Mani "Catch Up"

Today I have a few nail looks that I'd like to share that I created during the month hiatus from my blog. I mentioned in a previous post that I had been waiting on some supplies from eBay and during the month that I didn't post I received about 80% of them. These three looks were created using the materials I purchased. Look out for a review of them in the next week or so.

This first look is a french mani outlined in black with detailing on the accent nails (ring fingers) and was done free-hand, with no guides. I consider this to be a "nail-fail". I removed this as soon as I got the picture. I didn't like the difference in my nail lengths. Either way, I posted this to show what you can do to 'spice' up either a new manicure or an old one. (I used rhinestones, my dotting tool and nail art polishes to create this look.)

Please excuse my hideous cuticles in this photo, I promise you I did fix them after this picture was taken. Clearly my priorities were out of whack when I took this photo. (Picture & then make them look good?? Seriously...) Anyway, I painted them a medium blue with no shimmer and then added a silver/white rhinestone and surrounded it with six chrome coloured hexagon glitters. I wasn't completely in love with this look, but I do love this nail polish colour. (Nina Ultra Pro in 'Sailor') I removed this the next day.

This is my favourite look out of the three. Again, I used rhinestones and only on the accent nails. My was a shimmery wine colour, which I love. (Nina Ultra Pro in 'Molten Ruby') I added a coat of SV (Seche Vite) and while it was still wet I applied the rhinestones. Then I topped that nail off with another coat of SV to keep everything in place. I kept this look on my nails for 3 days.

That's it for now! Thanks for reading.

Spring Flower Manicure

I'm back with another nail look. I did this manicure a few weeks ago (before all my nails got chopped off...) and I really liked how it turned out.

Polishes:
Orly - To Have And To Hold (2 coats)
Wet'n'Wild - Hannah Pinktana (3 coats)

I realize the tips aren't completely perfect and my cuticles could be a bit neater, but since I only wore this for just over a day I was pleased with it. I did two different styles of daisy's in this nail look: one that is spaced and the other which is joined. My preference is the spaced one, however it requires more patience and precision. I added a pink glitter polish to the tips and added my Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat and it was done!

Comment & let me know: flowers - yay or nay?

Thanks for reading.

Belated Mother's Day Flower Design

I'd like to wish a belated 'Happy Mother's Day' to all the Moms who might happen across this post. I created a look especially with my Mom in mind.

Base Colour is 4 coats of Revlon 'Lilac Pastelle' 185
The flower detailing was created using water based acrylic paints purchased at any craft store

Her favourite colour is purple and we used to have toll-painted candlestick holders that I remember vividly so I decided to combine the two. I started with a pale, pastel lilac colour for my base. I then took my dotting tool and using the smaller end I used pink water-based acrylic paint and made a small dot in the upper corner of my nails. I flipped my dotting tool over and using the large end created the four white dots (water-based acrylic paint again but in white). Then I took a small detailing brush and created the petals using a light green. For added effect I went back in using a dark green and created a 'shadow' on the petal. If you click on the image you can see this in greater detail.

I wore this look for two days before changing it up. My nail polish collection seems to be steadily growing and I am always so excited to try new looks out, hence the short lifespan of my designs. At least they are 'immortalized' here. Haha.

Thanks for reading.

Nail Tools Collection

Good afternoon! As promised in my last post today I will be sharing my nail tools collection. Here are a few photo's of what I have and below is an explanation of what each product is.

Along the back (left to right) you will see:
- Q-Tips (great for fixing mistakes when you're finished your manicure/pedicure)
- Konad nail stamping plate *
- Konad nail stamping set *
- Nail polish thinner (when you want to thin out a thick polish)
- Nail polish remover (self explanatory)
- 100% acetone polish remover (this is FANTASTIC, I will explain more below)

The front part has some miscellaneous items that are pretty generic, the include:
- Makeup sponges (great for creating a 'gradient' effect - tutorial on its way)
- Various nail files
- Small toothbrush (great for cleaning under your nails)
- Cotton pads (removing your manicure)
- Tweezers (for picking up rhinestones to put on your nails)
- Cuticle trimmer (a must for me)
- Nail clippers
- 'Orange' sticks (great for cleaning up around nail edges)

The white pencil is used for colouring under your nail to create a fast french manicure. My dotting tools are the five tools sitting between the 'orange' sticks and the yellow tweezers. Below is a better picture of them.

These dotting tools are double ended (large and small ends). I found mine on eBay: 5 for $1.99 with free shipping. (I searched 'dotting tools'.) You can create lots of different looks with a dotting tool and they also double as a glitter/rhinestone 'picker'. Dip the end in clear polish, choose a stone, place it on the nail and gently push it down for 5 seconds. They're great!

* The Konad products pictured above will be explained in detail in an upcoming post. Keep an eye out if this interests you!

Also, I mentioned above about loving my 100% acetone nail polish remover. Some people highly dislike any polish remover with ANY acetone in it. Personally, I see nothing wrong with acetone. I've listed my pro's and con's of this type of polish remover below.

PRO's
- Removes regular polish (full manicure) in about 1 minute.
- Removes heavy glitter polish (full manicure) in about 3 minutes.
- Extremely fast clean-up around nail edges when manicure is finished.
- Cost is low for a lot of product. I bought mine for less than $3.50 at Wal-Mart.
(Onyx Professional)

CON's
- Dries out skin around nail.
- Evapourates quickly.

The con's that I've listed are easily remedied. I use Beauty Secrets Cuticle Oil to replenish both my nail and skin around my nail with lots of moisture. (Bonus: the cuticle oil smells like almond oil! De-lish.) As for the evapouration, keep the bottle closed between applications, simple as that. I reapply remover to my cotton pad between each nail with regular polish, so I don't find it evapourates off the cotton pad.

I hope this has given you some helpful tips/ideas!
Next post: New Nail Look.

Comment and let me know: Have you ever used 100% acetone polish remover?

As always, thanks for reading and commenting ;)

Polka Dotting Fun

I'm back! It's been almost a month since I posted, I can't believe I have slacked so much. Shame on me. I haven't been twiddling my thumbs though, I have been creating lots of new looks and have the photos to prove it! (Haha.) Below is one that I created with the idea of spring/Easter in mind.

I started off with a base coat and then chose 6-7 of my favourite colours and dotted them on my nails. I finished with a rainbow glitter polish and then a top coat.


If you have one, you can use a dotting tool for the polka dots or you can straighten out a bobby pin and use the tip. One other idea is to use a sewing pin, the kind that look like they have a bead/pearl on the end. For extra grip, I find it easier to push the pin into an eraser so you have something better to hold on. (You can find these at the Dollarama, I saw them last week. Hehe.)


This is a really simple look for spring and/or Easter. If I were to do this again I would probably do it on my toes and use a solid background color. Maybe pearl white or black? I did an assorted colours for my polka dots but feel free to change the colors of your dots as well.


Next post: My Nail Tools. (My dotting tool included.)


Comment & let me know: would you try polka dots?


Thanks for reading!