Review | Born Pretty Store Sparkling Waterdrop Round Rhinestones

Hello ladies :) Today I have another Born Pretty Store review as you can tell by the title of this post and I still have a few more to go as they have sent me some more exciting stuff to share with you!

This post is going to be all about these beautiful round rhinestones which look like water droplets thanks to their iridescent colour. They come in a pack of 10 and have a little dome shape with a silver flat back. These rhinestones are available in both 3mm and 4mm (shown in this post are the 3mm ones).

They can be paired with a multitude of nail colours and nail art designs, and are very easy to adhere to your nails with just some nail glue or clear nail polish. Sealing them with a top coat will guarantee even more wear. Plus, when changing your manicure, you can carefully remove these rhinestones first to save them for a later use if you so desire! 

Here I have paired them with a purple based dry brush manicure and I think this really brings out the purple reflects in the rhinestones.

How would you use these rhinestones ladies? Buy them from Born Pretty Store for just $3.28 and get an additional 10% off with my code EBABK31.

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Review | Born Pretty Store 3D Flat Back Square Rhinestones

3D Nail Art is not something I would usually go for but a little change sometimes is good so when Born Pretty Store offered me the chance to review some items from their store yet again, I picked up this 3 piece set of 3D Flat Back Square Rhinestones.

There are 12 colours to choose from and I chose SP005 which are essentially transparent but give off all sorts of iridescent colours according to how the light hits them. Each square measures 5mm x 5mm and they have a flat facet so that they can be adhered to the nail.

Being rather big, they are very easy to manage with a pair of tweezers and I have used nail glue to fix them in place. Their size however can work against practicality as although they lasted well, they do interfere with everyday tasks such as applying hand cream and being extra careful when washing your hands and hair and at work, I have to be careful when wearing and removing gloves, thus I only wore them for a day.

Having said that, I would still recommend these gems for special occasions to give your nails a different look and they can easily be saved for future use. Moreover, they go with a vast array of nail decorations such as the ones shown in the pictures above that can also be purchased from Born Pretty Store. In fact, mixed nail art decorations is the look I went for to use the 3D rhinestones.

You can buy these 3D Flat Back Square Rhinestones from Born Pretty Store for just $2.13 for 3 pieces and you can even get a 10% discount with my code EBABK31. Shipping is free worldwide, no minimum order.

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Review | Born Pretty Store 2mm - 5mm Mixed Shape Rhinestones

Rhinestones always save the day when it comes to nail art as they effortlessly add that unique and special finish to any manicure. Today I will share with you this wheel from Born Pretty Store that has a pretty selection of shapes in two colours.

First of all, you get 350 pieces which rounds up to approximately 87 pieces of each of the four motifs and in my opinion, I think it is a good deal. The shapes include hearts, normal rounds, tear drops and leaves. The hearts and the tear drops are an opalescent white colour while the rounds and leaves are an iridescent black.

I chose to use the round and tear drop shapes (index and ring fingers) in a sugar skull themed manicure for Halloween and this is how it turned out:

The rhinestones fit my nails perfectly and they add a nice 3D effect. I used clear polish to adhere them to the nails and then secured them with top coat and they lasted for a whole 5 days. For me that is good as that is when I usually change a manicure.

You can get these rhinestones from Born Pretty Store for just $2.88 or you can save yourselves 10% of the price too if you enter the code EBABK31 at checkout.

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NOTW | Aztec and Neon

This week I finally had the chance to try on some Aztec inspired nails and I wanted to use the neon stud rhinestones I recently got from Born Pretty Store as well so I incorporated both in this fun manicure. Read on for the tutorial and more pictures :)

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat and follow with two coats of a neutral polish. Used here is Essence Soul Sista Trend Edition Nail Polish 04 Totally Retro Nude. Allow to dry completely.

2. For the black stripes and Aztec patterns, I used black acrylic paint diluted with water to enable me to draw the intricate lines flawlessly. I used a size 0 Kolinsky brush as I find they give better results than synthetic hair brushes.

