Everything’s Coming up Roses – Nail Art

Some polishes have been provided for previous review

Hello all my lovely readers!  I’m back again with another nail art post.  I hope that you all are enjoying these as much as I am!

I’ve been getting  a lot of comments and compliments on this one and it’s really very easy to do, I’m sure that anyone can do this too!  Let’s start off with the polishes used:  Bohemian Polish – Here I Go, Alchemy Lacquers – Sea of Snapdragons, Digital Nails – Double Helix, and Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again.

 To start I had to get my base on.  I used Bohemian Polish – Here I go as my base.  It’s a perfect sky blue crelly polish.  I did three coats plus topcoat here:

Bohemian Polish – Here I Go

Bohemian Polish – Here I Go

To do the finished look the next thing I did was stamp on some white dots.  I absolutely could have used a tiny dotting tool or a toothpick to make the white dots.  But, I was feeling a little lazy so I did the stamping.  My stamping actually didn’t come out perfect because some of my dots had no middle but I didn’t dislike the effect so I left it.  Just keeping it real folks, from a distance you really can’t tell it’s just in these up close pictures that it’s super apparent.

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Glossy

The next step was the roses!  Using a large dotting tool I made big dots using Alchemy Lacquers – Sea of Snapdragons.  I didn’t worry about them being perfectly round because I knew it wasn’t going to be just dots.  You don’t have to be too precise with this nail art which is great for newbie nail artists!

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Glossy

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Glossy

After I made the big dots and before it dried I used a toothpick to swirl/smoosh Digital Nails – Double Helix on top of the dots.  Then with the toothpick I went back and added a little more Sea of Snapdragons to finish the effect.  Last but not least using a little brush I brushed on some leaves around my finished roses with Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again.

Clearly I did start with a nice glossy topcoat.  But, then I got to thinking to myself, “how would this look matte?!”  I asked a couple of my buddies and everyone seemed interested to see what it would look like so I snagged my matte topcoat.

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Matte

I personally much preferred the matte version!  I feel like it allowed the design to be the star and it didn’t compete with the high gloss!  Both ways were pretty but man oh man that matte version is just one of my favorite things ever!

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Matte

Everything is Coming Up Roses – Matte

There you have it!  Everything is coming up roses here.  I was super pleased with the result.  I really have been enjoying doing a lot of nail art lately.  Even with my little stamping mishap resulting in tiny rings instead of dots I did not get discouraged.  Nail art should be fun and you should be happy with both the process and end result so I try not to let myself sweat the small stuff!

As always, dear reader, you can find me on social media using the big buttons to the right of my page.  Until next time may your days be filled with glitter and flakies!

Water Marbled Butterfly Wings

Nothing to Disclose

Hello all my gorgeous readers!  I did some nail art over the weekend and I have been just so mesmerized by the result that I haven’t even been able to bring myself to write it up for you.  That’s because I kept stopping to stare at my nails.  This mani probably ranks up there in one of my favorite that I’ve -ever- done.  I hope that you will enjoy it!  To be fair, while it’s not an impossible bit of nail art people who are new to nail art may find it a bit more challenging because today (or this past weekend, whatever…) we water marble!  In true Relly fashion though, at every step I thought, “oh I love this…but what if I added this?!”  Then, I did it.  The result was much better than I anticipated.

Let’s start off with what you need for water marbling.  You’ll need 2 or more polishes (creme polishes work best, but, some jellies and holographic polishes will also work well but you’ll want to avoid polishes with glitter or flakies), white nail polish, a small cup with filtered room-temperature water, an orange stick or water marbling tool, q-tips, cuticle barrier of your choice (tape, liquid latex, vinyl cuticle shields, etc.), and base and topcoats.

I started with five polishes from the Bohemian Polish Washed Out 2.0 collection.  When I want something Springy, bright, cheerful, and great for nail art I usually reach for these:

Bohemian Polish – Washed out 2.0

First you will prep your nails.  Apply basecoat and then a layer of white polish.  I only did one coat and I didn’t worry about it being a perfect finish, it’s going to be covered up after all:

Step 1

Next, apply your cuticle barrier.  I used Digital Nails – Questionable Browser History which is a liquid latex product, but you can easily use tape or those handy vinyl cuticle barriers (that are latex-free!) that I’ve seen around.  If you’re using liquid latex you’ll definitely want to go a ways up your finger, you’ll see later I didn’t go quite high enough!

Step 2

Then, you’re going to create a bullseye in your cup of water by dripping one drop of nail polish color into the water alternating with each color until it forms a bullseye.  It should look something like this:

Step 3

Using an orange stick, tooth pick, water marble tool, or other pointy thin tool carefully drag it through the colors until you create a pattern that pleases you.  I kept this one pretty simple:

Step 4

Next aim your fingernail at a slight angle toward the part of the pattern you would like to be on your nail then dunk your nail gently into the nail polish pattern.  Using a cotton swab gently collect the excess polish from around your finger so that it doesn’t get transferred to your nail.  Gently remove your finger from the water.  Take care not to move too quickly and work at a bit of an angle to avoid bubbles as much as possible.

