Nail art: Glitter gradients

Well, hello there.  ☺
So, this would have been my first youtube tutorial, but my camera takes cruddy video and I'm too broke to buy a video camera now.  After filming this process, I realized the footage was worthless and deleted it.  This has been done before anyway, so I'll just post a GOOD video, and show you some pictures of what I've done.
This is basically an excuse for not writing a real post for my non-existent audience.

So, there you go!  I usually don't do a gradient over naked nails, but that is an option if you like it!
Some of my glitter gradients....

Looking through my old photos, my glitter gradient suck.
But HERE'S a relic!  This was my first glitter gradient that I wore for Easter 2015!

My nails were so SHORT!   And what's with the thing on my middle finger????
Anyway, that's all for now!
Bye bye!  😉🙍💟💢💥💦💧💨

Formula X Swatch Spam

Sooooooooooooo, due to the fact that I'm lazy and busy (I'm busy, therefore I'm lazy the rest of the time.) I don't have anything kewl to post.  So, I dug some old swatch photos out of the dust bin of my computer in order to have something to post.
These are all Formula X polishes, and the brand is available exclusively at Sephora.
First, we have White Matter.  It's a white matte polish.  Funny how that worked out, huh?

Next, we have Majestic- a navy blue jelly.  Ok, so, quick backstory.  I was (and still am) obsessed with Thorin Oakenshield*, and if you spend much time in certain areas of the internet, you've probably seen the #majesticThorin joke.  Well, I saw a polish called Majestic and decided I need it.  I currently have two bottles, and I want to pick up one more.

Just in case.  

Hehe.

*They say if a crush lasts longer than six months, it's love.  If that's true, I'm most definitely in love with more than one fictional character, celebrity, and actual cute guys I know.

Next is Volatile, a silver holographic glitter topcoat.  💖  The only problem with this was it was very chunky and dried out fast.

And, lastly, we have Legend.  One word: lame.  This is supposed to be a colorshift, and instead it just sits there looking pathetic.  I didn't like this polish, and ended up using a lot of it on one of my dragon's eggs.

So, there we have it!  Today's moderately boring swatch spam post!
See you all later!  💂💣💤😊💬💫💪😚

Textured nail polish swatch spam

Hello there.  😊
So, I don't have any finishe projects to post about, so I decided to do a nail polish swatch spam.  Does anyone remember five, six, however many years ago when textured polish was the thing?  It all started with Sally Hansen's "Crackle" polish, and just sort of snowballed from there.  (sidenote: crackle polish is what got me into nails and stuff in the first place)  There was that OPI liquid sand line, the leather effect polishes, Zoya's pixie dust line, and so on.  I'll be focusing on Sally Hansen polishes in this post.  I'll be showing you three crackle polishes, one "sugar coat" polish, and one "fuzzy coat" polish.
Looking through these photos, some of these are nearly two years old now.  And were taken before I knew how to use a camera.  And back when my nails were squares.
Anyway...
Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in "Bubble Plum"

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in "Wool-lite"

Sally Hansen Crackle in "Fuchsia Shock"

Sally Hansen Crackle in "Wavebreak"

Sally Hansen Crackle in "Fractured Foil"

There you have it!  Aren't they pretty?  On an interesting sidenote, the Sugar Coat texture is a HUGE hit with kids. They like to feel it, and then they're like "How do you do that??"  So, if you work with kids in a daycare or school, this is a polish they'd think is cool.
Though, do they even still make it????
Anyway, see you all later!👱👯👈👪😼

Nail Art: Harley Quinn Inspired

Part 2: Dry Brush
Here's another quick, easy, and eye-catching Harley Quinn inspired nail tutorial!
You'll need:
Hot pink polish
Bright Blue polish
White polish
Topcoat
Basecoat
Clean up brush, acetone, and quick-dry spray
A paper towel or napkin
I'm sorry about the awful photos- I'm not sure what went wrong, but this is all I have to work with.  😐
This is a simple dry brush technique.  Start off with one coat of white polish, and let it dry to the touch. You HAVE to do this, otherwise it'll smear everywhere.  Now pick your first color (I started with blue) and wipe the brush off on the edge of the bottle.

