valentine's day

Valentine's Day is one of the easier holidays to figure out a paint job for.  Five different pink polishes and a glitter heart sticker - done.  Super easy and really fun.  Bonus - I finally got the heart sticker on straight and center.  I went with a matte top coat to give the already busy paint job a bit more of a mellow feeling.  Plus, the polish on the ring finger has a bit of a glitter undertone to it.  With a gloss top coat it really stands out.  With the matte - nothing.

OPI - Kola Beary, Short's Story
Sinful Colors - Dream On, Easy Going
Sally Hansen - Fuchsia Power

purple & grey dots

This is another quick paint job that looks a bit fancier than solid nails.  Just a dotting tool, and some extra drying time between the base color and the dots.  Perfect when watching a movie.  The marble/gradient nail is a bit wonky but it's the best I could do with a dotting tool (didn't feel like busting out the sponges for a proper gradient).  I love purple and grey together, it's such a warm combo.

OPI - A Grape Fit!
Sinful Colors - Cool Grey, Black On Black, Smokin'

purple & gold

This is an odd purple for me.  It is much more of a warm purple (red undertones) than I normally use.  But it really works with gold.  Add some gold glitter to the tips and a full gold nail, presto - complete look.  Nothing fancy and very easy.

OPI - GoldenEye, Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs

purple

Grey polish might be the trend this fall, but I do love a light purple polish.  I have a bunch of purple polishes.  I will do some grey paint jobs, but for now, I'll stick with purple.

This style of paint job I have done tons of times before.  It is quick and easy.  Apply your color base (1-3 coats depending on the polish coverage).  Let dry a bit.  Apply the glitter jelly polish in a line right at the tip of the nail.  Then brush from the middle of the nail down to fan out the jelly polish.  Apply a top coat & let dry.  Easy.

OPI - You're Such A BudaPest
Sinful Colors - Ice Dream

matte purple

I have found a new favorite - matte top coat over glitter polish!  Sounds odd I know.  But there is something about taking away the overall shine that lets the glitter shine bright.  Nothing fancy about this paint job, just a glitter gradient tip.  But top it with the matte finish and it becomes really subtle and fun.

The only real difference with this paint job is a matte top coat is not quick drying, not at all.

OPI - You're Such A BudaPest, Polka.com

flip flop

Another gradient with silver.  I like it, especially the silver with a polish that has no sparkle.  With the silver on the tips it really accentuates the length of my nails.

Then add a quick row of dots in the two polish colors.  Nothing fancy but I like the look.  This would also be great with a pure black and white look.  Very geometric and simple.

Wet & Wild - On A Trip
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

pretty pretty princess

Princess nails.  Maybe not a real modern princess but these are sparkly and on the pink side.  Plus the base color is Princesses Rule!.

A very easy paint job.  Just a base coat (or three) on the non accent nail.  Then toss on some pink halo polish on the accent nail and a bit on the tips.

Tons and tons of glitter!!  But micro glitter so it shines in all lights.  I realize I do this look a lot (glitter tips) but I really like it.  It works with almost any color polish.  It is also great for a thinner polish because the glitter tips help hid the nail tip.

OPI - Princesses Rule!
Urban Outfitters - After Hours

grays

Super easy paint job!  It still fits with this time of year since it is getting dark so early now.  Just five different polishes, then top with a large silver stud.

The pointer finger polish is a bit on the blue side but does still work overall.  It also would have been too big of a hue jump between the middle finger gray and the black.

I always forget how much I like these studs.  They are large but they are very thin.  Somehow they don't stick out too much even on the curved nails.  They are also large enough to make a statement.

Sinful Colors - Cool Gray, Black on Black, Jungle Trail, Smokin
Sally Hansen - White On

fall gradient

It's fall!!  I have to sweep my deck everyday because of all the leafs.  It feels like midnight when it is only 8pm (I miss sunshine).  Time to bust out the fall colors.

