Encircled Black and White Nail Art

Black and White day of the 31 Day Challenge is always my favorite, because everyone’s nail art always looks so striking. There’s something just so magnetic about black and white as a pair, isn’t there?

I didn’t have any particular inspiration for this nail art, but I did know that I wanted to do white patterning on a black base. I started out with two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl, and then used my trimmed town super skinny striper brush to add on some arcs and circles with Formula X White Matter. Thin lines were a priority for me this time, so if my white lines got too fat in any areas, I went back in with black and thinned them down. 

I added a coat of quick dry glossy topcoat, let it set, and then finished the manicure with a layer of Nicole by OPI Matte Topcoat. If you’re ever doing a matte topcoat, I recommend going glossy first to seal in your nail art, flatten the profile, and provide durability.

More black and white nail art:

• Tuxedo nail art
• Black and white wiggles
• Midnight smoke nail art
• Black and white mesh framed half moons

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Something Blue...

Just a quick post from me today for the 31 Day Challenge "Blue" prompt because... I'M ENGAGED! My longtime boyfriend popped the question this morning, and I didn't want to spend a bunch of time on detailed nail art when we could be celebrating. So here's my quick engagement themed nail look, do you think this would qualify as my "something blue"? :)

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Ride the Waves with a Pop of Pink

Black and white with a pop of color is a tale as old as time. It's such a classic combination: black and white on either end of the spectrum, with a color that falls somewhere in between. I had this manicure in my mind for a while now, and just had to pick the perfect base color. I found it in Gelish Tokyo A Go Go, a beautiful, bright pinky-purple.

And there's good news for those of you that don't wear gel: this pretty pink is also available in regular lacquer form from Morgan Taylor!

To begin this manicure, I applied Gelish Foundation before adding two coats of Gelish Tokyo A Go Go. It's just... ugh. So pretty. I'm obsessed.

Then, I used Akzentz Gel Play Paint in white to block out the general shapes of the waves. It was pretty opaque, but I went back after curing the first coat to fill in a couple of patchy areas. I used Akzentz Gel Play Paint in black to add on the thick and thin wavy lines.

Finally, I finished the manicure with Gelish Top It Off.

I was really happy with the outcome of this manicure and enjoyed wearing it quite a lot! It's always satisfying when a manicure you have in your mind turns out how you hoped it would on the nail.

Purchasing Information
The Gelish Hello Pretty collection is available from Esther's Nail Center, as well as Amazon.com. You may still be able to find the LE collection in Gelish MINI at Sally Beauty.
Morgan Taylor lacquer equivalents are available from Loxa Beauty.
Akzentz products can be purchased through Gellipop.

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Nude and Mauve Ombre with Lacy Glitter

I recently received a package of some current Color Club shades. As I pulled the bottles out of the box, fate took control and lined up four of the shades from lightest to darkest. They looked gorgeous in an ombre together, and I had to oblige the universe's wishes.

Of course, I was still missing a fifth shade, and while I was searching for the perfect polish, I figured it couldn't hurt to add some glitter, either.

So, the four fated Color Clubs that I was destined to use are:
Color Club Blank Canvas (white)
Color Club Barely There (light tan)
Color Club Get a Mauve On It (mauve)
Color Club Midnight Mulberry (plum)

Then, I grabbed A England Elaine for the thumb, and added a layer of Sally Hansen Eyelet from the Luxe Lace line on all the nails. The glitter density was good, but I ended up with a lot of bubbles on the nails. Not sure what happened there.

I haven't done an ombre in a while, but I totally should wear them more often. They're really gorgeous and chic, especially in shades of nudes/neutrals like this. Big thanks to the universe and to Color Club for setting me up to hit one out of the ombre park (IMO)!

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Black and White, Post-Apocalypse

You may or may not know this about me: I'm obsessed with CND's work at Fashion Week. For this look, I was inspired by their nail artistry for The Blonds F/W 2015 show. The theme was the ultimate contrast between utopian and dystopian, with post-apocalyptic elements and all the amazing drama we've come to expect. If you're at all interested in high fashion nail art, I highly recommend you check out the CND lookbook for the show.

Some of the elements in their nail design focused in on black and white, and I wanted to do the same. I ended up with a manicure that felt somewhat abstracted, sort of tribal, very contrasted.

