Born Pretty - Cuticle Pusher & Cuticle Nippers

Some tools were also sent my way from Born Pretty. 

The cuticle pusher/remover can be found here for $1.89. 

It works great! The left side is slightly curved and allows you to easily push your cuticles back and scrape at the dead skin the clings to the nail bed. ( I think that's what the technical "cuticle" is anyway) The right side is angled to a point which is helpful for cleaning under the free edge. The tool is very sturdy and made from stainless steel so it can be properly sanitized.

The cuticle nippers can be found here for $2.74.

It works great too! I'm really pleased with them as well.

Here I have the Born Pretty cuticle nippers stacked on top of my Tweezerman nippers so that you can see how they compare. Approximately same size, but the ones from Born Pretty feel more lightweight. Construction appears the same.

 A closeup of the nipper head. Born Pretty has a smaller angle to the blade part. It has a longer cutting area so it lets you get it further to any hangnails or awkward positions. I've had my Tweezerman nippers for quite a while now and they have gone a bit dull. The Born Pretty ones are really sharp and crisp which makes things go easier and quicker.

Side note - I'm not recommending that you all go out and start cutting your cuticles. They are there for a reason and that is to protect your nail from infection. I don't personally cut my cuticles any. I push them back with each polish change and I use cuticle nippers to cut any loose bits of skin, extra growth on the side of my nails, or to smooth out the toughened skin at the corners of my nails.

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Born Pretty - Foil Metal Bows

I recently received these gold metal bow decals from Born Pretty to review. Here is the look I came up with.

They can be found here for $8.80. 

There are 1,000 bows in each pack.

I stated by painting a basecoat, then taped off french tips and added Sinful Colors Let's Talk (it's much more purple IRL, less blue). Once that was dry, I placed gold striping tape along the smile line. Then I used my topcoat to attach the bows, and 2 coats over top of them to seal them in.

The bows are completely flat, so they wanted to stick up and have rough edges. The material is a thick foil, so I was able to bend them around the handle of my dotting tool with just my fingers to curve them. That helped them to sit better on the nail, but it didn't fix it entirely.

My opinions:

• I wish they would sit better on the nail. They still managed to stick up some which irritates me. 
• The quality is very good and unlike some cheaper alternatives where half of the bows would be defective... all of these were just right. 
• I wish it were offered in smaller quantities for a lesser price. I don't see myself ever being able to use all 1,000.

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Sinful Colors - Let's Talk

This is a gorgeous purple that is deep, dark, and beautiful. I like that it's a dark purple that still manages to look purple even in low light. I don't care for the type of polishes that are so dark they look black... This one stays purple the whole way.

This is 2 coats of Let's Talk. It applied easily and smoothly. I had trouble photographing this color because my camera made it look blue. These were taken with my iphone and it's much closer but still not quite right. In real life the color is a bit deeper and darker. 



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Blue Dip Dyed

I first saw this melting, dip dyed technique over at Nailed It. She's got a tutorial, check it out.

 

 

 Here is the series of colors as I added them. Top to bottom is : China Glaze Sea Spray, China Glaze Electric Beat, Orly Snowcone, Orly Calypso Breeze, Sinful Colors Rainstorm.

Topcoat at the very end helps it to all blend and the lines to smooth out. I really like this look!

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Firmoo Glasses Review

Eyeglasses have nothing to do with nail art, but when Firmoo asked me to participate in their blogger review program.... I couldn't pass it up. I've got poor vision and I wear contacts most of the time. I figured I'd take the chance to get some prescription sunglasses for when I wear my glasses out during the day. :)

So here we go, first some words from Firmoo:

 

"The old opinion that glasses are only necessities for people with vision problems has already gone. Glasses are increasingly becoming a fad and must-have accessories for celebs and fashionistas. Everyday we can spot millions of non prescription glasses wearers and we are constantly fascinated by many noted film stars’ signature non prescription glasses.They instantly upgrade your look of modern,sexy, vintage or geek by wearing different styles of frames.
Any hot glasses/sunglasses /goggles frames you want can be found on Firmoo, and all are available for both prescription lenses and non-prescription lenses. Are you desperate to have a new look? Now here is the chance, Firmoo has launched a First Pair Free Program to people worldwide. You will absolutely fall in love with the excellent quality, affordable prices, fashionable designs, fast delivery and the good service after trying them with paying shipping only! You even can get a refund/exchange if you are not satisfied with them. It's totally Risk free, so why not have a try?
Click here to get your free glasses now!"

I can't find a direct link to this exact style on their website anymore. It appears to have been removed.

They are blue and white plastic with silver accents. And of course tinted prescription lenses. Firmoo also sends everything else you might possibly need. A plastic storage case, a drawstring bag, a cleansing cloth, a small screwdriver and 2 extra tiny screws.

 My opinion? They fit nice, the prescription seems perfect, and they feel well made - not flimsy and cheap. They look nice on! Check out all of their selection because if these don't interest you, they have a gazillion more to choose from. :)

 

Let's face it, this is where I wear my sunglasses most of the time. Even there they are comfortable! Lol



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Check It Out

This is a look I wore last week. I'm not sure what you could call it, chevron/gradient/ombre accent nail?

The polishes I used were:

Thumb - China Glaze Something Sweet

Index - China Glaze Dance Baby

Middle - Cult Nails Devious Nature

Pinky - China Glaze Traffic Jam

Ring - freehand crooked lines of all the above polishes plus Sinful Colors Snow Me White

 

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A Striped Kiss

These are some nails I copied from a Pinterest find. I'll include the picture at the very bottom.
I used Wet N Wild I Red A Good Book, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, & Sinful Colors Black Striper - Time Off. I stamped the kiss image on BM02 with Konad white and then used a striper brush to fill it in with red paint. (That's mainly because I didn't have an opaque enough red stamping polish)

*edit*
I had trouble getting to the original source, but thank you Kelsie for helping me out! The original post was from Marta @ Chit Chat Nails, seen here.

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