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

Aztec Tribal Chevron Manicure

Following the 4th of July festivities, I decided to cleanse my polish palette with one of my go-to neutral polishes. So, I painted my nails with Revlon Grey Suede. Well... I managed to mess up my manicure. This is not at all surprising. Instead of reaching for the polish remover, I decided to revamp my current manicure with some nail art to match the sweltering temperatures. When summer is in full swing, I love tribal inspired prints, polka dots, and chevron. Yes I combined these three loves in this Aztec tribal chevron manicure.

What do you think? I really love it. But now that I've been looking at it, the chevron reminds me of angry eyebrows... So much for a neutral palette cleansing manicure;)

Have you ever "fixed" a manicure by adding nail art? 

Polishes used: Revlon Grey Suede, Sinful Colors Black on Black, Barielle Pink Diamond and Green Apple Chew

Playing With Polish--Ugly Tribal/Easter Egg

Okay, so I had this great idea that I would create a pastel tribal pattern on my pinkish manicure. Little did I know how positively hilarious this would turn out! See for yourself...

This was definitely a "miss" in my book. The manicure which was supposed to be a pastel tribal, ended up looking like an ugly Easter egg! Oh well, here is to next time! *cheers*

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.

Playing with Polish--Tribal

You get a BONUS post for today:)

This is what happens when I take on a challenge, I get messy and crazy!

This week Barielle is hosting a mani-pedi contest on their facebook page (something they do often).  So I figured I'd give it my best shot & enter.  I racked my brain and came up with this random tribal print.  This manicure is 2 coats of Back to Nature as a base coat.  I followed that by making stripes with Eli's Magic and other paint blobs and lines with End of the Rainbow.  I outlined and added details with Berry Blue and finished it with some Gold Digger details.

It's a bit messy and a tad crazy, but it was fun.  I entered and so far I'm one of the only entries that isn't just a solid paint job or layering.  And the down side to their facebook contests is that they're popularity contests so usually the first entry or the person with the most followers wins.  *sigh* Oh well, this was still a BLAST:)

Have you tried a tribal print manicure?

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.

Tribal Print Tutorial Using Zoya Kristen

So all week my nails have been sporting Zoya Kristen.  Zoya's website describes Kristen as "a gull gray nail polish with a mild bluish hue."  She's gorgeous and is my go-to polish for the winter to spring transition.  See how beautiful she is:

This picture was not taken today, it was taken the last time I wore Kristen.  Earlier this month I painted my tips with this delicate blue on a bright sunny day.  Today is a grey cloudy January day:-\  But the perfect day to show you a fun tutorial.

Donna Karan's Spring 2012 dresses were all completely stunning.  But the ones that stood out to me the most were the monochromatic tribal prints, as seen below.

Retrieved from http://www.socialbliss.com/assets/user_images/pic_42_1333906795.jpg

In all honesty, I'm a sucker for anything black and white.  So naturally these tribal prints inspired me.  As I just said, I LOVE monochromatic color palettes especially black & white.  However, I thought it may look rather harsh against my pale wintery skin.  Instead, I decided to use blue & white, to soften the entire concept.  Here we go!

Tribal Print Tutorial 

This is what you will need:

-base/background color

-another color of polish to create your design

-small old makeup brush or paintbrush (mine was from this brush kit with for $1.99)

-skewer, toothpick, or pin to make the fine lines

-topcoat

 Optional:
-basecoat

-remover pen for cleanup

 ***I apologize for any blurry pictures, I was having trouble focusing my camera in macro.  Also the coloring is off, but only so you can see the steps better.***

Step 1: Prep your nails, use your basecoat, etc. Let dry completely. 

Step 2: Paint your nails in your base color.  I used Zoya Kristen ($8 from zoya.com).  Make sure you achieve the desired opacity in as few coats as possible.  I used 2 coats. Let dry completely.

Step 3: Get your fine brush.  Unscrew the lid of your layering polish and scrape the polish off the brush onto your brush. Pick which finger you are accenting with this design (if you were REALLY ambitious you could do this to all your nails...) and draw 2 parallel lines on the left side of your nail.

Step 4: Between the lines you just created, add smaller lines to create a ladder-like design.  Do not place them too close together or you will be unable to finish the design.

Step 5: Within the squares that you just created when painting the ladder, you're going to paint forward and backward "L" shapes.  Make sure the "L" shapes touch the left most line on your finger.

 Step 6: In the middle of your nail paint a wide white line separating the left side that you just painted from the right side.

Step 7: On the right side of your nail you are going to paint a boxy looking zig-zag. 

Step 8: On the far right side of your nail make upside-down "T" shapes.  The bottom of the "T" shape should fit in the boxy zig-zag pattern.

Step 9: Finally, next to the wide line in the middle add some dots.  I added mine to the left side of my nail.  We have now painted your nail from left to right.  If you are left handed or painting your right hand you may find it easier to do it in the opposite direction.
 

Step 10:  After it completely dries. Finish with your favorite topcoat.  This not only helps your manicure to last longer but it also tends to even out the texture.

Voila!

 There is absolutely no right or wrong way to do this design.  Make it your own by changing the design to suit your taste.  And it's better than nail strips because you can do the colors you want.  I would LOVE to see what you come up with!  If you end up doing this link, facebook, or email me your picture! I cannot wait to see where you take this:)

The sun came out for a picture!

***Please stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway featuring some gorgeous Zoya polishes!***