Monday, November 22, 2010

Blinged Out Bursts

As you make-up diehards may know, Nov 11-15, Sephora gave a 20% discount to their VIB customers. I went to the first night of the 'sale' for their shopping event. I'll be honest, since I'm broke, it was mostly to get the freebies, but when I saw this polish, I totally couldn't resist it, and at 20% off, what better time?! The color I'm talking about is part of their Holiday collection, and it's called 212 Sephora, which is a soft black with iridescent glitter, as well as gold glitter, and copper flakies!! It's seriously AMAZING. For today's design, I really wanted to use it, but I didn't want to cover it up, so I chose to do a simple burst in an olive color in the upper corner of the nail.


http://japanesenails.blogspot.com/v

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

No, this isn't a Christmas manicure... and if it were, it'd be a totally morbid holiday manicure! Oh, wait, I DID do a skully christmas manicure last year. Oops. :-D Today's nail art is in honor of Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th birthday, which is today! :) As you may know, one of his famous works of literature is 'Treasure Island', a tale of pirates and buried gold. In reference to that, I chose to do Jolly Roger nail art today! (as if I needed a reason to do pirate nails :-P)

Note Worthy?

Happy Friday, people!! Today went by about as slowly as a day could POSSIBLY go. It felt never-ending, but we made it, and the weekend has begun!! Today's manicure was based off a pattern that I found on some notecards that I bought a million years ago in the $1 section at Target! :) I love the retro pattern and colors, so I HAD to use it for a design! :)


Written in Ink

Tonight was an interesting night, I went with my friend (and new co-worker) Stephanie to a book signing for Kat Von D's new book. It was insane how many people showed up- they were wrapped around the outside of the building!! Luckily, Steph and I went early this morning and got our wristbands, and they were color-coded, so we got to cut the line to the end of our bracelet's color line. Fun fact that I learned tonight- Red Bull tastes great with mint gum (especially when the red bull is free), I also learned that I get super talkative with red bull in my system. lol Another fun part of the night (besides the free sample-sized Kat Von D eyeshadow primers) was that 2 other members of the LA Ink crew were there too!! Dan, who is delightfully adorable, and Rooftop! :-D All three signed the book, and I got a hug from Kat, and she was super nice and even complimented me on my jacket! :) (Did you know she is super tall?!) Anyway, in honor of the occasion, I did Kat Von D nails, I originally drew them in Sharpie, but as soon as topcoat hit them, they faded to almost nothing, so I had to go over them again in polish.

On the thumb is part of her lipstick 'Hollywood' tattoo, on the ring finger is her famous star eye area tattoos, and on the pinky is the LA Ink logo. The middle and index finger are just generic tattoos. Stupid OPI topcoat smeared the crap out of them. :(

Let Down Your Hair!

I'm sure that if you watch TV at all, you've been seeing commercials for a little movie called 'Tangled' by a small, up-and-coming film company called 'Disney'. ;) For those living in a cave, Tangled is a movie about the story of Rapunzel, and is an animated feature. I was lucky enough to get a couple of advance tickets to it tonight, so of course my roommate and I went. (along with 2 medium (read: gallon sized) sodas, and a large tub of popcorn with layered butter) I have to say, the movie was adorable, and I highly recommend checking it out when it comes out November 24!

For today's nail design, I did the tower from the movie with Rapunzel's hair flowing out of the window onto the other 4 nails.

Check it Out!

Today's nail design is an homage to where it all began... THIS was the design that I used to do all the time when I was younger, except way back then I used toothpicks or straight pins in place of a brush. Fun stuff right? What was YOUR first nail design? Also- because of the hugely positive response to the tutorial I posted yesterday, I decided to do another one. (you've created a monster!!) The tutorial at the end of this post is for Between a Rockabilly and a Hard Place. Fun fact: bother nail tutorials I've posted have been done 100% with my iPhone 4, from filming to editing to uploading! (Did you know that the iPhone has an iMovie app?! How rad is that?!)

LEGO My Eggo!

Today's manicure is for my pal John. He is the biggest LEGO nerd I've ever met. EVER. When we used to work together, his entire cube had lego creations filling it! I've had this manicure on my list to do for ages and ages, so I decided that tonight was the night!!

