Circus Themed Nail Art

I very often find myself inspired by some of the strangest thing, when it comes to my nails. I have found that anything from a music video, to a pair of shoes, to a tube of toothpaste can be inspirational. This nail art was inspired by the brilliant colors seen at the circus and it's crossed with the inspiration gained from those stunning vintage boudoir slippers, you know the ones with the pretty feathers on them that simply scream GLAMOROUS!
Anyway, it's a pretty simple design. I simply used bright colors as my base, then added white dots, and glued on a pom-pom. Pretty simple and the results are really fun!!!

(Just in case you people are wondering the colors I used are...China Glaze FROSTBITE *blue*, Milani RUBY JEWELS *RED*, Sally Hansen HD LITE *yellow*, 10 Professional Nail Lauquer SPELLBOUND *purple*, and S.H. Xtreme Wear CRUSHED *orange*

OPI Miss Universe Collection

The Miss Universe Collection by OPI is set to release to the public in August but...I was lucky enough to get my hands on a set before the official release date so that I could tell everyone about it! It's a collection of four new colors.

The first color is "Swimsuit...Nailed It!" It's a gorgeous navy blue with a metallic shine. It goes on smooth and two coat covers wonderously. The only thing that I must caution is that this is NOT the nail color to get lazy with. If you do not put a base coat on underneath it, it will stain your nails. With that said, 'Swimsuit...Nailed It!' gets a great big thumbs up from the Nail Artista!

The second color is a silver glitter named "Crown Me Already!". This silver glitter works great as a top coat but I prefer to put three coats on and wear it by itself. It's eyecatching, and glittery, and shiny...and did I mention shiny. It is comprised of little silver shiny-s and bigger hexagon shaped glitters. It's really pretty and long lasting. I didn't use a top coat (lazy me!) and it lasted without a single chip for three whole days! The only issue I have with 'Crown Me Already!' is that it is very, VERY difficult to get off. It took me well over fourty-five minutes to get it off and even at that there was still a few stuck glitters on my nails.

The third color is "Its My Year". This color is very nearly the same exact color as Serena Williams' 'Rally Pretty Pink'. The only difference is that 'Its My Year' has a tiny bit more sparkle, and a tad more gold instead of pink. This color, I did note, looks much better on my hands than the 'Rally Pretty Pink' did. It's a really pretty color though.

The final color in this collection is 'Congeniality Is My Middle Name'. Its a dark pinkish-red. It has a very old-time-silver-screen-vixen look to it. I think I may have to add it to one of my top fave red polishes. It took three coats to get the color just perfect but it is very pretty.

These four new colors from OPI really do deserve to be called the Miss Universe Collection because they are all beautiful. They are also very sturdy which is always a big plus, especially for those of us that are hard on our hands. I really do suggest that everyone look into the Miss Universe Collection in August. There is a color in the collection to suit everyone's taste.

China Glaze: Crackle Metals

Really quick blog tonight. I'm super excited about the new metal crackles made by China Glaze. They look really cool on. I'm going to show you three of the six colors; Oxidized Aqua, Tarnished Gold, and Haute Metal. I put them over white so that you can see them well, but from the advertisement in NAILS MAGAZINE they look really cool over black too.

Just remember that when you use the China Glaze crackles the more crackle you want, the less polish you use. The thicker you put it on, the less crackle you will get. So here they are:

Konad: Temporary Tattoo's for Nails!

Here's something really cool, it's called Konad. It gives you amazing nail art in only a couple of steps. It takes a little practice and patience at first, but really it's so easy a caveman can do it...excuse my crumby joke.

The reason I love Konad is because it adds a lovely embellishment to any set of nails. It has a look that simply cannot be created with a brush...no matter how good you are.

I bought my set for pretty cheap on amazon.com, it was $17.00 and it came with a couple of plates and three colors of Konad Special Polish. So it was really quite the steal. I've bought a lot of plates separately off Amazon as well because they are dirt-cheap.

A lot of things that I have seen and heard about Konad talk about little girls using it. That just goes to show you how easy it is to use.

Alrighty then, let's get down to buisness! First off, decide what Konad design you want to use. There are literally thousands to choose from. There are roses, crosses, animals, designs for holidays, French Manicure tips, and even designs that cover your whole nail. Once, you've decided that, and picked the Konad color to go with it, you give yourself a basic mani with one of your everyday polishes.

