Born Pretty Snow Flakes Review

Hi all,

This post is kind of delayed seeing as we're now into Spring - however, we got a significant amount of snow on Saturday and I thought I'd pull these out foil snow flakes out before it's too late.  I got these from the Born Pretty Store before Christmas but I just never felt inspired to use them until this weekend.

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For this mani I started with Essie Cocktail Bling, which is such a pretty dusty mauve.  Maybe a bit more spring appropriate but I thought the gold snow flakes would look really good paired up with this shade :)

The snowflakes are a thick foil like material that's super pliable, so to get them to fit the curve of my nail I rounded them by pressing them into a nail art brush wand.  I never managed to get them to curve perfectly but it was pretty close! In hindsight I should have fitted them to my nail before I started to polish.  At least I now know this for next time!

These snowflakes can be purchased from the Born Pretty Store by clicking HERE, and don't forget to use coupon code UTL91 for 10% off of your purchase!

Late Christmas mani + Born Pretty Store Review

Happy New Year!

I know I'm super late with this post but it's too cute not to share.

These Santa hats were 100% inspired by @keshialilly on Instagram, I just had to do them after receiving THESE really cute nail decals from Born Pretty Store.

~*~*~

For this mani I started out with a base of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength - Glass Slipper, a beautiful white mylar flakie in a clear base.  I figured it kind of looked like snow flakes which seemed pretty fitting!

Then using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails - Kiss me Cream I freehanded the red tips, and used a small nail art paintbrush did the floppy portion of the hat.  The fluff on the hat was done using Rimmel's French White then topped with OPI Solitaire, which is also seen on my ring finger.

Because I don't have any nail glue handy I simply adhered the little hat to my ring finger using top coat.  Given that it wasn't actually glued on it lasted quite a while, until the tip of the hat got caught on something and came off. 

The hat is super cute though!  You get a set of 5 for $2.94USD, and they immediately make your mani festive - though I wouldn't sport it for too long as the edges are kind of rough and will get caught in your hair and clothes.

Born Pretty Store is your one stop shop for nail art supplies, and they ship free anywhere in the world!

And don't forget the coupon code of UTL91 for 10% off your total order :) 

Revlon Perfumerie Wintermint Swatch

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas or great holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas.  I'm away from home visiting my parents which has left me with very little time for nail painting and blogging but I'm okay with that - family time is so important :)

Not long ago I picked up one of the Revlon Perfumerie polishes... I've become super sensitive to perfumy scents so I was a little apprehensive, but the one I picked up was Wintermint, which was actually very mildly scented, and actually smelled quite fresh!

It's such a beautiful polish.  A gorgeous shimmery mint green base that applies opaque in two coats with a sprinkling of tiny green glitter bits and larger sized blue hex glitter.  Stunning!

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The formula was perfect, and the scent was just lovely and definitely not over the top strong, which I really appreciated.

Have you picked up any of these Perfumerie polishes?  What are your thoughts?

Wantable Accessories Subscription Box

Not too long ago I was given the opportunity to review a Wantable box.  Wantable started as either a makeup or jewellery subscription box, but has recently added an Intimates box and they currently also have a special edition Holiday Box!

Since I'm super picky with my makeup brands (I try to stay as chemical free as I can - save for nail polish obviously :P) I opted for the jewellery box.  I'm starting to slowly grow out of the jeans and hoody phase I've been in for so long (I'm still a student!) so I figure adding some accessories is never a bad thing.  

Wantable is different in that if you choose the makeup option, all of your items are full sized.  Also, before your box is sent your way, you're asked to take a survey so that they can get an idea of what you like - and from what I can tell they listen!  I loved all three items I received!

Suzanna Scarf - Take a walk on the wild side with this statement scarf!  Take your jeans and tee to a whole new level, or dress up your sweaterdress and keep warm.

I love scarves.  And I don't have any in this colour scheme, so even better!  I've already worn it out a couple of times.

Price - $32.00 

Princess Tatiana Sunglasses -  The Princess Tatiana Sunglasses feature stylish frames with rhinstone and silver-tone details in a safari-inspired design.

