Seahawks Blue and Green Nail Art

Last night on Facebook, I asked whether everyone was rooting for the Seahawks or the Patriots and the results were overwhelming. It seemed like most people were on the Russell Wilson train!

I, too, am rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, so I decided to do a little nail art with a few of the holo polishes I recently received in a swap.

I used Milani Spotlight White for the base with Colors by Llarowe Bronco Blue (ironic, I know) and Young Grasshoppa.

All of these were made using nail vinyls from Up Your Nail. The thumb and ring finger were with vinyls, the other three were made using their nail guides. The only one I struggled with a little was the teardrop guide, but I figured it out a little better after a redo.

Please let me know what you think of my Super Bowl nail art and feel free to post your nail art to my Facebook page. I'll be sharing some of my favorites throughout the game!

How to Spruce Up a Boring Mani with Simple Nail Art!

I don't know about you, but even if my manicure lasts for DAYS, I find myself bored by the third day of rocking the same color, no matter how pretty it is. So here, I have for you some very simple ways of jazzing up your manicure without having to change polish. This also works for adding a little something extra when the weekend rolls around.

I have broken down the techniques from beginner to intermediate to advanced to expert, but one thing is for certain: no matter what your skill level is, you'll always be able to show off some fantastic fingers!

Beginner Level: Polka Dots!

Hump Day Holo: a-England Holo Stripes

Happy Hump Day!

I decided I wanted to be a little creative with my striping tape for Hump Day and turned to my favorite go-to holo polishes: a-England!

Eventually, I decided on my all-time favorite, St. George, and thought the purple of Lady of the Lake was a great compliment.

I placed two pieces of striping tape down and painted with Lady of the Lake first. That way, I could paint over any of the spillover with St. George.

Look at that sparkle!

What do you think of my Hump Day Holo look?

Swatch and Review: Dermelect Buzzworthy and Fearless

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

I was recently sent two of the shades from Dermelect's new Fearless Beauty Collection!

Fearless is a collaboration between Fear No Beauty's Karie Frost, the Beauty Director for Nail It! magazine and NAILPRO, and Dermelect's Creative Director/Celebrity Manicurist, Elle.

Swatch and Review: China Glaze Tranzitions

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today, I have for you three of the new Tranzitions shades from China Glaze!

The Tranzitions are a form of color-changing polish in which the use of top coat triggers the color shift. In all of the swatches with the dual colors, I used China Glaze Fast Forward top coat.

First up is Shape Shifter, a gunmetal metallic polish. This was opaque in just one coat. The color itself was pretty, but very streaky. I did my best to hide the brushstrokes, but I wasn't thrilled with the end result.

Here is Shape Shifter with the top coat. I wanted to do some designs on the nail so you could see the difference with and without top coat. As you can see, the color shifts to a blurple that I'm pretty fond of and would probably wear on its own.

This one is Altered Reality, a teal metallic polish that was opaque in one coat. This was even more streaky than Shape Shifter.

The french tip I did was with two coats of top coat and it barely made a difference. The shift wasn't enough to be noticeable for me. This was by far my least favorite of the three.

Split Perso-nail-ity was my favorite of the three and probably the only one I'd wear again. It's a dusty pink that changes to more of a magenta. This is with two coats to even out the streakiness.

And here is the color with the top coat. I used a dotting tool to create the polka dots and then dotted the original color back on to hollow them out. I thought this was a pretty easy way to do nail art.

The pros: Versatile color. Need only one bottle for multiple looks.

The cons: Slow dry time unless you use a top coat, but you can't if you want any portion to remain pink. These shades also stained my nails. Additionally, the brushstrokes are not really attractive to me in the first two shades and not nearly enough of a color shift.

The Tranzitions collection is currently available at ULTA and other beauty retail stores. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlazeOfficial), Twitter (@ChinaGlaze) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

What do you think of the Tranzitions? Do you have a favorite?

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page.

Falling Forward Challenge: Day 1 - Neons

Good morning, polishaholics! Today, I'm beginning the Falling Forward Nail Art Challenge and am very excited. This is my first nail art challenge!

As you can see above, today's theme is neons!

I'm not a big fan of neons, so I had to do something that I would be willing to rock on a daily basis.

I went with a pale green base in Julep Courteney and used It's So Easy Stripe Rite paints in neon colors to make a stringy French manicure.

I really like how it turned out. The stripes remind me a bit of ocean ripples. And the muted green of Julep Courteney makes it a little less in-your-face.

Before we bid farewell, to summer neons, be sure to check out the posts of my fellow bloggers who are undertaking the challenge!

College Polished
Tall Girl in Heels
Nail Polish Anonymous
Peace Love Lacquer
DIY Polish
XO, Noelle
Galactic Lacquer
Princess Polish
Munchy's Nails
Pishposh and Polish
Beyond Beauty Lounge
Beauty Dish
Jilltastic Nail Design

Have a great rest of your Monday!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: It's So Easy Saturday - Miami Stripes

Hello, everyone! For next few Saturdays, I'm going to be showing you some cool nail art with the help of It's So Easy!

Today, I'm going to show you a design I created with the help of Stripe Rite, nail art paint with a precise striper brush.

I wanted to do something that was bright and funky for summer, but that wouldn't be too over the top. So I decided to do an accent nail and looked to the old TV show, Miami Vice, for inspiration. Who does love those crazy 80's outfits, right?

This was not nearly as time consuming as you might think. I did the stripes in different colors, all using shades of Stripe Rite. Then, I separated them with a thin black stripe. I let the stripes dry for about ten minutes before drawing on the palm tree, also with the black paint.

Here, you can see how smooth the stripes dried. It wasn't bumpy to the touch or anything.

The cool thing about the It’s So Easy website is that it features a Nail Art Community. Fans can upload their nail designs, regardless of experience level, and interact with others through Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Finger art fanatics can have their wishes granted through the It’s So Easy Product Section by creating a personalized Wish List... perfect for birthdays and holidays! Users can select from Stripe Rites, loose glitters, cracked ice, rhinestones and more, then print or email to have their list on hand when visiting their nearest It’s So Easy store location.

Need inspiration? The growing How-To page offers quick and easy nail art tutorials that can be accomplished in a few easy steps. A What You Need list is available to help visitors create their desired look.

Visit the website at www.itssoeasynails.com for more information on the variety of products and retailers near you. Be sure to also check out their Facebook, Instagram at @ItsSoEasyNails, Twitter, and Pinterest pages!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. 

Weekend Holo: Spring Stripes

You all may remember my post earlier in the week with my Spring Stripes nails. Well, for hump day holo (at least, this belated one), I wanted to see how I can kick it up a notch!

Behold - Holofied Spring Stripes!

 

I LOVED it! Still girly, but delicate and yet it has the KAPOW I wanted!

So tell me, everyone... which look do you prefer? The original Spring Stripes or the holofied Spring Stripes?

Spring Stripes

While I am reluctantly giving up my jewel tones now that it is spring, one thing that I could never give up is my nail art! So I tried to come up with something light and delicate that would also make an impact. I decided on a pastel rainbow.

First, I had to pick out some colors. I don't own nearly as many pastels as I do brights and darks, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. I wanted to select shades that would go well together and almost blend, rather than contrast.