31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 21: Inspired by a Color

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry for the late post again! It's going to take me a while to get back into my schedule because I have so many events to go to these next few weeks. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and so much more!

But here I have for you the next post for the 31DC! Today's post is "Inspired by a Color" and I kept thinking of way too many things for various colors. So instead, I decided to be "inspired by" the name of one of my polishes. I ended up getting inspired by two of them: Revlon Kiss Me Coral and Revlon Plum Seduction.. The two polish names just work so well together that I decided to use them both for my mani. However, the combined colors made it extremely difficult to get a good picture so I apologize for the horrible pictures.

To get this look:

• I started off by applying my base coat and then applied three coats of Revlon Kiss Me Coral. 
• To make the kisses, I used a dotting tool and Revlon Plum Seduction and dotted on the kisses.
• The kisses needed to look like they were put there by someone kissing the area, so to get that look, I used a striping brush and striped on some of the Revlon Kiss Me Coral. I think that's the reason the plum polish didn't pop out as much. Before the striping, the kisses were more noticeable.
• I ended the mani with my favorite top coat.

Even though the pictures didn't turn out so great, I think the mani looks great in real life. The plum kisses are more noticeable than the pictures show so you can definitely see them; they don't blend in with the background.

Let me know what you think of this and if you think my interpretation of the challenge was alright. I hope you all like it!!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 18: Half Moons

Hey guys!

This post is going to be pretty short because it's super late, I just got back from my brother's high school graduation, and I'm too tired to function! I have the next post in the 31 Day Challenge for you: half moons! My original idea was completely different but I didn't have enough time to create it since I had to go to my brother's graduation today. So, I opted for something much simpler.

To get this look:

• After applying a base coat, I put hole reinforcements stickers on my nail (on the lunula) and then applied two coats of Revlon Teak Rose.
• When that was dry, I peeled off the stickers and then filled in the half moons with Revlon Colorstay Bare Bones using a small brush.
• Using a striping brush, I created the three lines with Revlon Totally Toffee.
• To finish off the look, I used a dotting tool to add dots with Revlon Colorstay Bare Bones and Revlon Totally Toffee.
• I ended it all with my trusted top coat.

I liked the end result. It was simple enough but still cute! Also, it is a little sloppy because I was in such a rush to get it done. I hope you all still liked it! And now I am off to bed!! Check back tomorrow because I will have some updates about my blog for you all!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 17: Glitter

Hi guys!

Today, I have for you the next post in the 31 Day Challenge: Glitter manicure! I had a hard time thinking of something to do for this one so I decided to go find some inspiration. Kayla from Nails by Kayla Shevonne is my absolute favorite nail blogger so I went through her blog and found this! The whole manicure looked like so much fun so I knew that I had to try it out! My challenge mani for today is inspired by her Mish Mash Mint Mani.

To get this look:

• After applying a base coat, I applied two coats of Sinful Colors Timbleberry to use as my base polish color on all of my nails. It's such a pretty coral!
• Pointer: I used a dotting tool and Sinful Colors In The Spotlight to apply glitter dots randomly on my nail. I then used a small detail brush to outline the dots with Sinful Colors Black On Black.
• Middle: Using a small detail brush and Sinful Colors Black On Black, I made a drippy outline. Then I filled in the drips with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight using my detail brush.
• Ring: I used my detail brush to add a rectangular section of glitter to the side of my nail with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight. Then, using my small detail brush, I added the black outline and random black lines to the non-glitter area.
• Pinky: With Sinful Colors Black On Black and a small detail brush, I painted a triangle and the triangular lines. Then I filled in the gaps with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight using a detail brush.
• I smoothed everything out by applying my favorite top coat.

I think my drippy nail would have better if I made the drips using the glitter first and then outlining it. But what's done is done! I also don't like my pinky nail. Oh well. Out of all the nails, I think the pointer finger nail turned out the best with the leopard print!

However, all together, I do like this mani! I think it's fun and it's definitely something that would be fun to wear over the summer. What do you think?

I think the glitter went well with the coral polish as well. So that's always a plus!

Let me know what you think of this! I would love to get some feedback/tips form you.

Make sure you check out my friend's 31DC mani at My Life In Turquoise.

