Matte Black and Gold Stripes

I'm a big fan of matte nails, but I am also wildly impatient. This is not a good combination. But sometimes, I actually have the patience to let my nails dry without the help of my trusty Seche Vite, and that's when I break out the matte topcoat.

Read more after the jump!

Orange and Turquoise Neon Leopard Print

Neons in summer is certainly nothing groundbreaking, but that doesn't stop them from being really fun. I absolutely love neon nail polish, and today's mani is a really fun color combo and print!

Read more after the jump :)

Pastel Skittle Stripes

If you don't have the Lime Crime Les Desserts d'Antoinette collection, you're missing out. They're just perfect bright pastels, and they go together so well for nail art!

See more after the jump!

Penguins and Stripes (Plus Tutorial)

There is never a wrong time for cute animals. And even though it's summer, it's a perfect time to sport some wintery penguins on your nails!

I've included a tutorial for the penguin nail art after the jump, so read on!

Autumn Trees

Summer's just about to be in full swing, but I'm always ready for the fall! I'm not a fan of hot weather (unless I'm on the beach, that is) so I have some autumnal nails to distract from the heat.

See what colors I used after the jump!

Metallic Fishtails

The fishtail pattern is a really fun and easy way to add extra color into your manicure.

See what colors I used and more pictures after the jump!

MKGlam VoxBox

Hi all! I have another post for you today. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive the MKGlam VoxBox from Influenster for review, containing some Mary Kay beauty products. This isn't quite polish related, but I'm a makeup junkie too, so I thought you all might be interested.

The box arrived in very cute, eco-friendly packaging. When I took everything out, this is what I found:

• Mineral Cheek Color in Shy Blush
• Bronzing Powder
• Cream Eye Color in Apricot Twist
• Gel Eyeliner with expandable brush applicator in Jet Black
• NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss in Mango Tango
• Translucent Loose Powder
• Lash Love Mascara
• Powder Brush
• Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush

See my thoughts on the products and swatches after the jump!

Holographic Stamped Dots

Stamping is always a really fun way to spice up your manicure if you're feeling a lack of nail art inspiration. Today, I went for some fun dots.

To see how I did today's manicure, read more after the jump!

Blue and Olive Dotted French

French manicures were really popular in my area when I was growing up. I always thought they were a little boring, but I can definitely get behind more interesting variations on a plain French manicure. This one uses dots instead of the usual straight line.

Read more after the jump!

Pastel Stripes and Flowers

Guys, guess what: My senior thesis is finished! Now I have more time for everything (including finding a job and blogging).

Despite that weird snowstorm on Tuesday (thanks, Pittsburgh), it's spring! To celebrate, here are some pretty springtime nails. Read more after the jump!

Contrast Multi Dots

My friends always make fun of me when I say "dotting tool," but let me tell you -- those things are the best. Today's manicure features some polka dots.

I've decided I'm going to try doing "read more" posts to reduce loading time for the home page. So read more and see more pictures after the jump!

Elevation Polish Nararsuk + Contrast Gradient

I love color. I love making colors pop by layering them over contrasting colors, too! So that's what today's nail art is all about.

Look at that contrast. Black and white and orange and blue. I love it.

I started by making the gradient first. I used Au Champagne by ORLY, a shimmery white. Then I used a makeup sponge to dab on a gradient of Orange You Hot? by China Glaze, a neon orange.

I let the gradient dry, and then I added a coat of Nararsuk by Elevation Polish on top. Nararsuk is a really stunning glitter topper. It has black, turquoise, and blue glitters in a clear base. The glitters are matte and satin. There are hexes and squares in various sizes. It goes on so easily and is very glitter dense.

Elevation Polish can be purchased here; they restock on the 7th and 22nd of each month.

Subtle Saturn Stamping

Last week was Carnegie Mellon's spring break, so sorry for the lack of posts! I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico with six of my friends. It was so much fun! And I got a little tan, too :)

Anyway, today I have a stamping manicure for you. I've gotten so much better at stamping since I've started, so it just goes to show that practice really does make perfect.

I started with a base of Butler Please by Essie. I let that dry, and then I used a Saturn image from the Cheeky Summer Collection stamping plates. I used Comic Fate by Color Club, an orange holo, for that stamping.

I really think the use of a credit card type object as a scraper has been the key to my success. Previously, I used a regular scraper and always had trouble getting it to scrape cleanly.

I really love stamping manicures, so look out for more in the future :)

Bronze and Blue Arrow

I'm a big fan of the clean lines of tape manicures, but usually I'm too impatient to wait for things to dry. But I had a lot of time on my hands when I decided to do this one.

