Freehand, and sort of abstract, chevrons/zigzags.

After my successful chevron moon manicure last week, I wanted to try another chevron manicure as I haven’t done very many in the past. I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest, and figured with my new small detail nail art brush, I could make a good attempt at freehand chevrons.

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Left hand.

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Right hand.

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.
  • ACO by Ardene Neon Pink.
  • Maybelline Sapphire Siren.
  • Sinful Colors Be Happy.
  • China Glaze What a Pansy.
  • Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat.

I’m calling these abstract because… well… they’re not the cleanest lines. Surprisingly, my right hand turned out better than my left, which is funny because it was done using my none dominant hand! Never the less, I’m proud of how they look! When I first started doing nail art, I never would have been able to create something like this without it turning into a big blobby mess. It’s nice to remember that on days when I see others nail art and feel envious that I’m not that good… all it takes is lots practice.

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Seeing these, I feel so proud of being able to create these freehand. For real first attempt, I think I did pretty good. And the colors just look so great together! This is also giving me an urge to do a “then and now” nail art post, just to show myself how far I’ve come from my first days of doing my nails, to now. It would be fun to recreate my first nail art attempts, just for a personal comparison. Maybe that’s what I’ll dedicate next week to. =)

 

A Peek into My Stash — Part Two.

Today I have for you the second part of my stash posts. After this, I’ll only have one more drawer of my five to photograph. Even though it’s been a bit of work taking pictures of everything, and writing them down, I’m really glad that I have. Now, whenever I’m feeling nail art, I’ll know exactly what polishes I have to work with!
And now onto the polishes…

Continue reading “A Peek into My Stash — Part Two.”

More gradient fun!

The other day my friend Jenn came over, and let me do her nails. We had talked about it in advance, and she told me she wanted me to create something “professional but fun”. In the end we decided to go with a gradient. I haven’t done a lot of manicures and nail art on other people–with the exception of my roommate. But it was really fun to do, and she really liked them so I was glad.

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For this manicure, I used Rimmel’s Reggae Splash as my base color, and China Glaze Thataway as my tip color. They two really compliment each other, I think–and Thataway has a very subtle shimmer in it which gives it a little extra something. I’m really glad she liked them, because I really love how they turned out. It was a little weird doing someone else’s nails, if only because her nail beds are so tiny! But I think this was definitely a nail art success.

Back to Bright.

One slightly subdued manicure, and I’m already back to the bright colors. I just can’t escape them. The calender says it’s almost Summer–even if the weather won’t agree–and my mind instantly craves anything bright.

Today’s mani came as a result of having no idea what I wanted to wear on my nails. After spending 20 minutes going through my stash, plagued with indecision, I finally decided on China Glaze’s Metro Pollen-tin from the Spring collection, with ACO by Ardene in Hot Tamale on my pinky. Originally I was just going to do a simple polka dot accent nail, but as you can see once I started with the dots…. I just couldn’t stop! They even spread to my thumb!

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Unfortunately I used way too many polishes on my accent nails to remember them off the top of my head. However, the main polishes I used were China Glaze’s Metro Pollen-tin and ACO by Ardene Hot Tamale which has to be one of my favorite pinky-corals. In person, it is much more neon but still manages to apply in two slightly thick coats. It was my go-to color last Summer, and I have a feeling this Summer will be no different.

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So many colors!

“You’re the boss, applesauce.” Andy Warhol inspired nails.

I’ve been all about the floral lately. I found these Andy Warhol inspired nails on Pinterest, and knew I had to recreate them. A few years ago, I was completely obsessed with everything Warhol related–I even had a pair of Levi’s from their Warhol collection. So I knew I had to create my own version of those flower nails.

Surprisingly, they were really easy to create.

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First, I painted my nails with a base color of green. I used Sinful Colors Strapped. It’s a dark Forrest green, which dries to a Matte finish.

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Next, I created my “grass” using the dry brush technique with a collection of other green colors: ACO by Ardene in Sour Apple, ACO by Ardene in Green Peace and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Kiwi Bikini.

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After my grass was complete, I created my floral using a medium sized dotting tool and my four colors: Essence Love Letter’s collection in Rosy in Love (light pink flowers), China Glaze in Metro Pollen-tin (yellow flowers), ACO by Ardene in Lollipop Queen (purple flowers), and Revlon in Siren (orange flowers).

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Finally, I finished off with a layer of Sally Hansen Diamond Flash (yey! I finally have a new bottle and am so happy) and tada! Andy Warhol inspired floral nail art.

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And in the sunshine. =)

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So what do you think of these Andy Warhol nails? Did I do justice to my original inspiration?