This was inspired by JauntyJuli from her video tutorial, Double Chevron Moon Mani. Using tape has been something I've been getting into a lot and a nail art technique that I adore. JauntyJuli is also one of my favorite Youtubers that I look for nail inspiration. So, I decided to recreate this design for February's theme of "adoration" for The Lacquer Legion. #LLadoration

I started with Sally  Hansen Celeb City and then applied China Glaze Ray-diant on top. With striping tape, I created this double chevron moon manicure design. Taking Orly Ancient Jade, I painted it on the sections I taped off on the bottom. Waiting a bit, I then peeled off the tape to reveal this design. Finished with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.

Orly Ancient Jade is one of my all time favorite colors in my collection and paired with this glitter, it looks so pretty. I definitely plan to do another version of this design with different color combinations. What do you think of this double chevron moon manicure?

Grungy Neon Distressed Nail Art

This is my fourth and last manicure for this month's summer theme for The Nail Challenge Collaborative. I decided to do a neon inspired distressed nail art design that was inspired by Chalkboard Nails. Check out her tutorial on Distressed Nail Art (Punk/Grungy Effect).

I started with Salon Perfect Sugar Cube. Taking Color Club Amp'd Up, Revlon Rich Raspberry, and Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, I made sure to wipe off the brush almost entirely of polish before lightly swiping the color onto my nails. Doing the same thing with OPI Black Shatter, I swiped that on top of everything to create this distressed look. Finished with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.

I loved how this turned out! The shatter polish was a bit thick when I was trying to apply it but it kind of works here. What do you think of my grungy neon distressed nails?

Born Pretty Store Stamper and Scraper Set Review

I got sent a stamper and scraper set from Born Pretty Store for review and have been testing it out for about a month now. Stamping is one of the nail art techniques I haven't done much so my skills aren't the best. I've been trying to get better at it so hopefully I'm improving.

My Review
I found this stamper to be easy to use overall. It picked up the images well but not perfect. I like that it has a squishy feel to it so it makes stamping on the nails easy. I tended to only use the white stamper side since I thought the other side was a bit too small to use for me. The only issue I found was that the white side of the stamper tends to want to come off the black holder its in. The scrapers in this set are my favorite. I like that there plastic but still able to provide a good scrape without damaging the stamping plates your using. It nice that it comes in two sizes too.

Here's examples using Born Pretty Store nail stamping plates QA66 and QA62 on how well it stamps. I also tried it out with my Bundle Monster stamping plate BM321 to see if it there was any noticeable differences too. I stamped using American Apparel Hassid. As you can see, it picked up the images pretty well but there are noticeable bald spots here and there.

Here's a tip if your stamper isn't picking up anything is to file it down with a nail file. I don't know how but filing it will help the stamper to pick up an image better. I wasn't able to pick up some images so I filed it with a regular nail file and it seemed to work great afterwards.

Final Thoughts
This Born Pretty Store stamper and scraper set cost $4.46 which is a good deal if your just starting out with stamping and want something affordable. It gets the job done but you do have to work with it to get a good image stamped on the nails. You can also use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off your entire order. Have you tried this stamper and scarper set?

*Born Pretty Store sent the stamper and scraper set along with the stamping plates for review purposes. My opinion is 100% honest. Post does contain affiliate links.*

Blue and Green Skittle

I loved the geometric nails I did a while back so I wanted to to another one as a accent nail instead. I've also been into adding in a texture accent nail to my manicures too.

I started with Julep Nail Therapy as my base coat. I have Nicole by OPI Alex By The Books on my pinky and Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion on my pointer and thumb. For my ring nail, I have Milani White On The Spot. Taking stripping tape and the previous two colors, I did a geometric design with a gradient effect to it. For my middle nail, I used Love & Beauty Blue Jewel. Then for the thumb, I did a polka dot gradient. Finished with Seche Vite Top Coat except on my texture nail.

I'm in love with what stripping tape can do for me for nail art designs. There so much possibilities. What do you think of my blue and green skittle manicure?

