week 3: REDDIT!

This is a little late since it is already week 4 of the 52 week challenge… but better late than never! I actually did paint these on last week for week 3; I just delayed doing a post about them. The theme last week was inspired be Reddit. So for my design I did my interpretation of the Reddit alien. Ended up being pretty fun and easy nail art. So here it is! I’ll do a post about week 4 in a little bit.

Technique: Missoni Gradient

This Technique was inspired by the Missoni Print. Below is a swatch of Missoni pattern for reference. My rendition almost looks a little easter egg-ish, but oh well!

For my base, I started out with thisa yummy yellow-green color (Fiercely Fiona by OPI).

then I did my first zig-zagged line as close to the top as a could. Almost like a zig-zag french! For all the lined detail I used a Nail Art Polish called "Magical Nail" by max Makeup Cherimoya. You can get like 12 of them for $15 on amazon. This one is Lavender.

Next color I used was Miss Sergeant. This one I tried to draw as close to the first line as I could, bit still leaving some space between.

Next, I used Blood Diamond. This one is much more spread out.

And lastly, to make it look more like a gradient, I filled in the yellow triangles on my nail tips with this blue color, Neon Aqua.

Tada! My try at a Missoni Gradient. I think if I do this again, I will try using tan as the base color and try to make the zig-zag more vertical. Then maybe it would look less easter eggy haha.

Technique: lace + mint

So a couple months ago, I kind of just gave up on blogging. I was being way too much of a perfectionist about it and wouldn’t post nails/pics unless they were flawless. It started to get really frustrating and time consuming; not at all what I started the blog for in the first place. However, I recently came across reddit.com/r/RedditLaqueristas and instantly became inspired. The positivity and enthusiasm on the site has motivated me to keep polishing and keep blogging- sans perfection. So who cares if I couldn’t perfect this next technique. At least I gave it a shot :)

So this technique is supposed to look like a corner of lace.. but I did it quite fast so it didn’t turn out the best. I actually think I should have stopped after the first set of dotting but it still looks pretty, even if you can’t tell its lace.

I started with 2 coats of this pretty mint polish (Re-Fresh Mint by China Glaze). I’ve noticed that for mint polishes they always look a little darker on your nails than in the bottle. So when picking out a mint, pick a little lighter shade than you want. This one almost looks pastel blue in the bottle, but is a perfect mint on my nails.

For the start of my accents (only did 3 nails each hand) I made a little cloud looking shape in the corner of my nails. I used a French manicure pen for this because I felt it gave me more control for the half circles than a brush would. I had to color the clouds in twice because the French manicure polish in the pen is pretty thin.

Next, to give it more of a frayed lace look, I dotted around the edges of these little humps. I’m thinking this step could be skipped if you use a color other than blue for your base coat. I did this to make it look less like clouds and more like lace.

For the next step of the lace look, I used a dotting tool. I’ve heard of some people also using pins stuck in erasers, works the same I would assume. Basically, I started by putting 3 small dots under each “hump”.  I think this is enough to make it look like lace, but I was feelin’ fancy so I added some more dots and hearts.

Here is the final look with a coat of Seche Vite. I planned on adding a matte coat, but I did a top coat of Seche Vite first to level out the dots/designs. At the top is the final look with the matte coat. I think the matte made it look more like lace, but the shinny coat looks nice too!

Yay for polishing and posting again!! I’m excited :)

Technique: Feathers

It makes me sooo sad that I only posted once in May and this is my first June post! Must be the wonderful Chicagoland weather now. It's too nice to stay inside and blog!

Well here is a pretty fabulous and fairly easy technique. Try it on one nail each hand if you don't have that much confidence in your nail art skills. I did all 10, but that's because I have this great nail art polish (STRIPE RITE by So Easy) and it was a piece of cake!

Here's the color I used for the base. Pink Friday by OPI:

And here is the steps I used to make the feather. First was the stem, one simple swoop. Then branches on each side of the stem (step 2 and 3). Then the last step I lightly filled in the branges with more feathers. Real thin wispy lines. Just blend them together a little. Ta da! feathers.  

And as you can see in the finished photo on top that I alternated where the feather was on the nail. It made it more fun and interesting.

Happy Polishing!

<3 La

Critique: Nail Art Tools

This critique was made for all you nail art lovers that haven’t been having any luck with it. I am providing my knowledge on the 4 nail art tools that I have tried so far. I have them listed from best to worst (also left to right in the above picture).

