Emoji Pattern Nail Art

It's "yellow" day in the 31 Day Challenge, and I've decided to do some nail art showcasing everyone's favorite texting tool: emojis! I don't know where we would be without emojis, I use them CONSTANTLY to convey tone and emotions I can't put into words.

For my selection of emojis, I decided to limit myself to only emojis that were in my "recently used" section, so these are a pretty accurate representation of what you'd see from me IRL. The "hearts for eyes" guy may be my most frequently used one.

I used the following products in this freehand nail art look:
Presto #104 Sordino (base)
Akzentz Gel Play in Yellow
Akzentz Gel Play in Orange
Akzentz Gel Play in White
Akzentz Gel Play in Blue
Akzentz Gel Play in Black
Akzentz Gel Play in Red

A reader the other day noted that I've been using a lot of Gel Play lately. If you're unfamiliar, they're thick, opaque art gels that are intended for nail art uses (similar to Presto Art Paints if you know of those). They're great because they stay exactly where you put them, don't run, and can be set into place by curing. It's really awesome stuff and so I reach for them frequently.

Here are my previous "yellow" prompt manicures for your viewing pleasure...

• Yellow and grey angular pattern
• Yellow bee silhouettes
• Yellow gradient blocking
• Yellow to white gradient

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The Easiest Nail Art Ever: Sharpie Marbled Gel Nails

If you recently found yourself wondering, "Gee, what has Sarah been wearing on her nails for the past two weeks?" then you're in luck! I have been wearing this Sharpie marbled gel manicure into the ground.

Sean was even like, "Whoa, those are really grown out. When are you gonna change that?" When I finally took them off on Monday, I sent a snap to my sister and she replied "FINALLY!"

So yeah, I got the point, people. It was time for them to go.

Sharpie marbles are ALL the rage right now. Everyone at my nail school was crazy for them! I've seen a bunch of tutorials for this look, but the one that I used was by Celina Ryden.

Honestly, these were SO easy you guys. You should go check out the tutorial, but here's the basic gist:

1. Perform a gel polish manicure like you normally would, including prep, base coat, and color coat. Stop before you apply top gel.
2. Use alcohol and a lint free wipe to remove the tacky layer from your color gel. Celina's instructions recommend a buffed nail, but I found that to be enough.
3. Working one color at a time, doodle small marks on your nails with a Sharpie.
4. Dab a small brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol on top of your doodles to spread out the ink.
5. Repeat with as many colors as you want!
6. Finish with top gel, cure, and remove the tacky layer.

One tricky thing that I ran into was that, sometimes, the Sharpie/alcohol mix would run into my cuticles before it could evaporate, leaving them blue and icky. I ended up fixing that problem by ignoring it until the end (after curing the top gel), and then cleansing the tacky layer with acetone. It removed the Sharpie residue from my cuticles completely without damaging the cured gel. Of course, this method will only work with gels.

I used Presto SC-32 as my base color, which is basically my favorite gel ever, as it looks just like OPI My Vampire is Buff. I was also a bad girl and combined it with my Gelish Foundation and Top It Off, because I like the system so much. They lasted me a good 2 weeks (plus an extra 2 days, at that)!

Have you given into the Sharpie trend yet?

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Busy Bee - Freehand Gel Nail Art for Cosmoprof 2014

As I started planning out the manicure I wanted to wear for Cosmoprof, I knew I wanted it to be three things: freehand, unique, and done in gel. I thought back to the bee manicure that I did in September 2013, and remembered how much I enjoyed wearing it. I chose to go with a similar theme, but tried to bump up the difficulty a bit.

For my thumb, I used Lexi Martone's glitter gel technique to create a sparkly black nail. I started with a black gel base and then applied a mix of black craft glitter and Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers holographic glitter. The black glitter didn't show up very well, but it did help to space out the holographic glitter more evenly. Then, I used nail glue to attach a bee charm from Hex Nail Jewelry and sealed it in with gel topcoat.

The honeycomb pattern, bee silhouettes, tribal-inspired pattern, and honey drips were all painted freehand. I was really pleased with the level of detail I was able to achieve in the gel, and it lasted the entire time I was at Cosmoprof! The nails definitely got a lot of attention!

As this was my first time doing gel nail art, I was unsure how it would go. I remembered that the talented ladies at Hey Nice Nails use Presto Gels for their gel art and gave the brand a try myself. I used the black and white art gels as well as Presto Gel in Gradevole for the yellow base color.

Though I don't have much to compare it to, my experience with Presto was great. One thing to note, if you are ordering, is that many of the shades come in gel pots. If you are only used to the regular polish bottles that many at-home gel systems use, getting pots delivered can be kind of jarring. Regardless, it worked out great for me and I'm sure I'll be ordering more in the near future.

Bee-lieve it or not, I was even able to get the same amount of detail on my other hand! I think the mani-gods must have been smiling down on me that day.

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