#WNAC2015 - April / Pastel: Spring Floral Nails

Hi everyone!

I have the last design that I created for the Weekly Nail Art Challenge (#WNAC2015) to share with you all today.

The theme for the month was Pastel, and so perfect for Spring of course!  If you missed the first three posts (Simple, Ikat, & Chevron), you can view them here, here, & here.  And, you can find the challenge photo for May at the bottom of the post, if you're interested (hint: neons!)!

For the final prompt, Floral, I really wanted to create a new [intense] floral print like some I've done in the past (remember those Gradient Floral Nails (+ Tutorial)?), but of course it always has to be a bit unique ...

Summer Pastel Floral Nails

Hello everyone!

This post is going up at a pretty random time, but I'll explain the reason down below.  Anyways, I thought I would point a few things out first, one being that you may notice a change in appearance on the blog.  This past week, I've been completely re-designing it, and I've basically started from scratch doing all the coding myself.  It's not 100% complete, so you might notice a few more changes as the week goes on, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's going so far.  Let me know what you all think though!  Any ideas for a header??

Now onto what I'm really here to show you all today.  I created a new set of floral nails after seeing this really beautiful photo in my google searches.  It was a really lovely floral print in mostly pastels, but has several pops of brighter colors.  It has a sort of romantic, watercolor look to the photo with an amazing multicolored background, so that really spoke to me.  I just loved the combination so much, that I had to recreate them for the Nail Polish Canada Summer 2014 Nail Art Challenge.

Of course, the theme is "Summer", and for me, I just love to wear floral prints in the Spring and Summer, so I thought they would be perfect for the challenge.  I only have a few hours left to submit them, so that's why this post is going up this late!

I used several different polishes for the design, mostly pastels by Essie, including the gorgeous Urban Jungle as my base (pictured), and Fashion Underground, Under Where?, Blanc, and Tart Deco are in there somewhere too.  I might update with a full list later, but if you would like to know any specifics, don't be afraid to ask me in the comments below. :)

I hope you all love them!  And, if you would like to vote for me in the challenge, head over to the Nail Polish Canada page, and select "lacquerstyle.com" from the list (you don't have to be signed up or anything).  I would really appreciate it!


Thank you so much for reading, if you made it this far, too! :)


Kristin

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Vintage Gradient Floral Nails - YouTube Tutorial!

Hello everyone!

I just thought I would make a quick post to let you all know about my new YouTube video, if you haven’t seen it yet.  After all of the requests for a tutorial on my Vintage Gradient Floral Nails, I knew I had to finally upload one for you!

It has also been featured on the Nail It! Magazine website today, which is super exciting for me!  You can view the post here: http://nailitmag.com/nail-designs/lacquerstyle/nail-art-tutorial-realistic-hand-painted-flowers

Now without further ado, here is the video!

If you try it (or got inspired), I would absolutely love to see your recreations, so please share them with me on Instagram or Facebook! :)

And finally, thank you all for being so lovely, I really appreciate it!

Kristin

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Vintage Gradient Floral Nails

Hi everyone!

Looking back on some of my favorite nail art that I’ve done this past [almost] year, my favorite has always been my floral Vampire Weekend nails.  I don’t think I could ever recreate them, but whenever I look at them I want to create some new floral nails, and floral nails are just so fun to do!

I decided to create some “vintage” florals this time, so I started with two coats of China Glaze V as my base, which is such a beautiful, peachy, terracotta polish.  Then, I added a gradient using Zoya Jacqueline and Square Hue Westminster.  I’ve never painted florals over a gradient base, but I’ve had the idea in my head for a while now.  The flowers took me a few hours to paint (per hand - yes, I did both), because I wanted each nail to be unique, and they turned out just as I had hoped.

While I was at Michael’s recently, I found this really amazing brush that I wanted to show you all as well.  It’s the only brush I used to paint these floral nails, and I just went back to get another one because it’s that good.  It’s the 18/0 Round brush by La Corneille.

