LOVE-ly Valentine's Day Manicure #2

 This manicure combines many of my personal loves to create a Valentine's Day Manicure. Many of you know that I adore polka dots and putting them on a tone-on-tone background...squeal! I also love how much the red heart stands out on a lovely accent nail. This is one of my favorite Valentine's Day manicures created to date.

Polishes used: Zoya Jane, Purity, and Sooki

Zoya Jane

Confession: I love classic neutrals.

Sometimes I find myself resorting back to my old polish habits.  I've always had an affinity for nail polish, but like many of you know I haven't always embraced my girliness.  I am quite girly.  So much so that traditionally I reach for pinks, reds, and French shades.  While in college, if I somehow miraculously had time to do my nails, I gave myself a french manicure or just used a few coats of my favorite French manicure shade.

Last year I purchased what would become my first of many Zoya nail polishes.  My first Zoya was Jane.

Zoya describes Jane as "Very light warm, milky peach-pink with subtle orangey undertones in a sheer creme base."  As you can see from the bottle, she is a very loved polish:)


The Verdict:
She is beautiful.  I have never worn Jane as a French manicure shade, I normally just paint 2-3 coats of her sheer creaminess onto my nails for a classic, timeless look.   Perfect for work, every day wear, and especially special occasions such as weddings.  Everyone should have a favorite sheer French shade, and I think that Jane is a must-have.  


You can purchase Zoya Nail polish from their website for $8 each.


The following are some examples of nail art showcasing Jane with an opaque white polish: lace and chevron.

Valentine's Day Nails #5

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

I will showcase my favorite valentine's day polishes, nail art, etc.

Valentine's Day Nails #5

Valentine's Day manicure #5's inspiration is...

Lace

Today we have a delicate manicure inspired by a beautiful, girlie, and sexy material.  Lace has the ability to take on a variety of persona, depending on the context;)

I created this beautiful manicure using a white polish with an fine brush for the design.  Then, I topped this manicure with one coat of Zoya Jane to make it more subtle, any french manicure shade will do this.  

You can purchase Zoya Nail polish from their website for $8 each.

See the tutorial for a hand-painted lace manicure here.

Cult Nails Nail Art

Maria from Cult Nails is hosting a Nail Art Contest in which the entrants need to use at least one Cult Nails polish in their design.

Now many of you know I'm a nail art newbie & that I am not that great.  But I gave it my best shot and this is what I came up with:

My design was inspired by a Lollia candle that I received from my mother-in-law for studying.  I know it sounds strange, but just bear with me.  It was her go-to candle that inspired her as she worked on her PhD thesis.  She said she went through at least a dozen of these in the past 2.5 years completing her PhD.  As the generous woman that she is, she bought me one to light & enjoy as I work on my graduate school studies.   It was a thoughtful and meaningful gesture.  She is amazing and such an inspiring woman.

My nail are design includes Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude and Cult Nails Iconic (as well Cult Nails' famous base & top coat).  This was done on a canvas of Zoya Jane (3 coats).  I hope you enjoy my inspired, personal connection to this manicure.  Thank you for reading:)

If you want to check it out & vote here it is:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=328855083814287&set=a.326953690671093.86174.141755299190934&type=1&theater

Monday Manicure

This Monday Manicure is FULL of firsts:

• My first time doing a Polish-aholics Anonymous Monday Manicure theme
• My first manicure with scotch tape
• My first manicure using decorative scissors (pinking shears)

 I think it's a pretty good first shot.  I thought that ALL of my nails might look a little crazy so I only did 3.  Not too sure I like it.  Next time I'll have to add lots of color.  Sometimes I think my nails look goofy & overwhelmed when I do nail art on all of them in lots of color.  I need to get over that.  But that's what I'm here for, learning.

Have you ever done a scotch tape mani?  What are some of your "tips"?