A-Z Weekly Challenge - L is for Lines

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Barielle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A post? A real post? I know it's been forever, and I really apologize. I hate saying it, but I always thought a little badly about bloggers who started making nail polish and suddenly disappeared from the blogging community, but I totally get it now. Running a business is insanely hard. Having a life while running a business is next to impossible. Blogging (a job in itself) while juggling getting a new business on its feet and real life? Impossible, or simply so much extra, stressful work that most never even try after the initial rush.

But things are finally settling into place for me. I'm still super busy, but I finally feel like Spellbound Nails the business is easing into a rhythm and life is slotting into the open areas of this. After a year of the only polish on my nails being something that got there accidentally while mixing I'm finally finding time to do my nails at least once a week. They usually don't last more than a day ... a few hours depending on how many orders I have to get mixed and shipped, but that's more than I thought would ever happen this time last year. So I'm going to try my best to share my nails with you again. I'm not going to promise quality pictures every time. Sometimes the best you'll get is a quick picture snapped on my phone, but I hope you'll enjoy them all the same.

Barielle Jetsetter Collection | ZigZag Gradient Nail Art

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Barielle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello lovelies!! Some of you may have seen the black & white sneak peek of this mani on my Instagram account (@spellbound_nails) - now see it in full color! I was sent some really gorgeous fall colored polishes by Barielle from their fall/winter Jetsetter Collection. I'm not a great swatcher, but I pride myself on my nail art. With this in mind, I set myself the challenge of using them all in one mani. 6 polishes in one mani? It was a little challenging, but I love the final product!!

I started by painting my index and my pinky nails with my all time new favorite brown Autumn in Seoul. This is seriously the most gorgeous brown. It's a little bit red and a little bit gold with a light shimmer and a metallic-y finish that does streak a little but a good layer of top coat took care of that. This color leaves me wanting to paint my nails and just leave them that color all fall long so you know it's an amazing color!! While the brown was drying I took a sponge and created a gradient using (from cuticle down) Irish Eyes, Gondola Ride, Rain in Spain, and lastly Kiss Me Kate. There's not a huge difference between the green shades of Irish Eyes and Gondola Ride but the fade between greens is actually more visible in person than in pictures so I was pleased! I added some Born Pretty 2mm round gold studs to help it compete with the pattern I knew I was adding to the gradient. And lastly I did the pattern with Midnight in Paris.

I found this really awesome pattern while browsing for zigzag patterns to use. I was going to do a simple zigzag but then this one popped up in my search so I ran it through my Silhouette software and printed/cut it with my Silhouette vinyl cutter. It was tricky because the pattern was nowhere close to the simple peel and stick patterns I've been using but thankfully I had some vinyl transfer paper on hand and after 4 trials and errors before this I managed to get the pattern on my nails nearly perfectly. After that it was the simple paint over and peel off of regular vinyls. :)

L-R: Autumn in Seoul, Kiss Me Kate, Irish Eyes, Gondola Ride, Midnight in Paris, Rain in Spain

Here are the shades I used in case you were wondering. And I'm very sure I'll be finding all kinds of fun things to do with these all fall and winter long ... and probably longer because most of these are such great basic shades that can be used all year long and ones that everyone should have in their collection.

And I leave you with one last mani pic. ;)

What do you think? Do you have a favorite color from the Jetsetter Collection? As always, let me know in the comments.

Until next time,
Ashley

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Barielle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Stripes and Dots

*The products in this post were purchased with my own money.

Today's mani came to me in a dream. No, seriously, I woke up with the idea so I must have dreamed it. And it looks really awesome in my opinion.

What do you think? I'm reminded slightly of Doctor Who Dalek. The stripes on the side don't fit a Dalek, but the resemblance is there.

I started with two coats of OPI Strawberry Margarita from the OPI Best of the Best mini collection. Strawberry Margarita is originally from the Beach Party Collection, and I can see why. It's such a yummy bright pink — perfect for the beach.

I used tape to create the thin lines up and down on either side and filled them in with Petites Black. Then I used a nail art brush to create the thicker stripes across. You could also do this with tape, but I found it faster, if less neat and precise, to freehand them.

