21st May, 2013
Today an amazing package arrived containing lots and lots of nail art foils! After trying nail foils some time ago I was completely in love and decided to get some more. These 27 nail art foils are available at Born Pretty Store!
As you can see there’s tons of different designs and colours available. Gradients, solid colours, holographic designs, multicolor designs and even a leopard print. There’s also smaller and larger jars. I noticed the smaller jars with “shorter” sized nail foils were easier to manage and use. If you’re new to nail foils I recommend these!
It was almost impossible to decide which one I was going to use until I remembered a manicure I saw some time ago, by one of my favourite bloggers, The Sneakerette! (make sure to check out her blog, she’s awesome!)
When I first saw her manicure I was in love and knew I had to recreate it some day. I decided to use a different base colour, the one I used is one of the gorgeous BK Hello Kitty polishes in shade #26. I used a gold coloured foil in shade #8 which is the sixth jar from the top left in the picture above. For the black lines I used my favourite It’s So Easy nail art striper.
I really love how this manicure turned out! If you want to find out how to apply nail art foils make sure to check out my post that features a picture tutorial. Hope you like it! Let me know in the comments what you think. 
18th May, 2013
Today I’m back with another awesome set by The New Black. As you know by now, they have great nail art kits and ombre kits, but they also have duos! These polishes are from the Subculture line where you can find really nice 2-piece sets. The one I was able to get my hands on is called Electric Daisy and features an orange and purple shade.
This is my swatch of the orange shade from The New Black Electric Daisy set. Sadly the shades don’t have names. It’s a lovely warm coral orange with subtle shimmer. You can’t really see the shimmer on my nails but if you look closely at the bottle you can see some hidden shimmer. On the nails I found the shimmer pretty hard to notice though sadly, but the colour is gorgeous! This was two coats.
And this is the amazing deep purple shimmer. Isn’t this colour stunning? I could stare at this swatch forever! 
It’s a little warmer and less blueish in person. It also covered very well in just two coats and application was a dream.
Here’s a nail art manicure I created using the two The New Black polishes! I went for a negative space manicure which is one of my new favourite looks. It’s a little tricky to do but if you don’t use a base coat you can easily sharpen up your lines with a brush. I hope you like it!
Make sure to check out the other duo sets by The New Black on their website. You can find the Electric Daisy 2-piece for €13.95 at The New Black’s website. The quality of the nail lacquers is absolutely amazing! They’re a dream to apply and I’ve found them to be incredibly long lasting so I can truly recommend them. Have you tried The New Black yet?
15th May, 2013
One of my other passions besides nail art and make-up is knitting and crochet. I grew up around yarn since my grandmother and mum have been avid knitters all their lives. I briefly tried knitting as a young girl but I never really got into it. Then I rediscovered crochet a few months ago and found myself hooked (excuse the pun ). Since crochet was becoming less challenging for me I decided it was time to start knitting!
For some strange reason that still isn’t clear to me, knitting came extremely naturally to me. I thought I’d never be able to knit since I always found it so difficult. Then suddenly I found myself tackling projects that are intermediate or even highly challenging skill levels with ease. Lace knitting, entrelac, stranded colourwork, etc. That last one is the technique I used for the pillow you see above. I’ve only been knitting for two months so I’m pretty proud I’ve accomplished so much in so little time!
I found the pattern for the pillowcase in a Filati Home magazine and I simply had to make it. Why? Because it immediately reminded me of a nail art design. I used my favourite cotton yarn to make this pillow, Schachenmayr SMC Catania.
I decided to merge two of my passions so that’s what inspired these nails! I used the same pattern and colours that I used in my pillow. I painted it by hand using very thin nail art brushes and I used BK Hello Kitty nail polishes in shades #01, #29, #27 and #25. For the black I used OPI Black Onyx and I also used China Glaze Below Deck.
I really hope you like how these turned out! I love them so much because they were inspired by my pillowcase. I’ve noticed there are many nail bloggers that also love knitting and crochet! It’s so exciting to see people that share your passion. If you love knitting and crochet like me, make sure to add me on Ravelry! What are your hobbies besides love for nail polish and nail art? Let me know in the comments!
10th May, 2013
Today I’m back with another one of the signature ombre sets by The New Black. This time one of their Advanced Ombre sets, last time I featured one of the Original Ombre set in the shade waves. The Advanced Ombre sets are a little different and less obvious gradients. They are still gorgeous nonetheless! Let’s take a look.
