Christmas Tree Nail Art - Caviar Beads and Striping Tape

A little late on this post but it'll be archived for posterity anyways.  Right before the holidays I was wearing China Glaze Fifth Avenue and decided it needed some spicing up!

Because this wasn't a planned out mani, the color scheme is a little bit off. I'm not a super fan of the mauve and metallic mint but I don't hate it either.

I used scotch tape, striping tape and caviar beads for this design.  The scotch tape was used to make a triangle and the striping tape was zigzagged back and forth and then painted over with Pop Beauty Jade Metal.  Then I peeled both tapes off and applied the caviar beads (which bled terribly by the way with the top coat - these were from the dollar store).  I then applied the stars at the top and sealed with top coat. SUPER simple, took only a few minutes!

Pop Beauty Jade Metal & China Glaze Fifth Avenue

Vintage Roses and China Glaze Fifth Avenue

I'm pretty sure we've all seen the vintage rose manicure which usually is done over a Tiffany blue.  I've always admired the look and decided to try it over an existing mani, which is China Glaze Fifth Avenue.  I have a soft spot for "old lady" colors such as this one, haha.

I used two coats of Fifth Avenue over Nailtek II and sealed with OTD.  The next day I added the designs using a bunch of striping polishes.

I used b.s.n. Twisted Ivy and White, Art Club Malmsy, Mint and Lite Pink and Art Deco Baby Pink for the roses, stripes and polka dots.

I just kind of made circular motions, the letter "C" shape, with three different pinks.  Leaves were just kind of sideways dots, made with the length of the striping brush.  It was easier than I thought but the flowers ended up being somewhat abstract in the end.

China Glaze 100 Proof Pink

This polish is incredibly "me"! Absolutely in love with it!

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100 Proof Pink is an older, more hard to find China Glaze that I received as a gift. It's perfect!  It has a bit of a stronger smell since I think it was before the B3F movement but it's not terrible. Shown is three thin coats over Orly Bonder and sealed with OTD.  The polish is my favorite shade of pink in existence with silver shimmers, and lots of them!  Formula was good, just a tad sheer but very buildable.

I wish I had worn this before I compiled my Top 20 of 2012 list, this would definitely be in the top 5 without a doubt!

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Simple Seasonal Sponging and Stickers

Plus five points for the alliteration (;

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For this manicure I used a makeup sponge to apply the polish but I also dabbed polish onto my nails and used the sponge to spread it out as well.  The polishes I used were Sinful Colors Go Go Girl, China Glaze Ruby Slippers and Oopsie Daisies With A Cherry On Top, in that order.

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I used Born Pretty's snowflake stickers which are so intricate but long-lasting as well. I really love all of my born pretty stickers although I wasn't 100% happy with the final result; I think the mani needed some gold or silver for some contrast!

Wintry Nails with Snowflake Stickers

It hasn't even been cold lately, not sure where the inspiration was for this.  This is one of those manicures that look much much better at a distance, not super macro friendly.  I had one with it, though!

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I'm patiently waiting for my thumbnail to grow more, too. I've never broke a thumb nail before, was so bummed when it happened. And I don't even know HOW it happened!

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For this mani I sponged on China Glaze Dance Baby and Seaspray with which made this purple-y base you're seeing.  Then I sponged on some China Glaze Frosty (one of my all time faves!), added dots with my dotting tool using Frosty again and Sally Hansen Whirlwind White. I had ordered these stickers from Born Pretty over the summer, was fun to get to use them! So many shapes and styles of snow flakes.

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LOL, I tried some nail art. Promptly removed and replaced.

Jelly Sandwich: Verity Deep Violet and China Glaze Luxe and Lush

One of the only ways I can keep chunky glitters on my nails without sheeting off in big pieces is to sandwich it between a jelly polish.  This works out nicely because the finished look is by far one of my favorites!

I ended up doing two coats of Verity Deep Violet, one coat China Glaze Luxe and Lush and then one more of Deep Violet, sealed with OTD and over Orly Bonder.  Deep Violet needed some extra strokes before I put on the glittery flakie because it was streaky, so I'd say VDV was about 2 and 1/2 coats.

The flakies in Luxe and Lush are not typical flakies, they're thick and not flexible like most are.  You can see on my index finger a piece is sticking up and wasn't flattened by the addition coat of VDV or the top coat. It's not a big deal to me, but it may be to some.  Also worth mentioning is that the flakes aren't the color shifting kind - they're more so just iridescent. It's different from the usual which can be refreshing or frustrating depending on your feelings towards it. Overall though, I love how it turned out!

We have a stainer.

I've never been stained by a pink before. This is from China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Maybe this is more of a coral, so that's why? I have photographic evidence:

HOOFA!

Some light buffing with a super fine grit buffer took care of this really quick, I just had to share as I've ever seen such even and vibrant staining before.

A note on the Oopsie Daisies Nail Polish release, I'm waiting on 2 more items in the mail that should hopefully be here tomorrow.  They're not for the actual polish but for labeling purposes so once those get here, everything will be ready to go! I will post swatches of Tiramisu and Strawberry Trifle for those who are interested, so you can get a better idea of what they'll look like.  I think next weekend may be the grand opening as I don't want to rush to open this weekend and make any errors. Look forward to a giveaway in the meantime (=

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China Glaze Flirty Tankini

I was so so so excited to get these when they first came out and when I finally got them, I shelved them for a while.  Once I saw them in person I just wasn't about the China Glaze 2012 Summer Neons anymore, even though I bought most of them.  Maybe its the subtle shimmer, or the fact that they're not-so-neon-neons, I'm not sure but I finally decided to wear this one today.

