BORN PRETTY STORE MINI NAIL MAIL REVIEW

Hola Chichas!

Holidays are on full swing now, everyone stalking the post man and yesterday FINALLY my nail mail from Born Pretty Store arrived.

It was a rather small order, pretty much just wanted to grab the deal of the plate holder & stampers which usually retails for $ 12.18 usd but I got it on sale for $9.14 woohooo!! and just added some stripping tape which always comes handy and 2 plates of the new collection to try them out.

First of all we have the plate holder. I kinda hate the color but other than that I'm really happy with it, comes with 12 sleeves that fit 2 plates; one on each side, so in total you can get up to 24 in there. Closes nicely with a pressure button and is big enough  to fit any standard sized round plates.

Now the star for me is the double ended stamper, I didn't have one of these and I was very interested to get the smaller end for those tiny weeny images or details that I wanted to isolate for decals. I tried it up first before priming and the image was not picking up very well. Just buffed and cleaned up with acetone and worked perfectly. For the test I used MDU in black and blue.

Last but not least are the 2 plates. My favorite is BP17, that has a beautiful lace-like design and it's perfect for decals and leadlighting. The other plate I got is BP04, with a peacock design and some sort of flamenco dancer and a flame that I really don't know what is doing there but overall is a very nice plate. Each of these plates retail for $2.99 but at the time I purchased they were marked down at $ 1.49, so they were half price and I got a 10% off coupon and free shipping so overall I couldn't be more pleased with the order. The only downside was the time it took to arrive, my order was shipped the next day after it was placed but it took 20 days to get here, which it strikes me as I usually get them in no longer than 10 days.

No priming

After priming, stamping with MDU

** When reviewing my order I just noticed the plate holder & stamper combo has the square stamper missing. Just contacted their costumer service and waiting for notice**

You can find all these goodies at the Born Pretty Store website bornprettystore.com.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS CHICAS!
Hasta luego!

**

GEOMETRIC PINKS

Hola Chicas!

Friday night I did these nails for my sis in law, something very simple. My sister in law likes purples and pinks and she wears "quiet" nails because of her job but still wanted to give her something to make the nails not boring.

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Hard as nails, base.
• Kleancolor
• Bissu Pink Chrome
• Fine nail art brush
• OPI Start to finish as top coat

Just painted 2 coats of the base color and used the art brush to create the triangles with the Pink chrome as we didn't had that much time to wait for the base to be completely dry and tape over it (she was going on a movie date in 1 hour). It is the most simple of the nail arts but I liked the color combo.

Hasta luego chicas!

LOVE LETTERS MANI

Well Hello!!! Hola chicas!

It's been over 2 months since my last post, things are a bit more settled now and finally I'm having time to get my nails done although only simple things as 1- had to leave most of my supplies, tools and treasures in storage back in Mexico and 2- I'm waiting for some nail mail with new plates and other goodies.

Today is mine and my hubs 5th Anniversary since we started dating, so I did this love letters mani to sort of celebrate it.

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Hard as Nails treatment
• OPI Start to finish
• Kleancolor Blood
• Barry M Chai
• Fingr's water decal
• OPI Top Coat

Now, KC Blood is a gorgeous shade of red but my right index finger started to chip just hours after and it's a shame because is one of my favorite reds out there. As for Barry M, I'm in love. I have an obsession with grays lately and Chai has become my #1.

So this is it ladies, very simple with one of my fav color combos. Hope you like it and see you soon.

Hasta luego!

VIVA MEXICO NAIL ART- HUIPIL

 

Hola Chicas!

 

September is now rolling and I'm cracking on with my Mexican Nail Art manis, for the second look I got inspired by the beautiful Huipiles. Huipil it's a traditional garment embroidered with intricate and colorful designs using ribbons, lace, cotton, etc.

 

 







 

What I used:

• NOPI Yoga then yogurt; base 2 coats.
• MoYou London Explorer 04
• Kleancolor Purple
• Bissu Folklor Mexicano
• Kleancolor Beach Blue
• Wild & Wet Lavender Cream
• Bissu Canarias
• OPI Start to Finish

After letting my base dry I made the decals with the MoYou plate and used the assorted kleancolors & bissu to paint the flowers then transferred to my nails and applied top coat.