I used CND VINYLUX Weekly Polish in Black Pool and Cream Puff for my interpretation, and while I tried my best to channel the "hopeful apocalypse" look, I think I need a bit more practice with the theme!

Do you keep up with Fashion Week comings and goings? I know I'm a bit late, timing wise, with this one, but I just couldn't let it pass.

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Comparison; Nails Inc - Belgravia and China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

Yea I know, maybe not the right season. But while I'm at it, a comparison between Nails Inc - Belgravia and China Claze - There's Snow One Like You. Both are white texture polishes as you can see.

Nails Inc - Belgravia 

• Jelly with sparse on texture, white hexagons and prismatic hexagons(which never look prismatic on the nail).
  
• 4 coats (needed 5 on some nails).
  
• Very difficult application, almost fishing for the texture and there is some dabbing needed to not get bald spots. In general less textured and not as "tipex white" as TSOLY.
  
• Drying time is about 35-45 minutes. Quite similar to TSOLY, but I guess the many coats increase the drying time.
  
• Cost; about $11 (CAD) (At the time I bought it, it was comparable to about 8 euro)

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

• Jelly/crelly filled with texture and white matte hexagon glitter.
  
• 2 coats
  
• Also difficult application, the formula is thick and "lumpy" with the texture/glitter, however much easier than Belgravia. Much more textured and more white than Belgravia.
  
• Drying time is about 30 minutes which is normal for textures (imo).
  
• Cost; about $4 (US) (At the time I bought it, it was comparable to about 4 euro)

Nails Inc - Belgravia

Nails Inc - Belgravia

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

China Claze - There's Snow One Like You

So, overall I prefer China Claze - There's Snow One Like You. I know it has more of a cottage cheese feel or like really fluffy new fallen snow, but I like that. Also, TSOLY is half the price of Belgravia, and also TSOLY need half the amount of coats, which should mean that it would last twice as long (if any one would empty a bottle..). I didn't experience any major tip wear with any of them (however I wrapped the tips) but the only thing I didn't like with both of them is that the "texture balls" are gray toned plastic (as for all textures, but here it shows more). After a couple of days wearing for both TSOLY and Belgravia the gray plastic shows a tiny bit after some wear and tear (since there's no top coat), and makes the white look a bit "dirty" in an unpleasant way. Belgravia beeing less white from the beginning has an disadvantage there.

So, do you have any of these?  Which one do you prefer? Do you even like matte textures? ;)

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Nails Inc - Belgravia, swatch

Wow, totally thought this was a white glitter jelly, and was surprised to see that it was a texture polish. This is a polish I bought in Canada at Sephora and I didn't do any research before.. Generally I like textures, matte like these is my favorite. but the formula and application was horrible here. Basically it's a jelly filled with prismatic hexagons and white matte glitter, and a few texture particles, because that is an issue, I've never ever before been forced to fish for texture! But that was the case here and with dabbing and fishing and almost placing, and avoid drips due to the super thin formula, the VNL was covered and I settled after 4 coats..

The result looks pretty decent, but some nails on my right hand should have needed a 5th coat in retrospect. The prismatic glitter doesn't look prismatic on the nail and if you're looking for a snow like white texture I'd recommend China Glaze - There's Snow One Like You, which is tricky to applicate but still miles better in application than this, CG - TSOLY also only needs 2 coats.

Bougth at Sephora for way too much money..or well at least $11.

I saw that this was/is part of a collection called "Beaded Polish" and that there where other colors too, like baby blue. But When knowing how horrible this was I'll pass.

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Essence - Wild White Ways, swatch

A must have in my collection is a white polish and I now have another favorite (which is equally as good as Kleancolor - white). Wild White Ways is a white creme, very opaque and covers easily with 2 coats. Totally like it and recommend it!

1.55 euro at rossman

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NCC presents: Versace fashion inspired needle dragging nail art

Time for my fourth manicure with the theme "inspired by fashion" for the Nail Challenge Collaborative. I got inspired of a dress from the Versace show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. The dress isn't something I would wear my self, but I figured it would look really cool for a needle dragging design combined with a negative space nail art idea.

Source

I decided to use a nude jelly in beige and a white creme for my needle dragging. (I could have used a clear polish, but a stupid KIKO polish stained my nails so I had to use something more neutralizing so a nude jelly seemed nice and basically the negative space nail art went haywire). I also decided to outline my nails with a white fine liner to create a frame, so the result would look more precise.  I'm quite happy with the result even though it could need some refinement. Let me know what you think! :)

Polishes used:
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
Nordic Cap - NP13
R de L Young - White (nagel designer lack)

An InLinkz Link-up

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Is It Spring Yet? This Linework Nail Art Seems to Think So!

