Today's mani: Watercolor stamping

Hi kids! Today I tried out a new nail art technique that I just discovered--it gives your mani a watercolor look using a stamper! I saw the tutorial at Chit Chat Nails, so go check out her post for the details!

I started with a white base and added the watercolor with ILNP A Twist of Lemon, ILNP Sniffany, Essie Vibrant Vibes, Essie First Timer and Essie Chillato. I did three applications on each nail for more depth. It's a very peaceful blend of colors!

Afterwards I decided to do a subtle accent nail by stamping on a flower design from MoYou Pro 08 using Bundle Monster Angelic White. I'm getting a lot of zen from this mani!

Have a great week!

Today's mani: Anniversary peacock nails

Heya gang! Yesterday was my and Mr. ALIQUID's second anniversary--it definitely doesn't feel like two years already! We celebrated with some big steaks at a nice restaurant (OK, I ate about a third of my steak and took the rest home). And of course I wanted to do a nice mani for the occasion!

The other day I watched this tutorial about how to make stamping "decals" without actually having to let them dry and peel them up. This kind of blew my mind (I'm probably the last person to discover this technique, right?). So I decided to try it out, and it actually works! Stamping decals without bubbles and wrinkles, hooray!!

I started with a base of Zoya Song and added a coat of Out the Door. While that was drying, I used the peacock feather stamp from MoYou Pro 03 with Julep Harley and colored in the spots with Zoya Ziv and Ivanka. I let the stamp dry on the stamper for a minute or so, then stamped it directly onto the nail. I guess the topcoat grabs the stamp even after it's mostly dry!

Today's mani: Bridesmaid's nails!

Happy Monday everyone! We had a great time this weekend celebrating my sister-in-law's wedding. She and her new husband are both amazing people, and Mr. ALIQUID and I were honored to be part of the wedding party. This was the first wedding we've been to since our own wedding two years ago, so it was nice to let someone else get all the attention while we got to enjoy the food!

Of course I did a mani for the occasion, and I made sure to grab a few pics for you! The wedding colors were navy blue and coral, and my bridesmaid's dress was navy, so I went with coral and silver for the mani.

I decided to do stamping decals over nude nails for a delicate look. I used an image from MoYou Pro 09 and stamped it with Julep Harley (the silver) onto a plastic bag. I colored in the flowers with OPI Sorry I'm Fizzy Today, and also removed parts of the image with acetone (the solid color flowers looked like fuzzy blobs, so I didn't want to keep them). Once the decals were on my nails, I added some silver dots to fill in some of the empty space.

This was one of those manis where you could see all the little bubbles and wrinkles up close, but it looked great from a normal viewing distance, so I was happy with it!

Here's a rare glimpse of Mr. ALIQUID with me--aren't the flowers beautiful?!

I was totally blown away by the job the hairstylist did on me, especially since I didn't give her much direction! I just told her "I want an updo, but not too high up," and she did the rest!

Last but not least, here's Trudy after we picked her up from the boarder's yesterday. She was pretty wiped out after the experience and has spent the entire day so far sleeping it off.

Today's mani: Gold on red stamping

Hiya folks! Today I decided to finally try out the squishy stamper I got last winter, as well as one of my newest MoYou stamping plates. And I was definitely impressed with both of them! Check it out...

The base polish is Cult Nails Iconic, and the stamping is done in Maybelline Bold Gold. The images come from the MoYou plate Doodles 03. I love this plate because it's entirely covered in lots of different circular patterns, so you can use any spot on the plate and get an interesting design. And my squishy stamper is sooooo much better than my old Konad one, I just can't believe it! The images came out almost perfectly!


I have to show you my other fingers too, since each one is different! (Wow, haven't posted my right hand in a while.)

This is definitely one of those manis that I can't stop staring at. Even Mr. ALIQUID noticed it!

