"Bunny Nails" Feat: Orly "Flirty"

They're cute hu? I got my idea for my bunny nails from Cute Polish around Easter. If you have never watched any of her videos i'd go check them out because, she has tons of tutorials that are easy to follow and excellent for people who don't feel confident in their nail art skills.

For this mani...
Orly "Flirty"
Wet n' Wild "French White"
China Glaze "Side Saddle"
Nubar "Oh Baby Pink"

Orly "Flirty" Happy Go Lucky 2011
I will never stop loving this polish. It was one of the firsts in my polish obsession and remains to this day to be one of my favorites. "Flirty" is a bight pink creme shimmer polish that dried with an interesting but not awful texture. In fact the texture is quite neat. My only gripe about this polish would be that the formula does have a tendency to be a little thick, but that helps to achieve opacity in two coats, shown above.

Wet n' Wild "French White" Core Wild Shine
Using the brush from French White i created half circles on my ring finger and thumb. With a dotting tool a used a generous amount to create the ears by dragging down a dollop into the half circle. This step can be rather intimidating, but if you practice on a nail wheel or even paper first you will be able to do this with confidence. Just remember to take your time. Also make sure you are using an opaque white. Sheer whites will only become troublesome.

China Glaze "Side Saddle" Rodeo Diva 2008
Nubar "Oh Baby Pink" Hypnotic Valentine 2010
With a dotting tool i used "Side Saddle" a dark shimmer brown for two large dots to begin my eyes. With a smaller dotting tool i made a small oval for the nose and filled in the ears.

Wet n' Wild "French White" Core Wild Shine
Again with the French White and my dotting tools. I used a medium dotting tool for the eyes. I continued with a larger dotting tool and gobs of polish to create my dripping mani on the rest of my nails. I achieved this by placing a series of dots where i wanted the drips to end and continued by filling in the empty spaces by dragging around the polish with my dotting tool. I was sure to be generous in the process to ensure i didn't snag on my layer of "Flirty."

I finished with a top coat. This was such a simple design that i positively loved. It does take a bit of time and patience but i do think the end product it worth it.

Penguin Party

OMFG, i have been so freeking lazy about my blog lately. And the reason for this is because i have also been very lazy with my nails as of late. So really, you have not been missing much. I have a few simple manis and a holo swatch from Secret Santa, but over all, not much nail action these past weeks. But today i am back, with my super cute penguin mani. I wasn't to into doing themed nails for any other holiday up until now. Christmas just has to many too cute ideas for nail art/designs. This post will be a step by step and will walk you through the basic method used to create this winter wonderland. :)

For the base....

Nubar "Baby Blue"

China Glaze "Shower Together"

China Glaze "Blue Iguana"

China Glaze "Frostbite"

Milani "Diamond Dazzle"

Foundation Sponge

I began with two coats of Nubar's "Baby Blue" Since i wanted the lightest color at the top of my gradient it had to be the base. Despite how crappy and thin the formula is on this polish it didn't matter much for this particular mani because most of it will be covered by the other blues once sponged on.

With a quarter of a foundation sponge i lightly sponged on China Glaze "Shower Together" this is my next darkest shade of blue closest to "Baby Blue." Do not cover all the Baby Blue. Leave the tops near the cuticle and spots neat the edge alone. Use the sponge to blend out the color by dragging it lightly. Don't worry to much about blending because the sparkle used later will help mesh together the blues.

My next color used was China Glaze "Blue Iguana." This was not so much of a color change but added a little tint and sparkle. I tried not to overwhelm the previous two color by only using a small amount, bringing it more to the tip and occasionally up to the top in a light spongy manner. Again, use your sponge to slightly blend together the colors.

With a much darker blue, China Glaze "Frostbite", I sponged on the rest of my gradient to the tips. Only a tiny amount of this blue was needed because it was so bold and so much darker then the other colors used. Your color layers do not have to be perfect or straight, just good enough for who it's for.

Finally, a coat of Milani "Diamond Dazzle" a clear glitter coat was used over my gradient to bring all the blues together. I only used one coat because i didn't want to much glitter. If you don't own any of these colors just find four different shades of blue, organize them lightest to darkest and use those for the gradient. To replace "Diamond Dazzle" you'll want to choose a glitter that does not come out lumpy. "Diamond Dazzle" is a very fine micro glitter which will leave you a smooth surface for your penguins.

For the penguins and snow...

OPI "I Only Date Warewolves"

Pure Ice "Super Star"

Prisma "Unknown Orange"

Dotting Tools

Tiny Paint Brush

Now you may be intimidated by the penguins, but they are very simple. Begin with your black. You can make a simple penguin shape with a normal nail polish brush. The first shape will be a skinny penguin but you can make him wider by adding more black. Very Carefully.

With Pure Ice "Super Star" you will make a similar penguin shape for the belly. Start your belly a little more then half way down from the top. Don't make your belly to large, or your penguin will look funny.

Also while you have your white out, make two white dots for the eyes with your dotting tool.

With a smaller dotting tool make two tiny black dots inside the white dots. Where you place the black dots will determine your penguin's expression, be careful not to make him too lopy.

With a small paint brush use an orange to create a small triangle for the beak, and two blobs for the feet

Again with the dotting tool and "Super Star" i made verious tiny white dots to create my snow above my penguin. Don't over load on the snow, you'll regret it.

Again with my tiny paint brush i made my snow flakes. Started with three radial white line from the corner of my nail. Then make wide "v" shapes toward the tips of the lines. Make your lines longer as needed.

Finish with a clear coat.

Break the Ice

In the spirit of the freezing cold, and the exciting addition of Snow Globe to my collection, i wanted to do an icy like mani. I thought a light blue would be perfect for the theme. Although some one also said it reminds her of the ocean. I still feel like its far more ice like.

For this mani i used....

Color Club "New Bohemian"

Color Club "Lumin-Icent"

Nubar "Baby Blue"

China Glaze "Snow Globe"

My Broken Nail in Baby Pink

Some of you may have already seen my broken nail and i know many of you may prefer not to see it again. It's not gory, but it sure dose strike a heart string. My ring finger nail got a crack in it, and the rest of it got torn off when it got caught in my hair in the shower. I was sad. I had tried to hang on to it for a while. but it just wasn't meant to be. However, i'm happy to say that the nail is already growing back and is hopefully on it's way to a quick recovery. My right hand looks like such the misfit compared to the perfect nails on my left.

As you can see, this was quite the loss. The entire nail did not come off all the way through the break. On the right it peeled off a layer so none of the finger under my nail was exposed. Thank goodness.