Lynnderella Attitude Adjust-Mint, Swatches and Nail Art

Hi everyone! I was inspired by Peachy Polish's Lynnderella Monday series to pull out some of my own Lynnderella polishes. I don't show these polishes often, but they are some of my favourite in my collection. Every time I look at them, I want to mix up some glitter. To challenge myself I thought I'd do some simple nail art along with the swatches. I find glitters can be hard to incorporate into nail art.  Most of the time I end up doing accent nails with varying degrees of success. So we'll see how you feel about today's look. ;)

Lynnderella Attitude Adjust-Mint

31 Day Nail Art Challenge 2.0: Day Eight, Dotticure

Hi everyone! I hope next week to get caught up on this nail art challenge. In the meantime, I have what I hope is a clever take on a dot manicure. For whatever reason, when I brainstormed ideas for this day, I thought of Pac-Man, who is basically a little dot that eats dots. Lol! And since I'm old enough to remember the original Pac-Man, I decided to go retro in trying to recreate the popular game.

Original Pac-Man nail art

The Digit-al Dozen Does The Terrific Twos, Day Four: China Patterns

Hi everyone! I have a quick, late night post for you tonight! As part of The Digit-al Dozen's two year anniversary celebration, we're taking on a variety of themes, and today it happens to be china patterns. China (the dishes, not the country) is a "modern" gift for a second wedding anniversary, so it seemed only fitting to take on this idea while we pat ourselves on the back for making it this long.

Dotted gradient inspired by Pickard China

The Digit-al Dozen Does Texture, Day Two: JulieG Dotticure

Hi everyone! I am excited about today's design. Yesterday I posted a more subdued look with Zoya's Pixie Dusts. Today I'm turning to another texture polish collection in my stash - the Jesse's Girl JulieG Frosted Gum Drops collection. I was able to get my hands on these thanks to my friend Joy, and can you believe I have yet to use them?!

JulieG Dotticure

Nude Hearts, Dots, and Stripes With The Zoya Naturel Collection

Hi everyone! If you haven't already done so, make sure to enter my Girly Bits giveaway. It ends in less than a week!

You may have noticed that things have been quiet here the past couple of days...well I've been working on a new Renaissance collection, in addition to having more work on my plate (day job work I mean). Lately I've been thinking of introducing bite-sized posts - good pictures, but minimal text - in addition to, or sometimes in lieu of, my regular posts. One of my goals was to post more nail art, and I think shorter posts would be good for very simple looks that need minimal explanation. And when work and life gets in the way, shorter posts - nail art or simple swatches from my collection - would keep me in the habit of posting on a regular basis. So what do you think of the idea? Yay, works for you, or nay, too much of a cop-out?

Nude Hearts, Dots, and Stripes

Okay, so back to the nail art...

The Digit-al Dozen Does Vintage: Country Floral

Hi everyone! I've got some work deadlines coming up so my posting may be sporadic for the rest of the week, but I'm hoping to get my Digit-al Dozen posts up by the weekend. I still have one more design to post, and one more to paint, and I'm really looking forward to both!

31 Day Challenge: Day Eleven, Polka Dots: Zoya Stunning Dots + Gradients

Hi everyone! After my design for day ten of the challenge - gradient nails - I've been wanting to do more gradients, and specifically taped gradient nails. So when figuring out what to do for today's challenge, it came to me that I could combine polka dots and gradients, while practicing my tape mani skills.

Zoya Stunning dots + gradient nail art

It also was a chance to use the polishes from the Zoya Stunning collection before I start getting really distracted by the fall colours and collections. Aside from the base colour (OPI My Vampire is Buff), all polishes used for this design are from the Zoya Stunning collection: Zoya Darcy (yellow creme), Thandie (orange creme), Micky (light pink creme), Yana (darker pink creme), Josie (green creme), and Rocky (sky blue creme). The contrast to the cream-coloured base really makes the colours more vibrant and bright, at least I think so.

Zoya Stunning dots + gradient nail art

To get this look: The process is a bit complicated to explain so I'll do a step-by-step:

Step #1: Paint all nails with a base of OPI My Vampire is Buff. Let dry and use a quick dry top coat but only on the ring and middle nails.

Step #2: On your pinky, index and thumb do a two-colour gradient using a makeup sponge. For my pinky and thumb I used Josie and Rocky, while my index nail is a combination of Micky and Thandie. Seal those nails with a quick dry top coat.

Step #3: Let your nails dry completely, about 30 minutes, before moving on to the taping.

