NOTD Feb 25/13 - lavender and chevrons

I finally made my first foray into chevrons! I like the design a lot and although I'm not 100% happy with this mani, I know what I want to do differently next time to make it better.

My only issue with this mani is that I think the chevron stripes are too thick - next time I'll make them thinner. Other than that though, I like it! It's easier than I thought it would be to do - probably largely due to the fact that I used acrylic paint instead of nail polish!

Lavender is Revlon Top Speed in Lily, and the white is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On. Black is acrylic paint!

NOTD January 30/13 - valentine's day dotticure

The first of my Valentine's Day manicures is here! I really love this one, it started out with one idea (the dotted heart design) but then grew when I decided I didn't want to do that design on each nail. So I went for the cuticle dot gradient with a contrasting colour on the ring finger. Love this so much!

NOTD Jan 25/13 - funky abstract

This idea was sort of floating in my head for months, but I never got around to doing it. The idea for the pattern on my thumb and ring finger popped into my head and I thought it would look pretty cool, and when I finally decided to make it happen, the perfect colours jumped out at me too!

Now that I look at the pattern in reality, it really kind of reminds me of tire tracks, especially when I was first drawing it on and started it in the middle of my nails. The black rhinestones I added on as a last minute addition to make it a little more balanced and add a bit of pizazz to the plain nails.

The green is an awesome shade I recently picked up, Essence in L.O.L., such a gorgeous chartreuse shade, LOVE! The lavender is Revlon Top Speed in Lily, and the peach is Illamasqua Purity. I painted the designs with black acrylic paint, and the black rhinestones are from Born Pretty Store!

NOTD Jan 21/12 - mint and magenta with studs

This was a manicure that started out totally different and then needed to be resuscitated because it failed SO BAD!

Remember that Aruba Coconut manicure I did the other day? I wanted to carry on the Bath & Body Works Escape Collection theme, so I started the mani with several magenta nails, and then on the middle nails I was going to do a design based on the packaging of another bottle from that collection. But they looked SOOOOOOO bad. Like laughably bad guys. Epic fail bad.

So I wiped off the polish from those two nails and quickly did something simple so I wouldn't spend another eon doing my nails!

Also, forgive my subpar indoor lighting photo-taking skills. My new job is a full time 9-5 type deal, so there are not going to be many opportunities for me to take manicure photos in daylight unless I start bringing my camera to the office and taking photos out the back during my lunch. Which is an idea, come to think of it...

Both of these were polishes I bought yesterday, and both Revlon. The pink is Revlon Top Speed Bubble, and I LOVE it. The formula on this polish is amazeballs. So smooth and gorgeous, perfect in two coats. The colour is straight up BARBIE. <3 <3 <3 I don't usually go this googoo for pinks but what can I say... the mint is a repurchase, it was on clearance at the drugstore, Revlon Minted. Studs are from Bornprettystore.com!

NOTD Dec 24/12 - icy winter blues gradient

Just a simple winter blues gradient! It has a tiny blue flakies topcoat over it to make it look extra icy cold! I love how it turned out. :)

 Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, with Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue sponged on and Revlon Scented Polish in Colada Fizz on top!

NOTD Nov 26/12 - abstract minimalist trees

These nails are kind of inspired by nailside's style! I checked out her tutorial from last year for Christmas tree and it gave me the idea to add rhinestones to this, but I did mine a little different from hers and added even more rhinestones, and less tape lines. :) I like how this turned out! I think it would also look cute with different coloured rhinestones on the tree like different coloured ornaments, but the only rhinestones I had that were small enough were clear ones!

The background is Revlon in Cloud, the trees are Barielle in Date Night, and then the rhinestones and the striping tape I used (which is obviously unseen) are both from Born Pretty Store!

NOTD Nov 8/12 - rhinestone halfmoon skittles!

Got a few different elements going on with these ones! They're bright, fun and sparkly!! Good combo!

The colours I used were (from thumb to pinkie) Revlon Electric, Barielle Swizzle Stix, Barielle Sailor's Delight, Barielle Do Unto Others, Essence Break Through.

Then I added a little silver glitter - LA Girl Glitter Addict in Explosion, and added some rhinestones from Born Pretty Store on top!

NOTD Oct 30/12 - black and red glitter gradient

Just a quick one today! I wore these nails to pair with my Halloween costume this past weekend, which was a black devil costume - just a simple horns headband and a tail and I wore all black. Cute and simple and these nails gave it a little bit of colour! Not the best picture but it was cloudy and early and I was in a rush!

I used a few colours in this - basic black obviously, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out. Then for the reds I used Illamasqua Scarab, Revlon Cherry Crush, and LA Girl Glitter Addict in Animate.

NOTD Oct 18/12 - pumpkin tips

More Halloween manicure goodness! I really loved CutePolish's apple manicure which I recreated last month, and it got a great response. Not surprising because it's such an adorable design!

