Category: Nail Art

Try it on Tuesday: Half Moon Edition

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Try it on Tuesday is all about finally putting on a color or two that you have in your possession, but that you haven’t used yet. This week I decided to not only use new colors, but to try out a new nail trend as well. I have seen people trying out the half moon design using binder reinforcement stickers, and I wanted to do the same. Most of us have some of these stickers laying around the house, so why not put them to good use? The trick is simple, but does require some practice. I’ll tell you how I achieved the look, and show you two Anise polishes along the way!

Bronzed Babe by Anise

Anise polish can be found as DSW stores. That’s right– at your favorite shoe store! When I found that out I was very surprised. How had I missed them before? Well, you can find these polishes right at the register. They are $6 each, but they are typically on sale for buy one get one half off, so you get two for $9. Not too bad, especially since I had a bit of a gift card to put towards my purchase. I bought two complimentary colors– Miss Inspector and Bronzed Babe. I knew that I wanted to use them both together.

For this half moon mani, I began with Bronzed Babe. This is a gorgeous shimmery gold. Its formula and look is very similar to Celeb City from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear (one of my favorites!), except that it is gold and not silver. I used two coats, but it looked good with just one! It was very easy to apply, and dried rather quickly. I actually wore it alone for a few hours because I didn’t have the time to finish this mani all in one sitting, and I loved it! This is one of my new favorites!

Next, I applied a sticker to each nail. This method is very similar to the scotch tape trick, so be sure to press the stickers firmly down on dry polish. Once the stickers are in place, paint your next color. I used Miss Inspector, a creamy brown. Though this color looks very nice, I am not overly thrilled with the formula. Of course, this is the first time I’m using it, so I’m not sure how it would look without Bronzed Babe underneath it. The first coat was streaky and thin, but the second coat was much better. The worst part was the smell. Phew! So stinky! I’m not sure why that was, but it turned me off a bit. I’m not sure I’ll be using this color too much.

Stick ’em on!

Just as you do with scotch tape manis, be sure to peel off the stickers of your half moon mani while the polish is still wet. Finish up with your topcoat to even out any imperfections. While my mani didn’t come out perfectly, I am pretty happy with my first half moon attempt. I can see that I positioned the stickers a little too high on the nail, especially on my right hand. I’ll be more careful about that next time.

Miss Inspector by Anise in half moon style!

What do you think of this mani? Have you tried the half moon style before? What about Anise polish? Let me know!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway HERE!

Mani Upgrade with Geometric Glitter

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Remember my manicure from my last post? It was a beautiful nude color from Julep called Lynne. I loved it, but it was time for some sparkle. I knew I wanted to use another color from my July Julep Maven Box called Yumi, so I ran a short poll on my Facebook page to determine what style I should do. The winning trend was geometric glitter, and I was excited to try it out. I’ve done a few other geometric styles, but I hadn’t tried it out with glitter before. It turns out to be just as easy, and it looks super fun!

 To get a geometric look, all you need is scotch tape and scissors! Simply cut small strips of scotch tape in any shape you want and place it on a completely dry manicure. You can do any design you want- stripes, diagonal lines, chevrons, etc. I like to do a different shape on each nail. Once the tape is on your nail, make sure it is pressed down so that no polish will leak through. Then, paint right over the tape with your new color. Make sure to take off the tape before the polish dries! For my mani, I used three coats of Julep’s Yumi. It is a beautiful, multi-dimensional glitter in a light pink base. It is very sheer so it is perfect for layering. It is also opalescent, so the colors shine in the light. It looks perfect with Lynne!

Above is a photo of my finished product! Notice how I used all different geometric shapes. I love this look! It is perfect for a mani upgrade because your nails will be already dry, plus you can cover up any imperfections with the new color. People will also be impressed with your nails, even though you know all you used was scotch tape. Have you tried out this trick yet? What colors did you use?

Macro shot of my thumb. Don’t you love this design & color combo?

P.S. Don’t forget you can join Julep Maven HERE! Enter code COLOR2012 to get your first box for one penny.

Today’s Forecast: Cloudy

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Once again I’m sporting a mani that was inspired by Pinterest (see original HERE). The cloud trend seems to be sweeping through the nail blogs lately, and I love it! Because I”m not much of an artist, this technique allows me to have nails that look fancy yet aren’t difficult to accomplish. Just pick three of your favorite colors, make sure you’ve got time for the polish to dry, and be patient! A steady hand is extremely helpful when painting on the clouds. Here are the polishes I used– left to right we have Julep’s Niecy, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear’s Lacey Lilac, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear’s Celeb City.