Another quick glitter gradient.  A deep orange (burnt umber-ish) with a bronze/gold glitter on the tips.  Nothing fancy.  It looked a little odd when I first applied it.  The orange just does not work my skin tone.  But the gold really helps tone it down.

OPI - Deutsch You Want Me Baby?
Sinful Colors - All About You

gradient

I saw this on another blog and love the deep red to silver gradient.  I cannot remember the blog and didn't bookmark the page because it was rather simple.

Just a normal gradient with silver as the base color.  What's funny is with the darker tips, my nails look short.  This is a great winter look.  Now I want to try it with a gold to red.  I just don't have a gold that is the same as this silver.  I can't find a gold that is like liquid gold.  They are either too yellow or all glitter.

China Glaze - Sugar Plum
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

elegant gold gradient

I am currently working on a cake design for a friend.  The cake is going to have some gold in it, either a gold ribbon or an entire tier covered in gold leaf.  Thinking about gold designs has rolled over into this paint job.

Just a simple champagne color paint for the base color.  Then some thick gold glitter paint on the tips.  I wasn't sure about the gold glitter at first.  But now that it is all done, I love it.  There is something very elegant to it.  It also reminds me of a pair of shoes I own.  They are nude 4 inch, nothing fancy, but they have this awesome gold glitter sole.  I wish I had more fancy occasions to wear them.

OPI - Up Front & Personal, GoldenEye

crabby

Another great vinyl decal.  It went on like a charm and since the vinyl holds up, no need to try and slide the claws and legs around into a crab-like position.  Stick the crab on a gradient nail and presto, beach themed nails.

For the rest of my nails, I went with one of my favorite looks, light teal with a glitter gradient tip.  There is something so great about this teal color with this clear-ish glitter.  I have used it many times before and, I'm guessing, will use it a bunch more.

I did use a different blue for the gradient nail.  Before starting to paint, I tried the red crab decal with the teal and they just did not work together.  So I switched in a true blue but in the same hue as the teal.

Wet & Wild - French White, Hallucinate, I Need A Refresh-Mint
LA Girl - Flash Freeze

little blue bird

Another great decal from www.makeitstickdesign.com.  This was a decal in the variety pack.  I love it.  Nothing too complicated about it, plus it is in a great color.  I am going to have fun playing with the few bird decals I got (on a same hue pink? or a branch?).

please ignore the air bubbles,

i'm getting towards the bottom of my top coat

I went with a simple white background for the blue bird.  Then a gradient and polka dot nail for the other accent nails.  A solid blue for the 'regular' nails.  Can it still be called an accent nail when there are three of them?  More like a skittlette paint job.

Sinful Colors - Why Not
Sally Hansen - White On

dusk

I knew I wanted to do a blue paint job but was sort of directionless.  I was in the Nicole section of my polishes and saw this silver/black jelly polish.  I thought it would be pretty to do a glitter gradient with it.  Sort of like a dusk effect.

Well, the jelly polish holds a lot of color in the jelly.  Overall, it does look a bit like dusk but more like a city skyline at dusk.  It would be funny to do this paint job again but with more defined lines.  Or doing a proper light blue - black gradient, then a little silver glitter on top.

I love this light blue base color.  I however do not like coverage of the polish.  It takes a proper three coats to get a solid color.  Yet the black/silver jelly polish is so thick.  Has anyone else found this inconsistency with Nicole polishes?  I knew it was a problem with Essie, but since I am rather new to Nicole, I did not know.
Nicole - What's the Mitch-uation?, Luke of the Draw, Stand by Your Manny

ombre stripes

I saw this type of paint job done on another blog.  Honestly - they did a much better job than I did.  Check out the inspiration - http://www.thenailasaurus.com/2013/07/nonoo-resort-2014-inspired-nail-art.html.  They had striping tape and used different polished for the lines.  I did a gradient in purple, let it dry and then stamped the white lines.  I think the white lines are a bit thick and the gradient isn't that obvious.

