Showing posts with label stripes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stripes. Show all posts

Inktober Day 27: Coat

Today's prompt is "coat" and it couldn't be more appropriate as inches of snow continue to pile up outside where I am. So even though on a chilly day like this, I'd probably be wearing a down puffer coat, I can dream about a beautiful wool coat in a pattern I've always loved.

#inktober #inktober2019 #nailart
Inktober Day 27 - Coat

Don't you like the effect created that makes it look like real wool? I used all OPI shades for this look: Black Onyx, "Liv" In the Gray, and Never a Dulles Moment.

Inktober Day 18: Misfit

Halloween may be THE holiday for misfits, because on that night, no one fits anywhere, and that's why it's beautiful.

But if there were ever Halloween royalty, Wednesday Addams would be its princess. She's the ultimate misfit, and embraces it fully. So from anyone who's ever felt like an outsider, thank Ms. Addams!

#inktober #inktober2019 #halloweennails #nailart
Inktober Day 18 - Misfit

I used this design as inspiration for her portrait, and only 3 colors for the look: Black Hole from INM, Sharktooth from Jessica Cosmetics, and Skull & Glossbones from OPI.

Rev Your Engines

You know me as a nail artist. Some of you know me as a nail tech. Some of you are friends, and some of you are family, and know me as such. None of you know me as a race car driver though. And after speeding a kart around a track at 40 MPH last night at Unser, none of you will. I came in last...but gracefully, and with style, thanks to this racing look I did beforehand.

Checker and stripe nail art

There are actually 5 colors used here, but the unsung hero that is Sharktooth (Jessica Cosmetics) is the white beneath the red and yellow to pop them. That beautiful blue is Sia, and the yellow is Darcy, both from Zoya. The fiery red is Flame-boyant (China Glaze) and the black is Black Onyx (OPI). 

Inktober - Chop

One of the most fun and satisfying birthday activities I've ever been a part of was when my friend took me to an axe throwing event. In a small warehouse with a bunch of plywood mounted to the walls with targets painted on, we were allowed to hurl axes of varying sizes at the wall. The first time I threw one, I didn't throw hard enough. The instructor actually asked me to put more weight behind it, and when that axe lands on the target (or anywhere near it), it brings an insane amount of satisfaction. If you live near something like that, TRY IT! I'll take chopping wooden walls over chopping onions any day. So I used that as my inspiration for Inktober day 24.


What axe-man wouldn't wear plaid? I thought it applied nicely to my theme, and added a little axe logo for good measure. The bright red base is Carmen (Zoya), and the logo's background is You're So Vain-illa (OPI). I watered down the black plaid lines by adding top coat to Black Onyx (OPI) and stirring it up until it looked runny. Then I filled in the black checks with solid black. Easy.

Inktober - Roasted

I loved today's prompt, even though it's almost as unspooky to me as "tranquil" was yesterday.

I must have been hungry when inspiration struck for this design, because all I could associate with "roasted" was nuts. So go nuts with me on a little trip to the circus!

Roasted by Katy at Nailed It
Roasted

Of course everything is freehand, and this time I used all Zoya colors. Colors include Snow White, Darcy, Hannah, Spencer, and Louise.

What I Wore: Cinco de Mayo

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, whether you were celebrating Derby Day, Star Wars Day, or like most 20-somethings in the Boulder/Denver area, Cinco de Mayo! This happened to be one of the first beautifully hot days Boulder's seen so far this year, so friends and I headed to Denver for some authentic Mexican cuisine and dancing at a nightclub nearby.

The morning of Cinco de Mayo, I wanted to wear some festively bright colors, so I did a little accent nail in one of the most recognized patterns of Mexican culture, the sarape. Though the shawls come in different patterns and colors, I picked a brightly colored striped pattern for my accent. I even attempted and mostly pulled it off on my right hand's ring finger, but I'll save you from having to see that Cinderella finger.

Sarape Accent by Katy @ Nailed It

The blue on the rest of my fingers is Sia (Zoya). To get the sarape look, I layered lines of darker shades of blue and orange on top of lighter ones with my favorite striping brush. I also did a layer of white (White Porcelain by INM) first, and accented with black (Black Hole by INM). In order from lightest to darkest, here are the colors I used:

Blue Section

  • Sky - picture polish
  • Dory - Zoya
  • Sia - Zoya
Orange Section
  • Excuse Me, Sur - essie
  • Cam - Zoya
  • Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It - OPI
How did you spend your weekend? 