I got a lot of compliments for this mani and I wore it for almost a week because I loved looking at the colorful flowers.
Below, you can admire the beautiful Huipil that served me as inspiration, isn't it gorgeous?

Hope you girls are enjoying this mini series I started as much as I am!
Thanks for stopping by, nos vemos!!

VIVA MEXICO! NAIL ART

Hola Chicas!

September is approaching and some of you know but others may not, but September is "Mes Patrio" which translates to "Patriotic Month" and we celebrate a few important dates such as Mexican Independence Day and I want to celebrate my country's beautiful and rich culture thru nail art.
I haven't planned a specific number of manicures but I will try to cram in as many as my time and schedule allows and that is why I decided to start a bit early in case I fall behind in the coming weeks.

So for the first look I wanted to use my brand new MoYou Explorer plate, I started collecting all plates with Mexican motives as I could find and this is one of my favs.

What I used:

• Cosmetic Arts in Taupe; base 2 coats. This one has no name, is a taupe with a barely there shimmer.
• MDU Papirus; for stamping.
• MoYou London Explorer 01 plate.
• Kleancolor Sea Ice; hair piece detail.
• Kleancolor Metallic Red; piercing and hair piece detail.
• Fine nail art brush.
• Franken glitter topper; 1 coat. The finish of this topper is very subtle but it adds an extra sparkle under the light.

Once my base dried I stamped the  "Tlatoani" on my middle finger (the little guy you see in the far left upper corner) -Tlatoani means "speaker" in Nahuatl and it was a highly respected term, given to rulers or Aztec kings- end of the cultural brake... and on my ring finger  the actual "speech" symbol.

To give it a bit of color and represent better the beauty of Aztec Codex I painted the hair piece and piercings with a fine nail art brush and top coat.

I'm very happy with this mani, I have so much more ideas to honor my heritage with nail art. I hope you like it!
Nos vemos!!



NAIL CHALLEN COLLABORATIVE - TEA PARTY ROSE GARDENS

Hola Chicas!

For the 4^th and last look of the Tea Party theme I did another simple stamped design. The base color is a shade I picked from Walmart, not a huge pink fan and just grabbed this one because it was dirt cheap and it wouldn't be a tragedy if I ended up hating it.

The inspiration behind the look are English rose gardens and those super lush and girly tea parties. It reminds me of summer afternoons at my in-laws eating scones and custard slices. And Tea Parties are close to my heart as well, as I chose to have one for my bridal shower with roses, exotic teas, vintage tea cups and even top hats!

I had a lot of fun with this theme and also I had the chance to play with new plates and some others that haven’t been used.

What I used:

• Equate in Pink; base 2 coats. The colors don’t have a name, but for $1 you can’t grumble. Fully opaque in 2 coats,  formula easy to work with, dried considerably fast and hasn’t chip after 4 days!! It’s quite thick in consistence, will have to try if they’re good for stamping.

•  Kleancolor Red; for stamping. Another KC that is super good for stamping, consistent formula. This one is one of fav reds (along with Rimmel’s Double Decker Red) and even better now that I know it can be used to stamp.

•  MoYou London Mother Nature’s 05 plate; from the vines I just picked the roses and stamped one by one. MoYou, you got my heart (and my money!) There is not a single negative thing to say about MoYou plates, if you’re into stamping you must have them.

•  Barry M Treasure Chest; accent nail, 2 coats. This one from the Aquarium Collection, my husband picked it for me and had it in the untried box because I have a Kleancolor that is pretty much the same. It is a gold flake glitter in clear base but Barry M’s is superior, both are really heavy loaded and no need to fish around for the bits but I did notice that Barry M’s formula is a bit thicker (which makes the glitter to suspend better, KC tends to go to the bottom) than KC and dries a lot faster (and doesn't have the KC characteristic stinkyness). So KC is now on the de-stash box.

•  NOPI Quick Dry topcoat

Phew that was a rather long post-review, haven’t done that in quite a while and well, that’s it for the last Tea Party mani!

Gracias for stopping by.

Nos vemos!

