Tag Archives: Nail Art

Nail Art: Essie No Place Like Chrome + Neon Polka Dots

Posted on May 5, 2013 by | 7 Comments

Essie No Place Like Chrome + Neon Polka DotsI don’t even know where to start with this manicure!

Charlotte has been having a bit of season confusion recently. It’s supposed to be spring but it feels more like fall. It was a gloomy, cool day which seemed like a perfect opportunity to spend some time doing a crazy manicure.

I’ve been wanting to use Essie No Place Like Chrome as the base for a polka dot manicure for a while. So I applied No Place Like Chrome and was kind of unsure where this manicure was going. I decided to do something subtle so I added white polka dots. As it turned out I didn’t really like the result (there is a picture of that manicure below the jump). Instead of starting over I decided to make the polka dots neon.

And this is where this manicure went a little crazy. I couldn’t decide on one neon polish to use so I used 5 different polishes. There was no rhyme or reason to where I placed each color apart from the middle line of polka dots were a different color on each nail.

The end result was fun, and I liked it. But it’s certainly not a look for everyone!

Below the jump are additional swatches of my crazy mani plus a list of all the polishes I used.

Alli

 

Continue reading →

About these ads

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged ,

Nail Art: Small Metallic Polka Dots

Posted on May 3, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Small Metallic Polka Dots 3I found myself with an unusual nail dilemma last weekend. I had to attend a wedding and the Charlotte Symphony on the same day. This meant I needed a manicure that was both wedding and symphony appropriate.

The dress I finally found that was appropriate for both events was a magenta/fuchsia color so I wanted to go with a (mostly) neutral nail. Metallics are definitely my favorite way to rock a neutral manicure so I went with my most recent metallic discovery; JulieG Liquid Metal. I wanted to do an accent nail and thought a navy polish would compliment the rose gold. butter LONDON Royal Navy was the perfect choice! I added the tiny polka dots using a toothpick. It worked wonderfully.

Like the last metallic polka dot manicure I did, I fell in love with this manicure. It was perfect for both the wedding and the symphony. I even wore it through the weekend (including a marathon cooking session).

Make sure to check out the additional swatches below the jump!

Alli

Continue reading →

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged , , ,

Nail Art: Textured Polka Dots

Posted on April 26, 2013 by | 9 Comments

Textured Polka Dot Nail ArtEver since textured polish has taken the nail polish world by storm I’ve been wanting to try to do textured polka dots. I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work or if it would work at all. Turns out it worked though definitely takes a little bit more effort than your normal polka dots.

The base polish is Revlon Eclectic (which is not my favorite formula wise but I do think it is a lovely color). I thought a bright pink would contrast the pale green nicely so I used China Glaze Bump & Grind for my textured polka dots.

The key to getting enough of the texture onto the nails is to do 2 layers of polka dots and be very patient as far as drying time goes. The texture comes out more and more as it dries. My polka dots needed a good 10 minutes before the texture fully developed.

I’m not sure this is something I would do often but it was fun for a change!

As always there are more swatches below the jump :)

Alli

 

Continue reading →

→ 9 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged , , ,

Nail Art: Temporary Tattoo Nail Art (+ why Auburn’s Toomers Oaks aren’t “just trees”)

Posted on April 20, 2013 by | 5 Comments

Auburn Nail ArtToday is A-Day in Auburn; the football team’s annual spring football scrimmage.  This is always a big day in Auburn but this year it’s just a little bit bigger. Today, after the game, the final rolling of Toomers Corner will take place.

As always, a themed manicure was in order! When I was in Auburn the end of last year I picked up some temporary nail tattoos. The only thing that makes them nail tattoos is the fact that they are tiny! Otherwise they function just like a normal temporary tattoo.

Using them is simple. Once the nail polish is completely dry (and I mean completely…) you just cut the tattoo as small as possible, remove the top sheet, place it on the nail then take a wet washcloth and hold over the temporary tattoo for about 20 seconds. Then just peel away the backing and apply a top coat. Super simple!

At first I did tiger strips on the rest of my nails and ended up kind of hating it. There was just way too much going on with that manicure. Instead, I applied a navy polish (Orly Star of Bombay) to the other nails. I really loved the result.

Below the jump there are swatches of both version of this manicure plus a fairly long spiel on Auburn, the Toomers Oaks and why they mean so much to me.

War Eagle!

Alli

Continue reading →

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Alli, Nail Art

Tagged , ,

Nail Art: Metallic Polka Dots

Posted on April 15, 2013 by | 12 Comments

Metallic Polka Dot Nail Art 4Oh em gee y’all, I love this manicure!

I was wearing Essie Maximillian Strasse Her and wanted to make my manicure a bit more interesting. At first I was just going to do white polka dots but then I thought maybe silver polka dots might bring out more of the gray in Maximillian Strasse Her.

Using one of my DIY dotting tools I added polka dots with Essie No Place Like Chrome.

The result was pretty awesome. It almost looked like a design from Essie’s Sleek Stick nail applique collection.

As always there are more swatches below the jump!

Alli

 

Continue reading →

→ 12 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged , ,

Nail Art: Golf Ball Nails

Posted on April 11, 2013 by | 8 Comments

Golf Ball NailsIt’s Masters weekend!

