Do cherries grow up to become cherry blossom trees?

Ok, I totally took the title from a manga chapter of Gintama. Oops, let my nerd show for a bit there.

Going to Japan to see the cherry blossoms is at the top of my life list, but until that happens, I know of some cherry trees a bit closer to home. Last April of 2012, I visited High Park, Toronto after I heard that the blossoms would be in full bloom that weekend. It definitely did not disappoint.

Of course, I had to do my nails to show off my favourite flower. A bit different from the traditional cherry blossom mani, I used nail foil for the petals by painting on spots of glue in petal shapes. I love when the light catches the petals, they flash and glow.

I painted three coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu, then painted the branches with Essie Mink Muffs before applying the foil. I was thinking of doing a light blue-green gradient as the base, but I decided on a soft white base to let the foil shine on its own.

I dotted on some white afterwards, but I think I prefer it without.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to visit High Park this year - good thing I took so many pictures!

Hope you didn't mind my cherry blossom spam. Oh and one last gif from Gintama.

Bam. See you!

Painted feathers

Hello, hello! I wanted to try feather nails, but I also didn't want to deal with the cutting and trimming of actual feathers. So I tried my hand at painting them. I used a fan brush to try and get that wispy look. A valiant attempt, but I think this one would go in my fail book. I asked my friend if she could tell they were feathers and she said, "...well, they do look kind of furry". LOL.

I used three coats of Sally Hansen Crinoline as the base, and brushed China Glaze Ingrid with a fan brush for the bulk of the feather. I used China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, OPI Thanks A Windmillion, and OPI You're Such A Budapest for the colour details.

If you squint and don't look too closely, they kind of look like feathers? Have a good week!

*No birds were harmed in the making of this manicure* - Wafflerun

Poppy print

The sun is shining, and I'm feelin' fine. Happy weekend, everyone! Today I have this pretty poppy print that was inspired by my Rowan skirt from Club Monaco (kind of obsessed with their clothing recently). I love having my nails match my clothing. Gives me some kind of weird sense of accomplishment.

I started with two coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff for the base. I didn't think I could love another neutral base as much as I loved OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, but I was wrong. For the blue brushstrokes, I dipped the tips of a fan brush into Essie Bobbing for Baubles, getting the excess off before making quick, random, short strokes. Then with a normal striper brush, I made thicker strokes of blue, and added accents of red with Sally Hansen Kook-A-Mango.

For the poppies, I painted the shape of my flower with Zoya Arizona, so I have a bit of orange peeking through. Then I painted over the flower again with my red. Finally, I went back in with my blue and base colour for the poppy centres and extra details.

I love these designs where I don't have to worry so much about being neat. It's a much more free way of painting.

Special occasions call for matching nails

I recently attended an engagement party for a very dear friend of mine. It was a really lovely day as the happy couple exchanged rings in the company of their friends and family. I was told the dress code was "bright and colorful" so I obliged in my silk wrap dress. Of course, my nails couldn't go undressed either.

My dress consists of a long piece of silk, with ties at the ends, and a different pattern on each side. There are so many ways to tie and wear it, it's so much fun! I usually wear it it strapless and tie a bow just below my bust, but I decided to go with the halter option this time. I matched my nails to the tie around my neck.

Apologize for the blinding whiteness

Better shot of the pattern

I really love how these turned out, considering how little planning went into this. It was also my chance to use my new OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, which I used two coats for the base colour. Then I took Sally Hansen Grass Slipper and a small brush to make random waves and squiggles. I did the same for the pink, which is OPI Sparrow Me the Drama. Then a final touch of copper with Essie Penny Talk to help break up all those bright, saturated colours.

Thanks for reading guys, have a great weekend!

Holographic stars and strawberries

When the sun is shining, it's time for the holo polishes to come out and play! I bought my first holo polish from Urban Outfitters as a pick-me-up present to myself. Wasn't expecting much, but OH MAN when I brought this baby out in the sun, I was completely floored. I mean, LOOK AT THIS!

I freehanded on some cascading stars with black acrylic paint. Indoors, you can still see some of the rainbow effect. I'm just sorry I didn't get a picture in the sun with the stars.

After this first wonderful experience with a holo, I was craving more. I picked up Color Club "Miss Bliss" and "Over the Moon". I used Miss Bliss for some holographic strawberries over "Bossy Boots" from butter London, a really gorgeous, pistachio green. The strawberry leaves were painted with Essie "Mojito Madness".