I Have the Power(Book)

I've made no secret what a huge Apple dork I am, so today's nail art should be no surprise. I decided to do nail art inspired by my trusty 7 year old Apple PowerBook Aluminum. (it's slow as hell, is missing an 'f' key, the 'd' key only works on occasion, and the case is separating from the right side bottom, but it still works, and I use it daily!) It's kind of hard to see the white apple logo on the aluminum colored background in the photos, but it's easier in person. I'm not happy with how this turned out, it was hard to get the white to be opaque, so it looks gloopy, which I hate.

Now and Venn

Gotta love nerdy nails, today's nail art is math nerd nails, they're an interpretation of Venn diagrams! It's kind of a different interpretation of a moon manicure too! Even though this manicure was/is suuuuuper simple, I keep finding myself looking at it! If you want to try it yourself, you can use any colors, but sheerer colors work best!!

s the Mod-der?

Obviously, since I write this blog, I tend to write about and paint things that I love. Today is no exception, the design in today's post was based off the background fabric in a picture I can across on a nail art site that I can't find again... if it was yours, tell me, so I can credit you. Anyway, the fabric had a really mod, retro feel, which I absolutely adore, and when I saw it, I knew that I had to do a nail art version! I don't know what it is about this design that I love so much! Plus- it was EASY! The only tool required was a dotting tool! :) Would y'all like a tutorial of this?

Wax On, Wax Off

I'm going to start off by saying that Karate Kid is one of the awesomest movies....EVER. How can you not love Ralph Macchio?! And Mr. Miyagi? He cracks me up. SO funny. Paint the fence! Such a great movie, and today's nails were inspired by the handkerchief sewn on the back of Daniel's karate uniform, with the sun and Bonsai tree silhouette.

Dia de los Manicure

So I'm back. Version 2.0. The redesign isn't done yet, but the nail designs are here! :) Like I said before, it won't be every single day (I need a life, too!), but I'll try! :)

Today's manicure was in celebration of Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican celebration also known as the 'Day of the Dead'. Some of the most incredible art is made for this celebration and because of this celebration, and I LOVE this style of art. I based this nail art on an embroidery pattern that I bought from Urban Threads, which is the most amazing site for awesome and nerdy embroidery patterns. The design I used is a skeleton mariachi band! :) Hope you like it as much as I do!

POP Art?

Everyone knows that you can't go to the movies without getting popcorn, I'm pretty sure it's one of the 10 commandments - Thou shalt not watch movies empty-handed. Maybe it's number 11? Anyway, I love the stuff, and honestly, some of my favorite memories as a kid involve helping my dad make popcorn (not the microwave kind - the yummy pan-popped in cooking oil kind) MMMmmm with real butter and just a touch of salt. Amazing. We'd split up the batch, and my mom, dad, sister and I would munch away. Man, my mouth is seriously watering, I haven't had that kind of popcorn in years!!

Anyway, today's nails are inspired by that crunchy, fiber-filled treat that we all know and love, popcorn!

Craving Nail Art?

A week or so ago, BellaSugar.com asked me for a couple of my favorite Halloween manicures, and I did two designs especially for them!! They included them in their Halloween Manicure slide show- I'm number 8 & 9! :)

China Glaze DV8

Hi everyone! Today I have a backlogged swatch to share of China Glaze DV8. This is such a lovely holographic polish, although it is definitely the least holographic of the three that I own. It is still a gorgeous polish though, I love looking at the rainbows on my nails! I wish that my nails still looked like this though lol. It dries at a normal rate to a nice and shiny finish. This one chips on me a little bit, but it is worth it to have this color on my nails. What blue colored polishes are you all sporting this summer?

Who You Gonna Call?

Growing up in the 80s, I was destined to love the movie Ghostbusters. (is it possible to NOT love this movie?!) It has everything...ghosts, laughs, Bill Murray?! I'll be honest though, since I was born just 3 years before it came out, I'm far more familiar with Ghostbusters II, with Vigo as the bad guy! Can't forget Slimer or the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man either! :) Anyway, at the recommendation of Chris, I did Ghostbuster nails today!!


I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base for the logo, Nubar Sexy Red for the 'no' circle, and OPI Who the Shrek Are You? for the slime that Slimer left behind on the ring finger. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat!