MANI MONDAY- FLORAL

Hola Chicas!

Hope you all had a great weekend. For today's mani Monday I have a fresh floral, this look was created for the Adventures In Stamping (AIS) Sunday Challenge, that consisted of creating a mani stamped over a yellow base.

What I used:

• Bissu in Canarias; base 2 coats.
• MDU White; stamping.
• Pueen Encore SE04B
• Green Glitter
• Pink polish
• Nail Art brush
• Gold beads

After painting the base and let it dry, I stamped with MDU in white using the bit of the flowers and then colored them with pink polish (you can use acrylic paints as well) and a bit of glitter to make out leaves. As the final touch I added some gold micro beads (or caviar beads) to accent the flowers in the center, top coat and done.

I really liked the way it turned out, the colors compliment each other despite of yellow being a color characterized for being a bit difficult to work with.

Hope you girls like it, thanks for stopping by.
Nos vemos!

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE- CHERRY BLOSSOM

Hola chicas!

I cracked on the 3rd look last night and manged to take 1 pic before wiping it off because I did not like at all.

It started with the base shifting color to a very milky-chalky silver that looks just horrid to me, can't even meausre how much I hated it. So it's gone straight to the de-satsh pile.

Here it is, look # 3 for the Tea Party theme: Cherry Blossoms, inspired by fine China Pottery.

What I used:

• Kleancolor Unforgetable Memories; base 2 coats.
• MDU # 43; for stamping.
• Born Pretty store plate M66
• Kleancolor Love for Pudding; to paint over the flowers.
• Kleancolor Mudpie Sparkle; coloring the branches.
• Nail art brush.

Now it wasn't THAT bad, it all went to hell when I put the top coat on, it just went silver. If you look at the bottle it's like a pearly powder blue and Mudpie Sparkle is one of my fav polishes because it has tiny particles of holo that shine crazy and it looked very nice with the branches and flowers colored I have no idea why or how the base reacted with the topcoat to make it shift like that.

Feel free to comments. Has any polish has totally shifted on your nails when top coat applied?

Nos vemos!

DINOSAUR CLAWS

Hola Chicas!

My husband and baby boy have come back from their trip to UK, and as my boy loves dinosaurs I wanted to welcome him back home with a fun mani.

What I used:

• Pure Ice Bikini; base 2 coats.
• Winstonia plate W220
• No name polish in Lavender; dots.
• No name polish in Green; dots.
• Dotting tool

What you think? I liked a lot the way it turn out fun and sweet and my baby boy loved looking at my nails.
Nos vemos!

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - MEXICAN TEA PARTY!

Hola Chicas!

Today I have look #2 for August’s Challenge which is “Tea Party”. My inspiration for this look is Talavera, for those who don’t know what it is, Talavera is a type of pottery crafted in the region of Puebla, Mexico and is very traditional and coveted; only crafted by a handful of specialized workshops and with very strict characteristics in the way is styled and made.

 I remember Talavera tiles, jugs, plates and trays and a very particular Tea set I saw once at an exhibit and I knew I wanted re create that for this theme because they are a beautiful art form and very representative of my country and its folk art.

What I used:

• NOPI Yoga Then Yogurth; base, 2 coats.
• MDU Black; for stamping.
• Kleancolor Teal Envy
• Kleancolor Berry Burst
• Bissu Folklore Mexicano
• Born Pretty store plate D14
• Nail art brush
• Color Club Matte Top Coat

It took a bit of time to achieve this look; I used the leadlight technique for the first time and I love the way it turned out. After 2 coats of Yoga then Yogurth I applied a fast dry top coat and then stamped with MDU and started painting the details with a super fine nail art brush, let dry and then applied matte top coat to give a vintage feel to the look.

I made some decals as well but I was too impatient to wait for them to dry, will save them for next time :)
Here's some pics to give you and idea of Talavera and where my inspiration came from.

 Hope you girls like it.

Nos vemos!

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE- AUGUST: TEA PARTY #1 - THE MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY

Hola Chicas,

Is another month a new theme was voted for August: TEA PARTY!
When the theme was voted a new straight away I wanted to do something "mad hatte-ry" trust me, it looked a lot better in head.
But hey, I have another 3 chances!

What I used:

• Color Club Angel Kiss; base, 2 coats.
• Kleancolor True Purple; stamping.
• Republic Nail Cold Gel TC.
• Pueen Encore Set SE01A
• Winstonia W215
• Winstonia W117
• Winstonia nail decal; clock detail.

I like how the stamping came out but not so much the whole look.
What you think?

Nos vemos!!

PEACHY PETALS

Hola chicas!

I finally received my Pueen Encore Set and I couldn't wait more to play with it. This mani is just a simple one to test the images on these beautiful plates.

What I used:

• China Glaze in Peachy Keen; base 2 coats.
• Kleancolor in Neon Fuschia; for stamping.
• Pueen Encore Set SE02A
• NOPI Quick Dry Top Coat.

What can I say about the Encore plates? I'm smitten, this is by far the most beautiful set of plates I own, all the images stamp super crispy and they make very easy to work with normal polishes because the engraving has depth I haven't seen in another sets. So if you are curious about stamping

And you want to get your first set GET THIS ONE!

Thanks for stopping by !

Nos vemos!!



COMIC BOOK MANI

Hola Chicas,

I'm still waiting on my nail mail...

I got a new set of nail art brushes yesterday, pretty much just bought it because it had a fan brush that I wasn't able to find on its own but I always welcome some extra tools!

Just did this mani and incorporated Comic Book elements and I really liked the end result.

Hope you like it as well.

What I used:

• Light Taupe creme (no name on the bottle) base, 2 coats.
• Kleancolor Neon Lime.
• China Glaze Neon & On & On.
• Kleancolor True Purple
• Fan Brush
• Fingr's Tatoos

SWATCH DUTY & "IN THE MEANTIME" HAULS

Hola Chicas,

Don't know about you but I'm glad the week is almost done!

I'm not really good when it comes to swatching, I hate to paint my nails one color, swatch, picture, swipe, repeat. It leaves my nails & cuticles absolutely f****, but we know how important is to swatch and have a clear idea of what the color actually looks like outside the bottle and when dry.

I used to get nail wheels but as my collection grows, my attempts to keep everything nice, tidy & organized and using the less space possible led me to this idea.

Basically I built this "Swatch Catalog" to keep record of every single shade, by brand & color. Not messing around with finishes (yet) but if you decide to take on this idea, there are so many possibilities and definitely some room for improvement to better suit your needs and personal taste.

What I used:

• Binder. Got it at the local dollar store.
• Plastic sheet covers. I got them from my office, but sold at any office depot or the like.
• Nail shapes printed sheets. I just found an image on google, fiddled with it in Paint and Power Point, copy here, paste there y listo! The sheets are used as a guide for the swatch; you can chose not to use them, but I like the white contrast on the back to make the colors pop.
• Nail Polish. The most important thing!

Now, I just placed the guide sheets inside the covers and started swatching, 2 coats for all and no top coat. First I thought of writing down the names on top of the swatch strip but I miscalculated the space and some names wouldn't fit resulting in some overlapping. As I laid in bed trying to sleep I kept thinking on how to improve that and decided to space out more the swatch strips and add a " text box" in PP and type the name of the color on top.

The sheets are organized by brand, separated by a sheet with the brand's logo.

I'm not done swatching, but once I tackle down the basics I will move on to "the combos" which will contain mixes of base colors with glitter toppers and any other combination I can think of.

What I loved the most of this binder is that it makes super easy to go thru each color for quick reference and I can take the sheets off the rings and compare them side to side to get an idea of what the colors are going to look in nail art and to spot dupes as well.

The lessons learned from this project was that even when I have a considerable amount of polishes I didn't find and exact dupe YAY!!! and even when I'm a blue or purple girl I don't own as many as I though I did but in the other side I do have loads of pinks (and I'm not too keen on pinks). I enjoyed doing this a lot and I'm super happy with the way it came out, now I can keep everything together in one small space and confined to a binder ( a couple in the near future) and it will make easier to pack and take with me when we move out in 8 weeks.

Hope you like it, I would love to hear back if you decide to make a "Swatch Catalog" in this fashion and any ideas you would like to share to pimp it.