1. Double up Detailing/Dotting Nail Brush by So Easy- $5.50

I got this double-ended nail brush from Sally Beauty online. One side is for making perfect dots and the other end is the nail brush. This seems like a deal to me for $5. The best part about buying a brush is that you can use it with annnnny polish you want. All you do is drop a few dots of nail polish on a napkin or paper and dip the brush in. You do have to re-dip pretty often though to get a good line. When you’re done all you do is swish it around in some nail polish remover and wipe with a paper towel.  Only draw back is that it isn’t as is of a line as I’d like. But you could always buy thinner nail art brushes! I am even thinking of cutting a few bristles from this brush to make it thinner.

SUMMARY: Unlimited polish color possibilities, double ended, only have to pay $5 once.

2. Stripe Rite Polish by So Easy (.25oz) - $4

This guy really almost ties for first with the nail brush. This polish is super easy to use, draws very thin lines, and gives you a lot of polish for the price it is. Only reason it falls under the above brush is because you have to buy a new Stripe Rite polish every time you need a different color. What I would do is buy this polish in the staple colors that you know your going to use more than once (i.e. white, black, silver, gold). Then for any other color use the nail brush above. These can also be bought at Sally Beauty.

SUMMARY: great control, great value, 30+ colors

3. Nail Art Pen by Salley Hansen (.067oz)- $7

Obviously this pen is the worst value (least amount of polish, highest price). However, It does have some things going for it. First of all is convenience. I am sure you all have seen these pens at Walgreens or Target etc... So this is probably the most popular for nail art right now. Normally, I would definitely tell you to only go with the first two choices for nail art, however this pen is very easy to use/control. If your not the most artistic person in the world, then this would be a good choice for you. Especially if you only want to do a couple nail art dots or stripes every once and a while.

SUMMARY: worst value, easiest control, very convienent, only 11 colors

4. Nail Art Pen by Cina (.16oz)- $6

This pen pretty much stinks. The whole point of a nail art pen is that it can draw thin lines. This pen drew just about as thick as a regular nail polish brush... Sooo no point. Just as expensive as a polish and not useful as a nail art tool. Waste of $6! Oh well, learned my lesson.

SUMMARY: Too thick of lines, horrible value, just don’t buy it haha.

Technique: Argyle Tips

 This technique is a modern take on a classic pattern. The best part is... it’s pretty easy and doesn’t take long to do. Argyle is a cute preppy pattern, but also very detailed and usually needs to be perfect to look good. These tips only use a tiny portion of the pattern so it isn’t difficult at all!

The first step was obvi the base coat. I used a very sheer pink. I needed 4 coats of this pale pink Essie polish to get the color I wanted. I let this dry a loooong time before I did the next step.

Next was the taping! Since this is a look for your tips I had to be careful not to do a half and half diagonal. To do this I made sure that the tapes did not go corner to corner, but a little but higher than that. To the left is the diagonal tips in Mod Square by Essie (my favvvv pink right now).

Lastly was the dots in the opposite direction. The polish I used was Essie in Mint Candy Apple. I used a dotting tool for these diagonal dots so it was pretty easy. If you don't have a dotting tool you can use a pin head or bobby pin. Seche Vite top coat then I was done!

Below is the final look! I just looooove this look and I will most definitely wear it again!

|La

Technique: Moon Phases

Phases of the Moon

This look was inspired by the phases of the moon. It was actually quite simple. The only difficult part was making my right hand’s “moons” look symmetrical to my left.

First step was the shinny color for the moon. I think a silver, gold or grey would look good for this. The color I used was China Glaze in “Swing Baby”. It’s a light gold with a pale pink tint to it. VERY pretty. I wore this one by itself for a day before I did my moon phases just because I liked the color so much. To the left is this base coat, 2 coats.

Next was taping. As always, nails have to be COMPLETELY dry before taping. I used French tip tapes for this look. On the left, starting with the pinky (1) I gradually tapped less to more of my nail. Nails 1, 2, and 3 I used the bottom of the arc as a guide. For nails 4 and 5 I wanted the moon to be mostly full, so I used the top of the arc as a guide. It was difficult because you have to think in negative space. Remember, you cover with the tape is what will be showing when your done.

