Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Zoya Luna



I got my three free Zoya's today! They're beautiful. I ordered Ivanka, Adina, and Luna. I went with Luna first because it seemed to match the snowy weather.

Luna is a milky, dove grey base packed with silver glitter. This is two coats over a thin coat of silver polish. It went on very smooth, like all other Zoya's I've tried, and dries slightly matte. I topped it of with a coat of Essie's Matte About You, and I LOVE it! I think it looks amazing mattified, very.. robot-y. Like metal. I bought this because I thought it'd look great matte, and I was right! I hope it wears well.

Monday, January 17, 2011

I fight for the users.



I've always enjoyed TRON, and I finally got around to seeing TRON:Legacy tonight. What it lacked for in plot, it made up with insane graphics and quite possibly the best soundtrack EVER. Seriously, it was awesome. Screw what the critics say. I love mindless, pretty entertainment. That being said, I got inspired and threw these together pretty quick when I got home. They're pretty messy, but I need to invest in a new brush, mine's kinda beat.. anyway, I thought they were kinda neat. I went over the blue/orange with glow in the dark polish, so they glow too!

Yeah, I'm a geek. Y'all should know this by now.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Koi nails



I love koi.. I used to have a whole tank full of them. They're so beautiful. I've been wanting to try koi nails, but as you can see, they turned out pretty bad. Ugh. I'll definitely have to try again. I was going to take them off, but I have to run errands tomorrow, and I'm too lazy to redo them. I've been feeling pretty crappy, which I should've taken as a sign.. oh well. You win some, you lose some, right?

I also wanted to thank the people that tagged me for the blog award.. I'll get around to it when I feel better, promise! :)

I will now leave you with this painting I did, that looks far better than my icky nails.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Quick nebula nail art tutorial

I had some people ask about a tutorial for my intergalactic nails, so I threw together a super quick one that should give you a basic idea. I have a terrible camera, so I apologize for the photos, but I hope it helps!



You will need various nail polish(mine are listed in my previous post), a makeup sponge applicator, a small brush or toothpick, and a palette to put the polish on(I used a paper plate).



To start, I chose a dark base. You can use dark blue, black, purple, whatever you want. I chose DS mystery because it has a nice sparkle to it. I did two coats and let it dry completely.



Next, take the sponge and apply a small amount of pale or baby blue, gently dabbing it onto the nail in whatever pattern you want until you get the coverage you desire. Remember to be gentle and keep a light hand.



Over the blue, I applied a spring green using the same dabbing technique.



Over this, I next applied pink/magenta. Experiment with different colors. Purple also works well! I like this pink because it has a faint blue sparkle to it.



Next, I apply a little yellow. It turns a bit orange-ish when applied over the pink, which is fine. Concentrate it in certain areas if you desire to make them brighter.



You can't tell, but I applied a sheer orange shimmer over the yellow/pink areas for a little depth and shine.



Next, I took a darker, more royal blue and dabbed around the edges of the 'nebula'. You can use it to help shape and darken areas in.



After that, I used more of my base color, the dark violet, so do a little more shaping/darkening of certain areas. Just gently dab it around until you're satisfied. I also added in a touch of Orly's Space Cadet on the dark areas, which give a nice additional space-y shimmer.



Last, use a small paintbrush/toothpick/whatever to add some 'stars' randomly. I then add some sheer holo-y glitter to the nail, not all over it, just in random spots. Slap on a topcoat and that's pretty much it!

I did this super fast so I didn't do much shaping, but it gives you the general idea. Have fun and experiment with it! Use different colors, patterns, whatever! It's mostly trial and error. I hope this was a little helpful to some people. :)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Intergalactic nails, take two!



Please click through if you'd like better detail! I left this one pretty big.

I decided to re-do my nebula/galaxy nails, and they turned out pretty good. They were a lot easier to get through this time around. :) I also did both hands this time, though I just did nebulae on my right hand since I was lazy. Not too shabby.

Polishes used:
OPI DS Mystery
Orly, Space Cadet
Sally Hansen, Mint Sprint / Lightening / Blue Blast / White On / Back to the Fuchsia
Nicole by OPI, Loyalty to Royalty
Sinful Colors, Hottie / Cloud 9
Essie, Mint Candy Apple
Pure Ice, Wild Thing