To paint the flowers, I used twelve different polishes.  I know that sounds like a lot, but I like to use at least 3 shades of polish per flower so that they look more realistic.  I’m just going to list all of the polishes I used down below, because I would be writing this for ages if I listed specifics!

Polishes used:
China Glaze: V, and Westside Warrior
CND: Flamingo Feather, and Tropic Coral
Dior: Grege
Essie: Fiji, Da Bush, Mind Your Mittens, and Warm & Toasty Turtleneck
Square Hue: Buckingham, and Westminster
Zoya: Jacqueline

I hope you all enjoyed these nails as much as I do, and thank you for reading! :)


Kristin

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Negative Space “Racing Stripes” + Tutorial (Valentine’s Version)

Hi everyone!

I’m back with some negative space nails for you today.  It’s funny, because I used to never really care for the negative space look, but ever since my nails are no longer yellow-stained, I just can’t get enough of them!

The “racing stripes” idea was actually inspired by a video I found by Jin Soon on Sephora’s website.  It’s such a simple design and I absolutely love the look of it.

I went with a blue theme originally, because I’ve been dying to use Color Club Bright Night and Barry M Blueberry Gelly, and I think they look gorgeous together.  I really loved wearing them!


I filmed a tutorial for these nails as well, but instead of the blues, I created a Valentine’s version with a few different shades of pink (CND Taffy Pink & Girlie Pink, and Orly Miss Conduct).  You can watch the video down below!

Enjoy! :)

Thank you for reading!


Kristin

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OPI Pure 18K Top Coat with Snowflake Nail Art + Tutorial!

Hello everyone!  And, Merry Christmas!

I've been obsessed with OPI Pure lately, the 18K White Gold & Silver top coat (I posted a little glimpse of it here).  I think I even like it more than the gold leaf top coats that were so popular this past year, and I absolutely loved those ones.  I think with this version, the white gold looks amazing over every single color, whereas with the gold, I feel like some colors suit it much better than others.

I don't have the OPI gold version (The Man With the Golden Gun), but compared to several of the other gold leaf top coats that I have, the formula of Pure is just perfection.  It has the perfect amount of clear base to white gold & silver, and it's just a dream to apply.  There are also lots of varying sizes of flakes, so you get really great coverage on the nail in just one coat.

I was looking forward to trying it over black, and the look is so chic and pretty, just as I imagined.

As you can see (or may have already seen on Instagram the other day), I added a snowflake on my ring finger, and I am very happy with how it turned out!  While I was googling photos of actual snowflakes, I came across one I thought was really cool, so I decided to try something similar with white polish, but of course I had to amp it up a little by adding some holo!

CND Blackjack (the best!), Nars Ecume, Square Hue Times Square, OPI Pure, and a size10/0 brush (from Michael’s)

Here’s a closeup that I posted on Instagram the other day:

I also filmed a tutorial of my snowflake, so I hope you all enjoy it.  Please let me know if you have any other questions or requests, and feel free to tag me @kgrdnr in your photos on Instagram if you try it! :)

I hope you all have an amazing holiday, and thank you for reading! :)

Kristin

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Reindeer Love - Rudolph & Clarice

Hello everyone!

The theme for the final week of the Nail Polish Canada Holiday Challenege is “holiday memories”.  I don’t really have the greatest holiday memories, as sad as that may sound, but I do remember always watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on TV for years when I was younger, so that was my inspiration!

The base of these nails (CND Rouge Red) was kind of a happy accident;  I was originally going to do some sort of pale blue snowy background with snowflakes or something, but I already had this red on my nails from the day before and wanted to practice painting Rudolph.  It ended up being pretty cute over red, and Rudolph turned out great on my first try so I just decided to keep it!

Rudolph and Clarice were painted with a size 5/0 brush from Michael’s using a bunch of browns and tans from Essie, which I’m so glad I had in my collection!  I outlined both of them in white so that they really stand out on the bright red base.   What I really think makes the whole design though, is OPI Pure, the 18K White Gold & Silver top coat.  It looks really beautiful over red and makes it really festive for the holidays.

