Madam Glam Gel Matte Top Coat Review

**Press Sample**

Happy Friday everyone! Today I'll be reviewing a gel matte top coat from Madam Glam. It comes in a different bottle than their regular SOG's. It's a cylindrical bottle shape and it's 10ml instead of the usual 15ml. Here I used Madam Glam gel Cherry Party and stamped using MoYou London Mandala 02 in Mundo de Unas Black.

I used 1 coat of top coat on my nails that I didn't stamp and 3 coats on my stamped nails (I always topcoat before stamping and do 2 after to protect the design). Don't do what I did. I had THE. HARDEST. TIME. removing this mani! The nails I topcoated once took about twice as long as it usually takes me, but the ones with 3 coats of TC were not budging and I had to scrape and file off.

Aside from my removal nightmare, the formula was pretty thick. It felt like a glue type of consistency and it took a little effort to work with it. The matte effect looked great though! If I were to use this again I would definitely just do 1 coat of this topcoat and that's it (and I'd probably have to go sans nail art). You can purchase this product here for $19.95.

Gold stamping over Matte Black

Hi lovelies! I started school again this week which was no fun, but that just means I'm another week closer to graduating. Today I have some gold stamping over matte black. I was inspired from a notebook I saw in a post from Makeup and Beauty blog. I love when I see something and immediately have a nail idea pop into my head. It happens a lot, but I forget most of my ideas probably because I know I won't have time to execute them all.

For this mani I used China Glaze Liquid Leather and then topped it off with Essie Matte About You. Then I stamped using MoYou London Pro 01 and Konad M59 in Mundo de Unas Gold. I just placed another order from Mundo de Unas and I can't wait to get all my new stamping polishes next month so I can do more color combinations especially for the upcoming Spring and Summer months!

Born Pretty Store--Stud Combination Wheel Review

Good afternoon lacqueristas. Today I have a stud combination wheel from Born Pretty Store to review for you. The wheel comes with 12 different kinds of studs ranging from different shapes, sizes, and colors. I was able to create several different manicures with these. I included some new manicures and a couple old ones in which I used studs from this nail wheel.

China Glaze Sun of A Peach and China Glaze I Herd That with some gold bar studs

I really love how these turned out!

Here's an old one I posted here

Here's the mani I posted yesterday and am currently wearing

I used OPI A Definite Moust Have and OPI Black Onyx and mattified them with Essie Matte About You

Sorry for the weird angle, but here's an idea of the different sizes that come in the wheel

Here's one of the larger studs and I will not be using.

I was able to create a lot of different manicures and I will be using this again in the future as it gives me plenty of options. One thing I didn't like is that the wheel I received has 2 different studs than the one shown in the photo on Born Pretty's site. I purchase a lot of things online and I really rely on the photos to be accurate of the item. Another thing is that some of the studs in here are too big for use so I won't be using every item in the wheel. You can purchase this item here for $3.99. Use my code: NV7X31 to get 10% off your purchase. 

OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons & Konad Q1

Happy 2nd birthday to my blog! I'm having a giveaway for a $20 Born Pretty Store gift certificate. You could enter my giveaway here. I didn't have time to make a special blog birthday manicure, but here's one I did a few weeks ago that I've been saving for today. I used OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons and stamped using Konad Q1 in Konad Black. The black polish I used for my ring finger and to make the dots is OPI Black Onyx and I mattified it on my ring finger with MASH Matte Polish. 

MASH Nails Matte Top Coat Review

Happy Saturday! Today I have a matte top coat from MASH Nails to show you. I haven't often used matte polish because it doesn't last as long as a shiny manicure for me, but this one faired very well! I tried it over my Hello Kitty mani and then also tried stamping over it in black for a subtle look. I wore each one for a whole day, was pretty rough on them, and had no chipping, only minimal tip wear. This matte topcoat makes any polish, even with a shiny topcoat, flat and gives it a slight sheen. Having a matte topcoat is way cheaper than buying a bunch of different matte polishes on their own, plus it's nice for anyone who wants a change from the common shiny topcoat or create an edgy monochrome look with stamping.

Here is my Hello Kitty mani with a regular shiny topcoat...

...and here it is with MASH nails matte topcoat. 

Regular black polish with MASH matte topcoat.

Matte stamped in MASH Black stamping polish using MASH 41. 

I didn't use any topcoat on this after stamping because it will make everything shiny and the image will fade away.

This polish was really easy to use and it works right away. If you decide to use it over a stamped image like what I did over Hello Kitty, make sure you use a regular topcoat first. I tried doing a new stamping mani with the MASH matte topcoat and the image smeared like crazy. 

MASH Matte Top Coat is available at www.mashnails.com for $7.99 and right now there's free shipping (for a limited time).

***This product was sent for review***

China Glaze Stone Cold and Red Angel 121

Hi lovelies! As of today I'm officially on Spring Break. Yay, I get to play with nail polish all week! Lol. Anyways, here's the first polish used from the Hunger Games Collection. I bought the whole collection so it was hard for me to decide which one to use first. I used China Glaze Stone Cold as a base and stamped using Red Angel 121 in Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep. I added some dots using Silver Sweep.

Valentine's Conversation Hearts

Hi everyone! I did these a a few weeks back because I knew when school came around I wouldn't have time to do that many different manis for Valentine's Day. I got this idea from Leslie at Polish Art Addiction. I'm pretty sure everyone has eaten this candy at least once for Valentine's Day. I can't remember what I used as a base color (oops!), but I stamped using Nail Art Diva plate From the Heart 1 in China Glaze Lemon Fizz, China Glaze Re-fresh Mint, China Glaze Something Sweet, China Glaze Peachy Keen, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lively Lilac. I did use a dotting tool to go over the colors and make them more opaque. The red wording is stamped with the same plate using Nail Art Diva polish in Heartfelt Red. I got the Nail Art Diva plate and polish from Rebecca's 600 follower giveaway last year, but waited until the right occasion to use it =] I mattified them after with Essie Matte About You because the candies are actually matte and chalk like.

OPI Black Onyx and Nfu-Oh #49

Hi everyone! Short post today. I've been seeing so many flakies lately and I have yet to get my hands on some of the newer ones, so I decided to wear one I have already to satisfy my flakie craving! I used O.P.I. Black Onyx as a base and used one coat of Nfu-Oh #49. I also added one coat of Essie Matte About You to see what it looks like matte. Enjoy!

Matte Black Leopard Print

Hi lovelies! Today I have a pretty cool leopard design to show you. I don't know if anyone else uses Instagram (if anyone wants to follow me on there my username is heartnat24), but sometimes there are little nail contests and if I have time I like to enter them. I entered these nails for a copycat contest so hopefully I make it to the finalists. Anyways I used O.P.I. Black Onyx as a base and then used Essie's Matte About You topcoat. Lastly I used a small dotting tool dipped in topcoat to draw the leopard print. Pretty cool huh?