Update: Faux Airbrush Now with Leopard

Here's an update on this post.

Just some hand-done Dou'ble-Art black leopard over my faux airbrush mani. Holy wow, do I love this look! True, I'm a leopard addict, but this is on a whole new level.

Double Feature: Faux Airbrush & Gray/Teal Tips

My favorite thing about Lindsay Lohan's trial a while back (besides her sentence) is her nails. Yes, they were offensive, idiotic, and completely inappropriate for a court date, but they were pretty fierce minus the text.

This is my basic attempt to recreate the look somewhat without going to a salon to get them airbrushed.

Base color (painted on): OPI's Fiercely Fiona

Top Right: OPI's Rumples Wiggin'

Bottom Right: OPI's What's With the Cattitude?

Bottom Left: China Glaze's Something Sweet


The three colors other than the base color were sponged on with a cosmetic sponge. Just paint the sponge (you may want to cut it to get a wedge shape if it's not already) and apply to the nail. It may take a few coats to get the tone of the color you want.

Let me warn you, clean up takes a lot of time if you're as messy as me. Pretty much my entire finger was covered in polish up to the first joint. You may want to cover exposed skin in tape so you can just peel off most of the mess instead of spending eleven 12-minute Metalocalypse episodes trying to rub off the polish like I did.

Overall, I like the look! Normally, I use super-blunt straight edges so this is a nice change. It's also super easy to do because mistakes are hard to come by, and if you do mess up it can be fixed easily.

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Please excuse the new nail shape, it's an experiment in vintage pointyness.

Two thirds of the nail is China Glaze's Shower Together (teal) over one third of Barielle's U-Concrete-Me (gray), separated by silver stripping tape.

I freehanded the teal over the gray. The line separating the colors doesn't have to be extremely perfect because the stripping tape covers any small mishaps. If you don't think you'll be able to freehand the edge, wait until your base color is completely dry and place a piece of tape over the part of the nail you don't want covered. Wait about a minute and peel the tape off leaning toward/in the direction of the wet polish (the polish should still be more wet than dry). This allows the polish to form a smooth edge that's more flush with the nail instead of a leaving a rough edge where the polish would have butted up against the tape.

Let me say, for the record, that Shower Together is one of my least favorite colors that I own (it was also my very first China Glaze), but I absolutely adore this color paired with gray. Currently my toes are a gray based leopard with teal spots/black edges annnddd it's gorgeous. It's a nice fall/winterish color combo.

My First Essie... and some lace... and leopard

My local Target had 3 Essie polishes on sale in one of their random clearance sections. It was one of three polishes (and two colors) and only $2 off, but I liked the color so I got it.

Essie's Bordeaux underneath fabric lace and Dou'ble-Art black leopard (Dr. Venture's still chillin' out):

There's a lace tutorial somewhere in the archives...

It's a nice blood color with a wine-vibe to it. I used two coats, but if you were in a pinch you could get away with only one. This polish has a smooth consistency and overall it's dreamy to apply. I want to say it's got a jelly feel to it, but I don't know if that's an appropriate way to describe it. It's more fluid than OPI (much more than China Glaze), but I don't know if I can make that generalization to the whole brand yet.

I think I'm going to get some of the colors in the Winter and Fall 2010 collections now that this was such a success for a first time use.

Venture Bros. Nails [Set #2]

My second attempt at Venture Bros. themed nails in honor of the epic one-hour season finale this Sunday at 11:30 on [adult swim]! Apologies for my bizarre creative interpretations of these beloved characters. Dean is kind of melty, Dr. Venture is totally giving you the side eye, and The Monarch kind of looks like a monkey, but hey this was my first detailed attempt! (See below for the leopard)

**All likenesses/images belong to [adult swim], Astrobase Go!, and Bif Bang Pow!

Base - China Glaze's Sun Worshipper (Poolside collection Summer 2010), 3 coats. Does this color turn out matte for anyone else?

