Sparkly Lattice

Today is a fun sparkly manicure that doesn't scream "I want to be a 12 yr old girl still!". Sometimes glitter can seem like you're trying to hard to be young, and there is no reason why glitter has to be off limits to those of us who have been an official adult longer than they'd been a child. 

Layering glitter UNDER a solid color polish, with glints shining through, is a fun take on glittery nails. 

I started with a simple black polish. It doesn't need to be a well executed layer; it is OK if there are uneven spots. It is basically just a base color to give the glitter some interesting depth.You can use a color that coordinates with your top color, use your top color for a bit more of a monochromatic look, or skip it altogether. I used Wet N'Wild's Halloween black, that I got on clearance for I think 25 cents. 

Next, I added a layer of dense, holographic silver glitter. This is one coat, since it was late and I was too tired to finish the manicure. 

 To keep my nails from getting jacked up while I slept, I used a new quick dry polish that I got at CVS called OutTheDoor. I let it sit for about 2 mins, then went to bed, and there only were two tiny little nicks, that I probably got while closing the polish bottles. So it did pretty good. It is a thin polish, so it doesn't do a lot of smoothing, but it does good enough to keep your polish from getting sleep lines.

I added a second coat of glitter the next day, when I was ready to finish my manicure. I like the more solid coverage of the second coat. 

To make my lattice grid, I cut strips of scotch tape of differing widths and laid in a pattern across my nail. (You can also get striping tape, or use painters tape)
The time you are most likely to mess up the polish is when you are removing the tape strips. To help prevent this, I always lay my tape strips in the same order.
First I place the strip closest to my cuticle going from lower left to upper right (in the picture below)
Second is the strip going from lower left to upper right closest to the tip.
Third I place the strip closest to my cuticle going from lower right to upper left.
Lastly, I place the strip going from lower right to upper left closest to the tip.
The two bottom strips I usually make thicker than the top two, because I like the variation in size when I'm done.

 Now you coat the entire nail with your solid polish. This is two coats.

 Very carefully and slowly, remove your strips of tape. This is where knowing which are on top comes in handy... if you grab a strip that is under another, you're likely going to smudge the paint.
If the tape begins to pull up the base layers of paint, STOP! Try to pull up the tape from the other side, and gently pull away from the loosened edge.
Lastly, cover with a coat or two of quick dry top coat. I used the OutTheDoor to quickly set the polish and blend all of the edges, then used Seche Vite for a final coat, to smooth everything out nicely and give it a great shine.

 Here's an up close, so you can see just how sparkly the glitter polish is!

Zombie Cupid Nails - Or just a fabulous messy manicure

One of the first things people always say when I do a new manicure is "but I could never do that", "I'm too messy to do that" or "I can never do something that perfect". So I wanted to do a manicure today that would be even better the messier you are with it! 

Ta da! My messy faded gradient tips

I started with a pale, almost nude base. I used Wet & Wild here, two coats. It doesn't have to be a perfect since you are going to be layering colors over it.  

Next I took a medium pink, and did a quick swipe across the tip. It doesn't need to be straight, or cover perfectly, this is just to save time on the next step.

Using the same pink, I wiped most of the polish off the brush and painted on the polish from the tip towards the cuticle. I left the edge ragged, and uneven. After this step, I threw on a coat of quick dry top coat (Seche Vite). It isn't necessary to do, but I wanted the bottom two layers to be smooth and look blended before adding my 3rd color. 

Lastly, I took a pinky/red glitter and brushed it on from the tip towards the cuticle, again leaving the edge uneven and jagged. I made sure I did not cover all of the pink.

 I finished with two coats of top coat, just because I wanted the layers to be smooth and blend together well.

 A Q-tip dipped in acetone helped clean up the edges (another reason top coat is important... cleaning the edges will not mess up your paint if there is top coat to protect it!).

This manicure would be super fun for Halloween... do the first layer as a milky yellow-ish, the middle layer a bright red, and the top layer a reddish brownish ... and voila! you'd have awesome I've-been-clawing-at-my-victim's-flesh-type Zombie nails.  As it is, these make me think of a Zombie Cupid. Which, is all sorts of warm & fuzziness!

Doing this in grey, red & black would possibly be a cool Vampire manicure.
Options are only limited by your imagination and paint collection.
Have fun!

Non-childish Polka Dots

I have a nice easy one today that anyone, no matter what your talent level is, can easily achieve. 

I'm back to one of my favorite things: Polka dots!!! 

Polka dots are a lot of fun, but sometimes can seem overly girly or childish. A way to avoid looking Hello Kitty-ish is picking a more mature color pallet & a different pattern than the typical dots. Picking varying color pallets will provide results that are feminine, without being syrupy sweet. 

I started with my favorite deep mocha color as my base, and am picking an assortment of teal/turquoise shades for the dots. I ended up not being able to use the shimmery teal in the small bottle on the left, as it was glued shut. I went with a pearly light blue instead, and it worked just fine. 

