Day 17: Studs

Can this work please? I used Essie Midnight Cami, Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors, and a little piece of broken jewelry I saved for crafts...or this.  
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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 11: Pastel

I used OPI Pink-ing of You for the base, Essie In the Cab-ana and L'Oréal Royalty Reinvented for the polka dots, and Orly Instant Artist Crisp White for the stripe. I applied Ciaté Cutie Pie (a light, sheer pink) over the entire design to soften the colors.

February Day 9: Hearts

Apparently some of my favorite manicure ideas only pop into my head when I only have 30 minutes to create the look and no time for it to dry.

For these contrasting hearts I used Essie Splash of Grenadine and Marshmallow, Ulta Blue Streak and Sun-Sational, L'Oréal New Money and Crazy fro Chic, SinfulColors Hazard, and Orly Instant Artist Jet Black.

February Day 7: XOXO

L'Oréal Not a Cloud in Sight, Orly Instant Artist Crisp White, and Essie Matte About You were used to  create this look.

I'm not crazy about this look since writing with nail polish is a struggle for me, but at least I was able to fulfill this day of the challenge.

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.

Twinsie Galaxy Nails

My sister and I did Twinsie Galaxy Nails recently and I loved the outcome.

I used Essie Licorice and Turquoise & Caicos, SinfulColors Snow the White, Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac, and Nicole by OPI Here Kim's the Sun.

Splash It! Art

So I have some catching up to do since my last post...in September. This manicure actually was the result of doing my nails in a hotel room in New York after a day of plane, train, subway, and bus travel. I needed my nails to look nice for my long weekend trip, but I was way too tired to do any design that required a steady hand. Thus this pain splatter look was born!

For the base I used Essie Cab-ana, then I used cling/saran wrap to dab on Essie Splash of Grenadine, L'Oréal New Money and Members Only. I added Sally Hansen Snow Globe for a nice iridescent glitter effect.

Glitter-licious, It's Hot Hot

Matte Glitter? Yes please. I used my favorite black polish for the base, Essie Licorice. Then it was a combo of Milani Teal and Hot Pink glitter topped off with Essie Matte About You top coat to finish off this look.

Blue Barbie

This was my manicure from the past weekend. I felt very Barbie-esque for some reason. Maybe it was the pink glitter and the light teal-ish blue color. Whatever it was, I loved it!

I used Essie Cab-ana, Revlon Whimsical, and Cina rhinestons

A Girl Watches Monsters University and then Does Her Nails

I was encouraged by my cousin, Julia Mendoza,  to do my nails and start posting!

I guess I was subconsciously influenced by watching Monsters University because one of my followers pointed out that it kind of looked inspired by the movie.

I used L'Oréal New Money (pictured) for the gradient base and the swirls Essie Cab-ana for the second color in the gradient and base for the ring finger and Splash of Grenadine to finish off the gradient.

This is what happens when Mike and Sully are smushed together with a touch of Celia Mae on the ring finger.

Chevron Contrast

Someone how my only two chevron manicures look the same. Search "chevron" for an earlier attempt at this style.

I used SinfulColors Pink Forever, Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors, and Ulta Blue Streak for this version. 

I know the tips turned out super thick. Lesson learned: give polish at least a few minutes to dry before adding another layer. 

Autism Awareness Month 2013

As you know, April is Autism Awareness Month. I did this manicure a few days back but have been slacking when it comes to updating my blog. I'm working on improving that. :)

More importantly:
A dear friend of mine's son was recently diagnosed with mild autism, so this is for her and her family.

I used Essie Marshmallow as the base with L'Oréal Not a Cloud in Sight, SinfulColors Why Not, and Ulta Blue Streak for the gradient. I added Ciaté Glass Slipper for sparkle and Milani Silver for the glitter placement heart.

Like my most recent gradient post, I used a white polish as the base (Essie Marshmallow) so that the colors would pop without me having to put tons of layers of blue on.

Wondering how I did the glitter placement? I used Milani Silver because it has large glitter in a clear polish. I just dabbed the polish on a piece of kitchen foil (so it wouldn't dry too fast) and used a dotting tool to pick up individual glitter pieces to make the heart.

A Cotton Candy Fairy Tale rendered in Pastels

What is this? Pastel gradient? Cotton Candy gradient? Fairy-tale gradient? Can it be all three please?

I used Essie Marshmallow as the base and then SinfulColors Cinderella, Glass Pink, and Mint Apple for the gradient. I added OPI Pirouette My Whistle for an even softer/fairy-like look. 

I've gotten some questions on how I do gradients and, personally, it depends on what colors and formulas are involved. For example, since each polish (the blue, pink, and green) is really sheer, I used one coat of white (Essie Marshmallow) for a base so that the finish manicure would be solid (no visible nail line) and would not interfere with the actual gradient colors. 

I'm going to be trying to describe how I do each gradient from here on out.

L'Oréal Not a Cloud in Sight

Not a Cloud in Sight is a bright and sheer cream polish. I needed to paint three thin coats to cover any streaky areas. My bottle was very "fluid" which I guess is better than a thick polish, but when I painted just my nail, it would run onto my cuticles.

Oh well, this is three coats with no top coat.

Sponge and Microbead It Up!

I was inspired by Tamara on ohtammm's Instagram page for the gradient/sponging technique and color combo, Sammy from The Nailasaurus Blog for the microbead use, and "Higasaurus" here on Instagram for combing both elements. Check those gorgeous gals out! 

I used Essie Marshmallow as the base for the middle and ring fingers with SinfulColors Pink Forever, Hazard, Why Not, Ulta Sun-Sational and Duty Free Shopping Spree sponged over that white base. Then my index and pinky finger is SinfulColors Why Not with silver Recollections Microbeads. It's all topped off with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

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.

Cotton Candy Reminiscent

I finally got some real inspiration for a manicure. I dreamt I was wearing this combo so I had to recreate it, and I'm happy to say it turned out as planned. With a gradient that contains all of the colors of cotton candy I have ever consumed and delicate sparkles and glitter I couldn't stop staring. I used OPI Pink-ing of You, Ciaté Headliner, Ulta Duty Free Shopping Spree, and OPI Pirouette My Whistle.

Stripe Bright

I used eight different colors to achieve this multi-stripe mani. I used SinfulColors Pink Forever and Hazard, Ulta Sun-Sational, Ciaté Mojito, Headliner, Cookies and Cream and Twilight, and Barielle Grape Escape.

I just applied each line with a thin nail art brush.

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.