Sharp As Nails (A Nail Art Blog)

Rainbow After the Rain, Shining Blue Polish

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 04:35:00 +0000

Been awhile since I've posted a nail polish swatch. This one's inspiration is to combine two nail blogs I've viewed today Nail Narcotics and Emy Augustus. They both have awesome and creative posts that keep me motivated.

Out of all the nail polishes I have, I picked this for swatching. Well, it was raining so hard awhile ago and I was supposed to do a gloomy nail art look because of the weather but then it suddenly stopped. And now, the sun is high up. I was really looking for a nail polish color that can signify this event. HAHA! How dramatic huh? I ended up with this color instead, KONAD's Shining Blue Nail Polish.

Personally, I really hate the blue color. I prefer GREEN way better than BLUE. Oh oh! To those who reside in the Philippines, you can probably relate to this when I say it is somehow associated with the biggest long-time rivalry of two schools, De La Salle University (GREEN) and Ateneo de Manila University (BLUE). With the recent standing and game in UAAP's Basketball Championship, I am bitter (which is an understatement "FURIOUS" kidding :D ) that DLSU lost by 10 points against ADMU. :(( But it's not too late yet, DLSU will come back top for sure next time. *crossing my fingers*

This nail polish swatch also combined two blog posts I've read today...

First is Emy's post of a satin beige or dirty while color while the second is NailNarcotic's braided nails. She used a blue base color for the nail art but I didn't want to swatch a royal purple color.

To combine the two posts, KONAD's Shining Blue Nail Polish has a satin look to it. You have to apply 3-4 coats for this because it's too shear if you only put two coats.

This picture was taken without a top coat yet it looks very shiny.

I'll surely post a green swatch soon because I don't want to be mistaken for ROOTING for ADMU ever! I just really posted this nail polish swatch because of the weather awhile ago.

The color's almost close to a denim color. Guess that will do for now.

If you noticed, I used this nail polish for the 9/11 Tribute Nail Art too :D

Have a great week all!

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you like this satin blue shade?

Multicolored Leopard Print

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Now that the week is almost ending, it just means I'm almost through hell week. And because I got all the pressure and stress off my shoulders, I just feel so lively to work on anything. I even cleaned my desk drawer and removed all the clutter [finally]. I also decided to cover my nails with a lovely color instead of a monochrome one. And on top of that, I've put a pattern which everyone is so in love with and added a touch of "me and my feelings" to it.

Who doesn't love a leopard print anyway?

Of all the image plates of KONAD, I am 100% sure that this is one of the best-selling plates. The design covers the full nail and its really fast to stamp with.

I wonder why it took me so long to post something about this leopard design. I guess it just felt a little bit too ordinary for me but then I thought of a way to make it bend to the extra ordinary side and put a touch of myself in it.

If you have have nail beds that are small, not to worry 'cause this design fits all sizes.

I added four colors to the pattern to lighten up the monochrome colors.

Here's what I used for this nail art:

1. Base Coat - KONAD Regular Polish (White)

2. Design Coat (Leopard Print) - KONAD Special Polish (Black Pearl)

3. Leopard Fill-in Dots

*KONAD Regular Polish (Yellow, Pastel Green)

*Faceshop (Blue, Hot Pink)

4. KONAD Image Plate M57

5. KONAD Top Coat

6. Dotting tool

If you don't have a dotting tool, you can use a tooth pick or the end of a hair pin to fill in the wholes for this leopard print.

Doesn't it look cheerful?

I chose loud colors to motivate me through the end of the week in being productive as possible and I've also put a pastel green color for a relaxing look.

You still think this is hard to do?

Here's proof to show you that all my nail art isn't done only on my left hand.

I still managed to do both hands every time. :)

Woops! I was trying to zoom in to highlight my nails on my right hand but this is what I got. My bad. :D

Apologies for the messy hair and pony tail. I really like to tie it up this high like a "bonsai tree" so I can do my work without strands of hair falling to my face.

Then I realized, my forehead's so big to show. :)) HAHA.

I tried with all my efforts to hide my HUGE forehead and highlight the nail art on my left hand.

Here you go.

Its sad that I can't take pictures of both of my hands but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.

I'd like to share with you more nail art designs before I end this post.

These pictures were sent by, Arianne Neri, another KONAD fan from the Philippines. Yey! :)

She's been dropping by my blog and sent me some awesome and gorgeous nail art pictures.

Thank you Arianne! :D

Arianne says she's just a newbie to stamping nail art but these pictures prove differently. :)

Seems like these are done by a nail-tech, don't you think?

If you'd like to share your stamping nail art designs,

feel free to send it at konadnailartbyangela@gmail.com

To all my followers, subscribers and readers, feel free to leave a comment below.

I'd gladly appreciate it :D

That's it for now. Have a cheerful day all and be happy! :D

"Color me rainbow!"

Do you like the leopard print too?

What's your favorite design?

Music Inspired Nail Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:35:00 +0000

Music has always been my ally, in my ups and downs. Listening to different types of music or songs that suits my mood, changes everything in a positive light. It also calms and relieves me from stress most of the time. And speaking of anti-stress... nail art is also one of the things that can easily keep my mind off things. So to start the busy week right, I'm going to show you what I've been doing to relieve myself from pressure and S-T-R-E-S-S.