Spring is a lovely time, isn't it? I think it may be my favorite season. Besides the gorgeous temperatures and blooming flora, spring brings us PASTEL NAIL POLISH! Pastels are seriously my jam... I think they suit my pale skin but also bring a certain cheerfulness that nudes just can't compete with.

KBShimmer is on the same page, and is coming in strong for spring. Their newest collection includes crellies, holos, and cremes in a color palette sure to make your nails bloom.

Polishes used:
KBShimmer Ins and Sprouts
KBShimmer Thistle Be the Day
White polish

I began by painting my nails with two coats of Ins and Sprouts. I didn't put down a base coat, which proved to be a costly mistake, as it is definitely a stainer on its own.

Then, I used a triangle makeup wedge to sponge on a gradient of Thistle Be the Day. I did four or five rounds of sponging to achieve the opacity you see here. Something to note is that sponging these shades together actually diminished the holo effect; both polishes are ultra mega super holo in their natural state.

The final step was to add the white markings! I painted them freehand with a small nail art brush and sealed the look in with topcoat.

This nail art really got a lot of complements, and it was fairly quick to accomplish. The formulas on the holographic shades were easy to work with, smooth, and quick drying, though be sure you wear a base coat with Ins and Sprouts to avoid staining.

KBShimmer is available for purchase from KBShimmer.com in the US and Harlow & Co for international orders. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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NCC presents: Early 21st century wallpaper interior design nail art

This month in the Nail Challenge Collaborative the theme is wallpaper and at first I was a bit "meh" about it, but then I got super excited when I realized the options of it. My thought span was from computer's wallpaper to the actual wallpaper and then I decided to narrow it down further and do a tiny history lesson of it. Wallpaper is part of interior design and during the century different trends have been standing out. As you know NCC only have 4 designs so I've narrowed it down to that so there will be some jumps in the decades. Also I would like to point out that there isn't any right's or wrong's here, just because I choose one color combo that wont mean that there weren't any other and also the color trends might have occurred during different times/decades in different places over the world. And on top of that a lot of people use to stick with an interior design of a specific time for decades, like at my grandparents place it was a lot of 60s stuff also in the 90s.

My first wallpaper nail art is some kind of early 21st century nail art, like from late 90s to 2010ish. And there has been a super white era during this time talking about interior design. In Sweden (at least) there has been a hype (which is slowly fading out) to paint (or buy) literally every item in your home to white, with some few tiny details in other materials or colors, like silvery metal/glass or occasional white glazed wood. It's a feminine rural style, sometime shabby chic.. Also don't forget about the large wooden letters on the wall saying "love" or "family".. Today I can mention that this white+silvery has changed to white+copper or white+brass for the trendy ones.

Source 1 (living/bath room), Source 2 (wallpaper), Source 3 (kitchen)

So.. onto the nail art, in an aim to keep to whole interior of a home white, there still has been some patterns on the wallpaper, like subtle metallic patterns. Here I chose a white base and then stamped a holographic pattern using Color Club - Harp On It with the Born Pretty Store Stamping plate QA88. An image plate I won from MoreNailpolish. :) Stamping with CC was awesome, worked great and the holo was visible, but subtle due to the thin lines and I must say this was one which looked better IRL. It was hard to photograph, if it got dizzy or too light the pattern doesn't show, but at least you get the vision. I also added some pearl rhinestones to fit the romantic and feminine style.

Sunlight so here you can see some of the holo in the stamping.

Polishes and materials used:
Color Club - Harp On It
Nordic Cap - NP13
Squishy XL stamper from eBay
Born Pretty Store Image Plate QA88

This is the image plate I won at MoreNailpolish. (lol, I just had to take the photo after the stamping) and I must say it worked great, sharp pattern and easy to pick up. I can recommend it and if you decide to get it from BPS I have my 10% discount code for you to use; NGL91.

An InLinkz Link-up

So, do you recognize this interior design/wallpaper trend from where you're from? Do you like it the "white trend" or do you prefer other colors/combos in your home? Tell me. Also what do you think about the subtle stamping? :)

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