shinier than most!

What do you guys think of this polish or Butter London polishes in general? I'd love to know in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I'm actually still wearing this polish as I type this so I'm not sure what kind of nails I'll have for you next! Happy Thursday! =)

Wedding Nails Roundup Number One Featuring a Green Floral Double Gradient!

Hey everyone! Today I have five manis that four other people and I wore to a wedding last weekend!

I'm getting really scared about school starting soon guys! I'm transferring to university from college and it's so much bigger and it's stressing me out. I went in today to get my student card/bus pass and I really don't know my way around at all :P. I might bus there before school starts to know where I get off my bus and where the buildings I have classes in are in relation to the bus stop. Maybe that will make me less nervous about going there, here's hoping! Anyways, onto the nails!

These are the bride's mother's nails that kind of look like opals! The base is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and the fancy top coat is Essie Shine of the Times as you may have guessed!

Next up we have the bride herself's nails! The base is Revlon Jaded and the glitter polish is OPI In True Stefani Fashion.

Here we have my mom's nails wearing just two easy coats of OPI Chocolate Moose!

Next we have my grandma's nails! I do her nails really often and for any special occasion she has coming up and it's always so fun! Here she's wearing American Apparel Coney Island with Black Sheep Lacquer Forbidden Fruit on top!

My grandma came by later that day to get her nails done so she didn't make it into this cute picture and I didn't even think to put my hand in!

Lastly, we have my own nails as I'm sure you can tell! As usual, these are inspired by the lovely MrCandiipants!

I started off with two coats of OPI Stranger Tides and allowed that to dry. Next I sponged Revlon Spanish Moss on the tips of my nail (not that and Stranger Tides as I wasn't really going for a smooth gradient look). I then went in with OPI OPI... Eurso Euro and a small nail art brush for the petals, followed by OPI Fiercely Fiona and a dotting tool for the flower centres.

After that had dried I gave my nails a spray of hairspray and let that dry before applying my top coat (Essie Good to Go)! The more I looked at these when I wore them and the more I look at them now the more I like them; I wasn't totally sure about them at first.

What do you guys think of these five nail looks? Do you like the look of the almost double gradient, with the sponging and the flower concentration? I really do and I want to play around with this idea some more!

Thanks so much for having a look everyone! We're on a little road trip on our way to another wedding which should be fun! I brought polish so I might do another wedding post like this with my mom's, sister's and my nails very soon! Happy Friday! =)