Nails by Valentine

Navy Nails

2016-02-23T13:26:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a very very long time. I decided to get my act together today and paint something nice on my nails. For this I used:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-Finger Paints "Art of Theft" (Navy polish)

-Orly "Orly Platinum" (white-silver Polish)

-Essence gel-look plumping top coat

-dotting tool (you can also use a toothpick for this)

Hope you enjoy this look :)

I am planning on recording some new tutorial videos soon, be on the look out for these :D

-Valentine

Not nail related but still fun!

2015-07-31T11:41:00.001-03:00

I dyed my hair purple, then inadvertently dyed my hands and nails purple too :) I'm enjoying this fun colour for summer though :) I used manic panic ultra violet semi permanent color and am loving how it turned out!

Pokadot nails

2015-07-26T15:52:00.001-03:00

This is a fun and easy nail idea that I've worn a few times this summer, I love this because it's such a simple design and you can chose to mix and match colours to suite your style, outfit or mood! :)

-Valentine

Flawless Victory- SubZero Makeup

2014-10-18T10:50:00.002-03:00

Halloween is only 13 days away!! Today's post is related to the last one posted of my Mortal Kombat Scorpion makeup, this time I switched out my yellow palette for some black and blues and came up with this version of SubZero. This again was inspired by the amazing and awesome makeup artist Lex and I encourage you to take a look at her tutorial video below! This one was super fun to do and would make a great halloween costume.

Stay tuned for more halloween themed makeup designs! Feel free to contact me if you have questions or have a request (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com).

-Valentine

SubZero Makeup Tutorial - MadeYewLook

Halloween Season 2014 (Look #1 Scorpion- Mortal Kombat)

2014-10-05T22:52:00.000-03:00

Halloween is coming! Halloween is coming! I have so many ideas this year and don't know how I will ever decide on just one!!! What are you being for halloween????

Today I did this version of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. I certainly cannot take credit for the inspiration, I saw the video (below) and instantly headed to my makeup to paint. MadeYew Look by Lex is seriously addictive... "watch all of her videos" addictive :) Hope you enjoy this look, it was super fun to do. Stay tuned for more makeup looks as well as some fun Halloween nail looks as the month goes on.

-Valentine

Scorpion Makeup Tutorial (MadeYewLook by Lex)

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

2013-10-14T03:26:00.000-03:00

Halloween Makeup Ideas

It's almost here! It's almost here!

Of course I am referring to HALLOWEEN!!! My official countdown started weeks ago! It's pretty much my favourite time of the year. For just one night you can be anything you want to be. It's ok to wear over the top makeup or a really scary costume!

I've thought a lot about what I want to be, I still haven't really figured it out yet though. I know I typically post nails (up until now that's all I've posted) but I really like make up too so I thought I'd post a few pictures of some makeup designs/looks that I've tried leading up to Halloween 2013!

Hope you enjoy, I have some nail art posts and tutorial videos coming soon so stay tuned!

Peace, Love & Don't Forget Your Mascara

-Valentine

Masquerade Mask (50 Shades Darker)

Cheshire Cat

Comic Book

Freddy

Jigsaw

Ghost

Maleficent Themed Makeup

Zombie/ Walking Dead

80's Glam

Circuit Board Nails

2013-10-02T14:04:00.001-03:00

Today's nails were inspired by a circuit board.

For this design I use the following:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat
- Finger Paints polish in Sketch N Etch
- LA Colors Art Deco in Mint Green & Black
- Orly polish in Luze
- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

The fun thing about this nail design is that there are so many different ways to paint it. You can make it as simple or as intricate as you like!

Hope you enjoy this design.

Check out my nail art videos (I've got some fun ones planned for Halloween!)

Youtube Videos

Facebook Page

Peace, Love & Don't forget your top coat!
-Valentine

My Inspiration

Matte/Glitter Nail Art

2013-03-18T01:15:00.000-03:00

Black Matte/Glitter Nail Art

Today's nail art is a super easy, super cute design that you can do with any color polish you have. It's great for that nail art beginner but still very edgy for experienced artists looking for a quick design!

