OPI Nicki Minaj Pink Friday: I love the eraser-pinkyness of this polish. I loved its craptastic application a lot less.

So, I figured it was a good time to play with magnets!

Nails Inc. Trafalgar Square: SO.much.fun.

Newspaper Nail Art

Instead of looking through my newspaper for headlining stories on firefighters saving babies from a burning building, I looked for words to put on my nails.

Newspaper Nail Art is one of the easiest things to do. If this were a Nail Art college, this would be in our introductory class.

What you will need:

1)     Newspaper

2)     Light nail color (white, gray, light pink)

3)     Rubbing Alcohol (don’t waste vodka)

4)     Clear Top Coat

The newspaper article I used was on someone who loved baking cakes. Perfect, I love eating cakes!

Step 1: Paint one coat of your light nail color.

I used OPI’s French Quarter For Your Thoughts from their 2011 Fall Collection. Make sure this coat is completely dry before moving on! I made the mistake of thinking it was “almost” dry, proceeded to the next step, and it failed. Miserably.

Step 2: Dip nail in rubbing alcohol for 15-30 seconds.

Step 3: Quickly (!!) put your newspaper over your nail, hold for 15-30 seconds.

I found each nail did something different. Some did not hold, some I had to do longer than 15 seconds. Press your newspaper on your nail really hard, but watch it, don’t hurt yourself! Warning: the fingers you use to press the newspaper will get residue on it, but we will fix that after your nails are done.

Step 4: Repeat on all your nails.

Step 5: Let dry! 10 minutes, minimum

Newspaper ink takes a while to dry onto your light nail color. Be patient.

Step 6: Apply top coat.

If you see your nail color streaking, do not continue! Wait a few more minutes to make sure it’s dry. I cannot stress this enough.

Step 7: Once you're 100% sure your nails are dry, use nail polish remover to get rid of any newspaper ink left on your fingers and around your nails. (or wash your hands, that's how I got rid of mine) *this step isn't necessary, if you some managed to do this without making a mess of your fingers

Your end results will make headliners (see what I did there?). A few of my nails ended up streaking even though I was completely sure they were dry, but they ones that came out were gorgeous. My thumb has the word “love” backwards.

These newspaper nails have a very edgy feel to them. I used a regular top coat for them, but I might use a matte next time. I feel very Debbie Harry with these nails, I like it.

Matte w/ glossy polka dots

I've seen several people (enigmatic rambles) post these cute mani's with matte polish and glossy polka dots. So I decided to give it a try. I haven't gotten to try my new Zoya matte's that Wendy gave me for Christmas so this was the perfect opportunity. I started with a base coat then applied two coats of Savita, then two coats of Veruschka on my accent finger. Let me just state that Zoya's are the only polishes I've been able to use and not paint my whole finger. haha. They're very easy to apply and dry pretty quick.

I was going to attempt to use my stamper and put glossy zebra stripes on them but since it was clear, I couldn't scrape it well. I'll attempt that again another day. So, I settled for my handy dandy dotters. I poured a little Julep fast drying top coat on a cup lid and went to work. It took a little bit of time but the outcome was well worth it. I love them! The purple is a lot more purple in person. I couldn't capture it in the photos, it looks blue.  Sorry for the awkward hand position in that last picture, my phone was doing some crazy stuff. haha

Julep Trina

Waiting for a package to be delivered seems like it takes forever, that package being nail polish seems to take an eternity. Perhaps, I’m dramatic but I could not get Julep’s Maven It-Girl package in my hands fast enough.

The only color I have tested is Trina. The color is a eggplant purple that has hints of dark red shimmer in it. The shimmer was hard to capture in a photo, but I’ll try to get a better one up of it once I go out for the day.

Julep’s Trina reminds me of their version of OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark but with a barely noticeable hint of shimmer. If you’re a fan of OPI’s LPAD, Trina would be a great addition to your collection.

The bottle suggests two coats of Trina, but two coats make it completely opaque and a little darker. One coat would do fine with a nice top coat.

For the top coat, I used Julep’s Fast Drying Topcoat. I think I put it on wrong, but it took a little over ten minutes to dry. (Though, Ashley said hers took 2 minutes). Julep responded quickly on twitter: making sure I shook the nail polish before applying and suggesting running nails under cold water for twenty minutes. Instead, I waited a while and after an hour, they were completely dry. (I will try the cold water trick and the ice cubes in a bowl one day!)

I’m sad that my Holiday glitters have been retired for now, but Julep’s Trina has made me fall back in love with dark nail polish.

Sally Effect: Prep's Cool

Love them! I'm getting better at applying these. No wrinkles this time! haha

Happy 2012 -- Vee's NYE Nails!

Happy 2012! What a bright year to try new fashions, nail colors, and accessories.

While waiting to ring in the New Year, I attended a few parties in the city not wearing a traditional sequence/glittery dress; instead, I wanted all the attention on my glittery nails! As JustOff7thAve.com stated, “the overlooked accessory: nail polish”.

Throughout the night, random strangers were grabbing my hands in awe of how the colors captured the light and their attention. After each lady told me how they wish they could pull off glitter nail polish but could not due to their nail length, I sounded like a broken record: “Anyone can pull it off, it’s the holidays, it’s winter; the only time of the year where you won’t feel like a kindergarten girl for putting pink glitter on your nails!”

Though, I always feel like a five year old girl—but only due to my love for unicorns, pink, and watching Aladdin on repeat—anyone needs to at least try glitter on your nails, regardless of length or age.

For my NYE nails, I did not want to put too many layers of glitter on. I decided to use a few base colors to prevent my glitter nail polish from not drying correctly. Experimenting with glitters can be a pain yet also yield great results.

• Base Color: OPI – French Quarter For Your Thoughts (fyi: my favorite fall color plus the only color straight males actually compliment)
• Top Glitter: Funky Fingers – Sand And Stilettos

• Base Color: Orly – Gumdrop
• Top Glitter: OPI – Gone Gonzo!

• Base Color: OPI – Sparrow Me The Drama
• Top Glitter: OPI – Teenage Dream (yes, from Katy Perry’s 2011 collection and yes, I’m now singing the song in my head)

Nail Style 1: I wanted to do tips of the blue OPI’s Gone Gonzo on Funky Fingers’ Sand And Stilettos. They turned on better than I expected. The blue radiated on top of the silver sparkle. NYE Fail: I didn’t let them dry completely before doing things around the house; thus, smudging off. NO!
Tip: Do a layer, let it dry, then come back an hour later… it’ll save the hassle of having to re-do it.

Nail Style 2: Since I love pink glitter and Katy Perry’s song, using OPI’s Teenage Dream was a given. However, it was lighter than my other colors and didn’t have the “pop” effect I was hoping for. When I put dots of Gone Gonzo on top, it looked ah-may-zing. It seemed I put gems on it. A great combination, but looked like I was going to a baby shower with the blue-pink combination.

Nail Style 3: I simply used Orly’s Gumdrop with OPI’s Gone Gonzo! on top. If you have not noticed, this is my favorite color from the Muppet collection! The aqua blue with the hexagon silver sparkles give a perfection combination. It does not have a base color in the nail polish, it’s clear. This means, it takes more layers to fully cover your nail without noticing your natural nail. Orly’s Gumdrop solved that issue with one coat beneath Gone Gonzo!

I’m glad it’s only January! I don’t like the cold, but being able to use these winter collections make it seem a little better. Try a few glitter colors, don’t be shy. They are harder to take off, but believe me… it’s worth it!