After your nails are completely dry, you then get to play with the wonderful toys made by Konad.

To start, you HAVE TO WORK FAST!! In order for Konad to work, you have to use the polish made by the company. It's nearly instant drying so, I suggest having everything you need set up (this includes making sure that you removed the piece of plastic wrap the company covers the mirror-surface of the plates with...please note that that tip is from experiance)☺

Begin by placing a good amount of Konad Special Polish (you have to use this!) on the silver plate with the image on it.

You then take the scraper, the little plastic thingy with the bit of metal sticking off, and scrape the extra polish off. It's importand to use the scraper at a 45 degree angle and to make sure that you have left enough polish in the grooves to be picked up. (another little note: everything MUST be kept clean for it to work!)

Working very quickly, you roll the rubber portion of the stamper across the design to 'pick it up' (the stamper is the oblongish-like tube-y thingy with the round rubber piece at one end and a purple Konad logo on the other) It's incredible the way that the stamper actually 'pulls' the polish off the plate! However, sometimes the stamper doesn't get all of the stamp off, then I find that if you take a nail file to the rubber ever so gently, it picks up better. Unforunately, if the whole stamp doesn't get stuck to the stamper you have to wipe it off and start all over again, it could take a few trys, but it's worth it.

After you get the stamp on the stamper, you use the same rolling motion to get the polish off the stamper and onto your nail. It takes a lot of practice to get it exactly where you want it. The great thing though is that if you don't get it in the exact place that you wanted it...no one has to know! It's nail art, there is no right or wrong and no one can say otherwise.

So have fun with Konad. You can even add a couple of rhinestones here or there, maybe some glitter, or you can just leave it the way it is. Whatever! Just have fun with it!
(for those that are wondering I used Sinful Colors Black on Black and Snow Me White, Wet 'n Wild Blackmail, and Heaven Nail Lacquer Alluring (Yellow), Pinky Pink (pink) and Serenity (orange)

Gold Leaf Manicure!

Ok, guys. My mom had this great idea a coupla months ago to buy gold leaf and put it on my nails. Kinda like a nail wrap. Well, the very first time I tried it I had only been doing nail art for a few months, so it turned out really awful. Because of that one time, the gold leaf went into the bottom drawer of one of my nail polish carts and was left to sit.
The other day I decided that I would give it another shot, using some of the new techniques that I hadn't known before. And they turned out very nicely. So now, I'm gonna show you how to apply Gold Leaf to your nails.

Now, first off, Gold Leaf WILL NOT go on perfectly smooth, no matter what you do you will get wrinkles and crinkles. The great part of this is that if you accidentally tear it, or bump it, while putting it on, you can apply another peice over the top and not a soul will know the difference! The application is pretty simple once you have the few key tricks up your sleeve.

First, you create a sticky surface on your nail. I'm using a nail foil glue, which I purchased from Dollarnailart.com (if you haven't been there before, check it out!) You brush the glue on and wait for the neon-blueish twinge to go away and your nail to turn dull and milky looking. Then you apply the Gold Leaf. You can use a clear base coat as well, it just takes longer to dry.

The second step is to apply the Gold Leaf. Cut off a piece of Leaf that will fit the area that you want covered. You have to be very gentle while doing all the next steps, Gold Leaf is very delicate, and tempermental. You can try to use tweezers to pick it up, but I find it easiest to just pick it up,CAREFULLY, with my finger nails.

You then just rest the Leaf on the glue, or base coat, and GENTLY press it on with your finger. If you are too rough, you will find yourself with a ripped up mess.

You then let the basecoat, if you used one, to dry before VERY CAREFULLY top coating it. When you top coat, use extreme caution not to drag the brush along the Gold Leaf. Put a lot of laquer on the brush and gently spread it around. Another option, if you have the resources available, would be to use a UV Sealer and a UV lamp. I prefer this method because in just three minutes, I know my polish will be dry, my nails will be safe, and I could go straight off and bake cookies if I wanted too, without ruining my nails.

