Monday, January 5, 2015

My top 10 nail art looks from 2014


     I thought I'd start 2015 off with a look back at some of my favorite nail art looks from the last year. Originally I was going to share my top 5 looks but I had a hard time narrowing it down so I went with 10.  It was fun to see how things progressed from an ok manicure to start out with to my all ti,e favorite nail art look. I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane and I'd love to hear which look you like the best.

     March brings us the first look of the year with some tiger stripes. This was part of a twin manicure that actually ended up being a triple manicure. 


     All the details for this look can be found at http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/03/twin-blog-post-tiger-print.html

     I finally attempted a Sugar Spun manicure as part of the Spring Renewal Nail Art Challenge in April. This was the look I put together for the Pastel Prompt.



     May was a slow month for nail art for me but I created 2 looks that I absolutely loved in June. Ironically both manicures were for weddings or wedding-related. The first look is a stamped gradient for one of my closest and longest friends in the world. 

    
     I wish I had a picture of the finished manicure. I ended up adding a layer of Fairy Dust after I had taken all my pictures. But there is a quick cell phone pic in the original post. You can find it here http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/06/stamped-gradient-for-alissa.html

     For the second wedding in June, I did the leadlight technique and matched my manicure to my dress. It was a big hit with my friends and I was pretty darn proud of my efforts.


     More pictures including one of the dress I wore can be found in the original post.  http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/06/leadlight-manicure.html

     July brought out some simple nail art from me. I did a few simple dotticures and this simple tape manicure. It just goes to show that not all nail art has to be extravagant. 


     This is also about the time that I started cropping all of my images to the same size and making them square. I like the more uniform look. Check out the full post to see if you agree.  http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/07/nail-art-tape-manicure.html

     August brought another nail art challenge to my blog. This was my Under the Stars look I created for the Let's go Camping nail art challenge. 


    
     This entire look doesn't thrill me as much as some of the other looks I created. But it's one of my favorites because of the way I was able to get the sky to look like it had Northern Lights in it. And it even glowed in the dark. http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/08/lets-go-camping-nail-art-challenge-day.html

     In September I was given the opportunity to do a guest post over at The Fancy Side. The theme was bridal since Amy was getting married and that's why she needed guest posts. 


   
     I was really in love with this look and ended up wearing it for almost a week. Find my original post and a link to the guest post here. http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/09/guest-post-at-fancy-side-bridal-manicure.html

     October was another busy month for nail art for me. And while I did like my Halloween manicure 2 others won out for the top 10 list. I did my first Chevron manicure at the beginning of the month. 


     The full post can be found by following this link. http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/10/my-first-chevron-manicure-fraturing.html

     Towards the end of October, I did another first on my blog. Well, 2 actually. I attempted Newspaper nails and Water decals for the first time in this vintage-vibed manicure.


     All the details including a funny story about the water decals can be found at http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/10/newspaper-nails-with-born-pretty-store.html

     Rounding out the year is my absolute favorite manicure. My Ugly Sweater nails for the 12 Days of Christmas nail art challenge. 


     This is also the manicure where I discovered how easy it was to create these looks using acrylic paint instead of just polish. I have a feeling my nail art is going to look a whole lot better in 2015 with this bit of knowledge. Find the full post here http://lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-12-days-of-christmas-nail-art_19.html

     I hope you enjoyed this little look back at my year in nail art. It's been a fun journey and I've learned a few things along the way. I have big hopes for 2015 and I'd love it if you'd come along for the ride. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!













37 comments:

  1. You can see why it's my favorite look of the whole year!

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  2. Thank you! I almost hate ending the year with it because it sets the bar for this year so much higher. But I do like a good challenge!

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  3. Thank you. Those are 2 of my favorites.

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  4. Great picks for your favorite nail art designs! I really like that floral one and that chevron one.

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  5. I think the Christmas one is my favorite! So cool

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  6. Thanks Lisa. I'm hoping to do a lot more nail art this year.

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  7. Thank you. It's my favorite but also sets the bar pretty high for my own expectations going into 2015.

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  8. Thanks. My plan is to try more nail art in the coming year. I'd really like to break out of my comfort zone and try new things.

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  9. I love the textured holly nails. I am a sucker for textured nails. Super cute!

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  10. your nails look adorable ;)
    I loveee these manicures <3

    Xx Julia

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  11. The Under the Stars manicure is still one of my favorites! :)

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  12. You've made some great progress over the year!

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  13. I wasn't a big fan of the textured nail when it first started happening, but I enjoy the few I have in my collection. And I am in love with how that manicure turned out.

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  14. I'm still shocked I could get the glow in the dark polish to work the way I wanted it to. =)

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  15. Thank you. I hope to make some more over this next year and really challenge myself.

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  16. Fantastic manis! I agree - my favorite is your sweater mani too! But they're all great :)

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  17. ooh these are all wonderful! I love the pink & mint chevron mani!

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  18. I can definitely see how you've improved over the year! LOVE the last one!

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  19. These all look awesome!! I really like your floral bridal nails and the ugly sweater nails!

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  20. All such great manis! That last one makes me swoon!

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  21. Ohhh I love your ugly sweater nails! And also the sugar spun ones!

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  22. Thanks. I had fun working on my skills but I cant wait to see what I can improve on in the next year.

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  23. That one was a lot of fun to do after I got over my fear of the decals not sticking.

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  24. Thanks. Fingers crossed I can improve some more in the new year

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  25. Thank you. Those are 2 of my favorites.

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  26. Me too! I didn't want to take it off. Sadly I was behind on the challenge at that time so it only lasted about an hour on my nails. =(

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  27. That sugar spun one was fun to do. I need to so a few more of them this year.

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  28. I seriously love round-ups like this. I enjoy seeing your improvement so much! I must get on that acrylic paint thing....

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  29. Thanks. This is the first round up post I have done in 2 years of blogging. Im not sure why I held off for so long it was kind of fun to put together. Especially looking back and seeing how I improved. Yes you must try acrylic paint for nail art. It will change your whole world!

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  30. I couldn't believe how easy it was to do that look. I think the hardest part was lining up the image.

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  31. Such fun looks you created! I especially love the last one, the texture adds so much interest to the look.

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  32. The ugly sweater design is amazing!

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  33. My favorite is the Christmas look, and I really love your floral manis as well! That combo of floral and newspaper design was so cool! Great job this year!

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  34. Your hand painted roses are beautiful, and I love the holly.

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