Zoya Stunning dots + gradient nail art

Step #4: Press pieces of tape on your skin to remove most of the tact. On your ring and middle nails tape off the bottom portion of the nail and do a two-colour gradient on top. I used Yana and Rocky on my ring fingernail and Darcy and Josie on my middle.

Step #5: Tape off the bottom portion of the fingernail on your pinky, index and thumb. Paint the exposed part with two coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff. Don't let it dry too much, you just want to do two quick coats - one right after another - and pull off the tape before the polish starts to dry.

Step #6: Finish with the dots using a tiny dotting tool, and seal design with a quick dry top coat.

Zoya Stunning dots + gradient nail art

I hope the step-by-step was clear. I feel like this design is not my usual type of work, but I rather like it. I like the bright, cheerful colours, and I like that it is different from what I normally do.

What do you think of this design? Would you be interested in a tutorial?

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An InLinkz Link-up

From the Readers: Your Easy Nail Art Tips and Techniques, Part One

Hi everyone! A few days ago, I appealed to you as readers and followers of this blog to send me your easy nail art tips and techniques. When I first came up with the idea, I thought that I'd leave the survey up for some time - maybe a month or so - but after just a few days, you gave me more than enough content! So much that I've had to break the responses up into three blog posts so that I don't overwhelm everyone with one or two *massive* posts. 

I received so many interesting and unique ideas that I wanted to give everyone a space on this blog. Also many respondents decided to submit photos of their own work, and let me tell you, I love all the beautiful nail art everyone has done! Before I get into the responses, I want to point out that I received photos from people at all different skill levels. Some have been photographing their nail art for quite some time, others are very new, so please be supportive of everyone regardless of skill level, please and thanks. :)

Note: the links to the original blog post are in the caption of each photo. Make sure to check out these awesome bloggers and Instagramers!

What is nail art?

I think this question is a good place to start. Anything beyond a straightforward manicure can be considered nail art. So by definition nail art doesn't have to be something complicated. 

Christa at Possibly Polished (blog) pointed this out with her response: "A lot of my readers always ask for "easy nail art tips and tutorials", but I always wonder: What does "nail art" mean to you? I did this Tips on Tuesday post because I want my readers to know that nail art doesn't have to have fancy tools or a steady hand, nail art can simply be as pretty as a glitter accent nail and it looks so cute and fun! And it is quick and easy!"

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How much will it cost?

Nail art doesn't have to cost a lot, and it's possible to get away with minimal tools. But many who are new to nail art may think that they need lots of fancy, specialized tools. 

That's why I loved Novita's response, she blogs at Colors Frenzy (blog) and she gave a list of suggestions organized by cost: "All of these are what I think can be considered as quick and (moderately) easy nail art: (1) Nail art with minimal tool: dotticure, saran wrap. You don't need to own dotting tool to do this, good for beginner who doesn't want to invest in any nail art tool yet. (2) Cheap budget nail art: gradient, tape mani. All you need are just make up sponge (which most ladies probably already have) and striping tape. (3) Medium budget: stamping."

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I really love this two colour gradient that she did. Once you try them a few times, gradients can be very easy!

Dots, dots, dots!

Many of you suggested dotticures as an easy nail art technique. I couldn't agree more. The interesting thing was that everyone had their own unique take on the dot manicure!

Brijit of Brijit's Digits (blog) - I love that name! - responded: "Dotticures! Anyone can do them, and they're easy to do with your non-dominant hand, too, especially if you do a bit of a random placement :) Don't be tempted to pay for a super expensive dotting tool from a make-up brand - you can get very cheap unbranded ones, or even use a toothpick or the end of a bobby pin."

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I tend to gravitate towards gradient type designs when it comes to dots, so I really like how she did this one.

Linalinux (Instagram) has a really unique take on dotticures. She has done a number of designs that look advanced, but are not too difficult for someone who has done a few dot manicures before.

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Paulina of Paulina's Passions (blog) responded: "If I need a quick fix I usually got for simple dotticures or glitter gradients. If I have a bit more time, I usually do some floral :)"

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I really love this dot manicure. It's a bit more intricate, but would be easy for someone who already has some experience with a dotting tool.

Ro from It's Just a HOBBY! (blog) also had a similar response: "Dotticures are always the fastest/easiest nail art. When I'm in a hurry, dots are my go-to tools."

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Again, I really love her own unique take on the dot manicure, and I especially love the layering of orange and blue dots.

Sandwich anyone?

