Abstract neon nails

Not the most unique nail art today but I really needed a neon nail art :D

I decided to spice it up a bit by using different techniques.

Step-by-step:

1) After the basecoat apply a white polish on all the nails.

Let it dry completely; adding a topcoat can speed up the drying time.

2) Randomly place striping tape on the nails and try to create a modern abstract design.

3) Cut a (make-up) sponge into small pieces.

4) Get your neon polishes and start to randomly sponge the colors on the nails. 

Use a small piece of sponge per color.

5) Remove striping tape.

6) Add topcoat

Polishes used:
* Models Own - Luis Lemon
* Models Own - Bubblegum
* Models Own - Toxic Apple
* Orly Baked - Ablaze
* Orly Baked - Hot Tropics
* Bourjois - Blue no blues

Day 340) Abstract Christmas nail art

For today an abstract Christmas design.
I thought it would be too much for all the nails but just perfect as an accent nail.

As base color I used the following polish:

China Glaze 1117 Angel Wings

 

 

"Angel Wings" is a gold glitter polish with a lot of holographic glitter in it.
It dries to a matte finish (first picture) which is very helpful. Not only does it dry very quickly it also makes it easy to apply a next coat.
This comes in handy because this polish needs 3 thin coats to be opaque.
A topcoat makes it more shiny and it seems to do the colors more justice.
The camera had trouble to catch all the beautiful Sparks but believe me when I say "It is beautiful and full of holographic parts".
Only disadventage is: it needs a certain light to sparkle. Otherwise it's just a 'plain' gold glitter.

For the nail art I was inspired by Mondriaan (a Dutch painter). His work consisted of a white ground on which he painted a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and the three primary colors.
Instead of the white background and primary colors I've used Christmas colors.

Polishes used:
- China Glaze 1117 Angel Wings
- China Glaze 1252 Just Be-Claws
- Maybelline Forever Strong Pro 720 Green Miracle
- Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 39 Black To The Routes

Day 326) Matte abstract nails

Party time tonight!
I decided to make something simple and abstract because...well, I'm a woman and I need the rest of the day for making myself pretty ;D

I finished the look with a matte topcoat.
And, if you change the purple with gold this would be a great design for the Holidays.

Polishes used:
- Etos 124 (no name, teal)
- China Glaze 1252 Just be-claws
- Essence Beauty Beats 01 Baby, baby, ooh!
- China Glaze Matte Magic

Day 275) Nail art abstract

I recently saw a swatch of a polish with holo glitter and just needed to have it (for Christmas of course ;D).

I swatched it for you and here it is:

Kleancolor Nail Lacquer 137 Holo Yellow

 

 

The nail lacquer above can be described as a goldish yellow with holo glitter.

Holo glitter (which can't be compared to complete holo's) gives a more subtile holo effect.

This polish needs light! Otherwise it wil just be a plain dark yellow/goldish look.



The polish covers in 1 coat but there will still be a difference between tip and the rest of the nail.

Above is 3 coats.

Drying time is very slow. And I'm always in a hurry so that's no plus.

If I have to apply more coats I want to apply them as soon as possible after one another.

The complete look also has to dry fast because with 4 kids it's only a few minutes and there will be the first bump. They need to be kid proof as I like to call it ;D

This one isn't.

 

But for 4$ I'm happy with it.

Great polish for holidays and summer!

 

 

For the Nail art I just wanted to use some other sparkly nail polishes :D

I ended up with an abstract design

 



 

Polishes used:

- Kleancolor Nail Lacquer 137 Holo Yellow

- Color Club 959 Sparkle and soar

- OPI Coutere de Minnie Cover Magazine Mouse

- Color Club AWA04 Gift of sparkle

Day 269) Abstract nails (fall colors)

Each week we get advertisement leaflets.
They are not only interesting for finding bargains but also for finding inspiration.
The colors for today's nail art are inspired by a leaflet from a clothing store.
I looked at those fall colors together and just wanted to make an easy abstract nail art with it.

So, here it is:

 

 

After the basecoat I applied striping tape by making an "X"



I used the 4 colors from the leaflet to fill up each area.
Then I removed the striping tape and used a striper brush and brown polish to make the "X" again with polish.

Polishes used:
- Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer Limited Edition Eve in Bloom C01 Bloomynous (beige)
- Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer Limited Edition Eve in Bloom C02 Floralilac (plum)
- Etos Long Lasting Nailpolish 124 (teal)
- NYC 208 Pier 17 (cobalt blue)
- Rimmel London 60 seconds 550 Major Brown (dark brown)

Day 262) Abstract fall nail art

Today I have an abstract fall nail art simular to this nail art I did before.
You can also find the tutorial at this previous post.

Material for this nail art:
- Fall colors
- Striping tape
- Scissors
- Nail art brush

Start with applying one of your colors as a base.
Let it dry completely before applying the striping tape.
Use the nail art brush to give the stripes a different color.

Day 245) Nail art black, white en grey (abstract)

Just a pic today:

 

 

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 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 205) Black & white abstract nail art

No inspiration!
In my case this often means I end up with an abstract or flower nail art :-/

I'm glad I took some pictures in the middle of the process, because after the picture (of today's nail art), I tried to color the white lines in and it turned out very ugly.

However, here is today's nail art:

Day 199) Colorful abstract nail art

Day 198) Nail art abstract squares

Day 175) Abstract circles and stripes

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

I like how the circles stand out on their own but also take part in the complete look.
Time to translate this to my nails I think...
Here is my step-by-step:

Step 1: The circles

Material:
- Tape
- Perforator

Take a piece of tape and fold it in two (sticky sides onto each other)

Perforate the piece of tape.
Unfold the tape and there you have two perfect circle stencils (that is...if your perforator is still sharp enough to perforate through tape)

Stick your DIY circle stencils on the desired place on your nail.
Then paint some horizontal colorful stripes on them.
I chose to do this design as accent nails on my index and ring finger.
Remove the tape.







Step 2: Fill up the rest of your nail(s) with vertical colorful stripes (I used the same colors from the circles). Topcoat and done!

Day 164) Nail art black and white

I love black and white!
Our interior is almost completely in black and white (that's how much I love it ;-D).
Today's nail arts are in black and white and they almost completely cover the nails.
I have to say I'm more a fan of subtle designs, but these aren't bad either.
As inspiration I used black and white abstract art by various artists.

I prefer the one on the middle finger.
What's your favourite?

Day 156) Nail art blue stripes (abstract)

Today's nail art is a custom one.
It's for a drug store called Etos.
Besides the make-up from the more commercial brands (Like L' Oréal, Bourjois, Rimmel, Max Factor), they also sell their house brand.
Etos also has a company slogan which is: Etos blue fits you!
And of course their colour is blue.

For today's nail art I used 4 nail polishes from their house brand and made a design which looks a little like a barcode.

Material:

- Dark blue nail polish (metallic); Etos Quick dry nail polish
- Jeans blue nail polish; Etos Long lasting nail polish
- Light blue nail polish; Etos Quick dry nail polish
- Blue glitter topcoat; Etos TOP coat
- White nail polish; Only you
- Striper brush
- Striping tape
- Scissors
- (Regular tape)

Step 1:
After the basecoat paint your nails white.

Step 2:
Use the regular tape or striping tape to tape off the sides of your nails. Leaving a stripe in the middle.

Step 3:
Use the striping tape to divide the middle (vertical) stripe into (horizontal) stripes. Vary the space between the striping tape.

Step 4:
Use the striper brush to colour in the stripes. For the bigger spaces I used the dark blue, for the middle I used the jeans colour and foor the smallest I used the light blue.

Step 5:
Remove the (striping) tape

Step 6:
On the ring finger I did an accent using the glitter topcoat. I kept the middle stripe smaller on this nail. Then I used the striping tape again, but to leave space on the sides of the nail. On the sides I applied the glitter topcoat

Step 7:
Apply topcoat. Done!

Applying the striping tape is the most time consuming. I would suggest to do this striping design only as an accent nail.

How about it?
Does Etos blue fit you?!

Day 142) Nail art leaded glass

"Where do you get your ideas from?" Is a question asked many times.
My secret...
When I have nothing to do I'm just looking through images on Google images. Sometimes of nail arts, but most of the times I'm looking at not nail related images.
When I see an image that I like I immediately try to see this on my nails and decide if it is within my reach.
For today's nail art my theme is leaded glass.
I think this nail art is more for the advanced nail arter and it also is time-consuming, so keep that in mind.

Step-by-step:
 Step 1) Choose an image of leaded glass that you like and use it as your model

Step 2) I started by painting the color areas and left some space between them where the lines have to come. Of course you can also start with the lines if this is easier for you.

Step 3) My reason for not starting with the lines is that I want the color areas to look like stained glass.

In this step I applied a matte topcoat to achieve this effect.

Unfortunately it didn't show well in the picture (so there is no picture of this step), but believe me when I say there's a big difference between the glossy and the matte in real life.

