Work Wear Wednesday: Pastel Polka Dots

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I have another installment of Work Wear Wednesday up today! I wanted to do something really simple because I just haven't had any energy to do anything intricate lately, and who doesn't love a simple dotticure? After I did one a while back, I had another WWW post with a tan and black dotticure and since then, I noticed a lot of questions about how I actually do it. I thought it was a pretty simple process and I have a little tutorial at the bottom of the post. 

 

Work Wear Wednesdays: Pastel Chevron Tutorial

I finally have a proper Work Wear Wednesday post again! This week is Spring themed and could work for Easter designs too. I used three pastel shades from Sally Hansen and some Nail Vinyls in chevron shapes. I really liked how light and pretty this turned out. This may not be suitable for all work environments, but I think it could work for most office places.

Work Wear Wednesday: Simple Stripes

Hello! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! It's hump day again, and I actually have a Work Wear Wednesday post to share with you! I didn't have time to do a picture tutorial, but I will share step by step instructions. I used Sally Hansen Licorice and Mint Sorbet to achieve this look. I really love neutral colors with pastels, and even though Licorice is a really dark neutral, I think it helps make Mint Sorbet pop.

Candy Corn Nail Art

It's candy corn nail art day! I feel like everyone has to do candy corn nail art at least once near Halloween. I actually like candy corn, so this is perfect! I did sort of a non-traditional version. I did a dotticure kind of like I did for this post, but with white, yellow and orange. I started with a base of Sinful Colors Black On Black and then dotted various sizes all in white, I used Pure Ice Superstar. I then went over the ones at the base with Sally Hansen Insta-dri Heat Flash and then the middle dots with Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow. 

Halloween Haze

Halloween is less than a week away! It seems like it came really fast. I am already thinking about the holidays. So, I decided to do some Halloween nail art! I wanted to stamp, but I realized I didn't have any Halloween stamping sets, so I worked with what I had here. I used Orly Goth, Pure Ice Superstar! and Silver Star, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Heat Flash. I also used Born Pretty Store plate D14. I love that plate! If you want to purchase anything from the Born Pretty Store you can use my code: HANDX31 for 10% off!

My Top 10 Fall Nail Polish Picks

Today I have a top 10 list to share with you! I love fall and I really enjoy all the collections that come out in the fall. So, I decided to pull together a list of my top 10 favorite fall colors. These aren't all from this year or even from a fall collection. I just love these colors for the season! They remind me of all the things I love about fall: the cooler temperatures and rain, the pumpkins, apple cider and harvest festivals. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Nail Art: #31DC2014 Day 17 Glitter

I have another late post to share today. Day 17 for the daily nail art challenge was glitter. I thought this one over so many times and I didn't want to just do a simple glitter polish. I've had Sally Hansen Mermaid's Tale for a long time and have only used it once, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to pull it out. I decided to do a matte finish on this gorgeous jelly and add a stamp (Born Pretty Store D14).

Nail Art: #31DC2014 Day 19 Galaxy Nails

I have an overdue post today, day 19 of the nail challenge was galaxy nails. I love galaxy nails and have been wanting to try a pastel version. It was a really simple process with high impact. I love it! I started with a base of NYC Robin's Egg Blue, then I sponged on NYC Mimosa Bouquet, Jacaranda Flower, and Sally Hansen Blue-Away. I then painted little stars with white acrylic pain and added OPI Pirouette My Whistle for a glitter topper. I love it as a glitter topper for galaxies because it has both small and larger glitters which look like stars. 

Nail Art: #31DC2014 Day 23 Inspired by a Movie

The movie I chose for the nail art challenge, inspired by a movie, was Alice in Wonderland (2010). I actually chose a dress that Alice wore in the court of the queen of hearts. I would love to put a photo of it in this post, but I cannot find an original source for the photos I am finding so I won't, but if you google Alice in Wonderland Red Court Dress, it will come up. It was a tulle poofy dress with a red to black underskirt and a sheer white overlay with stripes and hearts on it. Ever since I first saw this dress in the movie, I have loved it. It is so out there, but girly and sort of steampunk it inspired me. I loved it enough to remember it years later and recreate it on my nails!

Nail Art: #31DC2014 Day 3 Yellow

Today I have #31DC2014 Day 3 Yellow! I really like the combination of yellow and grey, so I thought I would add yellow flowers over a grey base. I used Sally Hansen Wet Cement and acrylic paints for the flowers. I just kind of brushed around until it looked like a flower. I really want to work on my acrylic painting skills in this challenge. 

Nail Art: Nailpolis Celebration

Nailpolis is a website that calls itself a museum of nail art. I haven't been the most active on it, but have dabbled here and there. Users are curators of their own museum's work, and you can follow other artists you like. They just rached 1 million followers on Facebook and are hosting a contest to celebrate! This is my design for the occasion! I used all Sally Hanse Insta-Dri products: Pronto Purple, Lightening, Blue-Away, Heat Flash, Rose Run, and Lickety-Split Lime. for my middle two nails I created a checkerboard design with all of these colors and added Pronto Purple over that. The pointer and pinky are simple polka dots!

Nail Art: Blended Tape Mani for Tri Polish Tuesday

Are you getting tired of Tri Polish Tuesday yet? This is the last one of this month, which means it is the last one with red, yellow and blue. I really loved these colors and was glad I got to use colors that blend so well to make so many more colors! I knew I wanted to create a blended sponged on mani for this last one, so that is what I did! I started with a white base (Sinful Colors Snow Me White) and added a tape pattern. Then I sponged on Sinful Colors Sail La Vie, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, and Butter London Come to Bed Red.

