Fall make-up look and nail look ft. products by Born Pretty Store

After receiving many compliments on my Halloween look, I got inspired and decided to make another nail-face look.

This time with a fall theme.

Now, up front, I almost never wear make-up in my daily life.

Trying to get the kids ready for school is my No.1 priority, which leaves me with almost no time to even think about make-up.

On a good day I apply some foundation and a mascara :D

However, I do love make-up and my laptop is full with make-up inspirations/tutorials etc.

My make-up stash isn't bad either, if I may say so ;-)

I've received some goodies from Born Pretty Store for reviewing and after creating the nail look, I also used these products for my face look.

So, let's get started :D

I really wanted to show a new nail polish brand (Swedish) that I've discovered around here; IsaDora.

Here are some swatches of 791 Autumn leaves.

Picture taken in light box without flash

Picture taken in light box with flash

Autumn leaves is actually a wine color with goldish shimmer (micro glitter),

Almost opaque with 1 coat, which shows more of the purple color.

With 2 coats it leans to a brown. Pictures show 2 thin coats.

The flash picture suggests that there might be some multi colored and/or holo micro glitters too.

And believe me, this is a true beauty as soon as it hits light/sun.

Not disappointed at all (except for the price maybe €11,50/$14,39).

We still had some sunny days here in Holland and I felt this was the last chance to try one of my holo topcoats. 

I applied 1 coat of 12-12-2012 by Big City Nails (which is a Dutch Indie Brand).

Then I used one of the products that I've received from Born Pretty Store; 

Cute fall leaves water decals:

I'm not going through the whole process of how to apply water decals (if you are new to them, you can have a look at previous posts by me about water decals).

They were easy to use.

One note: They look best on a lighter background.

Above shows 1 coat of IsaDora 791 Autumn leaves, topped with 1 coat of Big City Nails 12-12-2012 (holo topcoat) and water decals by Born Pretty Store

The holo topcoat looks scattered on the picture but I actually saw a pretty linear holo in real life.

As I felt the darker background really didn't do the water decal justice, I also made a nail look with a lighter background.

Base color used: Catrice Limited Edition Crème Fresh C01 The Peach Boys.

Which look do you prefer?

On the accent nail you can see the other product that I've received from Born Pretty Store:

A 3D golden leaf decoration 

As you can see the leaf also has a little hole. 

With a small jump ring it could work perfect as a nail piercing jewel or even as a charm on a bracelet/necklace.

Now, for the face look you'll all be waiting for (of course ;-P)

Picture shows my hand with the first nail art in this post.

I've used the water decals on my cheek and some gold foil on the other one.

Around my hair line I've applied some decor fall leaves with hair wax.

I've used the 3D golden leave as a headlace.

Hope you like the look!

P.S. You can use my 10% off code when ordering by Born Pretty Store:

HUB10

Swatches, review & nail art Catrice limited edition Check & Tweed

Today I bring you Catrice limited edition Check & Tweed.

From left to right:

- C01 London Calling

- C02 England's Rose

- C03 Mind The Red!

- C04 Brit Chick

- C05 Hyde In The Park

Catrice: "Style Check. These colours with ultimate coverage are the ideal companions in the autumn season and an absolute must for stylish nails. Modern hunting green and grey-blue meet upon classic rusty red, camel and soft rosé - all with a pearly finish. The extra-broad reservoir brush captures just the right amount of polish needed for one nail and offers perfect results without streaks."

Swatches

Pictures are all taken outside without flash.

It showed the colors most truly but there are some irritating reflections/shadows in the pictures...try to not see them please  ;-P

C01 London Calling

London Calling is a grey-blue that could work great for jeans mani's.

C02 England's Rose

England's Rose would be the soft rosé color. For me it's a soft salmon color or a pinkish nude.

C03 Mind The Red!

Mind The Red! is a brown/red. I'm not sure if Catrice is describing this polish as being the rusty red or the camel color,

For me this color looks like the color of red brick.

C04 Brit Chick

Brit Chick is a dark brown with red and a bit of purple undertones. 

It reminds me of grapes.

C05 Hyde In The Park

Hyde In The Park is a forest dark green.

Review

Application:

Let's start with the worst and most frustrating part of this collection: the brush.

It's indeed extra-broad but the shape of the brush doesn't make apllication easy. 

This is not new for Catrice. The brushes have been like this for a while now but I still can't get used to it.

