A girl and her love of nail polish

Posts tagged ‘nail art’

30 Day Challenge Day 14 – Flowers: A-England Iseult

I figured from the get-go that I wouldn’t be able to pull off anything too extravagant for Day 14 of the 30 Day Challenge. But I didn’t want to do just basic dot daisy flowers, so I looked around for some other options. I found this video tutorial on a modified dot daisy and decided to use that but in a different design.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

To satisfy the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge that I’m doing simultaneously, I started with three coats of A-England Iseult, a pale shimmery pink creme. This is a great, versatile color. It’s pretty on its own but also provides a great backdrop for nail art.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

For the flowers, I started with Zoya Jolene, a bright pink creme, and used the head of a pin as a DIY dotting tool. I started with five dots to create the flower, and then used a toothpick to drag from the center of each dot to the center of the flower to create some lines on the petals.

I then used the same technique with Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors  to create a smaller silver metallic flower with a small dotting tool.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

I applied one coat of regular top coat and then added clear and pink rhinestones, some bigger some small. I sealed them with one coat of Poshe.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

It wasn’t too challenging but I think it’s cute. A nice easy way to do a fun design.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 12 – Stripes: Three Shades Of Gray

Day 12 of the 30 Day Challenge brings us to stripes. I used three colors of gray to do some horizontal stripes and then added some silver striping tape to help differentiate the colors.

Sinful Colors Hot Wired, Sinful Colors Slate, OPI My Pointe Exactly

My original plan was to use four different shades but the spacing worked out better with three. I started with the lightest color and went to the darkest shade as I moved toward the tips.

Sinful Colors Hot Wired, Sinful Colors Slate, OPI My Pointe Exactly

The colors in this manicure from lightest to darkest are:

OPI My Pointe Exactly (sheer light gray)
Sinful Colors Slate (medium gray creme with a subtle shimmer)
Sinful Colors Hot Wired (dark metallic sparkly gray)

Sinful Colors Hot Wired, Sinful Colors Slate, OPI My Pointe Exactly

I started with three coats of OPI My Pointe Exactly followed by a coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat. Once it was dry, I used some striping tape about one-third of the way down the nail and added one coat of Sinful Colors Slate. I followed that with another coat of Poshe. Finally I used the striping tape one last time to mark off the tip and painted that with one coat of Sinful Colors Hot Wired. To top it off, one coat of Gelous and one coat of Poshe. Definitely time-consuming waiting for all of the layers to dry, even with the fast-dry top coat.

Sinful Colors Hot Wired, Sinful Colors Slate, OPI My Pointe Exactly

Hot Wired is part of the new Sinful Colors Hot Flash Metallics line. It is very sparkly, but not sure I’d call it metallic. Still, it’s very pretty. This was my first time using it — to satisfy the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m participating in simultaneously — so I definitely want to try it on its own. I think it will be a go-to polish for me this fall and winter.

Have you found a favorite among the new fall polishes yet?

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, NOTD

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 11 – Dots: OPI Berlin There Done That

I think technically Day 11 of the 30 Day Challenge is supposed to be polka dots, but I just did gradient dots and realized it a little too late. I actually like it quite a bit, so I hope you do too even though it’s not quite what was called for. I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds, so I fit a few new polishes in as well.

Gradient Dot Manicure: OPI Berlin There Done That with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

This mani includes three polishes:

  • OPI Berlin There Done That (untried)
  • Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby (untried)
  • Orly Rage

Gradient Dot Manicure: OPI Berlin There Done That with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

I started with two coats of OPI Berlin There Done That, a taupe creme, on everything but my ring finger, which has two coats of Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby, a bright red jelly-leaning polish.

For the dots, I used the head of a straight pin to do the large dots, starting with Orly Rage, a rose gold foil. I layered over that with large dots in the opposite color of the base nail, and then added some smaller dots with a small dotting tool down the nail to create a gradient effect. Then I want back and added some base-color dots inside the large “opposite dots,” i.e. added red dots to taupe dots, taupe dots to red dots.

Gradient Dot Manicure: OPI Berlin There Done That with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

I overlapped the dots a bit and also made sure some hung over the tips. My inspiration came from this gradient dot manicure from Chalkboard Nails. I finished everything off with a coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat.

Gradient Dot Manicure: OPI Berlin There Done That with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Shade

I was a little sad to have to take this one off to move onto the next challenge!

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, NOTD

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 10 – Gradient: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus

It’s day 10 of the 30 Day Challenge, which means I’ve survived one-third of it. Woo hoo for me. Today’s theme is gradients.

Since I haven’t done this kind of gradient before, I tried to keep it simple. For the gradient, I used two colors, Zoya Lotus and Cult Nails Untamed. The latter satisfied the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m doing simultaneously with this one. I also added China Glaze Luxe And Lush, a layering polish with holographic flakies, to make it a little more interesting.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I started with two coats of Cult Nails Untamed as the base, then a coat of Poshe fast dry top coat. I let it dry completely before starting the gradient. Untamed is a medium pink sheer-ish polish with a fine shimmer. Zoya Lotus is an amethyst purple with a stronger pink/gold shimmer (click to see it on it’s own).

