Diva Nails

Did this lovely set on a wonderful lady last week. She wanted sparkling red tips for her cruise. We used her own polishes, I didn't make a note of the name of each, but a true red polish was used as a base for the chevron tip, then they were coated with a chunky glitter in matching red. We topped it off with a nice black stripe to make the red really pop.

Hopefully her manicure is still sparkling bright.

Spring Floral

This was originally done the first week of September 2013.

I know it's not even close to spring, but I figured I should post this one now, since we could all do with something bright, cheerful and flowery. I don't know about you but I'm sick of all the snow.

Flowers are handpainted, they were pretty easy, just very time consuming.

Colours:

"Pastel Yellow" by Kleancolor
"Matte Top Coat" by Me (add cornstarch to clear top coat)

Valentine's Day Design #2

As the title states, this is the second design I have for Valentine's Day 2015. More of a mix n' match this time around.

Colours used:

"Sheer Pink" by Kleancolor
"Love is in the Air" by Kleancolor

"Don't Touch My Tutu!" by O.P.I.

Valentine's Design #1

It's been quite a while, over a year since I last posted.

Here's a Valentine's themed design for you guys, it's fairly simple.

I apologize for my absense, I was going through a lot of stuff after I lost my job back in 2013, and I hadn't even been painting my nails, until just recently, but now I'm trying to get back into updating this blog at least once a week.

So for this design I used needle-dragging for the mostly pink nails, only one of which turned out to look like hearts (apparently I'm very rusty), and a simple pink watermarble for my ring and thumb nails as an accent.

Colours used:

"Punk Pink 165" by Sally Hansen

"Cotton Candy" by Julie G.
"Blanc" by Essie (the first and only Essie polish I own)

Howlite

These were a lot of work, but well worth it. They are not close visually to the reference I used but I love them regardless. Howlite, or as some may know it "White turquoise" is a really beautiful stone.

Holographic #12 Swatch

Here is the last of my holographic polishes from the Born Pretty Store.

#12:

With Flash.

 When I looked at the photo on the website this looked black to me, but it's actually a dark, deep teal shade. Which is awesome, I like this one quite a lot, I currently have it on my toes, and probably will for the next 2-3 weeks depending on its wear.

In direct sunlight.

This is 2 thick coats, it didn't streak at all, and is very opaque. Overall, I think these holographic polishes are really nice, although I'm at a loss with what I can do with them nail art wise.

I now just need to find a good gold holographic and black holographic polish.

Matted Garden

I forgot to post these for you all last Monday.

August/04/2013

 As of late, my life has been getting increasingly hectic, much to my dismay. It seems as though every single weekend this summer has been consumed by stupid parties (those who know me personally know I'm no social butterfly, and crowds/people in general stress me out to no end). So as a result I have not had much time to think of designs, or even carry them out.

Luckily though, these turned out fast and simple enough to do. The roses are handpainted with red acrylic paint. The base colour I used was "Smoke and Ashes" by China Glaze, the shimmer in it does not show up because it's been mattified via China Glaze "Matte Magic".

I hope you all have a lovely week. Also to the Canadians who follow me, the CNE is opening this coming Friday!

Holographic #11 Swatch

Here's another of Born Pretty Store's Holographics.

Here's #11:

With Flash.

 #11 is a dark purple, it looks more blue in this photo for some reason. It's like the colour of grapes.

In direct sunlight.

This had the best coverage so far, I think the deeper/darker shades are the most opaque. It also dried to a really nice gloss finish. This is with 2 coats. #11 went on nicely, it's a great shade of purple, but I don't think it looks so great on my nails.

Holographic #8 Swatch

Here's Born Pretty Store's Holographic nail polish in #8:

With Flash.

 This is a really pretty shade of sky blue holographic.

In direct sunlight.

This shade applied well, with no streaking. This is 2 coats, it could use a third since its a bit sheer on some nails, but I'm sure 2 thick coats would sort that out too.

Minty Floral

Sorry about my disappearance last Monday. It was just one of those really bad nail art days where nothing

worked at all.

This design though, has been sitting in my sketchbook since February just waiting to be brought to

fruition. I hope you enjoy it.

July/28/2013

The base used for these was Julie G's "Gelato in Venice" a really nice mint green. I sponged some darker green before putting in the roses.

The roses are also that one-stroke type of painting technique. It actually turned out well this time.

The thumb rose is my favourite.

Have a good week!

#4 Holographic; Swatch

Colour #4 of Born Pretty Store's Holographic nail polishes:

With Flash.

