Bon Pretty Store Stamping Kit!

I have just mastered the art of stamping, so I decided to try a squishy stamper from Born Pretty Store. And boy oh boy. I could NOT get this stamper to work. At all. I tried different plate brands, different polish brands, the metal scraper included, a plastic scraper, nothing worked. It's not often at all that I have negative things to say about Born Pretty items, but this one, I just had no luck at all.

I have other great stampers from Born Pretty, so I do recommend some, have a look at the Born Pretty nail art selection, and use my code for 10% off - AFL91

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store White Rhinestones!

I have really been loving tiny tiny rhinestones lately, so when I spied these ones over at Born Pretty Store, I decided to give them a try.

They are very, very small (2mm), and therefore quite fiddly, so make sure you have a steady hand! (Unlike me...)

I paired the white/super pale gold stones with Sea Sirens Deep Blue Sea and China Glaze I'm Not Lion. The colour isn't as white as I was hoping but that's only down to my personal tastes. So besides my colour choices and shaky hands, these are great quality and super delicate.

You can grab these or any thing else from Born Pretty nail art selection, use my code for 10% off - AFL91

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Halloween Stamping Plate!

First of all, I do apologise for my absence. Work, stress, and a family matter have taken over lately.

I have been trying hard to get back into nails and blogging, and this stamping plate from Born Pretty Store has helped a lot!

First of all, I love the designs on it. How could I not? It's no secret that I love me some Halloween deco. I'm still pretty new to stamping so I could have done better, but I tried dammit. I used almost all of the plate, there are so many ideas I have with it!

 For this one, I used a gradient of Fae of Australia Travilia, OPI A Taupe-less Beach nd Ulta3 Chinchilly, and topped it with Ulta3 Stop the Press. Stamped with A England Ophelia.

 Sea Siren Ultramarine and stamped with Nfu-Oh 61

 OPI Did It on Em and Ulta3 Black Satin

Sea Siren Sea Moss Base, with Pretty Serious Gruesome Groom and Crows Toes Morticia and I stamped with Dance Legend Thermo 170 (red to black thermal stamping? YES!)

In terms of the plate itself, it's a bit fiddly to use as there's so many different patterns, but what I did was use my base colour over bits of a different pattern that my stamper would pick up and that made it easier by miles.

If this is your type of thing, you need this plate! You can grab it or any thing else from Born Pretty nail art selection, use my code for 10% off - AFL91

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Grey-dient!

I LOVE grey polish, so I made a grey-dient (ahaha geddit?) with my two favourite grey cremes - Sea Siren Sea Fog and China Glaze Recycle. If you don't own either of these, you need to fix that!

It needed something more, so I added two thin coats of Miss Ashleigh Lets Clown Around on top and I adore the combo! The colours pop so well over the gradient.

Another quickie post, and I apologise for that, but I promise better content is coming soon!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Illamasqua Creator!

I popped by my local Illamasqua a while ago and bought this gorgeous polish home with me. Creator is a black based polish with a crazy amount of silver glitter and scattered holo glitter throughout.

It covers perfectly in 2 coats and is smooth with just one coat of top coat. I'm betting this would make a perfect base for a galaxy mani, I plan to test that theory soon!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Born Pretty Store Nail Foil!

I am pretty new to the world of foils, and thankfully before Christmas, I won a huge pack of them so I got to learn to use them before I got this amazing foil from Born Pretty Store. 

First of all, OH MY WORD THIS IS A HUGE BIT OF FOIL. HUGE. I took a (bad, phone) picture of it compared to one of my other foils and oh boy, it could eat a normal sized foil and still be hungry!

I have to admit, I have actually already gone through about two thirds of it! I love it so much! 

To show it off, I put it over Nfu-Oh #61, so even if there are gaps, theres still holo goodness underneath! 

SO. MUCH. HOLO. I liiiiiiiive. I also uploaded a video to my instagram showing it off more!

As with all foils, they are a little fiddly. This particular foil does not come with glue included, but I do highly suggest getting some. But, if you get the glue perfectly dry and tacky enough, you can easily do full coverage over your nails with it.
 
If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Glow In the Dark Water Decals!

Things I love when it comes to nail art:
1. Sparkles
2. Holo
3. THESE DECALS. 

They're from Born Pretty Store, and they can be found here (for these specific ones, order #18 ;) ) and they are SO much fun! They're your basics water decals, so they are not hard to use at all. Plus, THEY GLOW IN THE DARK! Score! There's a good amount of designs to chose from too.