I have several great ideas for next week's 31DC mani so make sure you tune in next Monday! But before that, I have the 3rd post for you for May's Tri-Polish Challenge tomorrow. There's a cool technique that I saw that I want to try out for it.

That's 17 down and 14 more to go!

Tri-Polish Challenge (May #2) - Put Me Together

Hello hello!

Sorry for being a little late on this post (it's only 20 minutes late!!). I had guests over at my house all day and then had to go to an awards ceremony for my brother at his high school. It was a fun, busy day!

To recap, the colors for May are Red, Grey, and Blue.

I didn't have much time to create my manicure so I went with something that was super simple to create but cute at the same time. I've seen this kind of manicure around on many different blogs so I can't really put up a direct link for where I got my inspiration from. Anyways, check out what I have for you today!

To get this look:

• I started off with using Sinful Colors Snow Me White as my base polish color (after applying a base coat, of course).
• Using a detail brush and Revlon Revlon Red, Revlon Midnight Haze, and Revlon Coast is Clear, I created colored squares/blocks.
• After letting the blocks/squares dry completely, I used a large-sized dotting tool and all of the polishes to add dots in between each of the blocks, creating puzzle pieces that fit together.
• I sealed it all with my favorite top coat!

Before I go further, I want to apologize for the horrible pictures! I was in such a rush because we were getting late for the awards ceremony so I quickly took the pictures and ran out the door.

This manicure was probably one of the easiest ones I've ever created. There's really nothing to it because the squares don't have to be perfect and the dots don't necessarily have to be perfect either. As long as the dots overlap the squares, you're good to go! If any of you want me to make a tutorial for this, let me know in the comments section below so I can add it to my list of things to take care of ASAP!

What do you all think of my puzzle pieces attempt? I really like it! It's cute, fun, and ended up being a conversation starter for me at my brother's high school because of the bright, bold colors!

I've seen this manicure created with actual color themes, such as shades of colors, pastels, warm colors, etc. That's why I was a bit hesitant at first to do this, since it has no real color theme (aside from being nautical colors). But I think the colors worked well together! What do you all think? Let me know below!

Make sure you check out the other great looks for the 2nd TPC post. And be sure to check back on Monday for the next 31 Day Challenge post! I have a great idea and I'm very excited to try it out and show you how it ends up looking!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 16: Tribal Print

Hi guys!

I have the next manicure for the 31 Day Challenge for you. I think it looks fun and well...my brother said that it reminded him of the rugs that were in our hotel in Guatemala because of the print that I used. He's a little...odd? But in reality, they really do resemble them!

Anyways, let's get to the good stuff! This manicure was super fun to create and I now know that I love tribal print!

To get this look:

• I used Revlon Colorstay Bare Bones as the base polish on all of my nails and then decided to create the print over it.
• I used a small detail brush, thinnest striping brush, and dotting tools in various sizes, along with Revlon Lagoon Afternoon, Maybelline Color Show Orange Fix, and Sinful Colors Black On Black to create the various prints that you see.
• I sealed everything with my favorite top coat!

Coincidentally, my manicure ended up matching my outfit because I wore a nude colored dress. I love when things work out like that, don't you?

I hope you all liked my attempt at a tribal print manicure. This was my first real attempt at a tribal manicure (I had doodled on my nails in India and it ended up having a tribal-esque feel to it and my 2nd manicure for April's Tri-Polish Challenge mani had a tribal-esque quality to it). What do you think of it? I know that I need some work to make things a bit more even and cleaner, but I'm still happy considering it is my first attempt.

If you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know in the comments section below!

And as always, check out my friend's mani at My Life In Turquoise.

Now, that's 16 down and 15 more to go!! We're more than half way through this. No turning back now!

A quick word: My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families affected by the tornado in Oklahoma. It's devastating news but the heroic actions of the first response team lessened the blow. Stay strong, Oklahoma!

Weekly Challenge - Cocktail: "Shaken, Not Stirred"

Hi everyone!

Today is the last day for cocktail week! Something that I always think of when I hear the word "cocktail" is James Bond. Therefore, today's mani is inspired by 007! Two aspects of James Bond in particular served as my inspiration for this manicure:

http://scifipulse.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Bond_gunbarrel.jpg / http://0.tqn.com/d/cocktails/1/I/5/L/-/-/94116773_9.jpg

The first is the shot (no pun intended) of James Bond through a gun barrel and the second is the Vesper Martini, which James Bond always orders "shaken, not stirred" and claims to have created.

