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!

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 :)

The Last of England: Berry + Silver Glitter Triangles

I am a bad blogger and haven't even finished posting all the manis I have from England! I've just been really busy this summer between my internship and working at my family's pharmacy, so I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. But anyway, here's the last of my poorly lit abroad manicures!

I started with a base of Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Pomegranate. Then I let that dry and taped off the triangles. I used Milani One Coat Glitter in Silver Dazzle for the triangles. I sealed it all with a coat of Seche Vite, as usual.

I really like the Gelly Hi Shine line; too bad we don't have Barry M in the US!

Now that I'm all done with manis from abroad, you can expect much better lit photos once again :)

American Flag Nails

Happy 4th of July to everyone in the USA! In honor of this most patriotic holiday, I have some appropriately festive nail art.

My inspiration for today's nail was the American flag! To break it down, I'll start with my red-and-white striped nails. I started with a base of ORLY Au Champagne, a shimmery white. I used three coats to even everything out. I let that dry completely, then I used some striping tape and a thick coat of Milani One Coat Glitter in Red Sparkle. One thing I have to note is that I have two versions of Red Sparkle - one with gold glitter and one without. The latter is older than the gold glitter version, and it's the version I used here. I added a coat of Seche Vite to smooth things out.

Now for the star nails, I started with a base of ORLY Stone Cold, a beautiful shimmery blue. I let that dry, then I used Konad Special Polish in White and a Bundle Monster plate to stamp the star designs onto my nails. My stamping skills (while improving) are not the best, so I fixed any mistakes using White and a nail art brush. I let that dry, then I added a coat of Seche Vite.

I'm really excited that these came out so well! The stamping isn't 100% perfect, but you can only see the imperfections from close up.

Everyone at my internship loved my nails. Now we're having a good ol' American barbecue to celebrate Independence Day! Hopefully swimming doesn't ruin my nail art.

I hope you all have a great 4th of July!

Throwback Thursday: Strawberry Fields Forever

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday! Sorry this is so late - I've been very busy lately with my summer internship at Good Housekeeping. But anyway, here's the manicure:

I was inspired by the name of this polish for this manicure. The pink I used is Strawberry Fields by China Glaze, so I decided strawberry accent nails would be appropriate! The accent is Tree Hugger by China Glaze, and I used Therese is Red Hot by Brucci for the stamping with my Konad stamper. I topped the accent nails with a coat of High Fashion by Milani to complement the gold flecks in the pink of my other nails. I think it's pretty cute, and I'm a big fan of the Beatles so I'm happy.

Throwback Thursday: Blurple Glitter Gradient

Hello everyone! It's good to be back on Eastern Standard Time. Today, I have another Throwback Thursday for you.

I used a base of Galaxy Girl by ORLY, then I used a makeup sponge to add a gradient of Blue Flash by Milani One Coat Glitter.

Thanks for reading!

Gold Glitter and Hell to the No

Welcome to another edition of Throwback Thursday! Today I have one of my favorite color combos: purple and gold.

I went for something simple with this manicure. I just added a glitter accent nail to keep it from being too boring. The purple is Sephora by OPI's Hell to the No from their Glee collection. I'm not a big fan of Glee, but when I saw swatches of this polish, I had to have it. It's a purple with a beautiful gold shimmer. I added the accent nail, which is Milani One Coat Glitter in Gold Glitz. One Coat Glitters actually cover very well in one coat, but I used two anyway. Overall, I like the end result!

Throwback Thursday: Nude Glitter Gradient

Sorry for the late post today! I was in the library for most of the day working on an essay. Ugh, finals crunch time is not fun. But anyway, I have another Throwback Thursday for you! It features one of my favorite quick nail art techniques - glitter gradient.

I used a base of Nite Owl by ORLY, which is a really lovely nude with silver shimmer, and used a makeup sponge to add a gradient of Silver Dazzle by Milani One Coat Glitter.

I think black and nude is always a great combo, don't you?

Throwback Thursday: Neon and Glitter Polka Dots

Throwback Thursday strikes again! Today, I combine two of my favorite things: neon and glitter.

I love neon and glitter, so what better way to show the love than combining them? Polka dots are a fun way to spice up an ordinary manicure, so I added some glittery ones over this great neon. I used Flip Flop Fantasy by China Glaze over a white base coat (those neons can be finicky without a white base coat) and used Milani One Coat Glitter in Silver Dazzle with a dotting tool for the polka dots.

Throwback Thursday: Explosion Accent Nail

Welcome back to Throwback Thursday! Today I have a really cool accent nail that I really need to try again: the explosion.

I think this manicure is really fun! I always get really frustrated when I used tape though...I'm always messing up the base color because I'm too impatient to let it dry all the way. Oh well. For the accent, I cut out triangles of tape and carefully layered them over the base color. I painted the black and let that dry, and then I inched those same tape triangles up a bit and painted over the black with the silver. Seal with a top coat and voila!

I used China Glaze in Turned Up Turquoise for most of my nails. The accent nail is China Glaze in Purple Panic, black is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out and Milani 3D Holographic in HD for the silver.

