Valentine Leopard Nails

It's late January, and I just thought I'd jump into the bandwagon and start Valentine's early.  It is, after all, such a fun season because we can go over the top with hearts and still not be judged by others.  :p

Going over the top is not my thing though, so I opted to do a remake of my leopard print nails I did way back in 2011, but added hearts to make it suitable for Valentine's.

This is what I came up with:

For those of you who want to see my old version of leopard print nails, here it is:

I'd like to think my skill has improved since then :)

I got the idea of Valentine Leopard nails from Cutepolish, actually.  I was browsing through the internet when I saw one of her most recent videos.  I wouldn't want to plagiarize, so here is a video to give credit to where it is due:

But rather than copying her work entirely, I chose to make mine a little different by using Dazzle Dry's Bedazzled as base, then layering on some gold glitter polish over the tips.

Here are some close up shots for you to see the details more clearly.

To make the details, I used red and bronze acrylic paints that I recently bought from National Bookstore.  For the black outlines, I used a nail art pen from The Face Shop.  It makes drawing so much easier. :)

I am quite happy with how this turned out.  Dazzle Dry's Bedazzled definitely holds true to its name of bedazzling me everytime I use it.  It's just so elegant with its fine gold luster and subtle pink undertones <3

Here are a few more shots of my work:

So, an early Happy Valentine's to all!! I do hope that whether you are in a relationship or single, everyone gets a love-filled Valentine's this year :)

Thanks for reading!!

Basic Strawberry Nails

Inspiration really comes from the oddest things for me.  This nail art was inspired by... my iPad Mini cover!!  I just recently got it, and I found its shade of red really attractive.  It was intensely bright, and can probably be called neon red (although I've never heard of such a color).  I was really happy when I got it, and it struck me that it matches Dazzle Dry's Tutti Frutti Smoothie perfectly.  It's also a coincidence that I haven't used this color yet :)

My current nail art over my iPad Mini cover

Tutti Frutti Smoothie by Dazzle Dry is actually between neon orange and very very hot pink, almost red.  Take note, almost. It can be called neon coral, if you want to be more precise.  The red comes out more on my hands.  I'm not complaining about this though.  I love the color! It also helps that the consistency is just right -- not too thick, and not too thin.  First coat may look streaky, but the second coat makes it perfect.  Even without nail art, I would have enjoyed wearing Tutti Frutti Smoothie.  My nails looked so juicy and as refreshing as an ice cold glass of, well, fruit smoothie!

I did not really know what nail art I was going to do until I applied my base color.  All I wanted when I started was to match my nails with my iPad cover.  After seeing how Tutti Frutti Smoothie looked though, I had the idea of neon strawberries.  Because of the color, I chose to make my strawberries look cartoonish and very basic.  They also turned out to be quite easy to do.

Here is another look at my nails before we proceed with the tutorial:

*I was not paid to endorse any of the products listed below. These are items I bought for my own personal use, and out of my own choice :)

Materials:

1. Nail prep
2. Base Coat
3. Top Coat (items 1-3 from Dazzle Dry Trinity Set)
4.  Strawberry color of choice (DD Tutti Frutti Smoothie)
5. White nail polish (DD White Lightning)
6. Green nail polish (The Face Shop)
7. Pale yellow nail polish (TFS)
8. Dotting tool or toothpick

Procedure:

After cleaning with nail prep and applying base coat, paint all nails with your chosen strawberry color.

Paint a white zigzag French tip on all the nails.  I did this by swiping the nail polish brush diagonally on the tips to make peaks, but if you are not comfortable with it you make use tape cut with craft scissors as guides.

Cover the white edges with 1-2 coats of green polish.  They look like tomatoes at this point!!

Use a dotting tool to make dots.  To make my strawberries look cartoonish, I tried to make the dots look at evenly spaced as I can.

Let it completely dry, apply top coat, and you're done!