Here's a music inspired nail art. I figured that since music and nail art keeps me from being consumed by stress, I'll need all the motivation and inspiration that I can get to battle this week's wave of STRESSFUL activities so why not combine my two POWER UPS in one. Hitting two birds with one stone, ey?

If you think music and nail art are your best weapons against pressure and challenges, then you should try this...

For this nail art design, all you have to do is put two coats of Regular White Nail Polish as base coat.

Next, stamp the piano and music notes image using KONAD Image Plate M73.

(If you don't know what "stamping" means click here to know more about stamping nail art)

After stamping, don't forget to apply a top coat for a protective finish and shine.

Materials used for this nail art:

1. KONAD Regular Polish (White)

2. KONAD Special Polish (Black Pearl)

3. KONAD Image Plate M73

4. KONAD Top Coat

Now that that's done. I can't believe its time for me to attend to my school assignments which I have been trying to push off since I got home. Awwww, bummer! Anyways, better do it now than tomorrow.

I'm in for a hell week! OH MY! Now that midterms, presentation reports and debate speeches are going to eat me up in 2 days without any luck on either one, my TWO IN ONE POWER-UPS better work well now. (I suddenly feel like CATWOMAN with awesome and sexy skills with my nails! HAHA :D Oh and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES movie is 10/10 thumbs up for me! Finally, I got to watch it.)

That's it for now guys! Goodluck with all your activities this week. :)

Have a good one!

What's your stress reliever?

Are these two your "power ups" as well?

All About Stamping Nail Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:25:00 +0000

Hey guys! I'm glad to be back having full of exciting things to share with you. After a week's absence, you must be wondering where I have been all this time. Well with the heavy workload in school and other agendas to attend to, not to mention our internet problem with our ISP, it has been difficult to rack my brain for inspiration. Even without an Internet, I took time to find an alternative last night to make this blog post possible. Right now, I'm using my phone's 3G service to keep me going. This might sound a little bit too dramatic but having no internet for almost a week now has been such an inconvenience.

Moving on, I don't want to keep you waiting for my "comeback" post which I hope you will find interesting and very helpful. I'm also proud to mention that all of the pictures in this post have been taken and have been edited via my phone. Yey!

First off, I want to give a BIG shout out and thanks to my latest commenter Yvonne (according to her blog profile) who also goes by the name EMY AUGUSTUS for giving me this blog post inspiration. She was asking about how to get a perfectly polished nail by getting a smooth finish around the cuticle area. And as a bonus, I'm going to teach you how I put creative designs on my nails.

So today, I am going to give you a COMPLETE tutorial on stamping nail art and my technique on how to get a perfectly polished nail. (Expect a lengthy post and please please please bear with me :D )

I have been posting various nail art designs but never really had the chance to show you how I do it. For those who haven't heard about stamping nail art, this post will show you some helpful tips not only on how to get a perfectly looking polished nail but this will also include instructions for a well-designed nail art result. Let's begin!

Here are the things you need for stamping nail art. I've already numbered them so you can easily see what I'm talking about. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with some of these things because I'll explain what each one is for later on.

These are the most basic and essential materials for stamping nail art.

1. REGULAR POLISH

Regular polish is just your ordinary nail polish which you normally buy from a beauty store. It is called "regular" to distinguish it from the different types of nail polish used for designing your nails (nail art). Although regular polishes can also be used for nail art, this type of nail polish is not recommended for stamping designs because of its components that make it quick-dry and shear once applied. Regular nail polishes works for stamping designs on your nails on a case-by-case basis depending on its consistency. This means that there is no guarantee that those ordinary nail polishes which you have at home will work best for stamping. You might be asking what it means if a nail polish "works" or can be used for stamping nail art? It just means that the nail polish can be used to make the design and it is workable enough to make the nail polish transfer from the image plate to the stamper (You will know more about these two materials later on).

You might notice that I use the term base coat whenever I mention Regular Polishes on my previous posts. That's because these regular and ordinary nail polishes serve as a background or base color for your stamped designs.

2. SPECIAL POLISH

Special polish is a type of nail polish that has a thick consistency. You can buy these at any KONAD store. Some stores also sell these kinds of polishes which is used specifically for nail art. Most people have this misconception that since the distinguishing feature of special polishes is their thick consistency, one can use their dry and thick ordinary nail polishes left in the rack which they've used for a long time. This is definitely a big NO. You will spot the difference of special polishes from regular polishes when you use it in stamping. Using special polishes, gives you a clear opaque color even if you are using pastel colors.

Even though special polishes works best for stamping nail art, the only downside I see with these is that they are quite expensive. That's why most people choose their ordinary nail polish over special nail polishes for stamping nail art.

It's up to you whether you would want to opt for regular nail polishes that works for stamping nail art but I really recommend special nail polishes for best quality nail art designs. For those who are looking for cheap, effective, almost at par regular nail polishes that works well with stamping designs, watch out for my future blog post. I will teach you how you can tell if the regular nail polish can be used for stamping.

3. BASIC STAMPING NAIL ART TOOLS

Without any of these three basic stamping nail art tools, I'm afraid your method for nail art is not stamping anymore.

STAMPER / STAMP

This tool uses a rubber stamp to pick up the image or the design from the image plate and to transfer it to the nail without making the special polish dry up completely. The rubber stamp comes in standard size big enough to fit full nail patterns and medium size for small designs so it will be easier to place small designs on your nails.

SCRAPER

Scrapers are used to remove the excess special polish. There are two kinds of scrapers, plastic and metal.

Originally, plastic scrapers were meant as an alternative to metal scrapers which may pose possible harm to kids because in other countries they do not allow these types of materials. Metal scrapers on the other hand aren't that sharp to cut but why risk the possibility. Some stores even call these metal scrapers as "blades" so if ever you have metal scrapers, make sure not to leave them lying around the house in reach of children. Make sure to keep these metal scrapers in a secure place.

But which one is better? I'd say they are equal in terms of scraping off the excess but if you are a clean freak with your personal things or OC like me, you are better off with a plastic scraper.

See for yourself why

On the left hand side, you can see an image plate with which a plastic scraper has been used. It is very noticeable that the image plate is 99% free from scratches and dents.

On the right hand side, you can see an image plate with which a metal scraper has been used. The image plate is full of scratches and dents.

TIP # 1: If you want to preserve the appearance of your image plates to be really neat and squeaky clean. Use a plastic scraper.

For those who are using metal scrapers, do not fret as the scratches and dents does not affect the quality of designs on the image plate (engraved part) unless you have scraped very carelessly. Whether you have a scratched or scratch-free image plate, you will still have the same image quality.

TIP # 2: Plastic scrapers are sold separately (although some are included in stamping nail art kits). Since most of the stamp and scraper sets sold by KONAD comes with a default metal scraper, you can have your own plastic scraper by using an unused credit or an arcade card. Most of these are made out of plastic so feel free to use them. If you think the card is too big, you can cut them to a comfortable size. [See image on the last row for example]

IMAGE PLATE

Image plates are circular discs that act as templates which hold the pre-designed images. Its material is made out of stainless steel.

There are now countless of image plates available in the market so its hard to distinguish which one is of best quality. Other brands have also manufactured their own image plates some in circular discs, octagon discs and even in big rectangular plates. I haven't tried any other image plate besides KONAD but from experience I am very satisfied with KONAD's Image Plates because it gives you a very detailed image unlike the ones I've seen from video blogs and pictures.

TIP # 3: Want to know if your image plates are authentic from KONAD? KONAD Image Plates have an image plate code engraved in each plate. The official image plate codes from KONAD are m1-m89 and s1-s10. If you don't see any of these codes then its probably fake and manufactured by another brand.

OPTIONAL: IMAGE PLATE HOLDER

The purpose of the Image Plate Holder is to hold the image plate in place. It also keeps the surface you are working on clean. You can also use the side of the image plate holder as a palette to mix nail polish colors.

4. CLEANING TOOLS

Cotton Balls, Cotton Buds or Q-Tips, Tissue or Dry Towel and Acetone or Nail Polish Remover are your best friends when cleaning. Be sure to have these as things can get a bit messy when doing stamping nail art.

5. TOP COAT

Don't forget a clear top coat for a protective shine and smooth finish. I personally use KONAD's Top Coat or Sally Hansen's 30-Seconds Dry Top Coat so as not to smudge the design or image.

Now that we're done with the things that you need. Let's move on to the most EXCITING part, the process!

I'd like to divide my STAMPING NAIL ART process into three:

1. Get a perfectly POLISHED NAIL

2. Stamping the NAIL ART DESIGN

3. Detailed nail art designs with PROPER CLEANING

HOW TO GET A PERFECTLY POLISH NAIL

1. Clean your nails. Trim your nails to desired length or remove cuticle if needed.

2-3. Dab your nail polish brush on your nail near the cuticle area to form a concave shape and to follow the outline near the cuticle area. In this way, it will prevent the nail polish from going beyond the natural nail bed.

4. Immediately, swipe the nail polish brush starting from the top most area of the nail towards the bottom to fill the whole nail. This will give you equal strokes and evenly distributed nail polish for the first coat.

5. Apply another coat and repeat step 4 and wait until completely dry.

GETTING STARTED WITH STAMPING NAIL ART DESIGN

1. Choose the design that you want from the image plate.

TIP # 4: Place image plate in a way that the design that you chose is at your right hand side. This makes it easy for you to scrape off the excess special polish properly going in an outward direction.

2. The most common special polish colors used for stamping nail art is black and white. Because both hues can go with almost any color.

3. Here's an easy guide to determine the colors of your nail art design:

BACKGROUND COLOR - use any Regular Polish
DESIGN COLOR - use Special Polish

TIP # 5: Make sure that the colors you choose are contrasting colors. For example, if your background color is light like pastel colors your design color should be dark. If your background color is dark having strong colors like hot pink, fiery red or royal blue choose a design color that is lighter. This will make the design stand out more so it can be clearly seen.

STAMPING THE NAIL ART DESIGN

1. Put a generous amount of special polish on the image that you chose

TIP # 6: To avoid wastage of the special polish, place a thick streak on the left side of the image. No need to cover the whole design with special polish because as you scrape from the left going to the right the special polish will distribute evenly. If you are using big designs, adjust the thickness of the streak accordingly (consider the width of the image for full nail patterns, put a generous amount about 1/3 of the image).

2. Scrape the excess polish from the image plate from left to right. Avoid scraping from different directions.

TIP # 7: Make your scraper lean approximately 45 degrees to the right.

If your scraper is leaning below 45 degrees to the right this might scrape off not only the excess polish but also the polish on the engraved part of the image plate which will ruin the design.

If your scraper is leaning above 45 degrees to the right this might not completely scrape off the excess polish and might scratch or leave dents on your image plate.

3-4. This is probably the most crucial phase of the stamping nail art process. If you are working with a special polish you are given a fair amount of time to get your stamper and pick up the image but if you are working with a regular polish you might not be able to pick up the image completely as it will dry immediately.

TIP # 8: This is the most important technique you have to learn to get you nail art design completely. As soon as you SCRAPE, immediately ROLL THE STAMPER FROM the right SIDE TO the left SIDE gently and slowly (if possible 180 degrees motion and pull away carefully). All of this in one motion, there is no need to go back.

TIP # 9: Do not stamp like you are stamping on a paper (pressing down directly and pulling up). The tendency is you will smudge the image when you press down firmly.

5. Once you have the image in the stamper, check to see if the image is clear and free of smudges. A properly picked up design should look like this (See number 5). If the image is blurred or completely broken then repeat steps 1-4 after cleaning.

TIP # 10: You can remove unwanted designs by using cotton buds half-soaked with acetone or nail polish remover. For example, if you wish to put only the flower you can remove the abstract swirls around the sides.

6. Next, transfer the image from the stamper to your nail by ROLL THE STAMPER FROM the rightmost SIDE of your nails TO the leftmost SIDE gently and slowly (if possible 180 degrees motion and pull away carefully).

HOW TO GET PERFECT DETAILED NAIL ART DESIGNS EVERY TIME

1. Cleaning is the key to a perfectly stamped nail art design.

TIP # 11: Every time an image is stamped on your nail always clean STAMPER, SCRAPER, and the IMAGE PLATE with a cotton ball soaked with acetone or nail polish remover.

2. If you think you did the stamping nail art process perfectly but still did not get a perfect detailed image. Your image plate or stamper is probably wet with acetone and nail polish remover.

TIP # 12: Keep your image plate and stamper dry by cleaning it with tissue.

3. If some designs got to the sides of your fingernails use Q-Tips or cotton buds soaked with acetone and nail polish remover to remove the excess polish.

TIP # 13: Last but not the least, put some top coat to give your nails a protective and clear shine. When applying the top coat, if you are not using a KONAD Top Coat make sure that you wait for about 2-5 minutes for the nail art design to settle and dry. Apply the top coat properly by making the brush have the least possible contact with the nails (to avoid smudging).

Whew! That has probably been the longest post I've ever made but I'm glad to have shared all of these with you. If you have any inquiries or ideas about my tips and tricks I mentioned, feel free to message me. You can also request me to do a blog post of a certain topic related to nails if you wish.

I hope this helps anyone who's having problems with Stamping Nail Art.

It takes practice to get the hang of it but don't give up!
Don't waste your stamping nail art tools and leave them lying around the house,
just be patient and try it again if you aren't successful. :D

Let me know if any of my tips and tricks worked for you. Have a nice weekend everyone!

It Will Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:59:00 +0000

R. A. I. N.

Its been raining and pouring outside. Usually here in the Philippines, the month of June and July are the rain months. Since I don't have classes on Fridays, I really have nothing to do besides watching TV, eating and most of all sleeping all day long but today I decided to catch up on my late blog post yet again. I don't know if its just me but every time it rains it feels so gloomy, lonely and let me tell you, the gloomy and melancholy feeling does not do me any good! I couldn't even think about how I can be productive for the day but oh well I guess it turned out okay. It was okay because I slacked the whole day through, watching the "UNFORGETTABLE" TV series which is pretty interesting. If you are fond of CSI or detective stories then you should watch this, I really recommend it. [THUMBS UP!]

Moving on, you might be wondering why am I even talking about rain? Well, today's nail art inspiration is the rainy weather.

For this rain inspired nail art, I used

KONAD Regular Polish (Pastel Green)

KONAD Special Polish (Black Pearl)

Image Plate M8 (for the umbrella)

Dotting tool (to make the rain)

KONAD Top Coat

Here's what it looks like when you apply 3 coats because 2 coats still seem too sheer for me.

You might be wondering why I chose pastel green, when I could've chosen a blue shade for the background.

I guess I wanted to give the nail art more light to it and add some twist.

Pretty cool huh? I was supposed to quit on this design because I thought my "rain" isn't that equally distributed but then I thought that's what's going to make this design a work of art. Most of my nail art designs are always planned but this one is different. Completely unplanned and unintentional, I guess this is the melancholy rain feeling rubbing off on me.

I actually had difficulty putting the dots on my left fingernails (see first picture of the post) because its just my third time in using a dotting tool. I love how I can do nail art on both hands! Wipee! :)

With a rainy weather in tow, most of us would rather stay indoors like me! If its not watching TV, you'll probably find me in my lair (my bed) sleeping or lying down just listening to music with my iPod.

Here are some songs I've listened to with the word "RAIN" in them. :)

Mad by Neyo
"I know sometimes it's gonna rain, But baby can we make up now"

Rainbow by Southborder
"There's a rainbow always after the rain"

and finally my favorite

It Will Rain by Bruno Mars
"Cause there’ll be no sunlight
If I lose you, baby
There’ll be no clear skies
If I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds
My eyes will do the same, if you walk away
Everyday it will rain, rain, rain..."

What's your song when it rains?

When In Doubt Wear Red

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Red is the hottest color of the warm colors. This post may seem ironic now that its raining cats and dogs here in the Philippines but the classic red seems to fit any occasion. I've been stuck here at home the whole day since classes for all levels are suspended due to the heavy rain. Out of boredom here's what I've come up with. I decided to paint my nails red.

Not satisfied with a plain color, I've added a floral abstract nail art to pair with this loud color.

Do you notice the stones? See more of this here...

Hihi :D I'm actually excited to show you these because it's my first time putting rhinestones on my nails. I wanted this nail art to have a simple yet elegant feel to it. Rhinestones are really a great way to give your nail art a sophisticated look but remember not to overdo it. :)

For this nail art I used,

KONAD Regular Polish (Candy Red) - Base Coat
KONAD Special Polish (White) - Design Coat
KONAD Special Top Coat
Rhinestones (Silver)
KONAD Image Plate M60
KONAD Stamp & Scraper Set

This nail art is quite easy to do. As you can see, it is possible to do all fingernails on both hands. You just need to practice most of the stamping nail art technique and you'll be able to get it in no time.

Isn't the color gorgeous? Red is a really strong color so if you want to tone it down try adding a cool color. As for mine, I added a nail art design to cool it down a bit.

The red color has more personal associations than any other color.

It is usually associated with emotions like happiness or anger and it easily grabs attention.

According to a source,

the red color has an effect on us both mentally and physically. Not only does it stimulate energy but it also increases enthusiasm, encourages action & confidence and gives a sense of protection from fears and anxieties.

As for me, I think I'm wearing red because...

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."

--Bill Blass

How about you, what's your color for today?

French Manicure Acrylic Nails

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Hi guys! I know I'm way behind my blog post schedule due to unforeseen incidences. To make it up to you, I'll be sharing with you today the classic french manicure but what's different about this is its done with acrylic nails instead of the natural nail.

After 5 days of searching and studying about acrylic nails, I was finally able to buy my own set. I was supposed to be taught by a nail professional but then time didn't allow it. I was in a hurry to get home then and the place where I bought my kit was a bit far from my place so I wasn't able to revisit it again for the tutorial.

Happily after 3 hours of working on it, I was able to do my nails. Wipee!

What I think you should know about acrylic nails and its process...

Acrylic nails by definition "incorporates any procedure that lengthens, thickens or otherwise alters the appearance of the natural nail by artificial means. These procedures include the application of tips, acrylic liquid and powder systems, gel systems, sculpting on a form, any type of fabric wrap or the application of a full pre-formed artificial nail."

There are many types of acrylic nails as mentioned above but the most common type is the one made out of Acrylic Liquid and Acrylic Powder. It has been the answer for most people who long for well-manicured hands. Not only don't they chip off, peel and crack, acrylic nails are also the perfect solution for longer nails without having to wait for weeks.

Despite its advantages, most of the first impressions on acrylic nails is that it damages the nail and it is unsafe for people who are applying them due to the toxic chemicals which are present in some of the materials. Even though it poses some health risks like infection, allergic reaction or nail breakage, most of these can be avoided if done properly. So before you try them, make sure that you look up on how to properly apply acrylic nails.

As for the process, I found it a bit tedious but I guess that's because it's my first time (first successful one). In actual, I think I tried putting on acrylic nails ever since I studied them was about 4-5 times. I found it really difficult but I couldn't help to keep on trying whenever I see videos of how acrylic nails are done. For amateurs like me, I think most people would give up on their first try but seeing those pretty nails after a successful try, the sense of fulfillment cannot be denied.

Yes it is tedious at first because every nail has to be sculpted correctly and making a mistake will make or break your nails but once you get the hang of it you'll see yourself getting better and better. So in order to avoid those mistakes, take time to learn from the experts and read some articles if you can about acrylic nails and its process first before actually trying them out. Prepping up your nails, putting nail tips and getting a consistent bead ratio for sculpting the nail are only some of the important things you have to take note of when doing this.

I am not going to give you a long and boring lecture about acrylic nails because first, I am no expert at this and second, I only want to show you how mine turned out. [Isn't it so pretty? I am in love with these now.]

I will discuss acrylic nails in thorough hopefully in one of my future blog posts.

Tara!

Have you ever tried acrylic nails?

Orange Nail Polish and Orange for Colds

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Hey there! I'm back. Hopefully I'm not too late for my Thursday post, it's almost midnight here in the Philippines. I'm here to share with you another nail polish swatch from Body Raves line.

Now you might be wondering why I picked the color orange. Well, its because I wanted to match the nail polish color with how my day went by.

Waking up today was a really bad start. I caught an awful cold and I was slightly feverish but I still had to go to school because of some important requirements which I have to attend to. When I got home from school around 4pm, I immediately rested and dozed off. I found myself waking up hungry for oranges and thought that it will also be good for me and my cold.

So here's the orange nail polish swatch from Body Rave.

I ate a bunch of oranges and while thinking of a blog post to write about...
I thought about making a nail polish swatch of an orange color since I was eating oranges then. :))

Isn't it pretty?

I almost finished all of the big oranges in our fridge and these oranges are MAGIC! MAGIC! MAGIC! It made me feel a lot better today and it made my fever go away. Vitamin C really does help your colds. Yeyyy! It made me well enough for me to write this blog post right now. :D [I actually want to make a habit of being faithful to my blog schedule :)]

Oh yes, I almost forgot. These oranges are sweet! Totally sweet like candies. :))

I made my sister taste these oranges first because I have a sweet-tongue and I hate any sour taste.

