Frilly Knickers Grey-dient

This morning I've got some gradient nail art to share with you, featuring two of the polishes from the LaCC Fall 2014 Collection which I swatched here.  

I started by laying down one coat of 2000 (grey), and then sponged on the gradient with that and 2002 (black).  I thought it could use a little something more, so I added a coat of Butter London Frilly Knickers on top.  It's all sealed with a coat of Seche Vite.  

It's a pretty simple look, but I quite enjoyed wearing it!  What do you think?  :)

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art: Kaleidoscope

Hello!  I've got another set of the Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art to share with you today.  They applied the exact same as the previous set, so I'll omit most of the details in this post but you can read up my original review for everything you need to know about them here!

This time,  I applied the decals over a glitter polish instead of white.  I used three thin coats of Orly Halo for the base, and then applied the water decals.  The rest of my nails are one coat of LaCC 1999 followed by one coat of Butter London Black Knight.  All nails are topped off with a coat of Seche Vite. 

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art.  Available at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix for a limited time only.  Quo by Orly polishes are free of DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene. 

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me by the company's PR representative for review and my honest opinion.  

NCLA Nail Wraps Review: Wax Print

Good morning!  You may remember a while back that I reviewed a set of NCLA Nail Wraps, which you can see here.  I have one more set to show you today, this design is called Wax Print! 

I've been waiting to show you the second set until I could find a time to test the wear, but that idea kind of failed.  My busy life and ridiculous pile of polishes to swatch, along with inability to tolerate having the same thing on my nails for more than two days made that pretty much impossible.  

Since I think that all-over patterns can sometimes be a bit much (and to extend the life of the packages of wraps) I prefer to use them as accent nails.  That's what is what I chose to do with the last set, and I did the same with these to create a cool skittlette mani! 

As with the last set, I wore these wraps for two days with no lifting or any signs of wear.  Following the instructions, I added a top coat to protect them after applying.  Here I've used two coats of Seche Vite.  

I covered all of the application in my previous post, so I'll just paste the same thing here again: 

Along with the wraps, each package comes with a set of instructions and a nail file.  These wraps were very easy to use: choose the size that best fits your nail, peel off, place on your nail, stretch and rub to remove any air bubbles or wrinkles, file off the excess at the edge, and top coat.  The great thing about these is that if you don't get it on the first try, you can quickly remove it and try again.  They were pretty stretchy, and it was super easy to get the completely smooth finish that I've been missing from other brands of wraps.  In case I'm making no sense, ChrissyAi posted a video on applying these wraps! 

I feel like I do need to address the issue of removal, as several bloggers have mentioned having bad damage to their nails after removing (take a look at this).  When I posted my initial review, I had not read anyone else's yet; I had applied and removed the wraps with no problem so I made no mention of it.  After reading multiple posts on the removal, I paid extra attention this time.  

Since the nail wraps aren't made with real polish, they are supposed to just peel right off which causes damage.  I obviously didn't read this the first time around, because I tried to soak them off anyways, haha!  Good thing, too!  So, as with last time, I doubled up on basecoat, applied the wraps, and added two coats of Seche Vite.  When it came to removal, I soaked them with remover to remove the top coat and loosen up the base coat, and then used an orange stick to gently push the wrap off, starting from the cuticle.  This method of removal probably takes longer than simply peeling, but I'd say it's totally worth it if you're at all invested in the health of your nails.  

My thumbs and index fingers are two coats of Butter London Stag Do, and my pinky is an accent of three coats of Butter London Dosh.  I mixed it up on my right hand with some differently-patterned wraps; I think the one on my right ring finger is my favourite!  Excuse the awkward hand pose... 

NCLA Nail Wraps are now available for purchase through Nail Polish Canada for $16CAD per set of wraps; you can find this specific set here.  To see the whole selection offered by NPC, clicky here.  With 40 individual wraps in one set, you'll get a lot of manis, especially if you use them as accent nails! 

Overall, I really like this set of wraps as well!  The designs are really unique, and the wide variety within the one pack makes them ideal if you're looking for accent nails!  :)   

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Polish Days: The Number 5

Hi everyone!  This is my second month joining in Polish Days (my first being last month's now-famous sloth nails) and it's a lot of fun, I'll definitely be doing my best to take part every month from now on!  :)

This month's theme is a little more open to interpretation than previous times: the number 5!  As with yesterday's post, I've taken some fancy-pantsy photos of this one (with the help of my sister.) ;)  

Since this is a little picture-heavy, follow the jump to see more photos!

Valentine's Day

I've never been one for Valentine's day.  As a rarity in the world of teenage girls, I don't go to public school and prefer to steer clear of all the relationship drama.  The highlight of Valentine's Days in years past has been getting some chocolate from my amazing and loving parents, and I'm perfectly fine with that!

Nevertheless, I can still use the day as an excuse to wear one of my favourite polishes, and stick hearts on them to make my mani appropriate for the occasion! 

By the time I was done a ton of swatching last night I didn't want to do anything too time-consuming, so I came up with this simple look.  I used two coats of Butter London Fiddlesticks, and picked some heart glitters out of one of my indie polishes to stick on to each nail.  Two coats of Seche Vite for a smooth finish. 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I also did my sister's nails for Valentine's Day.  We decided on some unnaturally-coloured leopard print in shades of pink.  I started with three easy coats of NOPI Studio Mama, did the center of the spots with Butter London Rosie Lee, and drew the outlines in OPI We'll Always Have Paris.  Topped it with one coat of Seche Vite.  She got lots of compliments on this at dance yesterday!  

She also now has an appreciation for how difficult and awkward hand-posing is.  

I'm really loving my simple Valentine's Day mani, still festive while not too over-the-top.  Definitely suits me!  What have you got on your nails for Valentine's Day?  Any special plans to celebrate?  :)

The Black Knight's Heart

If you were expecting some strange mash-up nail art between chess pieces and a deck of cards based on the title of this post, it's just some more valentines nail art over here.  I'm not one to go all-out for this holiday, but this is a look I've been wanting to try for a while, and I figured now was as good a time as ever to give it a go!  

I started with one easy coat of Revlon Raspberry Scone, and added one coat of a glow-in-the-dark polish that my friend's parents got me on a recent day-trip to the states!  Topped that with Seche Vite because I'm impatient, and then stuck two hole-reinforcement stickers at the base of each nail to make the top of a heart.  

Next, I painted over the exposed part of my nail with my recently acquired Butter London The Black Knight which has been a long-time lemming of mine, and immediately removed the stickers.  I absolutely love the black base with multi-coloured microglitter!

I finished the look with two coats of Seche Vite for a completely smooth finish.  I was happy with my execution on this one, but as I was wearing it I kept questioning my colour choice with the pink.  I think I might have preferred a rich red, or a darker pink. 

While in ballet yesterday with one of the teachers who regularly checks on my nails in class, she caught a glimpse of these and I told her they were supposed to be the tops of hearts.  She then asked me if I did them for anyone special; I replied "My internet friends!" which got me a strange look, so I had to explain my whole nail-blogging thing in the middle of barre to my teacher.  I'm pretty sure that all my teachers know now, haha!  

I'll be back tomorrow with my last Valentine's Day nail art, along with my sister's nails!  :)

Rosie Lee & Jane Eyre

I've never been one for Valentine's day, and I don't usually love holiday-themed nail art (Christmas excluded.)  However, when I saw this post by Lydia's Nails, I loved the edgier Valentine's Day colour combination and opted to give it a go for myself!  :)

I didn't copy her look exactly, but instead drew inspiration from her colour choices.  Coincidentally, I had Butter London Rosie Lee sitting on my desk still untried, which is the same polish Lydia used in her nail art.  Pink glitter isn't really my thing and I wouldn't have bought the polish by itself, but hey, it came in a set of three BL for $15!  Can't pass up a deal like that!  :P

I started this at 10:47 pm, so due to laziness I layered one easy coat of Rosie Lee over OPI Senorita Rose-alita instead of building it up alone.  I got this OPI from my mom's friend at work, and I was curious when I opened it and found a small brush; I did some searching and it turns out it's from the 2002 South America Collection, before the days of OPI's wide brushes!   

I didn't want to use a plain black creme for the accent colour, but every polish I tried in my head seemed to be overkill.  It was then that I remembered my well-loved bottle of A England Jane Eyre, and knew the black creme with a subtle burgundy shimmer would be perfect!  

I taped of 2/3 of my nail and applied Jane Eyre before removing the tape and topping with two coats of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.  I really like this top coat, but I'm totally a Seche Vite girl and am desperately in need of another bottle (or five.)