I'm not going to lie, I was super worried when I first saw that sunglasses were included in the box - my face is so tiny that I have a hard time finding sunglasses that fit properly but these actually work quite well with the shape of my face.  I've already worn them out quite a few times!

Price - $20


Decklen Watch - The Decklen watch is a chick piece featuring tortoise shell and gold tone links.  THe slightly oversized round face makes this perfectly on-trend, and the subtle rhinestone details make it special without looking too over the top.

 This is definitely my kind of watch.  It needs to be re-sized but I can't wait to wear it!

Price - $36.00

Total value of the October accessories box - $88 

 This is one of the more expensive subscription boxes, where you will pay $36 a month if you sign up for a year, of $40 if you want to purchase just one box.  However based on what I've seen, the cosmetics and the accessories included in either box is well worth the price!  You also have the option to skip a month if it doesn't fit your budget or you can put the box on hold until you're ready to pay for it again.  Definitely a subscription I would recommend :)  

If any of you would like to subscribe you can either do so on the website or use my referral link :)

PR Sample sent for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Water Decal Review - KKCenterHK

Happy Sunday!  I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend :)

I have another review today brought to you by KKCenterHK.  I don't know what it is but I've been finding myself going ga-ga over peacock themed things.  Feathers, the colours, the clothes.. everything!  Maybe because they're jewel tones and I'm instantly drawn to those.. who knows.

But when I saw THESE water decals I knew they were coming home to me :)

 

For these decals you get a little sheet with 4 rows of masquerade masks and 4 rows of peacock feathers.  Enough to last you a little while if you choose to use them strictly for accent nails.  

You cut out the bit you want placed on your nail, soak it in water for about 30 seconds then carefully peel off the decal using tweezers.  I then dip my nail in the water before placing the decal as I find it helps a little bit with the placement - you can slide it around a little bit more.  Once it's place I dab off the extra water on a piece of tissue, wait for it to dry completely then finish it off with top coat!

 

They are super easy to use!  I thought they'd be delicate and that my tweezers might damage them but that wasn't the case at all. 

I chose to leave them plain here over a base of Color Club Antiquated but you can easily dress them up using a small brush and some polish.

My pinky has two glorious coats of OPI Alcatraz.. Rocks, which is probably my favourite textured polish, ever!

 For my index and middle finger I started with a base of Color Club Perfect Molten, then sponged on from tip to base Color Club Cold Metal, Color Club Lumin-icecent, Color Club Hot Like Lava and Perfectly Molten.  I had never done a gradient using anything other than creme polishes, but I really loved the look of this! 

What do you all think?

These decals retail for $2.54USD but you can take 10% off your order by using code "ofknitandnails" at checkout.

Decals provided for honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Born Pretty Feather Review

Happy Saturday!

I hope you have better plans than me this weekend - with all of the moving and settling in the last little bits of my grad thesis have been put on the back burner so I'm working on finishing it all off for good!

I've seen a lot of cool real feather manis floating around the blogosphere, and they always intrigued me but I never really gave them a shot until I was sent some feathers from Born Pretty.  I had attempted using the feathers over a month ago and nothing worked, which actually resulted in my Peacock feather mani that I ended up loving so much - I guess I was determined to have a feather on my nail that day :P

That being said, I was determined to make this work.  So I took a piece of these Fancy Feathers in colour #5 and finally managed to get it to stay on my nail! 

I waited for my base of Orly Dayglow to dry, added a layer of topcoat and waited for it to get a bit tacky then gently pushed a cut up piece of feather onto it.  When it was placed to my liking I covered it up with top coat then cut off the little bits that were too big for my nail.

For the rest of the mani I used China Glaze Frostbite, a lovely shimmery royal blue polish.  I then stamped some feathers using the new Bundle Monster set and Konad White polish.

I really like the feather nail art look, but I like it better on others I think. 

If you'd like to give this look a try you can purchase your feathers HERE for $0.99 USD, plus free shipping world wide.  You can also get a 10% discount by using the code provided below:

Born Pretty Holo Polish Review

Hi all,

I'm sure by now you all know that Born Pretty now carries Holo polish.. right? If you didn't know, now you do.  And it's amazing!

 

I'm wearing Holo Polish #12, a gorgeous dark teal-ish colour.  The swatch above is in just natural light, what you mostly see the polish look like.

