Raava and Vaatu - The Legend of Korra Nail Art

It's day two of my Avatar double feature! Yesterday I shared my flag nail art inspired by the nations in the Avatar universe, today I have some supernatural nail art inspired by Raava and Vaatu, the spirits of good and evil, from The Legend of Korra. I painted their markings on my middle nails, and then added their matching tail ribbons on the outer nails.

Nail polishes used:
Polish My Life Stripped
China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle
Michael Kors Impulse
American Apparel Hassid
Polish My Life Don't Snap My Dragon
Misa Peach Passion

These nails were painted freehand. The pattern was pretty fun to paint, actually! I'm not sure what it was, but I just really liked assembling the pieces of their markings.

When the story first introduces these ancient spirits, they are entangled in a battle of good vs. evil. I tangled their ribbons on my thumb to represent that.

On a related note, if you are a Korra fan and haven't seen the trailer for the final season yet -- WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? It's epic. Check it out! (Spoilers, obviously.)

Not (yet) a Legend of Korra fan? All of the episodes are available for watching on Nick.com!

See more of my supernatural nail art:

• Glow in the dark ghosties
• Glittering Edward nail art
• Phoenix feather nail art

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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

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Anna Inspired Frozen Nail Art

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.

Nail polishes used:
Formula X Dark Matter (black)
Deborah Lippmann Autumn In New York (gold)
Essie Mojito Madness (green)
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (yellow)
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (purple)
Misa Lovely Lychee (pink)

I painted my nails black and then added the gold tips using the fishtail technique. The flowers and stems were painted freehand using my Edinburgh Realism #4 brush, and I used a pinpoint and small dotting tool to add the decorative dots. Everything is sealed in with two coats of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.

I have done quite a few movie manicures in the past! Check out what I've done previously for the challenge:

• Star Wars inspired nail art
• Eye of Sauron nail art from the Lord of the Rings trilogy
• Titan nail art from the movie Hercules

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Purple Galaxy Nails, Inspired by the Pelican Nebula

Galaxy nails day for the 31 Day Challenge! I don't do galaxy nails nearly enough. They create such a stunning effect for so little effort. For this year's nail art, I was inspired by a photo of the Pelican Nebula that I found on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). I didn't end up using enough pink in for the look to match exactly, but that's okay. I love the depth in these.

Nail polishes and supplies used:
OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!? (black)
Zoya Sailor (navy)
LVX Orchid (orchid)
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (medium purple)
Nicole by OPI American As Apple Pie (red)
Nicole by OPI Yoga Then Yogurt (white)
China Glaze Lotus Begin (light purple)
Formula X Freaky Like Freud (holographic glitter)
Triangle makeup wedges
Edinburgh Realism #4 nail art brush

I started by painting my nails black. Then, I used a torn piece of the makeup sponge to apply a bit of navy on my nails -- admittedly, that part doesn't really show as well as I was hoping it did. Using new bits of sponge for each color, I sponged on streaks of red, then medium purple, medium orchid, and light purple.

I mixed a bit of white polish with acetone for a thinned out, watercolor effect, and used it to do a bit of freehanding inside of the light purple sponging (you can see it in the middle of the large purple nebula sections). A holographic glitter, used sparingly, gave the effect of distant stars, while white polish and a pinpoint dotting tool created some closer objects. The final step was to freehand a handful of stars with cross lensflare.

Go where one girl has gone before:

• Maroon and yellow galaxy nails
• Hyperspace jump nail art
• The Pleiades Star Cluster galaxy nails

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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

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Fireflies in the Field at Sunset

We don't have fireflies where I live, and I've always been fascinated by them. I've spotted them off the side of the road on a couple of family vacations, but nothing more! There's something so romantic about them, isn't there? I attempted to recreate a bit of their firefly magic in today's gradient nail art for the 31 Day Challenge.

Nail polishes used:
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (purple)
Misa Lovely Lychee (pink)
Seche Wild One (coral)
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (yellow)
American Apparel Hassid (black)
OPI Matte Topcoat
Yellow acrylic paint (firefly halos)

This nail art started with the sponged gradient. I painted on my purple base, and then used a triangle makeup wedge to sponge on a gradient of purple, pink, and coral, with the coral at the tips to mimic a setting sun. After that was finished, I used a small nail art brush to paint on the grass/rushes with black polish.

I used the bubble technique and yellow acrylic paint to make the firefly halos. Be sure to check out my quick tutorial for this technique if you've never tried it before! I added a dot of yellow polish in the center of the halos for the little fireflies themselves, and finished the manicure with a layer of glossy and then matte topcoat.

This manicure has quite a few steps, but none of them were particularly hard! It's all about layering techniques and styles for good effect. I'm so pleased how these turned out and I think they really read as fireflies in a field.

