Nailed to the Post

Nail of the week: Bows and Pinstripes

2013-11-29T14:08:00.001-08:00

So sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have been dealing with some health issues and haven't felt up to blogging much. But I'm back today with a simple, fun, and girly manicure, bows and ribbons against a minty green pinstripe background. In case you were wondering why the bows are two different colors, the reason is I ran out of pink paint (sigh). Oddly enough I actually liked the yellow bows better.

Let's get started. The first step was to paint my nails two coats of Essie's "Absolutely Shore"a beautiful sea foam white green color that I have almost used to the last drop.

Essie Nail Polish in "Absolutely shore"

Next, using Orly's "Lucky Duck" , a beautiful cream jade color, I created an upside down triangle at the top of my nail. The lines don't have to be perfect since you are going to be outlining them in the black.

Sketching in the Details:

1) Using a small size dotting tool, and black acrylic paint I outlined the upside down triangle with two thin lines.

2) Going in with the first color, Essie's "Absolutely Shore", and a small size dotting tool I created thin pinstripes on the triangle.

3) Using our dotting tool again and yellow acrylic paint, I created a slightly wider line underneath the black outline we created in step one to begin creating my ribbon.

4) Allow this to completely dry

5) Go back in with black acrylic paint and small size dotting tool, outline the bottom of the ribbon with two thin lines again.

Creating the Bow:

1) Using your yellow acrylic paint, or the color of your choice, begin sketching in the bow. Draw two horizontal tear drop shapes connecting at the sharp points

2) With the same color paint, make two small lines underneath your tear drop shapes to form the tails of the ribbon. Again it does not have to be perfect since you are going to add the details with the black acrylic paint.

3) Allowed this to completely dry

4) Going in with your black acrylic paint and small size dotting tool again carefully outline around the bow and the two tails underneath.

5) To add additional details, draw a tiny circle in the middle for the center of the bow. Create two thin lines coming out from each side of the center circle. Add some shading along the bottom of the bow to give it more dimension.

6) All you have left to do is apply your topcoat to seal in your design.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design. Thanks for reading!

Pedicure of the week: Coat Azure

2013-11-01T11:45:00.001-07:00

This week's pedicure nail art is another easy design that even those new to nail art can achieve. To begin I applied two coats of "Coat Azure" by Essie.

I don't use "Coat Azure" very often, my other Essie polishes get alot more love but I do have a special place in my heart for this one since it was my "something blue" in my wedding that I wore on my toes. Essie is far and away my favorite brand of nail polish. I love the formulation the perfect thin brush with compact bristles and their diverse color selection. Sadly I have not been able to find it for sale in Egypt...yet...the search continues.

I then applied a side swipe with this pretty aqua glitter polish in a blue jelly base. I thought it actually complemented Coat Azure quite well. I don't have a name for this polish, I purchased it on the street here in egypt for about 5EGP ($.75) but any complementing blue glitter would do.

Creating the Details:

1) Using a small size dotting tool and white water based acrylic paint I created a series of dots outlining the glitter side swipe on every nail except the big toe.

2)To create the design on the big toes use your white acrylic paint and dotting tool to make two thin swirls along the edge of the glitter side swipe that meet in the center with the swirls facing away fro each other.

3) Draw a series of dots from the center of the swirls to the other end of the nail.

4) All you have left to do is apply your topcoat to seal in your design and you're finished.

That's it, quick, easy, and eye catching, this design can be achieved in just 20 minutes. Hope you try it out! Thanks for reading and have a great week!

pedicure of the week: bejeweled

2013-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today's pedicure of the week post is a fast and easy design that literally anyone can achieve. Lately I've been really into wearing nail art jewels in various designs on my pedicure, it's almost like built in jewelry. I used an autumn color palette featuring this yellow polish from Sula Cosmetics my hubby bought me from one of the street vendors here in Egypt for about 4EGP (about $.50)

I tried looking up some information on Sula nail polishes to see if they were available online but all I found was their line of peel off nail polishes. It doesn't matter anyway because I wouldn't recommend this brand at all. This particular color looks quite neon in the bottle but actually comes off as a muted mustard yellow. The pigmentation was very weak and it took a whopping 4 coats to achieve full opacity with no streaking. However the wear time was pretty decent as long as you make sure to use a good topcoat.

How to Apply Nail Art Jewels

1) Make sure your nail polish is still wet

2) Use a tiny drop of your favorite top coat on a spare sheet of paper.

3) Dip into the drop of topcoat with the tip of your small sized dotting tool,

4) While the tip of the dotting tool is still wet pick up the rhinestones you want to use for your design by lightly touching the tops of the rhinestones with the tip of the dotting tool.

