NOTD May 30/12 - magenta glitter drips, plus coupon code for Born Pretty Store!

This idea has been sort of brewing in my head for a little while, and in real life I'm loving how it turned out! I wanted to do something drippy and glittery and this so fit the bill!

It's difficult to see but I added a single fuchsia rhinestone to the ring finger. After I did it I realized it would have looked better with a red stone since the magenta polish I used is more red-based and the rhinestone is more blue toned, but minor details, no biggie!

Colours used:
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Naked Ambition
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Frutti Petutie
Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Kaleidoscope
Rhinestones from Born Pretty Store

Also, Born Pretty Store was awesome and let me share this coupon code with you for 5% off your order! Honestly the stuff there is already so inexpensive you hardly need an extra discount, but saving money never hurts right?


KK5W21

NOTD May 25/12 - gold round studs on nude

Part two of my reviews for Born Pretty Store! The second product they kindly sent me was a package of their 1.5 mm golden studs. I'd seen lots of cool manis around the web using these, and I knew I needed to get me some! Now I'm so glad I did because I did my first look with them today and I am in love with it!

I started with a couple coats of Beaches & Dreams by Barielle, and then arranged the studs in two rows down the middle of each nail. Very simple, just a bit fiddly to do! And veery fiddly to get the extra studs back in the back! LOL But totally worth it!

I can totally see myself using these again and again! They're a wicked bargain too, only about $4 a bag and you get TONS of them! Definitely try these babies out!

NOTD May 22/12 - gradient and rhinestones

Hey everyone! I'm really happy about my manicure today! I love the look of rhinestones all clustered together, mosaic-style, and I did try it once. Problem was, all the rhinestones I had used were the same size, so it wasn't possible to really cram them all together, just next to each other. It just didn't have the look I was going for and so, I had to scrap that manicure! I knew I needed some multi-sized rhinestones to create the look I was going for, and luckily Born Pretty Store came through for me! They generously provided me with a couple of goodies, the first of which I want to show you today!

I started off with a gradient base, using a new technique for creating gradients I saw at The Nailasaurus! It worked very nicely, I love the results! I need a little more practice to totally get it down but it wasn't difficult at all and the results are great!

Then, I went to work with my rhinestones! The smallest of these are just teeny tiny! Be careful or these will end up everywhere! The rhinestones come in three sizes, the wheel has four compartments of each size. I arranged them in a crescent shape in the lower left corner of each nail, starting with a large rhinstone, adding a couple medium sized ones, and filling in the spaces and the "tails" with the tiny ones. Bit of topcoat on top and voila!

I'm really happy with how this turned out, I hope you like it too! Check out this product at Born Pretty Store and if you like what you can do with them, grab some! The price is awesome!

Colours used:
Barielle in Blossom
Revlon Top Speed in Electric

NOTD May 17/12 - watermelons!

This is a classic design that I have been meaning to do for literally AGES and I finally tried it out the other day and I'm in love with it! It's been very sunny and warm out lately and this manicure just completes that "summer is here!" feeling that I love!

Colours:
Cherimoya in Melon
Sinful Colors in Envy
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Frutti Petutie
black striper polish for the seeds

NOTD May 16/12 - red with silver glitter

Hey everyone! Wow, I don't know how it happened that I went 10 days without an update! I had pictures lined up but I guess my schedule must have gotten in the way!

Anyhow, here's a quickie manicure I did actually last week, randomly chose the colours and I LOVE how this looks. It almost seems "accidentally Disney" to me with that colour scheme! I guess I've really got Disney on the brain though :) I'm planning a trip to Disneyland for this July! So exciting!

Colours:
Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Red Red
LA Girl Glitter Addict in Explosion

NOTD May 6/12 - soft glittery gradient

I had been meaning to do a gradient because it had been quite a while! I forgot how long these little guys can take though - no matter how opaque the colours you choose are, sponging them on makes them really sheer so it takes a few coats to build up opacity! And I found to get the proper blur between colours I had to go back and forth between shades and blend into the other colour(s) from both directions. But I think it was well worth the effort! I love how this turned out! And of course for me, no gradient is complete without a quick coat of glitter to really blend it all together and make it look finished.

Colours used (starting with gradient colours in order from cuticle to tip, then the glitter topper):
Barielle in Sailor's Delight
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac
Essence Colour & Go in You Belong to Me
Wet n' Wild Wild Shine in Kaleidoscope

NOTD May 4/12 - Vancouver in Springtime

This nail art is one of the few that has a name! I liked the idea of something on a grey background, but with a bit of brightness on top for contrast. I love tiny little floral patterns, so I came up with this. I realized it's a lot like spring here in Vancouver (or as we like to call it, Raincouver). We get some sunny, beautiful days and the flowers start to bloom and you start to think of shorts and skirts and actually wearing a tank top outside without a sweater! And then it starts to rain, and doesn't stop for a straight week or two.

Raincouver. :|

Hehehe so this is inspired by spring in my home - pretty, bright flowers on a grey, grey backdrop! These are so cute and everywhere I go the last few days wearing this mani I've had random people asking about them and commenting on them! Love that feeling so much!