I was brainstorming for Halloween mani ideas, and it occured to me how perfect that manicure was for adapting to Halloween! Instead of apples, I drew pumpkins! The ones on my ring fingers have made it to the jack o' lantern phase, but the rest are just plain and simple gourds. :)

I love how these look, they're so cute and perfect for the season! Hope you enjoy them too!

For the pumpkins I used Cherimoya Mango and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed, and for the highlights I mixed a bit of white in with Mango. Then I drew the stems with Revlon Chocolate Truffle and the vines with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Green With Envy, and black for the jack o' lantern details!

NOTD Sep 29/12 - intricate floral on periwinkle

This one was kind of hard to think of a name for! Intricate floral on periwinkle? Sure, I guess that works!

This is another design based on a vintage fabric pattern. I painted it on a set of falsies this time, and I really love how they turned out! I think this pattern is so beautiful! It's roses, leaves and vines and also some little blue flowers interspersed!

 There are many colours involved here, so if you are curious about any particular one feel free to ask in the comments! I will say that the background colour is Revlon Dreamer!

NOTD Sep 26/12 - owls

Sort of a fall inspired design, some cute little owls! I created these using those paper sticker hole reinforcements and I have to say, not a technique I'm eager to try again. Everyone raves about those but they just do not work well for me... I think my nail bed is a little too curved or something, because they stick fine to the middle of my nail but lift away from the sides and then the polish just bleeds under. I tried so many ways and it's literally impossible to make them lay flat on my nail bed. I had to go back and correct most of them with a brush! Too bad too, in theory I like the idea but on my nails it just doesn't wanna happen!

The brown shade is Revlon Stormy, the pale dove grey is Revlon Cloud, and the beaks and feet are OPI The "It" Color. And of course there's black and white which don't really need mentions.

 Regardless of issues with the hole reinforcements, I love how these little cuties turned out! I was inspired by some cute owl artwork I'd seen in a craft pin in Pinterest. Which, by the way, is my new obsession. I know I'm a little late on that train but whatever, I let all the good stuff build up on there before I got into it! I've been pinning tons of recipes, a few of which I've made. And also lots of decorating and DIY stuff... I started decorating my place for Halloween much earlier than usual and so far I'm loving it!

This is my mantle... mini and peewee pumpkins painted with black and white acrylic paint, some pinecones, candles (cinnamon scented!) and little cutout ghosts and "Boo!" signs! And of course and awesome DIY bat garland. Love it! I want to do a bit more with this but it's a good start!

Bat, owl and skull cutouts over the couch! I also want to add something else here, maybe some ghosts in between.

NOTD Sep 20/12 - apples!

I wanted something really cute and simple this time - I had started another design but it just was not turning out so I started over and didn't want to do something else time-intensive! I hadn't checked out anything on the CutePolish channel on YouTube in a while, so I looked at it and she had posted this adorable apple manicure about a month ago! I thought it was so sweet so I decided to replicate it!

I followed all the steps in the video, using Wet n' Wild Wild Shine in Red Red, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Green With Envy, and Cherimoya Melon for the apples. I used Revlon Chocolate Truffle for the stems and Sinful Colors Envy for the leaves. She didn't include this in her tutorial, but I added some white reflection marks on the apples to make them look really shiny and juicy! I love these, they're so cute to look at! I haven't done a "fancy tips" style manicure probably since I did a Hello Kitty mani around a year ago!

NOTD Sep 18/12 - matte mixed

I always feel like I'm never doing enough matte manis! I love the way they look and I really love the way they feel (so soft!) but I never seem to make them happen. I especially like how glitter looks mattified but I didn't want to do an all-glitter matte mani because that's all I've ever done with the texture before. So I went for a mixed mani with glitter incorporated for this one!

I painted my ring finger with Revlon Impulsive, and the rest with Revlon Dreamer. I painted Milani One Coat Glitter in Lavender Fizz on my ring finger. Then I used Impulsive to paint on the dots and stripes on the blue nails (I alternated on my other hand, so the dots were on the thumb and so on), then I added highlights of the glitter on each nail as well, and then mattified with GOSH Matt Effect top coat!

NOTD Sep 15/12 - vertical dots and glitter tips!

Sometimes I get a random idea for an abstract nail design that I haven't seen anywhere (to my knowledge anyways, if this design has already been done by someone, I either haven't seen it or I have but it went straight to my subconscious mind). When I do, they either turn out NOTHING like what I pictured in my head, or really cool. In this case, I think it falls into the really cool category!

The design itself is simple. Vertical dots on the nails, in alternating colours, with different sized dots and different length rows. And then glitter on the tips. I wouldn't mind trying out other colour combos, but I love how this looks the first time around!

