week 12: Inspired by Song (Oh Christmas Tree!)

Happy Holidays everyone! It’s week 12 of the 52 week challenge and the theme is Inspired by a song. I ingeniously used “Oh Christmas Tree” so I could do some cute Xmas nails! Here are my Oh Christmas Trees including a step by step.

FYI all the polishes are from the OPI Skyfall Collection that my wonderful boyfriend got me for Christmas :) (even the 18k gold flake one!).

Step 1: paint all the nails red! This is The Spy Who Loved Me.

Step 2: tape triangles on a few nails. I did the ring and index finger with the tree facing away from me and the thumb finger with the tree facing towards me. Its just easier to display that way.

Step 3: Paint the green trees and remove tape quickly! This green is Live and Let Die.

Step 4: Golden accents! This gold is Goldeneye I used my mini dotter tool to make a star and a few ornaments. The star at the top was really not as complicated as I thought it was going to be. I just started with a large dot of gold polish in the center of the tree tip, then dragged it straight up. Then I did that 4 more times for the other points of the star. When you drag the polish, do this lightly to avoid digging into the existing polish.

 

Step 5: Purple and red ornaments! The purple is Tomorrow Never Dies and the red is The Spy Who Love Me again (base coat polish).

 

Step 6: Then, to add some extra fancy flare, I painted on some 18k gold flakes on my non Christmas tree nails! This is The Man With the Golden Gun.

 

So, there you have it. Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree, how cute are you on my nails!?!

week 4: GRADIENT

Week 4 of the 52 week challenge is here and the theme is Gradient or Ombre nails!! This is good explanation on the difference between Gradient, Ombre, and Skittle techniques (when talking about nails). I decided to conquer gradient nails this week. For months, gradient nails have been my archenemy. For some reason, I just could not get this technique to work. I have tried MULTIPLE times and things just were not working out for me. However, I finally got some results! I tweaked a few things in what I was doing and switched the kind of sponge I was using. Tips for best results are at the bottom of this post. Here was my final look:

Colors I used (from left to right): No Plain Jane by China Glaze (Base Coat), Good as Gold by Essie, and Swing Baby by China Glaze (accent color dabbed on top of the tips)

Tips:

-          Here is a good video (The Polished Mommy) to show the technique I did for Gradient nails.

-          Make sure the sponge is saturated to the max! If it is not super saturated you will get a bubbly texture that looks too spongy. However, in the opposite direction if the polish is not soaked into the sponge (just sitting on top), it will not blend well and you will have a hard line between your colors.

      Here is what my sponge looked like ( the sparkly color on the right is Swing Baby which I dabbed on the tips of my nails for a little sparkle)

-          Keep your polishes open so you can quickly saturate the sponge with your gradient colors in between rolls.

-          If you use a sheer polish make sure it is the same as your base coat. In the video in the first tip, she uses black for a base coat. This only worked because her top/gradient polishes were opaque. The purple I used for this look was very sheer, so I made sure to use the purple as my base coat as well.

-          Layer your “rolls” of the sponge so the line between the colors doesn’t always match up.  This helps you have more of a gradient and less of an immediate change between the colors.

-          If the sponge you’re using isn’t working for you, try a different one. The old brand of sponge I tried was making my look to bumpy and bubbly. These sponges worked out well for me.

-          Cut the sponge in half to conserve sponges!

-          For skin clean up, use a plastic cup cut off filled with polish remover and an eyeliner brush. Dip your brush in the polish remover and wipe on a paper towel in between cleaning of the finger. (after you use an eyeliner brush for polish remover, do not use it for your face again)

 TA DA!!!! I’m so happy it finally turned out good!



week 1= TAPING

WEEK 1 of the 52 WEEK CHALLENGE!!

So the first week started this Monday (10/1) and the theme is TAPING! I have done this technique here and here on this blog before. I liked my splatter nails from the weekend SO much that I couldn't part with them just yet. Sooooo I just used them as the base :)

First I taped up my nails. I didnt really use any sort of pattern. Just did one strip of tape on each nail. Made the strips pretty thick so you could see the splatter design. Sorry the tape is kind of hard to see...

Then I painted on the gold color(Go for the Gold by Essie) that I used for the splatter.

Here is the final pic:

So here is a quick list of TIPS FOR TAPING that I have learned along the way:

1. Your base coat must be COMPLETELY dry. Otherwise it will be picked up by the tape when it is removed.

2. If you are worried about the base coat coming off with the tape, stick the tape once on your skin before applying it to the nail. This will make it less sticky, but hopefully still sticky enough to stay on your nail.

3. Remove the tape as soon as you paint on top of it. I usually tape one whole hand, paint one nail, remove tape, paint one nail, remove tape... etc. Then repeat with the other hand.

4. Make the lighter color the base color and the darker color the top coat. If you want the top color a light color you have to make sure it is opaque. You can't really wait for 3 coats to dry to take off the tape.

5. If you are using thin strips of tape, try to pre-cut them before applying. It is quite difficult to use a scissors with taped nails :) Below is how I had the stripes laid out for this one. I cut more than 10 just in case I didn't like some of the sizes.

So there you have it. Quick tips to taping and the start of a year of fun nails weekly!!

Technique: Splatter Nails

So this was my first try at splatter nails. I used this tutorial, so I am just going to do a quick summary of what I learned while trying this technique.

I started with a dark purple base coat (2 coats). This one is No More Film by Essie. (I just love Essie polishes so much!) It looks almost black, but I wanted a good contrast with the splatter so this was perfect.

Below is a pic of my set up. (The gold is Good as Gold by Essie). Basically I just used a plastic straw cut in half (you have more control over the straw if it is short) and a dime/nickel size amount of polish on a plastic plate. You really need a good amount of polish to dip the straw in for this to work. I had to keep replenishing my pile of polish throughout the splattering process.

So instead of going into detail about the process (tutorial is linked at the top) I will just point out some things I learned from doing this the first time…

The below order of operations worked best for me:

1.  Paint all nails with base color. 
2.  Tape around nails of one hand. One tape on bottom, 2 on sides.

3. Splatter with other color. (Good as Gold by Essie)

4.  Splatter lightly with base color. (No More Film by Essie)
5.  Carefully take off tape.
6.  While waiting for first hand to dry, clean up polish on skin with brush/Q-tip and nail polish remover.
7.  Repeat steps 2-6 on other hand.

Some Tips:

- TAPE AROUND YOUR NAILS FIRST. Below, pic A shows how bad the splatter gets all over your hands without tape. Pic B shows how much nicer it was pre-cleanup.

pic A: after splatter (no tape)

 pic B: after tape, pre-cleanup

- You need a layer of polish at the bottom of the straw for the splatter to work. If you are blowing through the straw and no polish is coming out, then you probably need more polish in your dipping pile. The polish will only splatter out of the straw if the hole of the straw is completely covered in polish. The below pics show what will and will not work.

- Don’t blow to close to the nail. The end of your straw should be about 5 or 6 inches from your nail. If the straw is too close you will just get a big blob of polish.

- Use contrasting colors. You can even use multiple colors instead of just 2, but I think a really dark and fairly light combo looks best!

So there you have it. I am just in LOVE with this look! Definitely will do this technique again!

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: 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!”

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).