Gradient Faux Bois Nail Art

Press Sample Purchased by me

Have you ever had this great idea in your head but when you go to do it things just don't translate as well? That's kind of what happened with this design. I mean I love the way it turned out, don't get me wrong, but I expected it to look a lot more like wood and not so abstract. You know? Yeah, you know. ;)

Regardless of it not looking much like wood, I do love these colors together!

And the base color...just pure love.

For this manicure I used Zoya Carey as the gray base. Using a thin nail art brush, I created each detail to somewhat resemble "faux bois" (fake wood). For these details I used Bondi Brick Road (yellow), Sally Hansen Green with Envy (lime green), and American Apparel Peacock (teal). I finished with topcoat. 

The overall look is so bright and summer-y! I can't help but love it. 

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Art Deco

Press Sample Purchased by me

Happy hump day! I'm out of school now so I surprised myself by even knowing that today was Wednesday. When you don't have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. anymore, the day of the week just doesn't seem to matter!

Today's design was impossible to photograph. And believe me, I tried! I tried every angle, lighting, pose and nothing was working for me. I was lucky enough to get a few decent shots *le sigh*.

There are actually two versions of this manicure, the one above has gray stripes on the ring finger and in the pictures below the stripes on the ring finger are green and yellow. 

For this manicure I used China Glaze Exotic Encounters as the teal base. I then went over the lower half of each nail with Catrice London's Weather Forecast (gray). For all the stripes and lines I used my Born Pretty's nail art brushes and Bondi Brick Road (my new favorite yellow). I finished off with top coat.

I'm not really sure what inspired this design but I do love the finished look! What do you think?

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2 Easy Glitter Makeup Looks | BA Star Review

Press Sample Purchased by me

Today I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and mixing things up on the blog! For a while I have wanted to work some makeup into my posts and I thought that this would be a fun way to do that.

I've created two makeup looks using BA Star adhesive and glitter. Both these looks were easy to achieve and fun to 

For the first look--the purple look--I started with the crease (I used the purples first then black to darken it) and then applied a silver shimmer eyeshadow to the lid. I used the BA Star Holo Silver Glitter along with the Glue Liquid Base to help adhere it.

Surprisingly, the glitter application went smoothly. This was my first time using glitter on my eyes and it was a success! I used the glue applicator to apply the glue but I used a flat shader brush to apply the glitter.

My only issue with the glue is that the applicator must be dabbed. That makes it very difficult to get a smooth, even application. I had to use my fingers to smooth it down and make sure it wasn't too thick. If the applicator had a small brush instead that would be so much easier to use.

All applicator issues aside, I actually really liked this look! The glitter is holographic so it gives it an interesting look. The holo shows a lot stronger in real life.

My second look was this neutral eye with a glitter/black winged liner. My mom loved this one lol! This look is a lot more wearable and something I would actually wear during the day. 

For the eyeshadow I started with a light beige base then used a medium and dark brown matte in the crease. I used the same glue/glitter combo for the liner except this time I used an angled brush to apply both.

Overall, I really liked this glitter. I keep it pretty basic with my makeup so this isn't something I'm likely to wear everyday. I love the idea of using little pops of glitter (like my second look) though. I would recommend this glitter for sure, but I'd also advise you to use your own adhesive as this one can be a pain to apply.

If you've been wanting to try some glitter, check out BA Star's website for a large color selection of glitter (and other makeup like shadows and liners). Use code BBGLITZ for 50% OFF (glitter and glue orders)! Not sure if you're aware but that is a great deal. (:

You can also find BA Star on Twitter.

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Zoya Magic and Wonder Fall 2013 PixieDust Collection Preview!

Press Release 

If you love Zoya's popular PixieDust finish as much as I do, you'll be drooling over this preview of their newest shades for fall. I adore the color Carter! Check it out below.

MAGIC AND WONDER INFUSED TEXTURED PIXIEDUSTTM COLOR FOR FALL

The best-selling, revolutionary matte, textured, sparkling Zoya PixieDustTM formula returns for Fall with six spot-on trend colors for the season.

