BPS: Glow In The Dark Nail Polish Review

Hey guys!

First off I'm SO SORRY there haven't been blog posts recently. I kind of lost inspiration, didn't know what to post, just left it. I didn't mean to alienate you, but I sometimes take a while to stick to things. 

I have a review for you guys today, provided by who else but the freaking amazing BornPrettyStore . If you haven't heard of them, are you living under a rock? Let's get on with the review.

I got this glow in the dark nail polish for review. I wanted something cool for Halloween, but this turns out to be an amazing color for year-round wear.

I'm not familiar with CH nail polish, but I liked the packaging at first glance. It's a square frosted bottle with a silver handle, nothing extremely fancy but sturdy enough.

Now this is a thick, jelly-like polish. Jelly as in opacity, it's see-through. I don't have a problem with that, but for some people it might be off-putting. I also warn you if you are sensitive to strong polish smells, this stuff is STRONG. You might want to crack a window just in case you are sensitive, it's not a regular polish smell it's more of a craft paint smell. You'll know when you sniff it but not for too long! But don't let that discourage you because it's a really cool effect. 

Here's just one coat of the polish for you to see. It's no base coat, no nothing:

Buttttt when you put it over a layer of white, it transforms it into an AMAZING shade that every time I look at my nails, I fall in love all over again. Sorry I didn't clean them, I hardly do anymore because I'm lazy:

This was 2 coats white, and 2 extremely thin coats of the glow in the dark polish. It's a strong cyan/greenish color, turquoise even. You can add a topcoat as well with no shift of color or diffused glow.

It was so hard to photograph this to show you how it really looks, but it's just like any other glow in the dark product you might have at home. Stick them under a light for a few seconds, and it will activate the glow in the dark pigments. 

The crappiest picture ever, but if you really get them lit up they will glow a bright green, it's crazy! And the glowing lasts a long time. I tested this over the course of a few days to see if the glow lasts, and I shot them with my iPhone flash for a good minute, and they glowed for a good 20 minutes maybe even more. It was weird to fall asleep with glowing body parts! :P

Overall, I love these polishes. I'm curious to see the rest of this line and how they layer over white, since the swatches on the website don't really show that as well if the other colors glow other colors, you know what I mean. I also love the glow effect, it's an extra fun thing that reminds you of childhood but never gets old.

If you are getting these for Halloween, I recommend putting in your order NOW, considering they ship from overseas and it could take a while to get to the US. Other than that, it's totally worth it!

Here's the link to the polish: http://www.bornprettystore.com/15ml-fluorescent-neon-luminous-nail-polish-varnish-glow-dark-p-3856.html

Don't forget that you can get 10% if you use my code ZLLW10 at checkout too! SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR BUY NOW!

REVIEW: BPS Super Matte Change Surface Glossy Oil Nail Polish

I have always wanted to try matte polishes. After years of wearing glossy ones, it was time to explore the world of matte.

People think of matte as something boring, but in the polish world it's different. Most polishes are glossy, but matte polishes create all new shades and textures.

I got sent this Born Pretty Store Super Matte Change Surface Glossy Oil Nail Polish in the mail to review which is PERECT. I was getting bored of the same old thing and can't really wear crazy nail decals and things to work so this adds a new spin on an old nail polish.

I've actually had this product for the past 2 weeks, but wanted to thoroughly test it out before writing a a review! Let's start with the bottle:

A beautiful frosted glass bottle with BPS on it, but there's a typo. Typo doesn't affect the quality. Very well made, not flimsy. Handle of brush is a bit matte too so you have a better grip. Brush itself is very nice, not too thin not too thick. In this case, you'd want a brush like that in there and I will explain why in a minute.

I have found that if you wait until your nails are completely dry before applying, it works best. Instead of using a regular top coat, you use this instead. It took me a few times, but I got it. You'd want to apply a rather thin coat on top, and it will magically change from shiny/wet to matte in seconds! But don't let it fool you, it's not completely dry. I gave mine a good 15-20 minutes to fully set, so hop on Netflix and watch a TV episode or two and you'd hardly notice the wait.

Here's a before and after using a pink polish. I think it's "Pink Lady" from Cover Girl. IGNORE THE BUBBLES.

Left, dry, no topcoat nails. Right, finished matte nails. Ignore the fact that I was lazy and didn't clean my cuticles.

As you can see, there's a huge difference. It changed the pink from a shiny almost hard candy appearance into a soft, vinyl-looking appearance. Beautiful!

This week, I used this matte polish over OPI's "Yoga-ta get this blue" and the result is a muted shimmery navy blue. It almost looks like metal! 

Typical wear for me is about 5 days with this topcoat, which is good. But it also factors into the type of nail polish you have and how thick or thin you applied things. The matte finish lasts the 5 days, but towards day 3 or so natural oils and things on your hands may make them look a bit shinier. Nothing a tissue couldn't fix.

PROS

-It gives you a whole other level with your polishes. Experiment with different shades and how the oil changes them!

-Easy to do. No fancy tricks, just polish on and wait

-Inexpensive. Less than 5 dollars and if you use the code at the end of this post, you get 10% off!

CONS

-Slowly drying. Don't do this while walking out the door. If you want a flawless finish, wait!

- Precision. You must cover the entire nail with the oil or else you will have glossy color peeking out next to your cuticles on the edges. Either remove those bits or just don't care and keep it that way.

Don't forget if you purchase from bornprettystore.com and use my special code ZLLW10, you get 10% off!

REVIEW: BornPrettyStore's Holo Polish!

Hey guys!

I'm back with another review! Sorry they're so far and in between these days. I have received this polish in the mail from BornPrettyStore and was dying to share it with you guys :)

BornPrettyStore Holo Polish #12

I have chosen #12, which is a dark blue/green color. It's a darker version of peacock blue if that helps you out. What makes this polish special is the holographic glitter-esque particles in it (you'll see what I mean in a minute). 

First impression is that the bottles are small. Here's a comparison shot:

Seche Vite on left, BP Holo in middle, Bath and Body Works pocketbac in "Lavender"

Smaller amount than I thought. It's 6 ounces, when most polish bottles that I have are at least 12. The packaging is pretty good, I like the matte tops because they have a little bit of grip to them and aren't slippery. I also like how BP has their logo and things on it so we know that it's their own brand. 

Here's what I mean by holographic:

Observe the holographic-ness! This is with flash so it's a bit exaggerated. However, I like this polish because from far away it looks like a solid shade, but up close your nails have tiny little rainbows! It's a subtle effect.

This is what it looks like before I cleaned up my nails. It's a nice dark teal green color, perfect if you want a blue/green color that's not all in your face. To me, it's more of a subdued neutral shade. As for application, the polish went on smoothly and there were no visible streaks. The polish lasted a good 5-6 days with no chipping too!

Close up of thumb, you can see the little holo particles swimming about :3

I do know that China Glaze etc have released holographic polishes in the past, and they are hard to find this late after their limited release, but this would be a good substitute if you want something similar. I don't have any of the CG polishes, but by looking at swatches and such it's the same concept. 

The original price of these polishes were about $12, which is steep for such a small amount of polish, but for the quality of the polish I would purchase. 

I will also say that their color swatches are a bit off from the picture on the website and what's on my nails, just keep that in mind when you order. That goes for anything on the internet that's color-centric anyway, but just keep it in your head as you're ordering. 

Overall I really like the polish, it's something work checking out if you want a bit more glitz and glam without being over the top.

Here's a link to the polish itself:

Click Me!

Don't forget to use coupon code ZLLW10 at checkout!

BornPrettyStore

DISCLAIMER: I was sent this product for review. I have not paid for this as well as I'm not being paid for my honest opinions. Honesty is the best policy!

REVIEW: More BornPrettyStore and 2 manicures!

Hey guys!

I know my blog is so boring. I'm sorry that I haven't been blogging much, because I just got a job last month and I've been having family problems so I haven't been motivated enough to produce blogs for you to enjoy. But I have received another package from BornPrettyStore!

I could choose anything to review under $10 dollars (I'm not being paid to make said review), so I wanted to choose something I could wear to work. What I mean when I say work, is that I work at a clothing store so 99% of the time I'm restocking clothes and organizing racks so my nails take a beating.  I'm afraid that if I do studs and things that they will fall off and I will end up hurting myself, so I decided to try water decals. 

For those that don't know, I am OBSESSED with pop culture. I'm also a five year old at heart, and I'm in love with Barbie, Jem, My Little Pony, etc.. So when I saw these nail water decals, I HAD TO HAVE THEM.

I'm sorry I cut some out before I took a pic :(

A good mixture of images and in good quality too

If you're an 80s/90s aficionado like I am, these should look extremely familiar. They are almost affixed the same way as temporary tattoos! They're easy and add a bit of pop to a normal manicure. 

What you do is, you cut out the image you want to put on your nails. Once that's done, you take off the plastic film on top of the decal. Get a glass of water and use tweezers to hold the decal in the water for about 10-20 seconds until the decal slides off the backing paper. I have a tip: Save water bottle caps! These hold a little bit of water and you could reuse them and use them as little wells for nail polish/nail art too! Make sure the nail you're putting it on is polished and fully dry! I recommend using lighter colors so you could see the decals nice and bright. 

Then using your fingers or the tweezers (depending on if you're doing them on yourself or someone else), gently slide the decal off. Make sure there's a bit of water on the nail so it could affix nicely. It will slide a bit on the nail, so you have a little bit of time to focus on placement but you don't want to agitate it too much. Once it's flat against the nail, make sure that the nail is dry at this point, and seal with a top coat. 

This was my first go with the decals:

My nails are a wreck because of work but I used Wet n Wild megalast nail polish in "SugarCoat" (comparable to Essie's "Ballet Slippers") as a base. My nails were stained from the previous week's mani (my fault, I'm not perfect)

They took my boring mani to the next level! Barbie blowing kisses on my nails. So perf!

