Geometric Christmas Tree Holiday Manicure

Usually, when I'm thinking up ideas for cute themed manicures, I try to avoid just painting a tiny picture of something onto the nail. Instead, I like to come up with creative ways to work something into the shape of the nail so that it comes together as a whole instead of being made up of separate parts (like this and this and this). However, I do paint images onto the nails sometimes, like here and here, because it can also look really adorable.
So, when I wanted to do a manicure with something resembling a Christmas Tree, I decided to give it a geometric feel. I used Nailene's  Perfect Tips and Toes French Polish Guides to create the Christmas Tree Shape on the nail.

After a base coat, I painted one coat of Yves Saint Laurent's Gold polish. Only one coat was needed - this is a very beautiful and buttery polish. At this point, I used one coat of Seche Vite and let the nails dry for 30 minutes so that the stickers wouldn't peel the polish off.

Then, I used the Nailene stickers that were meant for toes (they are straight unlike the guides designed for fingernails) to section off a triangle on the nail.

Then, I painted OPI's Jade is the New Black as the trees.

To finish it off, I carefully peeled of the stickers and added another coat of Seche Vite. I really like the way this one turned out - it's both geometric and modern and the shape of the "trees" also elongates the nails. Plus, the gold and green are great holiday colours and look super luxurious together.

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Crispy Red Apple Mani

For the cutesy mani I used the Forever 21 Glitter I mentioned here as the base. I chose this one because I wanted the background to be neutral-ish so as to not take away from the bright red apples without being beige or grey. I thought tiny sparkles was the way to go. For the red apple I used Essie's Fishnet Stockings which I also used here. It is definitely a great colour for a ripe red apple.

With winter fast approaching, I am trying to embrace the last moments of fall and this delicious fall mani is a big help! Pin It

Roses and Polka Dot Mani

It's official! I absolutely love doing rose manicures. They are super easy to do and end up looking adorable and feminine. I have tried this mani before on my little sister using pastels and a bright pale blue as the background. It ended up looking really cute and bright but I wanted to give this mani a little bit of a mature twist. So, for this one, I used OPI's Barefoot in Barcelona as the base because I was looking for something pretty and soft but a little more neutral. This way, the roses would pop and remain the focus of the mani.

I did tiny black polka dots in the background to create more of a pattern and I think it turned out looking really pretty with the roses on top. For the two-tone roses, I used Essie's Fishnet Stockings and Revlon's Coral Me Wild.

I can't seem to find a good photo of Coral Me Wild but I highly recommend it. It is the perfect bright orangey-pink without being a matte neon (but almost neon - so much fun!). I used my go-to leaf colour (OPI's Jade is the New Black) and finished off with accents using the black skinny brush polish I mentioned here.

I really like how this look turned out and I can't wait to experiment with different coloured roses!

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Juicy Strawberry Nails

Ok - I know it's not technically summer anymore BUT I can't stay away from this adorable summery mani. Plus, it is actually quite beautiful and sunny outside today in Ottawa so I will take what I can get. These strawberries are really easy to do and end up looking absolutely darling. In fact, they were quite popular this weekend at Talk to the Hand at Victoire Boutique.
For the red base, I used Sally Hansen's Insta Dry in Rapid Red.

I used this polish because it is quite opaque with only one coat and, knowing I would be adding details on top, I usually prefer to avoid multiple base coats.
For the seeds and leaves, I used a yellow by Color Club and Jade is the New Black by OPI.

And here is a pic of the manicure with a flash (these little berries are difficult to photograph!).

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Graveyard Hallowe'en Nails

Tonight is the 3rd night of Halloween parties so I decided to switch up my spooky manicure!

Once again, I used Deborah Lippmann as the background colour for 3 of the nails and the tombstone on the ring finger. For the neon orange thumb, I used a bright orange by Colour Club (it doesn't seem to have a name). I picked it up in a pack of brights at Winners (great find!).

Then, I used Essie's Licorice and a tiny paint brush to paint the graveyard silhouettes and the skeleton hand on the thumb.

Lastly, I added a couple strokes of grass to the tombstone with OPI's Jade is the New Black.

And it's complete! Off to another Hallowe'en party....mwah ha ha!

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