Neon Checkerboard Print Nail Art

This is an old design but since neons scream summer to me I thought this would be great to post now.

It's a checkerboard print design featuring neon pink and neon yellow. In real life, this manicure was pretty retina-searing and extremely bright. With shorter nails, bright looks don't look as bold though. (Not like I care about the world thinking I have bold nails. :) ) 

To create this design I started off with Illamasqua Rare. It's my favorite extremely bright neon. Then using a striper brush I created a criss-cross design using Color Club Poptastic. To get the checkerboard look I filled in some of the squares with the neon pink and left others alone. 

All photos taken under artificial lighting.

Funny story: when I wore this I distinctively remember a rather serious man I know telling me that I wouldn't get hit on the road wearing that manicure. I think he was a little taken back on the brightness.

I really like checkerboard print nails. It's a design that I return to now and then and each new attempt is better than the last. I really like improving my skills and looking back at the past. Honestly, this manicure isn't that old. It's from a few months back.

The other day I was thinking if I should share my sometimes-horrific pictures of very old attempts of nail art. I was thinking I could do a series where I showed one of my awful designs and showed an inspired nail design that I create now. Would anyone be interested in that? Warning: I was terrible at nail art.

On To The Next Polish,

Katie

Glitter Heart Nail Art

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Today I have a simple and easy design. Also, I just realized that the title of this post rhymes. (Insert lame joke here) Only two polishes were used to create this look: China Glaze Electrify and Orly Melt Your Popsicle. China Glaze Electrify is from the Hunger Games collection and is a glitter polish of red and gold hex glitter of various sizes. This glitter was utilized to create small hearts on each nail. The base of the manicure is Orly Melt Your Popsicle. This polish is a very bright neon orange. 

To create the look first I applied three coats of the neon orange Orly. Next, I put a small amount of the China Glaze glitter on a piece of tin foil. I carefully picked up polish with a dotting tool. I created three small dots of glitter polish and connected them together. However, my thumb nail features a different look. I created a heart by placing glitter polish all over my nail but left a neon orange heart shape exposed. 

The "opposite" design on my thumb.

Sometimes I really like the look of a simple and quick design. This particular look is quite cute if I say so myself. It's these types of nail designs that bring a smile to my face when I look at them. They're very sweet. :)

On To The Next Polish,

Katie

Polka Dot Glitter Nail Art

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday! I think I've come down with some disease but luckily it's not too bad yet.

Anyways, I've always like the look of 3d nail art and wanted to try studs and sequins. However, I don't own any loose glitter to create a look. I do own a significant amount of glitter polishes with some containing particularly large glitter pieces. So, by placing individual glitter pieces I can create looks reminiscent of loose glitter designs.Below, I've shown a polka dot sequin look. It involves taking individual hex glitters and placing them on the nail with a toothpick. I used the same method in my last design for the jubilee. It's tedious but well worth it.

The base is Nails Inc Baker Street. I really can't stop wearing this polish. Then I created a V-design using Illamasqua Rare. The hexagonal glitter pieces are from Milani Jewel FX Gold. They were individually placed with a toothpick into a polka dot arrangement. I love how they shine and look like tiny sequins on my nails.

All photos are taken under artificial lighting.

I really like how the glitter pieces look from different angles such as this close up photo demonstrates.

To be honest by the time I finished one hand I was reluctant to continue to individually place the hexs. Though the effect is in my opinion worth the time. Would you spend the time individually placing glitters? I always use manicures as a means of procrastination so it works quite well for me.

On To The Next Polish,

Katie

Jil Sander Inspired Striped Nail Design

Hi! One day I was searching online and found this post. It featured nails done by Hey, Nice Nails! based off a Jil Sander sweater that Kanye West sported. I loved their design and just had to try it with my own style using neons of course. :)(Original design here and simplified version)


The base color is Illamasqua Rare,layered on top of China Glaze Snow to improve opacity. The design colors are all neons from Color Club: Edie, Poptastic, and Pucci-licious(neon green, pink, and purple respectively). The stripes were made using a nail art striper. I used the simplified version found on Hey,Nice Nails! as a guide for my design.


I really enjoyed recreating and wearing this look. I'm in love with the design for sure. Using neons led to a super bright standout manicure. It was a look not to be ignored.


All photos are taken inside with artificial lighting.

Illamasqua Rare is extremely difficult to photograph. The bottle photo below is a very accurate representation. 

Have a great(long)weekend!

On To The Next Polish,

Katie

Bordered Neon Manicure

Good evening! A week or two ago, I decided to try out one of the latest nail art trends known as border nails, outlined nails, or frame nails. I first discovered the look through tumblr.(Want to check out my tumblr? Click here! Haha that sounds way to self promotional but if you want feel free to check it out and if you have a tumblr, let me know in the comments) Some of the looks are incredible with a color very thinly bordering on the outside. For my first approach, I tried thicker lines. 

Some people start with the "border" color and allow it to try. Afterwards they tape off sections or carefully paint the color on top. When I did this manicure, I painted my main color first, Ma.nish.ma Electric Blue, and then using a striping brush created blue lines with Essence Walk on Air. Next time, I'm definitely trying the other method as I suppose it is easier to create thiner lines. On a side note, Electric Blue is a gorgeous neon blue shimmer that dries matte. It can be found at Rite Aid.

All photos are taken outside with natural lighting.

                                      

                                      

Want to know something funny? Whenever I go outside to take nail pictures, the scene below usually happens. His name is Buddy and he hates being left out.

                                      

He also loves playing catch with a tennis ball and will go to extreme lengths to ensure his priorities.

                                      

Have you ever tried 'border' nails or have any suggestions for color combinations? I want to try using more contrasting colors next time. Oh, and have a great day!

                                      

On To The Next Polish,

Katie

Neon triangles nail art

I love experimenting with geometric and pop art elements on my canvas of choice, my nails.


For this manicure, I started with a base of Color Club Edie, a neon green. Next triangles were created using a white polish to make sure the layered neon colors popped. The triangles were outlined with a black striper. Warning, neon colors and my camera do not get along together well.

On To The Next Polish,

Katie