TUTORIAL: Beauty and the Beach Summer Nail Art

To date, one of my most positively received nail art posts has been my entry for last year's Beauty and the Beach contest. I can't say that I'm surprised -- who can resist the combination of nail art and the beach? I know this manicure has me dreaming of the cool ocean breeze and aqua-colored waters.

In the spirit of summer, I've made you guys a video tutorial for this look! There are a lot of different techniques involved, and I did my best to demonstrate all of them while still keeping the overall video length reasonable. Please be sure to comment if you have any follow-up questions!


Here are the products I used in this look:
Cult Nails Tempest
OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh
American Apparel Hassid
China Glaze For Audrey
OPI My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours
It's So Easy Nails Stripe Rite in White
Nail art brush
Makeup wedge
Cleanup brush/Q-Tips
Acetone

Will you be trying out this summer nail art tutorial? I have to say, my favorite part is the little baby starfish. What do you think his name should be?

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Geometric vs. Organic Floral Nail Art

Hey fine folks, I'm sorry I've had such a large gap between posts lately. Like I briefly mentioned earlier,  I've been really busy working on a huge project at work. I'm going to do my best to prepare some posts this weekend though, so hopefully there won't be too many more big gaps!

I was determined to do some nail art last night and decided to start with a floral. Now, I love florals (I've definitely done my fair share of them!), but I wanted to punch up the design a little bit. I thought it would be cool to contrast a harsh, black and white geometric checkerboard against the soft organic floral nails. I love the way they stand out, so rebellious!

I freehanded everything in this manicure with my medium length striper brush. I probably have a checkerboard stamping plate somewhere but I did want to challenge myself a bit and freehand those nails, too. I did force myself to be a little less controlling about the checkerboard lines than I normally would have been. That's kind of ass-backwards, huh? Controlling myself into being less controlling?

Colors used in this manicure include:
Cult Nails Tempest (white)
American Apparel Hassid (black)
OPI My Vampire is Buff (bone)
Lime Crime Peaches and Cream (lighter orange)
OPI Call Me Gwen-ever (darker orange)
Illamasqua Jo'mina (lighter purple)
China Glaze Crimson (darker purple)
China Glaze Def Defying (green)

I wish the Lime Crime polish would have shown up better in my photos. In person it has a much better contrast to the pale cream background.

So, what do you think about this geometric vs. organic manicure? Too much, or just bold enough?

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Jamie Wants Big Boom: Mythbusters Nail Art

Now that I've done Adventure Time, Futurama, and Parks & Recreation manicures, I thought I'd add another one of my favorite shows into my nail art portfolio -- Mythbusters! I think Mythbusters is one of those shows that is universally well-liked. The team of people on the show is so likable, they perform awesome and informative experiments, and there are lots of explosions. If you're unfamiliar with the show, you can watch some clips and get a feel for it on the Discovery website.

Break it down!

On my thumb is a depiction of a blueprint, much like the ones that the show uses to explain their experiments.
My pointer finger is a representation of Jamie Hyneman, through his iconic mustache and beret combo.
My middle finger is Adam Savage with his thick glasses and ginger hair.
My ring finger is Buster! Buster, if you are unfamiliar, is their stunt dummy. I've shown his head in profile over an asphalt-y base.
Finally, my pinky is an explosion. Because what is Mythbusters nail art without an explosion.

There are a bunch of colors in this, and I'll type them out for you guys since I love you.

Thumb: American Apparel Mount Royal, Cult Nails Tempest
Pointer: OPI Berlin There Done That, American Apparel Hassid, China Glaze Kalahari Kiss
Middle: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, American Apparel Hassid, OPI In My Back Pocket
Ring: Zoya Storm, Cult Nails Tempest, Sally Hansen Lightening, American Apparel Hassid
Pinky: American Apparel Hassid, Sally Hansen Rapid Red, OPI In My Back Pocket, Sally Hansen Lightening

The entire manicure was freehanded using a medium length striper brush.

I had some trouble with the host representations. I had to redo Adam at least three times before I was happy with him, and even then I took off his facial hair an additional time to try to refine that a bit more. Jamie was easier, only requiring one mustache re-do.

A spotlight on our two handsome hosts...

I think my favorite nail out of all of these would be the Buster on my ring finger. I am really pleased with the way all of these came out, though, and hope Mythbusters fans think I did the show justice!

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Cult Nails 2nd Anniversary Collection

In celebration of their 2nd Anniversary, Cult Nails has released a special collection consisting of three lacquers. The collection includes a creme, a glitter, and a rubber/leather matte finish, so I imagine there is something for everyone here! Let's take a look at some swatches.

Tempest is a white creme. It's just a plain white, but the formula is really nice. I was able to achieve full opacity with just two thin coats, and others have been able to get away with just one. The consistency of this polish makes it a fantastic white for nail art, and I know I will be using it a lot going forward.

Blaze is a sparkly mix of gold and copper glitter in a clear base. I have shown three coats in the photo below, but you may be able to get away with two. This would also look great layered! This is my favorite polish in the collection, I am always a big fan of the full coverage micro glitter polishes. You may need an extra coat of topcoat to smooth it out completely.

Fetish is a solid black polish in a rubberized/leather matte finish. I've used two coats for the swatch below as I found the formula to be on the thinner side. It began to look matte right away. I think this would be a great option for people that love plain black polish but want to add a little bit of interest to their manicure. Since you aren't using topcoat, it takes a bit longer to dry. I let mine sit for about ten minutes before I swatched it, and was still able to ding it after I had finished my photos. Maybe settle in for an episode of Walking Dead while you let it dry!

In celebration of reaching 10,000 Facebook likes, Cult Nails is currently running a sale on their lacquers. Use the code "FB10K" to get your polishes for $8.00 each! This code will be active through Monday at 11:59pm EST.

Cult Nails polishes are sold at www.cultnails.com. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Cult Nails blog.

Products provided for review.

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What I've been wearing lately... Vol. II

Hey folks! How are you doing this fine day? Today's post is another installment of "What I've been wearing lately." If you missed the last one, this is a series where I post a mishmash of manicures that I've been wearing lately. I love looking at these types of roundups on other blogs, and hope you will enjoy this one as well!

Sonoma Nail Art - I <3 Chowdie
This polish was a custom that Michelle made me for my birthday. It's inspired by my doggie and I love it so much. Three coats.

Lush Lacquer - Mr. Bubble over Essie - Play Date

Cult Nails - Flushed

Layla - Coffee Love

2 coats of Lac Attack - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes over Illamasqua Noble

Lac Attack - Holidays in Hogsmeade over Essie - Stylenomics
I wore this combo to a Christmas party when the season was still going on... It got a lot of compliments!

Vivid Lacquer - Theoretical Rockstar (new version)

Thanks for reading -- now get to shopping! :)

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