A Nod to Inspiration

The palette used to create this nail art is...immense to say the least. I raided my polish collection like a horny teenage boy raids his friend's sister's panty drawer, hunting for the best colors to match the Ampersand Design Studio piece I mimicked my design from. Since Ampersand Design Studio created the illustration for The Land of Nod, I call this look, "A Nod to Inspiration".

A Nod to Inspiration by Katy @ Nailed It www.blognailedit.co
A Nod to Inspiration
The polishes I used for the non-nail-art-nails include Precision Nail Lacquer Grape-Divine and Blissful Abyss, Misa Loop-de-Loop, and Sinful Colors Unicorn. Anyone else remember how amazing Unicorn used to be? Using it today, I realized how utterly crap the formula is. Maybe it's just the years of it sitting around, but it's a streaky hot mess. If unicorns do exist, I hope they disapprove of this polish as much as me.

The rest of the polishes were random pulls from any one of the 18 helmer drawers my polishes primarily live in. For fun, let's list them:
  • Roarrrrange - essie
  • Flyin' High - China Glaze
  • Licorice - essie
  • My Boyfriend Scales Walls - OPI
  • Mezmerised - essie
  • Blueberry Blast - Misa
  • Carey - Zoya
  • Gravitron - Misa
  • Pull Over - Sinful Colors
  • Great Grape - Misa
If you're dying to know which color is which, feel free to ask. If you're dying to know where to buy any one of these random polishes, visit the Where to Shop section on my blog. 

Rocker Water Decals

More and more girls around the world are taking up nail art, trying it on themselves and on their friends. However, some people aren't ready to dive head first into freehand nail art. It's tricky and takes a ton of time and patience. So for the artsy lady, there's a simple and stunning solution...water decals! Just like temporary tattoos of your childhood, all you need is a little water to apply them.

These decals are from a now-outta-business seller on etsy, called Nail Doodles. I was sent these for review but didn't post them before the store's owner, Abbie, decided to put the kibosh on the business. Don't worry though, a Google search for "nail decals" yields plenty of results if you're shopping for some.

So how do you put decals on your nails? Each decal dealer has their own set of instructions specific to their artwork, but the same principal generally applies to them all.

  1. Cut out the decal of your choosing from the paper it comes on. Cut as close to the design as you can! 
  2. Peel away the plastic from the front of the decal. 
  3. Place the design face down on your nail, and apply a cotton ball soaked with a little water to the back of the paper. Hold it there a few seconds.
  4. Peel back the paper, and the design should be on your nail. 
  5. Top it off with top coat to keep the decal in place.
Then go crazy with polish designs around it, like I did!



So what if the guitar is actually a ukelele?! Ukelele's still rock!


Polish With a Purpose: Breast Cancer Awareness Polishes

October's almost over, but as with every year, it's still Breast Cancer Awareness month, and you can take part in it with the polishes you purchase. Almost every single polish brand out there is doing something, but here's 2 that I've personally learned about: Morgan Taylor and China Glaze.

Morgan Taylor

Morgan Taylor's a fabulous line of beautiful colors, especially this Breast Cancer Awareness trio, called Fight Like A Lady. The brand Always took the negativity out of the phrase "like a girl", and now Morgan Taylor's mirroring that sentiment by donating a portion of the proceeds from this trio to Susan G. Komen Foundation.

I combined the trio into this nail art for the campaign, Fight Like A Lady.


Take a look at the shades on their own after the jump, plus some China Glaze shades!

Born Pretty Store Dazzling Starry Foils Review

What's more entertaining than two puppies chasing each other around the backyard, frolicking in the dry summer grass and nipping at each others knees and tails?

Nothing. Nothing is more entertaining than that.

BUT! There is something shiny on the blog tonight from Born Pretty Store.

It's called "Dazzling Starry Foil", and it's...well...dazzling. It comes in a long continuous strip of really thin delicate foil that transitions from fuchsia to a hot orange-red. It comes in lots of varieties of colors, but that's the color I was sent for review.


If you know your color wheel, then you know that purple and yellow complement each other, and since this was leaning more on hot purple, I paired it with the yellow Happy Go Lucky (China Glaze). It seemed a little bare like that, so I added stripes. Now it feels kind of Andy Warhol/Betsey Johnson. Neat right?

The foil is really simple to use, but it took some practice to get it right. The technique best used is to paint your color and design on and seal it with a layer of top coat. Let that dry fully. Then, add another layer of topcoat, and when it's about 80% dry, grab your foil. Press it firmly onto your tacky top coat, and rub it with a pretty good amount of pressure. This will transfer the foil onto your nail in random splotches. I don't know of a way to create uniform patches yet. It's also important that when you do this, you have the colorful side up, facing you.

This role can be purchased for $2.99 from Born Pretty Store here. Get 10% off that order with my coupon code C10X31.


These products were sent to me by Born Pretty Store. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Gold Chain Born Pretty Store Review

Remember my chain nail art tutorial? Well that's a 2D look that you can get with any two colors.

But if you want the true chain effect and you really want it to pop off your nail, then you might consider getting an actual chain to attach to your nails!


Born Pretty Store (BPS) offers several varieties of chains, and today I'm reviewing the 1.6mm gold chain for you!

This chain is 100cm long (about 40 inches), and quite small (1.6mm), running at $2.99 (and their always-free shipping). Use my coupon code, C10X31, for 10% off!

The chain comes in a teeny ziplock bag, but it doesn't come out all tangled like necklaces tend to be.

To apply it to your nails, I recommend using a dab of nail glue, at least on the ends of the chain. To place it, apply it to still-wet nails (I prefer to apply it to the top coat layer rather than the polish layer) so you can position it properly. When it has dried, to being almost tacky, carefully lift the each end with tweezers and dab a bit of nail glue. This will keep your chain in its position, but you can always use more glue if you plan on roughing up the design. And let's face it...this kind of look is begging to be roughed up a little. Rawr!

I'm obsessed with letting the chains hang off my nails in different ways like I've done for this look. It's odd, and not necessarily appropriate for all occassions, but damn...it's awesome!

The colors I used for this look included Sun of a Peach (China Glaze) and Stranger Tides (OPI) with lines of Black Onyx (also OPI). I also did some cutouts of my bare nail.

Which finger do you like the most? How would you wear chains? I've seen some fabulous designs, including Sammy's looks, Lexi's take, and Whitney's! I have another review of a silver look coming soon too.

Thanks BPS for the chains!

Pick your's up here, and don't forget to use the coupon code for 10% off.
 

These products were sent to me by Born Pretty Store. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope all of my lovely American readers are celebrating a wonderful warm holiday!

 

Candy Coated Plaid

Exciting reviews are coming up at Nailed It! I've got polishes, embellishments, new brands, contests, and kits coming down the pipeline, so any chance I can get to squeeze in a 1-hour nail art post to share is clutch in my book. I also bought a new video camera that I'll be using to create some videos with to share tutorials!


A simple plaid look is tonight's. The base is Candy Coated (Sinful Colors) and the stripes were done freehand with a black striping polish from Color Madric. I love straight lines, especially those done with a striping polish. It really couldn't get much easier and simple.

But like I said...the simplicity will be short lived, and the excitement is just beginning!

Summer Vegas Nails

This weekend was a whirlwind. I spent it in the warm summer Vegas sun with good friends. Knowing I would be in my bikini all weekend, I wanted some super bright summer nails.

I snapped an Instagram picture before the chlorinated pools destroyed most of the look.

I used Funky Yellow (Kleancolor) and Jackie Oh! (Color Club) on top of My Boyfriend Scales Walls (OPI). Then I striped with a black striping polish.

Now I just have to track down the sandman, I'm sure he's mad at me for this weekend's lack of sleep!

Lemon Concrete


This geometric design was done using Malibu Green (American Apparel), Lemon Fizz (China Glaze) and Concrete Grey (Kleancolor).

This quick post was brought to you by: Life, Always There.

I really wish I could be posting every night, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes that requires special attention and deadlines have to be met, so unfortunately, the routine post schedule will suffer. Trust me though, it's all exciting stuff I will share with you all soon.

