Simple is enough - Dots and stripes

I often have to remind myself that simple is nice. Rather than trying to create a complicated manicure I decided to fall back on something that I know works well - dots and stripes.

For this manicure I used a base color of Barielle Wrap me in Ribbon. It is a rich and shimmery burgundy/wine color. After the base color dried I applied curved stripes and dots using Barielle Brown Sparkles. It is a gorgeous shimmery light shade of bronze. You can make your own dotting tools using everyday items around your house. If you want to learn more about that see my post here.

Dots and stripes nail art using Barielle nail polish

Dots and stripes nail art using Barielle nail polish

These polishes were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Fall colors plus dots and stripes equal a sleek mani

I love Spring colors but it is time for me to embrace Fall. Although it isn't quite time for sweaters and boots it is getting close. So I pulled out the Barielle Fall/Winter 2012 Collections and set my mind to create an appropriate manicure.

A base color of Barielle "One Shade of Gray" and a quick swipe on the side with "Soho at Night." Then using a striping brush I applied two strokes of "Greenwich Village." A dotting tool with "Greenwich Village" and "Soho at Night" completed the design. I topped it off with a top coat of Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat.

Dots and stripes nail art using Barielle polish

Barielle polishes are  “3-free” philosophy on formulation: absolutely none of Barielle’s products contain Formaldehyde, Toluene or Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP).

Barielle polishes can be purchased at Barielle.com for $8.


These polishes were sent to me for an honest review and the opinions given are my own.

Zoya Perrie with stripes and dots

I couldn't decide what to do to my nails tonight. So when I have that dilemma I usually go random. So here are my random stripes and dots.

Let me say that Perrie has a wonderful formula. It applied wonderfully and dried quickly. Two coats gave me amazing coverage and a high gloss shine.

Then I made random stripes with a striping brush using Milani White on the Spot. A few dots of the dotting tool and I was done. Well almost... I thought it needed something to make it pop. So I added a stripe of Zoya Daul for a little bit of subtle glitz. I like the end result.

Zoya Perrie with random stripes and dots.

Inspired by a wedding photo manicure

Recently - in one of the groups I am in - someone shared a wedding photo. It was a stunning, thought provoking photo of her in traditional Indian wedding attire. I had never seen anything like it. The photo moved me. Vibrant colors and stunning jewelry adorned her beautiful face and her eyes were closed in prayer. I wish I could share the photo with you. But it is simply not my photo to share. However you can see it on her blog. http://tanejasbride.com/about/

I had to try and grab some of this in a manicure. Although I cannot capture the beauty of the bride I think I reflected the colors in the manicure.

Nail art inspired by a photo of traditional Indian wedding attire.

I used a striping brush and a dotting tool to complete this manicure. I couldn't seem to find the shade of blue that I wanted but Barielle Island Breeze was pretty close. The red is Butter London Knees up and the gold is Zoya Richelle. For the white dots I used Milani White on the spot.

What inspires your nail art?

Simple is sweet - holo nail art

After doing a detailed mani and realizing it was extremely busy I decided to play around with my holographic polishes. I have the house to myself this weekend and get to play with polish. Life is good.

Holographic China Glaze Kaleidoscope Him Out and He's Going in Circles.

Holographic China Glaze Kaleidoscope Him Out and He's Going in Circles.

For this I started with a base of China Glaze He's Going in Circles. For the diagonal tips I used scotch tape and then applied Kaleidoscope Him Out. The difference between the two colors is extremely subtle. Then I used gold and blue striping polish. A few dots of China Glaze BFF and it was complete. Well, it still needed a top coat. But simple it is.

What are your simple yet effective polish secrets?

Who is up for a road trip? Step by step guide

I have had this idea in my head for a while. It honestly looked better in my head. I think this is kind of cheesy even though it is cute. I was going to use my acrylic paints but I put them away in a safe place. It's so safe I can't even find it!

So I used nail polish, dotting tools, striping brushes and Qtips for this.

Road trip nail art

To start off I used a base color of Nicole OPI Nothing Kim-pares to Blue

Then I used a nail art brush and striped on the road using Zoya Noot.

For the clouds I used Milani White on the Spot and a Qtip.

I used a yellow striping brush to draw the yellow stripes in the road.

For the car I used Milani Rapid Cherry and a flat nail art brush.

To add a little detail to the car I dotted black for the wheels, white for the hubcaps and headlight and brushed on gray for the window.

Then I used a green striping brush for the grass and a black striping brush for the tree trunks and branches.

Then I used a dotting tool to add the flowers and the green on the trees. I added a bird using the black striping polish.

Road trip nail art

My thumb.


Then I added a topcoat and I am done.

Road trip nail art

Bees are buzzing... Nail art step-by-step

Well the nights are cooler and summer is about over here in Wyoming. We may have another two months of decent weather or we might only have one month. So I am protesting the fact that Fall is approaching by staying in Summer mode. So I have some bright summery nail art to share with you.

Bright flowers on green stems with a bumblebee... These were a lot of fun and actually quite easy. As always when I try to do a step-by-step post I get absorbed in the mani and forget to take pictures of steps.

Flowers and bee nail art

I started off with a base color of Deborah Lippman  "Let's hear it for the boy." Forgive the messiness. I never worry about being neat when I am doing nail art. I just clean up good with a brush later. Too many times I have done a few nails and decided I seriously didn't like it and started over.

Then I used a green striping brush and applied three "stems." Different angles and thicknesses are okay. It provides some realism.

Then I used a dotting tool and Milani "White on the Spot" to start the flowers.

I used a different sized dotting tool and added dots of Zoya "Creamy" to provide the yellow in the flower. I mixed a little of Zoya "Creamy" and "Arizona" and used a larger dotting tool to make an oblong shape for the bee's body.

