Review | Born Pretty Store Holographic Nail Foil #77

We all have to admit that holographic nail polishes are a spectacle to look at so when I was offered the chance to review one of the new holographic nail art foils from Born Pretty Store, I jumped at the opportunity to have a go at something different with a holographic finish.

The nail foil comes in a transparent container and you get a full meter's length of holographic goodness. The foil's width is 4cm. The design I chose resembles stars/laser light and I thought it looked best over a dark coloured polish (I used China Glaze Jungle Queen as my base).

You will need some foil adhesive to apply the foil to your nails. After the polish is completely dry, smoothly apply a fairly thick (not too much!) layer of glue taking care to avoid brush marks if possible. The glue will go white at first but will dry transparent. Wait for it to go tacky (you will know it has reached this stage as it will be clear) and firmly press and smooth the foil onto your nail, foil shiny side up. You can use a cotton disc to help smooth out the foil and then, gently peel to reveal the transferred design. I suggest you work one nail at a time to ensure a smooth application and prevent the glue from drying completely from one nail to the other. Finally finish off with a top coat.

This particular foil transferred effortlessly to my nails and application was fairly smooth. The manicure lasted me for around 5 days before I could see any tip wear and the foil peeling off.

Born Pretty Store have a whole range of holographic nail foils with beautiful designs all throughout. This one I have retails for $3.07 and you can get it at 10% off if you quote the code EBABK31 at checkout.

PR Sample

Review | Born Pretty Store Nail Foil C-03

Although nail foils have been around for quite some time, it is only recently that they are being used more frequently and appreciated by nail art enthusiasts. From plain solid colours with holorgaphic finishes to patterned foils, you will definitely find something you like!

At Born Pretty Store you're definitely spoilt for choice with over 32 different patterns and I myself was quite confused as to which design I should get but ultimately I settled for style C-03 which features different coloured flowers and butterflies with a purple holographic finish on a clear backing which makes it excellent for beginners.

The foil comes in a screw-top bottle to keep it intact and prevent the design from being scratched away and the total length is 100cm and the width is 4cm. 

All you have to do is prep your nails and apply base coat and colour as usual and after applying the second coat of base polish colour, you can either wait until it is almost dry and apply the foil or else, you can allow it to dry completely and use a foil adhesive to apply the foil. The adhesive must be a little tacky for the foil to transfer and in any case, I suggest you work a few nails at a time and always use a rubber hoofstick or a cotton disc to rub on the foil and help it transfer completely.

The foils are also fit for use with gel nail polish - simply apply the gel and cure as usual then you just wipe the inhibition layer, apply the adhesive and transfer the foil. Always remember to apply top coat over the whole nail to seal in the design.

In my case, I haven't had any issues while applying the foil and considering I change my nail polish every four days or so, this particular foil design has lasted me well all throughout. All foils are easily removed with regular polish remover.

If you want to get some foils from Born Pretty Store, make sure you check them all out here and at just $2.88 per roll, you can get as many as you like! You can even get 10% off with my code EBABK31 and remember that shipping is always free on Born Pretty Store!

PR Sample

NOTW | English Roses



With Valentine's Day coming up next week, I thought of sharing my first proposition for nail art ideas. I had this English Rose foil in my stash that I never used and thought it would be an original kind of nail art for Valentine's Day instead of the usual heart designs. Read on to learn how to apply nail foils and create an effortless and elegant masterpiece at your fingertips!

 

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat and follow with two coats of an opaque white nail polish. I have used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 300 White On and allowed approximately 5 minutes drying time between coats.

 

2. Leave the last coat to dry completely for at least 15 minutes, then working one nail at a time, apply a thin coat of foil adhesive and allow it to go tacky. This will take around 5 minutes per nail.

 

3. Cut a piece of foil a little larger than your nail and making sure it is the correct side down, apply it with gentle pressure on the nail. You may choose to use a q-tip for this step to ensure the design is transferred in whole.

