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

Autumn Nail Art Challenge--Silver

This week the challenge was difficult because I usually associate warm colors with autumn, not cool metallics. I tried to create a unique design without it looking too wintery and was rather unsuccessful. It looks like an icy winter manicure. But that's what you get when the challenge is...

Silver

I kind of took some liberties with this one and used more of a grey/pewter/silver approach. I tried to do the design on the ring finger on all of my nails but was wildly unsuccessful so I created a different look instead.

Polishes used: Zoya Loredana and Seraphina

Take a look at the other silver autumn manicures:
http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=448837

Autumn Nail Art Challenge--Brown

More autumn nail art, in a very appropriate autumn color...

Brown

I must admit that I got in a little over my head with this one. As I sat there staring at my browns, I couldn't decide what to do. I created a brown tribal print last November, if I did leaves they'd look dead, I was searching for any fall inspiration that might be brown. Then I somehow landed on turkey feathers. Strange, I know. So this was my attempt at a brown turkey feather manicure.

Polishes used: Zoya Louise, Nyssa, Godiva, and Jacqueline

Take a look at the other fabulous brown manicures:
http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=448833

Autumn Nail Art Challenge--Purple

Another week, another colorful autumn manicure. My posting has been limited as my infant son has thrown sleeping out the window. I've been focusing on being a mom versus a blogger for the past two weeks, I apologize but that will happen at times as my family is a priority. Thank you for sticking with me through everything so far, you guys are the best.

Until this week, I was unaware of how many different purple-toned polishes I own. I really love purples, but find them hard to pair together in nail art because of their varied tones. Purples can be so complex, I love it! Without further ado, this week's autumn manicure in...

Purple

This was supposed to look like mums. It kind of looks like brocade, but still seems autumnal:)

Polishes used: Zoya Hudson, Savita, Belinda, Sansa

Take a look at the other fabulous autumn manicures:
http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=448828

Beachy Nail Art

I moved to the Midwest (from the Mid Atlantic) at the beginning of the summer and went into labor the day after we moved! Needless to say, my life has been a busy whirlwind but I love it. My husband and I usually spend a week every summer at his family's beach house on the ocean. Due to finishing jobs, packing, moving over 1,200 miles, having a baby and starting a new job we never got our vacation. That is until our families surprised us and we adapted our schedule. We will be flying to the east coast at the end of this month for our beach vacation and I cannot wait! (Any tips for flying with an infant are appreciated!)

In lieu of my excitement I created a beachy manicure complete with sparkly texture, dry-brushed gradient, and some "scribbles."

Polishes used: Zoya Bar, Song, Rocky, Rebel, and Purity

Share your favorite summer manicure below. Also check out these fabulous summer manicures: http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/summer-2014-nail-art-challenge/ Don't forget to vote for your favorite while you're there!

Fun fact: I was proposed to on a beach 6 years ago today!

The Luck O' the Irish...

Many of you have exciting and festive weekends planned. Being pregnant means that this is not a "fun" day to celebrate. I am instead going to do other fun things and channel the inner Irish in me through my lovely manicure. I must confess that this is not a holiday or celebration that I normally get really into. I normally create more subtle St. Patrick's Day manicures, as seen here and here. This year I enjoyed taking it to the next level (and it's better than solid green).

What do you think? What does your St. Patrick's Day manicure look like (festive or unfestive)? Feel free to leave links below:)

Polishes used: Zoya Edyta and Tomoko with rhinestone accents.

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

Holiday Nail Art Challenge--Holiday Memories

NailPolishCanada.com has been a favorite source for polish and other nail art materials for years. They have also proven themselves as blogger friendly through a variety of their PR ventures. One such venture is their annual Holiday Nail Art Challenge. It's just for fun and is a great way to share and get new ideas for holiday nail art.

Week three's theme is HOLIDAY MEMORIES.

Some of my favorite holiday memories have to do with family traditions. One such tradition is picking out and decorating the tree, so I tried to channel this by using a plain green cream as well as using a sparkly textured green. I really fell in love with this manicure.

Polishes used: Zoya Hunter and Chita

Holiday Nail Art Challenge--SNOW

NailPolishCanada.com has been a favorite source for polish and other nail art materials for years. They have also proven themselves as blogger friendly through a variety of their PR ventures. One such venture is their annual Holiday Nail Art Challenge. It's just for fun and is a great way to share and get new ideas for holiday nail art.

Week one's theme is SNOW.

Polishes used: Zoya Dream, Purity, and Seraphina

To check out all of the "cool" designs (pun intended) and to vote for your favorite (and possibly enter your own) click the link below.

http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/2013-holiday-nail-art-challenge-week-1-snow/

Thanksgiving Manicure--Art Deco

The holidays are that time of year when we see family more and want to look our best. Whether your upcoming holiday festivities are casual or formal, I have a few nail art ideas to help you plan that Thanksgiving Manicure!

I channeled my inner glamour to create a subtly stunning manicure. I chose none other than Art Deco as an inspiration. Art Deco has been very present in designs over the past year so it seemed like the perfect inspiration.

This is the most formal Thanksgiving manicure I created. You could easily change up the colors to match or compliment a party dress. And with a little striping tape, this was a breeze.

