17 Challenge: Polka Dots

Good evening everyone!  Like I promised, I have another nail design to share. 

This is another post in the "17 Challenge Series:" PoLka DoTs (for some reason I thought that alternating upper and lower case letters would look like polka dots...)

The base color is Strawberry Margarita by OPI and the dots are made by using NYC Lexington Yellow (shown in the picture above) and a distorted bobby pin.  Of course Seche base and top coats were used.  

I also use OPI Chip Skip, but I'm not quite sure if that actually makes a difference.  That'd be a great future post, an experiment to see if it actually makes your nails skip chips.  I'll keep that on the back burner for ideas.  I'll even start a draft so that I don't forget. 

The pamphlet that had the suggested 17 designs showed the polka dots as just scattered around each nail, but since I didn't really want that many polka dots, I decided to just do two lines of polka dots that "take a journey" across the width of each nail.  I tried to connect the lines from nail to nail, but it was kinda hard to line them up.  This was the best I could do.

The Strawberry Margarita was just a mini OPI nail polish.
\My hand isn't gigantic, if that's what you thought.

Overall, I think this is an interesting and fun take on the regular polka dots.  And it's so easy too, it's like using a stamp, it's hard to go wrong.  

Stay tuned for more 17 Challenge nail designs, as well as other nail polish posts and my first Influenster post.  If you don't what Influenster is, then I guess you'll just have to come back and read about it.  In the meantime, you can go ahead and vote for your favorite nail polish in the poll on the left and look at previous posts.

Until next time : )

NOTW: Shimmer Gradient

...and I'm back.

Sorry about the very long delay. (So much for having summer to catch up on blog posts).  Every time I even thought about posting a blog, the idea of me typing on a  Sunday afternoon in between doing physics homework over the internet and analyzing rhetorical pieces for English just made me want to take a nap.  

With less than a month till school starts, I am getting back on track, starting with getting my typing skills up and running with nail blog posts.  

This week's notw screams summer.  If you aren't familiar with this color by now, I'll give you a break since it has been over two months.  This is Finger Paints "Drawn to this Shade."  This really is my go to color for all year long.

Sunlight

I just used Seche Clear base coat and two coats of FP for the base color.  Then, I used a torn makeup sponge and Orly Luxe to create the shimmer gradient and smoothed it out with Seche Vite top coat.

A while ago I tried to do this nail effect but failed and ended up just do a sponged shimmer all over the nail.  Click here to view that one!  I managed to keep the shimmer on the upper half to third of the nail, and I really like the way it turned out.

Shade

The red hue it produces in the shaded picture is a little more orange in real life.  However, the following pictures more accurately capture the coral hue of Drawn to this Shade.  I really could have only used one more picture, but the shimmer from Luxe is just so eye catching.

What I am about to say may sound familiar, but I am serious this time.  I have more posts to come, both soon and frequently.  Seriously, I have about 7 or 8 drafts with pictures all ready to go.

Until next time <3

I Went Shopping!!!

So I had a lot of errands I needed to do yesterday.  I had to go to the post office, pick up some stuff from Trader Joes, and return some things at the library.  And even though it was 11:30am, it was so busy.  But since I was over by a Sally's, I figured I might as well just stop on by and see what they have on clearance.


Normally when I go to Sally's they always have nail polish deals like Buy 2 Get 1 Free.  I hadn't heard of any of those for a while and they didn't have any signs up when I went there, so I just decided to go in there and head directly for the clearance rack so I wouldn't spend too much money.


The only thing I don't like about the clearance section at Sally's is the fact that it makes me second guess myself.  For example, I find a polish that I think looks really cute and I think about getting it.  But then all of a sudden I start to wonder why it's on clearance.  I mean, did they put it on clearance because it was so ugly and nobody would pay full price for it?  That sounds plausible, right?


However, I have managed to convince myself that the only reason why those polishes are over there is because people bought the polish so quickly, that there was only one or two left.  And of course these polishes are just limited edition, so when they want to refill the section on the nail polish rack, there isn't any more of the color.  So they are forced to remove it and discount it so they can at least put it somewhere.  With that type of thinking, I buy my clearance polishes.

Comment below if you know what I am talking about!!!

