I RAINBOW SPARKLY HEART BUNDLE MONSTER

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 A brightly sprightly adventure in blended stamping!

 

Base: Seche Clear

Main: 2 coats LA COLORS unnamed grey

Stamp Colors: Art Club (striping polishes) pink, orange, yellow and blue, Kleancolor Neon Green

Image: BM317

Sparkle: SH Xtreme wear Disco Ball

TOP: Seche Vite

 I am SO excited to see the new Bundle Monster collection, which is being revealed a few plates at a time.  You can follow along Here!

I can't beleive at least one of the designs I submitted was selected to become a part of this collection!  I am totally in love with what has already been revealed.

Thanks for peeking!

♥

JQ

Neon green with Bundle Monster Stars

 

 

 

For this manicure:

Base: Seche Clear

Main: 3 coats LA COLORS unknown neon green

Zig zag stamp: BM 201, SH Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime

Star stamp: BM05, Kleancolor Metallic Black

Accent: Kleancolor Metallic Green

Top: Seche Vite

AND!!!!

Woohoo!  Congratulations to all the other winners.  You can see the list Here!  I can't wait to see all our designs in this collection! 

♥
JQ

Black and White Blended Stamp on China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

Ooooh! I really love this one! 

Base: Seche Clear

Main Colour: China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

Stamp Colour: Claire's Black Hole, Billie Cosmetics French White

Image Plate: BM-221

All images should be click-able for a closer look! I hope you like it... 

Thanks for peeking!

♥

JQ

You know you're a junkie when...

You know you're a nail junkie when you just can't stand the nakedness anymore and decide to paint your post-camping digits in the moving vehicle on the way home.  Not bad eh? AND I wanted RED.  Was I crazypants?  (the answer is: Yes. Always.)

 

 

To be fair I didn't do the stamping until we were parked outside of Princess Auto, while hubby took the elder boy in to do some shopping.  I also took that opportunity to do a bit of clean up, but I was thoroughly impressed with the turn out. I had my stamping station set up on the dashboard and the window rolled down.  Dude getting back onto his parked motorcyle beside me seemed quite amused by the display.

base: Seche Clear

nail color: 2 coats Klean Color 79 Light Red mini

stamp color: Klean Color 247 Peacock-a-Boo mini

stamp plate: Cheeky XL B

top: Seche Vite

What's on your digits?
Thanks for stopping!
♥
JQ

Born Pretty Review - Nail Art Studs

Hello hello!

I have a fun review today of some Nail Art Studs from Born Pretty Store !

I chose some super cute metallic nail art studs that can be found here and here!

The studs arrived within the expected shipping time, and the wheel contents hadn't shifted.  I like these wheels because they are harder to turn and open than some other wheels I've had, so I don't get a big mess in my nail art drawer or when I go to move a wheel. One of the wheels had mostly larger studs in a variety of shapes and sizes and the other containes a variety of smaller ones.  I did 2 manicures that combine nail art stamping with an accent stud and one manicure with just an accent nail.  I have several more ideas for how to try these, but I thought I would share what I have with you now!

On to the nail art!

The first manicure was using Cheeky XL plate B and some medium sized gold square studs.  The base was Finger Paints Go Van Gogh.  Barielle Mint Ice Cream Cone for the stamp.

The second manicure used an image from XL plate using a base of LA Colors Rain Drops and sponge gradient China Glaze Avalanche and L'Oreal Luminescence.  Stamped using Sally Hansen Chrome Crystal and topped with a large silver coloured square stud.

The last manicure, and what I am currently sporting is 1 coat OPI Off with Her Red and 2 coats Pirate Polish Five by Five (AWESOME polish by an equally awesome brand--I'll be reviewing this very soon) and an accent nail that used one of the tiniest gold dots and a large gold grommet type stud as well as some red rhinestones from my stash. I really like how this addition dresses up the manicure.  It's just plain GOOD to have hot red on my nails but the little added bling makes me feel fancy!

 

I am really enjoying playing with these rhinestones and can't wait to try more!

I want to say thank you to Born Pretty Store for sending me these items to review, and thank all of you for popping by to take a peek!

If you go shopping at Born Pretty Store, remember you can get a 10% discount by entering the coupon code!

What would you do/have you done with studs? Leave a link! I'd love to check it out!  Please no spam.
Happy polishing!
♥
JQ

Pastel Snake Skin

For this manicure:

2 coats Pure Ice Superstar!

