{Review} Born Pretty Store Goodies

Good Morning all you lovelies,

I was sent some awesome goodies to test & try from Born Pretty Store and boy were they goodies!

I am part of the affiliate program and I was emailed by my rep who gave me a budget and I got to choose what I wanted to review. I chose 4 items but today I am only going to show you 2 of them.

I have been brain storming the heck out of these 2 items to see what I could come up with. I am so excited to show you what I did because a massive amount of time and effort went in it.

So I used the following items for my Mani:

The water decal SH02 & the 3D Nail Jewel.

I went for a full on vintage look.

I spent a great deal of time cutting out all the little flowers and putting them on my nails but I also added a full nail to show you what it would look like.

It was really easy to apply the decals, I just submerged them in a bit of water for a minute & then placed them on my nails using a tweezers.

In terms of the 3D jewel I used Seche Vite to attach it to my nail (Although nail glue would make it stick longer). But if you lost a jewel that would be ok because you get 5 if you order them.

I painted a Matte topcoat over everything to seal it off and tah-dah a super easy vintage mani.

What do you think?

The Born Pretty Store is having a Massive sale at the moment as it is their anniversary and each day they are announcing something new and exciting. If you would like to browse the website you can check them out here. Or you can follow them on any of their social media platforms: Facebook//Twitter//Instagram.

Also if you would like a super awesome discount on your order you can used PTB10K31 to get 10% off.

**Disclosure: There are Affiliate links on this post.

{Review} Ice Box Colors

Good Morning my Loves,

So today I have some new polishes to show you. This is the first time I have ever tried this brand.

Today’s post is just swatches but I will get some Nail Art done too which you can catch on Instagram & Facebook.

 

 

So on to the polishes!

So here is a little outtake from their website (I will add all the links at the bottom)

“outstanding nail lustres range with its dazzling colours, stunning square bottles in both 7ml & 15ml, with its quick drying, long lasting, chip-resistant wear, is also 3-Free and is made in South Africa to the highest international standards.”

As you can see this is a Local brand which instantly made me love it more! Anything Local gets me all giddy!

No Sugar Please

No Sugar Please is a rich dark chocolate brown polish.

When I first painted it on I got a little worried as the initial coat was so translucent but as soon as I applied the second coat I was looking at a fully opaque polish. The brush is amazing! It is thick so I only needed to paint the brush over my nails twice to get full nail coverage.

The dry time was fairly fast which was very exciting.

Just look at that shine! I didn’t add a top coat.

Nothing To Prove

I am slightly obsessed with Nude polishes and Nothing To Prove didn’t disappoint!

The formula for both the polishes was exceptionally great and I found the smell of the polish was really pleasant too, it didn’t over-power the room.

Aesthetically this my all time favorite Nail polish bottle shape, its just so different!

I am really confident that this is a must try brand for all you local ladies.

What do you think of these Neutrals?

They have a massive collection of pretty polishes (including Holo’s, Yipeee) If you want to see more swatches check out Michelle from OrdinaryMisfit review here.

Ok so you can check out this brand on the following Platforms:

Facebook, Twitter & on their Website.

You can contact them via Facebook to find your nearest stockist.

 

 

 

 

[Review] Nail Candi: Nail Ring

Happy Wednesday,

So usually I do a comparison post today but I was playing with my Nail Candi nail ring last night and got inspired. The nail art I did is so pretty in my opinion so I couldn’t wait until Friday to share.

 

I wanted to use colours the complimented the Rose Gold colour of the Nail Ring so I decided to use Revlon ColourStay Fall Mood and Tip Top Melting Marshmallow.

 

I love how it came out, I just did random dots of Various sizes. I prefer Melting Marshmallow dots over Fall Mood vs. the other way around. What do you think?

Lastly I added the Nail Ring.

I think it looks very pretty.

I have a few concerns though…

Firstly when I first got all the Goodies from Nail Candi my nails were seriously long! So long that when I first tried on the ring, my nail was showing at the end of it. I definitely was not going to cut my nails at that point and so I left it to review at a later stage.

I also struggled with fit, my fingers are slightly thin so the ring didn’t fit on any of my fingers, it just slid down and looked silly really. I did bend it a little to get the finger space a little tighter but not too much to warp the metal.

