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 :)

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!

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!

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.

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.

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 :)

Minty Stripes and Dots

Sorry it's been a while! I've been so busy with school and the holidays I forgot to post. I can't believe it's December already -- where does the time go?

Anyway, today I have some cute nail art for you. I don't really know what to call it though. Stripes and dots?

I started with a base of China Glaze Highlight of My Summer, a bright mint green. I used a striper brush and OPI Alpine Snow to freehand the crisscrossing stripes. Then I used a dotting tool to add pink dots with Essie The Girls Are Out. Pretty simple!

I think it's really cute! I like the color contrast.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2013: Starfire Nail Art

Happy Halloween! I was going to post a Halloween-themed manicure today, but my Macbook's SD card drive has decided not to work and thus the pictures are now trapped in a weird limbo. I'll show that to you as soon as I solve that problem, but in the meantime, I have the nail art I'm wearing to go with my costume for this year! So it's still Halloween themed. Sorta.

Anyway, this year, I'm being Starfire! She's an alien princess superhero from the DC universe. She appears in the comics, but my costume is based on the popular cartoon, Teen Titans (not her comic book counterparts - those costumes show WAY too much skin for me!). I was/am obsessed with that show, and this year, my friend and I decided to dress up as characters from the cartoon. She's being Raven. We made our costumes by hand, which in retrospect was an insane idea. I can hardly sew, but I managed to create Starfire's entire outfit by hand! I haven't had a chance to take a lot of pictures yet (which is why I wanted to post this manicure later), but you can get the gist of the costume from the picture I've included at the end of the post.

Okay, so after that long introduction, here's the nail art! Starfire's powers include shooting bright green starbolts from her hands, so I did a manicure that was mostly a bright green. I also wanted to give a nod to her alien heritage by adding some futuristic detailing.

I started with a base of China Glaze in White on White so the neon would really pop. I layered China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard over that, which is a great, shimmery neon green. Then I added a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust for some tiny holographic sparkles. I let all of that dry, and then used a striper brush and Sephora by OPI Queen of Everything to freehand the striped pattern. I added purple rhinestones for a pop of contrast (and to match the purple of her outfit).

I'm pretty pleased with how these came out. They're super bright, and my freehanding skills are definitely improving. Even my right hand doesn't look bad!

Here's my costume! Starfire has really bright green eyes, so I used makeup to show that. I really wanted to use colored contacts, but sadly, my eyesight is absolutely awful so buying a pair of green contacts in my prescription would have been too expensive to justify. But I'm really proud of myself! I think the costume came out really well (especially since this is the first time I've attempted to make any sort of clothing). I also have really long boot covers on my legs, but you can't see those here. But trust me, the whole effect is really great.

I hope you all have a really awesome Halloween!

Black and Yellow Skittles

As you may or may not know, I go to college in the great steel town of Pittsburgh, PA. It's definitely an interesting place to live, and I have to say, I did miss it while I was abroad. And today's nails are unintentionally Pittsburgh colored skittles!

I started by painting all of my nails (except my ring fingers) with a base of Sun Kissed by China Glaze, a neon yellow. I used Liquid Leather by China Glaze for my ring fingers, then topped that with two coats of Humblebee by Ninja Polish. 

I used a makeup sponge for the gradient, a dotting tool on my pinky, and freehanded the stripes and flower.

Pittsburgh's sports culture is borderline obsessive - everyone here really loves their Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates (I personally am not a fan of their teams, but I digress). All of the teams share the same color scheme of black and yellow. Although I originally based my color scheme on the colors in Humblebee, my friends all commented about the Pittsburgh colors!

I have to say, I'm gonna miss this city when I graduate. And I do love the contrast of black and yellow.

Glitter Daze: Rainbow Bridge

Sometimes, you see a swatch of a polish and you just have to have it. That's how I felt when I saw a swatch of Rainbow Bridge by Glitter Daze.

Rainbow Bridge is a gorgeous, dense multi colored glitter in a clear base. There are all kinds of shapes - hexes, circles, even stars. But not only is this polish fabulous, it's for a very good cause. This polish (and another called Browny Bear) were made in memory of the creator's dog, Browny, who passed away unexpectedly from cancer. All proceeds from those two polishes go to the National Canine Cancer Foundation. As a staunch animal lover (and a dog owner myself), I can definitely get behind that cause.

I layered just one gloriously dense coat over China Glaze Midtown Magic, a shimmering deep brown.

I am literally in love with this polish. Funny story actually - I really wanted to buy both this and Browny Bear, but I was pretty broke so I just bought one. When my polish came in the mail, there were two polishes - Rainbow Bridge and Browny Bear! There was a mix up with the packaging, and when I emailed the owner about it, she was kind enough to let me keep the second polish free of charge :) So gorgeous polishes and great customer service!

You can purchase Glitter Daze polishes from their website.