Dusty Negative Space Nails.

The negative space trend in nail art is one it took me a little while to warm up to. As someone who has nails that haven't been without nail polish for more than a few hours in years , I can't say they're perfectly white. 

But after seeing so many cute negative space designs, I realized there were plenty of options for me even if the tips of my nails are a little stained. 

For my first attempt I decided to do a negative space version of this manicure, I used OPI Steady as She Rose to create a half moon and french tip on each of my nails and left the center unpolished.

I ended up being very happy to have tried out this trend and definitely think you'll be seeing more negative space designs from me in the future!

Summer Leopard Nails.

You really can't go wrong with a leopard + gradient combination, and when you throw in a few bright colors it's really the perfect design for summer. 

For this manicure I used  Sephora Formula X Dark Matter, China Glaze Spontaneous, OPI Ogre the Top Blue, and OPI Who The Shrek Are You.

Veronica Mars Nails.

After seven years of waiting, the Veronica Mars movie is coming out this week! Veronica Mars is one of my favorite shows ever, and I couldn't be more excited to see the movie. And all that excitement translates to needing matching nail art, I couldn't let the opportunity for a VM manicure pass me by.

I decided to do a design based on the logo for a business within the show, Mars Investigations. The logo was just screaming "turn me into nail art." I used OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, Formula X Dark Matter, and white acrylic paint to create this design.

And here's the logo so you can compare!

Born Pretty Cat Water Decals Review.

This past October I shared my experience with using water decals for the first time. And I ended up loving the manicure I came up with so much that it was one of my favorites of 2013 and I knew I wanted to try more water decals in the future.

And that future is today! This time I went for something that was totally different from what I would normally freehand (as opposed to roses which I did last time), cats.

This is the manicure I came up with. I put the flower and cat decals over a base of OPI Sparrow Me The Drama.

I'll definitely be doing more manicures with these decals in the future, the sheet they came on also had lots of puppies and ducks, and I know I want a dog manicure soon. 

The sheet with all of the decals, which has enough for at least four manicures is $3.99 from Born Pretty Store. And as always, you can use the coupon code BRJ61 to receive 10% off any BPS order!

Mean Candy Heart Nails.

I've been enjoying my break from nail art lately but I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass without doing this manicure! It's a design I've been wanting to do since last year after being inspired by mean spirited candy hears on tumblr.

The polishes I used for this design are Essie First Timer, Orly Pixy Stix, Orly Spark, OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, OPI You're Such A Budapest, and Sephora Formula X Dark Matter.

I thought these turned out very cute and were something a little different from my other Valentine's Day designs!

Ikat Heart Nails.

Ikat hearts were one of multiple designs I posted in my very first blog post. I've always thought it was a design worthy of its very own post, so I decided to do a new version as one of my Valentine's day manicures this year.

I made a few changes for my updated design, this time I stuck with one heart per nail and went with a purple colors scheme. The polishes I used were OPI You're Such A Budapest, OPI Sparrow Me The Drama, OPI Pamplona Purple, and China Glaze VIII.

Purple Border Nails.

Today's manicure is my first attempt at doing a border design. Freehanding clean lines isn't my favorite so I was a little apprehensive to try this out but they turned out better than expected! The polishes I used to create the design are OPI...Eurso, Euro and American Apparel Dynasty. 

I don't know if I'll be freehanding borders all the time in the future, but I do think it's a great way to refresh a solid color manicure that has started to wear at the tips.

Tiny Donut Nails.

When I started today's manicure I planned to do one bigger donut on each nail but I ended up deciding on a bunch of tiny donuts because I thought it would be a tad bit cuter! 

The polishes I used for this manicure were OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, China Glaze For Audrey, Orly Spark, Nails Inc. Sloane Avenue, and Nails Inc. Notting Hill Gate. I also used white acrylic paint.

Vintage Sprinkle Nails.

When I started today's manicure I was testing out a new glitter, Nails Inc. Chester. I originally planned to do more to my nails and create a more complicated design, but I ended up liking the glitter on its own too much. 

I don't have anything else quite like this in my collection, and over top of OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam it reminded me of a fun 80's or 90's pattern, which I totally loved.

