Posts Tagged Nail Art
Happy Easter Everyone!! (with a Celebatory Mani!)
Posted by Latoya in butter London, Essie, Holiday, MAC, Nail Art, Nail Polish, Revlon, Sally Hansen, Zoya on March 29, 2013
Wishing you all a lovely long weekend and some good time spent with friends and family! 
I just cooked a full-on brunch for a handful of my friends at my place (with ingredients contributed by my guests!) and it was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. I’m not back to work until Wednesday and I am SO looking forward to maxin’ and relaxin’!
If the weather is like this all weekend, I will be one happy gal! See how little snow is left?!
Last night I multi-tasked (surprize) by painting an Easter egg mani – last year I did all different pastel shades, so I had to think of something new this time around. I think they came out pretty well for freehand – I probably should invest in some doting tools etc. to actually make nail art look really good, but I do it so infrequently I probably won’t bother lol. Hope you enjoy!
All shades used: butter London Jasper, MAC Mischievous Mint, Sally Hansen Barracuda, Zoya Marley, Essie Muchi Muchi, Revlon Whimsical
Whether or not you celebrate the religious holiday or just use the days off as like mini-vacay, I hope you take the time to relax and enjoy it – and I hope you have some spring-like weather!! This is what I’m being treated to today (and it’s actually *warm-ish* – a balmy 7 degrees, woohoo!). Have faith – summer is right around the corner
Oh – I forgot to mention: since Google Reader is eventually going kaput, I’m now linked in to Bloglovin’ (check out my sidebar) – feel free to follow me there ’till your heart’s content 
xo!
The Ever-Helpful Filler Post: A FOTD, Polish, and Nail Art!
Hiiii guys! I have been hiding out and trying to minimize the time in front of my computer zombifying…seriously, these damn electronics can suck you in and eat your brain big time. I’ve been drafting up posts here and there but not sitting down for too long because I just need a break. S’OK? And plus, I want to show you some fab looks with all of my new(ish) pretties! Here’s one look that I wore out this weekend:
Forgive me for less than stellar shots, as usual I was running late and took these in the bathroom of the party I was at while trying to remain inconspicuous lol. And I probably had a few rum & cokes by this point… I’m a lost cause ~sigh~ Anyway, I took this look directly from this tutorial of Lisa Eldridge’s – I ADORED how it came out, another one of those looks that made me feel badass and awesome all evening (and isn’t that the point?). I’ve been really getting into colored shadows again lately, so fun! FYI – I’m wearing MAC’s Blue Edge (discontinued) topped with Shimmermoss on my top lid and Beautiful Iris on my lower lash lines. Oh, and also, I used the Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil in my hair and HOLY SMOKES. I LOVE THIS STUFF – look at my hair! Just look at it!!!!!
I’ve also got a spring-themed post in the works that I’ve been thinking of for ages but haven’t had all the pieces to put it together. If I’m not too, um…under the weather after Paddy’s Day on Sunday, I plan to get it done that Monday as I’m off work. It involves some very pretty polishes that I’m totally diggin’ – unlike this polish, which sadly did NOT do it for me:
I know, an it’s an a-England polish too! Tess d’Urbervilles, a blackened green shimmer. It looks nice here but I couldn’t wait to take it off. I’m just not a fan of green hued polishes, unless they’re pale /pastel-toned or more of a teal green. Ah well, can’t win ‘em all!
I have been trying to do things that are good for my well-being as much as possible – this semi-computer break being one of them, as well as joining a yoga studio that had an awesome deal: $108 for three months of unlimited classes. Heck YES! I went today after work; the focus was shoulders and OMG I feel so effing great!! My back and neck are always sore from working at a computer (and being at one at home too) and this worked it out so well. I am feeling particularly SUPER WOMAN LIKE today because I also went for a run at lunch. So YAY for mental & physical health! 