I used my two sided dotting tool, and differing amounts of pressure to create the different sized dots. 

I chose the darkest color to be the biggest dots, and places a few randomly across my nail. 

I then used my lightest color to add more big dots, again in a random pattern across my nail. 

With each successive color, the dots got smaller, so the last color (white) had the smallest dots, and was used primarily to fill in the excess space. 

I added random dots of the teal glitter polish, that don't really show up, but do give a little extra sparkle here and there. I also covered the whole of each ring finger nail in the glitter. It isn't highly noticeable, but does give it a nice touch I think.  

 As you can see, I went with a diagonal, random placement pattern, and I love the results!
This would be cute with even, symmetrically placed dots as well.
I plan on trying this again in the near future, with pink dots on the brown, and again possibly with purple dots on grey polish.
Other combinations that I think would be awesomely fun are:
Yellows on Purple
Yellows & Purples on White
Blue & White on Red
Black & White on Hot Pink
Hot Pink & Black on White

Just pick your favorite two or three colors and go for it! Or, pick your favorite piece of abstract art and duplicate the color pallet.

Fine Feathered Phalanges

I had planned on doing this manicure for Thanksgiving, but because Thanksgiving week was busy, and I was lazy then, it just didn't happen. So, here is a manicure I'd seen a while ago, that I loved for its unique look. 

However, most tutorials I saw seemed to be geared towards those of us who do nails regularly. Not all followed the KISS principal. That being said... here is my go at it! 

First off, you will need feathers... I got a bag of them from the craft store for just a couple dollars. 

You'll need small scissors, and cuticle nippers. You will also need a thick, quick drying top coat. I used Seche Vite. (Which, I just found out is carried at CVS, and probably other regular drug stores with beauty sections... so no need to go out of your way to a special store like Ulta for just that. Unless you want to, which, I would totally understand!)

You'll be putting several coats on each nail (at least 3) so make sure you have enough. I used clear, but other than clear could be used. (Micro glitter or shimmer could give you an interesting effect. Just make sure that since we are adding many layer it doesn't totally obscure the feather)

You'll also need a fine grit nail file. I rarely will use anything more rough than the roughest grit on a 3 way buffing stick. Too rough of a grit will cause uneven edges that can chip, peel and flake, as well as get caught on things and tear. 

Start with painting your nails a base color. I used Princesses Rule! by OPI (A very pretty, very girly pinky color I got from one of my bestest friends, Mags) 

Select the feathers that you would like to use, that somewhat fit your nails. Look at patterns and placement, and pick what you think will look best. It doesn't have to be just the tip, you can use the sides or center, whatever will produce the look you are going for. 

 Using the small scissors, snip off the part of the feather to be applied on your nail. You'll end up with a large section for your nail, and several smaller sections as well. Save the small sections, they are good for filling in blank spaces, or fixing "oopps" moments. (I'll have an example of that momentarily)

Coat one nail with clear top coat, wait no more than a few seconds, and place the feather on your nail. It is ok to have over-hang, we'll fix that later. Press the feather into the polish, to make it stick and lay smooth.
Now for our first coat of top coat over the feather!
Use the brush with top coat to smooth out the feather. I occasionally brushed UP the nail, to make things lay how I wanted them to.

 Now use your small scissors to cut off most of the over-hang. You do not need to get it perfect, we're just getting rid of the part that will be burdensome while trying to do your other nails.

 Repeat this process for all nails.
To recap: to this point you have base polish, clear coat, feather, and then your first layer of clear coat.

 Once the first layer of polish is completely dry, use your cuticle nippers to clean up the edges. Trim the over-hang as closely to your nail as you can. In trying to trim mine super close, I slipped and ended up taking a chunk out. This is why saving tiny pieces is good.

 I simply dabbed a little top coat onto the blank spot and wedged that little snippet of feather into the hole. Once it was pressed into place and trimmed, it was hard to tell here my gap had been.
*one note about trimming, make sure you SNIP all pieces, and do NOT tug! Tugging will cause the feather to pull up off the nail. I used several small snips per nail, to make sure I didn't pull the feather out of place. (after the first time I pulled it out of place)

After trimming, (be sure to trim around the cuticle area, so you get all the little stray feathery pieces) it is time for the second coat of top coat.
When the second coat is dry, use the file to smooth away all of the rough edges, and do another trimming if necessary. File downward only, as side to side or up will possibly tear the feather and pull it up.
*one note about trimming, make sure you SNIP all pieces, and do NOT tug! Tugging will cause the feather to pull up off the nail.

Now, with everything smooth, you're ready for the 3rd layer of top coat.
Normally, each time I dip my brush in polish I will cover about two nails, because you want thin layers usually. This is not a usual case. Dip your brush in polish for each nail, you want each coat to be a good solid layer. This is why you should use a good quality quick dry polish... you can make the layers thick without having to dry for hours.

And there you have it! Naturally decorated nails in a custom pattern that you've done yourself!

I think this is my favorite nail of all of them! (the pointer finger on my right hand)

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.