November Nail Art Challenge - Under the Sea

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Lady Queen.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Hello lovelies! After seeing a November nail art challenge pop up on my Instagram I decided to give it a try but keep the art fairly simple. The first week is "Under the Sea", and I created my very first pond mani.

I started with two coats of LA Colors "In A Flash". It's a really pretty ocean-y blue jelly. Then I used white and the starfish looking stamp on Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-43. And then another layer of LA Colors "In A Flash" finished the pond. I wasn't perfectly happy and thought of doing a ton of different things (mermaids, seaweed, another stamp ...) but finally decided a simple fluorescent green nail stud from Lady Queen would really finish the look and draw the eye. Overall, I was really happy.

In case you were curious, here's the design pre-nail studs. ;) I think I'm finally getting the hang of this whole stamping thing. The sticky stamper I picked up a bit ago from Amazon certainly helps! This one, or search VAGA stamper on Amazon and look for the square black and white one, if you're in the market for a good sticky stamper. I get no commission from you clicking on this link though so don't be afraid to simply click!

Until next time,
Ashley

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Lady Queen.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Caught In My Web

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

Another post already? Yes! I was contacted by the Born Pretty Store and given the chance to review some of their products. I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I sketched out two designs, a dark and a light, and picked out products I could use for them. Here is my dark design. Welcome to my web. :)

It has been forever since I've done a border/frame nail and I struggled like crazy to figure it out again, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I started with a black base and leaving a border around cuticle and sides painted white down my nails. I went over that with China Glaze Adventure Red-y. And then finished by tipping my nails with black.

I used the web looking stamp on Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP12 and some white polish. It wasn't a stamping polish (and I'm no stamping genius lol) so I did have some trouble picking up the small details in the middle of the web, but I really love how it turned out anyway. After stamping I went over the border again with some black acrylic paint. The borders are a little wobbly looking in maco but looked amazing to the named eye.

I finished the design with a spider. I created this using a previously purchased Born Pretty Store 3 Size Pearls Wheel (in the largest size) and a diamond gem from the Mixed Multisize Rhinestones I got as part of my sample packet. Then I used black and white acrylic to draw on some legs.

Can I just say how much I adore these mixed rhinestones?? You get a little of everything. There's a variety of colors in small, medium, and large. I will definitely be using these in more manis!!

So, did you get caught in my web? Let me know what you think in the comments.

And don't forget to use SBN10K31 for 10% off your Born Pretty Store order if you decide you can't live without these products! :)

Until next time,
Ashley

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

A-Z Weekly Challenge - P is for Pale

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

Hello lovelies! This week's A-Z challenge was P for Pale. I took a little leeway ... okay a lot of leeway with this week's challenge. Instead of going with pale or pastel polishes I went deep and dark and used 'pale as death' as my inspiration.

I've been calling this mani Your Number's Up in my head since I couldn't resist using the jumbled number stamp that was on the stamping plate too.

Being honest I almost didn't want to stamp over this. I started with a two coat base of Vintage Gray [Petites Color Fever] and then used some saran wrap to smudge on acrylic paint in White, Black, Pewter Gray, and Khaki. I topped it with a coat of my very own Fairy Dust like holographic topper, Spellbound Nails Holo Back Girl.

I received this stamping plate (BP-39) from the Born Pretty Store as a nice addition to a review package (review coming soon) and it couldn't have come at a better time! This skull stamp was seriously the hardest thing to stamp EVER! And it had nothing to do with the stamp itself and everything to do with having such a dark base. The stamp was really great with such clean lines that are deep enough to give you a perfect stamp! My problem came with not having anything opaque enough to stamp over the dark base. I wanted neon green but surprise surprise that didn't work. I went through nearly my entire polish collection trying to find a polish that would show up - one that wasn't white because I always use white!! I finally used an undiluted metallic that I sometimes use to mix polish, but it worked perfectly!

This mani was so sparkly and shiny in person! And I'm already dreaming of an Alice in Wonderland mani with that jumbled number stamp. If you'd like to try the stamp for yourself you can find it on the Born Pretty Store website here. As of today (2/27) it is on sale for $0.99! If you do decide to place an order you can use my promo code SBN10K31 for 10% off. This code is good on full price items only though so if you're just picking up this stamping plate while it's on sale it will tell you the code is invalid ... but can you really shop at BPS and not fill your cart with goodies? Seriously, don't even try to tell me I'm the only one who does this because I won't believe it!!

Be sure to check out the other Pale manis below, and have a good weekend!

Until next time,
Ashley

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Born Pretty Store. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
An InLinkz Link-up

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.

Butterflies & Roses - Born Pretty Store Water Decal Review

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

When given the chance to try some products free from the Born Pretty Store I jumped at the chance. The first product I chose were these gorgeous gold butterfly water decals. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them!