Nail Art: Watercolor Flowers Tri Polish Tuesday

Today is Tri Polish Tuesday again! I am actually kind of proud of myself for keeping up with this challenge this month. To see my last two Tri Polish Tuesday designs click here: Aztec and Primary Colors Unite!. For those who don't know the three polishes to use for this month are red, yellow and blue. There is another facebook group I try to participate in which explains nail art techniques called Simples: Nail Art from Muggles to Mastery. I love the name! This week is a watercolor technique that I first saw from The Nailasaurus: Watercolor! I knew that this week I wanted to combine the challenge prompt with the new technique so, I decided to try to create a floral look. I am not terribly good at this technique yet, but I really like how it turned out! I started with a base of white, gave it a good top coat, then one nail at a time dropped blue polish in a corner and spread it around with a brush that had acetone on it. I then did the opposite corner with yellow and then finally smaller bits of red on top of the blue and yellow.

Nail Art: Strawberry Fields

Oh Mondays, I think everyone struggles on Mondays. I hope yours is going well though. I have a bright and cheery look for you today! I attended the wedding of one of my best and oldest friends this weekend. I wanted to make sure to create something extra special. She loves strawberries and her parents have a strawberry farm, so I created a sort of bridal-like look with strawberry and flower accents. I used all Sally Hansen polishes and there were quite a few! I first created dots with Xtreme Wear White On, I then waited for that to dry completely and added three coats of a sheer white Complete Salon Manicure in Polar Bear. I love the effect of this sheer white! I then painted on strawberries with Xtreme Wear Coral Reef. I painted leaves with both Xtreme Wear Green with Envy and Perfect Pear-ing and added dots for seeds and flowers with Mellow Yellow.  I then topped everything off with a matte top coat and called it good. I did the strawberry design on my thumb, middle and ring fingers and left the others pain.

Nail Art: Green Dotticure for #fightforlifeandlive

Because of the tragic suicide of Robin Williams, the nail community has decided to band together to create green manicures for mental health awareness. The ribbon for mental health awareness is green, hence the green manis. I think all of us have been touched in some way by someone we love or suffer themselves from depression. It is very tragic that Robin Williams felt he had to take his own life, but I hope that with his passing, others can learn that they are not alone in this battle and that the stigma of mental illnesses needs to be lifted. If you or anyone you know is seeking help and is in crisis visit: Save.org. 

Video Credit: Moderngreen

With that, I would like to share my nails. I meant to post these earlier in the day, but I went on a hike and suddenly, it seems, it is 8pm! I started with a white base and dotted a gradient effect with two sizes of dotting tool. I used Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet, Color Club Wild Cactus and Sinful Colors Calypso. I staggered the dots a little to give more of a gradient effect.

Nail Art: Aztec Tri Polish Tuesday

Hello all! I hope you are having a nice Tuesday. I am attempting to participate in Tri Polish Tuesdays more regularly. It is a nail challenge in the facebook group Crumpet's Nail Tarts. Last week I posted Primary Colors Unite! This week I have a little bit of a different take on the challenge. For this month the three colors are yellow, red and blue. I started with a coral base, Sally Hansen Coral Reef. Then I stamped an Aztec-like design with yellow, red and blue. For the yellow I used Sally Hansen Lightening, red-I used butter LONDON Come to Bed Red, and for the blue I used Sinful Colors Into the Blue. I also used the Born Pretty Store stamping plate D14 (10% off use HANDX31).

Nail Art: Bridal Inspired Foil Stamping

Have you all heard of the Sally Hansen Color Foil Collection? It has been out for a while, but for one reason or another, I haven't gotten my hands on them until now. I have a nail art look today using Leaden Lilac as a base color. This polish is different from the usual polish where you use a base and top coat. This one specifically states to not use a base or top coat. The polish dries to a very metallic foil looking finish which has a really cool effect. The color is an interesting mix of blue and purple, I would call it more blue than purple. It reminded me of the blue/purple Pure Ice Laven-Dare because I couldn't really tell if it is was more blue leaning or purple leaning. I decided to pair the two for this look. Turns out Laven-Dare stamps really well, so I used my MoYou Tourist Collection Plate 07 for this design.   

Born Pretty Store Review: Water Decals

Press Sample

I have another Born Pretty Store review for you! I have some adorable water decals, which I was ecstatic to receive, even though the theme is more winter than summer. I loved the deer and the trees! It reminds me of those leggings that were super popular this last year. Since it isn't winter I was trying to figure out how to still use these in a summery way, and this is what I came up with. I started with a base color of Rimmel London 60 Seconds in Caramel Cupcake, then I used the purple tribal print stripes and placed them on one side of my nail. I waited for the decal to dry in place and then I added a stripe of Sally Hansen Insta-dri Pronto Purple and dots of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Luminous Tulips.

Nail Art: Primary Colors Unite!

So, today is the first time I will be participating in Tri Polish Tuesday! It is a challenge that requires you to use the three polish colors for that month. This month is blue, red and yellow! I decided to create a dry marble using wHet Facetious, NYC Carnival Red which I also showed you in yesterday's post, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening. I started with a base of Facetious and dry marbled over that. Then I placed some tape triangles on my nails and painted Facetious over that.

Born Pretty Store Review: Nail Stamp Plate QA 90

Press Sample

I have another Born Pretty Store review for you today! The Born Pretty Store has tons of nail stamping plates. One of which I bought myself and shared in my Turquoise Stamping post. I decided to try QA90, which has this interesting spike design along with some other interesting elements. I really liked the look of that spike design, but I ended up using the filigree look for today's mani. I used a base color of Sephora Formula X in Zing and stamped with Sally Hansen White On. In the last photo I used Mentality Pop as a base and Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme for stamping.