All For One | One Brand Makeup Look #1 | 3ina

Welcome to a new series on my blog where I shall be showcasing makeup looks created with products from one brand (or at least most of them will be from the brand I decide to showcase in a particular post).

For the first installment in the series I decided to go with 3ina, a new makeup brand that has recently become available in Malta thanks to Hudson Group. I was invited to the official launch a few weeks ago and we were given a few products to try out, all of which I shall be using in this post. I was given a selection of brightly coloured items and I though they would be perfect to use for a summer look while the season lasts...or this could very well be the look for an 80's themed party!!

3ina products

The Cream Eyeshadow no.305 - metallic royal blue with a soft mousse texture that dries to a shimmery finish.

The Eyeliner Pencil no.605 - matte, fresh mint green

The Colour Mascara no.100 - shimmery gunmetal grey

The Blush no.100 - shimmery light peach

The Longwear Lipstick no.509 - matte bright fuchsia

The Nail Polish no.106 - glossy nude pink

I am digging the packaging of all 3ina products and I like how they call their products with The which sounds like they are the thing you need to achieve this and that makeup look. I have admit though that I am not really a big fan of numbering the product shades instead of naming them but to be quite honest I think numbers make more sense when you have sooo many colours of any given product to choose from.

All products have excellent pigmentation and they lasted well throughout the day especially The Longwear Lipstick which lasted through meals and The Cream Eyeshadow and The Eyeliner Pencil which didn't budge a bit. A special mention has to go to The Nail Polish which I have been wearing for 5 days straight and I only have very minimal tip wear.

All 3ina products are PR Samples

Nail Art Tutorial | Fuzzy Sweater Nails 3D

Earlier this week I posted a picture of the manicure I was wearing featuring a sweater nail accent on my ring finger and many of you asked for a tutorial, and well, here it is! 

The effect is best achieved with gel polish and here I will be using the Orly GelFX system. Here is what you will need:

- Gel base coat

- Gel colour (I am using Orly GelFX Artificial Sweetener)

- Gel top coat

- Gel Cleanser

- Buffer

- Stainless steel cuticle pusher or spatula

- Small-sized dotting tool or size 0 nail art brush

- Piece of aluminium foil

- Clear or coloured embossing powder

- Lint-free wipes

- UV/LED lamp

- Nail brush

1. Prep your nails according to the instructions with your gel polish system, buff the surface of the nail and apply the base coat. Cure for the appropriate time.

2. Apply the first coat of the coloured polish and cure.

3. Apply a second coat if desired and cure again.

4. Apply top coat and cure.

5. Cleanse the nail to remove the tacky layer from the top coat and prepare it for nail art.

6. Put a few drops of gel polish on a small piece of aluminium foil and using a small dotting tool, start drawing a cable knit pattern on the nail. Make sure to apply the gel thickly and leave little gaps between the motifs so that the design remains clearly distinguishable. Cure when satisfied with the design.

7. Go over the design once more with the gel colour. Do not cure.

8. Using a spatula or stainless steel cuticle pusher, apply some clear embossing powder over all of the nail, taking special attention to cover the whole design. I prefer to use clear embossing powder because it takes up the base colour and goes with everything. The embossing powder will give the design a textured look and feel.

9. Tap the excess powder off the nail and cure in the UV lamp.

10. Remove any excess embossing powder from the nail with a nail brush and follow with a little cleanser on a lint-free wipe.

11. Your sweater nails are ready to rock!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and do let me know if you re-create the design yourselves by posting pictures on my Facebook page :)

Review | Born Pretty Store Arabesque Stamping Plate QA88

Nail stamping is still a very popular way of enhancing your nails when more complicated designs get into play. I have recently added an arabesque stamping plate to my collection from Born Pretty Store.

 

 

Arabesque motifs are among my favourite nail art designs and with this plate I have endless manicure possibilities. The plate is like most other image plates - hexagonal metal plate with an engraved design all over. It comes with a protective plastic film, so be sure to remove that before use. Also, since the edges may be quite sharp, I like to file them a little to avoid cutting myself onto them.

