Instagram mani photodump..

Hey everyone! For lack of anything better to post, I have a bunch of manis I've posted to instragram.. I usually don't post these on my blog for various reasons: they're quick, they're done on the fly when I'm out of town, they aren't watermarked.. etc. But I figured you guys might want to see a few of them, so hey, enjoy!

This one, I actually like a lot.. this was a quick mani I did on the fly before a trip to see my boyfriend. Only my second time using gold leaf.

Simple, neon geometric lines. Sorry about the filter.

First time attempting a reciprocal gradient. Again, sorry about the filter. 

Candy cane nails I did like.. the day of Christmas. Keep on slacking, Lex. 

Pretty lacy half-moons.. also, I'm alive!

Hey! Once again, I'm alive, and sorry for not posting.. life kind of.. got in the way. You know how it goes, I'm sure. I went through a pretty bad nail art rut, sadly. But I'm back! Well, trying to come back, at least.

This was just a little half moon/glittery mani I did a while back. These colors actually go quite well together, I wasn't sure at first, but they grew on me. The glitter never photographs well, but it's very sparkly and eye-catching irl.

Polishes: China Glaze Aquadelic, Essie Haute as Hello, loose gold and hex glitter

Something a little more delicate..

I know it's Halloween, but for some reason.. I didn't feel like doing Halloween nails. Huh. For some reason, I felt like something really girly/delicate. I rarely do sheer, but I like how this looks a lot with my longer nails. I threw the blue swirls on for a little pop of color. Not bad, all in all.

Polishes used: OPI Pirouette My Whistle, cheap white polish thinned out with clear polish, acrylic paint

Simple summery gradient

Pretty self explanatory.. just a simple gradient in some summery colors, with a black border. These really pop IRL, I was surprised by how much I liked them.

Polishes:
China Glaze, Aquadelic/Neon & On & On/Liquid Leather
Sally Hansen, Lightening

You could be the king, but watch the queen conquer..

I'll be blunt.. I've been feeling like a royal bitch this past week(or two). Bad times all around for Lex. I haven't been doing nails much as a result, but I banged these out last night while I was messing around with some CND Shellac. If you're gonna be a bitch, might as well feel like and be the queen bitch..

As a bonus, here's some nails from.. two weeks ago? Before I got all angry and grumpy. Just another simply bow design. Loved the colors, though.

Stripes and bows!

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well. How 'bout this weird summer weather, huh? I don't know about y'all, but it's been pretty weird here in Chicago-land..  so much rain!

Anyway, nails for this weekend! I'm going out with my friends tomorrow, and there's a pinup theme, so I wanted some cute, girly nails. As you can see, I really need to practice sculpting things with acrylic.. lol.

Playing with neon

Hello! I'd say I hope everyone has been enjoying the spring weather, but it's been a liiiiittle out of control lately.. I've got friends still getting snow.. what gives?

Anyway, I was just messing around with some neon color here. Forgive the pics, but we haven't had good sunlight in like two days so I had to make due. This is the longest my natural nails have been in a while.. I've grown pretty find of this shape, I don't know if I could go back to square nails again!

Blinged out candy corn!

Hey guys! I always do candy corn nails in October.. I love candy corn. I know this style of nail art is super popular, but I just loveeee it.

I decided to make it a little different, and added some hexagon glitter in matching colors.. it looks wicked sparkly in real life! Love it.

Loki, starry night, bloody claws.. bunch of different designs!

Hey guys! Bunch of different stuff today. This is all stuff I had in my files I never posted for various reasons.. didn't photograph well, errors on the nail/paint job, etc. You can tell there's flaws, but I still like the designs, so I decided to throw them into one post.

I may wear those claws for halloween.. dunno yet! I really wish those Loki nails hadn't bubbled, either.. they were so pretty. :(

I don't even know what to call these..

Hey guys! Something very simple today.. these are actually a few weeks old, dunno why I never posted them. Anyway! This is a very simple mani with hand-placed glitter and framing. Is that what they call it? I have no idea, I can never keep up with what people call all the trends these days. These were fun, though! Very sparkly in sunlight, hard to capture in pictures sadly.

Next week, I'll be off to Atlanta for Dragon*Con once again! I can't wait.. I really want to do some fun nails this time. Maybe something super crazy.

Hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading! :)

Gradient experimentation

Hey guys! Two simple gradient experiments from this weekend.. the top one was done by layering the polish in stripes on a makeup sponge, while the bottom was done using a brush and diluting the darker color with clear polish to create a gradual gradient(the Madeline Poole technique, I believe). Both give different results, as you can see. The brush technique is more subtle. The makeup sponge technique needed more blending and layering to make it as bright as I wanted it. I like them both! I topped the blue with Zoya Maisie and it looks even better, thought my camera doesn't show it well.

I got lots of compliments on both. I did my mother's nails as well with a triple blue gradient as she said she had people stopping here everywhere to look at her nails, haha.

I'm also happy to announce that this week is my last week of school.. my final exam is today, then I have 3 practicals this week. Thursday, I'm all done and will be certified! After that it's just a matter of passing the state boards and getting my license. Exciting stuff. I want to thank everyone for being so patient and sticking around through my schooling.. I know I haven't updated much at all. You guys are great for all the support and encouragement I've received.

