BPS Holographic Star Sequins UV Gel Polish : Swatch and review

On the blog today I've swatched a very pretty looking blingy gel polish from the house of BPS. Its called BORN PRETTY Holographic Star Moon Sequins Gel Bling Soak Off Manicure Nail Art UV Gel Polish (link ; item no: 40427; shade 1)

As you can see it is a red jelly base filled with holo chunky, medium and small hex glitter with an occasional star. It looks even better even and juicy in person with a holo sparkle in direct light. On my nails is 2 coats of gel with layer of top coat. I had cured my nails after each layer.

The polish is slightly thick as all gel polishes are. I found this easy to apply. The first coat goes smooth although I didnt get even glitter placement and I didnt want to make it thick since it is gel polish. So instead I made a thin coat and cured it. Next I put another thin layer and then dabbed some glitter and evenly distributed it with a light floating hand movement. the polish goes quite opaque in 2 coats. 

As you can see the finish is really smooth and shiny. I thought maybe the glitter would poke up and out but they didnt. The polish settles well and goes streakfree. Overall the polish feel and quality is really nice. (I will update here for how long lasts on my nails without chipping once I test it).

This polish retails for $3.99 for a 10ml bottle (link to the product). The bottle comes in a white coloured bottle. This polish comes in 10 shades and some of them have a moon glitter instead of the star. Scroll down for more closeups and pics in different lighting.

In sunlight

Indoor light

Swatch on a stick in Indoor light

PS. Polish was sent for an honest review

Morrocan Nail Art

Nail Vinyls are giving me an excuse to push my schedule and do some nails. Easy to use and look so neat and nice! Here's some vinyl love:

Base: Newu Celebration (shade 140 from glitterati collection)

Vinyls are from Twinkledt: Almaz 

Accent is Metallic shade 040 from lakme on the vinyl

Stamped with Guilded from M-Polish

Stamping plate BP L-003 from bornpretty store

Topped with HKgirl

I am quite liking these stamping polishes from M-polish. They don't stink and show up well on light and dark colours. (link)

Heres a swatch of celebration from Dabur's newu. 

Base is a Blackcurrant pop from Maybelline colorshow

Topped with 3 thin coats on Celebration. Love the iridescent blue and small holo glitter in it.

Looks very pretty in sunlight..but I didnt have any :(

Bright Gradient Nail Art

I wore these nails for a dinner party post my birthday.

Here's a macro of the accent: 

Base: Barry M lychee and PP chillax (sponged on)

For the accent I used Zoya Tomoko

Stamping plate: JQ 19 (from aliexpress here store no. 512239 

I got the whole set of 50 plates for $19!!) These are similar to BPS round plates.

Stamping polish: konad black

all topped with HK girl tc

Lava Flow with Matt Glitter

Another Quickie till I get my next breather.

Base W7 Lava Flow

Accent Sally Hansen Black heart topped by Kleancolor glitter matte I do, Romeo 

I am digging these poor woman's glitter toppers from Kleancolor. Priced at $1.79, the base is a squishy jelly and might not dry fast if u are dabbing and making layers of glitter. But one coat of SV and I am set to go. 

Needless to say I wouldn't have bought just one. 

Glitter Gradient Nails

Hi,

I am still doing simple nail art these days. Though things are getting better with the baby (mostly!) we kind of have a schedule where I get a couple of hours here and there to myself while he naps (again mostly). So here's a glitter gradient I did.

Base is China Glaze Re-fresh Mint. Loving this colour at the moment.

Glitter gradient is with Jordana LA City Nights. It's a mix of medium turquoise and purple micro glitter.

I love how simple and neat this turns out without too much hard work.

You should try a glitter gradient if you like glitter nails but dont wanna go OTT with it.

Till I see you next. Ta-daa

Darling Diva's: Channeling Coco

Today I have for you: Darling Diva's Channeling Coco!

Isnt it such a darling!!! Cotton candy encrusted with magical gems!

Layered over a light pastel pink polish as I found DD's Channeling Coco a bit sheer.

Thats 2 coats and some fishing of glitter. Applied smooth. Dried in 5 mins.

Now the glitter is meant to be sparse..thats the beauty of the polish..but I found I wasnt getting as much as I'd like..so I had to fish out a bit.

If you are looking for a polish that does not go over the top with glitter..but just a tiny bit of classy sprinkling of glitter...This one is for you! ♥ ♥ ♥

Contains: Big Pink glitter and small black hexes. I really love how the black glitter shows through.

Retail for $8 on etsy for a 15 ml full sized bottle. Can buy here.

Darling Diva's Polishes reached me flat 15 days. You can read my review of the other one here.

I couldnt stamp over this one. It just looked soo pretty on it own.

Arent you drooling? ♥

*Polish sent for review. But opinions are my own and honest

Darling Diva's Release the Kraken V2: Swatches!

I cant tell you how excited I am to write this post!!!

A couple of weeks ago I saw this polish on a blog and I fell head over heels in laaauuu!! (love)!

I kept looking and searchin for this polish and landed up on this etsy page here: 

Darling Diva Polish: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarlingDivaPolish 

We got talking and the lovely creator of this polish Carrie sent me a pretty package!

Today I am reviewing one of my fav polishes ever!

Presenting.... Release the Kraken V2!!

Now Kraken is the name of the legendary sea-monster-giant-octopus more famously seen in Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. And this Kraken looks adorable!!

$8 for 15ml (Most of Darling Diva's polishes retail for $8-12)

They reached me in India in 15 days flat!! I was very impressed!

White Jelly base filled with a bazillion colored glitters in various hex and square sizes

There are also some translucent hexes which shine very pretty!

Applied smoothly and took me 3 coats to make opaque. There is no white undercoat in these pics.

The polish is slightly thick but I believe it helps suspend the glitter better. There was zero fishing involved in painting my nails. The polish bottle is generously filled with glitter.

Cant describe how much excitement this polish has caused for me! :)

No chipping, no tearing for 3-4 days.

Stamped an accent in bold polka with Konad Red using RA 103

(jus an interesting tidbit: The red polish I was posing with above: slipped out and fell 12 storeys down!!! Fortunatley it didnt hurt anyone as if fell in some hedges and unfortunately I couldnt find it..so someone probably got lucky :D )

Dont you wanna try some Kraken for yourself???

*Polish sent for review. But opinions are my own and honest

My First Franken Polish: Jelly Green Monster!!

Morning!

Now if you are wondering what Franken Polish is..It means creating your own polish by mixing existing polish, glitters and pigments. Like creating your own Frankenstein monster..Hence the name Franken Polish.

Now some ladies have got very enterprising with this concept and have started their own polish shops. These are known as indie polish makers. This concept is not so popular in India here..but is quite a rage in US and Europe. You must see some of their creations to figure why they are so much in demand and always sought after... yeah go google....Hey.. atleast finish reading my post!!

I was getting very saddened by the fact that these indie/frankens polishes were not available easy here so I decided to make my own. And Presenting....Kejal's Jelly Green Monster!!

Whats a Jelly you ask? Jelly polishes are polishes like creme..but much more shinier and glistening.

I emptied and cleaned out an old polish mini bottle. Half filled it with clear polish or a regular top coat.

Added a few drops of Lakme's Going Green and one drop of black polish.

Added a couple of brush fulls of Jordana's Cosmic Glitter polish.

Lastly I had one of these unbranded bottles of glitter polish..you know the cheap ones available at your local stationery/cosmetic stores around the corner. This one had large chunky and medium hex light gold glitter (See here). Add a couple of brush fulls of that.

And shake/dance.

This was much more glistening in real. So much that I had a little trouble picking pics where it didnt reflect the sky and clouds. If you look closely you can see small green and blue glitter of Jordana Cosmic.

Now if you wanna start making your own frankens you need non-bleeding glitter. i.e glitter that wont loose its colour in polish. and if possible a suspension base that will help the glitter stay afloat in the polish else it will sink like mine did and you'll find yourself dancing around with the polish bottle in your hand :D

I loved making this franken and have already got hold of a few bottles of polish just to empty them out to make my own frankens. Very addictive I say. Have you made your own??

Will next show you a beautiful indie polish to show you how much in love I am with these polishes!

Wait for it!

Mattened Glitter Nails

Pinterest can get sooo addictive!

I had seen a mani on pinterest with matt glitter nails..but I couldnt figure out what polishes were used.

You can see the pin here and my pin board here

I attempted to do it with what I had. I knew I wanted duo-chromy glitter.

I painted the black base with Sally Hansen 

Made glitter gradient with Kleancolor Chunky Holo Fuschia.

KC Holo Fuschia glows from yellow-green to pink-red. I've tried to capture the glitter from both ends of the spectrum. See how it starts from yellow and is amber-red at the tips.

How to do a glitter gradient? I get this search term a lot..so here's how:

For a glitter gradient: I added a single coat of KC all over the nail. Allow a few mins to dry.

Next dabbed some KC at halfway down the nail. Again allow a few mins to dry.

Now just dab again using the glitter polish at the tips.

I added the Inglot Matt top coat after a day as I liked the glistening nails. However I like the matt version better.

It looked so much pretty in real! like twinkling lights. 

You have to matt-en some glitter to see what I mean. It looks absolutely gorgeous!! 

Have you tried to matt-en glitter?

Classy Glitter Gradient Nail Art

So far I've been a bit shy to put on heavy glitter based polishes coz its a bit-o'-pain to remove them. But I see these gorgeous polishes lying in my stack and the temptation become too strong to resist! So here I am with another glitter mani with some polishes I had won in Mrs.Rexy's giveaway. (The first I won everrrrrr!!)

Base: Violet Divine

I am not fond of this base. Its streaky and uneven :-/

But since I was gonna cover with glitter, I didnt mind it

First I layered Icing's Tiger's Blood in a single light layer over my nails.

Next I layered Icing's Epic Winning halfway down my nails.

Then I dabbed a bit of Icing's Rock star from Mars near the tips.

Lastly I applied Kleancolor Chunky Holo Fuchsia half way down again.

The second, third and fourth bottles were used.

