Day 243) Peacock nail art

Yesterday I got a real bargain because all the nail products were 1+1 (buy one, get one for free).
I also took an Essence special effect topper.
Mostly I don't even notice these special effect toppers.
Many times it's just a clear polish with glitters...when I have simular glitters at home I will make it myself!
But this one I couldn't resist taking (well, and it was free).

Essence Nail art Special effect! topper - 15 Glitter on me

 

This clear polish has silver micro glitter combined with multicolor strips/pieces which gives the total look a kinda holo one.

 

The colors and the feather like pieces reminded me of a peacock.

Although I've done a peacock nail art before I wanted to do it again and this time prettier.

 

I used a pretty teal color as my base:

New York Color NYC - 206 East Village

 

 

I didn't know how the outcome would be with the topper. Therefore I took the picture above.

But here is the one with Essence topper:

 

 

Which one do you prefer most?

 





Day 242) Nail art brick wall

When I bought my Artdeco sparkling sand nail lacquer (gold) I had trouble deciding which one to take.
There was also a beautiful black one but after a lot of thinking I chose the gold because I saw some more ways to use this one (read Christmas time).
I regretted that I couldn't take them both but today my eye catched Essence Colour & Go Sparkle Sand Effect nail polish.
The color in the bottle showed some similarities with the Artdeco black one that I couldn't afford.
Obviously this ended up in my shopping basket.

Want to know what I'm talking about...
Here is a swatch of this polish:

 

Essence Colour & Go Sparkle Sand Effect - 165 Here's my number

 

 

I'm loving the color! It's not really black but more of an anthracite which makes it more appealing for a wider public.

The sparkling effect is brought by multicolor micro glitter.

Two coats gives an opaque coverage and it goes on very smoothly.

As I was applying this polish I asked myself if this was really a sand nail lacquer. Most of the sand lacquers I know are matte. This one was so shiny I couldn't believe that there was any texture in it.

The picture above reveals some of the shinyness that was still there.

But after some time I saw this polish drying and it turned into a really (beautiful) sand nail lacquer (this look can be found in the next picture).

 

 

Anthracite...stones...tiles...floors...walls...brick...BRICK WALL

Logic thinking right ;-P

Well, here is my brick wall nail art:





 



 

Day 241) Brush stroke nail art

Today I have an easy nail art which is also fun to do and gives an interesting look:

Brush strokes

 

In my first try I did it right on my basecoat but the result was that at some spots the nails weren't fully covered anymore.

 

So I decided to add a step.

 

First step: After the basecoat apply the desired colors and make it opaque. I also used a topcoat to fasten drying process and giving it an extra shield.

 

Polishes used (from left to right):

* Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer - 740 King Of Greens

* Maybelline Forever Strong Pro - 650 Midnight Blue

* Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer L.E. Neo Geisha - C04 Dance in Gion

* Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer - 27 The Pinky And The Brain

 

Material for the nail art:

* Polish(es) used for the base color (see picture above)

* White nail polish

* Brush (different brushes make different designs)

 

Second step (the actual nail art):

* Apply a rather thick coat of your base color.

* Take te brush and dip it in the white polish.

*Make brush strokes through the wet polish.

* Play with it and discover new designs!!

 

 



 

Day 240) Abstract nails (pink, purple, white)

Have you been noticing that I like abstract nails...?

After doing some other nail arts I'm burning to do another abstract.

 

And here it is:

Day 239) Nail art DJ

Today I've been challenging myself with another 'person' nail art.

Faces aren't really my thing but I think this one turned out okay.

The hair got a little smudged though because of the topcoat.

 

But I'm gonna pretend this is on purpose...wild girl-wild hair ;-D

 

 

Day 238) Pop art nail art

I've been asked to do another Pop Art nail art.
And as always all the requests are very welcome!
Although I don't mind to figure out a nail art each day, requests do make it easier.
Therefore thank you!

I'm not a Pop Art artist. So, I used some images from Google as a refference. Which you can find here:
- Tearing eye
- Coca Cola bottle
- Ducks

I've been planning to do all my nails but after three it was enough.
I guess with requests I do have higher standards as well...which takes more time and energy.
Enough with the chit chat...here is today's nail art:

Day 237) Nail art chic

Today a simple and chic nail art.

Perfect for a wedding or glamorous party.

 

 

Day 236) Scrapbook nail art

I never did any scrapbooking...well let's say not on purpose anyway.