Guess I'll be craving for more oranges any time tomorrow.

Here's an artistic shot of my nails and the orange.

Credits to my sister for taking these pictures for me.

That's it for today. Oh ow, my colds are back again.

Gotta go and eat oranges. 'Til next time! :)

Doesn't this remind you of the

book cover of Twilight?

Hologram Nails

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:30:00 +0000

Hi guys! Have you ever heard of hologram nail polish?
I'm here to share with you another line of nail polish from Faceshop. I recently found out about this "Hologram" nail polish which I bought around 4 days ago and I was able to try it last night only. Well, it came out really good and I found it easy to apply on the nails.

The secret behind hologram nail polish...

I was actually intrigued by the name "hologram" that's why I bought it and second, because I just love the color.

One thing that's good about this nail polish according to the saleslady, when you look at it from different angles it gives you a different shade. Maybe that's why it's called "Hologram". It gives you this 3D effect. I also like that it's not that glittery and it has the right amount of sparkle to it.

From the box, you can see that it also claims to repair nails.

If you are looking for a gray shade, then this is a must buy for you. It gives you this "gray-ish" shade without it being too plain. I've been looking for a gray nail polish but I can't seem to find one that looks opaque enough. All nail polishes that looks gray from outside its bottle was to sheer when applied even with two to three coats and I was never really satisfied.

I bought this for around P185/ P195 or more.

I actually forgot the price but from what I remembered, the cost of this is above P180.

That's approximately $4.37 / $4.61 in US dollar.

This Hologram Nail Polish comes in three colors.

Pink, Violet or Red (if I'm not mistaken) and Gray.

I chose the gray color because I already have so many shades of pink nail polishes.

At night or in the dark, the nail polish comes out like this.

[oooooohhhhhhhhhhh! ;))]

Pretty cool huh?

I think this will be my favorite nail polish in the meantime. :D

Hope you guys like it!

Try it out and see if this color works for you.

My Blog Post Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:51:00 +0000

Hey guys! I've decided to inform you about my blog post schedule. Now that topics and daily requirements in college are getting more demanding, I'll probably won't have time to blog everyday.

I'll be posting twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday and if possible I'll be posting at most thrice a week. If I miss a post, I will probably publish it on a Saturday or a Sunday to make up for the day that I missed blogging.

That's all. Have a good night everyone! :)

Purple Spotted Cow Print

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:44:00 +0000

I have great news guys! The memory card which I lost last night, finally showed up. [I still believe that a supernatural being was behind it. Yikes!] As mentioned in my previous post, I already turned my room upside down to look for the memory card but awhile ago as I was getting my camera, because I wanted to check the battery compartment, the memory card dropped out of who-knows-where. [By the way, my camera isn't the one where the battery and the memory card is in the same compartment. Freaky, that it literally just fell out from sky?] I'm so happy now that I got the pictures back.

More stamping nail art tips and tricks for you! :D

If you guys were able to see my previous post, I inserted a sneak peek picture for this nail art which I took via my phone. Now you'll be able to see the nail art clearer. Wipee!

Ever wondered if there was an alternative for cracking nail polishes?

Well here it is!

I've tried two cracking or crackle nail polishes so far and here are some of its pros and cons.

What's good about cracking nail polishes is once you've applied them you just have to wait for "magic" to happen. No need to worry on how it will look because each nail will end up having a unique cracking pattern. Also, it works great on any type of polish whether it maybe be sand polish or your ordinary one. However, you might find it difficult if you wish to control the cracking pattern which means if you wish to make the cracks wider or more rigid. [I'll probably post a tutorial on how to control the gaps or cracks for crackle nail polishes in the future. :) ] Also, it tends to chip off easily or maybe it depends on the type of crackle nail polish used.

If you want out, there is another way to make a cracking nail art effect.

For this nail art I used:

1. KONAD Double Side Stamp, Image Plate Holder & Plastic Scraper

2. KONAD Image Plate M61

3. KONAD Regular Polish: White (apply as base coat)

4. KONAD "Princess" Special Polish: Yellow & KONAD Special Polish: Dark Violet

(apply as design coat)

5. KONAD Top Coat

6. Tape

KONAD Image Plate M61

So let's begin!

First, apply two coats of White Regular Polish and let it dry to act as the base coat.

Then once it's dry, apply a generous amount of Yellow Special Polish on the desired image that you want on the image plate. Immediately, scrape off the excess special polish using a plastic scraper and get the image using the double side stamp. Just roll over the stamp on your nail and repeat steps 2-3 for each nail.

This is how it will look.

Don't worry if your stamping isn't that perfect, it will be covered later by a darker print.

I gave this nail art a splash of yellow to make it brighter. :D

Notice the big cracks? Fill them by stamping over the same pattern.

TIP: Put tape on the sides of your finger nails.

Why? Since the pattern is square the whole pattern won't fit your nail bed.

So, this means that there will be excess on the sides. Since you'll be using a darker color (dark violet)

this will be a good way to prevent smearing or leaving a smudge on the sides of your finger nails.

Usually, dark colors like black, blue, red, violet and others leaves dirty marks even when removed

by a nail polish remover or acetone.