On to next thing...

I been stalking the postal service like crazy this week because I'm waiting for my Pueen Encore Set & nail mail from Mundo de Uñas. Pueen's arrived already to my office address in Texas but it takes another couple days to get to my current location south of the border. Poor traffic guy, I've been going over his desk everyday nagging "Mario, is my package sent yet" over and over again.

MDU shipped last Saturday and despite being in Mexico as well is taking longer than expected, I really hope they get delivered no later than Friday.

Soooo, to help with the anxiety I've been making mini hauling trips to Sally's (why oh why do I keep going back if they are rubbish!!!) and I couldn't help grabbing some as well when doing my weekly shopping at Walmart. Here they are, the new additions:

WATERCOLOR MANI

Hola Chicas!

It's been a while since my last post, lot going on + I lost my camera charger and couldn't take pictures. I finally got a replacement on Monday and got quite some time to get a mani done.

I've been wearing quite simple things over the last couple of weeks so I wanted to try on something more elaborated.

I had the Sally Hansen's Palm Beach Jellies sitting around untried for like 4 weeks so it was about time to give them a chance and went for a water color mani using all of them.

What I used:

• Color Club Poetic Hues (base 2 coats)
• Sally Hansen Sea Through
• Sally Hansen Ice Tint
• Sally Hansen Vitamin D-Light
• Sally Hansen Grape Jelly
• Sally Hansen Water Melon
• NOPI Quick Dry Top Coat

I wasn't so sure about the result at first really, the Jellies are hellish thick and squishy and I noticed that they're bubbled, but now that I look at it is not so bad and I like it much better now and I'm thinking it's make a good base for stamping (wink wink* Pueen Encore Set, get delivered now!!!!)

What you think, has any of you tried the SH Jellies?

See you soon, sooner than last time and hopefully my Pueen Encore Set will be delivered to my aching hands tomorrow!!

Nos vemos!

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - JULY - GLITTER GRADIENT

Hola Chicas!

This is my 3rd look for July's theme on the Nail Challenge Collaborative, very simple and subtle just a champagne rose and glitter tips.

What I used:

• Premium no name color but I call it Champagne
• Glitter Franken with silver mini glitter and holo mini hexes.
• NOPI Quick Dry top coat

You can never go wrong with nudes and glitter.

What you think?

HOW DO I STORE MY TREASURES?

Hola chicas!

 

 

Last Sunday I spend a good amount of time going thru all my polishes, de-cluttering, sorting, organizing and shaking them.

I purchased a new organizing drawer that fitted most of my Kleancolor collection and I'm super happy with it. I will get a couple more to keep consistence in the type of storage boxes.

 

 

The first picture is the new box, basically with all the Kleancolors sorted by color, going from solids/opaques to the most sheer and shimmery. Although, glitter toppers are in a separate box.

 

The second one contains the Kleancolors glitter toppers and a mix of brands like CG, Rimmel, Premier, OPI, Sally Hansen, etc.

Third box is pretty much just nail treatments, base and top coats, the new SH Jellies, stamping polishes and a few frankens I made. The cosmetics bag in there contains my nail art pens and stripers.

 

The last box is just a plastic shoe box with random mini polishes, like Bissu and Sally Girl.

 

All the decals, decorations, glitters, wraps, plates and tools are kept in a different stack box.

 

All of  my "nail world" is kept in a corner of my dressing room handy for when I want to play, my plan (when we move to our new house in UK) is to be lucky enough to still have a dressing room all to myself and have the hubs to install me some wall racks to put everything, get a new table/desk to work in and keep everything nice and organized. Here's hoping :)

I've seen some pretty cool storage ideas.

 

and you chicas, how and where do you keep your stash? Are you messy or super organized?

 

 



 

 

 

 

Kleancolors box, sorted by color

Kleancolors on top, justglitter toppers. Then assorted brands.

SHOPPING TRIP & POLISH HAUL

Hola Chicas,

Sorry I've been absent^ brief for the majority of last week, it's been a couple of hectic and busy days last week.

Today I only have a very brief account of the "damage" of the weekend shopping trip (a week ago) and of course I had to come back with a few polishes.

I think the highlight of the polish purchases was that I finally found the Sally Hansen's Palm Beach Jellies, first I got them all but Watermelon and then I walked in into Target and found it on sale. Also got a new organizing drawer and I finally had some time to sit down and go thru all of my collection on Friday night.

I do have a pending review for the Winstonia nail wraps and still on my drafts because I peeled it off before taking the pics :P

Here's the pictures of my latest haul and how I organize my collection.

Not so bad, huh? I haven't tried all of them but I will get to it. I did a franken with the Sally green glitter one that I will show you later this week.

Soy buena y lo mio no es adiccion!!

NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE- COPPER STONE

Hola chicas!
Today I'm showing you the second look of the month fot the theme which consist in reacreating our first 4 manis.
This one is a very simple Teal marble-esque look, very simple really and just added some freckle glitter for extra zing.

What I used:

• Kleancolor Teal Marble
• Kleancolor Jazz Olive
• Avon Colors in Gunmetal
• Kleancolor Sequin Dress (glitter topper)
• Toothbrush

Hope you like it!

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - JULY THEME

Hola chicas!!

This is my first look of the month for the Nail Challenge Collaborative, for July the theme is to re-create your first 4 manis. Originally it was only the color block and for this time around added the glequins for a bit of shine as it looked a bit dull.

What I used:

• Kleancolor Love for Pudding (Pink)
• Kleancolor Wild City (Purple, textured)
• Glequins
• Tape
• NOPI Quick Dry Top Coat

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - B&W SWIRLY

Hola Chicas,
In a real rush now to complete the cahllenge before tomorrow as I will be away for the weekend and will not post manis.
I had to admit how much I sucked at the B&W, sobbing here.

Just dabbed a stamp design over black using Winstonia plate W203.
I really love winstonia plates, so far they are the best I've tried and I'm having so much fun trying and testing this new set.

THE NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - B & W SUGAR SPUN

Hola Chicas!

Here I am again, rushing to get the 4 looks for this month/theme done before the end of the week.

So for the second one I did my 1st attempt to a sugar spun mani. Not happy about it.
I'm really embarrassed about my performance on this challenge, I just hate working with white polish. I'm afraid of being kicked out for sucking this much.

What I used:

• Random black polish, base 2 coats.
• Kleancolor in White
• Dotting tool
• Rhinestones

This is pretty much straight forward, I've seen loads of beautiful sugar spun manis, most in pastel or candy colors, tried to do it with white and never really got the polish to reach the desired texture and ended up with this goopy mess. I was so disgusted that I took the pic, shed a tear and wiped off.

But I will keep trying with other polishes and colors because I have to get at least 1 decent looking sugar spun!!!

NAIL CHALLENGE COLLABORATIVE - BLACK & WHITE AZTEC

Hola Chicas!

Today I'm super excited because this will be my first contribution to The Nail Challenge Collaborative, the theme for this month is Black & White. I'm so honored to be part of it, please check out the rest of the manis posted, there are some seriously talented ladies out there!

Without too much babble I will crack on, as it is already month's end and I have to post 4 different looks.

BLACK & WHITE MONTH - AZTEC

What I used:

• Kleancolor White
• Kleancolor Yougurth Raisins
• Kleancolor Decades of Bond
• Aztec prints

I just painted all the nails with white polish and then did the digital mani technique. For the accent nail swiped one layer of Yogurth Raisins and then 1 of Decades of Bond. Top coat on all nails.

Hope you girls like it. Already planning the next 2 looks!

Don't forget to check out the other manis for the Black and White Theme!

buenas noches and dream in NAILTOPIA.

SUNDAY CHALLENGE - WORLD MUSIC DAY NAILS

Hola Chicas!
This is my take for today's challenge and the theme is World Music Day:

PUNK!!

What I used:

• Sally Hansen in Blue It!
• Rimmel London in Double Decker Red
• Rimmel London in Your Majesty for the silver dots
• Black Nail polish. random no name on the bottle.
• Color Club Matte-ified Top Coat
• JK Decoration Nail strips (Tartan stripes)
• Dotting Tool
• Studs
• Nail art brush

This was rather simple, I started painting my thumbs, index and pinkies with black polish and my ring finger with Blue It! On the middle finger I used the JK nail wrap.

Painted the stripes for the flag with a nail art brush and white polish and Double Decker Red and with the dotting tool simulated some silver stud using Your Majesty. Adhere the studs on the index with clear polish (they have stuck pretty well, after doing dishes and 2 showers, I'm impressed) and then a swipe of Matte-ified top coat over the black polished nails and it's done.

 

I liked the overall look as I haven't worn black nails in a lot of time. What you think?

CHEAPIES HAUL + ONLINE SHOPPING

Hola Chicas!!

Last night had to do a pit stop at Wal-Mart to get nappies (diapers) and as always I was driven by an invisible force to the make up aisle and though I was searching for those pesky Sally Hansen sheer tints that seem to be nowhere to be found, I ended up picking up 4 polishes from assorted brands and they were dirt cheap. So cheap there was no eyebrow raise gesture from the husband, so all is good!
I need a pat in the back because really I had 8 cheapies plus 2 BOGOF that were a bit more pricier but then I really practiced some self restrain and narrowed it down to these 4 shades that I'm totally sure I don't have. Yeah.

First we have Premium's blue glitter bomb these brand doesn't name his shades. I have a mani in mind that needs this shade/finish so it was a must. This was the "expensive one" of the lot at $2.00 aprox. In pesos was $29.00.

Then are these 2 from a never seen before brand, at least in polish because Equate is Wal-Mart's own brand. The names are straight forward as they come: Orange and Blue. There you have it.

And finally is Premium again, with a shade that I will call Bayleaf. This one is a very light grey with a tint of green sort of greey?? Ideal for base color.

And I just shed a few dineros to get some born pretty stamping plates. I haven't received the last purchase from winstonia but I'm already itching to get this batch.

The first swatch is the Blue shade from Equate, formula runs smooth and the brush is a very good sized so if you have wide nailbeds this will cover it in 2 stokes. As for coverage, it goes opaque in 2 coats with a nice creme finish and dries in about 2-3 minutes. This is a fine good purchase and I liked the shade of blue a lot and even when I own quite a few blues this one in partcicular I don't have. Weeheee!!!

So far so good, if you happen to spot any of these at Wal-Mart, don't be a snob and grab some. Premium has a lot of glitter and jelly shades so they are a damn god bargain if you want to try and end up not being used that much or if you don't like them at least they will not hurt your pockets.

TEQUILA SUNRISE - GRADIENT MANI

Hola Chicas!

Hope you all had a great weekend celebrating Father's Day with your dad's and/ or husbands.

Last night I sat down to get this mani done, didn't had anything specific on mind, pretty much just wanted to use some of the yellow polishes I got from last haul and ended up with a gradient.

See, my problem with gradients is that I love how they look on the distance, up close (at least to me) it doesn't matter how much I blend or smooth the color out, they look like a mess. That is my opinion. Nevertheless I did this one using 3 colors plus the base and a glitter topper.

What I used:

• Bissu in Canarias, base 1 coat. This is a very pretty yellow crème, looks like a easter chicken yellow, it's very pleasant to look at on it's own.
• Bissu Melon, for the gradient bottom part. This one is a more of a mango than a melon to me, but still very nice color. Would be a 2 coater worn on it's own.
• Bissu Folklore Mexicano; middle color. I totally love this color, is an orange neon crème, super vibrant and covers in 1 coat. Ought to swatch it on it's own so you can appreciate it.
• Bissu Rosa Bubble, for the top part of the gradient. It's a punch pink, neaon crème that goes on 1 coat.
• Kleancolor SoCal Gal. for the accent nail 1 coat. This is a textured finish, in the sort of the sand or sugar coats, it's feels very smooth to the touch in comparison to other brands.
• Kleancolor V.I.P. Glitter topper on all nails, except for the accent one. Orange jelly base with mini holo hex glitters in silver and copper.
• Make up sponge

I liked the color combo and the overall look, specially with the glitter because it compliments the background colors but like I said, the "messiness" of the gradient up close bothers me.

What you think of gradients?



