Manicure Monday: Black, White, & BETSEY!

Every once in a while I visit the TJ Maxx that neighbors where I work.  Recently, I found a new laptop case with handles, but it wasn't the handles that persuaded me... oh, no... it was the print! I knew that, whatever it was, I had to have it!! 

When I laid my eyes on this beaut hiding behind purses upon purses I thought, what a great manicure idea!

Here is my Betsey Johnson inspired manicure.  I used a dotting tool and acrylic paint for the white dots and you can check out my tutorial on how to do the little roses here! Betsey has great patterns that double as manicure inspiration, including lots of leopard!

What inspires your manicures?

Manicure Monday: Vintage Antique Roses

This is one of my favorite nail designs! I was worried about doing the vintage roses, but they were easy... and being messy is okay... I rely on the fact that people won't be looking at it super close up, haha!

Colors used:

• Blue: China Glaze "For Audrey" (if you don't own it, go buy it! the picture doesn't do it justice!)
• Pink: China Glaze "IV"
• Gold glitter: Sephora by OPI "Only Gold for Me"
• Green: China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover" (another AMAZING China Glaze color... wait til you see my peacock feather nails!)
• Light pink: Color Club "Vintage Couture"

1. Make random dots around the nail with the nail polish brush in the main rose color.
2. Make some "c's" on the sides of the dots and one coming out from the middle of the dot.  This color can be lighter or darker than the main rose color.   You can make a small dot in the middle of the rose to define the middle.  In other rose designs, I have swirled in other color pinks to give the rose more dimension.  
3. Make small leaves.  I used a small dotting tool for this.

P.S. always top with a clear top coat... I use Seche Vite... the top coat always makes everything look better!

I really want to do this design again!

Manicure Monday: Leopard

I went away this weekend for my 11 year anniversary with the boyfriend! We went to the Finger Lakes in New York because we LOVE wineries... more to come about the trip at another time.  I  brought along some nail polish to the hotel so I could do my nails because I didn't have time the Wednesday before we left (my nails were naked for a day! eek... the kids in my class told me I "look different" without my nails done).  Even though I didn't have everything with me, I still wanted to do some nail art because we were away and I just didn't want boring nails.  This is what I came up with:

 

Leopard nails are pretty easy and I love the cool wintery color combo.  You may recognize some polishes I used last Manicure Monday, along with a few new ones. 

• OPI Skull and Glossbones (grey)
• Color Club Platinum Record (glitter) 
• Urban Decay Perversion (black)
• Sally Hansen 220 Celeb City (silver)

Okay, so you're wondering how to do the leopard nails yourself.  

 

1. Make dots and place them randomly on your nail.  I used a larger dotting tool, but you can use the actual nail polish brush or even a tooth pick.
2. Add "c's" and "parentheses" around the dots.  They don't have to be perfect because leopard spots aren't perfect either! I used a smaller dotting tool for these so the black part did not cover up the spots made in step 1. 
3. Add small dots to fill in spaces in between the leopard spots.  I used the same smaller dotting tool that was used in step 2.   

And there you have it!  I actually did leopard nails for my first nail art project and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they are.  Hope they never go out of style, because they are definitely go-to nails when I can't think of anything else.

Have you done leopard nails?... I want to see!

Manicure Monday: Chevron and Turquoise

I am done with classes... I have my Masters and certification... and I have been seriously neglecting this blog!  I think its because I haven't been procrastinating on anything... because, again, I AM ALL DONE!! YAY!

Which leads me to this post's topic!  Since I have had more time on my hands, I decided to work on my hands... ha ha ha!  I have stopped going to the salon (partly to save money... mostly because Tammy, my nail lady, left me) and I have discovered a hidden talent/ fun hobby!  Now, wish me luck on keeping up with Manicure Monday!

