Chevrons & A Review

Press samples

 Good evening! (I feel like a newscaster. Except I do have good news). I did some fresh, simple nail art tonight and finally got around to testing and reviewing my final item sent to me courtesy of born pretty store! This was the item I was most excited to receive, the floral handled liner brushes. 

Products Used

OPI French Quartier For Your Thoughts 

Zoya Yuna

Color Club Kismet

China Glaze Fast Forward

Born Pretty Floral Liner Brushes

This mani was great because 3 of the 4 products were untrieds, and my goal is to work through all of my untrieds by the end of March!

I started with a layer of French Quartier which is a pale grey. I was glad it didn't seem to wash me out as some greys can. Then I painted on a chevron half-moon using Yuna, and the brush right from the bottle. 

Lastly I painted on the holo stripe with the short thin brush. The brushes are stiff when you remove them from the package, but rubbing the bristles between your fingers soften them right up. I was really impressed how soft the bristles are! Once I'm done using them, I clean off the polish with some acetone and then wash with soap and water. I find this keeps the bristles from hardening. I've also heard some girls using a bit of mineral oil when the bristles start to splay after a couple of uses- I have yet to try this myself! 

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these brushes. Don't forget you can save 10% off regular priced items with my code SDPX31 and shipping is free!

xo Shawna

*post contains affiliate link

Born Pretty Store Reviews

(press samples)

I was kindly sent a few products from Born Pretty Store to review! I had actually selected a few different items originally, but sadly the first package went missing in the post. Alice was nice enough to let me select new items, and luckily the second package made it to Canada without a hitch! There were so many great items to choose from, and I had a tough time narrowing it down - but here is what I settled on! (Don't forget if you use my coupon code SDXP31, you will save 10% on regularly priced items!)

Firstly I was excited to try out the "Nail Art Polish Pen" in white.  

I started with a base of Daily Hues Nail Lacquer in New Beginnings 2015, and doodled on a lace half-moon design using the pen. You need to shake well and then pump the tip a few times to get the polish flowing. I found the pen works best for creating thicker lines, as you have to go over the lines a second time to get it looking nice and solid. So, for basic lines this pen will do the trick, however for intricate designs you will be better off using one of their finer nail art brushes! 

Second for review today are the "Ultrathin Square Matt Glitter" in silver. 

I used the Daily Hues prototype I received with my order (no name, but in my mind I've dubbed it Elsa!) as my base. At first glance, I thought these squares (they're 3mm) would be too wide and flat for my curvy nail beds. However I was happy to see that after a few coats of top coat, the edges don't seem to snag and catch as much. 

I do recommend using a couple generous coats of a quick drying top coat to ensure they won't go anywhere! I also think almond shaped nails are not the best to work with these squares, but squared or even more rounded nails would look best with this shape. I liked the look a lot more than I thought after seeing them in the little storage pot. They catch the light for a super blinged out look. I think these would be best for one-night wear for a fun night out! 

Are you a born pretty addict like I am? Don't forget to use my code SDXP31 next time you shop :)

xo Shawna

Nimbus Nails

Tonight I finally ticked "Nimbus Nails" off my to-do list! I followed this tutorial from The Nailasaurus and I can't stop staring! I don't know I took so long to try this one, it really is pretty easy. I decided to go for a colour palette that reminded me of a galaxy manicure, so I chose purples and blues. (I actually tried using a silver as well, but it turns out that cremes work best).

Products Used

Barry M Coconut (base)

China Glaze Up All Night

NYC Cosmetics Nolita's Lavender

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

(Sally Hansen Hi-Ho Silver)

(China Glaze Re-fresh Mint)

(the colours in brackets didn't really show up much)

The effect is so pretty! It does take a handful of cotton swabs but it definitely looks like a water-colour painting. I will do this again for sure, and maybe stamp or do other art on top- but for my first time, I am enjoying it all on it's own! 

Have you tried this technique? 

xo Shawna

Holographic Watermarble

ALL THE HOLOS!! I received my halo hues collection nearly a month ago now, but just hadn't had much opportunity with all the Christmas manicures to use them. So, I figured- why not use them all at once?! 

Products Used

Color Club Halo Hues 2013:

Beyond

Cosmic Fate

Miss Bliss

Over the Moon

Eternal Beauty

Kismet

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Cuter Cuticles Cutie Guard

Hopefully photoshop fixed most of the issue, but I ate a snack after doing my nails and proceeded to wreck the tips of all 4 fingers on my swatching hand. I touched it up but it's still visibly messed up- thank goodness for the "healing brush"! I clearly still need practice swirling the marble but it's still a fun effect. 

xo Shawna

NYE black and gold

Well here it is folks, the last post of 2014. I am happy to say I am still just as in love with nail art as when I started this blog in August, and excited to bring you my final manicure of 2015! Ask any of my family members, and then will tell you I go through phases where I become obsessed with something only to move on from it in a few short months. I'm sure know they thought my nail art obsession was another one of those. Well, 5 months on at least I can justify my rapidly growing polish collection at least slightly! 