  Then, wipe the remaining polish on the brush off on the paper towel, so you don't have much left.

Now, brush the stiff, slightly dry brush (get it?) across your nail, so you have streaks of color.  Like this:

Repeat with your next color.

If needed layer the blue and pink one more time to get enough color laydown.  Then dry brush over it with white, add clear coat, and bam!  That's all!

Dry brushing is one of my favorite techniques, and people always seem to notice it!
Later!  😗🙌😼§💅👻

Black "mosaic" nail art

Just a quick post for today.  If you've already seen my Harley Quinn nail art post, you've already heard my basic warning about striping tape, which is a large part of this manicure.
You'll need:
Black nail polish
Basecoat (optional)
Clear nail polish (not quick drying)
Topcoat
Striping tape
Chunky glitter
A dotting tool
Clean up brush, acetone, and quick-dry spray
Now, about the "chunky glitter".  I got mine from a jar that was a decoration at a baby shower.  The jar came to me from a relative, so I have no idea what the glitter used in it is.  It's small shards and pieces of gold glitter, that could also be little bits of metal.  If I can ever find this product somewhere on the internet I'll post a link but for now, this is the closest that I can find.
EDIT: Soooooooo....  I was at Walmart the other day, and I saw my "chunky glitter."  They're freaking rock granules, and you use them in vases for either fake or real flowers.  I can't find a link, but I feel like an idiot.  I STUCK ROCKS TO MY NAILS AND WONDERED WHY IT WAS HARD TO REMOVE.
....  I'm an idiot....
Now, you can start with basecoat, but I skipped that step and went straight to taping.

I decided to use straight lines and tape my nails off into four different quadrilateral shapes.  After that, I just went in and painted over the whole  thing with black polish.

Paint two coats of black polish, then use your tweezers to take of the striping tape.

All right, now dump some glitter onto your work surface (I used a piece of parchment paper) and a drop of your clear nail polish.  This was impossible to get a picture of, but using your dotting tool (or end of a bobby pin) pick up a drop of the clear polish and sort of drag it along the lines between the black.  Now, using the slightly sticky bobby pin, pick up ONE piece of glitter, and place it on the line.  From there on, it's basically a game of mosaics.  Try not to go off the edges of your nail, and it's really cool if you fit the pieces together nicely.  However, this will take a very long time.  And by long, I mean two hours from start to finish.  

So, once you're done, apply topcoat, spray, and then start crying when you realize that getting the damned glitter off with acetone/remover will be next to impossible.  (trust me- it is)

Sorry about the cruddy pictures.  These were the only ones that were even remotely decent.  

Until next time!  🀚⛉♙😷😾

Nail Art: Harley Quinn Inspired

Part 1: Messy Striping Tape Mani

Hello, everyone!
Yes, I know no one is reading this blog.  The greeting is there for future viewers.
In any case, I was watching some snippets from Suicide Squad, and I really liked Harley's blue, pink, and platinum blonde hair.  (Who doesn't?)  So, I decided to start a Harley Quinn inspired nail art series, beginning with a colorful, messy look.  Kind of something Harley would do if she tried nail art.  Of course, before she's finished, the Joker would waltz in, and be like "Yo!  Let's go terrorize the locals!" and Harley just slathers on the polish 'cause she wants to get going.
(Don't judge; it's half past eleven)
So, moving on, I decided to go with a striping tape mani.  I used...
Striping tape (from Amazon)
Sally Hansen "Watercolor" (from Target)
OPI "Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!" (I think from Meijer-?)
China Glaze "White on White" (from Sally Beauty Supply)
ELF unnamed sheer pink polish (part of a gift set from Target)
L.A. Colors top coat (from the Dollar Tree)
An angled clean up brush, Acetone, and nail polish drying spray (more on this later)

I haven't had very good luck with basecoat lately, so I decided to skip it and go straight to striping tape.  I applied two pieces of tape diagonally to each nail, so I had three sections.

Do both hands at once; striping tape is a monster to apply with wet polish!
The blue and pink polishes stain horribly, so a put on a coat of the sheer pink polish to function as a barrier. Now, paint a slash of white polish down the middle.  Don't keep it on the middle section, but don't cover the whole nail either!

Now slather on the pink and blue on either side.  Overlap with the white, let the colors smear together- this is supposed to be messy!

Now, peel off the striping tape (a pair of tweezers helps!)

Continue with all of your fingers.

Now, striping tape is evil, and it will lift off the nail.  Or the polish floods the line when the tape is removed.  Whichever.  You might end up with polish on your stripes like this.  

You can leave it, or use your clean up brush and acetone to clear it up a bit.  

Clean up around the cuticles, add topcoat, spray, and done!

Now, about that nail polish spray.  This is a product that you spray on tacky nail polish to "instantly" dry it.  It works like instant dry topcoat, though faster.  There are two available that I know of.  One made by Leighton Denny which is ALWAYS sold out online, and one by Beauty Secrets, available exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply.  The Leighton Denny is the best, but the Beauty Secrets is cheaper, and easier to obtain.  I HIGHLY recommend this product, in any case.  😉

Bye all!  😃😀😋🐈🐈

DIY: How to Make Dragon Eggs

Hello, everyone.  😊
SO, for my first DIY I decided I would do dragon eggs.  I love dragons, and I've wanted to do this project ever since I saw it on pinterest a few months ago.  Why it took me so long to make them, I'll never know, but here we go!
You'll need:
Styrofoam eggs (I got a nine pack of three different sizes for $5 at JoAnns)
Thumbtacks (a LOT of thumbtacks.  You can get packs of 300 at the Dollar Tree, and I bought three.)
Pieces of foam (I got a pack of 24 foam "gift tags" at the Dollar Tree)
Glue (whatever you can find)
Optional:
Black nail polish (this isn't necessary, but it does help- more on that later.  I got a bottle of Wet'n Wild "Black Creme" at- guess where- the Dollar Tree)
Colored nail polish (I like metallic polishes best, but use what you like.  I used a Formula X polish [bought from Sephora} called "Legend")
Nail polish clear coat (available for a buck at the Dollar Tree)

Alright.  So, we start by sticking the thumb tacks into the pieces of foam so we end up with this.

Don't push them all the way down against the foam.  They need to be like this-

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how many thumbtacks you'll need.  I've made a total of four eggs- three in one size, and one in another.  I've used 150 tacks, 133  tacks, 160 tacks, and 244 tacks respectively.  The egg I'm showing you used 244 tacks, and they were made in three separate batches.  Just know this: make MORE than you think you need.  

Once all of your tacks are stuck into the foam, paint them with black nail polish.

If any of your tacks stick together like this...

Just use the point of a pencil to break them apart.

Now let the black polish dry.  Why use the black polish?  Because it forms a mostly opaque barrier between the shiny tack and the colored polish.  Metallics tend to be streaky, and the polish with silver showing through it just looks weird to me.  I usually let the polish dry for an hour, then I go in with one coat of colored polish.

Now let that dry for an hour before adding clear nail polish.  This isn't necessary, but I like shiny.  This particular polish dries kind of gritty, so I applied two coats of topcoat.  Let that dry for AT LEAST 12 hours.  Yes, you read that right.  Twenty four hours is ideal, but...

Nope.  They don't.

Once the tacks are dry enough, take them out of the foam.  Now, you  can start either from the top of the egg or the bottom- it's your choice.  Whichever you choose, stick a tack right in the middle of the end.

Now, you just work on building up a ring around it.

Keep doing this, overlapping the tacks, until you either run out of tacks and have to make more, or until you've filled in all but the last spot.  For the last tack, stick the end in a bit of glue (Elmer's, mod podge, superglue, construction glue, whatever's handy) and stick it in place!

Why stick the last tack down?  Because there's nothing else to hold it in place, and it'll fall out otherwise.  See?

If you're paranoid, paint over that last tack and surrounding tacks with clear nail polish.  Otherwise, you're done!

Isn't that just pretty?

If you don't want to paint the tacks, that works too.  And it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay quicker.

I hope you enjoyed this (long) post!  Now, go forth and create dragon eggs!  

See you later! 😃 😏