Glam Nails Challenge: Dec.06 & 10 - Santa Claus & Jingle Bells

Merry Christmas everyone! If you're celebrating, I hope you're having a wonderful time with your loved ones. If not, I hope you're having a good day regardless.

So, I know I'm really late in posting this, but I hope you like it. This mani is for the Glam Nails Challenge of Dec.06 and 10, the themes were Santa Claus and Jingle Bells. I started with a gorgeous green polish with copper flakies as my base. Then, I picked up the bell and Santa images and did some reverse stamping. After they were filled in, I waited for the polish to dry a bit so I could stamp them on. Once they were on my nails, all I had to do was apply top coat.

Close-Ups:

I really like how they came out, I hope you do too. Also, I absolutely LOVE my base polish, it's so pretty!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
Green with Copper Flakies: Supernatural Lacquer "The Call"
Gold: Fancy Gloss "Gingerbread Latte"
Red: Jessica Cosmetics "Royal Red"
Green: Supernatural Lacquer "Avalon 2.0"
Tan: L'oreal "Shinetastic"
White: Sinful Colors "Snow Me White"
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Santa Stamping Plate: Beauty Big Bang 06 (SKU: J3141TM-6A)
Bell Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #36245 (Celebration BPX-L008)
Black Stamping Polish: Born Pretty Store item #18135
Medium Clear Jelly Stamper: Born Pretty Store item #26498
Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool: Born Pretty Store item #32220

*Giveaway Prize: Jessica Cosmetics "Royal Red".
*Past Press Samples: Beauty Big Bang 06 Stamping Plate; Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish, Medium Clear Jelly Stamper, Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool.

Glam Nails Challenge: Oct.11 - Spider Web

Hi guys! Spider Web is the Oct.11 theme for the Glam Nails Challenge. I had a half-moon mani already in mind, and then I saw Martina do a spider mani. She used rhinestones to make the spider's body which I just loved, so I had to add a spider too. Hehe. So I started off with a metallic polish, which left my nails really stained by the way (I had to scrub my nails with a brush and soap, which took most of it off). I found a perfect spider web image, and after adding top coat over the metallic polish, I stamped it on the top of my nails to make a sort of half-moon mani. I then found a good-size spider image and stamped it on. After that, I added the little rhinestones and sealed everything with a top coat. I really like how it ended up looking.

Close-Ups:

So what do you guys think? I really love this mani. It's pretty, simple, and perfect for Halloween. I hope you guys like it.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
Red Metallic: Born Pretty Store item #40788 (B510 Royal Wine)
Silver: Elf Nail Polish "Liquid Metal"
Black Stamping Polish: Born Pretty Store item #18135
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Spider Web Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #35741 (BP-122)
Spider Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #23264 (BP-81)
Medium Clear Jelly Stamper: Born Pretty Store item #26498
Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool: Born Pretty Store item #32220
Black Rhinestones: Born Pretty Store item #12412

*Past Press Samples: Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish, Spider Web/Spider Stamping Plates, Medium Clear Jelly Stamper, Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool, Black Rhinestone Wheel.
*Giveaway Prize: Born Pretty Store Red Metallic Polish.

Fall Nails Inspired by @polishedtwins

Happy First Day of Fall! Oh my gosh, I've been waiting to say that for a while now, lol. I'm so excited Summer is finally over and Fall is here. You know what that means. Cooler weather, warm drinks, boots and scarves, leaves changing color, pumpkins everywhere, Halloween, and much more. I'm so ready!

Anyway, I did a mani to welcome this beautiful season, which just happens to be my favorite. I actually saw this mani on Pinterest a long time back and I saved it because I wanted to try it. This mani was inspired by Kristin from polishedtwins, click here to see her mani. I did the same glitter gradient she did, but I stamped on the leaves instead of painting them on, and I didn't color them in either. Well here they are.

Close-Ups:

I also added a matte top coat to see how they'd look.

Close-Ups:

I hope you guys liked them. I think they looked much better in real life though, it was pretty difficult to capture these how I wanted. I still like how they turned out, simple but cute.

Like always, thank you for stopping by. Until next time guys.
-Ana

Products Used:
Glitter Polish: Sinful Colors "Pumpkin Spice"
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Matte Top Coat: Wet N Wild "Matte Top Coat"
Black Stamping Polish: Born Pretty Store item #18135
Leaf Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #38741 (Floral BPX-L018)
Medium Clear Jelly Stamper: Born Pretty Store item #26498
Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool: Born Pretty Store item #32220
Cuticle Guard Peel-Off Latex: Born Pretty Store item #36614

*Past Press Samples: Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish, Leaf Stamping Plate, Medium Clear Jelly Stamper, Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool.

A Weekly Dose of Rainbows: Skittles

 Purchased By Me / Giveaway Prize / Past Press Sample 

Hi guys! It's been forever since I last posted a mani for A Weekly Dose of Rainbows, which is now every month instead of every week. This month's theme is skittle manis, I hope you like what I came up with. I started with a coat of white polish so my colors would pop, once that dried, I applied my colors. For my accent nail I chose a tribal looking design from my Celebration BPX-L008 stamping plate. I picked up the design and did some reverse stamping. When I finished filling in the colors I went ahead and stamped it on my nail. Once everything was dry, I applied top coat. Unfortunately, I accidentally smeared my design. But other than that, I loved how it looked.

Close-Ups:

Well I hope you love this mani as much as I did. Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
White: Sinful Colors "Snow Me White"
Yellow: Bonita Colors "Creaaamson"
Orange: Bonita Colors "Cutiepie"
Mint: Bonita Colors "Frosty"
Top Coat: Serendipity Polish "Finishing Touch"
Black Stamping Polish: Born Pretty Store item #18135
Clear Jelly Stamper: Born Pretty Store item #26498
Tribal Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #36245 (Celebration BPX-L008)
Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool: Born Pretty Store item #32220

*Giveaway Prize: Serendipity Polish "Finishing Touch".
*Past Press Sample: Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish, Clear Jelly Stamper, Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool.

"Hello Spring" Mani

 Purchased By Me / Gift / Giveaway Prize / Past Press Sample 

Full details on my Instagram.

Spring Mani

Close-Ups:

Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

First Day of Fall Mani

 Purchased By Me / Press Sample 

Hi guys! Today I'm showing you the mani I did to welcome Fall. Some of you may have seen a short video I posted on Instagram, well here are the official pictures. I hope you guys love this mani as much as I did.

Close-Ups:

I started off with a beige background on my index, middle finger and pinky. My sister actually let me borrow the beige polish, and now I think I have to get it myself because it's a great color, so beautiful. Anyways, on my ring finger I sponged on a glitter polish. Going back to my other nails, I chose to use a leaf image from Born Pretty Store plate BP-19 (item #17264). I picked up the image and filled in the leaves with some gorgeous fall colored holo polishes. Once I finished painting them in, I let them dry a bit and then went ahead and stamped the image on my nail. I did this for all of the beige nails. I actually did both of my hands like this which I rarely do, I just loved it so much. The last thing to do was top coat. These took me quite a while to finish, but the end result was definitely worth it.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
Beige: Revlon "Bare Bones"
Golden Yellow Holo: Fancy Gloss "Gingerbread Latte"
Burnt Orange Holo: Fancy Gloss "Pumpkin Spice"
Dark Red Holo: Fancy Gloss "Red Velvet Mocha"
Glitter Polish: Daily Hues Nail Lacquer "#15 Sept./Oct. 2015"
Top Coat: Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"
Black Stamping Polish: Born Pretty Store item #18135
Leaves Theme Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #17264

*Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"; Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish and Leaves Theme Stamping Plate were Press Samples.

Born Pretty Store Assorted Items Review

 Press Sample / Giveaway Prize / Purchased By Me 

Hi guys! Today I have a review of some assorted items I received from Born Pretty Store. I received a black stamping polish, a white stamping polish, their manicure saver cotton claw tool, a 48 piece wheel of gold sea themed studs and one of their newer stamping plates.

If you read my last post then you know I had received a clear jelly stamper about a month ago to review, but unfortunately I wasn't able to make it work for me. Well now, I'm happy to say that I will finally review it in this post as well.

First off, I'd like to start with the Clear Jelly Stamper (item #26498). The stamper includes the 4 cm clear stamper head, clear base and clear cap; it also comes with a scraper. Just so you know, you do have to be extra careful not to get any acetone on the clear plastic part of your stamper. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. I accidentally got a bit of polish on the cap and thought I could clean it off with a bit of polish remover. Well that was the worst idea because it messed up the cap, it made it all foggy and you can no longer see through it. Fortunately, it happened on the cap and not on the stamper itself. Anyways, like I said before, the first time I tried the stamper I could not pick up any image at all. I used regular polishes that I had been able to stamp with in other occasions, but I had no luck. I even tried priming the stamper, which made the stamper head a bit cloudy. (The good thing is that even though it's a bit cloudy, I can still see where I'm going to place the image once I get it closer to my nail.) So I contacted Cynthia from Born Pretty Store, and after talking we came to the conclusion that it might not be working because I wasn't using stamping polish. However, I decided to give the stamper another shot using regular polish and to my surprise, I was able to pick up some images. I think I just had to get used to the stamper and change my method. So now I can say that you don't absolutely need a stamping polish to have the stamper work, you might just need practice like I did. I actually got a bit frustrated after trying unsuccessfully to pick up an image for nearly 3 hours. I believe that stepping away and going back to it another day helped tons. Just so you know, the manis you'll see in this post have been achieved with this stamper, as well as the rest of the items I was sent.

