Manicure Monday: 80s Graphic
This week’s Manicure Monday is written by Katherine Abraham. Find her on Google as outloudkat.
We’ve all done it; seen that great nail colour you just can’t live without, followed quickly by seeing the double-digit price. So, you settle. You buy the slightly different shade in the cheaper brand thinking it will be just as good. It never is. But don’t worry, this manicure is a great way to use your lesser quality polishes. In this funky, translucent design, layer different colours on top of each other to get a cool Caboodle-inspired look!
First, choose your base colour and apply it to all your nails. I used Shocking Seas by Maybelline. The next step involves taping your nails, so the first coat must be completely dry otherwise you’ll ruin your base coat.
Next, cut 20 thin strips of masking tape. You can use any kind of tape that you happen to have; I use masking tape because it doesn’t leave gluey residue, plus painters use it so why shouldn’t I? For my second colour, I used Peppermint by Rimmel London Pro. Form the tape into triangles on your nails using either the cuticle base or the tip of the nail to be the third side of the triangle (I alternated, one pointing up, one pointing down, one up, one down, etc.) and paint inside the tape. I like to peel the tape off right after applying the paint; if you wait too long the tape can pull the dry paint off and ruin your lines.
Again, let this coat dry completely. If you want to apply a top coat at this point you can. Sometimes I find it helps to fuse the two layers together but if you find that adding too many coats of paint leaves your polish susceptible to peeling then skip this stage. You’ll need a lot more tape for this last step, 30 thin strips to be exact! We’re still making triangles here, but we’re doing them without the use of the side of your nail. In other words, they are completely free standing triangles. Overlap these triangles over both existing colours to optimize the transparency look. I chose a contrasting colour to my blue/green hues, a rich pink by OPI. Once you’ve taped out your triangles, add a single coat of the highlight colour. It can be hard to resist going over it a few times, but remember you want to see the other colours through this coat.
And voila, there you have a totally righteous nail look fit for a 1980s revival party! Now you can add your favourite top coat to protect your hard work for as long as you can. To ensure your design stays in the best shape possible, limit your manual labour to pulling up your leg warmers, curling your hair, and playing Dream Phone.
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Manicure Monday: Ombre Watercolour
I seem to have collected a pile of “must to do manicure” photos, and this one was somewhere near the top of the pile. Found on Lauren Conrad & Co.’s beauty blog, this is an easy ombre style that uses a makeup sponge to apply the polish.
To ensure you have even distribution of the colours, choose polishes with a thicker consistency (one that would typically only need one coat). Because I did not listen to my future self’s advice (see one sentence above), I used China Glaze in Secret Peri-wink-le as a base since the lacquers were inconsistent. Before applying the lacquer to the makeup sponge, soak the sponge in water, and squeeze out about 80% of the water from sponge. Next, apply the colours from darkest to lightest, or vice versa, to the sponge, applying two coats of each colour and then blotting the excess off on a piece of paper. Apply to nail with the end of the sponge meeting the tip of your nail. Unless you put tape around your nail to protect your skin, use a Q-Tip soaked in polish remove to clean up your fingers.
Colours I used (starting at the tips): Essie in Midnight Cami, Crush in Indigo, China Glaze in Secret Peri-wink-le, Saint Germain in Seafoam.
Manicure Monday: Half-Moon
Have you mastered the half-moon manicure yet? Although we’ve c leap and bounds since last year’s obsession with this design, there is something so classic about it that it’s easy to go back.
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Manicure Monday: Polished Plaid
You can never have too much plaid, girl or boy, there is not such thing as one too many flannels. Since the world is still in love with this classic print, I decided to take the tartan to the tips.
Check out the DIY instructions here.
Manicure Monday: Egg Hunt
This Easter Sunday, (Happy Easter Monday!) I opted for painting polka-dotted nails instead of eggs. Quite frankly, I don’t have the patience to poke a pin hole through the shell, remove the yolk and white from the egg, and decorate the shell ornately, attempting to compete with my 6-year-old creative self. I also own an approximate ratio of 1:28 of acrylic paint to nail polish, so the odds were in my fingertips’ favour.
For this simple design I alternated using (from thumb to pinkie) Saint Germain in Sea Green, Zoya in Wednesday, Zoya in Shelby, Essie in Action, and Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect in Sorbet. To dot nails, use the tip of a toothpick — I used Essie in Blanc to create the polka dots.
Overall, I think this weekend was well deserved, and I spent most of it relaxing. With my parents and friends visiting Toronto for the weekend, dinners at my sister’s new apartment were assumed and slumber parties were necessary for BFF catch up. How did you all spend your long weekend?
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Manicure Monday: Essie Neon
Essie’s Neon collection is made up of a few different pink/orange shades, that are perfect for summer. The brand supplies a white polish in the line to act as a base and to help each colour pop. Because the lacquers are very translucent, each colour appears differently when used with the white and on its own. I used the White base with Action and Bazooka, to create a striped look that I now realized, because of the orange tendencies, quite resembles candy corn.
To create the lines I used a Kiss Nail Art Paint, that provides a thin brush. If you have a shaky hand (like me) I might recommend trying out nail tape, that is thin and rolls on easily.
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Manicure Monday: La Moss
Finding an alternative to classic black has always been a mission of mine. For a while I opted for navy blue, or sometimes I deep red, that was until I came upon butter LONDON’s La Moss. Inspired by Mrs. Moss herself, the deep wine colour it perfect when you want to feel a little dark and vampy, but not so typical. Partnered with the pink of Rosie Lee, applied at the nail’s base, La Moss actually appears more purple than when worn alone. These sparkles have the consistency of an art supply glitter and dry as though no polish was applied at all; so to create a faded sparkle I blotched the brush towards the middle of the nail.
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Manicure Monday: French Half Moon
Saint Germain is a makeup brand from California that pairs contemporary design with Parisian sophistication. I first heard about this beauty brand on Eva Chen’s (Beauty Editor of Teen Vogue) Tumblr. The very affordable line, only $3.95 a bottle, is also vegan and gluten-free.
I decided to try a French half moon manicure this week, and though I think the results could be better, I’ll say that’s a B-, you get the idea that the execution is very simple. First, I used two coats of Sea Green, next used French manicure strips to divide up my nail, and then applied Grey Anthracite Moire to the base and tips.
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Manicure Monday: Pretty in Pinks
Pink nail polish is something that I can never have enough of. Unfortunately my love for shades of pink has meant my collection is seeing doubles, as I’ll often buy an amazing new rosy hue that perfectly resembles last year’s favourite.This week I decided to put all my pinks to use, mostly so none of them felt left out, and try an ombré manicure from pale to barbie to neon.
Today’s lineup: OPI in Pink Friday, OPI in Chapel of Love, NYC in Pink Pomegranate, Essie in Secret Story, Crush (from Boathouse) in Pink.
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Manicure Monday: Teenage Dreams
It’s always a really great feeling to find a lacquer that goes perfectly with your skin tone — one you want to wear over and over again. If you can’t relate, I’m afraid you’re reading the wrong blog, these are the true feelings of the nail polish obsessed.
Personally, my colour of choice has been Essie Haute As Hello, combined with OPI Teenage Dream. Sure, deem me as a twice thrice applied polish offender. While some may be wary to wear the same outfit more than once, I have no shame wearing polish I know suits my tips.
Since I’m not a huge fan of sparkles, I find them way to difficult to remove, I always opt for minimal sparkle, but still enough to have some fun. Glitter tips are one of my favourite ways to add some shimmer, and since sparkle polish lasts so long, your tips won’t chip so soon. À la Cupcakes and Cashmere, I also love saving the sparkle for my ring finger.
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