For this design I used:

Beauty Secrets Base Coat
Orly Liquid Linyl
Joe Fresh Style Matte Top Coat
A.co Black Masquerade

To make the zig-zag design I used sticker stencils that I purchased at my local Sally Beauty but for a cheaper alternative you can also use tape and scissors.

Check out my YouTube video to see how I did this!

YouTube Nail Art Tutorial (Please Subscribe!!)

Send me your pictures and videos, let me know if theres a design that you'd like for me to do! I hope you enjoyed this glittery design!

Check out my facebook page! Nails by Valentine

Enjoy
-Valentine

Black vs. White

2013-01-23T14:01:00.003-04:00

Hi all!

Today's nails are brought to you by the colors BLACK and WHITE! I also have a tutorial video on YouTube so check it out if you want to see how I created this design.

For this design I used the following:

Base Coat- Beauty Secrets
White Polish- Finger Paints Paper Mache
Black Polish- Orly Liquid Vinyl
Glitter- Kiss Nail Art Paint in Silver Glitter
Top Coat- Beauty Secrets

I also used some rhinestones to bling it up but those are of course optional (you could always use a really nice bright polish that you have as an accent).

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy design and check out the tutorial linked below!

Black & White Flower Nail Art Tutorial

Peace, Love & Don't forget your top coat!

-Valentine

Va Va Velvet Nails

2013-01-09T16:05:00.002-04:00

Velvet Nails

Happy New Year Everyone!

I finally did it! I uploaded my first nail tutorial video to YouTube!

Follow this link to check it out: http://youtu.be/5Alse1m6T-8

I'm hoping to post 1 video per week. Mostly easy nail art tutorials, Q&A, that sort of thing.

For this design I used:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat
- China Glaze Polish in Frostbite
- Lose Velvet (can be found at most craft stores, I got mine at Michael's)

It's important to pick a polish that is close in color to your velvet, if you don't it will be very noticeable and almost make the velvet look dirty (for lack of a better word).

Hope you like this technique and the tutorial. Keep emailing me requests or leave me a comment on YouTube! But remember, it's my first upload so please be kind :)

Peace, Love, & Don't forget your top coat!
-Valentine

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

2012-12-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Winter Wonderland

I love holiday themed nails! :)

All you need for these nails are:

- Base coat & Top coat
- Blue polish (Finger Paints Midnight Sleigh Ride)
- White polish (Finger Paints Paper Mache)
- Red polish (Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red)
- White Acrylic paint
- Scotch tape
- Toothpick

First paint all but your ring finger blue, then paint your ring finger white (I used 2 coats).

Next, using your acrylic paint, paint the icicles. I used the left over acrylic paint to made the snow flakes with my toothpick.

Lastly use your tape to create your tree. If you fold the tape in half and cut out half a tree then open the tape and place this on your nail it will create a perfectly symmetric Christmas tree! Paint this with your favourite red polish.

What are some of your favourite Christmas things? Trees? Lights? Santa perhaps? Keep emailing me your requests/comments (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com). Don't forget to check out my Facebook page!

Peace, Love & Don't forget your Top Coat!

-Valentine

Santa's Helpers "HO HO HO"

2012-12-21T13:09:00.001-04:00

Merry Christmas!

Update: I bought a new computer!!! My old iMac died so when I was posting (over the last 10 months) it was from my tablet which was extremely time consuming and annoying! Now that my new iMac has come you can expect to see me post more frequently! Yay!

Todays design came from a video I saw on YouTube. Its a cute festive design to get you in the holiday spirit!

All you need for this design is:

- Base Coat & Top Coat
- Red/ Light Green/ Dark Green/ White/ and Brown nail polish.
- Acrylic paint in white, red, green, yellow and black
- Toothpick or a dotting tool for the buttons

Check out the video I've linked from this very talented nail artist!
IHaveACupcake Christmas Nail Art

Hope you have a happy and joy filled holiday season!