Yesterday I managed to trick/convince myself into getting two polishes.  The one of the left is an Orly color.  Have I mentioned how much I love Orly nail polishes?  I really do.  Anyway, this is a taupy grey color. When I saw this I was really excited.  I wanted to get Stiletto from Julie G's collection, but never got around to it.  This one doesn't sparkle like Stiletto does, but the color is pretty close.  It was on sale for $2.69.


The little guy on the right is by Sally Girl and is called Coconut.  This was on sale because it was a featured scented polish that obviously will smell like coconut.  I tried it on real fast when I got home and it actually smells like coconut. They had some other colors, but I figured I'd just get one.  Also, this polish will be able to satisfy my pastel requirements for the 17 challenge (click here to read more about it).  This little thing was only 69 cents.  Yay for deals!


Overall, I got two new nail polishes, and I can't wait to test them out and see what designs I can make with them.

Until next time. . .

17 Challenge: Mix It Up

As I promised, I have the first installment of  the Seventeen Magazine nail challenge I have started for this summer and on.  (Click here to read more about it)

I actually did this nail design last Thursday, but I was busy enjoying my first few days of summer break to post about it, but now that it is the first full week of summer break, I have found some time.

This design was #13: Mix It Up.

The description of these nails was to paint all your nails one color and then do an accent nail on your ring finger.  I normally don't really like to do one nail a completely different color with nothing that ties it into the other nails, so I'm glad this was a challenge because otherwise I would not have tried this.

The colors I used were Finger Paints "Drawn to this Shade" (no surprise here, this is only about the 10th time I've done a post on this color).  But I did use this new color my mother got me a couple of months ago.  It is called "Stranger Tides" from OPI's Pirates of the Carribean collection.  It was only a dollar at this nail store that was going out of business.  

Actual color of the dusty green

I really didn't know when or how I was going to wear this dusty pale green color, but it contrasts nicely with the coral and I have started to really like it.   I used one coat of the coral and two coats of the dusty green because it goes on pretty streaky at first.

I also think that this accent nail is really cool.  My mom and brother, who's home from college, don't really understand why one color is painted differently.  I just tell them "17 Challenge" and they don't bother me anymore.  Lol =]

If OPI is your favorite nail polish brand, just go ahead and vote for it in the poll on the left.  If it is Finger Paints or something else, vote for that one.

I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day...and I'll see you next time for another edition of the 17 challenge (or a random post or something).

Summer's Almost Here

UPDATE: You can now click on the nail designs in the list below to take you to the blog post about it.

I know it has been a while since I posted a nail design, nail tips, or basically anything, but school is finally out, which means that finals are OVER.

This means I will have more time to actually do my nails.  I haven't done them since my last post and they look terrible.  A manicure is definitely needed.  So look forward to more nail tips and designs.

Also, I received the latest issue of Seventeen magazine in the mail and it came with a little packet of 17 different nail ideas.  So what I am planning on doing is trying all 17 ideas by the end of this year.  NOTE: this does not mean that it will be all 17 in a row.  I like to alternate sometimes between plain or simple designs and the more complex and busy designs.  But I will definitely have them all "worn" and posted about by the end of the year.

Here are the 17 nail designs:

1. Stripes
2. Neon
3. Polka Dots
4. Glitter
5. Lace
6. Stars
7. Newspaper Print
8. French Tips
9. Graphic
10. Tie-dye
11. Cute Tattoos
12. Swirls
13. Mix It Up
14. Stickers
15. Pastel
16. Tribal Print
17. Half Moons

As I was typing this list, I realized that I didn't have a lot of the colors or supplies to make these designs, so yesterday I went shopping and found some of the ones that I needed for a couple.  I still have some more nail polishes on my list, but I do have enough for the next two or three designs.  

I started off with one of the rather easy designs: #13 Mix It Up.  Look for that post in the very, very near future =]

Comment below if you have any nail designs that you want me to try!
And don't forget to take the poll to the right of this post on your favorite nail polish brand!

How To: Color Blocking

Good evening everyone!

Tonight I am going to share with you all a how-to post on how I made the color blocked accent nail from my last post: NOTW Perfect Peach.

Oh and FYI, if you are reading this post late Saturday night, look outside.  The moon is the brightest that it has been this year, and probably for a couple of years.  The sky literally looks blueish purple where I live.


So back to nails.

