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!

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?

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. 

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!

Candeo Joker Jelly Sandwich

Hi guys! Today I have another queued post for you - guess what I'm doing while you're reading this? That's right, I should have just finished my last final exam for the semester and I'm probably frantically packing and rushing to the airport to catch my flight across Canada. Today I have a fun look that I did using one of my favourite indie polishes that I've purchased and a technique I really like using for glitter polishes: the jelly sandwich!

I started out with OPI Do You Lilac It? and two coats of Candeo Joker. To finish off the look I layered one coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu!

Look at all that glitter trapped in there. This reminds me of gems trapped under some ice.

I love the way the sun caught the glitters in this picture.

What are some of your favourite combinations for a jelly sandwich?

Gradient + Lynnderella Love, Lace, and Lilacs

Hello everyone! I am starting to feel like it's summer, the only exam I have left is Introduction to Programming and then that same day I get to head back home for four whole months. Today I have a pretty little gradient that I spiced up by adding one of my favourite Lynnderella polishes - Love, Lace, and Lilacs.

The two polishes that I used to create the gradient are both from OPI's Spring collection, OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and OPI I Saw...U Saw...We Saw...Warsaw. 

I love this Lynnderella polish and I can see myself using it a lot more in the future. I have a bad tendency to hoard my most precious polishes instead of using them and showing them off to the world!

Gradients are my thing lately, I cannot get enough of them.

Thanks so much for reading guys!

Paintings Nail Art Series - "Bohemian Cottage Style Flowers"

Hi guys! Welcome to the final installment of my mini nail art series, and my personal favourite manicure of the bunch. This one was inspired by a gorgeous print that you can still find on Etsy by following this link. I hope you like this look as much as I do!

This took me so long to do, but I love how it turned out. 

I used way too many colours here to name them all, I can't even remember!

The bird looks a little silly right side up, doesn't he? Still cute though!

Today I have two final exams - Psycholinguistics and Spanish American Literature of Ideas, yikes. Wish me luck! After this I only have one more and then I can head back home for the summer, you can't even imagine my excitement.

Paintings Nail Art Series - "A Time for Celebration"

Hello everyone, welcome to the second day of this mini nail art series! Today's look is from the same artist as the last one, I am in love with this Etsy shop. Once again, the actual painting that inspired me was sold so I have chosen one that is quite similar to link you to here.

This was so much fun to do, and I love all the colours together, though I don't think I can name them all for you guys. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is finish it off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading guys! I hope finals are going well for you too if any of you happen to be in the same boat as me!

Paintings Nail Art Series - "The Happy Family"

Hello everyone! Today is officially the first day of exam period for me and I'll be facing my first final exam this evening for Personality Psychology. Instead of having to stress about my blog during finals I have queued up a fun little nail art series based around some awesome paintings that I've found on Etsy!

The painting that inspired this was called "The Happy Family," but unfortunately it already sold and I can't find a photo of it - but here's a very similar one from the same seller.

The colours I used were OPI The Thrill of Brazil and China Glaze Happy Go Lucky for the gradient background. I love this look, it's so sweet!