Born Pretty Store Review - Water Decals

Hello everyone! Today I have one more product from the Born Pretty Store to review for you guys! I was given the chance to pick two items and the second one I chose was some water decals to incorporate in my nail art. The package I chose is currently not available on the website, but here is a link to the section where the rest of their water decals and water tattoos are.

This is the first of three manicures that I put together to show off these water decals and I chose to start out with a nautical theme! These are really easy to use, you simply cut out the decal, submerge it in warm water for 10 seconds, then press it onto your nail. I had no problems with these smudging and I had less than perfect application skills.

The blue colour I used is OPI Eurso Euro, the white and red accent nail used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and OPI Red Lights Ahead...Where?

These come off very easily with nail polish remover and are in my opinion a great addition to anyone's collection as they are really quick and easy nail art.

There were some cute star decals on the sheets that I received so I threw together this manicure for you guys to see how well these transfer. Look at the detail on the stars on my middle finger, I was amazed that all those little dots make it onto my nails!

I couldn't resist doing a princess themed manicure with the crowns and bows that were on this sheet of decals. The light pink is OPI Mod About You.

I was in love with this manicure and I kept it on for quite a few days!

I am really pleased with this product from Born Pretty Store and I think that I will be ordering some more of their nail decals as they make nail art so easy to do. The trickiest part of using these is placing them straight on your nails, I had some troubles with this in my nautical manicure but I think I mostly had it figured out by the end.  These are another product that I wholeheartedly recommend, even for nail art beginners.

As always, Cutie-cles readers can save 10% on your Born Pretty Store purchase just by using the code BQL91 which you can find permanently on the sidebar on the right side of this page. This code can be used on all your orders, it's not just a one-time thing! 

Could you see yourself purchasing these nail decals? If you have any questions about the application process let me know and I'll answer you in the comments!

Born Pretty Store Review - Black Studs

Good afternoon everyone! Today I have an awesome manicure to show off with some products that I was sent from Born Pretty Store to review for my readers. If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I have been purchasing nail art supplies from this store for ages and I'm always happy with the products, these black studs are no different!

Wow - that's bright! This is Quo by ORLY Femme Fatale and here is a link to the exact studs that I was sent to review. I chose black, but there are quite a few options! I just stuck them on while my manicure was tacky, which means before it had dried completely, and sealed it in with some top coat.

These studs are 3D and here you can see a photo of just how much they are raised off the nail.

These blacks studs were very easy to use and they're great for nail art. This manicure literally took me less than ten minutes and it sure looks edgy.  The Born Pretty Store has tons of nail art supplies like this, and Cutie-cles readers can get 10% off their order every time with the coupon code BQL91 which you can find in the sidebar on the right of this page! Tomorrow I have one more product from the Born Pretty Store to review for you guys so check back then!

OPI Couture de Minnie - Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! Sorry for the little break in posting, we had pouring rain for the past couple days and I couldn't take any pictures of my nails. Today I have some swatches of a new OPI collection to make it up to you! I was lucky enough to receive three of the polishes from this summer collection to review for you - here we go.

The first shade is a gorgeous light pink with a very subtle silver shimmer called Chic from Ears to Tail. For comparison purposes, this is a tad darker than OPI Pink Friday which makes it unique to my collection. 

I didn't have great luck with the formula on this colour unfortunately, shown in  my photos is three coats but they were fairly uneven and streaky. I used a coat of Seche Vite to get a nicer look, but it probably could have been resolved with a fourth coat. 

I was hoping you could see the silver shimmer in this photo, but it really is quite sparse. 

Here's a photo in the shade. This colour has a very jelly-ish finish to it because it's quite sheer. While I do like the look of this, if you're someone who prefers a creme with great coverage I would opt for a shade like OPI Pink Friday or OPI If You Moust You Moust.

This colour is called A Definite Moust-have and it is my favourite of the three I received. The colour shown in my photos isn't quite right, there is a little more coral to it, it's not a true raspberry, but it sure is pretty.

OPI A Definite Moust-have has a very nice silver shimmer to it which isn't shy like it is in the other polish. I used two coats here to even things out, but I think with a think coat you could get away with just one. This polish might work well for stamping!

I could absolutely see myself rocking this colour as a pedicure all summer.

The final polish that I have to show you is an amazing Liquid Sand polish called Magazine Cover Mouse. This is a reddy-coral with tons of gold sparkles that really catch the light in real life. 

This had a great formula just like the other Liquid Sand polishes that I have tried from OPI and I needed two easy coats to get this look! I have been wearing this polish to work for a couple of days and my coworkers keep complimenting me - also, no chips!

Overall I'm pleased with the three polishes I received to review. Each one is unique to my collection which is always tough to do with pinks and reds. The formula on Chic from Ears to Tail wasn't the easiest to work with, but this could just be a fluke bottle. The formula on the other two polishes were spot on and they will definitely be some of my go-to colours this summer. 

Have you picked up any colours from this collection yet? Which one of the above is your favourite?

