Fergie by Wet n Wild (R)



There was a 2 for the price of 1 sale, which I can rarely miss. I got myself some more Fergie nail polishes by Wet n Wild. The one I had previously was a clear with multicolored stars I use as an accent polish, and I like the consistency of it. It's a thick polish with a kinda matte finish. Sometimes I just use that as my clear coat (with the occasional surprise star). The new Fergie polishes I got are "Miami Spirit" and "Dutchess."




Fergie - "Miami Spirit"

Fergie - "Dutchess" (on Miami Spirit)

"Miami Spirit" is a creamy teal with a little bit of pearl shine. I was pretty happy that, like my other Fergie polish, this one has that semi-matte finish. Also, one coat was enough for cover.

"Dutchess" is a clear with tiny blue glitter and small magenta glitter. I use "tiny" and "small" to differentiate between the sizes to be more clear; "small" is larger than "tiny." One coat gives good glitter coverage unlike other glittery polishes where you have to glob it on to get any sparkle.




When I picked them out, I wanted to try them together and this is what I envisioned. I did a flat coat of Miami, layered the glittery Dutchess on top, and then painted cattycorner circles so I wouldn't be over-glittered. I did want a shine, so I did put a clear top coat. I'm overall satisfied with these two colors together or separate, and I'm happy with this simple effect.

 

 

Showcasing "Luke of the Draw"

Since school started I haven't had much time to update. I do want to take the time to share my new polish.

I just got "Luke of the Draw" from Nicole (by OPI) Modern Family series. I was looking for something glittery but opaque. This is a translucent black with large and small silver glitter. Unlike many glitter polishes, this only took 2 coats to be opaque. I think it's my new favorite :)

Metal

I haven't had much good sit down time. My design for this week is kinda metal panels.

Neon 1

I had to cut all my nails again :( I don't know how some women keep their nails long without chipping one. Maybe they do nothing with their hands?

I called this "neon 1" because I'll likely be playing with neon colors again. I couldn't decide on a color and thought, hey, I'll use all three that I picked out.

These are Mabelline Color Show polishes. I used "fierce n tangy," "shocking seas," and "orange fix." At first I was disappointed when I was messing around with the blue and orange because these polishes are all unexpectedly watery and sheer. The yellow (fierce n tangy) took 3 coats just to get it uniform and bright. It went on thinly and had a streaky look. So I decided to capitalize on the sheer and do some layering. I like the effect. What do you think? I think there's a place for watery sheer nail polishes.

Skyrim

Obviously I've been playing Skyrim too much lately...

And yes, my right hand is plain :-p

Newspaper Nails Tutorial (I got it to work!)

I've tried doing the newspaper nail thing before and had limited success. There are all sorts of directions available. The first time I tried it, the directions said to dip your nail into the alcohol for 5 seconds and then press the newspaper on. This not only doesn't work (at least not for me) but it softens your nail polish and you get fingerprints where you press onto the newspaper. :( I did eventually find a method that worked, so I'm going to give you a how-to for that.

Materials:

* base polish
* Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) - I used 91%, but it can be done with 70%
* newspaper

Also pictured:
* scissors to cut the newspaper (not entirely necessary)
* filbert brush for clean-up
* acetone for clean-up

STEP 1

STEP 2

Step 1: Prep. I cut up small rectangles of newspaper text and pictures I wanted. I made the rectangles just big enough to cover my nail with a little extra to grab onto when dipping the paper in the alcohol.



Step 2: Paint a base color. You need some kind of polish on your nail. I don't recommend clear or dark, although it can still work. I used "Bare Escape" from Mabelline's Color Show line.

STEP 3

STEP 5

Step 3: Dip your paper rectangle into the alcohol for 10 seconds. I like to pour a little alcohol in the cap and use that as stock.

Step 4: Press design side of the newspaper onto your nail for 10 seconds. I apply pressure by rocking my thumb back and forth over my nail.

Step 5: Slowly peel off newspaper. I peel up a corner and check to see if the edges are dark enough. If they aren't, it's easy to press the paper down for another second or so.

