Born Pretty Store Fluorescent Rhinestones Review - 80s Disco Flowers :)

Hello everyone! I was recently contacted by Born Pretty Store and asked to review some of their products - I received a lovely selection last week and today I have the first mani which features their leaf shaped fluorescent/candy coloured rhinestones. This also ties in nicely with the last March prompt of the NAILS Mag March Challenge as the prompt is "Embellished".

I started with a simple black base using All About Nails Liqorice and then added a generous layer of top coat to one nail at a time to allow me time to place the rhinestones into flower shapes.

I love the colours and despite initially wondering what I was going to do with the leaf shapes I think that they worked really well to create the flower design. This mani actually reminds me of a rara skirt I had when I was little so let's say that these are my tribute 80s disco flowers :) 

You can see all of their new arrivals here, and if you use the code UKX31 you'll get 10% off too!

Sam xx

(These products were provided for review)

NAILS Mag Day 19 - Outline

Hello everyone! Today's prompt in the NAILS Mag 31DC is Outline. I haven't done many of these manis so far as they tend to be a bit understated and my nail-style is pretty much anything but that. Since working on this design I've some up with some ideas for outline manis that fit my personality a little more, so stay tuned for those, but in the meantime, I couldn't resist adding a little bling to this one too :)

I started with three coats of the stunning Nails Inc King's Road and then painted in the outline with LA Colors Black Velvet (and a very steady hand!). I had already planned to do an accent nail to break it up a bit, but decided to use a rainbow of rhinestones (part of a prize I won from the fab nail art forum Nail Artsy!) for the outline on my ring finger, set into carefully applied glue. A coat of Seche Vite finished the look.

This Nails Inc polish is really something else, a really subtle rose gold foil effect. If I went for subtle polishes I would get through sooooo much of this polish! I do like the outline look, although I always have to resist the urge to turn them into cartoon nails. However, like I said earlier, I have some more of this design style on the way that are a little less subtle all round! :)

A GOT polish challenge and NAILS Mag 31DC combo coming your way tomorrow. The GOT prompt is "Ruffle mani" and NAILS Mag is "A New Technique" - yay for fortuitous timing!

Sam xx

NAILS Magazine 31DC March Day 3 - Glitter

Hello everyone! Here I am back with my Oscars antidote! Luckily the prompt for the challenge today is "Glitter" so I could get on with blinging it up without a hint of a nude polish in sight!

My current favourite glitter polish is LA Colors Jewel Tone. It has a purple jelly base and has beautifully bright turquoise and magenta glitter. I usually layer it over a simple black but this time went for Sally Hansen Pat On The Black, an almost black berry purple. My index, thumb and pinky fingers have two coats of Pat On The Black and two coats of Jewel Tone with a final hit of Seche Vite. For the two accent nails, I picked out turquoise, magenta and purple rhinestones that matched the glitter colours and set them into a coat of Seche Vite over the purple base.

Tomorrow's prompt is "Mardi Gras" - probably a bit more sparkle for you and then I'll consider calming it down a bit. I also have a new Tri Polish Tuesdays colour combination for you tomorrow - busy, busy, busy! ;)

Sam xx

The NCC presents "Inspired by Summer" #4

Hello everyone! Today I have my final summer-inspired mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative. Its has been a breath of fresh air painting some summery manis in amongst all this grey and wet weather and I have enjoyed this theme more than any other for a while.

For my last mani, I have had some beautiful floral stickers from Nailtopia that I've been wanting to try out for a while and this seemed like a great opportunity. I've been a big fan of their stickers for a while now. I originally bought a selection to help when I was asked to do nail art at a school fair a couple of years ago. I then tried them myself and have never looked back if I need a quick fix of something awesome!

I started with three coats of LA Colors Sand Storm and one coat of Seche Vite. I applied the stickers over four nails with tweezers and then added matching lavender rhinestones between the stickers, as well as all over the nail on my ring finger for some accent bling.

I think it has a vintage floral feel, but also a little something of summer? Maybe a bit of a stretch, but hey ho... I wish I had used the stickers over a creme base instead of a shimmer as its made the edges of the stickers show up a little more in the photos than they do in real life, but I don't think that it takes away from the design too much.

I purchased these stickers myself, although I have been sent two sets of a new range of nail stickers that Nailtopia will be carrying to review. That review will be going live later today, so see you again soon :)

Our theme for next month is "Untrieds". Given that I immediately use any polish I receive, this is going to mean a shopping trip - or as we have to do four manis, four shopping trips?! Hmmm... ;)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

FingerFood's Theme Buffet Birthdays/Celebrations - Strictly One Night Only nails!

Hello everyone! Another Sunday has rolled around and the theme for the buffet this week is Birthdays and/or Celebrations! I chose this as its my birthday on Tuesday and thought it would give me a chance to have a go at something "over the top"! Also, (luckily!) an unexpected trip to TK Maxx found me buying the Color Club Girl About Town collection, which provided me with two polishes perfect for what I had in mind!

I started with a base of Color Club Pearl District, a gold with a warm Tigers Eye feel to it. Three coats for a beautiful finish and it was tempting to leave it there as I adore this colour (and I'm not a massive fan of gold polishes)! I then painted on randomish sections of deep purple to create a base for the simply stunning The Uptown, which has a purple jelly base crammed full of red, gold and other flakie delights. I thought the formula would be a problem but it went on beautifully. Once that was dry, I added the amber colour rhinestones on to a generous coat of Seche Vite.

Now you can see why I said that these were "one night only" nails! I'm in love with them though and I'm so glad that I chose this collection over the metallics that were also there (although in all honesty I'll probably be going back for those later this week!).

I think these are suitable for a celebration, and when I fall asleep on my hand at the end of the night I'll get to wake up with a myriad of pretty rhinestone patterns on my face too ;)

Next week our theme is Hearts - yes its predictable, but I want to see where I can go with it. Take a look at the links below to see all the other fabulous celebratory nails, and if you;d like to join us, we'd love to have you on board! Head over to the FB group, and join in as often as you want :)

Sam xx