We All Know the Sharks In Katy Perry's Halftime Show Were the Real Super Bowl MVPs

Look, I enjoy football and all, but I think we can all agree that the dancing sharks in Katy Perry's halftime show were the true stars of the game. Their enthusiasm, their gaping jaws, their flailing limbs (including legs)...they just couldn't be beat. Every time the camera cut away from them, our entire family screamed at the TV to put the sharks back on. Who needs beach ball boobs?

Of course, I had to do some nail art honoring their majesty.

View image | gettyimages.com

Polishes used:
LVX Lemondrop
OPI Good Grief!
JINsoon Cool Blue
Salon Perfect Sugar Cube
Formula X Dark Matter

I began by sponging on a subtle gradient base of pale yellow to bright yellow. I wanted something bright and cheerful, like the sharks, that wouldn't distract from their perfection.

Then, I painted the sharks freehand over the base. I was giggling the whole time I was painting these, truly! They are just so full of joy!

Do you agree with me that the dancing sharks were the best part of the game? I need a good shot of them to use as my computer wallpaper!

Read More

National Flags of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Today's 31 Day Challenge prompt is "inspired by a flag," a prompt that no one seems to really care for. It's not my favorite either, but it does often get me thinking outside of the box!

I chose to do nail art inspired by one of my favorite cartoons, Avatar: The Last Airbender. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, there are four nations in the Avatar world: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. I represented each nation's flag on my nails, and put the flag of the Order of the White Lotus on my thumb.

Nail polishes used:
Misa Blueberry Blast
JINsoon Cool Blue
OPI Jade is the New Black
LVX Midori
OPI All I Want for Christmas (Is OPI)
American Apparel Hassid
Misa Great Grape
Polish My Life Stripped

All elements of this manicure were painted freehand. I have the Water Tribes symbol on my pointer, the Earth Kingdom symbol on my middle finger, the Fire Nation flag on my ring, and the Air Nomad insignia on my pinky.

I needed a fifth finger design, and the Order of the White Lotus seemed like a perfect choice! They transcend the four nations, and are good guys in the series. And um, hello, who doesn't love Iroh?

If you are a fan of the Avatar universe, be sure to check back in tomorrow! I've done some Legend of Korra nail art for "inspired by the supernatural." Consider it a double feature!

Previous "inspired by a flag" manicures:

• Racing checkered flag
• Arizona state flag nail art
• Textured American flag nail art

Read More

Handpainted Geometric Gradient Facets

One difficult thing about the 31 Day Challenge, for me, is that even if you have extenuating circumstances (like, say, you fall asleep watching Monday Night Football), you still have to get the next day's manicure done. When I woke up on the couch at 1:30am this morning and realized I had geometric nail art to do, it was pretty tough to drag my ass over to my nail table. BUT I DID IT! Because that's how I roll.

Nail polishes used:
Misa Dusty Magnolia (nude)
LVX Orchid (pink)
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (purple)
JINSoon Cool Blue (blue)

The technique for this nail art is pretty simple to break down. I painted my nails nude, and then began adding geometric facets with a small nail art brush and pink polish. About a third of the way down the nail, I started doing the facets with purple. Two thirds of the way down, I did the facets in blue.

The last step was to blend the gradient. I created custom blends of pink/purple and purple/blue, and painted them in the areas where the colors met. It looks pretty seamless, especially at arm's length.

This year, I've changed the "tribal print" prompt to geometric in an effort to be more culturally sensitive. Here are the manicures I've done in the past:

• Peach and yellow patterned
• Stenciled hand cave paintings
• Navajo blanket weaving

Read More

Marbled Blue Swimming Pool Stripes

I like stripes. I do them quite a bit, often freehand (a girl's gotta practice), but today's 31 Day Challenge nail art required the use of nail vinyls. I combined them with the saran wrap marble technique for a blocked, marbled look that reminds me of a swimming pool. Steph Stone did a swimming pool nail art tutorial recently that used the same technique for the aquatic effect. Let's dive in!

Nail polishes used:
LVX Cashmere
JINSoon Cool Blue
Straight nail vinyls

I painted my nails with two coats of Cashmere and added a layer of quick dry topcoat to speed up the drying process. Once the base was dry, I applied both Nail Vinyls brand straight vinyls and KBShimmer straight vinyls with random spacing. The reason I used two different brands was they each had different sizes I wanted to use -- the smallest stripes are from Nail Vinyls while the medium and large blocks are from KBShimmer.

