Super Girly Neon Geometric Nail Art + Tutorial!

Hey lacqueristas,

Purchased by Me

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!  You guys know generally I don't follow the rules if I did I would never create the things I love when I love them.  What do I mean by that? Well the summer if over and the fall with its PSL drool inducing moments is upon us, BUT whatever.  Its still hot as hell in DC & I felt this neon pink polish calling to me.  Therefore I've got what may be one last hot and sizzling summer nail art before we start the switch up!

Simples: UberChic Beauty Radiating Crescents Gradient Nail Art

Hey lovelies,

Press Sample

Purchased by Me

Happy Hump Day!  It's official I'm really on a roll!  I am really getting a lot of inspiration these days and so the nail art is just coming.  I decided not to film all the nail art I create particularly the more simple mani's.  At some point I may just post up a video of 5-6 easy looks in a compilation.  Today's nail art is super simple while being pretty and bright! It feels perfect for spring or summer & got me a few compliments as well :)

Stained Glass Moroccan Nail Art + Tutorial

Hey lacquer ladies,

Press Sample

Purchased by Me

I've been wanting to do another "watercolor style" mani for a while now.  They do require quite a bit of work but are utterly worth it in terms of how pretty and diffused a wash of color can look over the nail plate.  I haven't really done one of these since I did my Starbucks inspired nails.   This time I decided to keep the colors fairly simple and not do a ton of layering of colors but I love how this looked so simple and pretty with just a hint of sparkle at the high points.  I'd actually been playing with the Moroccan plate from UberChic Beauty for a while and created one other sort of crystalline holo look that I will share as well.  I think I'm slowly getting my mojo back even if my body isn't in full cooperation.

Super Holo Spring Abstract + Tutorial!

Oh chile,

Purchased by Me

Welcome back gotta say I'm feeling this mani today!   If you follow me on Instagram under My Story you would have seen me posting my lightroom edits of these photos.  I have been dying to share this sparkly mama with everyone! So pretty I died 1 million deaths when I finished.  And when it hit the sun *heart eyes mutha-f-er*! Ugh dead dead dead.  This is also my first time sharing nail art using Creative Shop stamping plates.  I got a few in a group buy and have been waiting to take them out for a spin.   In any case I hope you love this sparkly creation that is perfect for spring and just feeling pretty!

Spring Plaid and Floral Nail Art + Tutorial

Hey stamp champs,

Purchased by Me

Who's ready for the spring?  I am!  Trying out new colors and new techniques.  You haven't seen me use the "placement" style plates yet though I own many times of these plates.  Mostly I'm just "in the mood to stamp" these days and so this is the result.  Btw I was so ready for spring.  It's still cold here but my nails are already for spring and I feel the ensuing craving for neons that I always have as the thought of the upcoming summer approaches.

Messy Mansion & Moyra Burnt Paper & Falling Leaves Nail Art

Hi stamperistas

Purchased by Me

Does anyone remember a very very long time ago I created nail art using the Messy Mansion "Love Letters" plate?  No well I do!  I was one of most popular designs.  At that time I think it may have been right when I was just getting into photography and trying to figure out lighting etc.  I've come a long way from there, but that mani remains one of the ones that I wanted to recreate to this day.  However there is no point IMO in recreating nail art if you can't make it better and in this case I used the art I created to enter the Beautometry Next Top Swatcher Contest.  If you have a chance and wouldn't mind please go like my first entry on Instagram and Facebook.

Painted Polish by Lexi PSL Watermarble Nail Art + Tutorial

Yo lacqueristas,

Its past fall and its definitely past the season of PSL's.  I don't care! As I sit here writing this post I'm drinking a pumpkin Blue Moon and thinking fall is the best.  Yeah I know spring is just around the corner flowers and all that jazz, but I'd be happy if pumpkins and all things fall existed year round so I could indulge especially if they are as beautiful as this PSL nail polish from Painted Polish by Lexi!

Scattered Holographic Foil Nail Art + Tutorial

Hey lacqueristas,

You know this has pretty much become a stamping blog after all stamping is my niche and its the kind of nail art I prefer to all others.  However occasionally I will post nail art that doesn't fall into that venue and today is such a day!  I really wanted to use some of the nail foils I bought last year from AliExpress.  I actually purchased them with the intent to do some foil stamping, but I could never find a polish that allowed for a successful transfer and so they have been languishing in the dust ever since lol.  At least that was the case until today ;)

Essie Fall 2015 Collection Watermarble Nail Art + Tutorial!

