Luck o' the Irish

Hello Lovelies! Today, I have some fun St. Patrick's Day nails to share with you. I created these nails for this week's WNAC, luck of the Irish prompt. Of course, I had to go with iconic clovers because what could be luckier. 

Materials I used:

Base coat - Dream Polish 'Smooth Gem'

Polish - Lacquered Polish 'Irish Creme'

Matte topcoat Nicole by OPI

Gel pens 

I started off with one of my favorite nude color, Lacquered Polish 'Irish Creme' it's a beautiful neutral with just a touch of gold in it. 

For this design, I decided to finally try out gel pens. I've seen some really great nail art designs created with gel pens and when I found this rainbow pack of gel pens I couldn't resist. 

I first tried using the gel pens over a gloss topcoat. This didn't work out to well, the pens didn't draw smoothly, and wiped off easily. I ended up using a matte topcoat to help with the application.  I simply drew clovers in various colors, randomly over all my nails. 

Usually, I perform a bit of a cleanup and apply a topcoat, but in this case I didn't do either because I didn't need to cleanup and I liked the matte finish. 

These were really easy and fun to create. The gel pens were easy to work with once I applied the matte topcoat. I would recommend you give them a try.  I hope you enjoyed this nail art design. Thanks for stopping by, see you next time. 

Your Fellow Plebe,

Dotted Rainbow Stripes

Hello Lovelies! I am super excited about this months WNAC because the theme is rainbows! Who doesn't love rainbows?! For this week's stripe prompt, I decided to create a dotted stripes.

For this nail art design, I decided to use my go to Ciate London rainbow creme scheme which includes: 'Mistress,' 'Cha, Cha, Cha,' 'Loop the Loop,' 'Apples & Custard,' 'Boom Box,' & 'Talent Scout.'

To create this design I painted three vertical stripes, skipping every other color of the rainbow. Then using a medium dotting tool I dotted a stripe over each seam with the colors I skipped. 

After a quick clean up with gentle acetone and a brush, this is what I came up with…

I decided my rainbow stripes need some more rainbows. So, I added a layer of I.A.M…Custom Color Cosmetics 'Quest for the Holo Pail.'

These nails were so easy to create, and they're bright and fun too. The holo topcoat gave it that little bit extra, that makes me really love this designs. I hope you like this design too, thanks for stopping by, see you next time. 

Your Fellow Plebe,



Half Moon Radial Mani

Hello Lovelies!  This week's Nail Art Nation prompt of the week is Half Moons, and I've had this design in mind for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity to create them...

Materials I used:
Base coat - Dream Polish 'Smooth Gem'
Polishes - Gothic Gala Lacquers 'It's Green, Sir' & 'Partner in Crime'
Binder reinforcement dots
Striping tape
Topcoat - Sweet & Sour Lacquer 'Gloss Sauce'

After applying my ridge filler base coat, I applied two coats of my green and yellow polishes.  I alternated the colors to make them a little more interesting.  I choose these colors to give this mani a slightly St. Patrick's Day feel.  Both of these colors 'It's Green, Sir' & 'Partner in Crime' were limited edition polishes that Gothic Gala no longer offers, however, she has many other gorgeous polishes available, and I just love everything she makes.  Of course, I topped these base colors with a quick drying topcoat, because I used tapes to create the design.

After my topcoat was dry, I placed a binder reinforcement dot at the smile line of my cuticle. I cut the top of the reinforcement to allow it to flex more, so that I could get the placement I preferred.  I then used five stripes of stripping tape, to create a radial line affect.  Basically, I picked the center point at my cuticle and extended each tape from that point.  I then applied my secondary color (green over yellow, and yellow over green) over top, remove tapes immediately, in reverse order of application (so not to pull overlapping tapes and make a mess).

As usual, perform any necessary cleanup with gentle acetone and a brush, and apply your favorite topcoat.

This design is simple and fun.  I like this color combo because it has a slightly retro feel to it.  I think it is the mustardy yellow that lends to this vibe.  If I had used a gold versus the yellow this would be a perfect St. Patty's Day design.  I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

  

Gilded Gold Shamrock

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  I had so many ideas for St. Paddy's Day nail art designs, but like always I didn't have enough time to create them all.  However, I wanted to create one more design for this week's Nail Polish Queens' Challenge.  I saved this one for the NPQ challenge because I felt the design was fit for a queen.

I happen to find some gold calligraphy ink the last time I was at my local craft store, so I thought it was time to try another calligraphy pen design.  I used a calligraphy pen in a previous Valentine's Day design and I really liked using it.  This is what I came up with this time around...

I created the gilded gold shamrocks over Revlon Colorstay 'Rain Forest' which I topped with a matte topcoat.  I find that the matte topcoat helps applying the calligraphy ink. 

I decided when the design was complete to add a glossy top coat, and paired it with one of the polishes from the 7 Tales of Luck & Whiskey indie collaboration set I mentioned in my last post.

This seriously glittery green and gold polish is Simply Beautiful 1973 'Blarney Stone.'  I'm not a big glitter fan, I never really have been but I just can't get enough of this.  It's so sparkly and incredibly opaque, I applied two coats both in the swatches and for today's nail art.

As for today's nail art, you can see from the pictures that I drew the design on both hands.  This is the first time I have ever wielded a calligraphy pen with my non-dominant hand.  Though I need a great deal of practice with using the calligraphy pen (with both hands), I am pretty pleased with the results.

I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, and I hope you are all having a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.  Thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Lucky Rainbow

Happy Sunday!  I hope your St. Patrick's Day is turning out just the way you wanted it to.  I have a super simple, accent nail design for you today perfect for St. Patty's day.  A lucky little rainbow that ends in a pile of gold...

