Showing posts with label watercolor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label watercolor. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

31DC2014: Day 23

Hey everyone! Happy Autumn... Even though it makes me sad because it means winter is on its way. I'm just not built for the cold. Remind me again why I don't live in Florida?

The theme for today is Inspired by a Movie. A couple weeks ago I got the new Pulp Fiction nail polish from Urban Decay so I knew I'd have to use that and do Pulp Fiction nails!


I was inspired by Mrs. Mia Wallace and the smoke always billowing out of her lush lips!


I added a bandaid on the thumb for Mr. Wallace, which definitely brings the look together.

Here's the polish on its own:


Urban Decay - Mrs. Mia Wallace
This is a beautiful red with tonal shimmer, and the formula is dreamy. It takes 2 thin coats for full coverage, and as always the UD formula is so easy to work with.

I did the smoke with Color Club - French Tip using the watercolor technique. I have a (slightly old) tutorial for that technique here, and I was inspired by these nails by Chalkboard Nails to turn that technique into smoke!

The bandaid was painted with OPI - San-Tan Tonio and OPI - Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?

The lip print stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM-303 and Konad Black special polish.


Still in love with the Urban Decay bottles. I've got all of these new polishes now... Haha. Oh and good news for Canadians, the Shoppers Drugmart locations that carry UD stocked this collection, including the polish! They never had any of the polishes before so I was really surprised to see it there.


What do you guys think of these nails? Can you see the Mrs. Mia Wallace inspiration in them? I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 23 designs:

Friday, February 28, 2014

The Lacquer Legion: Adoration

Hello and welcome to the second Lacquer Legion monthly manicure! Social media is already blowin' up with fantastic manis from all you lovely people, and now I'm here to throw in my design.

I had originally planned to do a look inspired by my new Jeffrey Campbell Litas... But my nail art spikes did not arrive in time! So it was back to the drawing board.

What else do I adore? Crochet... Hockey...Cupcakes... Urban Decay... WAIT. 
"Self, why have you not done UD nails before?!"

Now's the time. 


Tada! I'm sure you UD junkies like me already know where this look came from.


Considering I am totally in love with my Vice 2 palette (both the product and the packaging,) obviously it needed to go on my nails.


I started this manicure with a base of none other than Urban Decay - Vice. Yes, the polish matches the palette.
To get the Vice look, I used the watercolor technique, which I have a tutorial for here. Instead of using a big brush to get a very watery look, I used a small one to make it a bit more distressed looking.

I wanted to include some more UD polishes in the design, so I dug out my Rollergirl Nail Kit from the beginnings of my UD addiction, and used the pink shades to start the watercolor:
Urban Decay - Woodstock
Urban Decay - Miss T

Even though the look is overall dark purple, using lighter shades of purple plus a red and a blue really brought the look together. Here's what I used, in order:
China Glaze - That's Shore Bright
OPI - Do You Lilac It?
OPI - Paint My Moji-toes Red
China Glaze -  Sky High-Top

I finished off my ring finger with two tear-shaped rhinestones to mimic the bejeweled UD logo on Vice 2.


And then I got even more adventurous. I painted the Urban Decay logo on my thumb! Totally freehand. Sometimes I'm boss.


I am so so so ridiculously pleased with how these turned out. Already the Lacquer Legion has pushed me to create what I think is one of my best designs ever! That's totally what this nail art initiative was meant for.
BRB, gonna share these nails all over Urban Decay's social media in hopes they might see it and I can have a fangirl moment.
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Have you done a Lacquer Legion manicure yet? It's not too late! Be sure to tag your posts on social media with #LLadoration so we can see them! And share 'em on our Facebook page.

Friday, September 27, 2013

31DC2013 - day 27

Hey guys! Yet another last minute post for me. Apparently I am just not good at time management this month. September was probably a bad month for me to do this challenge...

Today's theme is Inspired By Artwork.
I thought all day about it, and almost resorted to just using a water decal and calling that art, but I decided to tough it out and do the idea I had been thinking of.

I thought about tattoo art... I thought about watercolor art... And I decided on watercolor tattoo nails.
Have you guys seen all the beautiful photos of watercolor tattoos floating around on sites like Pinterest? I'm obsessed with the look.
You take simple black tattoo linework and add light and watercolor-esque coloring, and you get a gorgeous result.
I took that style of art and turned it into nail art!


I used some stamping images that mimic tattoo styles that I like, used my favorite colors for the watercolor, along with a favorite nude polish, and BAM pretty nails.


The stamping image on my middle finger is from Konad m77, and so are the small star details on the thumb.
The other two images are from Bundle Monster - the big star on the thumb is from BM-206, the bow is BM-317.


I started with a base of OPI - My Vampire Is Buff and I used jelly polishes to create the watercolor effect of coloring within the lines and also outside the lines.
I picked four of my usual go-to jellies...
China Glaze - Are You Jelly? (purple)
China Glaze - Keepin' It Teal (teal)
China Glaze - Heat Index (pink)
China Glaze - Ride The Waves (blue)


I'm really glad I decided not to be lazy and actually did these nails because I really enjoy them! It's just too bad I'll have to take them off tomorrow.

Friday, September 14, 2012

31dc2012 - day 14

Hey guys!
Good news, my electricity came back yesterday evening! It was the key to having a happy birthday! You know, that and all the lovely comments from my amazing followers. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! I had a great day!

Alas my birthday is over and it is back to the other 364 days of the year that aren't quite as fun.

To make this day-after-birthday cheerful, I have a happy manicure!
Today's theme for the 31 Day Challenge is Floral.


I had a really hard time trying to decide what sort of floral manicure to do, and eventually I settled on this cute watercolor-esque floral print!
It may look familiar to you, if you are a Toms fan like me!


I wish I had the shoes to pose with! Haha. But I have 4 other pairs of Toms so I don't need these ones, despite how pretty they are.
I sell Toms at the store I work in - being around them all day makes me want EVERY pair.


To create this look, I sort of did the acetone watercolor technique. (Check out my tutorial if you haven't seen it yet!)
Instead of making random blobs, I turned them into flowers!
I love the blendy, watery look.


A lot of polishes went into this look, and I'll just list them all here:
Color Club - White Tip (white base)
China Glaze - Ride The Waves (blue)
China Glaze - Rich and Famous (pink)
China Glaze - Spontaneous (purple)
Essie - Turquoise and Caicos (green)
OPI - Paint My Moji-Toes Red (coral)
OPI - Comet Loves Cupid (red)
Color Club - Almost Famous (yellow)


I think I really was able to capture the beauty of the pattern! I'm also pretty sad that I'll only be wearing this manicure for one day...


What do you guys think? Do you love this as much as I do?
Yay for floral and yay for Toms!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

watercolor nails, updated!

Good morning! I'm sure you remember my watercolor nails from a few days ago.
Well, I wasn't quite ready to take them off, but my mani needed some refreshing.
What's the solution? Stamp over it!


Refreshed and super cute! It's been a while since I've used the leopard stamp (Konad m57) but I always love it when I use it.


(Yes, I'm holding a bottle of Rainbow Connection. I didn't have anything else nearby.)

Stamping over a mani that is starting to get boring or chipped is a great way to get another day or two out of it! And I really like all the colors peeking out from behind the leopard.

Did you try the watercolor look yet? Let me know how it goes!

Friday, November 11, 2011

new technique - watercolor nails! + tutorial

Hi guys! Today I have a super exciting and really cute new technique to show you!
You'll be surprised when I tell you how this is done. Take a look!



Watercolor nails! Aren't they pretty? I'm totally in love with this watery, overlapping look. I love the way the colors blend.

So, how do you think I did this?
It takes one secret ingredient... Acetone.


A little cap full of acetone and a big, soft paint brush.

When I say "big" - I don't mean really big. Just bigger than you would use for nail art.


This is my watercolor brush vs. my nail art brush. That should give you an idea.

I got the idea for these nails from this post from beautygeeks. They did them a bit differently and I'm not such a fan of the final result, but I knew I could turn it into something really pretty!

Here's what you've gotta do to get this look.


Paint your nails white, and add a coat of a thick topcoat and let it dry. I use Seche Vite.
Topcoat is important - it creates a protective layer so the acetone won't ruin your white base color.

Choose the colors you want to be in your watercolor. Keep in mind that they will be watered down and runny - it might take a few tries before you find polishes that work exactly like you want them to.


I chose these four Kleancolor minis. Neon Yellow, Neon Aqua, Neon Amethyst, Neon Pink.


Add a few tiny drops of color to your nail.
(This picture is awkward but I had to quickly take it while the polish was wet!)
Then, you dip your brush in the acetone, blot off a little so it isn't soaking wet, and then start spreading the blobs of color!


You should end up with something like this.
If you can't seem to understand how this works - watch the video in the link I posted. it will show you the basic technique but I like to spread it out more instead of just making blobs.

If you end up getting too much acetone on your nail and it is wet - don't worry. Blow on your nail and the acetone will quickly dry.


It looks sort of funny at this step, but keep going!
(However, I bet you could just do a 2-tone one with different colors! I don't think it works with the white but you cold definitely try other colors.)


Add your second color and spread it around the same way you did the first, but don't cover up all of the first color. That's what creates the blended watercolor look!


See how it looks orange over the pink, but yellow over the white?


Adding blue brings many other colors into the look! You get blue, green, and purple!
You likely only want to use one small drop of blue because it will take over the others easier.

I finish off the look with the purple shade.


With the final color, you should try to lightly cover any remaining white.
Add topcoat and you're done!



I'm in love! It's so simple and takes basically no skill. You're just blobbing and smearing! Just like painting with watercolors in kindergarten.


I left the above picture fairly large so you can click it to see how cool it looks close up!


Loving it! Let me know if you guys try this. I hope you can have as much success as I did!
I can't wait to try this with more colors - I'm envisioning watery blues and greens... So many possibilities!