But I've seen scrapbook art that's truly art and I really like that.

 

Today's nail art is inspired by scrapbooking.

I used different techniques and products and tried to keep it pretty instead of a mess ;-D.

Liebster Blog Award!

A few days ago I received a "Liebster" Blog Award by Bianca Keogh who has a lovely blog called Just nailin

 

This is what the Award looks like:

 

"Liebster" is German for "beloved".

Apparently the blogs who are nominated for this Award are considered "worth watching" and are still under 200 followers/members.

Wow, now that's a great compliment right?!

 

And...great thing is: I'm able to send this forward to 10 other blogs which I think deserve to be "worth watching"!

 

There are some rules:

1) Once you have received a nomination make sure you post this badge somewhere on your blog.

2) Each nominator will have a set of questions for you to answer. Usually about information you have not yet talked about on your blog, therefore giving your followers (and new followers) get to know a little bit more about you.
3) Nominate 10 blogs with less then 200 followers, who you think deserve this award! 

4) Make sure you let them know!

5) No tag backs.

 

Let's start with the answers to the questions I got:

 

1) Why did you decided to create a blog??

As a stay-at-home mom I needed something else to do besides the 4 kids. Nail art came out, as did my challenge.
 

2) What is something you LOVE doing (besides nail art)?

Easy answer would be being a wife and mom. But I also love to travel and write.

 

3) When did you start doing nail art?

I was about 13 years old making my own nail art. At that time I didn't know this was already nail art. At 16 years old I discovered the little paintings on nails of flowers, animals etc. and immediately fell in love with it.

 

4) What was your last dream about?

It has been a nightmare actually.

It is hot in the Netherlands and we leave the windows open for some freshness.

I dreamt someone came in through my son's bedroom window. I heard some noice and checked on my boy. As I caught the person coming through the window I wanted to scream for my husband but I had no voice. Then I got an injection in my chest and felt me getting weak as I saw he did the same thing to my son (how cruel right??) and then I woke up.

 

5) What is something you CAN NOT live without and why?

Again, husband and children would be an easy answer.

But one thing you guys really don't know about me yet is that I can't live without chocolate. And I'm talking about those huge ass bars. I can eat those away in a few minutes. It is my drug and I only stop eating when I feel I'm gaining weight.

Now that I've answered the questions I get to pick my 10 blogs:

  1) +A. Shakir from Awesome Sauce Nails

  2) +Myriam Dudu  from Le monde de biquette

  3) +Pru Ryan from Nails by Pru

  4) +Teresa Gardner from Boomer Nails

  5) +Verena h from Nails and Unicorns

  6) +Laura Strasser from Did You Paint Those Yourself?

  7) +Victoria Oen  from Vic & Her Nails

  8) +Kathleen Coultes from My Nail Art Hobby

  9) +Anatasia Kamelia from D4zzling Me

10) +Mari Hristova from Beauty Nuggets

 

And here are my questions for you:

1) What frightens you?

2) What is your favorite nail art which you made yourself?

3) We have a TV-program called "Try before you die" What is your "try"?

4) What is your addiction?

5) Is there anything weird about you that people should know or shouldn't? This is your chance to make us part of it ;-D

 

Thanks and good look for the nominees!

 

♥

Margriet

Day 235) Beads nail art "eye"

Going through old pictures...and I found this picture of my eye with rainbow iris (aren't those mobile phone apps fun to play with!):

 

The image above has been my inspiration for today's nail art and I thought it was time to use some beads again ;-D

Curious how I made it???

I have a YouTube tutorial:

 

 

And here is the picture of today's nail art:

 

 

 

 

 

Day 234) Abstract black and pink nail art

Today I have a nail art resembling a drawing that I did as a kid.

In class, when I got bored I was always drawing.

I saved some old school diaries and I think I was ahead of my time because they just look like scrap books from nowadays.

 

Back to the nail art.

I have a picture tutorial.

Material:

- Black nail polish

- Pink nail polish

- Striper brush

 

 

    

 

Add topcoat and done!

 

 

Day 233) Duo chrome nail art

Not that I'm looking forward towards the fall but I needed some colors in the dark ;D
Today my hubby was told that he looses his job.
After 30 years they thought his job (which is improvement and money saving) can be deleted as they don't have any money for new investments.
Well yeah, don't save money when you need it! (???)
However, we're trying to see everything in a positive light and consider this as a new start.