IN RAINBOWS

Hola chicas!

You ready for the weekend?

I was itching to use Color Club's Angel's Kiss holo, I wore on it's own for a day and just couldn't stop looking at it, it's so beautiful! Looks like I had tiny pieces of glass and rainbows in my fingers.
It was begging to be stamped so I obeyed and grabbed a couple of the last Kleancolor's haul for the stamping and I'm pretty pleased with the final result, summery and shiny :)

What I used:

• Color Club Angel's Kiss. Base, 2 coats. This is a pure holo, super shiny and reflective leaning towards the silver/blue tones. Perfect, just perfect! the formula is super smooth and it can get away with 1 coat if you're in a rush.
• Kleancolor Neon Aqua
• Kleancolor Sangria Burst
• Kleancolor Berry Burst
• Kleancolor Neon Lime
• Winstonia plate W111

 

 

After the 2 coats I dabbed the rest of the neons alternately on the plate and stamped on the nail. I really liked how the holo shines thru the neons and the compliment the holo in return.

 

Hope you girls like it too! Have a nice weekend!!

SHOPPY SHOP HAUL & REVIEW

Hola!

Today I have some reviews from my last couple of purchases, being smaller (a lot smaller) than usual because I couldn't really find anything that I really wanted. I' ve been hunting down the O.P.I. Sheer Tints or the Sally Hansen's with no luck and my DIY attempt was deemed unsuccessful when decided to add glitter. Muy mal.

First I have Color Club Angel Kiss, holo. I wasn't so sure about getting one of these when I first saw them in the shop but after seeing a few swatches my collection would be incomplete without at least one. (didn't make to the pics, was in my room upstairs and could be bothered to go and get it)

Last Saturday went to the usual shopping spot and I was disappointed by the lack of variety they had this time. Most displays were empty and most colors I already have. I grabbed just 3 kleancolors and some Bisu. Despite my 200+ polishes stash I found I don't have a solid neon lime shade so I got 2 of those because I have a mani on mind that needs that particular shade. Save my husband's " how come you bought yet another polish that looks exactly like the other 80 you already have" Bless them husbands, they're color blind!

The highlight was that I found another shop with a huge, and I mean HUMUNGUS selection of nail wraps. I got 5 packs of those in assorted designs. Out of them I have tried 1 (the sailor mani) that had no particular brand or name on the packaging but it was very good quality. The wrap itself was thinner than others I have used but super sticky. worked perfect both over colored base polish and on it's own just over the bare nail.

One thing did caught my attention was a collection of glitters in the vibe of so many indie polishes out there, these in mini bottles but they were only sold in a strip of 6 shades and couldn't mix and match so for that reason I passed as I had 3 similar from out of the 6. I will return to that shop and see if I can talk to the owner and have her to let me pick as I always go there and spend quite a lot. I remember last time I went there about a month ago, she said they will start to phase out the kleancolor's and introduce Profusion. I did see more of the latter this time and I have some of this brand and they are very good and the bottles are very nice as well, they're round with a long cap/handle and have a rhinestone on the top which is very neat. The only thing is that they didn't have many colors that were new to me so I only got 1 glitter and to be honest I was a bit afraid of having a dupe already.

In the same shop I found the wraps I got the Bisu ones. The thing I love about them is that they have mini bottles that I like to get because they are pocket change cheap, literally (in dollars would be like $40 cents!!!), so I get more chance to get shades I would not use much or I'm not so sure of. One tip, Bisu's formulas are thick which makes them ideal for stamping. The one thing I don't like about them is that it's only until recently they started to name their shades. I have quite a lot of the mini bottles, really beautiful super rich holos but no names! not even color numbers, so in a way I have them "uncharted".

Heres a few pics of the suff I got, will review in detail in the next couple of days or weeks.

Left to Right: Neon Lime, Funky Yellow & Slumber Party *matte

Glitzy Gold

Full sized bottles. Left: Canarias. Right: NO NAME!!! see how annoying it s?

Mini bottle, no name. arrghh

JK Decoration Nail wraps and 2 other no-name 

the no name ones, comes in a neat reusable plastic bag with a button. Really nice, for $1.00 usd!!!