Mexican Fiesta Nails.

I recently held a fiesta themed housewarming party in my first New York apartment, and I thought the occasion warranted a manicure. I didn't get a good shot of the nails due to party preparations, but after I deemed them Instagram-worthy I thought I'd share them here too.

I was short on time when working on this design so I decided to stamp something, and luckily found a few images that were perfect for the theme. I used the pepper image from BM-06 and the citrus images from BM-04 to create limes.

The polishes I used were Orly Spark, Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime, and a red stamping polish from Born Pretty.

Neon Stud Nails.

Of course, I love studded manicures and I'm especially enjoying this neon version for summer.

I used a bunch of different colors of both round and square studs from Born Pretty over a base of Sally Hansen Hard to Get.

I'll have to think of more ways to use these neon studs before summer ends because it's the perfect easy but bright manicure.

Patriotic Skittle Nails.

I've tried a bunch of different designs for the 4th of July in the past, so deciding on something different to do this year took a little extra time. I ended up choosing a red, white, blue and silver holographic theme. Any excuse for a glitter and holographic-ness. 

The polishes I used were China Glaze First Mate, Mary Kay Radiant Red, Sally Hansen Hard to Get, and LA Colors Star Light.

The holographic flakes on the red nail were done with nail foils from Born Pretty and the hexagon glitter on my blue nail is my favorite Born Pretty glitter.

If you still need more ideas for your 4th of July mani, here are all my patriotic designs of the past! And hopefully I can manage to share another new red, white, and blue design before the week is over. 

Neon Distressed Nails.

For my last manicure of January I decided to re-use a technique that I tried for the first time in my January 1st post. 

This design actually incorporates a bunch of my favorite techniques and decorations; distressed streaks, water color, studs, glitter, etc. 

Here's the manicure before the streaks were added, I liked this tie-dye version too.

The polishes I used were Sally Hansen Hard To Get, China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, China Glaze Shocking Pink, American Apparel Neon Yellow, Color Club Starry Temptress, and Sephora Formula X Dark Matter. And the studs are these ones from Born Pretty Store.

Hard to believe my month of nail art is over! But there will be more about that in a wrap-up post tomorrow!

Skittle Valentine's Day Nails.

I decided to start early on trying different Valentine's Day manicure ideas. For this design I brought out my stamping plates (something I haven't done in quite a while) and also added some freehanded dots. 

The plates I used were Bundle Monster BM02 (I heart U and the lips), BM03 (the group of 3 hearts), and Born Pretty Store m59 (the bows and the rest of the hearts.)

The polishes I used were Essie Boom Boom Room, China Glaze Rich & Famous, Sally Hansen Hard To Get, Mary Kay Radiant Red, Konad Special White Polish, and a Born Pretty Store red stamping polish.

I wasn't sure how I'd end up feeling about the manicure and combining a bunch of different images from different plates, but I think these turned out vey cute!

Acid Wash Denim Nails.

Acid wash nails are something I did when I first got into nail art but have never done for a blog manicure, so I thought I'd give it a shot again. 

The polishes I used are Sally Hansen Hard To Get (my favorite white at the moment) and China Glaze First Mate.

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. 

Lady Bug Nails.

It's been a while since I've thought of a new animal manicure to try, but for today's manicure I ended up deciding on lady bugs. 

Of course I wanted my lady bugs to be a little extra fun so I chose to start with a glittery base, two coats of Sephora Formula X Atom + Eve over Bellisimo Calgary Flame. The black and white I used were my current favorites, Sally Hansen Hard To Get and Sephora Formula X Dark Matter. 

Dotted Swirl Nails.

For today's manicure I decided to do swirls, something I haven't done in a long time but always love. To mix it up a little and keep these from just looking like mints I decided to add some dots. 

The green I used is an acrylic paint (acrylic paints are the best for this kind of design) and the polishes I used are Sally Hansen Hard to Get and Nails Inc. South Kensington.

Spiral Tie-Dye Nails.

I've done a fair number of tie-dye inspired manicures in the past, using a few different techniques. Today I was inspired by tie-dye again (this manicure in particular) but attempted a more literal translation of tie-dye than my past designs.

The polishes I used to create my design were Sally Hansen Hard To Get, Sephora Formula X Dark Matter, Nails Inc. Baker Street, and Nails Inc. St. Martin's Lane.

Smoke Nails.

Today's manicure was inspired by this smoke design. I don't think mine turned out quite as smoke-like but I still really enjoyed the effect and thought I would share!

The polishes I used are Sephora Formula X Dark Matter and Sally Hansen Hard To Get.

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.

Sparkly Bat Nails.

My nails have been breaking a lot lately, which has led to them being quite short. I don't find short nails as fun to work on, but thankfully I do find Halloween to be very inspiring for nail art. Which means I've actually been doing designs more lately. 

For today's manicure I broke out one of the glitter polishes I bought when I loved them. ( I mostly stick with cream finishes now.) In order to update it a bit I decided to stamp bats overtop for Halloween. 

For the base of the manicure I used Icing's Force of Love over a coat of Wet n Wild Black Creme for opacity. Force of Love is supposed to be a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe.