5) Place the rhinestone carefully on the nail, making sure to not slide the jewel around or it will smudge the polish. Keep applying the rhinestones until you have achieved your desired pattern. For this design I used 1mm size rhinestones, 3 mm size rhinestones, and square rhinestones to create the pattern on my nail.

6) When you are satisfied with the pattern you must make sure to apply a thick topcoat over the rhinestones being sure to coat the top and the sides of the jewel(preferably a fast dry brand) or they will come off in a day or two.

Thanks for Reading!

Nail of the week: Rubies, leopard, and flowers...oh my!

2013-10-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

This week's nail art design is very simple and easy to achieve. I started out with my absolute go to color combination this month. Orly's "Sheer Nude" layered under Icing's "glimmer girl" This combination creates the most beautiful golden nude color to use as a base for french manicures.

icing "glimmer girl"

Orly "sheer nude"

For the next step I used a "frankenpolish", aka one I mixed myself, to create a pinkish nude shimmery camel color. I created a french manicure tip with this color bringing the sides down low to create a more elongated smile line.

Creating the Leopard Print:
1) Using a small size dotting tool and light brown acrylic paint I created a series of dots in different sizes along just the tip of the french manicure I created.

2) Then using black acrylic paint and the same small size dotting tool I carefully outlined each of my brown dots in a parenthesis ( ) like shape. This does not have to be perfect, in fact the more imperfect it is the more realistic the leopard pattern will be.

3) To add dimension add a few random splotchy dots around the spots you made in step two. Again it does not have to be precise or perfect.

4) Then using the same black acrylic paint I carefully outlined the leopard print tip.

After allowing this to completely dry I applied my favorite topcoat and added one 3mm size ruby to the bottoms of all of my nails except the thumbs. Click here for my short how to on apply nail art jewels

Creating the Red Flowers
1) Using my same small size dotting tool and red acrylic paint and created a series of five dotted flowers in different sizes along the side of your nail.

2) While the paint is still wet, lightly dip the dotting tool in the middle of each dot and pull upward to create an almond shape. Each tip of the almond shapes should be facing outwards.

3) After the flowers were completely dry I apply topcoat and added 1mm size rhinestones to the center of the flowers.

4) Using the same technique we used in step 2 to create the flower petals, and green acrylic paint I created leaves around the flower design.

5) Apply a thick top coat to seal in and protect your design.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Nail of the Week: Green Glitter Swirl

2013-10-27T13:58:00.004-07:00

This week I went for a design I did many moons ago that IMO is simple yet elegant. It was inspired by one of my all time favorites Love4nails. For the base color I reached for my go to color combination this month, Orly's "sheer nude", click here to purchase the perfect beige foundation color, and Icings "Glimmer girl" layered over the top to create a nude with a beautiful gold sheen.

Orly "sheer nude"

Icing "Glimmer Girl"

For the next step I used a lovely duochrome polish by the turkish brand Flormar I bought in one of the malls here in Egypt to create a french manicure. This color didnt have a name but it is a beautiful greenish blue duochrome with just the slightest tinge of purple. It applied much more smoothly then alot of duochromes in my experience which tend to be very streaky. It also was one of the few duochromes in my experience who didnt lose the duochrome effect when applied to the nail and flash either one color or another. Flormar polishes are 20 EGP (about $2.75) which I thought was very reasonable priced. I would be willing to try more of this brand. click here to check out their website.

Next I used a small size dotting tool to create the green swirl down the side of the nail leaving one side of the duochrome french manicure exposed and finishing off the colors in a swirl at the bottom of the nail. For the color combination I used Orly's "lucky duck" a bright cream jade green polish click here to purchase and a densely packed medium green no name glitter polish in a clear base by Sula, a street brand here in egypt.

Orly "Lucky Duck"

The last step is just to apply your topcoat to seal in the design. I hope you try out this design it is fun and easy yet elegant. Thanks for reading! have a great week.

Nail of the Week: Good as Gold

2013-10-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

For this week's manicure I began by reaching for....you guessed it "sheer nude" by Orly. I have featured this color in my last three nail of the week posts, can you tell I love it? This design was inspired by cherrynails another of my favorite nail artists. Nude colors are very easily dupable but to me the difference is the formula, this polish is not sheer or streaky like so many nude polishes from other brands. It has been my go to without a doubt lately and I have a feeling you may see it a few more times in future posts :) I started out with two coats of this color as my base.

