Category Archives: Nailed Kit

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Q&A with Shine and Sheen Founder, Krystyna Kao

New York and Shanghai based nail blogger, Krystyna Kao, is gearing up to launch some seriously fabulous nail art kits. Her company, Shine and Sheen, was created for DIY girls with a flair for fashion and creative streak.

Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits will be equipped with a mix of nail polish colors, accessories, decals, and detailed instructions to create over 10 designs.  When Krystyna was designing the kits, she said she centered the products around manicures that could be easily recreated at home.

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Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits will launch this Spring. Photo credit: ShineandSheen.com.

Here’s an example of the kind of look you can execute with Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits. This side French design is perfect for a Valentine’s Day manicure. Krystyna used Shine and Sheen’s Cherry pink polish, a white striper brush polish and a dotting tool.

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Photo credit: Instagram, @shineandsheen.

While we all anxiously wait for the release of Shine and Sheen’s gorgeously packaged nail art kits, here’s your chance to find out a little bit more about the face behind the nails. I chatted with Krystyna and here’s what she had to say:
BySig: Since you started to blog about nail art, what’s one of the most important and fun things you’ve learned about the craft? 
KK: Nail art really opens the door in terms of creativity. The most fun part for me is seeing contrast between really different and unexpected colors, textures, and designs on different nails that together make up a whole look. I love the juxtaposition. 
BySig: What’s your ideal manicure look like? 
KK: For daily activities, I like designs and colors that pop and are striking, but also can go with different outfits, and can fit for day and night. I tend to like reverse French or French moons or just something shiny and eye-catching. If it’s just for fun, and I take it off soon after, I like playing with 3D stuff, like baubles, pearls, etc. That’s always exciting, albeit not really practical!
BySig: Any predictions for spring/ summer nail art trends? 
KK: I think we’ll see more fashion-inspired designs, like what the talented MissLadyFinger does. Also even more negative space manicures – I have a feeling girls will start really taking care of their nails so they can play peekaboo with negative space! And definitely color, color, color for summer.
What do you think of Shine and Sheen? Let me know in the comments below!
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Jamberry Nails Review

After recently playing with Nailed Kit’s water slide nail art decals and Essie’s nail appliques, my love for vinyl nail stickers has definitely grown. So when Jill, a Jamberry Nails Independent Consultant, sent me over a sample of their nail wraps I got psyched and they didn’t disappoint.

Initially I was impressed with Jamberry Nails intricate and varied designs. I received six decals and chose to try them on as an accent.

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The application process called for a unique step after a routine nail cleaning and cuticle push. The nail wrap requires heat to soften the adhesive before you stick it on. I pointed my blow dryer on the wrap and used it on a low heat setting for about 5 seconds. It worked.

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I placed the wrap on my ring finger while it was still warm. I found it best to make sure the placement fit before pressing on the wrap to seal it on because the glue got pretty sticky. I used a rubber cuticle pusher to flatten out any bubbles that formed.

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I folded the leftover sticker and filed it off in a downward motion to get the right fit. While the included directions do not mention to seal the sticker with a top coat, I recommend applying a layer of it if you intend on wearing the wraps for a few days.

jamberry-nails-review-1This is a sample of Reminisce ($15). I paired it with Marc Jacobs’ 128 Nirvana ($18).

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This is Poised Plaid ($15). I paired it with Essie’s Blanc ($8.50).

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This is Wisteria ($15). I paired it with Marc Jacobs’ 122 Ultraviolet ($18).

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What do you think of Jamberry Nails? Let me know in the comments below!

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Inside Nailed Kit’s January Box

Happy New Year! I am kicking off 2014 with adorable nail art you can execute with no messy clean up.

Over the holidays I received a generous gift from Nailed Kit, a user friendly water slide nail decal system that offer’s a monthly subscription. The gift was a sample of their January Box.

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The January kit included soft blue nail strips, penguins, snowflakes and blue striped nail art decals, teal rhinestones, a shaping stick and a nail file.

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This was my first time using nail strip decals and I couldn’t believe how easy it was. As a nail strip decal novice, I didn’t perfectly place the decal correctly the first time around. But it was no sweat because I was able to easily remove the decal and try again.

I used my thumb and index finger to place the decal and followed with the shaping stick to smooth out any bubbles. If the the strip was a little big, I cut around it with facial hair scissors for precision and filed down the decal to fit my shape.

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The entire process is relatively simple: Apply the nail strips (as pictured above), cut out desired decals, soak them in water for about 20 seconds, place the decal and rhinestones on the nail and seal the design with a top coat.

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As a bonus, I even got these special edition New Years decals inside the box.

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I paired the New years decals with a metallic silver polish and even added Nailed Kit’s party hat decal I received at the New Girl Expo. I’m wearing Butter London’s Diamond Geezer ($15).

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Other than the obviously cute designs you’re left with, the best part about Nailed Kit is that there is no messy clean up. Isn’t that reason enough to want to try it?

What do you think of Nailed Kit’s January Box? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Nail Finds at the Winter 2013 New Girl Expo

Last Saturday I attended the New Girl Expo in Los Angeles. The event, a one-stop shop fashion hub, was created to connect women of all styles to the trendiest beauty resources and stylish vendors. As a first-time guest, I was excited to see what kind of nail goodies I would find. I scored big time.

New Girl Expo provided me a very generous goodie bag that was stuffed with a few samples from vendors and a little extra something.

In it, was this beautiful glitter polish called, “Love Marilyn” by China Glaze ($5). This is what three coats of the polish looks like. Love Marilyn is perfect for the holidays!

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At the event I was introduced to a very affordable makeup brand called City Color Cosmetics. Here is a swatch of their brown polish called Chocolate ($3).

I was able to reach a desired opacity  and a nice shine after just two coats. The polish has a sort of a slow dry time, but it’s nothing a bit of fast-dry top coat can’t fix. I’m pretty happy with the results of this low-cost polish.

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Another gem I stumbled upon was Nailed Kit, an easy-to-use nail decal system.

It was a true pleasure to meet the founder behind the product, Rachel Kim. Lucky for me, my New Girl Expo goodie bag had a sample of the water slide nail art decals. I clearly got a little excited and tested the sample before taking a photo of the whole thing intact.

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This was my first time ever using a nail decal of any sort. How do these work? Think of it as a temporary tattoo for your nail. Dip the decal is warm water, peal it off and apply.

I had a some slight application issues, like accidentally not cutting close enough to the image to get precise application (even though the directions instruct you to do so). That will definitely subside with some getting used to.

The best part of Nailed Kit is the adorable design you’re left to show off. How cute is this party hat?

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What do you think of these nail finds? Let me know in the comments below. 

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