Comparison; Nails Inc - Belgravia and China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

Yea I know, maybe not the right season. But while I'm at it, a comparison between Nails Inc - Belgravia and China Claze - There's Snow One Like You. Both are white texture polishes as you can see.

Nails Inc - Belgravia 

• Jelly with sparse on texture, white hexagons and prismatic hexagons(which never look prismatic on the nail).
  
• 4 coats (needed 5 on some nails).
  
• Very difficult application, almost fishing for the texture and there is some dabbing needed to not get bald spots. In general less textured and not as "tipex white" as TSOLY.
  
• Drying time is about 35-45 minutes. Quite similar to TSOLY, but I guess the many coats increase the drying time.
  
• Cost; about $11 (CAD) (At the time I bought it, it was comparable to about 8 euro)

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

• Jelly/crelly filled with texture and white matte hexagon glitter.
  
• 2 coats
  
• Also difficult application, the formula is thick and "lumpy" with the texture/glitter, however much easier than Belgravia. Much more textured and more white than Belgravia.
  
• Drying time is about 30 minutes which is normal for textures (imo).
  
• Cost; about $4 (US) (At the time I bought it, it was comparable to about 4 euro)

Nails Inc - Belgravia

Nails Inc - Belgravia

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

So, overall I prefer China Claze - There's Snow One Like You. I know it has more of a cottage cheese feel or like really fluffy new fallen snow, but I like that. Also, TSOLY is half the price of Belgravia, and also TSOLY need half the amount of coats, which should mean that it would last twice as long (if any one would empty a bottle..). I didn't experience any major tip wear with any of them (however I wrapped the tips) but the only thing I didn't like with both of them is that the "texture balls" are gray toned plastic (as for all textures, but here it shows more). After a couple of days wearing for both TSOLY and Belgravia the gray plastic shows a tiny bit after some wear and tear (since there's no top coat), and makes the white look a bit "dirty" in an unpleasant way. Belgravia beeing less white from the beginning has an disadvantage there.

So, do you have any of these?  Which one do you prefer? Do you even like matte textures? ;)

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Nails Inc - Belgravia, swatch

Wow, totally thought this was a white glitter jelly, and was surprised to see that it was a texture polish. This is a polish I bought in Canada at Sephora and I didn't do any research before.. Generally I like textures, matte like these is my favorite. but the formula and application was horrible here. Basically it's a jelly filled with prismatic hexagons and white matte glitter, and a few texture particles, because that is an issue, I've never ever before been forced to fish for texture! But that was the case here and with dabbing and fishing and almost placing, and avoid drips due to the super thin formula, the VNL was covered and I settled after 4 coats..

The result looks pretty decent, but some nails on my right hand should have needed a 5th coat in retrospect. The prismatic glitter doesn't look prismatic on the nail and if you're looking for a snow like white texture I'd recommend China Glaze - There's Snow One Like You, which is tricky to applicate but still miles better in application than this, CG - TSOLY also only needs 2 coats.

Bougth at Sephora for way too much money..or well at least $11.

I saw that this was/is part of a collection called "Beaded Polish" and that there where other colors too, like baby blue. But When knowing how horrible this was I'll pass.

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I Think Posh Would Rock This Nails Inc. Victoria, Victoria Beckham Color Blocking

There's a new collaboration in the nail world, and it is fantastic. Victoria Beckham teamed up with Nails Inc. to release two new shades that draw inspiration from her Victoria, Victoria Beckham SS15 collection: Judo Red and Bamboo White. They don't come cheap, but I think they are worth your consideration. Let's talk why.

The first selling point? The bottles are AMAZING. If you are a sucker for packaging like I am, you will go bananas over these bottles. The matte black and matte white finishes feel soft to the touch. The bottles are incredibly weighty and feel like they are of a very high quality. The design features a removable overcap with a smaller round brush underneath, and the brush itself is very wide (which I personally love in a brush).

And, lest you're worried about not seeing the polish color, they've cut out a handy window on the sides of the bottles for peeking.

Okay, so the bottles are nice. But what about the formula?

It's totally, really great.

For this blocked nail art, I started out with a base of Bamboo White. As I applied my first coat, I actually gasped in happiness. It goes on remarkably smoothly and evenly, and covers perfectly in just two coats. It's really shiny too, for those of you (crazy people) that don't use topcoat.

