It’s “violet” day in the 31 Day Challenge! I decided to do nail art inspired by some gorgeous orchids that I spotted in our local grocery store. The pattern on the petals was so compelling that I just had to snap a pic of them to use for future nail art.
This was maybe the easiest nail art in the world, and I love how it turned out. I started with a cream colored base, and then used a large dotter to add the magenta patterning. I grabbed a smaller dotter and added purple to the pattern, inside of the larger dots. Then all that was left was to finish with topcoat!
Today's 31DC prompt is "orange." Not many people tend to reach for orange when choosing a nail color -- I think that it and yellow are the redheaded stepchildren of the polish world (or would it be orangeheaded?). That's the great thing about the challenge though, it forces you to use colors and techniques that you wouldn't normally use.
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.
Despite the fact that I haven't seen or read 50 Shades of Grey, I think we all know the basic gist of the story. OPI's 50 Shades collection includes a range of six shades - five greys and a red - and I used three of them to create this nail art look today. I chose a geometric pattern, one that you might find on a necktie, which fits with what I know about the story quite well, I think.
I began by painting my nails with two coats of Embrace the Grey. It applied smoothly and evenly, like OPI cremes usually do!
I painted on a freehand square pattern using Dark Side of the Mood, and then added the silvery squares inside them with My Silk Tie.
What do you think - Christian-esque?
Ya know, even though I haven't seen the movie or read the books, I can get behind a good geometric pattern any day of the week! What about you - have you "Embraced the Grey"?
How would you like to go behind the scenes of one of your favorite nail polish brands? I had the opportunity to live the dream when I recently visited OPI headquarters with Leslie from Work/Play/Polish. I had to take some photos and videos to share with you guys, so come with me as we pull back the curtain and peek into their world of nails!
One of the first things you may notice upon arrival is a big mural on the side of the building. Among other elements, it's got a huge OPI polish, a GelColor, and a Nicole bottle!
Leslie and I entered the building, got all signed in, and waited anxiously for our tour to start. We'd only been sitting there for thirty seconds when Miss Pop walked in! We both recognized her immediately as one of OPI's star nail artists. As it turned out, she was going to be joining us on our tour!
While Miss Pop got settled in, Leslie and I had the opportunity to meet with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Executive Vice President and Artistic Director of OPI. You may recognize her name from polishes like "Where Did Suzi's Man-go?" and "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees." I may have geeked out a little. It's fine. Let's pretend I played it cool.
We got to peek into their offices before our tour officially began. There were inspiration boards, stylized photos, displays from past collections, and ad campaigns decorating the interior. We got to see a few special rooms, including the manicuring room, where OPI techs apply and test products, and a marketing room, where they shoot a lot of their social content.
As we geared up for the factory portion of our tour to begin, we were given super sexy safety goggles. I immediately proceeded to take a selfie, obviously. We took a second to shoot a pic of our nails together, and our tour guide Sergio got in on the mani shot too (see above)!
Words can't properly express the experience of seeing OPI products being assembled, filled, and packed! You've just got to go watch the video at the top of the post, if you haven't already. Everything was so efficient... and seeing those polishes in mass quantities made my eyes get reallllll wiiiiide.
What do you think? Was it like you envisioned it? I know I was surprised by how non-industrialized everything seemed. OPI ships to 125+ countries internationally, and yet every single polish is manufactured in this one location. I couldn't believe that!
As Miss Pop said, the tour was the nail addict equivalent of getting the golden ticket and going on the Willy Wonka factory tour! I'm so thankful to have been able to have this opportunity, and I want to give a huge thanks to Jaq and Sergio who helped make the day amazing.
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.
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!
Snowman Suite feels suiting to show now when Christmas is coming up, even though the actual images are from May this year.. Snowman Suite has a clear base and is totally filled with holo glitter, then there is small matte red hexagons, slightly bigger white hexagons and a very few large black circle glitter. Below is 3 coats. Sadly the black glitter sunk to the bottom of the bottle and was super hard to get up. Out of 10 nails I got 2-3 "naturally", then I went fishing for more and got 2 more but after that I gave up..It was too difficult. I know this base might not have been the best base.. this looks slightly like a disease? Like this I don't like it so much, I suspect that a green creme base would help it. What do you think?
My mom is unable to eat chocolate, so she's always had a few non-chocolatey sweet treats she favors. Peppermint ice cream, German raspberry candies, and Circus Animal cookies were some of her top picks when I was growing up. Personally, my pick out of those would be the Circus Animals! I've always loved the colors of the rainbow sprinkles against the pink or white frosting. Chocolate preferences aside, it's pretty hard to resist their sugary sweetness.
This look is simple and quick. All you need is a dotting tool and the right colors! Truthfully, choosing colors took the most time because I thought getting the right shades was imperative for recreating the Circus Animal sprinkles look.
This is also my manicure for The Lacquer Legion's Yummy prompt, because they are yummy in my tummy (duh).
Have you had these delicious cookies before? In working on this post, I just discovered a recipe for Circus Animal truffles, which I will have to make AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
As a person with a desk job, I often find myself browsing Reddit on my breaks for sweet photos, interesting news and makeup inspiration. Recently this photo of a giant leopard moth from user /u/Toblerone44 made it to my front page, and I loved it so much I had to try to replicate it on my nails. It's such a crisp pattern, and looks so delicate and beautiful but graphic at the same time.
Not too much to explain here! I started with the white base, and used a small nail art brush to paint on the grey markings. I added the black outlines, making some of them thicker at the bottom (to mimic the photo), and then finished with topcoat.
I think I did pretty well at replicating the photo, but wish my black lines had come out just a bit thinner. The moth's markings are so delicate, I just wasn't quite able to capture it exactly. This is a design that I'd love to try in gel.
Here is the original photo from /u/Toblerone44, used with permission.
This isn't my first rodeo as far as unusual animal prints go! In the past, I've done goldfish scales, sea slug, poison dart frog, and manta ray nail art. Have you ventured outside of leopard/zebra print? How did you like it?
Today's nail art is inspired by the talented and kind Emily from Very Emily. Emily has been going through a tough time lately, so a few of her blogger friends got together to show our support by taking inspiration from one of her manicures. Though I wish I could do more from across the world, I wanted her to know that we all care about her and will be there for her.
For my look, I was inspired by Emily's Summer Ikat Nails. I added a twist to it, doing my neon blocking horizontally rather than vertically, and throwing in some black and white splatter studs.
The neon blocking was painted freehand over the white base, and then I added the ikat print, carefully lining it up with the white sections only. I used topcoat to adhere the studs, and sealed them in with an additional layer.
I enjoyed doing this look, and Sean was a huge fan of the finished effect. I think in the end, I prefer Emily's vertical blocking, though I certainly do like how mine turned out too.
This October, OPI has launched its 8th annual Pink of Hearts promotion for breast cancer awareness. Along with the release of the polish, OPI will also be donating $25,000 to the Susan G. Komen foundation. As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please be sure to follow these steps to give yourself a self-examination for the disease. Mod About You is a light pink creme. Despite not really being a pink gal, this one just looked really nice on my hands. I love the shade, it did feel very "mod," and it went on smoothly. I had a little bit of trouble accurately capturing this shade; it's brighter in person. Two coats.
The Power of Pink has a sheer light pink base with dark pink and white glitters. It can be worn alone in two coats or you can do what I did here and layer two coats over Mod About You.
These polishes are only being sold as a duo, and they come with a mini pink glitter file with a breast cancer awareness ribbon charm attached.
For me, the creme shade Mod About You was the winner here, though really we're all winners since they are sold together. I like the glitter lacquer, but something about the creme just spoke to me.
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.
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!
This year, for "inspired by artwork" day of the 31 Day Challenge, I tackled an idea that I've contemplated in the past. My nails are inspired by the work of Barbara Kruger, a conceptual artist who often addresses how words and images, particularly in the media, can affect our identities and assumptions about truth.
Her signature style features black and white photographs overlaid with declarative text, often accentuated inside red rectangles. Notable Kruger pieces include "I shop therefore I am," "Your body is a battleground," and "No." I got a little cheeky with my interpretation and chose "Nail art is dead," a sensationalist idea that I occasionally see pop up on my feeds. Clearly I disagree!
I'll tell you what, this was horrifyingly time consuming. The letters are freaking tiny and I needed them to look a certain way to match the font that Kruger uses. The base was easy -- I used a square nail art brush to paint on some brushy marks in the style of the Nailasaurus streaky watercolor nail art.
Then I freehanded the red rectangles and text, which took me a good hour and a half to two hours. I was constantly refining the shape of the letters and had to re-do one of the nails once. Still, I think it is a huge success! Except now I'm blind from the tininess of the letters.
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