Nail Art Technique You Love: Gradient and Nail Vinyls

Hey everyone, today is the beginning of a five day challenge from the ladies at Challenge Your Nail Art and the theme is Love is in the Air!

But hold up, that means this thankfully isn't five full days of Valentine's nails, a lot of it is just things we love. And today, we start with a Nail Art Technique You Love. This was an awfully tough one. I love stamping, I love nail vinyls, I love a lot of things. But I decided to combine two things I love for today's challenge.



For this challenge I combined nail vinyls with gradients. I just absolutely go ga-ga for gradients. I'm not super great at them but I just love how they look every time.



Now I had to throw a heart in there because it is Valentine's week, but truly this does represent two nail art techniques I love! For the gradient I used KBShimmer Shore Thing and Zoya Edie and then topped it with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust, because I can't do a mani without some sort of rainbow reflection!

I used chevron nail vinyls in a pattern I hadn't tried before, angled, and I really like how it turned out. Different from your typical chevron look!



I created the heart using my freehand (definitely not a skill I've mastered or favor on my nails at least!) and added dots of Zoya Rocha, because I liked how the coral contrasted against the bright blue/green chevron!

I hope you like this look! What is a nail art technique you love?! Don't forget to check out the other fabulous ladies of this challenge, listed in the inlinkz below!
   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Stamping Over Painted Polish Vampy Valentine Holo

Here is yet another Valentine's Day look I put together. This one is for the Stamp One, Stamp All Ten Challenge, which is V-Day.

Recently I got the Painted Polish Vampy Valentine's Day duo, which includes a raspberry mirco glitter jelly polish -Vampy Valentine - and a raspberry linear holo with scattered micro glitter - Vampy Valentine (H). For this manicure I used Vampy Valentine (H)!



To stamp I used Bundle Monster BM-H18 using the Born Pretty Store stamping polish.



This polish is very lovely in two coats and is just a lovely addition to my collection. There is nothing I love more than a vampy polish (I'm not a huge pink person).

That's all for today, I'll be back tomorrow with the start of the this month's Challenge Your Nail Art prompts (don't worry they aren't all Valentine's Day related!).

Don't forget the other lovely Stamp One, Stamp All Ten ladies!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

Freehand Heart Nail Art

Today starts a week of nail art posts all dedicated to Valentine's Day. Now I'm not really all that into Valentine's Day all that much, never meant very much to me or my husband. Maybe he'll give me flowers or something, but it's not really a holiday we actively celebrate.

But holidays always bring on the themed nail art challenges, and so here I am. Sharing with you a week of nail art (not all of it is V-Day inspired).

Today I have a look inspired by 52 Week Pick and Mix Challenge, this week the challenge is purple and hearts.



For the base of this look I used two coats of Zoya Chantal, the best nude creme polish I own. And the real stunner of this whole look, a coat of Elevation Polish Aguja St. Exupery. Aguja St. Exupery is a holographic top coat with golden flakies throughout. It is delicate and beautiful. And I can already tell I will be using this topper again and again.



Next step was to add some hearts and purple. The purple is a stretch here (only one of the hearts is purple-ish), but I was going for a delicate heart vibe. I used a dotting tool and Zoya Brigitte, Rue and Odette to create the hearts. I added a little white dot to each heart to make it look more 3D.



I really did love these nails, I think it is a subtle nod to the holiday without being so in your face about it. What do you think? Are you a big Valentine's Day celebrator?

And don't forget to check out the other ladies in the challenge, listed below!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Floral nail stamping over Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling?

Today's nail art was brought you by the Stamp One, Stamp All Ten nail art prompt of the week: Florals! And for the occasion, I thought I thought I would try the leadlight technique for the very first time (it's also a challenge later in the month, so practice makes perfect).

To start out this look, I broke out one of my newest polishes Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling? Which I won from a giveaway on The Mercurial Magpie!




I wore this polish for the weekend I was visiting my in laws. The weekend consisted of a mix of outdoor time and inside time, so I wanted a polish that would shine inside and out. Taffeta, Darling? was it! This is a purple glass fleck holo, which in the sun shines bright with holo and in the shade has a lovely silver shine to it. This polish is truly a gem and individual in my collection.



When I got back from my in laws, I knew that this was the perfect base for the floral stamping. And since I knew I needed to practice the leadlight technique, I thought that this might be a good base to practice on.


Since I don't have a lot of experience in this technique, and I was short on time, I thought I'd just stamp an accent to start with. Using Rica Squish the Rainbow jelly polishes, which I got specifically to try leadlighting, I colored in this flower I stamped using my MoYou London Pro 06 XL Plate. I used Essie No More Film to stamp the image (a very opaque darkend purple creme polish).



I really think this is a fun technique and I look forward to trying it again with a different look! It's not at hard as I thought it would be. I just broke out a fine nail art brush and with a gentle hand, colored in various parts of the flower!



Clearly you'll be seeing this technique again in the future! Have you ever tried the leadlight technique? Do you have tips for me, or plate suggestions? I'd love to hear them, because I expect I'll be trying this out again and again in the future!

And don't forget to check out the other ladies who are partaking in the challenge this week!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Cherry Blossoms over Fair Maiden Polish Times Square

So this week's prompt in the 52 Week Pick 'n Mix Challenge was pale blue and flowers. I combined the two and I knew just what blue I wanted to use!



I had been looking forward to using Fair Maiden Polish's Times Square again! I only used this during a swatch-a-thon I had on New Year's Eve, and I just knew I had to use it in some nail art. Times Square, which was a part of Fair Madien's New Years Collection, is a gorgeous light blue holo with the most beautiful pink flashes, that my photos hardly do justice to.



I just knew with that pink flash, this polish would be perfect to pair with a floral themed mani! And what better floral to use in a mani, than the beautiful cherry blossom?!? Now I've never really been to DC to see the cherry blossoms bloom, but I've always wanted to and all the photos I have seen of the blossoms just leave me in awe.



Now the above photo isn't the best in quality, but in the shade it shows that pink flash this polish has that for some reason my photos can't quite capture in all it's beauty!



Now to complete the look, I used a real small nail art brush to paint the branches, using Zoya Louise. For the flower buds, I used a larger dotting tool using Essie The Girls Are Out and went back over those dots with a smaller dotting tool using Essie Go Ginza.

I really loved the final result of this look. I like that it was freehand, but not that complicated. And I really loved how the pinks played off the pink flash in this polish. And word on the street is, I heard from a very good source, that Times Square might be released in Fair Maiden's next restock on Saturday. Check their Facebook page for more information on the exact time of the restock.

And don't forget to stop by the other ladies who are partaking in this challenge!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

L'oreal Masked Affair vs. Indies

When I set out to write this post, I think I was going for a whole, look at how much better indies are than this mainstream polish everyone is going ga-ga over. Somewhat of a negative place to start off with.

After actually editing the photos though, Masked Affair actually does stand out in my collection.



I mean just look at it in all it's glory. That is some really gorgeous holo! I think the thing that bothered me most about it was it dulled significantly with top coat. Now I've tried this with several kinds of top coat, so I know this isn't a top coat specific problem. Take a look:



It was the dulling of the holo and the patchy-balding application process which required three coats to be perfect.

So I went to my ever growing wall of indie polishes to see how Masked Affair, with top coat, did against some other indie holos I have that look pretty similar to the color family.



For the polish I chose for this comparison post I have a-england Her Rose Adagio (thumb), a-england Princess Tears (middle), Liquid Sky Lacquer Sugared Berries (ring) and LynBDesigns Make Your Life Spectacular (pinkie).

Here are the colors side by side without direct lighting.



I have to say, Masked Affair stacked up pretty well against these indie polishes. A disclaimer: I don't typically buy polishes in this color range because I'm not a huge pinky-purplish fan, so I am sure there are better examples of why indies that stand up better against Masked Affair, I just don't own them.

I guess the morale of the story here is don't be too down on the polish without comparing it side by side with the other polishes that are similar that you own. In the end, I was actually surprised at how much I liked Masked Affair. Also though, I like a lot of my indies better for how special and unique each one is. Just look at that pink flash in Make Your Life Spectacular, and check out the beautiful creme-y holo in Sugared Berries!

I think I'll keep all of these polishes, but I don't think Masked Affair is a must-have. I know there are so many ladies out there clamoring for it, but stop, take a look at what you have. You might find a special gem in your collection that is similar, but special in a different way!

Getting to know me...

Today I am part of an inlinkz that is all about getting to know a few ladies in this nail blogging world! We've all answered some questions about ourselves and our blogs, with random favorite mani photos throughout!



What is the focus of your blog? (Nail art, stamping, swatching, blended, etc.)
The focus of my blog is mostly nail art, with swatch sharing every once in awhile. I really love nail polish, so I'll share a swatch or two from time to time, especially if it's a new to me indie, but other than that I just truly love nail art so it is mostly that!




What made you start blogging?
Well I've been a writer my whole life, in fact, I am a journalist in my day job. I've had a blog for a really long time, but this whole nail hobby caught up with me and I thought incorporating that into my blog writing would be a fun idea. Now it's all I blog about!



What keeps you blogging? 
What keeps me blogging is seeing all the incredible nail art out there and being inspired by it. Lately I've been joining weekly challenges so I don't get stuck staring at my polish collection with no idea where to start. There's so much left to try that I haven't done yet: water marbling, better freehand, lead light technique, decals, etc.



What other blogs were/are inspirational to you?
Finding good blogging buddies in the beginning are very important. The motivation to keep going and just the overall camaraderie has just been so important to me while things have seemed to get overwhelming. They make walking through this fog of the blogging world so much easier. And blogging is always  more fun with company! My inspirations are Kirby at the Mercurial Magpie, Sarah at Tunay Na Mahal, Cait at Polish Hound and Serene at Copycat Claws.



What advice would you give to someone just starting a nail blog?
Find friends, find your voice and don't give up. It takes awhile to find where you fit in in this big old world of blogging. Don't compare yourselves to other blogs! Just do it because you love it and a fun group to share it with. Facebook groups are super fun for this reason alone!



What is your polish Holy Grail (deliberately left vague...)
A good clean up brush. My nails wouldn't look half as good as they do without a little clean up every time. I know everyone who sees my nails think I paint them perfectly, but the main secret is a clean up brush!



If you were stuck on a deserted island, what one item would you take with you? 
My iPad, that way I could read, communicate and wouldn't be cut off from the outside world. I know, that's not a very creative answer. ;-)



What else would you like to share about your blog? 
Comments mean the world to me. I love getting to know my readers and I just love it when a name I don't recognize has commented, it really does bring a smile to my face. So if you like it, I'd love to hear from you! Communication is what is keeping me in this game!



To end, can you share a link or two to a couple of posts that you're especially proud of?
I'm pretty proud of my Nail Art Must Haves and my Mani Must Haves posts, they take a bit more work and photography, but I love reading others and was just so jazzed when I put together my own collection. I find them so helpful!





And don't forget to check out some other ladies from The Nail Polish Blogger Collection, linked below!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up