Category: Quo by Orly

Posted on

Out of this world Galaxy Nails–with a bonus tutorial!

IMG_1891

After being inspired by two of my fellow nail art girlies on Instagram (mymintnails and banulovesnailpolish) the other day, I was in the mood for Galaxy nails. The last time I did them was in April during the early weeks of this blog, and I hadn’t tried them since so it felt like a good time.

IMG_1893

 

IMG_1892

 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!?
  • Unnamed Blue Joe Fresh Metallic Polish I got as part of their holiday collection this season.
  • LA Splash Heiress.
  • LA Splash Glitz & Berry.
  • LA Splash Maroon.
  • Quo by ORLY Trashy Glam.
  • ACO by Ardene Showtime.
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust.
  • Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat.

I’m seriously so happy with how my galaxies turned out. I’ve done galaxy nails a couple of times now, and always get frustrated by the fact I don’t find they look very Space-y. However thanks to using ACO by Ardene’s Showtime for glitter placement (the stars) and China Glaze’s Fairy Dust I managed to create my very own galaxies on my nails.

And I thought since I’m trying to create more tutorials I would share my steps for creating this manicure. I know everyone has their own way of creating galaxy nails, these are just the steps I took for the above manicure.

 

IMG_1895

  1. Paint all nails black (OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!?) and apply quick dry top coat.
  2. While that is drying, applying OPI Glitter Off Base Coat around cuticle area. I do this to keep the sponging I do when creating gradients and other like manicures off my fingers and minimize clean up.
  3. Sponge on first colour (the unnamed Blue Joe Fresh polish with shimmer.) Depending on how sheer the polish is, you may have to sponge a couple times to be able to see the polish.
  4. Continue sponging using a variety of other colours. I try to keep my sponging in a line so you get that galaxy look. I also will apply some polishes thicker than others, or just sponge small spots so that it’s not too heavy handed.
  5. Using a dotting tool, place stars in random places on nail. (ACO by Ardene Showtime.) I also used some of the bigger glitters in Showtime for along the sponging.
  6. Apply a coat (or two) of Fairy Dust over everything. Then, after a couple minutes apply your top coat to seal everything in. Once that’s dry, you’ll be able to peel off your protective layer around your cuticles, and clean up what you might have missed around your cuticles.

And tada! You now possess galaxies on your finger tips. Galaxies are one of the easiest nail art designs you can probably do because they can be done with pretty much any polish, at any level, in whatever style you want! And the plus side is–it’s almost impossible to screw them up.

IMG_1896

 

In case you’re interested, my ring is courtesy of Kristalized_Designs on Instagram (who also happens to be my sister!) She designed two gorgeous midi-rings for me, and is going to be designing a little something special for an upcoming giveaway I’m going to be holding. She’s in the process of getting her Etsy page up and going, but you should definitely check out her page for a sneak peak at her designs. Everything is hand made and one of a kind (there is even a picture of her making the above ring.)

 

So what do you think of these galaxy nails?

Posted on

Gold Chevron Moons with OPI DS Extravagance.

This past weekend, the boyfriend took me away for a special birthday weekend away to Lunenberg. I decided a special romantic weekend away deserved special nails. For my birthday last week, the only thing I truly asked for was OPI DS Extravagance which is a purply pink polish with a scattered holo. I’ve been coveting this polish for quite a long time, so when my Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday it was the only thing I asked for.

IMG_08271

 

I started off by painting my nails with OPI DS Extravagance. There are a million awesome things I could say about this polish but I think pictures speak for themselves. After my base color had dried, I freehanded chevron moons with Quo by Orly Trashy Glam (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite gold polishes).  Finally, I outlined my chevron moons with my black LA Colors Art Deco Striper in Black to crisp up the lines then applied Essie Good to Go Top Coat to finish. And tada!

 

They were the perfect nails for my special birthday weekend away. =) I loved them so much–so much so I kept them on a full 3 days which is not something I often do with manicures.

IMG_08341

IMG_08571

IMG_08721

So what do you think of these Chevron Moons? I’m so obsessed with them lately! I’m also really proud of how much cleaner my lines are starting to get. This time last year, I never could have freehanded lines that clean so I’m really proud of that fact. Practice really does make perfect.

 

What do you think of my Chevron Moons? What’s your current manicure obsession? I really need to get started on some Halloween inspired nails since Halloween is quickly approaching. =)

Have a great day lovelies!

