purple

I love purple and glitter!  I will admit it and own up to it.  Some halo tips and a jelly glitter accent nail.

Nothing fancy but still fun in the sunshine.

OPI - A Grape Fit!
China Glaze - Techno

cheetah

I have always wanted to try a free-hand cheetah print nail. I finally found a really great step-by-step (seems dumb for such an easy paint job, but sometimes following pictures really helps).  It is a pretty simple paint job that just takes a lot of time since each step has to dry before moving on to the next step.

Just a double color base coat.  Add some messy white blobs.  Then add the black details.  The white and black are both done with a dotting tool (the same one actually, just different ends).  I really like it and am happy I finally got around to trying it out.

OPI - You're Such A BudaPest
Sinful Colors - Black on Black
Sally Hansen - White On

valentine's nails (again)

A friend has been trying to get me to paint her nails for a couple of weeks.  Things, life and work kept getting in the way.  But Valentine's morning finally worked.  So we had to do a Valentine's Day paint job.  It is odd painting someone else's nails after painting my own for so long.  It's so much easier to bend your own fingers and hand to make the painting/stamping/dotting easier.

The best part of doing this paint job was right in the middle, while she was waiting for the base polish to dry before starting the stamping, her fiance surprised her with a dozen roses and chocolate covered strawberries.  It was super cute and all the old ladies in the coffee shop across the courtyard came out to 'ahh' and 'so sweet'.

I don't remember which stamping plates and polishes I ended up using.  I put all pinks and a few red/purples in a box with a bunch of stamps/glitter/tools.  It all got mixed around before I got home.  I do know that all three colors are OPI and the white is Sally Hansen.  The plates are all from one Cheeky collection.

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'

preppy argyle

Argyle nails!  So preppy.  They look like golf pants!

This was my first attempt at argyle so they are far from perfect.  This paint job takes a while.  Each layer has to be totally dry before continuing.  Start with the base color (1-3 coats depending on coverage).  Let dry.  Paint on the diamonds.  I used three colors but this could be done with one or two.  Let dry.  Paint on the over stripes.  Let dry.

Some tips/tricks I will use next time I try this paint job:
*use a sharpie to do the over stripes, it will help make perfect stripes
*take time to do each step
*use a dotting tool to dot on the four corners of the diamonds, will help alignment and spacing

Wet & Wild - I Need A Refresh-Mint, On a Trip, French White
Sally Hansen - Celeb City
Sinful Colors - Dream On

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

dip-n-dots

Dots!  The hardest part about this paint job was finding three polishes that work well together.

No explanation really needed, just three colors, flip flop on one of the accent nails.  Add some dots, done.  This would be a great paint job in black, white, and silver.  Very New Year's Eve-ish.

Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet
Wet & Wild - I Need A Refresh-Mint
OPI - Do You Lilac It?

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

purple profile

Another great decal from makeitstickdesigns.com.  The reverse of the polish would have been better.  The white decal would have really popped on the darker purple.  But I was going for a dark paint job.

I love these decals.  I have said it before, but I will say it again, they are super easy to use and apply.  They peel off the sheet very easy with tweezers.  They hold their shape so no fussing once they go on the nail.  Just pat down the sides if your nails have a little curve to them.  A coat or two of top coat and that is it.  They make tons and tons of different decals.  Plus, most of them can come in a crazy amount of colors.  Each sheet also comes with a variety of sizes which is perfect for different size nails.

OPI - Vant To Bite My Neck?, Do You Lilac It?

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

feathers

I tried a real feather paint job a while ago and it was awful.  It just looked bad (think one of the Pintrest Fail memes).  But I have two great bags of feathers that I see every time I open the drawer to get out my stamping plates.

This time I took my time.  I did just the feathers first, the the normal nails once the feathers were dry.  I also went with a clear base color.  It looks a little odd but it works.  I really like the blue feather nail.  It is very clearly a feather.  Now I have gotten better with the feathers, I think I can try one over a colored base polish.

I thought a full paint job of just feathers would be a bit much, especially with the bright (aka fake) feathers).  So I book-ended it with a bright pink.  I like it.  Very simple.

