Psychedelic Fur

Left

Right

This week I decided to challenge myself with an animal print. I googled leopard print nail art but I need lots of bling and color so I decided to do a rainbow colored base. I painted each nail a different base color and sponged two other colors on each nail for a gradient effect followed by a coat of  a fine opalescent glitter by WetnWild, Then I dotted gold spots and outlined them in black. It was very time consuming because my black polish had gotten thick and gummy :(  Please ignore the smudge on my left pinky. The colors I used were: Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear in Blue It, Emerald City, and Black Out, NYC In A New York Minute in Prince Street, Maybelline Color Show in Fierce N Tangy,  Sinful Colors in Under 18, and Nicole by OPI in The Next CEO.  Enjoy!

Today's nails named Jewel Mosaics

This manicure was inspired by this blog post Dressed Up Nails: Fall Mosaic Nails. Mine aren't nearly as awesome as hers but they'll do. I used a combination of several glittery golds as the base and painted in a jagged edge leaving some bare nail at the bottom, then used Sinful Colors in Sugar Sugar(red), NYC In a New York Minute in Prince Street(purple), Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City, Kiss Nail Art in Pearl Blue, and Pure Ice in Magnetic Attraction(silver grey). I kind of wish I had used a silver glitter instead of gold.

Last week's nails, tentatively named "80's Prom Nite"

I was too busy to post these when I first did them but better late than never. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Beige Blast as the base then tipped them with Nicole by OPI in The Next CEO topped with Iris Colors in Gold Rush and used NYC In a New York Minute in Prince Street for the accents.

Pink Gossamer

What a difference lighting makes! The top image was taken indoors and the bottom image was taken outdoors. I think that the color really looks like something in between the two.  I was inspired to do this manicure by a character in a book I read. She decorated her bedroom and bathroom entirely in pink and gold. I promptly went out and bought pink and gold nail polishes and got to work. The pink is Milani in Juno and the gold is Nicole by OPI in The Next CEO.

Jewel Tones

I did this manicure using a makeup sponge to dab the colors over a base coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City. Please ignore my poor index finger. I broke my nail but I refuse to cut all my others just to make it look even. It will grow to match the others eventually. /sigh

Popsicle Time

I love the color combo here but I am not crazy about the pattern. I used my own custom blue, Xtreme Wear by Sally Hanson in Celeb City, Kiss Nail Art in Bikini Pink, and Maybelline Color Show in Fierce N Tangy. I named it Popsicle Time because the colors make me think of summer and fun.

Hippie Hippie Shake!

Rainbow water marbling with peace sign, ugly starburst and glitter topcoat.
Not my favorite. I still need a lot more practice with the water marbling technique.

Dayglo Fade

Dayglo Fade

It has been a minute since I posted. I didn't like the last mani I did :(

I am in love with this one though. I used a makeup sponge to get the fade effect. I used a neon orange over Celeb City by Sally Hansen and then though it needed a little more for the transition area so I sponged on a little Symphony in Gold by OPI.

Butterfly wings :) This manicure was inspired by a pin on pinterest but I can't credit the original site because when I clicked on it, it took me to a spam site. I couldn't decide which pic I liked best, so I posted both. I really love this manicure but it was very hard. I don't know if I will do one like it again. It was all done freehand, as I am sure you can tell. See y'all next time inspiration strikes ;)

My first attempt at stained glass nails. I don't have any nail polish pens so I used a nail art brush for the black outlines. My custom mixed blue is fast becoming one of my favorite polishes. The neon orange is very thin and difficult to work with.

My first time using the sponge technique. I saw a tutorial on galaxy nails and just HAD to try them.  The pics don't do them justice though. They are beautiful. Shimmery blues, greens, pinks, and purples over a black base color. Then I applied a coat of fine gold glitter polish followed by a irregular larger gold glitter. All covered with a clear top coat.

I did this one with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City and Blue It and OPI Symphony in Gold using the water marbling technique. I call it "Peacock Dreams" Enjoy!

I have loved painting designs on my nails for as long as I can remember. I never had any special tools or any of  the other goodies that are available today though. So you can imagine the fun I am having now that I have discovered this whole new world of nail art. I am learning so much and I plan on documenting my progress in this blog.  I will leave you today with this mani that I call "Bubblegum Nails"