Nail fail(?): monochrome stamping decals

Good morning! Today I have what I consider to be a nail fail. I wanted to have another go at making stamping decals. Previously I had tried the method where you let the decal dry on the stamper, the disadvantage of course being that you can only make one at a time (unless you have multiple stampers, I guess). This time I made them on a plastic baggie, starting by putting down some splotches of topcoat and letting them dry, then stamping on top of that.

Here you can see the decals in progress (and one where I screwed up the stamping):

I used a stamp from Winstonia W111, which is a cool sort of art-deco pattern. I stamped with my go-to silver, Julep Harley. Then I decided to fill in the little arches with various shades of sparkly teal: Sally Hansen Jet Set Jade, Julep Valerie, Zoya Zuza and Scofflaw Wraith Pinned to the Mist (I really must swatch this one alone sometime).

So far, so good. The problem came when I went to put the decals on my nails. I just cannot figure out how to prevent them from getting all bubbly and lumpy! The result:

I put on a matte topcoat to try to obscure some of the imperfections, but they are still glaringly obvious to me. I can't help being a perfectionist, I guess.

If someone out there has mastered the art of stamping decals, please share your secrets!!

Today's mani: Gruesome gradient

Happy Hump Day! October is almost over, can you believe it?? I hate how fast time goes by!

Well, you might have noticed that I haven't really gotten into the Halloween spirit as far as my nails go. Halloween just doesn't interest me now that I'm too old to get free candy. Plus, orange doesn't look very good on me. But I figured I should do at least a couple manis before the holiday passes.

Instead of orange, I decided to use a slime green color, which is equally creepy to me! I did a gradient with Essie Shake Your $$ Maker and Revlon Stiletto. When I was done, I decided it needed something more, so I did a little stamp with Winstonia plate W116 and Julep Harley (my go-to stamping silver). What do you think--is it ghastly enough?

I'll probably do one more Halloween mani, since I doubt this one will last until Friday (I'm going to be deep-cleaning our apartment for the next few days). See you then, boys and ghouls!

Today's mani: Sunset gradient

Hi all! Boy, I've been a bad blogger lately, haven't I? The truth is, I've barely done my nails at all lately. I sometimes feel like it's not worth it, because my mani will be ruined by either 1) making nail polish or 2) packing up orders. Yesterday I decided I had to do something because I had a tutoring job to go to. So I threw something together which I'm not 100% happy with.

First I did a gradient using Picture Polish Citrus, L'Oreal Orange You Jealous?, Revlon Passionate Pink and Zoya Audrina. I can't remember the last time I did a 4-color gradient (have I ever??) and it turned out nicely. I just keep forgetting that orange looks better in the bottle than on me!

The stamp is what really annoys me. I first wanted to do a cloud stamp, but after I finished the gradient I realized the stamp I picked wasn't going to work (it stamps the sky, not the clouds themselves). So I switched to this sun stamp (Winstonia plate W111), and of course I didn't manage to center it properly. Bleh. Plus I have shrinkage on my tips.

Today I've been grouchy too (lip balm making is giving me trouble, plus the endless stress of trying to find a job). But I'm going to try to perk up and do my nails more regularly. He Picks My Polish is coming up in a few days, and Mr. ALIQUID already knows what colors he wants!

Today's mani: Beach stamping with China Glaze

Happy Monday! I don't know about where you live, but August has not been very August-like here. It feels more like early June than the middle of summer! To make up for that, I thought I would do a mani that reminds me of the beach.

Last weekend we actually got to visit the beach in our town for the first time since we moved here. It's the oldest public beach in America!

For my mani I started with a base of China Glaze Seahorsin' Around, a bright aqua textured polish with gold sparkles. I added some stamps from the MoYou London Sailor 04 plate using Maybelline Bold Gold. It's a little hard to see the stamps here, but there's a variety of seashells, starfish and other beachy stuff.

The pictures don't do justice to how sparkly Seahorsin' Around is. Definitely recommended if you like more in-your-face textured polishes!


Last but not least, here's Trudy hanging out in bed (she likes to sit there and look out the windows onto the street, just to make sure there are no bad guys hanging around)!

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Two cremes with stamping decal

Hey, what's up? The theme for today's Neverending Pile Challenge is two cremes. I'm running short on untried cremes since I always use cremes for nail art, but I found two that went together perfectly for a nice summery mani!

I started with a base of China Glaze Be More Pacific (a new one!) and made a stamping decal with Revlon Stiletto (the black) and Revlon Optimistic for the accent nail. The cherry stamp comes from an untried plate, Winstonia W118. Last time I did a stamping decal, I put it on after the base color was dry; this time, I did it while it was still wet. It was easier to stick on, but I got hella bubbles under it. So I'm still not sure which way is best for decals!

For my other nails I tried out another untried stamping plate, Cheeky CH22, which is all French tip patterns. I'm not sure how to get the tip even when you can't see the stamp as you apply it...oh well. I really like the way my decal came out!

Total untrieds tried: 57 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

FingerFood's Theme Buffet / Neverending Pile Challenge: Snakeskin stamp from MoYou

Happy Memorial Day! Let's all take a minute today to wish for an end to all violence!

Today I combined two challenges again: FingerFood's Theme Buffet prompt nature and The Neverending Pile Challenge theme untried stamping plate. I bought MoYou's Pro Collection 03 plate a long time ago and somehow never used it! It's full of animal prints, seashells and other outdoorsy things.

I decided to use the snakeskin stamp alongside two untried polishes: Nails Inc. Bruton Mews (a very dark green creme) and Essie Penny Talk, a copper chrome. Penny Talk works great for stamping, as you can see!

I couldn't quite get the stamp to cover the length of my nails (partly due to my stamper--I don't have one of the super squishy ones) but I guess it looks a little grunge that way! I do think this stamp is totally badass. :-D

Total untrieds tried: 48 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate

FingerFood's Theme Buffet #6: Hearts

Hey all! This week's theme for FingerFood's Theme Buffet is, appropriately, hearts! I'm really excited about this mani because I tried making stamping decals for the first time and I was pretty successful at it!

If you haven't heard of stamping decals before, there are several methods, but basically they involve using a regular stamper to make a sheet of clear polish with a stamped pattern on it that you can attach to your nail. They avoid some of the difficulties involved with stamping, like getting the stamp to line up the way you want on your nail. I followed this tutorial from heartNAT!

Here's my mani (I'm using my right hand because this decal came out a little better):

I think it turned out really cute! For my accent nail, I started with a black base (Revlon Stiletto) then created my stamping decal with Winstonia plate W102. Here's a shot of my stamper with the decal drying on it:

I used Julep Harley (the silver) for the stamping itself, then colored in the empty hearts with China Glaze Neon Flying Dragon and Zoya Amy. (It's OK if some of your coloring gets on top of the stamped outline, since this side of the decal will end up face-down on your nail.) Then I added a coat of Zoya Armor and let it dry for an hour. Finally I peeled off the decal (carefully!) with tweezers and stuck it down on my nail--wipe some acetone around the edges of your nail with a brush and that will help the decal stay in place until you topcoat it.

The only trouble I had using the decals was getting them to smooth out completely on my nail, and I got some bubbling. (I wonder if it would be better to stick them to a wet nail instead of a dry one?) It's also a very slow process unless you have multiple stampers available, so unless you're just doing accent nails, you might want to make the decals the day before you do your mani. Definitely give it a try though--the results are worth it!

Don't forget to check out the other lovely manis for this week's theme!

Today's mani: Thanksgiving nails

I finally got a chance to do my nails today! I had to do my Thanksgiving nails since we're traveling tomorrow--hopefully they'll last through Thursday...

I first did a gradient using Deborah Lippmann Just Walk Away Renee and Revlon Stormy Night, then I added some leaf stamps with Revlon Gold Coin. (The stamp patterns are all from Winstonia plate W119.) I really like the look of the gradient; I just wish the smaller leaf patterns had come out more distinctly (I think the problem is that I stamped with a foil polish).

Now I'm in the mood for turkey and cranberries...

I hope all my American readers have a great holiday! I'll be back soon with a giveaway!!


(Pssst...have you stopped by my Etsy shop yet?)

Today's mani: dots and flowers

Today I tried out a mani inspired by one I saw at Waki Laki--she did a dotted background and then stamped on top of it. Here's my attempt!

For the base color I used OPI My Vampire is Buff, and then I added dots using Revlon Eclectic and Essie First Timer, Play Date and Neo Whimsical. Finally I stamped some floral patterns from MoYou Pro 09 using Revlon Stiletto. I love the way the dots show through the stamping!

31-Day Challenge #15: delicate print

When I saw the word "delicate" in today's prompt, I knew I'd be stamping. I ended up choosing this really intricate labyrinthine stamp from Winstonia plate W112.

I wanted some interest in the background, but not so much that it would distract from the stamp. I ended up using a white background (Sinful Colors Snow Me White) and sponged two colors per finger on top:

• index finger: Zoya Sweet and China Glaze Peachy Keen
• middle finger: China Glaze Peachy Keen and Sally Hansen Lightening
• ring finger: Sally Hansen Lightening and Essie First Timer
• pinky: Essie First Timer and Essie Lapiz of Luxury

I used Revlon Stiletto for the stamp.

Check out today's other contributions!

31-Day Challenge #5: blue sea

Recently I got an aquatic-themed stamping plate (MoYou Sailor 04) and I thought the blue nails day would be the perfect time to use it!

The fish are so cute, no?

I did the gradient background with four colors (though you can really only see three):

• L'Oreal Now You Sea Me
• Color Club Endless Summer
• Revlon Plunge Pool
• Revlon Beguile (looks black here, but has a blue-to-purple shimmer)

The stamping was done with Sinful Colors Snow Me White. I finally have a decent white for stamping!

While I was photographing this mani, Trudy tried to butt in on the action.

Check out today's other blue manis!

Today's mani: floral stamps from MoYou

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Recently I bought a few stamping plates from MoYou, because I hardly have any and I want to start doing stamping more. One of the plates, Pro Collection 09, has a bunch of cool floral stamps I wanted to try, so I thought, instead of using one or two, why not use four?

(Smudging due to topcoat, boo!)

I used Orly Coachella Dweller for the base and Revlon Stiletto for the stamps. I like the idea of doing flowers in black, 'cause it's kind of the opposite of what you'd expect! I think the stamp on my index finger is my favorite of these, but there are 14 more on the plate so I need to try more!

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Today's mani: stamping with Essie and Color Club

My second attempt at stamping turned out pretty well! I just love this stamp pattern.

 

The base color is Essie DJ Play That Song, from the new neons collection. (I cranked the color temp way up to get the color accurate for you!) The stamping is done in Color Club Twiggie, using plate W111 from this set. Then I mattified everything with Revlon's matte topcoat. This mani feels very summery to me!

Today's mani: Earth Day!

Monday, April 22 is Earth Day! I thought I'd celebrate by doing a mani (how else?). This one is a bit special because it involves my first attempt at painting freehand nail art, as well as my first go at stamping! Let me know how I did!

(You'll also notice that my nails are much shorter than in my last pics...I had my first break in two months and had to cut them all short. So tragic...)

On my left hand I did a human footprint along with frog, tiger and bird prints. This was to convey the idea that we are just another variety of life on this planet and depend on the environment for our survival.

The base color on this hand is Essie Sand Tropez, over which I sponged L'Oreal Eiffel for You to try to get a sandy effect. The footprints are done with Julep Meryl.

On my other hand I did a seascape with a whale tail and some holographic fish.

The gradient is done with China Glaze Hanging in the Balance and Orly Shockwave. (Boy, my camera never photographs blue correctly! This should look more green-toned.) The whale is Revlon Timeless; the fishies are Color Club Angel Kiss.

And on the (blurry) thumbs:

The stamping is Color Club Angel Kiss and Beyond, using plate W104 from this set.

Hope you like! And if you have some money to spare, please consider donating at www.earthday.org!

All polishes in this post were purchased by me; all opinions are my own.