Let's Pretend It's Still Summer

It's definitely been cooling down in my part of Michigan; I had to wear a jacket this morning, which is a sure sign of fall. Despite the chill in the air, today I have a very summery look to share, thanks to nail art supplies that Born Pretty kindly sent me for review. I had a lot of fun with this, as it's a product I'd never tried on my nails before: dried flowers. Born Pretty sells these in sets of twelve colors, packaged in little screw top containers, which protect the delicate petals quite nicely. The assortment I got had a mix of small flowers and larger ones.







I wasn't too sure how using these would go. I worried they'd be too delicate and I'd rip them, or they'd stick up too much and annoy me. But I wouldn't know 'til I tried, so I got going. I wasn't sure which colors of the flowers I wanted to use, so I chose a base I thought would go with most of them, Milani Unique, a light yellow creme. Because it is light yellow, I wasn't surprised that it took four coats for full coverage. Once that was mostly dry, I started in with the flowers.





These were surprisingly easy to work with. I dabbed a bit of top coat (my standy, Sally Hansen Insta Dri) on my nail where I wanted to put the flower, then picked up the flower and put it down on the topcoat blob. I experimented with different approaches. What worked best for me with the smaller ones was wetting the flat end of an orange stick and tapping that on the top side of the flower to lift it; the larger ones I just gently pinched between my fingertips. On one finger, I placed the flower so parts of it extended past my nail edge and filed those off. Once they were in place, I put a layer of top coat over them, then poked down any sticking up bits with the sharp end of an orange stick to get them to lay flat, then added another layer of top coat.



I should have thinned my top coat before I did this, as I got some bubbles, but told myself that the bright flowers are distracting enough so you wouldn't really notice the bubbles. My macro setting saw them, though.



Once they were covered in top coat, they were smooth enough that they didn't bother me at all; I didn't notice them catching on my clothes or towels, and they lasted just fine through hand washing and even showering.

You can see these flowers on Born Pretty's site here. They cost $7.08 for one set, with quantity discounts available. Also, you can use code KARENDK31 you can get 10% off on any products from Born Pretty from now through October 31, 2011.

The dried flowers used for this entry were provided to me for free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider, and I get to keep the products for my own use.