diy splatter nail polish

July 19, 2012 by 15 Comments

Not gonna lie, this splatter manicure might kill a few brain cells. But it’s cute, so directly inhaling nail polish fumes through a straw is worth it…right? (Nail polish is the new bath salts. You heard it here first.)

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Nail polish (at least two colors): I used Back to the Fuchsia by Sally Hansen, Sorbet by Sally Hansen and Flirt by Revlon
  • A straw (I found that a thin coffee straw worked best)
  • Scrap paper or newspaper (to catch the excess splatter)
  • Masking tape
  • Top coat nail polish

First, paint your nails whatever base color you choose. Let them completely dry.

Next, mummify your fingers with the masking tape. Think of it like a bib—you want everything covered except for the nail itself. This will make cleanup a lot easier.

Dip the end of the straw in the nail polish, aim it at your fingernails, and blow through the other end, splattering the polish across your nails. This is where the brain damage occurs. I found the most effective technique was to inhale a little through the straw before exhaling. For some reason, this made for a much easier splattering effect.

Repeat with your second color (if you choose to do another color).

Carefully unwrap the tape from around your nails once the splattered coat has had some time to dry. Touch up any spots with a q-tip dipped in nail polish remover. Cover with a top coat of clear polish and you have some fabulous splatter nail polish to show off!

P.S. Definitely kidding about the bath salts. And you know you’re getting old when you feel the need to make it clear you were joking because it legitimately worries you that some idiot kid out there might try to get high off nail polish because of something you said. Damnit, I’m no fun anymore.

 

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diy american flag nail art

June 29, 2012 by 9 Comments

The Fourth of July countdown continues! I’ve posted manicure tutorials before (tribal print & chevron) that use tape as a stencil, but it wasn’t until some heavy Pinterest browsing that it occurred to me how much easier it’d be to use the tape on the nail. It was a why didn’t I think of that?! moment. I hate those.

Competitiveness aside, I couldn’t wait to put the technique to use in a manicure worthy of the 4th of July. For this American flag nail art, you’ll need:

  • Scotch tape
  • Scissors
  • Red nail polish
  • Blue nail polish
  • White nail polish
  • Clear top coat polish

Start with two coats of the white polish. Let them completely dry (this is my least favorite part of painting my nails).

Keeping the tape in the dispenser, paint a strip with two coats of the blue and let it dry.

Using the scissors, cut a star from the blue section of tape. If you have young kids, are an art teacher, or are the late Michael Jackson, you may have a star-shaped hole-punch laying around your house. Use that instead of the scissors for a perfectly shaped star. As you can see, my star ended up being a litte—err—bottom-heavy.

Stick the star tape to your ring finger nail (or whatever nail you choose).

Paint another chunk of tape with two coats of red and let that dry. You’ll then cut the red tape into thin strips and stick them on to your remaining nails as the stripes of the “flag.” If you want a subtle American flag accent, just do the nail to the right of the starred nail. This is the look I prefer.

If you want to go all out with your 4th of July pride, add stripes to all remaining nails. Regardless of if you do one or all of them, cover all nails with a clear top coat of polish. As you can see, I didn’t wait long enough for my red tape to dry, and when I added the clear coat, my middle nail smudged a bit. Womp womp wommmmp.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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diy chevron nails tutorial

April 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

I recently learned what “chevron” meant. Seriously. Like one month ago my dense head figured out that zigzag patterns are called chevron. Not sure how I went through life with a shopping addiction and never put two and two together, but now I’m trying to incorporate this fancy new word into my daily vocabulary as much as possible. Queue the chevron manicure!

SUPPLIES

 

  • A primary polish (I used chinchilly by essie)
  • A secondary polish (I used alpine matte by OPI)
  • Nail Art pens (I used a white Sally Hansen one)
  • Masking tape
  • Scissors
  • Clear top-coat polish

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Paint your nails. Let them completely dry.
  2. Cut a small piece of masking tape (or Scotch tape) in half, in a zigzag line. Stick the two pieces on to your nail in tandem, leaving a small gap between them.
  3. Paint the exposed part of your nail. Let dry (but not completely), and carefully remove the tape, leaving a zigzag line.
  4. Using the nail art pen, draw a thin zigzag below and above the original.
  5. Add a clear top coat. Let completely dry.
  6. Show off your chevron accent nail!

P.S. I’m already regretting admitting to you guys that I didn’t know what “chevron” meant…

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diy tribal-print manicure

April 16, 2012 by 3 Comments

 

Three personal takeaways from this DIY:

  1. I need a camera lens for close-ups
  2. My hands are really, really awkward up close
  3. Attempting this DIY manicure while halfway through your second coffee-and-Bailey’s drink on the morning of St. Patrick’s Day will result in less-than-ideal tribal-print nails.

Anyway, I gave myself this green tribal-print manicure for St. Patrick’s Day (as I mentioned), but am just getting around to post the tutorial now. A one-month turnaround time? You go, girl, you go! It is however a fitting time for all things “green” because Earth Day is on Sunday. I love it when procrastination works in my favor!

SUPPLIES

  • A light-colored polish (I used Revlon’s Jaded)
  • A dark-colored polish (I used Sally Hansen’s Emerald City)
  • Nail Art pens (I used black and white Sally Hansen ones)
  • Masking tape
  • Patience
  • Sobriety

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Paint your nails in the lighter shade, two coats. Let them completely dry. Do a better job than I did.
  2. Cut masking tape in thin strips, triangles and whatever else your imagination dreams up. Stick it to your nails in varying patterns.
  3. Paint your nails in the darker color, two coats. Before nail polish has completely dried, remove masking tape carefully. The lines won’t be perfect, but don’t stress, you’ll touch them up with the nail art pens.
  4. Trace lines with nail art pens. Add decorative touches like dots, zigzags and whatever else works.
  5. Coat nails with a clear polish. Let completely dry.

Take a shower. I find that showering after recently painted nails have dried is a great way to clean up nail polish spills onto cuticles. And if your left hand’s skill level is anything like my left hand’s skill level, there will be a LOT of skin spills. Hey, coloring inside the lines isn’t always that easy, ok?

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