It's Still Snowing but on Someone Else's Fingers

I visited one of my best friends from university and got to spend time with her and her fabulous kids. They are three and five and some of the best behaved children I've ever met! The next couple of days I'm going to have posts that feature her and her daughter.

Today's nail art is on my friend Carrie's nails. I had to shake my finger a bit at her and give her a bit of a lecture on keeping her cuticles healthy! She is a biologist and a lot of her time is spent digging around in dirt so I gotta give her a bit of leeway I guess ;) but girlfriend could benefit from some cuticle oil!

My favourite thing this season seems to be snow so I had to do a similar design to what I did on Kaycie's nails, just in a different colour.

I started with a gradient using Natural Collections Lunar Haze and Essie The Lace is On. I then added a layer of glitter over the top of the gradient and a Color Club glitter on the accent finger.

I then used a white nail pen and drew on the snowflakes.

I really love this design and think it's so festive and beautiful! I haven't done it on my own nails yet though but I'm sure I'll be rocking it out soon :)

Happy painting friends!

What Says Christmas More than Green and Red?

Today I have used China Glaze Outta Bounds and OPI Magazine Cover Mouse to do a stripe design. I was going to incorporate some gold as well but it didn't really work out.

I think it's such a Christmas combination! It reminds me of gift wrap.

The only thing I wish is that my lines were a bit more even; it would make the look cleaner. But overall I think this is a simple (ish) Christmas design. I like the contrast of the shiny green and textured red as well.

Happy painting friends!

These are a Few of My Favourite Things

I thought I would do a post focused on the things I'm really digging at the moment. I've been blogging for a little less than three months now and I feel like I've learned a ton about nail art and polish. Some of my friends were asking me about what polishes I like and wanted me to do a post on it. Ask and ye shall receive!

Here are my favourite nail polishes/brands:

1. Sally Hansen

I think that Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear is the best polish at a lower price point (you can get it for less than $2 a bottle at Target in Canada). It usually only takes 2 coats to get even coverage and comes in a variety of really beautiful shades. If you want to get some polish, but don't want to invest a lot of money, this is your best bet.

2. China Glaze

China Glaze is also a great polish for a reasonable price. I usually buy mine at Winners and you can get it for around $5-$6 a bottle. Again, they have great colours and I find the formula really great to work with.

3. Zoya

If you've been reading my blog for the last little bit, you know how absolutely over the moon I am about Zoya. Unfortunately at the time of writing this I only have six polishes! I can't wait to get more but the ones I have are absolutely wonderful. The colours are stunning and they all apply like an absolute dream.. I can't say enough about these polishes!
You can only buy these online or in select salons. I don't know of any salons in my local area so I have to get them online (Nail Polish Canada) but you can search for local distributors on zoya.com.

4. Orly

Orly is another polish that I seek out at Winners. I like to get the mini bottles and you can usually get 5 for $10 there. Most of the polishes I have from this are wonderful. Some of them can be a bit on the thinner side so you'd have to layer them a bit more (3-4 coats) but generally I find them great.

5. Essie

Essie is one of the first brands that I really got hooked on. I have quite a few of them and have bought the majority of them at Winners. They retail in regular drugstores (around my parts) for close to $10 but I have found them in the States in Walmart for $7. The colours are generally very pigmented and go on nicely.. I love working with these polishes!

So these are my favourites at the mo'. I have many different brands of polish but these are the ones I find myself reaching for again and again.

I hope this helped. If you ever have any questions about a polish or a brand I use, please feel free to drop me a line!

Happy painting friends!

I'm Obsessed with Snow!

I know I've already posted two (maybe three) snow designs so far but what can I say? I love me some snow! I started with a base of Kleancolor Blue Pearl, a silver glitter topper and Orly White Out (for the snow on the ground). I then did the rest of the design with nail pens.

There is something about blue and silver that just says beautiful to me. I love it paired together with a snow motif.

It reminds me of a snow globe being shaken.

I am so in love with this design I can't even stand it! It makes me so happy :)

I'm really really enjoying doing this winter/Christmas themed nail art. Stay tuned for more!

Happy painting friends!

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

I think that we are going to get our Christmas tree this weekend which I am beyond excited for! We usually go to Ikea of all places but they have nice trees and we usually get some chocolate biscuits from their food section and then fight (not really!) over which Christmas music to play. It's our own little tradition :)

I started with a base of Orly White Out (2 coats) and then put two coats of a silver glitter on my pinkie and thumb. 

Then I went in with my trusty nail pens and drew on the ornaments and tree. I added a silver star to the top of the tree and called it a day.

I really like the cleanness of this design. It's not too busy.

Now bring on the chocolate biscuits and tree trimming!

Happy painting friends!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

My dear friend Kaycie was by again and of course I had to paint her nails for her! I told her just to trust me this time as usually I let her pick out her design and colours. I knew she wanted something festive so I put on the Christmas music and went to work. I started with a gradient base using Barry M Blue Moon and Barielle Sky's the Limit . Then I applied a layer of white glitter and then drew in some snowflakes with a white nail pen.

She loved it!

I also added in some little blue rhinestones to give it an extra bit of bling.

I was getting Kaycie to do all these different poses and then she wanted to do one of her own so here it is:

I love that she did it and then said, "Kablam!" She is too funny!

Happy painting friends!

Tis the Season!

It's December and you know what that means...Christmas nail art is upon us! I'm not saying that I'm going to do holiday themed nail art every day but I'm also not promising that I won't. Christmas is my favourite time of the year and I'm so excited to do some cool designs. I'm pretty pumped about today's look. I saw something similar to this on a blog and for the life of me I can't remember which one (wish I could so I could give credit where credit is due!).

I used a base of Zoya Tomoko (which you know I love!) and then drew on the holly leaves with a green nail pen and the berries with Orly Moonlit Madness and a dotting tool.

I think this turned out so well! The holly is pretty simple design-wise but I think it looks amazing when paired with the gold textured polish. So festive!!!!

I absolutely did not want to take this off of my fingers!

Happy painting friends!