This is the Cloudy Ballet Advanced Ombre set by The New Black. It comes with five shades that go from light to dark and features different finishes. You’ll find a creme, shimmers, pearls and even a glitter! The other set that is part of the Advanced Ombre range features greyish blue shades and is called Stormy Vapor.
These are the five shades that come in the Cloudy Ballet set. As always they hold 4ml and are 3-free and cruelty free. I say this again and again, but I do wish they held more product. The main reason being that the formula is so amazing! The New Black promises longwearing and chip-resistant polishes and it’s no lie. I’ve personally had some of the best experiences with the formula. Chip-free nails for over 5 days. That is pretty damn amazing, right?!
Here are all five shades on the nails. As you can see, not an obvious ombre but it’s still a gorgeous effect. I especially love the glitter shade in the middle. Here’s my thoughts on each shade:
- Thumb: This is the darkest shade from the set. It’s a lovely pearly mauve/burgundy with silver shimmer. It’s hard to describe. It’s not a shade I would typically wear but it looks really lovely on the nails! I used two coats.
- Index: This shade is a soft coral toned pink with silver specks and shimmer. I used three coats.
- Middle: As you can see this is an awesome pink glitter! It’s absolutely wonderful! I love this glitter. You can use it for gradients, layering, or on its own. I used three coats to get an opaque coverage.
- Ring: This is a stunning nude creme. I am a sucker for cremes so this is without a doubt my favourite shade from the set. It’s the perfect pale coral-y nude. This had flawless coverage, I could have gotten away with one coat but I used two. Just in case.
- Pink: This is a pale pink with pearly finish. I won’t lie, “pink with pearl finish” makes me not even want to look, but this shade is really well done. It has soft brush strokes but isn’t streaky at all, and I actually think it looks kind of cute. Or am I just losing it? This was three coats.
That concludes my review on another lovely set by The New Black. You can find the Cloudy Ballet Advanced Ombre set for €29.95 online at the-new-black.com. The price may be a little steep for some but you are getting a very high-quality formula and multiple shades, so I think they are definitely worth it! Make sure to check out the site because they have some absolutely awesome sets.
5th May, 2013
Today I’m back with another awesome The New Black set. This time one of their duos of the Super Swagger line. The Super Swagger duos are two polishes, one has a matte finish, and the other has a shiny finish. This obviously leans itself towards awesome nail art!
The New Black Super Swagger set I got is the red set called Claret Cream Shine. The other two sets are a black set called Ink Cream Shine and a blue set called Indigo Cream Shine. All three sets feature a lighter colour and a darker colour. The Claret Cream Shine set features a brilliant bright red (shiny) and a stunning deep burgundy red (matte).
It took me a while before I knew what type of nail art I wanted to create with this set. In the end I settled for a chevron manicure using nail art brushes. I sadly didn’t use tape so my lines aren’t perfect. I’m much too impatient for tape manis and I find cutting stationary tape such a hassle.
I still really enjoyed how this manicure turned out! The two shades work beautifully together and create a nice contrast in both colour and finish. The matte nail polish is absolutely flawless. Make sure to check out the bonus swatch of the matte shade after the jump!
You can find the Super Swagger Claret Cream Shine set for €13.95 on The New Blacks website. Once again I can’t praise the formula of The New Black enough! The polishes glide on like butter and have flawless coverage. It’s such a shame they’re only 4ml a bottle. The New Black currently only sells nail art sets (which are awesome!) but I personally would be very excited if they brought out a range of full-size polishes. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
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1st May, 2013
Nail foils is something I’ve been dying to try for probably months, probably even over a year! I never got around to it because I couldn’t find it locally or shipping was too expensive. Recently KKCenterHK added some beautiful foils to their range so I finally got around to trying them. Yay!
This is the nail foil I picked out. A beautiful gradient foil that goes from green to blue to pink, and it also has a subtle geometric reflective design to it. It comes in a handy jar, and the foil is 150cm in length (59 inches) so you’re getting a lot! You can either choose to purchase the foil alone or you can purchase it with a bottle of foil glue. The foil glue comes in a fairly large bottle and as you only need a tiny amount, it should last you a pretty long time.
Here’s how the application process works:
- Add a base colour to your nails, I used China Glaze First Mate.
