Born Pretty Store Dried Flowers Review

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Hey ladies,

I have some gorgeous dried flowers from Born Pretty Store to review for you today.

These are the 12 X Unique Dry Dried Flower UV Nail Art Design ones. Here is the direct link: http://www.bornprettystore.com/unique-dried-flower-nail-design-p-129.html
I received 12 pottles of different coloured flowers in 2 styles. At first I preferred the larger whole flowers rather than the the big ones with lots of tiny flowers. The reason being? The tiny flowers are super brittle and therefore difficult to handle without breaking up. Also, The stalk-y bits don't float my boat and they're far too big to fit whole on my little nails. But then I realised that the tiny flowers are really gorgeous if you cut them off the stalk! I played around with them a bit in my mani to show you the different things you can do with them.

pink and blue flowers

These are the 2 I used for my dried flower nail art.

Dried flower nail art over OPI The Color of Minnie

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I didn't have any thick top coat with me so it was a bit bumpy to the touch, but it looked pretty cool. My favourite nails are the index and pinkie.

Application wasn't difficult or time consuming, just a little fiddly. I used some scissors to cute the blue flower to fit my middle finger and most of the blue flower heads had just broken off by themselves.
I started off coating the entire nail in top coat, then placing the flowers on with a toothpick. After some trial and error, I just licked my finger and picked the flowers up and placed them that way!

Sorry for the crust around my cuticles, I didn't have my usual clean-up tools with me either :(

So would I buy these myself?
I think I really would. I do wish that there was an equal mix of the big and small flowers, but as I learned, the bigger ones look a bit more attractive once you get rid of the stalk. At US$6.08, I think the 12 pack is worth the cost.

Born Pretty Store have shared a 10% voucher with me and all my wonderful followers too! Next time you make a purchase at BPS please use code QHL91. Once 10 people have used it BPS will sponsor a giveaway, so you guys will get even more out of it!

xxx
NPA

Items in this review were provided by Born Pretty Store for my honest consideration.

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies & Born Pretty Store Silver Foil

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Some wonderful Kiwi ladies just started a Facebook group for NZ polish enthusiasts (god, enthusiast sounds uber nerdy!) and I had no idea how many of us there are! I'm so excited for swaps and possible polish hunting missions etc!

In other news I can't shake my pups! Charlie is stuck to me like glue (though Mum came home today so he stares at her an awful lot, except he prefers to do it from my arms...), and Buster is either begging for cuddles or playtime! I donated my Jemima Puddle Duck to him this week because he had a lack of toys and I knew he'd go crazy over the sticky out beak and feet. He's been thrashing her all round the house. The cutest thing is when he lays on his back with all paws in the air, holding the toy in between his front paws while chewing! His ears go all pointy and he looks adorable! It makes me giggle even when he has been naughty!

I'll be back in Chch this time tomorrow night to pack up my flat and drive back up to Akld :( Gonna be bitter-sweet ;(


Moving on to the manicure:

Silver Nail Art Foil over OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

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 Tomorrow Never Dies is a deep violet with pink and blue micro-shimmer that is extremely blue toned. The formula and application were flawless in 2 coats. I don't have any other purples like this so I'm thrilled it's part of the OPI Skyfall Collection.

Born Pretty Store contacted me to review a product for them (which I'm still working on) and it reminded me that I'd had a cart full of their products waiting to be checked out for so many months now! I pulled the trigger on a selection of nail art products and they arrived about one and a half weeks later - not bad BPS!!! Especially when they warn you that products take a minimum of 3 weeks to arrive!

One of the things I purchased was the Gold and Silver Nail Art Foil 12pk. They come with about 1 sheet per pottle and this stuff is basically the same as gold or silver leaf, only it's made of some other type of metal.

I couldn't find any tweezers and I was being lazy, so I broke the pieces up and placed them on my nails with my fingers! I just placed the pieces randomly on my nail (they transfer to the nail so easily!) and sealed them with a layer of Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat.

The foil lays really flat to the nail so there are no texture issues.
I can't wait to try some gold foil tips out, or maybe an entire foiled nail! I suspect this faux foil could be used in place of real gold/silver leaf in a top coat... But I haven't tested its colour-fastness in polish base so I'm no authority!!

Born Pretty Store were also kind enough to provide my readers with a 10% off discount code.QHL91

If enough of you use it, they will sponsor a giveaway so keep that in mind!!

I hope your weekends were awesome!


xxx
NPA

DIY Gold & Silver Leaf Top Coats

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I came across a post on making your own gold and silver leaf top coats the other day on Candy Glaze.
She gives you a how-to-guide in making your own for a fraction of the cost so click on that link to learn for yourself!

