Accent Nail

Simple Zoya Dot-icure

9:00:00 AM

Ever have a manicure that you just are head over heels with.  You know, one that you can't stop looking at no matter what you're doing.  Yeah, this is that manicure for me.  It's so simple, but so pretty that I cannot even take it.  As stated in my previous Pixie Dust post, I'm in love with these textured polishes.  I also said that for a few weeks I might be doing some simple manicures featuring these gorgeous beauties.  

Since purple is my favorite color, I automatically was drawn to use Stevie.  It was a no brainer.  When I received the Pixie Dust polishes, I also received Zoya's Stunning and Irresistible collection.  While all the colors are beyond gorgeous, Zoya Rocky has been screaming my name since I opened the box.  I put the two bottles together, and it was fate.  They were destined to be paired together.

Let's take a look at the manicure.




Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Rocky
  • Zoya - Stevie
  • Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
So simple, yet so gorgeous.  As I stated in my previous Pixie Dust post, these polishes are AMAZING to work with when it comes to nail art.  I thought since they dried matte, and with the speed they dry at, I thought that they would be impossible to dot onto a nail and get a round perfect circle.  I quickly found that I was mistaken and wanted to dot all my nails with a Pixie Dust.  So glittery and perfect.  Since you add top coat to it also, it ends up looking like a super glittery polish, which how can you go wrong?

Zoya Rocky is from the new Summer Stunning collection, and well this polish is just that; Stunning.  It is a known fact that I am a sucker for a blue polish, and ever since Zoya posted a sneak peek of this polish on their site, it became a must have.  Zoya describes Rocky as a "serene blue cream."  It is a gorgeous blue which reminds me of a blue summer sky.  What was amazing about this polish, and others from the Stunning collection, was that I had full coverage in one coat.  I did apply two coats to all the nails because I wanted the color to be extra bright.  It's nice not having to put two to three coats on to fill in bald spots. which with some of my Sinful Colors blue in this color I have had to.  Overall: great formula and great color.

What do you think?  Do you have any of these Pixie Dust polishes or Stunning polishes?  Fan of the simple manicure?

Until next post, <3.

**The 2013 Zoya Pixie Dust Polish and Stunning Polish were provided by Zoya for Promotional Purposes.  I purchased Sinful Colors Snow Me White.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Nail Artist of the Month

New Feature: Nail Artist of the Month!

8:00:00 PM

Hello everyone!  Starting in May I am beginning a new monthly feature on the blog where I will feature a nail artist.  Notice I said nail artist and not blogger.  Well that is because you do not have to have your own Blogger or Wordpress blog to be chosen!!!  If you only post your nails on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook, then you still could have the opportunity to be featured.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I was planning on hosting a Nail Art contest to pick the winner.  Each month, I would pick a theme, have two guest judges pick their favorite, and from there I would pick the best.  So many of you posted that you would be interested in participating, which thrilled me! As I started planning out the contest, thinking of the logistics of how you would get the pictures to me, and how I would get the pictures to my two guest judges, I started to become very stressed.

As I have stated in other posts, this blog is my hobby and I want it to be as stress free as possible.  In order to eliminate that stress, for the time being, I will be selecting artists and featuring them here, on my Instagram, Tumblr, Beautylish , etc.  The posts will be similar to a guest post where the artist will talk a little about themselves  show us a manicure, and talk a little bit about it.  Then, their post will be forever immortalized under the "Nail Artist of the Month!" page I have added to the top of the blog.  It will show the picture of their work, link back to the post, and link you to pages where you can find their personal work.

The idea of the contest has not been ruled out all together.  I may go back to that and do it four times a year or something.  I really wanted to get this feature started, and in order to not delay another month, I decided selecting someone would be the best.

It was a hard decision, but I selected May's feature artist and her post will go live on May 3rd (remember my OCD and having to post every 3 days lol).  I also have a few other artists in mind for future months, which they are still unaware of this.  I hope they say yes!

I truly hope that you all will enjoy this feature!!!  Keep sharing your nail art on your social networks.  I constantly am looking through #thelittlecanvas and #nails4yummies hash tags on Instagram also despite the fact I have been seriously neglecting posting on Nails4Yummies.  Cannot wait to see how this goes!!

<3

Color Block Mani

Zoya Pixie Dust Tape Manicure!

9:00:00 AM

Good Morning, polished ones!  How are you today?  I'm kind of mad because the photos for this manicure seriously do not do it justice.  I'm so upset about this because I was trying to photograph the worlds most perfect polishes ever.  Those polishes being the new 2013 Zoya Summer Pixie Dust polishes.  Holy crow, I'm in LOVE with all of them.  I debated on doing swatches, but have seen millions online, so I decided to attempt some nail art with them.  As a person who primarily does nail art, my top polish concern is "Will this work well in a design?"  I have resisted buying any form of textured polish because I was convinced they would just not work for nail art.  Boy, was I wrong.  I am in LOVE with these polishes for art!  They are slowly bringing my creative side back.  

For this manicure, I wanted to use all of the Zoya Pixie Dusts to get acquainted to this new polish, the new colors, and how they would work with art/without top coat/etc.  Therefore, I decided on a nail art skittle tape manicure.  Let's take a look.  Sigh, again, forgive me about the pictures.




Colors Used:

  • Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
  • INM - Northern Lights
  • Zoya - Solange - gold metal sparkle
  • Zoya - Beatrix - tangerine metal sparkle 
  • Zoya - Destiny - coral metal sparkle
  • Zoya - Miranda - rose sparkle
  • Zoya - Stevie - violet sparkle
  • Zoya - Liberty - blue sparkle
I'm loving this manicure, despite it not photographing well.  It came out exactly as I pictured it in my mind.  I wanted Solange to be paired with Beatrix, then Beatrix with Destiny, then Destiny with Miranda, then Miranda with Stevie, and finally Stevie with Liberty.  That way, people could see the colors next to each other and I could have a super fun manicure.  To get the look, I started with a base coat of white and added a top coat of Northern Lights.  I wanted my base to be sparkly just like the gorgeous pixies.  When dried, I added the checkerboard pattern with nail art tape.  I then with a dotting tool I filled in the empty squares.  After a few seconds, I removed the tape and let the manicure dry.  It was so weird not adding a top coat, but so neat in the end!

These polishes worked so well with the dotting tool.  Some polishes can be tricky on the dotting tool and just not transfer correctly onto the nail.  I really was worried that these, especially with the effect they produce, would not be able to transfer.  In their wet polish stage, they apply like a jelly polish.  They are fast drying, but aren't so fast drying that you can't work with them.

I'm impressed with the colors also.  In the next few weeks I'm planning on using them in other manicures as accents so you'll probably hear my opinion of them over and over.  I really thought I was going to dislike Solange since I hate gold polishes, but it was just so gorgeous!  Maybe it's that special pigment that is only available in this polish.  My favorite from the collection has to be Stevie since I am a lover of purple polishes.  This one was more opaque than the others.  Miranda and Liberty seemed to have a more jelly consistency to me, but still all dried like Stevie.  I'm excited to work more with Beatrix and Destiny, both were colors that I was expecting to just be "eh" about but again while working with them I was amazed by the bright hues.

For nail art, these polishes are a win, and even for a plain manicure they're amazing.  You might start to see some simple plain manicures from me utilizing them because they're literally nail art in a bottle!

What do you think?  Lover of the Pixie Dusts?  Lover of the textured look?  Have you used them for nail art?

Until next time, <3

**The 2013 Zoya Pixie Dust Polishes were provided by Zoya for Promotional Purposes.  I purchased INM Northern Lights and Sinful Colors Snow Me White.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Review

Hard Candy - Black Tie Optional

9:00:00 AM

Happy Sunday, dearest readers!  How are you today?  Today I have decided to post a simple manicure for you, since, well why not?  I am allowed to have a nail art break every once and awhile, right?  Typically, I pass on the simple since I normally fail at them, but this one was perfect and I had to share.

A few days ago, my friend and I were hanging out and she was begging me to go to the store.  I really didn't want to since I had just finished an 8 hour work shift and was incredibly exhausted.  I wanted to go in the house, take a shower, paint my nails, and call it a night.  My bestie though kept begging and begging, and finally, she bribed me with a bottle of nail polish.  What can I say, my friend knows my one weakness.  We went off to the mall, ran her errands, and hit up the beauty supply store.  I wasn't seeing any polishes that I wanted, so I told her it was okay, I didn't need anything.  Then, we went to Wal-Mart, and guess what...they had the Hard Candy polish display with my biggest lemming, Black Tie Optional.  Well, you can only guess what she bought me.  Thank you, Anne :).  Ahhhh can't believe it, I seriously love her for it.

