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

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Pink on Pink Chevrons

So, I swear my life has been taken over by my wedding planning the last few weeks. (Well, actually the last few MONTHS but we are currently in the process of booking our room block, which means invites are being mailed out soon, which means I need to make the invites since I'm going the DIY route!) The designing process on photoshop literally took hours of resizing, test printing and cutting, overanalyzing which fonts looked the best (let me tell you- that website 1001fonts.com is WAY too many fonts, haha!). Long story short. They are not done yet but the designing is - so now it's the manual labour left, and I took a much needed break to do something more exciting to my nails than I have been over the last week! 

Products Used

OPI Passion

OPI Manicurist of Seville

MoYou London Fashionista 05

Cheeky Gemstones

China Glaze Fast Forward

I ordered this chevron plate at Christmas, and still haven't unwrapped the blue plastic until today! I actually wanted to do a gradient stamp but it wasn't working the the other polish I chose so I decided to save that for another day. (side note- i just can NOT get MDU to work for me, so I'm destashing them). Passion is a very sheer soft pink, but I think it looks really sophisticated as a base for the bolder stamping colour. I received Passion and the cheeky gems in my canuck swap package. I'm in LOVE with those gems, there are so many great shapes in the wheel!

Are you a DIY kinda gal (or guy) or do you like other people to do the legwork for you?

xo Shawna

Super Satin Top Coat Swatches

press sample

I am so excited to share my first official swatcher post. (Yes, I have swatched before and also tested items for review. But this is the first time I have been sent a POLISH to review/ swatch! Well, top coat. Close enough ;) )

Bree at @breezylovesnails selected me to swatch her new top coat (for her brand new label, Mad Scientist) Super Satin Top Coat. It's a semi-matte finish, so while it takes away that glaring super shine of normal top coats, it doesn't completely dull the finish as a matte TC would. 

The ring finger is coated with China Glaze Fast Forward, with the other fingers Satined up for comparison. At first glance, I will be 100% honest, I could see some element of satin finish but it wasn't quite what I expected. I figured out that the longer I waited (beyond the 10-15 minutes I waited to shoot pics after swatching), the better the satin finish looked! So, for reference, the pink and grey swatches were done with a shorter dry time, and the holo polish had a few hours before being photographed. That is where you can really see the difference!! 

I did a simple dotticure using Fast Forward over Satin (over CG Sexy Silhouette). 

THIS is where the satin truly shows! Check out that picture below. I used the satin TC over Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Blaze (can you tell I've been obsessed with DHNL lately?) and did shiny chevrons using Up Your Nail vinyls & Fast Forward TC. 

Huge props to the formula being easy to work with, and the brush is great- not too skinny.

Lastly I have it over CG Tip Your Hat. 

I fully admit the first shot doesn't show it at it's greatest. Ring finger is glossy for comparison. Below, I've french tipped using Fast Forward. 

Super Satin Top Coat is launching soon, so keep your eyes on her instagram for the launch! Thanks for being my first, Bree! 

xo Shawna

Geometric #nailartnov

I decided to jump on board with the November Nail Art Challenge hosted by @californails on IG. I had already done the day one prompt (movember) so I'm right on track!

It's called the "totally doable" challenge with prompts every couple days. Today (day 04) is Geometric and as soon as I saw the prompt I knew exactly what I wanted to do! I hadn't had a chance to use my aztec chevron vinyls yet, or the other design on my born pretty stamping plate. After swatching one of my new Deborah Lippmann polishes from the "Girls" collection (I got it for a steal at Winners after coveting it for a while!) I knew a metallic colour palette would really pop. And I am in love with the result! 

Colours used:

Deborah Lippmann Hannah

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Sally Hansen Hi-Hi Silver

HK Girl Top Coat

China Glaze Matte Magic

I topped the mani off with a matte top coat, although I was expecting it to be a bit more flat. I love this colour palette and Hannah is such a gorgeous green - for sure a new fall/ winter favourite. 

 Here's a swatch of Hannah all by itself. Stunning!

Do you like matte manicures?

xo Shawna

Pink & Gold Chevron Stamped Mani

I loved my chevrons and the colour palette from my last manicure, so I decided to keep the accent nails for tonight's fresh manicure!

I knew I wanted to stamp, but wasn't quite sure which image to pair with the chevrons. Lightbulb moment! My new chevron patterned plate from born pretty store (item 15090) fit the bill perfectly - and let me practice centering my stamps!

Polishes used:

OPI Mod About You

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Essie Lilacism

HK Girl Top Coat

I wasn't sure how effectively the gold OPI would stamp, but it did pretty well. I made sure not to scrape too hard, after my first attempt fell flat!

I love the pastels and don't want to put them away for fall! Do you follow seasonal colours or use whatever your mood is calling for?

xo Shawna

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Saran Wrap & Chevron Mani

Today marks week two of the #twinkienailartchallenge. The theme was Saran Wrap mani, which is something I've never tried before - and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was! I had also received my nail decals from Up Your Nail and was excited to try out the large chevrons. Her prices are great so check them out if you're after some decals. 

I started with a base of Lilacism and wasn't too sure where to go from there. I decided on a soft and sparkly look with pastel pink and gold. 

The polishes used:

Essie Lilacism

OPI Mod About You

Loreal Because You're Worth It (saran wrap)

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby (accent tips)

Ciate Fast Dry Top Coat

China Glaze Matte Magic

What do you think of the saran wrap look?

xo Shawna

Nothing to disclose