Orly Liquid Vinyl, Nars Ecume, OPI Pure, CND Rouge Red, OPI Don’t Pretzel My Buttons, Essie Chocolate Cakes, Very Structured, and Little Brown Dress

I’m extremely happy with how these turned out;  I think I’ll probably make them matte before removing them though, so I might update this with some more photos.

If you have a few seconds, please head over to NPC and vote for me!  Just select lacquerstyle.com from the drop down menu, I would really appreciate it! :)


I hope you all enjoyed these nails, and thank you for reading!


Kristin

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My Current Nail Care Routine!

Hi everyone!

I get a lot of questions about my nail care on Instagram and YouTube, so I figured it was about time I let you all know my usual routine and go into detail about the products I use.

You can read about what I like to use in depth below, or just watch the video (at the end) for the basic tips and a little demo on how I file my nails.  I hope this answers some of your questions!

Now, my nails are by no means perfect; I am very happy with the shape and health of them at the moment, but the tips are still slightly yellow from wearing so much polish. :( 

Just a little disclaimer before I begin though - I have had a vegan diet for many years now (no animal or dairy products), so I'm not sure if that changes anything, I just thought I should include it since not everything will work the same for everyone.

First up, nail polish remover:  I only use non-acetone to remove my polish, Beauty Secrets Non-Acetone is my favorite.  The only exception is when I clean up around my cuticles because I use a brush dipped in Beauty Secrets Pure Acetone to get a cleaner line.  Sidenote: I always use "lint-free cotton rounds" to remove my polish; I can't stand cotton balls!

Filing / buffing:  I never cut my nails .. ever.  Instead, I file my nails every few days with a glass (or crystal) file before applying fresh polish.  My nails grow extremely fast, so I have to file them often or they get out of control.  When it comes to buffing, I will buff a tiny bit here and there, but it's definitely not healthy to over-buff your nails.

Cuticles:  I have super dry skin from head to toe, so I am constantly applying creams and oils throughout the day.  A favorite for years has been Badger Cuticle Care, a cuticle balm.  I massage and push back my cuticles regularly (no tools, removers, or cutting involved), and make sure they are always nice and moisturized if they are looking dry.  I love to use a moisturizer with shea butter on my hands and cuticles because it's so rich and I don't have to reapply as often.

Base coats:  If I'm going for long-wear, my favorites are CND Stickey or Chanel's Protective Base Coat.  I have multiple backups of Stickey because it works well and it's reasonably priced.  The Chanel is of course a high end product so I use it sparingly (mostly under my Chanel's), but it's the only thing I've really found to be long lasting that also keeps my nails at their whitest.

If I am just swatching or don't expect to wear a polish for very long, I will grab whatever base coat I'm trying to use up.  Lately, I've been grabbing a Julep base coat, or Essie's Grow Faster.  The wear time on the Essie is not great, but it does seem to actually make my nails grow faster, so I would recommend it for those of you who have a hard time growing your nails.

Polishes:  I prefer to use mostly 3-free or 5-free, but I have been changing my polish so often lately that it hasn't been a big deal.  If you're wondering, a few of my favorite brands (in general) are Chanel, Jin Soon, Essie, Color Club, Enchanted Polish, and Elevation Polish.  I could list so many more though!

Top coats:  I have been using inm Out the Door for quite some time now.  I've tried many different top coats over last few years but I always come back to it.  It dries fast, wears well for me, and doesn't seem to get thick or smell awful like some others.  I also really like a-England The Shield, but it can be harder to get so I usually just stick with my OtD.

Additional tips / info:  I always have polish on my nails to keep them strong; honestly, I never even leave the house without at least a base coat on so they do not split or break.  However, if a nail happens to break, I will patch it with some nail glue and a teabag, or use the Orly Nail Rescue kit.  I also always carry a spare glass file in my handbag wherever I go.

