Nail of the week: Bows and Pinstripes

So sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have been dealing with some health issues and haven't felt up to blogging much. But I'm back today with a simple, fun, and girly manicure, bows and ribbons against a minty green pinstripe background. In case you were wondering why the bows are two different colors, the reason is I ran out of pink paint (sigh). Oddly enough I actually liked the yellow bows better.




Let's get started. The first step was to paint my nails two coats of Essie's "Absolutely Shore"a beautiful sea foam white green color that I have almost used to the last drop.

Essie Nail Polish in "Absolutely shore"

Next, using Orly's "Lucky Duck" , a beautiful cream jade color,  I created an upside down triangle at the top of my nail. The lines don't have to be perfect since you are going to be outlining them in the black.

Sketching in the Details:

1) Using a small size dotting tool, and black acrylic paint I outlined the upside down triangle with two thin lines.

2) Going in with the first color, Essie's "Absolutely Shore", and a small size dotting tool I created thin pinstripes on the triangle.

3) Using our dotting tool again and yellow acrylic paint, I created a slightly wider line underneath the black outline we created in step one to begin creating my ribbon.

4) Allow this to completely dry

5) Go back in with black acrylic paint and small size dotting tool, outline the bottom of the ribbon with two thin lines again.

Creating the Bow:

1) Using your yellow acrylic paint, or the color of your choice, begin sketching in the bow. Draw two horizontal tear drop shapes connecting at the sharp points

2) With the same color paint, make two small lines underneath your tear drop shapes to form the tails of the ribbon. Again it does not have to be perfect since you are going to add the details with the black acrylic paint.

3) Allowed this to completely dry

4) Going in with your black acrylic paint and small size dotting tool again carefully outline around the bow and the two tails underneath.

5) To add additional details, draw a tiny circle in the middle for the center of the bow. Create two thin lines coming out from each side of the center circle. Add some shading along the bottom of the bow to give it more dimension.

6) All you have left to do is apply your topcoat to seal in your design.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design. Thanks for reading!

Pedicure of the week: Coat Azure

This week's pedicure nail art is another easy design that even those new to nail art can achieve. To begin I applied two coats of "Coat Azure" by Essie.

I don't use "Coat Azure" very often, my other Essie polishes get alot more love but I do have a special place in my heart for this one since it was my "something blue" in my wedding that I wore on my toes. Essie is far and away my favorite brand of nail polish. I love the formulation the perfect thin brush with compact bristles and their diverse color selection. Sadly I have not been able to find it for sale in Egypt...yet...the search continues.

I then applied a side swipe with this pretty aqua glitter polish in a blue jelly base. I thought it actually complemented Coat Azure quite well. I don't have a name for this polish, I purchased it on the street here in egypt for about 5EGP ($.75) but any complementing blue glitter would do.

Creating the Details:

1) Using a small size dotting tool and white water based acrylic paint I created a series of dots outlining the glitter side swipe on every nail except the big toe.

2)To create the design on the big toes use your white acrylic paint and dotting tool to make two thin swirls along the edge of the glitter side swipe that meet in the center with the swirls facing away fro each other.

3) Draw a series of dots from the center of the swirls to the other end of the nail.

4) All you have left to do is apply your topcoat to seal in your design and you're finished.

That's it, quick, easy, and eye catching, this design can be achieved in just 20 minutes. Hope you try it out! Thanks for reading and have a great week!

pedicure of the week: bejeweled

Today's pedicure of the week post is a fast and easy design that literally anyone can achieve. Lately I've been really into wearing nail art jewels in various designs on my pedicure, it's almost like built in jewelry. I used an autumn color palette featuring this yellow polish from Sula Cosmetics my hubby bought me from one of the street vendors here in Egypt for about 4EGP (about $.50)

I tried looking up some information on Sula  nail polishes to see if they were available online but all I found was their line of peel off nail polishes. It doesn't matter anyway because I wouldn't recommend this brand at all. This particular color looks quite neon in the bottle but actually comes off as a muted mustard yellow. The pigmentation was very weak and it took a whopping 4 coats to achieve full opacity with no streaking. However the wear time was pretty decent as long as you make sure to use a good topcoat.