After you top coat it, or seal it, you will be ready to go with a super cool mani and you could even do a really easy Gold Leaf Pedi, just follow the same steps for your fingers. Go ahead and give it a try and lemme know how it comes out! <3

Glow-in-the-dark Nail Polish

Sorry that I haven't been on in a few days, but I haven't felt very well. Anyway, I'll make up for it by showing you guys a really super cool GLOW IN THE DARK polish that ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!

Now, I don't know if you are as excited as I am, but this is the very first Glow in the Dark polish that I have EVER owned that truly glows, and I MEAN THAT IT GLOWS!

It's simply called, GLOW IN THE DARK, and it is made by NO MISS Cosmetics. If you've never heard of them before, (very likely) you should check out their website... http://www.nomiss.com/index.php . They make lip gloss, and mascara, and eye shadows, as well as nail polish. The really great thing about them is that everything they make is made with natural ingredients, and non-cancerous, non-chemical products. Who doesn't like that? And their cosmetics are pretty cheap. My bottle of GLOW IN THE DARK polish was only $8.95.

Oke-doke, back to the polish. It goes on great and it glows like no one would believe. I have had a number of glow in the dark polishes, but I would always be dissapoined when they didn't work, or I would wish that I would work if I put it over another color. Guess what!?! NO MISS GLOW IN THE DARK works great as a top coat! It changes the color of the underneath polish so little that you don't even notice it. NOTE: IT ONLY GLOWS GREEN, IT DOES NOT TURN THE COLOR OF THE BASECOAT THAT YOU USE!
It doesn't really look like anything if you put it on by itself. It's a very nearly clear polish with a kinda grainy-dull look to it. So, I suggest putting it over something. It also adds a nice touch to nail art.

My top 5 Favorite Red Nail Colors

"Red is one of the strongest colors, it's blood, it has a power with the eye. That's why traffic lights are red I guess, and stop signs as well... In fact I use red in all of my paintings. "
~Keith Haring

Red nails date all the way back to the time of the ancient Egyptians. Cleopatra used to favor a rusty red color made from a henna plant. In the 1940's, after the Great Depression, the world turned to the silver screen for the lastest styles in nail fashion. The glamorous Rita Hayworth inspired the latest fashion trends with her daring, dark red talons.
In the year 1940, Elizabeth Arden created "Schoolhouse Red". Each bottle was 75 cents, which was quite a bit considering gas was only 18 cents and a postage stamp was only 3 cents. Lipstick and rouge was dyed to match the ever popular, ever expensive, crimson color.
So go ahead, let yourself imagine your an old time glamour girl. Be romantic and give yourself that almond shaped point that was so popular all those years ago. Drag out that color that says "Va-va-voom! Look at me! I'm Betty Boop!"
I'm going to show you guys my top 5 favorite red manicures.

#5

Essie Wrapped In Rubies
It's a dark red with a golden twinge to it. As with all Essie polishes, it goes on incredibly smooth and three coats gives you fantastic coverage.

#4

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby
A WATCH-OUT-SCREAM-OUT-AT-IT'S-COLOR red. In basic, no dot's or dashes terms, it's fire engine red. And with three coats it's got brilliant color!

#3

Fingerpaints Romaniticism Ruby
This ruby red dazzles with the perfect amout of sparkle and glitter mixed in.

#2

OPI Off With Her Red!
From the Alice in Wonderland collection, Off With Her Red!, is another fire engine red, only with the tiniest hint of orange in it.

#1

Zoya ASTRA
I absolutely love this color. It is pure glitter that gives you full coverage in just three coats. Unlike most glitter polish, it is easy to get off, just a little acetone and a cotton pad and VIOLA, gone, poof, all off! ASTRA has an eyecatching brilliance about it and it was completely worth the $8.00's that it costs! Check out their website (www.zoya.com) they've got a ton of great colors that are worth every cent they cost!

My Patriotic Nails

My deepest apologies friends for not keeping in touch the past few days. I was overwhelmed with creating my own set of 4th of July nails. Every year I look foward to the fireworks. They are my absolute favorite part of the whole day. I love watching the lights go up, and then shimmer, slowly down to the ground. The way the lights glimmer softly, inspired me to include a great deal of sparkle on my nails. The glitter was a nice change from the red, white, and blue stripes that I have painted every year for goodness knows how long. How did all my American friends celebrate Indepedence Day on their nails?