Revvv It Up

It's been raining for days. I'm not really a happy camper in the rain - gray, cold and wet is just not my thing. So I went with a dark charcoal color for the week, with rainbow mica embedded for those rare moments when the sun peeks out from behind the dark clouds. Naturally I added some rhinestone stickers for a little extra dimension.

I started with 2 coats of Color Club's "Revvvolution" over China Glaze base coat:

You can see all the pretty colors embedded with the flash. These normally aren't visible unless the lights hits the color just perfectly.

Then I took these lovely Cina nail art stickers - basically just rhinestones arranged on adhesive backs:

...and placed them simply on each nail.

Two coats of China Glaze top coat and clean-up, and voila. Very simple dark design that still pops.

With any luck, the rain will stop by next week, and I'll be ready for something brighter again. ;-)

Until then, happy polishing!

Green Squares

Apologies for the lack of posting last week - I got behind and simply forgot to post this. It's all good though since this week's manicure didn't exactly work out, so I'm glad I have this to share with you. :-)

There are a lot of photos this week...bear with me! For this manicure, I used some of the new stencils from Nail Art Delights (linked to the right). As a point of disclaimer, I bought these (and several other sets) to try...and I'll be buying more. I love them! Settle in - I'll show you how they work. Before I started polishing, I cut the stencil stickers in half - I wanted to use the squares/diamonds three at a time rather than six.

I started with a base of Avon's new green, "Jade". Two coats, and it dries very quickly. Nice that Avon is finally putting out new nail colors!

 

Then I put two coats of another new Avon color, "Olive Green" diagonally across each nail.

I defined the line between the colors with my black Sally Hansen nail art pen, which I'm completely in love with.

Then it was time to start stenciling! These stencils have adhesive on the back. Avon polish dries quickly, but as per the stencil directions, I stuck them to the pads of my fingers several times to take the adhesive down a bit. Then I positioned it on the Jade side of my thumb.

I brushed on Olive Green to fill the stencil:

And then I pulled the stencil off carefully right away. If you leave the stencil on, the polish will seal it to your nail - don't do that!

Then I did the Olive side with Jade squares:

And voila! Neat little squares in a straight line, no rhinestones or embellishments needed.

I sealed them with two coats of Seche Vite, and cleaned them up the next morning. This is after a few days of wear.

As you can see, I didn't get the polish as smooth as I'd have liked, but I still think it turned out pretty well, overall. I can't wait to try more of these stencils - so much easier than stamping for me!

Stop by Friday for Notable Nail Art around the blogosphere! Until then, Happy Polishing...

Lunch Desire

Please excuse the tip pull in the final photos - I forgot to take the finals until the manicure was 5 days old. It was one of those busy weeks last week.

I wanted something kind of light, but mellow last week, and this fit the bill quite nicely. I started with two coats of Sephora by OPI "Let's Do Lunch".

Then I did the tips in OPI DS "Desire" - a very sparkly/glittery holographic brown.

I had some lovely gold stickers with a curly design, so I applied those at the smile line for some added bling and polish.

Two coats of Seche Vite and some clean-up, and that's all there was to it...easy peasy.

I still haven't had time to edit that video, but I'll see if I can't get a video of the stencils I'm going to try tonight for next week. Stay tuned...

Until then, happy polishing!

Flowery Denim

Last week I wanted something easy, quick, and subtle. Yes, even I get tired of bold and bright sometimes. so I got some decals and a couple bottles of polish to create this simple, casual look.

I started with two coats of Avon's "Blue Flare":

Then I added wide tips with one of my favorite holos - China Glaze "OMG".

Added some white flower decals, and two coats of Seche Vite to seal. I cleaned it up the next morning, and voila, simple, casual, but still fun.

Yes, I know my smile line isn't close to straight - I was tired and working quickly. It's okay, I actually don't mind it this way. Seems more authentic to me sometimes when the artwork isn't "perfect".

What are you wearing on your tips this week?

Next week, I hope to have a video tutorial for you...until then, happy polishing!

Spring Wild

First off, I've decided to do a weekly feature on Fridays called "Notable Nails". There are so many great nail blogs I read through (drool over) every day, and I rarely have time to comment, but I want to give these great nail artists some recognition. So every Friday night, I'll be posting links to the top five nail designs I came across during the week. I've been considering starting a monthly award in the same vein - we'll see if I can get that done.

Now for this week's manicure - you can see I decided to wear the "baby" stiletto shape for a little while longer. I needed bright this week. And green. And spring. I think this does the job nicely, don't you? It's a simple design using Cina nail art decals - I bought a bunch of them on my last trip to Sally's (last Saturday), and I just love how they lay flat and blend in seamlessly. I think they're probably the best sticker-style decals I've used to this point.

I decided to do the undersides of my nails too, just for some extra interest, so I did those first using Zoya's "Creamy" yellow:

If you're going to do the undersides, do them first. That way you can cover up any excess on the top with your main color.

You may have noticed I've become a Seche Vite convert - so I started with 1 coat Seche base coat, followed by 2 coats Pure Ice "Wild Thing" - isn't this just the most delicious lime green?

The color even shows up in the yellow lamp-light. Then I put one coat of Seche top coat on (it's quick dry, so keeps the stickers from "sinking" into the damp polish), and used an orange stick to position the decals.

One more coat of Seche top coat over the whole thing, clean up and voila! Easy peasy, and I think they worked, since Spring finally showed up last weekend. :-)

I'm not sure what color I'm in the mood for this week. I may try stamping again, since the Seche dries so quickly...but I have all those great new decals too...decisions, decisions.

Stop in Friday night for the new "Notable Nails" list - and I'm definitely going to get a "clean up" video done this weekend too, so watch for that next week.

Until then, Happy Polishing!

Electric Flowers

 

The weather's warming up, and I was in the mood for green and flowers this week after starting a bunch of seeds for the garden. I had to cut quite a lot of length off - I had some breakage and just decided to start over. I had some bubbling problems, as you can see - that's what I get for using cheap and older polish. But I just love OPI's "Electric Eel"! I started with a base of Pure Ice "Platinum". 

Then I used three coats of Electric Eel - it's pretty transluscent, but I kind of like the effect over the Platinum.

 

Then I used the white flower decals, accented on the thumbs with black butterflies. If I recall correctly, all of the decals are "Fingers" brand. 

 

I finished it off with a couple coats of top coat, and cleaned it up this morning. 

 

I like it - very spring-y and light. I prefer lighter polish on shorter nails, so next week's manicure will probably be light as well.

This weekend I'm going to try to get a video done of how I clean the polish off the sides of my nails - or an approximation in the sink anyway, since I normally do it in the shower. Hopefully I'll have that ready to post sometime next week. 

What say you, readers? Would you like to see some video nail art tutorials? I can't guarantee one every week, but I thought it might be kind of fun once in awhile...let me know what you think!

Big Bang Hearts

I was in the mood for something "hot" last week - and the tiny bottle of Urban Decay's "Big Bang" jumped right out at me from my polish stash. Feeling lazy and not wanting to cover up much of this delicious color, I decided to go with simple glittery tips and heart decals - easy as it gets.

 

I started with two coats of "Big Bang" - which applied very smoothly. I love how much this shimmers, but it does make it hard to capture in a photo. The flash bounces back, and it looks dull without. But I used the flash for the demo photos so you could see how bright it is. Yes, it really is that bright in person. 

 

I used China Glaze "Tinsel" for the tips - just one coat, enough to give it a good shimmery effect, but not enough to completely hide the color underneath. 

 

These decals are self-stick, and made by "Fingers" if I recall correctly. I have to say, they're some of the best decals I've ever used - they don't sink down into the polish after application, and they lay perfectly flat on the nail. I definitely need to order more of these if I can find them online (picked these up at a drugstore as a rare find). 

 
 

Two coats of top coat and some cleanup - voila! These last two photos are without the flash, so you can get the "lower light" scoop. I'm really quite enamored of these - simple, but eye catching. Sometimes I just feel like bright nails. 

 

 

Until next week...Happy polishing!

Halloween Nails: Dark & Edgy

The folks at Cina were kind enough to send me a pack of their new Halloween decals to try this month, and share with all of you! Have you noticed that good nail decals are getting harder and harder to find? I have, so I was super-excited to get these, with their edgy not-quite-goth designs. They're available exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply (incidentally, I don't see them in the online store - these may be a retail store only item) and only for the month of October, so run out and get a pack - these are the real deal!

I decided to use the main colors in the decals to create the "canvas", so this week I used China Glaze polishes in "White Out", "Liquid Leather", and "Ruby Pumps". I also used my black & white Migi Nail art pen.
First, I painted every other nail white, then went back and did the rest black. "White Out" has a very thin consistency that I found hard to control - I did three coats of that to get the color even, and two coats of "Liquid Leather" - which is really the perfect glossy black.
Then I took "Ruby Pumps" and accented the base colors with the glittery red. I decided at the last minute to cover my whole pinky nail there, and I also added a horizontal strip across the black index finger, and a red cross over my black middle finger (other hand - not shown).
Time to place the details! I decided on a little ghostly yin-yang on my thumb that ended up looking more like a crest (one of my favorites), and I think the eyes peeking out over the red tip on my index finger are very spooky. A spider, a disturbingly happy skull & crossbones, and a black cat completed this hand. Here's a tip - wait until the polish is pretty well dry before placing the stickers. If you put them in wet polish, the edges will curl up (as did my white ghost there, and my spider on the index finger). These decals do lay perfectly flat when you place them on mostly dry polish.
Next I went back and outlined any color lines with the Migi in black, to smooth them out a bit and give it a more "finished" look. Quick and easy. Two coats of top coat, and some of Zoya's "Hurry Up" drops, and I was ready to clean up my cuticles!
Voila! I think this turned out really well, the first Halloween manicure of the season. It's not just me though - I got compliments already from the lady at the post office, and one at Costco, aside from a few I caught checking them out while trying to be sneaky. These designs are very eye-catching, and people tend to really notice them.
And my right hand too. I adore the spider web & spider on my ring finger, and that screamer skull perfectly accents the long pinky nail.

Next week, more Halloween nails!

Porcelain Flowers

I'm switching up the post format this week - posting more of a step-by-step tutorial on how I got the nail art look I'm wearing this week. Let me know if it's helpful, or if there's another format you'd like to see, feel free to speak up.

This week's design is inspired by some porcelain rose decals I found at Sally Beauty Supply last weekend. They're 3D roses, and just gorgeous! I picked China Glaze "Cherish" and Zoya "Felicity for the polish colors, and got some gold boullion beads to compliment the little gold beads on the decals.

I started off with 2 coats of Felicity. I should warn you now - I am not a "neat" nail artist...I make a huge mess, and worry about cleaning it up later. Much less stressful for me than trying to focus on working clean throughout. So the photos in this post are true to my working style - messy.

Then I swiped over the bottom corner with Cherish to start creating a "V" at the base of my nail, going the other way to complete it. I don't worry about whether my initial lines are smooth - that's what beads and nail art pens are for.

Then I placed the flower decals in the center of each point. The decals are self-adhesive, but I put them on before the polish is too dry, which helps them adhere strongly. I wear my nail art for 6 days at a time, so I need it to be very strong. After I put the decals on, I went over the whole thing with top coat, paying special attention to the base of the decal.
You'll notice that the decals have little gold balls for accents. I simply extended that with the gold bouillon beads, covering the edges of the green, and then creating little gold "ribbons" hanging from the flowers.

This was my first time working with the bouillon beads. It definitely takes some practice. If the nail is too wet, they'll slip around. If it's too dry, they won't stick. I generally swipe a strip of top coat over a small area, put the beads on, then move to the next area. It's time consuming, but worth it, I think.

After I put the beads on each nail, I used 2 more coats of top coat over the whole design on each nail. Four coats of top coat in all to affix and seal the nail art for a week's worth of wear.

I let them dry overnight, and cleaned up the next morning in a sink of warm, soapy water with an orange stick. And voila - some pretty fancy nail art that reminds me of weddings (or anniversaries - mine is at the end of the week).

So far, they've been wearing well - I did this manicure Saturday night, and all the decals and beads are still very solid. I love the roses, and I'm going to try to get them off the decal backing so I can use them again later. Yes, they do get in the way, and I wore gloves to do some kitchen chores yesterday so they'd be protected. Not something I'd want to wear in sweater weather, but fun for now. I think next time, I'll just do three nails each hand with the flowers.

Pedicure photos on Thursday - until then, Happy Polishing!