I think that in terms of rings its very important to have a size scale. I don’t think a one size fits all approach works because we are not all one size.

Other than that I really love this trend! And would love to try other rings to see how they work for me.

All in all I give the Nail Candi nail ring a 3 out of 5.

 

 

 

But this is only because of my skinny fingers and used-to-be Long nails.

What do you think?

If you would like to purchase these or see more of what Nail Candi has to offer you can check out their links below:

Nail Candi Website

Nail Candi Twitter

Nail Candi Facebook Page

Nail Candi Instagram

You can pop into your local Dream Nails or Sorbet salons, or see other stockists here

I got the blues… The TOY Blues

Hello Lovelies,

So I have a blue polishes to show you today.

Blue is my favorite polish colour to buy, in my storage system I store my pinks and purples in 1 box, my reds, yellows, oranges, browns, nudes and glitters in another box and my blues have a whole box to themselves.

The polishes I am going to show you today were sent by TOY for review.

First I have Blueberry Moon from the Maaji Collection.

 

Its a stunning blurple polish that has a very cool almost matte finish. Blueberry Moon is from last seasons Maaji Collection.

It only required 1 coat but I am a 2 coat kinda gal.

Next is Azul Oscuro.

 

Its what I assume to be a “Crelly” (Im not exactly up to speed on all the nail art lingo)… Ok so I have consulted with my Hobby Polish peers and have had confirmation that this is a “Crelly” Polish. For those of you (Like me) that are wondering what the heck is a crelly? Well its a polish that looks like a Jelly but is opaque like a creme. To be honest I still do not get it? But I could just be a bit doff!

Anyhoo so I personally am not a fan of Jelly or Crelly polishes. This polish required 3 coats and I still felt like it needed a 4th, but I draw the line at 3 coats! I love the colour.

Are you a “Crelly”/”Jelly” Fan?

Review time with Nail Candi

Happy Friday my lovely followers,

As you can tell I am so happy its Friday, I am utterly finished after this week. My boyfriend started his first job in his field of studies and has to wake up at 5:30am in the morning to get ready for work. I have been getting up with him so we have a few extra minutes together before we start our days, yes I know its my own fault for being tired then.

So anyway that has lead me to have less time in the evening to do nail art! I know still my fault tehe.

I literally left this review to the last minute, I knew I wanted at least part of it done so I could post it today and so I stuck to a strict schedule last night, instead of unwinding in front of the TV with a drink in my hand, I jumped up on my bed pulled out all my polishes and got down to business.

My Nail art for today’s post was inspired by Very Emily’s Shattered Glass & Diamond Nails that she posted yesterday (see post here, its stunning!) on her blog. I loved the negative space aspect to it and always wanted to try it out so I decided to do it! Plus it makes the Nail Candi look “Wowza”.

Ok so lets get to it!

Nail Candi contacted me last week and asked if they could send me some goodies to review, of course I said yes as I had been perving of OrdinaryMisfits reviews of their pretties. (see here & here)

So now for some background on Nail Candi… Nail Candi was founded by Michell Sierra, famous for doing nails on all the runways of SA Fashion week plus working with local and international Celebs. She saw an opening in the South African Market for Nail Art Jewelery and started working on the pieces. If I can just say, Thank you Michell, you were so right! We needed these!

I received 3 different items from their catalogue, but today I will be showing you their “Candi Crown Jewel” which can be bought here (PS I will list other stockists at the end of the post)

 

Ok so back to the Mani, I fell in love with “Very Emily’s” adaption of a negative space mani by adding a glitter base instead of a naked base.

My mani is a Negative Space Skittle Mani.

I started with 2 coats of Essence nail Art Special effects topper in 08 Nights In Vegas, the as always I am too lazy to wait for things to dry so I didn’t want to tape, instead a did some free hand using my Cina Nail Art Pen. I also added some accents of Essence Colour & Go 178 Hello Spring!

Finally I added a thick coat of Seche Vite and stuck on the Candi Crown Jewels.

 

I have a few suggestions for application & removal, firstly the instructions for the jewels state that it needs to be stuck down with nail glue, I disagree Seche Vite works just as well. I wasn’t too keen on adding glue to my nails so I tried Seche Vite and it worked like a dream! I went to bed with the jewels on and woke up this morning and they are still in the same place. I do strongly believe that any old top coat will not hold the jewels in place, if you don’t have Seche Vite then rather stick to the nail glue.

Secondly the removal process also sounded a but scary to me, its suggested that you use a nail clipper to unhinge the jewel from your nail but again I am too worried about what that might do to my nail so instead you could get a piece of cotton thread, wrap it around your fingers as if you are going to floss, dip the cotton into some acetone free remover and slowly guide it under the jewel until it comes loose. This process does take a bit longer but at least this way you can protect both your nail and the jewel.

I must say I really LOVE the way these jewels look, its so blingy. I keep getting distracted by how it shimmers in the light.

I give these Nail Candi Crowns a rating of… 5 out of 5 😀

If you would like to purchase these or see more of what Nail Candi has to offer you can check out their links below:

Nail Candi Website

Nail Candi Twitter

Nail Candi Facebook Page

Nail Candi Instagram

You can pop into your local Dream Nails or Sorbet salons, or see other stockists here

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ❤

TOY Maaji New Collection #maajimagic2014

Happy Friday Lovelies,

This post is going to be jam packed with pretties!

So remember a while back I got to go do nail art for a runway show using TOY products… Well I must have really impressed them because they contacted me again to do another event, only this time it was to create fun Nail Art designs for the Launch of the new Maaji Nail Polish & Swimwear collections

Let’s give you some background in case you missed my last Maaji polish post. Maaji is a swimwear line from Columbia (just like TOY). Maaji & TOY teamed up to create 5 polishes with every new collection of swimsuits.

The colours of the new collection are absolutely stunning.

TOY sent me the collection to play with and to come up with striking Nail Art.

Here are the swatches of the 5 new polishes:

First up is TOY Maaji Minty Sparrow.

I am in love with this mint polish! It’s possibly the closest to a “True Mint” I have ever seen. I would like to dub this polish a “1 coat wonder”. This polish is so creamy and full of pigment it literally looked great with only 1 coat! I really didn’t have any issues with this polish at all, it dried super-fast and was exceptionally shiny.

For this swatch I did 2 coats and no top coat.

Then I tried TOY Maaji Marine Fairwater.

Outside of the nail polish world this is my favourite colour of all time! I love this colour in polish too but let’s be honest who can really choose 1 favourite nail polish colour? I know I can’t hehe.

This polish was yet another “1 coat wonder” pigment packed and oh so creamy! For this swatch I did 2 coats, only because its habitJ, and no top coat.

Next was TOY Maaji Sandy Oasis.

One cannot simply have enough nude nail polish! Although this is true for every polish, it is definitely even truer for nude polishes! I don’t know about anyone else but I think nude polish is to the polish world what the LBD (little black dress) is to the fashion world, an absolute must have! It goes with every occasion!

This polish, as with almost all the polishes in this collection, is also a 1 coat wonder. Alas I still did 2 coats with no top coat.

The 4^th swatch of the collection is TOY Maaji Candy Bay.

This polish is the pop of tropical colour you need on a sad winters day… plus it looks killer stunning on your toes.

This was the only polish that needed 2 coats. The first coat I found to be a bit streaky but the second one smoothed it out and made it perfect.

I love the fact that the collection contained a nude and a neon, those two always look great together.

The final swatch of the day is TOY Maaji Burgundy Waves.

Out of the entire collection this is my all-time favourite one! The colour is so rich and warm. I have been wearing this on my nails for the last 4 days! I actually think this is a great one for our winter season!

My matric dance dress was this colour and so were my curtains in high schools. #randomfact

Anyway so here is the swatch

See it’s stunning!

This polish has actually caused a little dilemma in my life… I now want clothes in this colour! Specifically a big chunky woolly jersey.

So this polish was also a “1 coat wonder”

What do you think of this collection? I really really love it!

I was invited to attend the event but didn’t end up going because I came down with flu. I did however stalk the # Tag #MaajiMagic2014 and it looks like the guests had a blast. Take a look at the #MaajiMagic2014 on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to see all the fun.

Who wants to see the nail art?

These are the nails I created for the event using the colours from the collection. The aim was just to create a fun feature nail and so thats what I did.

My favorites are the top 2 left ones.

I am a bit sad that I didn’t get a chance to do these on myself as I was so busy prepping the falsies for the Nail Art Menu’s. But I do plan to show you so keep an eye out for a bonus post this Sunday 😀

The menu’s came out super cute thanks to Sigal (TOY SA Head Honcho) and her awesome idea. The guests at the event used these to choose the feature nail they wanted to wear.

Sigal gave me some feedback on the event saying that all the ladies love the Nail Art #blushface. I feel really honored to have had my work put up for all the Media world to see.

 

Me & My Ice-Cream Trend Edition

Hello Lovelies,

Today is my first post featuring the new blog design and layout, how exciting!

I have been waiting for this collection since I saw it launched in Europe. I was lucky enough to see, touch and feel it back in September at a Cosmetix event and that filled me with even more anticipation to have it.

I pestered Cosmetix/Essence South Africa endlessly to find out when it would be launched. It was finally launched in April but only at selected Clicks stores. Sadly by the time I got there the displays were cleaned out! I managed to buy 3 polishes from the collection by visiting various stores but that was it. I was utterly heart broken. This was the one I had been waiting so long for.

Then Essence had a giveaway on their Facebook page to win a few things from the collection and I won it! I was so filled with joy, I think the universe knew how badly I wanted this collection.

 

I got a lot more than I thought I would, I am so grateful for it too because Essence helped me to complete the collection of polishes, they sent the exact one I didn’t have.

So to start off I am going to do something a bit different. I will do makeup swatches 😀 I know right! Finally! I do not quiet have the confidence to put up a shot of me actually wearing the makeup yet but I can show you what it would look like on fair skin with a pink undertone.

First up is the “Always in my Mint” baked Eye shadow.

This eye shadow is mint sparkle marbled with a peach shimmer, it can be applied wet or dry but I prefer to keep it dry. It has a beautiful radiance. I use it to highlight my eyes.

Next up is the “I-CY U” Shimmer pearls. It’s filled with yellow, orange pink and mint pearls.

They are great to give that finishing glow to your makeup look or body.

I decided to swatch each colour pearl, if you have patience imagine a shimmer rainbow on your face.

I also received the Lip balm “Cosnova” and the Hand wipes “I scream for ice cream”

The lips balm is so pretty with its pink & blue swirls. It smells like those ice snap things you put in your freezer and when they are ready you snap them in half and enjoy.

The Hand wipes smell like Neapolitan ice cream. I was a little disappointed at how small the wipes are, it would have been great if they were a bit bigger. Also they don’t add any moisture to your hands so I found I would wipe my hands and then need to moisturise afterwards.

I also got some Nail Stickers, “Rainbow Sprinkles” that look like hundreds and thousands on your nails.

These really annoyed me. I put them on my nails and immediately after the image was taken, I took them off. They are just like Caviar nails only these balls fell off quicker. I am not a fan of having extras on my nails unless they are stuck down and only come off when I decide so. Also the removal process was a little scary, I felt like I was ripping my nails off. This was the only product from the whole collection that I wasn’t happy with.

The last item I received in my prize was “Icylicious”. It’s the polish I chose when I got my Mani done at the event last year. It is also my fav out of all the polishes from this collection. So I was really happy when they sent me a bottle as it was the only one I didn’t have.

This polish is a soft peach pastel with a white shimmer, it also has a sweet fragrance to it. I painted 3 coats as it was slightly difficult to make even.

All the polishes are painted 3 coats no top coat.

The next 3 polishes I bought and were not part of the prize from Essence.

First is “Ben & Cherries” <- such a cute name! It’s a pastel pink with white shimmer.

Then “Ice, Ice Baby”, it’s a purple pastel with white shimmer.

And lastly “Always in my Mint”, it’s a mint pastel polish with white shimmer.

As you can see the polish is a bit streaky. To me, I think the polish application would have been much smoother but the bristles of the brush were very coarse.

This isn’t the entire collection, there were 2 more eye shadows and 2 other lip balms as well as a cream blush but those were all sold out.

 

Lush Hand Care #girlsnewbestfriend!

*** Please note I purchased these products myself.

Hello my dear lovelies,

Lush products have been popping up all over South African blogs lately, a store opened at V&A Waterfront last year and its been a must have on my lust-list ever since!

If you have the pleasure of being able to go to the actual store make sure you do, its fabulous! If not, they now do online orders and correct me if I am wrong but I am pretty sure they are opening a Durban store soon.

Anywhoo, walking into Lush is like walking into a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory but for Soaps and Creams! Even just walking past the store is an experience, it just smells so amazing!

I took this while in-store their displays are so inciting! I’m a total sucker for product placement!

Lush Hand Treats

Lush has a great selection of treats for hands and feet, you can buy them here.

So lets start with Tiny Hands Solid Hand Cream…

Tiny Hands

Its a solid Hand cream, you rub it in your hands and the heat from the friction melts a layer of the bar onto you hands. It really helps with dry hands.

Just make sure you keep it in a cool place! The day I bought mine it was about 32 degrees and it started to melt so I tossed it in the fridge.

It has vanilla, chamomile, marigold and cocoa butter in it and has the most amazing smell ever! Its also a Vegan product

This pretty little hand goes for R80.00 per bar.

Next I have Handy Gurugu Hand Cream…

Handy Gurugu Hand Cream

I tried this product in-store as well as the Helping Hands but loved this one more! Its a thick “Butter-Rich” hand cream.

Its not fruity which is why I chose it, it has a very fresh scent. Its made up of Shea-Butter which is possibly one of my all time favorite ingredients in any beauty product ever! Its also got a touch of Rose Water which was news to me until this post as I generally do not enjoy the smell but its so subtle you don’t even realize its there.

Its also a Vegan Product and contains alcohol.

It retails for R120.00 per 100g tub.

Last but definitely not least, I give you Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter…

Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

This one was a gift from my boss at our Year End Function last year.

Its fabulous! Smells so delicious its ridiculous!

Its Lemony Fresh and the thickest cream Lush has available.

The best part about this cream is that you can use it on practically anything. I personally use it as a lip balm, cuticle cream and an elbow moisturizer! It combats dryness and softens up cuticles. Its a Vegetarian Product and contains some alcohol.

This baby retails for R105.00.

I really suggest all of these products and give them 5 out of 5!

For a full list of ingredients check out each product on their website (Linked above)

Thanks for Reading ❤

All The Best

xxx

 

Revlon Reds

***Please be advised the Nail Polish in this post was sent to me by Revlon.

I have not always liked Red Nail Polish, but in doing this post I have come to like a dark reds. I am still not a fan of bright  based reds (True Reds), I prefer a blue based red. That is probably because of my fair skin tone too.

Did you know that your skin tone affects how a red polish looks?

If your skin is dark or has golden undertones, bright, true reds look best. To make pink skin look less ruddy, use lighter orange-reds. If you’re pale, the contrast of a blue-red is striking.

Read more: The Right Red Nail Polish – Marie Claire

730 Valentine

Revlon Nail Enamel 730 Valentine is a blue based red (although my camera flash makes it look bright red) It has a rich red look. This swatch only required 2 coats of polish.

680 Revlon Red

Revlon Nail Enamel 680 Revlon Red is a true Red. It is bright and Vibrant. This swatch is only 2 coats of polish.

130 Velvet Rope

Revlon ColorStay 130 Velvet Rope is my favorite out of all the reds. It is a deep burgundy shade. This was also only 2 coats of lush colour 😀

 

How do you feel about Red Polish?

 

All The Best

xxx

Revlon Review Blue & Green

***Please be advised the Nail Polish in this post was sent to me by Revlon.

When I first saw Revlon Nail Enamel “Muse” I thought… Avo Dip hehe.

520 Muse- Revlon Nail Enamel

Dont you think it looks like yummy dip? I was actually surprised that I liked it. In the bottle it looks so different compared to when you swatch it. It looks very light when in the bottle but once swatched it is such a pretty rich but still soft green. It has a very creamy opague finish and literally need 2 light coats. It also has a really great glossy finish.

480 Chic- Revlon Nail Enamel

I like to refer to this type of Blue as a dusty blue as there is just the slightest grey tinge to it. I love “dusty” colours, they feel vintage to me and I am a big fan of vintage anything! My pinterest can vouch for that 😀

I am a self proclaimed blue nail polish addict. And so it makes sense that I love this polish!

This swatch is 2 coats of polish. It also has a very creamy opague finish.

I must say I am a big fan of both of these colours. What do you think? Would you wear these colours?

All The Best

xxx