Madeline Poole inspired nails

Hey guys! Something simple today. I've been in love with the framed nail look ever since I saw it on Madeline Poole's blog. I've done it a few times already and I always love it. It's very mod.  I just wish I could get my lines looking as clean as hers.. lol.

Polishes:

Essie, Lilacism

OPI, DS Mystery

My nails are in such a shitty state right now, especially my cuticles, so I apologize for that. School has been hard on them.  Hopefully I can nurse them back to health, but I'm not holding my breath.

Black/neutral tribal-y design

Hi guys! Just something simple for this weekend.. I haven't had a whole lot of time to do nail art. It always gets wrecked at school anyway, so there's not a point to doing my nails much, lol. I'm sorry I haven't been updating much, but I've been busy.

Colors:
Essie, Sand Tropez
Milani, Black Magic

School's been going pretty good.. I started acrylics this week! Already did two full sets and a fill. I'm not half bad at them, apparently. I'm going to learn gels really soon, I think.. I'm getting shoved right in the deep end, haha. Wish me luck! If I stay on schedule I should graduate mid/end of April. So close.. almost too close..

Louboutin inspired nails

Hi guys! Firstly, I'm happy to announce I didn't have to get fake nails put on yet.. whew. It's coming soon, though. Ick. I've been enjoying my natural nails while I still can.

Anyway.. I've been obsessed with the jewel-encrusted Louboutin's ever since I saw them years ago. They are stunning. I thought I'd try to translate them onto nails, but it didn't turn out too great.. bah. I didn't have the right color rhinestones, I'm running out of them. They aren't horrible, but they aren't ideal. I'm still gonna wear them just because I'm lazy. The undersides of my free edge are painted red, too, which is why they look dirty in the pictures, lol.

Polishes used:
Revlon, Royal

Peacock-y pattern

Hello everyone! I'm still alive, don't worry. Been busy with school and such.. it's pretty cool so far. Lots of practicing and stuff to learn, but I'm enjoying it! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.

I haven't really had time or the energy to do my nails, but I decided to try something relatively simple for tonight.  I wanted to practice patterns.. this is modified from a fabric pattern I found online. I thought it looked kinda peacock-y. Not bad considering I haven't been doing much nail art.

Colors:
Sally Hansen, Fairy Teal / Mint Sprint
Nicole by OPI, My Lifesaver / Loyalty to Royalty
China Glaze, Classic Camel

Candy cane tips

Hey guys! Hope those who celebrate it had a nice thanksgiving. I had a pretty exhausting weekend so I didn't do much with my nails, but I decided to give something simple a shot tonight. I've been really into bare nails with a designed tip for some reason.. go figure.  Anyway, this is a little sloppy because I kept coughing and making my lines wobbly, but it's not too bad I guess. Definitely something I'm considering for Christmastime!

Polish:
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
Sally Hansen, Polar Bare / Gilty Pleasure
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Red loose glitter

I start school pretty soon.. December 12th.. eek! I'm super nervous, but I hope it all goes well.

Until next time.. thanks for reading, guys! :)

Swirly-tipped gradient!

Hey guys! Another simple mani today.. just a gradient with some black and white tips. Another halloween-ish option, I suppose. I don't love it, but I don't totally hate it.. it's just one of those days where I'm not happy with anything I do, y'know? Ah well.

Colors: Sinful Colors, Black on Black
Sinful Colors, Cloud 9
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
China Glaze, Peachy Keen
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Sally Hansen, Lightening

I wanted to do something more intricate, but I've been a mess of nerves lately. This weekend I have a meeting with the director of a cosmetology school I'd like to attend for their nail tech course.. I'm pretty nervous. Fingers crossed that I get the info I need and can hopefully afford to attend!

Red half-moons

Nothing too exciting this time, sadly.. just another half-moon mani! I liked the last one a lot so I wanted to try another color. I used Barielle's Elle's Spell this time, and added Essie's Matte About You to make a little different. Not sure if I'll keep it matte or just go back to glossy. Anyway.. I don't use red a lot, but the outfit I'm wearing tomorrow is all black/ivory, so I wanted a pop of color to go with my red lipstick. I feel like this style of mani is going to be my go-to when I'm not feeling inspired, since it's so simple to do.

Embellished half-moons

Hey guys! I was bored so I tried something simple to attempt and get back in the nail art swing. Just some half-moons with a little rhinestone/pearl accent bling. I used Nicole by OPI's My Lifesaver and Sinful Colors Black on Black. It was really easy.. I just laid down My Lifesaver, waited for it to dry, then used those hole reinforcer sticker thingies to block out the moons and laid the black over that.

I'm not entirely sure if I like 'em, since I was never crazy about the half-moon trend, but I figured I might as well give a shot, y'know?

See you guys next time, have a nice weekend! :)

Dot dot dot..

Well, these were my nails for this weekend.. I was feeling super lazy, and dots are always a good plan when you don't wanna do anything, haha.

Polishes:
Sally Hansen, Lightening
Sally Hansen, Yellow Kitty
China Glaze, For Audrey
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White

I layered Yellow Kitty over Lightening since Kitty isn't very opaque.. it's such a pretty, light buttery yellow color, that picture does it no justice. It's one of my favorite yellows.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I'll be undergoing a baking adventure tomorrow since my bf's birthday is on Tuesday.. if it turns out, i'll be sure to post it.