Broadway Nails BRIGHT NEON ORANGE (Totally Busted)

You think I'm kidding.

I received these for free in the mail from influenster for being a top influenster on the last Kiss product/Broadway imPRESS nails VoxBox that I reveiwed here with my bff, Allie. These photos are really coral btw, but we tried on two or three devices to get accuracy and this is the closest. They are much more orange and less pink in real life.

^^Colour accurate^^

As usual, these took Allie ten minutes to apply, she did it in the car on our way out and wore them for the next week. She gets the best use of them too because when one falls off she glues it back on and she's been keeping all of them so that next time she needs some fancy nails she has selection!

Thanks Allie!

Influenster: A Review

Hi everyone! Tiff's kind of taken over the last few weeks while exam crunch has kept me busy with students all over the place. There are some things to look forward to here of course! The release of I Love Nail Polish ultra chrome flakies is the biggest one I can think of, but I've also got some nice swatches planned and some inspired nail art in the works. I've been sitting on some of my photos for the last month with just no time to get a post together.

Luckily, Influenster will put me back in the habit. I've got the opportunity to be a "Blog Star" which means I will get more products from them in exchange for my honest review. I've already received a couple VoxBoxes from them before, and actually been the winner of the extra brand goodies for doing the extra activities. I'm just going to take a moment and show you what they've sent my way the last few years that I've been a member.

I have repeatedly been sent Kiss and Broadway Nails products and I love them. For the full reviews, just click the photos!

Kiss Nail Dress

I also really like that they send me more than one design. With my box in May, my friend and I got to have a girly night in with our press-ons. She found they were her favourite thing by the way, and now owns nail glue and even more press-ons.



My extra prize for doing all the VoxBox activities was more designs in my mail box. I love nail mail :D

I got my first Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes in a Canadian VoxBox earlier this year!



And my participation won me a Sally Hansen gel manicure kit with the UV light ($69.99 at Target last time I checked). That was super cool!

So my personal experience so far with influenster has been extremely positive. I mean, who doesn't love getting free stuff in the mail? Aside from that though, I like telling people about the things I've been using that I like and would be writing reviews regardless of whether I was guaranteed free stuff for it and I think that is the trick with the VoxBoxes.

Sally Hansen Salon Gel Polish Starter Kit (won from Influenster)

Oh my gosh I swear I have been doing nail-y things but this post has been so long coming because I really wanted to have it tested out before I posted anything! I won a Gel Polish Starter Kit from Influenster when I participated in their Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure VoxBox and I was SO EXCITED to get this in the mail, not the least of which because it was a complete surprise. I also have tried it twice before posting so you get the benefit of both times.

Initial impressions are good! I took everything out of the box  and everything fits back in really easily. Read the instructions! When you plug the light in it turns on right away for about a minute so be careful and try not to look directly at it.

Doing my nails this way goes much much faster than with normal nail polish because dry time is 30 seconds. That might have been my favourite part, hah.

So this first set of pics... I did one layer of each and it looked fine in real life but my camera clearly didn't think so and it appeared super patchy. I assure you it did not look like this when I looked at it but live n learn. Oh! And this is Red My Lips, of which I also have the CSM version from the VoxBox.

^It looked more like that^

I did my toes too... (Sorry feet pics, even I don't really want it here...)

So that was the first time. After about two days I peeled it off and it came off really easily and all at once, which is nice BUT I expected it to last much longer when it's advertised for "up to 2 weeks". Toes still going though.

About four days later I painted again and this time I did two coats of red after the base coat and one coat of topcoat after. It looked way better in photographs and I had gotten better at using the lamp and getting everything done.

The photos below are after two days of wear and I can't see any chipping or tipwear.... and they're so SHINY.

About three days after THAT (5 days since application) I got a chip on my middle finger of my right hand.

A day after that I started peeling =P The pinky was ready anyway because I had applied incorrectly o something and the side was bumpy and shriveled and therefore easy to pick up and grab onto.

Left hand is still good though! (I'm lefthanded too, go figure the right would go first)

The next day I'd peeled them all off, giving this a total of one week which for me is a really really long time. I'm pretty impressed and the only thing preventing me from doing more gel nails is the lack of colours I own. Also, I don't think there's too much glitter and stuff for gels, so I'm not sure I will ever completely switch over BUT for someone that likes to get their nails done in solid colours I think this is a good investment (but pricey yes). Retails at Target for $69.99 last I checked but bottles of gel polish make good gifts so building a collection may not be as bad as it would be for me.

Anyway, there you are! Thanks for reading this whole long post! Have you tried gels? How do you find an at home kit compares to going to a salon and getting them done?

Influenster VoxBox: Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

Happy Saturday! Time for another Influenster VoxBox! This will be my second one that includes the imPRESS press-on manicures. I have a bit more experience now so this should work better and not pinch =3

So there's two sets and there's a couple ways you could play this. You could do your nails twice, once with each package. You could also mix n match and do some accent nails in different combinations... or...

YOU COULD HAVE A FRIEND :D

BLAST FROM THE PAST (circa 2007)

HI ALLIE. We've done our nails together and you'll get both our perspectives. Two-for-one, influenster!

So we've got two and it's a super easy choice because I am in LOVE with the lace design and the other one has Allie's name on it basically ("Disney Villains" ;D love ya girl).

