Pretty Pink Gradient & Stamping

Happy Tuesday everyone!

We’re quickly speeding through February, can you believe we’re already half way through? Kind of crazy! Today I have a super fun gradient design to share. I’ve been kind of obsessed with gradients lately–I go through fazes, & now that I’m all stocked up on my Edge Perfection I’ve been a little gradient crazy.

For today’s design, I was feeling pink. I wanted something a little Valentine’s Day-esque without being too over the top. I started out with the gradient, then added some holo glitter. & then I thought–why not some stamping too? I was a bit scared it was all going to be too much, but I think because I didn’t use contrasting colours, the whole design really works together.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by Orly Breathable Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Joe Fresh Cotton Candy
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mauve Over
  • China Glaze Life is Rosy
  • Quo by Orly Falling Star
  • Essie No Place like Chrome
  • Born Pretty Store Image Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I’m really loving this gradient!

& obviously I took some macro shots! You see the holo glitters much better this way, since my desk lamp doesn’t show them off as well as I would like. Also it shows off the blend on this gradient, which I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of. Especially since my early gradients looked something like this.

 

I’m so happy with this whole design! I know it’s not oh my god Valentine’s Day, but it’s pretty & pink & what is more lovely than that?

What do you think of this design? Do you like all the layers, or do you think it’s too busy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Holo Gradient & Hearts

Happy Thursday lovelies! & happy first day of February. Seriously, how is the first month of 2018 already over?! That’s kind of amazing in a way. It also means we’re 2 weeks away from Valentine’s Day, so it’s time to start getting my love-themed manicures started.

When it comes  to Valentine’s Day, I feel like hearts are kind of a necessity. For this design, I decided to skip the pink (there will be lots of pink to come, don’t worry) & used silver, purple & blue holo shades instead. You still get that Valentine’s Day feeling without going too overboard.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect Mercury Twilight
  • Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect Ultra Violet
  • Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect Ocean Rush
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • KaylaRayLoves Nail Vinyls Tumbling Hearts Vinyls
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge

I really, really love how these turned out. The gradient + the hearts just looks so good together! You could definitely go with more pink shades if you wanted these nails to be extra girlie (which I could see myself doing for actual Valentine’s Day). Also I was really impressed with how well these holo polishes blended together to create a gradient! I feel like I haven’t been doing enough gradients lately, & that seriously needs to change. Yeah, they can be kind of messy, but that’s why they invented liquid latex.

Below, I have a couple of shots of the gradient before I added the hearts. I really need to do more holo gradients because the end result is just so pretty!

what do you think of this manicure? Would you wear it for Valentine’s Day? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Edge Perfection Easy Peel Polish Barrier Review

So recently I mentioned that I seriously needed to invest in some new liquid latex because I’ve been out for a while & like magic the nail art gods listened! Or, at least, the lovely folks at Edge Perfection did as they sent me their peel off polish barrier to try! 

From their website:

Edge Perfection is…

5 Free, Thiuram Free, Ammonia Free, Cruelty Free, Vegan, Prop 65 Compliant, Canadian Cosmetics and EU Cosmetics Compliant too! 

Edge Perfection is a low oder polish barrier designed to make clean-up around the nails easier than ever. When using our product you’ll be happy knowing you’re using the highest most pure liquid latex on the market.

Pretty awesome claims & definitely had me curious! I’ll be honest… my previous experience with cuticle barriers only includes glue based peel off base coats (didn’t really work for me) & a Born Pretty Store liquid latex which did work but smelled weirdly fishy. So I was definitely excited to try out something new. 

My first experiment? Well a gradient of course!

So you can use this as a barrier while applying your base coat of colour (perfect for those whole have trouble painting with their non dominant hand!). I don’t have much trouble staying “within the lines” so I applied it around my cuticles after my base was already painted. It goes on a pale green-ish shade (above) with no smell that I could notice. When applying I suggest using a light hand to get the best application. The tub has a wand with brush inside. I like the fact the brush is shorter—makes for a more precise application. 

Apply to all nails. I always stick to one hand at a time as I find trying to sponge with latex on my fingers just leads to my fingers sticking together. Dry time is pretty speedy—as you can see above I started with my pinky & moved to my thumb & pinky was already dry by the time I grabbed my phone to snap a picture. It dries down almost clear but with a hint of the mint so it’s easy to find to pull off. 

Now it’s time for nail art! I sponged on my gradient using three shades (Color Club Silver Lake, Revlon Elusive, & Essie Under the Twilight) until they were well blended. Always a messy process. 

Using tweezers, pull off your latex barrier. Above is right after I peeled off Edge Perfection (before I applied top coat). As you can see, it really did keep things quite clean! There are a few little bits of polish left on the nail but that is just an issue of not getting the product close enough to the edge (middle finger) or not far enough down the finger (pinky) & can easily be fixed with a clean up brush & a little acetone. 

& after I cleaned up the little scraggly bits of polish left over & applied top coat. Pretty gradient nails! 

As you can see, Edge Perfection seriously minimizes the mess usually associated with gradients & other messy nail art. There is nothing worse than trying to do a cool but messy nail art look & spending half an hour cleaning up around the nail. I really, really like the brush applicator with it because it’s so easy to apply & get in as close to the nail as you need to be. I also really love the fact that there is no overwhelming weird smell. 

If you’re interested in purchasing Edge Perfection for yourself & giving it a try, you can purchase it directly from the Edge Perfection website as well as CVS & What’s Up Nails. Personally, I think it’s a great product & I was really impressed with results! I can’t wait to use it for more (messy) nail designs! Except to see a lot of gradients in my future. 

*PR SAMPLE* Some of these items were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own