Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Opi Nail Polish

I've been talking a lot about different nail polish trends but I haven't been talking much about specific nail polish brands. One of the best known higher end, professional nail polish brands is OPI. OPI is easily one of my favorite brands when it comes to a brand that has a large variety of core colors and a stable quality. With OPI I know what to except! A smooth formula with a wide brush that can easily cover my nails in two strokes. It's not hard to see why OPI has become such a popular brand, especially not when we look at their renowned colors and color reviews. I'm going to talk about my top five favorite OPI colors, some were limited edition colors and others are permanent. I will let you know which ones are limited edition and which are permanent line. 



OPI "bubble bath" *Permanent*

OPI "bubble bath" is the perfect sheer pink. This was one of the first OPIS I ever bought and it is easily my first favorite. I know it seems like a simple color that is easily doable in other brands, but trust me when I say it's not. "Bubble bath" is the most perfect pink jelly ever created and is perfect for not only french manicures but for jelly sandwiches.



OPI "Blue Moon Lagoon" *Limited Edition and hard to find *
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OPI "blue moon lagoon" is one of the only holographic nail polishes that OPI has ever released. Judging by the swatches it's not hard to see why this is not only a hard to find nail polish but a really wanted and expensive one as well. I luckily managed to snag up one before the price on them got extremely ridiculous, but I only ever use it for special occasions. 



OPI "Jade is the new black" *Permanent*

OPI "Jade is the new black" is easily one of the prettiest polishes ever released. Not only does it look fabulous in the bottle but it looks identical on the nail. While it's not a limited edition it does sell out quickly because it's pure beauty. If you see it I really recommend you pick it up as it's absolutely beautiful. 



OPI "Mad as a hatter" *Limited edition, easy to find but expensive*

OPI "Mad as a hatter" is easily the best glitter topper OPI has ever come out with. It's a perfect balance of multiple colors of glitter. It's not hard to tell why this polish is so expensive and why most people want it. 



OPI "Lincoln Park After Dark" *Permanent line*

OPI "Lincoln Park After Dark" is the most "sophisticated" polish on this list. It's a staple in my polish wardrobe because it goes well with every outfit, be it girly or more edgy. This polish has been around for over a decade and with good reason, it's absolutely beautiful and classic. 

Those are my top five OPI polishes, I know that there are hundreds by OPI that are beautiful but those are my top picks. Read more about nail polishes at Nail Designs

Monday, June 9, 2014

Pink Nail Designs

Every girl loves pink! I know I for one do, I love all the different varieties of pink and I especially love how it can compliment any outfit. I know I for one will wear pink quite often for the ability of it to match nearly everything, so why not match it to your nails? Nail art can be extremely easy as most of us know and having pink nails that can match nearly everything makes the nail art even more worth it. Pink is a beautiful and super feminine color that can match anything. Pink nail art doesn't have to be extravagant and can easily be worn in the office, during daytime or even during trendy night out sessions with yourself and other people! Pink nail art and polish is extremely versatile as I'm going to show you. 



The design above is very simple to do and the pink color the nails can compliment an office outfit very easily. The dots make beautiful nail art while being very conservative and the blend with the pink is very soft and feminine. This pink nail art design is very easy to achieve with the end of a bobby pin dipped into white polish. This manicure is perfect for any time!



Wow what a beautiful pink! The above design is a bit more bold of a pink nail art design. It has an nail art accent nail that has leopard print over white can easily be done with a bobby pin as well! Just place dots according to strategy and place a complimentary leopard print dot on the inside! This pink nail design can be worn at anytime, though I wouldn't recommend it for daytime at the office, it's a bit too bold for that! 



"Je t'aime" anyone? This beautiful pink nail art design really channel a Paris feel with the effiel tower and some lovely lace! This design is a bit more complex and can be achieved with a paint brush if you're careful. It's beautiful and simple despite looking complex and can be easily achieved with a brush made for nail art and dotting tools. 



Holy moly what a beautiful pink nail design! Pink zebra print is absolutely gorgeous and so easy to pull off! While this pink nail art isn't ideal for everyday wear it's most definitely wearable for a day or two for a special event or a time to go out and really make a bold statement. This nail design proves that pink doesn't have to be boring or overly girly to look fantastic. I'd personally wear this on a night out. 


I'm sure a lot of you ladies are fans of houndstooth print, but what about on nails? I think this beautiful pink nail art design with stamped on houndstooh is a wearable design for every day including the office as houndstooh is seen as a classic design. I think that this pink nail design takes the cake for me, it's totally my favorite as it's absolutely simple and beautiful!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Fourth of July Nail Designs

The summer is here and before you know it, the 4th of July will be coming up. So when you break out the fireworks, the barbecue, the flags and the beer, why not spruce up your nails with some awesome Fourth of July nail designs! Break out your red, white, and blue polishes, and let's get to work making some holiday nail art!


Want to just get out to the party already without having to spend all the time doing your nails? We don’t blame you at all! Why not try a simple glitter polish with the famous three colors. Just paint it on and you’ll be ready in no time to hit that BBQ! Glitter polishes are extremely simple, but remember that you can have a bit of variety with the size of the glitter itself, and different glitters can spread more evenly or spaces apart.


Just because it’s the 4th of July doesn’t mean you’re relegated to designs that only use stars and stripes. This artist made blue and red dots over a white background using the tip of a bobby pin as a dotting tool (if you don’t want to buy one, it’s a great little tip). You can also experiment with using other things around to house to stamp out little shapes. Feel free to try out other shapes and patterns or change around the colors to fit your likes more. It’s a really simple design that can be a lot of fun to make!


Check out this nail art which used red and blue glitters on the ends of French tips to add a little shine to the end of the fingernail. It almost reminds you of the fireworks! You could even do a mix of red, blue and silver or gold glitters on the tip of each nail, or alternate all the colors.



I really love this set of nails. This design really brings out the Americana and uses some gorgeous glitters to make some beautiful art. With a fully painted red glitter nail, and then blue and white stripes with a super cute little red heart, and then a simple blue glitter French tip with another small heart, all 3 of her designs blend together to make some truly fantastic nail art! Try out your own combinations of the designs and maybe you’ll end up with something great!


The amount of detail in this set of nails is really amazing. They painted on each individual star with really great detail. A way to do this is to paint a white undercoat, and then put star stickers over them once it dries, and paint over it with some blue nail polish. Remove the stickers and viola, you have perfect little stars. This applies to any shape you want as well. Also consider just digging up some stars in a nail art wheel to press straight on.

Well, that should give you a solid foundation for some great ideas for Fourth of July nail designs. Have lots of fun, bring out the Patriot in you, and be careful not to ruin them at the BBQ. Enjoy!


Saturday, June 7, 2014

Toe Nail Designs

Painting and creating designs isn't just limited to your fingernails, you can also brighten up your toenails too! Now that summer is here and the sandals are coming out of your closet, it's the perfect time to show off how cute your feet can be with a little bit of nail art. In fact, many people can actually prefer to make toe nail designs instead of just normal nail designs, as the bigger surface area gives more room to work with, as well as not requiring the fine detail that a small fingernail does (although you're more than welcome to keep making those extremely detailed works of art). Others though, do not like how you have to hunch your back in order to reach your toes to paint them, and the awkward angles that doing so can sometimes bring. Feel free to try painting your toenails a few times before doing any designs to see whether you like it or not. Keep in mind that a toe foam separator can be a huge help when painting too.

With that in mind, let's take a look at some really cute toe nail designs so you can hit the beach and impress everyone around!



This design uses a great color and adds to it with some simple polka dots and then a really cute drawn on bow. Big toes are the ideal place to put any bigger art, and these toenails show how adorable they can be. Alternating pattens on every other nail is also a pretty great technique you can adopt, as it will really make your design stand out.



The person who painted these nails had the really great idea to make her big toe different from the rest of her toenails. It came out really great with her! The little hearts are really cute and really pop because of the striped background she used. Awesome!


Are you a big fan of Disney? The artist behind this certainly was! These adorable nails feature fan favorite Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, looking just as good as ever! The simple polka dot pattern used on the smaller toenails accentuates them on the painted faces. You can try doing this with your very own pictures!



This person made some of the most beautiful nail art I’ve seen, and then painted both her French tipped fingers and toes with it! The colors of this one are gorgeous and the edges of the flowers combined with the detail make these nails just breathtaking to look at. Adding that little bit of glitter in the details is fantastic as well. Nail art doesn’t get much better than this! It may be a lot of practice before you are able to get this good, but just remember that you can have matching toes and fingers to draw that extra attention from your friends!

Don’t be scared to show off your feet this summer! With some amazing toe nail designs, your feet will look great on the beach! Have fun and enjoy!




Friday, June 6, 2014

French Tip Nail Designs

French Tips are one of the most popular choices for women's nails. For those of you who do not know what a french tip is, a "frenchie" is typically a type of manicure where only the tip is colored in, typically white, and everything below is left it's natural skin tone, or painted with a light skin tone polish. The result is an elegant looking fingernail that really stands out, while not being overly exaggerated.

Nowadays, people have taken the popular form and started creating nail designs on them, making them even cuter than before. And some of the art that people have come up with is truly great! Check out some of these examples:


I love how this person dressed up quite simple black and white tips with flowers, and even some polka dots! It really goes to show you how just a few simple little flowers can really make a world of difference compared to a regular manicure.



This person use a glitter polish for her nails, and then painted over them with black streaks, giving them a zebra print look. This look also shows how having a single completely polished nail while the rest are French tipped can spruce up your fingers, almost like an accent wall can liven up a room in your house. Experimenting with different colors on the tips can also be a great idea.



This design is very simplistic, but I really love how the curve adds to the composition. Remember that you don’t have to get so fancy in order to get amazing looking nails!


Hello Kitty is adorable, so why not throw her face right on your digits? A couple of lines, some dots and a bow and you’re set! In a few minutes you’ll be drawing an aww from everyone around! Of course you could turn them into other characters faces. Rilakkuma, Pusheen, you name it! Just let your imagination run wild!


The colors of this design are great, as the different shades of blue really contrast against the color of skin. The swirls give it a look like waves in water. Maybe you could draw your own ripples? Draw a boat on one, and you’ve got your own ocean scene!



Check out this art which uses two different colors in the Frenchie. You can try out different combinations of your favorite colors on your nails to see how they go together. She also used a simple accent nail with a couple of rhinestones in there to add a great little flair to her hand!


This person really got in the holiday spirit with this neat Christmas theme art. The details look really great, and the use of glitter add a lot to the scene. It feels like the holidays already! You could try out fireworks for the 4th of July, bunnies for Easter, or whatever reminds you of the holiday you’re celebrating!

Hopefully, these French tip nail designs will give you an idea or two to use for yourself! Remember to have fun and make some great art! Good luck!