Glow In The Dark Galaxy Nails!

I've been gone SOOOOOO freakin long you guys! I've done a few manis but honestly, they've looked like crap so I didn't want to post them. I got a few new polishes in the mail today from Serum No. 5 and I felt inspired to do this glow in the dark galaxy mani! I kind of suck at galaxy nail art but I figured practice makes perfect, and if by some odd chance they happened to come out, they would be super freakin cool because they're glow in the dark! 

So here are the glow in the dark polishes I used: 

Blue Blazes, Orange You Sunny, Ultra Violet, Indi-glo, Dark Matter, Lights Out

I started with a base of Lights Out. Let me just talk about this one for a second. It's pitch black. And it's glow in the dark. Anyone else scratching their heads?? When I was ordering this, I was like There's no way a black is gonna glow in the dark!! and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen pics on the site! And it really does (obviously)! Soooo cool!! 

Ok on to the post! So a base of Lights Out. Then I added a quick dry top coat. You don't have to do that, but you do have to wait until it's dry to move on to the next step. Next, I used a cut up makeup sponge to sponge on Blue Blazes, Indi-glo, Orange You Sunny, Ultra Violet, and Dark Matter (I used a separate chunk for each color). Dark Matter is another really interesting color--it's like a duochrome with a redish purple to green shift and a dark base. Super pretty color!

Next, the glitters:

China Glaze Fairy Dust, silver holo glitter

I added one thin coat of Fairy Dust. While it was still wet, I added a few chunks of holo (I think that's what it's called!! It's that really chunky glitter you see there!) glitter randomly on the nails. I did one nail at a time so the glitter polish wouldn't dry before I was done. I finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

So what do you guys think of them?? This is the best looking galaxy mani I've ever done, and I think it looks SOOOO cool in the dark! 

If you guys haven't tried Serum No. 5 yet, you totally need to! I've never really seen anything that glows in the dark the same color as it is in the light - except for maybe glow sticks. Most things usually glow that yellowish color. Anyway, I just think they are so pretty! Also, part of the profits are donated to charity which is pretty cool I think! Go check out their polishes! They also have other polishes besides glow in the dark if that's not your thing :) www.serumno5.com

Chrome Stamp with Purple Base

Wow, it's been a long time since I did a post guys! It's not even that I haven't done my nails or I've been gone or anything like that--I've just been too lazy to post! 😖

So I've been seeing IG posts from a girl I follow and she stamps with Essies No Place Like Chrome and it always comes out beautifully, so I had to give it a shot. I'm really happy with how these turned out! 

I started with a base of Zoya's Savita (it's actually a matte polish, but I didn't care if it was matte or shiny--I just liked the color! Ha!). I added a fast dry top coat (if you want it to stay matte, you'll want to skip that part and also the final top coat). When dry, I used this Cici and Sisi stamp with the Essie polish--

and I stamped each nail. I moved it just a bit for the pinky nails so there was more of those tiny flowers from the top left corner on that nail. 

Then I just finished with a top coat of Seche Vite! These are super easy, but I think they look really elegant. 

What color would you try for a base?

Opal Nails

I saw this design from basecoat-topcoat.tumblr.com (also on IG @kellyohstein). I had to try it because I'm an October baby and our birthstone is an opal (sometimes some pink stone, but I like the opal better haha!). I had tried it once about a week or two ago and it came out terribly, so I thought I'd give it another shot. 

So, to save myself the trouble of having to remember the name of each and every polish, I'm going to post a photo of the polishes I used, and then just refer to the color instead of the name, that way if you want to know the exact color, you can check the pic! 

Ok then, moving right along! I started with a base coat (not shown--any will do!). Then using a light blue, I took the brush from the bottle and made random spots of color. I did the same with the light purple, light green, light pink, bright orange, and finally filling in spaces with yellow (it's ok to overlap--it will add to the effect!). I then applied a couple of coats of a sheer nude--you want it to look cloudy. I applied 1 coat of some micro glitter polish (not shown), but I don't think that's necessary as you can't even tell in the final result. 

I then took the smallest dotting tool I had and applied random dots and squiggles of each of the colors--I used one of my opal earrings to reference how much of each color I wanted. I applied some cellophane polish to add some chunky sparkle to it. I added a two more coats of nude polish to make it milky, then added some more cellophane polish. I finished with a top coat. 

I know - it's a ton of layers of polish! But that's how you get the cool milky effect of an opal! I actually am pretty pleased with how this turned out--I think it came pretty close to the earring I have pictured! Do you think I did it justice??

Vintage Roses

I saw this mani on IG from user @willpaintnailsforfood. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous so I had to try to recreate it! I started with a base of Nailtini Cement Mixer. I made a couple of large dot clusters toward the tip of the nail with Odette; these will be the bases of our roses. I also made smaller dots with Odette on the rest of the nail. Then using OPI Midnight in Moscow, I made dot clusters in the Odette dot clusters; I left some of Odette on the edges so it is still visible. While waiting for that to dry, I made leaves on some of the roses using Nailtini Venom. Taking a dotting tool, I made smaller dots inside the dots that are all over the nails using Zoya's Ziv. Then, using that same polish and a thin nail art brush, I made small lines and swirls inside the roses to add definition. I also added a little to the centers of the leaves. I finished with a top coat. 

I couldn't decide which lighting I liked better--the natural lighting (top) shows off the gold in the roses much better; the lighting inside (bottom) shows the base color much truer. 

Green and Orange Tape Mani

I was inspired by a mani I saw on Pinterest forever ago and decided to finally do it. The original poster is Southern Sister Polish. I started with a base of China Glaze Highlight of My Summer on all but the ring fingers; the ring finger base is China Glaze Peachy Keen. I added a quick dry top coat and waited about 10 mins for it to dry. I then made an off-centered T on my nails with striping tape, and painted Peachy Keen on all but the ring finger; it got Highlight of My Summer. I removed the tape after painting each nail so it wouldn't dry and stick to the tape. I added a top coat and that's it! 

Studded Nails

I think these nails are so freakin cute! I saw them on Instgram by user @lifeisbetterpolished. She has some great nail art so you should check her out! 

I started with a base of Zoya's Snow White. I added a clear polish when that was mostly dry in order to get the studs to stick. The gold studs and the mini gold beads are from Claire's; the colorful studs are from Born Pretty Store. I placed 3 gold and 3 colored studs on each nail. I then placed 4 mini gold beads around each colored stud. I finished with a top coat. 

On the ring finger, I painted a white base, then used a clear polish when it was mostly dry. I dipped the tips of a fan brush in loose glitter, then tapped it over the nail, concentrating it mostly toward the tip of the nail. I finished with a top coat.

Stripes and Checks

I was inspired to do this awesome nail art from YouTuber Meliney (search for Meliney nail art!)--she posts lots of cool nail art tutorials, so you should go check her out!

I started with a base of Zoya's Rocha. I then used a red nail striper from Shany Cosmetics to make vertical stripes down each nail. I used a Fimo rod I purchased from Amazon and a razor to cut a few thin pieces. I adhered these to the nail using clear polish, then sealed them on with a top coat of Seche Vite. I did this with each nail except the ring finger.

For the ring finger, I did a base of Rocha, used the red striper, then painted a coat of Seche Vite. I let this dry about 10 minutes, then, using a piece of Scotch tape, I taped off the top 2/3 of the nail, leaving the bottom 1/3 exposed. I painted this portion with Zoya's Purity. I waited for this to dry for a couple of minutes, then went in with a flat nail art brush and Ebony Hates Chris to make the checkered pattern. I then added a Fimo rod flower to the center of the nail and finished with a coat of Seche Vite. 

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.

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 :)