China Glaze

Happy Halloween!! - My Last Halloween Manicure!

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today!?  Tomorrow is Halloween and I'm hoping your nails are ready!  No excuses for having naked nails!  Well, okay there are some excuses but I don't want to hear that you weren't inspired, there are zillions of ideas out there!

For my last design I decided to do something using my Ghouls Night Out polishes from China Glaze!  After doing different Halloween manicures throughout all of October, I kind of was feeling a bit burned out and had no clue what to do.  So after seeing a zillion of spider manicures recently on Instagram, I thought it was time to revisit my spider nails I did two years ago.  I even created a tutorial back then.  I should really start doing those again.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • China Glaze - Drink Up Witches
  • China Glaze - Lady and the Vamp
  • China Glaze - Looking Bootiful
I cannot begin to tell you how much I am in love with this manicure.  I think the dots are my favorite part!  I was a little scared that the dots wouldn't show up on the black if I just tried to use the polish, so I went through and did all white dots first.  I then went through and added the colors.  I'm so happy with this decision because they are beyond bright and neon!



I love how the dots accent this manicure.  Honestly, I love it so much that I'm not sure what else to say other than I love it!

What do you think?  Liking this look?

I'm so happy that I was able to bring you a Halloween manicure for each post in October!  I really didn't think I was going to succeed since I didn't plan it out like I usually do but I did!

Now to start thinking about Fall and Thanksgiving manicures....and Christmas!

Until next time, <3.

Gradient Mani

Twinsie Tuesday: Inspired by the Season

9:00:00 AM


Good morning!  How are you all doing today?!  It is Tuesday which means it is time for another Twinsie Tuesday!  This week we are sharing manicures which are inspired by the season!  Since Halloween is this weekend, and since I've been doing Halloween manicures all month, it only makes sense that I do another festive manicure!

Every year I do a haunted house or a graveyard themed design.  So since today we are inspired by the season, I thought it was perfect timing for that haunted manicure since it is the season of hauntings!  It made sense in my head

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Sailor
  • Orly - Charged Up
  • China Glaze - Looking Bootiful
  • China Glaze - Lotus Begin
  • Black and White Acrylic
  • INM Northern Lights
So I started off with a base coat of white polish.  I then created the night time gradient using the navy and purples.  At first I thought it was too dark, but when I added the Northern Lights, it really brightened it up and it gave it that dusk/night time look.  I then went through with my striping brushes and created the grass, trees, and gravestones, but something was missing.



I decided to do a full moon on one of the nails with some bats or crows or whatever flying over the top of it.  Then the other nails seemed a bit naked and missing something, so I added some white little star dots.  Overall, I'm pleased with how they turned out!  Little messy but meh.

What do you think?  Yay or nay?

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsie's manicures!


Amanda at Amandalandish
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Claire at Kerruticles
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Until next time, <3.

Bestie Twin Nails

Bestie Twin Nails with Fashion Footing: Round 17!

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this fine Sunday?  I'm freezing.  We have officially entered that time of the year where I am constantly going to be cold and the only thing that will warm me up is a heating pad and zillions of layers.  Oh well.

Today is Round 17 of Bestie Twin Nails with Amanda from Fashion Footing!  Now, Amanda HATES Halloween.  Absolutely hates it.  I told her though that my goal was to post a Halloween manicure every day in October, and if she wanted to do Bestie Twin Nails, we had to find something Halloween themed.  Luckily, Amanda loves me and agreed to do this.  I found a candy corn dot gradient by Bad Girls Nails on Instagram which Amanda seemed to like because it wasn't overly Halloween.

Let's take a look!




Now here is where I usually list the colors I used for the manicure, but I totally cheated.  I used acrylic paints for my dots.  Yes, you're reading that right, I didn't end up using polish for my dots.  I did this because I didn't think that I owned a yellow polish opaque enough that it would show up on my naked nail.  Honestly though, if I were going to re-do this manicure again, I would try polish first because acrylic took forever to dry!  I kid you not, usually when I use acrylics for my nail art, it dries super fast, so I was really baffled as to why the dots took FOREVER.


So to get the look, I started off with a base coat of FingerPaints Ridge Filler.  This is kind of a milky white base which made it look like I actually had something on my nail instead of nothing at all.  When that was dry, I went through with the orange acrylic and added the dots.  Waited forever and a day, then added the yellow, and waited again and then added the white.  After all the dots were dry, I went through with two coats of INM Out the Door to top it all off.  This made my nails super shiny.

I am super happy with how they turned out.  I have never created a dot gradient before and I'm kicking myself that I haven't.  I'm absolutely in love with the look.  I think I might have to start doing these once every month or so!

What do you think?  Fan of the look?  Something you think you will try?

Don't forget to check out Fashion Footing's post!

Until next time, <3.

FingerPaints

Candy Corn Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I'm proud that I'm sticking to this whole Halloween manicure for every post in October.  I didn't think I would be able to do it because I didn't plan it out like I usually do and I didn't post a nail art wheel this year, so I figured I would be out of manicures, ideas, and time.  I'm finding myself more and more inspired each day.

Today I am sharing a candy corn manicure which is one of my favorites to do this time of year!  When I first started this blog, I believe I did a candy corn design where I used striping tape.  I try to ignore them because they were not my favorite.  Then I discovered that nail artists were creating the look using gradients.  Ever since I've been hooked.

Let's take a look at this years version!




Colors Used:
  • FingerPaints - Paper Mache, Tie Dye Tangerine, Yellow Out Man
Can we take a second and talk about how awesome these FingerPaints colors are?!  I've used them a couple of times, but I don't believe I have for a gradient.  They are the most opaque polishes ever, meaning I only had to paint the make up brush one time and then dab it on the nail once.  It was amazing.  No re-apply to the make up brush, no dabbing so much that my cuticle some how ends up flooded and filled with polish.  It was a wonderful polishing experience.  Everyone needs these.



See, look how perfect!  I think this is my best attempt ever at this look.  Also my nails are a tad longer so I'm really loving that as well.  I'm going to have to trim them back though because when they get too long I always end up with a severe break because, well, I'm a klutz.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Have you tried the candy corn gradient?

I'll be back this weekend with a Halloween Bestie Twin Nail!

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

Twinsie Tuesday: Ruffian

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It is Tuesday which means it is time for Twinsie Tuesday!  Today we are sharing ruffian manicures.  The best way for me to describe this manicure is a cuticle french tip.  You know, a french tip that starts around the cuticle.  I'm sure if I Googled it, I would find a much more eloquent and understandable way to describe this look, but I like my version.

So since it's October and I'm attempting to stick to this whole only Halloween manicures in October, I was really not sure what to do for today.  I searched on Pinterest for Halloween ruffians and came up with nothing exciting.  Then it hit me, pumpkins!  Of course, about an hour after I came up with this idea, I saw that Nails by Cambria on Instagram had already done it, so I'm going to say my design was inspired by hers, especially since I took some of her faces.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - French White
  • Sally Hansen - Desert Poppy
  • Orly - Instant Artist

I started off with a base coat of white polish.  When that was dried, I used Sally Hansen Desert Poppy to create the pumpkins.  This polish is from their Complete Salon Manicure line with that rounded fat brush, which means it was perfect to do a ruffian in one swipe!  I sat for awhile looking at how perfect they were before I added the pumpkins.  I was close to keeping them plain white and orange!  It looked rather interesting.


I did the faces using tooth picks, my Instant Artist polish, and some acrylic paint.  I wish I was able to get more detail, but I think these turned out well enough.

Saddest part of this manicure, it only lasted one day.  Le sigh.  It would have stayed on for days, but I have to go to a work function and I thought that it wasn't a "professional" manicure.

What do you think?  Fan of the look?  Do you like the Ruffian?

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsie's!


Savannah at Addicted to Polish
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Claire at Kerruticles
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amanda at Amandalandish

Until next time, <3

China Glaze

Spooky Eye Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Sunday....happy very freezing cold Sunday.  Earlier this week it was 70 degrees, and now it is 30.  My sinuses are really going crazy but hopefully everything levels out later this week.

Today I have another Halloween manicure for you!!!  All over Instagram I have been seeing these glowing eye manicures  After seeing @nailartwithsara's I decided it was time for me to attempt the design.  It was perfect timing too since I was planning on doing my annual googly eye manicure.  I loved changing it up!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • Orly - Glowstick
  • China Glaze - Drink Up Witches
  • China Glaze - Ghoulish Glow (yes, these nails glow in the dark)
  • Orly Instant Artist - Black
Spooky, right?  I love them so much.  To get the look, I started off with a base coat of white polish and then did a gradient using Glowstick and Drink Up Witches.  To smooth out the gradient, I did a coat of Ghoulish Glow by China Glaze.  Best decision ever was to make these eyeballs glow.  When that was dry, I went through with the Orly Instant Artist and created the eye and filled in the empty space around the eye with black polish.



