Day 16 - Tribal Nails!

Wow, Day 16 already. My 31 Day Nail Challenge, journey has passed the half way mark. I was actually nervous about tribal, but once I had a plan and started it, it was smooth sailing all the way. I am incredibly happy with these nails, and can not wait to try out different patterns and colors in the future.

I used 6 colors all together. One color for each finger nail (as a base coat) and black polish to draw on the patterns.

To make it easier, for all of us, I'll list what I used finger by finger.

Thumb: I used  Pure Ice Wild Thing as the base coat, Pure Ice Splash as the stripe down the middle and  Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black for the details.

Pointer finger: I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, Mellow Yellow as the base coat,  Sally Hansen's  Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, Sun Kissed is painted on half the nail, and Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black for the details.

Middle finger:  Milani Neon Dude Blue as the base coat, and  Pure Ice Splash as the stripe down the middle. Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black for the details.

Ring finger:  Pure Ice Splash as the base coat and Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black as the details.

Pinky finger:  Sally Hansen's  Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, Sun Kissed as the base coat and Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black for details.

Hope you all like them as much as I do. Trust me they look so much harder than they actually are. Try it out, it may just be your new favorite design!

Colorful Leopard Nails

I got my nail dotting tools I ordered from Amazon.com yesterday, and I had to try them out. Trying to figure out what design to do with them was the hardest part, but finally I decided on leopard print. I truly LOVE the way they turned out, and the only issues I had was using my left hand to dot on the leopard print. I'm sure that will get easier, the more that I do it. Alright, now onto the fun part.. How I did it!

I started with Jordana 090 White, as a base coat. I only painted on one coat, because it's going to be covered up, so it was unnecessary to have it perfect. Let the base coat dry. I used the widest part of a cosmetic foam wedge, and painting three colors horizontally. Using Pure Ice Splash, Pure Ice Wild Thing and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed. Then I pressed the wedge onto my nails, while re-applying the colors for each nail. This technique is a bit messy, so you may want to tape up the sides of your fingers to avoid paint on your skin. I have read that some women wet the foam wedge first, I found this to not be as effective as leaving it dry.

Once the gradient paint has dried, it was time to use those new dotting tools. I used Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black, dobbing a little on a scratch piece of paper, so that it's easier and more available to apply to the dotter. There's plenty of tutorials on youtube.com on how to create a leopard pattern. I glimpsed at one of them a few days ago, but really all that goes out the window once you start, you really have to gauge it for yourself. Add 3 to 5 incomplete circles on each nail, then fill in the gaps "spots". I used the same three colors to fill in the incomplete circles to complete the leopard patterns.

After letting it all dry, I used Sally Hansen's Strengthening Top Coat, as a top coat. I'm super happy with the end result, and will be rocking these nails until my Konad polish comes in!