I grew up around golf and my boyfriend is a big golfer so the week of The Masters is crazy. Our life revolves around the television coverage. I, of course, wanted to have appropriate nails for the occasion! I’m really excited about what I came up with! I even gave many of you a little sneak peak.

Ever since I got Amour Arnold Palmer I knew I’d have to use it in a Masters manicure. But I wanted to do something a bit more literal. I started thinking of how to make my nails look like golf balls. What I finally came up with should have seemed obvious though it took me awhile to get there.

I applied 3 fairly thick coats of Ulta Snow White and a top coat. I waited several minutes then used a dotting tool to dent the nail polish to make it look (sort of) like a golf ball. I didn’t want all my nails to be golf balls so I just did this on the ring finger and thumb.

I was bit surprised how well it turned out! It will definitely be perfect for all the Masters festivities this weekend.

As always, there are additional swatches below the jump!

Alli

Continue reading →

→ 8 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged ,

Nail Art: Plastic Wrap Manicure (Essie Avenue Maintain and China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around)

Posted on April 7, 2013 by | 5 Comments

Plastic Wrap Manicure Essie Avenue Maintain and China Glaze Dandy Lyin' AroundIt’s been ages since I’ve done a plastic wrap manicure! I really wanted to wear Essie Avenue Maintain but wanted to do something a bit different with it. I was already wearing China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around but it was beginning to show some tip wear.

To extend the wear time of my manicure I decided to apply Avenue Maintain on top of Dandy Lyin’ Around using my DIY Plastic Wrap manicure directions. It turned out pretty great. I really loved the finished look.

It’s not ideal to have the lighter shade as the bottom color for a plastic wrap manicure. The white shows around some of the edges of the nails but to the naked eye that’s not really a noticeable issue.

As always, there are more swatches below the jump!

Alli

 

Continue reading →

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged , , ,

DIY: Chalkboard Manicure

Posted on March 30, 2013 by | 24 Comments

Chalkboard Nail ArtI figure at this point Ciate HATES me so I might as well just continue to post DIYs for their overpriced nail art kits. First it was the Caviar manicure, then it was the Velvet manicure and now it’s the Chalkboard manicure. Next month Ciate is releasing a Chalkboard Manicure set that will include a “black chalkboard base”, 3 (mini) nail art pens and a clear top coat.

Well, as you’ve probably already figured out, this is a very simple DIY nail project. As a matter of fact, this didn’t even require a trip to the Michael’s scrapbooking aisle.

For step by step instructions on how to get a chalkboard manicure check below the jump! I’d love to know what you think about Ciate’s latest nail art offering and whether or not you’ll be giving it a try!

Alli

Continue reading →

→ 24 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged ,

Nail Art: Marriage Equality Manicure

Posted on March 26, 2013 by | 8 Comments

Marriage Equality Manicure EssieIf you’ve seen the news today or have been on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media outlet then you know today is kind of big day on the marriage equality front.

The Human Rights Campaign encouraged everyone to wear red today to show their support for marriage equality. Me being me I of course wore red my favorite way to wear red; on my nails.

I used Essie Hip-Anema as my base color and using tape I added the equal sign using OPI Passport and a Smile (aka Sparrow Me the Drama). Simple but to the point. I absolutely love it!

Generally I stay away from political issues on this blog (it is a nail polish blog, after all). But this is an issue I feel strongly about plus I wanted to share my manicure. Hope y’all don’t mind!

There are a couple more swatches below the jump :)

Alli

Continue reading →

→ 8 Comments

Posted in Nail Art

Tagged , ,

Layla Ceramic Effect CE 62 Bally Sky (+ Layla Caviar Effect 01 Mambo)

Posted on March 19, 2013 by | 2 Comments

Layla Ceramic Effect CE 62 Bally SkyWe’ve been getting some nice spring-like weather here in Charlotte recently; warm and lots of sunshine. Quite awhile ago Layla sent me Bally Sky (along with Mambo) to try and I just hadn’t been in a mood to try it. But some nail polishes are made for a sunny day. Layla Bally Sky is definitely one of those polishes!

Bally Sky is a blue leaning almost duo chrome teal metallic with gold shimmer. The color is gorgeous. There’s no getting around that! The formula is equally fantastic. I used two coats in my swatches.

Like Oh My Red, the other polish from the Ceramic Effect line I have tried, Bally Sky wore very well.

After wearing it for a couple days I decided to try the Caviar Effect Mambo beads as an accent nail. I followed the steps from my DIY Caviar manicure tutorial and had no issues. This manicure reminded me quite a bit of the caviar manicure I did with Color Club Metamorphosis. What is nice about the Layla Caviar Effect bottle is the beads come out at a slow but steady pace. Makes applying the beads easier.

That being said….the beads from your local Michaels work just as well and are much less expensive. So unless Layla has a bead color you’re just DYING to have save a few bucks and check out the scrapbooking aisle at Michaels.

There’s alot going on below the jump! There are additional swatches of Bally Sky (including a swatch in direct sunlight….gorgeous!), bottle pictures, and swatches of my Mambo Caviar manicure.

Alli

The product(s) used in this post were provided to TDV for review. For more information check out our disclosure policy.

Continue reading →

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Layla

Tagged , ,