My Year In Nail Art

Zen through nail art.

[myinl]

My strange and miraculous journey experimenting with imPress Press-On Manicures. I bought them in size "short" which as you can see from the first photo is not exactly working for my tiny nails and short nail beds. I waited an hour before trimming and filing them (per the instructions) and ended up clipping off most of the French tips to make the nails a workable length. Then I painted them. Painted fake nails come out smooth and glossy, and the imPress Press-On nails are sturdy and hold really well. They look almost like my natural nails, only thicker and without those pesky ridges. According to the directions they'll last up to 10 days. We shall see.

[mashable]

A New App Turns Your Instagrams Into Nail Art

Nail art enthusiasts will be able to indulge their wildest design dreams with NailSnaps, an app to lets users create nail polish stickers using their personal photos.

[myinl]

WHAT IS THIS?

[theairsalive]

[myinl]

DAMN.

[myinl]

It's hard to keep these color mixing manis from bubbling, but it's still a nice look. Porcelain Party - Color Show Royal Navy - Butter London

[myinl]

Picked up the Insta-gel Starter Kit from Sally Hansen. It includes a tiny LED lamp on a 30 second timer, which is sure to confound your male companions. Application is easy, but the results aren't exactly flawless. It was fun to wear for a day, but this gel mani's initial glass shine wears off quickly if you do anything with your hands other than hold them perfectly still for strangers to admire. Faux Real - Sally Hansen Insta-gel Strips

[myinl]

My friend Crystal submitted this burgundy mani. It's gorgeous and easy, and the spotty top coat can be an all over thing or just for accent nails.

Royal Flush - Sinful Shine

Clearly Spotted - Color Show

[crochetcetera]

Finally got brave enough to try painting my recently butchered super short nails when my Director asked me to work on some designs with our new Mary Kay nail colors for spring. So I’ve been playing with some different ideas (and struggling to only use just these two colors!) and will be posting more pictures over the next few days. I’m trying to stick with simple ideas that are relatively easy to recreate, so if anyone has any requests, let me know! 

Base Coat: Glisten and Glow Stuck on Blu! 

Primary Color: Mary Kay Nail Lacquer in Lemon Parfait

Sponge gradient (I used Mary Kay’s Cosmetic Sponge) with Lemon Parfait and Carefree Coral

Flowers added with Carefree Coral using two sizes of dotting tools

Top Coat: HK Girl Top Coat by Glisten & Glow

[myinl]

LOVE this mani! So gorgeous!

[myinl]

Mary Kay nail lacquer colors are always on point. Loving this season's soft coral. It's lovely by itself or with gold accents. Carefree Coral - Mary Kay Gold Album - Wet N Wild

[myinl]

Swapped out my houndstooth accent nails for copper French manis. They look gold in this photo, but I promise you they are a warm copper in person. Fast Lane - Pure Ice

[myinl]

Swapped out the matte eggplant for a soft turquoise. It looks lovely, but these houndstooth gel appliqués that are supposed to last for two weeks are chipping at the edges. I’m not terribly disappointed. I didn’t intend to keep this mani for two weeks anyway.

New color is Flip Flop from Urban Outfitters.

[myinl]

Hair of the Dog

(Gray cat photobombin')

Really digging these houndstooth accent nails. I didn't want to do the full houndstooth mani because I thought it would look too busy, so I opted for an eggplant purple and a flat top coat instead. These Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Strips are supposed to last up to two weeks, so I may swap out the purple for something a little more Spring-y, like turquoise. 

Bonus Check - Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Strips

Marrow - Butter

It's A Matte Matte World - Icing (top coat)

[myinl]

You guuuuuuys...

[myinl]

Super avant-garde names for nail polish colors, I'm just like...

[myinl]

So I'm using Ruby Wing color changing polish for this mani, but I didn't get much color change from the opaque pink polish. Ruby Wing Kitten Heels is supposed to go from bright pink to a deep red. It's still a fun, flashy color that goes great with the color change gold polish, but I'm not sure why the color didn't change. I used a Sally Hansen Diamond Strength top coat. I'm wondering if there is something chemical about the top coat that inhibits the color change in the pink polish. LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A MYSTERY ON OUR HANDS, SCOOBY-DOO. Kitten Heels - Ruby Wing Ride 'Em Cowgirl - Ruby Wing Flawless - Sally Hansen Diamond Strength I don't usually mention the top coat, but just in case it has something to do with the lack of color change I thought I'd make sure it was noted.

[myinl]

Fashion Week hath spoken. The minimalist mani is in for Spring, as is gold. I've combined the best of both with a teal French manicure and a single chunky gold glitter accent nail. I won't give up my elaborate nail art all together, but I do like the simple splash of color this mani creates against my glossy nails. Flip Flop - Urban Outfitters Gold Dust Woman - Urban Outfitters

[myinl]

We had a little too much wine last night and decided to take a dramatic glamour shot of my Valentine's Day nails. MUCH ROMANCE. SO VALENTINES.

[myinl]

V-Day nails, anyone? These nail tattoos aren't quite as easy to work with as the little strips of paper I used for my newspaper nails, but I do like the results. My Vampire Is Buff - OPI Heart 2 Art Nail Tattoos - Fing'rs