Color Block/ Mod 60's Inspired Nails

I’ve really been wanting to use these French manicure guides that I’ve had forever to do something, and I truly couldn’t think of anything until today! (BTW I don’t wear French manicures very much at all so that wasn’t really an option.)

The French manicure (FM) guides that I have actually came from a FM set I bought a few *years* ago from Sally Hansen. At the time I had no idea that Stripe Rites and other nail art polishes existed so I purchased the set solely for the white polish with the thin brush. Included were a sheer polish, top coat, and the white polish along with the aforementioned guides. To this day I’ve kept them around thinking that I may one day use them and today my friends I found their purpose!

I’ve wanted to do a color block design for a while now and I’ve tried creating them several times which were all overly complicated and usually ended in a steaming pile of fail. On my attempt today I decided to keep it simple and *finally* came out with a wearable design. If you are curious as to what I’m blabbering on about, here are a few pictures:

The products I used were:

BASE
Nail Magic Nail Hardener (Review can be found here)
Seche Clear (base coat)
Zoya- Purity (white)

DESIGN
OPI- ‘The “IT” Color’ and ‘You’re a Pisa Work’ (yellow and pink)
China Glaze- ‘Flying Dragon (Neon)’ and ‘Blue Sparrow (Neon)’
Misa- The Grass is Greener on My Side (Neon)
Stripe Rite in White (my line corrector/eraser)

TOP
Seche Vite

All in all I really did enjoy the way this came out. If I was going to do it again I would find something thinner than the FM guides as I think they were a little too thick for the size of my nail.

If you’d like a more in depth description of the process than check out my video below:

New York Fashion Week Inspired Nails: Marc Jacobs

I wanted to shoot out a quick thank you to everyone who has sent me inspiration pictures (they can be of anything from nature or nails, to abstracts and people) . It is incredibly helpful! Also if you have some inspiration photos that you would like to share please feel free to send them my way: Audrey@allnailandcosmetics.com.

Now onto the good stuff:

When I asked on twitter for inspiration I received many suggestions but the one that I chose to work with was “New York Fashion Week”. Truth be told I am not too crazy about fashion/trends. I try my best to think about what works for me and what will be relevant in the years to come. So, for this topic I decided that Google was going to be my bff. I typed in my phrase and went straight to the images section. It only took me until page 2 to find something that jumped out at me.

(Source: Harpers Bazaar)

I chose this Marc Jacobs outfit purely based on the fun colors (neon’s will be big again for spring nails this year) so it was a bit of a no-brainer to choose this one.

The main colors/themes of this look were:
Polka Dots (Black-Zoya Raven; White-Zoya Purity)
Black (see above)
Bright Green (Misa-The Grass is Greener on My Side)
Fuchsia (Essie- Life Guard)

Here is what I’ve come up with:

Now, it has been pointed out to me that the polka-dots on the blouse (inspiration pic) were actually pale yellow but I used white (accidently I should add).



This look like my others is a focus on quick, easy, nail art that nearly anyone can do! I hope that you’ve enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think in the comments!

New Year's Eve Nails

While I am always excited for a new year to begin there is also a slight bit of remorse, sadness even as the past is the past and can't be repeated. Mainly I am thinking of the good times but there are pivotal moments, key decisions which have brought me this far and made me the person I am today. 2010 will be full of wonderful moments too I am sure but like an old familiar friend 2009 will not be easily forgotten.

That being said, and what you are probably most interested in is: What nail design will I ring in the New Year with? Well, here it is! A sparkling, bedazzled, jeweled number with enough glitter to ring in the next few years--let me tell you, I am not looking forward to removing this--but for now, it is a gem to look at.

Please have a safe and Happy New Year!

The whole design was inspired by Katy Perry and one of her amazing rhinestone encrusted designs.

Above: Artificial Light

Above: Sunlight

Above: Sunlight, shown blurry to see some of the sparkle

Another Animal Print

I really must say that I have never, ever, ever been a fan of animal prints until about 3 months ago and even then it had to be something special for me really like it. I guess the tacky animal prints of the 90's (specifically those worn by women in my family) really scarred me. After the Zebra Nail Tutorial I did I was feeling good about them, at least on my nails. So when leopard was requested I was worried. Well, it only took me two months to do it but I also added a little twist to it by making it pink! Who doesn't like pink?!

I can't say that I really changed any of the design except the color scheme. But, here's what it looks like:

Tie Dye Nails and Water Marbling

Water Marbling with multiple colors can be a big pain to do but, at the same time the results can be fun and unique. Recreating an exact pattern takes a lot of skill but many patterns can be accomplished with practice.

Likewise, the saturation or opacity of the color can vary depending on the brand and finish of the polish. I've also found that shimmers retain their finish but provide very little coverage. As I've mentioned before creme finishes are my favorite, and 4/5 colors used were cremes.

Have you ever tried water marbling? Let me know in the comment section!