Before & After: Who doesn't love a 3D spider? Oh, wait...

...pretty much nobody likes a 3D spider, if it's alive, anyway! I'm an exception to that rule; except for poisonous spiders, I love spiders, because they get rid of all the other creepy crawlies that try to hang out in my house. For the most part, I live and let live when it comes to my eight-legged friends. :)

Today I'm merging two challenges that are occurring a week apart, and have decided to post the manicure in between the two. So that means that I'm extremely fashionably late for the one challenge, and fairly early for the other, lol. :)

The one I'm late for is the Crumpet's Nail Tarts 33 Day challenge theme of '3D'. I've been trying to make every challenge this month as Halloweeny as possible, so I decided to combine this with the Crumpet's Nail Tart's Halloween challenge theme of 'Spider/Webs'. And here is what I've come up with...

I started with China Glaze's Bump In The Night, one of the polishes in their 2013 Monster's Ball Halloween collection. This is a textured flat-black polish, and while I normally prefer the textured polishes that have a little bling in them, I think this is absolutely the perfect polish to have in a Halloween collection. It makes me think of the dirt in a cemetery at night, where you'd find a freshly dug (or dug up!) grave:

China Glaze Bump In The Night, one coat, artificial light

I wanted the polish to have more of a gloss than a flat-ish finish, so I added some Seche to it:

China Glaze Bump In The Night with Seche Vite, artificial light

Next, I stamped my webs. First I tried doing that with Konad Red and Bundle Monster BMH07, but the red didn't show up as vibrantly as I wanted it to. So I stamped again with Konad White, leaving the red in place for dimension and creepiness. :)

Next, I built my spider. I used a nail gem for the body, and a stud for his head; I used two black rhinestones for eyes and purple teardrop-shaped rhinestones for the legs. I had the legs splay over several fingers for maximum creepiness:

How do spiders communicate?

They use the World Wide Web!

Ha hahahahhahahaaa ha ha haaa

Well, at least I crack myself up...

So what do you think?? Is it ickily spookalicious?? It definitely creeps me out a bit looking at it...But if I were to do it again, I think I'd pick a different colored gem for the body portion. :)

Don't forget to check out the other 3D manis below, and tomorrow there will be some cool spider manis to check out, too! :)

Hugs and fly-free homes,
M.

Winstonia Series 1 Stamping Plate Review

Recently on Nailed It, you may have noticed a revival in stamping. That continues tonight with a review of one of the plates in Winstonia Store's Series 1 stamping plates.

I used the large floral pattern, as well as it's smaller counterpart for my design tonight, as well as a 3D fimo flower for my thumb!

I had no problem with these stamps. They transferred easily and all the lines and details translated perfectly.

Below is a shot of the plate I used, which includes several other floral ideas:

The series also comes with 3 other plates:

Image courtesy of Winstonia Store

Image courtesy of Winstonia Store

Image courtesy of Winstonia Store

This series of plates comes at a really low price. All four are available here for $4.95! SO CHEAP!

Which plate is your favorite? Which design is your favorite?

These products were sent to me by Winstonia. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

BPS Half Pearl and Rhinestone Picker Review

Born Pretty Store is getting out of control in the best way possible. Anything I need, I can get there! And I love that I get at least 10% off with every order just by entering this coupon code: C10X31.

Today I tried half pearls for the first time. These 3D decorations are different than rhinestones. They're smoother, but they stick up about as far. The wheel I'm reviewing has five colors: white, baby pink, magenta, purple, and light blue.

They all go so perfectly together, and I liked the gradient of colors.

I matched up several polishes with the pearls' colors: Kieko (Zoya), Queenie in a Bottle (Sation), Gie Gie (Zoya), and Lady in White (Duri). I also added Electrical Storm (Sation) over my thumb and index finger to keep it shiny, just like the pearls.

This manicure, though a little complicated looking, was really easy to achieve! I used the rhinestone picker from BPS to place each pearl.

The rhinestone picker is a wax pencil that you sharpen like any other pencil or makeup pencil. The "lead" is actually wax, so it's slightly sticky. It makes picking rhinestones and 3D decorations impossibly easy and quick. I had to sharpen mine down to a ridiculous nub because apparently, it's got cat crack in it and it's irresistible to hungry felines. Jerks.

Pick your pearl wheel here for $3.55 and your rhinestone picker here for $1.99, and don't forget to use the coupon code for 10% off.

 

These products were sent to me by Born Pretty Store. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Before & After: Brrr...Cold!!

(The 3D nail gems in this post were provided for my honest review. All other products were purchased with my own money.)

Hello!!

This week's theme in the Kimber's Mish Mash Challenge is: Cold! I thought a bit about this, and came to two conclusions.

First, as I was swatching Mentality's Seduce, I decided that needed to be my base polish (Mentality review coming soon!). For now, here is a quick look at this gorgeous cerulean blue holo:

Mentality Seduce, 2 coats, direct sunlight

Second, I decided this would be the perfect time to pull out some 3D nail art gems that Born Pretty Store sent me for review. Here is the set; there are three each of 12 different gems, all in assorted colors:

And here they are next to one of my nubbins, so you can see the size of the gems:

I wanted to do something that looked like a snowy winter's morning, with snowflakes and icicles. I put a coat of Lynbdesigns Stella, a white flakie, over Seduce, to give the look of a soft snowfall. Then I set out to create my icicles...

For three of the nails, I used silver white hexes that look a bit like crystals to me; I positioned them down the nail and threw on a couple of teeny white beads. For the accent nail, I put one of the white nail gems at the top of the nail, and put two white half-pearls under it. Under that, I put two small white beads. Around the design I put more clear hexes:

I love how this came out; I think the silvery hexes have a soft translucent look that is reminiscent of how my California girl brain thinks icicles might look. The accent nail is bold and over-the-top which is what I think of when I think of 3D nail art. No matter what, it definitely captures the feel of 'Cold'!

So what did I think of the nail gems? As you can see, the white gems were one of the smaller sizes of nail gem. These worked really well for me, no problems adhering them to the nail, and it seems to be staying put fairly well. One potential worry for me with the bigger gems is that I have very, very curved nail beds, so the gems will not sit flat on my nails--if you have flatter nail beds, you will have no problem. However, since getting these, I've been paying special attention to how people use gems like this, and they generally surround them with other gems; if I did that, the gap along the side of the gems would be masked and wouldn't really be a problem. So, if you have flatter nails, or are interested in using the gems in a look that could mask a gap, this will be a good set for you. If you have very small nails, or very curvy nails like me and hope to wear the gems alone, you might want to look for a set that has only smaller gems.

Since my intention is mainly for 3D nail art looks, I'm happy with the set and would certainly pay the listed price for them. I love looking down and seeing something that looks like a real gem sitting on my nail--so pretty and different!

As always, I have an awesome coupon code that you can use at Born Pretty Store for all your nail art supplies (and anything else on their site):

I don't make any money from your purchase and am not affiliated, but if my code is used enough, Born Pretty will sponsor a giveaway for my followers. :)

Thanks for taking a look, and please don't forget to check out all the cold manis linked below. :)

Hugs and love,
M.

(The 3D nail gems in this post were provided for my honest review. All other products were purchased with my own money.)

Winstonia August Grab Bag

New month, new grab bag!

Winstonia's August Grab Bag, available here, contains the following:

• Nail Art Ceramic Flower Charms 
• Nail Art Faux Stone Charms 
• Nail Foil Wraps, in a random design. Mine was zebra peacock...the strangest animal to ever walk the face of the planet.
• 2 bottles of nail glue 
• Eyeliner Stickers

Before I get into the details of the contents, here's my design using the ceramic flower charms!

Here's the breakdown of the nail art. My thumb, middle finger, and pinky finger are a base of Strumming My Nails (Sation) with Fairy Dust (China Glaze) on top. My ring finger is the ever-gorgeous Storm (Zoya), and the base of my index finger is Black Onyx (OPI). I painted the flower on my middle finger using Alpine Snow (OPI) and outlined it with Black Onyx.

Now let's talk details of a few of the pieces.

The ceramic nail charms aren't hard, as the word ceramic sounds (to me). They're pliable and feel a bit like Play-Doh. Each has a rhinestone in its center. The one I placed is the largest, and they get smaller from there.

The faux stones are a bit of a disappointment to me, but only because they're not flexible, and my nails are too small for them to lay flatly. Too bad. I have pretty tiny nail plates though.

I haven't tried the nail foil stickers yet, but they seem nice. And the glue is always helpful.

But okay...eyeliner stickers?! I've never heard of this before, but this clearly doesn't gain its popularity in the U.S., as indicated by the all-Japanese labeling. There's literally no English on the package, so fending for myself, I tried applying the sticker to my clean, oil-free and makeup-free eyelids. I didn't have much luck. It stuck...sort of. But it looked like a sticker on my eyeliner. Not a good look for me, so I'll spare you the pictures.

Shipment of these bags began August 12, and you can get them for just $10 with free shipping and no subscription required. Follow this link to purchase your August Grab Bag.

These products were sent to me by Winstonia. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Gold Chain Born Pretty Store Review

Remember my chain nail art tutorial? Well that's a 2D look that you can get with any two colors.

But if you want the true chain effect and you really want it to pop off your nail, then you might consider getting an actual chain to attach to your nails!

Born Pretty Store (BPS) offers several varieties of chains, and today I'm reviewing the 1.6mm gold chain for you!

This chain is 100cm long (about 40 inches), and quite small (1.6mm), running at $2.99 (and their always-free shipping). Use my coupon code, C10X31, for 10% off!

The chain comes in a teeny ziplock bag, but it doesn't come out all tangled like necklaces tend to be.

To apply it to your nails, I recommend using a dab of nail glue, at least on the ends of the chain. To place it, apply it to still-wet nails (I prefer to apply it to the top coat layer rather than the polish layer) so you can position it properly. When it has dried, to being almost tacky, carefully lift the each end with tweezers and dab a bit of nail glue. This will keep your chain in its position, but you can always use more glue if you plan on roughing up the design. And let's face it...this kind of look is begging to be roughed up a little. Rawr!

I'm obsessed with letting the chains hang off my nails in different ways like I've done for this look. It's odd, and not necessarily appropriate for all occassions, but damn...it's awesome!

The colors I used for this look included Sun of a Peach (China Glaze) and Stranger Tides (OPI) with lines of Black Onyx (also OPI). I also did some cutouts of my bare nail.

Which finger do you like the most? How would you wear chains? I've seen some fabulous designs, including Sammy's looks, Lexi's take, and Whitney's! I have another review of a silver look coming soon too.

Thanks BPS for the chains!

Pick your's up here, and don't forget to use the coupon code for 10% off.

 

These products were sent to me by Born Pretty Store. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Before & After: Where did Tracie go?

Hello!

It's time for my final flowers design for my Nail Challenge Collaborative group. This has been a fun theme, and I wanted to go out with a bang, with something that would jump out at you!

I started with a base of Zoya Tracie, an avocado green with a soft shimmer (please excuse my wounded finger!):

Zoya Tracie, direct sunlight

I love this polish and enjoyed wearing it...but then I decided to make a flower manicure with it and my plot required me to cover it up...mostly. I painted over it with Zoya Breezi, a strong sky blue creme. But before I did, I used nail tape to cover up part of the base polish in order to make flower stems. Then I used my Mash 3D nail art confetti (previously sent to me for review) for my flowers, and added a gold butterfly charm as a final accent:

Believe it or not, by using a dot of top coat to put these in place, and then putting a coat of top coat over them, none of these elements moved one bit--not even the butterfly, which as you can see sticks out a bit. In fact, when I removed the mani I was able to save the butterfly charm to use again. :)

I know this mani is a little on the 'cute' side for things I normally do, but I was really into it for some reason. Hope you like it, too!

Hugs, and don't forget to check out the other flower manis, linked below. :)
M.

Winstonia July Grab Bag

There's another Winstonia grab bag available, and I love this one! It's available for $10 (free shipping) until July 31. If you like what you're about to see (and I bet you will), then you can pick it up here at the Winstonia Store.

This month's bag includes:

• 2 nail art stud wheels (Design 2) (Design 3)
• 1 nail art polymer slice wheel (details)
• A package of wooden cuticle pushers in 3 different sizes (details)
• A multi-purpose eye brush (details)

Overall, it's a $24 value that you're getting for $10.

I loved the nail art studs the most, so I created a look using several different kinds of studs from the two kits.

So fun right?!

Here's a closer look at what's available in each of the wheels:

I love the variety, and I definitely feel like I'm getting a value.

And though the brush is advertised as a makeup brush, I'll likely be using the angled end as a cleanup tool for my cuticles!

This is an excellent 3D grab bag, which reminds me...time to announce the winner of my 3D nail art contest!

Though it was difficult to choose and I feel bad not letting more than one person win, I decided on a winner:

Ria Marii from Brush me Blush!

Nail art and photo by Ria Marii from Brush Me Blush

She was very creative and neat with her 3D work, and I'm so happy I now know about her blog. Well done Ria!

Edit: It's my own fault that I did not ask people to prove it was their natural nail as the rules stated was a requirement, so though there has been controversy about whether or not these are her natural nails, I unfortunately have to go by the honor code in this instance. Ria assured me they were her natural nails, and I'm sorry if some of you disagree. I myself am not 100% confident either, but I put myself between a rock and hard place by not asking for proof. It is what it is now. I will be removing comments calling out these facts, simply because it's not worth generating additional controversy. Again, I apologize to everyone.

If you've got the 3D itch and want the July Winstonia grab bag, then you can grab yours in the Winstonia store until July 31st for $10 with free shipping and no subscription required.

These products were sent to me by Winstonia. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Before & After: Franken Flashback

Hello there!

Okay, so I tweaked my franken a bit more, and wanted to show it to you full-manicure, as requested. In my hurry to get it up tonight I fought the light a little, so you'll have to sort of piece it together. First, the pic that represents the color well, which is a light milky sage, with green, gold, and white glitters:

Lacquer Or Leave Her! Irish Rain

Then two pictures that show the contrast with the glitters best, but wash out the green a bit and looks more of a mint shade than it really is:

Lacquer Or Leave Her! Irish Rain

I'm not sure that I'm fully happy with it, but I think I may leave it for now. It's still a bit thin--this is three coats, and I still wish it were a bit less milky. But it's a pretty sage sort of milky rather than a pastel, which I like. And at least you can see the glitters, and that's a definite improvement from the first from-scratch I made. And I do like the blend of glitters--not too much, not too little, and some differences in color and shape to keep it a bit interesting. Just too...milky.

Anyway, I needed to do a 1970s manicure for my Llama Nails time period Challenge, and I figured this makes a nice 1970s sort of base, so I thought I'd just use this. I picked an image from Pueen25, which has been screaming '1970s' to me since I saw it. I stamped with Sally Hansen Lightning on three of the nails, and with a rainbow of Rapid Red, Lightning, Orange Impulse, Lickety-Split Lime, and Brisk Blue on the accent nail. I finished off with some 3D Nail Art Confetti from the set Mash sent me for review:

I like how the glitter in the background looks sort of like a comet trail or some such behind the flowers, and I think the combination of flowers and stars is very 1970s, and so is the random rainbow, lol.

Anyway, I would definitely still love any opinions and/or advice on the franken, and I hope you liked the mani! Please check out the other 1970s era manis linked below. :)

Hugs, loves, and frankens...:)
M.

Before & After: OMG, my undies are showing!

Hello!!

Today I have for you my third neon manicure, made for my Nail Challenge Collaborative monthly challenge. :)

I started with a base of Julep Nikki, which just came in my mystery box; it's a greenish-yellow that looks like someone put split-pea soup and a banana into a blender and turned it on high (do I get extra blogger points for coming up with the least appealing description of a polish, ever? I do actually like the color, not that you could tell from that). It dries to a wax finish, which I just love:

This one is color accurate but doesn't show the finish as well

This shows the finish best, but the color isn't as accurate

I had a plan for this and I executed it and...everything went wrong and it looked like a complete fail. I stared at it for awhile trying to find some way of rescuing it, and finally decided that it was better to abandon it and start with a clean slate. So this is not technically a before and after, because the swatch you see above didn't actually make it into the mani, lol.

Part of what I felt I'd done wrong was not put undies under the polish, which meant I had a bit less of the brightness than I wanted, so this time around I decided to put that white polish on under where it belonged. And then, as I was polishing I thought...well, since I have to put this stuff on anyway, why not let it show? Why not turn it into an 'omg-my-undies-are-showing' ruffian!

So I did. :)

This time I started with a base of Wet n Wild French White Creme, and then put Nikki over it. To finish off the look, I put on some of the awesome 3D nail art confetti that Mash sent me out for review a couple of weeks back (you can see my original review of it by clicking here). I chose some orange and some purple flowers to complement the neon and keep the colors bright and fun:

I love this challenge because it's moving me a bit out of my comfort zone--which is the whole point of doing challenges in the first place, isn't it? I'm actually starting to like these bright neon polishes--I wore this manicure for almost three full days. Crazy talk!!! :)

Thanks for taking a look, and please don't forget to check out the other neon manicures, linked below. :)

Hugs, love, and bright shiny flowers,
M.