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I know there are several different techniques for doing gradients; I used a makeup sponge and brushed the polish directly onto it, then dabbed it onto my nail. I dampened the sponge a little with water before I started so it wouldn’t absorb quite as much polish … not sure if it made a difference or not. I put the darker color on first and then the lighter one, making sure they overlapped some in the middle. As I dabbed the sponge on my nail, I moved it back and forth a little, tip to base, to make sure I got Zoya Lotus where I wanted it, and also to help with the blend a bit.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I added another layer of Poshe, then one coat of China Glaze Luxe And Lush, followed by one coat of Gelous since the flakies are chunky in the CG, and finally another coat of Poshe.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I wasn’t able to achieve as much of the blend in the middle as I wanted, so perhaps this technique wasn’t the best for that. It also might have been my polish choices: the Cult Nails Untamed was sheer and light in color, so it didn’t blend into the Zoya as much is get absorbed into it.

Still, I’m glad to have my first sponge gradient under my belt. Any tips you can share would be greatly appreciated.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 9 – Rainbow: Laser Tape Nail Art

For Day 9’s rainbow theme, I tried a laser tape manicure. I actually had to use Google to find out what this type of manicure was called, but it’s pretty basic: lay down a base color, apply striping tape to the nail, paint over it with another color, remove the tape to expose the underlying color.

Rainbow Laser Tape Manicure

The lines didn’t come out as cleanly as I had hoped. On some it seemed I waited too long to remove the tape; others seemed like it was too soon. It depends more on the consistency of the top color. If it’s a runny color you need to wait longer; if it dries faster, remove sooner before it sets too much.

Rainbow Laser Tape Nail Art

Since I’m doing 30 Days of Untrieds simultaneously with the 30 Day Challenge, I was able to work a few untrieds into the mix as well.

Here are the polishes used in this manicure:

Pinkie
base: Zoya Jolene
top: Ulta Steppin Out (untried)

Ring
base: Zoya Jancyn
top: China Glaze Riveting

Middle
base: Sinful Colors Let’s Meet mixed with NYC French White Tip
top: Sinful Colors Let’s Meet

Index
base: Sinful Colors Exotic Green
top: Sinful Colors Last Chance

Thumb
base: Zoya Robyn
top: Nails Inc Baker Street (untried)

I used three coats of all of the base colors except the blue nail,which is two coats. The top colors are all one coat except the blue nail, which is two coats. I topped everything off with one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat.

Rainbow Laser Tape Nail Art

Not sure rainbow nail art is my thing, but I did like the idea of this one, if not totally in love with the execution.

Are you a fan of rainbow nails?

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, NOTD

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 7 – Black & White: Dice With A-England Morgan Le Fay

I almost didn’t make it through Day 7 of the 30 Day Challenge without having to buy another bottle of nail polish (*the horror!*). It wasn’t the theme of black & white that was the problem; it’s the fact that I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds.

I only have one bottle of black polish, which I’ve already used, so if I couldn’t come up with a suitable untried white, I would have no choice but to go buy something new.

Luckily (unluckily?), I was saved by A-England, which also happens to be the brand I featured yesterday for the violet day of the 30-day challenge. Loving this brand, so easy to apply, and beautiful!

Dice Manicure With A-England Morgan Le Fay

This manicure includes: two coats of NYC French White Tip under two coats of A-England Morgan Le Fay (untried), with Orly Liquid Vinyl. I finished it with one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat. I liked the shimmer that A-England Morgan Le Fay brought to the table. There’s more going on here than if I had used a basic white creme.

Dice Manicure With A-England Morgan Le Fay

The dice theme is pretty easy, which is good for me since I am not that comfortable with dotting tools yet. I actually used the head of a pin as my dotting tool, and it worked pretty well for me. I didn’t get them totally uniform in size, but I’m working on it. The Daily Varnish has a great post on DIY dotting tools, if you want to check it out.

Here’s a quick iPhone photo of what I did with my left hand … too complicated to take a one-handed photo with my other camera!

Dice nail art with A-England Morgan Le Fay

Have you used any household items as dotting tools? Let me know what you’ve had success with.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD, Swatches

Tagged with:

30 Day Challenge Day 6 – Violet: A-England Elaine With Stamping

As soon as I looked over the requirements for the 30 Day Challenge I knew right away what polish I would be featuring on Day 6 when we got to violet: A-England Elaine. I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds, this covers both challenges.

I got A-England Elaine (untried) along with three other polishes from the company’s The Mythicals line in July when the company offered its mega-sale, and I’ve been dying to try it ever since. It is described by the company as a “smoky violet amethyst.” Yum.

A-England Elaine With Sonia Kashuk Smoke And Mirrors

I’ve read a lot of blogs that sing the praises of A-England and its incredible formula. I’m happy to say that these reports are NOT greatly exaggerated. Elaine is a beautiful polish that goes on very easily with a high-gloss finish.

This is two coats of A-England Elaine. No topcoat, and look at that shine!

A-England Elaine With Sonia Kashuk Smoke And Mirrors

Perhaps I should have left Elaine to her own devices, but I wanted to add some stamping to this mani. I recently bought the Salon Express kit off of Amazon for about $5, which I would recommend as a great starter kit for anyone that is curious about nail stamping but doesn’t want to devote a big budget to it out of the gate.

A-England Elaine With Sonia Kashuk Smoke And Mirrors

I’m still working on getting the stamping technique down, and I don’t yet own any stamping polishes. This is Sonia Kashuk Smoke And Mirrors, a shiny metallic silver polish. I used a larger tri-heart design on my ring finger and then a small heart on my index finger. Then I tried to freehand hearts on my middle finger and pinkie.

Not the greatest results, but I wanted to give it a go. After all, I’m no shrinking violet. 🙂

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD, Swatches

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud