Slithery Slide - China Glaze GR8, Born Pretty Nicole Diary-125, Hit the Bottle As Black As Night

I have a quick and easy review for today.

[S-s-s-special!]

I wish my nails weren't quite so short at the moment! Would've loved to test this stamping plate out on longer nails.

[Nicole Diary-125]

Here's the plate that I'm testing out - Nicole Diary-125 from Born Pretty. It's a pretty cool set of designs themed around snakes and florals. Definitely a classic tattoo vibe going here!

[Base: China Glaze GR8, Stamping plate: Born Pretty Nicole Diary-125;
Stamping: Hit the Bottle As Black As Night]

I picked two designs to use on my nail; the bottom middle and right designs. My base polish is China Glaze GR8, a gold linear holo which you can see in this (really old!) post here. I then stamped over with a plain black creme stamping polish - Hit the Bottle As Black As Night. 

[Base: China Glaze GR8, Stamping plate: Born Pretty Nicole Diary-125;
Stamping: Hit the Bottle As Black As Night]

How wonderfully did the designs transfer! I'm so pleased that all the fine detail was so easy to stamp. Would love to do a white, black and red variation on these designs when my nails are longer!

If this tickles your fancy, check out the plate here at Born Pretty. Code above will give you 10% off full priced items as well. Tis the season to be shopping after all... :p

Noble Blossom - China Glaze Golden Opportunity, Hit the Bottle As Black As Night, Fireball, Born Pretty Chinese Style L005

I'm pretty stoked with today's stamping mani! Check it out!

[Chinoiserie]

I think peonies just may be my favourite flower, and this chinese-themed design is just gorgeous!

[Born Pretty Chinese Style L005]

The plate I am using was provided for review by Born Pretty and it's called Born Pretty Chinese Style - L005 - you can find it here! I love the designs on here so much! Not just the full nail designs, but also the little details in the top half of the plate, so gorgeous!

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Golden Opportunity (1 coat)]

My base from last week - China Glaze Golden Opportunity, a one-coater (!) yellow shimmer.

[Base: China Glaze Golden Opportunity (1 coat); Plate: BP Chinese Style L005;
Stamping: Hit the Bottle As Black As Night; Fireball (leadlighting)]

You can see the design I picked on the bottom leftmost side. I stamped in black with Hit the Bottle As Black As Night, then painted over the peonies with Hit the Bottle Fireball - a red jelly polish specifically translucent for leadlighting. It worked a treat!

[Base: China Glaze Golden Opportunity (1 coat); Plate: BP Chinese Style L005;
Stamping: Hit the Bottle As Black As Night; Fireball (leadlighting)]

This was so quick and easy to do, and you can see how the fine leaf and stem details transferred perfectly as well.

Remember to check out the plate here, and our usual code above is available if you're going shopping at Born Pretty. Happy stamping! =)

Sunny Days - China Glaze Golden Opportunity

I've had this one for ages and I wasn't going to give it a post of it's own, but after searching through our archives, turns out I haven't reviewed it?? So here we go~

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Golden Opportunity (1 coat)]

This is China Glaze Golden Opportunity. It's a yellow with silver shimmer, giving it an interesting sheen. It's not completely buttercup yellow, more a muted shade.

[1 coat: China Glaze Golden Opportunity]

Yellow polishes (especially creme ones!) tend to be hard to work with, drying streaky and the like. However, I think a neat trick is incorporating shimmer into it, for some reason, that formula works a lot better.

[1 coat: China Glaze Golden Opportunity]

Can you believe these photos are of ONE COAT? No topcoat even. I was pretty impressed! I think you can vaaaguely see visible nail line in the photos, but it's really not noticeable to the eye. (My natural nails are crazy long at the moment...)

[1 coat: China Glaze Golden Opportunity]

Such a good little workhorse! I was just rummaging for a good yellow base for a stamping design I wanted to try out, but I thought this one deserved a post of its own!

Juicy Fruit - Born Pretty Tropical Punch L001, China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, Hit the Bottle As Black As Night

Today I have the juiciest stamping plate to review, as provided by Born Pretty!

[Born Pretty Tropical Punch - L001]

Look at this beaut! This is Born Pretty Tropical Punch - L001, a collection of the most amazing tropical fruit prints I've seen. There's dragonfruit, starfruit, mangosteen, mangoes and even durians on there!

[Born Pretty Tropical Punch - L001]

But first, I have to say, Born Pretty has really stepped it up with their packaging. I really love the champagne foil accents on the protective cardboard sleeve on this plate. As always, the plate itself arrives with a protective blue film that needs removal before use.

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (2 coats)]

My base from last week - China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, a coral neon which has faded in my bottle...

[Base: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (2 coats);
Plate: Born Pretty Tropical Punch L001; Stamping: Hit the Bottle As Black As Night]

I just went all out with a black stamping polish (Hit the Bottle As Black As Night) and used a different print for each finger. I'm pretty impressed with the detail here. I admit that I was rushing when doing this as I need to get out of the house, but look at the detail on these designs! Colour me impressed~!

