Formal Nails: Neato Tuxedo

Tomorrow is New Year's eve, and many people like to go out and dress up, and make it a special occasion. I am not exception to this... however, I will be hanging out at one of my best friend's house, eating more than we should, drinking a little wine, just generally being silly and spending time with one of my favorite men in the world (who at 4 is more of a lady's man than a lot of grown men I know). Even still, though my clothes will be comfy, I decided I needed some festive party nails. And what says fancy better than a tuxedo?
Now... those that know me, my idea of fancy has less to do with black tie and more to do with Glittery sparkly things than most others, and my tuxedo nails won't be any different.

 To start with, other than nail polish, you will need blue painters masking tape (it is less sticky than regular tape, and will be less likely to peel up your nail polish), scissors, and a dotting tool. I found an inexpensive double ended one at Rite-Aid (came in a pack with 3 mini nail polishes for $5). Small paint brushes would work as well, but a dotting tool is simple and is less to clean up.

As you can see, I made each of my tux shirts a different color. You can use all of the same color, or just a few colors, whatever suits your needs. 

First, paint your nails the "shirt" color. On one hand I went with the red side of the scale, on the other hand the blue end. 

 Using the scissors, cut off triangles of tape, making the point as narrow or wide as feels appropriate for you and your nails. I went with some more narrow than others, just because my nails like to be stylish and unique.

 Place the triangle on the top portion of your nail, blocking out the part that will remain the shirt color. There is no right or wrong to this... some of mine are very shallow, and some of mine are a deep V. And some are off center a bit. That's ok... I personally like the variety.

 Tape off all of your nails at once, otherwise you'll be having to repair smudges and nicks many times.

Once taped off, paint the Tux color over the whole nail. I went with a sparkly black. Gives it a very Elvis/Liberace feel.

 I only let the black dry a few moments before removing the tape. You don't want to let it dry too much or you can have a rough time with the paint sticking to the tape, and peeling off.

Once you've got your jacket in place, next comes the bow tie.
Using the dotting tool, place a dot of color where you want half the tie, then work the paint into a triangle-ish shape. On my left hand, I used the larger side of the dotting tool, because I can get more color on more quickly, and I'm right handed. When painting my right hand, I used the smaller side. It took a little longer, and had to dip in the paint a few more times, but I was less likely to mess up and smear too much paint around.
When the first half of the tie is in place, repeating the process, create the other side of the tie.

After I created the ties, I then used the same color paint to create two shirt buttons below the tie.
The final touch was using silver to create buttons on the Tux jacket.

 Cover everything with a good top coat, to "lock it in place".

 These are a fun way to wear a lot of color, without being over the top bright, or looking like you're a 6 year old raiding your mom's polish stash. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
For an even more subtle look, you could do this on just one nail on each hand, as an accent. Or switch it around and make the shirt black and the jacket white... take the ideas and run with it!

I hope everyone has a great New Year's eve, filled with friends and loved ones, good food, better laughs, and more joy than your heart can stand!

Spice up a favorite color to make it special

We all have a few "go to" colors that we love, that in a pinch we know look good and make us feel good. 

But sometimes, that favored friend doesn't have quite the impact you're wanting. It is good, but not stand out spectacular. It is almost perfect, but a little TOO familiar. 

Here's a simple trick to making that tried and true friend feel new and exciting again: add a sheer layer of shimmer or glitter over the top! 

I know it sounds WAY to simplistic to make much difference, but with the right topper, you can your good old standby into "Hello Hotstuff" territory. 

For mine, I am using a pretty plumy red polish with glitter, and will be using a sheer gold iridescent glitter topper. 

 Alone, this is a pretty, rich color. Has nice shimmer and sparkle to it, without being over the top. (painting done at work, so please forgive the blobs)

 It is a fun color, but nothing that will stand out and get you noticed.

 Simply adding the gold topper changes the look enough to make it interesting, and the glitter polish on top of glitter polish gives it a multidimensional effect. (below you can see the ring finger with no topper next to the ones with)

 With the two layers, you get the color of the original polish, but now there is added interest. Depending on the angle you look at my nails, you may see red glitter, or gold, or little sparks of blue, green and orange.

 Experiment with different combinations, and don't be afraid to mix glitters together.

Holiday Nails #2

So... this tutorial will be skimpy on pictures, because my phone and I were not seeing eye to eye... I told it to email all the pics to myself, and it only emailed one. And by the time I noticed, I'd already deleted the step by step pics. Siiiggghhh... of course.
Hopefully, I'll be able to describe well enough what I did, that it won't matter, and you'll be able to tell what I mean from the finished pics.

First, I painted my nails silver, then added a coat of holographic silver glitter. Nice and shimmery! 

For the Holly, I did the leaves in 5 steps using a stiff calligraphy brush. 