ZOYA PIXIEDUST - FALL EDITION

ZP698 - Tomoko: Glowing Silver. Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

ZP699 - Chita: Emerald Green. Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

ZP700 - Sunshine: Van Gogh Blue Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

ZP701 - Carter: Regal Purple. Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

ZP702 - Arabella: Rich Fuchsia. Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

ZP703 - Dhara: Dazzling Copper. Exclusive Zoya PixieDustTM - Textured Matte Sparkle formula.

Ultra long-wearing, nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

PixieDust Application:
For BEST RESULTS apply 1-3 (for full coverage) thin coats of polish. Allow product to dry completely for full effect. No base coat and top coat required. Zoya Get Even base coat can be used if desired.Find over 300 stunning Zoya colors on www.zoya.com. Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
Zoya PixieDustTM

$9.00 ea. (US)
Available on Zoya.com

FALL COLOR ARRIVING SUPER DUPER SOON...

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Neutral Nail Art

Purchased by me

I know you all are really amazed at my genius post title, clearly I used all my creative juices for this one!

No but really, it was a struggle to get this post up. I have been trying to edit these pictures for what feels like weeks and then trying to come up with a creative post title? Too much for this girl to handle!

Is it just me or does this design remind you of a Zebra or some type of animal you'd see on a safari? Maybe it's just me but it really does remind me of that. 

I always like to show my matte manis glossy, so here you go! I think I prefer it glossy. 

For this manicure I used Zoya Jacqueline as the nude base. I then used one of my thin nail art brushes to create each individual line. For the black I used acrylic paint, the dark brown is China Glaze Below Deck and the caramel-like brown is L.A. Colors Serenity. To achieve the matte look I used two coats of Essie Matte About You (love this stuff!).

Which version of this manicure do you like best? Matte or glossy?

  

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Mosaic Tiles| Shimmer Polish Nail Art

Press Sample

I remember when I was little every Sunday my mom would take us to church. Our church as a French/Creole church and at the time I couldn't understand a thing they were saying. The entire time I just stared at the pretty stained glass windows surrounding us and admired them. As a little girl, this seriously fascinated me!

Today's design reminds me of the stained glass windows. Although not exact, they take me back a little!

I decided to try this design on naked nails, with no base. I'm not feeling it so much but I think it's an...interesting look.

Below is this manicure before top coat. The glitters dry this matte! (Black is acrylic paint).

For this manicure I used Shimmer Polish Eva (red) and Shimmer Polish Cristina (blue) for the glitter "tiles". As I said, there is no base used in this mani. I started off with acrylic paint and used it to draw sections in the nail. I then filled random "tiles" in with the two Shimmer Polish polishes.

Now let's take a look at the two glitters on their own! They have such a unique, matte finish that I love.

Shimmer Polish Eva is a beeeeautiful cranberry red glitter. This has a nice balance of silver and darker/lighter  red glitters throughout. Without topcoat it almost looks like a textured finish, with topcoat it GLOWS! 2 coats, easy application.

Shimmer Polish Cristina is a turquoise-blue-clear base packed with turquoise, red, and darker teal glitters. Gorgeous in 3 coats. This one also dries matte but is pretty with or without topcoat!

Shimmer Polish retails from $10.00-$12.00 ($10 for top coats) and can be purchased on Etsy and found on Facebook, and their website.

P.S. Follow me on bloglovin! In case Google Friend Connect gets discontinued, you'll be able to keep up with my latest posts!

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50s Retro Nail Art

Press Sample Purchased by me

This week has been a stressful one. Seven finals packed into four days plus I have practice most nights. Thank goodness for blogging and bright designs like this one because otherwise I'd probably go insane! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am challenging myself to use a larger variety of brands in my nail art. Not gonna lie, pretty proud of myself for using three different brands here and none being Zoya (my go-to!).

For this manicure I used GOSH Miss Minty as the pretty mint base. Then I used a thin nail art brush and Bondi NYC Brick Road for the yellow stripes. I used the same nail art brush for the tan-ish stripe, which is the gorgeous China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. 

I've been liking these simpler designs lately (well, simple for me). They're so much less time consuming and I end up liking them better since I'm not obsessing over the details. Nail designs can be bittersweet. (:

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