HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I found Shaun!

While I wish today's mani had been a bit more creative I still like it. I had some cool original ideas, but I just didn't have the time to do them. On the bright side they can transcend holidays!

Even though this are simple I still of course had to stick to the Halloween Theme. This was the perfect day to use my Born Pretty Store Halloween Stickers. I was a bit iffy about them at first because imo nail stickers can be hit and miss. In this case it was a hit! The stickers were easy to take off the paper and easy to place(using tweezers). I will admit I did try placing them with my fingers at first, but it's hard since they are so tiny. I ended up losing a small bat(But Shaun[He has a name now] has since been located on my elbow!) They lay down flat, and even though the sticker extends past the actual image since it is clear it blends in perfectly. You can even have the stickers overlap and the few clear mm don't affect the image under it. When you are done just cover it with top coat and you're ready to go!

If you would like to try some of these, head over here on Born Pretty Store's website where you can find them on sale for $0.99 USD each. You can never be too early for Halloween! And you can use our 10% discount code (EAL91) AND they have free shipping!

So what are you guys dressing up for Halloween? I'm going as Kanye West.

*Products sent for honest review

Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream The Movie...Wait no. The Review.

I have been waiting weeks to do this review. 'Why?' you might ask. Because it's cream review. It's one of those things that I think you have to wait for a while(if you can) before you review them. I don't think it's an accurate review when you use them once. Now on to the review.

Today I have for you Water Bank Gel Cream from the Korean Brand Laneige. I received a full size pot for review from influenster.com. I was super excited that I was chosen to review this as it's the first time I have received anything from Influenster, and it was something I knew I would put to good use.

The product is described as 'A cooling, non-oily gel cream that immerses skin in moisture for 24 hours,' and is recommended for normal to combination skin. It comes in a sleek, 1.6 oz blue glass pot, and it is part of a 4-part system. The consistency of the cream is like a gel and a cream had a baby. It has a light scent to it that is a bit perfume-y(It smells exactly like a Lancôme night cream I own). It doesn't bother me, but those with sensitive noses may not love it as much. When you rub it into your skin it does feel really refreshing, while making your skin look healthy. And bonus points because it doesn't make you look greasy, as it absorbs quickly. It also plays nicely under primer and makeup. The pot also comes with a spatula, but I wasn't a fan of that. I always wash my hands thoroughly before sticking my fingers in and I found with the spatula I was less thorough with the cleaning. But that's just me.

Right after rubbing it into my skin. You would never know I had JUST put cream on.

I have been using this for around three weeks, 1-2 times a day and the pot is just past half way done(I'm sure it would be more had I been using it twice a day, every day) And while I can say I like it, I can't say I love it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good cream, but for $42 CND, the size, and the time it takes to go through the product, I don't think it's worth it. If you do buy it I don't think it's a bad investment because like I said before it's a great product, but I've used other things that are more than half the price that are just as good.

If you would like to give this a go, check it out over at sephora.ca or head over to your local Sephora, and pick one up for $42 CND.

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Short post!

These nails were inspired by swaafie! I used Sinful Colors Hey, You!, China Glazes Stoked to be Soaked as a base. Then CG Spontaneous tipped with Zoya's Carter for the lines. Black is acrylic paint. Boo.

A photo posted by @swaafie on Oct 17, 2015 at 8:07am PDT

It's Alive!

I've actually posted this before, but I'm nuts, so I'm gonna post it again. Actually it's too amazing not to share again. This is China Glaze's I'm Alive, from their 2011 Halloween collection! It's a murky green, filled with small glitter and micro glitter. It's one of my favourite Halloween polishes ever. What's one of yours? Sorry this post is super short, busy few days and I am beat. And a plain manicure is better than nothing :P

There Will Be Stud

Today I have the final item from Lady Queen I received to review. It's pretty much an assortment of studs. You have a wide variety of shapes, everything from your classic squares, circles and triangles, to stars and hearts.

