Week 8: Cling Wrap Technique

This week is week 8 of the 52 week challenge and the theme is Saran/cling wrap technique. If you've never heard of it before it is pretty simple... I'll list the basic steps with additional tips to this technique are at the bottom of the post. In my opinion this technique is easy to do, but it is difficult to get colors that look good using this technique. Some combos can look just messy or dirty.


Base Color used: Champagne Toast by Sally Hansen

Basic steps:
1. Paint base color. 
2. Paint second polish on.
3. Dab crumpled cling wrap on nail.  

Second color used: No Plain Jane by China Glaze.

Tips:
- Let base coat(s) dry completely on all nails before you move on to steps 2 and 3.
- Do NOT let second polish color dry before moving to step 3. Do step 3 almost immediately after step 2.
- Do steps 2 and 3 on each nail right after another.
- Crumple up the cling wrap as tight as you can so you get a wrinkled surface like this.

- Your second polish must be a thick polish that doesn't dry two quickly. This technique only works if you can successfully pick up the second color with the cling wrap ball, and still get some to stay on the nail.
- Final and MOST IMPORTANT TIP: only dab the cling wrap 2-3 times. You want a nice balance of the two colors and more dabs will pick up too much of the second color and distort the design.

Overall, it took me a few tries to get colors that I liked together. I think I really only like metallic colors with this look. I tried solid grey and it just wasn't happenin.. looked too dirty and like I messed up. Here's one more pic with day light.

week 6: inspired by a game

Week 6 of the 52 Week Challenge theme is “Inspired by a Game". I couldn’t think of a good idea for the life of me and then I looked at my desk and saw my Rubik’s cube. Not really sure it is considers a game, but I love playing/sloving it :) My best solve time is 1:26. I had to paint it with nail polish because I used it so many times and the colors were wearing off. Anyways, so that was my inspiration!

Here is my left hand with the first two colors.

Here’s the added blue. I just took my time and did it freehand, but you could also use tape for straighter lines.

Then I used a black nail art polish to do black lines separating the colors.

Here’s the steps to the Rubik’s cube I did on my thumb with the black nail art polish.

Here is the right hand with the orange, white and green polish. Turned out pretty good I think!

These are the colors I used. From left to right they are:

Pull Over by Sinful Colors, Why Not by Sinful Colors, Lacquered Up by Essie, Limelight by Ulta, White On by Sally Hansen, and Orange, It’s Obvious! by Essie.

Technique: Summer Stripes

These fancy stripes are such a fun summer look! They take a little bit of time, but they are worth it. I’ve gotten tons of complements since I did these nails.

These fancy stripes are such a fun summer look! They take a little bit of time, but they are worth it. I’ve gotten tons of complements since I did these nails.

The way I usually do taping is to tape one whole hand first. I suggest taping your least dominant hand first because your second hand will have to be done with wet nails. 

After your taping is done on your one hand, start with the painting. Before you start, Set up your bottles on a paper towel opened and in the order you want to use them. This way you can paint and remove tape quickly. 

Colors I used (left to right): Fly by OPI, Fiercely Fiona by OPI, and Orange, It's Obvious! by Essie

Paint one nail at a time, and remove the tape immediately after taping. Below is the first painted nail before the tape is removed. Try to not run the paint into each other so your brush colors don’t mix.

Don’t forget to finish with a good topcoat! Don’t want all your hard work to chip right away. Make sure your nails are dry before you apply topcoat.

Good luck and happy summer times ;)

Technique: Diagonal 2-tone

I got the idea for diagonal 2-toned tips look from one of my good friends Kaci’s stylish nails. A picture of the nails she did is to the left. She did a diagonal two tone with nude and black on the ring finger. I thought this look would look awesome on all my nails so I tried it out...

Since I am obsessed with glitter polishes lately I used a glitter instead of a solid as my tip color. The colors I used... Base: “Violet Vixen” by L’Oréal Paris. Tip: Gem Crush in “Big Money” by Sally Hansen.

Other great color combos would be:

- light color base, darker variation of same color as the tip.