A quick note: these butterfly decals are on sale right now!! Originally priced $2.86 you can now buy them for only $1.72. And even better - I have a discount code for you! Just use the code SBN10K31 at checkout for 10% off your order.

I already had the rose decals from a previous purchase. You may remember them from my Valentine's Day nail art. And my initial thought of how perfect they would go together was spot on!

The Born Pretty Store water decals are so easy to use. You start with a base color on your nails and let them dry completely. Cut out the decal you want to use - these packs come with a variety of different butterflies and roses so choose what you like best. Remove the protective plastic film and dunk the design into some room temperature water for about 10-20 seconds ... just long enough to let the decal become completely saturated and the design slides off easily at your touch. I then lightly wet a piece of paper towel and swipe it across my nails to wet them, laying the design over and positioning it into place. You can blot at the design once it's where you want it with a dry paper towel, lightly pressing to get out any air bubbles and to shape it around your nail. Once it's settled and dry, top it with a top coat and you're ready to go with some beautiful nail art and none of the hassle!!

I started these nails with Airy Berry, a lovely baby blue creme from my upcoming The Lights creme collection. This is 2 coats.

I chose various roses from the set and arranged them around my nails first. The butterflies were then positioned over and around them. It was so quick and easy to get such an elegant and summery design. I got so many compliments on these nails.

Stick around because I have another product from Born Pretty Store to review just as great as this one!

Until next time,

Ashley

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

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?

A Candy Cane Christmas with another Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate

Hello again!! First off, have you entered the giveaways I'm either hosting or a part of yet? If not you can enter here, here, and here. That's a lot of polish you could win; don't miss out! Go on. I'll wait. Done? Okay, onto the nail art!

I really wanted something simple but eye-catching so I started with a base of OPI The Spy Who Loved Me. This polish was a Christmas gift last year but red is always in season around Christmas. What makes this polish even better is the gold shimmer.

In some lights the shimmer will just look red but as you can see here and in the next pic the gold will occasionally show itself. It can be a little shy. :)

This one is a little blurry but it really shows off the gold shimmer.

via BornPrettyStore

To complete this mani, and add just a little more of a Christmas-y touch, I used my new-found stamping skills and added some candy cane stripes in white. This was done using the Born Pretty Store stamping plate M65. If you'll remember I used this stamping plate before to create my Elegant Border Nails. You can buy this stamping plate right now for $2.99. As always feel free to use MLE10W21 for 10% off your BPS orders.

If you don't have and don't want to buy this stamping plate you can always draw the stripes on freehand, use a base coat of white and put down some striping tape before painting on your red, peeling up the striping tape after ... or just use the striping tape itself to create the stripes! All it takes is a little imagination!

Until next time
♥ Ashley

And To All A Good-Night featuring the Born Pretty Store Christmas stamping plate

I was busy mixing polish and filling orders last night when I was suddenly and inexplicably struck with inspiration for some nail art. Maybe it's the Christmas spirit finally kicking in? I'm not real fond of Christmas. Lemme explain! I loved it as a kid - the wonder of going out and picking/cutting/bringing home our own tree, decorating, going for long drives to see Christmas lights; the anticipation on Christmas eve, attempting to sneak out to the living room to see if Santa had come yet ... when finding anything under the tree was a surprise and a delight, but it's just not the same and hasn't been for a long while. And it's not just because I'm not a child anymore. Now-a-days, most kids (and adults are guilty of this too) are all about the receiving - how much their presents are worth and how many they can get ... and most are completely ungrateful. Where's the spirit of good will and charity gone?? So yeah, my reasons for wishing Christmas would come and go quickly.

But my Grinch-like behavior isn't what this post is about. This is about nail art inspiration and my very first truly successful attempt at stamping!

I used 2 coats of And To All A Good-Night from my 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Collection. I put down a layer of top coat and then sponged the tips with basic white. Another layer of top coat and then came the attempt at stamping. You've all seen my previous stamping disasters so I went into this with a cringe on my face. But I read somewhere that you should file the gel bit of your stamper before you use it the first time. Well, I never did this ... didn't know you should, but I figured why not? What's the worst that could happen? The filing could ruin it but it was of no use to me now so worth a shot right? I'm guessing since this attempt at stamping was a roaring success that this does help!

I used my Born Pretty Store stamping plate QA19. I'm pretty sure I received this free last year, just after Christmas, when they did a flash sale/giveaway thing. You can buy it right now for only $0.99! If you'd like to buy this stamping plate or anything else from their site you can always use my 10% off code: MLE10W21. I only had a small amount of trouble with the tree, and that was all my own fault ... I didn't roll the stamper enough on my nail and the tip of the tree didn't stamp. I had to attempt to line it up so it's just a little lopsided. And I did loose a line or two on the house; I don't think you can really tell though.

But overall, I really couldn't be happier. I'm already dreaming of buying some more stamping plates and seeing what other quick and easy designs I can come up with. I don't have time anymore for full out nail art, but I should have time for stamping. :)

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!