BPS Patterned Water Decal Review

Hey lovelies!

I made a new lighbox recently and I now have a black background. I'll be using it for a few posts just to see if I want to stick with it or not. Let me know what you all think!

Today I have a review of these cute patterned water decals from The Born Pretty Store. I really love their water decals because you can get them in a variety of patterns, so there's always something new to choose from. Let's take a look!

These water decals come in one sheet of five patterns (one is not shown in the photos). Each pattern has two sets, making a total of 10 decals for each of the patterns. The great thing about these decals is that you can basically cut anywhere in the pattern and it will give you more variety in your design.

For these nails, I started with two coats of Color Club's Over the Moon. Once the polish dried, I placed the water decal in lukewarm water for 10-20 seconds. Next, I dipped my finger into the water to make the decal stick and placed the decal on the nail. Finally, I dabbed the water off with a paper towel and filed the excess pattern to fit my nail shape.

A helpful tip for removing the excess is to dip an angled brush (mine is my cleanup brush) or a qtip into acetone or nail polish remover. I found it to be easier and quicker than filing it off. Filing it off also pulled the decal and it would start to fold.

Overall, I really loved this water decals. I think my favorite pattern out of them all is the moon and stars patterns. It looks cute on the nail. As far as durability, these lasted a few days for me just because I'm a little rough with my hands. I would recommend not putting a top coat on just because the first time that I wore these, the top coat made the decal streak. It's up to the person though.

You can get these patterned water decals and other nail art supplies at The Born Pretty Store. You can also use my coupon code SHBQ10 for an extra 10% off your entire purchase! 

What do you think of these water decals? Thanks for reading!

*This product was provided to me for my honest review*

BPS Nail Stamper Review

*Provided for review*

Hello everyone!

It's been quite some time since I posted last. Last year was pretty stressful and hectic, but exciting at the same time. I moved into my own apartment, I received an opportunity to edit a novel (which is actually going pretty well and more books to come!), and I got a job. 

I've really missed blogging and just doing my nails in general. This year, I hope to post more on the blog and get back to where I was before. I will try and work hard, but at the same time I want to have fun with it. I don't want to feel burned out like I was before. So hopefully, you will bare with me while I get myself together. 

Anyways, for today I have a review of a nail stamper from The Born Pretty Store. Now, I'm a total beginner when it comes to stamping. I don't really do stamping often, but when I do I pretty much fail. However, I actually really like stamping now and I liked this stamper. That's saying a lot right there. It took a bit of practice, but I like it now. Let's get to the review!

This set comes with a stamper and a scraper. The stamper is plastic, which is different from my other stamper that is rubber. I actually like the plastic because I can get a better grip on it and have more control. With the rubber, it felt like it slipped out of my hands a lot (or perhaps that's just me being clumsy lol). This stamper set is $3.47, which I think is very affordable. I also like the size of it. It's great because I have small nails so it fits on my nails, but it also works with long nails as well. 

For these nails, I used three coats of Color Club Tiny Umbrella for my base color. The best way to not ruin your nails is to wait until the polish dries and then use a top coat before you do any stamping. It creates a less chance of you ruining your nails and makes it easier to remove the stamp if you mess up. 

Next, I placed the polish on the stamp of my choice. I used Color Club French Tip. Then, I used the scraper to take off the excess polish. With the stamper, I pressed down enough to get the polish to stick to the stamp, and rolled the stamper across my nail. With this, you'll want to be very fast. These three steps you should do in 10-15 seconds or you'll have to start over. 

With the stamper, you have to press a little hard on your nail to get the stamp on fully, but I didn't mind that. It took me a few tries, but you get the hang of it (after the first 100 times lol). 

Finally, I used Out the Door Top Coat to finish the design. As you can see, it streaked a bit, so don't mind that.

Overall, I like this stamper. I can't wait to get more stamping plates and practice stamping more. You can get this stamper and other nail supplies from the Born Pretty Store. You can also use my coupon code SHBQ10 for an extra 10% off your purchase!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

BPS Floral Water Decals

OMG LONG TIME NO SEE!

How's everyone been? I've been pretty busy lately with work and recently finishing my first freelancing editing job not too long ago. Plus, I've been trying to grow back my precious nails, but it's taking a bit longer than usual. It's a good thing I love nubbies. I just didn't want to show them to you all when I don't even like how they look lol.

