Gray and Lavender Nail Art

Howdy friends. I was in the mood for a little nail art this morning. My inspiration was a lot of pictures I've been seeing around Pintrest. A big trend in nail art has been clean lines with contrasting colors. Sometimes people use tape to create this effect, but I was too impatient to wait for the polish to dry long enough for that, so I freehanded it. I painted my nails with two coats of RBL Insouciant. Then I added a swipe of China Glaze Pelican Gray, at a random angle. I used a thin line of gold glitter to highlight the border between the colors. Then I topped it with one coat of CND Air Dry, my favorite quick dry top coat.

Insouciante is one of my most favorite polishes, and I really like the way it looks with the gray. I'm sure I will be wearing this for another week, which is how long I wore my last manicure. A week and no chips, with no top coat even! OPI gets major points for that.

OPI Pink Friday with Glitter Blizzard Accent Nail

Howdy friends. Today I had a little fun with Pink Friday from the OPI Nicki Minaj collection. This is the last polish from this collection I have to show with you. It's a bubblegum pink creme with a hint of pastel to keep it from being too girly. Don't get me wrong, it's still very girly, but with that Nicki Minaj knock-you-out edge. On my ring fingers I added OPI Turquoise Shatter, then topped it with OPI Save Me, the holographic bar glitter.
This is two coats of Pink Friday with Turquoise Shatter and Save Me accent finger.

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

 

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

Looking at the accent nail is kind of like looking through a blizzard of glitter, but I kind of like the effect. You can't see the cracks but the light catches the holograph and the pink and blue make a good effect underneath.

As far as Pink Friday goes, look at how shiny it is without top coat! It self levels and dries in minutes, making for a very east and fast pink manicure.

Nicki Minaj Nail Art

Happy Valentines Day! OPI recently held the Nails For Life contest, where you could design a manicure inspired by one of Nicki Minaj's outfits from the past year. The contest was aimed at promoting "stand out nails" in everyday life. Now that it has ended I am allowed to publicly post my pictures. The polishes I used are OPI Teenage Dream, Color Club Platinum Record, Zoya Minka, Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs, a neon pink and neon green from Urban Outfitters, and nail decals.

Nicki Minaj Nail Art for OPI Nails For Life contest 

Nicki Minaj Nail Art, bottle pictured is OPI Teenage Dream

Nicki Minaj Nail Art for OPI Nails For Life contest

How I did each nail:

• Pinky- two coats of Urban Outfitters unnamed neon pink, one wipe of Urban Outfitters unnamed neon green on tip, nail decal on tip
• Ring- two coats of OPI Teenage Dream, diamond and pearl nail decal in center of nail
• Middle- two coats of Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs, two coats of Color Club Platinum Record on tip, nail decal just above tip
• Index- two coats of Zoya Minka, one coat Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs swiped diagonally across tip, one coat of OPI Teenage Dream atop that, diamond and pearl nail decals bordering tip

Painting on the fly, these nails took about 2 hours to create. After I did these I was so in love that I had to come up with more designs for the rest of my fingers, those took another hour or so. If you'd like to see a picture of the outfit I was inspired by, click here.

I LOVED wearing this manicure. My favorite nail was my ring finger, it reminded me how much I absolutely love Teenage Dream. 

My thoughts are that I would love to do something like this again, and it is much easier having something, a photo, as inspiration. What do you think of nail art manicures like this? What types of things would use as inspiration? I would love to read your answers in the comments section.

Chanel Morning Rose

Hello friends. Here is the polish I had intended to show you yesterday, before I so unceremoniously removed it in preparation for the surprise delivery of Mermaid's Dream. This is Chanel Morning Rose, which was released last spring as a 2011 Limited Edition. Unfortunately it's no longer for sale on line, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it at a few department store beauty counters so you could probably still get your hands on it. I'd highly recommend doing so, too. This cherry blossom pink with tiny gold flakes looks like lip gloss for your nails, and goes beautifully with Spring skin that is just on the verge of a tan.

Chanel Morning Rose, three coats in indirect sunlight

It's so healthy looking. I wear it without top coat because it looks uniquely glossy on it's own. The gold flakes are very visible in the bottle. On the nail they're just enough to give it a subtle shimmer. This is just a hands down great pink and I vow to wear it much more this Summer.

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream Swatches

That's it friends, I don't think I need to buy another nail polish, ever. I hope you are ready for these pictures I'm going to share with you. Ms. Lippmann has outdone herself again and created a nail polish nothing short of spectacular. Here it is, Mermaid's Dream, a new release for Spring 2012.

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, two coats indirect sunlight

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, two coats, indirect sunlight

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, two coats, indirect sunlight

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, bottle macro shot

Mermaid's Dream is a teal glitter with sapphire glitter gems and subtle gold sparks. It's amazing because it creates the illusion that your nails are jewel-encrusted. Because of this, it's better actually without top coat. (The first manicure I did, I applied top coat but it had this unattractive gritty effect.) On it's own, this polish has a finish that reminds me of antique gowns, something a mermaid probably would dream of wearing if she had legs.

Maria Menoudos' jewel encrusted gown

Application is beautiful just like all Lippmann polishes. I particularly love the brush, which picks up a good amount of polish and evenly fans it out while you polish. Dry time is practically non-existant, I think owing to the fact that this polish is predominantly glitter. I had good coverage with two coats.

Thank you, Ms. Lippmann, for such a beautiful polish to see us through seaside summer days, and beyond. And a special shout out to Neiman Marcus for such excellent (and fast!) service.

OPI Fly + Save Me

Howdy friends. Fly is another polish I picked up from the new OPI Nicki Minaj collection. At first I expected it to be just like Suzi Says Feng Shui, only more teal. But in actuality, Fly is not a creme but a really opaque sorbet. Three coats provides full coverage, and because it's a sorbet, the effect is like looking into water that's so deep you can't see where it ends. I like that about this polish, it has more depth than a regular creme (no pun intended.)

OPI Fly, three coats in direct sunlight 

Here's what it looks like with two coats of Save Me.

OPI Save Me, two coats over OPI Fly in direct sunlight

I like that the colors in this collection seem like they were inspired by the holographic spectrum found in the bar glitter. I also like how the silver glitter in Save Me creates such a flashy sheen. Overall, I think Fly is a unique polish because of the sorbet effect, and I like how it coordinates with Save Me.