I'm not sure how I neglected to post these up when I did them about a month ago, but here they are. I did an animal print mix using only polishes from the China Glaze On Safari collection. I did a mixture of leopard, giraffe and some colorblocking for this look.
Products used:
If you haven't heard of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, you should check it out. It's an amazing book that almost defies description. It's a complex story basically about a conflict between two magicians, and as hokey as that description may sound, it's worth reading. The imagery in this book is so spellbinding, and since I read the book a few months ago, I've been wanting to do some nails inspired by it. One of the defining things in the book is that the circus and all it's patrons and performers are decorated or clad in only black, white, and red. So of course the nails are in the same colors. In my head, I wanted this manicure to be grand and romantic and sort of magical, and though it fell short of those far-reaching expectations, no manicure was ever going to be as grand and magical, not to mention as romantic, as the book was.
For this manicure I used only CND Shellac (Hollywood, Cream Puff and Black Pool, plus some loose glitter), which was a pain in the arse, to be honest. It was easy, but it was time-consuming, what with all the layers and curing between details. But in the end, it will be worth it because I only wear Shellac when I work on clients so I don't ruin my nails, and I wanted this design to last. All the designs are abstract interpretations of portions of or ideas in the book. The juxtaposition of dark and light, and romance play large parts.
This coming Friday from 12-5pm, you can score not only a Famous Tonique Trilogy blowout or a brow wax for just $12 to celebrate the salon's 12th Anniversary, you can also get a mini-mani by yours truly for $12! I'll be glossing you up with this season's most popular shades all weekend for this special reduced price. In addition, to honor the salon for 12 amazing years of making Morgantown more beautiful, you can also get a full Shellac Power Polish service for only $30. What could be better than that? you may be asking. Well, for this weekend only, you can get a Super Shellac add-on like Rockstar Glitter in your choice of color added to your service for no extra fee! It's a great time to try out Shellac for the first time or to just get your tips into shape for the new school year with a mini-mani. Call Tonique Trilogy at 304-291-4050 to book your slot for a blowout, brow wax and/or mani for this awesome weekend!!
It's been a few weeks since I did much nail art on myself, I've just been so pre-occupied. But I decided to use some of the Zoya Beach colors I got during the recent sale, and since Summer is nearing it's close, I wanted something very summery and fun, but not terribly time consuming. So, here's Pick Up The Party Line, a random mishmash of lines; straight, wavy, spattery, and crisscrossy. Those last two are officially words now ;P A quick note on the nail shape, they finally got long enough to start shaping back into almonds. I had a few breaks over the last couple months and had chopped them down and let them re-grow in squares and I just now got them into this vaguely almond shape. Can't wait till they get a bit longer again!
Products used:
Minx #1 in Technical Tribal - Available at Ulta stores (not available online) - $18 for a full mani/pedi set -
A few weeks ago Minx announced a new at-home applique called Minx #1. Unlike traditional Minx, there is no need for a heat lamp, nor a licensed manicurist to do it for you. As a manicurist, this should probably irk me, but honestly I am not the world's biggest fan of appliques in general and would prefer to do the art myself. Alas, there are just some nail looks that can't be achieved by traditional methods alone, like the quintessential Minx look: chrome. There are chrome polishes galore, but none come close to the mirror-shine of Minx. That said, I really only like these for a short-wear look; a Friday night out and the lazy weekend to follow. The original Minx is no more a long-wear product than their new at-home invention.
Traditional salon Minx needs intense heat to "shrink-wrap" the nails. This product just needs to be stuck on, smoothed out and the excess filed of. The price is a steal considering that salon Minx will cost you north of $45 to be applied, and in this package you get enough for both a manicure and pedicure.
The designs are just as cool as salon Minx, but they're all new, and there will be new designs launched quarterly, according to the company.
This design was from last month before the move that destroyed my nails. Grrrrrr. I think that I'm going to try to get them back to this shape and length, but due to a few splits, it may take me a while. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! Anyhow, this design was based on an editorial nail I saw in Nail Pro Magazine, and it was by CND. I added and embellished a little more and changed the colors, but the design reminded me of a rising sun, so I went with it.
Products used:
To celebrate the grand opening of Beautopia Nails' new Etsy shop, I'm doing a giveaway! Two people will each win a set of custom hand-painted nails. The winners can choose any design on my site or in my shop and they'll be made to order. There are a couple ways to win and you can enter daily if you so desire. I'm trying out Rafflecopter for the first time because putting in names in to the randomizer is pretty time consuming. And this way you can enter multiple times without causing me to pull my hair out and wish fervently for death! :D WIN! The contest will start today and will run until Friday, April 27th and the winners will be chosen and contacted the following day. Good luck!!!
I'm doing a second giveaway on Tumblr if you'd like another chance to win, reblog the post on tumblr:D
Even if you don't win, please check out my shop and if you find something you like, or would like to order a custom set of your own, use the code BEAUTOPIA10 for 10% off your first purchase!
PS: I've never used Rafflecopter before, so if there are any issues, please let me know!!
I know I haven't posted in a few days, but I have a good excuse! I've been working feverishly creating nail sets for my new Etsy shop! I'm so excited and I hope that people actually buy them. It would be a real bummer if they didn't because I feel so proud of the work. I'm really enjoying making the sets. It's a bit of work, and I feel like I've been doing nothing else but I really, really love doing it. I have 15 items already up in the shop, two of which are just custom listings. I am going to give myself a much-deserved night off and go over and have a picnic with my hubby and kiddo at my mom's tonight, though I do plan to give her a mani-pedi. So it's there will still be nails and painting involved, but I will love the instant reward of doing an actual person's nails after a week of painting disembodied plastic.
Also, you may have notice I changed my masthead thingy. I did that to match my new business cards and also the packaging for the nail sets that I have on order. Just doing a little sprucing up around my little piece of the interwebz as I take this little step in another direction. thanks for reading !!!!
Here's a link to my shop, please let me know what you think!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/beautopianails
I liked the other day's watercolor nails a lot, so I used a similar technique for this design. I started out with a nude base color, then used three different polishes to make the "dip-dye" look. I put a dab of each color and used a brush and some acetone to wash it out in a line up the nail. Once I had all the colors in, I used a brush with some black polish to make some random zigzags. I wanted them to be somewhat haphazard, because I wanted it to have a sort of distressed look. It reminds me of this batik sarong I used to have, and I like it!
Products used:
Click to Join - Referral Link
Code - FREEBOX
to get your first month free
