April Nail Art Society REVIEWED

I know, I know I thought I was cancelled as well. So I was a bit surprised, again, when I received my package. After checking Paypal I saw I hadn't been charged so I couldn't, in good faith, use the package contents. Even though this was the first I had opened and been genuinely excited by the contents! So I patiently awaited an email from them as to what to do with the package and tore eagerly into it when they emailed, rather quickly, that they were happy I liked the kit this month.

I did re-subscribe. They showed a tease preview for next month and it is WELL worth it. However I hold my reservations. Communication on the change in bags was NOT EVER conveyed which is not ok. It just isn't. Why they get mad at people asking what's going on when they haven't even clearly communicated what is happening to the subscriptions, the expectations THEY built, for their customers is just beyond me. But having gone through Paypal and seeing that I can cancel that way I feel secure in going for another few months to see what happens.

The package:
This is pretty much figured out at this point. Black mailer with smaller bubble pouch containing the contents within. I've never gotten anything broken so it's working. No complaints. :)

Contents:

• How to card (Including this since it's actually relevant this time)
• Nail glue
• Kiss Nail Artist kit
• Striping tape in S. Aqua
• Bow kit

I've been eyeing this Kiss Nail Artist kit - it alone makes this bag very nearly worth the 9.95 being both a new, trendy item and retailing at 7.99. So I was overjoyed to see it in this month's bag. I don't know how much the bow kit is but they usually retail anywhere from 3-8 dollars a set. Add in the striping tape and nail glue and you are over the 9.95 but at least several dollars if not more.

Top this off with a look inspired by the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer runway line and sporting the very trendy stripes and bows look and you have both the bag and trend value wrapped up in a neat package. I LOVE the addition of alternate looks at the bottom of the card. The very simple step by step is well illustrated.

Conclusion:
This bag is a win completely! It's what I was waiting for. I don't care if I don't get OPI's or Butter London. I DO care that I was led on and then treated poorly for asking for clear communication. Apparently this is how you treat customers.They forget THEY advertised one look a month featuring polishes from their site. They forget that they made the price jump and promised details on what that would mean and then never followed through. I have all the cards, packages, screenshots, and emails.

BUT I am giving it one more go. So we shall see. They may be working out the kinks. Or it may be a temporary thing. We shall see.

For now the looks:

As you can see there's a LOT of options with this month's kit. Also did I mention I love bows?

Hubby's Picks 28

Hubby picked some very bright and fun colors this time around. I was pretty happy to see Glitter Guilty Radioactive in the box and I feel Zoya Audrina compliments it perfectly!

I've been fascinated with the sideways half-moon manicures popping up everywhere. I happened to be wandering through Fred Meyer yesterday and spied the Essence display. They have french tip guides. FOR 99 CENTS!! I had no clue they'd be in my Hubby's Picks manicure. Ok. Confession time here. I had no clue till about 10:30 last night when pinning all the things on Pinterest what I was going to do. Then I saw a bow tie bikini and it all just came together.

Here's how to do this lovely look:

• Layer your base color. I did two coats of Glitter Guilty Radioactive here. Allow it to dry between coats. I waited about five minutes between each coat.
• Use Essence French Tip guides (or any french tip or half-moon guides) and lay it sideways on the nail making sure to press it down so the next color doesn't seep under the sticker. Brush one layer of your second color (Zoya Audrina here) and immediately peel the sticker back up for a nice, clean line.
• On the accent finger use a fine brush to create a box (Butter London Victoriana) at the halfway point on the half-moon line. Next create a triangle starting at the top of the box corner on each side. Fill it in using the half-moon line as a guide for the bottom of the bow. Draw triangles down into the first color with the fine brush.
• Clean the fine brush and then go back and accent the bow with a small "v" shape on the large bow triangles and a highlight on the bow triangle tails. Do this in the last color (Color Club Sky High). 
• Finally create a series of dots on the remaining fingers starting the halfway point and using the half-moon line as a guide. 

NOTE ON DOTS:
All of the dots were done using the same dotting tool. To get the smaller sized dots use less pressure. I start by making sure my tool has been dipped in the paint up to covering half the ball. I push it all the way down for a larger dot, then apply less and less pressure with each new dot. This creates smaller dots as you go. It takes a little practice to get it right so I suggest taking a piece of paper and trying it there first.

There you have this week's Hubby's Picks. I have so many more bow ideas now! If you ever recreate a Hubby's Picks I'd love to see it and share it! Email it to mommydoes @ live.com (be sure to remove the spaces) along with any information you'd like included (link to blog, thoughts, etc) and I'll share it on the following weeks' post. For now have a great day!