I immediately purchased the sheets of gold and silver leaf from a thai website for US$5.90 + shipping (which is around US$3-4 to NZ) for 10 sheets of each. The gold is 24k while the Zoya and OPI only sport 18k, so that's a bit more decadent to start with!

The method on Candy Glaze is for 5 sheets (of around 3.5x3.5cm) per 5mL bottle. I bought Frankie's Plasma from Wonder Beauty Supplies in 15mL bottles and found that 10 sheets wasn't quite enough for a full sized bottle, so I poured a few mLs out.

The suspension base is pretty darn thick, so some thinner may be in order, but it's still a great and cheap way to have your own little pot of gold or silver for your fingernails. Considering OPI The Man With The Golden Gun is retailing for $74 in NZ, my $12 alternative would be worth it regardless of how it turned out!

The flakes sit fairly flat on the nail. I think 1 coat of Seche Vite would be all you need. I have a little more base in the silver so not as many flakes end up on the nail without a tad of fishing, but the gold one is a dream!

I haven't gotten any swatches yet because I'm trying to get the China Glaze Holiday Joy polishes photographed, but here are some close ups of my top coats:

Edit: some people asked for pics so ok, here's a really quick swatch of 1 coat of gold and 1 coat of the silver on my thumb:

The bubbles are just there because I've been shaking the bottles like hell to break up the flakes some and didn't let it settle before I applied it.

What's the most you are willing to pay for 1 bottle of polish?


xxx
NPA

Takko Lacquer Fall Collection Swatches & Review

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Ooooh do I have a doozie of a post for you today... the newest collection from Takko Lacquer!!!

I was completely blown away by Sheryl's inaugural collection, she has an amazing way with shimmer that I just cannot get enough of!
And now she's back with an offering of 4 beautiful, new polishes.

Takko Lacquer Jimi's Jacket

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 Jimi's Jacket is a royal blue jelly with real gold and glitter flecks. In the sun the flecks look multicoloured, but in the shade they look very gold. It is beautiful and covers nicely in 2 coats. I did have a little VNL though so I might layer it or use a ridgefilling base coat next time I wear Jimi.

 Takko Lacquer Ooh La La!

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 Ooh La La! is a mauve purple with a strong flash of blue shimmer and flakies a la Nubar 2010 or Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. I wasn't too sure how I felt about the combination, but I couldn't stop staring at the gorgeous and ever-changing flakies that I wore OLL! as a mani for 2 1/2 days. I'm wearing 3 thin coats.

Takko Lacquer Strangely Delicious

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 Strangely Delicious is a peachy hue with a strong flash of green shimmer/turquoise shimmer. It is a tad sheer so I applied 3 coats, which almost completely covered my VNL. It looks quite pretty semi-sheer and a ridgefiller would probably hide my smile line completely.

Takko Lacquer To Infinity and Beyond

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To Infinity and Beyond is another scattered holo duochrome!!! It shifts between a gunmetal leaning purple and sea green. F*** me, I love it!! The application was a wee bit trying, if I went over the same area more than once the polish would wipe off, so I had to be careful. I ended up using 2-3 coats with this one (the nails I screwed up needing a 3rd coat/some dabbing to look even).


The formulas on these guys were all fairly thick so you might want to add some thinner.

Sheryl's customer service was once again top notch, I cannot recommend Takko Lacquer enough guys, so do visit her store.


xxx
NPA

The BATTLE: #1 Blue vs Green

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I had lofty hopes for some amazing nail art with 2 of my favourite polish colours, but disorganised as ever I just have a swatch for this challenge.

It is a gorgeous polish though!

Smitten Polish I Want It Now

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I Want It Now embodies the both green and blue nicely. With a forest green jelly base and green, turquoise and black hex glitter, it can look both warm and cool. I applied 3 coats to achieve full coverage, with absolutely no drama. I topped it off with 1 layer of Glitter Tamer for a beautiful shine.

Smitten Polish is available on Etsy and Llarowe

For the record, I'm on green's side :)

Don't forget to check all the other participants Challenge #1 posts:

Two Matejas Creating
An Indie Girl's Passion
Lacquered Tips
My Wondrous Marvellous Obsession
Cats n Nails
Jibber Jabber
Life in Color!
Annie Suzie

For everyone of age in the US I hope you go out and vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fingers crossed for 4 more years under Obama, hopefully without the Republicans blocking every single piece of Democrat introduced legislation!!

xxx

NPA