Purple Flowers

Today's mani is inspired by this post by So Nailicious.

I used two of the purples from The New Black's "Haze" Ombre Set on this design. The negative space stripes were done using nail striping tape, and I used the watercolor technique for the flowers. I had originally placed three small white dots in the middle of the flowers, but I didn't really like how they looked, so I used the watercolor technique again to blend them into the purple and added tiny black dots. This design wasn't too difficult, and I have been getting tons of compliments all day :)

*Nails are pictured with my new awesome Pitcher Plant!

Snow Day

Today was the first day in a long time that I truly enjoyed a snow day -- no school! I am enjoying school, but I was really looking forward to a day to relax. I decided to do a snowy mani, because why not, it's the perfect day for one.  Plus I really wanted to try out my new Liquid Palisade that I won in a giveaway from Lace & Lacquers. 

I started off with a base of Fresh Paint "Firefly" which is a light light blue - almost white. I then applied the Liquid Palisade to my cuticles, and area surrounding my nail. I was impressed with how tiny the brush is and how easy the product goes on. 

I used a makeup sponge to create a gradient with the "Firefly" and Kleancolor's "Pastel Blue" and "Pastel Teal." I topped my gradient with Funky Fingers "Olaf" - a rockin' glitter topper made up of white glitters, a hint of iridescent microglitter, and even some snowflakes - very cute! I personally feel that Funky Fingers is an awesome yet under-appreciated polish line in the nail art world. (You can find them at Five Below stores.) 

 Finally I stamped a snowflake with Bundle Monster's #BMH01 plate, using Funky Fingers "Gesso." I believe this is the best polish I have used for white stamping as of yet.

 Now for the fun part -- taking off the Liquid Palisade! I used a pair of tweezers to grab and edge, and it came off much easier than I expected! I thought for certain that I would be picking of 4,5 or more pieces per nail, but they all came off in 1 or 2 pieces. As you can see in the picture below, I should have gone a little wider on the sides of my fingers with the LP, but still, look how much that reduced my clean-up!

In with my little ELF concealer brush I went, barely having to clean up polish around my cuticles. Happy Day! The first picture at the top is my finished result. 

I really liked using the Liquid Palisades. When I run out, I will most certainly be making a purchase. I am definitely looking forward to using it again -- I can see this making me want to do more water marbles. I also would like to try using it for other nail art applications. 

Have you used LP before? What were your thoughts?!?

Conversation Hearts

Happy VD! The best thing about today is that chocolate is on sale tomorrow! Yay!

My last VD mani for the year is conversation hearts. I used a variety of pastel polishes from Kleancolor and Essie, and stamped with Kleancolor "Red" using Bundle Monster plate #BM425. Finally, I covered them all with a matte topcoat. Simple and cute.

Cold Nails

I created this set of nails to give to a special lady I know. She has been through some major ups and downs in life, but her attitude is always stellar. She is one of those people that make the world a better place.  I wanted to do something just to say thank you for being an inspiration. Her favorite band is Cold – I know she is a hard core fan – so when I began to think of what I could do for her, something from me and from my heart, I decided on making a set of Cold-themed nails. I had to do some research, because I admittedly know nothing about the band. I decided to incorporate their logo and the trademark spider (I didn’t *f* up the L’s in the logo, that is how it’s supposed to be!).

I chose a black, white and silver color scheme, using Essie “Blanc,” Zoya “Imogen,” Wet N Wild “Lights Out” and a no-name silver bottle of Icing polish. The spider stamp is from Shany plate #SH09. The lettering is from fauxnad plates #m17 and #m18, and the lightning print is from Bundle Monster #BM305.  This was my first time using the nail art chains, and it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I used the chain, a small jump ring, and a rhinestone to make (what I think is) a kickass little necklace.  It took about 15 hours to make these – a few of the nails, I scrapped and started over again.

Even if she never wears them, I hope that when she looks at them, she remembers what a blessing she is.

More Love to Share

Here's another V-Day mani for ya. I stole the idea from @ModNails on Instagram. I used Zoya "Kirtridge" for my base, and added a coat of CND "Copper Shimmer" for a pearlescent finish. The letters are stamped with Bundle Monster plate #BM426 and Salon Express "Black." I used a red from The New Black "Runway Collection" to leadlight in the top of the lettering. The roses are freehanded with the same red, a green nail art pen and a black striper. Pretty simple and cute.

V-Day mani

It's that time of year again when everyone scrambles to buy some shit to try to tell their loved ones they are loved. Eh, the nail art is cute anyway.

For today's mani I used Zoya's "Dot" for my base, and Sonoma Nail Art's Limited Edition #enditmovement polish on my ring finger for an accent. I used a variety of plates on this mani, so get ready:
 - the pinky is from the Pueen Love Elements Collection, plate #PUEEN29
 - middle finger and pointer are from Bundle Monster, plate #BM411
 - the thumb is another Pueen, #PUEEN43
I used Salon Express in "Black" and Kleancolor's "Red" for my stamping.

In other news, I officially started beauty school today :) My Asthetics course is first, and then on to Nail Technology.

Cat Hair Nails

I’ve gotten pretty good at recreating other people’s work, but I want to be more than just a copycat artist.  This year I have decided to focus on trying to do more of my own original designs. I wanted to do something completely out of the box, but wasn’t exactly sure what. I follow a gazillion talented bloggers, but one that sticks out in my mind for originality is PiggieLuv – particularly her amazing manis done with flocking powder, cork, and otherout-of-the-ordinary mediums.  One day it hit me – I want to do a mani with cat hair. Yes, real cat hair.

I have cats. Plural. All rescues. They love to lay on my stuff, and get their hair everywhere. They puke up hairballs on my desk. They drive me insane sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. No cats were harmed in the making of this mani. Three of them purred profusely when I “borrowed” some of their hair. 

After I painted each nail with the background color, I began the process of hair collection. First up was Smeagle, my Sphynx. He is what breeders refer to as a “peach fuzz” Sphynx, as opposed to a “rubber bald’”  -  ie, he has a little bit of hair. All I had to do was give him a good rubdown, and my hand was covered in his fuzzies. The base skin tone color is two coats of  KleanColor “Sheer Pastel Nude” with a coat of “Sheer Pastel Pink” over it. I put a matte topcoat on the nail and pressed the hair down. Not too bad. I trimmed up the sides and beamed at my Smee nail.

I decided my next nail would be modeled after Bullet, our male black and white kitty. I used Wet Wild "Lights Out" and "Whipped Topping" to create a tip on the nail, similar to Bullet's collar.  He laid on his back and purred as he enjoyed his brush-down. 

 I wasn’t so lucky with Grenade, Bullet’s brown tabby brother, so I used some scissors to snip a little pinch of fur from under his leg. A little catnip and I was forgiven. I used LA Colors "Whipped" and NOPI "Promises in the  Dark" with some light sponging of the black polish to make the brown tabby pattern. 

The ring finger is modeled after one of my Lykoi boys, Pink.  I used the same Kleancolor polishes for the skin tone, and LA Colors "Lost Soul" for the gray pigmentation. You are probably saying “WTF is a Lykoi!?!” right now – click here J I fell in love with him and his brother at the shelter. I realize he isn’t what most people would describe as a cute cat – and I am totally ok with that. I fell in love with his personality, not his looks.  To me, he is beautiful inside and out.

Finally, my pinky nail is modeled after Picasso, the Cat Who Thinks He is a Dog. Really.

 The process of laying down the matte coat, applying the hair, and then trimming, was a little more laborious than I expected. For the first time ever I was putting hair on my mani instead of trying to pull hair off, and it just felt very strange. I debated on sealing the hair in with a topcoat, but I really like the 3D effect of the hair.

My husband said my nails are disgusting. I think the word "unsanitary" may have come up.  My son just shook his head and told me I was strange. I am anticipating comments stating the like, and I look forward to showing them to my hubby to reinforce the fact that IDGAF .