Sponged areas of various pastel colours

Image plate: BM-215

Stamp Polish: Claire's Black Hole

1 coat Essie Shine of the Times

Top: Seche Vite

Things are insanely busy on out little acreage this summer.  The boys are very active.  Lots of general upkeep.  Gardening and keeping my nails pretty is a big deal!  I just love watching all the perennials burst into bloom!  Still waiting on the Peonies (my absolute favorite).  They are so lush, voluptuous and heavy...

I also have a show of my inkle woven and tapestry pieces at a local gallery/coffee shop and am preparing for the reception! Very cool!  I am doing some weaving demonstrations.

What's your favorite summer pastime?

Thanks for peeking!
♥
JQ

From the Vault: Matte Colour Block

This mani was inspired by all the super cute colour block manicures out there to date, especially the pastel matte color block design by Kitties26 over at More Nail Polish. 

I took these two lonely pictures right after I finished painting them and then they promptly got lost in the vault. 

I didn't keep tabs on the polishes I used, but if I remember I used a white base, then taped off and painted each block and then I had to touch up the lines with more white before adding Orly Matte Top.

This was done with slivers of masking tape and it was so fiddly that by the end I was bonkers.  I got some nail art tape from Born Pretty so I'll be using that next time and hopefully it will help a little.

My next colour block HAS to be similar to this badass manicure by Jen over at The Nail Polish Project.  ERMEGERRRD. 

And then sometime in the future I have to take a day and make a mani inspired by Chalkboard Nails' amazeballs dual gradient manicure. 

Are you into Matte Topcoat or is it a thing of the past?
Do you you have a favorite colour block manicure?  I'd love to see it! Leave a link!

Thanks for peeking!
♥
JQ

Woot!

I'm SO excited! SUPER BOSS.  

Yay!

♥

JQ

Born Pretty Nail Art Tape Hex Glitter Review

 

Hooray! I have always been excited at the idea of receiving products for review and in March I was contacted by Born Pretty Store to choose 1 or 2 products that came to less than 10$ to try!  I was really excited to have the opportunity and I and selected  Nail Striping Tape and Hexagon Nail Glitters!! 

Born Pretty advertizes free shipping worldwide, and shipping within 24 hours.  I was told my goodies would be here anywhere between 3-5 weeks.  My order went in on March 12 and I received my parcel on April 3, almost bang on 3 weeks. I live in Canada and they ship from Hong Kong/Singapore, so I was quite happy with that.  Typically, if I get free shipping I am happy with whenever it gets here unless I'll be old and grey.  ;p

I was about halfway back to my house from the mailbox when I busted into the envelope. The items were neatly packaged, and the glitters were sealed, so there wasn't any shrapnel. Not that it wouldn't have been pretty seeing all the colours of glitter burst out into the air and land willy nilly in the snow. (Yes, we still have snow.  A lot of snow.  TOO MUCH SNOW.)

Onwards! 

 Pretty! (Canada penny for size, eh?)

Now for the nail art! I thought a skittle manicure would be appropriate.  That way I could try a few different things.  I got the pink and blue nail tapes so I chose the pink and blue hex glitters to go with them:
 

 My base white is Billie Cosmetics from the Dollar Tree.  

I'm really happy with it!  It was super fun to try the honeycomb hex manicure, even though I obviously need to practice my placement, and I always wanted to try a woven tape manicure.  It took a long time to just do that little section, but I'd love to try an entirely woven accent nail.

I like the way the tape peels off quite easily to be repositioned, but would recommend doing this as little as possible because I think it eventually discolored the tape a little wherever it bent, stretched or overlapped.  I will also have to experiment with different topcoats.  I used Seche Vite on this, and the discoloration became very noticeable on the woven tape.  Again I think this has to do with just how much I messed with it to get it just right. The tape is uniform, shiny and easy to work with, but tweezers are pretty much a must have because it is so fine.  

 

I admit I am most excited to use this tape for masking purposes, as I am not a fan of stickers on my nails, and have a tendency to pick and peel them off no matter how I try to seal them in with topcoat.  I have seen some pretty manicures where the tape was used horizontally on the nail, and I think I might try that, because it is less likely the tape will peel, or that I will pick at it.

The Color Club clear coat I used to adhere the Hex glitter didn't stick them to my nail as strongly as I would have liked.  I think if I do a hex mani again I will just use dots of nail glue and do each one individually, to ensure that I can wear it for a few days or more.  If it's gonna take that much time and effort I want it to stick around.  