Example: base= pale blue, tip=navy

Or...........base= pale pink, tip=bright red

- neutral color base, black or dark brown or dark grey tip

            Example: base=nude, tip= black (like Kaci’s nails!)

- bright and light base, brighter and darker tip.

Example: base=neon yellow, tip= hot pink.

Or.......... base=neon orange, tip=lime green.

 I started with the base color I new I wanted (Violet Vixen) and painted all 10 nails that color. Then I tried the diagonal tip on just one nail to make sure I liked the color and made sure it turned out opaque enough to cover the base color. That’s why all my above combo’s have the lighter color for the base... you want to make sure your tip color completely masks the base color. The glitter polish I used was very thick and I wanted it to completely mask the violet... which it did!

So then I moved on to tape all my nails with clear scotch tape (above). It was useful to use this kind of tape because you can see if the tape is rising up anywhere on the nail.. you dont want your tip polish to bleed under the tape! For the most part I tried to leave a little more space for the violet.. I thought it would look nice if the diagonal was closer to the top so it looks more like a tip accent then half and half. I thought half and half might be a little overwhelming on all my nails with that much glitter :) 

Dont forget to angle your right hand the opposite direction of your left hand! It looks more symmetrical that way. Above is my right hand after I painted on the Gem Crush polish.

 Now comes the tricky part: peeling off the tape. I would recommend doing this right after you paint the tips on one hand... This way you can fix up your messes right away because the polish is still moldable. In the second picture on the left I am using a nail art stick, but I found that even a light press of my finger worked just as well. As you can see in the top picture the tip polish fans up a little bit right where the tape was.. If you just tap it down with your finger it flattens out and looks great!

So here is the order of how I did this, it worked out pretty easy with no mess ups this way:

    1.     Paint all 10 nails the base color. Let dry COMPLETELY. Optional: one coat of quick dry topcoat.

    2.     Tape one finger and test out tip color.

    3.     If you like it, tape the rest of the fingers on that hand and paint on the tip color.

    4.     Remove tape and press down mess ups, one finger at a time.

    5.     Paint on a thick, clear top coat and let dry.

    6.     Repeat steps 3-5 on other hand.

 Violà !  Here’s a final look at the tilted 2-tone tip technique (say that 5 times fast haha).

Tip: Pearlescent nails

I gotta say, this is the coolest top coat I have ever come across. This sparkly clear polish makes any pastel polish look like a pearl! The polish is called Diamond Strength No Chip Color in “Diamonds” by Sally Hansen. And the best part is, you don’t need a topcoat when you use it because it’s basically clear and it’s a No Chip polish.

Here I tried it out on 5 different pastel colors. I just picked some of the pastels I had in my collection. Here we’ve got an ivory, a light grey, pale pink, mint green, and lavender. Colors 1, 3, and 5 needed a coat of French white underneath to get the color I was goin’ for (otherwise they were too shear).

I really wish that I could have photographed this in the daylight because this photo really doesn’t do it justice! I mean you can’t even see how awesome the ivory looks... so much like a pearl! This topcoat really does make a polish look pearlescent, not just sparkly. But this is the best I could photograph at night J didn’t want to go all day at work with multicolored nails haha.

I decided to go for the light grey color for all my nails. The color is “Cocktail Ring” by Essie. I really loved all the colors, but I thought this one looked really unique with the Diamonds topcoat. Not quite like a silver/chrome, but still with a metallic sparkle. I couldn’t help looking at my pearly nails all day!

Tip: The French Tip

For my first “Tip” post I thought it would be fitting to write about everyone’s favorite nail tip- the French of course!

My secret is the Sally Hansen French Manicure pen. SIDENOTE: I feel like I have been writing a lot about SH, but they really do have so many great nail accessories ;). This pen can be great if you know how to use it!

The first tip for these perfect tips: make sure the pen is very saturated. This is important because you don’t want to have to do a second coat- that can get super messy and ruin your first coat (cue enormous frustration). To make sure the pen is saturated, press the pen down firmly on a paper towel for about 2-3 seconds. If it looks too saturated (polish is dripping off the tip) then just lightly dab (don’t wipe) the pen tip on a paper towel.