Here is the video I put together for my nail care:

Let me know if you have any other questions, or tips & tricks for keeping your nails white; that's one thing I am still working on!

Thank you for reading, especially if you made it this far! :)


Kristin

31 Day Challenge - Day 7: Black & White Nails + Tutorial

Day 7 of the 31 Day Challenge (#31DC2013) was Black & White nails.

I am always happy to create some black & white nails, and I love coming up with different combinations.  This time, I based it around another textured accent nail (can you tell I love my textured polishes?), Dance Legend Granite.  It's a black textured base loaded with tiny white glitter.  The white glitter has a bit of a sheen to it so it doesn't look flat.  It has great coverage in one coat, but I used two for the photos.

On the remaining nails, I applied one coat of CND Blackjack, then with a ball of plastic wrap I dabbed on Essie Blanc, and finished with an outline of white around the nails.  I have tried this combination a few months ago (unfortunately I never posted about it), and loved it, so I thought this was the perfect design for the Day 7 theme.

You can also watch me create these nails here:

Thank you for reading!

Kristin

31 Day Challenge - Day 2: Orange Nails + Ikat Tutorial

Day 2 of the 31 Day Challenge is Orange Nails!

Recently, I got a few of the Barry M Gelly polishes, and I've been dying to try Mango, so it's perfect for today's orange theme.  It's a really nice medium orange polish, opaque in two coats, and seriously, these Barry M Gelly polishes have the most amazing glossy finish to them; there is absolutely no need to add top coat.  Of course, I had to add some nail art, so I tried my first Ikat print.

Barry M Mango Gelly, CND Blackjack, Lime Crime Once In a Blue Mousse, and Essie Blanc

I took photos of my progress, so I decided I would make them into a photo tutorial as well!

If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them, and feel free to tag me on Instagram or send me a photo of your recreation; I would love to see them!

Enjoy!

1. Gather your supplies and prep your nails.  I used Barry M Mango Gelly, CND Blackjack, Essie Blanc, Lime Crime Once In a Blue Mousse, Elevation Polish Dzhangi-Tau, and a nail art striper brush (from my Urban Outfitters set).

2. Apply your base color.  I used two coats of orange.

3. Starting with white, map out your shapes where you want them using quick individual strokes of polish.  I made the lines of polish into a diamond shape on my middle & thumb nails, and triangles at the tips of my index and pinky.  I also did a sort of chevron line on my ring finger.  They don't have to be perfect, Ikat almost looks better the more irregular it is.

4. Following in the same shapes you just created in the previous step, apply a contrasting color (in my case a pale blue) inside, leaving just an outline of the white.

5. Once again, following the shape, apply black polish inside, leaving an outline of the previous color.  I also added some glitter over the chevron on my ring finger.  

6. Apply black polish outside of the shapes this time, trying not to cover up too much of the white. 

7. Using the same technique as before, I added a few more Ikat shapes to fill in the blank areas and complete the pattern.

8. Finish with top coat.  Have fun! :)

I will be back again tomorrow for Day 3!

Thank you for reading!

Kristin

Chrome Gradient Leopard Print Nails

I'm a bit behind on my blog, so you have probably already seen these (sorry!).  I actually posted them last week on Instagram, but I have many more photos to share so I hope you all don't mind! :)

I wanted something fun for the weekend, and I noticed that it's been quite a while since my last leopard print mani, so the idea came to me after I decided to do a gradient of gold and silver chrome on my nails.  I'm not totally happy with my leopard print this time, but I really love how the design as a whole turned out, and I think the mixed chromes with the white accents are perfect for summer!

I started with a gradient using CND Silver Chrome and Gold Chrome.  For a bit of added sparkle, I topped the gradient with piCture pOlish Majesty (my new favorite on top of everything!).  The accent nail (and leopard print) is Cult Nails Tempest.  To tie it all together, I added a small gold stud on the white accent nail.

I hope you like them, and thank you for reading! :)

Kristin