I've Got Neon, Holo, Zig-zags, Half Moons and Studs in the One Mani, Yay!

I was contacted a little while ago from Iona from StickyNails Nail Stencils about trying a new product she was working on.  I like to try new things so I gave her custom nail decals/stencils a shot and look!  Her package included a few different patterns of nail stickers but I'm always partial to a good chevron or zig zag so after pulling out the brightest colour combination I could find - Claire's Neon Orange and Pretty & Polished Boombox - I went to work. 

Iona's stencil stickers come on a white sheet of pseudo-plastic, with the designs pre-cut out, ready to lift off.  After applying three coats of Claire's Neon Orange polish with a coat of Seche Vite and waiting for it to dry completely, I peeled off one of the larger chevron stencils and laid it on my thumb.  She warns that these are strong stickers and she's not wrong because the first time you use one, you probably haven't waited long enough, and the base colour is going to come with you when you take it off.  I found that if you press the sticker against your palm first, it's much less ferocious.  The good thing about it being sticky is that you can press it down fully, and get right to the edges.  And your zig zags come out perfectly spaced!  I even used the in-between pieces on another manicure so win there.  Anyway, on my other three fingers I did a small freehand triangle half-moon and surround it with teeny studs from the Essence Nail Art kits I found at Shoppers.  Neon zig-zag stud win!

The Verdict:  I really like the stencils Iona has come up with.  I was able to re-use the same sticker 3-4 times, no issue, and you still get nice, even spacing and clean lines.  Also super digging Boombox as a holo blue, it's absolutely gorgeous and applies really well.

You can find StickyNails Nail Stencils on Etsy, $8-10 a set.  Worth it!

These products were sent to me for my honest review.

Review: Essie Twin Sweater Set with Art Deco Studs

Brace yourselves, I'm quite a mix of strong emotions today.  Ahem: WHY DO YOU HATE ME RED POLISHES.  I LOVE YOU AND YOU MAKE IT LOOK LIKE MY HANDS ARE BLEEDING AND THAT I TOOK PICTURES WITH A POTATO THAT CANNOT REGISTER COLOUR PROPERLY.  THIS RED IS BEAUTIFUL AND DARK BUT IT LOOKS THREE DIFFERENT SHADES HERE AFTER I SPENT 20 MINUTES TRYING TO FIX IT.  ONE OF THE SHADES IS BLEEDING.  THIS IS A LOT AND I WISH YOU WOULD BE NICE TO ME.  Also, studs are pretty cool, and I kiiiinda made it on the popular page on Instagram and I'm really excited about it :D

First things first, the polish.  Essie Twin Sweater Set is a crelly polish from the recent fall collection and it's just gorgeous.  I'm really into the browner reds these days and this one, despite needing three coats to be opaque, is shiny and awesome.  I couldn't just, like, leave my nails be, so I cracked out the wheel of nail studs I ordered off ebay x time ago.  I like to order things for $2-3 dollars from China on ebay sometimes.  You never know when it will show up and packages!  I placed a big blob of top coat - not Seche Vite - on my nails near the cuticle and pressed each stud deep into the polish.  I'd already put a coat of Seche Vite over the three layers so there was room to press, gently.  I kinda wreck it by immediately going to bed before it was really dry as I lost a couple but the ones that got to dry are still on.  THEN MY CAMERA JUST MADE IT LESS THAN SATISFACTORY.

I know you might be thinking that this isn't that bad.  But look at the difference in an INSTAGRAM PICTURE:

THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS IN REAL LIFE. RED.  SHINY.  NOT BLEEDY.  URGH.

Polish good, my photography and clean up abilities, not good.

So, something exciting happened to me last night.  I've been instagramming a bit lately and it's been paying off in the form of an account @fashinaddictx0 - with 686k users, no less - posted a picture of my recent mermaid nails with a credit to me that made it onto the popular page!  It's so exciting and I'm so happy everyone likes my work.  So after all the shouting, I just want to say I love all you guys <3<3<3

Yay!

Screw it Day 2: Nails Inc Disco Lane with Holographic Studs! Woo!

So it's totally Day 2 of my Screw-it challenge - where I do what I want, as long as I post!  We'll just pretend for now that I posted yesterday, and didn't nap instead.  I love napping.  Anyway, I saw on Instagram a while back that holographic studs existed and once I'd resuscitated myself, I had to buy them.  I can't remember where now, just google it.  I tried them out once before but was kind of disappointed because they seemed all plasticky and not all that holographic!  Turns out, they have plastic over them.  Peel off and BAM most holo.  So let's take a closer look at these, shall we?

I wanted a black polish to go with my silver studs and Nails Inc Disco Lane is a good match.  Cos sparklies.  I first tried just using the wet polish to stick the studs on but nail glue works so much better, once you've un-stuck your fingers from each other, and peeled the tweezers off your hand.   So, after applying three coats of Disco Lane - topped off with Seche Vite - I applied a little nail glue in the shape of a triangle, then stuck my studs on with tweezers.  I splashed out an bought proper nail glue, believe me it's worth it because it dries fast and is super glue-y.  Just be careful not to get it pooled in your cuticles because that will not come off easily.  Once the studs were dry I peeled the plastic coating and BAM shiny.  And hard to photograph.

The Verdict:  Yay Day 2!  I love these studs, because what's not to like.  Holo, ffs.  I <3 it.  And Disco Lane is a good polish too.  Like lots of little rainbows stars.  So win all round!

Alien Egg Nails!

I've been on a bit of a buying binge lately, mostly charms and studs from all over the place.  Turns out I love weird rainbow studs so much I bought them in three different sized circles and an oval shape.  I have absolutely no short term memory about what I buy.  If it's in my collection though, I could tell you definitively whether I have it or not.  Anyway, the only solution to having this many rainbow studs is clearly to just use them all at one.  Alien Eggs, BAM.

It's pretty clear I had no plan here.  I started with two coats of the Quo version of Orly Saturated and then went to town with my nail glue.  Any glue will do, just make sure it's of the higher end.  You want it to dry fast.  Once I unstuck my fingers from each other I started at the base of my nail with the big oval studs and just whacked on the rest.  There was no plan here.  The glue left the surface a little uneven so, using a small brush, I worked top coat on in the gaps.  BAM crazy nails. 

The Verdict:  This is definitely better than my first try at these.  You perhaps don't need to use this many studs but I can so there.  Love the purple, even if I have the alternate realty Orly version.  These just look so weird I'm into it.

I'LL FIGHT YOU WITH MY NAIL ARMOR PUNCHY SMASH SHINY

I always have high hopes for my nails but sometimes, things just come out more awesome that I expected.  I've had these hex studs for a while - it was quite the revelation when I found out they existed by the way - and the obvious thing to do is do a full coverage mani with them.  Especially given they're surprisingly easy to cut which makes my life a lot easier.  Shall we?

I wasn't sure just how well these would tessalate so I started with two coats of OPI My Signature is DC, a nice sparkly silver from the Coke Collection.  Cos you know, after the MLB Collection Coke is the next logical step for a polish brand.  Once done I applied liberal amounts of Essence Top Coat - any will do, as long as it doesn't dry fast - and applied the studs.  I made sure to press each one down into the polish and they seemed to stay on ok.  This isn't the most practical of looks, after all.  WORTH IT FOR THE SHINIES.  I EVEN HAVE A VIDEO.  THAT IS COMING.  Because despite my computer science degree making a fucking YouTube video of my nails is DIFFICULT.

The Verdict:  I love these, they're so shiny and awesome and makes me feel powerful and shield-y when I had them on.  Also sorry for swearing.

If you're interested in these studs, they'll be up on The Sparkly Shop shortly.

31DC2014 Day 9: RAINBOWS YESSSSSS

Do you understand the pressure for someone like me to have a challenge prompt like "rainbow"?? It's a lot of pressure.  I love rainbows and do rainbows a lot so having to do rainbow on command is hard.  So I have these triangle studs I haven't used yet.  Two problems, why not make a solution?  TRIANGLE RAINBOW STUD NEON THINGS YES.

A really strong blue is missing from the triangle stud colours so Sally Hansen Pacific Blue was an obvious complement.  Two coats of that and then top coat then put the studs on.  Press them down a bit so they stay on.  I was going to cover all my nail in them but then the gaps were good and then blacklight and neon and win.  Pics go!

The Verdict: NEON.  TRIANGLE.  RAINBOWS.  BLACKLIGHT.  PLEASING.  If you want the studs are here cos money.