Space: The Final Frontier

Mark my words, spacey/galaxy/nebulous nail art is going to be the next "in" thing. The great thing is that it's a super easy look to pull off as long as you have the right range of colors and a few tools. Here's everything I used in order:

From left to right:

1 OPI's Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow (green based black)

2 Nicole by OPI's Black to the Future (black with micro-glitter)

3 Barielle's U-Concrete-Me

4 China Glaze's Shower Together

5 China Glaze's Grape Pop

6 OPI's Meet Me on the Star Ferry (pink frost with gold undertones)

7 Benefit shimmer powder in Mint Julep (blue/silver glitter) (pictured with an E.L.F. eyeshadow brush)

8 CM Nail Art's Gold Diamond (silver/gold/bronze glitter)

9 Seche Vite top coat

Here's how to do it:

One full coat of #1, followed by another full coat of #2. I did this because I'm running out of the Nicole, so I just used another black underneath to get a solid color. The Nicole has multicolored micro-glitter so it's perfect for that tiny star look. Next, I started to sponge on patches of #4, 5, and 6 on top of each other to give a cloudy look.

To do this, you can cut up a sponge (like a cosmetic round) which is what I was going to use until I saw the spongey bits holding the cosmetic rounds together that are conveniently pre-cut into wedges. Paint the polish onto the sponge (as pictured) and sponge it on parts of your nail. Don't sponge the whole nail or else you'll lose the depth that you're trying to create.

On top of the 3-layered sponged sections I dusted on the shimmer powder (#7),  then randomly added glitter with #8, and topped it off with the Seche (#9). It may seem like a lot of work, but it's a super simple look to pull off and mistakes aren't a big deal because space is messy!

Here's the result pictured in different angles/types of indoor light to show as many of the colors as I can:

Pre-cleanup

I'll try to post a picture of the nails in natural sunlight. Since I'm not one to resist a theme, I'm going to go play with my Star Trek action figures while watching the Home Movies episode about Starboy and the Captain of Outer Space after I change in to my Star Wars shirt. To infinity and beyond!

My First Request: WAH's Comic Book

One of my #1 fans, Heather, sent in a WAH Nails design for me to do,

and since I love the merger of comic book geek and uber-girly, I just had to try it! I opted not to do the tribal nail (see previous post for why this still stings), the plain word nails, or the lips (I think I'll save this for later), and instead opt for the Batman-style action bubbles.

Here's my rendition:

It figures I would take such awful pictures for one of my favorite manicures!

China Glaze's Sugar High (Up & Away Collection, Spring 2010) as the base with CM Nail Art's white and black. I freehanded everything (and I did it veryyy slowly). I definitely recommend using nail art-specific bottles with skinny brushes for this unless you're some kind of magic-(wo)man.

Included on my nails is a reference to Bif Bang Pow! who makes the line of Venture Bros. toys and bobble heads that I so desperately need in my life! In related news, stay tuned for a Team Venture mani in a few weeks.


Thanks Heather for the request!

Hot Mess

Oh my. I tried to recreate one of WAH Nails' famous tribal designs and failed miserably.

Lime, sky blue, dark blue, and purple all from OPI's Shrek Forever After Collection 2010. White, navy, red, and pink from CM Nail Art's kit. Studs and clear buttons from a Nailene nail art sticker set.

Here's where I went wrong:

• Using white by the cuticle--it didn't define the start of the nail
• Using light colors (white, pink, sky blue) on a light base color
• While I love the metal studs, the sticker base on the studs and buttons was far too large and it warped the polish because it was still mildly fresh. I do wish that Nailene sold just a set of the metal studs, because the amount that came in the pack was not nearly enough!
• Sloppy application--I was quickly in over my head because I didn't practice beforehand with the nail art brushes, and it shows.

So, because I couldn't stand it for even a day, I removed this mess and started over:

Good old Konad m57! OPI's Who the Shrek Are You? with white Konad Special Polish as the stripes. It has a total Lilly Pulitzer vibe, and this is one of my most complimented manicures. Konad saves the day once again!

Monochrome Half-Moons

Oh how I love this grey from Barielle! It's perfect--perfect shade and perfect application. This is my first (and only) Barielle color and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more.

Barielle U-Concrete-Me and CM Nail Art's black.

I freehand the black moons, which as you can see, is very difficult if you want to keep the moons the same shape (my ideal is the middle finger). I do the moons very, very slowly with plenty of polish on the brush so I can get nice, solid, edges.

This also looks great on rounded nails, which is a more classic look.

Shout-outs to Heather (who is currently rocking the gorgeous Just a Little Rösti at This by OPI) & Abby!

Leaky Faucet

Let me start off by saying that the gold I used is not exactly my favorite gold, but it's a great accent color, so try it! I don't think there's any easy way to explain how to paint on the drips, so I'll let you figure out how to do it on your own because it's probably easier than how I did it (and will probably look better too)!

OPI Funky Dunkey (Shrek Forever After collection 2010) and Bling Dynasty (Hong Kong collection Spring 2010)

Konad m57: Zebra

This past week I picked up my first bottle of Barielle and oh my goodness I cannot express my love for this color enough! Who would have thought grey could be so beautiful and dynamic? As much as I love this color on its own, I couldn't resist Konad-ing it up!

Picture taken in natural light. Do you like my PJ pants? :P

Barielle's U-Concrete-Me with CM Nail Art's black (pre-topcoat).

I love the black stripes over the grey! It's subtle, yet still dramatic.

Yellow → Orange Gradient

I had been wanting to do a gradient for a while, but thought I never really had any sheer colors to make that happen until I saw another blogger using one of Butter London's three Jelly colors, one of which was already sitting in my cabinet (a total "duh" moment).

Please ignore the worn-out mani rough edges and not-so-granient-y pinky!

China Glaze's Lemon Fizz (bottom coat closest to the cuticle) & Happy Go Lucky (darker yellow), with 3 partial coats of Butter London's Chuffed. I tried this mani once without Lemon Fizz, and it didn't have the dramatic effect I wanted it to have, so it is possible to use only 2 different polishes.

Your first coat should be the lightest color which you paint your whole nail with. Your second lightest color should start where just a little of your first coat shows. Paint all the way down the nail, not just a stripe. Continue that pattern until you've reached the tip. Top it off with a clear coat to blend them all together (my picture is not a good example of that). This all takes a while, so be prepared to block out some time!