Beatles Tribute Nails

While I was driving home with my dad the other day we just happened to be listening to a string of songs by The Beatles. We were both singing along with the music at the top of our lungs, which I am sure would have been very embarrassing if anyone had heard us, and I got to thinking. On several occasions I have made nail designs revolving around specific bands I liked, or those who I was going to see in an upcoming concert (pictures to come), but why hadn’t I made “The Beatles” nails before?

And here they are, my Beatles tribute nails!

I drew out on paper a few designs that I thought could work but I wasn’t really having much luck. I knew for sure that I wanted to do one nail with a Yellow Submarine on it because let’s face it, pretty much everyone knows that song! So I decided to paint the submarine on my thumb because it gave me the most surface area to work with.

The rest of my nails I really could not figure out what to do with.  I finally decided that I wanted to dedicate each nail to a member of the band. I first tried to paint on each instrument that they played. Do you know how hard it is to fit a whole drum set on one nail? Well I’ll tell you. It’s pretty difficult. I settled on attempting to paint just the facial hair on the nails to make it pop.

I used a tan colour called “Malt” by Sally Hansen for the background colour. For the hair I used Quo by Orly, Instant Artist. This is another brand that has a very tiny brush for adding details. However, I did not care for this brand because the bristles are too hard and too thin so they don’t hold the nail polish well.

Hope you like them! Give it a try yourself and add your own flair!

Peacocking! - Feather up your nails

Every so often my friends present me with a challenge. They give me a suggestion or an idea of what I should do on my nails next! This feedback is always welcome because I often run low of ideas and can’t think of anything to do!  

A while back my friend posted a picture on my Facebook wall of a feather and told me she wanted me to paint it on her nails. I of course accepted the challenge but wanted to try out a few different designs on myself first.

It turned out to be much harder than I had previously thought because I couldn’t seem to master the colours or the shape.

I think I must have re done my nails five or six times until I found a method that I was pleased with. I turned the plain feather into a peacock feather so I could add more colour and detail to make the nail really pop.

For the background I chose a soft blue Sally Hansen colour called “Gray by Gray”.  Because of all the colours in a peacock’s tail, I also used a variety of blues, greens and purples. I used a gold accent to make the eye of the feather really stand out!

For the green parts of the feather I used a China Glaze product called “Watermelon Rind” and a light green made by L.A. Colours.

The Purple was “Not So Blueberry” by Revlon.

The blue and gold were both Art Deco colours. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Art Deco is a brand of nail polish with a really skinny brush that is easy to use to make designs!

Getting the pattern down took some practice but once I found a style I liked it was easy!

Try it yourself!

Magnetic Nail Polish!

I heard about this magnetic nail polish a few weeks ago and was very curious as to how the finish product would look. So when I was browsing in Shoppers Drug Mart a few weeks ago, I happened to notice that Magnetic Nail Colour by Sally Hansen was on sale! So of course I bought a bottle.

It comes in a bottle with an oversized lid that actually pops off and contains the magnet. The instructions are the bottle where easy enough to follow. Basically you do a base coat on your nail (I found this step unnecessary since you do several coats of the magnetic nail polish) and you let it dry completely. Then you are supposed to do a first coal of the Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Colour and again let that dry completely. Then you have to do another coat of the Magnetic Nail Colour, but this time you hold the magnet that is provided for you over the nail for ten seconds.

*I suggest painting one nail at a time and holding the magnet over directly after painting.

The nail polish dries pretty quickly and the polish must be wet for the effect to work properly. After doing all your nails separately you end up with a cool wave effect in your nail polish!

Overall I think this is a really cool concept and I eventually did like the outcome. When I first finished my nails with this product I was not very impressed. I thought it was a lot of effort and they didn’t turn out very well. I found that since my nail is curved and the magnet wasn’t; only parts of my nail ended up having the effect on them. I also thought that it would have been cooler if I could make different patterns with the magnets instead of just straight lines.

However, after having the polish on my nails for a few hours, the effect really grew on me! It comes in over five different colours and I would probably buy it again (if I saw it on sale)!

Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? – Fun nail designs for fall!

Fall is finally here! And with the colder weather, fall brings a bunch of new seasonal colours. I love the deep reds, browns, and gold that shows up in nature. So why not bring those colours to your nails?

The background colour I used was ‘Tease-y Does It’ – by OPI. It’s a really neat colour because it looks different in ever light! It changes from red, to brown, and sometimes purple making it the perfect backdrop for my fall nails.

For the leaves I used two different gold colours by Sally Hansen, a metallic gold by Revlon, and a sparkly gold by Art Deco.

Art Deco is a great and very inexpensive brand that makes nail polishes with very skinny brushes. The slim brush makes them very easy to maneuver and created more detailed designs. It can be found at some dollar stores and at $2.00 a bottle, it is a bargain!

To recreate this design, start with two coats of ‘Tease-y Does It’ – by OPI. Remember to let the first layer dry completely before applying the second coat.

The next step is where you can get really creative and make the design your own.

Create leaf shapes on your nails with a gold polish. You can make them different shapes, sizes, and different kinds of leaves. Once you have the basic shapes painted, outline the shape in the gold Art Deco to really make it stand out.

Get creative and have fun with all the fall colours!

Fade to Black! – Fun and easy nail design

It’s time to make your plain nails stand out. For this easy design you only need two colours. I chose my base coat, or background colour, to be black (‘Razzle Dazzler’ – Nicole by OPI) and a clear based sparkled colour called ‘Bedazzled’ by ICING nail polish.

The black polish is probably one of my favourites because it has a wider brush that eliminates a lot of streaking. It also has good coverage and only takes two coats to get a solid colour.

‘Razzle Dazzler’ – Nicole by OPI is available at most Shoppers Drug Marts and is relatively affordable. ‘Bedazzled’ ICING nail polish is available at Icings boutiques and is only a few dollars a bottle.

I love black nails because they look very sleek, however, you can make your nails stand out and look really special with this easy design!

The sparkle that I used consists of blue and purple sparkles with a clear base and it adds a really cool effect when used overtop of the black.

Start by doing two solid coats of black on all of your nails. Remember to let them dry completely between coats! After the black is completely dry, you can apply your first coat of sparkle.

Apply a thin layer of sparkles starting half way down the nail and brush it to the tip. The layer should be thin enough to allow the black to still be seen though the sparkles. After letting that layer dry, apply another layer of sparkle just at the tip of the nail to make the sparkles solid. You should not be able to see any black at the tip of the nail!

It may seem like a lot of layers but it is worth it. The finish product is a very cool gradient effect that makes your nails stand out!

After all the layers are dry, finish off with a top coat. I used ‘Top Coat Plus’ – Nicole by OPI. The top coat sets everything in place and gives it a nice shine. It also helps the nail design last longer and prevents chipping.

Remember you can mix it up and make it your own by changing the colours used!