You know you haven't been doing your nails when...

You have no black polish, and you probably haven't had any for months.

Yup, not a single black polish. So for this manicure I used a coat of Sinful Colors Secret Admirer as the base, and black acrylic paint over it.

Honestly my nails have been looking rough the past few months. In part because I was busy, and in part because I was sick during the end of June and most of July, which totally threw my nails through a loop because I wasn't healthy in the slightest(I'm much better now). But they are finally starting to look decent. Huzzah!

So today I bring you these skull wearing crowns from the Born Pretty Store. I have been sitting on for a such a long time they no longer sell it(sorry, fail on my part). But I'm still going to review them. I love skulls and I love crowns, like any person with healthy interests, so you put a crown on a skull, I will like it.

This was honestly bigger than I expected, and would have looked better when I had longer nails. But either way they just fit. Application is always easy with these because of their size. Now for big 3D nail art like this you want to glue them down not just stick it into the polish, and don't even try and top coat it. And when you are done with big pieces like this, you can easily peel them off and use them again.

Now because I flopped harder than Ryan Lochte(ok not that badly), I actually don't have a link for where you can buy these and they don't sell them any more. So here are a couple links to some 3D skulls from them that I think you should check out. And remember to use are 10% discount code if you plan on buying them(or anything else from their site!)

 

While these aren't rhinestones to me they have the same feel, and they appear to be smaller. 5 currently on sale for $2.14 USD.

 

These ones are like a party/rave version of the ones I have. They incorporate both the skull and crown, and we actually reviewed them here before! Currently on sale for $0.59 USD. 

*Product sent for honest review

Royally Obnoxious

GOOD LORD, VALKYRIES. GOOD LORD. This review took an embarrassing amount of time to produce.

Born Pretty Store sent us these really groovy 3D skull nail decorations, and I was all excited to try 'em out. My first nail art attempt didn't thrill me, so I took it off and thought "I'll try again tomorrow". Tomorrow came, and my cuticles had exploded as a result of the crazy weather we're having. Over a week later, they're still rather gnarly, but good enough. So here we go.

How fun are these? They're available in green, orange or pink. Since I removed them multiple times, I can safely tell you that polish remover doesn't strip the colour off, making them completely reusable and permanently fabulous.

The back of the skull is hollowed out and slightly curved, which helps them stay on the nail very effectively.

My base for this simple look is Orly Liquid Vinyl, stamped with Maybelline Color Show Bold Gold and Winstonia plate W112. I applied just a little bit of glue to the skull, and found it stayed on quite well with no extraneous fiddling.

These come in a pack of 5 for only $1.99 from your friendly neighbourhood nail art supplier!

*Product sent for honest review

An Enthralling Surprise

SUP VALKYRIES

Today I have a simple little mix for you, made with stamps and striping tape. My base colour is Revlon Enthrall, my accent colour is Maybelline Bold Gold - which stamps wonderfully, so I would recommend it if stamping is your jam!

Revlon, I have talked some serious sh*t in the past, and now I gotta take it back. You're redeeming yourself with Enthrall. Look at that sparkle! I hope Kas will swatch this polish for you, it's absolutely gorgeous and my (lack of) photo skills can't do it justice!

 In some lights, this polish just looks brown, in others it glows a beautiful olive green with green and red/gold glitter. It's a real chameleon and I'm so glad I bought it! I can see myself reaching for this colour a lot.

Left to right: Born Pretty plate M57, stud, BP plate RuiZ04, stripes.

Has a brand you thought you hated ever surprised you?

Holo-zebra-skully-rhinestone-geometric what is this hot mess I love it

Here's a quick design I did on Monday. I see a lot of great "mix" nail arts on Tumblr (my internet home...I'm one of those people), and have really wanted to try my own! I have trouble with pattern mixing (I have a very strict sense of what does and does not go together) so these were a fun challenge for me.

The pictures are lousy and don't show the holo well at all, please forgive me - was in a rush to get out the door for my beloved Monday night beer-and-hot tub extravaganza- but I loved how this turned out and really wanted to show you my first MIX!

 So as not to waste my precious GOSH Holographic Hero, I first applied 2 coats of a silver bargain bin polish. Anyone own/heard of Charm Limit? I have 2 and they wear pretty well. I used "Colour 14" (so glam, I love their names).  The ring finger and thumb detail is Orly Liquid Vinyl. An Art Deco striper polish was used for the middle finger and stamping. Zebra stamp from Bundle Monster, skull from Konad.

Since the whole design was done was done with stamps, tape and minimal freehanding, I was able to do both hands identically. Maybe that defeats the purpose of a mix? Who cares, I love it!