Bright Green and Red Dry Water Marble

Here is my third manicure for this month's theme of summer for The Nail Challenge Collaborative. I liked the outcome of my last dry water marble so I decided to do one that's more summer themed using a bright green and red. I also had to add in a glitter accent too.

For my base color, I have on Salon Perfect Sugar Cube on all the nails except for the ring nail. Taking American Apparel Neon Green and Sinful Colors Folly, I dabbed blobs on the white while it was still wet and swirled the colors to create the water marble design. For the ring, I did a glitter accent using China Glaze Ray-diant. Finished with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

I tried not to swirl/mix this as much as I have in the past and I think this is my favorite dry water marble so far. I just love how the green and red coral shade look here. The middle nail turned out the best too. What do you think of this bright dry water marble manicure?

Blue Swimming Fish Stamping

I've been practicing on my stamping skills but I can never seem to fully transfer the image as perfectly as I want. I guess I need to practice more. Let's see what I have today.

First, I started with Nicole by OPI My Jay Or The Highway! on my ring and middle nail. I stamped with Essie Mesmerize using Born Pretty Store stamping plate AQ62 with my Konad stamper and scraper set. Use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off. For the rest of the nails, I used Julep Nora. Finished with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat on only the stamped nails.

Like the previous stamping plate I reviewed from Born Pretty Store, this one also came wrapped with a blue film on the top and bottom to prevent any scratches. Again, no paper backing so be careful not to cut yourself when handling them.

Here's a close look at the stamping plate. What drew me into this plate was the fish bone images. That has to be the next image I want to try out on my nails. These cost $2.99 but you can use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off your order.

I still need practice with nail art stamping but overall, I like how this turned out. I like the contrast between the suede and the glossy nails here. If you have any tips or advice on how I can improve on my stamping skills, let me know. What do you think of this manicure?

*Born Pretty Store provided the stamping plate for review purposes. My opinion is 100% honest. Post does contain affiliate links.*

Purple Gradient Tribal Print Stamping

One of the nail art techniques that I haven't done in a while is stamping so I decided to get back into it. I got some plates from Born Pretty Store to try out so I went ahead and did a manicure. This was kind of a spontaneous design so its not perfect but let's see how it looks.

I started with Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud on my nails. Then I did a gradient by sponging on Essie Splash of Grenadine on the tips of my nails. I stamped using American Apparel Hassid with the Born Pretty Store stamper and scraper set with an image from the Born Pretty Store stamping plate QA66. Use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off. Finished with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

Here is how the stamping plate looks when I first received it. It came with a blue protective film on both the front and back to prevent any scratches prior to peeling the film off. The only complaint I have about this plate is that the back does not have a protective paper backing other image plates have. So you have to be careful not to cut yourself with it.

Here's a closer look at the stamping plate and the designs on it. I like that it has some full size images as well as small images on it. What drew me in to this plate was this tribal image and the geometric one. Surprisingly, I also really like the butterfly image too. This cost $2.99 but you can use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off your entire order.

My stamping skills aren't the best since its been a while since I've done it but I like how this looks regardless. It almost looks ancient to me because the print looks broken and faded here. What do you think of this tribal print stamping manicure?

 
*Born Pretty Store provided the stamping plate and stamper/scraper set for review purposes. My opinion is 100% honest. Post does contain affiliate links.*

Neon Spotted Nail Art with Texture Accent

This is my second manicure for this month's theme of summer for The Nail Challenge Collaborative. I've always wanted to do a spotted rainbow nail art design so I thought this would be the perfect time to create it. I've been into adding an accent to my manicures too so I threw that in here.

First, I started with Salon Perfect Sugar Cube on all the nails except for the ring. Taking American Apparel Neon Yellow, American Apparel Neon Orange, and Misa Lather, Rinse, Repeat, I dotted a horizontal line of each color with a dotting tool in various sizes. For the ring nail, I did a texture accent using Love & Beauty Purple/Silver. I finished with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat on all the nails except for the texture accent on the ring nail.

I did smudge the design a bit with my top coat on the pinky but other than that I'm happy with this. What do you think of this neon spotted nail art manicure?

