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! =)

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! =)

Peachy Yellow to Pink Gradient!

Hey everyone! Today I have a peachy gradient to share!

Whew, it feels like I've been so busy lately! I've fallen very behind in reading blog posts from the lovely ladies I follow, and clearly I haven't been blogging myself lately! My family has three weddings to go to in the next three weekends and all four of us will be taking pictures or videos at least two of them! So things are getting a little crazy leading up to our first wedding in two days.

In addition to taking pictures I'm also the nail girl for many people going to these different weddings! For the wedding this weekend (in other words, tomorrow) I'm doing the bride's, her mother's, my grandma's, and probably my mom's, my sister's and my nails! I'll be sure to take pictures and I think I'll do a blog post about them! Anyways, onto these nails!

To start I applied two thickish coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and a coat of top coat (Essie Good to Go). The next day I painted stripes of OPI I Just Can't Cope-a-cabana, Essie Tart Deco, and Essie Cute as a Button on a damp makeup sponge, and sponged one to two coats on all of my nails. I applied one more coat of top coat and I was done!

I wore these nails for a crazy amount of time; eight days for the white base and a week for the gradient! See how busy I've been? :P These pictures were taken on day four of the gradient, and even on day seven there was only tip wear to the point of seeing the white base, not my nail!

Thanks so much for reading everyone! What do you think of these nails? I'd love to hear in the comments! I have a gorgeous textured polish to share with you very soon! Happy Thursday! =)

Green Abstract Baseball Nail Art!

Hey everyone! Today I have some baseball-looking nail art to share!

Sorry about my absence in the last little while, there was a tragedy in my boyfriend's family recently so life has gotten a little busy and more than a little sad. I don't want to go into a lot of detail because I want this blog to be a happy place to talk about polish! So let's get onto the nails!

I started off with two easy coats of Revlon Spanish Moss and allowed that to dry. Spanish Moss seemed to have shimmer in it in the bottle, but I really couldn't see any on my nails or after close inspection of these photos. I do love a good creme polish so I don't really mind!

I then went in with Orly Liquid Vinyl and a medium-length striper brush. The black I normally use (Revlon Espresso) is a little more opaque but also a little more thick and quick-drying so I prefer Liquid Vinyl for nail art and Espresso for a full black nail!

 Finally, I applied a coat of Essie Good to Go top coat as per usual!

I really like simple nail art looks like this because they look so bold but don't take a lot of time!

What do you guys think of these nails or simple nail art looks like this? I'd love to hear in the comments!

Thanks so much for taking a look everyone! I'll have some gradient nails that look like peaches posted in the next few days so keep an eye out! Happy Thursday! :)