studs | Nail Smiles

One of my friends all the way back from high school had her wedding reception this past weekend so I decided to do a simple white pearl manicure with heart accents to honor the festivities. I achieved the shimmery white by using one coat each of three different polishes listed below. The adorable gold hearts are from the stud set I previously spoke about from BornPrettyStore.com.

Halfway through the week I opted to refresh the manicure by painting different China Glaze polishes on each hand. The left hand got two coats of CG Seashell while the right hand got two coats of CG’s Holographic Not in This Galaxy. I love how Seashell looks; it is painted over the white so I’m not sure how that influenced the color, but it’s a “just right” color for me….and it’s very shiny.

The other CG polish has very fine holographic particles so it is quite subtle (not really noticeable indoors, sunlight really does the trick for this one). When inside, it looks more like a metallic polish, when outside you can see the full holo spectrum.

I have to say the consistency of both these polishes was great (not thick) and the brush was high quality and thin for accurate application. Even though it’s September I feel like I have February Valentine nails going this week!

Polishes Used:

Seche Vite Base Coat
Sally Hansen Satin Slipper (for the original white manicure)
Jesse’s Girl Firefly (for the original white manicure)
Ulta Diva (for the original white manicure)
China Glaze Seashell
China Glaze Holographic Not In This Galaxy
Poshe Top Coat

CONGRATULATIONS LIESA AND JOHN! I WISH YOU MANY YEARS OF JOY AND HAPPINESS…and beautiful nails 🙂

What a beautiful bride!

I feel like playing Mario Brothers after doing this manicure – am I dating myself? This design makes me think of princesses, specifically Princess Peach; obviously the pinkish color contributes to the thought, but I think the gold studs (especially the diamond shaped stud) actually remind me of a crown.

https://nailsmiles.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/fdcbb-princess-peach_420_1194999440.jpg

What is Princess Peach doing in this photo?!

This manicure is done with Covergirl’s Timeless Rubies polish. This is the first time I’ve bought their stuff and I’d say the color itself is great. I don’t think these pictures do the color justice and it was such a busy week that I didn’t make the time to shoot photos in different lighting for the best effect (these photos were actually taken in the parking lot of my work).

It’s a combination of a shimmery look, a bit metallic and a bit of a duochrome as well. Depending on the lighting orange and gold pops out from the pink, and even a bit of grayish blue? The brush was fine and the polish was thin enough to control the two coats I did; not sure if a third coat would make much of a difference. I didn’t get any big chunks chipping off, but the tips did start to wear pretty fast within the first few days.

The studs I used are from BornPrettyStore.com and they’re a pretty good deal for over 200 pieces. They have a bunch of other really cute stud options including a new set of colored dots. When my set arrived it was a bit messed up from the transport so the tiny dots were everywhere (see below), but it actually only took a few minutes to fix and organize.

After almost a full week of wear all the studs are still stuck to my nails and they don’t get caught on anything. I was impressed with how well the larger diamond shaped studs curved to fit my nail (which I’ve found can be an issue when attaching larger accessories). I’m excited to play around with the other shapes and get some creative designs! Use code EAG10 for 10% off an order at their online store!

Polishes Used:

Seche Vite Base Coat
Covergirl Outlast Timeless Rubies (2 coats)
Pinky tip has China Glaze Angel Wings (which is gorgeous/holographic and you can’t tell from the photo)
Poshe Top Coat