Another Design With Options!

Wow, it is definitely the holiday season. How do I know? Because I've been sick for probably the last 6 weeks. None of it is life-threatening, thankfully, it's just frustrating and annoying. So many plans, and so little actual ability to accomplish anything!

I decided to play around a bit with color blocking. You can really use whatever colors you want, and I'll be showing you several options a little farther on in this entry. However, let me explain my process for this one.

I started the way I do all my designs- with a good base coat. This helps the polish adhere longer and can also prevent staining. It can be very frustrating removing a favorite color only to find you have zombie hands!

I then decided to paint random sections on my nail. If I were doing this as a whole-hand manicure, I don't think I'd make all the nails look alike. However, you totally could make them all alike and it would be lots of fun.

So, I started with the yellow polish, painting a triangle-ish shape in the center of my nail. I let that dry for a bit, then went back for the top and bottom sections and filled in with my teal and black polishes. After a few more minutes drying time, I went in with my silver striping polish and added a stripe to cover the lines where the polishes join. A coat of Seche Vite finished everything off, and I was quite happy with this design.

You could also do lots more with this type of design. You could use glitter for the stripes, you could do gradients for one or all of the sections (imagine having the gradients go in different directions!), you could go in with rhinestones or stickers... you're really only limited by your imagination. I didn't even experiment with other patterns! So, enjoy this set of mockups that all use this basic design.

So what do you think? Do you enjoy seeing these variations on a theme to see just how different the same design can look with just basic color changes? I really enjoy showing how a simple design can look so very different based on who's doing it and what spin they put on it.

Leave me a note if you like this design and definitely let me know if you enjoy these mockups. And have a belated Happy Thanksgiving for all the US people!

Some polishes may have been provided by the brands for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Orange Rays

Wow, looks like I had a couple of extra Halloween nails hiding that I didn't get to share with you. That's ok, though, because this is a lovely technique you can use with any colors you like, to create something soft and subtle or bold like I'm showing.

I started this nail using a Milani's High Speed Fast Dry Polish in Jiffy Orange, an intensely pigmented orange creme that does indeed dry quickly. Once it was dry, I added strips of nail striping tape radiating out from one spot on the lower left of the nail. I made sure to cut the tape long enough to leave excess on the end so that I could remove it easily once the next polish was on, and I pressed all the strips down carefully to make sure they were solidly adhered.

Again, let me repeat that it's crucial that your polish be completely dry for this step. If it isn't, you end up with some really funky stuff that needed to be removed so you can try again. It's not worth trying to rush it.

Once the striping tape is applied, I went over the top of the whole nail using Wet n Wild's Black Creme, which is unsurprisingly a black creme polish. As soon as the polish was applied I pulled each strip of tape off one by one, leaving crisp orange lines across the nail. Once again, I let this dry for a few minutes.

Because I felt the nail was still lacking something, I decided to add a spot of glitter. I used Milani's Gold Glitz, which added a bit of glam to the design. After giving this a couple of minutes to dry I then topped the whole thing off with a couple of coats of ProFX topcoat and called it a day.

I've put together a few examples of different color combinations to show just how versatile this design can be. I think it would be fun to do a rainbow ombre for the base coat, with an opaque creme on top. Or you could do the base coat in a dark glitter like Milani's Silver Dazzle and a bright gradient on top!  Hopefully you'll see something that inspires you to play!

Some polishes were provided by the brands for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Building a Design on a Background

Yesterday I posted photos of a nail design that was in progress. I could have happily worn that design on its own, but I wanted to add another design element to it. I decided to go with a tropical theme and add some big flowers.

I worked on two nails this time, one with a pastel gradient and one with the white pinstripes over the pastel gradient. I used creme polishes in bright pink and orange for the large flowers, and then added smaller flowers in a light dusty blue. I used deeper tones of pink and orange to add a bit of dimension to the flower centers, then used tiny white dots to help tie everything together. I also added leaves in a couple of shades of green to help fill in blank space. I did same thing to the nail with the white pinstripes.

Comparing the two, I think the nail with the pinstripes is a bit more finished-looking. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the white lines somehow add more of a unified feel to the design. That's always a good thing, right?

Now I find I'm wanting to experiment with another floral design, this time all in pale pastels. What's wrong with me?? *laughs*

I'll leave you with more photos of the pretty...

Some polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

More Experimenting With Striping tape

I recently mentioned that I've been experimenting with striping tape. I've got an in-progress design to share with you tonight, and I'm absolutely in love with this one! It's pretty labor-intensive, but it's a really special look and it's not all that difficult.

For this design, I started with a sponged gradient. I chose five pastel polishes that looked soft and pretty together. I created my sponged gradient onto this nail (and another, which you'll see in my next post) and let it dry. It's important to let this totally dry, because if the polish is at all wet, the striping tape will make quite a mess.

Once the nail was dry, I started cutting pieces of striping tape to apply to the nail. I tried to keep the tape fairly evenly spaced to create a diagonal across the nail. This was harder than I expected, but I still think it's something that can be done if you really want to. You could also leave wider spaces between the tape to end up with something like my last design. The tape is going to be a mask for our next layer of polish, so the more open space you leave between the tape, the less of the gradient you'll see once you're finished.

Once all the tape was in place, I applied a fairly thick coat of white polish to make sure it was opaque. Then while the polish was still wet I peeled the striping tape off. You can see toward the middle of the nail where I tried to pull two pieces of tape off at once and actually lifted some of the white polish right off the nail. Oops!