Judo Red tells the same tale. Here it is alone at two coats, no topcoat. It leans heavily towards orange, without being unflattering.

As I said, the only downside to these is the price. At $25 per polish or $45 for the duo, they are expensive (especially for shades that you might already have dupes for in your collection). However, the amazing formula and quality bottle design make these worth a second look for the avid collector or luxury lover.

US residents can pick these up from Nails Inc. and Sephora. UK residents can shop via Selfridges.

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Watercolored Roses and a Textured Accent

I have been struggling a little with inspiration lately, as you may have noticed from my lack of posts! I'll discuss this more at the end of the post if you're interested, but for now let's talk about this nail art. What's an uninspired gal to do? Florals, of course! Nothing super groundbreaking here, but I am happy with the way they came out and I love the textured accent nail. Read on for more details about how I did this manicure.

The base of this manicure is OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, which is one of my favorite nude shades.

I added some loose rose shapes using a technique that I first saw on Mr. Candiipants' YouTube channel -- it is kind of a mix of the watercolor technique with regular freehand painting. They looked really awesome but then I covered them up with the petal detailing (oops). The polish I used is Nails Inc. St. Martin's Lane, which I don't see on it's own at Sephora but is available in the Autumn/Winter Collection. Next, I mixed it with white for the petal details and painted them over the top.

I also used the same technique to add leaves with China Glaze Exotic Encounters. I gave the leaves some depth by mixing the shade with black and watercoloring that on as well.

The final step was to add the accent nail of Zoya Chita on my thumb.

It's funny that most of my floral designs almost always turn out as full nail patterns -- not sure why that is! The textured accent nail is a nice breather from the intensity of the floral pattern and I think it adds a lot to the completed manicure.

What do you think? Too early for florals or a good break from all the wintery holiday designs?

So as I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I have been struggling with inspiration lately. I'm not sure what it is; maybe it's a combination of some real life things that have happened lately, the holidays, and consistently blogging for three years now... It's hard to go go go and then keep going, you know? Especially since this blog is something that I maintain in my free time (outside of my full time job). I have been trying to let myself take a break, but that's hard too. I love blogging and doing nail art and to be stuck in this weird place is frustrating.

I am working on some ways to shake things up for the new year, and hopefully that will help to get me over this hump. If you guys have any suggestions for things you'd like to see or thoughts you'd like to share, please feel free to comment below or email/tweet/Facebook/Instagram me. All my social links can be found in the bar at the very top of the page.

As always, I am so thankful to have you guys around. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!

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31DC2013 Day 10: Nails Inc. Leather Gradient

Would you believe me if I told you that I'm running a touch late with today's post because I had too many gradient options to choose from? And would you continue to believe me if I told you that I rejected them all, opting to do a new manicure when I got home from work?

I'd believe me, if I were you! Gradients rock, so I prepared a multitude of manis yesterday. None of them were quite what I wanted, but I had an idea I was very excited about on the way back from work today.

I got started right away on my leather gradient!

For this look I used two Nails Inc. Leather Effect polishes. The bone colored shade is Nails Inc. Clerkenwell, while the black leather polish is Nails Inc. Noho.

These polishes are textured, but not as textured as Liquid Sand or PixieDust. It's a subtle effect that I really enjoy, & it does look pretty leathery, I've gotta say. I picked up both polishes from Sephora.

I began with a base of Clerkenwell, and then sponged both shades over the top for a blended effect. I used Liquid Palisade to protect my cuticles and make cleanup faster and easier. Overall it was a pretty simple and quick manicure with a neat final effect!

What do you think of this leathery look?

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My gradient nails from 2012!
My gradient nails from 2011!

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What I've been wearing lately... Vol. III

Hey guys. Just a quick little post today with some random manicures that I've been wearing lately. My posting might be a little sporadic for the next week or so as I play catch up on some work and personal things. I appreciate your patience!

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Depend 313. The second I applied this one it skyrocketed into my top 5 favorite polishes. The teal shimmer is VERY prominent and the purple was delightfully deep at three coats. Unfortunately this is an international polish, so it's probably not the easiest thing to get your paws on. A special thanks to miss Smashley Sparkles for including this baby in the swap we did.

Candeo Colors Oceania over OPI Suzi's Hungary Again! Love the combo of the tealy glitters with the salmon base.

Different Dimension Vervain. This is three coats. The white looks more dense in this photo than it does in person... in real life I found it to be delightfully deep and creamy.

