Mad and Crazy Plaid

I am so excited to show you this nail art! It's a bright and colorful plaid that's perfect for warm weather. The best part is that it looks complicated, but is super easy to do!

Here are the polishes I used: I started with a base of OPI Alpine Snow. It usually takes about one and a half coats, but you'll be covering most of it up anyway. Then I used a new Kiss Nail Artist pack I got waaaay back in winter but have never used. It has blue, purple, and pink. Then I finished it off with some Seche Vite.

So here's how you make the pattern (which I do completely on one hand and then do the other). Paint on you base color and allow it to completely dry. Then choose your first color, which will be under all of the others. I chose the purple because it was the lightest. Then take the brush and paint two vertical lines with plenty of space in between. I also made slightly off-center and then close to the side. Do this on all of your nails on one hand.

Wait a little bit for the color to dry (it won't take long), and paint two horizontal lines with the same color. Basically, you make a tic-tac-toe box. Once it is completely dry, you do the same thing with your next color (I chose blue).

This last part was where I deviated. For the final color, which is usually the most eye-catching (the hot pink in this case), I normally do a big cross, with the vertical line near the side of the nail and the horizontal across the middle. But this pink was too good to waste! I added another vertical line and got an amazingly busy nail art.

If you want to do this mani yourself, I highly recommend the Kiss Nail Artist sets, or something like them. If you don't want to buy those or don't have a striping brush (a really super thin brush), then I suggest using a dotting tool. Remember, you can make your own with sewing and bobby pins!

Manicure Challenge: Reverse Manicure

I did this a while ago, but I never posted it even though I absolutely love this look. Better late than never!

A lot of people like to use black for their half-moon reverse manicure, which is similar to how the trend started in the 1930s. I decided to use a silver glitter because hey, who doesn’t love glitter? The base is Essie Smokin’Hot. While Essie’s website says the color is a “stone-cold fox gray” I’m pretty sure it’s purple. 

To create the half-moons, I used the thin Kiss Nail Artist brush to draw the half circle and then filled it in. I've seen people use paper reinforcers (you know, those stickers that you place on three-hole punched paper) to make the half moons, but that seemed more difficult for me. Besides, isn’t it more fun to say you did it all by yourself? 

I love this look because the dark color, reminiscent of a jewel tone with sparkles is perfect for winter. Have you done the reverse manicure? What are your favorite color combinations?

Sparkle Rays Challenge (Finally!)

Two weeks ago I presented my next manicure challenge, the sparkle rays. Then my nails broke down to stubs and I had to cancel. They grew back to a sad, but acceptable length and I was finally ready to do this manicure.

For my base color, I used two coats of Essie's Dive Bar. This is an interesting polish to say the least. Essie describes it as "a mysterious blackest blue with shimmer," but in the bottle you can pick up greens and purples so that it almost looks like a holo. It's kind of like a mermaid got caught in an oil spill.

However, I found that once I put it on all I saw was black. Now that it's dry I can see some of the blue-green when it's reflected in the light, but not much. I'll have to try it on it's own again later.

 For the designs, I took my Kiss Nail Artist in the silver glitter and painted easy lines. I started in the middle of the base and pulled out each of the various directions. I did each nail in sections.

To finish, I put on two coats of Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Strengthening Top Coat. Overall, I like this nail art. It's a great way to liven up your winter nails without going bright. The design was also very simple and easy, but the effect is awesome.

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Change of Plans

I have some sad news, you guys. My fingernails all broke to the point of hopelessness, so I cannot do this week's manicure challenge. It's not just that they're short, it's that I basically have no free edges. I'm going to let them grow out and get stronger, and then do the sparkle rays next week.

To make up for it, I painted my toes and did a fun little design. I used Jade in the Shade from Nicole by OPI for my base color. It's a beautiful color that reflects the light wonderfully. The design is Kiss Nail Artist black (of course).

I applied two coats of Jade in the Shade. The second coat had to be a bit more generous due to the odd fact that my toe nails aren't exactly flat/smooth. The color photographed a little darker than it looks in person, but you still get the idea of what it looks like.

For the design, I chose this simple star shape. I didn't want it to look perfect, so I painted it with little flicks of the brush instead of smooth, careful lines.

Let's hope that my nails recover so I can do the manicure challenge. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions for building longer and stronger nails!

Simple Mickey Mouse Nails

As you may have noticed, there was no manicure challenge post this week. Instead of attempting someone else's nail art, I decided to do my own, themed with my trip. I knew there was no way I could paint characters on my nails like some people. That's how I wound up with my own, simple, but cute, design. I present my Mickey Mouse Nails!

I started out with two coats of Essie Lilacism on all of my nails but one. It's a super light and creamy purple, very innocent. I usually like to retire this one for winter, but because Florida is warm, I decided to break it out.

On my ring fingers, I did two coats of a polish I picked up at Delia's a while back. It doesn't have a name, but in the bottle it looks like a light periwinkle. But on, it's a deeper purple.

Now onto the nail art. I took my white Kiss Nail Artist (can you tell I LOVE this stuff?) and tried to paint a circle in the middle of my nail, down towards the free edge, and fill it in. It was hard! As it turns out, these brushes are much better at painting lines. For the ears and other nail, I did paint dots/drops and expanded them.

I then finished off with a top coat of Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails Nylon + Retinol Strengthener. I don't really have pictures because I didn't have time to do a clean up. I only have a single digit number of hours before I leave.

Here's hoping I can show my nails off to someone in the park!

Manicure Challenge: Curtain Nails

I saw this nail art for the very first time on Chalkboard Nails, who saw it on Nail Stories. I instantly fell in love and now I'm dying for it to be on my own fingers. So curtain nails will be my next manicure challenge.

I absolutely love the color combination. I will be using Kiss Nail Artist in black for the curtains, but I'm still contemplating the base color. Since this is the middle of January, I'm not sure that I mint green would be the best choice. I have until Thursday (or Friday) to make up my mind.

What color would you use for the base?

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