Orange and Black Mani Swap Circle

Hello Lovelies!  Its time once again for a Mani Swap Circle nail art design.  This time the color scheme is orange and black just in time for Halloween.

This time I had the opportunity to recreate one of the lovely @aaaratednails beautiful nail art designs.  I had a really hard time choosing just one.  At one point I had about 15 that I wanted to recreate but I narrowed it down to just this one.  I choose it primarily because it involved gradients which we all know I love.   

Materials I used:

Base coat - IAMCCC  "Cement" 

Cuticula liquid latex

Orange polish - IAMCCC "Yahoo Y2K"

Black polish - Chaotic Glitz "Little Black Book"

Makeup Sponge

Straight vinyls or striping tape

Topcoat - Together We Image "Bubbles the Clown" Scented

I started off with my favorite sticky base coat, to protect my nails and create a longer lasting mani.  I also protected my skin with my favorite liquid latex which smells like lavender, by the way!

To recreate @aaaratednails reverse gradient design, I started with a vertical gradient.  Instead of sponging layer upon layer, I first painted one half of my nail orange and the other black.  Than using a makeup sponge, I dabbed the gradient to blend the colors.  This pre-painting method is ideal when working with darker colors. I did apply a quick drying topcoat at this point. 

For part two of this nail art design, you have to reverse the gradient.  Once dry, I applied straight vinyls horizontally across my nail.  I than dabbed the same colors but in a reverse order.  I apologize but I forgot to take still pictures of these steps. (I will be posting a quick video on Instagram later.)

When I was happy with the blend, I removed the vinyls and the latex, performed a tiny bit of clean up with gentle acetone and a brush.  I, of course, topped it all off with one of my favorite scented topcoats from Together WE Impact.

I loved this design so much that I sacrificed sleep and did it on both hands for a change.  Its so sad when you have to choose between a good nights rest and a complete mani :(  I did, however, wear this mani for about 4 days which is a record for me as of late.

I highly recommend you go checkout @aaaratednails on Instagram for more beautiful nail art designs. Also if you are interested in joining in on all future Mani Swap Circles follow @natasha_dauncey or @glacewing.  There is a link in their bios to sign up for the next swap, please be sure to read all the rules, and only apply if you can truly commit.  

While you're over on Instagram, be sure to follow me @polish_plebe, and like my most recent nail art designs and swatches.  I post more frequently there in general, plus I will be posting a video tutorial of this mani later today.  Oh, and what do you think of my new nail shape, mini coffins!  I'm not sure if I like them, but maybe they'll grow on me.  I hope you enjoyed this mani swap and found this tutorial useful.  Up next Smooshy Nail Sunday!  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Candy Corn Fan Gradient

Hello Lovelies!  Life is been so hectic lately that the only nail art I've been doing has consisted of Instagram birthday collaborations and various prompts (not that I don't love participating in them).  It has been so long since I've created any nail art just because I really wanted to.  I finally had a break, and I was sent these adorable water slide decals as an extra goody in an order I placed for my trick or treat swap girl from Ribbit Stickits, that I have been itching to use.  Surprisingly they also work for this week's Nail Art Nation prompt, Autumn nails.  So here they are...

Materials I used:

Base Coat - IAMCCC 'Cement' Sticky Base

White polish - Salon Perfect 'Sugar Cube'

Yellow Polish - Butter London 'East End'

Orange Polish - Butter London 'Brick Lane'

Black Polish - Sweet & Sour Lacquer 'Scotty Doesn't Know'

Cuticula liquid latex

Fan Brush

Uber Chic Mat

Topcoat - Together We Impact 'House of Horrors' scented

For this nail look I did the candy corn colored fan brush gradient on my thumb, pointer, and mid fingers.  For my fellow plebes that have not done a fan brush gradient, it is not difficult, however, it does not create a smooth seamless gradient like a sponge gradient.

Like most gradients, start with a base coat of white polish or the lightest shade in your color combination, mine just so happens to be white.  Apply liquid latex to the surrounding skin, for easy clean up.  Using a fan brush, line your three colors on a surface, and swipe the brush to pick up the polishes.  Then swipe the fan brush across your nail, repeat until you are satisfied.  Pretty simple.

