31DC2014 Day 15: Delicate Print

I'm not really a huge stamping person, but for this day of the challenge, I decided to try it again since I really didn't feel like spending the time hand-painting a delicate design. 

Polishes used:

China Glaze Grape Pop (medium purple crème)

Essie Nothing Else Metals (light metallic lilac-y purple)

I painted my nails with two coats of GP and let it dry completely. I used this stamping plate from Cheeky that I ordered from Amazon like three years ago. I also used the regular Konad stamper/scraper set (I got mine here). I started by putting a large blob of NEM across the width of the image I was using (metallic polishes in general work really well for stamping), then I scraped the polish across the image using the Konad scraper. Immediately after doing that, I used the stamper and pressed it firmly down onto the image, and then right away rolled the stamper over my nail. After doing that to all ten nails, I cleaned up around my cuticles and then finished with a generous amount of top coat to avoid any smearing.

I don't know what it is about stamping that I just cannot get the hang of. I mean, some nails look perfectly fine, I just can't seem to get all the stamps to look uniform! I've stamped on my friends' nails before and they end up looking great! Maybe it's just because my nails are too curved for the stamper? Oh well... maybe one day I'll figure it out!

Thanks for reading!

31DC2014 Day 14: Flowers

I love flowers, but I hate floral prints. Absolutely HATE them. To me they remind me of grandmas and little kids at the same time and they're so girly and just... no. So when it came to this day of the challenge, I knew exactly what I didn't want to do! This day was yet another one where I didn't have enough time to do anything extravagant, so I just went with some simple glitter placement flowers.

Polish used:
Essie Mint Candy Apple (bright minty blue crème)

I painted my nails with two coats of MCA. Then I took out the glitter I wanted to use. All of the glitter I used was from Born Pretty Store; the dark blue, medium blue, and green glitters were all from this set, and the silver holo glitter can be found here. I decided to put three little flowers on each nail; one dark blue, one medium blue, and one green, all with a silver holo center. To place the glitter on my nail, I used a cheap, slow-drying top coat (I used a random one from Maybelline but the Wet n Wild $0.99 one is my favorite) and painted over a little area where I wanted a flower to go. Then I took my orange stick, lightly dipped the point in a blob of top coat that I had placed to the side, used that to pick up a piece of silver glitter, and placed it on my nail where I already painted the top coat. After that, I did the same technique with the colored glitter, while making sure that the edges of each piece of glitter were aligned with the center piece. Once I finished placing all the flowers on my nails, I finished with two coats of top coat to smooth out the glitter.

Even though flowers aren't my thing, I still think these are super cute! It's just not something I would wear often at all :).

Thanks for reading!

31DC2014 Day 13: Animal Print

Not gonna lie, this was one of my absolute favorite days of the entire challenge. I felt like doing something really bold, loud, and, well... obnoxious. What better way to do that than with some neons!

Polishes used:

(?)Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On (white crème - original formula)

China Glaze Sun Worshiper (neon yellow-y orange crème)

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (neon coral-y pink crème)

China Glaze Pool Party (neon hot pink crème)

OPI Black Onyx (black crème)

To start off, I painted all my nails with two coats of a white polish. I'm not sure which one I used since I didn't write it down, but I'm pretty sure it was from Sally Hansen. Using a white base underneath neon polishes makes the colors stand out so much more since they tend to be on the sheerer side. Next, I took a makeup sponge and painted thick stripes of SW, FFF, and PP all next to each other. I wanted SW to be at the base of my nails, so I positioned the makeup sponge exactly how I wanted it before sponging. When sponging on a gradient, I like to roll the makeup sponge onto my nail first, then stipple / blob the sponge immediately after to help blend the colors together. I do this 2-3 times depending on how opaque the polishes I'm using are; for this manicure I remember I sponged on the gradient three times. After that, I cleaned up around my nails with pointed q-tips and an angled brush dipped into an acetone-based remover. Once that was done, I used the smaller side of the yellow dotting tool from this set to make the leopard print. I start off by painting random C shapes near each other, then once I feel I have enough on one nail, I fill in the empty spaces with random, irregularly shaped blobs. I finished off with a generous amount of top coat to avoid smearing my design.

Whenever I do leopard print nails like this, I always get asked if I used stickers. Literally every single time. That's why this is my favorite way to do any kind of animal print on my nails. I think that the black print over a gradient makes it really striking!

Thanks for reading!

31DC2014 Day 12: Stripes

This day of the challenge was another day where I didn't really have enough time to do something super intricate. So instead, I made use of what I think is one of the most effective things you can use for nail art: textured polish!

Polishes used:

Zoya Blu (baby blue crème)

Essie Avenue maintain (Essie describes this as a Parisian light blue crème)

OPI Get Your Number (textured medium blue jelly with holographic glitter)

I started by painting all my nails with two coats of Blu. While I was waiting for that to completely dry, I cut all the striping tape I wanted to use. Once my base was dry, I placed the striping tape randomly on each nail and painted AM in between the spaces. Once I did that to all ten nails, I painted one coat of a fast drying top coat (my favorite is Essie Good To Go). Once that was dry, I put two more pieces of striping tape on each nail (randomly & with different widths) and painted the space with GYN. I didn't add top coat after this step because that would smooth out the textured polish and I wanted it to stand out.

I think that textured polish is a great way to add a little something to your standard, run-of-the-mill nail art. Even though the colors I used for the stripes ended up being very similar, I still think the texture makes the stripes stand out even more!

Thanks for reading!

NOTD 4/5/15: Easter Skittle Nails

So first, apologies for the lack of posts... I've been super busy lately with work and life and what not. Second, these nails aren't anything fancy since I literally only had an hour to do them. But I wanted to share them anyway!

Polishes used (from thumb to pinky):

China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint (light mint green crème)

Essie Fiji (baby pink crème)

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac (light purple crème - original formula)

Zoya Blu (baby blue crème)

China Glaze Lemon Fizz (pastel yellow crème)

OPI Pirouette My Whistle (silver microglitter with matte white hex glitters)

I painted all my nails with two coats of each polish I used. On my right hand though, I switched up the order of the colors. From thumb to pinky I painted Lacey Lilac, Lemon Fizz, Re-Fresh Mint, Fiji, and then Blu. I let those dry for a few minutes, then I went in with one coat of PMW. I had left the bottle upside down for a while before using it (since this glitter likes to settle), but I still ended up having to fish out some of the white hexes with an orange stick to place on my nails; especially on my pinky and index nails.

Honestly, these pictures don't do this glitter justice. It's such a soft, silvery sparkle that I think looks amazing over pastel colors like these! I also really like doing skittle manicures, and this one reminds me of little Easter eggs :)

Thanks for reading!