Step 4) Now that you have a matte finish I applied black glossy lines to accomplish the 'lead' look. Silver is another great option, but I was afraid it wouldn't show well in the picture. By the way, the black presents a nice contrast to the other colors.

Done!

I love them!

Day 136) Dotted nails Rainbow

The weather is terrible in The Netherlands.
Nothing but rain, rain and more rain.
Time to compensate these dark days with of course a multicolored nail art: a rainbowy nail art to be precise.

Today I don't have a step-by-step.
I used a white nail polish as background for my nail art.
And for the artistic part I used only a dottingtool and a lot of nail polish colors ;-D

Some extra info that might be useful:
-On the ring finger I did an outline of rainbow dots
-On the pinky I placed dots that I pulled with my dottingtool into a teardrop shape. The pulling of dot into teardrop shape can also be done by using a wooden stick or something like that.

Hope you like it!

Day 133) Nail art Henna

For today's nail art I used Henna designs as my inspiration.
Henna can be obtained by the Henna plant (Lawsonia Inermis) which is more like a tall shrub or a small tree.
After drying, milling and sifting the leaves you have a green powder. This powder is often mixed with lemon juice, strong tea, or other mildly acidic liquids to make a preparation with toothpaste-like consistency. The paste can be applied on skin, hair, nails and fabrics and will stain the surface. Henna stains are orange soon after application, but darken over time to a reddish brown. Nowadays Henna is mostly used for body art on hands and feet (for special occasions), but traditionally friends would apply the intricate designs on the hands and feet of the bride-to-be. Hidden among the tangled, intertwinning patterns would be the initials of the bride and groom.

For this nail art I didn't use Henna itself. Although I'm very interested in the outcome of Henna on nails.
I'm to worried about the reddish brown stains that may last for weeks.
If you have any experience with it, please let me know!

First a picture of Henna art that I got from Google. This way you know what I'm talking about (in case you don't know what I'm babbling about ;-D )

Source: http://www.iohu.org/rathayatra/festival-of-india-harrisburg/henna-tattoo/

For my nail art I used a bunch of pictures from Google with Henna designs on hands and feet. This way I knew what kind of lines, dots and shapes are used.
I used a nude colour as base and made the painting with a bronze colour.
For this design I used a nail art brush, but maybe a needle works even better (have to try that another time!)

See you tomorrow.
By the way if there are any requests for nail arts, please let me know!!

Day 130) Nail art water decals white swirls

Like I said before: When I buy stencils or water decals I'm always looking for the designs that are hard to do by hand or at least not as perfect as when you do it yourself.
I think it's a waste of money when you can do it yourself.
Although I prefer to handpaint my nail arts, I do think stencils and water decals are an invention for those less   artistic.
That's why my blog also contains this kind of nail art.

Today's waterdecals are for the complete nails. Of course you can always cut them in other shapes if you like.
The pattern consists of white swirls and transparency, which means there's a see-through for your nail polish.

Arts Queen 

Professional Nail

Nail Tattoo

No BW009

White swirls

Step 1:

Paint your nails in the desired colour. I do recommend to use a dark colour because of the white swirls and the contrast it will make. Let it dry completely before you go further.

I've chosen to do an ombre to spice it up a little (and Iwanted to use my new polish ;-D )

Step 2:

Cut the water decals in the right size. Let it be well-cut at the curve of your cuticles and the width. The length should be longer than your nails; this is a further step.

Step 3: 

Remove the plastic film. This is a critical step and most of the instructions don't include this information! If you don't your water decals get stuck on the film and will be useless.

On the left: paper with water decals

On the right: plastic film

Step 4:

Put the water decals in some water. In a few seconds you can slide the water decals from the paper or in some cases this already happened on it's own.

Step 5:

Put the water decals on the nail surface (I use my index finger of the other hand). Gently push and smooth it. As long as the water decals are wet they are easy moveable. Sometimes too easy ;P When they are in the right place, don't touch them anymore but let them dry!

Step 6:

When you follow the instructions it will say you'll will have to remove the surplus part and then topcoat it.

I do it the other way because I don't want to risk that water decals move.

First use a topcoat and wait for it to dry. Then remove the surplus part (first cut with clippers or scissors, then buffer it). For the best result and longer lasting nails I recommend that you do another coat of topcoat after buffering. 

DONE!

They look great I think!

Only downside is that they are very fragile. The water decals easy crack when you're smoothing them on the nail surface. This doesn't show that well on the nails so it's an acceptable downside but it did frighten me.

What's your opinion on water decals in general? Are you a lover or a hater?