It's a rag tag mani but I think it works together just because I believe the main aspects of Bond were captured.

To get this look:

• Thumb: I tried to create the gun barrel by using Revlon Silver Screen as the base polish and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black for the swirls. I also used Sinful Colors Snow Me White to make a white hole in the middle to show the open end of the barrel (the thumb was a bit of a fail; I tried to create a gun pointing back to towards the barrel, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in that small of a space).
• Pointer: The logo of James Bond "007" has to be in a JB mani! I used Revlon Top Speed Golden as the base polish and then used Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black to write 007. I had to add some "bling," aka glitter, so I used Sally Hansen Gem Crush Lady Luck.
• Middle: James Bond is always in a tux or a nice suit so I had to include that! I made the tuxedo using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Sinful Colors Black On Black.
• Ring: The Vesper Martini! This is where the cocktail part of this challenge comes in. I used Revlon Top Speed Varnished as the base polish and then created the martini using Revlon Silver Screen and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black. I tried to make the glass look frosted so I did that using Essie Matte About You and then I used Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Yellow to make the hanging lemon peel. Again, I added some glitter from Sally Hansen Gem Crush Lady Luck to have a light, blingy effect.
• Pinky: What's 007 without his women, right? I added a strapless red dress to finish off the look. Revlon Top Speed Golden was used as the base polish once again and then the dress was made using Zoya Sarah. 

**I used a small detail brush and a dotting tool to make this mani**

I'm pretty pleased with this mani! It took a long time just because there were so many different polishes that were used and there was something a lot going on on each nail. Do any of you think of 007 when you think of drinks/cocktails? It's so classic for me!

Let me know if you all like it! I hope that you do. It was a little hard for me to make the mani because my nails are super narrow. I try to keep them a little longer to compensate; I need more room so I keep them longer since my nails are not wide at all. But I try! It definitely is a challenge trying to fit everything onto a skinny little section but it's not impossible.

Hopefully you all like it and if you want to take a look at my other cocktail challenge mani from this week, you can do so here.

Take a look at the manicures the other challengers created for this week below!

Now, I'm finally off to bed! I love the warm weather but my allergies have finally kicked in and they're definitely winning this war. Allergies: 1 | Ruthvi: 0   :(

Check back tomorrow for the next 31 Day Challenge post. Good night, everyone!

Nail Art Tutorial: Splatter

Hi everyone!!

I made my very first nail art tutorial today! The tutorial is for the splatter manicure that I created for Day 4 of April's Tri-Polish Challenge. I'm very excited to show it to all of you and I hope it helps!! If there is anything that I missed or if you would like me to include another step in future tutorials, please let me know in the comments section below.

To refresh, here's the manicure that I created for the Tri-Polish Challenge:

To get the look, you'll need:
The exact names of what I used are in parentheses, but you can use whichever brands/colors you prefer.

Base coat (Essie 3 Way Glaze) and top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat)

 

A toothpick/small-sized dotting tool/orange stick

White polish (Sinful Colors Snow Me White)

*Cream polishes work best*
**You can use any combination of colors*
Purple polish (Sinful Colors Amethyst), pinky coral polish (Sinful Colors Timbleberry), green polish (Sinful Colors Irish Green)

 

Now, onto the tutorial!

I hope this tutorial was helpful! And as I stated before, if any of you believe that I missed a step, or believe that I should explain something more clearly, let me know in the comments section below. Also, if you try out my tutorial, I would love to see pictures! Leave me a link in the comments section!

Weekly Challenge - Cocktails: Strawberry Peach Margaritas!!

Hi everyone!

I'm participating in weekly challenges by Laura. This week's theme is cocktails! What better theme could go along with the beautiful summer weather we've been having here in Chicago?

My favorite summer cocktail/drink is a frozen margarita, specifically, a strawberry, peach, or mango margarita! I chose to create a combo, strawberry and peach, frozen margarita. I got my inspiration from this picture:

www.barmano.com

Frozen margaritas usually have that frosty look to them and when they've been sitting for a little while, you can see the condensation on the glasses. That's what I tried to create with my mani: condensation on a frosty margarita glass!