Step 6: Seal with top coat. I went for something sparkly and used "Fairy Tale Ivory" by Sally Hansen.

That's it! :)

I got the methods ideas from The Polished Medic. She does a comparison in materials by trying vodka, hand sanitizer, and almond extract in place of rubbing alcohol. She says the extract is her favorite and you may want to try it.

Cinderella and more fun with animal print.

I just got this new color and I think it's really pretty. It's called "Cinderella" by Sinful Colors. It's a pastel blue with a faint pink glittery sheen. It is more sheer than it looked. I applied three coats to get this look.

Below is the look I went with this past week. I tried out making leopard spots in white on pink dots with a black background. I think it looks kinda like flower petals. Maybe orchids? Whatever it looks like, I was satisfied. :)

Marbling

OK, so the "water marbling" rage was not all that recent, but I've been spending a lot of time trying to get it right!

This picture is from when I tried water marbling, got frustrated, and finished with non-standard water marbling. I'll explain in a bit. Can you guess which finger was done with regular, from-the-tutorial, water marbling?

Give up? It was my ring finger. Can you even tell the difference?

Water Marbling:

     You can find tutorials all over the net. Water marbling capitalizes on the surface tension of water and the density of nail polish. The summary is that you get a bowl of warm water, and drop nail-polish in the center. Each drop is supposed to spread to the edges of the bowl. You make concentric circles with 3 or so colors and then use a toothpick to make little swirly designs. You press your fingernail into the pattern you made, swirl up the extra paint with a swab or tooth pick, clean up the edges of your finger and poof! Water marbled. Then you repeat for the other 9 fingers. 

     I figured out that instead of putting the swirled paint directly on your nail, you can cut a piece of ziploc bag and press the paint on that instead. Once it dries, you can peel the paint off and stick it to your nail (after painting your nail with white and letting it dry just until it's lightly tacky). Saved me loads of time; the one nail I did without this took me 15 min to get right.

Why I dislike "Water Marbling"

1. It takes for-freaking-ever. Most of the time you spend marbling will be on researching nail polishes that work or just doing trial and error. Plus, you have to re-do the paint circle swirly thing for every nail.

2. It's messy. You can protect your finger with masking tape, scotch tape, or white glue, but it still requires a lot of clean-up. 

3. It doesn't work with all paints. Paints that dry too fast create a thin film on the water's surface and the next droplet will refuse to spread out. Also, glitter polishes don't work; they usually sink.

4. It wastes polish. Even not counting the trial and error part, many tutorials will use 5 drops or so of each color. 

Dry Marbling:

    Then there's this thing called "dry marbling." You get a piece of parchment paper or plastic bag and thickly paint stripes with several colors of polish. Drag a toothpick straight across and get that marbled look. When it is thoroughly dry, you can peel it off and press it on tacky nails. I like this, however, the paint doesn't always come up the way I want it to come up from the paper. It also wastes a bit of polish.

Here's my solution!

I did neither method! Maybe I'm just lazy, but I found the fastest way to achieve a good look. (I understand that other people probably thought of this way before I did, but just let me have my moment.) What do you think about how this turned out?

"Dragonfire" nails

This is what I did.

Materials: Toothpick, 3 colors of polish, and acetone/swab for clean-up

1. Glob rows of each color on your nail. Yes, "glob." It needs to be thick, especially at the base of the nail. You don't need to be super speedy either. Go slow enough to not be sloppy.

2. Starting from the base of the nail, drag the tip of the toothpick toward the tip of your nail in a wavy line.

3. Use the toothpick to scrape along the side of the nail to remove extra paint while it's wet.

4. Let dry thoroughly. I waited a good 10 min before doing the other hand.

5. Use the swab to clean up anywhere you got too excited with polish.

and lastly,

6. Use the extra time that you would have spent doing some other method of marbling to enrich your life. Ponder the images or lack of images on your wall. Write a short poem. Go say hi to your boyfriend (or girlfriend), who misses you during "don't come within 20 feet of me when I'm painting my nails" time. Whatever you do, those precious minutes are yours now. Enjoy :)

Keeping it Simple

This past week was so crazy with school ending, I had to do something simple and calming.

