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

Loaded Gradient

In a desperate attempt to make up for all the days without having my nails done, I did a gradient, glitter, and rhinestones manicure. I don't usually have so many things going on at the same time, but I do love it!

I used Ciaté Speed Dial, Dangerous Affair, and Cabaret, OPI Pirouette My Whistle, and Cina Rhinestones.

In case the pictures don't really show it well, it goes from orangey-red, to red, to purple.

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

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

Sweet Summer Gradient

This has become one of my most beloved manicures. Sadly, I smudged almost every finger the same day I did it but at least I got this photo before that happened.

For the base I used Ulta Sun-Sational (You remember that gorgeous cheery yellow I'm sure.), SinfulColors Hazard, and Orly Butterflies for the gradient and then Cina orange rhinestones.

I did take me a while to blend all of the colors together and my best tip is to be patient. Also, someone on Instagram asked me how I was able to use Orly Butterflies because it is so sheer. Well the answer is that I just went over it two-three times to really make the colors pop.

I have a little gradient tutorial and there are lots of YouTube videos for gradients as well.

Rainbow Streaks

To create these Rainbow Streaks, I used Julep Kate as the white base. (I'll post my swatch of that later.)

Pink: Orly Butterflies
Orange: SinfulColors Hazard
Yellow: Ulta Sun-Sational
Green: Ulta Limelght
Blue: Ulta Blue Streak
Purple: Ulta Duty Free Shopping Spree

The bottom two pictures show the finished product with Nicole by OPI Here Kim's the Sun on the tips and Cina rhinestones.

Here are my nails right after I painted all of the Rainbow Streaks. (No top coat.)

From left to right, top to bottom: 1. Paint your base color. 2. Using a small nail art brush, paint your pink streak(s). 3. Paint your orange streak(s). 4. Paint your yellow streak(s). Mine are hard to see in this picture because the yellow is on the side. 5-7. Continue on with streaks of green, blue, and purple. The last picture shows the manicure after I added a glitter coat to the tips and rhinestones on my ring finger.

I love the way the very edge looks.

Concert Nails!

My fiancé bought Foster the People concert tickets. It was great! Kimbra opened and Foster the People started with my favorite song of theirs.

I did this manicure to match my concert outfit. I immediately regretted adding the Cina Rhinestones but was too tired to redo the nail. I loved the gradient though. I used Orly Sweet Peacock and OPI Clubbing Til Sunrise.

Rhinestones for My Mom

I used China Glaze Sex on the Beach and Cina Rhinestones on my mom's nails.

With Flash

In Indoor Lighting

Cupcakes - Poll Winner

I always wanted to try out the cupcake look. This was much harder than I had expected but well worth the time. I think they are so cute! I used Grace Advantage French Beige, OPI Pink-ing of You, Essie Turquoise & Caicos, Lapiz of Luxury, and Blanc, and Ulta Duty Free Shopping Spree along with Cina rhinestones and Recollections microbeads for chocolate sprinkles on my ring finger.

Grace Advantage French Beige was used a a base for the whole nail. Grace Advantage is a smaller brand and their polishes are salicylate, formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, and dibutylpthalate free. The formula was sheer, as it should be, but was a little streaky with two coats.

Pictured with Essie Blanc

Pictured with OPI Pink-ing of Your

Pictured with Essie Lapiz of Luxury

From left to right, top to bottom: 1. Paint a sheer base color and, once dry, paint 1/3 from the tip of your nail up with a color (pink). 2. Using a thin brush, paint stripes on the pink using a different color (purple). 3. Paint a strip of white right above the pink and purple. Use your nail polish brush to round the white polish to try to match the curve of your cuticle. Then, with a dotting tool or round end of a small makeup or paint brush, drag some of the white polish onto the pink and purple stripes. 4. With a dotting tool, make your sprinkles and add a rhinestones on top.