**UPDATED**
The yellow and purple feathers lasted all of 12 hour.  I still liked the blue, so I cleaned up the two naked nails and painted it the same pink polish on the thumb and pinky.

I really like it.  It would have looked awesome with a pink jelly glitter polish under the feather, or even a very light pink.  But overall, this one feather nail paint job looks better than more feathers.
OPI - Koala Beary

ghost eyes

Besides the obvious candy corn paint job, I love crazy ghost eye paint jobs this time of year.  It is  spooky (G rated) but cute enough for every day. Just realized how many lines I have on my hands/fingers.  Yikes, no amount of lotion/cuticle oil will make them go away, it's always been this way.  It's always has and will annoy me.

Usually it is over a black paint job but I tried it over a deep red/purple.  I think it still works.  It was hard to get the red/purple to show up in a photo.  In normal natural light it appears as it does in the top photo.

This is such a quick and easy paint job.  Just quick color base coats & let dry.  Then use a dotting tool (or end of a bobby pin) to make two large white dots.  Let dry a bit.  Then add black dots.  Let dry completely before applying a top coat.

OPI - Lincoln Park After Dark
Sinful Colors - Black on Black
Sally Hansen - White On

confetti

Confetti!!  A super easy quick paint job.  Just a pearl white base color, and then lots of dots of different colors.  It works because all the dot color's are in the same family, not too bright, not too dark and the same thickness.  Very quick and fun.  Something about all the different colors and the randomness of the dots makes it work without being too much.

Wet & Wild - I Need A Refresh-Mint, On A Trip
Sinful Colors - Tokyo Pearl, Innocent
Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow, Fuchsia Power, Sun Kissed

cupcakes

I have wanted to do a cupcake paint job for a long time.  I finally decided to sit down and try.  I like it.  I need to practice a bit more with the paper cups part.  I got a little too aggressive with the scrapping on the pointer finger.

Overall, it is a rather simple paint job.  The only tool I used was a dotting stick. They sort of do look like ice cream (light bulb - might have to do an ice cream cone paint job soon now).

mint chocolate cupcake

purple frosting with rainbow sprinkles

Why did I add rhinestones to the top?  I only put cherries on black forest cupcakes bit this paint job needed a bit of sparkle.  It does make it look a bit more like ice cream though.  So, for the ice cream paint job, I will have to add a dab of whip cream (white paint) before adding the cherry (red rhinestone).

Wet & Wild - French White, I Need a Refresh-Mint, On A Trip
Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet, Mellow Yellow, Fuchsia Power, Sun Kissed
OPI - Do You Lilac It?
Sinful Colors - Nirvana, Easy Going, Cool Grey, Unicorn

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

aliens

I have had this plate for a long time, have always wanted to use it but never figured out a good color combo for it.  I think I finally have.

I love the single creature on the pinky.  For such a relatively large single item stamp, it came out pretty clear.  Sometimes they get wonky in the center.

On the creature plate, there is a large multi-creature item.  I used that for three fingers.  There are also five separate individual creatures.  At first I was going to do a single creature on each nail, but I went went with the multi-creature since my nails are on the long side.  For such a detailed stamping plate, I am very happy with how they turned out.  The lines are really crisp and the creatures little legs/teeth/arms all show up perfectly.

Sally Hansen - Fuchsia Power, Mellow Yellow
Sinful Colors - Black on Black, Why Not, Rise and Shine, Dream On
plate - Cheeky CH32

ombre & dots

I've been wanting to do a purple ombre paint job for a while.  I pulled the colors and it just looked so dull.  I love a purple ombre paint job but it just didn't have enough pop for me right now.

Bring in the teal accent nail.  But even just a teal accent nail(s) was looking a little dull.  I had my dotting tool out and what quicker way to spice up a nail then with some dots.  The end result is fabulous (at least in my opinion).  And even with my nails being on the longer side (long for me), this paint job doesn't make them look scary.

OPI - A Grape Fit!, Do You Lilac It?, Vant To Bite My Neck?
Wet & Wild - I Need a Refresh-Mint