I really enjoyed wearing this nail art.  It actually cheered me up everytime I looked down and glanced at them!

I have a Strawberry Shortcake doll, and I thought it would be fun to take a picture with it :D

Thank you for reading!!

Slowing Down the Fast Track with Vintage Cherries

I recently procured some new colors for my Dazzle Dry hoard, and to add variety to my stash while being more age appropriate, I decided to go for vampier shades.  Age-appropriat because I'm reaching the big 3-0! Among the colors I chose was Fast Track Cherry, a deep red that looks burgundy under normal light, and bright red under bright sunlight.

However, I am not used to wearing dark colors so I felt the need to balance out the depth of Fast Track Cherry with Tranquil Grey, a light neutral grey.  Then I thought, why not create a nail design after the name of the color itself?

So this is what I came up with:

This photo shows 2 coats each of Tranquil Grey and Fast Track Cherry.  Tranquil Grey can actually be a one-coater, but I feel more comfortable applying at least 2 coats, probably because of habit.  Fast Track Cherry had a more watery consistency than Tranquil Grey, which makes it easier to apply.  But don't get me wrong; Tranquil Grey was not difficult to use.  Fast Track Cherry was just super easy. :)

My goal for this art was to paint cherries that looked like real paintings from art galleries.  To get the look, I used acrylic paint, and blended brown into the red of the cherries and green of the stems.  I then highlighted the cherries with white to make them look juicy.  This is my first attempt at serious-looking art.  What do you think?  Did I pull it off? :)

I also think the names of the colors were reflective of the day I had when I did this nail art.  That day started out quite busy because I was running around trying to get things done.  I was definitely on the fast track.  Then to reward myself for having a productive day, I decided to unwind by doing nail art, which made me feel more tranquil.  Lol!! There goes the philosopher in me :p

As I mentioned earlier in this blog, Fast Track Cherry is more like a burgundy shade.  It appears bright red in my photos because I like taking pictures by my window to get clearer shots.  Here is a less bright picture taken in my car on a cloudy day:

Now that is nearer to its actual color. :)

Before doing this nail art I actually did a more simple version using simple dots to make the cherries.

I think this is cute, too.  Easier to to do as well! Check out the tutorial by Cutepolish on how to make the cherries.  It's so simple all you need is a little patience to do it!

Thank you for reading!!

Feeling like a Million Bucks in Quarters

I have recently been feeling uninspired to do nail art, but instead I have been feeling the urge to explore color -- to use them plain on my nails to appreciate them more.  With this, I have a creeping feeling that I may be writing more color reviews, rather than purely nail art tutorials, starting today.  

The first color I decided to wear plain this year is French Quarters by Dazzle Dry.

The picture above shows three coats of French Quarters, and for accent I used Dazzle Dry's Tranquil Grey with glitter from The Face Shop.  

Dazzle Dry's French Quarters was easy to apply.  It goes on very sheer and has a very thin consistency, which required me to apply three coats in order to get an opacity I was happy with.  Wearing my nails plain with French Quarters was definitely worth it -- It made me feel like a million bucks with how sophisticated it turned out!  One phrase I would describe this look with is "understated elegance".  It was really simple -- I did not do anything special for it, and this would probably be one of the quickest manis I've ever done on myself.  But the color itself came out so beautifully that I was happy with its utter simplicity.  As my students said, "They're so beautiful! Your nails look like pearls." The only regret I have with wearing this color was adding purple glitter to it the following day that ruined the lovely pearl color.  

Here are some more shots of French Quarters:

Don't you agree that French Quarters looks so lady-like?  It does look better with an accent nail though, as wearing it alone may look too plain.  Then again, that may be just my style :)

On a reflective note, perhaps this sudden change in interest in how I wear my nails may be due to the realization that I will be turning 30 this year... Or it could be just a plain old mood swing.  Nonetheless, I am happy I tried this.  

Cheers to 2013, and to trying out new things (styles, in particular)!

Thanks for reading!!