Union Jack & Polka Dots Mani

Hi all! I just got back from studying abroad/vacationing in Europe and one of my stops there including London.... obsessed. I already loved everything British beforehand, but going to London just solidified my love and obsession with it. So, being on my British high, I of course had to incorporate something British into my nails! For the pink I used Essie's "Mod Square" and for the turquoise I used Essie's "Turquoise & Caicos" ... both great colors for summer too! For the Union Jack, I used a striping brush, and for the polka dots I used Sally Hansen's nail art pens.. both incredibly easy to do! For the Union Jack, I did the "X" first.. a wider base of white, then a thinner stripe of the pink. BE SURE THE WHITE & PINK ARE DRY!! Before doing all of the separate layers, be sure that each color is dry, otherwise there'll be spreading and mixing and it'll just be a big mess. After the X is dry, I did the "+" part of the flag. Again, wider stripes for the white and thin stripes for the pink. Once all is dry, seal it in with your top coat and you're set! It's brilliantly British!! xx

Pink, Black, & White Multi Mani

So. I'm completely obsessed with this mani. It's super girly and fun and got me so many compliments! For the polish, I used OPI's Pink Friday, Sinful Color's Snow Me White, and Wet N Wild's Ebony Hates Chris. I also used Sally Hansen's nail art pens in white and black. For the pinky, I did two coats of the pink and then used the nail pens to create the leopard. On the ring finger, I also did two coats of the pink and waited for it to completely dry, and then used the hole reinforcer method to make the half-moon mani. For the middle and pointer fingers, I did two coats of the white and then did the stripes and polka dots with the nail pen. I really wanted to do a pink heart on the striped nail, but ran out of time and blah blah. Thumb nail, did the two coats of pink again and two coats of China Glaze's World's Away (part of their Cirque collection). As always, a top coat to finish it off!

Red and Pink Leopard Mani

This mani originally was just a basic red, but I thought, "Hey, let's spice it up some," so I did leopard, naturally. For the red I used Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in #375 Stiletto Red and to make the leopard I used Sally Hansen's nail art pens in pink and black. For the tutorial on how to do a leopard mani, click here. I PROMISE it only takes 15 minutes!! Don't forget your top coat! (Especially if you use the Sally Hansen nail art pens- they wipe off easy without it!)

Fairy Dust Glitter Ombre Mani

My favorite way to cover up wear and chips on my nails is to do a glitter ombre on them! They're super easy to do and look so pretty! What I like to do is first paint a thin coat of glitter just on the tips. Then, one nail at a time, I put a glob of glitter on the tips and brush it back. Finish with a top coat and done! It looks like a fairy sprinkled some magic dust on them, right?! The pale pink is Sinful Colors in Easy Going and the glitter is Nicole by OPI in Twist of Fate. Be sure to use a fine glitter polish for this and not a large glitter, as you wouldn't get the same effect.

Watermelon Ruffian Mani

So I've been wanting to try the Ruffian manicure recently and thought it would be absolutely perfect to do it as a watermelon!! First I did my base coat, then two coats of Wet N Wild Wild Shine #454D (hot pink) and waited for it to completely dry (I'm talking next day dry). Then I took hole reinforcers and put them against the back of my nail, leaving some space, as this is going to be the green rind. (I used NYC #298 High Line Green and two coats of it.) Then I took a toothpick and black nail polish (preferably a quick-drying one like Wet N Wild Fast Dry #229C Ebony Hates Chris, so it doesn't run when you put a topcoat over it) and made three little "seeds."

 

Duh I forgot to take a picture of the hole reinforcer on my watermelon nails, but this is how to place it.

Pink Leopard Mani

This manicure is easy. Go ahead, give me your crazy looks that I got when I told people that, but it really is! (Not to mention, there are tons of color combos you can use!) For this mani I used Sinful Colors' Easy Going as the base and two coats gave me my solid blush color. (I love this color, by the way. Like, love.) Then for the spots I used Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pens in black and coral! (The coral is from the new summer collection that came out recently and they had several other cute colors too!) I really like Sally Hansen's pens because if you mess up, they come off easily with water and your mistake is gone! (Also, this is why it's really important to use a top coat, otherwise your designs will be washed off easily!) Okay so first I did my base color and waited for it to completely dry. Then, I made odd shaped ovals with the coral pen and then I used my black pen and did two lines sort of on either side of each odd shape! See? Easy! Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Leap Day Mani!

Happy Leap Day!! In honor of this extra day, I'm giving you all an extra mani! (Like one mani doubles as the base for another, sort of thing.) Okay, so I recently bought Sinful Colors' neon pink #920 and I was SO excited to finally find a neon that I liked! (The other "neons" that I found before just weren't that bright and, well, neon.) I did two coats of it and it was totally solid. Also, it dries somewhat matte, so that's good if you're into that. (I prefer shiny.) Anyways, I couldn't deal with just plain neon on my nails, so I did one coat of China Glaze's Fairy Dust... it sparkles so much! So I left it that way for like a day, but it was still too neony for me (I know, I'm ridiculous), so I decided to pair it with Ulta's Smoke Screen. I taped my pieces of tape diagonally across each nail, did one coat of the charcoal, let it dry, then did a second coat and peeled off the tape right after I applied the second coat. (I waited to remove the tape after the second coat on one nail and it got too gunky and just made it gross and uneven.) Did one coat of my top coat to seal it all and done! It might sound complicated, but it truly isn't. I got several compliments on them, with one girl even saying she was going to do them the same! Hope you all enjoyed your extra day!

Hehe.. get it? Because they leap? I know, I'm a dork.