HARE Polish Holiday Hoopla sandwiched between layers of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! This combo reminded me of the topside of peppermint bark.

Pretty and Polished Stay Classic over American Apparel Downtown LA. Downtown LA is my favorite red creme that I own and it looks so beautiful paired with this lovely glitter.

Nails Inc. Whitehall Teal. Magnetic polishes seemed to come and go pretty quickly, but I really enjoyed wearing this the other day. Magnetics just have so much depth to them, and the teal color is gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed this roundup! I'll try to be back as soon as I can with another post. In the meantime, which of these looks is your favorite?

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Hex Nail Jewelry (+ Giveaway - CLOSED)

A little bit ago, I started seeing some chatter on Instagram about this new company called Hex Nail Jewelry. I was intrigued and went to go check out their shop. Immediately enamored with their reusable 3D gold plated nail charms, I got in touch with Brenda and Melissa, the two sisters behind Hex. I asked them if they would be interested in partnering up with Chalkboard Nails for a giveaway, and luckily they agreed! But we'll get to that at the end. Let's take a look at what I created with some of Hex's charms!

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This was the first look that I created. I had just received my bottle of Nails Inc Noho, a black leather polish, so I clearly had to incorporate it into the manicure too! The sexiness of the leather called for the addition of red, so I grabbed American Apparel Downtown LA. BUT I DIDN'T STOP THERE! I also added a coat of Wet N Wild Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night to the red nails, tying them in with the black.

The finishing touch was the Hex Nail Jewelry Bow Charm. They offer two sizes of bow charms -- this is the larger one. I attached it with nail glue and it added just the right amount of sweetness to the sexiness.

This magical manicure has only three components! The white base is Cult Nails Tempest, the awesome neon glitter topper is Lush Lacquer Clowning Around, and the star of the show is the prancing unicorn charm from Hex Nail Jewelry. I mean... cmon. It's a unicorn, and it's prancing. You can't not love that.

This third look made me feel RICH! I began with a base of OPI My Vampire is Buff and watercolored OPI Jade Is the New Black on top of it. I thought the linen shade and the money green would represent dollar bills well! Then, I added a coat of Cirque Au, my favorite gold leaf topcoat, because what's a manicure about money if you don't include a little gold? The Hex Nail Jewelry Money Charm was the final touch that tied it all together.

I'm sure you guys have questions, I know I did! Let's tackle some.

How do these sit on a nail?
Hex Nail Jewelry charms come curved. The curve allows them to stick to your nail better and minimizes the chances that they will snag on something. Of course, certain charms may work differently for different people depending on their specific nails and the size of the charm. Some of the charms I tried sat perfectly on my nail while some of the larger ones didn't sit completely flat along the edges. They were still wearable either way!

Are you supposed to topcoat them?
That's really up to you. As you can see, I didn't add topcoat to my looks so you could get a better look at the charms themselves. I tried applying topcoat to a few charms, and they still looked totally fine. Obviously adding a layer of topcoat will help the charms stay on longer, too!

How do you attach them?
I attached my charms to completely dry nails with nail glue. If you anchor them to the nail with just topcoat, they may detach faster. You can even include these in your gel manicures to enjoy them for weeks at a time!

Can you reuse them?
Yes! These are completely reusable. Hex recommends that you soak the charm in hot water to dissolve the glue and remove it. If you need to take off a top layer of topcoat, be aware that acetone will make the gold plating on the charms wear down more quickly.

How long do they stay attached?
It depends. There are a number of factors that can influence how long they last: nail curve, polish underneath, method of attachment, topcoat... Currently I'm wearing a charm that I attached with nail glue and finished with topcoat, and it seriously feels solid as a rock.

Where can I purchase them/get more info?
Hex Nail Jewelry charms are available at www.hexnailjewelry.com. From a teddy bear to a starfish to a charm that says 'foxy,' there is bound to be something for everyone. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook and Instagram.

Products sent for review. Post contains affiliate links.

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Now -- on to the giveaway! The ladies over at Hex Nail Jewelry have generously provided me with a set of five of their Love Struck charms to give away to you guys.

Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Must be a follower of Chalkboard Nails to win. Must be 18 years of age or older, or you must have your parent's permission to enter. This giveaway is open internationally, and closes on 3/13/2013. The winner will have 48 hours after being contacted to claim their prize, after which a new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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