But here it is in it's full glory under full sunlight.  Look at the sparkle!  The formula on this polish is also amazing - it doesn't cause dragging or bald spots like other holo polishes do.  What you see here is two super easy coats.

It's so pretty, I can't wait to get my hands on more of these!

They retail for $4.59 to $5.59 USD but the bottles are a little bit smaller than regular polish bottles at 6mL.  The holo is super pretty though and definitely worth the wait for shipping!

If you'd like to try out the Born Pretty Holo Polishes you can shop HERE and save 10% off your order using discount code provided below:

*Product provided for honest review.  All opinions are my own.

KKCenterHK Neon Purple Studs

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a good weekend :)

I was given the opportunity again to review some products from KKCenterHK.  I've really been digging studs lately - so I chose some in my favourite colour!
 

I got the 2mm neon purple round studs found HERE.  You get about 100 studs in a small plastic container with a screw on lid.  They're matte in finish which looks really cool, but I topped them off with top coat so they ended up shiny.  Either way, they're really pretty.

For this mani I started with Bonita Chrome my Nail, a lovely silver polish with an awesome formula.  I topped that off with a holo silver glitter polish from Claire's.  On my ring finger I have Essie Butler Please then using a dotting tool I added the three studs.  On my middle and index I have three coats of China Glaze That's Shore Bright and stamped using a Pueen plate and A England Tristam.

The studs are like any other of that size, super easy to use and they stayed on until I picked them off a few days later :)

You can purchase them HERE and get 10% off using code "ofknitandnails" when you check out!

*Products provided for honest review.

Glitter Placement + BornPretty Review

Hi all!

I'm so behind on this review!  I've had a few Born Pretty store items to review for a while now but with the move things just kind of got put on the back burner for a bit.  I got these diamond shaped glitter pieces from them with the idea of doing glitter placement after seeing THIS (and all of her other wonder glitter placement manis, seriously!  Can they get any more awesome?).

So.  This is what I came up with.  I obviously need a little bit more practice but I liked the look of this anyway:

I used a base of OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest then one by one using a dotting tool and some top coat I placed the glitter bits on my nail.  I had intended to cover one nail entirely but I learned that I'm not that patient :/

This polish was so hard to photograph!  The pinkish hue is nothing but my shirt reflecting off of my nails, ha.

What do you all think of glitter placement?  I think it's a pretty neat style of nail art and anyone can do it so long as you have the time and patience :)

These diamond shaped glitter are now available here in either gold or silver.  You get TONS of them in one little glass bottle for only $2.09 USD and of course Born Pretty has free shipping world wide.  You can also save 10% off of your order when you use the code UTL91 at check out!

*Glitter provided for review

Incoco Nail Appliques - In Bloom

Hi Loves

A while back I was given the opportunity to review some nail applique's from Incoco and posted about the first set of strips here.  This is the second set that I've tried out, and I have to say.. I love them.

I'm realllly sorry about the quality of this photo.. The man and I were on our house hunting trip and living out of hotel with terrible lighting.. which resulted in the following horrible pic.

Instructions on how to properly apply these can be found on Incoco's website, HERE.

These particular strips are called In Bloom, "One of nature's first signs of spring, Cherry Blossoms over a pink base make this nail design light and airy."

I started off by wiping my nails with acetone.  They recommend buffing but I didn't have a buffing block with me so I skipped that part .  Each package has two sheets of eight double ended appliques so finding a perfect size for your nails is pretty easy.  Once I sized them up, I peeled off the protective plastic, removed the applique from the backing and easily pressed them on to my nails using either my finger or the provided orange wood stick, and filed off the excess.

After 3 or 4 days of wear, this is what they looked like.  I filed my nails down a teeny little bit which actually made the strips look better.  The only noticeable chip was on my pinky, and I'm pretty sure I aided that by subconciously picking at it on the plane ride back home.  Oops

However, this is what my right hand looked like.  This is my dominant hand so I use it a lot more than my left.  There was no dishwashing when I wore these because I wasn't home for the week.. They just cracked and chipped super quickly.  I don't remember the first strips doing this so it may just be the dry hotel air, or something I did (like not buffing, maybe?)