This week:

I did a water marbling technique with 2 polishes (WNW megalast in "I Need A Refresh-Mint" and "Candy-Licious"), and decided to try a Barbie logo on the ring. It looks better in real life :) MY CUTICLES ARE HORRIBLE. Feel my pain *dies*

So as a whole, I love water decals because as I said, they are easy for the inexperienced and jazz up an ordinary manicure. The best thing about BornPrettyStore 's selection is that it's HUGE. The have tons of flowers, butterflies, gold things, lace, you name it. This particular set I believe is $3.99. Which is good considering you get a lot of stickers!

DON'T FORGET: If you use my super special unicorn-fabulous code for 10% off sitewide!

ZLLW10

ps. Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel Inc. and no copyright infringement intended.

REVIEW: BornPrettyStore nail stencils

Hey guys! 

Sorry my blog is so lame lately. I started a new job this past week and on top of me being busy, I also have a few family problems occurring this week. Not to mention, my nails are a wreck from stocking shirts and things so there won't be any studs or fancy things for a while, just polish.

If you guys remember last week or so, I received a package from Bornprettystore , which included these nifty nail stencils. I haven't been a fan of them in years prior, as the ones I have tried weren't that great. Luckily, my opinion has changed. 

Here's a pic from the last blog. I used the skull ones for this look.

First off, these aren't paper. Lots of stencils on the market are paper, which leads to tearing, smudging and sticking. These are made out of flexible plastic, and bend easily to fit the curvature of the nail. Only slight qualm is that some of the smaller details may be lost but its not that big of a deal. They are reusable too and come in various sizes.

What I do to apply them is I paint a base color first, then seal with a top coat. Usually you would wait then put the stencil on before top coat, but I find there's too much guesstimating as to when the polish is dry and if you put the stencil on when the polish is still sticky, the stencil will stick to the nail and you'll end up ripping off all the color. Better to be safe then sorry.

Once you get the stencil on, make sure it's as flat as possible. Then take your different color polish and lightly go over the stencil. You want a light stroke because if its too thick the paint will pool and muddle the design. Once you do that, wait about 30 seconds then gently pull the stencil off. Seal with  a thin layer of topcoat.

End result:

WARNING: horrible, beat up, retail worker cuticles ahead

 

Sinful Colors "24/7" over Wet and Wild's megalast color in "2% Milk"

As you can see, you can tell its a skull and crossbones. Perfect? No. Effective? Yes. If you want precision, try the konad system but for a few bucks, these are great and take your mani from ordinary to extraordinary!

Don't forget, I have a coupon code for 10% off at BPS by entering the code "ZLLW10" at checkout.

Hope you enjoyed!

REVIEW: More BornPrettyStore and a COUPON CODE!

Hey guys!

So the package I was talking about in my previous entry arrived this week!

I entered a contest with BornPrettyStore , and won, so this is a package that they sent me for free. It enclosed 3 pre-picked items for me to try, out of 3 options.

First item up:

This cute necklace! It reminded me of House of Harlow 1960. It's very good quality, minus the fact that one of the jumper rings came loose on first wear. However, I really like it and am fortunate to have nice blue pieces to wear with it :D

I also got a set of 5 nail stencils. I actually love all the patterns! Even the bass clefs (I'm a bass player in spare time). If you look on my Instagram , I tried out the Mickey ones and I'm quite pleased.

The final piece I received was a 5 piece acrylic brush set. I'm pretty sure these aren't for nails (but I shall try with the smaller brushes), but as an artist I'm very picky about brushes and was quite pleased with these. They are very soft, and the barrel is nice and tight so no hairs are shedding yet. The handles are of study plastic, not wood. Looking forward to trying these out in an art project soon!

As a whole, as I said in my previous review, I love this store. Yes it takes a while for your things to arrive, but the quality is second to none. It's good for all sorts of things, from nail art to cell phone cases and everything in between. I am very pleased with my items!

Here's a present for all of you! If you would like to purchase from Bornprettystore , I was given a special code for all my followers/viewers! It's for:

10% off any purchase--Doesn't expire!

Enter ZLLW10 at checkout :)

UPDATE: Nail Qualms, Things in the Making, and Articles

Hey Guys!

I'm sorry I haven't posted a decent blog for you in a long time. I just wasn't inspired enough to post! I didn't particularly like any manicures I did or anything, and had nothing to review for you because I'm broke :( An hour ago I broke my thumbnail, so I had to cut my nails down and I absolutely HATE short, square nails. When I have short square nails, I feel pathetic and defeated because I spend so much time growing them out and making them long and elegant, which I like. I get so many compliments on them, and now I don't feel as pretty and "complete" as I do with long ones. I know, superficial. I feel with square nails I don't care enough. I don't think ill be posting many tutorials and things until they're at a reasonable length to me.

On the upside, you guys remember bornprettystore.com ? Well I happened to win one of their giveaways so I shall be getting a package from them in the mail, and maybe something for you too! Hopefully within the next 2 weeks. I'm also working on a feature in a Lady Gaga fanzine, where I will be showing some of my nails as well as a tutorial for a recreation of one of Gaga's manicures. I will let you know when that comes out!

So that's where things are right now. I tend to post subpar manicures on my Instagram 

(I'm @killazilla)

Or follow me on twitter for a grand ol' time:

@stephzillanj

Let me know if you'd like me to tackle a specific post or manicure, I'm willing to try!