Two-Tone Diagonals

Here is a color blocking inspired nail look using two different tones of blue along a edgy diagonal. 

What you need:

Essie go overboard  w   Essie turquoise & caicos  w  Essie good to go  w  Scotch Tape

On my left hand I painted my thumb with 2 coats of turquoise & caicos and the rest with go overboard.

Then on my right hand I painted my thumb with go overboard and the rest 2 coats of turquoise & caicos.

Once the nails are dry it is time to add the scotch tape. Take the tape and place it on the back of your hand first to take off some stickiness. Then smooth it along the nail at a diagonal. 

Then taking the opposite color add a coat of polish.

Peel the tape immediately & you should see a nice diagonal line. 

If you feel like it needs a second coat; wait a few minutes for it to dry & repeat the taping process.  

Then add a good helping of top coat & voilà you have a fun and edgy two-toned look.

On Pinterest? Repin here!

Mermaid Nails

Oh yes klava superfans, the day has come that I get to show you (& the rest of the blogosphere) how to get my version of Mermaid Nails inspired by cupcakes and cashmere.

  Now because I don't own Martha Stewart's loose glitter set (shocker I know, but it's way over priced) I decided to improvise & use a glitter polish. (much more affordable) I also decided to amp it up a bit & make every nail sparkly & fabulous. 

What you need:

 Funky Fingers Flashing Lights w Essie turquoise & caicos w Sally Hansen Insta-Dri w small detailing paint brush

Start with two coats of Essie's turquoise & caicos

next paint a line of Funky Fingers Flashing Lights across the edge of your nail, just like you would a french. Don't stress about the line being super perfect, it will blur in the next steps.

Apply a small amount of polish to your paint brush. (Remember not to dip the paint brush in polish bottle, just dab on a little bit using the polish brush.) 'Less is more.'

Using the paint brush in a rocking motion back & forth; gently graze the brush from the tip of your nail & rock back once you get about 3/4  to 1/2 of the way down. You may have to reload your paint brush with polish per nail. 

You don't want the lines to be perfectly even, try to vary their lengths & go for an uneven/asymmetrical feel. You can later go in a dot in some smaller pieces of glitter using a semi dry brush (Just wipe of the excess polish and blow on it for a second).

When your satisfied with your nails apply 2 coats of top coat to seal the deal. 

& voilà, mermaid nails that even Ariel herself wouldn't mind rocking.  ;)

On Pinterest? Repin Here!

Valentine's Day Nails

Because Valentine's Day directly follows my birthday I'm feeling double generous, so in this post you are going to get a 2 for 1! Two different Valentine's Day inspired nail looks, a sweetheart candy look and a classic Valentine's Day look.  I created both of these looks using a method that helps you make your own nail art stickers!

What you need to create sweetheart nails :

Plastic sandwich bag w 2 small detailing paint brushes w tweezers w Sally Hansen Insta Dri wEssie Mezmerised w Sally Hansen Brisk Blue w Essie Turquoise & Caicosw Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow w OPI Strawberry Margarita w Essie Marshmallow w OPI Sweet Memories w Funky Fingers Cheshire (not photographed see Reverse Glitter French or click)

Both of these looks have 2 coats of OPI Sweet Memories as a base

1st cut off the top & sides of your sandwich bag so you have a nice long piece of plastic, lay it flat on a cutting board or something solid. 

To make the hearts start with a dot of polish, & with a detailing brush drag a line down at a diagonal. Repeat on the other side. Or if your skilled draw an outline of a heart in polish, then fill in. 

With each color make a variety of sizes, & multiples of each (just in case one or two break during peeling.) If you don't have the exact colors your looking for, grab a paper plate and mix up your polishes using a couple different colors & white to add a pastel like hue. 

When mixing polishes think back to elementary school & remember that color wheel. Ahh yes, primary & secondary colors. (Red, Blue & Yellow are primary, Purple, Green & Orange are secondary for those of you who need to blow the dust off your books) Any color combo is possible if you have the three primaries, play around & explore the options you can take with your polishes. However, I would only recommend doing this for detailed design work, as you don't want to waste a lot of polish, & it will dry up faster when you mix it due to it's oxygen exposure. 


The color combos I used in the sweetheart nail are:


4 Drops Mellow Yellow + 1 Drop Marshmallow = sweetheart yellow 
4 Drops Mellow Yellow + 1 Drop Strawberry Margarita + 1 Drop Marshmallow = sweetheart orange
3 Drops Turquoise & Caicos + 1 Drop Mellow Yellow + 1 Drop Marshmallow = sweetheart green
3 Drops Brisk Blue + 1 Drop Mezmerised + 2 Drops Marshmallow = sweetheart blue
2 Drops Strawberry Margarita + + 2 Drops Marshmallow = sweetheart pink
3 Drops Cheshire (not photographed see Reverse Glitter French)+ 1 Drop Marshmallow = sweetheart purple




When you finish making all your hearts let them dry for about 5 minutes, then you can begin detailing them with OPI Strawberry Margarita for the lettering. 

 I let mine dry overnight. You want to give it enough time to dry, because they will not remove from the plastic if they are not completely dry.

The next day take your plastic & on the backside run it along the edge of a table, you just want to begin loosening up the polish from the plastic. 

Now its time to remove. Pinch the plastic loosely between your fingers and begin rolling back and forth till an end of a heart becomes loose. If a corner gets stuck, gently run a pair of tweezers under it until it pops free.

Place your heart sticker on the nail, & smooth it out with your finger to avoid air bubbles. Then cover with a good helping of top coat! 

& voilà,  Sweetheart Nails!

What you need to create Classic Valentine's Nails:

Plastic sandwich bag w 2 small detailing paint brushes w tweezers w Essie Luxeffects Shine Of The Times w  Sally Hansen Insta Dri w China Glaze Ruby Pumps w Sally Hansen Strobe Light w OPI Strawberry Margarita w Essie Marshmallow w OPI Sweet Memories

Follow the same steps as above, except instead of painting words onto your hearts, add a touch of glitter! Also put on a coat of Sally Hansen Strobe Light onto your Thumb & Ring Finger before you place your hearts! 

Have fun with these looks to spice up your Valentine's Day!

On Pinterest? Repin these looks here or here!

Special thanks to a special 'name rhyming' lady for being my nail model on the classic vday look! ;)