Anyways, my posting is going to be pretty sporadic, but I'm trying to get into back into blogging full time like before. Today, I have a review of these gorgeous water decals from The Born Pretty Store. Let take a look!

These water decals come in a sheet of 12 and includes a small nail file inside the package. These are $1.99, which is a great price for these decals. I love how the Born Pretty Store has such reasonable prices for nail art supplies, especially for someone like me who likes to buy things on a budget. This way, I don't feel like I'm breaking my wallet.

For these nails, I simply started with a coat of OPI's Nail Envy as my base coat. I chose not to use a polish because I wanted it to go on all my nails. You can easily cut the decals up and place it on your nail if you wanted to for all the nails or an accent nail.

Next, I dipped the water decal that fit my nails best and put it in water for 10-20 seconds. I slipped off the decal and placed it on my nails and then patted them dry with a cotton round. Finally, I filed the excess off and sealed them in with Out the Door Top Coat.

For the water decals, they held up pretty well. As far as the application, it was a bit tricky. When I tried to pat them dry, they didn't really stay on too well. It was still kind of slippery. I had to apply a bit of top coat to make them stick onto my nail. My other concern was the size. As you can see, I had to do a bit of filing to get them to fit with my nail size. I think these decals will probably work better with longer nails honestly.

I love the pattern of these nails though. It's so detailed and pretty. I love a good floral print and these don't disappoint.

Overall, the application was a bit wonky, but these turned out to be okay. Major points were taken off because of the application though. But, that just could have been on my part as well. 

I do prefer the wraps that you can just stick on yourself, so I may not get these again in the future. They weren't bad, but not the best. I think I'll use the rest on accent nails.

You can get these floral print water decals and other nail art supplies at The Born Pretty Store. You can also use my coupon code SHBQ10 for an extra 10% off your entire purchase!

What do you think of these water decals?  

Thanks for reading!


**This product was provided to me for my honest review*

BPS Nail Bows

Hey everyone!

I almost didn't post this because I get so lazy when it's hot. It's literally 90 degrees over here right now. How is everyone doing with the heat? I hope everyone stays cool! 

This Born Pretty Store review is so long overdue it's not even funny. I think that this is my first time with nail bows, so I was excited to get these to review. Let's take a look!

 The nail bows come in a pack of 10. I chose these cute black and pink polka dotted bows. These are $2.86 for 10 of them at the Born Pretty Store, which is quite a steal! 

 For these nails, I painted my nails with Sinful Colors Black on Black as my base color.

For the polka dots, I used a dotting tool and Sinful Colors Candy Coated and Sweet Tooth (accent nail).

For applying the bow, you can go about it two ways. The first way is just using a fast drying top coat and applying a dot of it where you want to place the bow. The top coat that I used and has worked for me when applying nail accessories is the Beauty Plus Salon top coat shown in the photos.

The second option is to use nail glue. The first time that I wore these I didn't have nail glue on hand. Both will work just fine, but it's up to the person.

As far as the nail bows themselves, they didn't stay on as long as I wanted them to. I'm very heavy on my hands, especially at work which is when I did wear them the first time. They were falling off all over the place to the point where I just ripped them off (alright a little exaggeration lol) and continued working.  Even when I wasn't doing anything, I found them kind of loosening off the nail.

They were also kind of flimsy and broke very easily. I used the tweezers so I could pick them up and they snapped in half. I had a few of them do that to me, which was odd. 

Overall, these were okay. Like I always say, these are not really for long term wear. These bows are for one day usage for me or for a special occasion. They didn't stay on my nails long enough for me to really enjoy them though. Honestly, I wouldn't buy them again.

You can get these nail bows for $2.86 and other nail art supplies at the Born Pretty Store. You can also use my coupon code SHBQ10 for an extra 10% off your entire purchase!

 

What do you think of these nail bows?

Thanks for reading! 

 *This product was provided to me for my honest review*

Daisies Nail Art

Long time no see everyone!

Wow, it's been a while since I posted, but I'm pretty much back into blogging now!. I'm all settled into my new place for the most part, so I have time to do my nails and blog finally. Everything is going well for the most part. Also, my nails aren't fully where I want them to be yet, but I'll live lol.

