February Nail Art Challenge: Polka Dots

Day 8. I can't believe the challenge is almost over already :-/. I've had so much fun creating all these different nail art designs and seeing all the other talented ladies come up with even better ideas!

Today's theme is Polka Dot nails. I wanted to do one of the cute little bear nails that I have been seeing on Pinterest, but it ended up looking like a mouse with a wonky ear. lol. Oh well, I thought it was really cute anyways!

The polishes I used:

Sinful Colors Nirvana
Zoya Avery
OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts
OPI Alpine Snow
OPI Black Onyx

Essie Bikini So Teeny

Essie Bikini So Teeny is a bright, yet pastel blue with the most subtle silver shimmer. The shimmer itself does not translate onto the nail, just like most Essie polishes.

I love shades like this! And Essie does them so well. Light enough that they are flattering, yet bright enough to make a slight statement. This blue is just perfect.

Two coats, with very easy application:

As you can see, the color varies SLIGHTLY in the bottom two pics. I have been messing with camera setting trying to get the most color accurate photos. The main place you can tell the difference is in my skin tone. Yikes! lol.

Zoya Kennedy

How would I describe Zoya Kennedy? Hmmmm....good question. A light pinkish tan? lol. I don't know, but that's about as close to a description as you are going to get from me.

I liked that this was a nude, but didn't give me mannequin hands! Application was a breeze and I had no issues with dragging or streaking.

Two coats:

What do you think of nudes? Do you like when they perfectly match your skin tone or when they are a bit off?

February Nail Art Challenge: Gradient

For the gradient portion of our Feb Nail Art Challenge, I decided to go with a glitter gradient. This was the first one that I ever tried and I was so happy with how it turned out. Especially because I LOVE the glitter that I used for it.

My index finger didn't really look too gradient-ish, but the rest were perfect. I will definitely be doing this technique again and again!

Orly Mermaid Tale over 2 coats Wet N Wild Ink Well and finished off with Poshe Top Coat.

Julep Mandy

Look away if you don't want to see lobster hands!! LOL!

Julep Mandy is a bright neon pinkish red. I would almost call this a jelly because it is saturated, yet sheer, but it does not dry to a squishy jelly finish. I love the color of this, but I will certainly be saving it for summer time when I have a little more color to my skin, as this is not so flattering on pale skin with red undertones :)

Two coats, no top coat:

One last heart mani

I had one leftover heart mani from Valentine's Day, so here it is :)

Here is a perfect example of why I don't like Poshe top coat. See the messed up pinky nail? Well, at one point, it looked just like all the other nails. I put a thick coat of Poshe on top so it wouldn't smear. Then, I had to get up to go do something and just the gravity of holding my arm down by my side made the whole design slide down. The little glequins were at the bottom of the heart like the rest.

Oh well, I really liked this other than the messed up pinky. lol. There is always one thing that throws my whole mani off!

Polishes I used:
NOPI All Kendall-ed Up
OPI Black Onyx

February Nail Art Challenge: Valentine's Nails

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Of course today's theme in the February Nail Art Challenge is Valentine's Day nails!! 

I really wanted this mani to end better. Turns out, I am not so good at drawing little hearts on my nails. Next time I will use a stamp as a guide or some kind of template. Also, there was not as much contrast as I had hoped between the base color and the outline of the hearts. Then, not only was I too hasty in my top coat application, smearing a few of the nails; but, I also ended up smudging my pinky while I was taking pics. Arg!! I should have just left this as a plaid mani, because it looked really good like that.

Anyways, enough with my bitching....here are some pics :)

Polishes I used:
Zoya Lara
Zoya Avery
Julep Carrie
OPI Love Is A Racket
OPI Alpine Snow

My inspiration: Nailed Daily - Valentines Plaid