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.

Happy Halloween

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

Hello lovelies!! I know I'm not around much anymore, and I definitely recommend following me on Instagram (@spellbound_nails) to keep more up to date than following my blog. Buuuttt Halloween is my favorite holiday so I did two nail art designs to celebrate, and I thought I'd post them here too.

The first I want to show you is actually the second design I did and what is on my nails right now. I started with a base of white and used the fingerprint stamp on Vivid Lacquer's VL009. I added lots of blood drops to my accent nail and a few to my index and thumb. A few highlights and shadows on the blood drops and this design was done. Easy peasy.

The second design I want to share is so fun! I started with a base of OPI Cosmo with a Twist and added blobs of Barielle Hawaiian Sunset. I painted my accent nail with Barielle Hawaiian Sunset and painted the jack-o-lantern in white and then went over that with a yellow tinted glow pigment mixed with clear polish. I loved how it had the lit pumpkin look in the day and really lit up at night! Like I said, so fun!!! 

This wasn't done for Halloween but it reminded me of something very Halloween before cleanup ... like frost bite gone bad or the fingertips of some evil witch so enjoy. ;) Colors used are OPI Colors of the You-niverse and OPI By the Light of the Moon.

Happy Halloween,
Ashley

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

Wood Watches by JORD Review (PIC HEAVY)

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

Hello lovelies! I was given the amazing opportunity to try and review one of the gorgeous wooden watches from JORD. If you've never heard of JORD before or have never seen their watches take a look below!

Jord has so many designs, shapes, and colors to choose from, but I picked Zebrawood and Maple from the Fieldcrest Series. This wood has such an interesting 'zebra' striped pattern on it, and I wanted nothing more than to recreate this with nail art! Keep reading for that. ;)

Upon opening the box I was stunned to see this box inside. It's a beautiful light wood keepsake box that contained the info on JORD, the JORD wood watch I chose wrapped around a cute little pillow, and a few extra links just in case I measured my wrist wrong when having it sized (fyi: I did) but it was super easy to add one of the extra links!

I even made sure to pack the watch in my beach bag and take it on vacation with me. I really wanted to get dressed up and have a photo shoot on the beach but the boyfriend really can't be trusted with a camera (though he was nice enough to hold the box carefully off the balcony so I could get the first picture of this post) so I waited until I returned home and had a photo shoot of my own.

A little background on JORD to go with the photos. JORD (Swedish for earth, soil, land) uses a variety of natural and sustainably sourced woods from across the globe. Woods such as those used in their current series of watches - bamboo, maple, sandalwood, blackwood, cherry, zebrawood, koa, purple heart, ebony, and rosewood. That's 100% natural wood without the use of harsh chemicals to treat or protect the wood with stainless steel clasps to help keep them hypoallergenic! Of course, that doesn't guarantee you won't have an allergic reaction so watch out (no pun intended) for any signs or symptoms but I speak for myself when I say I have allergies to nearly everything and my watch didn't bother me a bit.

JORD also ships worldwide so don't be afraid to go take a browse if you're one of my lovely international followers! They even ship to P.O. boxes with a valid credit card and billing address. ;)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for ... NAILS!!!!!

I chose this specific watch for this pattern! If I was getting a wood watch I wanted an awesome wood grain pattern that I could recreate on my nails, and it doesn't get better than this!! This mani is actually completely customized. I custom mixed three bottles of polish to get the color as close as humanly possible to the wood.

It was a huge success in my humble opinion! I started out with a light brown base, sponged on a medium brown, and finished with a hand drawn wood grain pattern in a dark brown.

Many thanks to JORD for letting me try this beauty! I couldn't be happier. However, if my choice in watch isn't to your personal preference take a look at the scroll bar below and visit www.woodwatches.com to find the perfect wood watch for you. :)


Wood Watches For Women

Until next time,
Ashley

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

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.

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.

Happy Halloween!!! Candy, Nail Art & My Halloween Costume - Image Heavy

*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made via affiliate links provide small commissions to me but do not affect the purchaser's end of the transaction.

Hello lovelies and happy Halloween. This is my favorite time of year so boy do I have a post for you! It has candy and nail art and my Halloween costume! Are you ready?

Candy is essential to Halloween. No matter if you're manning the door for the hordes of fairy and monster (or Anna and Elsa this year) dressed trick or treaters, going out and knocking on doors yourself (with or without kids), or turning off your lights and gorging yourself on it while vegging with a night of horror movies this holiday kinda revolves around candy. So I thought, besides chocolate covered candy bars, that I would share one of my favorite candies with you.

I am being completely serious when I say Torie & Howard have some of the best, most amazing hard candy - and it's organic too if that makes a difference to you. The d'anjou pear & cinnamon candy (as seen in the Halloween bowl above) is my favorite of favorites.

How did I get enough to fill a Halloween bowl ... and still have some left over you ask? Is this a sponsored post where you get free candy to feed us a line? NO! I was subscribed to the Love with Food monthly box and got a sample in last year's Halloween box. Love ... there's no more to say. I searched and searched but couldn't find them around here and couldn't talk myself into paying shipping for candy (yet). I was at my breaking point when Love with Food had a sale on their website. I immediately used my referral and review points ... and bought a 5 pound bag. Yes, you read that right - a 5 pound bag.