I started with a base of the lightest color, the bronze-y orange gold NARS Kismet. I let that dry, then used two pieces of tape to make a downward arrow shape. The next layer was Milani One Coat Glitter in Blue Flash. I let that dry and used two more pieces of tape to layer on a coat of China Glaze Harvest Moon.

Top coat is key for a manicure like this -- it smooths everything out really well.

I really wish I had the patience to do these more often. They always come out so pretty!

Going Bananas

My stamping skills have definitely improved since I started this blog, and I have a really cool stamping manicure for you today! It's pretty Warhol-esque and I love it.

Bananas! When I was little people always tried to call me Hannah Banana, but I hated it and refused to let anyone call me that.

Anyway, onto the polish. I started with three coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow. I let that dry, then I used a Cheeky stamping plate and China Glaze Liquid Leather to stamp on the banana image.

As usual, everything's sealed in with a coat of Seche Vite.

I love this pattern and will definitely be using it again! I also totally recommend Cheeky brand stamping plates; they always give a really clean image and come in a cute little storage box

Deranged Split

Sometimes, I want to try out a new polish color, but I don't want to do just a plain manicure. Doing a split manicure is a great way to reconcile that.

Sephora has been going through the process of revamping their polish line, and I picked up this one last winter before they actually discontinued their Sephora by OPI line in favor of the new Sephora X polishes. I think the bottles actually look different now. It's called Deranged, and it's a purple duochrome sort of color that flashes olive gold.

I paired it with China Glaze Exotic Encounters, which I actually used as the base here. I painted that, let it dry, then used tape and Deranged to make the diagonal split.

I think Deranged is a cool polish, and I'd like to try out more of the Sephora X polishes, although they're a little expensive for my tastes.

Coral and Gold Glitter Gradient

Sometimes, a little glitter is just the thing.

I love glitter, and I especially love glitter when it's miserable and snowy out (like it's been for the past month and a half in Pittsburgh). Gradients are a quick and easy way to wear glitter polish.

I started with a base of Essie Sunday Funday, which is a great polish name. However, the polish was a bit thin and runny, so that was sad.

I used a makeup sponge to add a gradient of Milani One Coat Glitter in Gold Glitz. I added some Seche Vite, and we're done! Super simple, but pretty.

I really love the coral and gold color combo :)

Purple and Peach Leopard Print

I've been a bad, bad blogger.

This semester has been pretty rough -- I've been so focused on my thesis, submitting to literary magazines, and applying to jobs that I've neglected my blog! And for that, I offer my sincerest apologies. I'm gonna try to get back into the swing of things, I promise.

To make up for my absence, have some really cool nail art!

This was my first attempt at a leopard print, and I will definitely be doing it again. It's so much easier than it looks! All you need are 3 colors and a dotting tool.

I used China Glaze Sun of a Peach for my base color. Then I used a large dotting tool to add spots of purple (China Glaze That's Shore Bright) randomly on all of my nails. Next, take a smaller dotting tool and black (China Glaze Liquid Leather) and add some dots around the purple dots. Add topcoat, and you're done! So easy and SO AWESOME.

I really can't believe I've never done leopard print before. I was always intimidated by it for some reason. But now I'm gonna try it in a ton of color combos.

That's all I've got today, but check back soon and keep me on my toes!

Daring Digits: Robin

My favorite superheroes have always been Batman and the Teen Titans. So when I saw that Daring Digits had Batman and Robin themed polishes, I jumped on them! Today, I have Robin to show you.

The polish is made up of red, green, and yellow-gold glitter in a clear base. The colors are based on Robin's costume, of course. It's very glitter-dense and went on easily. This is one coat over China Glaze Liquid Leather.

Next time I wear this, I'll have to do an accent nail with Robin's logo!

I love fun, themed nail polishes. If someone comes out with Teen Titans themed nail polishes, I would be all over that :)

Lime Crime Splits and Studs

So sorry I haven't posted in so long! Finals came along and I got really busy, but I'm back :) I'll try to stick to more regular posting again.

Today I have some fun nail art featuring the Lime Crime polishes again.

To do this mani, I started by painting all of my nails in the lighter of the two colors I would use. So for my thumb, I painted it entirely yellow, my pointer blue, etc. I let all of that dry.

I was lazy (oops) so I didn't use tape for this mani. I painted another Lime Crime color over half of each nail. Then I used some silver square studs from the Born Pretty store and put them in the center of each nail. Added some top coat, then we're done!

The colors I used were all Lime Crime:

Orange: Peaches <3 Cream

Yellow: Crema de Limon

Green: Pastelchio

Blue: Once in a Blue Mousse

Purple: Lavendairy

I really, really love the Lime Crime polishes!