Mani By Annie: School Spirit Single Chevron & Glitter

Welcome back!

My sister needed her nails repainted the other day, and so she decided she wanted something to support her husband's soccer team that he coaches!

White: OPI Alpine Snow
Purple: OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm?
Glitter: Milano Jewel FX Gold
Striper: Salon Perfect Nail Art Striper Gold Sparkle

The school colors are purple and gold, so I went with just two accent nails and painted the rest a solid purple. The accent nails included one nail of all gold glitter which I sponged on using a latex free cosmetic sponge. The chevron nail was done by painting a white base to start, then using the single chevron vinyls from nailvinyls.com. Once those were on, I painted purple on top, and removed the vinyls. To add the glitter, I used the striping polish and just traced the lines with it to add a little more fun to it.

Thanks for reading <3

Summer Inspired Gradient and Stamping

Welcome back!

I am determined to get a hang of this stamping! There are so many awesome things you can do with stamping plates, and designs and such. I want to be able to do it all! Plus, I bought a ton of plates, some of which may not get used hardly ever anyway, because they are so specific. I don't want the others to sit unused, too, so I'm doing my best to try stamping, and make it something I can do more easily.

Nude: OPI Do You Take Lei Away?
Pink: OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops
Purple: OPI Lost My Bikini in Molokini

Mermaid Stamping Plate: W108
Palm Tree Stamping Plate: W106
Floral Stamping Plate: W310

My ring and thumb nails were done in a gradient style using a latex free cosmetic sponge. My stamper is this one from Winstonia, and all plates came from Winstonia as well!

Thanks for reading <3

Plastic Bag with Subtle Stamping

Welcome back!

I'm so excited and sad all about the same thing...stamping. I'm excited because this was my first very successful stamping manicure! I'm sad, because it is hard to see the success! I thought the polish that I used to stamp with would be more shimmery and bright, so I thought it would show up better. Unfortunately, the base polish was a little too dark for it. It is possible to see, just difficult! I kind of like the subtly, but I wish it was just a little less subtle...

Purple: OPI I Carol About You
Maroon: OPI Just Beclaus
Shimmery Pink: OPI Kiss Me-Or Elf!
Glitter: OPI So Elegant
Floral Stamping Plate: W310 from Winstonia



















Here is a close up picture of the stamping nail!

It became more obvious when I put a matte top coat on top. Apparently I should have worn it that way! I actually really like the look of the matte on the stamping and on the plastic bag method nail. It's really different, which is awesome!


I sponged the glitter on for my accent nail, and did the plastic bag method for my middle finger and thumb. The pinky and pointer finger were both done with stamping!

Thanks for reading <3

Mani By Annie: French Tips & Glitter Gradient

Welcome back!

Yes, I already posted this design, but my sister loved them so much, she wanted them, too! I did these a couple of weeks ago, but I never got a chance to share them!

Link to the original post can be found here.

Skin Tone: Essie Brides to Be
White: Essie Blanc
Pink: Essie Tying the Knotie
Glitter: Essie Set in Stones



















For the french nails, I used french nail guides from nailvinyls.com. To add the glitter, I used a latex free cosmetic sponge and sponged it on in up and down motions, then used the brush on the polish to fade it a little more.

Thanks for reading <3

Blue Glitter and Dry Brush

Welcome back!

So, I'm going to be honest...I don't like these nails. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything technically wrong with them, but I just am disappointed. I had this great vision for them when I saw the three colors together, I was just thinking about how cute they would be.


My first mistake was thinking that the black glitter had more blue in it than it did. My second mistake was thinking the blue glitter topper was more opaque, and less of a topper than it actually is. I also used the blue glitter in a different way than my first thought, which I wish I wouldn't have done. I was going to use both blues in the dry brush, but upon seeing how sheer the glitter was, I used it to top the dry brush, but then it ended up to be too much glitter on top, and more packed than I wanted. I also wish I would have added nail art, or at least one more accent nail. Basically, It was sort of a fail.


