Bridal nails

Hi!

Today I have a mani I did several weeks ago. I submitted these to Nail It! Magazine for their white/bridal prompt for their May/June 2016 issue. Fingers crossed it makes it in! 

It's a super simple glitter gradient over a white base. I think it's the perfect amount of sparkle for a wedding. This is probably what I would wear when the time comes to renew our vows :)

Zoya Aspen & Zoya Cosmo

I used Zoya Aspen from the Winter/Holiday Matte Velvet Collection and Cosmo. I love Cosmo so much I have a back up bottle! You can see a plain swatch of Aspen in my review here.

For this mani I did two coats of Aspen over a bare nail. I waited for it to dry a bit so probably around 10 minutes. Then I dapped Cosmo at the top and with the brush I sort of dragged the glitter down about half way on my nail. I did this twice and then did some glitter placement with the bigger hex glitters. And that's it. I didn't add any top coat since I wanted the base to stay matte. I really liked how this came out.

What do you think of this look? Would you wear it for a wedding?

See you next time! Happy polishing! :)

*Some items were previously provided for review*

Random Nail Art

Hey!

I've got some new nail art to show you guys today! This was actually supposed to be the base for a different mani but I ruined it. Good thing I took a picture of it before messing with it. So let's take a look!

Polish picture M Polish Apple Blossom

Isn't this pretty? I love the pearly look it has.

I started off with a white base and let it fully dry. 

Left to righ:
Apple Blossom, Starflower, Bells of Ireland, Apricot Delight

Then I used four polishes from the spring collection by M Polish Stamping Polish. Sadly these have been discontinued. M Polish launched with this collection last year. I'm so happy I own all of them!

I did random brush strokes of each color on each nail. I had to do two passes on every nail to make the colors pop a bit more. Once I was done I top coated with Seche Vite and cleaned up with my clean up brush dipped in acetone.

I really loved the effect! I hope to do it again soon and stamp over it how I originally planned.

What do you think of this look?

Thank you for stopping by. Happy polishing! ;)

*Nothing to disclose*

Purple gradient nails

Hey beauties!

So I thought I was out of my funk but nope. I can't seem to get inspired to do nail art. I gave it a try today and I think it came out ok. 

I did some stamping over a purple gradient. It looks blue for some reason though.

Picture polish M Polish OSTP!

Macro

I started with two coats of OPI You're Such A Budapest

OPI You're Such a Budapest two coats no topcoat

And since I'm out of liquid latex I put tape around my nails and sponged on OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm? along with You're Such A Budapest.

Pictured polish Do You Have This Color in Stock-Holm?

Remember those days using tape? Lol

Gradient top coated with Seche Vite

For the stamping I used a FB group custom from M Polish called Oh Shit That's Pretty! And a plate gifted to me in a secret Santa swap.

Stamping plate JQ-03

Charm item #21397 from bornprettystore.com

For another look I applied this charm provided for review from bornprettystore item #21397 in option #8 with some flat back opal pearls around it. I thought it was going to be a bit smaller or maybe my nails are too short for it. So for now it feels too big for my taste.

Use my code SMPX31 for 10% off regular priced items from bornprettystore.com They have world wide shipping. You can also find Bornpretty stuff from Amazon.com. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post.

Thank you for reading. Happy Friday!

*affiliate link*

Arabesque Water Decals Review

Happy Monday!

I received these arabesque water decals from Bornpretty to review a couple weeks ago. I had a plan for these but I haven't gotten to it yet. 

Image source bornprettystore.com

When I was swatching the Zoya Whispers collection I decided to use the water decals on the last polish I swatched which was Lake.

Zoya Lake

I did two coats of Zoya Lake plus top coat. I usually don't top coat before applying decals.

I cut up the pieces I wanted to use and submerged them in water for a couple seconds one at a time. Applied it on the nail and dabbed the excess water off with a paper towel. I cleaned up the remaining part of the decal with a brush dipped in acetone and applied top coat to seal it in.

bornprettystore.com item #22958

I really loved these water decals. My excecution not so much. I'll be using these again soon so you'll see them again.

What do you think of these arabesque water decals?

Thank you for stopping by. Happy polishing! :)

Find my review of the Zoya Whispers collection HERE

Did you know Zoya is having a promo right now? Get 4 polishes and only pay shipping. Promo ends January 13 at 11:59 EST.

Mani swap with @wifatalons

Hello my friends!

It's mani swap time! I had the chance to do a mani swap with the talented @wifatalons from Instagram. I love her manis and I love her! I had a hard time choosing especially since I had to do the mani on my cindy hand. A corner of my index nail broke on my left hand and looks awkward now. Anyway I don't think it turned out too bad.

Take a look at the collage.

Originals on the left
Recreations on the right

I love the mani she picked and how the collage turned out. 

Image BPL-022

My son loves cars so I've been wanting to use that stamp for a while. I'm sure I'll use it again soon. He loved seeing cars on my nails! My stamping didn't turn out as opaque as I hoped but I still liked this.

Items used:

Sinful Colors- No Text Red

Shinespark Polish- Gilded Rose 

Salon Perfect- Oil Slick

Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat

BPL-022

I did two coats of No Text Red followed by one coat of Gilded Rose. I waited a bit for my base to be dry and then stamped the image one nail at a time cleaning the stamping plate after each stamp. Top coated and cleaned up around my cuticules with a brush dipped in acetone. I finished up by applying my favorite cuticule oil from Morning.star.nails

And that's it. I hope you guys liked this month's mani swap. Thank you for reading! Happy polishing ;)

*affiliate links*

Zoya Whispers

Hi everyone! I'm back!

Took a little blogging break due to the holidays. I hope everyone had a great time with their loved ones!

What better way to welcome the new year than with a new collection from Zoya! This collection is called Whispers Transitional 2016. This collection consists of six shades; Cala, April, Eastyn, Ireland, Misty, and Lake.

Let's get started with the swatches and I'll let you know what I think of this collection at the end.

Zoya Whispers collection
Available on zoya.com

Cala - ZP823

Zoya Cala

Cala

Cala is described as a soft nude with a kiss of warmth that will flatter most skin tones. Perfect nude for me!

Swatch shows two smooth coats plus top coat.

April - ZP824

Zoya April

Zoya April

April is described as A light, rosy toned neutral that is a modern take on blush. I love this soft pink shade.

Swatch shows two coats plus top coat.

Eastyn - ZP825

Zoya Eastyn

Eastyn

Eastyn is described as a subtle grayed grape that is more interesting than mauve and gives a modern alternative that is ever so wearable. I love this!

Swatch shows two coats plus top coat.

Ireland - ZP826

Zoya Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is described as a uniquely wearable green that is muted enough to make it subtle yet still interesting. This green is well balanced between blue & yellow so it's flattering on all skin tones.

Swatch shows two coats plus topcoat.

Misty - ZP827

Zoya Misty

Misty

Misty is described as an easy to wear taupe that is an updated version of gray with just a touch of green to make it daring.

Swatch shows two coats plus top coat.

Lake - ZP828

Zoya Lake

Lake

Lake is described as a softened blue that gives the effect of serene water with just a hint of vibrancy to preserve its luminosity. Such a pretty soft blue shade!

Swatch shows two coats plus top coat.

I was surprised how much I liked this collection. Formula is very smooth, I didn't have trouble with any of them. Some colors don't look awful on me like I thought they would and overall I was surprised to see this collection come out of no where! I think these shades are great pallet cleansers!

Zoya had these on preorder for a great price. Did you take advantage of the preorder?

What do you think of this collection? Which are your favorite shades?

My absolute favorites from this collection are April, Eastyn, and Lake.

Thank you for stopping by! Happy polishing! ;)

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!
$9 (US)
Available in top salons, spas and on zoya.com

 **BIG5FREE, TOXIN FREE: Zoya Nail Polish Formula contains no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or camphor.