Valentine's Day nail art - it's raining hearts

Hey everyone!

I'm back with Valentine's Day nail art! I think this calls for a round of celebrations. I managed to edit my pictures (tedious work on PicMonkey since I don't have Photoshop installed on this PC), I'm actually posting BEFORE Valentine's Day and this is a fresh design aka I'm still wearing it, haha.

I'm not big on Valentine's Day and wasn't actually going to do any specific design but I've been seeing some V-day nail art contests (?) and decided, what the heck I'll just try to come up with something and if I think it's worthy and if I don't miss the contest entry date, I'll submit my entry.

Okay, anyway, here's what I did:

This is the finished look! I love it! It's so me in the sense that it's so pretty yet imperfect. I don't think I could ever claim to be a perfect nail artist since my lines are usually always slightly off and sometimes I make a smudge or two. And that's fine because I've embraced my imperfections to be kind of like my style.

Here is what I started with:

Thumb: China Glaze - White on White

Index: China Glaze - Strawberry Fields

Middle: Essie - The Girls Are Out

Ring: Orly - Hot Shot (holla, new purchase!)

Little: Love & Beauty - pink

I used two coats of each polish as the base.

Next, I was inspired by a picture of a tree with hearts hanging off it and decided to draw one on my thumb nail. I have no idea why I left my brown nail polish back home and I was bummed when I realized that. I made do with my black nail art pen as the tree trunk and branches.

I used Sally Hansen - Mint Sprint (love this color!) and China Glaze - Salsa and a nail art brush to paint the leaves and hearts respectively. I didn't spend too long on drawing them on. It was more like dab and go. :D

My idea for the other nails was to do rows of hearts and one accent nail with XOXOs on it. I used the black nail art pen to draw the XOs. By now you can already tell that the white hearts on my middle finger are much more prominent. 

That's because I used my white nail art pen to draw them on. I only wanted the white polish as a base for the colors I was going to paint over it so the pen wasn't such a good idea. The polish flowed out and was rather thick and hard to control so I switched over to China Glaze - White on White and a nail art brush.

Then it became a bit of a mess around this part. I envisioned the different shades of red/pink to stand out but they... didn't. Haha. Well, I guess sometimes things don't turn out the way you picture them. I wanted to just leave them be and call it a day but stubborn me wanted to make this design work... So I...

... grabbed the black pen again and outlined all the hearts. Granted the outline wasn't as smooth as it should have been but I'm glad I outlined them. Don't they just pop against the base colors? Yup, then I sealed the designs in with top coat and called it a day.

Here's a close-up of my heart tree. :)

And here is my biggest accomplishment yet, haha. I labeled the polishes in the picture. It took me sooo long to squeeze everything in and align the arrows and stuff but I really wanted to point out the nail polish bottles behind.

I only labeled the red and pink polishes, all of which I used to color the rows of hearts. The rest are my base coat, top coat, Orly - Liquid Vinyl and China Glaze - White on White. Oh, and those are the two brushes I used for the entire design.

Here's a better picture of Essie - The Girls Are Out and Love & Beauty - pink. I had no idea I had so many red/pink polishes. I initially started out with ONE red polish, thinking I wouldn't buy any other reds... Who was I kidding?

And here's a shot of blurry heart-shaped goodness.

This design actually reminds me of a notebook I used to have when I was younger. It was by Happy House and just the cutest notebook with rows of multi-colored hearts.

So what do you think of my Valentine's Day nail art? Good? Meh? Messy? Boring? So spuddylicious? Do you want to try this out? Let me know in the comments! :)

If you have a V-day nail art post, definitely include the link in the comments, I'd love to check it out! If you want to send me a V-day gift, let me know as well, haha. ;)

How will you be celebrating Valentine's Day? Is it a big deal for you or do you just let it slide by? 

Thanks for reading! <3

P.S: All pictures taken with my phone and inside the house.

Christmas nails: a string of lights

Hey everyone. I've got more Christmas nail art for you today.

Lately I've been feeling uninspired to do my nails. I've got quite a bit going on in my life at the moment so it's been busy and I haven't felt like sitting down to do my nails even though at one point it was the thing that helped me relax. I hope to get back into the swing of things soon but we'll see, right?

Anyway, in the meantime, don't worry, I still have nail art to show you. Today's design is one that has been on my nail art wishlist - a string of Christmas lights! I LOVE seeing Christmas lights - it gives everything a magical look and reminds me of Disneyland during the holiday season.