I love teal and copper together. Sally Hansen Salon "Fairy Teal" and OPI "Rising Star".

Cutting-room floor

Melty black hearts- I guess I'm feeling emo?

My hand and nails look pretty terrible in this picture. I failed a couple of other designs before settling on this one and it didn't clean up all the way..... BTW, tape on nails does not work, unless there is some magical secret I'm missing.


To make up for lateness, I'll post another!

Fluttershy - From last month

Dot Dot Dot

If you get yourself a dotting tool, you'll never have boring nails again, except by choice :-p. Dots can make a border on the base of french tipped nails or cover it like polka-dots. I had to cut all of my nails short because I chipped one :-/ ... but dots still look good on short nails, unlike some other designs that really need that extended surface.

Here's why I like dot designs:
1. Easy - it's just poke the paint, then poke your nail
2. Fast - dots use little paint
3. Versatile - you can make flowers, borders, abstract art, patterns... there are many options when playing with dots.

Featured Design this week is High Contrast Black on White

Here are some other designs you may want to try with dots:

 Ombre Dots

 

 Yellow to green to teal on grey :) Try smaller or larger dots.

Porcelain Motif 

 

Do a blue french tip on white. Use the large dotter on the bottom edge 

of the french tip to make the lacy pattern.

Strawberry and Watermelon

Up for a picnic?

Polka-dot French Tip, Waiting, Dot Border and Bow, Diagnal Polka-tip, Mustache

For Mustache, do two large dots next to each other and then drag the paint with the small dotter to create the shape.

Experiment with patterns. I'd love to hear and see what you come up with :)

Show your WILD side

This week, it's time to let your wild side show with animal print nails.

I always thought that cheetah print looked awesome on nails, but it looked too good to be easy. I was so wrong! Cheetah print is one of the simplest ways I've found to accent nails and it's hard to choose wrong colors. I'll be showing you a tutorial on my lovely 12-year-old hand model. (You know it must be a fast and easy session if a 12-year-old sits through it!)

 

I used Sinful Colors (SC) "Tempest," SC "Back on Black," and Sally Hansen Salon "Fairy Teal."

My recommendation is to have a neutral base and bright colors for the print.

Essential Tools: 100% acetone polish remover, filbert tip paint brush (it's rounded), embossing tool. There are "official" nail tools like this embosser and people look at me funny when I tell them I got a nail tool at Michaels... but I like my embossing tool as a dotter because it is much smaller tipped than the ones I've found in beauty supply stores.





Steps:
1. Create a base for your design. I painted the top half of the nail in Tempest. Don't worry about the bottom line being straight yet. Apply two coats and let them dry well (2 min).

 

2. Sculpt your french tip by saturating your filbert paintbrush in acetone (pour a little bit into the cap to use as a stock) and gently brushing along where you want the bottom line. I also take this time to clean up places along the nail where I got "too excited" with the paint.

3. To make the cheetah print, scatter dots across the french tip area using the larger dotter side. 4-5  dots of various sizes and oblong shapes. They don't need to be perfect circles. It actually looks more natural if they are not. Add the occasional base dot off the edge of the french tip for artistic effect.

 

4. Create the real cheetah look by dotting around the outside edges with black polish on your small dotter. I've found that three dots around the edges looks best. Also add stray black dots in empty spaces.



 5. Let dry thoroughly and coat with clear polish or sparkle.

Additional Ideas!
- add a dot of sparkle polish in the center of random spots
- paint your ring fingers in the inverted color scheme (here it would be purple spots on teal)
- use multiple colors for your spots

Other Pictures

 

 

I did mine with lime and coral on brown. (SC Soul Mate, SC Innocent, and SC Nirvana)

 

 

SC Soul Mate on Essie's Mint Candy Apple with pink glitter accents.

 

Welcome to my blog.

I love creating designs and experimenting on my nails, so I got the idea that I should start up a blog. (This is my first time blogging, so bear with me.) I will be posting some of my designs and tutorials, as well as some reviews of nail tutorials I've found. I welcome all kinds of comments especially recommendations of techniques to try out and review. First design post will be coming soon! :)