Posted on

Glitter Gradient featuring Essie’s The Girls are Out.

IMG-20140905-02295_1409929165024_n

 

Oh wow, we were having some seriously warm weather last week–a full Summer flashback even though it’s now September. I felt like doing something a little brighter on my nails, so decided to go with a glitter gradient as not only are they fairly easy, they’re also quick (but totally gorgeous.)

 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essie The Girls are Out.
  • Color Institute unnamed gold polish.
  • Color Institute unnamed gold glitter polish.
  • Quo by ORLY Gold Rush Sparkle.
  • Nutra Nail Quick Dry Top Coat.

IMG-20140905-02298_1409929195464_n

IMG-20140905-02299_1409929235242_n

 

Check out the holo bar glitter in Quo by ORLY Gold Rush Sparkle! Holy Moly–it’s another one of the mini polishes the boyfriend got me last Christmas as part of the holiday pack, and I’m still discovering how pretty these polishes are! I’m not usually a fan of bar glitters, but in Gold Rush Sparkle they’re more of an accent than front and center so I definitely love.

 

IMG-20140905-02301_1409929292505_n

IMG-20140905-02306_1409929349573_n

 

IMG-20140905-02309_1410110223332_n

 

So what do you think of this glitter gradient?

Posted on

Chasing Waterfalls… again.

Today’s manicure is almost kind of aredo to one I did a few months back. I really love the look of waterfall manicures, and so the other night when I was struggling with nail art ideas I decided why not create another one. I had already painted my nails using Revlon’s I’m Electro, which is a beautiful blue duocrome from the Amazing Spiderman 2 collection, so I grab a bunch of my blue polishes and went to work.

IMG-20140825-02108_1408969217617_n

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Revlon I’m Electro — base color.
  • Revlon Superpowered.
  • Icing Starlight.
  • Sinful Colors Hip to Be Square.
  • Art Club Nail Art Duo in Baby Blue
  • Quo by ORLY Falling Star.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

IMG-20140825-02107_1408969091083_n

Pretty, aren’t they. I wasn’t quite happy with my waterfall nails the last time I attempted them–and with a couple tweeks I think I’ve made a vast improvement. It doesn’t hurt my nails have quite a bit more length to them now, as opposed to last time. I think using a darker base color (but not too dark) also helped make them pop as well.  =)

IMG-20140825-02109_1408984143369_n

 

So is anyone else as excited as me about Starbucks releasing their Pumpkin Spice Latte’s today. You apparently need a special code to unlock the drink, so I’ve got mine already to go. I have a Halifax Adventure day planned with my best friend, which always means COFFEE! We’re going to soak in the last of Summer before he goes back to finish his degree and it gets too chilly for our adventuring.

Posted on

Swatch Post: Quo by Orly Sailor’s Blue.

quobyorly

It’s been a while since I shared a swatch of a polish with you, so I thought today would be a good day. Back at Christmas, the boyfriend bought me the QUO by ORLY 18 pack holiday collection of nail polish. It was actually a big surprised, because I think I had only mentioned to him once how much I wanted it, in passing, while we were at Shoppers. This polish–called Sailor’s Blue–comes from that holiday pack.

Sailor’s Blue is a thin sheer blue polish with a duocrome shimmer that flashes pink. The polish is thin–thin enough that I had to apply it over some dark undies (Maybelline Color Show in Sapphire Siren). Thankfully though, the pink shine scattered through out is not hidden–if anything it pops more! I wish that the weather had been more agreeable yesterday so I could have shown off the duocrome effect–it came through a little bit, but the sunshine wasn’t agreeing with me. Never the less, I managed to capture the pink a little bit (second photo down.)

quobyorly2

quobyorly3

quobyorly4

Now I haven’t seen Sailor’s Blue in the regular collection of Quo polishes at Shoppers, so I’m not sure if it’s still available. But if you have the chance to find this beauty,  I recommend it. It’s definitely the perfect color for fall. Deep, rich, and jewel toned.

 

minihaul

Also, I picked up some new polishes the other day (thank you, payday) so expect to see these new polishes in upcoming posts. Chatter’s had their China Glaze on sale Buy 2 get 1 free… how could I say no? Oh yeah… I couldn’t. Haha. =) So keep your eyes out for these beauties coming up. =)