 

4. Repeat for the rest of the nails and secure with a top coat.

NOTW: All Laced Up for Valentine's Day

Here is my proposition for this year's Valentine's Day nails:

I opted for a lace nail foil with a pearlescent pink background and a hint of glitter top coat for a subtle yet glamorous effect.  This design is very easy to execute especially for the busy lady.  You can find various nail tutorials on YouTube on how to apply nail foils and I bought the lace foil, adhesive and sealer from NailDelights.com.  Just remember a couple of things when working with foils... always apply a base coat otherwise, they will come off and seal them with an appropriate sealer before applying a top coat :) I used the Glitter Top Coat by Essence for a light sparkly touch. 

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone :)

First Collective Haul of the Year!

I can't believe January is out in a flash! It feels just like yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and welcoming the New Year! I have been a naughty girl this month with regards shopping but hey it's sales month :P In this post, I will be showing you purchases I made online while you can have a look at my first sale picks here. So, let me start with some nail art related stuff...

I placed my first ever order on NailDelights.com earlier this month and my order was here within a week (read my experience here).  Being my first order it was quite small and I decided to get some nail foils as I couldn't find any on ebay.  I ended gettin two nail foils, Black Lace and Fuchsia Fantasy as well as a foil adhesive and nail art sealer.  Since I spent more than £10, I qualified for free shipping and the I also got the nail adhesive for 20% less because of my choice of nail foils!

More nail art stuff... I got a display rack to show off al my colour gels at my home salon.  I think it looks nicer than the nail wheels which I will still keep in my kit for when I have to go to a client myself and I also purchased a compact storage box so that I can organize my rhinestones in it rather than carrying a whole load of wheels with me and it also saves on space.

Finally, I also got a carbide bit for my nail drill and an Orly Top 2 Bottom Top & Base Coat in One.  All of this was from ebay.

From ebay as well, I also got Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser as my maternal granny used to swear by it and she had flawless skin and very little wrinkles even at 87! So I'll try it out and see how it will work on me :)  My last purchase from ebay are these two hair sectioning clips which will come in handy when I'm straightening my hair now that it is quite long.

I have bought some other things which I haven't yet received amongst which are some exciting purchases but more on those next month ;p what did you splurge on this month ladies? Link me your posts in the comments section, I'd love to check them out :)

Review: Born Pretty Store Nail Foils

Here's another review on a product from BornPrettyStore.com! I got these nail foils for free on a facebook promotion the company was running last month.  I was intrigued by nail foils ever since I saw them popping up on various nail/beauty blogs so I figured this was a good opportunity to try them!  The designs were sent out randomly but I happened to like the one I got :)  However, when you want to order these from the site (there are 106 different patterns!), just specify the corresponding number at checkout!

Let's look at the packaging first:

The nail foils are supplied in a carton pouch on the back of which are the instructions on how to use them.  The nail foils themselves are stuck on a piece of clear protective backing and put in a plastic pouch.  As you can see, you get 16 pieces.

Now I am still green at applying nail foils and although these can be stretched to fit your nails perfectly, I still managed to have some creases on some nails which caused the foils to lift off easily after a few days of wear. Now these are supposed to last for 11 days but due to the wrong application on my side I took them off after 3 days.  The glue was still very much adhered to the nails so I think they really do last when correctly applied. In fact, on the nails on which there weren't any creases, the foils didn't come off.  Since my nails are quite narrow and when I tried the foils they were shorter, I managed to leave enough foils for another use so I will give them another go and update you on how long they actually last. 

Finally, here's a little tutorial on how to apply these nail foils:

1. Select the appropriate sized nail foils for each of your nails and trim to fit. 

2. Prep the nails by either buffing them gently with a white block buffer or use nail polish remover to remove the oils. I prefer the latter technique.

3. Push back the cuticles with a cuticle pusher.

4. Remove the backing from the nail foil and apply to the nail with the rounded edge facing the cuticle.  Stretch and position until you cover the entire nail.  Smooth the foil down with the spoon end of a cuticle pusher.

5. Trim any excess foil with a white block buffer and if you desire, apply a top-coat but it is not necessary.

Should you wish to purchase these nail foils from BornPrettyStore.com, remember to use the following code for 10% off you order!