I used a solid black paint for the shadow on the moons. This one is Beguiling Black by Maybelline express finish. I have a step by step of what the painting looks like below. Tape all nails on one hand first. Then paint and remove tape immediately one nail at a time.

And just as an afterthought I added a stripe of silver in between the moon and the shadow. Here is what it looks like below.

Mooooon Shadow Moon shadow =]

| La

Technique: Crosshatched Tips

This technique was pretty darn simple. All you need is a nail art brush or polish. Here I used a Stripe Rite polish because its very easy to use and I had it in the color I wanted. I am sooo excited to see The Hunger Games tonight so I HAD to use another Hunger Games polish (last one I swear! Haha)

Below is the polish I used for the base coat. It is China Glaze in Agro. I did two coats.

I used a Metallic Gold Stripe Rite Polish for the cross hatch because the Agro polish had an obvious gold sparkle to it, I knew it would look great together. If you don’t have a nail art polish or a nail art brush you can just use a teeny tiny paint brush and dip it in nail polish. However I recommend one of the first two options because they are easier to control/use. You can get both at Sally Beauty supply.

To the left is a picture of the first step to the crosshatch. First I did a diagonal swipe of lines a couple millimeters apart. I did this on all ten nails in one direction. Be careful not to extend to the halfway point of the nail because then it stops looking like a tip design. I did these lines quickly and carefree. You want the lines to be a little messy. Straight lines would be boring ;-)

Next, I did the same process in the opposite diagonal. To the left is after the second crosshatch (I know, great pic quality!). The key to a good cross hatch is some thicker lines and some lighter and thinner lines.

Below is the final look! Soooo easy and so stylish. Happy Polishing!

<3 La

Technique: Easy Burberry

I didn't start this blog to just show off nail art that I do. I really wanted to make a blog that was helpful to anyone that could use tips for nail styles you could do yourself. So the point of this technique is to try and make something difficult more simple. I have seen a million versions of the Burberry plaid on nails. They all look so intricate! So here is a step by step instruction on an easier variation of the Burberry plaid design.

1. I started with a tan/beige base. The one I used is just a cheapo nail polish from a clothing store. I did three coats to get a solid, even color.

2. Next I used a white polish to make a horizontal stripe. I tried to make it thick and only the width of the nail polish brush to make it one easy swipe. I really didn't worry about making the lines straight because I knew I was going to outline it in the next step. Made it a little faster/easier. The polish I used here is Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in "White On."

3. Step three.. the black stripes. I used a Sally Hansen nail art pen. I tried to make the lines as straight as I could. Have to make sure the pen is always very saturated with polish.

4. Lastly I wanted to switch it up a bit, so I used hot pink instead of burgundy. Much more me :). So first I did two verticle stripes closer to the left side of my nail. Then I did one horizontal towards the bottom of my nail. Quite simple. Here I used Stripe Rite polish in Hot Pink.

 So, there you have it. Still takes a little skill, but a much easier and less detailed version of the Burberry plaid!

Technique: The Mocking Jay

Okay, so I know The Hunger Games Trilogy was written for teenagers, but I read all three and completely loved them (and I happen to know many other young adults enjoyed them). Not to mention that the trilogy is ranked top 1, 2, and 3 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list .  I’m so excited for the movie to come out March 23! 

Even better news: China Glaze just came out with a whole collection dedicated to The Hunger Games. A pic of the colors is to the left. The ones I had to have were “Harvest Moon”, “Agro”, and “Smoke and Ashes”. I really want more though! Luxe and Lush looks gorggggggeous.

The first one I wanted to try was “Harvest Moon” and I decided to attempt a little Mocking Jay symbol on one of my nails. Didn’t turn out the greatest, but I thought I’d share anyway!  

Below shows the steps I took to make the Mocking Jay symbol. I wish I would have stopped at step 4 because I almost like the look of it not filled in better. Oh well! PS. wow I need a better camera... the quality of these pics is awful.

So here is the final look. I used a gold Stripe Rite Polish to make the mocking jay. It was fairly easy to use and I love the gold color. 

 I am definitely going to use this “Harvest Moon” color a lot! To the left is just the polish on my nails. It’s such a pretty bronze color. Definitely can’t use it with black though because it looks way to Halloweeny. More Hunger Games looks to come I’m sure!

If you try a Mocking Jay symbol on your nails... 

“Good Luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!”