Despite the fact that I've bought several jelly polishes for the specific purpose of doing a jelly sandwich, I have yet to try the technique. A jelly sandwich is basically when you layer a glitter polish (or stamping, or dots) between layers of sheer or jelly finish polish.

Amy at McPolish (Instagram) explained: "My favorite easy, go-to nail art is the "jelly sandwich". It may not be super artistic, but if I am at a loss of ideas for nail art, this ones is easy and looks more interesting than just putting glitter polish over a base coat. You do need jelly or sheer polish to make it work, but you can use any glitter you want. I have even used the jelly sandwich technique over stamping or dotting to give more depth. The basic formula is to paint your nails with alternating layers of jelly and glitter polish until you are happy with the color. I typically do 2 coats of jelly, 1 coat of glitter and 1 coat of jelly on top. Using a fast dry top coat with help all these layers dry more quickly."

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Edit: When this blog post was originally published I wasn't able to include Amy's photo, but thankfully she emailed me a jpeg! Thanks Amy!

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Whew! That was a lot but I hope you can see why I wanted to include everyone's responses. Make sure you check out parts two and three, hopefully I'll be able to put them together this week! There's more great ideas to come! :D

Tell me: What is your go-to easy nail art technique? And what do you think of this idea of reader-generated posts? I love the idea, maybe not every month, but once every 2-3 months.

Spring Dot Manicure with Models Own

Hi everyone! I should be bringing you another review for the Born Pretty Store, but I've been very tired lately, so that will have to wait until tomorrow or the weekend. Yesterday I got three new (to me) Models Own polishes with my Harlow & Co. order, and I couldn't resist combining them in some sort of design. And since I've been so tired / overwhelmed / overworked etc., I wanted to keep it simple. I realized I haven't done a dot manicure for awhile, hence today's mani!

Spring dot manicure with Models Own

For this manicure, I used Models Own Jade Stone, Soda Pop Pink and Utopia. They are not new colours, I believe they are part of the core line, but I found them perfect for spring! And I was pleasantly surprised how well they went together, especially Jade Stone and Soda Pop Pink.

Note that the colours are slightly more saturated than they are showing up in my photos. Sorry! :/

But a bit about these polishes...

Models Own Jade Stone, Utopia, and Soda Pop Pink

Jade Stone is a pale mint creme leaning slightly towards a robin egg blue. I really love the colour on this one, it's so fresh and just right for spring. I used two coats here and the formula was perfect - very creamy, smooth, and perfectly self-leveling.

Spring dot manicure with Models Own

Soda Pop Pink is a pale bubblegum pink. It's not very bright, nor is it a pastel, I guess it's just somewhere in the middle. I really love this colour, and it's very flattering and girly without coming across as barbie doll pink. It was a bit more sheer than the others so I used three coats, but otherwise the formula was great - also very smooth and self-leveling.

Utopia is a very, very pale lavender-grey. I think this will be a great polish for nail art and for when I need a "palette cleanser". It was thicker than the others so I needed to add a few drops of thinner, but it was fine after that. I used two coats and I found that there was a bit of bubbling (which disappears when you add a top coat), but otherwise a very good polish and great coverage for a lighter colour.

Spring dot manicure with Models Own

I really love how this turned out, and it's fun to do some simple nail art every now and then. There was some feathering on the dots even though I waited for it to dry, which was a downer. :( Hopefully you can't notice it too much.

What do you think of this? Have you tried Models Own?

Dot Manicure With Julep Ava and Bette

Hi everyone! I'm posting a bit earlier today, I've got some marking and editing to do and I'm trying to put it off as long as possible! :D

I'm currently wearing this mani, I did this Monday night and I'm still not tired of it. The inspiration was these nails by The Polished Perfectionist. But instead of a more classic nude look, I wanted to use Julep Ava and Bette, the two polishes I got in my January Julep Maven box (this was the Bombshell box). I also decided to mix it up a bit and add a reverse accent nail.

Dot manicure with Julep Ava and Bette

I used a fairly small dotting tool, and the only trick with this design was the placement of the dots. I made a few errors, but I'm happy with how it turned out. But a little bit about the polishes...

Julep Bette and Ava

Ava: This is a pale pink with a nice silver shimmer that's subtle but noticeable. It's described on the Julep website as a "ballet slipper pink frost," but it really isn't a frost. What I like about this polish is that it's not sheer like most pale pinks, and 2 coats provided full coverage. It is however a bit thick and at times seemed a bit stringy (I'm not sure how else to describe it), but it was totally manageable. It's such a pretty polish though, and for me worth the effort.

