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!

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!

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!

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. 

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.

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,

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.

Golden V-Gap Nails.

Gold and black is my perfect manicure color combination because it coordinates perfectly with all my outfits and jewelry. 

I especially like the simplicity of this design and the pop of gold glitter at the base of the nails! 

The polishes I used were Wet n Wild Black Creme and Sephora Formula X Bond, Ionic Bond (my new favorite glitter!)

Dandelion Nails.

Way back before I started blogging about nail art I was inspired by this manicure to do dandelion nails. And when I was looking through some old photos I thought it would be a fun design to revisit and be able to share here! 

The base color I decided on was OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam! and the other polishes are Sephora Formula X Dark Matter and Wet n Wild French White Creme.

Butter London Patent-Gel Review.

For the most part I'm very loyal to my Seche Vite top and basecoats. However, when I received the Butter London Paten-Gel Flawless top and basecoats I was very curious about how comparable to a gel manicure they could be. 

I usually don't keep a manicure on for more than a few days, making the long lasting aspect of a gel manicure unnecessary. But I decided to but these to the test during a week where I wanted my manicure to last through finals, Christmas shopping, and traveling home for the holidays. 

I gave the topcoat and basecoat an extra hard test by using them with all glitter polishes, which of course tend to chip very quickly. And I'm happy to say that after my week with this manicure my nail polish has worn a little bit at the tips and suffered very minimal chipping.

I wouldn't say it's quite like a gel manicure (although I've never had one myself) since they did chip a little, but I'll definitely be using these more in the future.

I also tried out a few new polishes (and polish brands that are new to me) for this manicure. I used Mr. Positivity and Atom + Eve from the Sephora Formula X collection and Jenna Hipp Flair Your Affair. I loved these polishes and they made for the perfect holiday manicure.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Lightning Storm Nails.

I recently saw a photo of someone with a great stormy design on their nails, and I knew I had to try something similar. 

I used Wet n Wild Black Creme as the base and sponged on Revlon Blue Lagoon, Revlon Plum Seduction, Sally Hansen Brisk Blue, and Sephora Cassis. Then I used a dotting tool and acrylic paint to add the lightning.

Boysenberry Paisley Nails.

When I decided I wanted to do paisley nails, I immediately knew what would make for the perfect inspiration.

I used the Vera Bradley sticky note set in Boysenberry. I've been looking at it a lot lately since I've been using the long list sticky notes to jot down manicure ideas, and it was hard not to be inspired.

I really liked the color combination in my inspiration so I tried to stay true to that. The base color is OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries and the other polishes I used are Essence Just Rock It!, China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle, Sephora Myrtille, and Wet n Wild French White Creme.