Here is where the magic happens, once you've taped all the sides of your fingernails. Stamp the pattern using a Dark Violet Special Polish over the yellow pattern. Remember to clean the plastic scraper and image plate with a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover before each stamping.

You can see that the tape acquired the excess polish instead of the sides of your finger nails.

This also saves you some nail polish remover and time in removing the excess.

Once you're done, just remove the tape.

Apply top coat for a long-lasting seal and shine.

To prevent smudging of the dark colored design, use KONAD Top Coat.

If you don't have one just wait about 5-10 minutes for the design to settle.

Apply a generous amount of your top-coat.

TIP: When applying your top coat, don't let the brush touch the nail.

Also, don't swipe more than twice over each nail to prevent smudging.

Now, you have a semi-crack nail art effect or a purple spotted cow design.

Which one do you prefer crack nail polish or

this alternative?

Yellow Mellow

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:18:00 +0000

Hi guys! This is a "substitute" post for today. I did this nail art first then made another one because I wasn't satisfied by the look. But as I was about to post the pictures and transfer it from my memory card to my laptop, BAM!

I lost the memory card which I clearly remembered was placed on my bed. I'm suspecting there's a supernatural thing going on here. :)) HAHA. Hopefully not. Scaryyyyy! I tried looking for it everywhere but I gave up after an hour. I even asked my Nanay to help me look for it but we still couldn't find it. I am hoping that tomorrow it shows up out of nowhere. I'm so frustrated because that memory card contains all the pictures I took from my second nail art creation.

If it doesn't show up tomorrow ;((
I'll just try to make another one.

Oh well, maybe it's not meant to be posted for tonight.

If you like squares and other geometric shapes, then you'll be fond of this nail art .

Want to see more pictures of this?

For this stamping nail art, I used:

1. KONAD Double Side Stamp, Image Plate Holder & Plastic Scraper

2. KONAD Image Plate M61

3. KONAD Regular Polish: White (apply as base coat)

4. KONAD "Princess" Special Polish: Yellow (apply as design coat)

5. Etude "Jelly Pop" Top Coat

KONAD Image Plate M61.

How to do it:

1. First apply two coats of White Regular Polish and let it dry.

2. Once it's dry, apply a generous amount of Yellow Special Polish on the desired image that you want on the image plate. Immediately, scrape off the excess special polish using a plastic scraper and get the image using the double side stamp.

3. Roll over the stamp on your nail and repeat steps 2-3 for each nail. Remember to clean the plastic scraper and image plate with a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover before repeating steps 2-3.

4. Remove any excess polish on the sides of your fingernails using cotton buds soaked with nail polish remover.

5. Apply top coat for a long-lasting seal and shine.

Once you're done it will turn out like this.

Enjoy!

Time for me to hit the sack. Too bad, I have to wake up early tomorrow :((.

Hope you like it.

Have a great weekend guys!

Do you like yellow?

9/11 Tribute Nail Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:52:00 +0000

Hello!
Most of the nail art I have created are usually just an aesthetic design for the nails but now I've decided to make it more worthy of publishing. The primary reason for this nail art is to give tribute in remembrance of those men, women, children, police, firemen and others who have lost their lives to the 9/11 terrorist attack which most of us might have already forgotten.

I received this baller from my older cousin (Ate Karla) in awareness of the 9/11 event. My grandma (Nanay Celly) who was also with her during their visit, told me about how the 9/11 memorial museum was filled with grief and mourning. My brother who was able to visit it last year couldn't help but cry just seeing the letters written in post-its of children (post-its were formed that of the Statue of Liberty) to their parents they've lost. If I am to visit USA again, I'll be sure to visit the 9/11 memorial museum.

Here are more pictures of the baller and how I did the nail art...

This is what it says on the other side of the baller.

"UNITED BY HOPE"

Up close picture of the baller. "9/11 Memorial"

As for the nail art, the materials I used are:

1. KONAD Double Side Stamp, Plastic Scraper & Image Plate Holder
2. KONAD Image Plate M17 & M18
3. KONAD Regular Polish: Blue Pearl (apply as base coat)
4. KONAD Special Polish: White (apply as design coat)
5. Etude "Jelly Pop" Top Coat

Here are the steps on how to do it:
1. First, you have to put a base coat. I used KONAD's Blue Pearl Regular Polish. This isn't too shiny and not that plain. It has the right amount of glitter-ish material that makes it look like satin or a pearl.

2. Use KONAD Image Plates (Image Plate Code: M17, M18) with letters to stamp on your nails.
The ones encircled in white are the templates that I used.

3. Stamp away and it will turn out like this. Lastly, put a top coat for a shiny protective finish. :)

Hope you guys like it!

If you need more information on the 9/11 Memorial Museum, check out this link.

If you need KONAD Stamping Nail Art materials and is living in the Philippines, click this.
If not, check out the official international website of KONAD here.

If you wish to request for a more detailed stamping nail art tutorial, feel free to message me :).

"UNITED BY HOPE"

Don't hesitate to say what you feel.

Pink Paint & Pink Coach Signature Ipad Case

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Hello! I just came home from school and today has been half good and half bad. To relieve my stress due to school work and other things, I decided to paint my nails pink and it turned out like this...