I love how the eyes are glowing because of the green and yellow combination.  I think the addition of the little eyes really made the manicure too.  Kind of like they were they were looking around for the big scary ghoul.

What do you think?  Something you would want to try?

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

A Halloween Watermarble

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's Friday which means the weekend is almost here.  That means I get to finally sleep all day!  It's supposed to be a cold, cruddy weekend also, so I'm kind of happy to just be inside.

Today I am bringing you yet another Halloween themed manicure.  A week or so ago I purchased the China Glaze Ghoul's Night Out collection.  The glitters and neons all were calling to me and I had to have them.  You never can go wrong with a China Glaze neon, they're perfect for water marbling.  So that's exactly what I did with them!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • China Glaze - Ghostess With the Mostess
  • China Glaze - Lady and the Vamp
  • China Glaze - Looking Bootiful
  • China Glaze - Drink Up Witches
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • Orly - French Tip White
I'm so proud of my water marbling.  If you have been following me from the beginning, you know how anti water marble I have been for years.  A few months ago I decided to give it another try, and well I kind of figured it out!  Now, you won't see me doing all ten nails, or even five; one or two here or there is enough for me.  The technique, especially the "drawing" the design is a pain in the butt.

Just like the other China Glaze neons, these marble wonderfully.  Everything spread right out and I had zero issue there.  My only issue was finding a black which marbled since I do not own the China Glaze one.  After trying a Sinful Colors, Jessica, FingerPaints, and Sally Hansen, the one that spread the best was Orly Liquid Vinyl.  I should have known to use my favorite black polish first.  I didn't think it would spread because it is a little thicker than the others, but it did!



I didn't go for a traditional "flower" marble.  Instead I just randomly drew and dunk my finger in the water in a spot I thought would look the best.  I'm very pleased with the final out come.

I'm also in LOVE with Ghostess With the Mostess.  This glitter is perfect.  Above is just two quick coats with no additional glitter placement needed.  It was so compact and filled with glitter in all shapes, colors, and sizes.  It perfectly compliments the marble and the black nails.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?  Think I should continue to marble?

Can't wait to show you my next Halloween look!!!

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

Twinsie Tuesday: Inspired by Favorite Fictional Character

9:00:00 AM


Nothing to Disclose 

Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It was 77 degrees here yesterday and today it is expected to be 55.  Safe to say Fall is here!  I'm sure this means my sinuses are going to go crazy and I"m going to end up sick again, but with Fall comes Day Light Savings which means more sleep.  See, I look at the bright side of things.

Today is Tuesday which means it is time for another Twinsie Tuesday.  Today we are creating manicures inspired by our favorite fictional characters.  Since it is Halloween time, I thought about different Halloween characters.  It came down to Frankenstein and Casper the Friendly Ghost.  Of course I went with cute little Casper.

Last week when I was searching for inspiration on Did My Nails blog, I found this adorable pumpkin and ghost manicure and I put it in my "must do" pile of manicures.  I thought it was perfect to do this week for my Casper inspired manicure.

Let's take a look!




Color Used:
  • OPI - Do You Take Lei-Away?
  • Acrylic Paint
I'm so happy I purchased OPI Do You Take Lei-Away in the last sale at Sally Beauty Supply.  I'm not a fan of nudes, but this one was darker than others I owned and I was intrigued by it.  I'm a huge fan of My Vampire is Buff so I figured I would love this one just the same.  And I was right!  Honestly, I think this is better than My Vampire is Buff.  The formula is perfect and applies evenly in two coats.  It dries fast as well, so I didn't have to wait a long time in between coats like I tend to with My Vampire is Buff.  It is a perfect base for this manicure.  The dry brush looks awesome on top of it!



For the details I cheated and used acrylic paints.  All details were done with dotting tools and toothpicks.  I'm very pleased with how they turned out.  I think this is one of my favorite detailed manicures.

What do you think?  Casper-ish right?

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsie's manicures!


Amanda at Amandalandish
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Claire at Kerruticles
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

Little Itty Bitty Pumpkin Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this fine Sunday?  I'm feeling better and back to painting, editing, and blogging!  I kid you not, I have 6 manicures that I need to share with you all.  Most of them will have to wait though because I'm focusing on creating and sharing only Halloween manicures all throughout October.  Each year I usually make a spreadsheet with the different designs I want to do, when I need to paint them by, and when I need to post them by.  This year though I'm winging in and we will see if I truly do post a Halloween manicure for every post in October.