Nude and Pastels

Hi guys! As I mentioned yesterday, today is my very first day back at work. I've been having a pretty nice time sitting around doing my nails, reading, and watching non-stop TLC and Stanley Cup Playoffs so it's a bit of a bummer to be headed back to work, but guess who can't wait to actually be earning money again! Anyway, today's nail art look came from me playing around with striping tape while watching hockey the other night and I really love this colour combinations!

The base colour is one of my favourites - OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh, and the two pastel colours I used are Zoya Neely and OPI You're Such a Budapest.

Is it just me, or does the purple OPI polish lean periwinkle-blue in these photos? It sure looks a lot more lilac-esque in real life.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I'll let you know how my first day of work goes later this week!

Portions for Foxes

Hi guys! I hope you've had a great long weekend if you're in a country that celebrates Victoria Day. My boyfriend Daniel came home from his job up in the oil sands which was very nice! Some of you may notice that I'm debuting a new look on my nails today, I broke one of them and decided to file them into rounded tips instead of filing them all down. I'm still getting used to them, let me know what you think in the comments! Today I have a super cute fox design that I adapted from this super cute manicure.

The colours I used were both from the OPI The Amazing Spider-man collection from last year - Call Me Gwen-ever and My Boyfriend Scales Walls. The black polish I used is Quo by ORLY Little Black Dress.

I love these! They're so cute and they were way easier to do than I anticipated. I sure am enjoying having all this time to work on my nail art...but that might change soon - I start work tomorrow! It's pretty tough to find a job that's willing to take me for just 3 months before I head back to university, so I'm going back to my job at American Eagle that I've held on and off since May 2011. Wish me luck tomorrow getting back into the swing of things!

Colourful Striping Tape Manicure

Morning friends! Do you have any fun plans for the day? I have a fun striping tape manicure to show off on the blog today that I think you'll like. I did one using the first collection of Zoya PixieDusts that turned out really nicely and so I thought I would try it again - this time with cremes!

So colourful! I used OPI Funky Dunkey, OPI Fly, and Zoya Lara, as well as lots of Seche Vite to make sure that I could lay down the striping tape without pulling up the colours underneath.

Which nail is your favourite? I think the ring finger has my favourite design but I can't choose a favourite colour combination.

Do you like doing striping tape manicures, or are they just too time consuming?

Glequin Polka Dots

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day. Today I have an exciting manicure to show you, simple, but exciting. I can't quite put my finger on it but I love this look even though it was so easy to create.

Instead of doing a normal polka dot manicure using my dotting tools, I opted for placing some pink glequins in a polka dot pattern to get a similar effect. The base colour is Zoya Jacqueline, a gorgeous subdued yellow-beige colour.

I really love the combination of pink and yellow in this manicure, and the glequins dress up the look to make it more elegant than a normal polka dot look. I think this is definitely something I'll try again and again.

What is your favourite look to create with glequins? 

Beige and Blue Skittles Manicure

Good morning everyone! Today I have kind of a funny manicure to post about because I had a little mishap with one of the nails in this skittles look that is throwing me off. Here, you'll see what I mean.

Oops, check out that middle finger. I accidentally put down the tape and then painted with both the blue and the beige leaving a textured stripe. Well, other than that, I quite like this manicure!

The colours I used for this were OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh and China Glaze Secret Periwinkle, as well as some of my blue glequins. In my true nature, I think my favourite nail is the gradient one. 

Peach and Pink Gradient

Hi everyone! Sorry about the brief break in posting, I headed up to Edmonton for a few days to spend some time with my Grandparents. This is one of the designs that I did before we left for our little trip but forgot my memory card at home and couldn't post it! You guys have probably noticed how much I love gradients and now that I'm home with my entire polish collection I just have the urge to make gradients with every combination I see.

The two colours I used for this springy peach and pink gradient are Zoya Lara and Barry M Peach Melba, topped with some OPI Top Coat. Notice those weird little bumps on the manicure? The sponge that I used to create the gradient look shed a little bit - oops!

Here's a look in the shade. For some reason the blending looks a little better in the shade picture, agreed?

It's been such nice weather where I live lately, I am loving using bright spring and summer colours on my nails, especially pinks. What nail trends have you been hooked on lately?

Zoya Summer PixieDust Gradient

Hello all! I hope you're having a great day. I've been playing around a bit more with my Zoya Summer PixieDusts and I came up with this little gradient look. It didn't exactly work out as I had hoped on the middle and pinky nails, but the other two remind me of sunsets!

So on the index and ring fingers I used Zoya Solange, Beatrix, and Destiny, and on the other fingers Miranda, Stevie, and Liberty. 

I feel very meh about this. I think I was expecting something great and groundbreaking and all I got was a mediocre gradient manicure. 

What do you think of this look, is it something you'd try out?

Rainbow Sherbert Chevrons

Hi everyone! Today I have a nice little nail art look for you using a colour combination that I fell in love with when I dumped out my polishes on my bedroom floor and saw these four next to each other. It reminds me of some sort of Rainbow Sherbert ice cream - yum!

The colours I used were Zoya Lara, OPI Do You Lilac It?, China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle, and Barry M Peach Melba. 

