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!

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!

Watercolour Drip Nails

I'd been wanting to do watercolour nails for a long time, but the technique I've tried where you drop acetone onto blobs of polish didn't create the effect that I wanted. While the acetone does make a neat ring effect in the polish, I wanted a bit of a more brushstrokey, splodgey  look. I think I've achieved that with my American Apparel sheer polishes.

The best thing is, these are super easy to do with some good jelly polishes. I'd like to make a proper tutorial for the watercolour and drip effect in the future, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in!

Polishes:

Left to right: American Apparel "Manhattan Beach", "Summerland Beach", "Pacific Beach", "Redondo Beach", "Moonlight Beach", OPI "Don't Touch My Tutu", Sally Hansen "White Out"

Directions:

1. Start off with a white base. I used two coats of a sheer white, OPI "Don't Touch My Tutu" to keep the transparency, but I don't think a solid white base would make a difference with all the layers we'll be doing.
2. Take a jelly colour, and make random strokes and splodges.
3. Repeat with all of your colours until your entire nail is covered.   
4. Paint over everything with one coat of a sheer white. 

I really liked the resulting look, but I wanted to add some hard edges in there to break things up a bit. Then I remembered I haven't tried drip nails yet either, and this was definitely the perfect opportunity.

I loved it so much, I went for a full-blown drip mani.

Again, please let me know if you'd like to see a full tutorial for this! I'll be back next week with another "Alice in Wonderland" design. Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Alice in Wonderland Nail Art Series: Cheshire Cat

 "You may notice I'm not all there myself."

Hi friends! I'm happy today to make the first post in my "Alice in Wonderland" nail art series. I'll be doing a set of Wonderland themed nails every week, for the next several weeks. Hope you'll enjoy these! I've always loved the imagery from "Alice in Wonderland". It's crazy and can be a bit unsettling, but so colourful and fun.

These first set of nails are inspired by the Cheshire Cat, with his trademark grin, and disappearing stripes. If you look closely, you can see the pink stripes start solid on the middle finger, get slightly more transparent on the index, and then disappear completely on the thumb.

Polishes:

Left to right: OPI "Sparrow Me the Drama", Zoya "Reagan", Sally Hansen "White On", black striper

Directions:

Here is how I created the Cheshire smile. The Zoya brush was very easy to maneuver, so the thick purple stripes are painted freehand.

1) Paint two coats of white and make evenly spaced stripes with a striper.

2) Cut a smile shape from tape. I just modified a binder paper reinforcement.

3) Line up the smile with your cuticle, and make sure it's pressed down completely. 

4) Paint a coat of white on the remaining area to cover up the extra stripes. Then a coat or two of pink.

5) Remove the tape the reveal your wide Cheshire smile.

Finished! If you have any suggestions for me or specific designs you'd like to see, just leave me a comment!

Alice in Wonderland Nail Art Series

• Down the Rabbit Hole
• Big or Small
• Unbirthday

Nail Art: Counting Sheep

Warning: These nails may put you to sleep. Do not stare at them while driving or operating heavy machinery.

Polishes:

Left to right: Revlon "Dreamer", Wet n Wild "Kaleidoscope", OPI "Jade is the New Black", Illamasqua "Milf", China Glaze "Lemon Fizz", Sally Hansen "White On" and "Black Out"

Directions:
Base: Start off with two coats of "Dreamer" (how appropriate is the name). Add a bit of glitter for stars.

Finished!

Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy...

Nail Art: Breaking Bad

Hello friends, hope you are having a fine Sunday. I've been catching myself up with Breaking Bad, and I think the new season is off to a great start. Can't wait to see where it goes! Today's nail art is tribute to this amazing series. To anyone who hasn't seen it, I'd highly recommend Breaking Bad if you like a good drama with gripping suspense, tension, and top notch acting.

Also, this was my first attempt at water marbling. And it was not awful! It went much easier and smoother than I expected. I'll make a proper tutorial for it once I've got the technique down, more or less. I'm quite happy with how well the green swirls emulate the title credits.

Polishes:

Left to right: OPI "Jade is the New Black", Orly "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe", Sally Hansen "Grass Slipper", Sally Hansen "White On", Sally Hansen "Black Out"

Directions:

This was my formula for the water marbling, in this order:
1 drop of OPI "Jade is the New Black" + 1 drop of Orly "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" + 1 drop of Sally Hansen "Grass Slipper" + 1 more drop of  OPI

The gold shimmer in Orly didn't show up in the marbling, but it might have affected the way the polish spread over the water. I found I didn't need as many drops of polish as I thought, but I'll have to experiment a little to be sure.

Finished!

If you already watch Breaking Bad, how do you like it? If not, do you think you'll check it out? How was your first attempt at water marbling?

Thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Nude Gradient with OPI My Very First Knockwurst

I saw this look on Zoenails and I fell in love! Simple, with a pop of colour - and you might know how I love my gradients! I had a major nail polish haul this week, and OPI My Very First Knockwurst was one of them, so here's my version.

This was done with two coats of OPI My Very First Knockwurst, and then sponged with Sally Hansen Snappy Sorbet.

 

My Very First Knockwurst is a light pink putty creme from the OPI Germany Collection. It comes off as a dusty rose, leaning to lilac. The formula was an absolute pleasure to work with, going on easily in two coats. It doesn't quite look nude against my skin, but it's still pretty and very appropriate for the conservative-office.

I just may have to go back for the other nude from the Germany Collection, Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I'm more inclined to buy these "plain" colours, rather than the deep, metallic shades that are offered (though I love seeing them on other people's nails).

Have you picked up any shades from the Germany Collection? What is your perfect nude colour? I am still on the hunt for mine!

Nail Art: Cinnamoroll Cupcake with Nails Inc Sweets Way

After my last cookies and milk design with Sugar House Lane, I was excited to try the other colour I picked up from the Nails Inc Sprinkles collection: Sweets Way.

I already had a cupcake in mind for the design, but what else? Here's a riddle: what's blue, pink, white, and ridiculously cute?

If your answer was Cinnamoroll, you are correct!

Most of you are probably saying "Cinnamo-who?" and I don't blame you. For the curious, here's some background info.

Sweets Way has a milky white base with blue, pink, and silver glitter. I love how the milky base changes the finish of the glitter, giving it a more muted look. The formula was smooth, but the glitter spread a little unevenly on the first coat. This fixed itself on the second coat once the glitter had something to grab onto.

Polishes:

Left to right: Nails Inc "Sweets Way", American Apparel "American Denim", OPI "No Room for the Blues", American Apparel "Coney Island", Sally Hansen "White On"

Materials:

• nail art brush

Directions:

 Tip: When outlining, don't be too worried about any mistakes. You can always go back with your colour to "erase" or fill in any gaps you might have.

Finished!

Hope you liked this cute little guy! OH and look what I found:

I collected a crapload of these 3D/foam stickers when I was younger. I'm proud that I actually used some.

Thanks for reading, have yourself a good weekend!