Heart Glitter Mani

Yay, another heart/V-Day-themed mani! I did a very simple one this time, mostly because my nails are shorter.




Here are the colors I used:

L to R: Essie Pop Art Pink, Revlon Minted, HK for MAC Vestral White, Essie Lilacism

Here are the tools:

Just some heart-shaped glitter I bought on ebay. You can find this at some nail supply stores or craft stores, or you can try using confetti from a party supply store, or even nail polish with heart glitter in it already.

I used colors that reminded me of conversation hearts and basically just alternated them on my nails. You can use five different colors of course, but I think three or four looks a little less random. I used similarly colored heart glitter to put on top of the polish while it was still wet. I just moistened my fingertip to pick up the individual glitters and place them on the nail. You can use whatever tools you want to pick them up, of course.This is a cute and super easy mani to do, and it looks great on any length!

Eleven more days until Valentine's Day, hope you've made reservations!

Valentine's Mani with Hearts and Pearls

I am starting off my V-Day manis (hopefully one of at least a few) with something very girly and cute! Here's the inspiration:

I think this is from Nail Up, though I can't remember which issue. I like the balance between whimsical and pretty; the hand-painted hearts are fun and unpretentious but the pearls add a bit of elegance.

Here are the tools I used:

Just a small brush (to paint the hearts) and some plastic flat-back pearls. You can find both of these things for very cheap on ebay.

The colors:

L to R: Essie Petal Pink, Essie Neo Whimsical, Catrice Lucky in Lilac

I started off with two coats of Petal Pink (sheer pink) just to correct the color of my nails (there is some staining) and to blur out the lunula a bit (the little white half-moon part at the cuticle). For the thumb and middle finger you can just paint the very bottom and skip the pinkies altogether. The sheer nail polish base will also make it easier to stick on the pearls. I then added three coats of Neo Whimsical, painting only the tips of the index and ring fingers, not painting the bottom part of the middle fingers and thumbs, and completely covering the pinkies. Next, I painted the hearts with Lucky in Lilac, which was the hardest part. It might be easier to use acrylic paint for this step instead of a polish, I'll have to try it next time. Finally, I used topcoat to stick on the pearls and then covered it all with more top coat.

Here is the finished product:



In hindsight, I should have painted on the hearts after adding the pearls instead doing the hearts before. I also planned on having smaller hearts (more like the original inspiration), but they were much harder to paint than I anticipated. Still, I am very happy with the result!

Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Copper Cauldron

I'm super sick today (I think it's the flu), but I already have some tip wear and wanted to take a pic before I took this off.

Although the name says "Copper," this is actually a pale pink holo, kind of on the peach side. I haven't tried Nfu-oh or the China Glaze OMG collection so I can't compare, but the holo effect on this is very strong. As with many holos, this was a bit difficult to work with. The formula was great, but it was hard to cover up bald spots. I used three coats here, but with better application you could get away with two. I think the key is just to use plenty of polish on the brush and to use as few strokes as possible, kind of like applying a matte polish. I did not use a base coat or top coat.

I hope I'm well enough to do my nails later, I really wanted to get started on some Valentine's Day manis!

Floral/Bead Design

I love looking at Japanese nail magazines, they are so inspiring! I wanted to do a unique but fairly simple design, so I decided to try this one:

(From Nail Up July 2010.)

This is how it turned out:



(Click to enlarge.)
Not as nice as the magazine, but I still like how it turned out. The pastel green and floral print are very feminine, but the gold beads and contrasting coral red make it a little edgy.

Doing this design is pretty easy. For the base, you will need a minty green and a bright, coral red. In addition, you will also need burgundy, dark blue, and lighter blue colors for the floral design. Here are the colors I used:

L to R: Love & Beauty Blue, H&M Blue Sky, Essie Mint Candy Apple, Essie Red Nouveau, OPI It's a Doozi, Says Suzi

Here are the tools I used (besides remover, base coat, and top coat):

Beads, cotton pad, toothpick, small brush. I bought the box of little beads and the brush (part of a set) on ebay. The picture in the mag uses flatback beads but all I had are the small, round ones (some people call them "bouillon beads"). It would be easier with the flatback beads, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

The first step is to paint the base colors (easy enough). Then, while the nail polish was still wet, I worked on the beads. I poured some of the beads onto a cotton pad so they wouldn't roll around on the table. To the nails, I added a layer of top coat that is NOT quick drying. This provided a sticky base on which to stick the beads. I dipped the very tip of the toothpick into the same top coat to make it just a little bit sticky and used it to pick up the beads and place them on the nail. The toothpick I used has straight sides (as opposed to rounded) so I used the sides to press down the beads to secure them on the nail. If the top coat dries to the point where the beads do not stick, add a little bit more to the area where you are working. Cover with top coat (quick-drying top coat is okay for this step).

To do the flowers, I used a very thin brush to basically paint blobs. I painted coral blobs, added some burgundy bits, then painted light blue blobs next to the red, and finally added some dark blue dabs. It works best if you just kind of dab the brush instead of really trying to paint shapes. When you cover with top coat, smearing the design a little is okay, it actually looks better that way.

I also practiced doing some acrylic sculpture:

Spare Zoya plates/spoons are perfect for this! I have a pretty hard time getting the consistency right, even with Asami's tips. You have to make sure it's not too wet or dry, and quickly sculpt the little blob into what you want before it dries. I actually did a pretty decent bow (the middle one, not the one on the right):

I'm getting better at it, though, just need (lots) more practice. Hopefully I can do some fun manis with 3D acrylic sculptures soon!

Zoya Nova and Crystal

Yay, I received my free Zoyas a few days ago!

L to R: Nova, Irene, Crystal

Crystal

This is a shimmery light blue with lots of gold flakes. I have read that it is a dupe for OPI's Reflecting Pool, and it certainly reminds me of water. Gorgeous color, great for any season.

Nova

I did a simple dégradé mani with this one. It's a magenta jelly with lots of pale pink glitter, perfect consistency/sheerness for this look. I did thin coats, each coat starting a little further from the cuticle than the last. Very easy to do.

I haven't tried Irene yet, but it looks so intriguing!