Sunset and Palm Trees

I have been wanting to do palm trees for a long time. It looks difficult but it's really easy. These sunset and palm tree nails are inspired by SoNailicious.

Perfect for Summer

Cupcake

My sister brought back some Kiko nail polish from her stay in Europe. 2 of them were from their cupcake collection. So of course, I have to use them for cupcake nails! 

Kiko Cupcake : #655

Polish for Nail Stamping

I decided to compile a list of the nail polish I have that works well for nail stamping. I will continue to add to this list as I collect more nail polish. 

Lemon Jelly

I avoided doing a Jelly Sandwich manicure for a long time. It doesn't seem to look right when I attempt it. I recently saw one I liked so I tried to recreate it. It still looks weird on me. Maybe I'm not doing it right.

Essie Turquoise and Caicos jelly sandwich with lemon accent nails

Lavender Daisies

I'm not sure how I feel about this manicure. The lavender base color is gorgeous but the daisies are a bit messy. What do you think? 

Lavender daisy nails

Yellow & Orange Floral

Another Spring mani. This mani was inspired by @lifeisbetterpolished from Instagram. 

I love how simple and clean it looks. 

I applied 3 coats of Essie Find Me An Oasis to all my nails. 
The flowers and leaves were created with a small nail art brush using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed, Zoya Tomoko, Essie Naughty Nautical, and Essie Mojito Madness. 

Essie : Find Me An Oasis

Rainbow

While searching for rainbow images on Google for St. Patrick's Day nails, I came across this gorgeous watercolor rainbow art. It reminded me of the Nailasaurus nimbus technique. I had to try it. 

I applied 2 coats Disney Beautifully Ocean Mist to my pinky, middle, index, and thumb.
For my ring finger, I applied 2 coats of O.P.I Alpine Snow. My rainbow consisted of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Deep Purple, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed, Essie Aruba Blue, Essie Mojito Madness, and Sinful Colors GoGo Girl. 

Disney Beautifully : Ocean Mist

Spring Floral

It is still snowing on a weekly basis here and I am so sick of it. Crossing my fingers for Spring to come soon.

I applied 3 coats of Zoya Cole to my pinky, index, and thumb. Zoya Cole is part of their new Spring collection. It is a peachy orange creme color. Goes on smoothly and looks gorgeous!
Middle finger has 2 coats of Zoya Lux from their new Pixie Dust collection. It's a sparkly pink. Looks like crushed pink diamonds on my nails.
Ring finger has 2 coats of Essie Blanc. I used a makeup sponge and sponged on Zoya Cole, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, Essie Play Date, and Essie Mojito Madness. I drew on the flowers using a nail art brush and Essie Licorice. A few spots of Essie Mojito Madness for leaves. 

Inspired by Chelsea King.

Zoya Pixie Dust : Lux

Toy Story

I'm going to Disney World in a few days! To celebrate, I did Toy Story nails (inspired by thepolishsquirrel.

Thumb - 2 coats of Revlon Parfumerie Autumn Spice and Essie Licorice.
Index - 3 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, Essie Licorice, Essie Aruba Blue, Essie Blanc, and Sinful Colors GoGo Girl. 
Middle - 3 coats of Essie Blanc, Essie Mojito Madness, Essie Licorice, Essie Aruba Blue, Zoya Hunter, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Deep Purple, and Sinful Colors GoGo Girl.
Ring - 3 coats of Essie Bikini So Teeny and Essie Blanc.
Pinky - 2 coats of Zoya Dream, Essie Mojito Madness, Essie Blanc, and Essie Licorice. 

Essie : Mojito Madness

Pink Hearts For Valentine's Day

I wasn't able to find heart glitter nail polish at any of the beauty supply stores or drugstores. So I decided to get some craft glitter from Michael's. The hearts I bought are from a brand called Recollections. 

I applied 3 coats of Essie Fiji to all my nails. I placed my hearts using a dotting tool and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Invisible. Here is a video tutorial.   

Essie : Fiji

Basics FAQ

If you're new to the nail polish world you probably have some questions. 

Here are some tips and tricks that have been compiled for your reading pleasure.

There is one thing that will help almost more than anything else, and that is practice. Everyone’s nails are a slightly different shape, their cuticles grow differently, our chemistry is not the same. No one can tell you more accurately how to perfect your manicure than you, 100 manicures from now. So enjoy the process and know that after the fails there will be a fabulous success.

