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!

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Inverse Dotted Flower Nails.

Today's nails were inspired by this manicure. As far as floral designs go, dotted flowers are the way to go when you're looking for something easy that still makes an impact! 

I didn't want my flowers to seem too spring-y so I used China Glaze VIII and Orly Rage.

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!

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.

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. 

Galaxy Glitter Gradient Nails.

For today's manicure I started out with one of my favorite new colors on, Nails Inc. Baker Street, and then decided to spice it up a little with a glitter gradient. 

The glitter I chose to use is one of the Nails Inc. Galaxy polishes, Knightsbridge Road. I was expecting a glitter sort of reminiscent to Milani Gems. This polish is much more sheer and harder to get even and opaque than Gems though. I don't have any similar glitters though so I will still enjoy the added sparkle.

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,

Glitter Tip Nails.

Today's manicure was my first attempt at covering an entire nail or most of a nail with loose glitter. I had never tried it before because I suspected it would be trying on my patience. And although it was worth it to end up with super cute and sparkly nails, my suspicions were definitely accurate. 

To create this manicure I used Nails Inc. St. Martins Lane and my favorite loose glitter, which is from BornPrettyStore.

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.