1. I drew a v shape for the inner point of the holly, pointing towards the corner of my nail. 

2. Draw little C shapes from each point of the V, making sure the curves are in towards each other

3. End the shape with another V, this time upside down. 

4. Color in your leaf shape

5. Add a few dots of red paint for the berries

 Next, and the more "fancy" of the two designs is the pine cone & bough. It really isn't a hard design to do, and having a bit of a shaky hand actually comes in handy with this one.
So here are the steps I took to create my little forest
1. I started with the outer corner of the pine cone, with a small dot of brown
2. Draw a small squiggle with the brown over the dot, slightly larger than the dot.
3. Add another squiggle, leaving breaks and uneven spots to simulate the layers of the pine cone, continuing to increase the size of each layer, until the mid point. Then decrease the size of each next layer of squiggle until you end up with a small point again.
4. If you look really closely at the pic, you can see little white squiggles in between the brown squiggles... go in with white, and fill in a few blank spots, to make it look like snow has gathered on the pine cone. It isn't a very "obvious" look, but it just gives it a little more dimension and makes it fun.
5. Here's where a shaky hand really would pay off: draw in a ragged, twisted branch next to the cone.
6. Using some green, draw in whispy little pine needles. I used two colors of green, for a little dimension and interest. I used the light green first, and drew in bundles of 3 pine needles in several places (4, if you're counting). I made them different lengths, thicknesses, etc. Then I did the same with the darker green, typically only putting two little streaks of green. I didn't want to totally cover the lighter color, just provide some interest.

Now just cover it all with a good top coat, and you have some pretty nature-y seasonal nails.

Holiday Nails #1

Holiday parties call for something other than a simple every day sort of nail. This is a time of year where glitzy and festive is in order! So, for my first set of Holiday appropriate nails, I will show you Ornament nails! 

These guys are simple to do, with a few simple tools. I am using a bamboo skewer that I have snipped the tip off of and filed smooth, and a caligraphy brush that I haven't broken down the bristles, they are still stiff except for the last 2 mm, that you can see in the pic slightly bending.
Choose 4, 5, 6, as many colors as you want! I poured small blobs of each of my colors onto my "pallet", which is just another old used CD case.

I started by painting my nails a really cool black with sliver iridescent flecks in it. Then using the bamboo skewer, I began to randomly place different colored dots on my nails, in no particular color pattern, layout, or size. I stuck with mostly round, though none were perfectly round. 

Continue to fill in spaces on your nails, alternating colors on the nails, or making them all the same if you prefer.

Once you've gotten all the little dots you want in place, add little gold or silver "hooks" on each. I used the stiff bristled brush for this, but a toothpick would also work.
I drew a little straight bar at the top (or side) of the ornament, and then a little C shape on top to make a D shaped hook. It is ok if they are crooked, or filled in too much, or too small, or too big. How many ornament hooks have you seen that are perfect?

Once you have all the hooks on your ornaments, cover with a good clear topcoat, and you're done! You now have cute little piles of ornaments to spread cheer wherever you go. 

Showing my right hand, so you can see that even using your non-dominant hand you can accomplish this look easily. (For me, it helps if I hold the brush still with my left hand, and move my right hand below the brush, instead of moving the brush around.)

Merry Christmas to all!

Tips for perfect Tips

One of my favorite looks is colored Tips, like the French Tip, but with colors. Red with black tips, black with purple tips, light pink tips with darker pink tips, and probably my ultimate favorite, natural nails with colored tips... the combination possibilities are only limited by your color selection and likes. So, in this post, I am going to give a few tips on how to get perfect tips. 

One way to make sure your lines are straight and even is to grab yourself a rubber-band, and tie a loop in one end. You want your loop to be tight enough to stay on your fingers without falling off, but not so tight you can't take it off without messing up your paint. 

Slip the loop over the fingertip of the nail you are wanting to paint. Using your other fingers, lightly pull down on the rubber-band to get it tight against your nail, so no paint sneaks under.

Once you've filled in the color relax your pull on the rubber-band, and gently slip over and off the nail. If you are concerned with messing up your paint, you can use one rubber-band per finger.
And that's all there is to it!

In the picture above, I actually used black sharpie marker to color in my tips. As long as you already have a good coat of paint on your nails, you can use sharpie without damaging your nails.
This is helpful if you're wanting a nice paint job, but don't have time to wait for the first color to dry. Just paint your nails the base color, then while on break at work, or on the bus, or where ever you can grab a few minutes, just whip out your sharpie and complete your manicure. Cover it with a quick dry top coat (NYC's In a New York Minute quick dry polish is cheap, and dries very quickly) and you're all set! You'll look like you put in more effort than you did. (Black sharpie marker is also a godsend for hiding scuff marks on your nice black boots and heels, if you're on your way to an interview and don't have time to polish. Or the shoes are too cheap to bother with, but you need them to look nice. Yup, I am that redneck.)

Sometimes, you want a colored tip, but you want it a little more subtle than your basic brights. One trick I use is to paint the tips a bright, fun color...

Then paint over the whole nail, tip included, with a frosty or shimmery neutral color. It mutes the bright color, yet leaves you with something that looks like it took more effort. The plus side to this method is that typically you only put on one coat of the tip color, which usually dries quickly, and you use one coat of the top color, which usually dries quickly as well. Again, looking like you put in more time and effort than you really did.

After the samples I did above, I decided I'm in love with this new blue I got. It is Zoya's Song, which is a little more pricey than my average $2 bottles, but it is from their Christmas collection and is simply a beautiful brightly rich blue. Blue tips, with some snowflakes & a clear coat are all I need to channel a good festive seasonal mood.

Now go do some festive holiday tips of your own!!

Do-it-yourself Nail Polish colors

I can't go to a store with beauty products without finding at least three new polishes I feel compelled to bring home. However, at anywhere from $5-$15 a pop, my wallet doesn't agree with this strategy.

Luckily, there is always making my own polish colors at home from items you probably already have, or with minimal cost.

Here are the supplies you're going to need:

Small glass bowl

butter knife

paper towels

two bottles of clear nail polish (one new & one half empty is ideal)

scrap paper & tape, or a funnel

wooden skewer or tooth picks

Plus an assortment of eye shadows in colors you don't mind sacrificing to your project

Now all you need is a to have your perfect shade in mind.

1.Pour some of the polish from the new bottle (any inexpensive clear polish will work) into the partially used bottle, making room for your pigment. 

A color I have always liked is a nice pretty Periwinkle Blue. I love the mix of baby blue and lavender, it is such a delicate pretty color. However, I don't have any desire to wear a light blue on my nails (I don't need help looking as pastey as a corpse). So I'm thinking a more grown up version, a little duskier, deeper than your typical Periwinkle. Call it Periwinkle that grew up with attitude.

If you have a shade of shadow that you want to use as is, skip to step 3.

2. If you don't have a shadow the exact shade you want, then you'll need to mix your own pigment. Picking your base color is important. Too dark and you'll never be able to lighten it to suit your tastes, and too light and you'll have to add so much darker pigment you'll end up with too much to fit into your bottle.

Since I am going for a matured version of Periwinkle, I am going to start with some snow white, light silver and a medium blue.

3. Using your butter knife, scrape small amounts of the colors you've chosen into your glass bowl. Don't add too much at first, so you don't end up with too much to use.
Because I know I like my colors multidimensional, I have added an ivory white, two shades of blue, a light purple and an almost black purple to the colors I'd listed above.

4. Using your knife, begin to chop and blend your powders. Crush larger clumps to make sure your end powder is as fine as possible.

5. If the color you have ended up with, isn't to your liking, continue adding more shadow in small batches, and then chop and blend together.

In this example below, my powder was too purple for my liking, so I added a fair amount of a lighter blue than I'd used previously. It took me several adjustments to get to a color I was happy with.

Because I like my colors to be shimmery, I decided to add a small amount of purple super fine glitter, and white fine glitter. I didn't add so much that it will look like a disco ball, but just enough to give it a bit of oomph.  

 This is my final powder product:

6. Take the paper and tape and make a funnel that will fit into the mouth of the polish bottle. (Or a small kitchen funnel works too) 

7. Delicately pour the powder into the funnel slowly. If it gets clogged in the funnel or the neck of the bottle, use a wooden skewer or tooth pick to push it through gently. 

8. Cover the opening with your thumb and shake vigorously! After 30 seconds of shaking, check inside the neck, as a lot of powder typically gets shoved in there. Use your skewer or pick to push it down into the bottle. Recover the opening and shake violently again (PLEASE make sure your thumb is VERY firmly over the hole... I don't think you're planning a paint splatter makeover), and again check the neck. I've found three cycles of this typically is enough to incorporate all of the powder into the polish. At this point, you can add the cap & brush back into the polish, without worry that the powder will crust on the brush. 

And VOILA!!  Your very own "signature you" color. 

If you poured out too much of the clear polish to begin with, or if the polish is a little thick for your liking, pour some of the polish you'd originally poured out back into the bottle, and again shake shake shake! 

See my color!! There isn't much sparkly goodness to it, and not much purple is coming through in the pics, but it is a very cool color that I am very happy with. It isn't exactly what I had in my head, but that is part of the fun. If you look at the reflections, you can see little flecks of purples and lighter blue glinting, which makes the color so much more interesting in my opinion. 

This first pic, is with no clear coat. The second pic has clear coat just on the tip. 

Because this is "homemade", there will probably be a significant amount of separation as the color settles. This is easily remedied each time you use the polish, by shaking vigorously till the color is mixed. The more glitter and heavier pigments you use, the more separation you will have. Adding a few small glass or stainless steel BBs will aid in the mixing. 

If over time, your color gets a little thick and goopy, add a few drops of Acetone and shake. This should thin out the color nicely. 

Happy mixing!