BigDaddyBeauty Polish Samples

When I first started ordering nail polishes online, I was hesitant about the products I'd get and their quality. Then my sister recommended checking out BigDaddyBeauty.com. There, I purchased my first set of nail colors.

Currently, they have a bunch of gel colors, China Glaze, and every color striper from It's So Easy. I decided to a China Glaze color called Mahogany Magic with a pink striper they sent me for a simple design that reminds me of cupcakes for some reason.


You can get China Glaze colors from the latest collections including Tranzitions and the Cirque Du Soleil collections, and the polishes won't cost you as much as you'd find in your typical beauty store. China Glaze actually runs at about $3.50 a bottle, and the It's So Easy nail art stripers are $3.

The stripers give a lot of coverage. They're quite opaque, and a little chalky to be extra opaque, so getting good detail is easy. It does dry quite strong though, in the sense that it's tough to clean up mistakes, even with as light a color as I used.

If you've been dying to get your hands on a China Glaze color but can't muster up the money it costs to buy them in stores, check out BigDaddyBeauty.com. I'll be sure to add this to my Where to Shop page so you can access it later when you're out shopping for polishes!

These products were sent to me by BigDaddyBeauty.com. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

China Glaze Color Blocking

Inspiration for a manicure can come from the strangest places. You'll never guess where I was inspired for tonight's.

It was actually a commercial that briefly showed a girl riding a bus. Her bus seat had a pattern similar to this:


The colors were close too. I recently organized all my polishes, so I knew I had colors that would perfectly to recreate the bus seat I had seen. Most are from China Glaze, including Exotic Encounters, Igniting Love, Ride the Waves and Desert Sun. The only non-China Glaze is Black Onyx, an OPI.

Now that you know the manicure was based off of a bus seat, you can't seem to get that image out of your head can you? Sorry about that.

Where's the most random place you've seeked out inspiration?

Back to Beautiful

With blog responsibility comes the struggle for creativity. I've been approached by a lot of different companies, both big name and indie-size, about doing reviews of polishes and tools and decorations. I always like to try new things and show you guys what's out there, so I'm usually inclined to say yes. With so much traffic in my inbox though, it's easy to lose sight of the nail art love behind the blog, and focus efforts on giving good reviews.

Tonight, I just opened up some drawers in my polish storage and picked out a few good colors. A simple pink, Parfait Day from Lime Crime, and my trusty Black Onyx from OPI, as well as Purity from Zoya. Pink. Black. White. Simple.


In keeping with the simplistic theme, what better than stripes and dots. Easy, clean, and refreshing.

Ah it feels good to breathe beautiful!

Black and White TV

Have you ever watched The Twilight Zone? You have to have seen or heard of it, and if you have, you probably immediately went to black and white. Those classic mystery shows were inspiration for this far-fetched Halloween theme tonight. Though it's certainly not your typical Halloween design, it still applies.


The ombre effect was continued onto each nail, pulling out the base color from each block of three on each nail. The colors used, from darkest to lightest, are Strumming my Nails (Sation), Carey (Zoya), Movie Star (Essence) and Black Onyx (OPI).

I'd also like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me in the Tadashi Shoji nail art contest. Unfortunately, I wasn't the winner, but the talented Sarah at Chalkboard Nails did win, and I must say I'm thrilled it was hers that won. Her freehand skills were fantastic, and the colors were a unique choice compared to all the other entries. I can't wait to see what the clutch looks like! Congratulations Sarah!

Trick or Transition

My lovely Saran Wrap technique has really hit nail lovers everywhere by storm. I have literally seen countless girls try it and love it! The pull-polish-off method only requires you to know how to paint your nails...that's it!

In honor of this now-popular technique, I wanted to do a doubled version, using the colors indicative of Halloween: orange and black, and green and purple.



The orange is Lava Lamp (Color Club), and it's paired with Black Onyx (OPI). The green is Twiggie (Color Club), and it is paired with Keiko (Zoya). Topping off those are three of the Finger Paints flakie polishes, Asylum, Flashy, and Flecked.

Oh...and please remember to vote for my nail art entry to the Tadashi Shoji competition! You can vote once a day, and every vote is greatly appreciated!