This is a great set, you get loads of different designs, and you also get a good amount of each. Application was easy, I just used a dotting tool and dipped it in clear polish(although I think I want one of those placement pencils for nail art because sometimes you can see the clear polish on the studs). The studs held firm and didn't give me any problems. My only issue was because I used so many studs that were clustered together, but not touching, topcoat was a bit iffy. It was hard to go over the whole thing without using a super thick coat. But that would have happened had I used any studs the way I did here.

Overall I think these are fantastic, and  can't wait to see what else I can do with these designs! If you also would like to give these a go, head on over to Lady Queen where you can grab them for $4.58 USD. And you can also add Varnished Valkyrie's 15% discount code 'LAKS15' to add some saving on top of that!

Oh and If you were wondering what the base was it's Rimmel London's Salon Pro in Yes Sir! A beautiful dusty olive polish that applies like butter(2 easy coats).

*Product sent for honest review.

With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I love my boy bands, and I love history. There's a few areas of history that interest me, my two biggest being WWII and the Tudor era. I don't know why, but those two areas fascinate me. I have even considered going back to school and studying History last year, and went as far as applying. I only applied to one school(One of the University of London's Colleges), and I got in, but in the end I realised it wasn't for me. At least at the moment, never say never.

So today I have something to honour one of the things I love the most. History. Now I wasn't going to do a WWII manicure, because honestly there is nothing you can do that is ok. So I went with Anne Boleyn. When the people at Lady Queen asked me to choose a few things to review I knew instantly when I saw the crowns that I wanted... no needed, to do something Tudor related.

So the crowns come in a pack of around 50, and if you go to the page that the crowns are on, you can see that you also have the option of other designs(Stars, frames, etc.). The first thing I should tell you is, they are gold, a pale gold, but gold none the less. In my photo they are leaning less gold then they do in real life. They are kind of hard to lie flat because they are quite stiff, but they hold well when stuck to the nail and then topped with top coat. They aren't that big, so even with the edges off the nail I didn't find it a bother. But this would be one of those things I have to slap on after getting ready to go out if I'm doing my hair. Things that are flat on my nails have a tendency to fall off when washing my hair. This wouldn't stand a chance.

Overall I liked these a lot. Easy to apply, they stay on despite not laying flat on the nail, and they are super pretty. These can be used in so many different designs!  If you would like to give this a go head on over here, where you can get them for $4.75 USD, and on top of that shipping is free AND you can use Varnished Valkyrie's 15% discount code 'LAKS15'.

Ps. The B is from Anne's necklace, and the dripping blood is from...well if you don't know her story, I don't want to give away any spoilers :P

 

*Product sent for honest review.

First Spoopy Manicure!

I know I'm a bit late with this, so forgive me. What's new with you guys? I have started exercising for the first time in years! I have been at it for a few weeks so let's see if I can stick to it.

Now on to my nails. Today I have a stamping plate from a new website(well new to me) Lady Queen, a place where all your inexpensive nail needs will be met. I have for you the spoopy stamping plate in hehe057. Honestly this wasn't the best stamping plate, but if you have the right tools, that shouldn't be a problem. I didn't have black stamping polish, so I used regular polish. From what I have noticed, if the polish isn't the best quality, and the plate isn't the best quality it's much harder to get a good image(I actually had to go back and fill in missing patches). But if the plate is a good quality, even when using a sub par polish I will still come out decent. So I'm sure if you had a good stamping polish, you could easily make up for what the plate lacks.

Overall I though the plate was just ok and I'm not sure I would reach for it again unless I had a better polish to stamp with. If you would like to give this plate a go, you can find it on their website, currently on sale for $0.99 USD. In addition to that shipping is FREE and you can use my discount code 'LAKS15' and get 15% off!

Ps. That gradient is China Glaze Spontaneous, and Stoked To Be Soaked as well as Sinful Colors Pull Over.