Maybe a gradient between two different colors, not just light to dark purple would be better with this stamping.  It still looks okay enough that I won't remove it right away.  I did an accent nail of a silver halo.  Then, while removing the white glue (which I use around my nail for quick and easy clean up) I nicked my thumb.  I was not about to start over (base coat, dry, gradient, dry, stamping, top coat).

So I improvised and put a quick coat of the halo on top.  It looks really cool.  And by some source of magic it actually makes the purple gradient stand out more.  I will try this look again, but maybe wait until I get striping tape.  I also have enough purples to do each line a different polish.

OPI - Vant to Bite My Neck?, Do You Lilac It?
Sinful Colors - Amethyst
Sally Hansen - White On
Nails Inc - Electric Lane
plate - Cheeky CH10

pink & purple

 My awesome nephews went to the beauty store and picked out nail polish for me for my birthday present.  They really do have great taste.  They picked out some awesome colors (shockingly, none of which I already own).

Before they leave to go back home, I am going to try and do as many fun paint jobs with the new polishes as possible.  For this paint job, I used three new colors.  The pink is actually a gradient (light tips).  The purple accent nail is the same color I used for the stamping.

It is a great purple but one of those OPI formulas that is a tad too thin for stamping.  It does work for this paint job because subtle is okay.

OPI - Koala Beary, Suzi & The 7 Dusseldorfs, Shorts Story
plate - Cheeky CH52

bachelorette weekend

 This weekend I am heading up to Napa for a bachelorette weekend.  Not a crazy Las Vegas type weekend, but more along the line of quality time at the spa and reading intelligent literature (cough*gossip rags*cough) while lounging around the pool.

For such a civilized weekend I really should have gone with a sophisticated subtle paint job.  But that is not me at all.  So I went with the opposite - bright purple nails & two neon accent nails.  Then top the accent nails with some glitter gradient.  Nothing subtle about these at all.

I recently went to the nail supply store and picked up two new polishes.  One of which is this neon pink.  It is a great color, but it takes a minimum of three coats to have complete coverage.  Two days after the shopping I went to get a pedicure (my biggest vice and indulgence) and there was this neon pink Essie color that just screamed out to me. (I normally bring my own polish to the salon but it was a spur of the moment pedi this time).  I will 100% be buying that Essie polish next time I go shopping.

China Glaze - You Drive Me Coconuts, Turned Up Turquoise
OPI - A Grape Fit!
Sinful Colors - Watch it Shine

nude & glitter

I have never used this nude polish before.  It always seemed a bit odd to me.  It came in a holiday collection so I just had it.

It's okay but doesn't really work with my skin tone.  I added a quick and easy glitter gradient to the tips.  A simple touch that really only pops in direct light.  It reminds me of that Britney Spears costume from the VMAs.  The one where she danced with the white snake.

MAC - Cream Style Tip
Wet & Wild - Hallucinate

pink gradient

We had a week of glorious weather and then BAM it decides to rain for three days.  Not really a cold rain, but gloom and wet non the less.  So I decided to do a spring-ish paint job.

Just a simple pink gradient.  Nothing super fancy.  I did add a bunch of pink glitter to my thumb.  To help with a gradient, I use white glue.  Sounds odd but it makes clean up take about 10 seconds.  Simply use white glue all around the edge of the nail.  Let it dry completely.  Then go about your paint job.  After you are done, just peel off the glue.  Clean and ready to go.

Sinful Colors - Feeling Great, Easy Going
Nicole - She's Lily Something, Haley Good Looking...

turquoise & glitter

I went with a stand by turquoise polish (I still don't like the formula, way too thin) but needed to spice it up a little bit.  I pulled this great glitter polish that is very subtle.

Just a little glitter on the tips to create a subtle glitter gradient.  Then an accent finger of layer upon layer of glitter polish.  I love this glitter and polish combo.   It is wicked pretty together.

essie - Turquoise & Caicos, Sugar Daddy
Wet & Wild - Hallucinate