Paisley Print DIY Decals

Hello Lovelies!  I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday weekend (or a nice weekend for those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving)!  I finally got around to finishing the final prompt of the Weekly Nail Art Challenge (#WNAC) from Instagram.  The last prompt was Paisley print, which I have always wanted to try but wasn't sure I could make it look good.  I think I did pretty well, what do you think?

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Bring it On!'
Base polish - Milani 'Gold Glitz' (Dollar Store find)
Calligraphy pen and black ink
UberChic Beauty Uber Mat
Topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Marvel'

I started off with two coats of my sparkly gold glitter polish.  I wanted this design to be blingy yet mature and I thought this made the perfect base.

After practicing with both polish and acryclic paints and a small brush to try and create a paisley design, I got frustrated and switched to my calligraphy pen.  Lately, this has been my go-to drawing tool because the ink is much like acrylic paint and I have much better control.  Using my Uber Mat,  I started with a generous layer of topcoat, which I let dry completely.  I drew a couple of paisleys for each finger and filled in the voids with swirls and little things that look almost like commas.

For those of you who would like to see a brief video of me drawing this pattern, checkout my Instagram account.

Once, I was satisfied with my decals.  I removed them from the mat using a pair of tweezers.  I applied a layer of topcoat to my nail and placed the decal carefully on my nail.  If you've made your decal too thin it will most likely tear and give you problems during placement, that is why I recommend using a generous layer or two thin layers of topcoat for your decal base.  After carefully pressing the decal down, trim some of the excess decal away with cuticle scissors or nail clippers.  Dissolve the remaining decal away using gentle acetone and a brush,  don't forget to do this around the free end of your nail as well.

I topped this all off with a final layer of quick drying glossy topcoat.  This is important to ensure that the decal is sealed down onto the nail, and it helps smooth out wrinkles that my occur during the application process.

For those of you who haven't tried calligraphy nail art, I highly recommend it.  For those of you who have tried it and found its not your thing, but you also don't like using a paint brush, I recommend trying a gel pen to create this and similar nail art designs.  I personally haven't tried gel pens yet but it is on my nail art bucket list.  I have heard from many other nail artist that gel pens are really easy to work with.  I'm curious, have any of you tried calligraphy or gel pens in your nail art yet?  What did you think?

When I first started creating this nail art design, I didn't think I would be pleased with the final results.  However, I love the way they turned out and I hope you do too.  Thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Polar Express Inspired Nails Recreated

Hello Lovelies! I know its still a bit early to get into Christmas nail art designs but this past Friday we had a Polar Express movie viewing party. I used this as an excuse to recreate the Polar Express Inspired nails that I created last year.   I love to do recreations because it is a great way to see what kind of progress I've made and what techniques I've improved upon.  This is what I created this time...

I started with a gradient base using China Glaze "New Birth," "Capacity to See Beyond," & "Well Trained."

I sponged a little bit of Sinful Colors "24 Karat" across the center of all my nails.

Using my favorite calligraphy pen and silver ink I scribed "Believe" across my pointer, mid, and ring finger.

I layered white ink over the silver so that the silver created a shadow affect.

To create the jingle bell on my pinky, I used China Glaze "Swing Baby" and a large dotting tool. I then used my calligraphy pen and black ink to add detail to the bell. I added a bit of red ribbon using an Art Club Duo pen.

I used image plate QA57 from bornprettystore.com and silver stamping polish from Mundo De Unas to stamp a small snowflake over the "I".

I also randomly stamped snowflakes on my Cindy hand.

I did my usual clean up with gentle acetone and a brush, and topped it all off with a glossy topcoat.

Here is a comparison of the recreation and the original...

I prefer the gradient in the newer version of this design. In fact, I love this gradient. I also prefer using the calligraphy pen and ink. I have better control with the pen, and the calligraphy ink is similar to acrylic paint in that if you make a mistake you can scratch it away when it dries and start fresh.