How to Apply Nail Art Jewels

1) Make sure your nail polish is still wet

2) Use a tiny drop of your favorite top coat on a spare sheet of paper.

3) Dip into the drop of topcoat with the tip of your small sized dotting tool, 

4) While the tip of the dotting tool is still wet pick up the rhinestones you want to use for your design by lightly touching the tops of the rhinestones with the tip of the dotting tool.

5) Place the rhinestone carefully on the nail, making sure to not slide the jewel around or it will smudge the polish. Keep applying the rhinestones until you have achieved your desired pattern. For this design I used 1mm size rhinestones, 3 mm size rhinestones, and square rhinestones to create the pattern on my nail.

6) When you are satisfied with the pattern you must make sure to apply a thick topcoat over the rhinestones being sure to coat the top and the sides of the jewel(preferably a fast dry brand) or they will come off in a day or two.

Thanks for Reading! 

Nail of the week: Rubies, leopard, and flowers...oh my!

This week's nail art design is very simple and easy to achieve. I started out with my absolute go to color combination this month. Orly's "Sheer Nude" layered under Icing's "glimmer girl" This combination creates the most beautiful golden nude color to use as a base for french manicures.

icing "glimmer girl"

Orly "sheer nude"

For the next step I used a "frankenpolish", aka one I mixed myself, to create a pinkish nude shimmery camel color. I created a french manicure tip with this color bringing the sides down low to create a more elongated smile line.

Creating the Leopard Print:
1) Using a small size dotting tool and light brown acrylic paint I created a series of dots in different sizes along just the tip of the french manicure I created.

2) Then using black acrylic paint and the same small size dotting tool I carefully outlined each of my brown dots in a parenthesis ( ) like shape. This does not have to be perfect, in fact the more imperfect it is the more realistic the leopard pattern will be.

3) To add dimension add a few random splotchy dots around the spots you made in step two. Again it does not have to be precise or perfect.

4) Then using the same black acrylic paint I carefully outlined the leopard print tip.

After allowing this to completely dry I applied my favorite topcoat and added one 3mm size ruby to the bottoms of all of my nails except the thumbs. Click here for my short how to on apply nail art jewels

Creating the Red Flowers
1) Using my same small size dotting tool and red acrylic paint and created a series of five dotted flowers in different sizes along the side of your nail.

2) While the paint is still wet, lightly dip the dotting tool in the middle of each dot and pull upward to create an almond shape. Each tip of the almond shapes should be facing outwards.

3) After the flowers were completely dry I apply topcoat and added 1mm size rhinestones to the center of the flowers.

4) Using the same technique we used in step 2 to create the flower petals, and green acrylic paint I created leaves around the flower design.

5) Apply a thick top coat to seal in and protect your design.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Nail of the Week: Green Glitter Swirl

This week I went for a design I did many moons ago that IMO is simple yet elegant. It was inspired by one of my all time favorites Love4nails. For the base color I reached for my go to color combination this month, Orly's "sheer nude", click here to purchase the perfect beige foundation color, and Icings "Glimmer girl" layered over the top to create a nude with a beautiful gold sheen.

Orly "sheer nude"

Icing "Glimmer Girl"

For the next step I used a lovely duochrome polish by the turkish brand Flormar I bought in one of the malls here in Egypt to create a french manicure. This color didnt have a name but it is a beautiful greenish blue duochrome with just the slightest tinge of purple. It applied much more smoothly then alot of duochromes in my experience which tend to be very streaky. It also was one of the few duochromes in my experience who didnt lose the duochrome effect when applied to the nail and flash either one color or another. Flormar polishes are 20 EGP (about $2.75) which I thought was very reasonable priced. I would be willing to try more of this brand. click here to check out their website.

.

Next I used a small size dotting tool to create the green swirl down the side of the nail leaving one side of the duochrome french manicure exposed and finishing off the colors in a swirl at the bottom of the nail. For the color combination I used Orly's "lucky duck" a bright cream jade green polish click here to purchase and a densely packed medium green no name glitter polish in a clear base by Sula, a street brand here in egypt.

Orly "Lucky Duck"

The last step is just to apply your topcoat to seal in the design. I hope you try out this design it is fun and easy yet elegant. Thanks for reading! have a great week.

Nail of the Week: Good as Gold

For this week's manicure I began by reaching for....you guessed it "sheer nude" by Orly. I have featured this color in my last three nail of the week posts, can you tell I love it? This design was inspired by cherrynails another of my favorite nail artists. Nude colors are very easily dupable but to me the difference is the formula, this polish is not sheer or streaky like so many nude polishes from other brands. It has been my go to without a doubt lately and I have a feeling you may see it a few more times in future posts :)  I started out with two coats of this color as my base.

Next I added one thin coat of this gold glimmer topcoat from Icing called "glimmer girl". It is not a glitter polish but its more of a "sheen polish". This is definitely not one of those polishes that is meant to be worn on its own, it is far too sheer, but layered over the right color it adds a beautiful golden sheen. I have raved about Icing brand polishes quite a bit on this blog so you should be familiar with them if you are a regular here. I think quality wise they can easily match up to any of the high end brands and at $4.50 a bottle it certainly beats any of them when it comes to price. Icing polishes can be found in most local malls in the Icing stores.

Next I took my all time favorite gold glitter polish, also by Icing, called Gold dust, and created a thick vertical stripe down the middle of each of my nails. This is one of the most opaque glitter polishes ive ever seen and only requires two coats for full coverage. It is comprised of tiny microglitters in gold,silver, and tiny hints of red. I will be so sad when this polish runs out!! As you can see from the bottle its been VERY well loved.

Icing "gold dust"

As I write this post featuring three very well loved polishes in my collection im reminded how often I hear ;people say that they rarely (if ever) use up an entire bottle of nail polish either because it gets too gloopy and unusable or they just have too many in their collection. While I do have a very small and tidy nail polish collection these days I have had as many as 150 I believe and I still managed to use up many a bottle. Of course it helps that I have very long nails but I also am very judicious with my nail polish thinner that I purchase from Sally's the minute I see a nail polish start to get thick or gloopy I apply ten drops and the polish is good as new again. But I think the main thing I do that helps me use up my polish faster is I always do nail art and always do a design that features at least 2,3, sometimes 4 different polishes at once. Thats my tip for using up polish if you have a rather large and unruly collection :)

I finished up the design by using black water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. I drew two thin parallel lines on either side of my vertical glitter stripe and then created swirls of an alternating starting point down the vertical stripe. I finished off by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in and protect my design. And thats the finished look, fun easy, and elegant. Why not give it a try? Thanks for reading!! Have a great week

Nail of the week: Ruby Red French Manicure

Im back this week with another Tartofraises's inspired design. I love the drama and elegance of this manicure with hand painted embellishments. To begin this design I applied two thin coats of "sheer nude" by Orly. This has definitely been one of my current favorites and I have pretty much worn it continuously since I purchased it a few weeks ago. The best thing about this fleshy nude is the formulation. The majority of nudes in my experience tend to apply so streaky on the nail that you have to apply at least 3-4 coats in order to achieve full opacity. But this lovely Orly shade needs just two thin coats to apply totally opaque and streak free. The only downside is it is on the thicker side so use a light hand when applying.Click here to purchase.

I applied the french manicure with my all time favorite red. Essie "lollipop" which is a bright fire engine movie star red. This polish ( as with most Essie polishes) applies like a dream and is totally opaque in two coats. Essie is my favorite brand because of the smooth, thin (but not watery) formula that self levels on the nail and also because of its thin brush that allows you to paint the polish precisely and accurately on the nail. I wish you could get Essie in Egypt!! :( click here to purchase this color.

I applied topcoat and added a 3 mm size ruby red rhinestone. I buy all my nail art supplies on Ebay quite cheaply (usually from china or hong kong) Some of you might hesitate ordering from an overseas seller but ive NEVER had a problem.
click here to purchase nail art rhinestone wheel

I applied one thin coat of another nail polish that has been my go to recently, "night in vegas" by Essence, which is an exact dupe of Essie Shine of the times. Im almost out of this stuff. Sad!!

For the hand painted accents I used white water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. Since some of the details are quite small and precisely painted I used a few drops of water to thin down the paint to a water consistency so I could achieve thinner lines.

I finished up by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in and protect my design. I hope you enjoyed this week's nail art design. Thanks for reading!!