Image Credit: Torie & Howard

Torie & Howard were so nice. They sent me my 5 pound bag of candy, a handwritten letter, a sample bag of all their flavors and an info packet that told me they were getting a new flavor! Meyer Lemon & Raspberry. How will I ever live without trying this new flavor? I don't know. If you can't live without trying these hard candies (and believe me you really can't!) head over to the Torie & Howard website and pick up some of your own or use their store locator to see if they're being sold near you. ;)

Halloween (at least for us nail people) is about what Halloween inspired nails we're wearing. Mine used a base of Instant Primordial Soup Mix from my Casper inspired Give Up The Ghost Collection.

Very simple to do with the right tools. I used my Silhouette machine to cut out spooky pumpkin faces and used the outside shape as a guide to sponge into instead of using the vinyls themselves. I just like the smoother feel this gives my nails better than painting over vinyls. As for the pumpkin faces ... I'm seeing Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie ... and oddly The Snowmen from Doctor Who. Not sure about any others ... what do you see in the faces?

But the very best part of these nails ... they glow in the dark!!! And since I painted black over the glow you can see the faces perfectly when they glow. :)

And what Halloween is complete without a costume? For me - no Halloween! It's a tradition of mine to dress up and hand out candy and last night was the night for our community. Sadly, we live on the outskirts of a small town and the kids around here have pretty much outgrown trick or treating. We got one trick or treater and they came early so I wasn't fully in costume. :( So I'll share with you in hopes of curbing my disappointment.

I was a deer/faun this year. And I spent a few days and a few dollars crafting my leafy headband and my own ears. And then I took a day earlier in the week to test my makeup (if you follow my instagram @spellbound_nails you've already seen this test) so I'm very very happy with how I looked.

What did you or will you be getting up to this Halloween? Did you dress up? Leave me comments and/or pictures in the comments section below. ;)

As always, have a safe and haunting Halloween.
Until next time,
Ashley

*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made via affiliate links provide small commissions to me but do not affect the purchaser's end of the transaction.

Haunted Nighttime Nail Art

Hello lovelies! I'm excited to bring you my very first Halloween mani. I did this one for the 1st and I'm sad to say I only managed to get one good pic and it's not completely color accurate. :(

I started with a base of Crisp Morning Air from my 2014 Fall Collection and used an eyeshadow applicator to dab a few splotches of Autumn Sunset. Autumn Sunset is a gorgeous purple polish with a blue shift and that just doesn't show here. It created such an amazing nightime-y effect for this creepy Halloween scene. :( If you're like my mom and you just don't see it ... my index nail has a spindly tree, bats on my middle finger, a haunted mansion on my ring, and a graveyard on my pinky finger with Happy Halloween written on my thumb complete with a raven perched on it. :)

I topped the sponged base with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and once the whole thing was completely dry I used some homemade Halloween vinyls to create the designs. Unlike my maple leaf nail art I used the outlines of the images this time and dabbed them with black. I apologize for the horrible camera quality pic but this is what I'm talking about when I say outline. I simply dabbed black into the outline and peeled the vinyl off leaving behind a perfect design ... so much easier and less time consuming than trying to hand paint everything. A time and place for everything, right? Be sure to get into the edges of the outline though for nice clean and crisp lines.

And for the thumb I simply used the vinyl image itself, sticking it to my nail and painting over it with two coats of top coat to smooth it all out.

If you want to see these colors as close to accurate as I think pictures can possibly capture head over to Painted Nubbs' blog post on the 2014 Fall Collection. She has some truly stunning swatches.

What kind of nail art are you most looking forward to seeing or trying this Halloween? Let me know in the comments. ;)

Until next time,
Ashley

Fall is Here with Maple Leaf 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!! More nail art? Yes, I'm really trying to get back into doing my nails and how can you possibly paint nails without doing some pretty nail art?

I bring you maple leaf art for fall. I actually did these on the first day of fall but things have been busy so this post got pushed back.

I was given the opportunity to test and review a few Barielle products. At the time, I had this idea in my head for a fall mani so I requested Dinner at 8 (red), Hawaiian Sunset (orange), and Lemondrops (yellow). All perfectly beautiful fall shades!

I started out with 2 coats of Lemondrops and used some cheap Dollar Store bought eyeshadow applicators to lightly sponge on some Hawaiian Sunset, Dinner at 8, and some green China Glaze Holly-Day. Build lightest to darkest as you don't see the lighter colors as well over dark as you do the other way around! In some places I sponged and then used a clean side to sponge over it again - especially the green as this gives it a slightly watercolor smudged look that works perfectly on the maple leaf idea. A little clean up and you have a perfect base for this mani.

I applied top coat over this and waited for it to dry completely.

While I waited (and being extra careful not to ruin my mani) I used my Silhouette cutter and some handy sticker vinyl to cut out some maple leaf shapes in various sizes for my nails.