Regardless.. these are great when you're not home and don't have access to all of your nail supplies but still want something cute and artsy to wear on your nails :)

Removal on these was a breeze, I just used regular acetone like I would on any other manicure!

These appliques retail for $8.99CAD over at the Incoco website, and there are a ton of cute designs to choose from.  Shipping is free on any purchase over $50 :)

Incoco Links:

 

Website: https://www.incoco.com/Default.aspx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/incoco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/incoco

Instagram: http://instagram.com/incocoproducts

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/incoco/

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IncocoProducts

 * Product provided for my honest review

KKCenterHk stamping plate review

Hi all!

I am alive and well .. posts will continue to be scarce around here for the next little while.  My guy and I are packing up and moving half way across the country next week.  I'm hoping to have a few posts scheduled so that it's not complete radio silence on here but it all depends on just how busy things get.

Moving on - I had the opportunity to try out a stamping plate from KKCenterHK not too long ago.  I chose this one, because I love all things nautical :)

I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on my middle and ring finger.  Once that was dry I added striping tape and covered the nail with China Glaze Hey Sailor!  Pointer and pinky finger have Sinful Color Cold Leather from the new Leather collection (which is amazing!). 

Then using Konad Special Polishes in White and Black I stamped 4 different images from the plate.  I got a little too impatient though and ended up smearing my two skulls, boo.  The images though were nice and crisp - my white polish was a bit separated and that's the reason for the missing spots in the skulls and crossbones.  And the blob of black in the middle of the Ship's Wheel is simply due to the smaller & harder stamp that I used, and not due to the plate at all.

Overall this was a great plate to stamp from and a good addition to my plate collection.  The only issue I have with the plate is there's no backing, making the edges super sharp!

You can get yours for $5.05USD by clicking here, with an added 10% off by using code OFKNITANDNAILS at check out.

Stamping plate was a PR sample sent to me for review. All opinions are my own!

KKCenterHK stud review

Hi loves.

Here's a fun mani that I did while trying out rectangular studs from KKCenterHK.  I kept things a simple for this one but these studs are so versatile really!

I used China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle on my index and middle finger, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on my ring finger, stamped using a Pueen plate and Konad Pink polish.  My pinky has China Glaze That's Shore Bright topped with Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coats in Tweedy.

 

Then I placed top coat where I wanted the studs to be, used a dotting tool and put them on the nail and pressed down on them a little bit.  Top coated the rest of my mani and was good to go.  I think so far these are my favourite 'oversized' studs.. they sat pretty much perfectly flat on the nail with no edge to catch anything on.  They stayed on for the duration of my mani.. so around 2 days, and probably would have held on for a bit longer had I given them the chance to!

You can find these studs here, they retail for $4.73 USD for 50 studs but using 'ofknitandnails' at check out will give you 10% off your order :)

Studs were a PR sample sent to me for review. All opinions are my own!

Born Pretty Water Decals review

Hi all!

I'm back today with another fun Born Pretty Store review :)  I've been seeing so many fun manicures lately where water decals were involved, and they've all looked really cute and super easy so I thought I'd give them a try.

For this manicure I started with a perfect nude polish, OPI - My Vampire is Buff, then opted to do a funky french using China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle & Sun of a Peach.

Once that dried, I cut up my cute little moustache decals found here (although I can't find the exact decal sheet that I have, the one I was sent was solely different shaped mustaches), soaked them in water for about 10 seconds, then using tweezer I carefully peeled them off the backing and placed them onto my nail.

 

Using a tiny piece of paper towel I blotted off the excess water, let that dry then topped it off with top coat.

These water decals are SO easy to use.  My initial thought is that they would be super delicate and they'd fold on themselves but none of that actually happened.  I was even able to move them around on my nail until they were where I wanted them to be.  I absolutely love love love these, a quick and easy form of nail art.  If you're on the go or just don't feel up to spending that extra time and effort on a fun mani, this is definitely the way to go!

  Born Pretty store has a bunch of fun water decals for you to choose from here, and shipping is free world wide!

Don't forget to also take 10% off your purchase by using this coupon code:

Dots & Bows (BornPretty Store Review)

Hi all!

I have another review today for cute little nail art accents from Born Pretty Store.

 

I chose these cute resin bows.  I love seeing manicures that have these adorable bows, they give nails such a girlie feel to it!

To make it even more cutesie I paired the bow with a simple dotticure:

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I started with a base of China Glaze That's Shore Bright from the Sunsational collection, then alternated between China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle and Sun of a Peach for the dots.  Then using some nail glue I stuck on one of the bows.  On my other hand to test out the difference I stuck it on with top coat.

As much as I loved this look.. the bows didn't stay on for very long at all.  Maybe because my nails are too curved and the back of the bow is pretty flat?  The bow stuck on with top coat fell off maybe an hour later, but that may have been my fault as I forgot about it and ran my fingers through my hair.  And the one stuck on with the glue fell off in my sleep so it probably got caught on a sheet.

 

Not the best quality picture but you can see how much the sides of the bow stick up off of my nail.

Regardless of the bows falling off super fast I will still use them.  Maybe for a special occasion or a night out where I'm okay with my mani only lasting a short little while.  They're just too cute to pass up!

These bows retail for $0.99 and shipping from Born Pretty is free world wide!

You can also get 10% off your next purchase using coupon code UTL91:

**Product provided for my consideration and honest review.

Incoco Real Nail Polish Appliqué Review

Hi loves!

Today's post was brought to you Incoco Nail Polish Appliqués.  I was given three fun styles of appliqués to try out:

You can find instructions included in the package, or you can check out a tutorial on their website found HERE .

The first appliques that I chose to use were Sweetie Pie, a cute dotticure.  

I started off by wiping my nails with acetone.  They recommend buffing but I had done some light buffing not too long before using these so I skipped that part.  Each package has two sheets of eight double ended appliques so finding a perfect size for your nails is pretty easy.  Once I sized them up, I peeled off the protective plastic, removed the applique from the backing and easily pressed them on to my nails using either my finger or the provided orange wood stick, and filed off the excess.

 

These were an absolute breeze to work with.  My only issue was on my pinkie.. the applique actually got stuck to my finger which resulted in a couple of rips, but these didn't interfere with the longevity of it.

A few of these were actually a little too big for my nails, but I took a brush dipped in acetone and wiped it over the extra bits and they very easily dissolved, leaving me with a perfect fit!

Removal was also a breeze, which make these a complete winner in my book!

These appliques retail for $7.99 over at the Incoco website, and there are a ton of cute designs to choose from.  Shipping is currently only available to Canada and the US, and is free on any purchase over $50 :)

Incoco Links:

 

Website: https://www.incoco.com/Default.aspx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/incoco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/incoco

Instagram: http://instagram.com/incocoproducts

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/incoco/

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IncocoProducts

 * Product provided for my honest review

NCLA Nail Wraps in Jazzi Review

Hi all!

I was given the opportunity, thanks to Nail Polish Canada, to try out some NCLA nail wraps.  Wraps are not something I typically go for since I enjoy polishing my nails, but after trying these out I think I may have changed my mind a little bit.

Here are NCLA Nail Wraps in Jazzi.  Each Nail Wrap Kit includes: Two sheets of 22 wraps (good for 3-4 applications), a NCLA nail file, easy-to-follow directions. 

I paired the wraps with Color Club Poptastic & Dress for the Parade and added random dots in Gosh Deep Purple.

 

To use these you start off by wiping your nails clean with polish remover.  Then you apply a base coat, and once that's dry you choose a wrap that will fit your nail, peel it off its backing and apply it to your nail.  These are fairly pliable so if you need to stretch it a little bit to make it fit the shape of your nail you can do so without the fear of ripping the wrap.

Once your satisfied with the placement of the wrap, you fold over the left overs at the tip and file it off, apply top coat and voila!  Instant mani.

These were by far the easiest wraps to apply.  The size options are unlimited so you can really find one that will fit your nails perfectly.  I had absolutely no issues with wrinkling, there was just a slight bubble on my thumb nail that I couldn't push out but in the long run it didn't affect the longevity of the wrap.  I had these on for 3 full days with no lifting at all - I just felt the urge to change my mani so I removed them.  Removal was super easy, you just peel them off!

These are now available HERE on the Nail Polish Canada website - they retail for $16 but shipping on these is FREE!

*Products provided for honest review