Glam/Cute: Lovely rhinestones on a clean white background!
Faux Fur: Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Siberian Tiger stripes.
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
An Accent Nail
Showing posts with label Nail Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nail Art. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
B&W Days 4 & 5: Glam/Cute and Faux Fur
I truly space cadet-ed about the timing of this challenge, so I'm making it up with a two-fer!
Glam/Cute: Lovely rhinestones on a clean white background!
Faux Fur: Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Siberian Tiger stripes.
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Glam/Cute: Lovely rhinestones on a clean white background!
Faux Fur: Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Siberian Tiger stripes.
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Friday, August 2, 2013
B&W Nail Art Challenge Day 3: Freehand Free for All!
When I hear "Free for all", and it's relating to nails, I hear "GLITTER". I also hear, "I have very shaky hands", so I decided to try my hand at a two-color galaxy manicure, as I figured that'd be more forgiving. Thus, I give you a glitterbomb of black and white proportions :
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
B&W Nail Art Challenge Day 2: Stamping
I tend to gravitate toward my twirly whirly, fluffy and frilly stamping patterns, so today I aimed to use the harder-edged, more geometric ones off of my LeaLC B plate. Et Voila!
Sorry for the slightly gloomy pics; it's been threatening rain all day long!
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Sorry for the slightly gloomy pics; it's been threatening rain all day long!
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Monday, July 29, 2013
B&W Nail Art Challenge Day One. Get-in-shape: Geometric!
What did the acorn say when it grew up? Gee, I'm a tree!
Har har har; that's a favorite joke of my dad's, who was a math teacher for years.
Enough of that corniness! On to the B&W Nail Art Challenge, Day One: Geometric! I used Julep's Eileen and Wet n' Wild Ebony Hates Chris to create this mod-squad, colorblocked, squared off, super hip, '60s chic manicure.
Groovy, baby.
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Enough of that corniness! On to the B&W Nail Art Challenge, Day One: Geometric! I used Julep's Eileen and Wet n' Wild Ebony Hates Chris to create this mod-squad, colorblocked, squared off, super hip, '60s chic manicure.
Check out today's B&W Nail Art Challenge looks!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by Graffiti
I knew I wasn't going to be able to really emulate graffiti with this manicure; I've never been that good at sharp outlines, so I wanted to take the "inspired by" of this week's theme and run with it.
I was fortunate enough to win a set of MASH nail art brushes from a giveaway Set in Lacquer ran, and I wanted to give the fan brush a shot, to add artistic strokes of bright colors to my nails.
I used Julep's Eileen as a base, and the It Girl April colors, Eden, Abbie and Mackenzie as the bright bright bright graffiti stripes. The white base really made these colors pop, and the manicure kind of reminds me of fruit stripe gum.
I was fortunate enough to win a set of MASH nail art brushes from a giveaway Set in Lacquer ran, and I wanted to give the fan brush a shot, to add artistic strokes of bright colors to my nails.
I used Julep's Eileen as a base, and the It Girl April colors, Eden, Abbie and Mackenzie as the bright bright bright graffiti stripes. The white base really made these colors pop, and the manicure kind of reminds me of fruit stripe gum.
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.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Easter!
Easter has the best candy of any holiday.
That has nothing to do with today's manicure, chicks in Easter grass. I've thought a few times that Zoya's Pixiedust shade Vespa was a pretty perfect Easter grass shade, and Creamy is the perfect baby chick yellow. By their powers combined (plus some Angelina and Pia for eyes and beaks), we have chicks in Easter Grass!
Little cuties :)
That has nothing to do with today's manicure, chicks in Easter grass. I've thought a few times that Zoya's Pixiedust shade Vespa was a pretty perfect Easter grass shade, and Creamy is the perfect baby chick yellow. By their powers combined (plus some Angelina and Pia for eyes and beaks), we have chicks in Easter Grass!
Little cuties :)
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.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Color Block Manicure
I want it to be spring! So I busted out some springy colors (China Glaze For Audrey and Secret Peri-wink-le over Milani's White on the Spot) and created a refreshing color block manicure.
Here's a quick how-to video that shows you my process; I love the clean white lines in this one!
Do you have requests for tutorials I could film?
Do you have requests for tutorials I could film?
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.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Earthquake or Seismograph mani!
This kind of nail art, I like. I can do it all with brushes in the bottles of my polish, it's simple, and people will probably ooh and ah when I go to the bank or grocery store, which is always a fun little ego boost!
I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).
Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:
This polish is a nice opacity, and dries quickly to a satiny finish. It's not matte, but it's not a full shine, probably due to the pigmentation. I like it! I did notice that my second coat needed to be a little thick to prevent dragging the first coat and creating bald patches; the polish wasn't hard to work with, it's just worth noting that a thicker second coat is worth it. Plus, Olgite dries quickly, so no problemo!
Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:
This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice. It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist! I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!
Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail. You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags. As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!
I used GOSH Holographic Hero; I figured my nails were too dark to use black. These turned out a little more Flash Gordon than Seismograph, but I really like them anyway!
Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).
Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:
Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:
This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice. It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist! I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!
Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail. You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags. As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!
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.
Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
Friday, December 28, 2012
10 Day Nail Art Challenge Day 6: Holiday Movie; The Santa Clause
I love The Santa Clause; a Christmas movie about doubt and belief, magic, generosity, good fun, family, falling off the roof, burnt turkey, ugly sweaters, snow globes and more? What's not to like!?
My little Santa suit nails are actually pretty easy to do, as evidenced by this video tutorial!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Christmas
I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner; wasn't it July just recently?
This manicure isn't going to make any kind of sense without a backstory, so here it is: Bees. My manicure is a tribute to a very large Secret Santa exchange that happens over the internet, wherein the Secret Santas and Santees regularly make jokes about sending and receiving bees (can you imagine receiving a box full of bees in the mail? Terrifying!).
I was lucky enough to get a Santa who sent me a fabulous gift, including 4 Julep polishes I didn't own (a feat in itself, since I own something like 30!), some fabulous nail art glitters, and a nice black polish (for bee striping, of course!) I set out to make a bee-like manicure with the bee colored portions of their gift, and made a honeycomb/stripey design for my Christmas manicure.
This manicure isn't going to make any kind of sense without a backstory, so here it is: Bees. My manicure is a tribute to a very large Secret Santa exchange that happens over the internet, wherein the Secret Santas and Santees regularly make jokes about sending and receiving bees (can you imagine receiving a box full of bees in the mail? Terrifying!).
I've participated in this Secret Santa exchange for 2 years now, and it's so much fun to send gifts to people across the country (or the world!), get thoughtful and fun gifts from a relative stranger, and basically add even more excitement to the holidays. So, I have a bee manicure, because it wouldn't be Christmas with out bees!
Bzz!
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.
Lab Muffin
Maria's Nail Art
Valiantly Varnished
Unnaked Nails
Nail & Polish
Beauty Gnome
Lacquered Lunatic
Maria's Nail Art
Valiantly Varnished
Unnaked Nails
Nail & Polish
Beauty Gnome
Lacquered Lunatic
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Movember (better late than never!)
I'm so sorry this post is late, but between holiday travels and being sick, I couldn't get my act together and Movember it up until after work today.
Movember is a moustache-growing movement that is geared toward raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. You can learn more about Movember and its goals here: http://us.movember.com/ Being knowledgeable about cancers you and your loved ones are susceptible to, how to detect them, and what to do if you do think you've found something, is critical, so any time I can promote health initiatives I'm happy to do it, even in a small way like a Movember manicure!
I busted out my prized holos for this one; Layla Coffee Lover and Gosh Holographic Hero. A nice, aged, distinguished silver moustache makes this Movember mani complete!
Movember is a moustache-growing movement that is geared toward raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. You can learn more about Movember and its goals here: http://us.movember.com/ Being knowledgeable about cancers you and your loved ones are susceptible to, how to detect them, and what to do if you do think you've found something, is critical, so any time I can promote health initiatives I'm happy to do it, even in a small way like a Movember manicure!
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.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Jelly Sammiches!
Jelly sandwiches are pretty simple; jelly polish, glitter, jelly polish, done. Jellies are arguably a new way to classify sheer polishes, but they do tend to come in more interesting colors than a sheer polish.
For today's Jelly Sammich, I used Essence's White Secret, a white jelly, and Ulta's Pinyata-yada-yada for the glitter. 2 coats of White Secret, 1 coat of Pinyata-yada-yada, and one more coat of White secret, and you've got a charming little party on your nails!
I probably could've added a fourth coat of White Secret, but I wanted a little of the reflectivity of the glitter to remain visible.
The nice thing about a Jelly Sammich is you totally change the look of the two polishes you use; your glitter is transformed by the color of the jelly, and your jelly gets some more depth and life with the addition of glitter. Quite the manicure style!
For today's Jelly Sammich, I used Essence's White Secret, a white jelly, and Ulta's Pinyata-yada-yada for the glitter. 2 coats of White Secret, 1 coat of Pinyata-yada-yada, and one more coat of White secret, and you've got a charming little party 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.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Drag Marble
You guys are going to have to excuse the slightly crummy pictures today; it's been raining like crazy, and my old junky Nikon doesn't like my lightbox, so my lighting options have been limited. On that note, what kind of camera do you like to use for close-up photos? I could use some recommendations!
Anyway, back on track, today's Artsy Wednesday is a drag marble. A drag marble involves slathering a thickish layer of a base polish on, then dabbing a bit of another color and dragging a needle through it to make designs.
I had Pretty & Polished Pretty as a Peacock on, and didn't want to take it off because it's so pretty, but didn't want to cover it up either. Jelly polish to the rescue! Zoya's Frida was a perfect base for my drag marble, and Julep's Sienna (the perfect gold polish), was a nice accent to the teal base. My technique could use refining, as I basically just made little sunshiny splats, but it was a pretty neat process.
You do end up with a lot of polish on your nail; even after a 30 minute dry time and a fast-dry top coat, I wrecked both my thumbs :( So, set aside a lot of time for a drag marble!
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.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Creative with Crackle
I have never owned a crackle polish, until yesterday. I never actually liked them, but the whole point of my wanting to participate with Artsy Wednesday was to try new things, right? Right??
I ran out to Sally's to snag one of the China Glaze crackles that are practically always on clearance there, and picked up Haute Metal, a rosy metallic crackle. I figured "creative" required more than just crackling the whole nail, so I did oblique stripes per nail, over Orly Ingenue. Thus, a fairly pretty, candylike manicure was born!
Upon staring at my nails and trying to think of other ways I could use crackle, it occurred to me that it looked like a similar texture to a lipstick print. I may try using this on valentines, to make little lip prints on my nails. We'll see!
I ran out to Sally's to snag one of the China Glaze crackles that are practically always on clearance there, and picked up Haute Metal, a rosy metallic crackle. I figured "creative" required more than just crackling the whole nail, so I did oblique stripes per nail, over Orly Ingenue. Thus, a fairly pretty, candylike manicure was born!
Upon staring at my nails and trying to think of other ways I could use crackle, it occurred to me that it looked like a similar texture to a lipstick print. I may try using this on valentines, to make little lip prints on my nails. We'll see!
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.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by the season
"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."-George Eliot
I love fall. The colors, the smells, the cool air, my birthday, fun holidays, good food, cozy clothes, migrating birds. Fall makes me feel calm, like the world is how it's supposed to be.
To celebrate, I now have a super super cute apple manicure!
Hooray for fall!
I love fall. The colors, the smells, the cool air, my birthday, fun holidays, good food, cozy clothes, migrating birds. Fall makes me feel calm, like the world is how it's supposed to be.
To celebrate, I now have a super super cute apple manicure!
It's like back-to-school, pies, changing leaves and a harvest wrapped into one. Also, since a large portion of the Eastern U.S.'s apple crop was wiped out this year from an April frost, it's something of a memorial (no worries though, trees that are well rested should produce even better than usual next year!).
I don't think I've been happier with a manicure in a long time; every time I look at my nails I get a little surge of delight!
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.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Favorite Polish Brand
I didn't want to spoil this week's Artsy Wednesday theme this Monday when I declared it Zoya week here at the blog, but Zoya is definitely my favorite brand and I wanted to celebrate their awesome polishes on more than one day.
Zoya recently put out some fantastic jelly polishes, and I bought myself a bottle of Frida, a teal jelly. Making jelly sandwiches with the Zoya jellies has taken the blogging world by storm (sandwiching a layer of glitter between layers of jelly polish), but I wanted to do something a little bit different. Thus, I give you the Jelly Plaid!
I started with two layers of Zoya's Luna, a pretty spectacular polish with silver glitter in a semi-opaque white base. I almost passed on it, but I'm amazed every time I put it on as to how amazing and unusual it looks.
I blocked off a plaid pattern with striping tape, then painted 2 coats of Frida, a teal jelly, over. The jelly finish lets the glittery goodness of Luna shine through while adding some color and depth.
Zoya recently put out some fantastic jelly polishes, and I bought myself a bottle of Frida, a teal jelly. Making jelly sandwiches with the Zoya jellies has taken the blogging world by storm (sandwiching a layer of glitter between layers of jelly polish), but I wanted to do something a little bit different. Thus, I give you the Jelly Plaid!
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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