Patriotic Nails!

I saw this nail design on YouTube from Meliney's channel. I will probably also do a stamped fourth-of-July nail art post also so keep your eye out! 

I started with a white base (Zoya's Purity). Then using a blue (Zoya's Robyn) I made a squiggly line (different directions on each nail) and filled in one half with the blue. Using a thin nail art brush and a red (Zoya's Tamsen) I made small wavy stripes next to the blue. I then took a small dotting tool and the white and made dots in the blue areas. I put on a top coat, and added a star-shaped rhinestone in different positions on each nail. That's all there was to it! I thought these turned out really cute!

Neon Aztec

These nails were inspired by the outfit I wore the other day! I thought it was so cute, so I couldn't resist matching my nails to it! 

I started with a base coat of white. Then when that was dry, I used a makeup sponge and dabbed random patterns of gray (Zoya's Dove), neon green (Sephora's Formula X in Radioactive), and neon yellow (Salon Perfect in Yowza Yellow). Then I used a stamping plate from Cici and Sisi. I purchased them on Amazon.com. I finished with a top coat of Seche Vite. 

Fruity Nails

So, these are really simple nails, but still super cute! I started with a base of Essie's Licorice. Then I used Winstonia stamp #W118 and Zoya's Purity to stamp various fruit designs (all but the apples on the thumb were full nail stamps). I put on a top coat of Seche Vite. Then I found a fimo rod with the corresponding fruit, sliced as thin of a slice as possible, and super glued it to the nall. The ring finger is actually a charm from Hex Nail Jewelry.

Psychedelic Nails

Ok...I'm a little ashamed...I started these nails at around 7:30 this evening and am just getting done with them at 11:00... It's not that they were hard, but I kept messing them up! I found a really cute design that someone had done on Amazon.com with the nail plates I used (they had different colored T-Rex on each one) so I really wanted to do those. Well, when stamping you have to wait for the polish to dry all the way before doing designs. So I painted the base, waited for it to dry, stamped the swirlies, stamped the outline of the t-rex, filled it in, waited for that to dry, then stamped the black outline of the t-rex again....dear lord. I looked at them when I got done and just shook my little head. They looked like a 3 year old did them.

So then I saw a different image that someone had done on Amazon with a different image from the plate (a brontosaurus) so I thought I'd try that one out. Got the base painted, waited for it to dry, stamped a tree on the pinky, stamped the body on the ring finger, stamped the tail on the middle finger, and HELLS BELLS!! the body was supposed to go on the middle finger and the tail on the pointer--the head needed to be on the ring finger!!! Gah!! So I swiped those off and managed to salvage the base, went to try it again, and damn if I didn't NOT stamp the swirly background. Grrrrrrr.........

So I ended up just taking it all off and starting over. All the colors I used were from Zoya. I ended up using Dot on the pinky and ring fingers, Pippa on the middle and pointers, Josie on the thumb. I then stamped the psychedelic-looking swirly pattern from Winstonia stamp plate number 216; I used Shelby on the pinky and ring fingers, Arizona on the middle and pointer, and Shawn on the thumb. I really wanted to add something more, but by this time I'd already removed the designs how many times ^^ and I'd knocked over my freakin nail polish remover besides (the south section of my house is a hazard zone thanks to the toxic fumes), and was just really really really sick of painting!! So...4 hours later, here is my pathetic design. I think it's cute, but not 4 hours cute!! Oh well, c'est la vie!

What's the longest you've ever taken on a mani?? Come on peeps, make me feel better here!

Summery Stamped Nails

I ordered some stamping plates from Amazon last week and have just gotten around to using them. They are by Cici and Sisi, and they came with a scraper and stamping tool. I have a Konad stamping and scraping tool; I found the scraper in the Cici and Sisi kit didn't scrape all the polish off the flat part of the plate, which left residue and made the image hazy. I tried it with my Konad one and it scraped fine (so it wasn't just the quality of the plate or anything like that). However, I do prefer the Cici and Sisi stamping tool over the Konad one; it is more squishy and pliable and I found it gets into the sides and base of the nail much better than the Konad one. If you'd like to check out this set, you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HD4F8DK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1402879905&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40

I used various images from this set; I stamped them with Zoya's Purity. The base color is Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme in Pacific Blue--I think it is a perfect summery color.

Summer Watermelon

For this mani, I used a base of Nailtini Pink Clover Club. Then I made a French tip with Nailtini Bottle Green. I topped them with a coat of Seche Vite. I then cut 3 slices of (Fimo) watermelon for each ring finger and superglued them to the nails. To see more about the Fimo rods, check my previous post! :)

Pink Lemonade

I saw this nail art design on Instagram by @lifeisbetterpolished - she has some great nail art, so go check her out! 

I started with a base of Zoya's Shelby. Using a large dotting tool and Zoya's Pippa, I made evenly spaced dots on all the nails. I applied a top coat of Seche Vite. 

Then I used a lemon (or orange--can't be sure which lol) Fimo rod by Shany Cosmetics (I bought mine on Amazon because they cost about $14 JUST for shipping on Shany's site. That's a little outrageous). They have lots and lots of cute designs--I think there are 150 rods that come in an order. Anyway, using a razor blade, I cut two slices for each nail, and cut one of those in half. I applied them to the ring finger of each hand. 

I'm SO excited for the warmer weather! How about you??

Peachy Bitch

I saw these cute nails by Carli Bybel a couple of months ago and I'm just not getting around to recreating them! You can find her on Instagram @carlibel or on her blog - www.thefashionbybel.com. She also has a YouTube channel that is fantastic! 

I started with a base of China Glaze's Peachy Keen. Then using a white acrylic paint and a thin nail art brush, I traced around the corners. I applied a top coat of Seche Vite. Using super glue, I applied the "Bitch" charm by Hex Nail Jewelry. All done! 

Anchors Away!

I saw these nails in a book by Catherine Rodgers called DIY Nail Art: East Step-By-Step Instructions for 75 Creative Nail Art Designs. I did it a little different than in the book--I used an anchor charm from Hex Nail Jewelry on the ring finger rather than painting one. 

I started with a base of Michelle by Julep; it's hard to tell by the picture but it is a navy blue. Then, using a white nail striper from Shany Cosmetics, I painted a diagonal line down the nail; I then painted horizontal lines in the bottom diagonal. Then using a thin nail art brush and Zoya's Austine, I painted over the diagonal line. I added a top coat of Seche Vite. On the ring finger, I added a dot of super glue to the unstriped diagonal; I placed the anchor charm in that, then sealed the charm with a bit more super glue. 

That's it! Quick and easy and cute!

Extremely Early Lacquer Legion Nails June--On Holiday

So, the lacquer legion prompt for June just went up today and I was in desperate need of changing my nails (can't stand it when they chip!!) so I decided to just do them super early--the pics are supposed to be posted on Instagram on June 30th!! Oh well--last month I forgot til the day of! 

Also, sorry guys, but this was a mani FULL of different colors, so I'm not going to name them all; I'm posting a pic of them and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!  

 

The top pic is of the colors I used on the stamped images in the manicure; the bottom pic is of the colors I used in the gradient for the base.

I used Winstonia stamping plates W106, W108, and W110. 

Where is one place you'd love to go on holiday??

Glitter and Vines

So these didn't turn out quite like I expected. My silver glitter was fairly translucent and I was hoping it would be opaque. It doesn't show up in the pics very well, but I promise it's there! 

For a base on all but the ring fingers, I used Zoya's Dove, then topped it with China Glaze Fairy Dust. On the ring fingers I used Nailtini Fable Fizz. When those were dry, I used Shany stamping plate SH18 and Essie's Blanc (ring fingers) and Essie's Licorice (all the rest) to stamp a vine-like image. I finished with a top coat of Seche Vite.

I think if I redid this mani, I'd use a Zoya PixieDust rather than the gray polish+the China Glaze glitter. The PixieDust is opaque by itself and always comes out gorgeous!