Peace, Love & Don't forget your top coat!

-Valentine

To Infinity & Beyond

2012-09-19T12:04:00.000-03:00

Galaxy Nails

So it's been a while since I last posted. Here's a fun nail idea that always looks pretty!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat

-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl, Charged Up, Spark, Dazzle, Shine on Crazy Diamond, Orly Platinum

-"Sally Hansen Instadry" in Pink Blink

-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

you will also need some toothpicks and a clean makeup sponge.

First protect your nails with a good base coat, then paint them with your black polish (2 coats).

Next rip your makeup sponge into small pieces. dip these small pieces into you different polish colors, one at a time dab them onto your nails, repeat this for all of your nails. I started with my white color then purple, blue, yellow, pink. (If you find it hard to hold the sponge use a pair of tweezers to hold them, easy to use and it won't smudge your wet polish).

Let this dry then use your toothpick to dot on some stars. Cover your design in sparkles and finish off with a protecting top coat!

I really hope you liked this design. Now that summer is over I will be posting more to this site. Keep sending your Fall requests my way.

Don't forget to like my facebook page!

Enjoy!

-Valentine

Wa Wa Wa Watermelon!

2012-07-04T14:59:00.000-03:00

Watermelon Nails

I don't know about you but watermelon is one of my favorite summer treats! It's a cold sweet treat after a long day in the sun. Thus, it has inspired todays nail art!

For this design I used the following:
- 'Beauty Secrets' Base Coat
- 'China Glaze' polish in Rich & Famous
- 'LA Color' polish in Green, Light Green and White
- 'Orly' polish in Liquid Vinyl
- 'Beauty Secrets' Top Coat

I've seen lots of different watermelon designs but I like this one best because of the deep smile line that the green part of the melon creates! Hope you like this design, let me know what you think and what other summer design ideas you've got!

Check out my facebook page and don't forget to 'LIKE' :)

Enjoy

-Valentine

Surfs Up!

2012-06-01T15:34:00.001-03:00

With the nice weather that’s in abundance this time of year I thought it would be nice to do a beach theme. I know black polish doesn’t exactly scream beach but I though it gave the waves a nice contrast.

For this design I used the following:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-China Glaze nail polish in Smoke and Ashes (Hunger Games Collection- District 12)

-Acrylic paint in Ivory, blue and teal

-Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I love the Smoke and Ashes polish because it’s not a pure black cream, when the sun hits it, its actually got some specks of green glitter in it. I thought it was a really nice compliment to the blue and teal that were incorporated into my waves.

With a small brush paint your waves, once dry use your blue and teal paint to add little accents.

Remember to seal in your design with a good top coat, this also add lots of shine to your otherwise matte acrylic paint. You’re finished!

Let me know what you think about this design and keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Check out my facebook page and remember to ‘Like’

Enjoy

-Valentine

Feisty Feline

2012-05-22T14:18:00.000-03:00

Feisty Feline Nail Art

Today's nails were inspired by a manicure shown on Pretty Little Liars. I mixed it up a bit by doing a red half moon on each nail!

For this design I used the following:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat

- Joe Fresh nail polish in Caramel

- China Glaze nail polish in Dress me Up and Foie Gras

- Finger Paints nail polish in Curator's Crimson

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

Once your base coat is dry paint on a coat od red polish (depending on the brand and formula you may need more than one coat). When the red polish is completely dry place page reinforcements on each nail to create the shape of the half moon mani. Paint on two coats of your tan polish and remove the page reinforcements. Lastly use the back of a makeup brush or a dotting tool to create the leopard print, complete it by outlining in the darker brown polish.

Don't forget to protect your design with a top coat.