For today's nails, I've really been in a summer mood lately. Summer is my least favorite season, but I've been wearing a lot of bright nail colors and designs. I wanted to do a flower design, so I decided to do daisies on my nails. This is a really cute and simple design that anyone can do!

Anyways, let's get to the nails!

For these nails, I used Color Club's Lavendarling for the base color.

Next, I used white acrylic paint and a dotting tool to create the daisies. To make the daisies, make two dots and then make two dots below so that they connect to one another. 

With yellow acrylic paint, I created the center of the flower with a dotting tool. With a smaller dotting tool, I created small black dots around the yellow center to make the flowers pop out more. 

Finally, I sealed my design with a top coat.

These were really fun to do. I wish I had made the black dots a tad smaller, but I love the final outcome of the nails. You can do this design with any colors for a different look.

What do you think of these nails? What's your favorite flower?

Thanks for reading!

Update on Life...

Hey everyone!

So, I haven't been on in over a month. I feel terrible about it, but I've just been super busy with work and moving on to the next stage in my life.

For starters, I'm moving in with my girlfriend next week. We've found an apartment and we're pretty excited. I've been ready to move since forever, but now seems like the right time to do it. I also had some problems with my family about the whole moving situation, but that's pretty much mended now. I think everyone has come to terms with it.

Second, my job. I actually really hate my job and I'm currently trying to find another one. But since I don't have a car, I was going back and forth from my parents and girlfriend's house and just didn't have the time or energy to do nails. My job has also destroyed my nails. I have nubbies right now and I think they look horrible right now. I'm kind of at the point where I don't care how they look for the blog because I know that they will break at some point lol. But I'm hoping that they'll grow back fast enough to where I feel comfortable posting them again. If you all want to see them now, just tell me and I'll try to pretty them up lol. I'm just warning you XD.

Finally, I'm working towards trying to go to nail school. It's going to take a while for me to save up but I'm pretty determined to do it. That's kind of another reason why I need a new job lol.

So that's pretty much it. I'm not dead and I haven't forgotten about the blog. I'm dying to blog, but my nails just look so bad right now. It's just that life just caught up to me pretty quickly the last few months. Once I'm all settled in, I will have plenty of time to blog though ^^. I hope you all can wait for a little bit longer while I'm trying to get all situated!

Thanks for reading!

 

Ben de la Creme Inspired Nails

Hello everyone!

Today I have a nail art design inspired by one of my favorite shows: RuPaul's Drag Race! It's one of the few shows that I actually try to catch up on and I've been watching it ever since it came on. Plus, it's kind of good to post it now since there's going to be a double episodes tonight lol.

RuPaul's Drag Race is in it's sixth season, and I was inspired by one of the queen's outfits from the last episode. Her name is Ben de la Creme and she's one of my favorites this season. She's really talented and gorgeous and I loved this snow leopard print outfit she was wearing in this episode. It's probably one of my favorite runway looks ever.

Source: Google

Anyways, let's get to the nails!

For these nails, I used Sinful Colors Sweet Nothing for the pointer and pinky fingers. For the middle and ring, I used an unnamed silver glitter by Color Club.

Next, I created leopard print spots with a dotting tool using Sinful Colors Slate and Snow Me White. Using a detail brush, I outlined the spots with Sinful Colors Black on Black.

Finally, I finished off with a top coat.

These were very fun and simple to do. I couldn't think of anything to go on the blue, so they do look a little plain. I still love them though. The season will be over soon-ish, but maybe if I'm inspired, I'll do some more nail art inspired by some of the other queens!

Thanks for reading!

Galaxy Nails

Hey everyone!

Today I have some nail art for you! This was actually going to be more than just galaxy nails, they were going to be galaxy cat nails. Unfortunately, the idea didn't really work out so I just stuck with doing just the galaxy. I'll probably try to do it again because who doesn't like galaxy cats lol.

Although I will say that it's a first for me doing a dark galaxy nail. I really like them, so let's check them out!

For these nails, I used Sinful Colors Black on Black as the base color. For the colors of the galaxy I used Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, Snow Me White, Cream Pink, and Amethyst, an unnamed Color Club polish, and China Glaze Fairy Dust. 