For today's nail art I used 5 duo chrome polishes.
On a white base I sponged these 5 colors:

Then I took my striper brush and painted the nail black leaving some open figures where you can see the duo chromes:

I don't know what time will bring. But I guess I'll be looking for a job as well. Hopefully I can still manage my blogs...

So happy!

As I wrote before I would be on Salon Fanatic.
Well, Yesterday has been THE DAY and I need to share it as I'm really happy with it!

A great big thanks to Beth who took the time to look at my work and liking it!

Here is a link to the post:
Salon Fanatic

Day 232) Glow in the dark nail art

Wohooo!
I finally found a low budget glow in the dark polish which actually works!

But first things first. After the basecoat I applied this polish:

 

Bourjois SO laque glossy - 06 Adora-bleu

 

 

My camera and I weren't friends today.

Although the picture above shows a beautiful color and believe me it is!

But it's also more bright than in real life.

I did have pictures showing the real color but the shot itself wasn't clean.

The next picture will give a better sight.

This polish applies great and only ONE coat was enough for good coverage.

 

After my base I made some (not too difficult) nail art designs with gold:

 

 

New York Color (NYC) In a minute - 002 Full metal Jacket

 

 

Two beautiful colors but let's talk about that glow in the dark shall we?!

The nail with the French manicure got an all over coat of glow in the dark. As I wanted to see if a different underground will show.

The other nails have glow on the dark on the actual nail art (the gold parts)

Still no friends with the camera!

I made about 200 shots and finally got a picture worth posting...but still not as beautiful and accurate as in real life:

 



 Essence nail art Glow in the night top coat (Fluorescent)

 

The polish was easy to apply. I do think it works better when applied thickly.

It gets charged by light. Keep them in a bright light for a minute or so and watch your childrens faces as you show them magic!!!

As you can see on the first nail it does make a difference when having other undergrounds...now I'm really curious how it will look on a neon yellow!!



Day 231) Nail art skater boy

Not my lucky day!
Broke the middle finger nail and could just save my thumb nail as it had a little tear on the side.
I guess I'll be posting more 'single nail' nail arts for a while. Hope you don't mind?!

For today's nail art I used this image as my inspiration.

Day 230) Nail art dragonfly

Today is catching up day.
Nothing special; just a simple dragonfly nail art.

But I did use some pretty colors!

Color Club - AWA04 Gift of sparkle

The base of this polish is a watery dark blue. Then it's generously filled with purple, red and holo glitter. The purple and red glitter gives it a duochrome look and the holo makes it extremely nice to look at!
I found the applying of this polish very easy as it goes on smooth (like a polish should be) and only 2 coats is enough for a good coverage.
It dries fast and kinda matte. I would recommend to apply a topcoat.


And here is my dragonfly nail art. For the design a used a striper brush and a holo polish:
KOH Colours - 133 Platinum Silver!

Day 229) Tutorial video fan brush design and stitched looking nails

Sorry for the late update!
After my INAD nails I've been asked to write a guest post for Salon Fanatic
Super of course but it had to include a tutorial for the stitching part.
Now, up front, after my slideshow and a bad video tutorial about the Essence magnet pen I consider this as my first serious YouTube tutorial...
Still not quite there because I had to film with my smartphone and without a tripod so you can imagine this isn't easy.
Also editing and things like that aren't really my thing yet.

But I hope you like it!

And here is today's nail art:

 

Day 228) Nail art make-up

Nothing much to say about this nail art; It's a hand painted make-up nail art.

 

 

Day 227) Nail art flames

Do you know those pimped cars which have flames on the side (stickers or spray paint).
I tried to translate this to today's nail art.
After making the 'single nail' nail art I thought it would be fun to paint the other nails in such colors that it turned out to be a kind of gradiënt thing.

Colors used (from left to right)
1) Catrice Limited Edition Glamazona - C02 I Got The Flower! +
    Max Factor Max Effect  Mini Nail Polish - Fantasy fire
2) Catrice Limited Edition Glamazona - C02 I Got The Flower!
3) Catrice Limited Edition Glamazona - C02 I Got The Flower! +
    Catrice Ultimate Nail lacquer - 850 Aretha's R·E·S·P·I·N·K
4) Catrice Ultimate Nail lacquer - 850 Aretha's R·E·S·P·I·N·K

Day 226) Nail art swirl

Today another polish that I want to show you.

Kleancolor - 277 Bright & Breezy (metallic matte)

 

I would describe this polish as a purple one with a large amount of very tiny silver glitter.