I began with Niecy from Julep. It’s the first time I’ve used this polish and I LOVE it! Applied beautifully with no streaks. It also dries super fast. I accidentally bumped my hand right after I painted the second coat, and it didn’t smudge! That is some super awesome polish. Here’s a quick photo of Niecy on it’s own. Don’t forget, you can by Julep products HERE. 

I began painting the clouds with Lacey Lilac once the pink base had dried, which luckily for me was almost instantaneous! To get the cloud design, paint three strokes of polish on each nail, each one a bit shorter than the previous. You want to aim for rounded edges on each stroke to get the cloud shape, so try to start with a drop of polish, and then drag the excess up. It was definitely hard on my pinky nail (too small!!), and painting my right hand was darn scary. I have to say, I was pretty excited after Lacey Lilac was completed. Pretty good for my first try, no?! 

Lastly, I finished up with one of my all time favorite polishes, Celeb City from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I haven’t used it in a long time, so I made sure to include it in this mani. I also thought it would be a good choice to have a nice, shiny silver along with two creamy colors. I think it goes together very nicely! Plus, after doing round one of the cloud shape with the lilac, I was a pro with Celeb City. My biggest tip for this mani, besides having patience, is to make sure you let each coat dry before moving on. You don’t want the colors to blend together! This is especially important when applying your topcoat. 

I’m really pleased with the finished product! It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely awesome for my first try. Not only is this mani easy enough for those like me who aren’t good at art, but the products I used were all under $3! Talk about being fabulous AND affordable! Oh, and don’t forget about my giveaway! Go HERE to enter to win some free polish.

Love this trend! Have you rocked clouds yet?

Make Your Neons POP!

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland
Fabulous Nails Color 104

This season neon colors are definitely in. I first tried this trend out back in April (see that post HERE), but I felt as if I needed a highlighter color on my nails once again. Yesterday I received the white nail polish that I ordered from the Fabulous Nails sale at HauteLook, so I decided to do a mani using the trick my friend Eve taught me a couple years back. If you want to make your neons shine brighter, simply begin with a white polish! Believe me, you will love the result!

I began with two coats of the white. This was my first time using Fabulous Nails, and it didn’t excite me too much. The coats were quite streaky, and the color wasn’t opaque. Thankfully for this mani the white didn’t have to be perfect, because I was placing another color on top anyway. Make sure you let your white polish dry before you put on your next color, or the polishes might smudge and blend together. I decided to top the white with Did I Dye it Too Blonde? by Spoiled. I used two coats of that polish as well. Now my nails are definitely popping! Below are two pictures of my mani. The first one is without the flash, but to give you an idea of how bright my nails really are I took one with the flash as well. What do you think?

 

Somewhat Failed Gradient Nails

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Well, friends, not all of my Adventures in Polishland are successful. Last night I attempted the gradient nails trend, and it was more difficult then I thought it would be! What are gradient nails? Click HERE to see what I was going for. Basically, it’s smudging two or more colors together to make them appear blended. I had looked up a few tutorials on how to achieve this effect, and tried one method. I guess it wasn’t the right one for me!

Base of Lacey Lilac from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear

I began this mani with Lacey Lilac from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I used two coats and let the polish dry completely. Then, I got to work with a makeup sponge and dabbed O.P.I’s Lourve Me Lourve Me Not along the tops of my nails. I’m not sure if it was the polish that didn’t want to cooperate, but it seemed as if the sponge was soaking up the polish instead of putting it on! In the end, I’m not too thrilled with the look I got, but I’m not going to give up. I’ll probably try this out again in a week or two. Here is a photo of my left hand, which looks so much better than my right! What do you think of my mani? Have you tried the gradient trend?

Before I end this post I wanted to announce here that once I reach 50 blog followers I will be hosting a giveaway! So if you want to score some free polish make sure you hit the follow button at the top of the page or sign up to receive updates via email. That button is in the column on the right.

P.S. We are only 20 followers away from that goal!

