Nautical Nina

This is a post dedicated to my friend Jenny (Nenny). Last week she asked me to do a kiwi inspired mani and (in my opinion) it failed miserably. I still wanted to do something reminiscent of her, so I decided to finally follow through with the nautical theme I'd been thinking of trying. Nautical fashion always makes me think of her, and she always calls me Nina so it made it easy to bring things full circle.

Anyway, here is my take on a nautical themed manicure, for Jenny.
 

I used Finger Paints Paper Mache  (thank you Nail Board for the rec), American Apparel Passport, China Glaze Hey Sailor and Orly Luxe.

Phone pic

This was supposed to last me until the end of the week, but one of my nails broke all the way down to the nail bed, so I cut them all down and repainted them. Oh well!

This is for you Nenny!

NYE 2011 Manicure

I'm fairly certain I won't be changing this before tomorrow, or if I do I'll just be adding a TON more glitter somehow, but this is pretty much it.

I used Wet n Wild Black Creme and the Essie Matte About You top coat, followed up by China Glaze Fairy dust for the dots! I know, I know, more polka dots Lisa?  Well.. yes. Yes, more polka dots.

I like it. It's simple, elegant, and still has that bit of sparkle. That being said, this NYE I'm aiming for a LOT of sparkle so we'll see if I change it up a bit before tomorrow night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR :D

NOTD: Christmas Lights!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

This mani was definitely more of a process than almost any other that I've done. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. I got the idea from I photo that I saw on Pinterest, but I haven't been able to relocate the link I found to credit the original poster.

Hooray!
The base colour is OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, then I used thread (that's right, thread) on my nails which I adhered with some top coat, and I used acrylic paint to make the bulbs. After that I used a Stripe Rite white polish with a thin brush to do the detailing on the bulbs, and for the dots I used Rimmel French Tip White and a bobby pin.

Look at all the things I had to use!

Holy smokes! Here's a couple more shots I took closer up.

I hope everybody has a safe and happy holiday! Surround yourselves with the people you love and indulge in the good company of friends and family.


EDIT

I found the post!!
Click here for the original idea/tutorial.

<3
Lisa

NOTD: Santa Baby Dotticure

Another Christmas mani for you! I've been even more into vintage lately than I normally am, so naturally red nails and polka dots have been very appealing to me.

The base colour was Sally Hansen Red Carpet (which I'm going to need a back up of, I'm running low) and for the dots I used Sally Hansen Green With Envy and Rimmel  110 French White Tip Pro. If you've never done a dotticure before you don't have to go out and buy a dotting tool, all I used was the tip of a bobby pin and it worked out great.

I hate posing with polish bottles

One of my mom's Christmas presents

I'm basically in love with this look. I didn't use any base coat (shhh!!) so I hope it doesn't chip soon, I want this to last until at least mid-week. That will give me time to think up something to hopefully top this one, but that might prove to be tricky. 

Hopefully you're not sick of Christmas music yet. This is my favourite, classic version of Santa Baby by Madonna.

Think of all the fun I've missed

Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed

NOTD: Easter Egg Nails!

Easter is tomorrow, what a better time to whop out some pastels? I had originally done this mani last weekend for an Easter party we had at work but I accidentally deleted the photo so - here it is again! I made it a bit different this time though, I threw on a matte top coat for an "eggshell" finish (full credit for this idea goes to dear bf).

Without the matte topcoat (pretty, but.. just wait)

 

This is my right hand, a bit shakier than the left eh?

Yay! The matte top coat actually made the polka dots more defined, they're a lot easier to see now without the glossiness reflecting back at you. They look like Cadbury's Mini Eggs, I wanna nom them.
Happy Easter everyone!

NOTD: SH Xtreme Wear Red Carpet + Polka Dot Accent Nail

This is another mani partially inspired by Nailside, she's so talented and creative!

For the polka dots I used the tip of a bobby pin (with the rubber bit still in tact, obviously) and it worked like a charm. I practiced a bit on my nail wheel first to see what techniques yielded different sized dots. It works really well. To think I was about to go out and buy a dotting tool!

The bow was tricky, I used a paint brush dipped in polish and had to redo it a couple of times, but it still turned out decently. I didn't even bother trying the bow on my right hand, but the dots are there on the ring finger.

This one is really appealing to the vintage lover in me.