Once my nails were completely dry - I repeat completely dry - I applied my homemade maple leaf vinyls. I positioned them much like choosing the swirl in a watermarble ... over the best sponging. ;) Once I had them where I wanted them I painted over the entire nail with China Glaze Holly-Day. If you aren't comfortable painting over the entire nail you can simply sponge the green over the entire nail and clean up any mess. Just be sure to get in good around your maple leaves. You want nice, sharp lines. Also, if you really don't feel comfortable doing peel off vinyls you could totally leave the vinyls on and simply add top coat over them.

It was much simpler than I thought to use a pair of super sharp tweezer while the green was still slightly tacky, grab a leafy corner, and peel the vinyl right off leaving behind a perfectly fall colored maple leaf on each nail.

Add a layer of top coat and you are set. ;)

A note about wear - it was excellent! I did this mani Tuesday and loved it so much I wanted it to last until Saturday so I could wear it to the local potato festival. I honestly didn't hold much hope because polish just doesn't wear well for me anymore. Mixing polish and running Spellbound Nails opens up a ton of chances for me to get splattered with polish or chip a brand new mani. BUT! This mani lasted not just until Saturday but with only minimal tip wear (and one minor splatter on a thumb). And I reallllyyy didn't go easy on them either. I mixed polish as usual, put together a new entertainment center, did some major fall cleaning, and went about my business. Seriously, forgive the phone pic (taken this morning before heading to the festival) but just look at those tips. A little touch up and another layer of top coat and I could wear these for at least another few days if not longer! Many thanks to Barielle for letting me try their must be magic polishes.

Links to Barielle

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram (because what is life without Instagram?)

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.

Break Out The Crackle

*gasp* What foul magic is this?? A nail art-ish post after so long? Yes, my lovlies, yes.

Yep, I did it. And I have no shame about it. I broke out the crackle. China Glaze Cracked Concrete released in 2011 (if I remember correctly) to be exact. Again, no shame because it's so pretty paired with this old tester blue that never made it into my shop and takes next to no work! When life is so busy next to no work is perfection. :)

Source: Undiegamer

I would also like to point out that I spent most of the night rounding out my poor square nubbins in the hopes that a new shape with less edges will stop them from breaking. Grrrr!! Nail shape is all a matter of preference, and I freely admit that round really isn't mine, but we all do what we have to do to get our nails to grow.

Any followers out there still rocking the crackle?

Until next time,
Ashley

Feeling Patriotic - The Americana Collection

It's collection time again!! This time I take inspiration from the upcoming 4th of July and the national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, to bring you the ultimate Americana Collection. :)

Available on:

www.spellboundnails.com

www.spellboundnails.etsy.com

www.spellboundnails.storenvy.com

This collection has a little of everything. 2 glitter toppers, 2 shimmered holographics in red and blue, and a creamy white crelly with red and blue glitter.

And did I mention how amazing they look together? I used all 5 to create this amazing mismatched mani - perfect for any patriotic holiday. It is seriously easy too! This is 2 thin coats of Star Spangled on my middle fingers, 3 thin coats of Rockets Red Glare and Twilight's Last Gleaming with one thin coat of Home of the Brave and Bombs Bursting in Air over each respectively.

Stick around to get a look at each polish. :)

Twilight's Last Gleaming is a blue holographic with a chunky blue shimmer. It dries to a matte like finish so a top coat is a must to really bring life back.

Bombs Bursting in Air is one of those very simple polishes that manages to be something amazing! It's a mix of red, white, and blue stars and bar glitter with a dose of rainbow colored shimmer. I am reminded of fireworks exploding in a night sky every time I look at this. Shown here over Carbon Copy from The Neutrals creme collection.

And here is a close-up of how it looks over Twilight's Last Gleaming. That shimmer is just to die for!!

Star Spangled is a creamy white crelly with red and blue hexes and stars that is just sheer enough to showcase every piece of glitter. Shown here is 2 thin coats. The key is keeping your layers thin so you show glimpses of the previous layers glitter. :)

This may look familiar to those of you who have been with me from the start. This is the reformulated Miss 'Merica that was tucked into orders around the 4th of July last year. Now going by Home of the Brave, this polish is a perfect fit for the Americana Collection. It's a mix of red, white, and blue glitter with blue stars. It adds a patriotic touch to any polish. Shown over Hearthstone from The Darks creme collection.

Last but no where near least is Rockets Red Glare. This one is so hard to photograph, and I really didn't manage to capture the true awesomeness of this polish. It is a red holographic with a fine red shimmer. I direct your attention to the mismatched mani at the top of this post as it really shows a lot more of its shimmer and shine in that pic. This polish also dries to a matte like finish so a top coat will really help add shine and sparkle. :)

If you stuck around through the whole post - congrats and I hope you enjoyed the Americana Collection. Do you have a favorite from this collection?

And here's a bit of real life news if you stuck around. One of my nieces just turned 16 yesterday. Where does the time go?? For the first few years of this little girl's life I helped raise her ... so I'm really feeling old. 

Until next time,
♥ Ashley