To create this accent I started with a white base polish, I almost always use Sinful Colors 'Snow Me White' and I did once again here.  I used a white base polish because some of the polishes I am using for my rainbow stripes are not that opaque this allows the colors to show up much brighter and opaque without too many layers.

I then used Art Club stripers and created my rainbow.  I started in the middle with yellow and then green.  I did this because I felt it would make it easier to make my stripes more even.  I felt if I started to the left or the right that I would end up with uneven stripes because my visual perception would be off.  However, you can start your rainbow in any manner you're comfortable with.

To end my rainbow I used a gold polish and a medium dotting tool to make a pile of gold.  To give the pile of gold a little more depth and to make it look more like a pile of gold I added small gold studs.

I then paired this up with one of my new polishes from an indie collaboration set I purchased.  The beautiful nude polish is Lacquered Polish 'Irish Cream'. 

I was hoping to do a full review of the full set, 7 Tales of Luck and Whiskey, but unfortunately I didn't have time.  However, if you follow my Instagram account you most likely seen all the swatches, if not you can find swatches of all the polishes in the set on my Instagram feed.  But just in case you missed it this is the photo collage I put together for Irish Crème.

I purchased the 7 Tales of Luck and Whiskey set because one of my nail goals this year was to explore the indie polish world more.  For me purchasing this set was a perfect way to try out some brands that I have never tried.  To say the least, I will most likely be making purchases from all the contributors in the future.  I was not disappointed with any one of the products in the set. 

I have purchased a different Easter indie collaboration set that should be arriving soon with other brands I have never tried.  Hopefully, I will have enough time to do a reveal/review post of it before Easter.  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this cute little rainbow nail art design, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Shamrocks!

Hello Darlings!  St. Patrick's Day is just a few days away and many are celebrating it this weekend so I decided to create an easy shamrock mani for today...

I started off with Fairytale Finish 'Radioactive Leprechaun and Revlon 'Emerald'.  I'm sure you can guess which one is which ; )

I then used my smallest dotting tool and created shamrocks randomly over my nails.  If you can draw a heart, which you probably practiced a lot last month, you can draw a shamrock.  A shamrock is a grouping of three or four hearts. For my three-leaf clovers I added a little stem using a small brush.

For the darker nails, I drew the shamrocks in white first and then filled them in with 'Radioactive Leprechaun.'  I did sneak in a four-leaf clover, see if you can find it.

I have a few more St. Patrick's Day nail art designs, that I am hoping to get done before the holiday.  So stay tuned for more.   I hope you all have a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day weekend.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Watermarble Decals Revisited

This week's Nail Polish Queens' challenge is watermarble decals.  Of course, I had to do this challenge.  In September of last year I created a tutorial for this easy process based on a You Tube video I had watched, http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2014/09/water-marble-decals.html.  I honestly, haven't tried it again since then.

I decided to make it a Saint Patty's day color scheme.  I was hoping to make it two shades of green and a gold, but unfortunately my gold polishes weren't playing well.  After a few tries, I decided to just go with a two shade green marble...

I decided to use some of my Lucky Lacquer, because the Irish are infamously known for being lucky.  The two greens I used are 'Mint Daisy' (dark green), and 'Bells of Ireland' which in mind is just perfectly named for the coming holiday.  I typically have a very hard time with watermarble designs because my polish don't always spread well.  These polishes however, spread like butter on warm toast (minus the crumbs).

I was really hoping that this time around I would have some great revelation and be able to share with you the great secret to creating awesome watermarble designs.  Alas, I have nothing new to add to the previous tutorial.  After I made my bulls-eye, I played with various patterns but this flower like design ended up being my favorite.

Once, I was happy with my design I left it to dry.  As I stated in the previous tutorial, and I have heard this from others that have tried it to, picking it up is the hardest part of the process.  I found that if I let the marble dry longer it became a little more ridged which made it easier to pick up without it folding or wrinkling.  This time around I allowed each marble to dry for about 20-30 minutes.  I placed them on paper towels to let the water dry off naturally.  I previously used wax paper because I was afraid the paper towel would stick to the decals.  However, if the polish is dry enough the paper towels work just fine.

The only thing I changed during this application is that I trimmed the decal prior to placing it on my nail.  I did this to make the decal more manageable.  I applied one coat of my lightest color, in this case 'Bells of Ireland.'  I placed the decal while the polish was still wet and attempted to smooth out the design.  I had two problems this time around 1) the decal began wrinkling as soon as it touched the wet polish, and 2) anytime I touched the surface of the decal it instantly ripped.

I found this very discouraging.  I believe that the decal wrinkled so easily during application because they were very thin.  I think the next time I try this if the polishes seem thin I'll create the rings using a couple of drops per ring instead of just one.  As for the rips, I'm not exactly sure how I might have prevented it, but I found it was easily fixed with some polish and a dotting tool.  Notice the bare spot near my free end in picture 5 and then in picture 6 it's covered up.  However, this looks really terrible right?  Well after a little clean up with acetone and a brush as well as a thick application of top coat, this is the end result...

It's not perfect but its better than almost any finger dipped watermarble I've ever done.  The one on my mid finger of this hand turned out pretty well.  This decal happened to be a little thicker than most of the others.  Sadly, the bubbles on my ring finger occurred during the top coat application.  I applied a top coat I had received free as part of a promotion, and I doubt I'll use it again. 

I'm feeling more confident with my watermarbling technique.   I think I may try a finger dipped water marble soon and I'll definetly be using my Lucky Lacquer polishes to create them.  I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,