 

The other day, I came across a nail art tutorial on nailsartvidss on Instagram where they used an image plate in a completely different manner than what we are used to. They applied polish and scraped the excess of as usual, then instead of rolling the stamper over the nail, the design is left to dry on the stamper and details are coloured in with nail polish including the base coat at the end.

When the polish dries, it is simply removed from the stamper and stuck to a wet nail like a nail sticker! As it happens, this plate was the perfect fit to try this new technique! Obviously you won't be using the whole design on your nail so I think this is a novel way to use such plates. 

 

The plate engravings are deep enough and the design is retained as a whole, which is not always the case with stamping plates where parts of the design may not transfer. However, I didn't have any such problems with this plate. Here's a manicure I did using this plate:

You can get this plate here for just $2.99 and free shipping + 10% off if you quote the code EBABK31 at checkout. 

 

On a side note, Born Pretty Store now also stock durable display cases for your stamping plates. I have this pink leather one and although it comes a little pricey at $31.89 I still recommend getting it to store your plates safely in one place (it an hold up to 128 plates). I even store nail sticker sheets in it to keep everything organized! You can always save some money if you use BPS points or discount codes when checking out too!

 

 

 

 

PR Sample

NOTW | Waterfall Manicure

This week, I chose a very summery colour for my nails and I tried a waterfall manicure for the first time. Basically, a waterfall manicure consists in painting different coloured lines in different lengths along the nail up to the middle to create a waterfall effect. Read on for the full tutorial!

 

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat and when dry follow with two coats of a bright red polish. I chose Essence Colour & Go in 115 Redvolution.

 

2. When thoroughly dry, begin drawing the 'waterfall' lines in colours that complement the base colour. I have used gold (Essence Colour & Go 140 Go Bold), orange (Essence Cute As Hell T.E. 02 Bad Girl) and a deep red (Essence Colour & Go 113 Do You Speak Love?). A fine detailing brush is best to carry out this part.

 

3. To add the flowers, use a small angled brush dipped in white polish (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 300 White On) and gently press onto the nail to form a five-petalled flower. Repeat to create another flower higher up.

 

4. Using a dotting tool, place a dot in the same bright red colour in the centre of the flower on the lines and using the dark red, repeat this step for the higher flower.

 

5. Seal with a top coat and you're done!

Review & Tutorial | Born Pretty Store Nail Water Decals

From my lack of NOTW posts, you can tell that I didn't have much time to do nail art lately so when Born Pretty Store asked me to choose some nail water decals to try, I jumped at the chance!

 

They have a variety of nail water decals that are very easy to apply and they come in a wide range of designs. I chose set number Y161 and it comes with arabesque, leaves and lines motifs in black and white. The decals are supplied on one small sheet.

 

I decided to have a go with the black arabesque design to see how they perform and how long they last. To show you how easy they are to apply, I have prepared a little tutorial with pictures though instructions are included on the back of packaging.

 

1. Apply nail polish as usual and leave to dry thoroughly.

 

2. Cut the decal to the size you want it and peel off the protective film.

 

3. Float in a bowl of water for 20 seconds and lift off the backing with a pair of tweezers.

 

4. Gently lower the decal on the nail and press gently with a tissue to blot away excess water and prevent formation of air bubbles.

 

5. Apply top coat to seal in the decal.

 

On me, the decals have lasted over a week...even when the nail polish started to wear away, they were left intact! Regular nail polish remover is enough to take away the decals.

 

I definitely recommend you trying these out for effortless nail art and at just $1.86 per sheet, they are a great bargain find! The small half pearls are also from Born Pretty Store and you can find them here. *Get 10% off when quoting the code EBABK31 at checkout*

PR Sample

NOTW | Pastels and Gold

Good morning lovelies :) With Spring in full bloom, I have finally got the chance to wear pastel nail polish again. I went for some subtle sponging nail art on my ring fingers and I feel this manicure has a vintage feel to it. Read on to see how it easy it is to re-create!