- Cover your entire nail (or the area you want to cover) with a very thin layer of foil glue. Wait for it to fully dry and become clear. I am not sure what type of glue the foil adhesive is, as it doesn’t act like Elmer’s glue (but it does look like it!). In any case it’s a super tacky glue!
- Carefully place a piece of foil you’ve cut out on your nail. You can use tweezers for this, make sure to handle the foil with care as it’s very delicate.
- Take a cotton round and rub across your entire nail to make sure the foil adheres properly to the nail. You’ll notice it will start to peel away by itself once the foil has transferred.
- Carefully add a slow drying top coat or a water-based top coat to minimize crackling. Quick drying top coat completely ruins the design and makes it wrinkle up like a crackle polish.
And this is the finished result! I wish it looked even a little close to how it looks in person but it doesn’t come anywhere near. I’ve never had this much trouble trying to accurately capture a manicure! The foils are so bright and reflective. You honestly have to see it on your nails to appreciate the full effect! It’s simply mesmerizing! I’m also in love with this gradient.
I do have to say, application can be a little tricky. It’s hard to cover your entire nail without leaving some bald spots. Top coat also tends to make the foils crackle which is a little frustrating so make sure to use a slow drying top coat. I used a water-based top coat and that worked reasonably well. I did notice the foils are very prone to wear. Maybe it’s the glue? I couldn’t get my manicure to last one day without tip wear which was a little disappointing. The nail foils give an absolutely unique and wonderful effect but it has its downsides.
You can find this stunning nail foil (and many other designs and shades!) at KKCenterHK for $7.69 (not including glue). So what are your thoughts on nail foils? Have you tried them? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments!
28th April, 2013
Today I’m back with another amazing set by The New Black. This time I’m featuring their Rock N’ Roll Royalty set which is an awesome set that comes with lots of nail art decorations. Time to glam it up!
This set comes with a black nail polish, gold glitter nail polish, red creme nail polish and a jar of studs and rhinestones. It usually comes with a top coat as well, but mine came with a spare red for some reason. It’s one of the best red polishes I’ve tried so I can’t say I’m unhappy about the anomaly!
- The New Black – Gold glitter: This is a great glitter for gradients or layering. I needed about 3-4 coats to get it opaque on its own which isn’t too bad.
- The New Black – Black: This is a stunning black polish with very fine silver glitter. It’s somewhat sheer on the first coat but it completely evens out after the second coat. I absolutely love black polishes with glitter!
- The New Black – Red: Seriously one of the best red nail polishes I’ve tried. It’s opaque after one coat. That’s right, one coat! It’s simply the perfect red. Glides on like butter too!
- The New Black – Accessories: What I love most about the Rock N’ Roll Royalty set is the bottle of studs/rhinestones that it comes with. Even though the polishes only hold 4ml, you will be absolutely amazed at how many studs fit inside that small bottle. There’s a huge amount of gold square studs, round silver rhinestones and black round rhinestones that come with this set.
Here’s the nail art manicure I created using this set! I went for a fun mix ‘n match manicure to show some different looks you can create with The New Black Rock N’ Roll Royalty set. On my index finger I went for a gradient using the black and gold. I’ve honestly never been able to create such a flawless glitter gradient before! The gold polish makes it so easy. On my middle finger I added a row of black rhinestones on top of the gold glitter base. Then on my ring finger I went for a simple leopard print. Since you can never go wrong with leopard, right?! And finally on my pink I added one of the square studs on top of the black polish.
On my thumbnail I added six square studs to create a triangle. Looks pretty cool right?! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stud manicure I didn’t like, haha!
You can find this awesome The New Black Rock N’ Roll Royalty set on their website for €29.95. The nail art possibilities are endless with this set. Make sure to check out the other amazing sets on The New Black website too. They’ll be releasing some ah-mazing new sets soon so make sure to keep an eye on their Twitter and Facebook page. What did you think of this nail art set? Let me know in the comments!
24th April, 2013
Today I’m sharing a girly post featuring some wonderful studs from KKCenterHK. The studs I’m showing you are large heart shaped studs. The ones I tried are white hearts but you can also find them in pink, and similar heart shaped studs in gold, silver, pink and red. These white heart studs are $5 for which you get around 50 pcs. Let’s take a look!
The studs are 6mm in size, so they’re quite large. They’re also pretty flat, so if you have curvy nail beds (like me!) make sure to slightly bend the studs. You can simply place them on a rounded surface like a pencil or use the handle of a nail art brush as a mould to bend the studs slightly, using your fingers. I hope that makes sense! This way the stud lays nice and flat on your nail without sticking out at the sides and catching onto stuff!
Here’s the manicure I created using the heart studs! I thought the white looked really pretty and delicate so I went with a very girly design. The base colour is 2 coats of American Apparel L’Esprit which is a lovely pale lavender shade. On my index finger I created a white half moon with 2mm pearls around it, on my ring finger I freehanded a lace design using my white It’s So Easy striper and on my pinkie I added a simple white polka dot.
Hope you like it! You can find the white heart studs at KKCenterHK for $5 per pack. Make sure to check out KKCenterHK for lots of awesome nail decorations and Asian cosmetics. Don’t forget to use my coupon code “veryemily” for a 10% discount on your order! Enjoy!
20th April, 2013
Today I’m back with another review featuring The New Black! This time I am sharing one of their lovely Typography sets featuring the newspaper nails technique. This was my first time trying out newspaper nails and I have to say it was a lot of fun! And surprisingly a lot easier than I thought, especially with this handy kit! Let’s take a look.
The New Black Typography kit comes with transfer solution, a base colour, top coat and tons of sheets of transfer paper, ten in total! Ten sheets are more than enough to last you around 10-15 manicures. This particular kit is the Weekly Journal kit and comes with a nude base colour. The other two Typography kits, Times Late Edition and Daily News feature a grey and white base colour respectively.
The transfer paper has some nice encouraging words on it, such as Happy, Dream, Live, Faith, Love, Passion,… Definitely more fun than having some random newspaper article on your nails.
This is the lovely base colour that comes in The New Black Weekly Journal kit. I am absolutely in love with this shade. It’s the perfect nude colour! This was just two coats, the coverage was absolutely flawless. It glided on like butter. I desperately want a full-size of this, and a back-up bottle or three.
Here’s how the application process works:
- Apply your base colour and wait for it to thoroughly dry.
- Grab the transfer solution and apply a generous coat on one nail at a time.
- Take a piece of transfer paper, cut to size so it fits your nail and place on top of your wet nail.
- Apply more transfer solution over the top and press the paper down on your nail with your fingers.
- Carefully add top coat, done!
Like I said, this was my first time trying newspaper nails. I think I had great results for a first try! The words transferred nicely on my nails, though I did mistakenly turn over the last two so the words are upside down. And also slightly smudged the top coat on my middle finger. Oops!
I wanted to spice it up a little so I added two large square studs on my ring finger as an accent nail. You can find the studs in The New Black Rebel Edge set (review coming soon!). I wore this manicure for over a week with barely any chips! I couldn’t bring myself to removing it since I thought it looked so pretty, so I waited until the very last minute. After eight days, some tip wear and a few minor chips it was time to grab my polish remover.
You can find this lovely The New Black Weekly Journal set on their website for €24.95. The quality of The New Black nail polish is absolutely impressive, I’ve had amazing results in terms of wear and application. I highly recommend you to check them out! If you’re in the US you’ll find these awesome sets in stores like Urban Outfitters, but recently the European ladies can get their hands on The New Black too. Make sure to check out their site for all the details.
11th April, 2013
I have a really cute Spring-appropriate post for you today. For a few weeks I had this idea in my head to create nail art inspired by those amazing floral studded iPhone cases I kept seeing around. The lovely people at KKCenterHK sent me some gorgeous studs so I figured this was the perfect time to try out this design!
These are the nail polishes I used:
- OPI My Vampire Is Buff
- OPI Suzi’s Hungary Again
- China Glaze Budding Romance
- OPI Black Onyx
- China Glaze Snow
- China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
And these are the gorgeous 2mm studs I used! They are available at KKCenterHK for $4.74. Above is the total amount you get which is around 50 pieces. I do find these a little pricey for the small amount of studs, but they are really stunning and nice quality. These in particular are a beautiful warm orange-toned gold and are completely smooth and round which I thought was very pretty.
I’m really pleased with how these nails turned out! They turned out almost exactly like I had them in mind. I am really excited I finally got to try out OPI My Vampire Is Buff as a base colour for a nail art design. It’s such a wonderful shade! Floral nails are one of my favourite designs to do and I think the studs compliment them beautifully.
I hope you like them! Let me know in the comments.
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