Tuesday 28 June 2016

Holo Flowers: Born Pretty Stamping Polish #14 review

Today I am reviewing another stamping polish from the born pretty store.


This one is # 14 (item #22179 link)
Its a very bright pink shade leaning towards purple..and looks almost neon-nish. It stamps very nicely on both light and dark shades.  Easy to pick up and stamp too.
I wanted to try a very different combination to see how it would show up on a lighter base and this mani turned out better than I expected. The base shines through well and the stamping is crisp enough to make out a lacey design.



Base: Color club Cosmic Fate
Stamping plate: BPL-030
Stamping polish: Born Pretty Stamping Polish #14
Topped with HKgirl




 Lastly a swatch of CC Cosmic fate


Sunday 26 June 2016

Born Pretty Clear Jelly Stamper Review

Hello!
Most of last year I waited to lay my hands on some clear jelly stamper as it was touted to be one of the most revolutionary inventions of a stampaholic's life. Everyone went gaga over how logically simple solution this was for all the placement woes. I waited for long time as I didnt want to order a very expensive one and pay loads of shipping from big brands as most of my packages get stolen or lost in our postal system. And Born pretty store came to my rescue! They launched one of their own at a very affordable rate of $2.99. (link) (item # 24059)


This is how it looks with a translucent cylindrical body and diameter of around 2.8cms. They also have another variant in the purple handle. The stamper head is soft but not too squishy. and its really clear so you can see exactly where you want to place your design. 

I had a little trouble picking up the designs at first till a friend told me that I need to wash it with soap water. Thereafter it started working nicely. I somehow found that it tends to pick up better when I roll over the images and not when I stamp on it to pick up. I also found that its a little tricky to work with fast drying polishes like the Essence Stampy polish in black. It worked well with konad black and with other BPS stamping polishes. I am yet to try tihs with mdu stamping polishes. 
See below a few of the images I picked up using this stamper. 
It makes my life so much easy. No more issues of alignment or placement of images. You can exactly stamp as you want.


This is the mani I did using this stamper with the above image from BPL-028 Stamping plate.


Here are a few more images using this stamper:



here's another

This stamper comes with a translucent scraper (as below). Its handy if you want to carry it around but I find I am better used to scraping using an old plastic card.

Use my discount code: ARTX31 for discounts on the born pretty store.



PS. Stamper sent for an honest unbiased review

Saturday 25 June 2016

Laces and Bubbles: Review Born Pretty Stamping Polish 22

The rains are upon us here in Mumbai in full form! On a dull dreary day this brightens me up.

Base: Essie Lounge Lover
Stamping with Born Pretty Stamping Polish #22 (item #23191)
Stamping Plate: Uber Chic 3-01 and 9-01
Black Stamping polish: Essence Stampy polish Black
All topped with HK girl

Here's a swatch of BP stamping polish #22 on its own on Essie Lounge lover. It's a very bright shade but my base was also very bright so it didnt stand out very nicely. So just to pop the whole thing I did some double stamping with black. 

Born Pretty stamping polish #22 (item 23191; link) is really bright and shows well on both light and dark colours:
See swatches below: 


 And lastly a swatch of Essie Lounge Lover on its own.
Its a very pretty bright coral. Goes opaque in 2 coats and is streak free.



Friday 24 June 2016

Summer Flower Nail Art


This one look really cute IRL!

Base: Krizia Mer-man
Stamping plate: BPL- 028
Stamped with Konad Black
Added studs I got from Aliexpress


Krizia Mer-man swatch. It has a lot of holo glitters which are not showing up on this pic:

Close up of krizia mer-man with a macro shot with my new mobile clip on lens that i reviewed here (link)

Thursday 23 June 2016

Glitter nails using Vinyls

It was kiddo's 3rd birthday the last week and as usual there was a mad rush to arrange things for a last minute birthday party we had for him. (yeah I really need to plan that in advance next year)
So I wore a long green to black gradient dress and had a completely different mani in my head for that dress but as it was a last minute things this is all I could pull off.


Base: KB Shimmer Kind of a Big Dill
Accent: Sally Hansen black heart
Vinyls: Angel Nail Studio X pattern
Fun Lacquer King was sponged on the vinyls
All topped with SV

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Germanikure Crystal Glass Nail File Review




GERmanikure is a family-owned business which produces the finest quality manicure products on the market. They approached me to try one of their products to see if I liked it.
So I went over to their site and I was impressed about how ethical they seem to be about genuinely making good quality products with least amount of pollution and wastage. 

 They claim: "Our crystal glass files are the highest quality, and ethically made by adult craftsmen in the Czech Republic. All of thier products are made to last a lifetime, with most products made in Solingen, Germany under ethical, non-polluting conditions. We never use plastic or cardboard packaging, as we are very landfill-conscious (our tools never need to be replaced). 