Overall, I really like this look even though pink glitter doesn't quite suit me; it's simple, but eye-catching.  How do you like this look?  Is it something you'd wear around Valentine's Day, or are you more one for hearts and such?  :)

Denim & Fairy Cake

You may remember that I went to a dance convention in the US over the last weekend in January.  Being from Canada, I of course had to pick up a few (well... eleven) polishes, since they're so much cheaper in the US!  I got five Butter Londons, four NOPIs, and two OPIs, but I ended up only paying half of what they were all worth!  :)

Today I've got some nail art using two of my new polishes, take a look!

While perusing the interwebz last week, I came upon this look by Pshiiit and knew that I had to recreate it!  I started with NOPI Denim To Earth, a lovely indigo base with subtle purple shimmer that is camera-shy.  Once that was dry, I taped off my chevrons and painted on two-ish coats of Butter London Fairy Cake before quickly removing the tape.  

I wasn't sure if I wanted to add the matte tips, but the look was missing something so I decided to just go for it.  Boy, am I glad I did!  One freehanded coat of Essie Matte About You over the tips definitely pulled the look together and finished it off!  

I'm starting to collect more Butter London polishes and really loving them, much to the dismay of my parents because of the price tag! ;)  I'm really happy with these polish purchases, they look great together!  How do you like this look?  Would you try it in different colours?  :)

Indie January: A England She Walks In Beauty

It's the last day of Indie January!!  I'll have a round-up post later today, but for now I've got one last post featuring a beautiful polish, A England She Walks In Beauty. 

This polish is a clear base packed with micro gold, green, and pink shimmer as well as multiple sizes of rose pink glitter.  It can be built up to opacity by itself, but I chose to layer one coat over Butter London Teddy Girl for a cleaner look. 

Application on this polish was absolutely perfect, and I've used one coat of Seche Vite for a smooth finish. 

The polish reminded me so much of my Mirliton costume from The Nutcracker this year, with the glowing gold shimmer and pink glitter!  I honestly wasn't a fan of this when other bloggers' swatches started popping up or even when I saw it in the bottle, but I'm so glad I was proven wrong when I put it on!

A England polishes are available through Llarowe and the A England website, and you can keep up with the brand on Facebook.  

I felt like I had a tricky job to do with this polish... I saw pictures from some amazing bloggers and still didn't like it until I got it on my own nails, so I'm curious, did you like my pictures of it or not?  Did I succeed in making you want this polish?  Have you been in a similar situation where you didn't like a polish until someone gave it to you, and then absolutely loved it when you put it on?  :)

Diclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Indie January: ILNP Once Upon A Starry Night

It's day 17 of Indie January, and today's polish is another beauty from I <3 Nail Polish, Once Upon A Starry Night.  You can see my previous post on I<3NP here. 

Once Upon A Starry Night is a glitter topper full of blue, silver, and white glitters in various shapes and sizes, along with silver holographic stars.  I layered one coat plus spot-filling over Butter London Big Smoke.  This is with three coats of Seche Vite, this glitter was a hungry one! 

Formula on this one gave me quite a bit of trouble, after such a great experience with All Gold Everything I was a little disappointed.  I had to dab a lot and the glitters wanted to clump together, and by the time I was done I had so much clear base on my nails that it took forever to dry.  However, the end result is beautiful so I think I', willing to put in the extra effort in application. Also, same problem with the awful smell as I had with the previous polish.  Oddly enough, it actually bothered me more this time around. 

I really like the look of this glitter, it's gorgeous over the dark blue!  It's super sparkly in person, which unfortunately kind of freaked my camera out; just trust me that it's gorgeous glittery goodness!

 I<3NP is currently available through Etsy, and like the Facebook page for updates! 

I've got one more polish from I<3NP to show you this month, and that one will probably be up sometime next week.  What do you think of this glitter topper?  Are you willing to put in the extra effort in application for a beautiful glitter? :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Christmas Skittlette

Skitt * lette : a manicure consisting of two, or three, different accent nails on each hand. 

I just did my first skittlette manicure for a contest being hosted by Marta at ChitChatNails.  I've never tried one, and I decided to give it a go for the contest!  Take a look!