Check out my gradient manicures from past challenge years:

• Pink ombre manicure
• French manicure gradient
• Textured leather gradient

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Yellow and Grey Angular Pattern

Today's 31 Day Challenge manicure is something a little simpler. I love angular, mazelike patterns, and I especially love them in color combinations like this. Grey and yellow is one of my favorite pairings. I chose one of my best greys and one of my best yellows for this look, and went to work!

The base is Misa Grey Matters. I'm sure you've seen me use this before! It's a neutral medium grey with a slight silver shimmer and some darker flecks that give it the look of subtle static. Truly one of my most favorite polishes in my collection.

The yellow was freehanded on with Sally Hansen Lightening. I've used this shade frequently, as well; the opacity is fantastic and I love the Insta Dri formula, especially for nail art.

Doesn't this kind of look like an angular fingerprint pattern or something? I'd love to try a freehand fingerprint pattern sometime.

Loving this yellow? Check out my yellow challenge looks from the past:

• Yellow to white gradient
• Yellow gradient blocking
• Yellow bee silhouettes

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Purple, Periwinkle, and Points - Freehand Chevron Nail Art

The other night I sat down at my nail table with a blank mind. As I started to brainstorm, I thought it would be nice to do something with fine lines, so I could continue to work on my freehand control. I started digging through my stash for a base color, and grabbed one of my favorite purple polishes. I thought periwinkle would go nicely with the purple, and then added black and white into the mix for good measure.

I ended up freestyling this purple chevron design, adding elements as I saw fit, until I had a finished look.

For this look, I used Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (purple) and Misa Great Grape (periwinkle). The white is Essie Blanc and the black is American Apparel Hassid.

The chevrons in the nail art are all completely freehanded with a nail art brush that I trimmed down with cuticle nippers.

I think Misa is one of the most underrated polish brands in the market right now, and I know I'm not alone in that sentiment. I don't see many people cover them, but every time I do happen to see swatches, it's pretty likely that I'll go shopping right away. I've always been really impressed with their formula and opacity, and I like their square bottles with the long handles.

I'm happy with the way this nail art came out. I like the simplified chevron designs on my pointer and pinky nails... I think they keep the overall look from being too overwhelming and gave me the added benefit of an earlier bedtime. Nail art can be tiring, ok? :)

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Serum No. 5 - Another Year Let's Cheer!

Serum No. 5 is celebrating their second anniversary with the release of a fun glitter topper in Serum's company colors. Of course, no signature Serum would be complete without a glow in the dark effect, so this beauty has that too!

Another Year, Let's Cheer! is a glitter topper in a clear base. The polish has white, peach, mint, and black glitters plus a holographic microshimmer. It is positively packed with glitter and for that reason, you should take care when applying. Make sure your base is well set to avoid messing it up as you push around the glitters.

I layered one coat of Another Year, Let's Cheer over Misa Grey Matters. The glow in the dark effect was really strong, with a kind of aqua-turquoise hue.

This shade is available now via serumno5.com.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Serum No. 5!

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Visit Lumpy Space: Whatevers2009

This month's Lacquer Legion theme is "On Holiday." As it is summer and not December, this is obviously referring to the British (read: fancy) definition of holiday, commonly called vacation. Now, I could have done something a little more summery, but I decided to stretch the theme a bit and do a manicure I've wanted to do for a while now: a lumpy space landscape! Given the choice, this is where I would go on vacation if I could.

Confused? Don't be! This is another Adventure Time nail art manicure, inspired by the crazy Cartoon Network show. You may recall my character manicure or my Lady Rainicorn nails; these are the third addition to the group.

My favorite Adventure Time character, Lumpy Space Princess, is from Lumpy Space (go figure), a spacey world with pastel clouds and soft stars. I chose to paint a landscape spanning over my four nails with some additional clouds on my thumb.

Polishes used:
OPI Push and Pur-pull
OPI Vant to Bite My Neck?
Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (old version)
LVX Aster & Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (mixed)
Misa Ripe Raspberry
China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle
Finger Paints Lemon Sour
Nicole by OPI Matte Topcoat

While I didn't do a full tutorial, I did take some informal phone snaps of the nails along the way! You can see how you have to build up the clouds in layers: first blue, then purple, then aqua. The final steps include adding some soft yellow stars and a matte topcoat for that cartoon effect.

Follow The Lacquer Legion on Facebook or Instagram for once monthly nail art prompts aimed at bringing together the nail polish community!

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The Lacquer Legion Garden: Black-Eyed Susan 3D Floral Nail Art

This month's theme for The Lacquer Legion is "Garden" and, as I'm sure many others did, I chose to do floral nail art. Florals are something I've done a lot of, so I did two things to make this one stand out from my other manicures. First: I wanted to represent a specific type of flower, namely, black-eyed Susans. Second: I got the idea to put flocking powder in the centers to make them look more realistic and add a bit of texture and depth!