White: China Glaze White on White
Blue: China Glaze December to Remember
Glitter Topper: China Glaze Feeling Twinkly
Glitter Polish: China Glaze Meet Me Under the Stars














Thanks for reading <3

Ireland Inspired Nails

Welcome back!

Two years ago, I went on a trip to Austria on a performance tour with my flute choir. Before I left, I painted my nails for the trip. I did different things that related to our trip, such as the flag, mountains and a flute. When I went then, I used regular nail polish, which by the end of trip which was over a week, where I was carrying luggage, and playing flute and busy, had chipped pretty bad. This year, I went to Ireland for flute! Having chipped nails drives me nuts now, and I did not feel like packing any polish or remover because it's a pain, so I did gel. I still wanted to do some Ireland nails, though, and I finally got around to doing them!

Flute
Pink: Pop-arazzi Wink, Wink
Silver: China Glaze I'd Melt For You
Black: Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen Black

Castle
Light Blue: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Breezy Blue
Gray: Zoya Carey
Black: Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen Black
White: Essence Wild White Ways

Cliffs of Moher
Medium Blue: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away!
Dark Blue: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Blue It
Gray: Zoya Carey
Green: Salon Perfect Nail Art Striper Spring
White: Essence Wild White Ways

Flag
White: Essence Wild White Ways
Green: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri I-rush Luck
Orange: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pumpkin Queen

Plane
Light Blue: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear
Silver: China Glaze I'd Melt For You
White: Essence Wild White Ways











Thanks for reading <3

31 Day Challenge

Image credit: chalkboardnails.com

Image credit: chalkboardnails.com

Image credit: chalkboardnails.com

OPI Nordic Collection Fall 2014

Welcome back!

Whoops...I've never posted this! So here it is, for those who can still find them and are wondering. Also, this is for my record, not just for anyone reading.

Going My Way Or Norway
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Brown
I loved this polish as a base for leopard print. It was the perfect light brown/tan color for that. I used it the first time I ever did leopard print, and it was just perfect as a base for it. I more than likely would not wear this without nail art on top, because I'm not a typical wearer of browns/tans/nudes. The formula on this was great, though!

Do You Have This Color In Stock-Holm?
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Purple
This purple was gorgeous for fall, and great for Halloween designs. It was that perfect dark purple to be a background.  It had an amazing formula, and I absolutely loved the color. I almost didn't want to cover it up! The formula was so good it even looked good on my right hand, which says a lot, because I don't have a steady hand, so it was clearly self-leveling.

Skating On Thin Ice-Land
Coats: 3
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Purple
The color was absolutely gorgeous, too. They were on a roll with these purples! It was wonderful for fall, too, and I loved it so much. I needed three coats, but it was almost a two-coater.

My Dogsled Is A Hybrid
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Blue
This minty blue had a great formula, and was almost a one-coater polish. This was a nearly identical dupe for "Poised for Turquoise" from Nicole by OPI in their Fall 2014 collection. It seemed like an interesting choice for fall to me, but the more I wore it, the more I liked it.

How Great Is Your Dane?
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Brown
This was a dark gray brown color. It is good for nail art on top, but a little plain and boring for me to wear by itself. I honestly didn't write down very much about this polish, because I just did not wear it long, or care for it too much. The formula was fine, but I don't remember it being anything spectacular.

Ice-Bergers & Fries
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Brown
The formula was good, and it was mostly self-leveling. This was a darker tan than "Going My Way or Norway?" was. It was much more of a brown color, but still lighter than a brown...if that makes sense. It would be a good dark nude for someone with a darker skin tone than me.

Suzi Has A Swede Tooth
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Pink
Unfortunately, the formula on this polish was not that great. It was a little streaky to me, but it ended up leveling out pretty well. It was annoying to work with, however, and I was frustrated. The color was nothing amazing, it was very typical and any person who owns a lot of polish, particularly pinks, probably already owns something like this.