For my first Manicure Monday, I have chevron and turquoise... and of course, some sparkle!  I have been wanting to do chevron nails for forever, but I was too nervous to ask Tammy because if the lines weren't perfect I'd have a 3-4 week long panic attack.  When I started doing my own nails, I attempted chevron with scotch tape and the zig zag scissors, but it was HORRIBLE!  Then I found these awesome stickers on Etsy from Make it Stick (I bought some bow stickers from them too).  For the chevron ones, you peel the decals off and they are stuck to a clear sheet so all three rows can all be applied at once.    When I got them positioned in the right spot I used an Exacto knife to peel part of them off the clear backing.  I did this because I did not cut the strips before hand so they hung over onto my finger and could not fully stick to the sides. I think the clear backing would be able to be removed without the help of the Exacto knife if the decals were pre-cut and were fully stuck on the nail.  Then I used the Exacto knife to cut the excess off the sides and the top of my nail.  Any little pieces left hanging over the top were easy to file away.  I used one of my rounded dotting tools to press the decals down without ruining the nail polish.

chevron decals I used, bow decals I mentioned, and the polishes I used

I used OPI's Skull and Glossbones under the white chevron decals, Color Club's Blue-Ming (from the blossoming collection I scored at TJMaxx for $9) for 3 nails, and Color Club's Platinum Record for the sparkly nail (I put a coat of silver under this).  I always top with Seche Vite because it makes it super shiny and while it dries it has a sort of slippery texture that keeps me from messing up my nails.  I usually top my manicures with one or two coats of UV cured clear gel polish the next day, but that's for another post. 

Are there any manicures you've really been wanting to try?

Freckles & Cat Eyes

Makeup is an obsession of mine.  In particular, Urban Decay eye shadow palettes.  I have way too many... I am almost embarrassed to admit how many... AND THEN they had a sale on individual shadows... so I had to buy those too (I can't pass up a sale)... eeeek! I LOVE IT! 

This is an Instagram of a few angles of my UD collection... a few less shadows, palettes, and face makeup ago.  I had 2 eye shadow casualties this day, so I won't be having another photo shoot any time soon! 

Since I love playing with makeup, I figured I'd do a post on my go to makeup look for a night out.  WARNING: you are about to see a lot of my face... and awkward half smiles... and a possible lazy eye... haha

                        

                          

           

   

                       

                         

                       

               

                  

         

Whoopsiedoodles, I forgot lip gloss!

So there you have it! My go-to makeup routine.  

You may not notice a big difference with each different application, but its subtle buildable coverage.  I love the products I use because they don't cover all of my freckles.  I was always jealous of those that got to use a liquid foundation, but now I've found the right one for me!

Here's where I get everything:

• Step 1: Face Wash & Moisturizer- Walmart
• Step 2: Physicians Formula Concealers- Walmart 
• Step 3: Urban Decay Naked Line  (doesn't cover my freckles and feels really great on my skin! yay)
• Step 4: Everyday Minerals Natural Jojoba (everyday minerals' big containers last over a year!)
• Everyday Minerals Kabuki Brush  (this brush is amazing!)
• Step 5: Everyday Minerals Fair Medium Matte Base 
• Step 6: Everyday Minerals Light Tan Matte Base 
• Step 7: Everyday Minerals Everyday Bronzer 
• Everyday Minerals Kuuki Brush 
• Step 8: Covergirl Eyelash Curler- Walmart
• Step 9: Prestige Eyeliner- Beauty Plus salon
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay Grind House Sharpener
• Step 10-13:  
• Urban Decay Eye Shadows
• Tarina Tarantino Brush Set
• Duo Eyelash Glue 
• Lashes- Walmart, Walgreens, Beauty Plus Salon etc. 
• Mabeline XXL Curling Mascara- Walmart
•  Step 14: Everyday Minerals Shimmer Powder in Wet Sand
• Everyday Minerals Finishing Dust
• Buxom Lips in "Dani" (I forgot to put lip gloss on, but this is my favorite) 

I'm definitely not a makeup artist, but playing with makeup is so much fun... and I've had a few people ask me to do their makeup (which is so flattering)... but really scary because doing makeup on someone else is so different... and hilarious!  Go on YouTube, watch some tutorials (my favorite is Kandee Johnson), just have fun with makup...

I have this new palette to start playing with!

What's your favorite makeup?