 

I found the glitters to be mostly consistent, with the occasional misshapen one, or chunk where they weren't totally cut.  You can click on any of these images for a bit closer look.  You can see some of the odd shaped glitters in the shot above.  I just tipped out a bit of glitter on the paper to get an idea of  uniformity.  I think for the price I got a great variety of colour that will do just nicely for my needs.  I kinda like the odd shaped ones or half glitters for filling spaces when I am getting close to my cuticle or the tip of my nail.   You can even see one pink weirdo on the tip of my pointer fingernail.  ;p  I think it adds character. 

All in all I was very satisfied with my purchase, and will definitely be looking around the Born Pretty Store for more fun nail candy to try.  I think my next adventure will be flocking powder.  

If you are into nail art like stamping, stickers, foil, tape, glitter or flocking powder this is definitely a cool place to shop. My only other note was that I had to double check pricing on some of the products I was looking at because on the initial listing it looked like I would be paying one stellar price for a set, but once I clicked to get more information I realized I would have to pay per unit.  The pricing was still reasonable though.

If you are thinking about going shopping at Born Pretty Store, please feel free to use this coupon code for a 10% discount!  If 10  or more people use this code we can have a giveaway!

Have you tried an Born Pretty products?  Do you have a favorite nail goody?
If you have any other questions about these products I will be happy to answer them. These items have been provided for honest review by Born Pretty Store, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinion of these products with you!

Thanks very much for stopping by. Happy Polishing!

Fishy Experiment

For this manicure:

Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat

1 coat Essie Vermillionaire

Sponge gradient: SH Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed and WnW French White Creme

Stamped using Essie Good as Gold (Image from XL B)

1 coat Essie Shine of the Times

Seche Vite

I am really loving adding a coat of sparkle/flake-y on top of stamping.  Here I was hoping I could add to the fishiness of the manicure.  I still want to work on this idea, because it holds multiple possibilities! I was aiming for a Koi fish manicure but hubby didn't go straight to fish scales, just saw "vintage", so I'm not sure if this translates.  I might try with a more scale-like stamp next time!

Thank you for taking a peek!  What's on your nails?  

♥

JQ

TGIF Rainbow Gradient

 OMGRAINBOWSPARKLYGOODNESS!!!!!

It is SO obvious that my cuticles just plain angry with me, and on top of that, the blue stained them, but I couldn't NOT post this manicure win. This one makes my heart go boom every time I look at it.  And the shimmer adds a real kick that I couldn't capture completely in the photos.  

DRIVING HAZARD. 

I wish I was more pro-star at the care and maintenance of my hands.  I have taken to using cuticle oil morning and night so see if that helps.  So far no flare ups with this Orly Argan Cuticle Oil!

Base: Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat

White underlay: 1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On.

Sponge (cuticle to tip): duri cosmetics Kinky Pleasures,SH Xtreme Wear Going Green, SH Insta-Dri Lightening, SH Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed, Essie Lacquered Up

Stamp:SH Hard as Nails Black Heart

Plate: Cheeky XL B

Sparkle: SH Diamond Strength  Diamonds

Top: Seche Vite

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope everybody has a fantastic weekend!  
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

JQ

NOTD: Barielle Mint Ice Cream Cone and Nail Art

For this manicure I used a base of Seche Clear, and 2 coats Barielle Mint Ice Cream Cone, then a wide stripe of Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Sun Kissed and a thinner stripe of Essie Little Brown Dress, then once it was dry I masked off all but a thin strip of brown and stamped using BM 214 And GOSH Metallic green.  Topcoat: Seche Vite.

I aimed so that one stripe of the full nail design transferred onto the brown.  Definitely more successful on my left hand.  My right looks smudgy! 

My camera doesn't do yellow tones well, so this is not an accurate representation of Barielle MICC.  These look a bit washed out, to be honest.
 

Thanks for checking out my blog!  Happy painting!

♥

 JQ

Cheeky Rainbow Skittles

 

 Yes, I stayed up WAY past my bedtime.  For a rainbow XL stamping frenzy! Photos taken  in a hurry the morning after I did this because we were driving into the city and I had a feeling I would ding them up while we were gone.  And I DID.  Badly.  L.A. COLORS BASE/TOP, you make me sad.

 Base L.A. COLORS BASE/TOP

Colors: OPI Pamplona Purple, SH X-Treme Wear Sun Kissed, OPI Green-Wich Village, OPI Off With Her Red!, SH Complete Salon Manicure Thinking of Blue, Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta

Stamp: SH Hard as Nails Black Heart

Plates: Cheeky XL plates A, B, D

Top: Seche Vite.