 I really like this shade, its a rich reddish pink holographic, almost like the colour of salmon only darker.

In direct sunlight.

This is with 2 coats, it's really nice and opaque, it went on nicely like the others did, no streaking what so ever. As you can see this one was very glossy once dried, which is nice if you don't have time to apply topcoat.

Holographic #3; Swatch

Another holographic swatch for you, here's Born Pretty Store's Holographic nail polish in #3:

With Flash.

 #3 is a sort of dusty rose shade. My mom has a colour near identical to this one by Sally Hansen's nail prisms.

In direct sunlight.

I only used 2 coats for this one, although on some nails you can still see my tips, but I'm certain a 3rd coat if you're patient enough for that would cover it all.

I personally don't think this shade looks to good against my skin. So I may not wear it out too often.

Butterflies

I wish I had more butterfly stickers.

July/14/2013

The base I used is "Steady as She Rose" by OPI. The butterflies I purchased from the Born Pretty Store. They are actually water decals, and at first I wondered if they would actually adhere to nail polish, but they worked beautifully. I just wish I had more.

Holographic #7 Swatch

This swatch is of Born Pretty Store's Holographic nail polish collection.

Here's "#7"

With Flash.

#7 is a kind of silver, with a pale green hue to it. It's nice but also quite sheer, you can still see my nail tips on a few fingers.

In direct Sunlight.

 I used 3 coats for this polish, but it may work better with a similar colour underneath it if you don't like sheer shades.

Soft Water-less Marble

I find it so weird trying to type on my laptop since my work computer is completely different.

Also, it sucks that I missed last week, both LGBTQ pride AND Canada Day. I didn't get a chance to since my new furbaby wanted to play with my brushes.

Here's a simple and easy one:

July/07/2013

A super easy water-less marble, better known as "needle-dragging" except I used a brush in place of a needle.

I used "You Callin' Me a Lyre" by OPI as a base, with "Fairy Dust" (China Glaze), "Disco Ball" (Sally Hansen) and "French White Creme" (Wet n' Wild) for this.

Watercolour and Roses

I really wanted a floral, specifically cute little roses this week.

June/16/2013 to June/22/2013

The watercolour nails look like my bedspread hahah. I did those by using acetone to water down the polishes and that's how they made that blended look. I did roses on my thumb and ring finger, although it would've looked nicer if I went blue and purple flowers as opposed to pink and yellow.

On a side note, I cut into my middle finger with a butcher's knife last week while trying to chop up some stuff, so you won't be seeing that finger in my posts for a while until it has healed up.

Colours used:

"Don't Touch My Tutu" O.P.I

"Posh Plum" Sally Hansen

"Va Va Voom" Orly

"Blue Sparrow(Neon)" China Glaze
"Turned up Turquoise (Neon)" China Glaze

And some silver holo glitter bought at a local craft store.

Rose Among Thorns

Really simple for this week.

June/09/2013 to June/15/2013

The colours used were "Rose Among Thorns (Neon)" and "Tempt Carnation" by China Glaze. The stripes were done using striping tape and I then added some gold studs I got from the BornPrettyStore. 

Butterflies and Rosebuds: Swatch

Here's another Julie G. by Jesse's Girl polish swatch:

"Butterflies and Rosebuds"

Indoors.

 This is a beautiful metallic magenta. It's a great combination of pink and purple, and metallic shimmer.

Direct Sunlight.

This is with 2 coats, it went on nice and smooth with no streaking. It dried nice and quick too. This colour also maintains a nice gloss to it once dried.

I'll update on the wear once I've worn it longer.

Cotton Candy

This manicure reminds me a lot of the cotton candy clouds you get at fairs and such.

May/26/2013 to May/31/2013

 So a did a simple ombre using "Tickled Pink" by Wet n' Wild and "Pastel Blue" from Kleancolor. I topped it off with Kleancolor's Aurora because it's just too pretty not to use on these pastel manicures.

Tokyo Nights: Swatch

Another of my Julie G. by Jesse's Girl polishes.

"Tokyo Nights" by Jesse's Girl

Indoors.

 "Tokyo Nigthts" is, in my opinion, the perfect shade of navy blue. It's dark, but not too dark, and it's a creme finish, no shimmer, metallic or glitter mixed into it.

Direct Sunlight.

This is 2 coats, it went on smooth and easily, no streaking to be found. It dried fairly quickly too, which was nice.

I'll update on the wear and tear once I've had a chance to break it in.