Happy Monday,

It's a 3 day weekend - yay!  Today I have some seriously heavy hitting fall inspired nail art for you guys.  It has been forever, and I sincerely mean that, since I have done a watermarble.  I haven't even been doing any behind the scenes.  Usually I'll do one every 2 weeks on a normal schedule or sometimes more or less depending on my mood, but seriously none at all recently.  Then when I was at Target I saw it - Essie's Fall 2015 Collection minus one shade.  And just like that I knew a watermarble was coming.

Orly Colorblast Neons & Nudes QGirl Geometric Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

Its been a while since I've posted something neon right? Lol like 5 minutes maybe? Lol ok it hasn't been that long yeah, but when the neons are so juicy how can I possibly resist? Today I'm wearing some of my favorite neon polishes in my collection...the Orly Colorblast polishes I discovered a year ago.  These polishes are VERY VERY pigmented and as such very intense.  For those of you that are looking for alternatives to the Pipe Dream Polish Vegas Collection these may be a great alternative. That's also one reason I decided to create this nail art along with the fact that hello I love neons ;)

Glazed Spring Flowers and Swirls UberChic Beauty Nail Art

Ready for the spring lacqueritas?

Lol yeah not quite, but I'm looking forward to the warm up!  In that spirit I got this little mani going today.  The truth is I wish I could say - "Oh I wanted to create some spring seasonal nail art" when in fact I just really love the combination of nude and lavender.  Plus I really wanted to take my new UberChic Beauty plates out for a test drive since I just reviewed them yesterday.  You can take a look at that review here if you haven't seen it already. Now let's take a look at this nail art ;)

New Year's Eve Holographic Watermarble Nail Art

Hey stamperistas,

Ring a ding ding its almost 2015! Or some jazz like that right? Lol the new year never excites me.  It reminds me of drunken brawls, inappropriate behavior, and mechanical falls with simultaneous lacerations.  Yeah all of that and let me tell you now I'm not talking about my own personal experiences rather those of the people I take care of.  Lol, but New Years does offer me the opportunity to post theme related nail art so of course I gotta love that!

Christmas 2014: Merry Christmas!

Ho ho ho stamp champs,


Merry Christmas for those of you that celebrate and happy holidays to the rest!  I'm keeping in short and sweet today I just wanted to show off my Christmas Day nail art! Another complex one full of layerings upon layerings and loads of advanced stamping.  Not easy nor for the faint of heart but I'm loving how it turned out!

Sweaters, Swirls and Snoopy Winter Nail Art

Hey lacqueritas,

I/m keeping it chill and cool today.  Lol actually I'm keeping it cool and chill for the rest of the year not that there's much of it left.  Anyway I've been wearing these nails for a couple of days now.  A kind of pink on pink swirling winter nail art.  I wouldn't necessarily classify it as Christmas per say just cozy.  Anyhoo here's what I came up with...

Christmas 2014: Candy Canes and Christmas Trees Watermarble Nail Art

Hey lacqueritas,

I'm on a roll with my watermarbles. Lol for whatever reason I'm just really loving them and loving playing around with them.  You guys know I've created watermarbles for Christmas before in fact I'm pretty sure I created a super cute one a year or two ago.  In this case I chose a different red polish and it ended up bleeding into the white polish.  This nearly drove me mad until I realized I kind of liked the effect.  That's when I decided to more a little away from tradition and add a bit of pink to the mix ;)

Born Pretty Store Floral Water Decal Nail Art & Review

Hey stamp champs,

I have some cute nail art for you today!  When Born Pretty Store approached me about reviewing a few of their products I was so flattered.  You all know I'm a huge fan of their recently released stamping plates as well.  And so I wanted to create something appealing and also do their products justice.  I picked out items that I felt were in sync with my own personal style without narrowing the scope too much.  Today I'm going to show you some decals I chose and how I used them to create a look that was still very much in my venue of art.

Halloween 2014: Essie Cute & Girly Halloween Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

I really wish I had more time to put up Halloween nail art.  As it is I'll be lucky if I can get up even a few more, but one thing I always try to do every year is create a Halloween nail art look that is feminine, sweet, and all things girly.  I think I wasn't able to post such a look last year and it fact this may be the first.  I know a lot of ladies always want their nails to look soft and feminine and that can be hard with all the whimsy and scary going on this time of year.  In my case I like all three looks, but will always abstain from gorey Halloween nail art because no matter what I put on my nails I always want them to look at least minimally cute. Lol! I get enough gore in my daytime job so I don't need it on my nails too.  In any case here's the softer look I created for todays post....

