"So You Want to Try Nail Stamping..." series (Tools of the trade, how to tutorial and walkthrough, Born Pretty review)

Recently I was approached by Born Pretty Store (I have reviewed them in the past, and in summary: they're a pretty great company out of Singapore that sells really affordable beauty products, despite the long shipping times to the US) to review some nail stamping plates they released quite recently.

If you follow me on instagram (or know me in person) nail stamping is "mah jam." I'm constantly stamping designs over manicures because I find that it's a perfect way to jazz up a color without designing something new over it completely. A little pattern, a little color and whoop...there it is.

So when I was approached, I thought "why not make a comprehensive series on nail stamping, so that other people can do it without being discouraged by trial and error?!" and that's exactly what I did.

The first part of the series is about what you'll need to start nail stamping. In this video, I talk about what I use to stamp and offer some tips and tricks on finding these things.

• Acetone pump
• Acetone (or non-acetone nail polish remover)
• Konad special nail polish (white and/or black)
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear nail color 
• Konad scraping tool & rubber stamp
• elf essentials concealer brush
• Cheeky Beauty 2012 plate set
• Bundle Monster CYO collection 
• Cheeky Jumbo Plate 3 - European Romance
• BornPretty plates in BP-17, BP-08, BP-28, BP-01, BP-10*

In the second part I actually show you how I do a stamped manicure, and discuss things I wish I would've known before getting discouraged when I first started stamping.

• Color Club "Reign in Spain" (from Birchbox "The Wanderlust Collection")
• Seche Vite
• Konad special polish in black
• BornPretty stamping plate in BP-17*

Also in the second video, you'll find a review of the Born Pretty stamping plates I recieved. I will do a detailed blog post review of these in the future, after using all the plates and testing for quality, but for now it's safe to say they've really outdone themselves with this set! The plate I used was etched perfectly and transferred to my nail without any problems.

So, for now... brush up (ha! pun definitely intended) on your stamping skills while you eagerly await my verdict on the rest of these plates.

Til next time,


DISCLAIMER: Items marked with an * were provided for review purposes. Despite this, I provide honest opinions and thoughts on products no matter the compensation.

E.l.f. gold snakeskin polish review + GIVEAWAY TIME!

As you all know, e.l.f. is one of my absolute FAVORITE brands of makeup. What you may not know is that they also make really awesome nail polish! After picking up a bottle of this line in Target the other day, I had a revelation. What better way to show my appreciation (and hopefully welcome new readers/viewers) that host a giveaway?!

Here are some photos of the colors you'll be receiving if you win, since they are not available online and don't have names:

 

(to see them bigger, click on them!)

RULES & INFO:

• You MUST be 18 or have your parents permission to provide me your shipping address in the event that you win
• Invalid entries (such as a link to a blog post sharing the giveaway that does not exist) will be scrapped
• Winner will be contacted within 48 hours of the end of the contest and have 24 hours to respond via email provided through Rafflecopter.
• No PO Boxes, sorry!
• Continental United States only, since this is personally funded (and I am in college, after all)
• This contest is not funded by any company. All prizes were purchased and will be shipped by me. 

The entry form is below! Have fun and good luck everyone :)
I look forward to sharing some awesome nail polishes with the lucky winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE:  if you complete the "Leave a Blog Post Comment" portion on Rafflecopter and are selected for that entry but there is no comment, I will move onto the next winner :( So make sure you're completing the action that you submit!  

Also, if you are sharing the giveaway via Facebook, be sure to change your post's privacy settings so I can see it! Make it "Public" if it is not already.