Shawn Sparkles

Today's manicure utilizes a polish that I was told (by Zoya herself) that I was not allowed to wear, since it clashes with my skin tone. :-P I love this polish too much to let something like skin tone get in the way of wearing it! I wanted something simple today, for more than one reason... I fell asleep on the couch last night, which ALWAYS gives me a horrible 'crick in the neck' that lasts for a week or more, and the second reason was that I was in a hurry to get across town. Sorry for no post yesterday, I passed out on the couch after work and woke up this morning- gotta love having to work the day after midnight movie showings. :-P I got 3 hours of sleep. AWESOME. Anyway, to the manicure, I used one of the new OPI Burlesque glitters, ack!! THey're so sparkly. This pic doesn't show any of the glitz! (even though I added a blurry pic to sort of show the sparkle!) Also, ignore the middle finger, I broke it, and I had to mend it, so it's wonky looking.


Costumed Coral

Today's nail art started out being a possible holiday nail art idea, but ended up being something totally different. I liked it after I added the gold, but felt like it needed more, so I mentally scanned my nail polish collection to find a polish that would compliment both colors, and I came upon my Lotus Herbals Orange Alert, which was a gift from Chris when he came back from India, and happens to be one of my favorite polishes (and most rationed) in my entire collection. I can't get a proper picture of it, but it is the precise color of papaya flesh- that coral/orange/red combination, and I adore it. After adding the Orange Alert, it took on a look of coral and gold costume jewelry, not the original holiday look I was intending to make when I started! I actually like it better this way I think!!


?Hair Dyed Nail Polish

Hi everyone! I wanted to make a quick fun post about something I discovered the other day. I only had some week-old nail stregthener on my nails when I decided to dye my hair its trademark red color. When I finished washing the dye out of my hair, I noticed that my nails looked stained! I had forgotten that I had put nail stregthener on my nails and I thought that I had stained the crap out of them. Turns out that my natural nails were fine, but the dye had stained the strengthener. I took this picture in kind of crappy lighting and after a day it had faded significantly, but you can still see it a bit, especially if you look at the cuticle gap. I don't know, I just thought it was something funny to share! :)

NOTD: Neon Rainbow!

Hey everyone! I have been really loving neons lately so I decided that I wanted to wear a lot of them at once. From thumb to pinky they are (all China Glaze) Pool Party, Flip Flop Fantasy, Kiwi Cool-ada, Blue Sparrow, and Flying Dragon. I have gotten a lot of compliments on this manicure, it is so bright and fun! What do you think? Are you wearing any neons this summer?

Art Deco: Baby Pink, Bright Green, Green Glitter

Hi everyone! Today I have a batch of Art Decos to show you all. I am not going to bother to review each and every color individually like I normally do because these are very much the same. I love the brushes on these, they are super thin and relatively easy to control. The colors are very opaque and can even be used to Konad. They are fun colors and you will see them a lot in my nail art. Baby Pink has a frosty finish, Bright Green has a creme finish, and Green Glitter is well, glitter. Enjoy the swatches!


KOTD: Pool Party Swirls

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing kind of a konad fail, but I loved the concept of it. For some reason I could not get the black to show up as opaque as I wanted it to. This design is really cute though, I will likely be using it again. I used China Glaze Pool Party, Art Deco Black, and the S6 plate. Do you guys like the design? I might try something like this again if you do.

China Glaze Recycle

Hi everyone! Today I am showing you a color that people told me to buy for a long time, China Glaze Recycle. It is a beautiful grey creme polish that I desparately needed in my collection. Isn't it purdy? It applies very evenly but takes a little while to dry. Overall it is good to have a grey like this in your collection in my opinion, it is easy to wear and easy to spice up if you get bored with the color. What is your favorite grey polish?

KOTD: Lace Flip Flops


Hey everyone! I have been practicing my konading and I am slowly getting back into it and getting better at it. I used China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy as the base color, Art Deco Black as the stamping color, and a lace stamp off of the m71 plate. I double stamped the image onto my nails because I thought that it looked cool, which it it does. I think that I will be using more of my lace patterns on my plates, they are so pretty. Do you like the design too?