Step 1: Paint your nails a solid white color.  (I had to use white because these colors were very sheer when applied just to the bare nail.)  Then use a black striper to create a bunch of little sections.  

The thing I don't like about this design is that it kind of looks 

like I was trying to make a star and then messed up, 

which I wasn't.  So just be careful that the design looks varied,

like in the first picture.

Step 2:  Fill in one or two spaces with one color.  I just used the tip of a small bobby pin.  Take the nail polish brush out of the bottle and just dip the bobby pin into the brush.  I tried to put dots on paper, but I think dipping the pin directly into the polish is easier.

Step 3: Repeat step 2 until all the spaces are filled.  Be careful not to get any color right next to each other.  Here's a link to the post of the swatches from this color collection along with the names.

In this picture, I have actually two different oranges on.
The space on the top right and the space on the
bottom left is the color I painted the rest of my nails
in the last post.

Here is the pink color.

The red-orange color.

And finally the yellow.

Just take a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover to clean up around the edges.

Overall, I like the way this nail turned out.  If it didn't look so much like a star, I think I would have liked it better.  The funny thing is that I like my accent nail on my left hand.  I'm left handed, so I thought my right hand wouldn't make the design look as pretty since it was my non-dominant hand. But I really like the effect, so I had to include a picture:

This nail design is really simple.  I even think it would look great as a design for all the nails, but I'm just too lazy and impatient to sit through and paint all of them like that.

Comment below if you like the design or if you have any questions.

See you all later <3

P.S.  I did my friend's nails yesterday for tonight's prom.  I wish I had taken a picture because it was this really pretty gold and white water marble with glitter sparkles.  Maybe later on this year I'll do it on my nails and show it to you all.  It was just that pretty.  So look forward about a month or two for that one.  But I will be doing another water marble design either for this upcoming week or the next.  I don't know...with finals and AP exams,  I'll try to find time.  Okay, this really is the end of this post.

NOTW: Perfect Peach

Happy Monday Night!

If you all looked at my post yesterday about my Ulta purchase, you already have a sneak preview for the nails I am about to show you all.  If not, here's a link to yesterday's post, or you can just keep on reading.

Sunlight

I think this type of nail design is called color blocking, but it my version may be different because they sections are not really blocks.  But anyway, I was really excited about this.  Like I said yesterday, I am finally glad I found my perfect orange.  This is Tu-Lip Service by Ulta.  It's a glittery orange-peach that has a little bit of a gold hue to it in some lights and in the bottle.

Shade

For this notw, I have two coats of Tu-Lip Service "wedged"     between Seche Clear (basecoat) and Seche Vite (topcoat).  The color really is pretty opaque, but when the sunlight hits it plus the use of my camera, it does look like the smile line is showing a little on my index and pinky fingers.  But it's hardly noticeable in real life.




I think another really cool thing about this nail polish (well all of the Ulta minis) is that it is the perfect size.  I have always complained about OPI's minis and that they are extremely tiny.  But these cuties are 7ml.  They have the perfect brush as well.  I feel like it's one of the nail polish bottles that allows you to get all the nail color out, and minis are especially hard to do that with.  Not this one.  I mean, if Ulta sold all their polishes this size for like $1.50 or $2.00 my nail polish collection would probably have three times as many nail colors as it does now.

As much as I like the little bottle, this color really is pretty enough for a full bottle.  But until Ulta makes one, I guess it's just me and the little guy for now.

Oh, and lest I forget my accent nail.
I took step by step pictures on how I did it; however, this is already a really long post, and I am kinda tired and still have history work to do, so I will post a tutorial later on this week.

But if you still want more nail polish designs, just check out some of my other posts in the archive section on the right side of my blog.

Here are some more pictures of this week's mani:

Sunlight

Shade

Ulta Skittle Nails

Hey Everyone,

It is Sunday!  Yesterday I got up really early in the morning to drive two hours to perform a three minute song for a state competition.  As tired as I was, I drove all the way back.  But when we got back in the city, my mother and I decided to stop at Oberweis to buy some ice cream.  So anyway, long story short, I decided to stop at Ulta.  I had $3.50 off coupon for a while now and decided to use it.

Here's what I bought:

This is a five pack mini nail polish called "In Bloom."  The colors are exactly what I have been wanting.  I cannot tell you how long I have been looking for a perfect orange.  These are the perfect colors for summer!