These colours are very springy and I'm loving wearing this manicure.

Have you tried free hand chevrons before? What are some of your favourite colour combinations for spring?

OPI Couture de Minnie Press Release

Hi everyone! Check out what just landed in my inbox - a press release for the upcoming OPI Couture de Minnie collection coming next month! I've copied the press release for you below and added more pictures at the end!

OPI announces the launch of its Couture de Minnie collection, including four

limited edition nail lacquers and one new Liquid Sand™ shade. Created in honour of

Disney’s beloved character, the Couture de Minnie line explores the fashion-forward

side of Minnie Mouse, mixing pink, fuschia and red shades with textural elements. In

addition to three crème lacquers, the Couture de Minnie line features a red and white

polka dot glitter shade and the strawberry-hued Liquid Sand nail lacquer in Magazine

Cover Mouse to give nails a sparkly, matte finish.

“Last summer, OPI created a ‘Vintage Minnie Mouse’ line. Women around the

world fell in love with the fun and playful shades evocative of Minnie’s traditional look,”

explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “This year,

OPI is exploring a different side of Minnie Mouse. The Couture de Minnie collection

draws inspiration from Minnie’s iconic style and incorporates trends most recently seen

on the runways, from standout shades to fun textural elements.”

The Couture de Minnie collection includes:

Chic from Ears to Tail

This pop of bubblegum pink is totally fabulous!

A Definite Moust-Have

This fantastic fuchsia is at the top of my shopping list.

Minnie Style

This white and red glitter is the height of fashion.

Innie Minnie Mightie Bow

Catch this crimson by the toe!

Magazine Cover Mouse

The headline-making strawberry has sparkling texture.

Couture de Minnie nail lacquers each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush

for the ultimate in application. Liquid Sand lacquers should always be worn without top

coat. This limited edition promotion will be available beginning June 2013 at

Professional Salons for $10.95 CAN suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow

OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Are you guys excited for this collection to hit shelves in June? I really loved last year's Vintage Minnie Mouse collection, so I hope that this one can live up to it!

Zoya Summer PixieDust Stripes

Hi guys! Today I just have a little look I did using the Zoya Summer PixieDusts to make some stripes!

My lines aren't exactly perfect, and I think there are nicer colour combinations, but it was worth a shot.

Here's a photo to show off the sugary texture of the PixieDusts!

I hope you enjoyed this colourful PixieDust manicure.

Zoya Summer PixieDust - Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I'm finally home from school and back in the posting game! I'm hoping to get back in the same groove I had last summer where I posted nearly every day. To kick off the posting season I've got a much anticipated collection to show you - the second round of Zoya PixieDusts! These were released in April and they are absolutely gorgeous. I'm so sorry about the delay in posting these swatches but the first set of these that was sent to me arrived shattered.

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The first colour that I have to show you is Zoya Stevie, a lovely lilac colour. I had no problems with the formula on Stevie and after two coats she was opaque, though some people may prefer to use three. The shimmer in Stevie is very silver.

Stevie doesn't look that great in the bottle, but once applied she looks sugary sweet!

I'm so happy to be home and be able to swatch in the sun and in the shade again, woohoo!

This is Zoya Miranda and she's a gorgeous magenta coloured textured polish. I actually did have problems with the formula on Miranda, this polish was goopy and she took much longer to dry than any other colour from the collection.

Formula problems aside, I love the pigmentation of Miranda. I really would have liked to see a hot pink PixieDust.

Zoya Beatrix is an amazing bright orange PixieDust with gold shimmer instead of the silver that we've seen so far. I think Beatrix is perfect for the summer, and that's coming from someone who is not a fan of orange polish. 

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think the PixieDusts with gold shimmer are much more sparkly than those with silver.

Just look at that texture! Beatrix is perfect, definitely one of the must-haves from the collection.

Please say hello to Zoya Destiny, a coral polish with gold shimmer that did not want to cooperate for the camera. Destiny is my favourite polish of this collection. I think. Actually, I can't decide, but believe me when I say that this is a very unique colour.

Zoya Destiny was opaque after only two coats and the formula on her was quite nice. I am in love with the gold shimmer that gives this colour so much depth.

Zoya Solange...wow, wow, wow. I thought a gold PixieDust would be weird, kind of ugly, nothing special, and boy was I ever wrong. Maybe Solange is my favourite of the collection. Maybe all the colours are so nice that I can't decide. Who knows. This is by far the most sparkly PixieDust polish I have ever applied.

Yellow golds aren't always that flattering on me, but if I manage a nice tan this summer you can bet that Solange will be the perfect complement to my bronzed skin!

Last in the collection is Zoya Liberty, a very bright blue PixieDust polish. I think that Liberty is going to be a fan favourite, but I can't say I'm that crazy about it. I had no problems with the formula on Liberty, but I just am not in love with the colour.

Does Zoya Liberty do it for you? I wish it was a bit lighter and maybe a big more teal coloured, I think that would have gone nicely with the collection.

Which was your favourite from this collection? Have you picked any of these up already, or are you planning on it? My recommendations would be Beatrix, Solange, and Destiny!