Review: Born Pretty Store Nail Art Practice/Display Stand

I was feeling inspired to do some nail art designs for my nail art portfolio the other day and I had the perfect excuse to try out this practice stand from Born Pretty Store! As soon as I saw it on their website, I immediately thought on how convenient it would be to practice nail art on a larger surface rather than on a simple nail wheel.  So, it goes without saying that when I was given another opportunity to review another product for Born Pretty Store, I jumped at the chance of giving this a go!

The Nail Art Practice/Display Stand comes in box and you have to assemble it yourself which is really no big deal. There are instructions on the back of the box and they are very easy to follow and you will complete the stand in next to no time! Here are some more photos to help you:

The stand parts as they are supplied

Fit part A into part B as shown in the picture on the right and then fit part C to close them together.

You will end up with individual blocks like the one below:

        

Fit the individual units into each other like a jigsaw and you will get this circular stand.

Alternatively, you can keep the part where all part B's where held together and use the stand horizontally.  I prefer to use it as a circle.

Lastly, attach the small snowflake shape in the middle of the circular stand to hold it all together!

As you can see, the stand is very easy to assemble and although it is made out of a hardish foam, it feels very sturdy and also comes with 40 small pieces of double-sided tape so you can affix the nail tips to the stand and have a steady base on which to work.  In the picture on the right, you can see a piece of double sided tape in the middle of the false nail.  These double sided tape pieces can be used only once but once you use them up, you can still use more double sided tape or blu-tack to work with.  I was worried that the foam would rip off once I pulled the nail from the stand but that didn't happen so this further proves the stand is made out of good quality material!

I'm really pleased I got this stand to practice my nail art on as it is very ergonomic and with me being OCD that I keep everything clean, I find it is next to impossible to mess it up with nail polish.  Here's the stand put to good use:

Also, as the name implies, you can also use the stand to display your nail art work on so that clients can see it!  A final word on this product would be the retail price... $3.38! Pretty affordable isn't it? And with shipping being free for anywhere in the world without a minimum order amount, it is even more affordable!

What do you think of this product ladies? Would you consider giving it a go?

PR Sample

Online Shopping Experience ~ Nail Supplies {Part 2}

Silly little me forgot to include to Viva La Nails in the other post so here are my thoughts about this online nail supplies store.  I was introduced to Viva La Nails after reading about a blogger sample pack they were offering on Stavroula's blog and I decided to give the site a go.  I was really pleased with the fast dispatch and arrival of the products and they are very good quality products at competitive and affordable prices.  The shop owner is a nail technician herself so she really knows what clients want!  Free shipping to the UK, Ireland & Europe is offered on spending £25 and they ship worldwide at a very affordable rate of £2.95.  I did order a few more times from the website and I was never disappointed!

Online Shopping Experience ~ Nail Supplies

Hello ladies :) Yesterday, while I was taking a break from my Masters research project, I was thinking about what to blog and instead of a review I though of sharing my online shopping experiences when it comes to nail art accessories and nail polishes.  I will do other posts on jewellery & accessories and yet another one on cosmetics/skin care if your feedback for this post is good :)

We all know how convenient it is to shop online especially for products and articles you do not get where you live or else they are simply too expensive to buy at home.  As a general rule, I only buy from a website if they accept PayPal and if shipping charges are reasonable.

In this first post, I will basically go into details about dispatch of orders, shipment times, customer care and all these things about the different websites that I buy nail supplies from so let's get started!

ebay is the site I use most frequently to buy nail polishes and nail art decorations from as I find it is very easy to compare prices in one place and since I would know how much a particular product retails in local stores, I know I'm getting a very good deal on here.

I use the ebay.co.uk site and these are my favourite sellers for China Glaze nail polishes glitzandglamorize; beautyzone2007 & enchantedbeautyspot (all US sellers).

As for nail art embellishments, what I do is I type the item description in the search box and then sort the results by 'Price + P&P: Lowest First' and check out the best deal as to quantity, colours and more often than not, I do not pay for shipping! In case I buy more than one item from the same seller, and there happens to be a shipping charge, most sellers offer combined shipping discounts.  Also, you can opt to bid for certain items, giving you the opportunity to get an even cheaper deal!  Last but not least, the site is very user-friendly and there is also a Buyer Protection Scheme. As for customer care, I can't complain as whenever I had problems with orders, the sellers were more than helpful :)  Shipping is usually fast and you leave feedback on each item upon receipt.  I order mostly from Hong Kong based sellers.  In the My eBay section, you can keep track of all orders and save items in your Watch List for easier access. PayPal is accepted.