Taken with flash

Hmm... how I got white polish onto my skin is a good question... Haha, let's just say I really lacked control when I was painting them.

Taken in indirect sunlight

Taken in indirect sunlight

Taken in indirect sunlight

I used a black nail art pen to draw the wire first then I blobbed on the lights using a nail art brush.

The nail polish I used:
China Glaze - Salsa
China Glaze - Frostbite
Sally Hansen -  Emerald City
Orly - Charged Up
Orly - Glowstick
China Glaze - White on White (base color)

This design, as with the most of the other designs I've done, was really easy and I believe anyone can do it too. If you're looking for a cute Christmas design to wear this holiday season, I hope you'll give this a try. I love when I find easy designs that turn out well. That's the fun in nail art for me - simple but beautiful creations that anyone else can do.

What do you think of Christmas lights? Are they a must-have in your house for Christmas? What kind of Christmas lights do you hang? Ever tried Christmas lights nail art? I'd love to see them!

Thank you for reading!

Ariel from The Little Mermaid Nail Art

Hi guys!! Today I bring you another installment of Disney characters on my nails! After Jane, I was obsessed. I knew I needed to do Ariel because, duh, I heart mermaids and red hair and the ocean and you can check out my mermaid tail nails here and the red version of the mermaid tail here.

PLEASE tell me you love mermaids as much as I do!!

Taken in indirect sunlight

Sorry for the shaky hands!! I didn't manage to draw the lines as straight as I wanted and my eyes were getting tired from aligning the brush and trying to draw the outline.

I used a bajillion polishes to do this design (okay I only have that many bottles, not even close to 100) but I managed to compile the list:

Thumb:

• China Glaze - Kalahari Kiss
• China Glaze - Salsa
• China Glaze - First Mate
• China Glaze - White on White
• Orly - Liquid Vinyl 
• Love & Beauty - milky white
• The Face Shop - BR802

You can see the rest of the designs in the pictures below:

Index:

• 2 coats of China Glaze - Kalahari Kiss as a base
• The Face Shop - PP401 and a random purple polish for the shell top
• Sally Hansen - Lickety Split Lime and Sally Hansen - Mint Sprint for the tail

Middle:

• 2 coats of (my drying) Revlon Top Speed - Yellow as a base
• The Face Shop - BL602 for the stripes

Ring:

• 2 coats of The Face Shop - BL602 as a base
• Sponged on a gradient of China Glaze - First Mate, The Face Shop - BL602 and Love & Beauty - baby blue
• Used The Face Shop - YL702 and a striper brush to draw the moon

Little:

• 2 coats of Love & Beauty -  baby blue for the base
• Sponged on a gradient of The Face Shop - BL602
• Used a striper brush, Sally Hansen - Mint Sprint and The Face Shop -  to create the bed of corals.

Taken in indirect sunlight

From left to right: Ariel's bikini top and tail, Flounder's scales, the reflection of the moon minus Ariel sitting on the rock ala the picture at the top of the post, and finally the bed of corals that symbolize Ariel's home.

Taken with flash

Taken with retro filter

Taken in indirect sunlight

I did all five nails in an hour which is a vast improvement from spending an hour on solo Jane on my thumbnail.

I'm pleased at how her eyes, nose and skin tone turned out... And I love the other designs so much!

BUT I'm not sure I managed to capture the true expression of Ariel here which saddens me because I want to do my favorite mermaid justice. My Ariel is more like meh, not frickin' impressed while the real Ariel is like hmmm, I wonder what's above the sea...

None of my red polishes match her bright red hair so I had to stick with China Glaze - Salsa though now come to think of it I should've used the red-pink polish.

What do you think though? How are these nails for a second attempt at doing semi-realistic painting?? Does it look okay, passable, so-so? Would you have me redo these nails? (I would) Or do you like them? -hopeful- Do you prefer my Jane nails or this set of Ariel nails?

Check out my Jane Porter nails here! If you have any Disney princess nail art requests, I'd love to hear them and take them into consideration. <3

Thanks for reading!
x

Glitter gradient nails with Purr-fect Plum and Salsa

Hi, friends!

I've got gradient nails to show you today. They're really easy and the best part is having fun with different color combinations.

I did these gradient nails on a whim and look at how pretty they turned out. If you're going to an event and have no time or no idea what nail design to do, I'd definitely recommend glitter gradient nails. I didn't use the sponging method. Read on to find out how I did the gradient effect.

Taken with flash

On my left hand, I used China Glaze - Purr-fect Plum and The Face Shop - purple glitter (sorry, I can't find the code on their site). For the accent nail I used China Glaze - First Mate and some glitter polish but I can't remember the exact polish I used. I think it might be China Glaze - Fairy Dust but since it's not holographic, I might be wrong.

Taken with flash

Taken with flash

On my right hand, I used China Glaze - Salsa and did the gradient with China Glaze - Ruby Pumps. The red glitter really blended with Salsa which is a creme polish so it came out really pretty. For the accent nail, again I used China Glaze - First Mate and that unknown glitter.

How I did these gradient nails:

1. First I put on 2 coats of the creme polish and let that dry.
2. Then I scraped off the excess glitter polish from the brush on the inside of the bottle, allowing only the slightest polish on the brush.
3. Then I dabbed on the glitter from the middle of my nail to the tip, making sure there is more concentration of glitter near the tip to create the gradient effect.
4. I repeated step 2 and 3 until I was satisfied with my gradient.
5. I sealed my design with Sally Hansen - Insta Dri top coat.

I hope you try this design out! Gradient glitter really does step your nails up a class so it'd be perfect to wear to a wedding or a Christmas party.

Let me know what you think of these nails in the comment box. Are they too flashy? Do you like them? Have you tried gradient nails with glitter polish before? What color combinations would you use?

Thanks for reading!

Halloween Snoopy and Woodstock nail art

So who likes Halloween? What's your favorite part about Halloween?

Mine, of course, is the nail art. So many cute Halloween Snoopys to choose from. So naturally I did Halloween Snoopy nails.

Taken with flash

Taken with flash

Taken in indirect sunlight

Taken in indirect sunlight

Taken in indirect sunlight

The polish I used for this nail art:
Thumb: random pewter polish
Index and little: Sally Hansen - Espresso and Love & Beauty - gold glass flecks
Middle and Index: China Glaze - Kalahari Kiss (as the base), The Face Shop - YL402 (yellow), white nail art, black nail art pen.

Yes, I did make Snoopy's belly round because round beagle bellies remind me of a certain puppy. :) I love how these nails turned out. Sad that they turned out a bit bumpy though. There was a fan turned on so some icky bubbles formed.

Here's the picture I used as reference to draw Snoopy and Halloween. Super cute, right? I love it too!

Picture from Google

What do you think? Would you sport these Snoopy Halloween nails? Wait, first off, do you like Snoopy? If you don't, we probably can't be friends. ;)

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this design!

Watermelon nail art

Hey guys! Today I want to show you one of the first few nail art designs that I started out doing - watermelon nails!! They're really easy to do and you don't even need any proper tools. When I just started out, I had no tools whatsoever, not even an orange stick. My only tools back then were skewer sticks and toothpicks so you can totally make do with those if you have them.

This is not my first attempt at watermelon nails, #357 would sound about right. Just kidding. This is possibly my 6/7th time doing these nails. They are so fun to do and if you mess up, well, keep on trying.

I only have 2 decent pictures (yes, I'm a great photographer):

Taken with flash

Taken indoors under yellow lighting

I used Love & Beauty - Red, Sally Hansen - Lickety Split Lime, China Glaze - White on White and a black nail art pen.

I may or may not have tried to cover some booboos that I made on my nails, hehe. 

So you want to know how I did these nails?

Okay, first I painted two coats of red polish and waited for them to dry. Then I taped about half an inch from the tip and painted one thick coat of Lickety Split Lime and peeled the tape off quickly. Using a striper brush and White on White, I created that white line between the red and green polish. Finally, I used a large dotting tool to create the watermelon seeds.

I might have been over-enthusiastic when dotting on the seeds which is why they turned out bigger than I intended them to be. >< My lines are uneven but I'm proud of all my nail art imperfections and you should be too. Perfect? Pfft, ain't nobody got time for that ;)

Have you done watermelon nails before? Did you like how they turned out? Would you try doing watermelon nails if you've never done them before? Who likes watermelons in general? I know I do.

Thanks for reading! You are awesome!

Liebster Award - first ever blog award

Guess what, guys?! I've been nominated by the lovely Lacquered Stash for the Liebster Award! I have been seeing this go round and I'm so excited that someone likes my blog enough to nominate me! :D Thank you so much!

Okay so the rules are: when you are nominated you are meant to:
1. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
2. Answer 11 questions given by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 more bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. And then write them 11 questions to answer.

11 random facts about me:
You can check out random facts about me here and here.

Here are the questions asked:
1. What is your favorite polish?
I would have to say either China Glaze - Strawberry Fields or China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise.

2. What is your favorite technique to use?
Hmm, this is a tough one. I can't just go with one... I'm loving saran wrap nails and simple dots and these mermaid nails.

3. What mani are you planning for the next holiday?
Oh my god this is so exciting!!! I love Christmas nails!! I can't wait! I don't know what I'll be doing but Christmas nails are my top priority.

4. What is your favorite top coat?
I would have to say Seche Vite because it does the trick FAST and seals in the layers SO well but the fact that it's not 3-free is a problem though. I do like Sally Hansen's top coats.

5. What is your favorite tool to use when doing freehand nail design?

These two brushes for sure. I'm just sad that the second brush is beginning to go all soft and bristly. You can even see it in the picture above. Since I don't have a backup brush or a store where I can get a brush like this, I'm thinking that freehand designs have to be put on hold.

6. What time of day do you do your mani's?
Mmm, it depends but mostly in the afternoon or evening. When I surprised my sister with my Bioshock Infinite nails (so proud of them!), I did them in the morning before she came home from school.

7. What technique have you not tried yet that you would like to?
Water marbling, I think. I tried it once and failed horribly. I have been too scared to try ever since. Any tips?

8. What is the biggest challenge you've faced writing your blog?
I think getting readers. On this blog and my main blog, I think the biggest challenge is getting loyal readers. But now I try not to think too much of the numbers (stats and followers). I love writing and blogging is my outlet. Now I try to think that if in the process people happen to stumble on my blogs and like what I write about, then that's a bonus and welcome aboard!

9. What do you use for your base coat?
I alternate between Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-N-1 Extra Moisturizer Treatment. (that's a mouthful and I had to Google for the full name), Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat, and Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat (I do think that the Bonder makes my nails peel though).

10. What lotion or oil do you use for your cuticle care?
Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream (some of you might think that this is high overrated but it is amazing for your cuticles and I don't find the smell strong at all) and The Body Shop Body Oil, Pink Grapefruit, 3.3 Fluid Ounce which can be used on skin and hair to moisturize. The grapefruit oil smells amazing and doesn't stay slippery for too long.

11. How much planning goes into your mani and how much of it is spur of the moment?
Most of them are spur of the moment but for the more detailed nails like my Jane Porter and Parachute - Overnight nails, I did take some time to plan out what would go where.

12. What polish do you think everyone should have in their collection?
Hmm... either China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise (you're beginning to see how much I love this polish, aren't you?) or Essie - Play Date.

11 bloggers that I nominate:
To be honest, I think I'm the last one to receive this award. However, I am aware that every day there are new bloggers so here's what I'm going to do: If you're new to the blogging community and you happen to be here (at my humble blog), please feel free to accept this award and say that I nominated you. :) If you do accept this award, remember to leave a comment so that I can read your answers and check out your blog.

11 questions to ask:
Since I am horribly lazy and poor at thinking of questions on the fly, I'mma bring the questions from my Sunshine Award and use them here. Don't judge, lol.

1. How many languages do you speak? If you could learn one new language, which would it be?
2. What is your favorite book from your childhood?
3. Who would you say influenced you the most in your life?
4. What is the first concert you ever went to? If you have never been, whose concert would you attend?
5. What is your favorite kind of pie?
6. Tell me about something strange/funny/awkward that you have done or has happened to you before.
7. Do you paint your nails? If yes, how often? If no, why not? If you're a guy, have you ever painted your nails before?
8. What are some songs that you can’t get sick of?
9. What is something (can be anything) that you used to hate but grew to love?
10. What do you find overrated and why?
11. What is your favorite Disney movie?

Well, that was fun and easier than answering the Sunshine Award, haha. For getting to the end of my post without skipping any parts (but I wouldn't know now, would I? ;)), here's a sneak peek of a future nail post:

Looks like fun, right? :D

Thanks for reading! Love you guys!

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