I added a coat of Seche Vite and thought it looked bare. It needed something, so I dug out my Born Pretty Store studs. I vowed to use these more often and this was the perfect opportunity. I decided on the black studs. I've never found the perfect mani for these so I've never used them before! Exciting!!

The best way I've found to use these types of studs is to lay them on your nail over dry polish first so you can get the perfect spacing and positioning. Then pick them up one by one with tweezers and lightly dip the bottom in clear polish and set them back down. It gives you more leeway as you can decide you don't like the design and move them around. You can't do this if you just pick them up and slap them on wet polish. There's no changing your mind after that! I really hope this tip helps someone. :)

*The products in this post were purchased with my own money.

Pastel Gradient with Born Pretty Store Studs

Hello again! Gradients seem to be the thing for me lately. I think it's the coming of Spring and Summer; I'm just preparing! So I dug out the most pastel colors I own for a pretty and feminine spring gradient — a little early, but it would be perfect for Easter.

Those most pastel colors I own just happened to be Sally Hansen Pink Blink, Petites Color Fever Creme Blue, and Revlon Enchanting. I decided to try a makeup sponge with this gradient instead of my usual eyeshadow applicator. I like the smooth fade between colors, but I didn't like the extra work it took to get the colors built up. I also thought it was beyond time to break out my Born Pretty Store gold metal studs. I received these by mistake with an old order and they were nice enough to let me keep them while also shipping out the ones I did order. It's been too long since I played with these studs. ;)

I'm thinking it's also been too long since I ordered anything from the Born Pretty Store. I forgot how awesome their nail decorations are! And they've come out with so much more since my last order. I'm dying for the hearts ... and the squares ... and the stars ... and ... well, I think you get the idea! I'll definitely be ordering something. 

You can use the code MLE10W21 at checkout for 10% off your order if you decide to purchase something from the Born Pretty Store too!

E is for ...

I had so many ideas on what to do for E in the ABC Challenge. I may still attempt some of them after Halloween. But, in the end E is for ... Eeyore!!

There's really not much to say about this mani. I'm pretty disappointed in my freehand Eeyore. It's not up to my usual standards. He started out so well too, and I have no idea where he went wrong. Still, I love Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl, and I love the cloud pattern on this pink! That and Eeyore's tail really saved this mani, in my opinion.

Check in tomorrow for my favorite Nail-Aween mani yet. I don't think anything else I come up with for this Halloween inspired challenge could beat it.

The Dalek Rule This Galaxy

The Dalek Rule This Galaxy

I mentioned on my Facebook page last week that I was doing my first galaxy nail. I also mentioned that I had to put my own spin on them. I left you all in the dark on just what kind of spin. Well, it's a Doctor Who spin. Most of you probably won't recognize the Doctor Who reference, but I hope you enjoy the nails anway. I thought of using the Tardis but I decided to go the road less traveled and do a Dalek ... or maybe just Dalek inspired since it's not a perfect replica.

What galaxy is complete without a Dalek or two? None, I tell you, none! The Dalek nails aren't something just anyone would recognize, but it's a nice in-joke among fans. I'm just curious, how many of you recognized the nail right away or got excited when you read the title?

Some of you may recognize this gold nail from last post's Golden Twilight nails. Not only is the color Bold Gold ... it's the same nail! I took off the Twilight Rays color but kept Bold Gold. It has held up very nicely, hasn't it? I just added the Born Pretty gold nail studs and a few layers of top coat to keep them in place. The nail studs are a great match in color for Bold Gold and make for a near perfect Dalek!

I was utterly terrified of doing galaxy nails after hearing all the horror stories, but I think these turned out really well being my first try and all.

I decided to use a creme black for space but stuck to shimmer polishes for the galaxies. The stars dotted on are a white creme. I also used this white for the galaxy base. The galaxies are made up of shimmer yellow, orange, and peach for the lighter shades and a deep shimmer metallic purple and a shimmer blue for the darker shades. I used a purple glitter, a blue holo glitter, a silver holo glitter, and a simple fine glitter for the stars not dotted on. It was all very shiny and glittery!

I couldn't resist bringing out my blue/white light and seeing what they looked like under that. I think it was one of my better ideas to use only shimmer and glitter polishes.