The files are crafted of 3mm thick authentic Bohemian glass which is chemically hardened and tempered to resist breaking. This special glass treatment not only enhances the clarity and sparkle of the glass, but also adds resiliency. While breakage is possible with all glass, dropping a GERmanikure crystal glass file from a short distance (such as counter height to floor) will, in most cases, not break the file. 

I for once am totally in-sync with their new campaign against child labour as I have seen some of this happen closely in India too. Every child needs a childhood. They need to grow up worry free and enjoy each day as it comes. But thats better said than done. Children are made to work in sweat shops with meagre wages that will barely give them a square meal a day! GERmanikure sent me this crystal glass nail file in support of that campaign. They contribute a portion of all sales to give back to families victimized by child labor in Pakistan and Vietnam.


It comes in a neat leather bound case that secures the glass file from breaking and cracking. Leather is naturally cushioning and dehumidifying. The crystal glass file is approx 5.5" in length and approx 3mm thick. The surface is chemically etched and they claim that this will not wear off. 
So far I've used it to file all my 10 nails and I havent seen the bald patches that you see in cheaper imitations where the surface wears off. Its easy to hold and use. Thick enough to give you a good grip when filing away. Also I have a habit of filing my nails back and fro unlike how people recommend that you should only file i a single direction.
Well! there's no problem here as GERmanikure states that these can be used both ways without causing microscopic frayed edges that eventually lead to a tear or a split. I am very pleased to say that this holds true for me. You can also use them on wet and dry nails.

Now to see how fast it files? It does the job fairly fast and really efficiently! All 10 nails were filed off in around 10 mins to make the edges smooth and well rounded.

These files cost around $11 each and its a bit pricey for a nail file but if they last as long as GERmanikure claims (forever! coz they don't wear off and don't break easy, unless you are really clumsy) then all you need is this one file! and you pass it on as your legacy! 

I love the quirky messages they imprint on the files.. go check them here (link)



GERmanikure products are available now through an exclusive online retailer (www.zamberg.com)


(ps: this was sent for for an honest unbiased review)

Born Pretty Stamping Polish Preview: 14 & 22

Born Pretty is one of my go to stores for most things in nail. Prices are really reasonable and quality is nice. When they launched their own line of stamping polish I was very curious to try out some as the colours are bright and different from most konads I have. 

Thats the package BP kindly sent to me for review (opinions are unbiased and truthful)

First up today for review are their stamping polishes: #14 and #22




This purple shade is called #14 (item 22179; link). Its a very bright shade, shows up well on both dark and light backgrounds. See swatches above and below. The colour is very opaque and stamps well. The shade is purple leaning towards slightly pinkish.


Next up is #22 (item #23191)

This shade #22 (item 23191; link) is a very bright neon yellow. I love how nicely this stamps over both light and dark backgrounds. its quite opaque and stamps well. Its quite visible even on lighter shades and I am definitely going to be using this much more in my manis.


Both of these stamp well and are quite opaque. They pick up well in a stamper and are very vibrant shades. They sell for $4.99 for 15ml but sometimes you can get them at a good price during promotions.

Use my discount code: ARTX31 for discounts on the born pretty store.

Thursday 16 June 2016

How I take my Macro Nail Pics

Isn't this gorgeous??!!


Its a macro pic of Krizia Merman (see full swatch below)

I recently got a new clip on lens on Aliexpress for around $5. Its not the all-in-one kind of a thing with different attachments. This one is just a macro lens that can be clipped on any phone. Its really very good and I am surprised by the pics coz my old faithful point-n-shoot camera cant get as close as this does. So how close does this go?

First up heres a few pics of the product:

The white part is the clip. Incased in it is the black rubber type case which holds the lens.



So you gotta put the lens in the white clip and clip it on your cell.




The back section (see above pic; where my pointer is) that will clip on to your cellphone, while the lens will go right in front of your camera.


Below is a half zoomed pic (as in zoomed in my camera not on computer/pic); the top most one of this post is where its fully zoomed in)

This is how that pretty polish looks like in real

So the deal with this is that you have to go realllly close with good lighting directly on your nails.
Like as close as 1cm or even less and make sure ur hands are steady and you dont let your shadow fall on  your nails. and go clicking!! 

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Essie Chinchilly: Stamping Nail Art

I rarely get to lay my hands on Essie polishes and I adore each one I have painstakingly collected past couple of  years. This is really classy; Essie Chinchilly. Its a proper "Greige", dusty and n*de!
Goes opaque in 2  coats, dries fast and smoothens out on its own.



Base: Essie Chinchilly
Stamping plate: Uber chic beauty 9-03
Stamping Polish: mdu neon yellow




Saturday 4 June 2016

Picture Polish Gala : Floral Nails with Stamping decal

Another gorgeous polish from Picture polish. This one is Gala. A very blue toned purple with silver/white flecks. Goes opaque in 2 coats. No streaks, dries fast.


Base: Picture polish Gala
Stamping plate: Uber Chic 9-02
Stamping polish: Mdu cream
Decals filled with Picture polish Paris (reborn)




PP Gala Swatch