Cheetah'fied!

I was fresh out of ideas for the polish colors I had, and my sister offered her coffee color, so I couldn't resister cheetah print. I mean, who can, right?!

This mani is super easy and doesn't have to be perfect by any stretch. (Speaking of which, you'll have to excuse the polish on my skin...didn't quite get around to cleaning it up yet).

I started out with two coats of this Taupe color from Love & Beauty by Forever21. Not exactly high-quality stuff, but I like to change my nails often so I'm not too worried. Then I mixed the Taupe with a drop of "Bowery Black" by New York Color, and used a blunt yarn sewing needle to dabble on some different sized shapes. They don't by any means have to be perfect dots. I did a lot of double dots to make a longer oval shape, some big, some small. Then once the spots dried, I used the needle again and went around the edges with the Bowery Black, enclosing the darker taupe in black circles and parenthesis-like shapes.

Once it all dried, I went over it with a quick topcoat of Sally Hansen's "Clear'd for Takeoff"!

And voila! Adorable cheetah print :D Consider yourself Cheetah'fied!

Rock On Concert Nails

Super quick post, since I'm about to leave for a concert (Andy Grammer & Gavin DeGraw!) with my sisters and mom! :) Sorry that I don't even have time to post a tutorial, but I just whipped these up and thought I'd share.

For these, all I did was use a sparkly silver polish (a cheap American Eagle polish from the Christmas season...took three coats to get it to be opaque!), and then let it dry. Once those dried, I masked off a line from the bottom corner of my nail up to around where the curve started; I used blue painter's tape and it worked great! Then I used this 3D glitter polish, Nails Inc. Special Effects in "Sloane Square" from Sephora, and painted the tips up to the painter's tape. After about a minute, I peeled off the tape, and got this cool look! I put a clear topcoat over it, and they look fabulous, if I do say so myself :)

Gotta run, though! Feel free to comment, share, etc. But please always link back!

xo

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Update: back from the concert and other festivities of the night! SO awesome. Definitely relived my childhood through Gavin DeGraw haha, especially when he sang "I Don't Wanna Be"--I got so pumped! Andy Grammer decided during his concert to run around the whole auditorium, and he for some reason squeezed through our row (mind you there was about a 12" space between me and the seat in front of me, so he really had to squeeze!) and my sister and I both grabbed his arm as he walked by, and he danced with my aunt! Too darn funny. After the concert we got Gavin DeGraw (who's one of my sister's favorites) to sign my sister's hat and my ticket stub, and he was so sweet! We had to work pretty hard to get autographs, but it was worth the wait :) All in all, an awesome night!

First Mani Monday!

I'm obsessed with very few things in life. I hardly watch TV, so I'm not very up-to-date with celebrities or TV shows or anything. But a few of the things I would consider myself to be a little obsessed with would be music and doing my nails. I can't help myself! My nails just feel naked if there isn't anything on them.

So, for my first "Mani Monday," (not sure how many of these will actually fall on a Monday--I tend to do my nails once or twice a week, whenever I get bored or they start to chip) I'm going to show you how to make your basic French manicure a little more fun :)

First, make sure your nails are clean, and file them beforehand if you need. The first step is going to be the basic French manicure. For this, I used the Nailene French Tip pen. Works really well except for when it's running out haha! Keep in mind for this step that it doesn't have to be perfect, since you'll be covering up the edges with the glitter lines :) I'm usually OCD about how perfect my lines are, but not here. The fourth step also works a lot better if your white lines are straighter, rather than if you follow the natural curve of your nails. It'll make it easier to match the tape up with your lines.

Second, find some regular clear tape and take your glitter (or whatever color you choose) nail polish--I used  Nails Inc. Special Effects in "Sloane Square." Paint one or two coats directly on the tape and let it dry so that you can cut it into strips.

For the third step you're going to need some scissors. It's much easier to work with them if they aren't too big. Start cutting up little strips of the tape. The thickness depends on personal preference. You can also use this technique to create other designs to stick on your nails!

Next, set the tape strip right over the edge of the white tip. Try to get the most edge coverage without having to bend the twist the tape, otherwise you'll have tiny edges popping up that'll make the nail surface less smooth. Once you've got it where you want it, use small scissors or nail clippers to clip off the excess tape!

Voila! Now all you need to do is finish the rest of your fingers and add a clear top coat (or two) to make sure the glitter strip stays on. And you're good to go! :)