I used the same method as my other galaxy nails that I did during the 31 Day Challenge. Instead of using a makeup sponge, I used q-tips instead. I feel like the q-tips gave it more of a galaxy feel than with using a sponge.

Even though this is my second time doing galaxy nails, I really like these. You really can't mess up galaxy nails and they're so simple to do. I'm going to try doing those galaxy cat nails though even if they will look like crap lol. 

What do you think of these nails? Do you prefer dark or light galaxy nails?

Thanks for reading!

WNOTD: Work Nails of the Day

Hey everyone!

As I was trying to come up with a name for this post, I decided that it would be cool to make a segment called Work Nails of the Day (I'll come up with something better though lol).

I'm pretty glad that my job lets you wear nail polish because I would die if I couldn't. I can also pretty much do anything. I've seen girls wear pink glittery nails, light blue nails, purple nails, you name it! It's great because I can do nail art as well and there's no limit in what I can do!

For today's WNOTD, I used two unnamed Color Club mini polishes.

I wish I knew what the color names were for these, but I absolutely love these together. I usually don't do glitter because it's a pain to remove, but this color combination is to die for!

These came in a four pack, so I'll have to try the other two polishes together. The pack has two polishes and two glitters, so I hope the other ones pair together nicely like these two did.

So that was today's WNOTD. I think this will be a nice little segment for the blog, so I'm pretty excited. I hope you all enjoyed it as well! Let me know if you'd like to see this segment more.

What do you think of this mani? Can you wear nail polish to work?

Thanks for reading!

I'm back (for now!)

Hey everyone!

Well the past few weeks have been pretty busy due to me training for my new job. I had to study for all these tests and learn everything. It was pretty stressful. I'm getting back into doing my nails, but since I still don't know my schedule I've been working out how I can get back to blogging regularly.

For the time being, my posts are going to be kind of scattered until this schedule thing gets situated. I'm trying to schedule some posts at the moment so there's something for you all to see. I'll still be doing swatches and nail art when I can, so nothing will change with that.

Starting tomorrow, I'll have a post up and ready (hopefully!) so I can get back on track.

Thank you all for waiting (if you all waited lol) and sticking with me through all this and the blog!

St. Patricks Day Nails

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone!

I don't really celebrate St Patrick's Day, but I decided to do a simple nail art design for today. I didn't really want anything too fancy, so I went the simple but festive route with these nails.

For this design, I used striping tape to create the lines. After applying my base coat, I placed two pieces of tape onto the nail for the lines. With the bottle brush, I filled in the spaces with Sally Hansen's Sunkissed, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and Essie Mojito Madness.

With a detail brush, I created accent lines using Sinful Colors Gold Metal. Next, I placed a dot of top coat on the bottom of the white stripe and placed a gold gem on each nail. Finally, I finished off with a top coat to seal in the gems and design.

I love how this design looks. I haven't used striping tape and gems in a while, so it was nice to use them in this manicure. Even though the two golds don't match exactly, I think it's a nice color combination. I think all the colors go together pretty well. I never thought that this color combination would look nice lol.

What do you think of these St Paddy Day nails? Do you celebrate St Paddy's Day?

Thanks for reading!

China Glaze - No Plain Jane

Hey everyone!

I've been so busy lately with getting ready to start this new job that I haven't had time to post or wear any nail polish. I think today will be dedicated to swatches and scheduling posts though, which will be a lot of work. I'm prepared though.

Anyways, today I'm sharing a swatch of China Glaze No Plain Jane.

No Plain Jane is a metallic purple duochrome (subtle orange-gold-red-pink shift). This is three coats with a top coat. 

The application and formula was okay. The only thing is that you can kind of see your brush strokes, which is common for a metallic polish. 

As far as the duochrome, it's very subtle but it shifts into a brown almost gray color. You can also see some gold, orange, red, and pink in it, but it definitely looks more metallic on the nail. I wish the duochrome was a bit stronger in this polish because it's kind of plain. At the same time, I do like it.

Overall, I'm on the fence about this polish. I like the duochrome, but I wish it was a little stronger to make it more interesting. I still like the color though and it's cool to see the shift in colors. If you like duochrome polishes, this would be right up your alley.

