18th January, 2013
Guess what I have for you today? A nail art post!!! Yay! Finally! 
Sorry for not posting any nail art for so long… It’s taken me a few weeks to get my nail art mojo back but I hope it’s back for good now!
Anyway these are some uber sparkly nails I did! I saw Candice share a picture on Instagram featuring some awesome glitter placement nails she did, and how they helped her to feel better. I figured this was the perfect time to try these! It took me roughly under an hour to do all 10 fingers. They are so mesmerizing! They are so sparkly in person, I admit I did zone out of several conversations because I was staring at my nails. 
Oops!
The base colour I used is an old Essence limited edition shade from the Denim Wanted collection, it’s called I Love My Jeans. It’s a charcoal black with silver shimmer. Then I used a thin and non-quick drying top coat to make my nails sticky and individually placed the hex glitters using a dotting tool. Finally two coats of ProNails Seco Seco (similar to Seche Vite!) to smooth everything out.
These are the glitters I used for this manicure! They are a set of 12 colours of hex glitter. I got these from Born Pretty Store. This set is just $6.45 for all 12 colours! The box I keep mine in is not included but I also got that from Born Pretty, you can find it on their site here.
I ended up putting one scoop of each colour (except for the translucent white and silver) in an empty jar. This way I could easily grab random colours each time. Btw, how pretty does that glitter look?
Anyway I hope you like these! I had a lot of fun doing them, it was actually less time consuming than I thought so that was good. And these are definitely a good solution to distract your mind, you need a lot of concentration placing each glitter on one by one. Fun fact: I made a rough calculation and it took me around 400 hex glitters to cover all 10 nails!
2nd January, 2013
Today I have a super colourful post for you! I have a review and swatches on the new BK glow in the dark minis which you can find at Born Pretty Store!
F.l.t.r. 06, 04, 03, 01, 16, 18, 13, 11, 09, 10.
These are all 10 shades of the BK glow in the dark minis. They hold 7ml which is a decent size for a mini. The bottles are super cute and the caps have the same colour as the polish which I think looks really great. What I love about these is that the brushes are a really good size too!
I have to say right off the bat that the formula of these polishes was flawless. Apart from being a little on the sheer side, there is nothing that faults them. They are jellies which is pretty normal with neon polishes. Their glowing power is amazing too! At the bottom of this post you can find a picture that shows their glowing power so make sure to keep reading!
BK 06 – Sadly none of these polishes have names, only numbers. This is a beautiful bright turquoise blue. In all of my swatches I used top coat, apart from this one. As you can see these dry with a slightly gritty finish. It’s barely noticeable, but I would recommend to use top coat when using these polishes. This was three coats.
BK 04 – This is a beautiful neon green. It’s very very bright in person! I used three coats again, as you can see you can achieve an almost opaque finish. As they are jellies you will always have that shiny translucent quality. Optionally you could layer these over white to make the neon effect even brighter and to eliminate the VNL (visible nail line).
BK 03 – This is a beautiful pastel neon green. Pastel AND neon, yes sir! I hugely love this shade. It’s more opaque than the others too. It’s very very pretty. This shade along with the other green and the yellow have the strongest glowing power. Awesome!
BK 01 – This is a neon yellow. This is probably the sheerest out of all 10. Neon yellow is definitely something you will either hate or love. I would personally recommend to layer this over white, it will look so much better!
BK 16 – This is one out of two oranges in this set. This is the lightest out of the two. It’s slightly opaquer than the other orange. The difference between both shades is very subtle in person, they look very similar. If you check out the swatchicle picture at the bottom of this post you can see that they are very close together.
BK 18 – This is a slightly deeper, darker orange jelly. This one’s also very bright and neon in person! I know orange is not everyone’s cup of tea but I personally love wearing orange! I think it looks really fun and summery. I have a yellow undertone in my skin so those shades tend to work quite well for me.
BK 13 – This is a bright neon bubblegum pink! It’s very girly and cute. This would make a great gift for those who adore pink. The fact that these glow in the dark is a great bonus!
BK 11 – This pink is a lot brighter than the previous one. It’s definitely a hot pink! This shade is very eye-catching and just screams summer to me! I can’t wait to pull this one out of my Helmer and slap it on my toes in a few months time.
BK 09 – This is a blueish pink. The cap doesn’t quite match the colour inside the bottle which I thought was quite funny. It’s a nice pink nonetheless.
BK 10 – And finally this is the last shade. It’s a dark fuchsia. This was the only shade where I had slight issues with the formula. It dragged a little. Some polish thinner would resolve that though, so it’s not a huge problem.
And finally, I pulled out my swatchicles and took a picture in daylight using flash, and a picture in the dark that shows their glowing power! Aren’t they amazing? Especially the two greens and yellow are very bright! I love that they glow in the same colour as the polish itself too.
You can find these BK glow in the dark polishes at Born Pretty Store for $2.99 per bottle. I hugely loved these and I really recommend them! The quality of the formula is great, and so is their glowing power. And who doesn’t love neons? If you order with Born Pretty Store don’t forget to use my 10% off coupon code, EMILYW21!
What did you think of these? Which colours draw your attention? Make sure to let me know in the comments!
31st December, 2012
Today I have a review for you on a beautiful new product from Born Pretty Store! It’s a kajal pencil by the brand Party Queen. An eyeliner pencil, nothing special you’d think… but the packaging! Oh my!
This is without a doubt the prettiest eyeliner pencil I own! It comes in a lipstick-like tube with two strings on the end. Instead of sharpening a pencil you simply twist the tube and the product comes up. The way the eyeliner is shaped makes it perfect for tightlining your lashes. Even when the point gets less sharp it’s still easy to use inside the waterline.
This packaging is typical for Indian style kohl pencils so you might recognize the shape. A few brands have a similar packaging for their kajal pencils, Bourjois and Sleek both have one just like this for example!
Here’s a swatch of the eyeliner. As you can see it’s very nicely pigmented! It’s not the blackest black eyeliner I’ve tried but it’s very soft and one swipe is enough to give you a nice colour payoff.
You can find this eyeliner by Party Queen for $4.91 on the Born Pretty Store website. They’ve added a lot of really nice new make-up products recently so make sure to check out their site. If you order with them don’t forget to use my coupon code, EMILYW21 gives you a 10% discount!
Wishing all my readers a happy 2013!
19th November, 2012
As promised, I have a review on the Born Pretty Store flocking powder kit! With this kit you can create an effect that is also known as velvet nails. Something I’ve noticed people often either hate or love. With new trends or techniques I’ll often reserve my judgement until I’ve actually tried it myself. That’s what I did with flocking powder as well. Sometimes you just have to see it on yourself to know how you feel about it!
Before I got started I had a few concerns though… Such as, how long would the flocking powder last? Will I be able to wash my hands? Will it be easy to remove? After some thorough testing I found answers to all these questions which I will share with you in this post. First I’ll explain how you apply the powder!
In the Born Pretty Store kit you will find a jar of flocking powder, a pair of flat tweezers and a small brush. They have many different colours of powder, I chose the black since I thought that would make for a really pretty effect.
- The first step is to paint your nails in a matching colour to the powder. In my case black! Make sure it’s completely opaque.
- Now paint one nail again with your matching base colour, make sure it’s a medium thick layer, not too thin. Then scoop up powder with the tweezers and drop it onto your wet nail. Make sure there’s enough powder on there to cover your entire nail.
- Pat down the powder with your finger or the tweezers. Let it sit for a few seconds.
- Grab the brush and softly brush away the excess. Grab a lid or something to catch the powder.
- All done! No need for top coat.
Do this for each of your nails, one by one!
Once you’re done the effect will look somewhat like this! I had to lighten the picture so you could see the effect properly with the black. I have to say I’m a huge fan of this effect! This is definitely one of those you have to try for yourself. I just love how it looks in person. It looks classy and it feels all soft and fuzzy!
And to answer my questions… They last surprisingly well! I didn’t experience faster chipping or shedding or anything out of the ordinary like that. Removal is easier than glitter removal but slightly harder than removing regular polish. In any case nothing to scare you off! And washing hands is not a problem either. They take a few seconds to dry and then they look normal again!
Definitely a fun effect worth trying out. You can find the kit I used on the Born Pretty Store site here (now on sale!) for $6.39. You can also find the individual jars without tweezers and brush, make sure to check out the site! Have you tried flocking powder? What are your thoughts on this technique? Let me know in the comments!
9th November, 2012
Today I have a post on a few new items from Born Pretty Store. I was in love with these when I saw them on the site and I can’t wait to tell you about each item! It’s no secret that Born Pretty Store is my favourite nail supply. I honestly find everything I need there, and at great prices too.
Flocking powder set (includes 1 jar of powder, tweezers, brush) – $7.99
First up is a set of flocking powder! I tried it out this week and I must say I love it! I’ve been on the fence since I first saw pictures of it but trying it out myself I was really pleased with the result. It looks so classy and it’s so much fun. Also surprisingly easier to remove than I anticipated. I’ll obviously have a more in-depth review for you soon! You can find a set with tweezers (to pick up the powder) and a brush (to brush off the excess) for $7.99 on the site here. You can also buy just the powder itself for $5.80 here. I got black powder but make sure to check out the other shades!
Face blending sponge – $3.30
A face blending sponge. The pictures on the site show a pink, black, white, blue and yellow sponge and for some reason I randomly received a mint green sponge! Can you believe my luck? Born Pretty Store clearly knows what I like haha! This is supposedly similar to the Beauty Blender. I don’t have that one to compare it to but I look forward to trying out this sponge. It feels soft but firm. You can find it on the site here.
Show Case blusher Pearls – $16.37
I thought this item looked absolutely gorgeous when I saw it on the site. The packaging is absolutely amazing! They are blusher pearls and are available in pink and beige (I’m assuming the beige is a highlighter). Now, these are pretty pricey at $16.37. My expectations were obviously a bit higher! The colour payoff is nice but the scent is what disappointed me most. They smell very strongly of perfume. The perfume smells nice but it’s so overpowering for me. The jar is also pretty small, I thought it would be bigger. The packaging looks beautiful but the product itself disappointed me a little.
White Pearly Eyeliner – $1.99
This is a white eyeliner perfect for inner corner highlight. It’s not hugely pigmented and slightly on the pearly side but it does glide on the skin nicely. I’ve not tried it as a base but I think it would be suited for that as well. It’s also pretty affordable at just $1.99. At the back you can twist the product up so there’s no sharpening involved which is great. It contains 3g of product so you definitely get a decent amount!
Gold metal bow Decorations – $8.80
These are gold nail art decorations. These come in a baggie so the jar is not included. Though I did get the jars from Born Pretty Store as well! They always come in handy. I was able to fill about three jars with the bows I got. They aren’t cheap but you get a huge amount! They are so pretty and elegant. A cheaper option is the nail art wheel that features all the different shapes they offer, which is just $2.99. I’m sure you’ll see them featured in a nail art manicure soon!
Those were some of the new items I tried from Born Pretty Store recently. Have you or would you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments! If you order with them make sure to use my coupon code EMILYW21 for a 10% discount on your entire order!
21st October, 2012
Today I did some nail art featuring gold leaf and gold striping tape. I’ve had gold leaf lying around for a while now but this was my first time using it. It’s very delicate but great fun to use, and I love the effect! The “negative space” nail is my favourite though! The products I used for this manicure are:
- China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
- OPI Mourning Glory (Black Onyx)
- Essence Exits On Your Right
- Gold Leaf
- Gold Striping Tape
- China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
I laid out the gold leaf and carefully pulled off piece by piece using a dotting tool, then placing it on a wet nail. I got both the gold leaf and striping tape at Born Pretty Store. I believe they have two different sets for gold leaf, and the striping tape comes in singles or a set of 12. Hope you like it!
9th October, 2012
Today’s nail art features the sugar spun technique I saw over at my friends’ blogs Chalkboard Nails and Just Tis Ems. It’s a tricky technique but very fun to do! Emmie made a really great tutorial for it which you can see here.
My result looks very 3D which is something you either hate or love. I’m quite fond of the end result, even though I wish my lines turned out thinner. I definitely need to practice more!
I’m really in love with the colour scheme, the matte nude base with the neon lines and studs works really great I think! Finally I had the perfect manicure for which I could use my pink neon studs from Born Pretty Store. They were sitting in my Helmer drawers for weeks waiting to be used. They are a lot more neon in person, I highly recommend them, they are super awesome!
These are the products I used for my manicure:
- Catrice – Nude (from the FeMALE limited edition)
- China Glaze – Love’s A Beach
- Pink Neon Studs
Yes that’s right, no top coat! This technique looks a million times better without top coat (in my opinion) so make sure to resist the urge! Hope you like it!
4th October, 2012
Today’s nail art was inspired by the spray paint technique I saw at the blog Manicurator. She used a spray bottle to create a splatter effect. I really loved this idea so decided to give it a go!
I ended up doing it a little differently though. I used acrylic paints in my spray bottle instead of nail polish. I started by adding water in the bottle, then slowly adding a few drops of white acrylic paint until the water looked opaque enough, while still keeping the liquid consistency. My spray bottle tended to squirt once I tried using anything thicker than a liquid consistency.
The result looks very nice I think! Almost like raindrops that have dried on a window. I added a few rhinestones on an accent nail to add some elegance to the look. All rhinestones are from Born Pretty Store.
These are the products I used for this look:
I really love how this turned out even though the technique was a little on the messier side for me. I had to experiment with the acrylic paint until I reached the effect I was going for. Though it was definitely worth it in the end!
21st September, 2012
Today I’ll be reviewing the bright eyeliner pencils from Born Pretty Store! They are my go-to nail art supply but lately I’ve been really loving their beauty products. They have so much great stuff!
The eyeliners come in packs of six pencils, there are two different sets available. The set I received has black, purple, red, orange, green and white. They come with a clear blue cap to protect the pencils.
The eyeliners have a subtle shimmery finish and they are really pigmented! I’m very pleased with the quality. They are soft and easy to use and the pigment is great. I love using them for a pop of colour underneath the lower lashline! The red shade could even double as a lip liner, or any of the other shades depending how adventurous you are.
As you can see from my swatch they all have a really nice pigmentation and subtle shimmer. The orange/copper shade is the most pigmented out of all of them. You can find these eyeliners pencils at Born Pretty Store‘s website for $5.99. Don’t forget to use my coupon code EMILYW21 to get a 10% discount on your order! Have you ever purchased beauty products from Born Pretty Store?
17th September, 2012
Naming these nails gave me a headache! I had no idea what to call them! In the end I chose Turquoise Gem nails since the rhinestones and glitters really pull this look together.
For the watercolour nails I used a sponging technique similar to this tutorial. I love using that sponging technique, as it works with pretty much any colours. After sponging I brushed over these nails several times with my topcoat, basically smearing the design on purpose. This really blends the colours more together and created a really dreamy finish.
The glitter framed nails were inspired by the amazing Sammy from the blog The Nailasaurus!
This is what I used to create this design:
I really love how this look turned out. Hope you like it too!
Older Entries
Newer Entries