For the ring fingers, start by drawing two thin lines in a 'v' shape and then proceed to draw the Aztec stair-like design in small lines first and subsequently fill in. It helps to draw another 'v' shape a little further up to serve as an outline. Finish by painting a small triangle at the very tip as shown in the pictures and add neon rhinestones at the base of the nail.

 

3. For the middle fingers, you can use striping tape for more defined lines, otherwise you can just use a black nail polish straight from the brush and create a thick vertical stripe right up the middle of the nail. I used Essie Licorice for this step.

4. While the black polish is still wet, adhere square and round rhinestones to your liking and leave to dry.

5. Seal all the nails with top coat and you're done!

 

NOTW: Of Leopards and Studs

Last week I was wearing a manicure that was inspired from a picture I saw on the internet.  Leopard print, studs and nude nail polish are all three of my favourites when it comes to nails and I combined all three in this manicure.  It does take some patience and a steady hand to accomplish but nonetheless, it is relatively easy.

1. Prep nails with a base coat to protect your natural nails and make the polish last longer.

2. Apply two coats of a nude beige nail polish of your choice and leave to dry thoroughly.  I used Essence Nude Glam in 06 Cookies and Cream.

3. Decide what is going on each nail and I suggest you start with the studs first.

• For nails on which you are going to put a single stud, apply a little clear nail polish at the base of the nail and carefully place the stud right in the middle of the nail.
• For the nails where you are going to do a stud border, work on one half of the nail at a time.  Apply some clear nail polish to half the nail around the edges and work your way adhering rhinestones and making sure to only space them out a little and keep in line. I used the Born Pretty Store Rhinestone Picking Wax Pen to pick-up and place the studs (also from Born Pretty Store).
• Here comes the fun part...leopard print nails! Start by randomly placing largish dots of gold polish (China Glaze Midnight Kiss) on the chosen nails. With a dark brown polish (E.L.F. Chocolate) and a medium sized dotting tool, create jagged 'C'-shapes around the gold dots.  Keep a picture near you to get the print right.

4. Finish off with a glossy top coat once your nails are completely dry. I used AODL UV Gel Top Coat from Born Pretty Store.

Review: Born Pretty Store Rhinestone Picking Kit

One of the questions I get asked very frequently is how on earth do I manage to pick up a rhinestone and place it exactly where I want it in a nail art design.  There are various ways how you can do this, from using a pair of rhinestone tweezers, to picking them up with a wet q-tip or using a dotting tool dipped in clear polish.

Today, I will be showing you another way of applying rhinestones.  Enter the Born Pretty Store Rhinestone Picking Kit.

Essentially, the kit comes with a white wax pencil to pick up the rhinestones/embellishments with, a small triangular tray in which to put your tiny pieces and a small tube (9ml) of E6000 glue which is mainly intended for craft use such as sticking cabochons for DIY jewellery and affixing larger embellishments such as plastic bows on mobile phone cases.

First up, a word about the glue. I didn't use this glue and I certainly do not want to, on my nails at least.  The reason being that E6000 is an industrial strength glue and I don't want to cause any damage to nails when taking off rhinestones.  Moreover, it is recommended that you work with this glue in a well ventilated area as it may cause nausea, dizziness or headaches and it can also irritate the skin and eyes.

With that out of the way, let's move on to the wax pencil and tray.  I think this pair is a novel idea that makes rhinestone picking easier especially where the smallest ones are concerned.  The pencil is made of white wax and I suggest you sharpen it to a flat edge so that there is more surface area for the rhinestone to stick to. (What I did was just sharpen the pencil as per usual and then, cut off the pointy edge with a pair of scissors).  The tray, proves to be very useful when for example you want to select a specific colour and the rhinestones are mixed in their storage container. You can easily spread them out and pick out the ones you want.  Furthermore, the shape makes up for mess-free storage of rhinestones back in their wheel or pot and for this reason, the tray also proves to be useful when doing caviar and velvet manicures!

I recommend this kit to anyone keen on DIY as well as nail art enthusiasts and you can even get yours for 10% off when entering the code EBABK31 at checkout. This kit retails for $4.17, alternatively you can opt for this kit that retails for $1.99.

