Heart Nails + Inspiration

While looking at my usual youtubers recent videos I saw Bethany's "Easy Easter Gift ideas for Friends & Family." It was such a great video (like most of her videos) and I couldn't stop looking at her shirt. I thought it was absolutely adorable and the colors were just great. Baby blue and baby pink isn't such a rare combination but I had completely forgotten about it. While I stared at her shirt I thought how it would make for a great simple and cute nail design for spring or just anytime.

Pink Essie - Fiji

Blue Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Breezy Blue

Black Wet n Wild Wild Shine - Black Creme

White (under the blue) NYC Expert Last - White Mania 

I think it's clear that my hearts are another thing to add to my list of things to practice but I think it's okay, it definitely could have came out worse.

I didn't plan on adding the black outline but I didn't think the heart stood out without it and also it helped shaped the heart a bit more. I could't help constantly trying to tweak the outline so I ended up with a thick line and a mistake so all I did was take the blue base color blue and added it over the mistakes.

Here is a not so great picture of my inspiration:

Blue Tri-Accents

There is a youtube channel that I watch quite a bit and she has this signature manicure that she calls tri-accent nails. Leigh Ann is a beauty guru and her videos are amazing! Click on her name to see her tutorial on how to achieve this simple yet beautiful nail art design. I decided to do all blue since I had recently gotten two blue colors, a light baby blue and a blue glitter. They are both really pretty and I like the way blue looks on my nails.

Baby Blue Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Breezy Blue

Dark Blue Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Cobalt Blue

Blue Glitter Milani - Blue Flash

White NYC Expert Last - White Mania

I really loved this manicure, mostly because it looked so clean and the light blue really stood out to me. I also found the blue glitter to be absolutely stunning over the dark blue. I will do another manicure with this color combo sometime soon since I love it so much. 

This is what the manicure looks like without the glitter. I think it still looks nice but the glitter really helped make it pop. Indoors the light blue doesn't seem to really stand out but with the sun it is easier to see the gorgeous blue color. The base color is really sheer so I actually put a coat of white underneath to save some time on layering and make the color more opaque and brighter.

I hope you try this design! 

Candy Polka Dots

I saw this design somewhere on Instagram. Unfortunately there wasn't any credit given to the nail artist and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't trace it back to the original. I do have the picture I saw and if anyone knows who the nail artist is please let me know. Back to the design, I thought these were really pretty for spring and a good design to practice some dotting with a dotting tool. I think it's obvious I still need to work on it but I'm quite proud that it wasn't a total disaster.

Light Blue Essie - Mint Candy Apple

Yellow Sinful Colors - Unicorn

Pink Warpaint Beauty (Hot Topic) - Pretty in Pink 

Fuschia Avon Speed Dry - Strawberry

Navy Blue Brucci - Heavenly Julia

 Closer look at the dots:

 Here is the picture I saw on Instagram, her polka dots are much better haha. I will practice until I reach that level of amazing nail dotting talent!

Collective Nail Haul

In the past three months I have bought a lot of nail polish. I'm not sure what sparked my sudden urge to spend so much money on nail polish in such a short period of time but whatever the case I have a lot to show. I went to Ulta, Duane Reade, and Rite Aid and got some things I've been eyeing for quite some time.

Before I went to Ulta I went to Walmart and got an Essie polish and a Sally Hansen Insta Dri with a free top coat. This weekend was the first time of I went to Ulta since there isn't one very close to me but I absolutely loved it! I raved about how amazing that place was for a least three days and even now I can't stop thinking about it! The cashier who rang everything up was also extremely nice and she even complemented my nails. I'm also really excited since these are my first China Glaze polishes and my first bottle of Seche Vite. I know, I know, how in the world did I go so long without these things? Here's my answer: I have no idea! They're amazing! I can't even begin to describe my love for the Seche Vite topcoat, it is beyond perfect, it's magical.

Lilac OPI - You're Such A Budapest

Black and White China Glaze - Whirled Away

Hot Pink China Glaze - Shocking Pink

Peach China Glaze - Peachy Keen

Clear Seche Vite

Lavender Essie - Lilacism 

Red Insta Dri - Sonic Bloom 

Clear Insta Dri - Clearly Quick

I also went to Duane Reade today and got so much stuff. The sad part is there are still so many more polishes that I want! While I was waiting on line I saw a whole section I completely forgot about. I don't even know how it happened but it did. Naturally I grabbed a polish from one of the displays and decided to wait to get any other color since I already grabbed so many. Most of the polishes in the display were from Essie and I didn't have enough money to go all crazy and get that many of their polishes.

Pink Essie - Sugar Daddy

Dark Pink Sinful Colors - Timbleberry

Emerald Green Insta Dri - S-teal a Base

Gunmetal Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Gunmetal

Mint Green Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Mint Sorbet

Cloudy Clear NYC - Matte Me Crazy (Matte Top Coat)
Light Pink NYC Long Wearing- Fuchsia Glamour (or Pink Champagne)

Black Wet n Wild Wild Shine - Black Creme

Glitter Revlon - Heavenly

Lastly there is Rite Aid, which I went to in January. I went pretty crazy there to, I just couldn't help it! There is just so many pretty colors and so many designs come to mind when I debate getting them (most of which I end up deciding not to do) and I end up with a bunch of new nail polishes. Anyway, on to the polish!

Red NYC Long Wearing - BroadwayBurgundy Frost

Teal Glitter Sinful Colors - Lush Life

Pink Coral Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Coral Reef

Purple Revlon Colorstay - Bold Sangria

Hunter Green Revlon Colorstay - Rain Forest

Orange Glitter Sally Hansen Salon Manicure - Copper Penny 

Blue/Green Petites - Utopia

Okay I won't be able to swatch all of these right away but look out for some soon, as well as some of these colors being featured in future nail designs! 

         

Geometric Nails + Tutorial

I'm not sure where this design came from, I was just bored in SAT prep classes and began to think of designs and this just happened. I wanted basic colors which is why I chose red, yellow and blue. I like it because it catches my eye every time I look down towards my nails and also gets the attention of passerby's who just see bright colors and want to see what exactly is going on.

Yellow NK - Amarillo

Red Essie - She's Pampered

White NYC Expert Last - White Mania 

Blue Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pacific Blue

Black Nail Art Striper

I started by painting my nails white so that the middle of each nail will be a white triangle and so that all the colors will look brighter and stand out more. 

Once the white dried completely (and I do mean COMPLETELY) cut a piece of tape that will fit over your nail. Put the tape on the back of your hand to take away some of the stickiness it has so it doesn't lift the white polish. Place the tape over your nail leaving a space where you will paint the desired color. 

Once you place the tape onto all of your nails paint them what ever color you want. While they are still wet take off the tape while trying not to mess up the freshly painted colors. It's okay if it's not perfect since we will be going over it with the striper.

Wait for them to dry before you add more tape and paint the next color. Trying to make each nail a bit different. 

Once again wait for the colors to dry and add the last section of color onto the nails.

I didn't worry about being neat just because I knew once I washed my hands the excess polish will come right off. After they dried I added the lines with the black striper to make the lines look straighter and clean up the entire design. 

I got a bit of black on the red of my ring finger but just covered it up with a bit more red polish and although it's not flawless no one mentioned it while I wore this manicure so I'm hoping it wasn't very noticeable. If you made a mess of your cuticles like I did just make sure to clean it up and enjoy your design!