 

I wanted to play with all the different images, and had done a similar manicure with BM plates on my friend Jenna a few Christmases back, because we couldn't decide on just one.  My favorite is the pebbles on my pointer finger on the above image.  That was my instinctive choice for a full mani, and now I know I could have gone with it. Personally, I think it is the most successful combo.

 Glad I took these before I left, even though I wish I'd been able to get better shots.  The first image (flash) is actually quite nice and gives a good idea of how it looked overall, but it really made me shiny.

I LOVE MY NEW PLATES!   

Happy painting y'all!

 ♥

JQ

NOTD ORLY ANDROGYNIE MATTE

 ...I had Orly good time.  ;p

I picked up some new polishes and couldn't wait to try something on last night. Annnd no sooner than they were dry I had to soak my poor 4 month old in a vaporizing bath to relieve his super bad congestion.  Then of course, my 3 year old got jealous and decided he wanted a bath. I have tip wear, but that's my life and I'm down with it.  I'm hard on my nails on the best of days; I peel stickers, grate veggies, knit and crochet. Occasionally I clean as well. Occasionally.

Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat

2 Coats Orly Androgynie

1 Coat Orly Matte Top 

Thanks for popping by!

&hearts:

JQ

Cheeky Image Plate Review

GUYS. I got some seriously CHEEKY mail a week and a half ago. ;p

I splurged and ordered these fabulous rectangular nail plates from Cheeky.  AND THEY ARE SO BADASS.

I am a Bundle Monster gal.  I have 6 Konad plates from when I first started and the rest are all BM. I LOVE THEM. 

But a good friend and fellow nail head let me in on the fact that you could get these other image plates through amazon.ca  And that they had pretty much a whole plate full of PAISLEY. I got 8 plates. The price has even gone down slightly from when I bought these, but my order averaged to less than 10$/plate, which I think is pretty reasonable.  I did the math, counting all the images over 8 Cheeky plates. There are 563.  In the 3 BM sets there are 440. I also took the average images per BM set.  (140, 150, 150) which is about 146.5.  Then divided the number of images in the Cheeky set by 145.5 to see how many BM sets it is the equivalent to. 3.84.  Anyways.  I'm not a math wiz by any stretch, but that was enough to tell me I got a pretty decent deal. SO. PICTURES.

The packaging was great.  Inside the bubble wrap lined envelope, each plate had a little sleeve of bubble wrap.  I got a cute little card congratulating me.  It's a party!  A nail art party! 

 

They all had that nice protective blue film that just peels away, and a really cool touch is that each plate is backed with pink plastic and it extends beyond the plate, so it gives a really nice finish, while keeping your paws, the table, and the other plates from getting scratched.

Shiney!

 

Another thing I really appreciate is the size of the full nail images.  They are nice and big! Big enough that I can select the area to paint and transfer to the nail. Every full nail image has one concave edge that makes them very versatile;  It eliminates the need to have separate images for french tips, and gives me the option for a moon manicure effect as well.I have decent sized fingernails, and I really dislike trying to double stamp.  It's so hard to get a good seam. 

For reference here is a picture of the large Cheeky images next to a larger BM image and the original BM full nail image:

I also like that a lot of the images have reflections so you can stamp the other paw, or mess around with mirroring.



Not only do they do reflections, but also a few different sizes of the same image.  So you can do that darn pinky finger the same as the others, or give the thumb a big one.  :)

 

 Thanks Cheeky!



I'm a fan!



Here are a few pics of the manicures I have done so far:

 

The very first one was the celtic image.  I absolutely HAD to find out what that looked like.

Base: China Glaze Concrete Catwalk 

Stamp: GOSH Metallic Green.  

Plate: Cheeky D

Top: Seche Vite



Manicure #2 kinda reminded me of circuit boards.
Base: Finger Paints Go Van Gogh
Stamp: Essie Good as Gold
Plate: Cheeky B
Top: SV



 Manicure #3 was subtle. I only got a quick shot in the evening, but irl it looked way prettier.
Base: Sally Hansen CSM: Wet Clay
Stamp: Billie Cosmetics Reign
Plate: Cheeky B
Top: SV



Currently!

Base: Sponge gradient OPI Off With Her Red, CR #89, Billie Cosmetics Orange
Stamp: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Black Heart
Plate: Cheeky A
  Top: SV


Thank you so much for popping by!  Happy painting!

♥
JQ