Before Priming Stamper Head and Ruining Cap:

Now before we get to the manis, I'd like to talk about the items. The White Stamping Polish (item #18136) had a sort of milky consistency which I think made it a bit difficult to pick up a crisp image. Every time I used it, it left a cloudy look on the stamping plate, so I had to get the cotton ball soaked with polish remover to completely remove the cloudiness. I also noticed the bottle had dried polish on the rim and I'm not sure why. On the other hand, the Black Stamping Polish (item#18135) had a good thick consistency which applied smoothly on the plate. It picked up really well and was opaque on the nail once stamped. Unlike the white stamping polish, this one didn't have dried polish on the rim.

Black/White Stamping Polish Test:

While doing my manis and stamping, I used the Cotton Claw Tool (item #32220). It's supposed to save your manis from getting ruined when you're stamping or just handling cotton balls with acetone. I have seen these before and wanted to try one out for a while because sometimes I do have polish on my other hand, and it does get ruined if I'm stamping since I have to be cleaning the plate with the polish remover and cotton ball. I thought it would be a really handy tool to try out, and I was right. The cotton claw is made up of 4 little wires that come out when you push the top, kind of like a mechanical pencil, but instead of lead the claw comes out. It works very well and grabs the cotton ball nicely. The "pen" looks and feels like it's pretty strong and good quality. Definitely a good tool to have.

Using the Cotton Claw Tool:

The next item is this Sea Themed Stud Wheel (item #31476). The wheel came with 48 pieces, all gold and sea themed in various shapes and sizes which I liked. They're perfect for any ocean mani.

Okay, I'm sure you've been waiting to finally see the manis I came up with so let's get to them. I used one of the newer Born Pretty Store stamping plates, their Net Design Plate BP-109 (item #33742).

Up first is this fun mani I did using the top left image on the plate, it's like squiggly lines with bubbles and circles. As you can see, I used the white stamping polish for the design. I did have some failed tries though, I think if the white stamping polish had a thicker consistency it would work better. Also, I decided to go a bit further and filled in the bubbles with a holo polish. The clear stamper helped a lot because I was able to place the images in the center of my nails. Unfortunately, I ended up smearing the design quite a bit by accident.

Close-Ups:

The second mani is my favorite of course, so I saved it for last. To tell you the truth, I was most excited about the mermaid scales image on the plate. I just love anything mermaid, so I'm sure you know I just had to do a mermaid mani. This time I used the black polish to stamp with, the mermaid scales image on the plate and also added some of the sea themed studs from the wheel.

Close-Ups:

By the way, I have to mention the reason I chose to make it an Autumn Mermaid. I saw Felicia do a mani like this a year ago or so, and when I saw it, I knew I had to make my own Autumn Mermaid Mani. Especially because I love Mermaids, and Fall is my favorite season. Anyways, I started with an Autumn holo gradient and stamped on the scales. Before stamping it on my nail, I actually added some glitter on a few scales, let it dry and then stamped. Once I finished stamping, I got out some of the studs and began to place them on my nails, adhering them with some clear polish. I love how these came out, they actually looked way better in real life.

If you're planning to make a purchase from Born Pretty Store, remember to use my code ANNYW10 to get 10% off any regular priced items.

Whew! Well that was a long post, lol! I really hope you enjoyed the review and manis. Thank you for stopping by and until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
Dark Red Creme: Serendipity Nail Polish "Less Whine, More Wine!"
Charcoal Holo: Serendipity Nail Polish "CE0,000,000"
Dark Red Holo: Fancy Gloss "Red Velvet Mocha"
Burnt Orange Holo: Fancy Gloss "Pumpkin Spice"
Golden Yellow Holo: Fancy Gloss "Gingerbread Latte"
Gold/Orange Glitter Polish: Daily Hues Nail Lacquer "#15 Sept./Oct. 2015"
Top Coat: Serendipity Nail Polish "Finishing Touch"
Rhinestones: Born Pretty Store item #21303

*Clear Jelly Stamper, White/Black Stamping Polishes, Cotton Claw Tool, Sea Themed Stud Wheel and Net Design Stamping Plate were Press Samples. Serendipity Nail Polish "Less Whine, More Wine!", "CE0,000,000" and "Finishing Touch" were a giveaway prize.