Winter look (nails+face)

I really enjoy making those total looks.

But man, the trouble to get there :D

First the nails...

I broke 3 nails down to pity size and just couldn't get used to those tiny, sad looking nails.

Picture will show acrylic nails that I did myself.

For the nail art I started with a gradient of holo's:

* A england - Tristam

* Layla - Ocean Rush

* KOH - Platinum Silver!

Which I stamped with white snowflakes.

Then the make-up...

Yesterday I've created a look that took me about 2 hours.

Too late to take pictures cause I really needed to get the kids from school.

I've made a total fool of myself by showing up at school with the make-up on (although the kids thought I was part of a Disney's Frozen play).

Rushed home, took 125 pictures and decided NOT ONE was good enough :-/

Today I've been having more luck and I'm actually very, very pleased with how it turned out :D

Hope you like it too!

Day 202) Stamping nail art using real leaves

Every now and then, when I was sitting in the back yard, my thoughts drifted away to making a stamping nail art using real leaves.
Wouldn't it be pretty to copy the leaf nervures onto your nail without the work of painting them?!
Today I finally tried.

I used the two best leaves I could find in my garden:
1) Small fern
2) Grape leaf

Start with painting your nails in any desired color:

Essence Floral Grunge nail polish - 03 Grunge me tender!

Take any other desired color and polish the leaves:

Use the polished side to stamp it on your nail; place the leaf carefully on your nail and give it a gentle push. Change colors and stamp again.
Not sure about the outcome? Start by stamping on a paper.

Day 190) Nail art holo glitter with flower stamp

Last week I bought a nail polish here in Portugal that I have to share with you lovely ladies, because it's just that beautiful!
I bought it at the Douglas store (perfumery) for €2,- (which is 2,57 USD).
It's a kind of holo glitter.
In the dark it might look like a plain grey but when you're in direct (sun)light it will take your breath away!
Here is my best picture at night:

Flormar Supershine Perfect Polish - P046 (2 coats)

Can you see what I'm raving about???!!!

Today has been a day of shopping and going out for dinner.
It is almost midnight so I want to do an easy nail art.
Luckily I found a stamping set here for €8,99 (11,56 USD).

Kand stamping kit

This kit contains:
-Stamping polish (black, white and red)
-Image plates
-Scraper
-Remover pads
-Stamp
-Stamp with scraper
-Remover pen

I used the following image plate:

Kand image plate M38

 



The exotic flower (the one with the scratches), is the image I used.

The picture isn't doing the polish any justice, but believe me when I say: It is beautiful!!

Day 173) Colored stamping

Not new, nor mine.
But sometimes you see things that you just have to try for yourself and share if it works.
Before I discovered Konad stamping I really hated stamping.
I only had low-budget stamping stuff and it was already difficult to get the design good on the stamp. What a frustration!
With Konad I discovered it was easy and fun and there are beautiful designs which are almost impossible to do by hand (especially the ones that fully cover the nail).
I still have trouble stamping bigger designs (my nails are quite round) and also using my left hand is sometimes a real challenge.
Today's nail art comes in really handy for those disadvantages.

So, let's get to it!

Step 1: Preparation

Material:
-Tape
-Paper on which you draw some rectangles (bigger than nail size)
-Zipper bag
-Scissors

Take the scissors and cut your zipper bag.
End up with two rectangular pieces of plastic.

Place a piece of plastic on top of your paper.
Hold it with tape and make sure the plastic is pulled.







Step 2: Topcoat

Topcoat used: Seche Vite


Apply topcoat (fill in the rectangular shapes).

I found these rectangular shapes very handy because it is hard to see where you've put the topcoat.

Let it dry for a bit.




Step 3: Stamping

Used material:
-Mash stamping polish (black)
-Konad stamping polish (white)
-Konad scraper
-Essence stamp
-Image plates:
 *Mash-08
 *Mash-10
 *Konad (promotion)

Choose your desired design and make sure you got it right on the stamp.

Stamp on your topcoated rectangular shape.

Repeat for the other topcoated rectangular shapes.








Step 4: Coloring

Use a nail art brush and different colors of nail polish to color your designs.








Step 5: Application

Carefully remove the topcoat with your design from the plastic.

Apply a base-/topcoat or any desired nail polish onto your nails.
Use this as glue for your topcoated designs.
Place your topcoated design on your nail and gently push and smooth it on the surface.
Apply another coat of topcoat and remove excess. You can also use a cotton tip with some remover.







And here is my final look (done with my lefty):

Day 162) Mash stamping plate and stamping polish

Today my package arrived from PrettyPolish, including two Mash stamping plates and Mash black stamping nail polish.
I have to be honest, before I ran into these at the PrettyPolish webshop I didn't even know about this brand.
Konad is pretty expensive and Mash is affordable, so I thought I'll give it a try.

This is one of stamping plates I am going to show you today:

Mash stamping plate - nr. 10









And this is what the stamping nail polish looks like:

Mash stamping nail polish - Black









Now for the nail art.
After the basecoat I applied a pink nail polish:

Maybelline Color Show - 262 Pink Boom









Then I used tape to leave a free spot of nail in the middle (horizontal). This is where the stamping will be happening.
Apply some stamping polish on the desired pattern of the plate (picture one). Then use the scraper to remove excess polish (picture 2):

Press the stamper firmly on the stamping plate and check the stamper to see if the design has transferred well:

Gently roll the stamper across your nail:

For the ring finger I did an accent nail with all 4 designs on the stamping plate. This is the step-by-step (in pictures):

On the last quarter I did the last design of 4.










I took a good look at my nail art design and found it a bit dull. I added some silver glitter to give it the Wow-factor and it also gave me the opportunity to cover up some little imperfect stamping ;-D

I have to say I'm already a fan of Mash! They are a very good alternative to Konad stamping and at a better price!

Day 113) Konad stamping

Day 86) Stamping nail art Essence

Day 26) Max Nails Action store

           Apple

          Flower

Hearts swirl

      Palm tree

    Butterfly

   Starfish