Next I added one thin coat of this gold glimmer topcoat from Icing called "glimmer girl". It is not a glitter polish but its more of a "sheen polish". This is definitely not one of those polishes that is meant to be worn on its own, it is far too sheer, but layered over the right color it adds a beautiful golden sheen. I have raved about Icing brand polishes quite a bit on this blog so you should be familiar with them if you are a regular here. I think quality wise they can easily match up to any of the high end brands and at $4.50 a bottle it certainly beats any of them when it comes to price. Icing polishes can be found in most local malls in the Icing stores.

Next I took my all time favorite gold glitter polish, also by Icing, called Gold dust, and created a thick vertical stripe down the middle of each of my nails. This is one of the most opaque glitter polishes ive ever seen and only requires two coats for full coverage. It is comprised of tiny microglitters in gold,silver, and tiny hints of red. I will be so sad when this polish runs out!! As you can see from the bottle its been VERY well loved.

Icing "gold dust"

As I write this post featuring three very well loved polishes in my collection im reminded how often I hear ;people say that they rarely (if ever) use up an entire bottle of nail polish either because it gets too gloopy and unusable or they just have too many in their collection. While I do have a very small and tidy nail polish collection these days I have had as many as 150 I believe and I still managed to use up many a bottle. Of course it helps that I have very long nails but I also am very judicious with my nail polish thinner that I purchase from Sally's the minute I see a nail polish start to get thick or gloopy I apply ten drops and the polish is good as new again. But I think the main thing I do that helps me use up my polish faster is I always do nail art and always do a design that features at least 2,3, sometimes 4 different polishes at once. Thats my tip for using up polish if you have a rather large and unruly collection :)

I finished up the design by using black water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. I drew two thin parallel lines on either side of my vertical glitter stripe and then created swirls of an alternating starting point down the vertical stripe. I finished off by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in and protect my design. And thats the finished look, fun easy, and elegant. Why not give it a try? Thanks for reading!! Have a great week

Nail of the week: Ruby Red French Manicure

2013-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Im back this week with another Tartofraises's inspired design. I love the drama and elegance of this manicure with hand painted embellishments. To begin this design I applied two thin coats of "sheer nude" by Orly. This has definitely been one of my current favorites and I have pretty much worn it continuously since I purchased it a few weeks ago. The best thing about this fleshy nude is the formulation. The majority of nudes in my experience tend to apply so streaky on the nail that you have to apply at least 3-4 coats in order to achieve full opacity. But this lovely Orly shade needs just two thin coats to apply totally opaque and streak free. The only downside is it is on the thicker side so use a light hand when applying.Click here to purchase.

I applied the french manicure with my all time favorite red. Essie "lollipop" which is a bright fire engine movie star red. This polish ( as with most Essie polishes) applies like a dream and is totally opaque in two coats. Essie is my favorite brand because of the smooth, thin (but not watery) formula that self levels on the nail and also because of its thin brush that allows you to paint the polish precisely and accurately on the nail. I wish you could get Essie in Egypt!! :( click here to purchase this color.

I applied topcoat and added a 3 mm size ruby red rhinestone. I buy all my nail art supplies on Ebay quite cheaply (usually from china or hong kong) Some of you might hesitate ordering from an overseas seller but ive NEVER had a problem.
click here to purchase nail art rhinestone wheel

I applied one thin coat of another nail polish that has been my go to recently, "night in vegas" by Essence, which is an exact dupe of Essie Shine of the times. Im almost out of this stuff. Sad!!

For the hand painted accents I used white water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. Since some of the details are quite small and precisely painted I used a few drops of water to thin down the paint to a water consistency so I could achieve thinner lines.

I finished up by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in and protect my design. I hope you enjoyed this week's nail art design. Thanks for reading!!

Nail of the week: silver, black, white, abstract french manicure

2013-09-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

For this week's nail art design I started out with two thin coats of my new favorite french manicure base color called "sheer nude" by Orly.

I added a french manicure with this opaque white polish from the egyptian brand "fast and easy"

I used an opaque black polish from the brand Moss purchased in thailand to add a sideswipe on the left of the white french tip

I added a thin strip of silver polish from the Egyptian brand Fast and Easy on the right side of the white french tip

Using a small size dotting tool I added the thin dots and stripes using all three colors. I finished off my adding a 3mm size rhinestone to the side of the nail and adding my favorite go to flaky topcoat "night in vegas" by Essence to add a little drama and dimension.

I finished the design by adding thick topcoat to protect and seal in the design. I hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design. Thanks for reading!