Hope you like this cute design. Check out my facebook page, keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

-Valentine

Rainbow Tree of Life

2012-05-18T13:38:00.000-03:00

Welcome back!! Today’s nails we’re inspired by the wonderful Robin Moses, I saw one of her designs when I was searching for a good tree design. This is my first attempt at this design but I’m sure I will try again…

For this design I used:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-Orly nail polish in Platinum and Shine on Crazy Diamond

-Acrylic paint in white, black, gold, blue, teal, lime green, yellow, orange, red, pink and purple

-Beauty Secrets Top Coat

Tip 1: Use a very thin brush for the limbs on the tree, I used a thinker brush and my trees didn’t come out exactly how I wanted them to.

Tip 2: For the leaves dab your brush over and over on to your nails in a stippling motion this is the easiest way I know of to create tiny leaves.

Hope you enjoyed this design. Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com; remember to check out my Facebook page.

Enjoy

-Valentine

Feelin' Hippy!

2012-05-11T15:45:00.000-03:00

With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner I decided to do some Hippy-ish Spring flowers on my nails. All you need for this design is a few of your favorite nail polishes and a dotting tool or makeup brush.

For this design I used:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-Orly nail polish in Spark

-China Glaze nail polish in Rich & Famous, Spontaneous, Tuned up Turquoise, and Sun Worshiper

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I used the same kind of technique for the flowers here that I used in my ‘Lovely Layers’ blog. The most important thing to remember about layering polishes is that you want to make sure the previous coat is dry before proceeding otherwise you could end up with a BIG mess across your nails.

Hope you enjoyed this design. Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com; remember to check out my Facebook page.

Enjoy

-Valentine

Ahoy!

2012-05-08T16:13:00.000-03:00

Nautical Nails

OMG!! It’s been a while since my last post, almost 3 whole weeks!! So for today’s nails I decided to post one of my favorite designs. These were inspired by a YouTube video I saw and of course a snazzy sailors outfit!

For these nails I used the following:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat

- China Glaze nail polish in ‘White on White’

- Nichole by OPI in ‘A new kind of blue”

- Kiss nail art paint in ‘Red’

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I chose to accent these sassy nails with some extra embellishments. Use nail studs or rhinestones for the gold/yellow buttons. Or if you don’t have this at home try using a yellow or gold polish and applying it with a toothpick or a small dotting tool.

Hope you enjoyed these nails. Keep sending me your requests (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com) Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page!

P.S. I have a bunch more posts lined up for the next month so hopefully there won’t be much of a wait in between pictures. Sorry for the delay.

-Valentine

Lovely Layers

2012-04-16T15:37:00.002-03:00

Layered Nails

For today's nail design I wanted to try out a few of my newer polishes and see what they'd look like layered together!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Dress Me Up
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Foie Gras
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Paper Mache
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

First I painted my nails with 2 coats of Dress Me Up, once this was dry I used a dotting tool and white polish to do a flower design in the lower corner of my nail. Once this was dry I used my dotting tool and my Foie Gras polish to do the same flower shape over the white polish (just leaving a small bit of it showing. And once that was dry I did another layer with the white polish. Finally once that was dry I used a toothpick to make a few decorative dots and toped it off with a good top coat to seal in my design.

This was really easy to do and has a long wear time. I'll definately be trying out other layered designs with some of my other summery nail colors!

Try this technique on your own nails and don't forget to send me a picture (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com)

Check out my facebook page and tell me what you think!

Hope you enjoy!

-Valentine

An Apple A Day...

2012-04-13T12:46:00.003-03:00

Apple Nails

I was looking for something different to paint on my nails today I realized I've done strawberries, watermellons, and even tutti frutti nails but not Apples!!

So you guessed it, todays nails are apple inspired!

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Finget Paints" nail polish in Curators Crimson & Paper Mache
-"Nicole by OPI" nail polish in Daffy Dill
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Re-Fresh Mint
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

To create your apple design use your polish brush to paint two ovals that meet in the middle. The stem was done with a toothpick and liquid vinyl nail polish. The white center of the apple on my ring finger was made with the back of a make-up brush dipped in white polish. Lastly the tiny leaves were created by bending the tip of the toothpick so that about 3mm could be dipped in the green polish.

Hope you enjoy this fruity nail design! Send me a picture if you try these on your own nails! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentien@gmail.com

-Valentine

Turquoise Tussle

2012-04-11T14:08:00.000-03:00

I went polish shopping this week and picked up a few new colors! One of the colors I picked was China Glaze's- For Audrey. It's such a beautiful color. When I arrived home I realized I already had a color almost identical (Orly's- Gumdrop)! Boy did I feel dumb! So you guessed it... Today's blog is all about compairing the two! :)

ROUND 1
Color: As far as the color goes they are almost identical. I thought that China Glaze had a little more blue while the Orly color had more white in the Formula. Color choice ultimately comes down to your own personal preference.

Winner: China Glaze For Audrey

ROUND 2
Formula: China Glaze's formula was a bit thick which made the drying time longer. Orly's formula was awesome, perfect consistancy and it dried extreamly quickly!

Winner: Orly-Gumdrop

ROUND 3
Cost: I picked up both of these colors from my local Sally Beauty store. China Glaze was $5.99 for 14ml (42.7 cents/ml), Orly was $6.49 for 18ml (36.1 cents/ml). Not much of a difference but the winner is obvious for this one.

Winner: Orly-Gumdrop

ROUND 4
Overall Wear: I was a little worried that the For Audrey would be the first to chip since it went on a little thicker than Gumdrop but both colors wore really well and actually chipped right around the same time.

Winner: Tie

So I guess it's obvious, Orly was my pick. Even though I liked China Glaze's color better there wasn't enough of a difference to over come the thick consistancy, slow drying time and more expensive price tag.

I hope you find this review helpful. Let me know what your winner is and why!

Look for more nail design's using these colors, I think they are my new favorites!

-Valentine

Holy Cow!

2012-04-09T12:30:00.000-03:00

Cow Nails

Happy MOOnday, er... I mean Happy Monday! Today's manicure monday is cow themed! This was a very easy manicure and all you need is 3 colors and a dotting tool (or something similar in size to use).

For the following design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" nail polish in Platnum
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Rich & Famous
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I used 2 coats of Orly Platnum (which dires really quickly!) then used the pink polish to make the cow's nose (use the brush from the nail polish bottle, no special brush required). once dry, use your dotting tool to make the eyes, nostrils, and dots. Finish it off with a top coat and voila, your done!

Hope you enjoy this nail design. If you try it on your own nails please send a picture to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

-Valentine

Easy Easter Eggs

2012-04-08T12:37:00.000-03:00

Easter Egg

Today's Nails are a quick and easy design that anyone can do with a make-up brush, tooth pick and a few of your favorite colors!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Secret Peri-Wink-Le
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Art Nouv-Yellow
-"Sinful Colors" nail polish in Fusion Neon
-"L.A. Colors Art Deco" in white
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"Joe Fresh" nail polish in Crush
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

For this design I just painted 4 of my nails with my periwinkle polish, then once dry I used the back of a make-up brush to make yellow pok-a-dots, finally with a toothpick I used my hot pink color to make smaller dots inside of the yellow ones.

For the baby chick I painted my nail with a yellow polish (I had a bright yellow but I think this would look even nicer with a pastel yellow). Once the yellow was dried, use your thin art-deco brush in white to paint on the egg shell. Use the back of your make-up brush again to dot the 2 black eyes, then use your white polish and your toothpick to dot the pupals. Use your orange polish to paint on your tiny beak. Finally finish everything off with a top coat and you're done!!

Hope you enjoy this nail art! If you try it on your own nails please send me a picture!

Happy Easter!

-Valentine

New Look!

2012-04-07T13:56:00.001-03:00

I was getting a little bored with my pink background and figured it was time for a change! Hope you all like the new orange one, I think it really brightens up the page. Tell me what you think :) nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

-Valentine