For my ring and pinky I used these totally adorable decals sent to me with the order I placed.  To make a long story short, I ordered some custom decals for my swap girl, and Kristy added these in for me.  Kristy blew me away with her excellent customer service, she realized a mistake with the customs I ordered after she had shipped them and contacted me to point it out before hand. If she hadn't I may not have ever noticed a problem, and my swap girl would have ended up with decals that weren't usable.  I highly recommend you check out Ribbit Stickits awesome selection of vinyls and decals, and if you need something special just shoot her an email.

Now being the plebe that I am, I was thinking to myself, I love water decals but they are never as opaque as I would like.  Low and behold Kristy included instructions on how to do just that...and that is when I had my uh, duh momemt, forehead slap included.  It all seems so obvious now...

So here is how I interpreted the directions.  I started by trimming out the desired decals.  I placed the decals face down on a nail art stamper.  Using a q-tip saturated with water I moistened the backing by rolling the q-tip back and forth over the decal for about 20-30 seconds.  Using the q-tip I then applied slight pressure and slid the backing off the decal.  Using a small dotting tool and white polish, I filled in the picture, doing my best to stay within the shape.  Finally, I added a layer of quick drying topcoat and allowed to dry, before pealing it from the stamper and applying it to my nail.

I failed to take pictures of the decal application, but I've done this many times before in other posts.  You simply apply a layer of polish or topcoat to your nail.  I recommend allowing the polish to dry to a tacky state, then gently press the decal onto the nail and apply a final layer of topcoat and clean the excess decal with gentle acetone and a brush.  I will be posting quick video tutorials on my Instagram account later today, so check them out if you need a full motion visual.

As per usual I finished the entire nail art design by cleaning up with gentle acetone and a brush and topped it all off with a quick drying glossy topcoat.  My favorite topcoats at the moment are the scented topcoats from Together We Impact.  Not only do they smell awesome, but the profit goes straight to the Free the Children community in Kenya.  

It was so nice to sit down and do nails just for me for a change.  I hope you enjoyed them, and found the tutorial and tips useful.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Sweetpea Polish

Hello Lovelies! I know I have been posting here very little lately, life has been crazy busy. However, I had to share these gorgeous holographic polishes with you. I'm super excited to present to you a brand dandy new indie brand, Sweetpea Polish!

All the photos you are about to see are taken indoors under sunlight lamps (except for the photo above). Each swatch is applied in two coats (though most of these are opaque with one coat), and are shown with a glossy topcoat.  Enjoy...

Enchanted Pine

This gorgeous, rich green is phenomenal. Honestly, I am not huge fan of green but this is really incredible! The holo sparkle really makes it enchanting, as its name implies. I can see this in future holiday manis. 

I created the accent nail using all four shades swatched in the post and nail vinyls from Polished Vino. 

Aquamarine Dreams

Blue!!! You know I love this just for that reason alone. The holo shine makes this medium blue polish truly dreamy. This blue is the most unique blue I've been able to add to my collection. 

I had to try out these polishes with stamping and was pleasantly surprised to see that they did work. I did screw up the transfer a little. 

You Are My Sunshine

This is a really special polish. It's so hard to find a really good yellow polish. Most yellows need white undies to be really bright but not this gorgeous lovely!  My pictures don't really do this polish justice, but in the sun this really shines. This polish also has a special meaning to me because I sing You Are My Sunshine to my daughter every night. 

I also tested these out for water marbling, even though I'm not great at it. Surprisingly, they work well, they spread easily and didn't break up when dragged. For me to achieve a descent water marble take a small miracle, so if you are good at water marbling you should have no problem with these. 

Frosted Alexandrite

This is a very rich and elegant dark purple polish. The holo sparkle makes it look like it should be worn by royalty. 

I, of course, had to use these lovely polishes to create a gradient. I love these polishes and I love gradients so I just had to do it and they blended so seamlessly. 

I am really honored to introduce you to the amazing polishes. Sweetpea Polish will be opening shop this weekend, October 1st. Besides, these polishes here she has many other gorgeous holo shades to choose from, so head on over and check them out.  The colors are gorgeous, the holo is so sparkly, and the formulas are fantastically opaque and smooth. 

If you would like to see swatch application videos and sparkle videos of these polishes check out my Instagram feed (I also post nail art there much more frequently than I do here).I really hope you enjoyed these swatches, and found this review useful. Thanks for stopping by, see you next time (hopefully sooner than later). 

Your Fellow Plebe,