Glitter Accent Fishtails

I tried a new (for me) type of manicure today: the fishtail. Also known as a braided mani. Either way, it's simple to do and looks awesome. (Side note: these are the last of the iPhone photos! I got another new camera - same model as last time. But this time it's red!)

I followed a tutorial from Lucy's Stash, which you can find here, because explaining this in words will be difficult. But basically, you paint your nails a base color, and then you paint overlapping diagonal stripes. You use 3 colors total. It's really easy, it just takes a bit of patience! It's also best to use colors that are pretty opaque so you don't have to go over each stripe a million times.

The colors I used are Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow and Sun Kissed, and Milani One Coat Glitter in Purple Gleam. It's all sealed with a coat of Seche Vite, as usual.

I really like the fishtail technique! I'll definitely be doing it again. It's an easy way to incorporate several colors into your mani which is always a plus. It also makes a great accent nail if you don't have the time or patience to do a full mani.

New Year's Glitter Gradient

Happy New Year! I hope you all had fun on New Year's Eve :)

2012 was a pretty good year for me, but here's hoping that 2013 will be even better. I'll be going abroad next semester, so I think 2013 will be filled with awesome new experiences.

For my New Year's Eve nails, I wanted something sparkly.

I started with two coats of Sephora by OPI in Hell To The No, a purple with golden shimmer. It's such a lovely color; it's a shame it was limited edition. I thought gold glitter would complement the gold shimmer, so I reached for China Glaze Champagne Kisses, a find gold glitter with holo particles. I painted that on with a nail art brush and used the brush to drag the glitter down my nail. After that, I added Milani Jewel FX in Gold in the center of my nails for some added glitter. I used two coats of Seche Vite to make it all smooth.

I really love all of Milani's glitters. They're so lovely, especially for their price point.

You can really see the shimmer in Hell To The No in that close up!

I love how sparkly these are; they're just what I wanted for New Year's Eve.

I hope 2013 treats you all well!

Day 9: Rainbow

Hello, readers. To all of you on the East Coast that have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, my heart truly goes out to you. Since I'm in Pittsburgh for school, we haven't been hit very hard. But my family and loved ones are in New Jersey without power, and they're in a state of emergency. Thankfully, they are all safe. The pictures I've seen of the devastation break my heart. I hope everyone affected is able to recover from this tragedy quickly.

On a brighter note, I have some nail art for Day 9's rainbow theme.

To achieve this look, I started with some glittery polishes, which I've listed below.

Thumb: Milani One Coat Glitter in Red Sparkle

Index finger: Milani One Coat Glitter in Gold Glitz

Middle finger: Milani One Coat Glitter in Purple Gleam

Ring finger: Milani One Coat Glitter in Blue Flash

Pinky: Milani One Coat Glitter in Silver Dazzle

Then I used striping tape to make the designs. I painted over each nail with Sephora by OPI's Never Enough Shoes, a black creme with lots of rainbow sparkle. I topped this mani with a coat of Seche Vite.

I think these are the last pictures from my old camera! But my new camera has come in, so posts will continue regularly.

Please keep those affected by Hurricane Sandy in your thoughts.

Day 3: Yellow

I've certainly had a busy weekend - I was on call for work, and I also came down with a terrible cold :( But I'm feeling a bit better now despite my incredibly raspy voice. Onto the nails:

The theme of Day 3 is yellow! This mani turned out to be almost as much purple as yellow, but oh well.

I started out with three coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow. I started this mani with the intention of doing a glitter gradient with a stamped accent nail, but that's not really what happened.

I used a makeup sponge to add Milani One Coat Glitter in Purple Gleam to my tips. I decided I didn't really like how it looked on its own, so I added a little bit of Another Heart Breaks by Dandy Nails onto the gradient.

I originally wanted to do a stamping accent nail. I tried stamping a pattern on with Sexy Divide by Essie, but I decided it was too light. So I redid my finger with a yellow base and freehanded some swirls with a striping brush. Then on a whim, I added some dots of Purple Gleam to all of my nails.

Also, my new light box came in! I had fun playing around with it. I think I need to get some better lights though. It's kind of a pain to set up every time I want to take pictures, but it's also nice that it folds up for storage. I don't wanna take up too much room; I do have roommates after all!

The next day's theme is green. But I don't know - I think I might do every other mani as a challenge mani. I just have so many indies that I want to try out! At that rate, it'll be slow going with this challenge, but I really did it for some inspiration for nail art.

Eclectic

Today, I present to you a manicure that I did a few months ago. I actually haven't been able to do my nails for the past few days since I'm recovering from foot surgery and need to stay off my feet. I already feel bad that my parents have to wait on me, so I'm not going to have them hunting around my room for nail polish too! In the meantime, I bring you this colorful mani:

I think I was just too indecisive about what to put on my nails, so I went for a mix of things. I used a striping brush on my pointer finger and dotting tools for my middle finger and pinky. The purple is Milani One Coat Glitter in Purple Gleam (I always find that these "one coaters" really need two coats), the yellow is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow, and the turquoise is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in The Real Teal. I was really happy with how this came out! The colors worked nicely together.