Four of the five colors are glitters and one is an opaque orangish-coral.  This colors are  (in left to right): Snap-Dragon Me Down, Voted Most Poppy-ulur, In a Daisy, Tu-lip Service, and Fleur-ever Yours).

All the glitters are pretty sheer, so for my skittles swatch, I decided to layer them over one coat of Opi's Alpine Snow.  I just have a tiny bottle of the white polish, so the white coating underneath the base color is not well done, but I didn't plan to leave this on all day.  Actually I have a new design on now.  So yeah, I apologize for the terrible nail job I did. 

Here is a sneak preview for the nail design I have on my nails now, and what I will be sharing with everyone tomorrow:

"Color Blocking"

Look for tomorrow's post for the full manicure!

Until then, <3

Stirred NOT Shaken

So this is just a quick post to talk about actual nail polish.  I am taking a break from writing a 5 page history paper on the political development of Iran to tell you about this.  So it must really be important.

You know right before you paint your nails and you look at the nail polish bottle and it looks like the colors have separated?  For me it tends to happen with my light purples and blues where the darker hues float to the top, but every nail polish is different. 

Here's an example of a polish that I always have to shake two or three times before I can use it.  It's Orly's Snowcone, and not only does the polish separate really fast, but I spilled the bottle.  That's why it looks really gross on the outside.

Don't you just hate when the happens?

So anyway, what do you do to make the color come back to the original?  The easiest way would be to shake it.

I bet you all have heard this a thousand times, but DON'T SHAKE THE NAIL POLISH BOTTLE. It does actually make a difference.  When you shake the bottle, bubbles form.  Just like if you shook a bottle of water, you are going to produce bubbles.  Albeit the bubbles will not be as noticeable in the bottle, (especially when you paint your nails) but when your nails begin to dry, there will be tiny bubbles.

Sometimes a top coat, like Seche Vite, will take away the bubbles, but they will still look very unappealing.

So how can we prevent this from happening?

1. Use a different nail polish
2. Roll the bottle between your palms if the color is too separated
3. Or, shake the bottle at least 15-20 minutes before you apply (I always shake around the time I use nail polish remover to take off last weeks manicure)

Trust me, you will see a difference.  However, you still might get bubbles if you paint your nails with a fan on high speed.  But, as long as your nail polish is "stirred" and not shaken, you nails should look as smooth as a freshly shaven calf =]

NOTW: Bright, Red, and Sparkly

I am really excited about the polish on my nails for this week.  My last nails were Water Marble, a play of off Gradient, and Ombre nails.  So for this week, I just wanted something bright, sparkly, fun, and girly.   And this is what I came up with: 

Taken on a beautiful April afternoon

The base color is this jelly red by Bon Bon which my parents probably bought for me when I was like 7 (this just proves, nail polishes really don't go bad).  So I don't have a name for it.  But it basically is just your regular red, except I think more pigmented.  And of course I used Seche's base and top coats to start and finish off this nail look.

On top I added one coat of Orly-Shine on Crazy Diamond.  I love this nail effect.  It is so easy to apply.  You don't have to worry about applying the sparkles in a specific way, just paint it on there like a normal nail polish and it surely will look amazing.  

The first picture above was taken when the camera was focused, and that is about the only time you will not see the sparkles in this Orly nail polish not sparkling.  Even indoors, the sparkles will catch some light and will just glisten.  The picture directly above was taken out of focused, but is the best visual representation for how the sparkles look in real life.  Can't you just see how awesome that sparkle looks in the bottle?

I think the best thing about this nail polish was that is was free.  I had one of those Seventeen magazine coupons that allowed me to get a free Orly nail polish from Ulta, but only from a selected assortment.  However, when I went there, the Ulta didn't have the correct options.  So the lady there just gave me this one!  I guess some of the best things in life manicures are free.

Until next time <3

My Glass Nail File

Readers, this is my beautiful glass nail file that use every time I do my nails.

My mother bought this at one of those craft fairs four or five years ago.  (I think it was $3, which compared to the prices now, is not a lot for a file).  At the time, I really wasn't that into nail polish, so I didn't pay any attention to it.  But a couple years ago, my mother suggested I use this for when I shape my nails.  Now it pains me---I literally cringe---every time I don't get to use this nail file. 

