Nail art: Black on silver, dotted

It's been so long since I've shared any nail art! To be honest, I haven't done any in a while. I don't know why, I guess I've just been prioritizing other things lately. I miss it though, it's always fun to take a few minutes a week to have a girly moment.

For this nail art I didn't really plan anything. I just picked a random color and painted my nails and went from there. It's always fun to experiment without a plan to see what you can come up with. It kind of forces your brain to be creative. By doing so, you learn more about yourself and your process.



In any case, I've been really busy lately, we're going to Mexico in a few weeks to visit family and I've been planning everything we need to bring. It's the first time we're going out of the country since we discovered our son is allergic to eggs. I'm not sure if I should bring food like bread and noodles with us. Stuff I know could be hard to find without eggs...

I can't wait though, we planned on going to the beach! It'll be our kids' first time so we're super excited to see their reaction and show them a whole new bunch of things; digging holes, building castles, getting buried in the sand... you know, the usual. :) Until then, I'm going to be working in my newly painted office and doing pretty Easter crafts.

You'll have to excuse my hands in this tutorial, they're so so so dry. The winter's being particularly difficult and I've been washing my hands like crazy to not catch any viruses before we leave on vacation. I also have been neglecting moisturizing... shame on me!

So yea, here's my super dry hands with pretty simple nail art. Lol. Enjoy!

MATERIALS:
Silver nail polish
Black nail polish
White nail art pen
Top coat



1. I applied 2 coats of silver nail polish. I do this on all my nails to give it a bit of time to dry before step 2.



2. Using the brush the polish came with, I made a brush width line down the center of each nail. Don't worry if it's not exactly straight. When I do this, I don't usually wait until the base polish is dry, even if it's still a bit damp I keep going.



3. With the white nail art pen I made little dots in a straight line right in the middle of the black stripe I just made. Again, you don't really need to wait until the previous step is dry.



4. Apply top coat and that's it! I use seche vite.

Nail art: Bare daisies

I've always dreamed of running through endless fields of flowers; the sweet fragrance, the cool breeze and the pure air. Wouldn't it be amazing? Just thinking about it makes me feel so free and happy. Living far away from the city, living off the crops we grow and the livestock we raise. Having all the time in the world to take care of my kids. For now though, I'll just have to settle with drawing flowers on my nails.

Have you ever had the chance to run through fields of flowers?

For this nail art I was looking to create something super quick, fresh and simple. I was playing around with my dotting tool trying to find different ways to use it and it occurred to me that I don't even need to put a base color before making my design. I love the clean look of this new nail art and I'm already planning other bare nail designs.

MATERIALS:
White nail polish | I'm using Blanc by Essie
Yellow nail polish | I'm using Lightening by Sally Hansen
Dotting tool | I'm using the Sephora dotting tool


1. Using the dotting tool, in a circle, place 5 dots in a circle to form the petals of a flower. Do this as many times as needed to create the desired pattern as shown in the picture below.


If you don't have a dotting tool you can use the tip of a pencil instead, or even a toothpick, anything will work.

2. Paint and yellow dot in the center of each flower and add a clear protective top coat.


The more nail art I create the more I realize how much I enjoy being creative. With all the things I want to do every day, and the little time I have, this is definitely an activity that I seem to find time for. When I first started doing nail art I thought "Oh-My-God, this will take for-ever"... but you know what? It doesn't. It really doesn't. What takes the longest is thinking up what you're going to draw and which colors you're going to use. Once that's settled, the actual art takes a few minutes (obviously we're not creating anything super fancy here). If you add a quick drying top coat like Seche Vite, it'll be even faster. You should give it a shot if you haven't already!

Nail art: Square

I bought some new nail art tools (mini brushes and striping tape) and I just couldn't wait to try them out! I'm very satisfied with the results, the little squares turned out totally adorable. I chose to use the striping tape as a guide to make squares and instead of leaving them on my nails, I removed them to show a clear white line underneath.

What kind of designs do you do one your nails?

After doing a few nail art, I see that I tend to gravitate towards geometric and symmetric styles; I wonder what that means? I'm square? Next time I'll have to try something a little more dramatic. For now, here's what I'm sporting these days.



NAIL POLISH:
Blanc by Essie
Bikini so teeny by Essie
Little black dress by Ceramic Glaze
Honolulu hibiscus by Ceramic Glaze
It's totally karma by Sephora by OPI

TOOLS:
Nail Art Striping Tape
Nail Art Detailer Brush by Sally Hansen


1. Apply 2 coats of white nail polish.


2. Put striping tape as shown below.


3. Apply colors randomly.


4. Remove stripping tape and add a top coat.

review

Sally Hansen nail art tool kit

Likes: Personally, I like the small size, but then again, I like all my tools small. They're easy to use and seem durable. The brush hair is soft and holds well together for precise designs.

Dislikes: The only thing I don't like is the orange color of the dotting tool, but that doesn't affect it's functionality.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Disclosure: This review was not sponsored. I bought the product myself and gave my honest opinion.

Nail art: Gold, white and black leopard print

This nail art is actually from last summer. I actually haven't been using any nail polish lately. When I'm pregnant I'm always very (probably-way-too-much) careful about absolutely everything...and I'm not too sure about those nail polish fumes! To think that not so long ago I didn't use nail polish at all, and now...I miss it! Not like I wore it every day, but still, I really enjoyed these little nail art projects of mine. Anyway, here's my version of a quick and easy gold, white and black leopard print nail art. Enjoy!

MATERIALS:
Blanc nail polish by Essie
Gold nail polish by ORLY
Black nail polish by Revlon (I used the black end of Moon Candy Nail Art)
Dotting tool
Nail art paint brush



First, apply a gold base. I used two coats.


Second, use the dotting tool (or tooth pick) to make random white dots on selected nails.


Third, use a nail art paint brush (or tooth pick) to make 2 black lines around each white dot.


...and done! Super easy. Don't forget to add a top coat, it increases durability. Wouldn't want to lose your art within a day now would you?

I really want to do a maternity outfit post. I've never really tried styling my belly before. I just kind of throw anything that fits on. Lol. I might challenge myself to do that so I can make a cute Blurb book of my style's evolution. Wouldn't that be cool?

Nail art: Tricolor pink geometric

I've been having a lot of fun trying out different colors on my nails lately. If you read my last nail art post, then you know that up until recently, I only wore nail polish with my grand-mother. I absolutely love the look of decorated nails. Ok, so I'm not very good at it, but practice makes perfect right? So here's my latest nail art, hope you like it! Pst... I originally wanted to call it shattered cotton candy. ;)

MATERIALS:
Mod Square by Essie
Muchi, Muchi by Essie
Blanc by Essie
Scotch tape


First, apply two layers of Mod Square nail polish as base coat.


Second, apply tape at an angle over dry base coat and color with Muchi, Muchi nail polish.


Make sure your base coat is very very very dry otherwise it will peal off with the tape. I also suggest getting tape that is not too sticky (not too sure if there's tape especially for nail art).

Third, repeat step two with Blanc nail polish.


...and voila. Easy and spiffy nail art. Obviously, you can play around with the colors and the angles. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Nail art: Blue with white polka dot

Up until recently, the only person I had ever seen wearing nail polish was my grand-mother. So I rarely ever wore any, except when I was little and my grand-ma would pass me some; you know, a girly activity to do together. ...then I was inspired by Memorable Days & Burkatron, so I decided to give it a shot. I was amazed at how fun it was and how pretty it turned out. I'll definitely be doing more so stay tuned!

Nail polish:
Beach Bum Blu nail polish by Essie
Mermaid Glitter nail polish by Forever21
White nail art pen by Sally Hansen


1. Apply two base coats of Beach Bum Blu.


2. Apply Mermaid Glitter to tips of nails.


3. Draw lines & dots with nail art pen.
4. Apply a coat of clear nail polish to seal.


It's important to add the clear top coat to seal otherwise your design will rub off within a day.

review

Sally Hansen nail art pen

Likes: Easy to apply. Dries quickly. Comes in many different colors. Can remove mistakes with water. Looks pretty.

Dislikes: A bit expensive for what it is ($8 CAD). If you don't apply a clear top coat of polish it rubs off within a day. It's very watery. Need to reapply more than once to get desired result.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Disclosure: This review was not sponsored. I bought the product myself and gave my honest opinion.