Nude Leopard

Hello, Polishists!

How are you all doing? I hope that you have been able to enjoy the wonderful spring weather where you are and you're showing off the hottest spring colors with your new pedicure! Here in NYC, spring just keeps passin' us by! Today I wore boots AND a coat! Hopefully soon things will warm up soon... they better, because I have a pedicure appointment on Thursday :)

On to the polish!

This week I met a woman wearing a beautiful scarf. I don't remember too much about what was said in the meeting, but I do remember that scarf! I knew the pattern would make a beautiful manicure. Guess what? I was right ;)

I love the combinations of beiges, browns, and nudes that was pretty popular last year and the year before. The scarf looked exactly like this: dusty rose with khaki and brown leopard print.  I legit almost asked her for the scarf. Real talk.

To recreate this look, I used Eternal Optimist by Essie as the base color. A friend gave this color to me for my birthday two years ago and it's been one of my favorites ever since. Even though it's kind of old lady-ish, I find that it's really versatile and pretty close to a nude for my skin color. Opaque and two coats.

I used Essie's Case Study and China Glaze's Mahogany Magic to create the leopard markings. I somehow misplaced my dotting tool, so I subbed the head of a bobby pin instead!

Overall, I enjoy this manicure! It's subtle but still kind of out there.

What about you, Polishists? What has inspired your mani lately?

'Nolia Nails

Hello, Polishists!

Apparently, it is spring in NYC. While the weather has yet to catch up, all of the plants are in full bloom and everything is gorgeous! I took a trip to Brooklyn's Prospect Park last week to enjoy the beauty of being in nature. Despite the cool temperatures, it was quite a busy scene- people sick of being cooped up all winter enjoying the freeness of the great outdoors.

One of the most beautiful plants I have been seeing all over the city is the Rustic Rubra Magnolia.

Gorgeous, right?

I was inspired by this Magnolia plant for this week's manicure.

A simple and delicate gradient, featuring pink, my favorite color!

For my base, I used L'oreal's Satin Sheets, a sheer ivory color with glass flecks. I applied three coats to achieve opacity.

I sponged on Wet n' Wild's Candy-licious to create the gradient effect. Candy-licious is a dusty rose color from Wet n' Wild's Megalast collection. I've sung Megalast's praises in the past, and it has proven to be an excellent low cost polish option.

To capture the magic that spring brings, I topped my artwork off with Orly's Love Each Other, a shimmery, mystical top coat. Unfortunately, this topcoat didn't really add anything to the mix :(

I quite like this combo. I think it would be something cool to wear on one's wedding day... I guess if you're dreaming of an ombré pink wedding dress a la Gwen Stefani (like me!).

Here's a macro of the gradient.

What do you say, Polishists? Ombré nails for weddings: yay or nay?

Clouds Tutorial

It's been a long time...

... shouldn't have left you...

... without some dope nails to ... paint to? I dunno. I thought I had something there, but I've failed.

How are you, dear Polishists? I hope you are all doing well. Life is getting pretty crazy in this Polishist's world... but all good things! Like this tutorial!

By popular demand, I am very excited to bring you my first tutorial!

Step 1: Gather your cast of characters.

Left to right: Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer Base Coat, Seche Vite Top Coat, and New York Color in Midtown Mimosa. When these powers combine, they become your supporting base!

Gap Ocean Teal and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Heat Flash: these will be the colors that form the clouds and will become the protagonists of this nail art. Be sure to pick colors that are not too similar to each other- contrast is more interesting to the eye.

Step 2: Base for your face.

Create your base by using your base coat, base color, and top coat. Peruse Instagram while you patiently wait for your base to completely dry. I used Midtown Mimosa for this step. It's an orange-juice yellow polish with a jelly finish. I am head over heals in love. I almost didn't want to do anything to do any more art on my nails because I think this color looks so good on me (if I may be so bold).

Step 3: Wanna be starting something.

Now, we start with the cloud shape. It's quite simple. First, create one stroke by starting it near the bottom of the nail. Make sure there is not too much polish in the brush, lay the tip down, let it linger for a second so that the polish drips off in a rounded tip at the edge of the brush, then slowly pull it back.

Step 4: Hit me, baby, one more time.

Repeat the first step, beginning the tip of the second stroke a little shorter than the first. Do that one or two more times, depending on your preference. Peruse Facebook while you wait for this coat to dry.

Step 5: Gimme, gimme more.

Do this again with your third color. Feel free to apply more than one coat if the color isn't poppin' like you want it to. Don't forget your top coat!

Step 6: It's clean-up time...

Use a small brush (I use a flat eyeliner brush) dipped in pure acetone (not pail polish remover! It will not work.) to clean up your stray marks. Follow up with cuticle oil or another moisturizer so your cuticles and surrounding areas don't get dry (like mine)!

And, Voila! You're done!

What do you think, Polishists? What colors are on your clouds wish list?

Gold Corners

Hello Polishists!!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday! I've been super busy lately, and I apologize for leaving you hanging :(

Today, I bring you a beautiful and simple mani from two drugstore brands. One is an old favorite, and one is a new love!

My "something old" is from NYC- New York Color. I love NYC for many reasons: the bargain price, the myriad of fantastic and fashionable color, the relatively long-wear, and the quirky names! As a New Yorker, I recognize that the names sometimes don't make sense, but they're fun nonetheless. Tudor City Teal is a great dupe of Essie's Turquoise and Caicos. It's Tiffany Blue-esque, and pretty versatile. It goes on pretty smoothly and opaque in two coats. I started out with this as a base and had soooooo many ideas about how to dress it up. In the end, I thought gold would be the perfect complement to the teal. I was right!

I'm still loving tape manis, so I decided to do this subtle, gold corners design. I used my "something new"- 3D from Milani- for the design. I was late on the holographic bandwagon but now I'm hooked! I love how it looks.

Unfortunately, I haven't mastered the technique of how to get the tape absolutely flat, so a little bit of the polish sneaks under the tape, undermining a clean design. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the tape flat?

One more thing- I want to do a tutorial within the next couple of weeks. What would you like to see? Clouds? Gradients? Glitter gradients? Tape manis? Comment and let me know!