Cool Cursive Nails.

I haven't had a ton of practice with doing lettering on nails but I decided to take a stab at a cursive design. I chose one of my favorite four letter words, cool, for my first attempt. 

The polishes I used were Chanel Paradoxal (a favorite I wish I had reason to use more) and OPI My Very First Knockwurst.

Soft Dot Nails.

Today's manicure came about because I've been using a lot of dark polishes lately and wanted to switch it up. 

I decided dots were a good way to go and chose to use a few polishes in softer shades: OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdamn, OPI My Very First Knockwurst, Maybelline Audacious Asphalt, and Sally Hansen Hard To Get. 

Glitter Polka Dot Nails.

A black and white glitter polish has been on my need-to-buy list for a long time now, and I've finally added one to my collection! 

I decided to use the glitter, Maybelline Polka Dots, for the first time over a gradient with OPI Don't Mess With OPI and Nails Inc. Baker Street. 

I can't wait to try the glitter over a few of my favorite neon polishes next time!

Watercolor Triangle Nails.

It has been a while since I've done a manicure using the watercolor technique but it's one of my favorites because you can get so many different looks with it. And today's manicure is one of my favorites that I've done using this technique. 

I started by creating the watercolor design on my nails and then used striping tape to help add black to the sides of my nails, creating the triangle shape. I finished things off by adding rhinestones (which are from an old wheel I purchased on Amazon.)

The polishes I used in this design were Sephora Formula X Dark Matter, Sally Hansen Hard To Get, OPI Don't Mess With OPI, Nails Inc. St. Martin's Place, Nails Inc. Baker Street, and Bellisimo Calgary Flame.

Dotted Corner Nails.

I always enjoy a good dotted manicure and I really enjoyed the color combination in this one. The polishes I used were OPI My Very First Knockwurst, OPI Meet Me On The Star Ferry, China Glaze, VIII, Nails Inc. St. Martin's Lane, and Ciaté Gold Digga. 

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Nails.

I've mentioned before that I think fruit manicures are very cute and fun, so of course when I saw this tutorial for chocolate covered strawberry nails I had to do my own version! I've done strawberry nails before but these designs are quite different so I thought it would still be interesting. 

The polishes I used are Bellisimo Calgary Flame, OPI Don't Mess with OPI, Sephora Formula X Dark Matter, and Essie Very Structured,

Argyle Nails.

An argyle design is something I've wanted to do for a long time but had never even attempted until now. I'm not sure why it took me so long because I think it makes for a cute manicure!

The polishes I used were Nails Inc. South Kensington, Nails Inc. Baker Street, OPI Don't Mess With OPI, and Wet n Wild Black Creme.

Moon Phase Nails.

Moon phase designs have been very popular in fashion lately, and I thought they might translate nicely to nail art. So, of course I had to try it! 

The polishes I used for this design were OPI Lucernetainly Look Marvelous, OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam!, Wet n Wild French White Creme, and Sephora Formula X Dark Matter.

During the manicure process I wasn't sure if I'd end up caring for this manicure but I'm actually very happy with how it turned out. This manicure is a fun way to reinvent your use of half moons and ruffian designs. Plus, it was easy enough to do, I used reinforcements to help with my moon shapes and a sponge and small brush for adding details.

Clothes Hanger Nails.

Today's manicure was inspired by one of my favorite necklaces, a tiny gold hanger necklace. The polishes I used to create this design are OPI Royal Rajah Ruby and Ciaté Gold Digga.

I'm very pleased with how this manicure turned out. It looks cute and random, but I also go to fashion school so I think it's very fitting!

Close-Up Flower Nails.

I always love a good floral design, and today's manicure is no exception. For this design I decided to do just one flower on each nail and do a much more zoomed in design which is something I hadn't tried in the past. 

The polishes I used to create this design were Bellisimo Calgary Flame, OPI My Very First Knockwurst, and China Glaze VIII.

Ruffled Tip Nails.

This manicure is nice and simple, but I thought it looked very cute and sweet. 

The polishes I used were OPI My Very First Knockwurst, Nails Inc. St. Martin's Lane, and China Glaze VIII.