Glowing holographic cat eyes

My actual eyes at night:

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Ugly Christmas sweater nails

Hurray, finally Christmas nails! I mean *Cristmas* nails. Yeah, you'll have to watch my YouTube video for my logic and rationale on that one!

For this edition of the weekly nail art challenge (WNAC) I co-host on Instagram along with Kristin of Lacquerstyle and Tracey of MissBellaTracey, the theme is Festive and the prompt is Ugly C(h)ristmas sweater! I listened to it, but it turned out pretty sweet and not really ugly at all haha! I would wear this any time of year, no lie. I used awesome new 'Ugly sweater stencils' from Twinkled T along with holo glitter from their shop, you can use my code SIMPLY for 10% off!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Dragon scales - triple scaled gradient nails

Back to simply nailogical basics!!! I've been trying out all sorts of different (or new to me) nail arts recently and I randomly had an urge to go back to my ways of gradienting all the nails. Since my nails are long af right now, it was the perfect time to do some triple scaled gradient action nails, that pretty much look like red dragon scales!

I used chevron/zig zag nail vinyls from Twinkled T to create this look, plus a lot of top coat and patience, lol. You can use my code SIMPLY at Twinkled T to get 10% off your entire order! Watch the video below!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Multi-chrome glitter sun rays... with nail vinyls!

Glittahhhhh sunshineeeee nails!

These were so challenging to photograph cause there's so much going on here: multi-chrome glitter + holographic base coat + glossy black design overlay = camera focus nightmare.

I used FUN Lacquer 'Precious' copper multi-chrome glitter (shifts from red to gold) layered on top of Color Club's signature copper linear holographic 'Cosmic Fate'. Nail vinyls from Twinkled T were used to create this sun-rays inspired design (idea first conceived by Jamylyn Nails). You can use my code SIMPLY for 10% off at anything in Twinkled T's store :)

FUN Lacquer 'Precious'

Black and gold holo glitter pattern

Back to black and holooooooooo cause it's been FAR TOO LONG. This round of June's weekly nail art challenge (WNAC) manis I co-host the WNAC on Instagram along with lovely ladies Kristin of Lacquerstyle and Tracey of MissBellaTracey is holo pattern week, and I had nothing to do with it. *evil grin*

FUN Lacquer 'Million Dollar Dream' gold holo glitter!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Fall-toned holo reciprocal X round gradient

... title is a mouthfull, once again. Meghan of Will Paint Nails for Food featured some fall nail arts on her blog today, and I'm happy to say she thought mine was worth including! Meghan is known for her detailed nail arts (and she actually paints her nails unlike me who just tends to blend colours all over the place), so be sure to go check her out! My submission was maybe a bit of a stretch from fall-inspired, but I got the colour scheme right cause I used three new holos from ILNP's fall collection, so, yeah.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Split baby blue and gold with crackled studs

Studs! The first time I've ever used any, actually. Born Pretty Store sent me these super cool crackled leopard studs and I thought they were pretty unique compared to the typical monochromatic studs we see everywhere these days. I used the colours in the stud as a point of reference and picked my polish colours from there.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

The glitteriest holo nail art in all the land

Recently I posted four delicious swatches of Painted Polish by Lexi's holo glitter intoxicator line. The crowd went wild, kittens started meowing at record high pitches, and people died. Well, maybe only if a car came in 'drunk on holo' paint, then someone might die because of the reflective and sparkly properties which would in turn blind drivers in oncoming traffic causing a crash. That's why mirror chrome cars were banned from the roads, but whatever. Driving while drunk on holo? Amazing.

The Painted Polish shop is now open for pre-orders on all these holo glitter polishes and some new ones too as I post this. Shop now or you might miss out and you will basically regret it for the rest of your boring dull life.

Here's some nail art I made with these four babies. Now THIS is a real glitter gradient.

Get your party hat on: Serious holo intoxicators

A couple weeks ago I received my first polishes by Painted Polish by Lexi. I was drawn to the line because, well, sparkly. I decided to pick up all four of the new holo glitter line to see how they all compared. I've compiled a couple collages for you today and can I just say that I'm STILL DRUNK on all that holo. All pics below were taken in direct sunlight with my new macro lens. Note that these aren't straight-up swatches per se, I've taken steps to amplify the glitter that involves using a complimentary polish as a base coat. Read on below.