Can't Afjörd Not To
Coats: 3
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Orange
This orange had a good formula, and was actually a pretty good orange, even though I don't typically like oranges. They just aren't the best on my skin tone, and I'm not the biggest fan of orange anyway. This orange did look pretty good on my skin tone, though, unlike most oranges.

Viking In A Vinter Vonderland
Coats: 2
Formula: Cream
Color Family: Purple
It was so easy to use this polish. I could not have asked for a much better formula. It was amazing, and just so easy! I love purples for fall anyway, and especially this one. It was vampy, but not so dark that it looked black.

Thank Glogg It's Friday
Coats: 2
Formula: Sheen
Color Family: Purple
I wouldn't exactly call this a shimmer or glitter polish, which is why I just called it a sheen. I loved the way this looked with my skin tone, even though I already love colors like this anyway. It was just like the icing on the top of the cake!

OPI With A Nice Finn-ish
Coats: 2
Formula: Metallic
Color Family: Gold
I was almost able to get this to be just a one-coater. It was a little streaky, but nothing awful. It was beautiful, however. It is a very yellowy gold. I did like it better with top coat, though. I thought it got rid of some streakiness.

My Voice Is A Little Norse
Coats: 3
Formula: Glitter
Color Family: Silver
The glitter was very thin on the first coat, and I was not impressed with it. After one coat, though, it began to build pretty quickly. I probably could have done just two coats, but I did a third just to be safe. This one was very similar to "Dazzling With Talent" from the Nicole by OPI Fall 2014 collection.

































 Overall, I really liked this collection! Most of the polishes were typical, great OPI formulas. I also thought that there were quite a few shades that were new and exciting, and I really liked them!

Thanks for reading <3

Splatters and Stripes

Welcome back!

I tried something new! Again! There are so many designs and ideas out there for nail art, I couldn't possibly try them all. I'm doing my best, though! I thought the splatter would look good with stripes though. Something uniform, something not. And I really like to look of it!

Cream: Essie Wrap Me Up (Cashmere Matte)
Pink: Essie Brides No Grooms

To make the stripes, I used different widths of Straight Nail Vinyls. For the splatter, I followed the millions of tutorials out there, and stuck a straw in my nail polish, then blew it out onto my nail. So Easy! It actually dried fairly quickly, too. I was worried about smudges, but I did it, and topcoated it about 15-20 minutes later with no problem at all.

Thanks for reading <3

Watermelon Accent Nails

Welcome back!

Watermelons have been everywhere this summer. I feel like everyone has done watermelon nails before, including me about three years ago, but I was so inspired to do them, that I felt I HAD to! I came up with the idea because I really wanted to use this coral colored polish, and when I was trying to find a match for it, I sat the green next to it and that was the first thing I thought of!

I didn't want to do watermelons on every nail, because...well, I didn't. So, I decided to make the watermelon the accent, and stick with single color nails for a couple, and a chevron with those colors as another.

White: Zoya Purity
Coral: Wet 'n Wild Megalast Warm Filter
Green: Wet 'n Wild Megalast Tree Hugger

Black: Salon Perfect Oil Slick

To do the multi-colored chevron, I placed the vinyls down, then used a dotting tool to put the different colors in between each sticker, peeling them off as I went. To make the watermelon, I painted the nail white, then used a French guide Nail Vinyl to block off where I wanted the white. Because of that, the white is thicker than I wanted, but it made it a lot easier, so it was worth it. I then used a dotting tool to create the seeds!

Thanks for reading <3

Essie Summer Mix & Match

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to share the nails I did using the entire Essie Summer 2015 collection! I have been on an Essie kick lately, and that's all I want to use. I just love the color combinations in their collections, because you can use every shade and it doesn't look like too much.

White: Private Weekend
Green: Chillato
Coral: Peach Side Babe
Red: Sunset Sneaks
Light Blue: Saltwater Happy
Dark Blue: Pret-A-Surfer

I started each nail with a white base. My thumb and index finger were done using the dry brush method. I used all of the light colors for this. The outcome with three colors makes me think of a quilt! This method is so easy, and there is hardly any drying time! If you are looking for a quick manicure, dry brushing is the way to go.


