Biore Baking Soda Voxbox

Hey guys,

Today I have something different for you.

This month I received the Biore Baking Soda voxbox from Influenster.

This is only my second Influenster box so it was super exciting.

This box included two products - The Baking Soda Pore Cleanser, and the Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub

Basically the idea behind this is that baking soda is a good gentle exfoliator.

So lets start out with my thoughts on the Baking Soda Pore Cleanser

When you pump this out you do notice it has a bit of a gentle-gritty texture (if that makes sense) then you add some water and lather it and apply it to your face.  It was easy to apply, but I found it to have a real soapy feel to it (I'm a die hard Rodan + Fields fan so I know the soapy lather of most cleaners just dries out your skin so I really disliked the soapy feel). And I did notice throughout the day it seemed to have dried out my skin. I think I would have preferred it if it had come with a toner, and a moisturizer with it to combat the dryness - maybe thats just me. I'm not going to continue using this one, but I've found it a home with someone who will love it.

Next up is the Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub

 

This is a powder that you add water to and it "activates" and then you use it as a scrub, but the baking soda dissolves as you scrub so you don't over exfoliate. I found this one a bit hard to apply since when you add the water it just gets a bit runny. I think this will just take some trial and error.

However I did quite like the way this made my skin feel, clean and soft.

It did make my skin feel a bit tight but not uncomfortably so.

I'm going to continue to use this one.

  

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Born Pretty Store - Shell Charms

Hey guys,

So tonight I have my next product review from the Born Pretty Store

I decided to grab some Shell Charms to try out because immediately I thought I know exactly what I am going to do with these!

So I set out to do a beach manicure gradient.

I love the way this turned out.

I just secured the charms with top coat but if you used nail glue I'm sure they would stick around for longer than a day.

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get some of your own.

Use the Coupon Code CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**

Born Pretty Store - BP-27 Stamping Plate Review

Hey guys,

So tonight I have my next product review from the Born Pretty Store

This time I decided to grab another stamping plate. I chose this one because of the Captain America shield and the sigil type graphic options.

Okay I've said before I SUCK at stamping. I really need to practice this. Anyways for this I decided to use the full nail flowery stamp. I used a pink holo polish to stamp over Supernatural Lacquer - Shapeshifter.

Now it's not the best but I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it by the end. Once I work more on my stamping technique hopefully I can get some better use out of this.

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get some of your own.

Use the Coupon Code CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**

Born Pretty Store - Water decals

Hey guys,

So tonight I have my next product review from the Born Pretty Store

I have some Water decal nail "stickers" to show you guys. I'd never used water decals before so these were all new for me. 

So basically the way water decals work is that you immerse them in water, then they slide off the paper backing and you then stick them down on your nail and seal with a top coat.

It took me a few nails to really get the hang of it, so as a result my right hand actually turned out a bit better I think. I also wanted to use the biggest decals cause they had the best designs on them.

For my first time using water decals. I'm pretty happy I will definitely be trying more water decals in the future!

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get some of your own.

Use the Coupon Code CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**

Born Pretty Store - Dragon Stamping Plate

Hey guys,

So tonight I have another product review from the Born Pretty Store. I was fairly stoked when they asked me to do another round of reviews for them. It gives me a really good opportunity to try some new stuff out.

This time around I thought I would go for some different types of products, so I picked up two stamping plates, some water decals, and some appliques.

First up we have this dragon stamping plate.

Ya Qin An Y015

You guys all know I am the first person to admit that I SUCK at stamping. One day I really want to spend some time and really work on my skills. But I think patience is key in stamping and I never seem to have that.

I've never used a plate like this with one large design on it, but I love dragons so it seemed like a good one to invest in.

I used Formula X - Surreal over black.

Honestly I am quite impressed with how this turned out. I would definitely say that any imperfections are due to my own lack of stamping skills than the plate.

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get one of your own.

Use coupon CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**

Born Pretty Store - Starry Night Nail Foil Strips

Hey guys,

So tonight I have my last product review from the Born Pretty Store I'm not always a fan of nail strips I love the Sally Hansen ones, but I HATED the Kiss ones. For far my experience has been that the real polish ones are great but the sticker ones stink. That being said I'm always up to try new things so why not see what BPS had to offer, plus these were just so pretty.

 Well these turned out to be the sticker ones, which means they're easy to apply and easier to peel off.

I so wish I had my long nails with these so I could have gotten more of the starry design on them. 

I chose each sticker based on the width for my nails.

I found it was easiest to pinch the ends together since I have a fairly string c-curve in my nail and I find this helps the edges on the nails from popping up.

Then I smoothed out the edges on my nails pressing firmly. I had troubles with my index finger since the strip was a bit too wide and unlike the polish ones you can't really stretch these ones to fit your nails.

Then I snipped off most of the excess and used a nail file to finish it up.

 

I found that the edges were left kind of rough (even after using a fine nail file) and wanted to lift pretty easily if I wasn't careful, however they survived a bath and a long weekend, with a bit of TLC and care (ie. being really gentle to my nails) Then they were really easy to remove and just peeled right off.

Bottomline: These aren't my favourite as I prefer the non-sticker type nail wraps but in a pinch these work and if you're not super skilled at nail art they make it pretty easy to get a fun manicure.

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get some of your own.

Use the Coupon Code CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**

Born Pretty Store Chrome Shiny 3D Nail Art Studs Review

Hey guys,

So tonight I have my second product review from the Born Pretty Store I wanted to do this sooner but then I had to chop my nails off and life just generally got rather hectic, who knew May was such a crazy busy month.

When it came to choosing my second product for review these duochromey "crystals" caught my eye.

Well they aren't real crystals just jewel shaped plastic with a duochrome metallic coating. Still they are quite striking. I would have loved to have tried these out on my longer nails however my poor nails have taken a lot of abuse lately so I decided to cut them short to hopefully encourage some healthier growth. 

 First I painted my nails in my desired colours then I used a dotting tool and dotted top coat where I wanted to place my jewel. Then I used the other end of the dotting tool which I had gently dotted in top coat to pick up and place the gem. Overall quite easy. Although I feel like I should have stuck with the smaller gems on my tiny sad nails.

Well after a day of wear I had picked them all off because that's just how I roll, also the finish had worn away on some of the gems closer to the tips of my nails. I think these would be perfect for a special occasion or night out but maybe not the most practical for a lasting manicure.

Head over to the Born Pretty Store to get some of your own.

Use the Coupon Code CABK31 to get 10% off.

**This product was provided by the Born Pretty Store for my honest review**