Green Arrow

Ever since I've starting creating nail art I've wanted to do a Justice League inspired design. The reason it has taken me so long to start working on that design is because I had the most difficult time finding the right green for Green Lantern and Green Arrow. I spent almost a month trying to find the right polish color when one day my mother handed me a bag. When I looked inside I found the perfect superhero green! I was so excited that I started on this manicure. I do love Green Lantern and I'll be doing a design for him a little bit later on but I wanted to start out with the amazing Green Arrow. So let's get down to it!

 Lay your favorite base coat down before putting your black color down. I used Nicole by O.P.I.'s Razzle Dazzler. I then took a straight eyeliner brush and created the line on my middle finger and my ring finger. Hold your fingers to your palm to make sure they line up and create a small line on the inside of your pinkie finger and your index finger. The green color I used was Revlon's Posh. On your index finger use light brush strokes to create the feathering on the back end of the arrow. For your pinkie you need to create an arrowhead out of the green polish. Add accents of white with Stripe Right's white pen. For the arrow on my thumb I used the same brushstrokes to create the updated look. Green Arrow doesn't have a really recognizable symbol so creating another arrowhead will get the point across. I love this look and I'm really excited for my JLA nails that should be coming up soon! Good luck!

Red Wings FTW!

I was really excited about doing this next design because I'm a huge Red Wings fan! I'm actually going to a game tonight so I wanted to don my team spirit the best way I know how. This look is actually quite simple as long as you have the right tools. I do use a thin eyeliner brush to create the lines and the numbers but this could also be done with any small paintbrush or a careful hand and an orange stick. I'm very proud of this look and I don't want anyone to worry about the symbol on the thumb. I'll let you know a few tricks on how to get it to look right.

 Coat your clean nails with your favorite base coat. I used O.P.I.'s Natural Nail Strengthener as my base coat to protect my brittle nails. Next place your red base color down on your thumb, middle, and pinkie fingers. I used CND's Fireberry as my red because it's a bold red that matches the Red Wings colors perfectly! Next put your white base coat down on your index finger and your ring finger. I've been having trouble finding a white that lays down correctly as a base color on my nails. O.P.I.'s Alpine Snow is good for pooling but it stays wet too long when you use it to coat the whole nail. For this look I tried Sinful Color's Snow Me White. It went on my nail really well and its held its shape and texture, so I have high hopes. I then laid down the edge stripes, alternating red and white according to the base coat. The way I made the lines was by brushing on the color with an eyeliner brush by Bare Escentuals. Make sure you use nail polish remover between colors so the brush doesn't get stiff. Use the thin brush again to create the thinner lines under the tips. I had a picture avaliable for the numbers and I made sure to go slowly to create the right shape. #93 is my man Fransen! You could use anyone's number that you want, like #35 for Howard, #13 for Datsyuk, or even a throwback to #19 for Yizerman. Make sure you know what the numbers are supposed to look like and that you're painting them the right way because there's nothing worse than finishing your nails and noticing that your 3 has become an E. >_<.

The thumb is the part that's going to take the most concentration and patience . Your first step is to get a picture of the Red Wings Symbol and draw it out with a pencil and paper. This will give you a good foundation and it will help you to realize where to start and how to go about drawing it without going over lines. Don't worry about getting every detail down because it's going to be very hard to get every feather and every spoke on such a small canvas. I used Strip Rite's white brush for the detailed work. I found that the wings were easy to do because the brush was designed for the sweeping motion but the circle of the wheel was hard to do in one motion. Practice with the brush on a sandwich bag to get the symbol correct. When you feel that you're ready, paint your masterpiece on your little canvas. Finish off with your top coat and let dry! I hope you all have fun with this look and GO WINGS!!

Eye of the Tiger

This look was inspired by a nature show I was watching this weekend. The tiger has always been one of my favorite animals and with this look, I can carry one with me wherever I go. So keep you eye on the prize and let's get to work on these fun but powerful nails.

Start off with your favorite base coat, I've been using Maybelline's Salon Expert Stengthening Top & Base Coat. I have been using this polish for few weeks now and I've had minimal breakage and almost no chipping. Put down two coats of your orange. I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed for my orange because it has a slight deep tone to it, like the tiger's coat. I then went in with my new favorite tool Milani's  Black Sketch to create the tiger stripes. It's helpful to have a reference picture around because tiger stripes aren't just straight across. Finish off with a white french tip, I used Color Club's Pearl White for the color. I found a nifty trick to create the perfect tip. Wait until your nails have fully dried before taking a hole protector sticker, or some sticker of a similar size and shape, and placing it just below the tip of your nail. Tuck in the sides so they cover your whole nail. This is where you can do one of two things. 1. Put some nail polish remover on a pad and remove the polish at the tip of your nail, or 2. Paint the white tip over the orange. I would recommend removing the polish because putting the white over the base color can cause a build up at the end of the nail making it look odd. When you're finished add a top coat and let dry. This look is an easy way to express your inner wild cat! Good luck guys!

Sexy in Red

I wanted to continue with the theme of Valentine's Day so for this look I went for a more sexy design. Along with chocolates and candies when many people think of Valentine's Day they think of sexy outfits and fulfilling fantasies. This look was inspired by sexy thigh-high  red tights. It's an easy look with the right tools!

Always start off with your favorite base coat then move on to the red color, I used Creative Nail Design's Fireberry. Bring the color 3/4 way up the nail and cover the bottom. This will leave you room for the sexy top. I've gotten a new black polish tool by Milani called Black Sketch that has a very thin brush for the polish.This is useful for creating thick and thin lines. To create the thin lines wipe off most of the polish on the brush before applying it to the nail. Do some practice strokes to get the hang of the brush and then create a mesh. Bring the liens all the way up to the top of the red and don't worry if they don't all end in the same place, we're going to cover that part up right now. Make a pool of your favorite black polish, I used Nicole by O.P.I.'s Razzle Dazzler, dip the tip of a bobby pin into it. I've also found that the round head of a sewing pin works really well as a doter. To make it more comfortable and to avoid pricking yourself stick it in a piece of cork. Line the edge of the red with black dots to create the sexy edge to the tights. Finish off with your favorite top coat and you are ready for a sexy evening out!

For the Love of it!

As we all know from commercials and that little heart on our calendars tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I wanted to celebrate by buying my first bottle of pink nail polish and creating a delicate and romantic design. I've been seeing a lot of doilies around, in stores and in Valentine's Day artwork. I wanted to create a soft design that wasn't too overstated. I hope you enjoy creating this design as much as I did.

I started out with my base coated then added Nicole by O.P.I.'s City-Pretty Rose as my base color. I chose this pink over others because it was soft and it worked well with the red I had decided to use. I then went in with O.P.I.'s Alpine Snow to create the basic top line of the doily. I did this by starting in the middle and creating a line with dots across the nail.You can use a bobby pin but I found that the spherical side of a sewing pin works really well (just be careful you don't stick yourself with the other end). Go in with a toothpick or an orange stick to create the other lines by using the same dotting technique. Use picture references to create your beautiful designs. I recommend doting the lines rather than creating straight ones because you won't get the same soft effect. I then used CND's Fireberry to create the hearts on my thumb and middle finger. Finish off with your favorite top coat to seal in the look!

Dangerously Cute!

Today's look was inspired by one of my best friends. She is an illustrator of dinosaurs and though I'm not that accurate at painting realistic dinos I decided to go with a more whimsical look.These cartoon dinosaurs are cute and simple so let's get started!

This look will go from one hand to the other so they create a full picture! Start out with your favorite base coat. I'm using a nail strengthener to keep my nails long and strong. For the thumb and the ring finger I used Sinful Color's Innocent, for the pointer finger I used SEPHORA by O.P.I.'s Iris I Was Thinner, for the iddle finger I used Hot Topic's light blue polish, and for the pinky finger I used Sally Hansen's Xtreem Wear in Sun Kissed. To create the faces, start off with creating a large circle in the center of your nail. From there create a smaller circle at the tip of your nail for the snout. The next step, after letting the base dry of course, is to create the white dots for the eyes. I used O.P.I.'s Alpine Snow for the eyes and the teeth on my ring finger. After creating the whites of the eyes go in with a toothpick and add the pupils. You can have them looking anyway you want. When you make the creations on your nails look around it gives them more character. Use the toothpick again, and a light hand, to create the nostrils. Now it's the fun part. Take any of the other colors and dot them around the head and the snout. To give your dinos more depth, add horns, or frills. For your off hand you can lay down the base color and use the color of the spots on the dinos to bring the looks together. If you want to get really creative add an off-white oval in the center to give the little dinosaurs a belly!

Blast From the Past

This Design was inspired by the crazy 80s. Pastels and teased hair ruled this era and after a trip to Charlotte Russe where I purchased this little polish set for a dollar I was inspired to try something different. Leopard print is an easy look to achieve so even if you're a beginner you can create this fun look! 

I began with my base coat. I've been using a nail strengthener by Maybelline New York that is a top and base coat. I then used the blue in this little kit for my thumb and ring finger, the pink for my forefinger and my pinky, and the black for my middle finger. I found that the black pooled very well when I put it on my pallet  to dip into and I was a little sad that it didn't have more product in it. I took a toothpick and created little C shapes on the colors. Make little dots to complete the leopard look. You can use a picture for reference or just go from memory. For the middle finger I took the pink and blue and did the same design that I had done with the black on the other fingers. Start with one color and leave space for the next one so you don't have to keep cleaning off your toothpick. End with your favorite top coat and you're look is complete! Later this month I'll show you a fun variation of this look that requires a little bit more skill!

Hello my beautiful readers! I wanted to let you know that from this week on I'll be doing two posts a week. One on Monday and one on Thursday! The looks will be fun designs that anyone can accomplish with tools that can be found around most households! Thanks so much for reading and enjoy the new looks!

Simple and Fun

A lot of nail art today is intricate and quite hard for beginners so I decided to do a fun simple design that any talent level could accomplish. You could use any two colors that work together to accomplish this look so don't feel like you must go out and get the ones I used.

Start out with your base coat. This will make the manicure last longer and it will help to strengthen your nails. The next step is to lay down two layers of your base color. I wanted to try out a new brand and Sinful Colors' palate caught my eye. For my left hand I used their color Innocent as the base and used Savage for the base on my right hand. To my surprise Savage has a mat finish instead of a shinny one (That wasn't mentioned anywhere on the packaging). This can be fun to use on other designs but I wanted the two hands to match so I used a shinny top coat to help the color along. What I did for the dots was to create a pool with the opposite color. I dipped a bobby pin for the largest dots near the cuticle. I then used an orange stick to create the medium sized dots and a toothpick for the smallest ones right at the tip of the nail. I decided to make the dots go diagonally across my nails but feel free to make them go straight up. This look is quick and simple, I hope you all have fun creating your own unique looks!