Flesh color - Flexbrush's water-based Light Peach

Brown beard, hair, freckles, and eyebrows - Flexbrush's water-based Brown

Yellow crown and accessories on The Monarch- CM Nail Art's Yellow

Base - China Glaze's Sun Worshipper (Poolside collection Summer 2010), 3 coats. 

Spots - China Glaze's Sugar High (Up & Away collection Spring 2010)

Black outline was done with a Dou'ble-Art pen.

No clear/top coat.

Here's the backstory on the Dou'ble-Art pen: Transdesign has them for only $3, and I needed a new black color for nail art, so I figured it was worth a try. The pen has a pen tip and a thin brush so I knew if  the pen didn't work I would at least have a brush to use. The pen is AWESOME. It is so easy to use, very opaque, and hardly has any application problems except for the occasional bubble. It even comes with a long needle-thing to keep the flow of polish clog-free. If you want to do a leopard print, this is the product to use. I will definitely be buying more pens. Oh and take note, that picture is of my right hand... that's right, that hand looks pretty darn good for not painting with my dominant hand--that's how easy this pen is to use!

Review: Nail Rock Nail Wraps in Metallic Gold [Pre-2011 Version]

They're here! They're here! My Nail Rock Nail Wraps are finally here! These DIY, Minx-style nail wraps are becoming very popular at a rapid pace--even the Queen of Pop, Kylie Minogue was sporting Nail Rock tips in her Get Outta My Way video. You know if Kylie likes it then it must be something worth trying!

Here's what they look like unopened in the package:

I ordered mine from ASOS.com and it took forever for them to arrive to the states from the UK (seriously, if you order from them use express shipping so they can give you a tracking number. They lost my order the first time around and after some research on the internet I've found this to be something that's VERY common). This isn't Nail Rock's fault, and at this moment I don't know where else to buy them in the US except Topshop.com.

Nail Rock Nail Wraps come in a variety of intricate, impossible-to-create-with-polish styles, like metallic gold/silver, lizard, lace, leopard, dots, zippers, etc.

Here are the product description and application instructions from ASOS:
The new NAIL ROCK range is designed to last up to 7 days on nails and 8 weeks on the toes, with each at home nail wrapping treatment taking just 15 minutes to apply. Unlike polish they won't chip or stain the nail and quicker to apply as no drying time required.
Each pack contains a full set of wraps for fingernails and toes.

HOW TO NAIL ROCK
1- Gently ease cuticle back and remove any nail polish.
2- Shape and file the nail edge.
3- Gently remove surface shine using a nail buffer or a smooth nail file.
4- Select Nail Rock Wrap nearest your Cuticle size. These can be trimmed to fit if needed.
5- Do not touch the adhesive side of the wrap that will be used on your nail.
6- Gently place at cuticle edge and apply heat from a small or travel
Hairdryer for a few seconds until the wrap begins to soften. 
7- Applying firm pressure, push the wrap onto one side of the nail bed. Re-apply heat and repeat on the other side.
8- Re-apply heat and push firmly over the entire nail for a secure fit. If there is a crease; re-heat, gently lift the wrap off the nail and reapply adding further heat if necessary.
9- File off excess wrap at the end of the nail in a downward motion with a fine wooden file.
TO REMOVE
1- Apply heat and peel off gently.
2- Nail polish remover may be needed to remove excess adhesive off the nail bed.


After following the directions above, here is my result:

Pros: They look magical. Yes, magical, like nails a greek goddess would have or even an angel's nails. You could never get this look with polish. From far away my nails don't even look like they're from earth--in a good way! They're the epitome of eye-catching. They're also a decent price (around $10).


Cons: Maybe it's my own poor application, but mine are having trouble staying attached to the edges of my nail all the way around. On the other hand, maybe it's my nail shape which is currently short and round. However, on my thumbs they're flush with the nail. Perhaps it's because that's my biggest/widest nail? The metallic isn't very forgiving on application mistakes either--I think a print wrap would hide mistakes better. You also can't apply a clear coat over the wrap to seal in the edges... at least you can't use Seche (I learned that the hard way).


Final Verdict: Despite application problems, these are so gorgeous that I don't mind that so much! I do want to try one of the prints though to see how that turns out compared to the metallic. I also want to try these on longer nails to see if that affects the application. So should you buy them? They're at least worth a try because they really are quite unique! They'd be great for special events, too.


How long did they last? I don't know yet (still wearing them, just put them on tonight), but I'll update with a result! Ok I finally took them off on the 17th (I posted this on the 10th). They still looked pretty great even after heavy wear and tear!


BONUS!
I also purchased Eyelure's Girls Aloud Festival Lashes (Cheryl Cole edition). They were on sale, so I had to seize the moment to get something that shows my Girls Aloud/Cheryl Cole love. If you don't know who Cheryl Cole is, Google her because she's probably going to take America by storm.

The lashes are SO long width-wise. I haven't put them on yet, but I think they may be too big. They're plastic-y feeling and have gold flecks on them. No biggie though if I never wear them because they were only a few bucks and they're pretty just to look at!

Pamplona Purple

OPI's Pamplona Purple from the España Collection:

Bright, indoor light

Dim, indoor light

I LOVE this color. It's definitely one of my all-time favorite polishes from one of my all-time favorite collections. It's just brilliant. In low light, this color has more of a wine color, but in bright sunlight it's a solid, bright purple.


These pictures aren't the best, and make the color look old-ladyish, but in reality this color is youthful and modern.

Puttin' on the Glitz

I have often been compared to a parakeet, meaning that I gravitate toward things that are shiny and glittery. So, when I saw this bottle I grabbed it and didn't think twice about getting it. It's basically a party in a bottle and what I like most about it is that it's not a typical glitter--each glitter piece is about a millimeter long. Love it!

Sally Hansen's In the Spotlight (#35) over Barielle's U-Concrete-Me

FSU Homecoming Nails

This week is a big week for any Florida State University student--Homecoming week!

Yesterday I was in the Homecoming Parade and went to Pow Wow (ft. John Oliver & Fred Armisen), so I had to be themed out!

Garnet: OPI's Not Really a Waitress
Gold: OPI's Bling Dynasty (Hong Kong collection, Spring 2010)
Gold Glitter: CM Nail Art

The Chief Osceola heads were done by printing them out on computer paper, cutting them along the image edge, and applying them to still tacky polish. I would only recommend doing this on lighter polish colors (like the gold) because the polish does tend to show through the paper after you seal the paper in with a clear coat. This initially happened on my garnet finger, so I put another Osceola on top of a bled-through one, which helped greatly. Before I applied the paper to my nail, I wish I had rolled it so that it curved to fit my nail. This may or may not help with how the paper peels up from the polish. Either way, you'll probably have to stay on top of the paper and make sure it doesn't pop up.

Van Gogh, Cupcakes, Americana, & Frankenstein

Rapidfire nails with super quick break downs, GO!

First up (nails from months ago) is Van Gogh's Starry Night as done by a much less talented person! After seeing the Doctor Who episode Vincent & the Doctor this summer, I couldn't help but fall in love with Van Gogh all over again. The base is OPI's Ogre-the-Top Blue. The rest comes from CM Nail Art's kit. I'm going to redo these pretty soon and make them much more detailed and less MS Paint-y.

Cupcakes!

Isn't that Precious? base, bottom half the nail in Something Sweet with the CM pink stripes, Alpine Snow cupcake top, dots in Light as Air

Lavender dots done with one of the rubbery tips of a bobby pin. Either paint the end or dip it in the polish and apply to the nail.

 Go vote this Tuesday! If you're not registered, go register you dummy! It's easy, it's free, and I suppose it's better to be registered and exercise your right to not vote than be unregistered and wanting to vote yet are unable to.

Blue on base, red on top, white last.

Late Halloween nails! OPI's Who the Shrek are You? for the Frankenstein green, Alpine Snow for the eyes, CM Nail art for everything else. The rest of the nails (black with a slight green tint) are in OPI's Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow.