May72013
More Polish Days fun!
This month’s theme is The Number 5. The host, Hannah, offered up a lot of interpretations, and what I decided to go with was a design relating to my five fingers. Creative, I know.
Anyway, I present to you the most subtle manicure of all time.
My idea was to represent each finger with a different nail stamp. I used my bundle monster plates for this (the plate 1-25 pack). The color is Silhouette by Revlon. It’s from my double bottle called Nail Art Expressionist, and it’s the less sparkly color of the two.
I went with a nude stamp directly over my base coat because I wanted it to look like it was a natural part of my nails since I’m trying to echo what I feel each finger represents.
The thumb is a peace sign because we use our thumbs to give thumbs ups, so I figured thumbs just want everyone to be friends. The pointer is a star because as it’s so often used, it’s the star of the show… or at least the star out of all the other fingers. Here are some more pictures with the rest more visible.
The middle finger is a flame because we use our middle fingers when we’re really angry… if you know what I mean. The ring finger is a pair of swooshy hearts since it’s our engagement/wedding finger. And finally, the pinky is an elegant leaf-like design because, well, pinkies up.
Check out other people’s interpretations of the theme below!
April232013
Yesterday I tutored my now 12 year old tutee for the last time after two years! It was definitely sad to say goodbye, but we’ve had a good time together (and hopefully she learned something!).
Anyway, she and her mom got me a going away gift! They gave me a really nice card and two essie nail polishes! My tutee has always liked looking at my nails (and has joked many times that I should work at a salon), so it was just the cutest and sweetest thing. They also gave me a pedicure kit and a gift card (see the picture below). I was really touched.
Meanwhile, I of course wanted to try them right away!
They are an ode to my tutee. She has come in a few times with this exact nail design (usually white over red) on her ring fingers - she gets them done at a local salon. I’ve always thought it was cute, and it just felt like the exact thing to do. I love it and love the polish!
The base color is DJ play that song by essie, and the design color is bouncer, it’s me by essie.
I have also already used the gift card they gave me to order some bigRuby nail tattoos! Of course I saw them on The Nailasaurus and have had my eye on them for a while. I will showcase them when they arrive! Thank you to my tutee and her mom :)
April192013
I’ve been wanting to try this technique for a while - the water marble!
You can find tons of tutorials online. Basically, you drop different nail colors into a cup of water, make any types of swirls you want with a toothpick, and then dip your nail onto the part of the design you like! It’s actually a bit tougher than it sounds or looks, so I’m definitely looking forward to trying it again in the future and improving at it.
The light gold color is City Twilight by Bobbi Brown, the pinkish color is Ate Berries in the Canaries by OPI, and the purple is Bandeau from Urban Outfitters. The better I get at this, the sharper the designs will look (check out some examples here). Also, sorry about the picture quality; I unfortunately could only get phone pictures before my nails chipped.
I really like how my left pinky and thumb came out!
Here are some pictures of my hands after each of the dippings. It’s a little freaky looking, but I love how you can see more of the designs that were on the water!
April92013
Another month, another Polish Days!
This month’s theme is 7 Deadly Sins, and given that I just got a pink shatter polish, I thought lust was the perfect choice.
The white is Correction Tape by Wet n’ Wild (Spoiled). The shatter polish is Pink Shatter by OPI.
I used striping tape for the thumb, pointer, and pinky. The heart was a mixture of a cutout design in paper and freehand.
See below for the Polish Days description and other entries!
March122013
Got my act together for another polish days! The theme this month is vintage, and I didn’t really have any ideas. So I of course turned to google images, and what I found was tons of nail art mimicking vintage fabric patterned with roses. I’ve actually been wanting to try out roses on my nails, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity!
The base color is Audacious Asphalt by Maybelline (Color Show). The dark flower color is You’re a Pisa Work by OPI, which I just dabbed on with the tip of the nail polish brush. I used a nail art brush to make the leaves, which are Lickety-Split Lime by Sally Hansen (Insta-Dri). I also used that brush to paint on the lighter color, Coney Island Cotton Candy by OPI, for the detail on the roses.
You can check out other submissions (including the theme description) below!
February262013
I am loving the striping tape recently. It creates an awesomely clean and neat looking mani!
Both colors are from Revlon - it’s a double bottle called Nail Art Expressionist, and the color is Silhouette.
February172013
I thought I would make some seasonally appropriate nails for once! I actually had this idea for the February Polish Days theme (“At the Mercy of Mother Nature”), but I didn’t have time to do them until now.
Anyway, here are some fun snowy nails!
The blue/grey background is Barstool from Urban Outfitters. The white is Correction Tape by Wet n’ Wild (Spoiled). The snowflakes are from one of my Bundle Monster stamping plates (BM14).
I have a polish called “Pet My Peacock” by Wet n’ Wild (Spoiled), that is a weird combination of different colored hexagonal glitter pieces. I have yet to find a real use for it, but I realized I could pull out individual glitter pieces for designs! For this manicure I took silver pieces and placed them at each snowflake’s center.
January292013
So I saw this post by the nailasaurus, and was immediately drawn in by her accent nail! I decided to recreate that design, so I made my own version of the manicure.
The gold is Golden-I by Sally Hansen (Xtreme Wear), the golden flecks are from Gold by Milani (borrowed from @hsym! Thanks!), and the teal is Fresh Teal by Milani. For my right hand I went with a different design for the accent. I really like how they came out.
I tried a few with the flash so that the sparkles/designs would be more defined.
January192013
Okay they aren’t actually studs…
The black is Visually Slimming by Wet n’ Wild (Spoiled). The gold and silver are by Sally Hansen (Xtreme Wear) - Golden-I and Celeb City.
January132013
I’ve wanted to try these nails for the longest time - silly owls! There are tons of people who have done owl nails on the internet, so I picked a style and went for it.
The dark purple is Bandeau from Urban Outfitters, and the light purple is Lively Lilac by Sally Hansen (Insta-Dri). The grey for the eyes is Audacious Asphalt by Maybelline (Color Show), the black is Visually Slimming by Wet n’ Wild (Spoiled), and the orange nose is Braziliant by Essie.