I think these designs would look great coloured in (for someone who has more patience than I do!). If you want to grab this plate for your collection, you can find it here at Born Pretty. As usual, our code above will give you 10% off full priced items. =)

Flippin Out - China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

It's a new year again! I have once again remembered to check for the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2019... However, warning in advance, I obviously had a small episode of colour-blindness when I picked a colour to match...

[Pantone Colour of the Year 2019 - Living Coral]

So for 2019, it's Living Coral - an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.... Wow there are a lot of fancy words in the description! =p

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy *faded (2 coats)]

I then somehow proceeded to pick a shade that was not similar at all but it's too late now, so this is what y'alls getting today! This is a weird one because it's China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, which is a coral neon, but mine actually arrived faded when I purchased it (yearrrrs ago), so it's now a faded neon not-quite-coral.

[2 coats: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy *faded]

 Ah, well, it's the thought that counts?? LOL. I used two coats for this, and like most neons, it dries fairly quickly but to a chalky finish. I just slapped on some topcoat and called it a day!

[2 coats: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy *faded]

Anyway, hopefully I get better at picking colours in 2019! Who knows, but hey, as long as we're having fun with pretty nails... =)

Red Delicious - China Glaze Red Satin, Hit the Bottle Spun Gold, Born Pretty BP-L029

Hello hello - today I have a stamping mani that looks kind of suitable for the festive season, even though it isn't at the moment! I really only did these colours because I was coordinating it with my outfit... =p

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Red Satin (2 coats)]

My base is China Glaze Red Satin, a nice basic deep red creme that I've previously reviewed here! Look at the lovely rich glossy goodness!

[Base: China Glaze Red Satin (2 coats);
Stamping: Hit the Bottle Spun Gold, Born Pretty BP-L029]

I then stamped over this with a champagne gold stamping polish, Hit the Bottle Spun Gold. The pattern I used is of flowers and vines and comes from Born Pretty plate BP-L029, a great floral-themed plate.

[Base: China Glaze Red Satin (2 coats);
Stamping: Hit the Bottle Spun Gold, Born Pretty BP-L029]

I was probably rushing this one a little so the stamping isn't as crisp as I would like. Still a nice way to add a bit of interest to a classic red mani!

Rainbow Wings and Petals - Born Pretty Nail Art DIY Stamping Mat, Australis, Revlon, China Glaze, Mode, Essence, Color Club

It was Mardi Gras around here, with lots of partying on the streets, so I decided to go for rainbow colours on my nails, achieved through dry marbling on the silicone nail art mat!

[Dragon wings on one hand...]

[...flowers on the other.]

When it comes to dry marbling, I don't mean that I did water marbling with nail polish on the surface of a pool of water and then transferred onto a plastic surface to be applied later. In this case, I directly applied nail polish on the silicone nail art mat, and used a toothpick to quickly draw through the streaks of colour to create the effects you usually get from water marbling.

You can see the result of my dry marbling in the picture below. There are two tiny flowers I did for experimentation too.

[Born Pretty Nail Art DIY Stamping Mat]

Here are some tips for dry marbling on a mat:

1. Experiment, experiment, experiment!
2. Apply two to three thick coats of nail polish on the silicone mat.
3. Don't use thin coats or quickdry nail polish or old nail polish that is naturally drying out. You need the nail polish thick and wet enough to work with.
4. The watery nail polish worked best for me but required more layers.
5. If you want an effect that closely resembles water marbling, curve the nail polish streaks you're painting down. If you look on the left of the mat, most of the streaks are straight. But towards the right of the mat, you can see that I have started curving my nail polish streaks. It's to create the familiar water marbling flower look.
6. Leave your nail polish to dry on your silicone nail art mat for a couple hours at least. At first, the nail polish will look very thick on the mat. But as it dries out, the nail polish flattens to the silicone mat. It also becomes very easy to peel off the mat.
7. Paint your base coat before applying the newly made dry marbling patterns onto your nails. If you press firmly on the edges of your nail bed, you can peel off the excess nail polish easily.

That's all I can think of for the moment!

[Dry marbling: Australis Mexican Madness, Revlon Mad About Mango,
China Glaze Yell-O-Neil, Mode Hook Me UP, Essence Choose Me!, Color Club Eternal Beauty]

Let's run through the nail polishes I used to get this colourful effects. The nail polishes are:

1. Australis Mexican Madness - Pink creme
2. Revlon Mad About Mango - Salmon pink creme
3. China Glaze Yell-O-Neil - Yellow creme with gold shimmer
4. Mode Hook Me Up - Light blue creme 
5. Essence Choose Me! - Blue-green-gold shimmer
6. Color Club Eternal Beauty - Purple holo

The same nail polishes were used on both hands, except the marbling is different, that's all.

[Dry marbling: Australis Mexican Madness, Revlon Mad About Mango,
China Glaze Yell-O-Neil, Mode Hook Me UP, Essence Choose Me!, Color Club Eternal Beauty]

I noticed that the marbling is a lot smaller compared to actual water marbling. That probably just depends on the individual doing the dry marbling and how far apart you want the lines on your pattern.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the results. I always thought water marbling was too messy for me after I tried it out a couple of times. But doing this on a silicone mat? Thumbs up from me! I don't think I need to go into detail about techniques since there are so many videos of water marbling. The same-ish theory applies, only you don't use a bowl of water.

I'm pretty delighted with what can be done with a silicone mat and I'm looking forward to trying it out even more.

Golden Gears - China Glaze Midtown Magic, Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold, Born Pretty BPL-022

After last week's lovely dark base, I wanted to pick a bright contrasting shade for stamping over the top.

[Grinding them gears]

I ended up going with metallic gold! Gold is just one of those shades that I love combining with pretty much every shade there is.

[2 coats: China Glaze Midtown Magic]

Quick recap of my base shade - China Glaze Midtown Magic, a vampy purple-burgundy with gold microflakies.

[Plate to nail: Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold, Born Pretty BPL-022;
Base: China Glaze Midtown Magic (2 coats)]

The design I'm using is the pattern of gears from Born Pretty stamping plate BPL-022. I love this plate, it's just full of fun designs. I've previously used the pencil design off this plate as well.

[Bottle to nail: Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold, Born Pretty BPL-022;
Base: China Glaze Midtown Magic (2 coats)]

The stamping shade I used is Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold, a bright yellow gold which I've also used in a previous stamping mani. I think it really pops against the dark base.

[Base: China Glaze Midtown Magic (2 coats);
Stamping: Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold, Born Pretty BPL-022]

Pretty pleased with this one! The only thing I'm a bit iffy about is that with shorter/smaller nails, you wouldn't be able to fit very many gears on each nail. But the good thing is that there's a nice mix of sizes and they're not spaced too far apart, which helps prevent blank spots with no design.

Night Out - China Glaze Midtown Magic

This is a polish generously gifted to me by C a few weeks ago. 

[Bottle to nail: China Glaze Midtown Magic (2 coats)]

China Glaze Midtown Magic from the Metro collection 2011 is a dark vampy purple-burgundy base with lots of gold micro flakes.

[2 coats: China Glaze Midtown Magic]

I initially thought there was also some pink/red microflakies mixed in, but after a closer look I think it's the gold shining through thin layers of the dark base.

[2 coats: China Glaze Midtown Magic]

Great dark shade, opaque in two coats although you could probably do one careful thick coat with no problem. Quick dry time and nice smooth finish. Also.. a perfect contrasting dark base for nail art!

Afternoon Tea - LA Girl Indulge, China Glaze Ahoy!, Born Pretty BP-L023

Stamping over a gradient is always a winner in my book! Here's what I did over last week's gradient..

[Yum yum]

Mmm, coffee, ice cream, caaaaake! This one's specially dedicated to my friend C, who not only gave me the polishes used here, but also loves her caffeine and desserts! =)

[Base: La Girl Color Addict Indulge (2 coats); Tips: China Glaze Ahoy!]

Quick reminder of last week - A base of LA Girl Color Addict Indulge with a sponged on gradient of China Glaze Ahoy!

[Born Pretty BP-L023]

We were generously provided with some plates for review from Born Pretty and this is one of them. Plate BP-L023 - check it out here! Isn't it just scrumptious! Like all Born Pretty plates, this one arrived with a gorgeous cardboard sleeve for storage and was covered in a protective blue film.

[Born Pretty BP-L023]

Here it is with the film removed. There's all sorts of adorable patterns on here that I'm really looking forward to testing out - the pineapple and citrus slice ones in particular are great summer designs! For my manicure today, I tested out the coffee-dessert one in the second row from top, fifth from the left.

[Base: La Girl Color Addict Indulge (2 coats); Tips: China Glaze Ahoy!;
Stamping: Hit The Bottle As Black As Night, Born Pretty BP-L023]

..and here it is! I was really impressed by how clearly the designs were picked up - even the steam rising off the coffee mug came through really nicely. I used a plain black creme stamping polish from Hit The Bottle: As Black As Night for this stamping.

[Base: La Girl Color Addict Indulge (2 coats); Tips: China Glaze Ahoy!;
Stamping: Hit The Bottle As Black As Night, Born Pretty BP-L023]

All up, I was really pleased with the way this turned out and the quality of the plate - can't wait to try out the other designs!

I got so excited, I actually did a quick test of some of the other full nail designs. I'm so impressed by the quality of transfer, just look at that! Some are lacking polish at the top of the design not due to the plate, but because I just did one quick swipe of polish along the bottom before scraping so it wasn't enough to fill the plate - especially those with so much space to fill. But seriously, check out those teacups!

Once again, this plate is available from Born Pretty here, along with heaps of other cool nail art stuff at very reasonable prices with free shipping. As if that's not good enough, just use our code above for an extra 10% off, wooooo!