Checkered with a Twist (Tutorial)

The other day I wanted to use tape for a checkered mani with a little twist--instead of splitting the nail into four perfect squares I wanted to use slanted lines so that it looks like the pieces 'lock' together.  My first attempt was a disaster because I didn't wait long enough for each step to dry, so I thought I'd slow down for round two and take pictures along the way.  Click "Continue reading..." below for the tutorial.

Continue Reading . . .

Del Sol - Ruby Slipper

I bought a few of these Del Sol color-changing polishes back in January and now that it's spring (and soon to be summer) I had the urge to bring them back into rotation.  Ruby Slipper is a silver glitter that is supposed to turn bright pink (i.e., same color as the flower sticker on the bottle) when exposed to UV light.  It can be worn alone but I was most interested in using it as a top coat, so I also tried layering it over white, black, and gold.  This is what Ruby Slipper looks like indoors / in the shade:

....and this is Ruby Slipper in full sun:

As you can see on the index finger, Ruby Slipper goes from clear to translucent jelly red.  When used with a white base, it looks bright pink (a close match to the hibiscus sticker on the bottle).  The black doesn't change much because it's so dark.  My favorite transformation was definitely the gold:

The gold base is China Glaze 2030, and when combined with Ruby Slipper it becomes an awesome reddish gold metallic in the sun with silver glitter.

OPI DS Coronation w/ Houndstooth

I loved the My Private Jet houndstooth mani from a few weeks ago so much that I had to do another one!  This time I used OPI DS Coronation (from the Designer Series with the silver bottle cap) as the base.  It's a silver holo so it has a really cool rainbow 3D effect in the light:

And then I stamped the houndstooth pattern from Konad plate m63 using Konad black special polish:

I love how the houndstooth pattern comes out so crisp and perfect.  Thank goodness for Konad--I'd never be able to get this look by free handing with acrylic paint.  I can'd decide whether I like this black & white look better than the brown & gold combination when I used My Private Jet . . .

Zig Zag Tape Manicure Tutorial

Here's another mani using U-Concrete-Me:

I created the zig zag pattern by using tape and included a step by step tutorial after the jump:

Continue Reading . . .

Holiday Nails Pt. 2

Above is OPI Dating a Royal, which is a soft dark blue creme.  I wear this color in all seasons, but to add a holiday flare I stamped on some white and silver snowflakes:

The far left is the dandelion from Konad plate m20 and the snowflakes are from Konad plates m20 and m59 using Konad white and China Glaze Millenium.  When I stamp metallics I usually use China Glaze polishes from the Khrome Collection because I think they show up better than the Konad silver and gold.