Mermaid Nails

Mermaid nails inspired by Elleandish. 

I applied 2 coats of Essie Mint Candy Apple for my base color. 

The gradient was created with Essie Mint Candy Apple, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away!, and Essie Aruba Blue. 

Each nail was stamped with Mash plate #39 and Essie After School Boy Blazer. 

I applied a very thin layer of Gwen Stefani O.P.I In True Stefani Fashion for a glittery touch. 

Essie : Mint Candy Apple

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! This year is the year of the Horse. I hope the new year brings everyone joy, health, and good fortune. 

Pinky, index, and thumb each have 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet. I stamped some gold swirls with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I using Mash plate #40.
Ring finger has 2 coats of Sally Hansen Golden-I. I stamped a pink horse with Essie Watermelon using Mash plate #42.
Middle finger has 2 coats of Sally Hansen Golden-I. Using a small brush, I wrote "福" which is Chinese for "good fortune", with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet.  

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear : Red Carpet

Galaxy Nails

The last time I did galaxy nails was back in October. It didn't turn out that great. I found a better tutorial this time to make this manicure much easier to achieve. 

I applied 2 coats of Essie After School Boy Blazer to all my nails. Using a make up sponge I created my nebula with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away! and Revlon Parfumerie African Tea Rose. 
For my middle finger, I stamped Saturn using Mash plate #34 and Essie Blanc. 
I applied a thin coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Disco Ball to all my nails for that extra starry look.  

Essie : After School Boy Blazer

Half Nude

My nails are horribly stained so I technically couldn't do half nude. 

Instead, I applied 2 coats of Essie Hi Maintenance as my base color. 
I used a dotting tool and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away! for the polka dots on my ring finger. 
I taped off the rest of my nails and applied Essie Naughty Nautical.  

Essie : Hi Maintenance

Clearly Spotted

This was a bit of a fail. 

Pinky, middle, and index fingers each have 2 coats of Essie Blanc. I applied Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots Clearly Spotted. It looks like an Oreo milkshake. 

Ring and thumb each have 2 coats of Essie Licorice. I stamped a polka dot pattern using Mash plate #48 with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I. It didn't turn out well. I covered it up with Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots Clearly Spotted. 

Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots : Clearly Spotted

Clouds or Scallops?

Some people call it clouds. Some call it scallops. Here is the original cloud mani tutorial. Here is the video that inspired me today. 

Pinky, middle, and index fingers each have 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal. I gave it a matte look with Nicole O.P.I matte top coat. The little clouds were created with a dotting tool using Maybelline Color Show Audacious Asphalt. 
Ring and thumb each have 2 coats of Cover Girl Outlast Constant Candy. Clouds/scallops were created using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away! and Maybelline Color Show Audacious Asphalt. 

Nicole O.P.I Top Coat

49ers

Let me start by saying I don't know anything about football and I don't know anything about the 49ers. I chose to do 49ers solely based on their colors. 

Pinky, middle, and thumb each have 2 coats of Sinful Colors GoGo Girl. 
Index finger has 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I and 3 coats of Sinful Colors Paris. 
Ring finger has 3 coats of Essie Blanc and Essie Good To Go top coat. I applied Sinful Colors GoGo Girl, Essie Licorice, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I to each diamond using this tutorial.  

Sinful Colors : GoGo Girl

Gray & Gold Glitter

Found a gorgeous design on Pinterest. I couldn't find the source so I'm not sure who to credit for such a genius idea. 

I applied Loreal Eiffel For You to all my nails. 
The glitter gradient on my ring finger is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Disco Ball, Sinful Colors Paris, and Nicole O.P.I Selena Gomez Kissed At Midnight. 
Gold stripes are striping tape with top coat to seal it in. 

Loreal : Eiffel For You

New Year's

Blue and gold glitter to ring in the new year.

Pinky, ring, and thumb each have 1 coat of Sinful Colors Blue By You and 1 coat of Maybelline Color Show Brocades Beaming Blue.
On my middle finger, I applied 3 coats of Essie Blanc. Using a dotting tool, I alternated between Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pink Satin and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I. I wrote 2014 with a striping brush using Sinful Colors Blue By You.
Index finger has 1 coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I, 1 coat of Sinful Colors Paris, and 2 coats of Nicole O.P.I Selena Gomez Kissed At Midnight. 

Happy 2014!