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!

BPS Nail Foils

Hey everyone!

How's everyone doing? I'm still hacking up my lungs over here, so I've been taking it easy. Luckily, I'm not that sick that I don't feel like doing nails lol.

For today, I have another Born Pretty Store review! This time, I'm reviewing some nail foil. I've actually never used nail foils before, so this was my first attempt at using them. For my first time, it wasn't all that bad. Let's get to the review!

The nail foil (ID 12413) is a a mix between a purple and pink holo and comes in a foldable sheet.When you unfold it, there's two big squares in the middle and two smaller rectangles on the sides equaling to four pieces of foil. What I like about this is that there's enough foil to last you a while, so there's enough for more than 10 manicures at least. The foil is $.99 at the Born Pretty Store, which I think is a really good deal for the amount that you get.

Since I don't have nail glue on hand, I followed The Nail Polish Challenge's tutorial on applying foil without glue that was posted on the page of the foils. It was pretty simple to use the foil.

Before you start, I would recommend cutting a few pieces of the foil just so you have it on hand. You don't need much. I cut out a square of foil and it was enough for all my nails.

For these nails, I started out with one coat of Sinful Colors Black on Black. The trick to applying the foils this way is to not let the polish dry completely. You want to get it to where you can still touch it, but it's still a little wet.  

While it's still tacky, place the gray side of the foil onto the nail and lightly rub it on the nail. Finally, you pull up the foil and repeat until you get the desired results. Also, it's best not to use top coat since you'll lose the shine of the foil. I did add top coat to my thumb, and it completely lost its shine and the holo effect was gone.

Sometimes you have to rub harder for the foil to pull up if it's almost dry. If your polish happens to dry completely, add a little more polish to the spots that you want foil on.

For my first time using nail foils, I thought I did an okay job. It did take me a while to get the hang of it because I would have polish come off the nail or I didn't get the foil on before the polish dried. It does take a few tries, but it does add a lot to your manicure. It's a quick fix if you want some easy nail art on your nails.

I couldn't really capture the holo on my camera, but you can see the holo up close though.

The only downfall is that the foil comes off very easily. I noticed when I washed my hands and did some other things throughout the day, some of the foil would come off. When I woke up this morning, my foil was completely gone and I had to start over again. I think the foil isn't really made to last long since top coat is out of the picture, so I'm not really surprised that it came off that quickly. 

Overall, I liked the nail foil. I wish that I could get a few days wear out of them, but I think nail foils are best for one day use only, unless you're not that rough with your hands like I am. I really liked the holo in this foil as well. While it wasn't strong, you could still see it and it gave off a nice effect. 

I would recommend picking these up because they have a nice variety of colors and patterns in the store for a good price. As I said before, these are best for one day use if you need to add something to your manicure or for quick nail art.

You can get these nail foils for $.99 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 foils?

Thanks for reading!

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

China Glaze Sea Goddess - Spring 2014 [PIC HEAVY!]

Hello everyone!

I have three shades from the China Glaze Sea Goddess Spring 2014 collection to share with you today! I think this is one of the rare moments where I'm featuring polishes from a current collection lol. I've actually been eyeing this collection from afar, so I was happy when my girlfriend treated me to these polishes and more (she's so sweet!). 

I don't really have many texture polishes in my collection, but I do like them. They're something fun and different than regular polishes. I know a lot of people are kind of getting tired of the trend, but I actually like it and I'm really loving these shades more than I thought I would. Let's get to the review!

Seahorsin' Around is a turquoise textured polish with gold and cyan glitters. This is two coats without a top coat. I was really surprised how vibrant the color is. In the bottle, it looks blue. On the nail it's a vibrant turquoise, which is great because it makes it more unique. It really reminds me of the sea. I had no difficulties with Seahorsin' Around as far as application and formula.

The last two photos are with two coats of top coat. There was a bit of shine, but you can still feel the texture. As with most textured polishes, top coat gets eaten up quick and this was the case with these polishes. They still look good with top coat though. The glitters really pop out!

With top coat

With top coat

Tail Me Something is a lilac textured polish with silver and purple glitter. This is two coats with a top coat. I had no difficulties with this polish as far as application and formula. 

I really liked Tail Me Something, but I wish the silver and purple glitter was a little more prominent in the polish. It's very subtle to the point where you can't tell that there's glitter in it. I still love this color, but it's not the most unique color out there.

I actually prefer Tail Me Something with top coat, but the texture was still there with two coats of top coat as said before. Still, this is a gorgeous color with or without top coat.

With top coat

With top coat

Wish on a Starfish is a bubblegum pink textured polish with gold shimmer. This is three coats without a top coat. This was a bit sheer, but it leveled itself out after the second and third coat.

Out of the three, this is my favorite. I love how strong the gold is in this polish. It's such a unique and gorgeous polish.

Also, Wish on a Starfish looked the best with top coat. While you could still feel the texture, it was the glossiest out of the three. I prefer this polish with top coat because the gold shimmer pops out even more.

With top coat

With top coat

Overall, I'm very satisfied with my picks from this collection. I think the colors are pretty unique and the formulas were great. Out of the three, Wish on a Starfish is my favorite. I want to try the other three now, even though they really didn't pop out to me like these three did. For now, I'm pretty happy with these polishes.

What do you think of these polishes? Do you like textured polishes?

Thanks for reading! 

Revlon - Amethyst

Hello everyone!

I'm so sorry about this week everyone. I had to do some things for the job that I was talking about in my last post and on top of all that, Tiana (my girlfriend) got me sick. I'm feeling a bit better, so I'll be back into the swing of things. Tiana also bought me quite a few polishes during the week that I'll be showing you in the future and hopefully sneak in some nail art!

For today, I'll be showing you Revlon's Amethyst. Tiana actually picked this out for me, since she loves the color purple.

Amethyst is a medium purple with pink and blue microshimmer. This is two coats with a top coat. I bought this during my Big Lots haul and it was $1.50. 

The application and formula for Amethyst was good. I really had no problems with applying it. The Revlon Colorstay polishes have a nice rounded brush, which I love and it makes it easier to apply.

I really like the satin/shiny look with this polish. It's so shiny in person. As far as the color, it doesn't really wow me. I do love the pink and blue microshimmer, but it's very subtle on the nail that you almost can't see it.

Overall, I'm on the fence about this polish. While I love the shine on Amethyst, the color is a little meh to me. I wish more of the microshimmer showed a little more in the polish.

What do you think of this polish?

Thanks for reading!

Sephora by OPI - I'm Wired

Hey everyone!

I'm kind of disappointed because I haven't been doing nail art and I really miss it (even if it's only been a few weeks). I have a job interview tomorrow which sprung me by surprise on Sunday, plus I'll be spending time with my girlfriend this week, so I really won't have the time to do it. Oh well... expect more swatches from me this week though lol.

Anyways, today I'm showing you Sephora by OPI's I'm Wired. I picked this up during the Big Lots sale and it's a such a pretty color. This is my first time trying out the Sephora by OPI brand, so I was excited to try this out.

I'm Wired is a bright pinkish coral creme. If anything, I think this polish leans more on the pinkish side. This is three coats with a top coat. I purchased this polish at Big Lots for $1.80. 

I'm not completely sure if the OPI buyout sale is still going on there, but it's not on the weekly ad. When I went there, they still had a lot of polishes so it's best to check your local Big Lots and see if they still have them.

The formula seemed fine, but when applying it on my nails it was a bit streaky for me. This could have easily been two coats, but I found a lot of streaks and bald spots even within the third coat. It's something that I can deal with, but it's still annoying. One positive is that this dried really fast in between coats. 

Also, the color is much brighter on the nail than the bottle. It almost looks like a neon pink in some lights on the nail. In the bottle, I'm Wired looks way lighter. I still love the color, but I do wish it was a little bit lighter.

In all honesty, I'm kind of disappointed with this polish, but I like it. I'm only saying this because I had high hopes since this brand is made by OPI, so I was expecting grand results. I bought a couple more Sephora by OPI polishes, so I'm hoping those will be of better quality than this one.

The formula and the streakiness kind of ruined it for me, but it's a lovely color for spring or summer. I think this polish will mostly be going on my toes for the summer (so I don't have to see the streaks lol), but I can also put it on my nails as well a couple more times. Overall, I love and hate this polish.

What do you think of I'm Wired? 

Thanks for reading!

Essie - Mojito Madness

Hey everyone!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, it was a lazy day for me. To make up for it, I'll be showing you Essie's Mojito Madness polish today (my first Essie on the blog!). 

I actually own a few Essie polishes in my collection, but it's honestly not my favorite brand. The majority of the Essie's that I have were given to me by family members. I've only actually bought one Essie in my life, and I didn't really like it. I'm trying to give them another chance again, so hence today's blog post lol.

Mojito Madness is a medium green creme. This is three coats with a top coat. Mojito Madness is a part of Essie's Summer 2012 collection and retails for around $8-9 in various stores. 

The formula is my main annoyance with Essie polishes. Even though this is a creme, it's kind of watery and you need to apply it carefully. I could have gotten away with two coats, but I could still see the brushstrokes in the second coat. Applying the third coat smoothed everything out though. 

The application wasn't bad at all. I started to get the hang of it after the second coat, but it's best to do thin coats with Essie polishes.

I think this color is more suitable for spring than summer, but it works for anytime really just like any other polish. It just reminds me so much of spring grass for some reason.

I really love this color on me though. It's not overpowering, but it still stands out. I usually hate greens on me because they look so bright against my skin, but I'm liking Mojito Madness.

Overall, I like this polish. I'm trying to give Essie another chance since I've had some bad luck with them, but I think Mojito Madness has restored my faith in Essie a little bit.

What do you think of Mojito Madness? What's your least favorite nail polish brand?

Thanks for reading!

Sally Hansen - Red Rebel

Hello everyone!

Today I'm showing you Sally Hansen's Red Rebel. I think one of my pet peeves when it comes to polish is when the name doesn't match the color. It's a small thing but it happens all the time with polishes. This is probably a good example of a color that doesn't match the name.

Red Rebel is a neon red orange jelly polish. This is four coats with a top coat. I bought this polish from Big Lots for only $1.50. I think this is an older polish from the Xtreme Wear collection because the cap is black and the newer ones are silver. I'm not positive if this is discontinued or not.

The application and formula was okay. Since it's a jelly, it's very sheer. I used four coats, but I can still see my nail line. This polish definitely needs a white base under it to bring the color out more and to lessen the coats. 

The only gripe that I have about this polish is the fact that it's more orange than I expected. In the bottle up close, it looks more red, but I still love the color.

Overall, I really love this color. This would be a perfect color for the summer. I wish it was more red, but it's still a pretty color.

What do you think of this polish? 

Thanks for reading!