A sea of purple

This look was a little bit more complicated than what I usualy do but I will explain it step by step.

I used Sally Hansen's Deep Purple from their Xtreme Wear collection as a base.  Like most of their polishes, it was very easy to apply, smooth, and opaque in 2 coats.

We are going to apply a tape diagonally to each finger and then use our base color to paint the nail.

Then, we are going to stamp our nail with a swirly design from image plate bm19 and a Silver Foil Nail Polish (Finger Paints Easel come, easel go).  Remove the tape carefully and slowly to protect your design.

Apply silver glitter to the line that divides your design and your naked nail with a fine brush.  I used Kiss Nail Art Paint in Silver Glitter.  If you are shaky like me, you need to do this slowly so you can get a straight line.  Finish it with a nice and glossy top coat, like Seche Vite.

After removing the tape

Apply a thin line of silver glitter and voila! 

Nail Polishes that I used from start to finish!

The White Stripes

This was the easiest manicure ever.  I really wanted to take off that fall manicure attempt that I had in my nails but didn't have much time, so I went for the easiest way out.  I stamped the striped design on bm20 on my naked nails with White Konad Special Polish and topped it with 2 coats of good ol' Seche Vite. I was done in no time, and got a lot of compliments!  The only thing that gave me a hard time, was  trying to get the thumbs right, because Bundle Monster plates are TINY so if you have long nails, or fat thumbs like me, you'll have to get a little creative.  I stamped twice, tried to make it as unnoticeable as possible and I think it looks alright. My husband said it reminded him of candy canes and that I should try it over red for Christmas… Well, maybe I will.  Meanwhile I hope you like my lazy, fast and uncreative manicure as much as me. 

Fall

Sorry for the delay between posts, there's been TOO MUCH stuff going on in my life, but I am pretty sure you're not reading this blog to hear that, but to see some manicures… On with the nails!

I wanted to do a Fall or Thanksgiving inspired manicure but wasn't feeling so creative.  Also, I had just received some faux Konad image plates (Bundle Monster, 21 plates for 17 bucks) and I wanted to try them out.  

As a base, I used Sally Hansen Laquer Shine in Glossy. A-ma-zing shade!  I've had this for a long time but I forgot about it, and trust me, Im glad I found it! It has the most perfect goldish burgundy shimmer to it. Once the light hits this baby, it just comes alive. 

On top of it, I randomly stamped some leaves with Orly Luxe and White Konad Special Polish.

This is the final result.  I didn't really like it that much, I think it came out a bit matronly. 

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving!

The final result

Sally Hansen Glossy.  Can you see the shimmer?

Metallic Zebra

I really liked how this one turned out because it was exactly what I had in mind.  You can use any color combo you wish. I've done it in the past with neons (hot pink, orange and yellow) but this time I wanted to use metallic, foil-finish nail polishes (silver, gold and bronze).  It may seem like it's a lot of work or like it's hard to do, but not at all! 

You are going to grab your silver nail polish (I used Finger Paints in Easel come, easel go) and paint about 1/3 of your nail. Then, the gold (Orly Foil FX in Luxe) and paint the next third of your nail, and finally the bronze (Cover Girl Boundless Color in Bronze Beauty) and paint the last third of your nail.  It doesn't matter if the line between the colors is not straight.  I actually like the way it looks when its a little bit uneven, or overlaps at some points.

Wait for your nails to dry, then use the zebra print in Konad's image plate m57, with Konad Special Nail Polish in Black, and stamp your nails.  You can also do the zebra stripes by hand if you don't have a Konad, You can use a nail art black polish, a nail art pen, or any black polish with a fine brush.  

I hope you like it! Thanks for looking.

Leopard Manicure

I used my Konad m57 plate for this manicure.  The thing with Konad is that you don't need to get to creative to have a cool looking manicure so, usually I just use a base color, stamp, and that's it.  For this mani I switched it up a little bit.

First, I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud as a base.  It looks really bright here, but the picture is really not doing it justice.  Lavender Cloud is the lightest lavender possible, so it does not look completely white, it has a purplish or pinkish tone, which is very beautiful.

Then, I stamped my nail with the Leopard Print from Konad's m57 plate. I grabbed my dotter tool, and filled out the leopard's spots with China Glaze's For Audry, one of my favorite nail polishes EVER, It's the closest possible color to a "Tiffany blue".

And finally, I used Sally Hansen's Disco Ball  as a top coat. This is a clear polish with rainbow iridescent glitter, that I usually think it looks childish, but I'm really digging it today.  Now, I'm going to remind you guys again: when using Konads, it is SUPER important that you apply your top coat in as little brush strokes as possible, 2 or 3 tops, because you may drag your design and ruin your manicure.  I got carried away with my beautiful glittery top coat, and I dragged my nail polish a little bit here and there, but since it's a Sunday and I'm feeling way too relaxed I didn't make a big fuzz about it.  I'll probably have a fresh mani in a couple of days anyway!  

I really like how this one came out, I love the color combination and the iridescent glitter gives it a nice little kick.  

Blurry shot, so you can see the colors of the glitter top coat (Disco Ball)

I read the news today, oh boy

It's been a few days since my last manicure, and I do apologize for the delay.  This time I'm going to try a newspaper print manicure.  This one didn't came out as I wanted, I should have used a lighter shade of grey or an off-white, it just looked different in my head.  But I ran out of nail polish remover, so I'm stuck with it. Anyways, if you decide to recreate this look, I strongly recommend that you use a lighter base color (like Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud).

I used Sally Hansen's "Wet Cement" from their Xtreme Wear polishes.  I absolutely adore this color, it's a very rich and well pigmented creme.  I used 2 coats.

For the newspaper print, we are going to use some kind of alcohol: rubbing, drinking, the one you have in your home already (for me, it was vodka), and pour a little bit into a small container.  It should be enough to dip your nails in it.  Cut squares of newspaper big enough to cover your whole nail, and set them aside.  Dip your fingernail in the alcohol, and then grab a square of newspaper and press it against your nail.  Try not to move the newspaper because you will get a smudged print.  You need to leave the paper long enough to get a good print, but if you leave it too long the newspaper will stick to your nail.  Use a top coat to protect your mani and to give it a glossy finish.

If there's anything that you guys would like me to try out, please let me know!



Here's what I used for the newspaper print



My new addiction

I need to share something... I got this at Sephora about 3 weeks ago, it's a cuticle oil pen with eucalyptus. I just threw it in my handbag and I use it whenever I remember to, and let me tell you: what a difference it makes! It's helped me so much, my cuticles are not that dry anymore, and the main reason is: I use it all the time! Since it comes in such a convenient and portable presentation, it's always handy! And the smell is great! I believe they also have one that smells like lavender, but I haven't tried that one out.  Do you  guys use cuticle oil?  I could REALLY use your answers because my cuticles are very dry from all the nail polish remover I use.  Which one works for you?