Essie Blue Tone Ocean Swirl Watermarble Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

I know it's been a little slow in the stamping department these days.  I actually have tons of mani's to share, but I really needed a break after participating in the MoYou London Rainbow challenge.  I just found myself getting way overstressed and nitpicky regarding my own designs for my liking.  I decided it might be better to take a step back and revisit some nail art techniques that I love and have allowed to get rusty.  So basically I have been doing nothing but watermarbles for the last week and it's been a nice refresher!  This swirl or pinwheel art idea I got from mysimplelittlepleasures.  If you love watermarbles you should definitely check her out! Now onto the art oh and as a bonus I actually created a tutorial to go along with this on my Instagram!

Summer Leopard Gradient Nail Art feat Marianne Nails Stamping Plates

Hey lacqueristas,

It feels like it's been way too long since I've posted any nail art! In the meantime I have been firing off post after post of stamping plates that have been releasing one after the other like a mad woman!  I can think of at least 3 big brands that will have new releases coming in the next 2 weeks and there are still more and more out there! Insanity right?  In any case after posting my review for the Marianne Nails plates, you can read that here, I have been itching to take some of my plates out for a test drive!  So that's what today is all about...

Mani-louge

Basecoat / Topcoat: Duri Rejuvacote / Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat / Essie Matte About You

 Gradient: Zoya Cole and Thandie and Essie Geranium

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas # 1

Stamping plate: Marianne Nails MN13

Accents: 3mm nail art studs from Born Pretty

I took one of the most basic plates of the many I purchased from Marianne Nails and created magic using a technique that I always fall back on for beautiful simplicity - gradients.  I love how a gradient can transform simple nail art into something complex, and of course you know I love leopard print.

The only thing that could make this better is if I played around with the tribal patterns on the same plate. Ahem and of course I did which means I created essentially 2 different manicures just by changing the accent nail. I'm a little mad because right as I was getting ready to take the picture I banged the tip of my accent nail.  Sigh...

What do you think?  I love how this turned out especially the matte formulation! I also got a lot of compliments on this mani particularly the variation with the studs.  You'll be seeing a lot more nail art on the blog using my new Marianne Nails plates, but if you are interested in purchasing these you can find them here for 6.50 Euros.  It's good to be back to stamping it's been way too long even though it's only been a week or so.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...

Cupcakes & Skulls Essie Spring 2014 & Sugar Bubbles Nail Art

Hey lacquer ladies,

It's spring -  woot finally! Despite the snow and cold weather I'm in the mood to celebrate. The felicitations include things like cupcakes, cold Blue Moons laced with orange wedges, and seafood. Does anyone else fantasize about food when the weather changes? Lol I feel like a freak, but I do it every season. At any rate today I have some springy nail art for everyone.  I chose to break out my severely underused Sugar Bubbles plates and two new polishes from Essie's Spring 2014 Collection, and created something slightly different from things I've done in the past.  I hope you like it!

Mani-louge

Basecoat / Topcoat: CND Stickey & Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat

Base Colors: Essie Fashion Playground and Romper Room

Stamping polish: Konad Special Polish in Red, Mundo de Unas, Sally Hansen Instadri in Fast Fuschia and Jade Jump

Stamping Plates: Sugar Bubbles SB009, SB011, and SB013

Accents: Pueen Cosmetics Neon 2mm studs

Fashion Playground is a pale mint green crelly finish polish.  I was surprised to find a crelly hiding out in this collection since Essie hasn't released any in quite a while.  I was able to build it up to opacity in 2 careful coats.  Romper Room is a pale pink creme polish.  I own a lot of Essie pink polishes.  The formula on this one is the similar to all the rest flawless and self leveling.  Opaque in 2 thin coats.  I also used this polish as the color for the frosting on the cupcake.  I had mixed feelings about this pink in terms of it washing my skin tone out a bit, but what do you think?  I also had cracks develop in the frosting.  I'm not sure why that happened but I sort of like the effect...

My Sugar Bubbles plates are going to start getting more of a workout these days!  The quality as I have found in the past is excellent.  The images came out so crisp with effortless transfer.  I will say one problem with being a plate addict is never having enough time to use all the plates I own.  If I had to guesstimate these days I'd say my collection is around 800+ plates (just a bit insane) lol!  In any case I hope you enjoyed this sweet spring mani!  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...