Pedicure of the week: Hot pink flowers

2013-09-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

I hadnt done a flower design in awhile so this week I wanted to do a flower pedicure design using bright fun summery colors (hey its still summer in egypt!) This bright candy colored hot pink polish was one my hubby picked up for me. It doesnt have a name, but it is by Sula Brand Cosmetics

As is the case with most neons this one was incredibly hard to photograph. I dont know why but neons almost always photograph much darker then they are in real life. I managed to capture the color accurately enough in the bottle picture although it does apply on the nails a little darker. I found the formula of this incredibly streaky and difficult to work with and a tad on the gloopy side but I found that when I used a topcoat to smooth out the finish I was really in love with the color. It is unlike any other neon pink I have ever owned before and I love it! I dont know how much it cost here since it was a gift but most street brands here are less then $2 USD a bottle.

I painted my toes with two coats of this neon pink. Then going in with my liner brush and yellow and pink water based acrylic paint I created this five petal flower with a yellow fleur de lis. I then added three small leaves with green water based acrylic paint around the flower. I used water to dillute black acrylic paint to make it super thin and added the tiny dots in the center of the flower. I finished up by adding a 3 mm rhinestone to the center of the flower. Dont forget to add a thick coat of topcoat to seal in the design.

Where to buy nail art supplies?
1) acrylic paint and nail art brushes: click here to purchase
2) 3mm rhinestone wheel:click here to purchase

Nail of the week: Stone Cold French manicure

2013-09-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Im back this week with a few more nail and pedicure designs that ive been backlogging until I have the time to finally post them. Sigh I keep trying to get back on a regular posting schedule but sometimes life gets in the way you know? Anyway this weeks nail art is a recreation of a very simple french manicure design by my favorite nail artist (and personal nail art idol) Tartofraises aka Ophelia. click here to visit her blog.

I decided to do a french manicure design because I acquired a lovely beige nude by Orly recently called "Sheer Nude" that is perfect for the base color of a french manicure on my skintone. It is surprisingly opaque and pigmented and unlike alot of nudes that require 3-4 coats for opacity this color only required 2 coats.

Needless to say I was quite over the moon at finding Orly for sale here in Egypt, at 60 EGP it was about $8 too so roughly the same amount at what you would pay in the states. Click here to purchase this color. Now if only I can find Essie nail polishes for sale here.....

Here is the picture from Tartofraises website of her design I recreated.

and here is my recreation

For the french manicure tips I used another Orly color called "stone cold", a medium blue shimmer with a slight glittery textured feel. Click here to purchase

I used a thin liner brush and white water based acrylic paint to create the two parallel scrolls. I finished with a thin coat of "Night in vegas" by Essence which is a gorgeous red/yellow/gold/green flaky topcoat that adds dimension and uniqueness to any color it is applied over. I have mentioned it many times in this blog before and have noted that it is an exact dupe to the Essie color "shine of the times" that was discontinued a while back. They do sell Essence nail polishes in quite a few stores here although I have yet to see this particular color :( In the United States I purchased it at Fred Meyer for $2.99.

Thats all for this weeks super simple nail art design I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

Nail of the week: Green Sari Nails

2013-08-29T13:49:00.002-07:00

This week I created a simple but elegant nail design inspired by an indian sari. This look is very easy to recreate. I started out with two coats of my favorite green nail polish, this gorgeous jade creme color called "lucky duck" by Orly click here to purchase. I purchased this color at Marshall's for $3.99.

I followed up with this dense green glitter polish from a local brand called "sula" that was a recent gift from my hubby. Like alot of glitters this formula was a little thick and hard to work with my the glitters were densely packed so it was easy to distribute the glitters on the nail. Using this green glitter polish I created a v shaped french manicure. I love the color combination!

Using a thin detail brush click here to purchaseand white water based acrylic paint click here to purchase I outlined the v in the french manicure. I added two small half circles on side of one of the french manicures. I added a thin line in the center of the half circles and outlined the half circles with small dots. I added a thick coat of topcoat to finish off and seal in my design. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Nail of the week: Dotted flower garden

2013-08-28T02:04:00.001-07:00

This week I went for a simple dotted flower design using two nail colors, white water based acrylic paint, and a small size dotting tool. I wanted it to kind of look like it was stamped on the nail.

I started out by adding two coats of this grayish lavender creme polish by "fast and easy", I really liked the color but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed how different it appears on the nail vs in the bottle. A little bit of it is the lighting but it does appear much more grayish on the nail whereas in the bottle it is a truer lavender.

Using white water based acrylic paint and my small size dotting tool I created the flower design across the tip of the nail.

I painted a thin coat of revlon "scandalous", a black creme polish with chunks of magenta glitter, to the very tips of the nails, above where i made my flower design. I used my small size dotting tool to dip into this color and added one dot to the center of each of my flowers. I finished off by adding topcoat to protect and seal in my design. Thanks for reading have a great week!