For my manis, I paired the cross bones with Orly Goth (coincidence? maybe) and KB Shimmer Glow Stick, which itself glows in the dark, and the skulls with Dance Legend Thermo 170.

If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Crystals!

At work, I use genuine Swarovski crystals on clients and I was browsing through Born Pretty Store and found these babies and decided that I should see how well Born Prettys quality compares to the genuine article. And let me tell you, I was surprised! These crystals are AMAZING! They are size SS10 (3mm) so they aren't huge, but they aren't tiny either. And the quality! They are SO close to the genuine Swarovskis, just a teeny bit less 'bright,' and let me tell you, my clients cannot tell the difference! They've also withstood acetone, so if you use them, you can clean them off and reuse them!

For my mani, I used OPI So May Clowns...So Little Time and sponged on China Glaze I'm Not Lion for a classic, girly, sparkly look. I secured the crystals with just top coat and they lasted fine.

Of all the things I have tried from Born Pretty Stores Nail Art selection, these are one of my absolute MUST HAVES. These crystals are seriously beautiful, and the quality is so, so good. 

If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Just Like Clockwork

I love the general aesthetic of Steampunk. The whole thing is just so unique and quirky. So I decided to attempt some Steampunk inspired nail art...

I used China Glaze Ick-A-Body and Face of Australia Travilia, along with studs from Born Pretty Store and the clock pieces (yep, real!) are from Cherry Poppin Nails. I love Ick-A-Body, that polish needs more credit!

I'd love to see more Steampunk manis, if you've done one, let me know!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Purple Gradient Chervon Mashup!

Purple is a great colour. You can't deny that. I wanted purple nails but I wanted something funky. So funky I did!

I used Ulta3 Lily White as a base, then applied some Nail Vinyls. And then over that, I sponged (darkest to lightest) Ulta3 Spring Break, OPI Planks a Lot, and Sea Siren Tranquility. And THEN, because this mani wasn't enough I topped it with Elf Twinkle. I loved this mani, planning on trying it in other colours!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Mermaid Tails!

Glitter placement manis. Why do we do this to ourselves? Because the results are gorgeous. I had some glitters from Cherry Poppin Nails floating around, and had been dying to do a mermaid tail nail look with them, and I loved it.

I used Sally Hansen Blue Me Away! and teardrop rhinestones from Born Pretty Store on the index and pinky, a  textured gradient using Zoya Liberty and Jessies Girl Mistletoe on the middle finger and on the ring finger, a base of Nicole OPI Iceberg Lotus and lots of glitter placement.

This was fun to do, and fun to look at! I must try more litter placement soon!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Born Pretty Store Zig Zag French Tip Guides!

I know these (from Born Pretty Store) are meant to be French Tip Guides, but I couldn't resist using them to do this instead!

I used Grace-full Polish The White Rider and Sally Hansen Blue Me Away! which are both polishes that have amazing coverage - perfect or this kind of mani!

I found the stickers to stick to the nail a little tooooo well, so try patting the sticky side on your hand first! These are super easy to use, and are a really simple, yet effective way of jazzing up a basic mani!

If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Coloured Rhinestones!

I am a sucker for Born Pretty Stores rhinestone selection. And these are no exception! These are primarily purple, but have colour shifts in gold, blue and green as well.

I couldn't pass up pairing these with Illamasqua Baptiste, it's the perfect vampy purple to compliment them! I also used Gloss n Sparkle Beetlejuice to add a bit of bling.

These are good quality, but they feel a little cheap. Some of them have bubbles in them and they're noticeable. But other than that, I like them. The unique colouring sucks me in.

If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Neon Splat Decals!

I have no idea what to call these, so Neon Splats is what I'm going with. These are from Born Pretty Store, in design #7.

They're little sticker style decals that you put over the top of polish, or on a bare nail, whatever suits your fancy. Here, I used them over Ulta3 Black Satin which I had taped off with Nail Vinyls for a bit of negative space type thing. I also tried it matte and glossy. I prefer it glossy for once!

 I used one splat in each colour and all a different size/shape. There's a decent variety in there, my nail beds are thin-ish (and yet I have sausage fingers!) and the largest splat (in the mani, the yellow) was just a teeny bit too wide. The edges had to be removed a bit, which I did with acetone while cleaning up. No big deal.

I did also find that you have to take these off the plastic with tweezers, and I did manage to tear a few slightly, but you can't tell at all. Overall, I dig these! If you're keen to try them, or anything else Born Pretty Store has on offer, please, use my code AFL91 for 10% off!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Melt Cosmetics Lipsticks!

Melt Cosmetics is a brand I had been DYING to try, mostly for SpaceCake lipstick, so when they did buy 2 or more and get 1 free over Black Friday, I jumped on the opportunity!

I picked 3, SpaceCake (the whole reason I wanted to order!), 6six6 and By Starlight. Shipping on these was INSANELY fast, it arrived from the US to me in Aus in less than a week! Big win there! Now, onto swatches...

The packing is simple, yet sleek and sturdy. Melt have the same, consistent packaging throughout their range.

6six6 is a deep, blood red. The most wearable of the 3 shades. Also, the creamiest. This one lasted all day on me, for a good 8+ hours, through food and drink. Wasn't drying at all.

By Starlight is a dark, warm-ish purple. This wore a little longer than 6six6, but it did dry my lips out a little by the end of the day. It wasn't as creamy as 6six6, but it wasn't a struggle to apply either.

aaaaaaaaaand finally, Space Cake. A beautiful, blue toned grey. Super unique, kinda weird, but surprisingly wearable! I've actually worn this one the most out of the 3, I absolutely love it. The formula is a bit dry and stiff at first, but after a few uses, it gets a lot easier to apply.

Overall, these are great! I love the uniqueness of them, and how wearable they are. I love pairing Space Cake with a simple eye using nothing but black liner with a little silver glitter. I definitely do recommend these if they're your type of colours! They do have some more "normal" ones too!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Grey and Neon Combos!

One of my go-to mani combos as of late has been a neon paired with a grey. So, here are a couple of manis! Both were done using China Glaze and Sea Siren polishes.

 Hand painted damask with Sea Siren Sea Fog and China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise. I left the CG matte, I loved the matte on glossy look!

This one is CG Recycle with Sea Siren Sailaway Heather. I used decals from Born Prtty (review coming soon!), Nail Vinyls, and over the gradient I used (the long discontinued) Essence Hello Holo!.

These are fun. I love the way the neons pop with the greys. I've been paying with nudes and neons too, so there may be another post soon!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Sea Siren Cosmetics Sealicious Skin Range!

I have been trialing these products for a while now, and now am ready to tell you guys all about them!

Sea Siren Cosmetics now have the Sealicious Skin Range, which contains 5 different hand, nail and foot care items.

Sealicious Hand and Foot Mask This is a clear, thin, Cucumber scented mask for both hands and feet. I like this product, but I HATE the smell. I really dislike cucumber, so this is off putting for me, but that is 100% personal preference and does not change how I feel about the product. I like to apply this 10-15 mins before having a shower, and it rinses off very easily there. It dries down pretty quickly, is lightweight and is not at all sticky, so it is not uncomfortable to have on. I found it made my hands and feet smooth after use, with or without using the other products.

Sealicious Foot Cream Let me start of by saying (and I do apologise!) that I have AWFUL feet. Very dry, and very calloused, so a good moisturiser is always handy. I use this while doing my weekly pedi, and after rasping my feet and find that it absorbs in quickly and is not at all oily. I don't know if it's just my feet, and it probably is, but I do find that this could be more moisturising. Keep that in mind if you have drier feet. I love the lemon-y smell of this though!

Sealicious Cuticle & Nail Oil This is a nice oil! It's thicker than any other oil I have tried, but it melts on the warmth of the skin, so a little goes a long way! This has a different scent, but I can't exactly put my finger on it! It's nice though. I do have a few issues with the packaging however. Unlike most cuticle oils, this has a pump top, and that can cause you to squirt way too much out, which I learnt the first time I used it! So long as you know to be careful, you shouldn't have any issues. I also noticed that my bottle has leaked a little bit. Not a lot, but enough to notice. That aside, this is a good cuticle oil! I found it helped repair my somewhat weak nails with daily use, and it does provide good moisture.

Sealicious Hand and Foot Scrub This one, hands down, has my favourite scent of the bunch! It's a cool, minty smell and I loooooove me a minty scent! This is a nice scrub, but due to my feet, I wish it had bigger, and more, scrubby particles. It's a finer scrub, which is great for my hands, but my feet need a little more effort.

Sealicious Hand & Nail Cream This is the product I use the most! Same lemon-y scent as the Foot Cream, and it absorbs really quickly and is not greasy. Being a nail tech, my hands get very dry in between all the chemicals. I'm able to use this and have soft hands again super quickly! Definitely my favourite product from this range, it lives in my hand bag.

The prices are on the higher side, the Cuticle oil being $19.95, and the rest are $29.95 a piece. Overall, this is a good set of products, and I made sure to note all my thoughts, good or bad. If I had to recommend one product, I'd have to say the Hand and Nail Cream.

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*