It is really nice to see progress when doing these recreations. I am pleased with what my practice has produced. I hope you enjoyed this nail art recreation. Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Watercolour Fall Foliage

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have a very easy, yet very pretty DIY watercolour mani for you.  I created these for this week's WNAC, this month's theme is elegant and this week's prompt is watercolour.  I think some of the most elegant nail art designs are simple and subdued, that is why I went with this design...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring it On!"
Base polish - China Glaze "Don't Honk Your Thorn!"
Sharpies in red, brown, orange, and yellow
91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol
Small plastic or glass container, such as a shot glass or paint pallet
Small brushes
Brown polish - Color Club "Fondue for Two"
Topcoat - New York Color matte topcoat

I started with my favorite nude polish for a base color, China Glaze "Don't Honk Your Thorn!"  I opted for a nude base because I wanted my colors to be subdued, not too bright.  If you want your watercolour to turn out brighter, I would recommend a white base color.

I had to make my own watercolour because I don't own any.  I've seen many nail artist use Sharpies to make their own waercolours and I've used Sharpies to create watercolour nail art before but with a different technique (Sharpie Gradientish Stripes). For this nail art, I used the more conventional method.  Using a glass or plastic container, color the bottom with a Sharpie (I started using a shot glass, but switched to a plastic paint palette by the second color).  Then pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol into the container.  Use a brush to mix the Sharpie ink and the alcohol together.  For more opaque colors use as little rubbing alcohol as possible for less opaque colors add more rubbing alcohol.

I blobbed on my watercolours in random areas of my nail.  Continuing the process with various fall colors until I was satisfied with the layers and coverage.

Then using a thin brush and dark brown polish I painted thin trees and tree limbs to give the appearance of Autumn trees.

I cleaned my cuticles with rubbing alcohol and a brush, and applied a matte topcoat.

It has been a while since I have fallen madly in love with one of my nail art design, but this is a keeper.  I love the fall colors, I love matte texture, and I love the subtle, yet eye catching colors.  I feel this nail art design has a simplistic elegant feel to it.  How about you?  Do you think this is elegant?  If not what qualities do you feel a nail art design needs to be deemed elegant?

Whether or not you think this is elegant, I hope you enjoyed this nail art design.  I highly recommend you try creating your own watercolours using Sharpies.  It's easy to do and a great way to add some interesting color and texture to your nail art.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Glitter Rhinestone - Lady Queen Beauty Review

Hello Lovelies!  I was recently contacted by Lady Queen Beauty and asked if I would like to review their product.  They have so many wonderful nail art products and accessories that I couldn't resist.  One of the items I choose to review were these gorgeous Multi Colored Rhinestones.

These Multi Colored Rhinestones Item # NA0285 come in a wheel and include two sizes of gems in just about every color of the rainbow.

The Rhinestones have a 3D shape and a nice iridescent appearance that make them shine like jewels.  These stones also have a somewhat metallic finish which makes them very opaque (in other words you cannot see through them).

I decided to use these Multi Colored Rhinestones  to create a French tip nail art design.  Using a binder hole reinforcement dot I created a deep French tip, by placing the reinforcement dot approximately 1/3 from the tip of my nail.  I then filled in the tip with black polish and immediately removed the reinforcement dot to prevent the polish from pulling.  I used Sinful Colors "Black on Black" because this is my go to black polish.

I then used the Multi Colored Rhinestones along the smile line of the French tip I just painted.  I used three larger stones in the middle and a smaller stone on either side.  I applied these stones by applying a topcoat and pressing the stones into the topcoat while it was still wet.  I then applied another layer of topcoat over the stones to seal them in place.

I prefer the topcoat method for applying stones and studs because I change my nail art often and I find it easier to remove the studs without damaging my nails.  If you intend to wear a manicure with studs for an extended period of time, I would recommend using nail glue to apply the studs instead of the topcoat method.  I would also recommend using nail glue if you are using a significantly large gem or charm, because the topcoat will not hold them for long.

I highly recommend you checkout the gorgeous and very economically priced nail art items that Lady Queen Beauty has to offer.  They offer the latest in Nail Art Trends, not to mention Daily Deals and Hot Sales, in addition to their already great priced items.  They also offer free shipping on top of their great prices.  You can earn points for purchases, product reviews and photo/video uploads to their site, that you can redeem on future purchases.  If that's not enough and you want more, you can also use my coupon code: QJXS15 for 15% off!  It really doesn't get any better than that.

I hope you enjoyed this nail art design and found the review useful.  Be sure to use my coupon code when you make a purchase with Lady Queen Beauty.  Thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Mustache-icure

Hello Lovelies!  I have been having a difficult time staying motivated with nail art, so I decided to pick up a challenge for November.  For this month I thought I would give the Instagram #WNAC2015 a shot.  The over all theme is elegant, followed by weekly prompts.  This week's prompt is Movember.

No that's not a typo, Movember aka No Shave November is a movement to help support male wellness, encouraging men to exercise, eat healthy, and get regular checkups.  The primary goal of Movember is to bring about awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.  Many men show their support by vowing not to shave for the month of November, many growing elaborate moustaches in the process.  For (most) women growing a moustache is not really achievable so instead we create moustache nail art.  This was what I created...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring It On!"
Polishes - OPI "You're so Vain-illa", "Icebergers and Fries", "My Voice is a Little Norse", and Sinful Colors "Black on Black"
Medium/small dotting tool
Small detail brush
Topcoat - New York Color matte topcoat

I started with an off white on my pointer and mid finger, black on my ring finger and thumb, and added a glitter polish to my pinky.

For my moustaches I decided to try to go for a handlebar style stache.  Surprisingly, this is the first time I have ever done a moustache of any kind on my nails, however, it is relatively easy.  Start by placing two dots side by side with a dotting tool.  Then using a small brush, create a tail to either side of the dots.  I created a pattern of four to five moustaches on each finger and added sparkly dots between them to add a touch of elegance.

I did the same pattern over the black base as I did over the off white.  I simply changed the colors of the moustaches.

I performed my usual clean up with gentle acetone and a brush, and this time I added a matte topcoat.  I have never applied a matte topcoat over a glitter polish but I thought the affect was pretty interesting, almost stone like.

My goal with this manicure was to make it both masculine, since it is for Movemeber, yet incorporate a little bit of elegance so that it fit the theme of the WNAC.  I'm not quite sure I met the criteria of my goals, but I think I came pretty close.  What do you think?  Either way I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

   

Autumn Moroccan Print

Hello Lovelies!  Oh, how the time is flying!  I can't believe November is already here, I barely had time to enjoy October.  Now that we are moving past Halloween, I feel it is time to get away from the dark and dreary, and move onto something brighter and more cheery.  So, I decided to create this bright yet Autumn-esque Moroccan nail art design...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring it On!"
Polishes - Color Club "Look, Don't Tusk", "Tribe and True", "Apple of My Eye", "Off Duty", & "Antiquated
Moroccan Vinyls from Lou it Yourself
Medium/small dotting tool
Topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Marvel"

I started of with a nice off white crème base, to keep the design light and bright.  Because I am using vinyls to create this design I applied a quick drying topcoat and allowed it to dry completely.

I then applied my vinyls.  A tip for using full nail stencils is to cut little slits around the edges to help it flex and lay flat.  I find this particularly helpful because my nails are so curved.  I cut one slit on each side of my nails as well as near the smile line and the free end to help the vinyl to conform to my nail.  Using a dotting tool I filled in each Moroccan bauble, working each color in a row vertically down my nail.

I repeated the color pattern on my pointer, mid and ring finger.  On my pinky and my thumb, I used a left over piece of vinyl and filled in one Moroccan bauble near the smile line of my nail.  As always I performed a bit of clean up with gentle acetone and a brush.  I applied a final layer of quick drying topcoat, being sure to float it over the design to prevent the colors from streaking.

I love working with vinyls, they are simple, quick, and easy to work with.  The biggest challenge creating this design was working quick enough and peeling the vinyl before the polish dried too much.  I did end up with a little pulling but the design makes up for the minor problem areas.

Autumn is my favorite time of the year for many reasons, one reason being the colors.  The colors in this nail art design are perfect for this time of year, they kind of remind me of the leaves currently carpeting my lawn.  I hope you too enjoyed this nail art design, thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,