Here we go!

Fun fact: these nails were done in the middle of our local park with nothing but the things included in these little imPRESS kits.

I took the nice fancy lacy one  called Holla!...

This worked much, much better than the last time I tried an imPRESS set! I like the design a lot more, I managed to match the sizes up to my nails a lot better this time and maybe I just knew what to expect a little more this time too!

I lasted a full two days before my fiddling interfered with the index and thumbs. Those got pulled off. The last three fingers however are still going strong four days later and in their entirety they did not interfere with life. I'm just a picker. Sorry, fakies. Did I mention I really love this design?

UPDATE: As you can probably tell I wrote this review over several days. I initially applied the nails Wednesday early afternoon and picked off the thumbs and index fingers Thursday night (past midnight). On Friday night I forgot I had an event (The Giggle Dam in PoCo, highly recommend!) and so I pulled out the rest of the pack of nails, managed to find four more nails that fit my index fingers and thumbs and had a full set of glorious nails once again. I think they actually fit better the second time actually. The other three nails per hand are still going strong. The ones I am worst about picking off are actually the thumb and index on my right hand and the difference between those and all the rest of my fingers is that the nails has quite a downward slope at the tip (eg they are curved longitudinally as well as laterally). If you've got any nails like that keep in mind that the tip of the fakie will be quite detached from the tip of your own nail. Doesn't show from normal view but if you're like me you'll poke at it a lot.

PS I applied those four on Friday in a moving vehicle, no problems whatsoever. I wasn't driving! Don't do this while driving k! It had to be said.

BONUS OOTD feat. imPRESS (with my neon yellow heels!)

***

The second set that Influenster sent me is from their Disney Villains collection called Evil Queen and the dark duochrome was perfect for Allie, who expressed that she had wanted to try fake nails! This was her first time doing it and we both took our time to make sure we picked properly fitted nails and setting them out before starting to peel off the backing (pinkies first!). We battled some windy weather for a bit but *drumroll*...

TA DAA~ Look at those beauties! Allie says her first impressions are good! It took a little bit to match up sizes but application was super easy and the result is nails that look finished and professionally done. (I will add how long these lasted her here so come back if you're curious! As far as I know they're still on from Wednesday afternoon to today (Saturday morning))

Posing like a pro!

I remember one of my complaints from last time was that it was hard to type but I did the majority of this post with my nails on and haven't given it a second thought. Clearly my last less-than-glowing impression was a result of improper sizing resulting in pinching on my cuticle which is definitely user-error and not a reflection on the product itself. Go figure! Goes to show the amateur-pros are still not perfect :)

Overall a positive experience and one I was very, very glad to have the opportunity to share with my friend <3 Thanks influenster! And thanks, Allie for humouring me and trying these out!

Kiss Nail Dress Vintage Inspired

Ahhhh it's been so long! I'm sorry! I've been doing my nails and taking photos but not posting. It was actually a busy couple of weeks. I got my N (Novice Driver's License) on the first try, I got Standard First Aid & CPR-C/AED training and I started some craft projects that I am REALLY excited to shove down all y'all's throats as soon as it doesn't have to be a surprise for my friends ;D

Anyway, enough of that! I have today a nail strip set from Kiss! I actually won it from Influenster as a prize for being in the Top 20% while reviewing a VoxBox. Basically I whore out my social media the most ;D I haven't really gotten any complaints (yet!)and it's usually quite Blahg-relevant.

Okay! So these are the second brand  and set of nail strips (OMG Nail Strips! is the first) I've tried and they're just as easy as they advertise. The ones I was sent are sparkly, glittery silver that remind me a lot of Julep Mila (but that one was far more sparkly... sorry Kiss).

So I did these when I have ten minutes to get out the door. To do them carefully you probably need closer to 15 and maybe 20 if it's your first (or second, heh) time. One of the things I didn't do which I learned from doing an imPRESS manicure is actually that wiping your nails with an alcohol wipe before applying glue things will make them stick better, so if you want these to last I really recommend that.

The instructions are super simple! Pick your size by matching up the strip with your nail bed against your cuticle, peel it off and stick it down. Use your fingers to smooth it down all the way to the tips and then just use a nail file (it comes with a little bitty one... it's fine but your own will be better) to trim off the excess right against your nail tips for the perfect fit!

Topcoat unnecessary and I recommend not using any as these feel thick already without adding another layer.

They look great! Off I went to do some shopping!

I saw these in one of the stores! I didn't buy them because they were Toms and WAY over-budget but what a fun coincidence haha!

What is your favourite brand and design of nail strips?

PS: I used these photos to do an eBay guide as part of a virtual Influenster Vox! Check it!

Brace yourselves, Valentine's Day is coming....

TOMORROW! Hurrah! The first of the Valentine's nail art posts! I kept this one subtle since I actually had it on my nails at the end of January. I started with Sally Hansen CSM Pat on the Black and then, using just the brush from another of my Sally Hansens (Cruel Heart) I stroked on a heart!

Without proper light it was difficult to see, but this was perfect. I decided I wanted to hollow it out though, so I carefully filled in the middle with Pat on the Black again.

This lasted about a week! I love hearts. I may do another hearts design before Valentine's. Have you seen any good ones yet this year? Feel free to link me here or on my Facebook page!