Coverage:

Let's say that the coverage totally makes up for the poor brush.

These were all one coaters! 

Or two thin coats as you please.

Colors:

Nothing really special.

The colors are prefect for fall!

My personal favorites are C01 London Calling and C05 Hyde In The Park.

Finish/effect:

Catrice is talking about a pearly finish. 

For me it's more a silver/metal shimmer.

Pearly is sweet. Metal is more rough and this is more rough IMAO.

The shimmer however is very subtle and with some lacquers more noticeable than with others.

Finish is not textured but not 100% smooth and glossy either.

All swatches are without topcoat but I do recommend the use of it as it makes the colors more vivid and shows the shimmer better.

Verdict:

Beautiful fall colors but for me it doesn't have the "WOW-factor".

Nail art

I had a beautiful tweed pattern in mind fo my nail art.

But after several attempts, I was done with it.

I ended up with something simular but not totally as I had imagined.

It's all free hand and with the use of the lacquers from this collection.

Swatches, review & nail art Essence Trend Edition Hello Autumn

Essence just came out with their new trend edition called "Hello Autumn".

With this collection Essence welcomes the autumn season with its beautiful golden sunshine and rustling leaves.

BeautiFALL!

The nail lacquers featured in this collection are all thermo nail polish and change color depending on the temperature.

But how many lacquers are in this collection?

The blog promo I received and the website as well show 5 lacquers.

So far I could only get my hands on 4 and haven't seen the 5th one anywhere.

The 4 lacquers I could get, are:

- 01 beauti-FALL red

- 02 meet my pumpkin

- 03 charlie seen in green

- 04 keep calm & go for a walk

And this would be the 5th lacquer:

- 05 autumn & the city

Well, you know me, if I can get my hands on the 5th lacquer anytime, I will update this post with it.

Review

I'm finally starting to love a good thermo polish. Especially with long nails cause it gives a perfect French manicure without any trouble.

These nail lacquers are so perfect for the fall season; great fall colors and the color change like fall leaves couldn't be found better.

I'm starting with the review so you won't be shocked when seeing the swatches :D

I had a lot of trouble catching the color change on camera. It was there in real life but subtle.

I experienced that my body temperature was low and it was a cold day as well...leaving me with mostly the "cold" color.

Holding my hand under warm water and resting my tips at some ice did show a bigger color change.

In the swatches you will see a subtle color change around the tips which was just slightly more visible in real life.

Now, if the bigger color change can only be achieved by holding your hand in hot water or a bucket full of ice...it isn't a strong thermo but my problem is that I can't really tell for sure.

Leaving you with my experience, I do have to say that even this subtle color change and simply the fall colors itself make this a beautiful fall collection.

For me all 4 are keepers!

Application was easy and these creme polishes were opaque with 2 coats.

Swatches

01 beauti-FALL red

02 meet my pumpkin

03 charlie seen in green

04 keep calm & go for a walk

Nail art

The first fall nail art is a fact.

And I tried something new for you!

Material:

- White nail polish

- Nail art brush

- Nail polish in fall colors (I of course used this collection)

- Scotch tape also known as magic/removable tape

- Pen or pencil or marker

- Scissors (preferably small and used for crafting)

- Tweezers

- Topcoat

Step 1:

Start with applying a white nail polish on all the nails. 

Let it dry completely and use a topcoat to speed up the drying time.

Step 2:

Place some pieces of tape (10 if you're going to do all 10 nails) on a flat surface. 

The pieces of tape can be as big as you want but around nail size is most handy.

Use a pen to draw fall leaves on the pieces of tape.

To prevent smudging and to make cutting easy, place another piece of tape on top of the drawed ones.

Step 3:

Use the scissors to cut out the fall leaves. 

And place the fall leave like a sticker on your nails.

Step 4:

Get your polishes and the nail art brush.

Paint small fall leaves around the outline of your sticker.

Wait for it to completely dry!!!

Step 5:

Use the tweezers or your nails to remove the stickers from your nails.

Step 6:

Apply topcoat to seal your design.

Day 255) Nail art squirrel

Loving fall nail arts!
Why? Well, mostly because it gives me new inspiration and ideas.
My challenge has many ups and downs.
Most important thing to keep me going is knowing what to make.
Seeking inspiration and not finding it, is killing.
It takes so much more time; time which at that point I want to use for my dear ones...

But enough with the chit chat, here is today's nail art