It has a matte finish.

The matte finish is already noticed when applying. It dries quickly and therefore you'll have to be fast in painting your nail otherwise you can pull some polish that you've already painted. Nevertheless it is so rich pigmented that only 1 coat is enough for coverage and maybe 2 for filling up some ridges, little pulled holes.

Although it's gorgeous and different I'm not really sure if the matte finish has any substantianal value; there are many (not too expensive) good matte topcoats which could do the job as well and with this nail polish my first arrogant thought was: "How would it look with a shiny topcoat?!"

But maybe it's the same as with hair; if you have curls you want it straight and vice versa.

But I like the color in matte as much as I do when it's shiny.

Little extra pro for the matte: it looks just like our 'brushed' golden wedding rings but then in purple!

 

The nail art is an accent nail and the design is not that hard. I did apply a shiny topcoat on all nails just to show you this look as well (although the camera couldn't catch the difference that well).

 

 





Day 225) Nail art abstract blue

For today I have another step-by-step nail art.
The technique used I've shown before (you can find it here)
But today I wanted to see if it could also bring some other ways of use.

Step 1: Start with a white base

OPI - Alpine Snow

 

Step 2: Preparations for the nail art

1) Material:

 

- Seche Vite topcoat (or any other topcoat)

- Sealable plastic bag/zipper bag

 

2) Make some sort of swatches with the topcoat on the bag and let it dry:

 

3) Give the topcoat swatches different blue colors and let it dry:

Step 3: Making the nail art

1) Material:

 

- Scissors

- Tweezers

2) Carefully pull the topcoat with color from the bag. Hold it with the tweezers as you cut it in any desired design. I chose to cut some stripes, triangles, triangular shapes and random little shapes:

 

3) Apply topcoat on the white base and use this as glue for your shapes. To easily remove any excess apply another layer of topcoat as the shapes will blend in it. (The rest can be removed with remover.)

And this is the outcome:

The first three designs (from left to right) aren't that special I think.
This can also be done hand painted and for me it would take less time.
But if you aren't that steady yet, this could be the perfect solution.
The last design I really love. I can't even describe it but Í'll give it a try: broken glass, crushed ice, stars...It is different!



Day 224) Nail art Rapunzel

Today's nail art is inspired by Rapunzel.
In short: Rapunzel, trapped in a tower uses her long hair to find her escape.

Day 223) Fabric inspired nail art

Tomorrow I'll try to catch up with al my media.
Don't worry if I haven't responded yet...it will all be okay tomorrow.

For today a fabric inspired nail art.

I started with a white base color.
Then I hand painted some easy flowers on it. Using a brown nail polish.
I finished with hand painted squares:
- open squares witk dark purple
- open squares with a white centre with purple
- closed squares with a light purple

Day 222) Nail art toy windmill

Think of colorful toy windmills...

That's been my inspiration for today's nail art.

 

 

Day 221) Nail art elegant green leafy stems

On Monday real life starts again.
Early wakening, oversleeping, hurrying, getting the kids to school (on time) and ...so on.
Of course the last days of the vacation aren't at all about resting but about doing al the things I've been postponing the rest of the days :(

I guess this will show in my nail arts as well.
So, please bear with me.

Today another quick one

As base I used a light green, then I sponged some darker shade on top of it and topcoated it.
I finished by painting some elegant green leafy stems with a striper brush and polish.
The picture is before sealing it with a topcoat because I like the depth.

Day 220) Nail art (North)star

Don't know what kind of state I was in when I purchased my last haul...but it is all glitter!
Not that this is a bad thing...I didn't have any. Good for my collection (read: good excuse).

Today another swatch and again of beautiful polish:

 

China Glaze - Water you waiting for

 

 

The base polish looks like a watery blue and then there is glitter!

Small hexagons, some bigger en the little small round ones.

They vary in colour from blue to green, to petrol, to teal.

The main colour I would describe as a kind of jeans blue.

However, this polish lives up to it's name; It looks like an ocean with different colours of blues and greens.

To be opaque 2 thin coats is enough (used on the picture above).

 

I chose this colour as my inspiration for today's nail art. Only not in the way that you would expect. I chose to see it more as a galaxy or ice colour (instead of water) and I really felt the urge to make a (North)star.

And here it is:

 

 

The star is white with a silver outline. In the centre I placed a round rhinestone.

 

 

Thanks for reading and your support!