Vintage Valentine Nail Art

Woohoo, more V-Day nail art! Today's mani is by far one of my all time favorites. I just love vintage-y nail art for Valentine's Day... anytime really. This mani is just so simple but still so elegant. :)

This mani was done with polishes from my Valentine's Day collection (Victorian Romance) and a little help from Born Pretty Store rose decals. I started with a base of My Own Sweet Valentine with an accent nail of Parchment & Lace. Once MOSV was dry I sponged on some Cheeks Tinted Red and a little more MOSV to really blend it together. The shimmer on this gradient was insane! I used top coat on Parchment and Lace and then used a Born Pretty Store water decal. (These decals are only $0.88 right now! Plus if you use the code BPS2014 you'll get 15% off sitewide! I say these are more than worth every penny!!!)

The decal was so easy to use. Just cut it out, dunk it into water (warm water if it's winter) for 10-15 seconds and the decal will slip right off the paper and be easy to position on your nail. I lightly wet the nail and placed the rose. I used a paper towel to blot the excess water and then gently used a finger to press the decal down, getting rid of wrinkles and bubbles until the decal dried completely. Then I topped it with more top coat and it was perfect!!

I couldn't resist trying the glitter of Love & Devotion over the gradient. It's nice, but I found I preferred the simplicity of the gradient alone.

What's your go-to nail art for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Rope Scarf GIVEAWAY!!

This is non-nail related, but it's a giveaway!! I mentioned on my Facebook page that I had found a scarf tutorial on YouTube, that obsession took over and that I was suddenly overflowing with scarves. I made a mention of maybe hosting a giveaway (or 2) but never expected such excitement! So here's the giveaway!!

This is a very simple infinity rope scarf that I wrapped and tied for easy on and easy off. It's as simple as slipping it over your head and 'fluffing' the front to get it to lay just the way you want. I had no trouble getting it on and off this way; however, if you're worried about this, it is an infinity scarf and carefully cutting the tie holding it together will let the scarf unwind so you can wrap it on yourself.

Giveaway Starts: 12:00 AM EST 29th January 

Giveaway Ends: 12:00 AM EST 3rd February 

Winner will have 24 hours to reply to the winning email. If winner doesn't claim their prize by replying a new winner will be chosen. 

Giveaway is open internationally. However, before entering be sure your country accepts the shipment of clothing. It will also be up to the winner to pay any taxes and fees their country may impose on such shipments.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Laced Up Corsets - Valentine's Day Nail Art

Valentine's Day is closing in quickly and I figured it was time to start posting some of my Valentine's Day nail art. First up - corset nails. :)

I've always wanted a corset (and the confidence to actually wear it). I guess having them on my nails is the next best thing.

I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Cheeks Tinted Red and drew a quick line down the middle with Spellbound Nails I'm All Aflutter. If I had thought this through I would have started with a base of I'm All Aflutter and taped off the middle for neater lines but the end result wasn't horrible. The laces of the corset actually helped disguise the imperfect lines so I call it a win!

A close up look of the corsets. I used Spellbound Nails Steel Wool for the metal and some unaltered white base for the laces.

Overall, this is not a hard mani at all! And if you don't feel up to doing all 10 nails as corsets these work perfectly as accent nails as well. :)

Until next time,
♥ Ashley ♥

Spellbound Nails does Valentine's Day with the Victorian Romance Collection (PIC HEAVY)

Hello lovelies! I bring you Valentine's Day polishes!! Being a polish maker means I have to be thinking much further into the future than I ever wanted to ... I sometimes forget what month it is lol.

But right now I know it's January but when speaking in terms of mixing and shipping polish, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. So take a moment and look at the pretties!!

This collection will be available for pre-sales 1/10 - 1/17. This means you'll be able to buy this collection in full and mini bottles (at pre-sale discount prices) starting tomorrow. The full release, meaning the ability to buy singular bottles, will start 1/22. As always, you can buy all Spellbound Nails polishes from my Etsy shop or my Storenvy shop.

I love having some kind of inspiration for my collections; not only do my polishes turn out better but I love being able to point to something and say "look, look, that right there - that inspired me so much that I had to make something awesome!"

Vintage Valentine © Victorian Traditions

This time, that inspiration came from the old timey Victorian Valentine's Day cards and postcards. You know those ones that are all yellowing parchment, lace, and soft and bright watercolors.

First up is Cheeks Tinted Red. This is a stunning bright red holographic.

 This polish has double the amount of holo that I put in my normal holos however I quickly found red eats holo. It adds a lot of depth and shimmer and has more of a lightly scattered holo effect.

And a close up of the bottle in the little amount of sunlight we're getting around here right now.

*There has been a slight increase in the pricing of my holographics. I have started buying a much better holographic pigment, however this does mean an increase in price for me which I sadly have to pass on to you. Holographic polishes using this new pigment will now sell for $9 in my shops. Prices will change on already released holos (only those using this new pigment) February 1st. This was a very hard decision for me since I pride myself on being affordable, and I believe I have managed to keep to my brand even with the price increase.

Next up is Parchment and Lace. This was the base of this collection - the very first polish mixed up and the one everything else was built around. I think the name of this one says it all. It's everything this collection was inspired by. Yellowing parchment, lace, and beautiful watercolors.

I've been told that this is a very flexible polish and would also work well for Easter and summer too.

This is the only glitter topper of the collection. Love & Devotion is a wonderfully romantic glitter in my opinion with it's white, pink and red glitter with lots of rainbow shimmer.

I'm All Aflutter is a gorgeous baby blue with purple and pastel pink glitter.

And last but not least is My Own Sweet Valentine. This is a girly, pearly pink with a delicate golden shimmer that acts almost duo-chrome-y in person.

Did I mention My Own Sweet Valentine also glows in the dark?? There are three different glow pigments hidden behind this girly pink - blue, green, and peach. Together they combine to glow an icy white with just a hint of blue and green. The blue and green show up a lot better in pictures. In person it really is an icy white with just a hint of blue and green. And with so much glow pigment the glow is pretty insane!

You can see a few hints and specks of the peach glow in this picture along with the blue and green. This is a picture of Love & Devotion over My Own Sweet Valentine.

I hope you enjoy these polishes as much as I do and remember pre-sales start tomorrow! :)

Until next time,
- Ashley