(Pic is from my winnings post here)

The pink sheen and glitter is from the Kleancolor C.Holo Fuschia 

I am completely in love with this gradient glitter mani. Its very suitable for weddings and occasions which call for a bit of bling.

(*I think this mani is perfectly apt for an Indian function/bride where a girl has a lot going on her hands (mehndi, loads of other jewellery, heavy embroidered clothes encrusted with crystals etc) and may not wanna change her mani often for each function/occasion. I base colour like this would suit most clothes and the gradient glitter just about gives that classy bling without going OTT. Plus since its glitter, it lasts longer on nails too*)

Like it??

How to Remove Glitter Polish Easily..No not using Foil Claws!

Helooozzz!!!

Last post here, I said I discovered a way to use glitter polish without killing your cuticles in the removal process. I got quite a few curious people asking me about it and here's how:

Step 1: I have applied Nail appliques on my nails. Now I understand everyone doesnt apply nail appliques or use them often. But I suspect that even full nail stickers or full nail water decals will work equally well. This pic below is one where I have worn nail appliques for a 2 or 3 days. U can see the tips have worn off.

Incase u dont manage to lay your hands on Nail Appliques, Nail stickers or water decals are available at Born Pretty for resonably cheap price.

If u are not using nail appliques and if u use full nail stickers or decals I suggest u dont wait to wear that off. Just use them maybe when they are a day old, not very worn off.

Now apply your base polish for the glitter polish, preferably something that completely covers the nail appliques/sticker in one coat. I have used the sandy matt polish in blue.

Now apply the glitter polish as you like fully loaded or sparsely. Make sure you apply a couple of coats of top coat so that the glitter is smooth and set.

Did you feel that I had appliques under my glitter polish in the last post? 

It doesnt show and it didnt feel any different to me that I had multiple layers on my nails.

Now for the removal:

Since you have a base of nail appliques/stickers, there will be a clear edge at the side of your nails.

(this pic is 3 days after applying glitter polish..as you can see the tip has worn off).

Now use an orange stick or your nail and lift up the applique/sticker. Dont rip it off..just slowly lift the whole piece trying to lift it in a liner uniform manner from base to tip. or one side to the other.

See how it clearly lifts off without any stain or use of acetone :D

Do note: there is no use of force or pulling on nails when I do this.

This applique has stayed on my nails for almost 6 days. If you feel ur applique/sticker/decal is still very much firmly stuck on..just diped ur hands in warm water for a few minutes and try this. The applique/sticker has a base of glue and will peel of real easy. Wont damage ur nails.

Yes! I am baring my nails for the love of mine and ur cuticles!! As you see the only bits stuck are where the appliques had worn off and glue-y sticky remains of the base of the applique remain. This can be easily washed off with normal soap and water. Maybe just rub on your nails with soapy fingers a bit and wipe off with cloth/napkin.

And Ta-daaaa!!!  Because I've applied top coat, the applique and glitter polish has got set like a single piece. And made it easy to pull off.

A couple of points: 

1. You may think that appliques may not look natural on your nails or may end up looking like artificial/acrylic nails on your hands. Not true! No No! Appliques fit perfectly on your nail and do not rise above your cuticle. 
2. Nail Stickers crinkle up or become wrinkly? No problem. Since they dont need to be seen, they can become whatever they want. Just make sure the base polish you apply covers it up and glitter polish will go on smooth.
3. Dont forget top coat. A top coat will harden the glitter polish and help it set with the nail applique/sticker. Will also make it easier to remove.

How do you like this idea!!?? I'd love to hear ur views on this!!
Let me know your comments or questions if u got any?

I'd prefer this method anyday over the foil claw method and save my cuticles.

Glitter Glitter on my Nails! Glitter Bomb!

 Happy Friendship Day to you allllll!!!

I have got to know a lot of people due to blogging and I am glad to know such nice ppl!

I dont want to get into talking names, coz this post may never end :p

But you all know who you are!! And u've made my life more fun!!

(This incl all tweeps, email spammers, FB followers and comment writers!)

So here's wishing you all a very HAPPY Friendship Day!!!

On my blog today is my first glitter bomb! And a big one at that.

I've always stayed away from glitter due to the painful task of removing them and killing your cuticles in the process (yeah I mean the foil claw method). I am clearly not a fan of that. But after seeing this new frenzy around indie glitter polishes and the bea-u-tiful pics across blogs, I couldnt resist.

Now Indie polishes are real hard to get hold off, so I got around to buying "Cosmic" from Jordana.

Yes! It know it is A LOT of glitter. I wanted to see how it looks/feels etc.

Base: Sandy-Matt Blue polish

Glitter polish: Jordana Cosmic 2 coats

I brought Jordana cosmic from BeautyJoint.

One bottle of 6ml costs around $2.99

Cosmic is packed with micro blue hex glitter and large chunky silver, blue and green hex

After a couple of days I got bored with my flashy nails and tried to add some interest by adding dots of various colours. It ended up looking even more boring. I think.... U?

Psssst: I discovered a way to remove glitter polish without killing your cuticles. Will post that soon.

Wait for it. :D Bwahahahahah!!!!