 The blue dots are Nicole by OPI in "Baby" Blue, the pink dots are Revlon Pink Lingerie, and the silver glitter is LA Girl Glitter Addict in Explosion.

NOTD Aug 6/12 - cocktail nails

Hope everyone in Canada is enjoying the long weekend today!

I did these nails the other day just to play around - they didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but I still like them, and I finally got to use one of my new Essence polishes! I love how shimmery it is, almost like glass flecks.

I painted all my nails with a coat of Rimmel 60 Seconds in Green With Envy, then added a coat of Essence in Choose Me! on the thumb, ring and pinky fingers. Then a coat each of Revlon Blue Mosaic and LA Girl Glitter Addict in Explosion on the index and middle fingers.

NOTD Aug 3/12 - lace, bows and pearls

This one's really girly and takes full advantage of the awesome pastels and candy-feminine trends we've been seeing so much of lately. I love how these turned out, so delicate and girly! I <3 pastels... I really do.

I painted my nails with Revlon Minted (thumb and ring fingers) and Barielle Sailor's Delight (index, middle and pinky fingers). Then I added dots of white in pearl strand patterns on the pink nails with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, and in half moons on the mint nails. I also added dots of white along the edge of the half moons to create a scalloped edge, then filled in the centre of those with smaller dots of the mint shade. Then I dabbed Nicole by OPI in You're a Star (iridescent white) on top of the pearls to "pearlize" them. Next, I painted on the shape of the bows in white, then covered it with the pink shade, and lastly painted the outlines in black and added top coat!

NOTD Jul 5/12 - splatter!

The day has finally come... I finally tried some splatter nail art! And I love it!!

I didn't want to go the extra messy route of blowing nail polish all over my hands (I used the straw method) so I used my sandwich bag decal method for these. I made them yesterday and applied them today and I'm really happy with them! I want to try out some other colour combos!

For a basic how-to on the sandwich bag decal method, see this post. I started with a background colour of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On (white creme), then splattered on Revlon Dreamer (periwinkle cream) and Revlon Top Speed Cupid (blue-toned pink creme). Easy!!

Also on a side note, I'm very excited to say that tomorrow is a really happy day for me... it's my boyfriend and mine's five year anniversary! I'm so happy to have spent five years with my best friend and the person I love and trust so much! <3 <3 <3

NOTD Jul 3/12 - white, pink and yellow stripes and dots

Hey everyone!! Loving this design today, something simple but really summery and fun, it brightens up my hands a lot. I really enjoy light and bright looks like this!

Started with a coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, just got this shade of white today to replace my empties and I like it a lot! Only two coats needed. Then I striped on the pink - originally it was just Essence in Sweet as Candy, which I also just got today and is a really beautiful colour, but for what I was going for it was too light and sheer, so I mixed in some Revlon Pink Lingerie to deepen the colour a bit. Then I striped on Revlon Electric, and added multi-sized dots of LA Girl Disco Brites in Disco Diva. Top coat and voila!! Bright, fun, happy summery nails! Which totally don't match the weather outside which is grey and rainy... doesn't it know it's supposed to be July out there?

NOTD Jun 20/12 - rhinestone strawberry

Strawberries on my nails! Finally! I've wanted to do it forever! But I wanted some blingy-bling on it, so the ring fingers have rhinestone seeds! And I mixed it up by making some of the strawberries pink. I'm in love with these!

Colours used:
 Revlon Top Speed in Pink Lingerie
Wet n Wild Wet Shine in Red Red
custom green mix

NOTD May 22/12 - gradient and rhinestones

Hey everyone! I'm really happy about my manicure today! I love the look of rhinestones all clustered together, mosaic-style, and I did try it once. Problem was, all the rhinestones I had used were the same size, so it wasn't possible to really cram them all together, just next to each other. It just didn't have the look I was going for and so, I had to scrap that manicure! I knew I needed some multi-sized rhinestones to create the look I was going for, and luckily Born Pretty Store came through for me! They generously provided me with a couple of goodies, the first of which I want to show you today!

I started off with a gradient base, using a new technique for creating gradients I saw at The Nailasaurus! It worked very nicely, I love the results! I need a little more practice to totally get it down but it wasn't difficult at all and the results are great!

Then, I went to work with my rhinestones! The smallest of these are just teeny tiny! Be careful or these will end up everywhere! The rhinestones come in three sizes, the wheel has four compartments of each size. I arranged them in a crescent shape in the lower left corner of each nail, starting with a large rhinstone, adding a couple medium sized ones, and filling in the spaces and the "tails" with the tiny ones. Bit of topcoat on top and voila!

I'm really happy with how this turned out, I hope you like it too! Check out this product at Born Pretty Store and if you like what you can do with them, grab some! The price is awesome!

Colours used:
Barielle in Blossom
Revlon Top Speed in Electric