For the middle and pinky fingers, I used mini chevron Nail Vinyls. To alternate colors, I placed the color in between the chevrons using a dotting tool. You can just use the brush, but when it is such a small area, I prefer the dotting tool for more precision.

The ring finger was the plastic bag method, which I just did the other day for the first time! I really liked this method, because it is so easy. It also didn't take anywhere near as long to dry as I expected. The last nail art idea I tried with blobs of polish never dried, and I ended up taking it off and starting over. For this, the plastic brings part of the polish up, which helps it to dry quicker, because there is not as much built up polish left.

Thanks for reading <3

July Favorites

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to finally share my favorites from the month of July! I did not do much nail paint in July, because I went to Ireland for a week, and I took a summer class that was only four weeks, so it was a lot of work in that time. I did a few things, however, so I still picked some favorites!

Manicure Favorites

Firework Nail Art: I wore these for forever. I didn't want to take them off! They were so much fun, and my fireworks have improved over the last couple of years, so I was really proud of how well they turned out. I got a lot of compliments, too!

Patriotic French Manicure: I used another one of Sinful Colors amazing holiday glitter toppers and made it into its own accent nail! I loved this, but I only got to wear it for a day, because then we left and I needed longer lasting!

Other Favorites

• Fourth of July Manicures. I only did three to myself in July, but I also did one for a friend. These are so much fun for me, so I always love June/July when I get to do a lot of patriotic nails!
• French Manicures. Again, I only did two of these, but for someone who loves nail art, that's a lot! They are simple manicures by nature, but I love that simplicity from time to time. It's almost like a "palette cleanser," which is necessary sometimes. Plus, they work for absolutely any event/occasion!

 

New Tries in July

• Gel Polish: This was my first time wearing gel polish ever, so it was definitely my first time applying it. It was a unique experience...especially since I did it at about 7:00am the day I left for Ireland. It took longer than I thought it would, honestly. But it was something different, and when it comes to nails, I like to try new things!

Thanks for reading <3

Plastic Baggie Nails

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to share some nails that I did the other day using the Essie Resort 2015 collection! I found this collection in my box (yes, box) of untried polishes, and realized I'd never used them! They are all so pretty and cute, so I knew I had to find something to do with them.

To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do when I sat down with them and began painting. I still had yet to ever attempt something with the "plastic bag" method, so I thought that would be fun to do, but what else? I added the flower accent nail, but still wanted one more nail with something beyond a plain color. When I painted the base, though, I knew what would fit perfectly...the Eiffel Tower!

Light Pink: Essie Time For Me Time
Brown: Essie Cocoa Karma
Purple: Essie Suite Retreat
Pink: Essie Stones 'n Roses
Black: Essie Licorice

I am so happy with how these turned out! I haven't been able to convince myself to take them off, because they are so fun and cute, but so easy, too! For the plastic bag nails, I followed the tutorial by Young Wild and Polished, which can be found here. Basically, all you do is put down big drops of polish, then put a piece of a plastic bag on it and smush it around to blend them all together a little bit. The flowers and Eiffel Tower were done using dotting tools!

Thanks for reading <3

Dry Brush and Polka Dots

Welcome back!

I recreated a manicure I did a little while ago but with a different blue this time! You can find the original here.

Blue: Essie Garden Variety

White: Essie Blanc

Black: Essie Licorice

Thanks for reading <3

Wedding Nails: French + Glitter Ombre

Welcome back!

Last week I had two weddings to go to, so I decided to do something simple and classy. I went with a french manicure and an accent nail of a glitter ombre.

Skin Tone: Essie Brides to Be
White: Essie Blanc
Pink: Essie Tying the Knotie
Glitter: Essie Set in Stones

For the french nails, I used french nail guides from nailvinyls.com. To add the glitter, I used a latex free cosmetic sponge and sponged it on in up and down motions, then used the brush on the polish to fade it a little more.

Thanks for reading <3