Today’s “metallic” nails for the challenge are very unlike my usual personal style. It was nice to step outside my box though, as I was super happy with the way these turned out! Girly and fun and kind of rococo-esque, don’t you think?
My pink base is American Apparel Coney Island. I haven’t used an AA polish in a really long time… I always forget how great they are. Their colors are lovely and the formula is really nice.
The frame embellishments on my pointer and pinky are from a grab bag I ordered at Ocean Nail Supply. I can’t remember where I got the brass studs from, but I imagine you could find something similar from ONS or a site like Daily Charme.
I chose one of my favorite gold polishes for the accents: China Glaze Goldie But Goodie. I like the complexity of it — it has these gorgeous flecks and a sort of coarse visual finish to it. I used nail vinyls from Love, Angeline for the pattern on the middle and ring fingers.
This little numba was inspired by the luxurious tones of the Zoya Island Fun collection. The jewel toned shades were just ASKING to be paired with a bit of extra luxury, and I chose to load on the gold.
Each shade needed just two coats for opacity. I let the base colors dry, then blocked off parts of my nails using tape. I polished on a light coat of Ziv to give it a glint of gold, and then loosely added some of Gilty's gold leaf for extra luxury. Since Gilty is not currently for sale, you could also use loose gold leaf from a craft store.
Standout colors for me in this collection included Jace and Demetria. The other shades are nice and the formulas were fine, but they just didn't capture me like those two!
Zoya Island Fun (and its sister collection, Paradise Sun) are available now on Zoya.com for $9 per bottle.
This tutorial post is sponsored by Macmillan. Today's nail art tutorial is inspired by B.T. Gottfred's novel, Forever For a Year. Since the book is all about romance and first love, I've created a look that's perfect for date night. This sultry bordeaux gradient is accented with a gold jewelry-style half moon. It's a look that is chic, romantic, and put together... with just a touch of flash.
Forever For a Year has also provided a date night prize pack for a giveaway! Head to the end of the post for details on how to enter.
For my date night nail art, I used: LVX Cameo (burgundy) OPI Lincoln Park After Dark (dark purple) Essie Good As Gold (gold)
You'll also need a cosmetic sponge, cotton swabs or a latex barrier, and dotting tools in three sizes (large, small, and pinpoint).
With this easy gradient nail art, you'll be date-night ready in no time! And no matter where the night takes you, you know your tips will be looking fresh.
About Forever For a Year When Carolina and Trevor meet on their first day of school, something draws them to each other. They gradually share first kisses, first touches, first sexual experiences. When they're together, nothing else matters. But one of them will make a choice, and the other a mistake, that will break what they thought was unbreakable. Both will wish that they could fall in love again for the first time . . . but first love, by definition, can't happen twice.
Told in Carolina and Trevor's alternating voices, this is an up-close-and-personal story of two teenagers falling in love for the first time, and discovering it might not last forever. In stores now.
Giveaway So now that we've got a plan in place for your date night nails, you're gonna need some supplies! Forever For a Year is hooking up one (1) lucky reader with the following prize pack:
A copy of Forever For a Year;
$25 Sephora gift card;
nail polish and compact mirror.
To enter, just comment on this post describing your dream date night activity!
Here are the rules:
One entry per person.
Giveaway open to US addresses only.
Must comment with a valid email address to be reached for your prize.
Must be 18 years or older (or have parent's permission) to enter.
Entries close Friday, July 31st, 2015 at 11:59pm MST.
Chosen winner will have 48 hours to reply to the notifying email, after which a new winner will be chosen.
This spring, China Glaze throws their hat into the ring of longwearing polish systems, joining the ranks of lines like CND's Vinylux and Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel. These systems are set apart by claims of gel-like wear and shine, without the need to cure in a lamp or the lengthy removal process. China Glaze's EverGlaze system brings CG's signature bold colors and fun finishes among more traditional color choices, ensuring that there's a shade for every type of gal.
The system includes a nail prep solution, the range of colors, and the EverGlaze Active Top Coat. The prep solution is similar to a nail dehydrator, and it is meant to remove dirt and oils from your nail plate before polishing. This helps the polish stick longer! The Active Top Coat comes in a UV protected bottle.
Case of the Mondaze is actually a gorgeous cobalt blue, but when I sponged it over Adrenaline Rush in my gradient, it turned purple! A happy accident, I say!
The Active Top Coat is thick and shiny, dries quickly, and doesn't smear nail art. It's a winner, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it (I can be very picky with top coats, you know).
Unfortunately, I'm unable to do a wear test of my own at this time -- nail school is tough on polish, and even my full-fledged lamp cured gels don't hold up sometimes!
EverGlaze is available now in Sally Beauty stores and on SallyBeauty.com.
