Hi Goddesses
Today I have some more nail vinyls to show you, which I was sent for review by Loki's Nail Vinyls. They are all Valentine related, and I used half of them in this mani. (I am hoping to get another mani done later in the week showing you the other vinyls, because they are mix and match 2-parters, which sounds quite clever!)
I have called this one Inter-Galactic Valentines as the base looks somewhat of a galazy type mani to me, and I deliberately added extra colours and the vinyls in such a way as to accentuate this.
Let's deconstruct - the base is the gorgeous In Blossom from Literary Lacquers, and you can see this in it's full solo beauty next week. On top, I splodged in a variety of pinks - You Better Pink by OPI, and Salmon and Powder Pink by w7.
Firstly, I added heart stickers to the ring finger. I then used the stencils these created to add the hearts on the index and pinkie fingers (using In Blossom) and then added a matte top coat.
For the middle finger and thumb, I used the XO stickers. So that they didn't just look "plonked" I added some edging with In Blossom, and I'm really glad I did, as it gives the mani a more edgy feel.
I deliberately mixed whether the nails were glossy or matte, for effect.
I love Loki's Nail Vinyls, they're such good quality. And even though they come from Oz, they arrive quickly and just squeaking to be let out of the envelope for playtime. Ok, maybe I embellised a leeeeeetle :) These vinyls were sent to me for an honest review and can be purchased HERE.
Hi Goddesses
A few weeks back, I was contacted by smART Nails to see if I would like to review their nail art stencils. By coincidence, I'd just bought (but not yet used) some off eBay, so I jumped at the chance to try some more.
Now, this is not the most positive review I've ever written, so I want to say upfront - I REALLY like the idea of the product, the reality of it just needs tweaking.
These stencils are slightly different to other nail vinyls in that they sit over the whole nail. For some patterns, this is a real bonus - like lining up the zig zags or chevrons. They are also super sticky, but in the right way. They adhere well, and are still sticky enough to reuse the next day.
For me, the product has 2 problems. The first is that they are super thin. This means that delicate or hole-y designs struggle against the weight of the polish when you start to pull it off, causing distortion of the pattern.
Secondly, this problem only gets worse when you try to reuse the product, and you will want to reuse it, given the price (USD1.99 for 10). You won't want to use a new one on each finger and spend $1.99 per mani.
As you can see on each of the manis I did, the pattern gets more distorted as I reuse the sticker. The thumb is always the first nail I do, and is therefore the crispest. Some of them deteroriate quite badly.
I know other bloggers have had more success with these - maybe they didn't reuse them, I don't know. I think you'd probably get better results sponging your polish on top of the stencil (less weight), but I am not sure whether this would give you the colour density you need.
So, sad to say, I'll use my remaining stencils but won't be buying anymore. If they can fix the weight issue, they have a potentially great product, but at the moment, these stencils don't give guaranteed results.
You can check smART Nails out HERE. These products were provided for an honest review.
Hi Goddesses
I think I've said before, I hate film / TV / music prompts. Not because there isn't stuff I love, just because it's really hard to be put on the spot and think of something suitable at the right time.
It's a miracle I came up with this one! I Googled film posters, and initially saw The Blues Brothers. I knew I had ties and sunglasses from Loki's Nail Vinyls, and that was going to be my plan, until on the next row I saw .... Reservoir Dogs.
Never having wanted to watch Blues Brothers, but full of stun and awe for Reservoir Dogs, my choice was made. It's the most breathless and wrecked I have ever felt in a cinema, and I remember it being 3 or 4 days before I could shake off the impact the film had on me.
I used my Loki's Nail Vinyls for the ties, and then did some splattering with diluted red polish. I tried to paint the ear but yeh, me and painting, so in the end I homaged that scene with a switchblade.
I'm actually quite thrilled with how this one turned out.
Hi Goddesses
Ah, the good ole tape mani! Love it on others, not so keen on doing it on me lol. Actually, that's not true, I am VERY keen on doing it on me, but so much involves getting the "right" sort of tape. Anyway, back to that in a mo.
Let's talk about the base, which was sent to me for review. This is Shadow Between Us by Literary Lacquers and it's INSANELY gorgeous.
You may remember me whinging about the world having too many holos in my end of year posts - well, that doesn't apply to LL because look what she does to them - she adds MAGIC!!
This is one of the sparkliest polishes I own. I love how it twinkles, and I love how in the right light you can see those amazing small glitters in it. Super gorgeous.
For my tape mini I chose 3 Indigo Bananas polishes -
- Indigo Bananas Twice As Bright (pink)
- Indigo Bananas Electric Unicorns (lilac)
- Indigo Bananas Halcyon (purple)
Ok, let's talk tape. Here I am using some nail vinyls from She Sells Seashells, and for me, I am finding that the vinyls have a much better level of stickiness than normal tape.
I struggle using the super thin tape on a roll, as it never wants to stick to anything other than my fingers or clothes - GET ON THE NAIL - and my other tapes can be hit and miss too.
These chevrons were really easy to use, and the only dodgy part was that the lovely Twice As Bright wasn't particularly opaque, so it was a bit of an eeeek experience to try and get it opaque enough without messing up the mani.
Overall, I really love this one.
The Literary Lacquers polish was sent to me for review and can be purchased HERE.