BONUS: Video tutorial on how to maximize glitter payoff at the end of the post.

Mani swap with Ana of Magnifique Nails!

Hi friends! Today I am super estatic to present to you a mani swap with Ana of Magnifique Nails! I first annoyed Ana with the idea of this a month or two ago and quickly realized I needed to learn some nail blogger etiquette: Don't randomly ask people to do a mani swap if you have never talked to them in your life and you are potentially a crazy stalker. I had been following Ana's blog for a while but what struck me enough to reach out to her was not just her creative nail designs, but also the way she wrote on her blog. I really appreciate it when the individual behind the blog has a way of writing that clearly says I AM MORE THAN JUST A NAIL ART BABY MAKING MACHINE. It was clear to me that Ana wrote in a sophisticated sense and this had me wondering what she's all about!

Ana and I laughed over my noobness and got to know each other better over the last month, chatting about our fav designs, techniques, and some good 'ol nail blogger gossip. I was thrilled when she mentioned she was itching to re-create my Paris sunset nails. That meant I had to pick one of the million and a half designs of hers to re-create - this proved difficult. I settled on a unique patterened mani that Ana's genius came up with because a) it looked like it should be a pattern walking down the runway, and b) it is a design of hers that to my knowledge hasn't already been replicated as a part another mani swap with various talented nail artists. 

Father's Day finish line

Nailpolis is hosting a nail art contest with a Father's Day theme and obviously I had to participate. I quickly browsed through some of the submitted designs and saw a lot of ties, mustaches, button-up dress shirts, and I thought to myself: yes, that would have been my first thought too, but... I just had to go with something different.

What is special about your dad that separates him from the traditional understandings of Father's Day symbolism? For me, it's racing and Formula 1. Growing up my dad was always watching the F1 or Indy 500 races, he'd save them on VHS back in the day (now you know I'm old) and then watch them all weekend long. I also somewhat grew up in the car industry myself, having helped out at his auto body shop when I was younger and later working in a specialty Porsche tuning/mechanic shop. From acting as a child to working in car shops to reporting on criminal statistics.... Yes, I have quite the interesting career path. Back to the reason behind this design, a racing-themed mani came pretty naturally for this Father's Day themed mani.

Art deco inspired teal and gold arches

Nail It! magazine was looking for submissions inspired by the art deco movement for their upcoming fall edition. This mani is the second of two designs I submitted, the other one was a more linear interpretation of art deco, but I was meh about how the colouring translated on my camera (still on a learning curve with the new DSL-R). This mani, however, I like a lot more because of how the photos turned out, but also because it's not the typical interpretation of art deco. I went with a free-hand design in attempt to illustrate the iconic arches of the period rather than bold straight lines which is more often seen.

Magenta and gold quatrefoil: Second attempt

A couple of weeks ago I attempted my first 'quatrefoil' patterened nails. Originally conceptualized in video tutorial form by Christabell Nails, I was shaking my head at my stubborn little quatrefoils which looked more like blobfoils to me.


I expressed some of my disappointment in my execution and the lovely Margaret of @m_a_tom on Instagram direct messaged me with a personalized tip! I mean, how sweet is that?! I got what she meant right away and 'quatrefoil nails attempt #2' went straight on my mani's-to-do whiteboard.


Here's the outcome, keeping her tip to focus on the spaces between the dots in mind!

Art Deco burgundy and gold stripes

Today's post I feel pretty meh about, mainly because of the way the photos turned out. Experimenting with new DSL-R settings... and clearly not winning.

The design is pretty simple and straightforward, executed with three different polishes and striping tape. I was following Nail It Magazine's themed call-out for 'Art Deco' inspired mani submissions - I submitted this design along with another that will be posted in due time. Nail It is inviting submissions up until June 6th. Those chosen will appear in the September/October edition. I don't think this one is a winner mainly because of the photo quality, but I need to keep f**king up to learn which settings are just NO.

Work appropriate mani Monday: Neutral glitter gradient

I'm sensing a theme... Last month I posted a rose-gold glitter gradient for work appropriate mani Monday and today I've got... basically the same thing.

It's pretty straight forward: A cool-toned beige to greyish-purple creme gradient layered with a champagne gold and lilac micro glitter polish at the tips. I think what's key to note about this glitter gradient is that the polish base is also a gradient, which isn't typically the norm in glitter gradient mani's (see, for example, Nemo's nails or Lucy's stash).

Earrings: Swarovski Lunar earrings in Rose Blush

Many nail art/nail polish bloggers use rings as props. I don't own many rings but I do have an obsession with sparkly earrings. An earRING hanging on my fingers makes so much sense, right?

Galaxy nails

This mani marks my first ever galaxy nail art. I have no idea why I didn't attempt this earlier, as it's basically a cluster f**k of sexy colour-shifting and glittery polishes that I generally drool over. More than one crazy sparkly polish in ONE mani? Oh, there is a heaven.

Many before me have done galaxy nail art. Some of my favourites include the Nailasaurus, Chalkboard Nails, and the Nail Polish Challenge, but my all time favourite is hands down Wondrously Polished's galaxy mani representing five different nebulas. Crazy amazing.

Okay I'm not going to lie - these don't really look like galaxies. Next time I attempt this I think I'll actually follow a tutorial... there's not supposed to be a calculated method to galaxy nails but there actually should be. I used a sponge that was too large, I didn't allow for enough clustering and saturation of colour, and my stars look like seagull shit. Woops.... there's always a next time.

Work appropriate mani Monday: Rose gold glitter gradient

This "work appropriate" mani is debatable. It started off perfectly appropriate with a nude pink base and a sheer slightly-detectable delicate stamping layer... but then my addiction to sparkly got the best of me and along came a glitter gradient. BUT in rose gold, so I'll meet the work appropriate world half way.

In other words, this mani is work appropriate if one or more of the following apply:
   a) you like being the obnoxious one at work;
   b) you work in a glitter factory;
   c) you're the boss lady;
   d) you're so confident in your awesome nails that nothin' else matters, girl!

To execute the glitter gradient I only applied the glitter with a make-up sponge, in a couple of steps starting with the least amount of pressure to transfer just a bit of glitter over towards the middle of the nail. I find using a make-up sponge to do the whole gradient - as opposed to some ladies who use the actual polish brush to apply the glitter - actually gives you more control and lets you amp up the glitter saturation level really easily when and where you want to. Tip: Use the end of a triangular make-up sponge for more localized control.

An attempt at tribal nail art

Here's a popular design in the nail art community - tribal nails! There's many different takes on tribal nail art and it gives nailartaholics a lot of room to be creative and make it their own. There's so many talented ladies out there who have taken one (or way more) stabs at tribal nail art. Some that stick out to me include Polished NZ, Andreitus Nails, Nailaholic, Wondrously Polished and Knailart!

This was my first attempt at tribal nail art, done in August of 2013. Definitely not the best photography (natural light would have been ideal to capture the glitters and the polish colour contrast), but that just means I'll have to do them again soontime :)

Nails inc. leather effect polish

Let's pretend this post went up exactly a year ago. In late 2012 Nails inc. released a line of 'leather effect' polishes - and although I'm late to the party - better late than never.

Nails inc. leather polishes are suprisingly available at Shoppers Drug Mart (if you're a Canadian, eh) of all places! Well, not all the colours, I believe there is also a baby blue leather colour that I have yet to see at a Shoppers.

Anyway here's the red leather effect polish from Nails inc.! Photos were taken in September of 2013.

Simple matte black tri-fold

Here's a simple mani that was done in November of 2013. Matte black has been a trend over the last year for all sorts of things, including sunglasses, car wraps, and - you guessed it - nails!

At the time I was using a mattifier that wasn't really all that good (seems to be an obscure brand called Fing'rs paints), so the black could have been even matter (did I just make up a word?).

A simple tri-fold was painted over the mattified black using metallic gold and red as contrast. No top coat was applied after this step. As you can tell no tape was used; the tips were freehanded using the original brushes that come with each polish.