Frozen

I finally saw "Frozen".  I am glad I did see it on the big screen, it was beautiful. It totally inspired this paint job (in the most minimalist way possible).  I might have to break out the stamps to see if there is a snowflake or two, but I tend to go with the KISS* paint jobs.  So a frosty blue with a silver/blue glitter accent nail, presto - a "Frozen" paint job.

Nicole - Stand By Your Manny
Sinful Colors - Ice Dream

*KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid

night sky

Quick simple paint job.  Black jelly polish and a silver accent nail.  Done and done.  With the silver accent nail, it really makes the silver glitter in the jelly polish pop and not seem as dark.  I also didn't do a base color under the jelly polish, just two coats of jelly.  It helps keep it light.

Nicole - Luke of the Draw
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

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

stud-ly

Studs in a line.  That sentence has so many different interpretations, yikes.

I love these micro studs.  They are very tiny yet easy to work with.  They are also relatively flat so they don't stick up to much on the nail.  They work with everything.  I went with a grey & silver theme for this paint job.  Just a silver accent nail & darker grey base color on the rest.  Dot on some silver studs, a clear top coat, done.  Very easy as long as you have a steady hand to apply the studs.

Sinful Colors - Smokin
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

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

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

Pin Up

Pair this with some black stilettos with red soles and some red lipstick and its a look.  Again, my nails are still long so it looks a bit odd with the red polish.

I went with a silver base on the ring and pointer finger.  Then the red on the other three.  Two coats of a red & silver glitter polish on the pinky and ring.  Add some black vinyl decals on the pointer finger and it is a look.  Right after I applied the top coat to my nails, I remembered I have this great black jelly polish that has a lot of red glitter.  This would have been a great polish for this paint job.  It would have changed the over all look and made it much more of a night time look.

OPI - Gettin' Miss Piggy With It
Essie - A List
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

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

bubbles

This paint job was supposed to have a totally different look.  But my halo polish is very thin.  I wanted to use it for the stamping paint but it did not work at all.  Maybe I didn't use a good base polish.  I even quickly switched to a silver polish.  Nope, still did not show up.

Out came the white polish.  It's a fun stamp.  I really like the white bubbles over the halo base.  There was nothing fancy about this paint job.  Just a simple base color and a quick stamp.  Presto.

Nails INC - Electric Lane
Morgan Taylor - Give Me Gold
Sally Hansen - White On
plate - Cheeky CH9

nautical

I went a bit crazy on Etsy a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did I get those water decals (the owls) but I got a bunch of vinyl nail decals from another seller (www.makeitstickdesign.com).  THEY ARE AWESOME!  Yes, all caps because I am so happy with them.

I got a bunch of different designs and there are so many decals in all different sizes per sheet.  They are true stickers.  And since they are vinyl they hold up after you remove them from the paper (ie the anchor goes on straight, you don't have to adjust it because it is starting to look like it melted).  And each design comes in different sizes (it looks like 5).  This is great because it makes them able to fit all size nails.

I also got the variety pack.  It is totally worth it because there are so many different ones in there.  They aren't complete sheets, but plenty to play around with.  And get to see more of the create colors.  The chevron stripes (paint job coming soon) are single stripes which I find much easier to apply than a full nail sticker.

Back to this paint job.  I used the anchor decal on one finger.  I went with a full stud polka dot nail, stripes and checkered for the others.  The pinky is a solid polish that has some glitter in it.  

Sinful Colors - Rain Storm
MAC - Ming Blue
Sally Hansen - White On, Celeb City

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

quicky

I cannot think of a title/name for this paint job.  It is sort of out there.  It reminds me of Louboutin shoes (silver glitter with a red sole).  But for more of a shoe paint job, it would just be one red accent nail instead of red being the main color

I haven't done a red nail in a long time.  It's always fun to go back to a classic.

OPI - Got The Blues For Red
Urban Outfitters - Scorcher

june polish day - to boldly go

This month's polish day challenge is 'To Boldly Go'.  Space, Star Wars, Star Trek, galaxy nails, NASA, etc.  I have been wanting to do a galaxy paint job for a long time.  I was all set to do one until I got a super cute voice mail from my nephews.  They are Star Wars nuts.