Nail decals aren't a new thing, but when I first saw them, WrapArtist's water decals immediately stood out to me. The designs are awesome. They just totally get it, you know? The decals are chic, cool, and trendy, not to mention fully opaque, sometimes metallic, and really simple to use. I put together this look in just a few minutes, and it feels like something that could have come out of a New York nail art salon!
Each set of water decals comes on a small sheet like this. To use a decal, you just cut it out of the sheet, soak it in water for a ~20 seconds, and then slide the decal off of the white backing paper. Position the decal on your dry nail and dab it on a paper towel to remove any excess water, then finish with a topcoat.
One thing I really appreciated about these decals is that the clear part of the decals around the designs are already trimmed. You don't have to cut super close around the design to avoid excess clear around the edges...the work is done for you! Just slide it and stick it.
You can also use them in gel to get a lot of mileage out of your WrapArtist manicure.
I added decals from two WrapArtist sets: Being Negative and Say What. The Say What set is especially awesome for those of you that like to get a little saucy, as it includes profanity & other buzzwords.
If you are interested at all in these decals, I highly recommend browsing the Wrap Artist site. There are lots of killer sets, and I've only given you a taste of the awesomeness here. I'm already scoping out some additional sheets to grab for myself.
WrapArtist decals are available at wrapartistnails.com. Decals range from $5-6 per sheet.
Shall we take a look at my current favorite golden polish? Kleancolor - Coffee Addict is my "go-to-gold", it is antique gold (brown toned) and also a 1-coater. Easy application and good formula. Can one ask for more? ^^
Let's face it... We don't need an excuse to deck out our nails with gorgeous shimmers, glitters, holographics, and textures. However, why not celebrate the season with luxurious lacquers and fantastic formulas from Girly Bits? Let's take a look at a few of the shades I've tried recently! Arctic Sunrise is a beautiful bright blue with a heavy pink shimmer. I think it's appropriate for both winter and for upcoming spring and summer months. Gotta love a polish with good seasonal mileage! Three coats.
Bette Davis Eyes is a pale silver with a light textured finish. Cool! This was one of the newer Girly Bits shades that I was most curious about. I wasn't disappointed, it's really neat. If you prefer low-intensity textured finishes, this one has a really subtle grit to it. Two coats.
Ho Ho Hope is a red-toned-violet holographic shade with a subtle holo rainbow. The formula was lovely, needing just two coats for the coverage shown, and the color is enchanting.
Lover's Coral is a soft peachy-coral shade. I've worn this one twice recently, it's a great clean pink for when you are looking for something sweet and simple. Three coats.
Too Hot For Pants is a red-fuchsia jelly with heavy shimmer and holo microglitter. It's a very rich shade, which makes it a perfect choice for the holidays. Two coats shown.
Walk Like an Egyptian is one of my most favorite Girly Bits shades to date. This champagne gold is so luxurious. It's holographic in the sun, but looks just as lovely indoors! If you are a gold nail polish fan, this is totally a winner. This is three coats but many could get away with only two.
So, which one is your favorite? I love the variety of colors, textures, and finishes in the Girly Bits lineup, and am always impressed by the formulas. My top picks would be Walk Like an Egyptian and Bette Davis Eyes. Siiiillllver and gooooold, siiiiilllver and gooooolllddd....
Deborah Lippmann has been a busy gal this holiday season! There are lots of great mini lacquer sets available from the brand right now, and one of them is the Celebration Nail Lacquer Trio, made for Deb's 15th anniversary. The three polishes come in a nice gift box with an artistic marbled background featuring the shades in the set. Big Spender is a yellow gold metallic foil. I used three coats for the coverage you see here. Unfortunately, I don't think this shade is very flattering, but others may enjoy this kind of vibrant gold.
It's My Party is a blue, peach, gold, and red glitter topper in a clear base. The mix of colors is so cute! I chose to layer one coat over Deborah Lippmann Don't Stop Believin' (not included in the set) to show the glitter more clearly. I want to try this one layered over black.
New York State of Mind is a glowy cherry red shimmer. People that aren't normally into reds may be swayed by this beauty. It covered perfectly at two coats. Totally gorgeous.
This set retails for $29 and includes three mini lacquers (.27 oz). Lippmann mini bottles are my favorite -- they are just like her full size square, heavy bottom bottles, except cuter! It's not an inexpensive brand, but the mini sets are a great way to dip your toes in if you've been curious about Deb's polishes.
I remember when I was a kid, I had these My Pretty Mermaid dolls. I loved braiding their bright, plastic hair, and if memory serves me right, their tails even changed color when you put them in cold/warm water! My tastes have matured a bit since then, but I still appreciate that mermaid magic. That's why this nail art was perfect: it takes the cheapness out of my mermaid memories and supplements the look with a refined and elegant nude holographic.