This manicure was inspired by So Nailicious. 

Products Used

Wet n' Wild Black Creme

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

China Glaze Matte Magic

This look was super easy to create with minimal or no tools and cleanup. (I love stamping, but it really makes a mess!) I highly recommend getting striper polishes in basic black and white if you're into nail art. It makes it much easier to create a lot of looks, and reduces the need to buy or dirty nail art brushes! I got my finger paints stripers from Sally Beauty, but you can also get Sally Hansen brand from any drugstore. 

I love this look! If I can transfer the larger file to my computer for upload to YouTube, I'll have a tutorial soon as well. 

Happy New Years to all of you lovely readers!! I thank you so much for your views and comments. I hope you'll continue to return to the blog in the new year! 

xo Shawna

leadlight nails and tutorial

Hi guys! This is an exciting post for a few reasons. One, I finally tried the "leadlighting" technique which I've been wanting to do for a while (and specifically bought sheer polishes for!) and two, I introduce to you... video tutorials! They're just quickies, due to instagram time constraints, but let me know if you like them- I may do some full length tutorials in the future if there's a demand. So let me know in the comments if that's something you're interested in! Scroll all the way down for the videos. 

Products Used

Barry M Coconut (base)

Wet n Wild Black Creme

OPI Sheer Tints I'm Never Amberassed

OPI Sheer Tints Be Magentale With Me

OPI Sheer Tints Don't Violet Me Down

OPI Sheer Tints I Can Teal You Like Me

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Dotting Tools from Amazon

Stamping Plate Born Pretty 22 (coupon code SDPX31 saves you 10%)

I love the way this turned out, although it was a bit time consuming dotting on the polish. On the opposite hand I actually just painted blobs directly on with the brush. It's not as precise on the design, but it was quicker and still has a neat effect. You could probably achieve the same look by blobbing on the sheer polish before stamping if you aren't too picky about colouring inside the lines! 

Without further adieu... the video tutorials! 

So... yay or nay for future tutorials? Comment below!

xo Shawna

christmas eve water marble

So, I am newly obsessed with water marbling after figuring out it's all about the polish. China glaze seems to be great so far, and thus made the base for a christmas coloured mani which I wore to church and the movies on Christmas Eve!

Products Used

China Glaze Snow

China Glaze Be More Pacific

China Glaze Tip your Hat

Seche Vite Top Coat

Dotting Tools from Amazon

I didn't really have an appropriate christmas green, so this ended up being a lighter coloured mani. I added accent nails of a gift wrapped thumb and polka-dotted pinkie.

Water marble is so fun!

Merry Christmas!

xo Shawna

candy cane stripes

I've been wanting to do a candy cane striped mani, and I knew the red creme from the China Glaze holiday 2014 collection would be the perfect pairing with white. I'd also been itching to try watermarbling again after watching the video tutorial I linked the other day, so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone!

 Products Used

China Glaze Snow (marbling)

China Glaze Tip You Hat

BK Matt White (stamping)

HK Girl Top Coat

MoYou Festive 06

I am really happy with how the water marble turned out! The tutorial definitely gave great tips. I also used the tape to minimize cleanup this time and it worked like a charm (until I got excited to do the opposite hand and forgot to tape up for that one- oops!)

There will probably be one more post before Christmas! Do you have any exciting Christmas manis planned?

xo Shawna

birthday cupcake mani

Of course a birthday means a special mani! The first thing that popped into mind was all the cute little cupcake manicures I've seen before. I just googled a tutorial, there's tons. 

Products used:

China Glaze Snow

Polish My Life Nude Lace

OPI You Don't Know Jacques

Barry M Socialite

Color Club Unnamed Neon Pink mini

Mundo De Unas Lavendar (yes, it's spelled wrong!)

Amazon.ca Dotting Tools

Born Pretty Store Gemstones

Born Pretty Stamping Plate QA 91

*use code SDPX31 for 10% off at Born Pretty store! 

Most tutorials used a solid cupcake top and painted on sprinkles. I decided to bling it out a bit with one of my new, untried Barry M's. It's an awesome glitter!

The stamping isn't perfect, not sure if it's the plate or the polish. Still trying to get perfect crisp images from my MDU!