Basically, it's your regular glass file.  One side is more gritty (rougher) than the other, but I can't remember which.  I mostly just use the one with the diamonds on them because I can grip it better.    After I take off the previous nail polish, most of the time I wash my hands in warm, soapy water and go straight to filing my nails.  I don't know if that is the healthiest way to do it, but it works for me.  If it's been while since I clipped my nails, then I go ahead and take some clippers and then file.

I haven't been a fan of any other shape than the round nail look.  I did try a squarish shape (for pictures click here!) but it really wasn't even that different.  Almond nails always look cool, but I'm a little to conservative to try that look, so I just stick to basic shape of my cuticle and smile line.

All in all, this is THE BEST file that I have ever used, and I'm sure other glass files will produce the same results.  What is your favorite finger nail file?

P.S.  Connect Four!  This is my fourth post in a row, and I am really excited about that.

P.P.S.  There's a sneak peak of my NOTW for this week in that last photo.  So look for that one tomorrow (if I have any brain power left after I take the ACT).

NOTW: Water Marble

Three days in a row, tic-tac-toe!  Yes, I have posted three days in a row.  What an accomplishment.

  

Anyway, I have a water marble design to share with you all today. 

Water marble in natural sunlight

I wore this on my nails for about two and a half weeks (I didn't have to take it off and certainly didn't have time to repaint them).  I have absolutely found water marbling to be really cool, but never got around to trying it...until now!  Hope you all like the final result!

Here are all the materials I used.  

1. Finger Paints-Drawn to this Shade (you'd think I didn't have any other nail polish since this about my 5th post involving FP, but i just think it's sooo pretty)
2. KISS White Nail Striper
3. (Distorted) bobby pin
4. A cup of SmartWater at room temperature

I'm not all that sure if the "room temperature" part is a huge must.  This was the first time I tried and it worked, but the room I was in was a little cold.  I probably could have drank the water and it wouldn't have tasted too bad, temp rise.  I started off by painting my nails with OPI Chip Skip and Seche Clear base coat followed by one coat of Finger Paints.

Next, I taped off my nail.  I'm sure if you're reading this post, you have already heard about how to tape off your nail for a water marble design.  I just used clear Scotch tape.

This is just a picture of my left index finger after I nudged from attempting to put the tape on my right hand fingers.  So, make sure your base color is completely dry.  It didn't really show up that much in the final result, but I still knew.  And that's what matters, right? 

Here is a picture of alternating coral and white rings in the water.  It spread pretty nicely and the polish was easy to design with. So happy I didn't have to experiment with a whole bunch like I've read about people doing.  Yay for luck!

This was just right after I had applied Seche Vite top coat, so there is still nail polish around my nail bed and on the cuticle left from after I took the tape off.  But, as you can see in the first photo, everything turned out all fine and dandy =]

Until next time (which will hopefully be tomorrow, because then that would make it four in a row *connect four*)

Shopping...ugh

I have never really been a shopper.  I just don't see the fun in it.  To me, when someone says, "hey, do you want to go shopping with me?" all hear is, "hey, do you want to walk around a store for an hour and try and clothes and then leave without buying anything?"

Now I know that's not really what should happen when a person goes shopping, but that's what happens when I do.  Today, my mother sent me to the store today with a giant gift card so that I could buy some new jeans and some shoes (I really do need some new ones, almost all pairs of both have a rip in them).  But all I could do is walk around, look at sale racks, grab things and try them on.  Either none of them fit, or they didn't have my size, or there was just something about them that I didn't like.  I went to THREE stores and didn't find not one thing.

Honestly, I need to get a personal shopper.  It's not like I don't like clothes or I don't have any fashion.  I just feel like it's a waste of time going to the store when there isn't a guarantee that I'll find something.  With a personal shopper, she could just buy everything for me, whatever is the latest style, and it would just appear in my closest, without me having to try it on.

See, that's another thing, I don't like trying to things on.  For example, on Sundays, I get up and put on my church clothes (skirt, blouse, stockings, etc.) and go to church.  But when I come home, I just leave whatever I have on on.  I don't like changing my clothes to get more comfortable unless I'm going to bed. So I'll find myself wearing the same outfit for an entire day just to avoid changing clothes.