I painted one thicker coat of Cool Blue over the top, and then dabbed wadded up pieces of saran wrap over the wet, freshly painted polish. This removed some of the blue and left it with a cool tie-dye marble effect! The only thing left to do was remove the vinyls and finish with topcoat.

Stripes all day:

• Dusty green tape stripes
• Rainbow blocked stripes
• Green ombre vertical stripes

Read More

Stars and Stripes Basket Weave Nail Art

It's almost the Fourth of July, and I had to get my nails ready to par-tay! I've shown off a couple of polish options for those of you who are not nail art inclined (see here and here), but let's be real -- I'm very nail art inclined! This year I did a sort of basket weave look that combines stars and stripes in a nontraditional pattern.

Looking for more Fourth of July nail art ideas? Check out some looks I've done in the past!

• Textured American Flag
• Stenciled Star Gradient
• Red, White, and Burgers
• America the Glittery

While this look is pretty simple, it took a deceptively long time to do. The hatchmark stripes were easy and very quick, but painting the stars took quite a while. I enjoy meticulous work, but they are just so small that it was difficult to keep them even on all sides. I ended up trimming down one of my medium nail art brushes to get a finer point, which helped achieve more consistent stars.

The base here is OPI Alpine Snow. The stars were painted with JINsoon Cool Blue, and the stripes use Nicole by OPI American As Apple Pie (how perfect, yeah?) from the Carrie Underwood Collection.

I always enjoy full nail patterns and this one is no exception. For those of you that are wondering, yes I did do my right hand with this pattern...except instead of the freehand stars I just put large blue dots. Trying to do those stars with my left hand would have probably been the end of me.

If you are celebrating tomorrow, be safe and have fun!

Read More

Nailbox SS'14 Trendbox Curated by All Lacquered Up

Nailbox, an online polish retailer, is launching a new nail polish subscription box called TrendBox. The first TrendBox for spring/summer 2014 was curated by the lovely Michelle from All Lacquered Up, and her selections are positively delightful! This box is available on its own, or you can pick up a subscription which delivers boxes quarterly. Read on for swatches of the TrendBox polishes and additional details on the subscription service.

Face Stockholm - Athena is a megawatt in-your-face silver holographic. Just look at that holo arc! I used three coats plus topcoat for the photo below but two coats of Athena would have sufficed. It applied like a dream, and didn't require any special base coat.

JINsoon - Cool Blue is an absolutely on-trend cobalt blue. This is my first experience with JINsoon polishes and I have to say I'm enamored. This blue beauty has me wanting more! I used two coats for the swatch below, and the formula was just divine. Perfectly smooth and buttery.

LVX - Roux is a sizzling coral shade perfect for summer. I only recently tried out LVX for the first time and have been enjoying their polishes a lot. This one is no exception, needing just two easy coats for full coverage.

NCLA Candy Coat - Mint Condition is a glowy yellow-green with a slight shimmer and a subtle texture. Mint Condition is one of the more mild textures I've used, so if you are still hesitant to try the texture trend, this is a great first step. Never fear though... texture veterans will also enjoy this unique shade! Three thin coats shown.

I love the range of shades and finishes in the first TrendBox. Michelle did a wonderful job making sure that there's something for everyone in this box. I also liked playing with brands that I had less experience with, and was even more pleased to find that I loved them all!

The SS'14 TrendBox is available as a single box for $35 (a $65 value) or you can purchase the one year subscription for $105 (a $265 value).

Read More

Blurple Syrup Gradient with Polka Dots (and a Bonus Manicure)

This morning I had to bust out some nail art very quickly, but still wanted to do something cute and somewhat impressive looking. I turned to the syrup gradient technique, which provides a nice looking gradient in a short amount of time. It is even more convincing if you put something over the top of it, like a glitter or some polka dots.

I used three polishes in this nail art:
Jin Soon - Cool Blue
China Glaze - Are You Jelly
Essie - Blanc

For those of you unfamiliar with the syrup gradient technique, it involves taking a sheer polish and using it to gradually build up opacity on the nail. The layers begin about 3/4 of the way down the nail and get shorter and shorter, creating the appearance of a gradient.

I used my smallest dotting tool to add the white polka dot pattern.

I also did a similar manicure a while ago using China Glaze Shell-o as the gradient polish. As you can see, it was before I changed my nail shape!

Read More