I quickly changed my mind on the paint job and planned out a Star Wars themed one instead.
*more photos after the jump*

nautical blue

I will admit to totally being inspired by the lake for this paint job.  Yes, each nail is different but it is all the same theme.  The ring finger has some blue anchors stamped on it.  The index finger has a silver base but a silver and blue jelly on top.

I really like this paint job.  I however feel like I need to be wearing white j.crew shorts with a cloth belt and a polo shirt with the color popped to compliment it.  And maybe some deck shoes.  I am not judging j.crew style, I love it.  I'm just saying this paint job looks a little funny with workout gear and baggy sweat pants.

Sinful Colors - Rain Storm, Precious Metal, Ice Dream, Why Not
Sally Hansen - Celeb City
plate - cheeky CH36

modern art

I finally decided to try one of the nail art pens a friend gave me a while ago.  I love it.  It is so easy.  It stays truer to color than a Sharpie.  And the lines are clean and crisp.  For this paint job, the blue lines are with the paint pen.  The yellow and pink are done free hand with a thin brush.

You can really see the difference on the micro photos.  I also love the layering/color change at the cross overs.  It makes the paint job have more depth.
*more after the jump*

black & white disco

I was flipping through my nail swatches for inspiration for this paint job when I opened my glitter swatch box.  I wanted to do something with glitter but I wasn't feeling any sort of color.  Odd sounding I know.  So I pulled a silver halo, black jelly with silver glitters, and one that is aptly named Techno.

*more photos after the jump*

february polish days - back to nature

This month's Polish Day is "Back to Nature".  At first I thought I would do a sunset paint job, but I just did a paint job that was very sunset-esk.  I decided on something I have been wanting to try but have always been too chicken - animal prints.  Well, animal print on one hand, dandelion on the other.

*more photos after the jump*

gel update

Gel mani update - I am beyond impressed.  They were done 11 days ago and they look just like new.  Well, almost.  The only sign that they were not done today is the gap between the cuticle and the polish.  It is really noticeable because I went with such rich blue.  It is less noticeable on the ring finger.

There has not been a chip, crack or mark.  I am not nice to my nails and was especially not kind to this paint job.  I was up in the mountains for a week.  That including stacking a cord of fireplace wood, shoveling snow, knitting, general wear&tear, etc.  Plus, it was COLD (-4 degrees f) and the cold weather and hot showers are not kind to paint jobs.

On my way back down the mountain I stopped at my nail supply wholesale place.  I was looking into a UV/LED light.  The sales guy was really nice and told me to wait a little while because the technology/chemistry will be advancing more in the next couple of months.  Do you have a light box (not they type for taking photos) for drying your paint jobs at home? Do you understand the difference between the gel UV polishes and the gel LED polishes?

gelish

Continuing the 'something new' theme for this month, I tried another new polish.  Not just a new polish but a whole new style paint job.  Well, to be more specific, I basically sat there while someone that is actually skilled in gel polish painted my nails.

january polished days challenge - something new

'Something New' is this months Polish Days challenge theme.  Something New here means a paint job that you have seen before that you have been wanting to try.  I am that dork that bookmarks different paint jobs that I eventually want to try so this was a great theme to help me try something new.  I wanted to try a water marble paint job, or maybe a real feather paint job.  The bookmarked ideas quickly add up, faster than I can paint my nails.
**update 1/9 - this paint job is awful, it lasted 12 hours on my nails until I picked it off.  Don't worry, I won't be posting feathers and/or ombre again until it actually looks semi decent.  If it is this bad, why did I post it?  Because I feel honesty is important in the nail/nail art community.  If you have any tips/tricks for these styles, please please please leave them in the comments.  If you think I failed miserably, please let me know (it's okay because I already know I did).  I will be using the 'something new' theme this entire month, so there will be better 'something new' paint jobs coming.**

Yes, it is a totally crazy paint job.  Studs, feathers, fade/ombre, and stamping.  All on one hand.

What is the 'something new'?  Two things actually...