Then using a dotting tool and Milani "Black Swift" I added a dot on one side of the orange oblong shape to make the bee's head.

This is where I got completely focused and forgot to take photos. But it really was easy. I used a thin striping brush to paint on the three stripes for the body. I also drew on the antenna, feet and stinger. Not hard, but make sure you hold your tongue just right! Half circles meeting in the middle compose the wings. I added a tiny dot of white for the bee's eye and I was done!

Flowers and bee nail art

Narrow stripes with tape

I love doing Scotch tape manicures. Every once in a while I have to use the narrow striping tape too. I love the look of it. Especially with bright, bold colors. For this one I used Milani Fast Fuchsia and Yellow Whiz. 

I love these colors together. 

Milani Fast Fuchsia and Yellow Whiz

I started off with a base color of Milani Yellow Whiz. Such a perfect, pure yellow.

Then I used the striping tape for the stripes. I will show exactly how I did that in the next few photos. This is the kind of tape I used. I got several rolls from eBay for just a few dollars. The hardest part of using it finding the loose end.

I tried it again with Wet 'n Wild Chrome colors on the base and Zoya Breezi as the top color. I don't like these colors together as I do the pink and yellow. But Zoya Breezi is one of my all time favorite blues though.

This is how I used the tape. You don't have to be exact. Then paint your top color and remove the tape quickly. It makes perfect stripes! Apply a top coat to protect and smooth and you are done.

I always use Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat. I started with a different top coat by Jessica this time and it smeared. You can see it on my pointer finger here. I love the Jessica top coat for its high gloss. But I think I will stick with Seche Vite - especially for nail art.

Patriotic mani

I recently decided to enter a nail art contest held by Nails by Ms Lizard on her Facebook page. I have never entered one before. But because it looked fun. I thought I would give it a shot

I used China Glaze Frostbite, White on White and Hey Sailor. I applied a color to each nail and then painted a diagonal tip on each nail.Then using red, white, blue and silver striping brushes I added the stripes. Not bad for my first attempt. Either way, I wanted to share it with you.

What are you going to do for the Fourth of July?

NOTD: Venique Hot Date

My NOTD: Venique Hot Date with dots and stripes. There's even a stripe of glitter in there. I always like dots and stripes together or on their own. Especially when my creativity meter is pegged out.

Venique Hot Date

Happy Polishing!

Random lines and dots make for unique mani

I always strive to be different. It’s just the way I am. I have to make things not-so-simple. And that’s the way this manicure looks. But far from it – It is completely simple.

Venique Rolling Tides with random lines and dots.

I started with a base coat of Butter London’s foundation. I do love that stuff. Then I applied two coats of Venique’s Rolling Tide. Rolling Tide is a gorgeous shade of blue that is the blue of the water in the ocean. It has micro shimmers that add to the overall water look.

Then, I simply took out my white, blue, black and silver striping polishes and applied two strokes of vertical curved stripes in black and white. Following that I applied two horizontal curved stripes in both blue and silver.

Using my dotting tool I added three white dots in the bottom left and top left corner. Then I made four dots of black in a vertical row on the right side of the nail.

Top that off with a nice top coat – I use Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat – to seal and protect your design.

Now that I have told you exactly how I did this manicure – Let me just tell you to let your imagination run free. It surprisingly looks creative now matter how you do it. Let the lines and dots make the design for you.

I want to see yours when you are finished.

Happy Polishing

Kelly

Spin on Color Blocking

The colors of spring are evident in this color blocked manicure. It's bright, bold and cheerful.

This spring-inspired mani is not difficult, but is time consuming. Let's just get started.

I used Zoyz polishes in this color blocked design.

I started off with a nice base coat. I have been using Butter London Nail Foundation. I love it!

Then I painted a diagonal stripe of the yellow, green and pink. I let them dry for a bit between colors. After the main stripes were on I applied a top coat of Seche Vite.

I started off with the white striping brush and applied the white diagonal stripes in various places on the nail. Then I repeated that with the yellow and then the blue striping brush. 

Using a dotting tool I applied two rows of dots using Zoya Raven.

What I used: Striping brushes from LA. Colors, Zoya Midori, Creamy, Whitney, and Raven, and a dotting tool.

It's amazing how complicated this mani looks but how relatively easy it is to accomplish it. The idea came from http://www.nailsmag.com/ The mani on that website was only for tips. But as I began I decided I wanted to cover the entire nail.  

Someone commented and said it looks like Juicy Fruit gum. It really does remind me of that. 

I think this mani would look great with any colors. What colors would you use?

The first step: Painting diagonal lines.

Scotch tape mani - Zoya Skylar and Loreal Whimsical

For this manicure I used two coats of Zoya Skylar for the base color. I love this color. A very subtle blue with lots of shimmer to it. The color reminds me of my favorite pair of faded jeans. As usual Zoya didn't disappoint me. The application was flawless and the brush is wider that a couple of my other Zoyas. The dry time was relatively fast.

Before I used the scotch tape I applied a coat of Seche Vite fast dry top coat. I have found that using SV is a must when I do scotch tape manis. Otherwise I would be waiting forever to finish.

I got most of the sticky off the tape by sticking the tape to the back of my hand. This way it is sticky but not sticky enough that I will remove my polish with it.

Then I applied the tape in a diagonal line over my nails leaving the tip of my nail showing. I quickly applied a thick coat of Loreal Whimsical and removed the tape without waiting. If you wait to long the tape will begin to dry and will pull up at the edge of the tape.

I was happy with the combo but of course I had to add one more thing. I used a striping brush and added a stripe of Zoya Ibiza.

I like the look - not too flashy - but very clean and classy.

Happy Polishing!

Kelly