Dot manicure with Julep Ava and Bette

Bette: This one surprised me very much. It's described on the Julep website as an "electric neon purple creme." I don't know how neon this is - the colour is gorgeous but not super bright. It's a bit more sheer so I used three coats, and it dries to a beautiful matte finish. With a top coat it looks like gel nails. I adore both the colour and finish on this one.

Dot manicure with Julep Ava and Bette

Final Thoughts: Overall, I like these two Julep polishes and I'll definitely be using them again. One thing to note about these polishes if you've never seen them in person: they are fairly small, 8ml/0.27 fl. oz. to be exact. So they are closer to a mini polish than a full sized polish. Already with Ava just using it for one swatch and one full mani, I noticed about 1/4 - 1/3 of the bottle has been used. So if you are interested in buying them, get the Julep Maven box so you can buy them at a discount. You get two polishes plus one extra item (i.e. foot cream, cuticle oil) for $20, and you can get add-on polishes for $5 each.

What do you think of this mani? Have you tried the Julep Maven boxes?

Essie Winter 2012 Collection Part 2: Dots

Hi everyone! This is the second part in a small series of simple manicures using the Essie Winter 2012 collection. You can see the first post here. The idea of using this collection to do some easy nail art actually came from my Tumblr blog. When I posted my New Year's Eve dot manicure there, it was insanely popular. It's my most shared and liked post on Tumblr, and it was my first post to be featured with the nail art tag. The popularity of that image caught me off guard, but one reason (I think) that it was so well-liked was that it was pretty basic and easy to do, even for beginners.

Essie Winter 2012 collection dot manicure

Today I took the dot manicure one step further to work with multiple colours. My inspiration was this mani I saw on Vampy Varnish. I used Essie She's Pampered as my base. This is a beautiful cool-toned red creme, almost a raspberry red colour. The consistency was a bit thin, so it wanted to pool in my cuticles, but otherwise it had great coverage and levelled perfectly. This was two coats. I really love this red colour, it's very flattering and I could see myself wearing it a lot.

Essie Winter 2012 collection dot manicure

Using my dotting tools I started with Beyond Cozy. When those dots were dry, I followed with Where's My Chauffeur, then when that polish was dry, I finished with Butler Please. I used three different sizes of dotting tools, one for each polish.

Essie Winter 2012 collection dot manicure

I find the finished results to be a bit busy for my taste. I wish I made less dots, and maybe a bit more range in the size of dots, with some smaller ones. But I'm sure it's not the last time that I'll pick up my dotting tools. ;) In terms of difficulty, this was no more difficult than using one colour. A few of the dots are uneven because of how they were layered over other dots. But those minute details don't bother me.

What do you think? Do you like dot manicures, and if so, what's your favourite way to do them?

Simple New Year's Eve "Champagne Bubbles" Mani

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Or New Year's Day depending on where you are. I'm going to be having a quiet night in, because that's just how I am, but I wanted to try and do a special mani for tonight.

Before I get into it, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for following and reading my blog. Sometimes I question this hobby of mine - I've been spending too much money on nail polish, this blog takes away time from my dissertation, and I could go on. But it's also helped me get through some rough times recently, in particular a break up with my boyfriend in the fall, and just general lack of satisfaction with my work and PhD. I don't know where this hobby is going, but I've been really happy with the work I've been doing lately and my initial forays into nail art. I hope to do more good work - both swatches and nail art - and I'm looking forward to sharing it on this blog.

"Champagne Bubbles" dot manicure

With that I should say that this mani came out of a failed attempt, or more exactly, a change of plans. For a New Year's Eve design, I wanted to do something simple that evokes celebration, but without being literal. So my idea was to do freehand champagne bubbles. Only my freehand circles were looking like leopard spots (yikes!) so I went for the dotting tools to cover my mistakes and salvage this mani. So here you have my first time using dotting tools!

"Champagne Bubbles" dot manicure

I used Essie Midnight Cami, a deep vibrant midnight blue, for the base, and for the gold I used Stripe Rite polish in gold. I used different sized dotting tools to get the different sizes of dots. The result is very simple, and while I wasn't too sure about it at first, it is starting to grow on me. I love the dark blue/gold colour combination, and I also love the simplicity of this. If I was going out, knowing me I'd be rushing to get ready, so a simple mani like this would be my choice.

"Champagne Bubbles" dot manicure

What do you think? Do you like dot manicures?