Do you do special birthday nails?

xo Shawna

Sweater Nails

This was a fun mani because I didn't have to do it myself! One of my friends owns a salon/spa in town and had mentioned she would like to learn stamping to be able to provide a quick nail art service to her clients. In exchange for my teaching services, I scored a free mani and also a blowout. No complaints over here :) 

Products used

CND Vinylux Rock Royalty

BK Matt White

MoYou Festive 06

I love both the polish colour (I want to find a non-vinylux dupe!) and the stamps. I love the way the one sweater design looks on an angle (my middle finger). I am already imagining the snowflakes over a glittery blue base. So many ideas, so little time! 

Do you like the sweater nail trend?

xo Shawna

dry marble for nail art november

I will start right off by saying my thoughts on this mani can be summed up in the word "meh". The prompt for #nailartnov is "dry marble", which basically means adding lines or spots to your still wet base colour, and swirling them together to create different designs. If you saw the swirl mani I posted on instagram last month (there was no blog post - I did it in Cuba!), it's the same thing. I wasn't a huge fan of the swirl either, so I wanted to play around with a different design. I had seen a few cool looking designs on instagram but of course I couldn't find the tutorials, so i settled on this one inspired by Sveta Sanders.

I painted two stripes onto the base and then dragged a nail brush side to side. I must have a heavy hand because I ended up with a lot of bald spots, which I did my best to fill in.

Products used:

Polish My Life Storm Clouds

China Glaze Up All Night

HK Girl Top Coat

Nail Art Brushes from eBay

Meh. Do you like the design?

xo Shawna

Watermarble Mani for Nail Art Nov

I've come down with a sinus cold and feel and sound awful, so I took Monday as a sick day from work. Since it was a decidedly lazy day, I chose to finally tackle one of my "to-do" manis which also was the day 16 prompt for nail art november (after briefly considering just skipping a few days that I've missed due to the wedding festivities!)

Products used:

Polish My Life Nude Lace

Ciate Snow Virgin

Essie Mint Candy Apple

Rimmel Do Not Disturb

Born Pretty Store Gemstones (SDPX31 saves 10%!)

HK Girl Top Coat

I love the colour palette so despite the designs lacking interest, I'm pretty happy with my first ever attempt at water marbling. Hopefully one day I will be making awesome flower designs with the technique :)

Have you tried this technique?

xo Shawna

Nude Lace for Nail Art November

Today's prompt for #nailartnov was (inspired by a) Polish Name.  At first I thought this would be super complicated, until I remembered one of my (many!) new fave polishes, Nude Lace by Polish my Life (which was swatched here). Have I mentioned how much I love this nude shade? Oh wait - I did!

A variation of this mani was also to my "to-do" list, although I had originally envisioned it on a diagonal. I decided to go simple and straight, and I am happy with the results! Don't look at my cindy hand, a few of the lace lines are less than straight and centered ;) 

Colours used:

Polish My Life Nude Lace

Color Club Warhol

Wet n Wild Black Creme

HK Girl Top Coat

Born Pretty Store Plate QA6 (code SDPX31 for 10% off!)

What are some of your favourite nail polish names?

xo Shawna

Blue Plaid for Nail Art November

I am I love with today's mani. If I could get a bottle of nail polish for every time I said that...

Today is a combo of two challenges, nail art November (the theme is "plaid") and the twinkie nails art challenge, which the theme is "colour chosen by significant other". I knew without asking (but asked anyways!) that my fiancé would choose blue, and sure enough he did. I had a lot of fun creating this look, and while it was simple enough, it was a tad time consuming! Good thing I had the night off. 

Colours used:

Ciatè Chinchilla (base)

China Glaze Up All Night

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Sally Hansen Hi-Ho Silver

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

HK Girl Top Coat

Striping Brushes from eBay

I love the monochrome colour palette with the pops of white and silver. 

Please excuse the state of my cuticles, I did my clean-up in low lighting late last night and mistakenly thought I did a decent job. Oops!

Hope you love it!

xo Shawna

Movember Stamping

Some days stamping goes so quickly, some days it doesn't. Luckily today was a good day! I got a manicure done last night as part of our friend's bachelorette night out- we took her for a mani/pedi. I was really hesitant to have someone else do my nails (and I had also wanted to do something fun for the night!) but after I told her not to use a file, everything else went smoothly. Even after bumping my freshly painted nails (twice!) they got fixed up in no time. Note to self: bring HK girl top coat next time! 

I had to settle on solidly coloured nails for the night out, but that didn't stop me from jazzing up the mani today in honour of Movember.  I used MoYou Tourist 21 to add the fun moustaches. The silver polish is a bit of a hot mess, smearing the stamping and a nightmare for cuticle clean up. Can't wait to receive my Mundo de Unas stamping polish (although apparently it will take a while!)

Colours used:

Color Club Total Mystery

Sally Hansen Hi-Ho Silver

Do you get in on the Movember fun?

xo Shawna