Holographic strawberries have magical properties, you know. If you eat one, you will gain enough strength to defeat the evil Dark Wizard Mage King.

Apple of my eye

Hello hello, my lovelies. I am preparing for a week of cramstudy for an exam I have this coming Saturday, so I am making my weekly post early. I have quite a romantic set of nails for V-day this week. Or, you know, creepy, if you think having an eye staring back at you from your nail is creepy. Whatevs.

I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a romantic, so I had a bit of a time coming up with Valentine's mani ideas. I didn't want to go with the traditional red, pink, white colour scheme, and I also wanted to do something more than just lovey dovey hearts. I think this literal take on the expression "apple of my eye" is a good compromise. Still has a lovey dovey heart, but also just enough creepy hahaha. 

I started off with two coats of American Apparel L'Esprit. It's basically a one coater, but I used two to make it perfect. It's a super pretty lavender colour that actually doesn't make my skin look washed out. After outlining my eye shape, I filled it in with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Notice that my lines do not start out clean by any means. I use the white to refine a little bit. I used China Glaze Flyin' High for the pupil, and Purr-fect Plum for the apple. When it's this close-up, you can really see all the lumps and bumps, but top coat fixes all.

The rest of my fingers kind of just happened. I painted the XO's on my ring finger with My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Then I used American Apparel Coney Island for the pink heart on my thumb, and outlined it with Purr-fect Plum. Now what to do for my pinky? I already had an "eye" and a "heart"...OH! "Eye heart U!" "I'm so clever," I think, as I pat myself on the back. The glitter that you see on my index is Revlon Whimsical. It all ties together!

I love this jelly gradient look! I started with two coats of OPI "You Callin' Me A Lyre". Then I lightly brushed Sally Hansen Dive Deeper, a sheer, icy, "Cinderella blue" onto the tips. I topped everything with a layer of Whimsical. The lightly tinted, milky blue base of Whimsical, along with the glitter, helped to blend everything together. 

Since this is my first (mini) photo tutorial, I'd love to know what you guys think! Do you prefer real nail pictures, or my previous hand-drawn tutorials? Have a great week!

If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it

Haha, classic. Today I have a Baroque-inspired pattern - I say inspired because I didn't do too much research before painting. I kind of just went for it. A random swirl here, dot there, leaf over here. I think they still turned out pretty (and probably took less time than if I had tried to painstakingly recreate a pattern), but they say more just vines to me than Baroque.

I started out with two coats of Essie Going Incognito. I CANNOT believe that this is only the second time I've ever used this colour. I mean, I remember liking it the first time, but I didn't remember it being such an amazingly rich and glossy and all-around gorgeous green! I am now seriously considering buying a backup bottle, I love it that much. I'd show you a swatch on its own, but I did these at a friend's house, so I didn't have my camera handy then. Next time!

The gold pattern is painted on with Zoya Ziv, another great polish. I used my regular medium length brush to draw the main path/shape of the swirl, then built onto it by thickening some parts and adding leafy extensions. I used a tiny dotting tool for the dots. Lesson learned: don't overdot. Too many dots makes it look cluttered.

Look, I was not lazy and actually did both hands this time!

What do you think, are these Baroque-y enough for you? You can really tell how much I know about the style, huh. Also, is it just me, or does gold look amazing with everything? I thought I loved turquoise and gold, but this combination is definitely giving some competition. Until next time!

More Japanese waves - just the tips

Today I have another version of a Japanese wave pattern. Originally I was thinking of doing the full pattern, but I thought it looked quite striking on just the tips, when I tried it out on my thumb. Also I wanted to show more of the pretty turquoise colour underneath.

I'd thought for a while if there was any good way I could do this with tape or something, to make the lines cleaner. I drew a blank, so I had to rely on my freehand abilities. It's definitely not perfect, but from a normal distance, they look pretty rocking to me.

Polishes:

Left to right: China Glaze "Flyin' High", Sephora by OPI "Not Your Average Turquoise", China Glaze "Adventure Red-y, white acrylic paint

I painted 1-2 coats of Flyin' High, which I topped with Not Your Average Turquoise. Can I just say how pretty this glitter is? I imagine it can turn any blue into a glittery, underwater, magical wonderland. Then I went in with my medium length brush and painted the white semi-circles. I retraced the semi-circles with an even thinner brush in Adventure Red-y, trying my best to keep the red line centered along the white one. Last, I dotted the white dots with a bobby pin.    

Maybe next time I'll do the full pattern! Check out my other Japanese waves nails here. Until next time, friends!