Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by Jewelry

This is going to be a short one; I had a heck of a time getting this manicure photographed because it was so cloudy, my cuticles are a mess because I got a better water marble on my non-swatching hand and so I photographed that, and I'm almost late for work!  At least my nails look cute :)

I was inspired by a swirly marcasite ring I got myself for my birthday around 5 years ago.  I figured it'd be perfect for a water marble, but I wanted to make sure the glitter of the ring was translated into the manicure, so I used Zoya Luna and China Glaze Tinseltown to add a little sparkle!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants:


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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Artsy Wednesday: Framed

Framed manicure! A mini-mani-inside-a-mani.  I used Julep's Sienna as my base, and painted Essence Choose Me! over it in a smaller, rectangular shape.  I then tipped my nails with Sienna again, fully framing Choose Me!

 I feel like you'd have to be really careful with the colors you'd choose for this manicure, so it doesn't look like chipped polish or like you have bloody cuticles, but this combo is so festive I might give it a shot for the winter holidays!


Sorry about the rough photos; it's been rainy all week, and my indoor lighting is pretty yellow, so good photo lighting wasn't to be found for these!



I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants:
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Artsy Wednesday: Sponging

This week's Artsy Wednesday theme is Sponging.  I love a sponged manicure, because it's usually pretty darn easy, and it adds a lot to nail art without being too difficult.

That said, I did fail with my first try for Artsy Wednesday; I had visions of a beautiful gummy-bear-like jelly polish sponge gradient, and gave it my best go, but it turned out fuuuuugly.

So I went in a different direction; cave paintings!  On a recent work trip, I leafed through a few of the 3-year-old National Geographics that were scattered around our housing, and found an article on cave paintings, including the hand pantings like these:

For some reason, I thought this would turn out really cool as nail art.  And thus, this manicure was born:

I used Julep's Pippa as the base (best nude ever!), Zoya Kaufda for the orange/red (one of Zoya's most underrated polishes), and Color Club Revvvolution for the black.  I sponged the polishes over little hands cut out of painters tape, let the polish dry, and peeled off the stickers.  A little touchup here and there, and voila!

I'm pretty proud of how this turned out; it isn't pretty or glamorous, but it is pretty darn neat!


I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants:


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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Artsy Wednesday: Fishtail Manicure

My first Artsy Wednesday! I'm so excited! This week's theme was the fishtail manicure. This nail art has always seemed intimidating, with all its intricate stripes, but I figured I'd go at it with a gusto and try freehanding to see how it turned out. Pretty darn well!

As I said, I freehanded this one, so the edges definitely aren't perfect.  But this is the type of manicure I could see getting really, really good at with practice, and it honestly didn't take much longer than painting my nails a single color!


I wish the sun would have come out so you could see how lovely these colors are; Julep's Sienna, Alyson, and Amy.  I got them in a Julep mystery box and knew they'd be a fun, preppy combination.  

Here's a final close-up to see how neat this pattern is; some simple swipes of polish, using the brush width to your advantage, and you've got a fishtail braid pattern right on your nails!


I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants:
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