February Day 14: Match OOTD

My outfit for February 14 was pretty boring because I just went to the doctor and work that Friday. This manicure matches my outfit for Saturday, February 15th, which was a blue skirt with white pin stripes, a red top, and my black bead necklace.

So, to match my outfit, I used Ciaté Power Dressing, Seche Warm Hearted, Essie Licorice and Marshmallow, and Orly Instant Artist Crisp White with Butter London Nail Foundation as the nude color on my index finger.

February Day 4: Polka Dots

Please pardon the dot smears - that's what I get for doing this in 30 minutes (including top coat). Please pardon the glare - it was cloudy and rainy when I took this photo.

I used Essie Bond With Whomever and Licorice, L'Oréal New Money, Orly Instant Artist Jet Black, and Seche Warm Hearted.

A Meandering Mess of Polka Dots

....I was just letting my creativity run free. Some of the dots actually turned into migrating dots I guess. I used L'Oréal Crazy for Chic, New Money, and Not a Cloud in Sight and Ulta Blue Streak.

Another Crazy Retro Pattern

I was experimenting with some different manicures I could make using the same colors. This somewhat retro pattern was a result of that and has been used as a guest post on one blog already.

I used L'Oréal New Money, Essie Bond With Whomever, Barielle Love, and Orly Instant Artist Jet Black.

Vintage Dotticure

I forgot to post this happy little dotticure when I did it. I used L'Oréal New Money and Essie Bond With Whomever for the base and Barrielle Love, a sheer pearl white, for the dots.

Summer Thoughts

The brightness of Essie Peach Daiquiri is almost neon and certainly is uplifting, and the contrast of Beyond Cozy glams up this look.

May's Purple Thursday Week 1

So I had exactly 20 minutes to come up with a manicure idea, shape my nails, paint, and photograph them today. So this is what I came up with and execution was rushed, but I'll be improving every week.

I used Essie Splash of Grenadine and Ciaté Magic Carpet as the base and Essie Bond With Whomever,  L'Oréal Royalty Reinvented, and Barielle Grape Escape as the polka dots flower/star bursts.

A Full-On Dotticure

I was inspired by Lucy at Lucy's Stash for this dotticure. I couldn't get the vibrant purples to correctly show up although I tried several poses and lighting arrangements. The base is Barielle Grape Escape and the polka dots are SinfulColors Mint Apple and Pink Forever, OPI Pink-ing of You, and Essie Licorice. 

I did the same design on both of my hands. You can see my dominant right hand at the bottom of the page. I thought it turned out pretty well...especially since it got so repetitive.

Left Hand - Indoor Lighting

Left Hand - Indoor Lighting

Left Hand - Natural Light

Right Hand - Natural Light

Abstract and Warhol Inspired

Polka dots and flowers that ended up looking like anemones. It feels very vintage and cutesy to me. Someone commented on Instagram that they were reminded of Andy Warhol's art when they saw this photo. I used Ulta Blue Streak, Julep Kate, SinfulColors Pink Forever and Hazard, and Orly Instant Artist Jet Black.

Classy Stripes and Dots

I was inspired by @cynfulnails on Instagram and Sammy at her blog here. For my middle and ring finger, I painted two coats of Butter London Nail Foundation, let it dry, applied stripes of nail tape, painted over the whole nail with Essie Licorice, and then pulled the nail tape off gently while the polish was still wet. For my index and pinky fingers, I used Barielle Love for the base (it is a pearly white) and Essie Licorice for the polka dots.

Electric Blue Combo

One of my favorite things to do when it comes to nail art is combining two designs. For this manicure, I did a gradient and polka dots. I used my Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors base with Essie Butler Please as the gradient, then I added silver polka dots...which blended in with Smoke and Mirrors as I got closer to the cuticle.

Bows and Polka Dots

A friend of mine loves Hello Kitty and asked me to do a Hello Kitty manicure. She showed me a pic of it, but I don't know who originally did that manicure. All the nails, except the accent nail, were very much like my version of it. Unfortunately, I can't draw to save my life. So I tried to do Hello Kitty's bow instead of drawing her. I think my right hand turned our better but figured I would post both...it was my first time doing bows and this tutorial by The Daily Polish was really helpful.

I used SinfulColors Pink Forever, Orly Instant Artist Crisp White and Jet Black, Julep Kate, and, for the bow only, OPI Pink-ing of You and Nicole by OPI Here Kim's the Sun.

Left Hand

Right Hand

Crazy Cute Mix and Match

For this Mix and Match mani, I was inspired by Adventure Time, Domo, cupcakes, and color. Typically Mix and Match style is not one I would wear but it's perfect for those times when you want an overload of cuteness and when you are going to California Adventure, like I am today! If you have any questions about the design please feel free to ask me in the comment section below.

Here is a list of all the polishes used:
Elle Riviera Blue
Essie Licorice
Julep Kate and Sophie
OPI Pink-ing of You, Passion, I'm Not Really a Waitress, and Purple With a Purpose
Orly Instant Artist Jet Black and Crisp White
SinfulColors Hazard, Pink Forever, and Nirvana
Ulta Sun-Sational, Limelight, Blue Streak, Duty Free Shopping Spree

For the glitter gradient on my right middle finger, I used Essie A Cut Above and Milani Teal and Hot Pink

Left Hand

Left Hand

Right Hand

Right Hand

Minnie Mouse Inspired

For a recent trip to Disneyland and California Adventure I borrowed my sister's shirt and that, along with the work of @ohtammm on Instagram, inspired my Minnie Mouse nail design.

The design is the same on both hands but just showed my non-dominant hand.
Thumb: SinfulColors Pink Forever with Orly Instant Artist Crisp White
Index: Julep Kate and I dipped a straw into Essie Licorice, SinfulColors Pink Forever, and Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors for the abstract design.
Middle: SinfulColors Pink Forever with OPI Pink-ing of You polka dots, Essie Licorice for Minnie Mouse silhouette, Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors for the bow, and a single pink glitter from Milani Hot Pink.
Ring: Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors.
Pinky: SinfulColors Pink Forever with Julep Kate and Essie Licorice polka dots.

Natural Lighting

Here is the shirt that inspired the design and my sister's Minnie Mouse Ears. (Indoor Lighting.)

Mini Interlocking Dots

Using an Interlocking Dot tutorial by @slacquerr on Instagram, I tried out this popular nail design. I modified it a little bit into what I am calling "Mini Interlocking Dots" and could not get enough of it. I was remarkably time consuming but not really complicated. It is important to have a good dotting tool so that the dots are uniform.

I used Essie Turquoise & Caicos and Lapiz of Luxury.

I would love to do this manicure again in all types of combinations. In fact, I just thought up one right now. Stay tuned!

I did the regular-sized interlocking dots on my thumbs so here is a comparison.

Paris Inspired Bridal Shower

I recently went to a Paris themed bridal shower so I decided to paint my nails to fit the occasion.

On both my thumbs I painted a pink base (Essie Delicacy) and three lines of black polka dots (Essie Licorice).

Left Hand: Essie Delicacy as the base. Index Finger: OPI Pirouette My Whistle; Middle: Julep Kate; Ring: Orly Instant Artist Jet Black; Pinky: Julep Kate.

Right Hand: Essie Delicacy as the base except for my ring finger. Index Finger: OPI Pirouette My Whistle; Middle: Julep Kate; Ring: Base is Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors and Cina sqaure rhinestones; Pinkie: Julep Kate.

Left Hand

Right Hand and Thumb

Vintage Polka Dots

Here I used Ulta Cream of the Crop as the base and OPI Pedal Faster Suzi! as the polka dots. Then I added Essie A Cut Above for a gradient glitter tip.

Poll Winner - Cherries

The Cherry design was the recent poll winner, and when the time came for me to do the design, I realized I didn't have a true green for the leaves. The color I used is more of a dark sea green.

To start off, I used Essie Blanc and OPI Pink-ing of You for the base.

Then I used OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress and a large dotting tool (really it was the end of a eyeliner makeup brush) to make the cherries, Orly Instant Artist Jet Back for the stems, SinfulColors Rise and Shine for the leaves, and Essie Blanc with a small dotting tool for the polka dots on the thumb and with a small paint brush for the little shine on the cherries.

Minnie and Mickey Mouse Inspired

My sister saw a manicure she wanted me to replicate for our trip to Disneyland and California Adventure today. I really need to practice my freehand drawing. The only difference from the original manicure she showed me is that the ring finger had a white Mickey Mouse glove. I wasn't about to paint white over that dark color in case I messed up, so my sis said it was ok to do dots. They match her cute shirt too. (It's white with black polka dots, a black bib neckline, and a pink strip at the hem.)

I used Nicole by OPI Here Kim's the Sun, OPI Lincoln Park After Dark and I'm Not Really a Waitress, ChinaGlaze Love Marilyn, and Essie Blanc. The thumb is a red tip with a black bow that has a white center.

Balloons or Lollipops?

This is an older manicure that has so many colors I can't remember them all.