An Ocean of Ombre

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Two hot trends this summer are ocean hues and ombres, showcased on nails, accessories, and apparel. I decided to combine both of them on my nails using a variety of polishes from my collection. You can buy an ombre kit at Sephora right now for $22 (click HERE for details), but by using polishes I already owned, and a sheet of white scrap paper, I didn’t have to spend any cash. Plus, each of the colors I used was purchased at a drugstore and would total under $17 anyway– about $5 in savings! Here’s how I achieved the Ocean Ombre look.

My “cheat sheet” for the mani!

First, I picked out the five blue shades I was going to use. Luckily I currently have exactly five blues! To ensure that I would achieve light to dark shading, I painted two light coats of each polish on a piece of white scrap paper, cut out each sample, and rearranged the order. Once I was happy with the colors, I got painting! I started off with the lightest color on my pinky, and ended with the darkest on my thumb. Lightest to darkest, I used Empire State Blue by NYC, Blu by Sally Hansen HD, Blue Me Away! by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Plenty of Fish in the Sea by Spoiled, and Party Palace Blue by Confetti. Even though each of these colors was from a different brand, with some being cremes and others metallic, they all looked great together.

All of the colors I used!

What do you think of the finished product?! I received many compliments on this manicure from my coworkers and from customers at my retail job. And even though it looks fancy, it was so easy to accomplish! The ombre trend can be perfected with any color palette. If you don’t have 5 shades of one color like I did, try sunset colors– pink to red, red to orange. You could also use neutrals with white, cream, grey, and black. Or, if you’d like to stick with the ocean hues, but only have a few shades of blue, alternate the colors. The key is to use the polishes you already own in a new way. You don’t always have to spend money for a new look!

Ocean Ombre nails

Try out one (or both!) of these trends and let me know how it turned out in the comments section or on my Facebook page!

Here’s a Tip: Add Glitter!

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

 After browsing through many boards on Pinterest lately (click HERE to follow me!), I’ve noticed that glitter is even more popular than usual. Of course, the One for Fun trend is still thriving, but many ladies are sporting some glittery French manicures. Today I decided to give the look a try, so I grabbed a red from O.P.I. and my favorite polish, Rockstar Pink from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I thought these two colors would look great together, and boy was I right! I am extremely pleased with the results of my manicure.

To achieve the look, I first painted two coats of the red and let it dry completely. I have to admit, I don’t usually wear this color since the red is a bit much for me, but why not go for it, right?! I also don’t even know what the polish is called since it’s an O.P.I. mini from a holiday set. Anyway, once the color dried I got out my Rockstar Pink and went to town. For this French manicure, I wasn’t concerned with getting perfectly straight and clean lines. All I did was slowly dab the glitter along the top of each nail until I got the look I wanted. Thankfully, the glitter is very forgiving, so even though my lines are a bit messy, my manicure still looks awesome. What do you think?

If you want to try out this glitter French manicure, go for it! It’s way easier than I thought it would be. Don’t be afraid to use a variety of colors for both the base coat and glitter. If a bright color (like the red I chose) is too much for you, the traditional French pink is fine. Plus, if you want to have perfect lines, just use some scotch tape! Just be sure to finish up with a top coat so the glitter stays in place. Enjoy!

All It’s Cracked Up to Be

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Since last spring, the crackle trend has been sweeping nail nation. It began with OPI’s Black Shatter, which I trekked all over midtown Manhattan to find with no luck. Thankfully, other brands began to come out with their own crackle polishes, including the much more affordable Sally Hansen. My mom bought me Fuchsia Shock, and let me tell you, I was somewhat shocked the first time I used it! It really does work, and it’s so easy to put on. Plus, it dresses up any manicure. People will be amazed when you show them your nails.

Last Thursday I decided to use crackle on my nails for my mom’s retirement party. I was wearing a bright spring dress with orange, yellow, and pink, and I couldn’t decide what color to paint my nails. Thus, I went with all three! First, I painted my nails with Don’t Be Cheesy from Spoiled and Mellow Yellow from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I alternated the orange and yellow colors, painting two thin coats of each. I let this color dry for a bit before applying the crackle. Even though waiting is difficult, you want to make sure your nails are dry so the colors do not blend. Then, apply a coat of the crackle to your nails. You’ll want to move somewhat quickly, but either a thick or thin coat is fine depending on how much color you want to show from underneath. A thinner coat reveals more color. The exciting part is when the crackle begins to appear right before your eyes! It’s so awesome! Make sure to top with your favorite topcoat to event out the layers & add some shine.