Beyond the Nail Swatches and Review + Nail Art

Beyond the Nail is a Canadian indie polish brand created and owned by two sisters, Maddy and Krystyn Scrbic. They sell a variety of nail polish, nail decals, cuticle oils, and nail tools/accessories. I'm always so happy to support a fellow Canadian based indie brand so I was excited to be given a chance to review some items from their shop.

Shimmering Mermaid has large silver holographic hexagon, medium blue hexagon, and smaller light blue glitters in a clear base. Formula and application was great on this. I love that this glitter is so subtle and spare because you can layer it over a bunch of different colors to get a variety of looks. This is two coats over Essie Absolutely Shore with top coat.

Mint Microglitter is packed with small mint micro glitters in a clear base. Its hard to tell but I will say this mint leans a bit more green than blue to me. The formula on this is a little thicker than the previous glitter but still easy to apply. You can also wear this over a similar colored base polish to lessen how much coats you apply. This is three coats with top coat.

I also received some nail decals to review as well. I actually thought these would be bigger but I like that there smaller. They come in a variety of colors you can choose from as well as different designs. I received the white half chevrons nail decals and the neon pink triangle nail decals.

This nail art is pretty simple. I started with Barielle Do Unto Others on all the nails except for the ring. I used Beyond the Nail Mint Microglitter on top. I applied the pink triangle nail decals on the base of each nail. For the ring, I have on Sephora by OPI Light as a Feather. I applied the white half chevrons nail decals down the center of that nail. Finished with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.

*I was testing out the light box I made so sorry for the less than stellar lighting here.*

The only issue I had was that the triangle nail decals didn't want to lay full flat on my nails. So I suggest using it more on the sides of the nail instead of in the center where your nail is more curved. Other than that, they were easy to apply with tweezers and they look great too.

Final Impression
Overall, I really like their polishes and their nail decals. The formula, color selection, and price is great. My favorites have to be Shimmering Mermaid and the white half chevron decals.

Their polishes cost $9-10 and both nail decals cost $3.50 each. Check out Beyond the Nail over at their etsy shop HERE. Be sure to follow them on facebook, twitter, and instagram too!

*Beyond the Nail sent the nail polishes and nail decal vinyls for review purposes. My opinion is 100% honest.*

Neon Sponging and Gradient

Here is my first manicure for this month's summer theme for The Nail Challenge Collaborative. I didn't know what to do for this theme so I decided on some bright neon manicures. I think the summer season is the perfect time to wear them.

I started with Salon Perfect Sugar Cube on my ring and middle nail. With American Apparel Neon Yellow, American Apparel Neon Green, American Apparel Neon Orange, and American Apparel Neon Coral, I randomly sponged on the colors on the white nails. For the rest of the nails, I did a gradient with the neon polishes. Finished with Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat.

Unfortunately, the gradients didn't turn out as smooth as I wanted them to be. I'm happy with the sponged nails though. What do you think of this manicure?

Vibrant Butterfly Water Nail Decals

I'm so happy with my one week break from school but bummed that I  have two tests to do once I get back. So, I've been doing some homework as well as studying for the tests I have. Today, I have a post about some butterfly water nail decals I received from Born Pretty Store to review. Nail decals are a great way to add nail art to your manicures without the hard work.

I started with Love & Beauty Burnished Gold on my pinky, ring, and thumb. For the rest of the nails, I used Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. Then I used saran wrap to dab Sephora by OPI Bright as a Feather on top and applied Born Pretty Store Butterfly Water Nail Decals D031. Use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off. Finished with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat on the ring and middle nail.

Here's a closer look at the butterfly water nail decals. I love that some of them are accented with gold glitter too. They were very easy to apply and they look great on the nails. These cost $2.99 but you can use coupon code YCL91 for 10% off your entire order.

I'm very happy with how this manicure turned out. As you can tell, I've been into pairing texture polishes with my nail art designs. What do you think of this manicure?

*Born Pretty Store provided water nail decals for review purposes. My opinion is 100% honest. Post does contain affiliate links.*