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)

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!