So, what do you think, did my nails match my dress well? The lighting on the photo kind of stinks, but you get the idea. This manicure was fun to do, and each polish that I used was under   $6.50! Plus, if you go to Target’s website right now you can get a coupon for $1 off select Sally Hansen polishes. Go grab some new nail polish and let me know what you think of the crackle trend!

 

One for Fun

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

One of the latest trends this spring that I’ve noticed sweeping quickly through Pinterest is the “One for Fun” style. One for Fun is the name I’ve given to when you paint all of your nails one color except for your ring finger, which you paint with something else. Last night, my suitemates and I had a sleepover party as a part of our senior year bucket list. We ordered frozen yogurt, read Cosmo, gossiped about boys, and (of course!) painted our nails! Since this blog has suddenly made me a nail expert (not really), many of my friends requested to borrow my nail polish and asked me for advice. I talked a few into doing the One for Fun trend so they could be featured here!

Here’s a photo of my nails, complete with a few imperfections that you can overlook 🙂

For my own nails, I used Mellow Yellow and Celeb City, both by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear. I had bought Mellow Yellow earlier in the day, as I’ve been wanting a yellow, and it’s fun and bright for springtime. Celeb City is a metallic silver, and I think it contrasted nicely with the yellow. Of course, One for Fun wouldn’t be complete (on me, at least) without some sparkle. On top of the silver I added 2 light coats of my vintage Wet ‘n’ Wild clear glitter, which I’ve probably had since my sleepovers in elementary school and can’t bring myself to get rid of.

My other friends did something a bit different. Melanie also used a color from Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, hers a bright blue called Blue Me Away! Her ring finger wore the Don’t Be Cheesy! orange from Spoiled that was featured in the last post. Steph arrived at the sleepover with her fingers sporting her own bright pink. To complete the One for Fun style all she had to to was take the polish off of her ring finer and apply another color. She chose one of my all-time favorites, Rockstar Pink also from Xtreme Wear. This glittery goodness went perfectly with her already rockin’ nails.

Melanie, Steph, and I show off our One for Fun nails

One for Fun is a great way to spice up any manicure. Not only can you use a contrasting color and glitter, but you don’t have to stick to your ring finger either. I’ve seen people with their pointer fingers sporting One for Fun, too! Get creative! This is a great solution to those days where you JUST don’t know which color nail polish to use. By the way, if you were wondering what people thought of my Geometric Nails, they were a big hit! I got compliments everywhere I went, and people were amazed when I let them in on the scotch tape secret. Have you tried any of these trends yet?

Geometric Nail Designs

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

I remember back in high school when my mom bought me my first french manicure kit. Complete with stickers that were supposed to help me create the perfect french nails, this kit turned out to be a flop. Maybe it was my impatience, but after a few tries, I chucked that kit in the trash and never looked back. Thanks to Pinterest and this post from Birchbox, I’m no longer afraid to mix colors. All you need to create a funky, geometric look is scotch tape! 

Last night I painted my nails with Don’t Be Cheesy, a bright orange from the new line Spoiled by Wet n Wild. I let this color dry overnight as Birchbox suggested, since putting scotch tape on wet nails is a no-no. Today I chose one of my favorite nail colors, Check Me Out by L’oreal Paris, and got to work with the tape. I loosely followed Birchbox’s ideas and cut the tape in all different shapes, some small strips and others larger, and placed them on my nails in varying patterns. Once the tape is secure, just paint your nails with the color you have chosen, and carefully peel off the tape while the polish is still wet. Here’s where my main advice comes in: it is important to smooth out the tape so that there are no air bubbles, but make sure you don’t crease it too much. My main problem occurred in peeling off the tape. Since I had pressed it down so much, it broke while I was trying to take it off! Luckily I was able to salvage most of my hard work, but I do have some mistakes (hey, I’m only human). I’m still proud of my new geometric nails, though. Check out the photos below. Image Image

Pretty cool, huh? Just make sure that once the polish is completely dry you use a top coat. Don’t put it on too soon or the colors will smudge. You can also get more adventurous than I did, and paint your nails all different colors. Or, if you want to add a special touch, put clear glitter over the finished product! You’ll soon come to learn that I am a bit obsessed with glitter, but more on that later.