Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Love, Hearts, and Lips

I started thinking the other day that Valentine's Day is only a couple weeks away and I haven't done any new V-day nails yet this year! So this marks the first of hopefully many more mani's before then!

I saw these nails on Nails 2 Die For on Facebook--they didn't have the artists name for credit.

I painted the thumbs and pinkies with Zoya's Raven, the pointer and middle fingers with Zoya's Ali, and the ring fingers with Zoya's Purity. Using a dotting tool, I made hearts on the black nails. With XL stamping plate #2 from Shany Cosmetics, I stamped black lips on the pink nails. I used a Sally Hansen nail art pen in black to write "love" on the ring fingers. And I finished it with a top coat of Seche Vite.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Lacquer Legion--January: Reinvention

Soooo, I follow The Nailasaurus on FB, Instagram, and her blog, and she along with a few other bloggers have banded together to give us all prompts each month for nail designs! This months prompt was "Reinvention".

I decided to go for a nail design that represents a caterpillar turning into a butterfly! I'm going to start by telling you the colors so I don't have to type the specific color every single time. The white I used was Essie's blanc, the brown is Zoya's Flynn, the green is China Glaze Highlight of My Summer, orange is China Glaze Peachy Keen, red is Zoya's Lana, and for black I switched between a black nail striper and a black Sally Hansen nail art pen.

Starting with the left hand: Pinky--I started with a white base, then using a dotting tool, I alternated between orange and green spots, drawing them in a squiggly line. Then with my nail art pen, I drew an outline around the dots and drew "hair" on the caterpillars back. Ring finger--I kept it simple and painted it brown. Period. Ha! Middle finger--I alternated orange and green stripes (to look like the caterpillar on the pinky!), then used a nail striper to draw black lines between the colors. Pointer finger--Kept that one simple also with green. Thumb--I started with a white base. Then I drew a "cocoon" with green. Using the nail art pen, I traced around the cocoon, drew a line close to one side, and drew three dots on one side of the line. Using the nail striper, I drew a curved line and a small line to connect the curved line to the cocoon.
Right hand: Thumb--I did a side-to-side ombre nail with the green and orange. To do an ombre nail, paint a stripe of one color on a makeup sponge, then right next to it paint a different colored stripe. Dab the sponge on your nail, moving slightly from side to side to help the color transition (or up and down if you are doing the ombre from top to bottom). Pointer finger--I did a side-to-side ombre nail with orange and red--the thumb and pointer fingers are showing the transition from caterpillar to butterfly! Middle finger--I started with a white base. Then I drew two red dots to make the butterfly wings. Using the nail art pen, I drew the butterfly body and outline of the wings. Using a dotting tool and white, I drew dots on the tips of the wings. Ring finger--kept is simple with brown! Pinky--same idea as the middle finger on the other hand--it's a nail to represent the butterfly from the middle finger! I painted the nail red. Then using the nail art pen, I drew the details of the "wing". Then using a dotting tool and white, I made the dots along the border. I finished everything with a top coat of Seche Vite!

Want to participate in the Lacquer Legion Challenge?? Join the Facebook page--facebook.com/thelacquerlegion You can also follow the girls who created the Lacquer Legion--The Nailasaurus (@thesammersaurus), Rebecca Likes Nails (@rebeccalikesnails), Work/Play/Polish (@workplaypolish), and Chalkboard Nails (@chalkboardnails).

Friday, January 24, 2014

Sweet Nails

I'm officially sick of "winter nails" (as well as winter itself!) so I decided to do some spring-y looking nails! On a sponge, I made a stripe of Essie's Play Date, ELFs Bubble Gum Pink, and China Glaze's Peachy Keen. I then dabbed that on each nail, and cleaned up the sides/cuticles. Using Essie's Blanc and Winstonia nail plate #W117 (and of course my Konad stamping kit), I stamped the cupcake, lollipop, and ice-cream stamp. Next I painted a glitter polish over the top to add some sparkle. Finally I finished off with a top coat.

AND if you couldn't tell------MY NAILS ARE STILL ON FROM THE LAST POST!! Hallelujah, it's a miracle! Fake nails generally don't stay on me for more than about 2 days, max, and it's now been 4 days! Twice as long as normal! Yeeesssss!! :D


Monday, January 20, 2014

Stiletto Nails with Bows and Bling

I really wanted to try stiletto nails, so I decided today was the day to give it a shot. I did a google search to find a cute design, because, obviously, thats whats going to make the nail!! I found this design from lafemmeclassy.blogspot.com. I didn't have the plastic bows (I ordered some a couple of weeks ago, but they are shipping from HONG KONG!! so who knows when they'll be here lol) so I just decided to paint them on. I used active oval fake nails from Kiss, glued them on, and filed them to be a bit more almond shaped. Then I used fiji from Essie (two coats) on all nails but #4. On #4 I used blanc from Essie. I drew the bow with fiji and traced it with a black nail art pen from Sally Hansen. I added silver rhinestones around the bows. I finished with a top coat from Seche Vite. I really like how they turned out! Let's see if they stay on for longer than a week (I have terrible luck with fake nails!) :)

Zebra Toes!

I decided, after having the same color on my toenails for the past 3 months (at least!) that I would switch it up! Ha! I started by painting all toes, except #4, with Robyn from Zoya. On toe #4, I used Highlight of My Summer by China Glaze. Then using a black nail striper from Shany Cosmetics, I drew zebra stripes on a diagonal. I finished with a top coat and that was that! Now, these will hopefully not be on 3 months from now, but I'm not making any promises ;)

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Roses and Stripes

I got this nail design from The Nailasaurus (www.thenailasaurus.com) - I thought it was so pretty and girlie!

I started with a black base coat (Raven by Zoya). I made white stripes with a white nail striper (ironic, yes?!) from Shany Cosmetics. With a large dotting tool, I made 3 blue dots on each nail (OPIs Suzi Says Feng Shui). Using a thin nail art brush and a dark blue (Michelle by Julip) I made "shadow" pieces inside the roses. With the same brush, I made highlights with a light blue color (Essie's lilacism - I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a light purple but I think it could swing either way). Then using a light green (Essie's mojito madness) and the same thin brush, I drew 1-2 leaves on each rose. I finished with a top coat (Seche Vite) and that was that!

This is probably some of the most detailed nail art I've done in awhile but it was just so pretty that I couldn't pass it up :)



Monday, January 13, 2014

Glittery Ombre

I LOVE all the nails by The Nailasaurus (www.thenailasaurus.com), and these are some that I've been wanting to try for a couple of months now. I think they look a little like a snow storm--gray clouds and white ground. And the glitter just makes the whole manicure!

I did this manicure by painting a small chunk of a makeup sponge with Zoya in Purity, and the chunk above it with Nailtini's Caviar Cocktail. I dabbed the sponge over each of my nails, and when they were dry I did the same thing to add another coat and make it more opaque. Be sure to move the sponge SLIGHTLY up and down the nail to achieve an ombre effect. I then swept Formula X by Sephora in Chaotic over the top of the nails.

Now, guys, this manicure is MESSY! Be sure to give yourself enough time to clean up your fingers afterward. I literally had polish all over my fingers surrounding my nail. But it just can't be avoided when doing this! I used a q-tip dipped in nail polish remover, and any extra cleaning closer to the nail I used a nail art brush.

Of course, I finished off with Seche Vite top coat.


Friday, January 10, 2014

Rock n' Roller!

I dunno about you all, but I LOVE listening to my music! I don't even hardly like driving around the block without it--I may be a little obsessed :S

So it's probably no surprise that my "Rock n Roller" shirt that I bought at Sexy Modest Boutique is one of my absolute favorites! I decided I needed some nails to match!

I started with essie's blanc on all nails but my ring finger--I used Caviar Cocktail by Nailtini on that one. I used a Sally Hansen nail art pen in black to write Rock n Roller and draw notes on my thumbs. I used two different sized dotting tools and Zoya's Giovanna to make dots on my pointer and pinky fingers. I used blanc to make a dot in the larger dot. I used Nailtini's Bloody Mary & a dotting tool to draw the body of a guitar on the middle finger. When that dried I used the nail art pen to draw the border, neck and head, pickups, and knobs on the sides. On the ring fingers, I used a dotting tool to place the nail beads in rows (I applied a clear coat in order to get them to stick). 

Be sure to finish with a top coat!






Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Valentines Day Nails

So today I'm going to post a few of the Valentine's Day nails that I came up with last year. I know, I know, it's a little early for Valentine's Day, but more time for you to find something you want to paint on your nails, right?! I will be posting more when it gets closer to the actual day, but here's some early inspiration for you!
So for the above nails, I honestly don't remember what specific colors I used, but I think they are pretty self explanatory. Use dotting tools and nail stripers to make the dots/stripes/hearts/lips etc.
I saw the above design on the internet, but I'm not sure of the exact source. If I find it later, I will update this post. Use pink on the pointer/thumb, white on the middle finger, gray on ring and pinky fingers. On the middle finger, use the gray to make stripes, and the pink to make the heart. Pretty simple!

On the above manis: The top one I used a pink polish and made a diagonal stripe up the top 1/3 of the nail and filled it in. I used white and a dotting tool to make dots in this space. I then used a silver glitter nail striper to make a border on the bottom of the pink. The bottom one, I painted the pinky-pointer fingers pink and the thumb red. Then using a white nail striper (not easy!! If I did it today, I would use a Sally Hansen nail art pen) I wrote Be Mine. On the other 4 nails, I used a dotting tool to make a set of red lips (hard to see in this photo) and a set of white lips.
The mani above I actually won a contest for - I was so excited! I used white polish on all nails but the ring finger, which I used a red. I then used an XL image plate from Shany cosmetics (#2) for all the lips, which I used different pinks and reds to stamp the different lip images from the plate. I also used a stamp for the hearts and the "Love" on the thumb. I used a stamp for the heart on the ring finger and added a rhinestone to the center for some glam :)

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Dr. Seuss-ish Nails

I got this idea from Jenny Fox over at polishandpearls.com - for some reason it reminds me of something you would see in a Dr. Seuss book, like where the Lorax might live ;)

I started with a base coat of China Glaze's peachy keen. Then I drew a curved white area with Zoya's Purity. On the opposite side of the nail, I made a curved purple area with Essie's play date. Then toward the bottom, I drew a curved pink area with Essie's sunday funday. I drew the black lines with a Sally Hansen nail art pen after the manicure was dry. I finished it off with a top coat of Seche Vite.

My only complaint with this mani is that the sunday funday was not quite opaque enough to cover play date, so be sure that when you choose colors, you choose ones with adequate coverage or you'll see little borders in the middle!