Born Pretty Store 3D Nail Appliques

Hello again lovelies! I thought you might like to see some actual nails today!

A few weeks ago I received these really cool Nail Appliques from Born Pretty Store. They're different sized clear rhinestones set in a clear Applique. They immediately reminded me of raindrops, and I knew I needed to try these out over polish. I chose Bettina Orchidae, a gorgeous soft, pastel teal as my base color.

Now, I'm not sure if these are actually meant to go over polish,  but I did love the final look. I do need to mention the my lighting tends to make the applique ALOT more visible that it is IRL. In person, you can't see the clear parts of the sticker at all. It really is just my lighting, and I really want to make that clear.

This is what my nails looked like when I was done. I chose to keep Orchidae on her own on 3 fingers, and used the Appliques as double accent nails. This is before I  applied top coat as well.

Again, let me mention that these do not look as obvious IRL. My lighting shines right through them and made them seem less transparent. Once I added top coat, they looked even better - smoother and clear. (but I had killed my camera battery by then!)

I do love the way these looks, and I really want to try these on bare nails.  It's a fast and easy way to give your mani some bling without having to hand place rhinestones or studs.

The Appliques:
At first I thought these were stiff, since they are on a very stiff plastic backing. I was pleasantly surprised when I removed the first one from the backing and found that they are actually quite thin, flexible, and stretchy. You do need to be careful not to pop off the Rhinestones while you are pulling them from the backing, but that only seemed to happen at the far end. These come in a pack of 16, in a few different sizes.

Application:
I was really amazed at how easy these are to use! Once I removed the strip from the backing, I set the strip onto my nail, slid it around until it was aligned, smoothed it down and removed the excess from the tip. To remove the excess, all I had to do was tug on the free end of the strip, and the excess just popped right off! No need to mess with filing the edges, which appeals to me because I don't like anything that removes portions of my free edge. They also fit pretty well considering my insane C-Curve!

Overall I really like these! I've never really been much of an Applique fan due to the filing of the excess, but I really like these!! I'll be wearing these as accent nails often!

You can find there on Born Pretty Store's website, listed under Item ID: 4550 or by clicking here. Packs of 16 retail for $5.37 and there are 10 different designs to choose from. Born Pretty Store also carried tons of nail art supplies, Nail polish and stamping supplies so be sure to check it out! Make sure to use the code below to save 10% off your order!

Are you a fan of Appliques? What are your faves?

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2012 Mani

Good morning lovelies! Today's post is one of my more serious posts, but it is an important topic. Please take a moment to check out the links and share with others.

Today marks the 14th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. A somber topic, I know, but it's one that needs to be shared. I have lived my life, and raised my children to believe, that hate in any form is wrong. That nobody, regardless of race, religion, sexual preference or gender identity should ever be made to feel bad because they are who they are. Nothing upsets me more than to see or hear about someone being mistreated simply for being themselves. This is NEVER okay. I've read that every 72 hours a Transgendered person is murdered. And for what? Because some hatemonger doesn't understand it? There are so many things in life that I don't understand, but I'm not going to kill someone over it. This is unnecessary and downright evil. It has to stop.

I've known several transgendered people in my life. All of which were some of the greatest people I have ever met. It takes a lot these days to be who you are, and each of every one of them was proud, and strong. We take our ability to be ourselves so openly for granted. Every day transgendered people around he world experience prejudice and hate, solely because society as a whole has an innate inability to understand anything that they themselves have not experienced. How hard is it to understand that those that are transgendered simply do not feel comfortable in their own skin as the gender that the universe chose for them? Who you were born as on the outside does not always match the person on the inside, and I cannot imagine trying to live life as something you are not. We always preach that we should be true to ourselves and be who we are, right? Why is it any different for a select group? Intolerance seriously chaps my ass.

Today several of us have banded together, with the incredible Lacquer Lad at the helm, to show our support for Transgender Day of Remembrance the way the us nail bloggers know best - through a manicure.

I took my inspiration from a photograph I found at UR Pride Centre. It resonated with me and I really wanted to translate it onto my nails. Unfortunately, disaster struck! I ran out of tape, so my lines are all wonky. The colors I chose ended up being not so opaque, so my mani is a bit thick and kinda lumpy. But because I believe in this day, I'm posting it. An imperfect mani for an imperfect world.  And an imperfect world we shall remain until everyone is free to be themselves openly without fear.

So my Transgendered friends, this one's for you. May the world stop being asshats, and may we take this day to remember those that have lost their lives for nothing more than being true to who they are.

The image that I used for Inspiration can be found here. I didn't want to blatantly steal it :)

And my poor, less than stellar manicure. Damn you empty roll of tape! :)

The blue, pink, and white stripes are in the order of the Transgender Pride Flag. The Purple is for remembrance, and the symbol on my accent nail is the Transgender Symbol. If you take a peek at the image I used for inspiration, you'll see exactly what I was going for here.


For this poor, uneven manicure (lol!) I started with a base of Bettina Grape. Then I added the Center Stripe with Bettina Haze, and the white stripe (where I ran out of tape!) with Finger Paints Paper Mache. then I made the diagonal lines with Orly Charged Up. As a final touch, I added the Transgender Symbol in Black. I love the idea, but my execution isn't stellar. IRL the imperfections aren't obvious, but we all know how macro mode is. I really wanted this mani to be perfect. I hope you all like it anyway.

So today, take a moment to remembered those that were taken from this earth for doing nothing more than being who they truly are. And imagine what it would be like if *YOU* were treated like that for being who you are.

Be sure to check out all the bloggers participating today:







Thanks for stopping by and Happy 14th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance!
-Kimber