I don't know where I got this perspective from.  My mother likes to shop, even my brother goes out to buy some new clothes and shoes.  I guess I spend too much time wondering about my upcoming test or something to actually enjoy the moments when I'm shopping.

But at least I don't have a problem shopping for nail polish, or else this blog would be non-existent.  And we don't want that, do we?

P.S.  If you have any tips on how to make my shopping experience better, please let me know. These jeans and shoes I'm wearing right now don't have but a few more weeks left...

NOTW: Sponged Gold and Berry

Happy Friday.  I think this post managed to make it within three weeks of the last, so I'm getting better.  Lately it's been so busy with school that I really only painted my nails twice in the last two months.  So even if I wanted to post more often, I wouldn't have anything to talk about.

But on a higher note, I am going to be posting more regularly.  I have realized that when I don't have a pretty perfect nail polish on my nails, I begin to pick at it during class and then become distracted.  Yeah, sometimes I get distracted from staring at the pretty nail color a day after I paint them, but it's not as bad as literally picking the color from my nails.  So really look for some more frequent posts, I'm serious this time.

For today's Nails of the Week (that were worn three weeks ago), I have a sponged on nail design.  I started off with two coats of Ulta's Fushiamania.   I then took a makeup sponge and sponged on Orly's Luxe over top.  At first I was going to do sort of a fade going up the nail, but I decided to just sponge the gold on the entire nail.  I actually like my right better, but I took this pictures about 4 days after I painted them, and the right hand had a few chips.

However, the chips obviously weren't that bad since I continued to wear this polish for the rest of that week and the next.  I had two test coming up, a debate for English, two papers to write and a presentation for Physics.  My life is complicated...like everyone else's.

Sorry the picture is so dark.  It almost makes my hands look dead.  But I needed to hurry up and take a picture of my nails before any more chips happened and it wasn't very sunny outside at the time.  The homemade berry color is more vibrant and "poppy" in real life, and the gold glitter on top sparkles more in the sunlight.

SIDENOTE: I actually darkened Fushiamania with a good few pours of black nail polish because it looked too similar to China Glaze's Make an Entrance.  (Click here to see a NOTW of Make an Entrance)

I just cut a triangular piece from a round makeup sponge.

Apply the nail polish directly onto the corner of the
torn makeup sponge for best results.

Overall, this is a pretty fool-proof nail design.  If you are tired of the same plain nails, certainly give this a try.  All you need is a base color, a glitter nail polish, and a old makeup sponge.  I seriously got this one from my mother who bought it about 15 years ago, not even joking.

I promise promise promise that I will post more frequently.  I didn't have school today, so I might even post another nail of the week from last week, or maybe start on some of the "Other Tales" that my blog name suggests I will have.  Guess you'll just have to come back to see what the next post will be.  And yes, that just rhymed =]

NOTW: Stamped Flowers

Well, this is just a typical Kendra post: three weeks late.
Yes, I did this nail design right before my spring break, which was two weeks ago.  I think it was a Friday night and I had not yet decided what to put on my nails for the upcoming week. I then remembered the nail art stamping kit I purchased from Ross and decided to use it.

Here's what I came up with:

I specifically used the Salon Express Nail Kit (yes, the one advertised on T,V, all the time).  Honestly, I would prefer to have Konad or BundleMonster, but this was cheaper and easier to find.  It works pretty well too.  There were just two things that I was a little frustrated about. 1) The tool that you use to remove the excess nail polish scratches the nail plate (as you can see below) and 2) the full prints the nail plate comes with don't cover the entire nail.  I might try and show you something with the full nail designs, but I'm still working on one.

Used old gift card instead of scraper

 I used OPI Cajun Shrimp for the base color.  I am convinced that this is a close dupe for Finger Paints Drawn to this Shade (I have a nail design with that on my nails now, expect that in three weeks too, I guess, lol).  I'll probably do some swatches to show how similar the two are.
The white and black flowers are just polish from my nail stripers.

Flower is the top left one

So what did I learn from this:

1. Cheap nail kit at Ross ($6.95, I think)
2. Don't use the nail scraper provided
3. Don't expect grand results from the cheap
4. DO the white flowers first so that they don't have black residue left from the black flower (unless you want to clean after every use...but I'm just too lazy for that)