Sunlight

I took some outdoor photos because I was under the impression that I couldn't capture the color as well as I had hoped, but since they're not true and obnoxious neons, I don't think I needed to.

Sunlight

This is three coats of Flirty Tankini over Orly Bonder and sealed with Out the Door.  The formula was OK on this one, not spectacular, a bit thicker than I had anticipated. You can likely get away with two coats and my coats tend to run thin.

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 I really like the color of this one; it does stand out on my nails and it's a lovely color in itself.

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This does try as a somewhat satiny finish.  I determined it not a true neon due to the fact that I was able to photograph it, and these photos are pretty much color accurate.  Additionally, I'm used to a neon polish having zero sparkle and shimmer, the ones from this collection had either shimmer or were jellies.

China Glaze Ride the Waves

This China Glaze is what I was hoping Revlon Royal was going to be.  It's much more sheer, a more layerable jelly if you're trying to make a sandwich.  Royal is more pigmented and for me, hid the the layered affect when I tried.

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This is 3 thin coats of Ride the Waves over Orly Bonder and sealed with Out the Door.  Even at three coats, there is still VNL, which, depending on what you're looking for, can be a good or a bad thing. I preferred the VNL as I have lots of opaque blues.  This one brings something different to the table.

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The formula on this one was really nice, too. Good drying time, decent wear time, etc. No complaints!

Verity Deep Violet Jelly Sandwich

I just finally got a bottle of Verity Deep Violet from Amazon. I had no idea what I was missing! It's the most perfect jelly, I died. I made a jelly sandwich with China Glaze Techno. I couldn't stop looking at my nails all day.

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I did one coat of Orly Bonder, two coats of Deep Violet, one coat of Techno, one coat of Deep Violet and sealed it with Out the Door.

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I haven't loved a mani like this in so long. It looks like the glitter is swimming around on your nail!

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Verity has PERFECT application, the most incredible formula and just is lovely. I'm in love. I can't wait to see what else comes out of this bottle when I sandwich it with other glitters.

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Have you entered my 300th post giveaway yet?

Blank Slate Nails Part I

Blank slate nails! They're like a canvas screaming for some color. I wouldn't wear a regular stark white polish on its own as it looks like White-Out but I would use a stark white for a base for some fun designs!

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This is a blank slate, just screaming for something to be done! I started with Orly Bonder and used 2-3 coats of Sally Hansen Whirlwind White and sealed it with OtD.  Looking at my white nails just gets the gears turning!

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Rainbow zebra stripes? Sure! I used plate BM-223 and a few different colors to do this.  KleanColor Mango, Sally Hansen Lightening,  China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic and KleanColor Bikini Green.  I did diagonal stripes on the plate with the polish to get some more fluidity in the design.

Source

It kind of reminded me of Fruit Stripe Gum. It's obviously not a direct take on it, but it made me feel like Fruit Stripe Gum and Lisa Frank had a party on my nails.

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Overall I think its a sunny, fun, summery mani that doesn't take much effort. I may try this with other full-nail images from my plates. What do you think about it?

Gradient Nails

Soooooooooo I'm not quite sure what is about gradients and my inability to do them nicely, but I pretty much cannot create a subtle effect with multiple colors. Maybe it was my color choice.  After looking at this when I was done, I thought it might've been a better idea to have orange in the middle instead of a pink.  If I did that, maybe the color change would've been more subtle and effective.

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I built this on top of yesterday's Revlon Lemon Fizz manicure - FYI, the bumps are still visible even with all the extra layers of polish.

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I did a layer of Orly Basket Case (one of my favorites!) and then for the darkest color, I used China Glaze Ahoy! Like I said before, I think it would've been more gradual had I done an orange and then maybe Basket Case.  It's a visually rough transition from pink to yellow.

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I added a layer of Sally Hansen Diamonds for extra sparkle and sealed with Brucci Nail Dryer. I mentioned in a previous post that Brucci Nail Dryer is their version of a QDTC but it's not spectacular enough for the $5 price tag. However, I've got it so I'm trying to use it up.

Flash

Summery Funky French

It's almost Memorial Day, which means it's almost June.. which means it's almost summer! And what better way to celebrate that than with an obnoxious funky french?! I went full derp on this one (you NEVER go full derp!)  My sister politely told me it belongs at the Jersey Shore, which at this time of the year, becomes a scary place.

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So for this mani I did things similarly to how I do my regular french manicures, which is applying the color to the bare nail so it is easy to shape it and fix any errors. After the color was on, I applied a coat of Orly Bonder. Then I stamped with WnW Black Creme and I can't remember which Bundle Monster plate (oops), after that I put on another coat of Bonder. I'm not sure if my layering was the best but it worked in this case!

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After the second coat of Bonder, I applied Instant Artificials since the color had left a visible lip/edge sort and was raised a bit compared to the bare nail.  After that dried a little, I sealed it with Out the Door.

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I used China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy for the pink (3 coats), KleanColor Mango for the orange (2 coats) and KleanColor Bikini Green for the green (2 coats).

China Glaze Sea Spray & Funky Fingers Accent Nail

My friend Gaby suggested doing this mani, I'm so glad I did! Instead of gold glitter, though, I used a gold foil. It's so beachy!

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This is two coats of Sea Spray over Orly Bonder and sealed with Sally Hansen Diamond Flash. Which sucks, LOOK at the bubbling. No fan or air was blowing at me when I did my mani, so.. I'll give it one more shot one day, maybe.

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For the accent nail, I used Funky Fingers Down to Earth. This is two coats as well. I really wanted to do white horizontal stripes on the blue nails but they chipped before I had a chance to. Sadface.

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I really loved how this turned out, minus the damn bubbles. Thanks Gaby!