To get this look:

• I started off with a base color coat of Revlon Mai Tai Ask? (perfect choice because even the name is cocktail-inspired!).
• The random gradient was created using Revlon Mai Tai Ask? and Revlon Colorstay Wild Strawberry (also perfect because I was going for a strawberry margarita and this one has strawberries in the name!).
• I then used Essie Matte About You to create the frosted look.
• A small sized dotting tool and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat to add the condensation dots and drops.

What do you all think of my attempt?? I'm definitely in the mood for margaritas now!!

Check out the other great cocktail-inspired manis the other challengers have created below! The theme lasts until Saturday evening so I'm sure we'll be seeing more manicures throughout the week!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 13: Animal Print Nails

Hi everyone!!

I'm super excited to show you the challenge mani that I created for today! It's simple and I think that it doesn't have too much going on, which I believe is the case for the most part with animal print manis. I decided on doing french tips with the animal prints overflowing onto my bare nail (on top of the base coat, of course). So check it out below and let me know what you think! Welcome to The Polish Zoo!!

 I used several different polishes so bare with me! And everything was used after applying a base coat.

To get this look: 

• Thumb (zebra print): French tip was made using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and the zebra print was made using a medium sized detail brush and Sinful Colors Black On Black
• Pointer (leopard print): French tip was made using Piggy Polish Stand At The Edge. The leopard print was made using Revlon Top Speed Varnished and Sinful Colors Black on Black and a medium sized detail brush and small dotting tool
• Middle (cow print): The french tip was made using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and the spots were made using a medium sized detail brush and Sinful Colors Black On Black
• Ring (giraffe print):  The french tip was made using Orly Country Club Khaki and the print was made using a medium sized detail brush and Revlon Totally Toffee
• Pinky (tiger print): The french tip was made using Sally Hansen Insta Dri Snappy Sorbet and the print was made using Sinful Colors Black On Black and my smallest sized striping brush

 

This mani was quite fun to create and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I didn't want an overpowering animal print mani this week so I opted for the french tips instead The entire look was not time consuming either because I just made quick french tips and didn't have to worry about them being super clean since I was going to put the print over it anyways. Also, animal print is never PERFECT. There are always some imperfections so it allowed me to just go with flow in creating the different prints.

My inspirations! 

What did you all think about my mani? I really like love it!! Let me know your thoughts on this one or if you have any suggestions/tips/ideas to help me next time I decide to do an animal print mani.

Make sure to check out my friend's post today at My Life In Turquoise!

13 down, and 18 to go!! Check back next Monday for the flower challenge mani!!

Tri-Polish Challenge (April #4) - Splatter

Hey guys!

Can you believe that this is the last post for April's Tri-Polish Challenge hosted by Crumpet's Nail Tarts? May's challenge will be here soon, though, and the colors for May are blue, grey, and red so it'll be exciting coming up with new manis for that!

But back to this month's last post. To refresh, the colors for April are Turquoise, Pink, and Orange. I haven't used Orange for the last two posts so I had to bring it back for this last post. I wanted to do a splatter mani but I don't have any nail polish thinner. I tried to do it without the thinner anyways but it wasn't working for me. So I decided to do a freehand splatter! I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out.
**The turquoise that I am using is the closest to turquoise that I have**

To get this look:

• After applying a base coat, I put on two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. White nail polish is always streaky unless you apply a few coats. You could still see some streaks through the second coat but since I was going to be putting splatters over it anyways, I decided to leave it
• I then put "blobs" (one at a time, of course) of China Glaze For Audrey, Sinful Colors Island Coral, and Maybelline Color Show Orange Fix. 
• Using a toothpick (you could use any pointy/sharp object), I dragged the polish outwards to create the splatter look. 
• I also added dots of each polish here and there to enhance the effect
• To end it, I finished off with a top coat!

Doesn't it look cool? It wasn't hard to create either. What do you all think of my final post for the Tri-Polish Challenge?? Leave me comments in the section below to tell me what you think! I hope you all liked it! I have a tutorial for this so I'll be putting that up soon.

Check back soon for my next 31 Day Challenge mani! Animal print is next and I have a great idea for that :)

Tri-Polish Challenge (April #3) - Fusion Dotticure

Hi guys!

There's only one more tri-polish challenge post for April left after today! But don't worry, Crumpet's Nail Tarts hosts a tri-polish challenge every month!! So to recap: April's colors are Turquoise, Pink, and Orange.