Nail polishes used in this nail art include:
Misa Ripe Raspberry - pink base
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky - yellow petals
Zoya Arizona - orange detailing
Zoya Louise - dark brown centers and detailing
Misa Lime Love & Zoya Hunter - mixed to create green stems

I finished the flowers with polish and topcoat before going back and adding in the fuzzy centers. Since you shouldn't topcoat over flocking powder, you want to make sure you do your topcoat beforehand so the nail art is flattened, smoothed, and protected.

To make the fuzzy centers, paint on polish where you want the fuzzies to be. I used topcoat to adhere the fuzz to my nail, but you could also choose a polish that matches the color of your fuzz. Then, using tweezers, drop flocking powder on to the wet areas of polish. Gently press the powder down into the polish, let set, and use a fan brush or fluffy makeup brush to gently dust off the excess.

I'm really REALLY happy with these. The fuzzy centers pop even more in person and add some awesome dimension to the flowers.

Follow The Lacquer Legion on Facebook or Instagram for once monthly nail art prompts aimed at bringing together the nail polish community!

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Pop Punk Skittlette with Glittery Skull and Distressed Accents

Back in 2002, Avril Lavigne's song "Sk8er Boi" ruled my world. Can you believe that song came out over a DECADE ago? I don't know about you guys, but I was all about that unbearably catchy tune. Maybe not the most poetic single, but I don't mind admitting that I rocked out to that many times as my mom drove me to the mall.

Avril came into the style spotlight for her heavy eyeliner and stick straight hair, plus a propensity for clothing and jewelry that incorporated symbols like skulls and stars. The glittery skull and distressed accent nails in this manicure, plus the combination of rich purple and black, really make me think of the Pop Punk Princess.

Products used:
Indigo Bananas Moonlight (Clair de Lune)
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs
American Apparel Hassid
Joby Skull Glitter Nail Art Decal
Cirque Vectors

I was very excited to play with the silver flake polish by Indigo Bananas (psst...the shop also has a rose gold version). It was less dense than I expected, needing four coats for the opacity here, but it didn't get thick on the nail so I didn't mind so much. It is really beautiful and reflective.

The glittery skull decal came as a part of a sheet with gold, black, and additional silver glitter skulls. I was really impressed with these. They're way easy to use; just make sure you let your base dry before you stick it on. A great accent and it looks really clean.

The ring finger was done using my distressed nail art technique. Cirque's black glitter polish, Vectors, provides a similar effect but with a little bit more geometry.

I think Avril would have been all over this manicure back in her heyday. A little punk, a little glam... Anyone else have "Sk8er Boi" stuck in their head?

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TUTORIAL: Precious Gems Nail Art Inspired by The Ring and The Crown

I am a big fan of the Game of Thrones book series, but, let's be honest, sometimes you want something lighter and a little less...behead-y. Melissa de la Cruz's new book The Ring and The Crown brings royal fun and lightness to a world where magic meets politics and duty clashes with love. The book has aptly been dubbed "Glam of Thrones," after the four glamorous girls at the center of the plot. Today, I've teamed up with The Ring and The Crown to bring you this bejeweled nail art inspired by the royal luxury of the book.

Read on to learn how to turn your nails into jewels fit for a queen!

I read the book and was inspired by how important gems and precious stones were in the world. Besides using them for royal adornment, each stone had a different purpose, a different power. Make each of your nails a different colored gem and invoke the power of them all!

GET THE LOOK:

1. Paint your nail with a nail polish in a medium jewel tone.
2. Using a nail art brush or a toothpick and contrasting nail polish, lightly sketch out a oblong hexagon down the length of your nail. Don't worry about being too precise here, this is just a guide! 
3. Add facet lines from each point of the hexagon outwards towards the edges of your nail.
4. Working on a piece of tinfoil or wax paper, mix three drops of your base polish with one drop of white nail polish. Fill in the left and top right spaces with your newly mixed shade.
5. Mix one drop of your base polish with three drops of white nail polish. Fill in the top left space with this shade.
6. Mix five drops of your base polish with a tiny drop of black nail polish. Fill in the bottom left and right spaces with this shade.
7. Mix four drops of your base polish with one drop of black nail polish. Fill in the bottom right space with this shade.
8. Using your shade from step seven, outline the facets. If the polish starts to thicken, mix more to avoid lumpiness.
9. Add some highlights to your gem with white nail polish.
10. Finish with topcoat for seal and shine.

I used: Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, Misa Blue Jade Vine, Misa Loveliest of Lilacs, CoverGirl Wine to Five, Sally Hansen Going Green

TIP: If you are having trouble with this design, try using acrylic paint instead of nail polish! It is easier to handle and doesn't dry out as quickly. Just be sure to put down a coat of nail polish first and finish the design with topcoat.

Whether you are going to the ball of the season or you just have a date with a good book, I hope that this bold and fun nail art will make you feel extra special.

The Ring and The Crown is available now. Visit the official website for more information.

This post is sponsored by The Ring and The Crown. All opinions are my own.

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