Essie Wrapped in Rubies

Hi everyone! Today is another backlogged swatch (last one I promise!), this one of Essie Wrapped in Rubies. This is a much deeper and richer color than I could make my camera show. It is a beautiful blend of brown, red and gold. I think that it is kind of a sultry color, I don't know. It is a gorgeous color that I somehow managed to get a mini of, it is a gorgeous color. It applies well in 2-3 coats and dries in an acceptable amount of time. I think that I will likely sport this one more in the winter, especially on my toes. What do you think of it?

Nail Art: Seaweed or Morse Code?


Hi everyone! I was really inspired by a post by The Daily Nail a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share what I created. I can't decided if it looks like seaweed or morse code.What do you think? I used China Glaze Metallic Muse as the base color and Art Deco Bright Green as the stripes. Please excuse the chipping and horrendous cuticles; it's been a long week. Do you like it?

Seche Vite Topcoat


Hi everyone! For awhile now people have been asking me what topcoat I like the best. Now I am trying to use up the other topcoats in my collection, but Seche Vite is by far my favorite, and it is a favorite of many. It is the fastest drying topcoat that I have ever used, it dries so shiny and it really protects the polish well. The only thing that I don't like about it is the smell, but it is slight and worth getting over for the benefits of the topcoat. I really only try to use it if I have to do a quick manicure, but it will be the only topcoat out of the 7 or so that I already own that I will repurchase. What is your favorite topcoat?

NOTD: Extreme Pink French

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share a quick mani that I did last week, which I think turned out kind of cool. I love the soft pink frosty base with the creme hot pink on the tips. I used Sally Hansen Rose Gold Opal as the base color and Art Deco Intense Pink for the tips. I love the bright tips for summer, neons just make me feel happy and sunny. Do you like it or do you think that I should have used a different color as the base?

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy


Hi everyone!!! Today I am swatching for you (although I am sure that you have seen more than enough swatches of it) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy. It is a gorgeous neon coral-y orange color. It applies much like anyother neon, it is a little streaky but once you get used to applying it you can get it to come out even. I have been loving this color in particular, I don't know why because I don't think that corals really flatter me. What do you think of it?

KOTD: Fiery Fabric

Hey everyone! Today I am bringing you a simple Konad from the s6 plate. I used Sally Hansen Earthen Opal as the base color and China Glaze Twenty-Four K as the stamping color. I love how the colors go together, but maybe this wasn't the best image to use, I accidently got one backwards if you look closely. Do you like these colors together? What do you think?

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada


Hey everyone! Today I am bringing you another neon, China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada. I absolutely love the color but this polish is a little hard to work with frankly. It was a hard color to get even, even for a neon, but it dries surprisingly fast, at least it did on me. I absolutely adore the color though, so I will likely wear it for much of the summer. Do you love the color too?

Sally Hansen Rose Gold Opal

Hi everyone! I got this polish a long time ago in a giveaway that I won from The Wizards of Bling. One of the two polishes that I recived was this one, it is a beautiful light baby pink with a gold shimmer running through it. It unfortunelty is sheer and it take forever to dry, but a coat of white and some patience can fix that. It is a really beautiful color that I will probably use for french manicures mostly, especially because it is so sheer. Do any of you own any polishes from the Sally Hansen Opal lines?

Nail Art: Grass in the Shade

Hi everyone! It's a simple nail art that I did, and I love how it turned out! I am thinking of doing variations on the design if you all like it. All I used was Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud and Art Deco Black. I just tried to make as straight of lines as I possibly could, it looks almost oriental to me. What do you all think, do you like it half as much as I do?

China Glaze Pool Party

Hi everyone! Today I am bringing you the swatch of the last neon that I picked up a couple of weeks ago, China Glaze Pool Party. It is a really bright hot pink neon. It acts much like other neons, it is a litle streaky (although this one isn't too bad) and dries pretty quickly. I really love this color on my nails, and I get a lot of compliments when I wear this color. Do you have a favorite bright pink?

Sally Hansen Earthen Opal

Hi everyone! Today I am bringing you the other polish that I won in the Wizards of Bling giveaway that I won a few months ago (back in March I think?). This one is called Earthen Opal, it is a gorgeous rusty red color with a gold shimmer running through it. Like the other polish, it took forever to dry; but this polish was opaque after 2-3 coats. It looks amazing paired with golds. Do you like it too?