Category: Born Pretty Store

Posted on

Neon(ish) Stars ⭐️

Happy Wednesday loves… I mean, I think it’s Wednesday. My days have been blurring into each other which has made it hard to keep things straight! I’m trying my best to keep to my posting schedule, but right now things are a wee bit hectic. & by wee bit, I mean life is all around insane. But just because I’m working 50+ hours a week doesn’t mean I don’t have time for pretty nails!

Who needs sleep anyways? That’s why they invented coffee!

Today’s nails were based on the fact I wanted pretty nails, with a pop of colour, that were relatively easy. I realized I hadn’t used my stamping plates in forever, so it felt like a good opportunity. Plus I love the look of a pop of colour over a neutral sheer base–@oliveandjune is always posting amazing inspiration on Instagram that I’m constantly saving, so I decided to try the look out. & I love it.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In the Sheer
  • Sally Hansen Insta-dri Va-Va Violet
  • Born Pretty Store Image Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store small clear jelly stamper
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I was in serious need of something bright & colourful to cheer myself (& my nails) up! Even with obsessive moisturizing, a ton of cuticle oil, & anything else moisturizing I can find, my hands have been hurting the last few weeks. The up & down temperature changes have been the main culprit I think, plus the fact that work is dry as heck. They’re not used to not being babied like they were! Plus paper cuts are seriously the devil. Still working on testing out my own hand pampering mask recipe, so once I find one I want to share I will make sure to post it! Also if you have any favourite hand treatments to share, let me know in the comments below!

What’s your favourite “cheer up” manicure to do when you’re feeling down? share it in the comments below!

Posted on

Purple Dry Brush Quatrefoil Nails

Happy Friday & almost Easter lovelies! I’m off today with Good Friday & ooooooh do I have so many blog things to do! This has been a crazy week & I’m still trying balance working Full Time & keeping to my blog posting schedule. Thank goodness I’m going at multitasking! Today I’m showing off some pretty purple nails I did forever ago but didn’t have a chance to post yet. 💜 These nails were inspired by a make up bag I saw at Marshall’s.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Play Date
  • Essie The Girls Are Out
  • China Glaze Grape Juice
  • Sally Hansen Hard To Get
  • Random clear nail polish
  • Born Pretty Store Clear Jelly Stamper
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L003 (item #17921) — quatrafoil image

I’m digging all these purples together. I thought about creating a sponge mani, but didn’t have any sponges so a dry brush was my next option! I really wanted the colours to blend together, kind of like a gradient. So I used a random bottle of clear polish (literally it has no label & I no idea where it came from) and smeared the brush strokes together by brushing the clear polish over it over & over again. The cheaper & random the clear polish, the better things will blend. You don’t want to use a quick dry top coat because it dries to quickly. The whole point is to smear all the shades together.

It feels like ages since I played with my stamping stuff. This is definitely one of my favourite images from this particular plate. It just makes doing Moroccan/quatrefoil designs just so, so easy (& definitely quicker than nail vinyls!

what do you think of this purple design? What design are you rocking for the weekend? Comment down below! 💅🏻

Posted on

Negative Space Stripes (Again!)

Hello Lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic week. I’m getting prepped for a busy week ahead–it’s March Break week which means that it’s going to be busy busy busy for me at work! I’m still getting used to being back to work but that’s why they invented espresso, am I right? I’m also getting used to fitting in doing my nails to my daily routine on top of working & being a Mom–it definitely takes practice! So I’ve been leaning more towards easy nail art looks.

Today’s nails were done using some striping tape from Born Pretty Store (Item #40423) that I recently bought. I picked up a three pack of different sizes that I thought would be perfect for achieving different sized stripes. Plus it’s pretty & purple… & I love purple!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Cashmere Bathrobe
  • Essie Where’s My Chauffeur?
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape (item #40423)
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

These were so simple to do & I love the pop of colour against the dark grey polish. All I did was apply my different sizes of striping tape over my completely dry base coat, & then painted over top with Cashmere Bathrobe. Then I took my small detail brush & added stripes of Where’s My Chauffeur? freehand. Definitely one of my favourite Spring polishes & it works so well with Cashmere Bathrobe because it stands out so much! You can never go wrong with a good turquoise nail polish.

Also negative space makes me so happy. Like–it’s such an easy way to make your nails look fancy without a lot of work. & I’m all about quick & easy while still looking fancy.

What nails are you rocking to start off your week? What do you think of this negative space look? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Posted on

Spring Stamping

Happy Friday lovelies! & happy March! Can you believe another month is down? I definitely can’t. Our countdown to Spring is officially at 18 days…. can you tell I’m really excited? Especially since the last couple days have been so beautiful & warm! I can’t wait. Which also means my nails have to match.

Give me all the Spring polish picks!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Breathable Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie In The Cab-Ana
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP-L026 (item #21812)
  • Born Pretty Store Clear Jelly Stamper
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I really love the blue on blue with the vine pattern. It reminds me of a Spring dress pattern! & you know how much I love my dresses & cant wait to wear them again. Hopefully maybe by Easter & the end of the month I’ll be able to wear a few. A girl can dream!

I’m so glad I bought this stamping plate from Born Pretty! There are so many beautiful patterns that are going to be perfect for Spring & Summer. Obviously I love freehanding Floral patterns, but something I just don’t have the time to do it so this gives me another option. Plus leaves have never been my strong suit–Roses I can do, but try & freehand a leaf & sometimes it just ends up looking like a green blob. If I’m feeling some greenery, this will definitely make me less frustrated, which I am so happy about.

What do you think of this Spring design? Are you as ready for Spring as I am? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 🌿🌱

Posted on

My Husband Paints my Nails for Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day lovelies!

Today I have a special & fun post I’ve been hoping to do for a while. I’ve been trying to convince my husband he should paint my nails FOREVER (probably as long as we’ve been together), & he finally agreed to do it in honour of Valentine’s Day!   I really wanted to record to whole thing, but I figured it was enough that he was doing them all at so I didn’t want to push my luck too much.  But I did manage to take a few pictures of the whole experience, just for fun! After all, it’s not often someone else does my nails!
Continue reading “My Husband Paints my Nails for Valentine’s Day”