NOTD: Black Leopard

Here's a quick little black leopard print nail look I did after being inspired by my new lunch box. I used Marc Jacob's Enamored, a grey from Deborah Lippmann, and China Glaze Moonlight.

What do your nails currently look like?

Currently On My Nails: Essie Generation Zen

NOTD: China Glaze Let The Beat Drop and Julep Raegan

Here's a little NOTD I did with some polishes I got at IMATS! Hope you enjoy! Also, I'm not sponsored by Suja just FYI.

IMATS Haul/Currently On My Nails: China Glaze Seduce Me

Nail Art: SnailVinyls Review

Lately I have been all about Instagram. It's the perfect platform to post nail art as well as connect with nail bloggers and nail art enthusiasts around the world. Recently I discovered SnailVinyls and ordered some of their nail vinyls to make my manis look even cooler. Basically, just to be clear, everything I'm about to review, I bought with my own money. If you ever see girls on Instagram post their vinyl pics, it seems easy peesy. Reality, I've found, is much different. Vinyls definitely have a learning curve that comes with them. My first attempt at vinyls looked a lot like this(notice the big blob on the  watermarked finger):

They can be a bit frustrating to use the first time, so I wanted to share some helpful tips for using vinyls with you guys in case all you nail artters out there decide to venture out and try them yourselves:

1. Wait for the bottom coat of polish to dry BEFORE applying the vinyl (in my case, the blue coat).

2. Use a makeup sponge to gently dab on the polish to the nail over the vinyl. It works much better than trying to paint over the vinyl with the polish. If you don't use a makeup sponge, you end up with my epic fail above.

3. I did find that removing the negative space on the vinyl from the paper is a bit annoying. I had to punch out each little Morraccan symbol so that I would get a clean vinyl for stamping. Maybe the company could cut the vinyl out a bit deeper to assist with this problem.

4. If you mess up (I used three vinyls for this look), using vinyls can start to get a bit expensive since each vinyl comes out to be about $0.31 a piece. However, keep in mind that a manicure that costs two dollars is still cheaper than going to the salon.

5. SnailVinyls in particular has free US shipping and easy international shipping.

Overall, I like my vinyls, but I'm going to need a bit more practice. Personally, I can see myself reaching for my stamping kits more since I think nail stamping is a bit easier (and cheaper overall because you don't need to keep buying plates or stampers).  What are your thoughts? Have you tried vinyls? Do you find them easier than I did? Any tips or tricks?

NOTD: Blue and White Flowers

I decided to whip out my stamping plates again! For this mani I used my Cheeky stamping plates, China Glaze's First Mate, and NYC's 134 French White Tip.

Enjoy! XOXO,

ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Blue Manicure featuring Julep and China Glaze

I am a little late in posting this manicure, my apologies. The theme for this week was a blue manicure.

I used Julep's Bess for the base and did a sponge gradient with Julep's Taylor over the tips. Finally I used China Glaze's First Mate to stamp over the top of each nail with my Cheeky nail stamping plates. My boyfriend and I agreed that these are the best nails I have done to date. :)

Julep's Bess

Sponge Gradient

Be sure to check out the other girls' blue-inspired manis:

Lab Muffin - Maria's Nail Art - Unnaked Nails - Nail & Polish - An Accent Nail - Valiantly Varnished - MASPOOASE - Every Little Polish - MakeupnMorebyAnna

Halloween Giveaway!!!

NOTE: To have a LEGITIMATE entry into the raffle, you must follow me by clicking "JOIN THE PARTY AND FOLLOW ME" on the right of the blog. Make sure you show up as a member or your entry won't count. You MUST be a PUBLIC follower.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



RULES:

1. You must follow me publicly to win.
2. If the winner does not respond after a week, the winner forfeits and a new winner will be chosen.
3. Contest is only open in the US and Canada.

THE PRIZES:

OPI So So Skullicious Mini 4 pack

NYX Golddigger False Eyelashes

Caramel Pumpkin Pie Coffee from WorldMarket

Twinings of London Pumpkin Spice Chai

Sally Hanson Salon Effects Polish Strips in Candy Corn

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow

TOTAL VALUE: (approx. $40)

Guest Blogger: Ana and Leopard Print Nails

Hey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus. I went on vacation for a few weeks and got busy with work...but I'm back!

Today I have a special treat for all my readers: a guest blogger! Ana, who happens to be my sister, is as into beauty and food as I am and has offered to give me and my readers a tutorial on leopard print nails. Here is what she has to say:

Hello!

I tried leopard nails for the first time this weekend, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

 

 

I used Wet n' Wild Shy as the base and OPI Warm & Fozzie and China Glaze Stone Cold for the leopard spots.

After doing the base coat, I used a bobby pin to make the brown spots with OPI Warm & Fozzie. It looks best if you do not make the spots round; try to make the spots heart-shaped. Also, the leopard print tends to look better if there are a lot of spots on your nail, so don't be afraid to make your spots close together. It also looks good if you put some spots at the edges of your nail; it makes the print look more continuous. Here's a picture I took after doing the brown spots:

 

After this, I used a toothpick to make the black marks (using China Glaze Stone Cold) around the brown spots. I just tried to make two marks on each brown spot. I also tried to make these marks on the opposite sides of each spot.

And that's all I did for this manicure! If you have a hard time deciding where to put the spots, look at a picture of someone else's leopard nails. I hope you try these!!

-Ana