Image from Alibaba.com

For those looking for simpler solution to using a sponge, whether for galaxy nails or gradients or any other nail where a sponge would come in handy, use an eyeshadow applicator. I found this worked so much better for me than any kind of sponge. Not only did I pick up a pack of 12 (60mm) applicators for cheap at my local dollar store, I had better control while using them. They are made to fit in your hand so they keep a wet mani intact while you do the opposite hand and are small enough to move around your entire nail easily. I can also use and reuse these. For these nails, I only used one side of an applicator! Not even the front and back of one side, just one side.


So, what do you guys think of galaxy nails? I know I will definitely be doing these again! 


Polish Used
LA Colors - Black
Sally Hansen - White On
Pure Ice - Unzip Me
Pure Ice - Twinkle
Revlon - Tangerine
Funky Fingers - Power Chord
China Glaze - Blue Year's Eve
L.A Girl Glitter Addict - Eutopia
Funky Fingers - Flashing Lights
Wet n Wild - Kaleidoscope
LA Colors - Glitter

Mattifying

Hello, lovelies! How do my nails look? These are the first pictures since I broke the index nail of this hand and did an emergency teabag fix. It's holding up great!!

As for this post, I bring you a new product today. Or rather, New York Color (NYC) brings you a new product. It's a mattifying top coat (yep, they called it mattifying) they've named Matte Me Crazy.

I was stunned to find this on the shelf. The only matte top coat to be found around here is Hard Candy's, Matte-ly in Love, found exclusively in Walmart. Hard Candy will cost you about $4 for a .35 fl oz bottle. It will even get you a cute little cardboard topper that fits over the cap. This makes finding it in a polish drawer very easy!

But, the reason I was so excited to find this new matte top coat is that NYC costs under $2 for a .33 fl oz bottle and can be bought in a multitude of locations. Sadly, it doesn't come with a cardboard topper and is not so easy to find in a polish drawer. :(

Now for the nitty gritty. Hard Candy has a much thicker formula. Hard Candy passed the drip test with flying colors. NYC ... not so much. It gave two very quick drips and a slower third before leveling out on the brush.

While on the subject of brushes. Hard Candy has a short, rounded brush with a slightly short and round cap. It fits in my hand okay but its short length may not be comfortable for everyone. NYC has a longer and wider brush that's attached to a round cone like cap. My preference in brushes have always leaned towards the wider and flatter. I adore the Sally Hansen flat brush and the new Wet n Wild megalast Pro brush so I prefer the NYC brush.

I don't think Riveting was the polish to go for when testing out a new matte top coat. I know it turned matte but I'm not sure just how matte. I can however tell you that NYC mattified slower than Hard Candy. I was actually kind of pleased about this though. I've had trouble with one part of my nails turning more matte than another with Hard Candy because it dried and turned matte too quickly. I don't know about anyone else, but I paint backwards so my pinkie nail was just settling into fully matte by the time I started my thumb with NYC. I had no streaking or blobs of darker matte with NYC.

I will definitely give you a more thorough answer on just how matte is matte when talking about these two in another post with another mani. NYC may just be a good substitute for the more expensive Hard Candy. We'll see ... probably sometime next week.

Feeling Studly

Hello, girlies! I was going to post this mani Friday but with my nails breaking I held off. I managed to fix two of the nails with the teabag method. I really wish I had taken pictures to share but I was so focused and panicked at the time to think of it. I definitely recommend trying this method next time your nail tears. I've never had any of the fixes I've attempted before last this long. Do a search for the instructions and keep the supplies handy! You'll be happy you did.


Onto my Friday mani.

These are 2mm silver nail studs I bought from Born Pretty. I also picked up some black and gold studs that you'll definitely see used later. The Customer Service department was wonderful when I received two gold and a black. They immediately shipped out a package of silver for me and told me to keep the extra gold pack! Use the code EMILYW21 for a 10% discount if you place an order with Born Pretty.


I think I'm becoming obsessed with these things! They look even better in person. 

I was so very, very sad to take these off so I could fix my nails. I didn't even get any really great pictures. I was waiting until Saturday when the weather was supposed to be less cloudy. I'll have to do these again and get better pictures. :)