I feel all zingy – kinda like this nail art I did a few weeks ago:
This could have been SO much better – the concept and colors I totally liked, but I used french manicure strips that kept pulling up the polish beneath it, no matter if I let it dry for 5 minutes for 15. SO irritating! Half of this ended up being freehand and the other is just a mess of me trying to fix the peeled polish areas. Urgh. For reference, the shades I used there Revlon’s Sterling, Essie No More Film, and Zoya’s Wednesday.
And there you have it! My very best attempt at giving you something to look at while simultaneously chattering away with abandon, and trying to link the two. Successful? Probably not, but I wasn’t sure when or how I’d post these photos, so it worked for me!
I hope everyone had a great Monday!!!
I Found the Way to Tap Into My Creativity….
Posted by Latoya in Nail Art, Nail Polish on August 9, 2012
…yea, it involves a whole bottle of champagne for dinner.
It’s probably best if I keep the chatter to a minimum…suffice to say, here’s something a li’l special I came up with for my weekend events. It’s awesome/terrible – please be gentle!! Or, give me lots and lots of positive feedback
Snazzy??? Horrid?? I could have done an infinitely better job, but considering this was my first try – first try at the leopard-print look, and the first try at this particular mani, I think it could have been much worse!
My pedi is near the shade of the coral tones in the mani so it compliments fairly well I think (but not too much!). The shades I used here were Chanel Inattendu (base), Deborah Lippmann Daytripper (coral), and a-England Camelot (black – look at all the use I’m getting out of it already!). I really need to get into more ‘basic’ nail art – it really makes a lovely impact, and it let’s me play with the shades I already have, which helps me take it easy on the new purchases
I hope you like this! I know it’s not a great job, but the idea is fun, and I promise I’ll get better!
Entirely unrelated to the mani – what’s your favorite romantic comedy? I’m watching “What’s Your Number?” with Anna Faris while I polish and post – it’s pretty crappy, though I do love her and Chris Evans
Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-It-Post: Gradient Manicure
Posted by Latoya in Just for Fun, Nail Art, Nail Polish on May 17, 2012
May continues to be a busy month, and I haven’t had much time to sit down in front of my computer much (at home at least…work is another story, but that’s not fun time)! I just came back from seeing ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at the theatre here, it was FANTASTIC. What an excellent cast! We usually go to see 3 shows at the Neptune theatre per season, and we’ve been doing this so long now that most of the cast members feel like old friends They really outdid themselves with this particular performance!
Anyway, I still have a little bit of pep left in me to show you something *sorta cool* I did a couple weekends ago. I was dying to do a mani but none of my polishes were inspiring me. I honestly looked through my stash for the better part of an hour before I decided on a look! I decided to try out a gradient manicure (also known as ombre – though that can be considered another style altogether too! Confusing!). I am by no means a nail art expert or even much more than a novice, so please forgive my poor skills – though I think this is something I’d like to practice more often, as it’s not too hard that I can’t eventually get the hang of it!
I used LA Girl’s polish in Hyper, a near-neon pink, and then sponged on first a coat of OPI’s Dutch’ya Love OPI? (medium grape), and then a bit of a-England’s Lady of the Lake (violet prismatic polish) on top. I was hoping the shimmer would do a lil something extra, but it just kinda fell flat – lesson learned! 
At a glance, my handiwork doesn’t look too bad, but up close…
…you can see it’s not ideal – a little uneven, and the sparkly bits should have been avoided altogether. But I LOVE the color combo, and even though it annoyed me to see the irregularities, I still admired my work often – though it chipped within a day, which has been happening a lot lately to my mani’s! I think my nails are a bit damaged so I’m trying to keep them short and hydrated as much as possible for the next while so they can grow out healthy – I’m all for changing my polish, but more like every few days, not every day!
Anyway, this was a fun little thing to do to mix up the normal *same-old* mani, and actually fairly easy – I just snipped a makeup sponge in half and dipped it in the darker polish and sponged it on the tip after the base shade had TOTALLY dried (this tip is a must). There are great tutorials on this process that I highly advise you checking out if you’re interested in trying it – I was too lazy to bother watching them all but I probably would have done a much better job if I had! *MEH*
Have you done any nail art lately?
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