 

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat and allow to dry.

 

2. Start painting your nails in the colour palette of your choice. I have used E.L.F. Lilac on my pinky and index, Essence Colour & Go 110 Modern Romance on my middle, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 300 White On on my ring fingers and China Glaze Midnight Kiss on my thumbs. Allow to dry completely and follow with a second coat.

 

3. Apply a little gold nail polish on a makeup sponge and gently dab it on the ring fingers. Repeat for as many times as you like to obtain the opacity you want. Repeat this step with the lilac and peach polishes in random places on the nail. The aim is to merge the colours together yet each of them would still be distinguished.

 

4. Once dry, apply a top coat to preserve your design.

 

P.S. I have submitted this manicure as part of a blog contest on the Julep website. Julep is a beauty company, well known for their nail polishes which I have heard a great deal of good things about. Too bad they don't deliver to Malta :( Anyway, if you are interested in checking out their selection, you can do so through this link here: http://www.julep.com/shop/nail-polish.html

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 | Floral Degrade'

Good afternoon lovelies :) Hope you're all having a fab Sunday funday :) Today I have a nail art tutorial for you! This one will look pretty on any nail length and of course you can adapt it with any colour combination you like. I have favoured acrylic paint for this tutorial because it is much easier to work with when you are doing intricate designs and all, plus it gives you plenty of time to create the design you want. Read on for the step-by-step guide to creating this ultra girly design!

 

 

1. Prep your nails with base coat and leave to dry. Apply a second coat for added protection if you are using a dark base polish.

 

2. Using a fan brush, dip half of it in an acrylic colour of your choice and the other half in the second colour. I have used an Italian pink shade and mixed some of it with white acrylic paint to obtain a lighter colour for a smooth transition. Using the fan brush to paint both colours on your nails will ensure a seamless application in one step. Repeat with a second coat when dry.

 

3. For the flowers, simply use black acrylic paint and a detailing brush and gently press the tip of the brush onto the nail to create flowers and different sized petals. Fill in any empty spaces with little dots. You can use a dotting tool for this step.

 

4. Add a centre to the flowers with a silver foil nail polish. I have used Orly Dazzle.

 

 

5. Paint the rest of the nails in a complimenting colour and leave to dry. Repeat with a second coat. I chose Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition Nail Polish 03 True Love.

 

6. Seal everything with a glossy top coat. Don't forget to seal the edges for an even longer lasting manicure!

 

 

What do you think of this week's nail art? Upload pictures of your creations on my Facebook page if you try this nail art!

NOTW | Pink Flowers for the Birthday Girl

Hey all :) I am posting this week's nail art tutorial quite late because I was working all day today. So tomorrow is my birthday and I wanted a special manicure that totally agrees with my personality. I chose to have a deep French manicure (always elegant) and I opted for a combination of pink (very girly) and black (timeless and goes with everything). It took me some time to complete but in the end, the results were well worth it for I really like how it turned out and I got a lot of compliments for it.

 

Here is the step-by-step tutorial!

 

1. Prep nails with a base coat and proceed to apply a deep welled French tip with black polish. I used Orly Gel FX Liquid Vinyl so I had to cure it under UV light. The French tip should cover up to half of your nail tip.

 

2. When dry, apply a light pink polish to the clear part of the tip so that your French manicure looks like the ones in the photos. I used Orly Gel FX Catch The Bouquet.

 

3. Subsequently, apply an iridescent glitter polish over the pink part. I used Essence Colour and Go 105 Party Princess.

 

4. Define the pink-black borders with a pink crème polish such as China Glaze Second Hand Silk and apply a pink rhinestone in the spot where the borders intersect.

 

5. With the same pink crème polish, paint little flower petals around the rhinestone on the ring fingers on the black part only.

 

6. Apply top coat to seal in your design and you're done :)

 

 

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!