I used my three new Butter London polishes (thanks mom!) to create this nail art.  The magenta-plum creme is Queen Vic, the deep pink microglitter is Fiddlesticks, and the green is Jack The Lad.  The gold glequins are from the BornPrettyStore (code for 10% off: PPJ61) and the gold microglitter on my index finger is Orly Prisma Gloss Gold.  Sealed with two coats of Seche Vite (Fiddlesticks is a hungry one.)

I'm not really a pink person, but without question I'll make an exception for Fiddlesticks!  A rich-toned base with dark flecks and glowing microglitter?  Yes, please!  Queen Vic is an absolutely perfect two-coat creme, and Jack The Lad is such a stunner, although the gold glequins don't let the true beauty of this polish shine through.

I'm obviously not as talented at artsy pictures as Marta, haha!  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to come up with multiple different nails that would all look good together and form a cohesive look.  I have so much respect for Marta who constantly comes up with stunning combinations for her manicures! 

I'm looking forward to wearing all of these polishes alone, but I also really enjoyed wearing them together!  What do you think of my first skittlette?  :)

Mod Teddy Girl

The nicest thing happened the other day!  A lady at my mom's office brought in  bunch of nail polish and put it out in the break room for people to take, saying that she'd never use them again.  My mom took a couple bottles and emailed her to explain how much I'd appreciate them and thank her, to which she told my mom to just take all of them!  I arrived home to 4 bottles of OPI, 2 Revlons, one Essie, and a Butter London!  And all the bottles are practically brand new! 

The Butter London I received is a gorgeous light pink called Teddy Girl, it looks to be very close to a couple other light pinks I have, (OPI Mod About You, Essie Fiji, Essie French Affair.)  Let me know if you'd be interested in a comparison post!  

The formula on Teddy Girl was really easy to work with, though it did require three coats to be completely opaque.  I stamped over it with BM-322 and Konad black polish, and then added dots with Essie No Place Like Chrome. 

I know my stamping leaves a little to be desired in spots, but when it's not blown up to five times the size of my actual nail, it's very visually striking.  

This doesn't really fit in with my usual aesthetic, but I really like it!  I'll definitely have to wear Teddy Girl again by itself soon, it's such a soft pretty colour that's really flattering on my skin tone.  

How do you like what I did with Teddy Girl?  Would you like to see a comparison post with my other similar light pinks?  Leave a comment, they make me happy!  :)

Butter London Knackered

I have a quick swatch post today of Butter London Knackered.  For these pictures I layered 3 coats of Knackered over 3 coats of China Glaze Inner Beauty.  I think next time I'll layer it over a black creme so that the duochrome is more visible, but I did these on Monday night after my photo shoot so I was already wearing Inner Beauty.  It was pretty late when I did these, so my manicure job is annoyingly sub-standard for me.  I had some shrinkage, took some photos that don't do this polish any justice, and I even managed to badly dent two nails!  Anyways, I'll just leave you with the pictures. 

With flash to show the holo. 

Silver Stripes

Good morning!  If you read my blog with any sort of regularity, you'll know that I LOVE stripes.  Until now I had always just cut my own strips of tape, which was unpleasantly tedious and time-consuming.  I don't know why it's taken me so long to get some striping tape, but now that I have it I'm never looking back!

I got a 12-pack of striping tape from the Born Pretty Store.  Each roll holds a lot of tape, and even with my affinity for stripes I think it'll be a long time before I run out!  For this manicure I started with two coats of my brand-smackin'-new Butter London Big Smoke. (While I was away my mom got me three Butter Londons, and they are also my first, which makes me a wee bit excited.)  The formula on Big Smoke was absolutely flawless.  I topped that with one coat of Seche Vite before adding the stripes. 

I put on the stripes by cutting pieces of tape that were longer than my nail, placing them on, and then cutting them to length at the edges of my nails using nippers. I topped it with two more coats of Seche Vite and it was still a little bumpy, but nothing that bothered me.

The tape stripes lasted surprisingly well.  After the second full day of wear some of the edges started poking up, but I was able to make it three full days with near-perfect stripes!

You can use my coupon code below at checkout at the Born Pretty Store for 7% off your order.  They have a ton of great nail art supplies for really good prices, and free worldwide shipping! 

I also wanted to let you know that a couple days ago my blog passed 10,000 pageviews, and I have over 2000 followers on Instagram!  Woohoo!  Thank you guys so much for all your support!  :)


Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion.