For Clean Lines, Use Tape!

So you're flipping through a magazine and see a gorgeous set of nails with clean, straight lines. You figure only a professional nail technician could pull that off.

Nope. :)

It's as simple as putting a piece of tape on your nail! If you can cut it out on a piece of tape, you can have any design that requires clean lines.

All you have to do is paint the first layer of polish on, let it dry, and then stick the tape in any fashion over the part you want to stay that color to your nail. Then you paint your nail normally with another color, and remove the tape before it dries.

Hints: to make sure the tape doesn't damage your base coat, stick it to your hands to remove all the excess sticky!

Here's what I did with my tape:

 

 

Any Color + Matte Top Coat = New Look!

In this post I will introduce you to another dimension, so to speak, of nail color.

We love shiny glosses, right? Have you ever thought about using a matte finish though?

Adding a matte finish to your nails basically gives it a softer appearance, instead of the brilliant shine of regular top coats. It's a great way to stretch out your color palette because with a matte finish you can change the mood/theme of your nail designs.

For example, you're a hopeless romantic/girly girl who loves everything pastel. Take a baby blue, or rosy pink and top it off with a matte finish, and voilà! You have a soft, lush feel to your nail color.

Now let's pretend you're a rebel with a more boundry-pushing style — combine both matte and shiny top coats. The contrast between the two different coats is really cool looking, and there are so many unique and different ways to do it!

Here's what I chose to do with my nails:

• I chose a light pink, keeping in mind the softness the matte coat would give to it.
• I used a black/purple glitter polish for an accent nail w/shiny top coat. (Using the contrast idea we just learned :) )
• Kept it simple, to show off the contrast.

 

Now go forth, and experiment! >:)

Edgy Green and Black Nails

Lately I've been doing a lot of bright colors and glittery designs, but this time my dark side won out ;)



 

I went out and bought a couple of new polishes, since I didn't have black. I'll definitely be doing another post with black again, because I really love how it's such a simple color (or rather lack of color) and that it's still sexy, sophisticated, and mysterious all on its own.

To make it more edgy I painted my ring finger Ivy League green, a polish by Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear, a line that I absolutely love. (They're super affordable and quality, too.) Anyways! I used my black thin designing brush to make the little triangle at the cuticle, which really completes the cool edgy look.

Now, there's another way this could have been done...perhaps. The first coat was three coats of the green, and then I did the black accent. I don't know how the green would look with a black under layer, but if you did the bottom layer black, let it dry, and cut out a piece of tape in a triangle shape, you could use that to cover the spot you want black and paint the green over it, creating the same effect. You would probably get more precise lines, but that requires patience, which I do not have haha!

Bottom line! This is a very simple, affordable way to get a basic edgy look. It's also a great template; you can put any color in place of the green.

Being smart with what you have!

Here's a good example of stretching your color palette to get the most out of nail designs. I used warm colors like orange and pink to create two very different looks:

    
^^These nails are the ones I'm wearing right now :) I went with the "different colored ring finger" look, but added a bit of an optical illusion to make it more unique. Who's going to expect two little black and white dots on the tips of your nails? They make your hands really eye catching, which means more compliments for you. :)
     All you need to do this are two colors of your choice, and black and white nail polish. You can buy those little ones with the thin brushes that come in a pack, or buy some cheap stuff and use a toothpick :] Add a shiny top coat after you're sure everything is dry, and you're finished!

    
^^Ok, for this design I used the exact same orange, but I used a different, more transparent pink that belonged to my cousin. I think that if you used the same pink from the first design, it should look just as nice :)
     This is basically just two layers of nail color. The bottom is the pink part, and the top is the orange. I used a plastic hole reinforcement I found in my toolbox to make clean lines, but if you don't have those you can possibly use a small brush to do an arc outline, then carefully fill in the top color. (P.S. doing it with a brush saves you from having the sticky film of the hole reinforcements ruin your first coat! I would use an old liquid eyeliner brush).
     I didn't have any clear top coat at the time, so I used a glittery polish. Make sure it's all dry so the colors don't run! Fun Fact: This picture was taken in California! :P

     Alright, while these nails are pretty and cute, I also like to switch up styles every once and a while. My next post will be featuring nails of a more edgy nature ;)

If There's A Will, There Is A Way!

Your butt aches from sitting in the same chair, trying to come up with an awesome design for your freshly cleaned nails. You don’t want to go spend money at the salon; parting with your money has become more and more difficult! As you sit there unwilling to admit you have no idea what you want to try this time, an idea pops into your brain! You grab your computer and scourge the web for interesting new designs…

Hello everyone :) and welcome to my world of fresh ideas.

I’m just a normal girl on a budget. College doesn’t pay for itself, as many of you know…but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice having cute nails and feeling pretty! I believe that happiness of all degrees is important in a person’s life, and who doesn’t feel amazing getting compliments on cute nails? The fact that they were done YOURSELF is twice as rewarding, trust me. Getting a mani/pedi at a salon when you’re short on cash is like eating chocolate cake on a diet: a day on the hands, a dent in the wallet! Why not save that money for something else?

The advantage to doing your own nails are numerous:

·         You don’t have to pay for them!!!

·         You can let your creativity run un-tethered.

·         You can wow your friends, and maybe teach THEM a few tricks.

·         With the polishes you buy, you’ll always have an arsenal of colors at your fingertips (haha :P). Plus if you love it, you’ll own it!

·         It could turn from a hobby to a career…you never know ;)

SO, now that you’ve seen why DIY nails are so cool, you want to run to the store and buy every cute polish in sight, right? Yeah, I’ve been there. I’ve found myself in the beauty isle, yearning for those super pretty bottles of polish plenty of times. But we want to save some money!  So here’s what you do…buy polishes in a pre-determined palette; polishes that can be mix-matched. Maybe you’re a fan of pastels and glitter, or of bold and brave colors. Have in mind what you want, and finding it will be easier on you and your wallet.

Well, now that I’ve established that, it’s time to have some fun with nails >:)