Oh, something exciting that I want to share with you all!  I reached 10,000 followers on Instagram!!!!!!!!  That's right, 10k!  WOOT.  Thank you all so much for your support on that platform.  You guys rock.  I never thought I would reach 10k and now that it's happened it's so surreal.  That's 10,000 people interested in seeing my nails.  It's so weird to me!

Today I am sharing a manicure with you that was inspired by this design I found on Pinterest.  Unfortunately the photo is not watermarked and it links to a site that locks up my computer, so I do not know who originally created it.  I loved how simple it was and not over the top Halloween.  Perfect for the beginning of the month.

Let's take a look.




Colors Used:
  • Orly - French Tip white
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • Orly - MirrorBall
  • Orly Instant Artist - Black
  • FlossGloss - Dime Piece
  • Acrylic Paint
I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved this manicure.  It's one of those where you find yourself looking at your nails 24/7 and not being able to get anything done.  Okay, that's a bit dramatic, life still proceeded, but I couldn't stop looking at them.  I have discovered that the most amazing combo in the world is Orly Mirrorball and Floss Gloss Dime Piece.  Holo silver base + holo glitter = just amazing.



The hardest thing to do on for this manicure were the straight lines.  I do have line vinyls I could have used, but I really wanted the thinest line which really could only be accomplished properly by using a striper.  Enter in my beloved Orly Instant Artist.  Since it is water based, I was able to "erase" any mistakes and start over numerous times without ruining my base.  After a few attempts, I was able to get what I believe were the perfect free hand lines.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Are you looking at the perfection that is Liquid Vinyl?  Seriously, everyone needs to go get that black polish.

I think the little pumpkin is what really makes this manicure.  It's just so stinkin cute.  I should have added a teeny tiny jack-o-lantern face.  Maybe next year.

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

Halloween Kitchen Sink Inspired by Bad Girl Nails

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I'm doing quite well.  I think....just maybe....that I am feeling better.  I don't want to say it because now there's a cold going around at work and with my luck I"m going to catch it.  Let's pray I do not.

Since it's October, I'm going to attempt to do Halloween themed manicures the whole month.  I'm not ready to do the cute little monsters or jack-o-lanterns yet, so I have been looking for some subtle Halloween manicures to re-create.  I should be creative and come up with my own, but hey I was sick, I am allowed to use Pinterest to get some inspiration.

Today's design is a recreation of this bright, fun kitchen sink manicure by Bad Girl Nails.  I recently purchased the whole China Glaze Ghouls Night Out Collection, so I had a perfect orange for this design!  Ugh I love this collection, I do have some original ideas using the polishes! 

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • China Glaze - Lady and the Vamp
Oh my goodness.  Lady and the Vamp is the BEST neon orange polish I have ever owned!  The pictures here do NOT do it justice!  It is so bright and creamy.  Every other orange neon that I have ever owned has been extremely sheer and they take 4 coats to be opaque on their own, or 2 coats over white which is no fun.  This polish is literally two coats and you have the brightest orange highlighter neon nails ever!  I'm so happy I purchased this!  I'm excited to see if the other neons in the collection are opaque also!



I used my Twinkled T chevron vinyls for the ring finger.  Now instead of painting over them like I would when using tape, I decided to sponge on the black polish.  It worked, but I don't recommend doing it.  I think it would have been a zillion times easier and less messy to just paint normally over the top of the chevrons.  Plus, when sponging, I found that some of the polish ended up sneaking under the vinyl.  I'm not angry with how it turned out, but I was kind of annoyed.  Maybe I didn't push the vinyl down enough...who knows.

What do you think?  Fan of this orange and black manicure?  I think Bad Girl Nails' was a lot better than mine.

Well I am off...maybe to plan some more Halloween nails!  Until next time, <3.

FingerPaints

Twinsie Tuesday: Re-Create another Twinsie's Mani

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I'm feeling a tad better and am happy to be back to blogging.  Hopefully I won't be sick again for the rest of the year.  I'll hold my breath on that.

