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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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