I couldn't decide what base to use for the polish, so I decided to do a pastel skittle manicure.  It is perfect....let's take a look at this cute manicure.  Now the pictures are not 100% color accurate thanks to my stupid light box, so you can head on over to my Instagram to see my right hand with the correct colors.




Colors Used:
  • Sinful Colors - Candy Coated
  • Funky Fingers - Mrs. Mint
  • Sally Hansen - Pink Blink
  • Sinful Colors - Sugar Rush
  • Sinful Colors - Unicorn
  • Hard Candy - Black Tie Optional
For the bases, I used 2 coats of each polish.  The Sinful Colors polishes from the Sugar Rush collection are just beyond gorgeous and amazing.  I have to say, Sinful has stepped up their game and really have created some great formula polishes.  Typically with pastels, in two coats I have lots of little streaks and end up having to put on at least one more coat to even them out.  All the Sinful Colors polishes used in this manicure only required two coats, including Unicorn which is a rather thin yellow polish.  

Pink Blink by Sally Hansen went on a little thick, but that was because of that annoying thick stick that holds the brush on.  I love the Insta-Dri polishes SO much when it comes to nail art, but dislike them for painting a base coat on.  I hear they are great for stamping, so I might have to try that since so far I have had no luck with any other polishes.  Funky Fingers Mrs. Mint was my only streaky polish, but again, only had to apply two coats.  I think this is my favorite mint spring polish.  I'm going to cry when it runs out since Five Below doesn't have this color anymore.  Le sigh.

Now on to the best glitter polish I have purchased in a while.  Hard Candy Black Tie Optional is amazing!!!  Now, I am not a bar glitter person, but the bars in this mixed with all the different sized white and black hex glitters just gives such a neat look.  Each nail only has one coat of the polish since it is so glitter packed!  I had to place one or two pieces of glitter on two out of ten nails to fill in bald spots, but personally, I don't think that's bad at all.  This bottle even has some bigger hexes than what can be seen on my pointer nail.  Complete win, I suggest if you have Hard Candy for sale in your area, you go grab a bottle.  Can't wait to do some kitchen sink manicures with this beauty.

What do you think?  Simple Sunday should be a go?  Loving Black Tie Optional?  Still a fan of Skittle Manicures in 2013 or do you think they are going by the wayside?

Now that this simple manicure is out of my system, it's time to go all "Little Canvas" and challenge myself to some new nail art.  Can't wait to see what I come up with!  Until next time, <3

**Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Pink Blink was provided by Sally Hansen for promotional purposes.  All other polishes were purchased by myself or my friend.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own, please view my disclosure policy.**


Zoya Nail Polish Earth Day Exchange!

9:00:00 AM

Well Happy Earth Day, polished peeps!  No nails today, just an amazing offer from Zoya Nail Polish!  I first heard of this promo last year when I was just starting blogging, and since I didn't have a large stash, I sadly had no polishes to exchange.  If you have some old polishes which are not 5 free, then this is a great opportunity to get some amazing Zoyas!  I suggest Lianne, Avery, and the whole Stunning Collection.  Ooo Aurora and Storm are pretty dang amazing also.  Sadly, the Pixie Dust polishes are not available on this promo, but with all the amazing Zoya colors, how can you pass up on this deal?  Read the details below to learn how to exchange your polishes!


Until next post, <3.
________________________________________________

Announcing the 2013 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*


Hooray for Earth Day! Once again, Zoya is helping you do a little spring cleaning with the return of the Earth Day Zoya Nail Polish Exchange* for 2013. Clean out your nail polish wardrobe and get rid of old nail polish that may not be BIG5FREE (Free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP and Camphor) and exchange it for a greener alternative - long lasting, award winning, healthy Zoya Nail Polish bottles!

Now's the perfect time to make the switch to an eco-chic beauty routine! From April 19, 2013 - April 26, 2013 (11:59PM EST), exchange your old, unwanted nail color for toxin-free ZOYA Nail Polish for only $4 per bottle plus shipping and handling fees. Rest assured - ZOYA will properly dispose of your old polish. 
Here's all you need to do!
1.  Go to www.zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like (excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades) and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)
2. Apply the code (copy and paste for best results): ZOYAEARTH2013
3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish).
4. SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! HOORAY! This is how your order should look like... 

Once you get your order 
Here's where the exchanging* happens...
1.     Ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.
2.     Include a copy of your order. 
To clarify the exchange: You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. You can also donate. If you decide you don't want to do either, it's ok "Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish" we will still love you and will send the Zoya polishes... we'll just send you on a guilt trip for a while :)
Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:
Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA
Once we receive your polish, we do the rest! It’s that simple!
IMPORTANT!
The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!
*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/26/2012 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish. Excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. Zoya Exchange code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or errors associated with declined credit cards. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.

Gradient Mani

Neon Gradient Tape Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Hello followers!  How are you today?  Same old, same old for me here.  Actually, I'm fabulous because this manicure was not a disasticure.  The image in my mind actually translated onto the nail.  That seems to be such a rarity.  Okay, maybe not.  I should maybe go back and re-read my posts to figure out if it is rare or not.

This nail art idea came from not only my mind, but the mind of Gabi.  A long time ago when I first received my nail art tape, Gabi said I should do a gradient as a base and then use the nail art tape and paint the top coat on.   If you do not remember, Gabi is my official mani inspector, although not as of lately since she falls asleep super early (WACK) and always misses my manicures when I'm done.  Well, that's a lie, she inspects them in the morning when she opens up her email and sees my message (I kind of suck and send them late).

I decided to do the same gradient I did for my neon zebras, added some INM Northern Lights, tape, and black polish, and these gorgeous beauties were born.  Let's take a look!!!  Neons kind of made these pictures freak out and have weird looks, so please forgive my photos.




Colors Used:
  • China Glaze - I'm With the Lifeguard, Sun Kissed, Flip Flop Fantasy, Splish, Splash, Hang Ten Toes
  • Funky Fingers - Riot!
  • INM - Northern Lights 
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
To get the gradient, I painted the neons on the make up sponge the same way I did for my neon zebra nails.  I ended up painting all the colors in a circle in a way where the one color blended into the next.  The yellow was next to the green, which was next to the blue, etc.  I don't think it would have looked as good if I put the yellow next to the purple since these colors don't naturally blend into each other.  After I dabbed the make up sponge on my nails a few times, I quickly added one coat of INM Northern Lights.  This polish dries so fast, it's incredible.  I never would have been able to put tape over Fairy Dust in the same amount of time I was with this holo top coat.

I took four pieces of tape and applied them in different directions along the nail.  When I was happy with the placement, I painted one thin coat of Orly Liquid Vinyl and let that dry with the tape still on.  To make the black darker, I added one more coat, waited about 5 more second, then removed the tape.  Each stripe that I removed, I was just so incredibly amazed by the gradient which was appearing under neath.  It just looks so neat!!!

What do you think?  Fan of the gradient tape manicure?  Fan of tape manicures at all?  Love INM Northern Lights?

Still loving all the colors.  I'm so happy that Heather from Peace, Love, and Polish posted a manicure featuring the more than 3 color gradient.  They're so much fun!!!!

Until next time, <3.

**I purchased all the polishes used in this manicure**


Flowers

Crocus Nail Art - Spring is Here!

9:00:00 AM

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you" - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

I sat down to write this post, and found myself listening to the news and hearing the stories of the Boston Marathon explosions, and now the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas.  My mind wandered away from my nails and I became saddened for all the victims and their families.  I looked over to my Twitter feed because I felt like I needed a distraction and found that verse, as I follow a couple of Twitter accounts who post different Bible verses throughout the day.  In the wake of all the recent tragedies, I find this verse to be very fitting.  My thoughts and prayers have and are with the victims of all these tragedies, and I do pray that they find peace. <3 <3 Now onto the nails....
____________________________________________

It seems as if Spring is FINALLY here.  Actually, I shouldn't speak too soon, it looks like the temperatures are going to dip back down into the 40s this weekend, but whatever.  Today, I was able to wear a pair of flats and a short sleeve shirt, so I'm counting that as a win for today and will deal with the cold temperatures when they arrive again.  Despite the cold temperatures last week, the crocuses poked their little heads out of the ground and bloomed.  If you don't follow me on Instagram, then you missed this photo I pic-stitched together of the crocuses around my neighbors tree.  

For those of you who do not know what a crocus is, they are early Spring flowers which come in a variety of colors such as blue, purple, white, yellow, and my favorite white with purple accenting.  Maybe it isn't accenting but the petals have these purple lines running through them.  Click the lil link above and I have a picture of them in the pic-stitch.  So when I sat down to do this manicure, I was determined to paint crocuses on my nails, no matter how difficult.  I'm VERY pleased with the end result...




Colors Used:
  • Base
    • OPI - My Vampire is Buff
  • Flowers
    • Sinful Colors - Amythyst, Candy Coated, Endless Blue, Sugar Rush, and Snow Me White
  • Grass
    • Revlon - Sassy
Loving the base of OPI My Vampire is Buff in this manicure.  I think if I would have used a bright white polish, these nails would not have been as pretty.  My Vampire is Buff applied rather streaky for the first coat.  I used 3 coats to get complete coverage and even out some of the random little streaks.  I don't typically use neutral polishes, so I'm not 100% positive if the streakiness was a result of this color family or if it was due to the formula.  Regardless, it was worth the three coats because it is a perfect shade.  I'm so happy I purchased it.

Once dried, it was time to paint the crocuses.  With my nail art brush and Sinful Colors Endless Blue, I painted a little heart shape, then added one more bulb to the top to have three petals.  I then dragged down the paint with the brush to make the flowers pointed at the end.  It looked rather ugly and decided to power through and paint the purple and white flowers in the same fashion.  When they were dried, I used the nail art brush and took the lighter colors and detailed the petals.  I lightly brushed the light blue over the blue flowers, light purple over the purple, and purple over the white.  I put very little polish on the brush, as I wanted the lines of the brush to show in the details.

To finish the look, I used Revlon Sassy and painted the grass in between the nails.  Added some Out the Door and took a look at my canvases.  And boy, despite them looking horrible after adding the first petals, they turned out rather decent.  To be honest, this might be one of my favorite designs.

What do you think?  Did I master the crocus flower?  Should I attempt a daffodil??

Well, hopefully Spring stays and I can continue to paint some more flowers on my nails!!!!  Hope you all have a great day.  Until next time, stay safe, and again thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the recent tragedies.  <3 

Dot Mani

Springy Gradient Nails

9:00:00 AM

Continuing on with my spring nails, these are no exception.  I think these are close to the Spring-iest mani I've ever done.  Despite being so simple, they were a pain in my behind.  Mostly because again, I had a disasticure right before I painted these.  I sat down super early in the night with the most brilliant idea.  I would do a multi color pastel gradient (4 plus polishes) and then would apply a floral stamp.  In my mind, it was GORGEOUS.  On the nail, with my non-existent stamping skills, it was not.

I might have mentioned this a few posts ago, but I received some stamping plates from Born Pretty for review.  I was super excited as I always wanted a set, but never wanted to spend the money on them in case they didn't work right.  I've seen bloggers like Nicole from Polish Me, Please! stamp her nails like a boss numerous times and make it look so easy, I figured it would be a quick way to do nail art.  I smashed   I was wrong, and well Nicole needs to fly here and give me some stamping lessons before she has her little bundle of joy!  By the way, congrats to Nicole, Amanda from Fashion Footing, and Heather from Peace, Love, and Polish.  All three ladies are expecting, and I believe Heather is due any day now (or by the time this post is published she might have already had her baby).

How fast I go off on a tangent.  Anyways, I still wanted to do a gradient, so I opted to do a mint, to blue, to purple gradient, with a dotted accent nail.  Wasn't too fond of them due to the disasticure, but regardless, they came out just dandy.  Let's take a look.




Colors Used:

  • Gradient
    • Funky Fingers - Mrs. Mint
    • Sinful Colors - Sugar Rush
    • Sinful Colors - Candy Coated
    • INM - Northern Lights
  • Dotted Nail
    • Sinful Colors - Candy Coated
    • Sally Hansen - Blue Away!
    • Funky Fingers - Mrs. Mint
    • Sinful Colors - Sweet Tooth
This was my first time using INM Northern Lights, and I LOVE IT.  I used to use China Glaze Fairy Dust for my fine holo polish, but it's odor was giving me the worst headache.  In addition to the headache, the polish got super thick, super fast.  Oh, and it took ages to dry!!!  I would always end up ruining a manicure because of it's dry time.  INM Northern Lights is a perfect replacement.  Made by the same company who makes my amazing Out the Door top coat, it has the exact consistency and dries just as fast, if not faster.  What I love about it also is you can control the amount of holo glitter you want.  All the holo specs settle at the bottom of the bottle.  Depending on how much you shake it up, the glitter gets suspended in the base at different volumes.  The more shaking, the more glitter.  Love this polish.

Even though the photos don't show it, my nails were super bright.  Except that damn pinkie, for some reason my gradient was like "haha Alaina, I'm not going to transfer well on this nail and only this nail...so enjoy!"  For my gradient, as always I started with a base of white polish, then painted the colors on to the make up sponge, then dabbed on to the nail.  For the dotted nails, I used different sized dotting tools and dotted my little heart out.

What do you think?  Love or hate this color combo?

Hopefully my next manicure won't be the birth child of a disasticure.  We shall have to wait and see.  Until then, <3.

Animal Mani

Daisy the Hippo!

9:00:00 AM

Hey everyone!!!  How are you this fine day?  It isn't so fine here, earlier in the week we were in the 50s and now we have dropped down to the 30s with freezing rain.  Luckily, we didn't get hit with an ice storm, but instead loads and loads of rain.  And nothing is more fun than walking through parking lots with ice cold rain falling on you.  I guess it could be worse, it could be snowing again.   Despite the weather, the birds are chirping, the crocuses are blooming, and the tulips and lilies are starting to emerge from the ground.  I am determined to keep my nails some what Springy and cheerful.  Cheerful nail art should make the weather cheerful, right?

This nail art design was inspired by one I saw on Instagram by Emily (@erd10).  I would have never found her Instagram or this nail design if she didn't tag her photo with #nailart.  When I get bored, I will sit and search through this tag to get inspired and hopefully find some cute designs to feature on Nails4Yummies (don't worry, I also check #TheLittleCanvas and #Nails4Yummies).  I fell in love with her little hippo and daisy nails and put them on my to-do list.  The other night, I had a couple of disasticures, and needed something cheerful, and what better than Daisy the Hippo.  Let's take a look!




Colors Used:

  • Sinful Colors - Mint Apple, Snow Me White, Black on Black
  • Pure Ice - Kiss Me Here (seriously, HATE this name)
  • Ulta - Sun Sational
So after my disasticures, I really needed to use my favorite polish, which of course is Sinful Colors - Mint Apple.  For some reason, this shade of mint with the subtle shimmer (every time I type this, I think of Susan) is just pure perfection in a bottle.  I always have full coverage in two coats, which I have seen others haven't had.  I've had two bottles and never have had streak issues or uneven application.

When my base was dried, with my nail art brush, I outlined Daisy the Hippo with the dark gray polish and painted her head in.  With my dotting tool, I added the gray ears and let the face dry.  While it was drying, I used my dotting tool and added the daisies no the other nails.  Since I didn't like the look on my nail of just two flowers, I added the white dots to even it out.  With the same dotting tool, I added the nose and eye details, finished with a top coat, and called it a night.

What do you think of Daisy?  Adorable idea, right?  Have you ever copied someones manicure you found on Instagram??

Oh how I love Instagram.  Searching the tags and finding nail artists like Emily really keep me inspired.  Don't forget to tag your art using #TheLittleCanvas or #Nails4Yummies for a chance to be featured on the @Nails4Yummies account!  I cannot wait to see what you artists all are doing on your nails!!!

<3

Color Block Mani

Abstract Color Block?

9:00:00 AM

Things I need to learn to do: write down the colors I used in a manicure directly after I paint them so I don't sit glaring at the picture going "is that my Aurora or is that just my purple??"  This is yet another manicure I did before Easter, but right after I painted the Tigers, so I guess I'm somewhat on track over here with sharing posts.  Seriously though, I think I posted a crappy photo of these using my old LG Octane.  Back before the beloved iPhone, I would take pictures on my basic phone, text them to my email, download them on to the iPod touch, then upload to Instagram.  It was a pain in my butt and pictures looked like booty.

