Princess Glitter Nail Tutorial

Hope you guys enjoyed my first nail tutorial! I did it kinda of fast so it isn't pretty as it normally is =) .. but I'm sure you guys will do it better! =)

1.  Ruby Kisses - "Top Coat"  http://www.rubykissescosmetics.com/

2.  HOT TOPIC - there is no name to it but it's like highlighter pink color

3.  Ruby Kisses - "Snow White"

4.  Loose Glitter - I purchased it from Michael's craft store =)

Nail of the Day: Wednesday 13th July, 2011

 My last nail polish began to chip and I decided I wanted to wear a nail polish of mine that I haven't tried out before.

 

This is a colour I brought home for my friend Emma when I do her manicure next time she comes over. The colour is China Glaze "Entourage", a light lime green shimmer which is pretty much opaque in three coats.

 

I kinda like this colour, just something bright and cheery in the cold winter weather. Something different than what I normally wear. To be honest, I used to think that green nail polish used to make your nails look like they were diseased, but this colour doesn't really have that effect.

On a different note, I noticed something today. Recently I have been watching a few Jack Nicholson movies, which include "Something's Gotta Give", "As Good As It Gets" and "The Bucket List" to be exact, an in all these movies they have one song in common, "La Via En Rose" by Louis Armstrong. Just a little bit of trivia for you lol.

Nail of the Day: Friday 8th July, 2011

So I have bee craving a change from my dark nail polishes and wanted to wear something bright and in my favorite colour.

China Glaze "Shower Together" a cream medium teal blue nail polish from the Ecollection (2008). This is my "cheer me up when I am feeling low" colour, even though it is a cool tone which should make me more upset but it does the opposite. I love the cream finish polishes as well so this has a favorite colour and a favorite finish, perfect combo!

I would like to find more teal colours. As some of you may know by now, teals and purples are my favorite colours. I have LOTS of purple nail polishes, but I would like to get some more teals, so if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Nail of the Day: Tuesday 28th June, 2011

I decided to change my nail colour today because my previous nail polish had been chipping with the things that I had been during my week.

Yesterday was my 8 months with my boyfriend, Stuart, so I got him to pick out this nail colour for me. China Glaze "Gussied Up Green" is a blackened dark blue green which shines really bright when the light hits it. This polish is also from the Rodeo Diva Collection (2008) like the last nail polish I posted.

This was definitely my favorite polish from this collection because I don't own that many green nail polishes and I love the darker tone of this.

I really love wearing dark colours like this in winter. I like how they appear really dark on their own but when the light hits them the show up a flash of colour. What are your favorite polishes for winter?

Nail of the Day: Thursday 23rd June, 2011

This week I have been feeling really sick and I haven't been in too much of a happy mood so I decided to paint my nails to make me feel better. The nail polish I chose to use is called China Glaze "Wagon Trail" and is from their Rodeo Diva Collection from 2008. (I currently only have pictures from my old blog to post of my nail polish so I'll update this properly another time.)

As you can see it is a black with a deep golden shimmer. In some lights it can have an olive green look to it but its really is black and gold and is very unique.

I haven't found anything else like this in all my nail polish searching (mind you, I'm not as hung up on nail polish as some people).

I felt like this was the perfect colour for me at the moment because its been so cold and gloomy at my place the past few days with it being winter, I felt like I needed a dark base with a gold flash that might brighten up my day.

How To: Pedicure

The following post is a written example of how I perform my weekly pedicure on myself and on clients. Some of you may not know but I am a qualified nail technician and this is how I was taught to perform pedicures in my classes.

 Currently the items that I use for my manicure and pedicure are all from the company "Natural Look" because I feel that if you use products from the same line work better because they are designed to work together in the same step system.

I am in no way affiliated with Natural Look and I bought all these products with my own money. 

Step One - Cuticles:

 I use the spoon and of a cuticle pusher to push back my cuticles. I then apply the Natural Look Erase cuticle remover and wait 2 minutes before using the blade on the cuticle pusher to remove my cuticles.
I NEVER cut my cuticles. The cuticle protects the nail from bacteria that could infect the nail and cause damage and cutting it creates a risk of bacteria getting in.

 

 

Step Two - Filing:

 

 Next I file my nails using a 180/180 grit file, the one I use is the Grey Fox file from EzyFlow. I shape the free edge of my nail and then lightly file the surface of the nail to remove any ridges. I then use a nail brush to dust away any filing dust.
I then use a double sided buffer with a 220/280 grit, the one I use is the Sand Shark buffer from EzyFlow. I use the 220 grit side first to buff the surface of the nail and then do the same with the 280 grit side, brushing away the filing dust at the end of each step.
After the double sided buffer, I use a shine buffer to buff my nails to a high shine, the one I use is the Killer While buffer from EzyFlow.

NOTE: Make sure to remove the filing dust in between each file to prevent scratching the surface of the nail
Also, don't file to harshly or too often, this will make the nail thinner and more prone to breaking

 

 

Step Three - Soak Feet:

  Next, I fill a foot spa with warm water and pour some Natural Look Cool Feet Softening Soak. This softens the skin and cuticles and contains  tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender and chamomile. which are used for their antiseptic and therapeutic qualities. To this I add a tablespoon of Natural Look Cool Feet Deep Sea Salts which also contains tea tree, peppermint and eucalyptus. I soak my feet in this for 15 minutes.

 

 

Step Four - Exfoliate:

I suffer from really dry feet so I use Natural Look Cool Feet Stimulating Scrub which contains papaya, to deep cleanse, remove and prevent rough, dry skin build-up. I massage this into my feet and then wash away using warm water.

 After washing away the scrub, I the course side of a double sided foot file to remove any callused dead skin. I thin use the finer grit side of the file to smooth the skin. I then wash away the dead skin with warm water.

Step Five - Moisturize:

After drying off my feet, I apply Natural Look Cool Feet Massage Lotion and massage it into my hands. This moisturizers is thicker than any other I have used which I find better because you use less. It also sinks into the skin faster than any other hand cream I have used and protects from damaged caused by weather, water and chemicals. Massaging your feet will help to improve circulation. This contains peppermint to help nutralize foot odor, tea tree oil and chamomile to soothe rubbed toes and skin irritations and Lanolin and aloe vera to soften hard skin.

The final step to my pedicure is to apply Natural Look Nourish cuticle oil which helps to keep your cuticles soft and nourished. Using this will also help retain moisture in your nails so that they are more flexible and less prone to breakage.

 

 

 Hopefully this written tutorial has helped you, if I get enough interest in this I may film a video tutorial and post this later.

How To: Manicure

The following post is a written example of how I perform my weekly manicure on myself and on clients. Some of you may not know but I am a qualified nail technician and this is how I was taught to perform manicures in my classes.

Currently the items that I use for my manicure and pedicure are all from the company "Natural Look" because I feel that if you use products from the same line work better because they are designed to work together in the same step system.

I am in no way affiliated with Natural Look and I bought all these products with my own money.

Step One - Cuticles:

 
I use the spoon and of a cuticle pusher to push back my cuticles. I then apply the Natural Look Erase cuticle remover and wait 2 minutes before using the blade on the cuticle pusher to remove my cuticles.
I NEVER cut my cuticles. The cuticle protects the nail from bacteria that could infect the nail and cause damage and cutting it creates a risk of bacteria getting in.

Step Two - Filing:

Next I file my nails using a 180/180 grit file, the one I use is the Grey Fox file from EzyFlow. I shape the free edge of my nail and then lightly file the surface of the nail to remove any ridges. I then use a nail brush to dust away any filing dust.
I then use a double sided buffer with a 220/280 grit, the one I use is the Sand Shark buffer from EzyFlow. I use the 220 grit side first to buff the surface of the nail and then do the same with the 280 grit side, brushing away the filing dust at the end of each step.
After the double sided buffer, I use a shine buffer to buff my nails to a high shine, the one I use is the Killer While buffer from EzyFlow.

NOTE: Make sure to remove the filing dust in between each file to prevent scratching the surface of the nail
Also, don't file to harshly or too often, this will make the nail thinner and more prone to breaking

Step Three - Soak Nails:

 Next, I fill a small bowl with warm water and pour some Natural Look Hand and Nail Softening Soak. This softens the skin and cuticles and contains tea tree, chamomile, lavender and peppermint which are used for their antiseptic and therapeutic qualities. I soak my nails in this for about 15 minutes.
If my nails have had a lot of exposure to nail polish and are looking a little yellow, I add a teaspoon of OPI Effervescent Soak which helps to lift the stains in my nails easily. I still soak my nails for the same amount of time.

Step Four - Exfoliate:

When my hands are looking particularly dull and dry, I exfoliate my hands using Natural Look Hand and Body Exfoliating Gel. This gel contains lavender, rosemary, geranium and tea tree essential oils and has a sandy gritty texture. I massage this into my hands and then wash away using warm water. The good thing about this stuff is that you can use it on your body as well, I often use it on my elbows because they get dry easily.

Step Five - Moisturize:

After drying off my hands, I apply Natural Look Hand and Nail Moisture and massage it into my hands. This moisturizers is thicker than any other I have used which I find better because you use less. It also sinks into the skin faster than any other hand cream I have used and protects from damaged caused by weather, water and chemicals.

The final step to my manicure is to apply Natural Look Nourish cuticle oil which helps to keep your cuticles soft and nourished. Using this will also help retain moisture in your nails so that they are more flexible and less prone to breakage.

After Care:

On a daily basis I apply my Natural Look Hand and Nail Moisture and also apply a small amount of Natural Look Cuticle Therapy Cream to your cuticles.

Hopefully this has given you a short written tutorial of my manicure. I film a tutorial and post it here in the future if I get any interest.

Nail Art With Rhinestones

This is my first Nail Art Video enjoy , please leave comments and follow my blog and youtube channel :)

Water Inspiration - Blue gradiant

I really love the four elements that people thought were what made up all life before science ruined all the philosophical fun, earth, wind, water, and fire. This is water inspired and I absolutely love these 2 colors.

They are both SinfulColors, the lighter is Gorgeous, and the darker is Midnight Blue.

I sponged the darker onto the lighter.

Butterflies Freehand

I know I have not been posting as regularly lately, been busy with my final week of classes. In fact I actually had to do 4 take home tests for my psych class. It is my own fault for not getting them in the first place, but at least I was able to complete them :D

So earlier this week I did this free hand mani for color club's contest on facebook. The original grass inspiration is from robin moses, but the butterflies actually came from a painting I did for my brother and sister-in-law a couple years ago. I hope you like it.

The first thing I did was just add a few leaves in Wet and Wild SaGreena the Teenage Witch. 

This is also a great color to do the whole nail it, absolutely gorgeous.

Then some more leaves in a lighter green, Lime Light from Nina Ultra Pro.

The butterflies are much more complex.

While this image is a little blurry, it actually turned out great. I used a black nail art pen for the outline, then used a brush to dot on the orange in the blank areas. The orange is Crushed by Sally Hansen.

This butterfly is done similarly, with the nail art pen to do the outline, filled in the blue with Marine Scene from Sally Hansen, then used a brush to add the little white dots to the wing edges.

I really loved doing this manicure. I even left it on until it started chipping simply because it was a lot of work and turned out so nice. The right hand did not turn out as great since my left hand does not like to cooperate with my bran to do the small details, but it looked ok. lol

Pink Wednesday - Swirly

No this is not the kind of swirly Nelson gives on Simpsons. I did a drag Marble. :D

The base color is 2 wet coats of Sally Hansen's White On, with dotted Orly Gorgeous, which I then swirled around using a bamboo skewer for grilling.... I could not find some good pointed orange stick and I find these work just fine. Plus they were only $1 for 100 of them at Food Lion(a local grocery store). So yeah drag marbling is easy and pretty fun. :D

Spring flowers

I wanted to do more in a spring theme, and as I do not have any stamping plates, I thought I'd try to do another free hand mani.

This is 3 coats of Sally Hansen's Lime Lights. It is still incredibly sheer, which I did not know it was when I bought it. I would not recommend it if you want a rich color, but it is a pretty sheer.

Left hand

Right hand

The flowers are in NYC's Fuchsia Shock Creme, Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac, Sally Hansen's Blue Me Away, Sally Hansen's HD Lite is the yellow centers.

Spring themes are fun, but it is so hard to come up with original ideas beyond chicks, bunnies, and flowers.