Step 5

Now, you can totally see why you need that cuticle barrier!  Cleaning that up would be a right mess! Gently remove your cuticle barrier and clean up any stray areas with acetone and a clean up brush that you couldn’t protect with the barrier and apply topcoat.  Floating the topcoat will help avoid smears.

Step 6

Now…this is where most people would be like, “YAY, a successful water marble!  Let’s stop here.”  I am clearly not most people because what I said is, “Oh, let’s add flakies!”  So I did.  I added a generous layer of Digital Nails – Hyperbole which gave the whole look a shifty iridescent quality.  It’s subtle but when it catches the light it’s lovely!

Water Marble Design topped with Digital Nails – Hyperbole

Again, I said to myself, “what else can I do?!” so I stamped butterfly wings using Vivid Lacquer – VL002 over top:

Final Look

Final Look

Final Look

Ahhh, and then I was finally satisfied.  This turned out so cheerful, happy, and pretty that I could have been more pleased.  This is probably the most successful water marble I’ve done.  They take practice and patience but the result is so great that it’s worth it!

You can find Bohemian Polish, Vivid Lacquer, and Digital Nails at the stalker links below.  As usual, I’d love to hear from you!  This is definitely a win in my book.  I hope you really like it as well!  Don’t forget you can find me on social media by using the big pink buttons to the right!  Until next time I hope your days are filled with glitter and flakies!

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Nail Art Inspired by “Tiny”

Nothing to Disclose

Hello all my fantabulous readers!  Sorry I’m a little behind this week.  It’s been a strange one so far to be sure.  For your troubles I’ll have at least two posts this week!

Today I’m going to share a nail art look that was inspired by a friend of mine.  Tiny (this is obviously a nickname) is the daughter of two of my very best friends and is 7 years old.  Recently, Tiny has been wanting to chat online and naturally her parents want to make sure that she’s chatting with safe people so they asked if I would chat with her.  I’m like “Are you kidding, I love kids!”  Tiny is pretty spectacular and she -loves- all things glittery, girly, pink, and loves it when I share my nail art with her.

The other day I asked her for her suggestions on what I should do next and she responded with this sketch:

Tiny’s Nail Art idea Sketch

I said, “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”  While I did not recreate it exactly I was heavily inspired by her color choices and design.  For this I turned to the trusty Washed Out 2.0 collection from Bohemian Polish.  I use these so much for nail art it’s not even funny:

Bohemian Polish – Terrapin, Birdie Hop, Long Gone, and Octopus

First I started by painting a base coat of Long Gone and adding a pattern of small white polka dots and then the fun began.

Nail Art inspired by Tiny

Rather than the straight lines that Tiny drew, I thought the whole sketch reminded me of confetti and streamers, so I wanted to make sure I had some curves and curls in there as well.

Nail Art inspired by Tiny

Using Terrapin, Octopus, and Birdie Hop I did some random streamers and curls over the top of the dotted base using a small nail art brush.

Nail Art inspired by Tiny

I was really pleased with how festive, cheerful, and happy this mani came out!  Best part?  Tiny loved it too!

You might see more nail art inspired by Tiny because she gives me lots of ideas and is a very creative little girl.  I’m delighted to be friends with her!

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas – Halloween

Some products may have been provided for earlier review

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Twas the night before Halloween and all through lands

Crumpet’s Nail Tarts came together to show off the art on their hands…

Hello my most fabulous readers!  Ok, ok so I’m not really a poet of any merit, but, it IS the night before Halloween and yes Crumpet’s Nail Tarts are celebrating this holiday in force!  I’m going to show you my Halloween-themed nail art and guess what it wasn’t that hard!  Anyone can do it!

 

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Halloween

40 Great Nail Art Ideas – Halloween

 

Ooooh yeah!  I’m actually having a lot of fun with freehand nail art these days.  This is a combination of freehand art and stamped art and I thought it turned out pretty cute!  And yes (except for the black and white) it’s all indies!

I started with a base of Pretty & Polished Thyme and Time Again.  On my two middle fingers I hand-painted Frankenstein and his bride (I was inspired by a nail art video I saw but it was randomly on my facebook feed and I couldn’t find it again to credit where my inspiration came from).  My Frank is a little weird but I’m still fantastically happy with this considering my novice-level skill!  I used Octopus Party Nail Lacquer – Universal Loner for the touches of red.

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Halloween

40 Great Nail Art Ideas – Halloween

On the other fingers I added a gradient to the Thyme and Time again base using Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That? and Bohemian Polish – Long Gone.  I then stamped over the gradient nails with an image from Vivid Lacquer – VL041.

All in all I’m calling this a win!  Do you like this too?  Do you think you might give something like this a shot?  I definitely suggest that everyone branch out of their comfort zone now and then, which is why I joined this nail art challenge.  I hope ya’ll are enjoying it as much as I have been.  Sound off in the comments I love to hear from you.

P.S. Don’t forget that Boom Shaka Lacquer’s Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway is going on until December 1, 2015 and there are some FANTASTIC prizes.  You definitely don’t want to miss out.  Click Here to find out more!

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