Nail of the week: Abstract periwinkle

2013-08-28T01:49:00.001-07:00

This week I created a simple abstract look using just three colors, a dotting tool, and white acrylic paint. I started out by painting my nails two coats of this silver nail polish by the brand "fast and easy". I own a few polishes of this brand, purchased here in egypt and I really love them. At just 13 Egyptian pounds ($2USD) the price, quality, and formula of the polishes are almost identical to the Sinful colors brand available in the US.

I created a french manicure using this cream periwinkle color by the same "fast and easy" brand. I painted my thumbs all periwinkle as an accent nail.

I added one thin coat of "night in vegas" by essence, a gorgeous flaky topcoat that is a perfect dupe for Essie's "shine of the times". This topcoat is my favorite polish of all time and it really gave the silver a foiled look. I purchased this nail polish at Fred Meyers for $2.99 in Portland.

I created the abstract pattern using white water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. I added a purple 1 mm size rhinestone to the center of the little florets. I finished off the look by adding a topcoat to seal in my design.

Thanks for checking out this week's nail design! I plan to start posting more regularly again now that things have slowed down a bit around the country. Have a good week!

Nail of the Week: Graphic art deco print

2013-07-13T12:07:00.001-07:00

This week I have a quick nail art that was actually inspired by an episode of Project Runway (love that show!) that was centered around the theme of art deco 20's inspired clothing. One of the garments the designers made for the show had this exact print and I thought it would be fun for a nail design. It was quite easy to achieve, you simply need to paint your nails two coats of your favorite black polish. When that is dry use a medium size dotting tool and white water based acrylic paint to draw the three triangles each inside of the other. Then draw the vertical lines. Don't forget to seal in your design with a good topcoat to protect the acrylic paint. That's it, quick easy and requires nothing more then a steady hand. Despite being so easy I love the bright bold graphic nature of the print and find that it goes with everything :) Hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design. Thanks for reading

Nail of the week: Stylish French Manicure

2013-07-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

This week I did a little spin on the traditional french manicure by sticking with a neutral palette and adding painted accents. For the base color I used my favorite neutral that I have talked about many many times on this blog, "sheer rose" by Revlon. It is the perfect color for my olive skin tone more then the traditional french manicure pink. It can be a bit streaky which is the only unfortunate downside to this amazing color so it requires 2-3 coats to get a nice semi opaque finish suitable for french manicures. click here to purchase

For the dark brown tips I used a shimmery brown called "rockin rockette" by Orly. I applied the color at an angle to give the smile line an unusually high edge. Most of the time french manicures actually cheat the length of the nail a bit by painting the smile line lower on the nail plate to make the nail appear longer but this actually had the opposite effect and made my nail bed appear elongated with a smaller tip. Orly is not my favorite salon brand (that would be essie) Im not crazy about their formulation and the awkwardly large cap of the bottle that makes wielding the brush a wee bit difficult but I really love this color, its formulation is a bit gloopy but it is usually pretty opaque and streak free in 3 thin coats. I purchased it at TJ Maxx for $3.99 click here to purchase

I finished the french manicure by applying a thin coat of the flaky topcoat "night in vegas" by Essence. This just so happens to be an amazing dupe for the now discontinued "shine of the times" by Essie, and is one of my favorite nail polishes of all time. It adds a certain je ne sais quoi to whatever color you layer it over giving it shine, dimension, and an otherworldly pop. Im going to be so sad when I run out of this stuff. I did find a store here in egypt that sells Essence cosmetics but sadly...this color is not among them. (weeps). I purchased it in Fred Meyer stores in portland for $2.99.

To add the painted accents I used white and black water based acrylic paint click here to purchaseand a small size dotting tool to draw the flower and my accent finger and the rest of my fingers. I finished off by adding one 3mm size rhinestones to the center of my flower .click here to purchase. I finished by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in my design. This is very important when working with acrylic paint since otherwise it can be washed off! I hope you enjoyed this week's nail art design. Thanks for reading.

My Nail Care Routine

2013-07-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

I get alot of questions from people about my nail care routine so I thought I would share that with you this week. For me personally the key to long, strong, healthy nails has been just weekly maintenance. No matter what is going on in my life I never skip my weekly manicure, it is one of the few things I do to really indulge myself. Everyone has a slightly different routine, but after a lot of experimenting this is just the routine and products that i've found work for me.

Step One:
Use a round lint free cotton pad and Acetone nail polish to remove the previous manicure. My favorite nail polish remover is the Acetone Up and up brand from target. I dont have it pictured because Im living abroad now and can't get it anymore but I would highly recommend this brand. I do my nails once a week and I always found the 16 oz bottle to last at least a month since it is pretty potent and does not require alot of product to remove your polish each time. click here to purchase

Step Two:
Using the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover Gel apply a thin strip of product along the cuticle. Allow it to sit on the cuticle for at least 20 seconds to loosen and remove the dead skin cells. I started using this product about two years ago and found it to be much more fast and efficient then soaking your nails in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes like I used to do in order to accomplish the same job. Because you only need a thin strip on all your cuticles I find that this product lasts me almost a year, so its a great value for what youre paying for.click here to purchase

Step Three:
When the cuticle removing gel has sat on the cuticles for twenty seconds, take the flat tipped cuticle pusher and push the cuticles back off the nail plate. Do this gently. It should not hurt. It will probably have some of the softened white dead skin cells that you can gently wipe off with a round cotton pad after you push the cuticles back.click here to purchase

Step Four:
This next step is somewhat controversial so its definitely optional depending on your comfort level. Many nail techs disagree over whether or not to cut your cuticles but I personally choose to do it since I have been doing it for years. If you like you can forgo cutting the cuticle and choose to just use the cuticle trimmer to cut any hang nails or splits on the side of the nail.click here to purchase

Step Five:
Wash your nails thoroughly with a small nail brush to remove any traces of the cuticle remover as well as any oils off the nail plate click here to purchase

Step Five
I DON'T buff my nails every week but if I'm noticing some yellowing or ridges I will buff it out gently, concentrating mostly on the new growth since buffing removes layers of your nail and can weaken and thin the nails if done too often.click to purchase

Step Six:
Using a glass file, which is gentler on the nail tip then the sandpaper emery boards I lightly file and shape the nail filing in one direction.click here to purchase

Step Seven:
I finish up by applying a quarter size drop of coconut oil in my hand and massaging it onto each of my cuticles.

There you have my weekly nail care routine and all of my must have items. What are some items in your nail care routine?

Pedicure of the week: Splash of Citrus

2013-07-02T11:23:00.001-07:00

This week I wanted to do something fun and summer inspired, so I went for a simple design inspired by citrus fruits. I used my favorite orange, Essie's "brazilliant" click here to purchase.

Essie "Brazilliant"

I used Orly's "lucky duck" to create a french tip click here to purchase to emulate the colors of an orange.

Orly "Lucky Duck"

I used my small size dotting tool and yellow water based acrylic paint to outline the green french manicure click here to purchase acrylic paint. Then I applied a thick coat of topcoat and applied three fimo fruit to the corners of my big toes, an orange, a lemon, and a lime. click here to purchase fimo fruit wheel Fimo fruits are flat and made from polymer clay giving them a kind of rubberized feel.

To apply fimo fruit to nail
1) apply topcoat
2) dip dotting tool in the wet topcoat and pick up the fruit of your choice
3) place the fruit on your nail and lighting press down at the top with the tip of your finger to ensure your fimo is laying flat and not curling upwards at the sides
4) apply a thick coat of fast drying topcoat over the fimo to protect it and keep it in place

I hope you enjoyed this weeks pedicure design. It is fun, easy to achieve, and a perfect pedi for summer sandals. Give it a try! Thanks for reading!

Nail of the week: DIY textured nails

2013-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

If you are a nail polish geek like me and follow all the latest nail trends you know that textured nails are the latest de rigueur of nail art. Nail polish brands from OPI to Zoya to Sally Hansen have been coming out with their own take on this trendy look. The idea behind textured nails is that they are supposed to kind of give the illusion of sand. I wasnt sure how much this idea appealed to me truth be told since im the kind of person who loves the look of a smooth, glossy nail I can see my reflection in but I decided to give it a try. However since I live in Egypt now textured nail polish is not available over here just yet so I was forced to go the DIY route. Here's how I accomplished this look.

1) paint nails two thick coats of your favorite pink polish
2) While nails are still wet dip your whole nail into a small bowl of salt making sure the salt covers the entire nail plate.
3) brush off excess and lightly pat down the salt with your finger to ensure it is firmly in place
4) apply one coat of polish over the salt to achieve the textured look of sand
5) *this step is optional but I couldnt resist putting a light topcoat over the nail polish as well just to make sure it lasted a little longer

* if you would like to know how to achieve the leopard print design I have a tutorial here

To be perfectly honest this look was just not for me, I can appreciate that its something different they are trying but this (and other swatches of textured polish ive seen online) just look like nail polish that is lumpy and bubbling, not cute in my humble opinion. But if you like this trendy look give it a try, its kind of fun to do and super easy to achieve and that way you dont have to spend money on nail polish that, lets face it is going to go out of style in 6 months. Hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design! thanks for reading!

Nail of the week: Periwinkle Plaid

2013-06-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

I actually had better pictures of this week's nail art design but I accidentally deleted them in my file (sigh) so this picture is the only one that survived. For this design I used a new edition to my nail polish collection, a beautiful creme periwinkle. The brand Ciao Fast and Easy is a brand I have discovered here in Egypt and I really like it. If I had to compare it in formulation and in price I would say it is almost the exact same as the Sinful Colors nail polish brand. Both are about the equivalent of $2.00 and both have good pigmentation and a decent wear time (4-5 days with a good topcoat). Fast and Easy does not have nearly the color range of Sinful Colors but they are readily available and since i'm living abroad in a country where there is no access to Sinful Colors and Revlon nail polish costs $10 (gulp!) it is the best brand I have found for the price so far.

This particular color does not have a name but it is a gorgeous creme periwinkle color that I am just loving on my skintone. Periwinkle has been my go to color for Spring and Summer and looks amazing on the toes as well for a sandal ready pedi. If you live in the United States and have no access to this brand there are similar colors in other brands. China Glaze has a slightly lighter creme periwinkle called Secret Periwinkle click here to purchase and deborah lippman has another gorgeous creme periwinkle as well called "I know what boys like" that is very very similar to this color click here to purchase. But the most affordable dupe might be Essence "blues of being cool".

For the nail art design I used a striping brush and water based acrylic paint. It was really easy and look less then a half hour for all ten nails. I love coming up with designs that are easy to do but still look polished. Hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design. Thanks for reading!

Nail of the week: Tartofraises tribute, seafoam and jade green

2013-06-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before we are going to a family wedding this week and im planning to wear a green dress so I wanted to do a green mani/ pedi. click here to see my green pedicure. I chose two of my favorite greens in my collection, beginning with Essie "absolutely shore", a beautiful light seafoam green from the summer 2011 collection click here to purchase as a base color (essie nail polish usually retails for $8 but I purchased mine for $3 at Marshalls.)

essie "absolutely shore"

and sponged on Orly "lucky duck" from their "birds of a feather" collection, which is a kind of Chinese jade diagonally across my nail tips. click here to purchase. Orly nail polishes usually retail for $8 but I purchased mine at Marshall's for $3.99/

Orly "Lucky Duck"

Then I used white water based acrylic paint for the design and drew it all with a small size dotting tool. I finished by adding a 2mm size rhinestone to the bottom.
The design was from Tartofraises, one of my favorite nail art bloggers, she is so incredibly talented and such and inspiration to me that I have recreated a few of her designs over the years. click here to view tartofraises's website and nail art gallery she also does tutorials on youtube and I would highly recommend checking out her channel if youre into nail art, her channel is like nail porn seriously! click here to see tartofraises nail art youtube channel

Where to buy supplies:
1) acrylic paint:click here to purchase
2) dotting tools click here to purchase
3) 2mm size rhinestoneclick here to purchase
Dont be afraid to purchase from sellers overseas, I have done it many times ordering supplies and found them to be very safe and reliable. The shipping does take longer of course since it has to clear customs so keep that in mind!

pedicure of the week: Jade Green and Floral

2013-06-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

This week Im going to a family wedding and planning to wear a green maxi dress with some floral print so I decided to echo this theme in my mani and pedi. I reached for my favorite green in my collection "Lucky Duck" by Orly from their "birds of a feather" collection. click here to purchase this color. I think the lighting in this picture is a little off because it appears more of a deep forest green rather than a jade green. I tried to retake the picture but it definitely did apply darker this time then it usually does and im not really sure why...(thicker coats?) Either way its still a beautiful color. Orly is not my favorite salon brand, I find their bottles too bulky and the caps too big and hard to work with. Im not super crazy about the formulation either, ive definitely had to add thinner to this one a few times to make it more workable. Orly retails for about $8 at most stores but I purchased this bottle for $3.99 from Marshalls.

Orly "Lucky Duck"

To create this look:
1) paint your nails two coats of your favorite dark green polish.
2) after it dries add an upside down triangle in a lighter shade of green to your accent nail. (if you have trouble freehanding the shape you can use tape to tape off the lines and color inside) I chose "Absolutely Shore" by Essie.
3) with a small size dotting tool and white acrylic paint lightly outline your triangle.
4) using the same dotting tool and pink acrylic paint add five pink dots in a circle for your flowers. You can add as many flowers in the light green triangle as you choose. add tiny green almond shapes on the sides of the flowers for the leaves, again paint as many or as little leaves as you choose.
5) after that dries apply a thin coat of topcoat and add a dark pink 1mm size rhinestone to the center of your flowers
6) finish with a thick coat of topcoat to seal in your design.

Where to buy supplies:
1) acrylic paint click here to purchase
2) dotting tool click here to purchase
3) 1mm size rhinestones click here to purchase

Nail of the week: sheer rose french manicure

2013-06-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

For this nail art design I chose a very simple rose pattern over a french manicure. This style of rose is very easy to create and even a beginner can achieve it. click here to see a tutorial for how to achieve a simple painted rose. For the pink color of my french manicure I chose my favorite nude shade that Ive talked about extensively in this blog "sheer rose" by revlon. click here to puchase Most revlon polishes retail for $4.99 but I purchased mine wholesale from Grocery Outlet stores for about $.90.

Revlon Sheer Rose

I think it is the perfect french manicure shade for someone like me with olive tones to their skin. The rest of the design was created with just a simple small size dotting tool and water based acrylic paints. click here to purchase acrylic paints.

Pedicure of the week: Lollipop Red and yellow flowers

2013-06-25T16:35:00.001-07:00

This weeks pedicure design was a fairly simple one tone flower design created entirely with a small size dotting tool and yellow water based acrylic paint click here to purchase. For the red base I chose one of my all time favorite colors "lollipop" by Essie. Lollipop is a classic old movie star glamorous red that is timeless and flattering to every skin color. As with nearly every Essie polish I have ever tried this one is pigmented and smooth with a perfect formula that applies in two coats. click here to purchase. Most essie polishes retail for about $8 but I purchased mine at Ross for $3. Wet n wild has an excellent dupe called "red red" that you can purchase for only $1 which is literally EXACTLY the same shade click here to see a post comparing the two colors in detail

I hope you enjoyed this weeks toe nail art design. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Nail of the week: "Brazilliant" summer colors

2013-06-25T16:15:00.001-07:00

left hand (click on photo to enlarge)

right hand (click on photo to enlarge)

After about a month and a half long hiatus Im back this week with a new nail design (actually a few nail designs ive been backlogging for awhile since ive been too busy to post lately. As some of you know I moved to Egypt back in February to get married and start a new life and between adjusting to everything and studying my language course I just dont have as much free time to post as I used to. BUT I promise to try to be more consistent since this blog is still very important to me. So here we go

This week I wanted to do a fun design inspired by summer. I chose Essie's "brazilliant" from their summer 2011 collection as a base color. click here to purchaseIt is a dark shimmery orange with slight gold reflects. It wears perfectly in two coats and like all Essie polishes, in my experience, wear 5-7 days with only minimal tip fading (WITH a good topcoat). Essie nail polishes normally retail for $8 but I purchased mine in a set of 3 Essie Summer 2011 polishes for $8.99 from Ross.

essie brazilliant

Since I didnt have yellow nail polish on hand I used water based acrylic paints to create the rest of the design. click here to purchase. When I was finished I added a little gold glitter to the center of the thumbs for a little extra sparkle.

The design itself is quite easy to achieve here are the steps
1) paint nails two coats of your favorite orange polish
2) using yellow polish (or paint) and a flat tip paint brush fill in the center of the nail leaving the orange border.
3) using a small size dotting tool and red acrylic paint make a simple five dotted flower in two corners of your nail
4) using the same dotting tool and yellow acrylic paint dot the center of your flower with yellow.
5) using the same dotting tool and green paint add two tiny almond shaped leaves to each flower.
6) with the same dotting tool and black acrylic paint outline your yellow paint with small dots.
7) add a thick coat of topcoat to protect your design and youre finished!

I hope you enjoyed this weeks nail art design! Have a great week!

Nail of the week: In the Nude

2013-05-10T02:57:00.003-07:00

For this week's nail art design I wanted to eskew the typical pastel colors most bloggers are trotting out for spring and go with a simple, stark, nude accented with two red flowers to avoid a total "mannequin hands" look.

I chose my favorite nude color Revlon's Sheer Rose. I love it because it matches my skin tone so well, many nudes tend to be too dark or too pink for my skintone. But I do go back and forth about the quality of Revlon polishes in general. The pigmentation of this particular color is not very good and it applied very streaky. In fact it required a whopping four coats (albeit thin ones) to reach full opacity. However I have yet to find a nude color that DOESNT apply like this and to me its worth working with the formulation a bit to achieve such a nice color. Revlon polishes have I would say AVERAGE staying power, certainly not comparable to the lasting power of an Essie polish for example and can be worn with a good topcoat for 3-4 days as compared to Essie's 5-6. They typically retail for $4.99 on average but I purchased this one from a Grocery Outlet store for about $.75. Do you struggle with having to build nude polish up several coats in order to achieve full opacity? What's your favorite nude nail color?