Pool Parties & Barbecues, Scary Stories by the Fire, Are We There Yet?, Summer Camp Blues and Stop That (ice cream) Truck!

     For this look, I had New Year's Eve in mind when I created it. Something a little more sophisticated and some bling. Using Snake Charmer and Gold Dust I recreated a look I did earlier this year with Mentality Tempest, this time with a twist. I chose a different finger to use as the accent and made that the plain nail keeping the focus on the negative space stripes.

     This is a really easy look to do, but it does require some patience. Something I usually don't have when it comes to nail art. But I knew if I wanted my stripes to work I had to wait for each layer to dry. It took a lot of sitting still and catching up on a few TV shows but I found my patience, and my stripes are good.  Ahh, the things we do for nail art, it's a tough job but somebody has to do it.


    For my final look, I wanted to go a bit more playful. Originally I wanted to do plaid nails. Something with a warm and comfy feeling to it for the cold winter days but this looks a bit more like presents to me. I used Just Peachy, Shirley Temple, and Gold Dust to create this look. And I'm proud to say that I freehand painted those stripes and they look pretty darn good.

     This was a fun little challenge for me. Coming up with holiday nail looks using only these colors, making it something I could be proud of and, something others could replicate without a lot of experience. It really made me focus on my techniques and helped tune a few nail art skills. I hope you enjoyed these looks, Id love to know which one was your favorite. If you'd like to purchase a kit for yourself or a gift they are available at PrettyWomanUSA.com.  The kits cost $7.99 and you have the option to have them gift wrapped. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

     Another great feature of the wraps is that they are reusable. I used the same set for my entire manicure.


     Because of the proper fit, you get hardly any clean up as you can see here by this poorly done gradient. Just a tip, don't try to do a gradient on a bare nail it's a PITA. I probably would have had even less clean up if I had added a base coat of white first. Then I wouldn't have tried using so much polish on the sponge to get coverage.

     For my finished look, I used these cute vinyls to create the silhouette of a man as an accent to my manicure. I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Rimmel Caramel Cupcake as my gradient colors.



     All nail vinyls are made from a plastic product and will melt over time when a solvent-based liquid is put over them. A quick dry top coat is best to apply when leaving them on like stickers. Tara recommends Seche Vite after testing out a few. I actually used Out the Door and had no issues after wearing the vinyls for 24 hours.

     For my next look, I used the French tip guides for a sideways half moon manicure with an art deco feel. The colors I used for this look are Orly Luxe, OPI 4 in the Morning and a white striper.


     The vinyls are quite sticky, if you use them as stencils I recommend sticking them to the back of your hand a few times to remove some of the tackiness. Otherwise, you run the risk of pulling off your base color when trying to remove them. Trust me on this one.  Also, I noticed these vinyls are thicker than others that I have used, making them better quality, and easier to reposition without damaging the shape.

     All of Loki's nail Vinyls are available at http://lokisnailvinyls.storenvy.com and come in your choice of color. (With the exception of the basic chevron and French tip) Eventually, there will be an option of a custom service for designs, but there is already a wide variety to choose from. I hope you like the designs I created. I'll have more in the next coming weeks to share with you. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

    
    
     Hello everyone. Finally, inspiration has struck and I feel slightly out of my polishing rut! I was watching the movie Bachelorette the other day and found myself staring at Lizzy Caplan's nails for most of the movie. If you haven't seen it don't worry you're not missing much. Its one of those movies that doesn't really have a point, but lets you tune the world out for little over an hour. It did have a handful of funny one-liners but that's about it. But this isn't a post about a movie review so I'll try to get back on topic.

    So what is this amazing manicure that had me mesmerized the entire movie you might ask? Why it was a simple half-moon manicure that made a big statement. At least in my humble opinion that is. Now I've kept away from the half moon mani in the past because I think it tends to make nails look shorter. But I knew I had to try it once I saw this one.


    Ok ok enough suspense, it's time to reveal the manicure that inspired me to not only polish my nails again but to try a technique I had sworn off. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you.....

Image courtesy of google search

    I scoured the Internet for a good hour trying to find a really good image to use and this was the best one I could find. I just fell in love with how this manicure packs a big punch without being too busy. I also liked that it's a manicure that I could easily replicate.  Want to see my version?

    I put together a little picture tutorial showing the colors I used and the steps I took to create this look. First, you will want to gather your materials. For this manicure, I used Milani White on the Spot and Kleancolor Bite Me.