More than anything, this manicure was built around ILNP Iconic, which is a gorgeous champagne gold holo with just a twinge of rose. I put it on first (two coats) and decided on the nail art second, though I can't say what possessed me to try the mermaid scales, which were painted freehand over the top.
I have to say, I was fully obsessed with this pattern when I was wearing it. I DEFINITELY think I'll be doing it more in the future!
CND's newest release is their Gilded Dreams collection, a trio of three holiday-appropriate shades that are described as "Marie Antoinette meets Cinderella." My swatches show the VINYLUX shades, a gel-lacquer hybrid system (including topcoat) that claims week-long chip free wear. The holiday release also includes matching Shellac shades, as well as Additives and new holiday Scentsations lotions. Chiffon Twirl is easily my favorite of the trio! This rose gold foil is so holiday. I used two coats, and though it went on with some brushstrokes, they all but disappeared as the polish dried down. Finished with the VINYLUX top coat.
Dazzling Dance is a blue-tinted sheer base with pink shimmer and small silver sparkles. In my first swatch, I layered it over CND Vinylux Svelte Suede, which created this really nice "subtle with a kick" mani that actually really grew on me. Karen at Beauty Geeks also tried layering it over black, which looks gorgeous, too.
Here it is at three coats alone. Not so appealing.
Grand Gala is a gold with a bit of a pink shift. It's still somewhat sheer at three coats, and alone, it has an older feel to it. I'd love to try this one with some nail art over it. Like Dazzling Dance, it goes on with a few brushstrokes but they fade away as the polish dries down.
A couple of notes about the VINYLUX topcoat: though it dries fairly quickly, it is not as fast as a quick dry topcoat. If you are used to those, be sure to give this manicure a bit of extra time to dry before you go about your day. Once it dries, this topcoat gives a hard, protective finish that only improves with exposure to natural light. For the week long chip free wear, you need to use the system.
I also tried out the Scentsations Gilded Dreams lotion trio! I am OB.SESSED. with the CND Scentsations lotion in Birch & Mint so I was eager to see how I liked these.
Gilded Blossom is my favorite of the scents. It is scented with green apple, lemon, bergamot, and musk. It has a soft gold shimmer in it.
Crushed Amber is scented with grapefruit, lemon, jasmine, vanilla, and praline. It was probably my least favorite of the scents. In my notes, I wrote "sharp yet warm, wintry." I didn't notice any visible shimmer in this one.
Vanilla Shimmer is a CND classic, scented like vanilla (you guessed it)! It has a silver/pearlescent sparkle to it. It is not subtle. You'll be blinging all day!
This collection also includes four new Additives and Shellac counterparts to the VINYLUX polishes. If you are a Shellac kind of gal, be sure to ask for these shades at your local salon!
CND VINYLUX is sold in salons and professional beauty supply stores. Recently, it was also announced that some of the CND line will be sold online through Loxa Beauty! VINYLUX polishes retail for $9.90 and the Scentsations trio retails for $13.90.
Here's a pattern I haven't tried before: herringbone! I gave it a go with some metallic shades for a look that feels very "Gatsby" to me. If I had a black base it'd be pretty on the nose, eh? Halfway through the pattern, I alternated the way the herringbone was going for a little extra twist on the look. Is this a look you would wear?
Like a few other chromes that have come out recently, these new Deborah Lippmann shades dry down to a brilliantly reflective finish with high pigmentation and very few brushstrokes. However, they also suffer from some of the issues that can plague chromes, like streaky application and quick chips. I applied Harlem Nocturne over a bare nail, which seemed to work fine. If you're having issues with chips, try combining the chrome with a creme base in nail art for a look that will probably last you a bit longer!
Have you tried herringbone nail art before? I want to give it another go, maybe with shades of grey and thinner lines.
It's "inspired by a movie" day in the 31 Day Challenge and I've done some nail art inspired by a movie that is sure to be a popular choice among other participants this year: Frozen! These tips are inspired by Anna's dress, which itself drew inspiration from a traditional piece of Norwegian clothing called a bunad. Her look features a black bodice, gold lacings, and flower details.
Today is "inspired by a color" day in the 31 Day Challenge. I always take this prompt to mean "take inspiration from a polish color," particularly drawing inspiration from the name. This year, I reached for China Glaze's Lug Your Designer Baggage from the All Aboard collection for Fall 2014.
My inspiration for this look came from Michelle's review of the collection on All Lacquered Up. She mentioned that the name of the polish, plus the color in it, reminded her of a Louis Vuitton trunk. The color alone is really interesting -- it's a dark brown with golden flecks. I needed two coats for coverage.
I initially had trouble creating this pattern, and even came close to giving up on the look entirely. I posted my pinky on Instagram, intending to show off the one nail that had turned out well, but felt so encouraged by everyone's comments that I decided to try it one more time. My final attempt was passable, so here we are!
Check out my "inspired by a color" looks from past years:
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