**The turquoise polish that I am using is the closest to turquoise that I have**

I had such a busy schedule today so I decided on the simplest of manicures for today's challenge. Nonetheless, I think it looks cute in its simplicity! I might be sticking with simpler manis for a while just because I'm job hunting and am running around like crazy these days. Sigh! Job hunting is so stressful! Anyways, take a look at my mani!

To get this look:

• After putting on a base coat, I put on two coats of China Glaze For Audrey on my thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger
• I then put on two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White on my ring finger
• To end the base polishes, I put on two coats of Sinful Colors Island Coral on my pinky finger
• After letting my ring finger (the white nail) completely dry, I used a small detail brush and Sinful Colors Island Coral to create the wave
• Then using China Glaze For Audrey and a small dotting tool, I added dots to the white section of my ring finger 
• Of course, I ended it all with a shiny top coat

I'm happy with this being so simple but hopefully I can do something a bit more dramatic for Thursday's post!!

I had originally intended to do a tape mani but I couldn't cut the tape properly in the wave shape that I wanted. One peak would end up pointy, bigger, or lopsided, so it was so hard to get it to stay the same shape!! Any tips??

What do you all think of the look? Leave me comments in the section below!!

Tri-Polish Challenge (April #1) - Dotticure

Hey guys!!

I'm participating in my very first tri-polish challenge, hosted by Debbie Crumpet from The Crumpet!!! It's so exciting doing all of these challenges! So just like the 31-Day Challenge, this challenge has rules too.

Rules:

• Crumpet's Nail Tarts will be choosing three colors each month and you must ONLY use those three colors to create the manicures
• The colors for April are Turquoise, Orange, & Pink
• That being said, you have free use of white, black, silver, gold, and glitter toppers
• You must choose 1 polish to represent each color choice and use the same three polishes throughout the challenge
• The challenge has 4 posts each month: the Tuesday and Thursday of the 3rd and 4th week of each month 
• For April: 16, 18, 23, 25

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Here's a look at my first challenge mani!

I saw an amazing mani by Manicurator that I have been wanting to try and make. You can see her mani here. She created an amazing stained glass effect and I wanted to see if I could do something like that. It didn't turn out quite the same and I think it's because 1) she used darker polishes and 2) she used jellies. Mine are the complete opposite, light cremes. The mani still turned out pretty cool.

To add a little something extra, I added dots!

To get this look:

• As always, I started off with my favorite base coat Essie 3-Way Glaze
• The base was created by randomly dabbing China Glaze For Audrey, Sinful Colors Island Coral, and Maybelline Color Show Orange Fix
• I dabbed the different polishes several times until I was satisfied with the look
• Then I used dotting tools in various sizes to create the dots. The black dots were Sinful Colors Black On Black, the white dots were Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and the gold dots were Revlon Colorstay Fall Mood
• To top it all off, I used my trusty Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

 *** I know the dots are not well made. My shoulders and back muscles are still pulled and I couldn't keep my hand steady for very long and ended up rushing 
**The turquoise that I am using is the closest to turquoise that I have**

I hope you all liked my attempt!! I'm looking forward to coming up with something else for this Thursday's (April 18) challenge mani!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 11: Polka Dot Nails

Hi guys!

This post probably won't be too long because I somehow sprained my back and shoulders so keeping my arms in this position is actually killing me right now :(

To start off the second third of the challenge, I chose to do a very simple pattern with a lot of dots but it didn't quite turn out the way I had imagined it, which is probably because I had planned out the design to go on long nails but I ended up cutting mine over the weekend. I'm trying squoval nails for the first time!!

The base polish is Piggy Polish The Right To Bare Feet and it's such a pretty orange/coral color! The dots were made using Sinful Colors Black On Black and a small sized dotting tool. Originally, I was going to put a bouillon bead at the base but I can't seem to find my stash, so I opted for three tiny, silver caviar beads instead.

I like how it turned out but I do wish that I had kept my nails longer. The design would have turned out much better and cleaner. With these short nails, you can't really really tell what the design with the dots is supposed to be. No matter! It'll be better next time.

  

I hope you all liked it and I'm super excited to show you all the stripes challenge mani next week! I've been waiting to try it out for a while now! 

11 down, 20 more to go!!! The half way mark is coming up!