Born Pretty Store is another online nail supplies store (based in China) that I like to shop at.  I am also an affiliate with the store but that doesn't mean this is going to bias my views just because I get free stuff to review.  Born Pretty also sell all other kinds of beauty-related stuff such as hair accessories and make-up.  Most of their products are good quality and they dispatch their orders fairly quickly.  They can improve a little on customer service though.  Orders typically take anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks to arrive and everything is safely packaged in bubble wrap and a standard big padded envelope.  What I like most about this site is that you can upload your pictures, videos and thoughts on the products and in return get BPS points to spend online so you can also get some items for free that way.  Prices are very reasonable too and they decrease per unit, the more you order of the same item at one go.  They also offer free shipping worldwide irrespective of the order total. PayPal is accepted as a payment method and you get an email notification once your order is dispatched.

Nail Delights is my latest discovery with regards online nail supplies stores.  They are based in the UK and offer free worldwide shipping on orders of £10 or more while if the order amounts to a lesser cost, the shipping fee is £1.50.  It is not difficult to spend £10 so might as well save on shipping and getting another item instead. You get an order confirmation once your payment has gone through but to check if the order has been dispatched, you have to click on a link in this email or log on to your site account as you do not receive any email notifications.  PayPal is accepted as a payment method and the orders only take a week or so to arrive.  They use bubble wrap to make sure that your items arrive intact.  Definitely worth a try!

So that's it for the first post in this kind of series.  I would really appreciate it if you let me know what you think about these kind of posts and also whether you have different views than mine on any of the websites shared :)

Grab a Bargain and go Sale Shopping! {Part 2}

Hello cupcakes :) I'm just back from a day shopping in Sliema with Mum and I wanted to quickly share with you my purchases.

From Promod, Mum bought me these very vintage looking cameo earrings. I like the frame and the actual cameo as well as the bow but I like the price even better... €3 down from €9.95!

I also went to New Look and bought some of the new collection stuff so none of this was on sale, yet still very affordable :)  After trying on a ton of things, I only ended up getting this cropped scallop top (€17.99) and this cute cardigan (€16.99)...   

...but on making my way for the till, I spotted this colour-block envelope clutch and at €15.99 I couldn't just let it sit there could I??

Lastly, I got this pack of plasters for just €1 just because they look so girly and cute!

So that's it for this post ladies! I'm off as I'm working day duty tomorrow. Good night to all :)

Review: Marks & Spencer Lip Gloss in Dark Pink and Mulberry

I don't know about you but when I heard that Marks & Spencer were also carrying their own make-up range, I was very looking forward to try some products out to see how they perform.  So I picked up two lip glosses in the shades Mulberry and Dark Pink.  I like how they also have testers of all the products available as it makes it easier to choose the shades you like.

The lip glosses come in standard lip gloss tubes with doe-foot applicators and originally, they are sealed with transparent plastic.  A sticker bearing the shade name is affixed at the bottom of the tube.  However, there is no indication as to how much product you are getting.  I really like the size of the tube as it makes them easy to carry around in small clutch bags and also, I like that the cap closes tightly without any product oozing out and messing up the tube or the contents/insides of your bag.

Texture-wise, they are very creamy and they are also very very pigmented; in fact, most of the time, I wear these glosses alone. However, I sometimes do pair them with lipsticks for a statement lip.  With regards lasting power, I would say that these last an average of 3 - 4 hours on me which I think is fairly good.

Mulberry (top) is a nude creamy rosy-pink shade, perfect to complement bold eye make-up for a low key lip or you can also wear it for a completely natural everyday look.

Dark Pink (bottom) is more of a berry shade to me which is more suited for more elegant looks rather than for everyday use.  I like to pair mine with Max Factor lipstick in 710 Midnight Plum for a vampy lip for a night out on the town.

These glosses are priced quite affordably too; I bought mine for €4.50 each.  Another point worth mentioning is that Marks & Spencer make-up is BUAV approved and none of their products are tested on animals.

Have you tried these lip glosses or any other items from the M&S make-up range? What are your views on them?