After seeing that Instagram picture, and now looking at these ones again, goodness, they look better photographed with a real camera.  I'm also upset I didn't write a post up right after I did them because I can't remember the back story behind why I did these nails.  It's quite upsetting to me at this moment.  Did I have a disasticure, did this randomly come into my head?  I just cannot remember!!!  I think that I was in love with my Color Club Holos and really wanted to use them, so I came up with this design.

Anywho, let's take a look at my free-hand color block manicure!!!




Colors Used:
  • Ulta - Snow White
  • Zoya - Aurora
  • Color Club - Eternal Beauty and Over the Moon
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
Jazzy, right?  Luckily, I remember how I did the nails and achieved the look!!!

I started off with a base coat of Ulta - Snow White.  When dried, with my nail art brush and Orly Liquid Vinyl, I outlined the squares/abstract design.  I remember that I was thinking about using nail art tape, but wanted to Little Canvas my self and go 100% freehand.  With another nail art brush, I started randomly filling in the squares with Aurora, Eternal Beauty, and Over the Moon.  After the colors were painted in and I still had some blank white areas, I re-outlined the black lines with the nail art brush to make them more square and even.

These nails kind of remind me of my Mosaic-ish nail art, especially since I did the same technique to get the look.  Colors were kind of similar too, now that I look at it.  What makes this manicure special is all the holo!!!!  Eternal Beauty and Over the Moon are just amazing.  If you don't own any Color Club Holos, I suggest you run out the the store and purchase them!!!  They are SOOO worth the money!!!!  If you can also get your hands on Zoya Aurora, I suggest that also.  This was the first time I used Aurora since I received it in January, and well, I need to use it more.  The holo glitter flecks are gorgeous mixed with the purple polish.  I'm going to be using it for plenty of pedicures this summer.  Imagine how gorgeous it's going to look when the sun hits it!!!

What do you think?  Fan of the abstract color block?  Do you free hand color block or use tape??

Until next time, <3.

Animal Mani

Tiger Nail Art Re-Visited

9:00:00 AM

I did this manicure before Easter, but am just NOW getting to post it.  I was going to post them in between St. Patrick's Day and Easter,but then I realized that these two holidays were about a week and a half apart.  Plus I had my disasticure issue before Easter which made me start Easter nails early, and well I had to fit all those in.  Oh, the first world problems of a nail blogger.

I've been very excited to share this manicure with you, as they mean a lot to me.  Last year, when I started blogging they were my very first original manicure.  Devotees will remember my Tiger Nails from last February.  A few months later, I took this manicure and created my first Photoshop Tutorial.  Both posts were a big step for me and the blog which were just starting out.  Ever since October, these nails have been in the back of my mind and I kept wanting to re-try them.  I had big plans to re-do them exactly one year from the original post date, but I had so many other manicure ideas, the anniversary of them came and left.  Regardless, I had to re-attempt.  

I sat down, looked at my own tutorial, and re-did them!!!  I can't wait to show you guys!!!!  Let's take a look!!




Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Lianne
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • Ulta - Snow White
Cute, right?  As always, Zoya Lianne is pure perfection in a bottle.  With two coats, I had complete, shimmery tangerine nails, but decided I really wanted the orange to stand out so I applied three.  This is one of my favorite orange polishes, and I think one of Zoya's best kept secrets.  Not many bloggers have this polish, and to me, it's one of those must haves.  Head on over and get yourself a bottle!!!!

Instead of re-writing out how I did these nails, I'll include the tutorial here again....


Free Hand Tiger Design:
  1. Start with a base coat of your favorite orange polish.  For mine, I used Zoya Lianne.
  2. With a toothpick, start stippling on black wavy lines with a black polish.  I start at the base of the nail and work my way towards the tip.  I also start from the outer edge and move my way in.
  3. Add little connecting lines from the other lines to fill in the gaps and create more of a animal look.
  4. Let dry and finish with a top coat.
Free Hand Tiger Faces:
  1. Start with a base coat of your favorite orange polish.
  2. With your favorite white polish, paint on the circular head.  If you do not feel comfortable paiting on the head, you can use the dotting tool to outline and fill the rest in.  The head goes at the tip of the nail.
  3. With a dotting tool, add the eyes with a white polish.  If you do not have a dotting tool, a tooth pick will work the same.
  4. With the dotting tool (or tooth pick), add the black on the eyes, nose, and whiskers.  With a tooth pick, stipple on the mouth.
  5. With a tooth pick, add tiger lines as you did for the tiger design on the other nails.
  6. Let dry, and finish with a top coat.
What do you think??  Better than last years tigers??  Have you tried the tigers or are you planning on trying them??  Would you like to see more tutorials??

I'm just so proud of these nails.  I can truly see through this post and last years that I have grown as a nail artist.  My cuticles are cleaner, my nails are longer, the lines are straighter....just all around better looking!!!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I have!!!!  Until next time, <3.

Fun and Random

Autism Awareness - Puzzle Piece Manicure: Take 2

9:00:00 AM

Good Day Polished Peeps!  I hope you all are doing well!!!  Today I bring you the manicure I wore for National Autism Awareness Day which was yesterday, April 2nd.  Since April is National Autism Awareness Month, I figured it would be okay to post them a day late.   Plus, I'm able to keep to my every 3 day posting on the blog which leads to better consistency and less anxiety for me!  I have this minor fear that one day I'm going to come to the blog to write up a post and I won't have anything for you.  Currently, I have two manicures that I need to post from awhile back sitting here waiting, so I'm good.  I'm rambling, on to the manicure....

For this manicure, I of course wanted to use my blue polishes, which are my favorites!  I'm pretty sure that majority of my stash is blue.  For those of you who do not know, the Autism Awareness Ribbon is decorated with multi-colored puzzle pieces.  According to the Autism Society, the puzzle pattern represents the mystery and complexity of the autism spectrum, and the bright colors represent the diversity of the people and families who are living with the condition.  

I wanted my nails to not only include the blue, but the puzzle pieces as well.  Therefore, I decided to attempt puzzle piece nails again, which if you remember my last post, I talked about how much I hated it.  I said I would try it again with two colors, and well here we go!!!  I also came up with a different technique which was sooooo much easier!  I'll explain that after the pictures!!! Let's take a look!!  The pictures kind of upset me because my camera/lightbox were not participating with me, but I hope you like!




Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!
  • Sally Hansen - Blue Away!
  • OPI - OPI...Eurso, Euro
  • Ulta - Snow White (Base)
Loveeee!  Okay, so, remember how last time I complained that using tape was impossible?  Well, this manicure was done with no tape what so ever!!!!!  No lie, I used NO TAPE.  As a hater of scotch tape, I refused to use it again for puzzle pieces.  When I sat down to paint these nails, I immediately thought of my nail art tape and thought that I could use that.  I tried to figure out a way to do this.... should I paint a dark blue base and tape mani my lighter colors?  Should I do a white base???  Ugh it was becoming too confusing for one manicure.

Then, it hit me....I should use my dotting tools!  Confused?  Don't worry, I'll talk you through it.  I remembered when I did my Checkerboard Tape Manicure and I dotted the colors in the squares?  I thought that I would do the same thing, except this time, using no tape.

I started off with a base coat of Ulta - Snow White.  When dried, with my medium dotting tool, I dotted on the light blue polish.  I first stippled a cross onto my nail and then filled in each corner.  Then with my darker blue polish, I filled in the rest of the white space.  I then added the puzzle dots when both polishes were somewhat dried.  Even though my lines were rather neat, I really wanted the puzzle pieces to stand out.  With my nail art brush, I used OPI Eurso, Euro and outlined the puzzle pieces.  I should have taken a before and after picture, because trust me, the outline made them look so much better.

What do you think?  Would you be interested in possibly seeing a tutorial on these nails using the Dotting Tool Method??  Did you wear blue nails for Autism Awareness?!

Quick note, I have decided that I'm going to host a monthly nail art contest where the winner is featured on all my accounts.  You do NOT have to be a blogger to enter, you can be an Instagram poster, Twitter artist, or just a paitner for fun.  I want to feature as much art as possible and I think this would be a great way to see how many truly talented artists there are out there!!!  I'm still working out the details, so in the next few days I'm going to put up a blog post looking for your opinions!!!  Thanks to everyone on Instagram who thinks it sounds fun and will participate!!!

Until next time, keep rocking your blue nails!!!!  See you in a few days! <3