I then let everything dry for a few minutes, then added a coat of Pro FX. Unfortunately, my bottle had gotten a bit thick and I tried thinning it down right before applying it. Talk about a bubble fest! If you need to thin your topcoat, do it a few hours before you need to use it!

That's all there is to creating this look! If you find the written instructions confusing and would like to see a video on how to do this, leave me a comment. I could probably be persuaded to show you how to do this on YouTube. :D

Also, be sure to come back tomorrow to see how I dressed this patterned nail up! I'm super happy with how this came out, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Some polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

One Last Halloween Nail Design

I know this is last minute, but I love this design so much I had to share it. I wanted to do sort of a take on candy corn but with a twist. This bright beauty is what I came up with, and I am absolutely in love with it!

This one isn't difficult to do, but it is fiddly. First I painted the nail with pink, orange, and yellow. I went with vibrant, almost neon colors because I wanted a strong, graphic look to them. I also didn't worry about a neat line, since I wanted that sort of candy corn feel to it.

Once that layer was dry, I very precisely laid out stripes using three pieces of striping tape next to each other, then skipping around that much space and adding another three pieces side-by-side. This gave me much thicker lines than I would have had just using the single pieces of striping tape. However, you could use whatever size tape you like.

I then painted the entire nail with a black creme polish. I pulled the tape pieces off while the polish was still wet, being careful not to smear the still-wet black. I let this dry for several minutes before adding a coat of quick-dry topcoat. That sealed the colors together and let them look glassy and seamless.

Can I just say how much this design makes me smile?? Seriously, I want to do all my nails like this! The bright colors look all the more bright next to the black, and I think thinner lines of color contrasted with thicker lines of black could be a fun spin on this idea. Clearly, I have some experimenting to do!

Speaking of, I may have some nail sets up for sale soon, so if you're looking for some sparkly nails for the holidays I just might be able to help you out! Keep an eye on this space... :D

Some polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Doctor's Remedy Breast Cancer Awareness Colors

I have another post I've been intending to make for a couple of weeks now. Stupid body has been uncooperative, but I've finally got the photos for the post! Dr.'s Remedy has three gorgeous colors to help you observe breast cancer awareness month.

First up is Purity Pink, a delicate translucent pink creme that would be absolutely perfect for a french manicure. I'm not really one for the visible nail line look, so this color isn't my cup of tea. However, it's definitely perfect for women who want a delicate, work-appropriate nail color. These photos show three coats of Purity Pink.

Next up is Hopeful Hot Pink, a bright bubblegum pink creme color that definitely made me smile. This color is much more me, while still being work-appropriate for most jobs. It's not a super-vibrant hot pink so much as a softer pink that makes me think of Barbie.

I only needed two coats of Hopeful Hot Pink to have beautiful, even coverage. As usual, this polish applied almost effortlessly. I'll wear this one again.

Finally there's Defense Deep Red, a deep dark red creme that almost comes across as a very warm black. I used two coats of this and was very happy with it, although you can see I had a bit of dragging at the base of my nail on one finger. I blame my poor application on that one, though, because I swatched these while I was feeling poorly. This is definitely a color I like, and it's one I'll wear again I'm sure.

Unfortunately, since this red is so incredibly pigmented it can be a pain to clean up around the edges. You can see that my fingers have some leftover red around the edges. That's after I cleaned up with acetone and a brush, so be careful when you apply this one!

Dr.'s Remedy polishes can be bought at their website, and they cost $17 per bottle. Dr.'s Remedy polishes are not only big 3-free, they're also enriched with ingredients to help protect and strengthen your nails. It's one of my favorite brands, and I love wearing their polishes.

Dr.'s Remedy Breast Cancer Awareness polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Halloween!

Hi there! Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated! I've been sick for entirely too long this time, but after lots of antibiotics and incredible amounts of rest, I'm finally feeling like a human being! Thanks to this, I can show you a couple of items that I want you to see before Halloween is over with!

If you're like me, you want to do fun Halloween nails to go with your costume, even if your costume is simple. Sally Hansen has just the solution for you! The ones I'm wearing in this image are called Numbskull, and they're just the cutest little skulls and crossbones!

There's one thing that I really dislike about these, although it's a small thing. The pattern is unidirectional, meaning it only goes in one direction. This means that if you happen to use both ends of the strips, you're left with skulls facing in two directions! I'm neurotic enough that this does bother me, although at a glance they look perfectly fine.

I also learned something else about these strips. When I applied them last night, I had sections of the strips that weren't actually sticking to my nails worth a darn, and I was sure they'd be peeling by morning. However, I pressed everything down as best I could and went on to bed. Once I woke up, I found that they'd settled down and are now solidly adhered to all my nails!

So don't worry if they aren't perfectly adhered right at first. They will settle down! Just press them down as well as you can and leave them alone for a few hours.

Overall, I really like this design. I also think it would be lots of fun as accent nails, or trimmed down to use as french tips. The little skulls are so cute!

Also, have I mentioned these strips tend to wear like iron? If you haven't read it, you can see my wear test for these starting here, where I rave about how amazing they are. I wound up finally removing the strips after 15 days of wear, and the only problem with them was a chip at the tip of one nail where I'd broken it!

This year's Halloween collection includes five designs- Numbskulls (shown here), How Corny (a silver-white background with repeating candy corn that looks the same whether it's upside down or not), Batty For You (black bats on a purple background that can be worn either way), Patch-O-Lanterns (orange jack o'lantern faces that can be worn either way),  and Spun For You (black spiderwebs on a silver background that can be worn either way). These can be found in drugstores near you for $9.99 a box. Go get some, before they're gone!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Numbskull was provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.