*Later I added a black rhinestone to my pinkie and index finger near the cuticle, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture*

Polishes Used: Barielle Gold Digger, OPI Spark de Triomphe, and Zoya Edyta

Thanksgiving Manicure--Texture and Typography

The holidays are that time of year when we see family more and want to look our best. Whether your upcoming holiday festivities are casual or formal, I have a few nail art ideas to help you plan that Thanksgiving Manicure!

Today I have a manicure that mixes 3 different textures/finishes to create a fun and festive manicure. I used a combination of metallic, glitter, and matte polishes to create dimension and interest. Once that was done, I added some typography with a sharpie to give a specific nod to the holiday.

 This manicure bridges the gap between a casual and formal affair. And your nails will be the envy of all around. To personalize this you could write specifics of what you are thankful for this year.

Polishes Used: Tuff Scent Wisdom, SinfulColors Leather Loose, Barielle Gold Digger

Thanksgiving Manicure--Tribal

The holidays are that time of year when we see family more and want to look our best. Whether your upcoming holiday festivities are casual or formal, I have a few nail art ideas to help you plan that Thanksgiving Manicure!

Today I have a simple tribal inspired manicure. The design on my accent nails was inspired by traditional Wampanoag dress. I chose to keep this manicure rather neutral to continue to emulate the design.

 This rather simple design is casual yet classy. It works with that neutral cable knit sweater for dinner and with your jersey for the game.

Polishes used: Zoya Flynn, Jacqueline, and Louise

Playing with Polish-- My First Striping Tape Manicure

So a while back I got striping tape for the first time (crazy, right?). I sat there staring at it trying to decide what to do first. I decided to use it as painting guides for a chevron design on a well-worn manicure. This was simple and ended up turning out pretty well. I am still trying to get the hang of placing striping tape, making sure it sticks well on the edges, and removing it at the perfect time.

Not too shabby for the first try at using striping tape to help with nail art. I would love more ideas or suggestions for using striping tape. Thanks, loves!

Polishes used: SinfulColors SinfulShine Rendezvous (week-old, chipped manicure) and Zoya Purity

Once Upon a Midnight Dreary...

Yes, lovelies, I created a manicure inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's well-known poem, The Raven. I think this is a very classy way to wear "Halloween Nails" without being too grotesque or juvenile. If you've never read this poem (or the Tell Tale Heart) it is a great, seasonal read. In the poem the mysterious bird repeats "nevermore" as the narrator wrestles with himself. I chose to focus on the eerie message of the raven and use the bird's words as inspiration. Since I am no expert in the field of nail art, I chose to keep it as simple as possible. Here is my take on this haunting poem...

I have to admit, I really love this look despite it having no semblance of a bird. Maybe some day when I have a steadier hand I will be able to create a silhouette of a raven. Until then, this is as good as it gets. I think I will have to recreate this for Halloween, perhaps replacing Dahlia with Dhara:)

Polishes used: Zoya Purity, Dahlia, and Claudine (CONFESSION: I used a Sharpie to write the word "Nevermore")

Jewel-Toned Stained Glass

This autumn rich, jewel tones are everywhere. I must admit that I adore this trend. Jewel tones favor my complexion and are very flattering on me. Due to the fact that many polish brands have a bunch of this gorgeous tones in their polishes, it has made choosing a polish to wear ridiculously difficult. So what is better than deciding? Why, wearing all at once of course!

I created this lovely stained glass manicure using beautiful, glowing jewel inspired shades. After painting my middle and ring finger nails black I let the polish dry before dividing my nail into random sections using striping tape as painters tape. I then randomly painted the sections with beautiful metallic colors. Before the polish dried, I removed the tape. After it dried, I applied a clear topcoat to level it out. To avoid too much darkness in this manicure, I painted the rest of my nails with a beautiful textured polish.

I like this and think it adds a bit of flair to an otherwise boring autumn manicure. Besides, I was able to wear all the polishes that I could not decide between:) How do you wear jewel tones?

Polishes used: SinfulColors Black on Black and Zoya nail polishes in Mason, Neve, Channing, Giovanna, and Tomoko

Sugar Skull Inspired

This manicure draws inspiration from the Mexican holiday el Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). This early November celebration somehow makes death and dying a beautiful celebration full of bright colors and flowers. Sugar skulls personify these festivities to me. Here is my festive, colorful rendition...

This manicure was fun and very random. It is one of those things that you probably cannot recreate because you just made it up as you went. The whimsy of this is that no two will be the same (my two hands looked different). While this looks complex, it was rather simple in its execution.

What do you think about this bright, festive manicure?

Festive Fall Leaves

As mentioned on facebook, this week I will be sharing some festive fall manicures. Today I am sharing an easy manicure featuring my favorite characteristic of autumn, colorful leaves!

This quick, easy nail art has a gilded, flakie accent nail and another of abstract leaf shapes. These shorties got many compliments when I wore this manicure about a month ago. It was a fun way to dress up a metallic manicure for fall.

Polishes Used: Sally Hansen Gilty Party, Zoya nail polish in Maria Luisa, Channing, Chita, and Dhara.

Metallic and Bronze

Although this may look autumnal to some, this kind of matches the sweltering summer weather to me. This blazing, copper accent nail adds some flair to a metallic manicure. The metallic polish has teeny tiny coppery bronze flecks, which made this glitter a perfect match.

Polishes used: Sally Hansen Coin Flip and Copper Penny (glitter)

What do you reach for when the temperature starts rising?