Nails by Vicky: Haul Post

A couple of days ago I went shopping with my best friend Heather, the owner of this blog. I wanted to make a post about the nail related products that I bought. As with any post that I make if you would like to see me use these products in a design, would like a review, or if you have a nail related question I would be happy to answer it!

Now onto the products I bought.

This is a Blackheart nail polish from Hot Topic. I have a couple other nail polishes from Hot Topic and they are actually very nice. I love the packaging too. It works with the Hot Topic brand. Unfortunately, this particular nail polish does not have a name on it and I bought it on clearance so Hot Topic does not carry it anymore. It is a pinkish glitter nail polish. Normally Blackheart nail polish costs $5.

Next is a Duo Nail Polish in White Lie. This was also a clearance product from Hot Topic and is also not carried anymore. It is a combination glittery orange polish and a white nail polish. I really like these duos because it gives you two different shades in one. This normally sells for $6.99.

I am really excited to try this next product out because I have heard very good things about the Essie line. I got the color Good as Gold which is a shimmery gold color. I had been looking for a gold color for my nail polish collection and this polish was the perfect color to add to the collection. I bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store near me but Essie polish normally sells for $8.

Another nail polish brand that I have been wanting to try is Zoya. I am so excited to be able to try out the Zoya Pixie Dust polish in Chyna. It is a nice ruby red color. I also bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store but Zoya polish normally sells for $9.

The last product I bought was from Sephora and is called a nail protector. This product helps keep you from accidentally painting your skin along with your nails. If you follow my posts you will know that I am not the cleanest painter in the world, so I am hoping that this product will help me.

That is everything! Please let me know if there is anything that you would like me to review or make a post about. 

Nails By Vicky: Easter Nails

I am sorry for this late Easter nail post but things got very hectic here at school so I was not able to write up a post until this weekend. This will not be a normal tutorial however I will show you what I used and how I did the nail art for my statement nail. 

This time for my nails I wanted to do a Easter design, so I decided to do Robin's egg nails with my statement nail being a bunny.

(I took this picture right after finishing up so I had not yet had the chance to clean up the edges. Also when I applied the top coat part of the bunnies mouth came off even though I had waited for it to dry. Just be very careful with your nail art and make sure that it is completely dry before applying any kind of top coat.)

For this design I used:

• My normal top coat and base coat
• Illamasqua Speckled Blue (Sephora $16) for the Robin's Egg look

• For the bunny design: I used Blackheart white nail polish (Hot Topic $5)

• To make the nose I used a pink. Specifically ELF Fab Fuchsia (ELF $2) (I believe that this color was discontinued but they have a new color called Flirty Fuchsia which is very similar.)

This was a somewhat more difficult design for me because I had never made a bunny before. However they are very easy to do once you know how. 
To create the bunny:

• Paint a couple of coats of white nail polish.
• Then to make it easier to center everything, using a dotting tool or a thin brush draw a small rectangular nose using the pink. 
• Next, using a nail art pen or nail art polish in black make two dots for the eyes above the nose, two lines on either side of the nose to make the whiskers and make a kind of wave design for the mouth. 

If you have trouble following my directions please look at the picture below (the only difference is that I am making the whole nail white instead of making ears.)

(This picture is from http://www.nailpro.com/category/user-galleries-tag-list/bunny-nail-art)

Again I am so sorry that it took me so long to create this post, but college life has been driving me a little crazy. I will try to create another post about a Relay for Life design for next week if I can.

Nails by Vicky: Saint Patrick's Day Tutorial

Can you believe that St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner! For this tutorial I will be showing how to do a simple rainbow and Leprechaun buckle.

What you will need:

• Base coat and top coat (as always)
• Nail polish in: red, orange, yellow, green, and either blue or purple (Try to use nice bright nail polishes.)
• Gold and black nail art paint
• Thin brush

1. First, use acetone to take off the beautiful nail polish that you applied the last time you did your nails. Then apply one coat of whatever base coat you use.

2. Each nail will have a different color of the rainbow so make sure you do not accidentally paint all of your nails the same color. (I have done this before and it can be a bit annoying to take it off.) To make it easier to remember which color goes on which nail here is a little cheat sheet:

       a. Thumb - red

(Avon Speed Dry Reddy to Go $6)

      b. Pointer - orange

(Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics in Beta from Sephora $10)

      c. Middle - Yellow

(Avon Nailwear Pro in Sunshine $6)

     d. Ring - Green

(ELF Teal Blue $2)

    e. Pinky - Blue or purple (I had to use purple because I do not have blue nail polish. This will change soon.)

(ELF Purple Dream $2)

     (Each of the nail polishes shown are the polishes I used for this tutorial.)

      

     You may have to apply from one coat up to three coats of polish depending on the color you use.

     Once you have finished applying all the different colors allow them to dry COMPLETELY. This is most important for the green nails because this is where the nail art is to be applied. Below is what mine looked like:

3. Now onto the nail art! For this part you will need the gold and black nail art polish and the small brush.

       a. Depending on your nail size, using the black paint a good size line across the width of your nail and allow to dry.

        

       I am using a Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in black to accomplish this. These can be found in drugstores for $8.00.

        b. Next, using the gold, paint a box that goes through the line and onto the green. This is hard to explain so please refer to the picture below or follow this link to a picture tutorial of how to make one: http://pinterest.com/pin/304415256032658159/

          I am using a Nail Candy duo, specifically the gold side. This can be found on amazon.com for $8.00.

        c. For this part you may find it easier to use a small brush to do the design instead of the brush given. The one I used to paint the gold on was from Sephora and it came in a set with a dotting tool for $10. However you can find a set of three different size brushes for $1.60 on amazon.com. 

4. Finally, apply the top coat. Once finished the outcome should look something like this:

Nails by Vicky: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Demo

This demo is for all of those people who have wanted to try Sally Hansen Salon Effects (drugstores), but are not sure how to go about doing them to get the best possible outcome. I will be following the instructions given in the product:

To keep what I tell you and what the instructions tell you separate the instructions will be highlighted like this: instructions. I hope the tips and tricks I give you in this demo help when you decide to try these out!

In the box you receive everything you need to apply the strips: the polish strips themselves, a wooden stick, a small file, and the instructions. Also included in the photo above is a bottle of top coat.

TIP: I was given a tip by another nail art enthusiast who had recently tried the same product and she found that they stayed on longer when you applied a top coat. I can also report that this did in fact work! I would say that they stayed on for a lot longer than the 10 day maximum that they are said to have lasted.

The design I bought was called Peppermint Twist. It is a very versatile pattern! I actually used this pattern for a dance that was very close to Valentine’s Day.

The instructions given start out with the preparation this includes:

            Start with clean, dry nails.

            Push back cuticles with wooden stick.

            Shape free edge of nail with hot pink side of file.

            Gently smooth surface of nails with white side of file.

            Given nails one last swipe of nail color remover to remove any excess dirt & oil. (This step is extremely important as it helps your manicure last longer.) Ensure there is no creamy or oily residue left behind.

            Use warm hands for maximum flexibility and stretch.

There is not much to talk about with these steps however I would like to stress the importance of the fifth step. DON’T FORGET TO DO ONE LAST SWIPE OF NAIL POLISH REMOVER BEFORE APPLYING THE STRIPS! A friend of mine forgot to do this and had a hard time keeping the strips on her nails. It may seem like a very simple and non-important step but it can mean the difference between a perfect nail day and a not so perfect nail day.

After the all-important preparation comes the actual steps for applying the strips.

1. Select best-fitting strip for each nail.

TIP: Select the strip that is just a little bit bigger than your actual nail. This helps the strip apply better to the nail. Also even if when applying you find out that the strip is just a little too big you have the ability to cut off the excess that you do not want with the wooden stick.

