LOVE-ly Manicure #5

A little less traditional  approach to the Valentine's Day manicure today. No pink, red, or hearts today! It's all black and lace today! You can take this as an "anti-Valentine's Day" or as a darker, more sultry manicure.

I might add a rhinestone or stud next time. What do you think?
Polishes used: Zoya Willa, Imogen, and Purity

LOVE-ly Manicure #4

This Valentine's Day manicure is inspired by current manicure and color trends. I used the Pantone color-of-the-year for 2015, marsala, and the negative space (aka. bare nail) trend.

 

I love this look!

Polishes used: Zoya Pepper

LOVE-ly Manicure #3

I adore the new Naturel Satins collection by Zoya, so naturally I had to use them for a soft, delicate Valentine's Day manicure. I painted free-hand hearts over Brittany and added a rhinestone accent nail. (My apologies for my dry hands...I didn't realize how awful they looked until these photos.)

 

Polishes used: Zoya Brittany with hearts in Ana, Rowan, and Leah

LOVE-ly Manicure #2

Zoya's contemporary color block from their trend guide turned into a Valentine's Day manicure. I'm still loving this feature on their website. I think it offers great ideas and suggestions. I still need to practice on those half moons. Mine are curved the wrong way...oops!

I don't even like pink. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of it in this manicure, but I tried;)
Polishes used: Zoya Eden, Arianna, and Veronica

LOVE-ly Manicure #1

Trying to find new inspiration for Valentine's Day manicures every year is proving to be a challenge. Inspiration struck when I used SinfulColors Love Sprinkles. I used the heart glitter to create a growing hearts or balloon hearts manicure...however you see it :)

Polishes used: SinfulColors 24/7 and Love Sprinkles, Zoya Purity

LOVE-ly Valentine's Day Compilation

Here is a compilation of all of my past romantic, Valentine's Day inspired manicures:

Red with Flakies                                                                            V-gap in Gold and Berry

 Pretty in Purple                                                                                          Art Deco Inspired

 White Lace (tutorial linked)                                                                       A Little Bit Of Everything

 Vampy and Glittery                                                                                        Romantic Watercolor

 Girly Kisses and Hugs                                                                                         Tribal Love

 Texture and Jewels                                                                                           Polka Dots and Hearts

Which one is your favorite? What else would you like to see?

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

LOVE-ly Valentine's Day Manicure #1

 Valentine's Day usually evokes either romance or disdain, depending on your circumstances. The Hallmark holiday always makes me think of all things chocolate, lace, red, pink, white, purple, and sparkly. I drew on this inspiration while creating this festive manicure. I tried to create a manicure that was texturally (new word, folks!) interesting.

Polishes used: Zoya Toni and Miranda

Valentine's Manicure--Take 5

An unlikely pairing...

Valentine's Manicure #5

A tribal Valentine's Day manicure! An unconventional Valentine's manicure that is subtle, fun, and uber wearable:)  This one is definitely my favorite of the bunch.  I love how fun this is without being overboard.  What will be on your tips tomorrow for Valentine's Day?

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: Zoya Harley, Purity, and Isla

Here is my tribal tutorial if you're interested in giving it your own shot!  Tribal is basically done with angular lines and is completely and utterly random in this manicure.

Zoya nail polish is available for purchase through their website and most retail for $8.00 each.  Sign up for a Zoya account today and receive points that can be redeemed for promotions and discounts.

Valentine's Manicure--Take 4

This one really requires no explanation, it speaks for itself...

Valentine's Manicure #4

Xs and Os liven up this manicure as does the glittery pink heart.  Classy and themed enough without being in-your-face.  This is a very simple look to achieve, just pick your favorite polishes and go!

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: SinfulColors Easy Going, Barielle Gold Digger and Cherry Blossom Sparkler

Valentine's Manicure--Take 3

Bouquets of beautiful fragrant flowers, shades of pink, a hint of sparkle, and romantic prints all characterize Valentine's Day.  I tried to pull all of these together in my next themed manicure.

Valentine's Manicure #3

I love a good watercolor manicure.  Unfortunately this one almost did not happen because I kept messing up! I saved this manicure by starting all over and creating an accent nail (a Kate-Belle-Kate jelly sandwich).  In the end I like how this turned out.  I love how soft and floral this manicure feels.  Watercolor manicures are perfect for spring and lovely enough for the upcoming holiday.  

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: Zoya Blogger Collection (Belle, Coraline, Kate) and SinfulColors Easy Going

Valentine's Manicure--Take 2

Feeling mysterious and sexy?  Do you want to wear a vampy polish on Valentine's Day but you're not sure if it's enough? Hopefully this manicure can channel those feelings and solve your polish conundrum.

Valentine's Manicure #2

I love how feminine, yet dark and mysterious this manicure is.  The light pink glitter is the perfect juxtaposition to the deep crelly oxblood.  I am enjoying having the excuse to wear adorable hearts on my nails.  This is such a fun way to wear a vampy color on Valentine's Day, what do you think?

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: Barielle Pink Diamond and Erica's Pencil Skirt .

Valentine's Manicure--Take 1

Before I kick off my Valentine's Day manicures for 2013, I want to thank you all for your patience and support over the past couple of weeks.  Your thoughtful emails, cards, and even your gracious gifts have made me smile.  I love all of you so very much!  With that being said...

We all love a little romance in our lives.  We love to love one another.  Valentine's Day reminds us to love one another.  Whether you're single, dating, married, etc. I hope you spread love to others over the next week.

This "season" of love also is an excellent excuse to include hearts, glitter, pink, and red in any and every manicure.  I have created a couple of Valentine's Day/love inspired manicures for your viewing pleasure:)

Valentine's Manicure #1

Today's edition includes fun layering, flakies, metallics, rhinestones, and purple.  I used a base coat of bright metallic purple on all nails.  Then I carefully added 3 pink rhinestone hearts to create an accent nail.  Finally, I used a flakie packed red jelly polish as a topper for my other nails.  I really love the effect the layered polishes create.  I think I will have to wear it on all fingers sometime.

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: Barielle Rio's Rockin' Bands and Elle's Spell

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.

Valentine's Day Nails #4

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

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

Valentine's Day Nails #4

Valentine's Day manicure #4's inspiration is...

Art Deco

Today we have a manicure inspired by a vintage design.  Art deco inspired EVERYTHING can be found everywhere.  This re-popularized style which consists of brights, metallics, and geometrics ranges from simple to opulent.  It's beautiful & fun!

I created this beautiful manicure using Barielle Pink Quartz as a base.  For the design I used Barielle Gold Digger and Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby.  

You can purchase Barielle Nail polish from their website for $8 each. And Sinful Colors Nail Polishes can be found at many drug stores/pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid.

Valentine's Day Nails #3

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

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

Valentine's Day Nails #3

Valentine's Day manicure #3's inspiration is...

Purple

Today we have a beautiful alternative to pinks & reds...PURPLE!  I know that purple is still kind of Valentine's Day-esque, but if you're someone who stays away from red & pinks this can easily bring the theme without those themes.  Now, I know that right now you're thinking, "Seriously, Kate a purple cream polish for Valentine's Day?!?!"  Well, I say YES, because although your manicure is important, you don't want it to distract from everything else you've done to prepare for your day.  And if need be, you can always glam it up with sparkles, flakies, etc.

PritiNYC Geisha Girl is a beautiful medium purple cream polish.  The above picture was taken BEFORE the topcoat, but was the best representation of her color.  Geisha Girl does shift to a deeper sultry purple indoors and in the shade, but will never be mistaken for black.  It is clearly a medium purple:)

You can purchase PritiNYC Nail polish from their website for $12.50 each.

Valentine's Day Nails #2

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

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

Valentine's Day Nails #2

Valentine's Day manicure #2's inspiration is...

Vintage

Today we have a trendsetting v-gap manicure!  Yes, this is the 3rd one I have posted on my blog. My first attempt was a fail, my second was admirable, but I feel as though I have finally figured this beauty out!  The half-moon manicure was on-trend last year and this year is has turned more triangular.  The v-gap leaves a stripe down the center of your nails which is apparently more slimming.  

I picked this vintage-inspired manicure for my Valentine's Day themed week because of the obvious association V-Gap and V-Day;)  But also because there is something sexy about that exposed stripe down the middle...not sure if it reminds me of an open-backed dress or a deep v cut gown.  What do you think?

I created this beautiful manicure using Zoya Jules and Zoya Vanessa.  As if I wasn't already in love with these beauties enough!  This was 2 coats of golden hued Jules and Vanessa was one coat of rich berry goodness.  

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

Let me know if you'd like me to do a tutorial on this one, I think I may have taken those pictures anyway:)

Valentine's Day Nails #1

Press Samples

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

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

Valentine's Day Nails #1

Valentine's Day manicure #1's inspiration is...

FLAKIES

Today we have a beautiful, on-trend, stylish polish full of FLAKIES!  I used Barielle Elle's Spell to create this beautiful manicure.  Elle's Spell is best described as a "jelly red with multicolored foil flakes."  This red jelly polish goes on so incredibly smoothly and is absolutely stunning.  This picture is the best shot I could get of the flakie goodness in this polish.  The jelly finish makes it SO shiny that you can't capture the flakies without a glare!  I love it!  I also noticed that the flakies are the most stunning in indirect sunlight as they flash everywhere from gold and green to purple (as you can see in the bottle).  This is 3 coats, but if you prefer to reduce the visible nail lines (VNL) from this jelly polish, you can layer it over a creamy opaque polish.  

The Verdict:

This is a must-have polish for anyone who loves either jelly finishes or flakies.  It is a beautiful twist on the traditional red nail polish.  AND this makes a beautiful manicure for Valentine's Day:)

You can also purchase this polish from the Barielle website for $8.00.

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.