*Until the 31st of October, if you enter the code BPS12 at checkout, you get 12% off your order. Shipping is always free worldwide*

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Review: Born Pretty Store 3mm Glitter Rhinestones

I have been very busy over the past few weeks and more often than not, I didn't even have time to do my nails! Rhinestones are always a good idea when you are pressed for time and want something to jazz up a plain manicure.

Born Pretty Store have once again allowed me to browse through their extensive nail art supplies and choose some products to consider for review purposes.  These rhinestones, which are part of the newest additions to their website, immediately caught my eyes because of their iridescent tones.

As with most rhinestones, they come in this wheel packaging which is very convenient to carry around in my case and it also makes it easier for me to pick them up.

There are colours which are sure to go with a multitude of designs and nail polish colours.  Here are two ways in which I used these rhinestones:

Pink rhinestones on a watercolour effect accent nail
(two of my nails have chipped so I took off the polish but the rhinestones were still intact)

Blue-green rhinestones gradient on a simple French Manicure

Since they are 3mm in diameter they have quite a good base to adhere to the nail without coming off despite being more raised than other, smaller rhinestones. In fact, I never lost one!

These rhinestones retails for $4.47 per wheel from the Born Pretty Store website but you can always get them at a 10% discount when quoting the code EBABK31 at checkout!

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Review: Born Pretty Store 1.5mm Round Gold Stud Rhinestones

 We have all seen studs on shoes, bags and fabrics on the catwalk and now you can have them on your nails as well thanks to Born Pretty Store who have introduced a variety of stud rhinestones in different sizes, shapes and colours as part of their nail art decorations section.  

I chose the 1.5mm round gold variety to review and they come in a small resealable plastic bag. The studs have a nice gold colour which complements a lot of nail varnish colours and can be used in a multitude of ways such as creating flowers, in the centre of hand-painted flowers, create crosses and other shapes as well as in half-moon manicures.

They are very versatile to use in both girly and gothic inspired designs. You just have to pick them up with a dotting tool dipped in clear polish or a moist q-tip and place them where you want on the nail to create your desired design et voila'! Studded nails in no time!

These rhinestones retail for $5.86 or you can get 10% off when quoting the code EBABK31 at checkout.

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Review: Viva La Nails Rhinestones

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to get my hands on the third blogger and YouTuber sample pack from Viva La Nails.  This time, we got to sample 9 colours of circular rhinestones while only paying the £2.95 shipping fee (rhinestones retail for £1.95 per pot)!

Shipping was actually very fast and I have received them within 3 days of placing my order.  They were supplied in little plastic bags with a VLN sticker attached but usually they are supplied in pots.  I got a nice mix of colours and I put them in rhinestone wheels as they are more practical to use that way.

For each colour, you get 4 sizes of rhinestones as shown in the photo below:

That is actually good so can choose which size you require depending on the nail art you want to create.  The rhinestones are pretty much standard round rhinestones and on me they lasted until I took them off a week later so they are good quality as well.  Here's a manicure in which I used three sizes of rhinestones:

Have you ever bought nail art supplies from Viva La Nails? If you live in the UK, you also qualify for free shipping if you buy over £25!

NOTW: 3 manicures in 1 week!

I had two events this week, my graduation and a wedding so I had to change my nails accordingly :) First up is the mani I had been wearing at the beginning of the week...

Sally Cracks Essie

I put on Essie's Very Structured as I hadn't yet worn it. I really like the colour and it is very appropriate at this time of year :) I paired it with Sally Hansen Cherry Smash red crackle polish and added a couple of petal rhinestones on the ring fingers :)

Graduation Nails

I wanted something chic and elegant for my graduation last Thursday and I opted for a classic French manicure with a filigree design on the ring fingers. I used a pearlescent purple nail paint to create the design and added two petal rhinestones as leaves and some purple steel beads to complete the design. 

Evening Wedding Nail Art 

Lastly, this is the manicure I wore yesterday evening for my dear friends' wedding :) It was a lovely wedding and we all had fun together :)

I sponged Orly Dazzle over the entire tips and a little further down and the proceeded with Essence Color & Go in Let's Get Lost over the very tips.  I added different sized rhinestones in a zig-zag fashion on the ring fingers to finish off my manicure :)

Which one is your favourite?