How to create balloons on nails in 3 easy steps

Hi,

Today I'll show you my colourful balloon nail art which I very easily created.

If you like this manicure, keep reading for the tutorial.

Step 1 

Paint all your nails a white base colour. For this, I used Illamasqua -Scorch. After 

they have dried, apply french manicure tips on all of your nails, exactly the way I did. 

Step 2 

Chose different nail polish colours to paint the part above the tape. Wait until 

they have dried. The nail polishes I used (from left to right): Illamasqua -Faux pas, 

Astor #070, Illamasqua -Radium and Sinful Colors -Timbleberry. 

Step 3 

Remove the tape and create a thin line under each balloon with the colour

you used for that nail. Also, paint a grey or black wavy line. Use a nail art brush for this. 

Finish with a clear top coat. The nail polish I used for creating the line is called Zoya -Kelly.

What do you think? Are you going to try them?

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Yesterday was thanksgiving here in the States and I also participated in something I've never done before: Black Friday.  So in honor of those two events, here are the nails inspired by them:

Thanksgiving Feathers:

I painted a base two coats of Zoya Tiffany and sponged Zoya Sienna and China Glaze Riveting.  For the feathers I used Bundle Monster image disc BM214 with China Glaze Blue Bells Ring.  I finished with Seche Vite.

Black Friday: 

This manicure was fun with the layering effect.  I first painted two coats of China Glaze Liquid Leather and then added glitter with LA Splash Cosmetics in Silver Wave.  I then added a coat of Orly Androgynie for the final layer.  I used one coat of Seche Vite, but now after a day, I may add another for more shine.

Glitter gradient manicure

Hi,

Today I'll show you a manicure inspired by Lucy's Stash' tutorial.

I started with two coats of Essie -Going Incognito and then, using the technique

in the video, I created the gold glitter gradient. For this I used Deborah Lippmann 

-Boom Boom Pow. This nail art is very easy to do and it's eye catchy, too. I didn't
use any clear top coat after applying the glitter. This manicure makes me think
about Christmas and I would definitely recommend you to wear this combination
of colours for the holiday. What do you think?

Illamasqua -Nomad and marble manicure

Hi,

Today I'll show you another shade from Illamasqua, called Nomad. It is a beautiful 

apple green shade, which is perfectly opaque after two coats. You can see yourself

the shiny nail polish in the pictures, applied in two coats, without any top coat.

 Here it is the same shade applied  from the quarter of the nail. For this design, I 

made a free hand marble, inspired by this tutorial. I applied a heart shaped rhinestone

on my ring finger and top coated all the nails. What do you think?

You can find Illamasqua products online at Illamasqua.com.

Blood Splatter Expert Update

The post that draws the most attention to this blog is by far my Blood Splatter Expert.  And this year, before Halloween, it was linked on two blog sites for manicure ideas.  Now I get a lot of questions about how my flinging, Frankenstein contraption works.  So I took a short video that will hopefully shed some light on the how I get my splatter.  It's a bit tricky to do with your non-dominant hand.  It's also, obviously, extremely messy.  But I believe that the end result yields a better line of splatter than the straw method or the other experiments I tried.  Hope this helps.

Home made nail stickers TUTORIAL: Mustache manicure

Hi,

Today I'll show you my first attempt to home made nail stickers. They are very easy to 

do and are very helpful when you want wear designs you can't paint directly on the nails.

As I've tried several times to paint mustaches on my nails and I failed each time, I 

thought this might be the perfect design to stick. Now, into the tutorial:

Tools needed: 

-a plastic bag

-clear nail polish

-one or more coloured nail polishes for the design

-tweezers

Procedure:

1. Put the plastic bag on a still stand, in order that you can easily paint your design.

2. Paint rectangles using clear nail polish and allow them to dry for a few hours. I made 

more then ten, just in case I would spoil some of them when peeling them off.

3. After they have completely dried, paint the desired image on the rectangles. Use

any thin brushes, dotting tools, toothpicks you have to create a beautiful design to stick

on the nails.

4. Gently peel the strips off the plastic bag using tweezers.

5. Apply a base colour on each nail, and while it is still wet, stick the design. 

6. Remove the excess strip using scissors, nail clippers of a nail file.

7. Use top coat to protect your manicure.

For the base colour, I used two coats of Illamasqua -Scorch and then I applied a

coat of Deborah Lippmann -Boom Boom Pow. This is the final result. 

What do you think? Have you ever created your own home made stickers?

Illamasqua -Scorch and houndstooth nail art

Hi,

Today I'll show you a nail polish form Illamasqua, named Scorch. It's a beautiful snow white, with a perfect coverage and texture. I for one find it very difficult to find a good white nail polish, as they are either too thin, with a very poor coverage or to thick and hard to apply. This one is in the middle - it doesn't have any of this problems. The coverage was perfect after the second layer and its brush made it very easy to be painted. This is how it looks like without any clear top coat. You can find it on their website, for £13.50. Also, Illamasqua offers a wide range of many other make-up products which they ship internationally.

I stamped over it a houndstooth design from m63 Konad plate on all my nails, except from my ring finger, where I applied three silver rhinestones. I finished with the Konad -Special Top Coat. What do you think? 

Konad Addict Bingo

Hi,

I have a game for you today and you're going to play Konad Addict style.

It's bingo - not real bingo - but you can have fun with it. You may recognise

my manicures there, the ones I like the most and I assume they are your 

favourites, too. If you want to find out more about them, click on the image 

and there will be a little description and the link to the original post for each.

You win when you get a full line. If you want to entertain yourself, you might

try playing without getting a full line. My record is 18 and I'd like to find out

what is yours. 

Do you like Konad Addict Bingo?

This game was created by Chat Mag Bingo for Konad Addict and its readers.

However, if you ever want to play real bingo, visit their site.

Flormar Duo Chrome #DC06 and stamping

Hi,

Today I'll show you another shade from the Flormar Duo Chrome Collection.

This one is called DC06 and it's a lovely purple with golden and grayish reflections. 

I applied two coats and no clear top coat. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

I stamped over it the design from m40 plate from KKcenterhk (the equivalent for m22 

Konad palte). I finished with a clear top coat. What do you think?

Embroidery manicure

Hi,

Today I'll show you a new manicure I made using m57 Konad plate. I started 

with two coats of Illamasqua -Taint and then, using the Konad -Special White,

I stamped the design at the same height on each nail. I finished with the 

Special Top Coat. The result was a very cute, old school embroidery. 

What do you think? 

Flormar Duo Chrome #DC05

Hi,

As many of you might have heard, Flormar has recently launched a collection of 6 Duo Chromes. 

I chose a teal colour, named DC05 and I was very keen on reviewing it. 

Not only did it fulfill my expectations, but it exceeded them. It actually has plenty of nuances 

at different lightnings. I only managed to catch some of them in the pictures. They go from

 golden green to dark green blue and have a beautiful shine. I didn't apply any top coat. 

What do you think?

Vote!

It's the eve of the Presidential Election here in the US.  So in honor, I'm encouraging all and showing my intentions to vote on November 6th.

Three coats of China Glaze High Roller was the base.  I used China Glaze White On White for the check box and with Konad Special Polish in White and Coral Blue with Bundle Monster image disk BM14.  Seche Vite was the top coat.

Velvet nails

Hi,
Today I'll review the velvet powder from Born Pretty. Many of you might have heard
of velvet manicure, or cashmere nails, which have become a trend lately and I've been
very willing to try it. Born Pretty offers you the possibility to have coloured velvet nails
for only $7.99, which is actually very cheap. They have a range of nuances and they
ship them free, internationally. I also have a surprise for you, please use ASJ61
cuppon code for a discount on any order on their website.
I got the orange one, which actually has beautiful reddish reflections. In my opinion,
it is perfect for fall or winter and it will attract every eye on your manicure.


I got it in a cylindrical pack, with a king of big tweezers included and a thin brush
to remove the surplus. I started with two coats of a close shade of orange and,
while it was still wet, I applied the flocking powder using the tweezers.

 If you wonder what would happen to your manicure after washing your hands,
the answer is: nothing! I had this concern too, but after wetting and wiping them
with a towel, they were just like before.

All in all, I like this product and I'd like to try other colours, too. 

What do you think? Have you tried them yet?