Today is Tuesday which means it is time for another Twinsie Tuesday.  Today we are re-creating a manicure another Twinsie has created.  I have been itching to do a Halloween manicure so I decided to look at all the other Twinsie's Halloween manicures.  After much searching,  I found this manicure by retired Twinsie Elizabeth from Did My Nails.  I haven't done an ikat design in forever so I had to try it!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • NYC New York Color - Jacaranda Flower
  • FingerPaints - Tie Dye Tangerine
  • Orly - Thrill Seeker
  • Orly - Instant Artist - black/white
Love, love, LOVE how this manicure turned out.  I'm going to have to do some more ikats in the near future.  I forgot how easy they are to do!  To get the look, I started off with a base coat of whichever color I wanted.  When it was dried, with my white striper I went through and I created the center of the ikat.  With my black striper, I then outlined all of the ikats.  I then went through with my polish and added the center color, and then finished off with a few stripes of the black.



I love the Halloween color combination.  I wasn't sure when I saw Elizabeth's if I was going to like it on my own nails, but I really did.  I need to start using more orange polish.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsie's manicures!



Savannah at Addicted to Polish
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Claire at Kerruticles
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amanda at Amandalandish

Until next time, <3.

Nail Artist of the Month

October Nail Artist of the Month: Nails by Sarah W

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  I'm sorry that I've been MIA this week.  I had a stomach bug and a slight relapse of my upper respiratory infection.  All and all, I've been not in the best mood because of my health.  I've been painting though, I just have not had the energy or want to edit photos or write anything up.  I'm starting to feel better though and I have a post all set for Twinsie Tuesday.  Hopefully I'll continue to stay on the mend.

Since it is the beginning of the month, I am taking the day off and introducing you all to another awesome Nail Artist of the Month!  This month, I am pleased to introduce you all to Sarah from @nailsbysarahw on Instagram!  When I discovered her on Instagram I knew I had to feature her.  I'm shocked she doesn't have more followers, so you all need to head over and follow her after you read her post!

Now, introducing you all to Sarah!

__________________________________________

Hello, Little Canvas readers!

My name is Sarah, and I run @nailsbysarahw! I am currently living in Spokane, WA (the eastern side of Washington state), and I am 20 years old, attending college here! I used to live in Phoenix, AZ until about 8 years ago, when we moved to Spokane. It was about then (2006 or 2007) when I started painting fun things on my nails. I remember sitting on my bathroom floor, hunched over, painting little American flags on each big toe when I was about 12. Then I remember doing stripes and polka dots for several years using only a toothpick! One day, I found a YouTube tutorial on how to create perfect lines and stripes with striping tape, and then soon after, I purchased some supplies off Amazon to get myself truly started! I discovered Instagram, and specifically @naildecor’s page, and seeing all of her designs convinced me that I should start a nail account! My account has slowly grown, and I have gotten better and better at doing my nails (I don’t think you want to see my first several pictures…they’re awful, but I won’t delete them because it reminds me that I actually have improved). It has been about a year and a half since I started my page, and I still have a lot I want to improve on, but I love how supportive the community of nail artists on Instagram is.

Anyways, onto the manicure I did for this blog post…



I love living in Spokane because of the four seasons we get. I love experiencing fall because when I used to live in Phoenix, there was only ever blazing hot summer through October, so I never really experienced fall or winter. That being said, I am always excited for the seasons to change in Spokane, so I created these fall leaf nails! I did a subtle orange-to-red gradient on my ring finger and half of my pointer finger with Cult Cosmetic’s polishes in Redondo Beach and Los Feliz, and layered some hand painted leaves over those bits with the color Mulholland. Then, I added some gold metallic accents on my middle finger and on the leaves with the color Sunset Blvd, added some gold studs, and Voila! I am ready to go jump in a pile of leaves or snuggle up with pumpkin-spice hot chocolate!



And here’s a close-up:



Thanks so much to sweet Alaina who asked me to be featured on her blog! It was such a fun opportunity, and I look forward to seeing other fabulous nail artists featured here in the future!
________________________________

I love this design.  I never wear red because I can't think of any designs that I would look good on my nails, but I think this one would!  I love it so much!  I can also relate to Sarah, I have yet to delete my first photos on Instagram because they are a reminder to me of how I have improved as a nail artist.  It's fun to look back on those designs which I did almost four years ago.  I think I should start re-creating them.

Make sure to follow Sarah on Instagram!  She deserves all of the follows in the world!

Thank you Sarah for this awesome post!  I hope we can do some Bestie Twin Nails or Mani Swaps in the future!

Until next time, <3.