2. Remove clear protective plastic cover, then peel nail polish strip from backing paper.

3.Choose the side of the strip that best fits the shape of your cuticles. Break silver tab from strip.

TIP: I have a tip from Heather, the Lipstick Zombie herself! To get more than one use out of the nail strips, you can cut the strips in half. This helps give you both maximum control when placing the strips on your nails and gives you more strips to use the same style twice!

4. Place strip against cuticle line. Hold strip at the center for maximum control.

             Press strip to nail. Gently stretch strip for a perfect fit. Firmly smooth over entire nail.

             Run flat side of cuticle stick along edge of strip to firmly bond strip to nail.

              

         

       

                I found all of these instructions fairly easy to understand and follow. However, the tip they give about stretching the strip confused me and I found no need to do this since the strip was always much longer than my nail. Also the second tip, about running the cuticle stick (wooden stick) along the edge, I found to be extremely important. It definitely helps the strip bond to the nail and if the strip is a little larger than your nail you have the ability at this point to very carefully cut off the excess using the wooden stick. 

      5. Smooth excess over nail edge, forming a crease around the edge of the nail. Gently file away excess from nail edge using light pink side of file.

                TIP: When filing away the excess I found it easier to bend the ending part around my finger so that it surrounded the end of my finger. This allowed me to easily file directly against my nail and it made a clean break.

Repeat steps 2-5 for each nail, applying to thumbs last

To remove strips use nail color remover.

      After applying the top coat (I used Out the Door which can be bought in beauty supply stores or amazon), this is what my nails looked like when finished:

Nails by Vicky: Valentine's Day Nails-Tutorial

For this tutorial I will be describing how to paint polka-dot Valentine's Day nails!

What you will need:

• Whatever base coat you use
• A white nail polish
• At least three different nail polishes in red or pink
• A dotting tool (pictures shown later in tutorial)
• Whatever top coat that you prefer to use

1. First, you want to apply one coat of the base coat. This helps the nail polish adhere better to the nail as well as make a nice even surface so that the nail polish does not show any ridges or bumps.

I use Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat ($6 at drugstores) because it does not take forever to dry which allows me to get started on painting my nails earlier.

2. Once the base coat is dry, apply the first of two coats of white nail polish that you have. Wait until they dry completely.

I am using Hot Topic's Blackheart Beauty polish in white ($5 at Hot Topic).

(Sorry about how messy the nail polish is but I am kind of a messy painter when it comes to my nails. If you are too, don't worry, it comes off easily with nail polish remover, then it looks like a professional has done them!)

3. Now that the two coats of nail polish are dry, use a dotting tool that is of good size to make the dots. To do this, place a large amount of polish on a piece of paper or a paper plate. Then dip the end of the dotting tool that you would like to use and simply dot onto your nail. You can do this in a random pattern (like me) or you can plan exactly where you would like each color.

For the dotting tool, I am using a set from a beauty supply store for $8. If you cannot find them in a store or cannot go to a store, you can easily find this set on amazon.com.

The one I am using is the purple one, more specifically the larger side of the tool.

For this step I am also using the following red and pink nail polishes:

Red Hot ($2 from ELF)

Fab Fuchsia ($2 from ELF)

Light Red ($2 from ELF)

Once you are finished dotting your nails they should look somewhat like this:

4. The last step is to apply the top coat once the dots are dry.

The top coat that I am using is called Out the Door ($5 from beauty supply stores). It dries very fast and has a very nice shine. TIP: If you would like your nails to stay longer, the next day paint another coat of the top coat and paint the tip of your nail.

Below is a picture of the final outcome!

(Unfortunately, my dots ran a little bit when I put on the top coat and this was because I underestimated the drying time. So a lesson to be learned is: wait a while before applying your top coat!)

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I really enjoyed making this tutorial for everyone and I hope you all like it! If you would like me to do a tutorial for a specific kind of nail or have a question about nails, please feel free to leave a comment.  I would be more than happy to answer any and all questions!

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