Pink has been my favorite color from the time when that Power Rangers TV Show became a hit because my favorite character there, Kimberly, was in pink. HAHA. I embraced the loud pink color ever since. And I think that "embrace" is an understatement as to how I love the color pink. If you are a close friend of mine, you would know that almost all of my stuff are pink except for my everyday casual clothing. My room, my iPhone bumper, bedsheet, pillow, comforter, teddy bear, file cases are only a few examples out of the many things I own that are in pink.

Now, I'd like to share with you guys some of my pink colored stuff that arrived from USA.
(Note: This post is going to be picture heavy)

I got this Coach Signature Ipad Case in my favorite color, pink, from my mom because she just arrived from her trip in New York and LA. Luckily, she was able to remember my need (more of a "want") for an iPad case which I'm sure is also fit for the iPad 2.

Isn't it gorgeous! I really love it from the zipper to its texture.

Here's how the texture looks like up close.

I found the some useful information for this product below.

Sadly, I could not find the item name or code for this case.

Materials Genuine Leather and Jacquard

Measures aprox 10.5" x 8.5" h x 0.5" deep
Zipper closure
Khaki Sateen lining
Fully padded
Approx. Measurement: 10" (L) X 8" (H)
MSRP: $8

Tada! What's good about this iPad bag is that you don't have to remove your protective tight-hugging case or soft jacket because it still fits! Most of the bags available for iPad 1or 2 isn't that flexible, so you always have to find the exact case for your device. This one is universal for tablets with similar size.

When my mom told me she got me an iPad case I was worried that she might have bought a wrong one.

Happily, its a perfect fit! Yey! Finally, no need for me to worry about my iPad's screen because now, I have a bag to protect it and no need for me to worry about getting my iPad scratched whenever I take it out of the bag. I am 100% satisfied :D. Thanks again mom!

But wait! There's more! It even got better because my nail color now matches with this case.

See...

I used Faceshop's Pink Nail Polish.

Even though Faceshop is known for their #1Cosmetic Products in Korea,

they also offer nail polishes that comes in vibrant colors.

Pink Nail Polish (Faceshop) costs around P95 which is approximately $2.23

If you need more product information about Faceshop and its products, click here.

If you like my Coach Signature iPad Case, you might find it here in the official website of Coach.

Do you like the pink color too?

Starting Over, Again (How To Start Blogging)

noreply@blogger.com (Sharp As Nails by Angela) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Hey guys! I don’t even know where to start. After weeks of imagining, days of reading, hours of dreaming and seconds of talking about non-sense, I can’t believe I am now writing my first blog post. At first, I was thinking whether to import the blog posts from my older blog (Designer Tips by Angela) or to start off fresh but I decided to choose the latter.

Instead of jumping right into the numerous things I can tell you about nail art, which I will be talking mostly about given that this, is partly 80% a nail art blog, I figured I might as well start with how I conceptualized and built this blog from the start.

And of course, give full credit to those blog authors who have helped my way through all the successful customization process.

So how did I really do it?

1. Know your GOAL & BE INSPIRED

There was no definite process really but I guess the very first thing I did was to clear my head and start to visualize my goal. Knowing your goal is not that easy as it may seem but you don’t always have to follow it rigidly once you have one because you can always deviate from your original plan.

Sometimes when you already have a concrete idea on how to do something, like for example, creating a blog, it raises up the bar of expectation since you want to make it different and somehow FRESH and BETTER. Being accustomed to your usual perspective and ways of thinking, know that YOU CAN BREAK OUT OF IT and start anew as long you put your mind to it.

My older blog’s overall look, which I now deleted, was not something that I really thought about. I was very new to blogging then and I just decided that, “Well it’s not about the look anyway it’s more of the content” so I didn’t even bother customizing it. If I remembered correctly, I just picked from the offered backgrounds and chose that of the ribbons because it got most of the colors that I like, chose some funky fonts and blogged to my heart’s content. Eventually, my blog faded and I lost inspiration to continue. I figured it was because everything was made out of proportion and that my blog didn’t look unified at all. Here I was talking about nail art and suddenly you see a background full of ribbons, whatttttt?!?! How can you connect that right? I thought if I can’t get my blog to look decent at least then what more the content.

So before I even started to design, even though I already have ideas in mind, I sought the help of those already experienced. I came across this wonderful blog called “Makin’ Cute Blogs ”

and its first tip there was to GET INSPIRATION. As you scroll down the post, you’ll see the different layouts and designs of blogs that will make you even more inspired to make your blog look as good.

Now one thing that all of them have in common is that everything was related and consistent from design to content and that become one of my goals in starting up my own blog.

2.Try something NEW while learning from the experts

I learned so many great tutorials from these blogs about designing and customizing the look and appeal of your own blog and I just kept exploring and trying out things until I get it right. From designing to sidebar and adding widgets to modifying the post footers. I really loved how you would think that it’s impossible to do but once you’ve tried you’ll find that it is actually pretty easy to implement once you are already familiar with the blog elements and of course web development in general.

Being a computer science student myself, I feel that it is not an option for me to just follow the instructions presented but it is a necessity as well to understand how things work.

Here the list of blogs that really helped me in designing my own.

3.Express YOURSELF

Lastly, once you have done the first two all you need is to express yourself. Don’t forget to add a touch of YOU in those designs and do not hesitate to explore yet still remaining to be faithful to your own goal and personality.

That’s it! Hopefully, you guys have learned something new :) You can also share your AWESOME blogs here.

What do you think?