Review: Born Pretty Store nail foils & nail polish holder

Hello everyone! Today I have a new to me nail art technique and it involves foils! I have always avoided them due to the horror stories I hear of them wrinkling under top coat. That is, until I decided to take the plunge and try out some of Born Pretty Store's nail foils. I decided to go with some bold colours and chose the designs in #13 and #23. As a base colour, I applied two coats of Bourjois 2007 1 seconde nail enamel.

Did you know that Born Pretty Store also sells a nail polish bottle holder?! I've been searching for the longest time for one and it turns out it was right under my nose!

I've always wanted a holder to help keep my bottles slanted so that I can reach the dang last bits of base/top coat in the bottle. Because it's so much more effort to manually tilt the bottle each time before dipping the brush in, drawing it out, putting the bottle down, and then painting the nail ;) No really, it's so much handier to have the bottle holder. It's a nice size and fits the average nail polish bottle. Just make sure you fit the bottle into the holder before you paint your nails to avoid them getting damaged... ;)

As usual, enter my code PIJ61 for a 10% discount off your total purchase at Born Pretty Store!

Have you tried any nail foils before? Do you own a nail polish bottle holder - does it save your nail painting life? ;)

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Some products were provided for consideration.

Read more…

OMG Nail Strips

Hello ladies :) I'll be featuring a new to me nail art technique in the post today - nail wraps. Whilst I have seen many gorgeous photos featuring various nail designs on nail strips, I have never taken the plunge to try them out, mostly because of the hassle I thought would be involved. After having the opportunity to try out a one from OMG Nail Strips, I think I'll have to re-evaluate the thought. Yes, it does take a little bit longer to apply nail wraps than just painting on nail polish, but the end result pretty much makes up for it...check it out :)

I decided to go with a pink camouflage nail strip design and paired it up with OPI Jinx (swatches and review coming up soon for this!) for a double accent manicure. The strips come in 7 different sizes for each hand and are really easy to apply. Simply peel off the transparent protective covering from the top of the design and then remove the backing before placing on to the nail. As someone with curved nails, I actually didn't find the application too difficult. There was minor wrinkling where the strip didn't lie completely flat but it was fixed with a thick coat of top coat.

I did find the strip to be quite sticky though, and it was hard to remove off the nail and reposition, so make sure you've measured it all up before taking off the backing. Removal was easy peasy - just soak your cotton ball in nail polish remover and hold over the nail for a few seconds before sliding it off.

OMG Nail Strips retail for $6.89USD. There are a number of designs to pick and choose from on the website.

Have you tried nail wraps before? What was your experience like with them?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Product provided for consideration.

Read more…

Review: Born Pretty Store studs wheel

Hello everyone! If you've been a long time reader of my blog, you'll know I'm quite a fan of 3D nail art ;) So when Born Pretty Store started stocking some studs wheel, I knew I had to try it out. Of course, I had to pair the stud look with a darker nail polish - cue Nicole by OPI Khloe had a little lam-lam. And to jazz it up a bit more, I added Color Club Magic attraction for the accent nails.

The wheel of studs can be purchased from Born Pretty Store here. For those of you starting off with studs, I highly recommend this wheel. I also have a code for you to receive 10% off your total purchase. Simply enter PIJ61 when you check out. Plus, there's free international shipping so why are you waiting?! :P

This manicure is soooooo simple to create but I love how effective it is ♥ Have you jumped onto the stud nail accent trend yet?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

A product was provided for consideration.

Read more…

Happy Snaps!

Hi everyone! Australian nail polish brand Mode recently came out with a matte top coat. Whilst I love to have glossy and shiny tips, sometimes it's nice to trap the flashes of colours on the nail with a matte finish. For this look, I started with two coats of Mode Happy snaps and layered a coat of Finders keepers over it. The gold glitter in Finders keepers does bleed, unfortunately, so you'll find the yellow-gold tinge may affect your base shade if it is lighter. First off, with a glossy top coat :)

The next day, I took Mode's Matte me top coat to create a matte finish. And it was love! ♥ You know how some matte top coats just don't do what they're meant to and give a satin finish instead? Not this one. This is a true, matte finish.

The gold glitter on aqua blue had me constantly looking at my nails the whole time I wore this manicure... ;) Are you a fan of the matte finish?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Products provided for consideration.

Read more…

Hello Kitty contact lens case

Hello hello~ I have something a little different to share with you all today. As many of you may know, Born Pretty Store is an etailer which specialises in supplying nail art related items. However, did you know that they are also branching out into other types of beauty products, as well as accessories? I received the Cute Hello Kitty Contact Lenses Cleaner Case Box a few days ago in the mail and here are my thoughts on it.

The case comes with a contact lens box, tweezers, stick & mini bottle to hold your solution in. The tweezers and stick are meant to help you take off and put on contact lens respectively, but I'm too scared of poking my eyes out so I'll stick with my trusty fingers. Maybe, if I decide to grow my nails out one day...  :P

For a girl who usually carries her contact lens box around, I found this case really helpful. I used to not bother, until I dropped my lens and had to put it back into my eye - ouch. They were dry and uncomfortable! Carrying around a case is convenient as it's not that big and has the solution in case you need it; it helps that it's super cute and comes with a mirror :) I guess the tweezers and stick will also be useful if I can't readily access water to clean my hands.

I love this case and will definitely be sticking it into my bag when going out! With free international shipping, why not give this a go? :) Don't forget to use my discount code PIJ61 to receive 10% off your purchase.

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Product provided for consideration.

Read more…

Review: Pedi-sox

Hi everyone! Recently I was provided with the opportunity to try a new-to-me product. Pedi-Sox is a unique pair of socks designed for ladies who love to have a pedicure, but especially so in winter when the temperatures drop. Never fear for freezing feet now, you've got some socks to cover them and keep warm while you happily paint your toes! Check out some of the designs Pedi-Sox offer in their various lines :)

Original line

Spa line

Ultra line

I found these socks not only kept my feet warm during a pedicure, but also gave my feet a really pampered experience. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, I applied moisturisers on my feet and then pulled the Pedi-Sox on to ensure the cream would be absorbed by my skin. After trying this routine for a week, I can safely say that my feet feel so much softer!

And a tip from personal experience, make sure you put these on BEFORE you start painting your toes ;)

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Read more…

Review: Born Pretty Store Hello Kitty ring

Hellohello! I've got such a gorgeous ring to feature in this post today :) One other thing I'm really into besides nail polish is definitely rings. And whilst I don't hoard collect it like I do with nail polish, I can't pass up on the really pretty ones. Which is why when I discovered nail polish rings, I totally had to jump on board and make some myself...but more about that in a later post :)

This Hello Kitty ring, or as Born Pretty Store calls it 'Lovely Hello Kitty Crown Crystal Bling Diamante Ring Adjustable' (what a mouthful!) is one such example of a ring I can't pass up. As the name of the ring suggests, it is adjustable, so you won't have to worry about whether the ring is too small or large.

Fun fact: Since getting into nail polish rings, I have realised the wonder of adjustable rings. I used to turn my nose up at them because I relate them to the toy rings I once owned as a child. Oh, but how useful are they when you can't try rings on like you would in a shop! Just buy and adjust - simple as that :D (Of course, if I can try the ring on, I still prefer the non-adjustable ones...for some reason, they just look more elegant and classy to me :P)

Anyway, back to the Hello Kitty ring. I loveeeeeeeee this ring and I'm not even that big a fan of Hello Kitty! It's just so blingy under the sun (as the name suggests!) and super cute. I find that the rind band is still a little loose on my middle finger even at the 'tightest' setting, but it's not a huge deal that'll put me off wearing the ring.

If you're a Hello Kitty fan, I'm sure you won't be able to pass this ring up! Born Pretty Store also sells heaps of other accessories which you can find here. I really love that they're no longer just a nail art supply webstore and expanding their horizons. No one's going to complain if they offer such cute accessories at such low prices too! Free international shipping is offered and with my 10% discount code PIJ61, you'll find it hard to stop yourself from buying too much!

What do you think of the Hello Kitty ring? Do you love rings as much as nail polish?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Product provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Read more…

Swatches and review: Just spotted the lizard

Hi everyone~ Up last of what I have from OPI The Amazing Spider-man collection is Just spotted the lizard. This was the polish I was most looking forward to in the collection due to the beautiful duochrome. As well as the fact that I was lusting after Chanel Peridot and finally got my hands on a cheap and easily accessible dupe, of course.

I applied two coats of Just spotted the lizard onto my nails. The duochrome shift from gold to orange to green is really apparent and soooo beautiful! I can't wait to wear this one as a full mani :D Unfortunately, as I was in a rush when applying Just spotted the lizard, the brush marks were really apparent in my photos. I think that if I had spent more time carefully applying the polish, this could have been avoided.

I hear that there are heaps of other dupes for the Chanel in the US but seeing as I live in Australia...Just spotted the lizard really is my best bet haha! What do you think of this polish and all the dupes?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Products provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Read more…