This manicure was very simple to do and I purposely used a sheer red color on top so the layers underneath would show. This added to the plaid effect and gave the mani some dimension.
Yesterday I got my order of Smitten Polish in the mail! I ordered The Ghost of Jupiter and Mother of Dragons. Before I get started, here’s a link to Smitten Polish.
At first glance The Ghost of Jupiter reminds me of a galaxy with its deep navy base and various silver, blue, and gold glitters. Mother of Dragons isn’t quite as in your face but just as appealing. It’s a lot more demure as it is composed of a light beige base with small blue and gold flecks of glitter. Below is a shot of the polish as I received it:
Although I tried both polishes I only took photos of The Ghost of Jupiter. The reason was because although Mother of Dragons looks great, it doesn’t photograph quite as well. Quite frankly because it’s a light color you have to use three or four coats which makes the polish a bit thick and goopy if you don’t do it right. I didn’t want to show bad photos and give the idea that it’s a bad bottle of polish because that isn’t the case, you just have to apply it more carefully than the average polish. Without further ado, here are some swatches:
Doesn’t it look like a solar system with a bunch of planets??
Once again please ignore my cuticles! I am trying to get them in better shape but it’s hard when you’re constantly doing housework, raising a two year old, etc.
Onto OPI’s polish, Don’t Talk Bach to Me. This polish is an extremely fun lime green color that’s perfect for summer. I’ve actually had it for a while but never used it until now. That will probably change though because it’s amazing stuff! It’s a good “go to” color for warmer months. Like all OPI polishes it applies smoothly and you only need two coats.
And just because, here are three of the polishes I’ve made recently 🙂 They were all made from scratch. I’m far from perfecting it but I’m getting better. I especially love the one on the left! The one on the right kind of reminds me of puke though, heh. It looks cool on but I’m not so sure I should have used that khaki yellow color with that specific glitter. Ah well.
Have a great weekend!
Ombre nails are some of the most awesome patterns a person can do. You wouldn’t know it by looking at them but they’re easy to achieve, even for a beginner. In fact, they’re hard to mess up as long as you use the right polishes and good sponges.
Keep on reading for the actual tutorial and tons of photos of other ombre manicures!
It’s safe to say I need to take a break from purchasing polish after yesterday. I did not intend on buying so much but I definitely have an addiction. I don’t want for much and never really go shopping that often but for some reason polish is something I just have to have constantly (maybe because it’s freaking awesome?). Whatever the case I’m fine with it for the most part but when I think about how much money I’ve spent on my 95 bottles it kind of makes my head spin. If you average each bottle out to about $6.50 that’s a total of $617.50, I shit you not. Obviously much of my polish wasn’t purchased within the past few weeks as I’ve been collecting it over the years but still! I had no idea I’d spent so much money on nail lacquer…
Anyway, here’s my haul:
I also got another brand of cuticle remover after reading several good reviews in other blogs. This bottle is huge and it only cost a few bucks but it works extremely well nonetheless. As you can see in the following photos my cuticles were angry looking after I used it and sloughed off all that dead skin (gross…) but they look much better today.
Right now I’m just going to leave you with these swatches but I’ll come back later and edit this post to include actual reviews. I will say both polishes are gorgeous. I had high hopes for the Elle polish too because I paid $10 for each bottle which is probably the most expensive polish I’ve bought thus far. I’m used to seeing $8 for Essie and OPI but not this. Then again I’ve been looking at indie polishes on Etsy and it seems like a popular price for them is $12 a bottle. There seems to be an indie craze going on but I honestly can’t get on that wagon quite yet. I’m just not that in love with most of the polishes I’ve seen thus far. Maybe I need to keep looking around.
Click below for more gorgeous swatches!
Today’s tutorial is called Giddy in Green and has an overall fun, youthful feel. It is easy to do but a bit time-consuming. I have done a few other manicures like this (see tutorial #003) and get faster each time. This particular manicure took me about half an hour from start to finish.
The following items are what you’ll need to achieve this look:
– Sassy by Revlon
– First Mate by China Glaze
– Nicole by O.P.I.’s My Favorite Gold
– Lexington Yellow by NYC
– Silver nail studs
– Any kind of dotting tool (here I have used 12 gauge craft wire that has been cut to reveal flat, circular ends which are perfect for dotting)
– Tweezers (Pictured above is a tweezer/scoop combination that can be found at Michael’s or any other craft store. It is perfect for this manicure because not only can you pick up and place these small beads with ease, you can also use the back of the scoop to tap them which helps set them in place.)
– Q-tips and acetone for corrections (optional)
1.) Paint two coats of your base color and add a quick dry topcoat for optimal dry time.
2.) Take a glob of polish and place it on a piece of paper. Dip your dotting tool into the glob and try a few practice dots on the piece of paper before moving on to your nails. Place one dot at a time on your nails.
3.) Immediately after placing one dot of polish, use your tweezers to pick up a stud and place it in the middle of the dot. If it is not placed perfectly don’t worry. You can always use the tweezers to push it a little in one direction or another to achieve perfect placement. Be sure to do it while the polish is still wet though or else the stud will fall off easily.
4.) Clean your dotting tool off by dipping it in acetone and wiping it with a cotton swab or paper towel.
5.) Using two other colors of nail polish start placing more dots on each nail.
And there you have it! A manicure made of dots and studs in bright, playful colors. Be careful not to bump your nails into anything (use the bathroom before doing your manicure!) because the studs come off easily until they’ve finished setting. It also helps to add a topcoat to sort of seal them into place but this is optional. Be sure to wait to add the topcoat until everything else is dry though because the brush might drag a stud out of place. Fortunately this is easily fixable with tweezers but it might take some polish from your base coat and subsequently require doing the dot (or dots) over again.
I would add a tutorial but it’s pretty self explanatory. Each of these manicures involved Bundle Monster plates and a Konad stamper.
So far I’m pretty happy with everything I ordered. However, as a beginner I was not privy to the fact that using a special polish is best when stamping. Konad apparently makes such a polish and I will be purchasing it soon. Until then I’ve figured out a few tricks to help make the stamping process better:
1. Do it quickly! It seems like “regular” polish dries so fast that it barely transfers (if at all) while stamping unless you do it within a few seconds.
2. Make sure to push down the stamper and roll it around really well so it will pick up the entire design.
3. When applying the stamp to your nail you need to do it in a rolling fashion from one side to the other in order for it to work properly.
Hopefully mine will get better with time and the proper nail polish. I am definitely satisfied though!
First manicure:
Second:
Third (and my personal favorite!):
Rookie Nails 