What do you think of this polish? Do you like duochrome polishes?

Thanks for reading!

Strawberry Nails

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I showed you all a swatch of China Glaze's Strawberry Fields. It inspired me to do some nail art with the polish. Plus, I just can't get enough of strawberries! Let's see the design!

For this design, I started out with Strawberry Fields as my base color. With a detail brush, I made rounded triangles for the strawberries (think of an upside down triangle with a rounded out bottom) with Essie Lights and Wet n Wild's Tickled Pink.

Next, I created the stems of the strawberries with my detail brush with Essie Mojito Madness. For the dots, I used a dotting tool and created dots in the empty spaces of the nail with Sinful Colors Snow Me White. Finally, I topped it off with a top coat.

I love this design. I think I could have used another coat of Essie Lights for the strawberries because the color kind of blends in with the base color. It is a good color for strawberries though (and roses too!). I wish I could keep it on my nails forever, but I know I'm going to get sick of it eventually lol. 

What do you think of this design? 

Thanks for reading!

China Glaze - Strawberry Fields

Hello everyone!

Today I have a swatch of China Glaze's Strawberry Fields. I don't know why it took me this long to pick up this polish because it's based on my favorite fruit: strawberries. I love strawberries so much, it's a problem. I can eat a whole carton of them and still not get sick of them lol. I was really excited to pick this polish up during the Sally's BOGO sale on China Glaze polishes (and I got the last one too!). Let's see the polish!

Strawberry Fields is a medium pink jelly with gold glass flecks. This is three coats with a top coat. My camera made it a little lighter than it really is for some reason. It's a tad bit darker than what my photos show.

The application and formula was great with this polish. The first coat is pretty sheer, but the color builds up after the second and third. I had no problems with this polish. Since it's a jelly, it takes a little bit longer to dry, but it's not a big deal.

I wish my camera captured the gold glass flecks better, but I did a closeup so that you can see it better. 

It kind of reminds me of strawberries, but at the same time it doesn't. I think if it was a bit more red it probably would. If anything, it reminds me a watermelon color (which I like as well!). It's a pretty polish nonetheless.

Overall, this is probably my favorite pink in my collection right now. It has a great formula and the glass flecks really make it pop out. I'm planning on doing some nail art with this as my base, so look out for that tomorrow!

What do you think of this polish? Does Strawberry Fields remind you of strawberries? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Spring Rose Nails

Happy Friday everyone!

I have another nail art design to show you today! I did a classic rose design that's perfect for spring. I think I've been wanting some spring weather, but I know I'm not going to get it over here until April. Until then, I'll just keep my nails all bright and springy. 

This is a popular floral design that many have done, but I really like this design. Let's get to the design!

For this design, I started out with two coats of Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac as the base color. With a dotting tool, I created polka dots with Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the background.

I used Essie's Lights, Wet n Wild's Tickled Pink and a dotting tool to make the roses. For the leaves, I used Essie's Mojito Madness with a detail brush. 

Finally, I topped it off with China Glaze's Fairy Dust.

I don't do roses often, but this is the first time that they've actually turned out really good. I want to incorporate more roses in my future nail art designs. This is a pretty popular design, but I'm glad that it came out really good.

What do you all think of this design? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Triangle Border Nails

Hello everyone!

I finally had time for some nail art! It feels like forever since I've done nail art, which is kind of a problem lol. Actually, I did some nail art earlier in the week, but it didn't work out as planned. I took the photos and then realized that there was a hair on the nail and I had already put top coat on it! I was so devastated. Don't you just hate that? 

Enough of me rambling for now lol. For this nail design, I created a border design using triangles. There's so many things that you can do with triangles in designs. I've been sketching a lot of triangle nail art for some reason. Let's get to the design!

For this design, I painted two coats of Sinful Colors Rainstorm as the base color. 

With a detail brush, I alternated between Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Sinful Colors Sweet Nothing and created triangles around the nail. Finally, I sealed my design with a top coat.

I love how this design came out. It's a bold design, but it's also simple. I really like how it made a nice burst shape in the middle. I was contemplating on putting something in the middle, but I decided against it. I think if I added anything else, it would be way too busy. I like the balance in this design.

What do you think of this design? What's your favorite nail art to do?

Thanks for reading!