Second French tip tip: start at the corners of the nail and work towards the middle. When I do this I don’t worry about getting some polish on my skin. It comes off pretty easily and it is only on the top. My main concern is always getting a straight line that looks the closest to what my real nail underneath looks like. I usually don’t like filling in more white polish than the white of the nail. However, if I have one stubborn nail that is a little shorter, I tend to go a little lower with the polish so it looks even with the others.

Third tip: Use a nail care stick to fix your mistakes. First, the pointed end can be used for straightening your French lines like in the pic to the left. I usually do this step immediately after each nail. If you wait to long, the polish dries and then smudges or drags the polish when you try to fix your mistake. Secondly, the beveled/angled end of the stick is perfect for getting smudges on your skin, like the pic below. I usually do this after I complete one hand. If the polish is dry you can always use a Q-tip dipped in polish remover.

Finally I usually finish my French tip with a light pink. Only with one coat though because I don’t what the color to interfere with the bright white French tip. Here I used Step Right Up! by OPI. This pink actually looks less pink and more like natural nail.

Yay for less frustrating French Tips!!!

Technique: My take on DOTS

dot, dot, dot...

I just did these bold and bright nails yesterday. I was trying to think of something original that would catch your eye. Surprisingly this look came out just how I was picturing it in my head, well close at least... I was picturing a close up of an old style comic. My boyfriend says it reminds him more of a rubber duck and bubbles… either way I think its fun!

Colors used: Pull Over by Sinful Colors, and Nail Art Pen in Bright Blue by Sally Hansen.

I am officially in love with this nail art pen. It was soooo easy to use, even on my right hand! It wasn’t gloppy and it has a very pointy tip ideal for any type of design you can think of! Just try to think outside the box (and not use the tacky designs on this box haha)

Now, everyone can make a dot..  I'm sure you all have seen dotted manicures or even experimented a little yourself. However, starting with larger circles and reducing to small dots like this makes a gradient effect that looks 10 times more stylish, and just as simple with the nail art pen. 

I didn’t look up comic pictures until after I was done with the nails.. I guess it doesn’t really look the same *tear* but it's around the same idea haha. I definitely want these nail pens in every color so I think I might try something more like this pixilated pic soon ;)

<3 Lala

Critique: Polish Strips

My Thoughts on Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

Personally, I have mixed feelings on these guys. In my opinion, it is a waste of money to pay 8 dollars for 1 manicure that lasts about a week. When the average bottle of nail polish is about $8, contains about 40 2-coat manicures, and lasts at least 5 days with a good top coat, doesn't this seem like the better choice?
  
With that said, I did try them (in "Laced-up", pic below), but only because a kind stranger claimed they lasted for over a week without chipping. First of all, she was either lying or very dainty because mine yielded chips the very next day. Some even started to peal off entirely. However, they really weren't that hard to apply and they did look quite fabulous for the first day ;).

 

Advice for use: I think if you really want have fun with these (and get your money's worth), buy one of the fancy designs and apply these the day of some event that you know you are going to ahead of time. i.e. New Years, a birthday party, a dance etc... That way you can coordinate with your outfit and hopefully you will have a chip free manicure all night =). I would also suggest finishing with a no chip top coat.

link to Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips

Technique: Snowy Sparkle Tips

Snowy Sparkle Tips

In honor of the first snow fall of winter, I am making my first post my snow flake inspired sparkle nails. I used Sally Hansen Gem Crush. This is a new line by Sally Hansen that I absolutely loveeee because it has two different colors and sizes of glitter in it. It's great for pairing with alike colors or mixing with other glitter polishes. The color I used here is 01 Showgirl Chic, on top of a french tip white. 

Technique: I started with two coats of the white polish and made sure to let that dry well, so it doesn't blend with the glitter nail polish. Then I put a good amount of the Gem Crush polish on the tip of the nail. With the tip of the polish brush I dragged some of the Gem Crush down from the tip to make it look like the glitter was fading into the white part of the nail. Lastly I finsihed with a good clear top coat. I noticed that sparkle polish chips a lot easier than regular polish so definitely dont forget the top coat!