The stamp I used was Bundle Monster BM-213, and the polish I used is Sally Hansen Silversweep.

I was happy with how this design turned out, and I think the bats go great with Force of Love. Sadly I didn't get much use out of the manicure because it turns out Force of Love is just one of those glitters that goes on very thick and refuses to dry!

If you're still trying to decide on nails for Halloween, you still have a few days to think up something awesome! If you want any ideas, you can check out some of the designs I've posted in the past or keep waiting because I have a few other appropriate manicures that I'll be sharing soon!

Patriotic Explosion Nails.

Last year one of my 4th of July manicures was a freehanded firework design, this year I decided I wanted to use fireworks as my inspiration again, but take a different route. I decided to do a tape manicure and do the explosion design I've been planning to do for quite a while.

The polishes I used were Mary Kay Radiant Red, Sally Hansen Silver Sweep, and OPI Dating A Royal.

This design takes a bit of patience since there is a lot of waiting for layers to dry completely, but besides that it's pretty easy and I love how it turned out!

Nail Care Discussion.

I recently checked out the messages I've received on my facebook page and answered a few of the questions I've been sent. 

One of the questions I received asked me about my nail care routine and what products I use on my nails, which I thought would be a good question not just to answer for one person, but to share for all my blog readers! 

I have a fairly simple routine when it comes to my nail care, thankfully my nails are naturally pretty strong and grow fairly fast, so I mostly focus on keeping my cuticles looking nice. 

When I thought about the products I use on my nails, three of the ones I came up with were cuticle products. No matter how nicely your nails are painted, bad cuticles can totally ruin a manicure.

The first product I use is Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. I used Orly Cutique for a while, which is a stain and cuticle remover, but I like this one better. I'd say I use this once every week or to (and I almost always break it out before doing someone else's nails!) I just put it on my nails, wait around thirty seconds and then push my cuticles back with an orange stick and they look so much nicer right away.

The next product is Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream. This has a really nice lemon scent, and I like to keep it in my purse to put on whenever I notice my nails getting a little dry. It's the perfect size for taking around with you, and it works great.

The last cuticle related product is cuticle oil. This is critical in my nail care! I'm currently working on a giant bottle of it that I got at Sally's Beauty Supply, but I've liked all the ones I've tried about equally. I always put cuticle oil on when I'm completely done with a manicure. I usually clean my nails up with acetone, which of course is terribly drying, and it's very important to counteract that.

The only other product I have to talk about is Seche Retain. You hear a lot about Seche Vite topcoat (which I also love) but I never hear too much about their other products. This is a basecoat and treatment that promises to help keep your nails strong and durable. I often don't use a base when I'm doing nail art, but when I do use a basecoat, it is always this. I can actually notice a different in my nails when I use it, enough so to make my repurchase it multiple times!

Those are all the products I'm using to keep my nails looking and feeling healthy. I did take biotin for three or four months, but I stopped a couple of months ago and haven't decided if I'll start it up again. I had trouble deciding just how much of a difference it made in my nails, and I don't think they feel any weaker now that I've stopped taking it. You can read about what kind of biotin I took and what I thought while I was taking it here and here.

What are the most important products you use to keep your nails healthy?

Tie-Dye Present Nails.

One of my favorite ways to make stamping more fun is by throwing in a little tie-dye, which I posted a tutorial for here. 

For today's manicure I chose the present image from the BM-205 plate and stamped using Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime and Brisk Blue, as well as the Born Pretty Store blue stamping polish. The white I used is Milani White on the Spot.

I hadn't used this technique in a while, and I'll have to keep it in mind because I really like it!

Green Converse Nails.

I did these converse nails a few months ago and just rediscovered them on my computer. I ended up posting a different manicure when I did these, but I decided they're still cute enough for a post!

The base color is OPI Don't Mess With OPI and the other colors are Sally Hansen Whirlwind White, Sally Hansen Silver Sweep, and Wet n Wild Black Creme.

Purple Spider Nails.

I loved this manicure when I saw it last year and I knew I'd have to do it for myself when Halloween finally came around again! 

The base color is Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, a polish I've been waiting to use for about as long as I've been waiting to try this design! The spiders are from the BM-13 plate and I stamped with Sally Hansen Silver Sweet. I finished things off with purple rhinestones from a wheel from Amazon.

The glitter and rhinestone combination make the spiders almost feminine! I love how it turned out.

Warhol Flower Nails.

I saw a manicure inspired by one of Andy Warhol's Flowers paintings over a year ago now, and I finally got around to creating my own version! 

I really love how it turned out. I used Wet n Wild Black Creme for the base color, and the green I created by mixing OPI Who the Shrek Are You? and Sinful Colors Envy. I mixed CND Bicycle Yellow and American Apparel Neon Yellow for the yellow flower. The other flowers are OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries, OPI A Good Mandarin if Hard to Find, and Sally Hansen Lively Lilac.

And here is the painting for comparison!

Holographic Burst Nails.

This manicure was inspired by one I came across on facebook and tracked back to this blog post. I loved the idea of having a little bit of awesome holographic shimmer peaking out from under a creme polish. 

For my design I used Milani Hi-Tech and Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime.