Aztec Inspired Nail Art Stamps

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Boxy Nail Stamp

I haven't been using my nail stamps much lately, but I still have so many designs I haven't tried yet. I've seen this one online a few times, and gave it a try. A little hard to photograph, but a matte top coat helped a little.

Products Used:

Nail Art Plates Bundle
Konad Nail Art Double Ended Stamper And Scraper

Brushed Nails

Testing out some of my nail brushes with this creative design.

Didn't really turn out like the tutorial I saw, but was fun to try something new.

Colorful Clouds

This is one of my favorite designs I've done recently. Fairly easy to do, not extra supplies needed and and so many options for color combinations.

Interested in trying this yourself? So Nailicious has a great tutorial.

Toothbrush Nails - Manicure Techniques

What do you think? I'm still not sure if I love them, though it might be due to the colors I choose.

Pink: L.A. Colors, #586

Mint: Sally Hansen, Mint Sorbet

Purple: Sally Hansen, No Hard Feelings

Peach: Wet n Wild, Private Viewing

For a tutorial check out this article on Glamour.com. (I like these better than mine:) )

Pink Ombre Nail Art

Tan base: Wet n Wild MegaLast, Private Viewing
Pink: Wet N Wild Wild Shine, Lavender Creme 

Top photo has matte top coat.

Green Ombre Nail Art

Light Green: Sally Hansen, Mint Sorbet
Dark Green: Sinful Colors, Rise and Shine

DIY Ombre Nails

I've seen a lot of amazing ombre nail designs online as well as a good number of tutorials. I tried a few of them and found which worked best for me. Thought I would share it with you. This is currently my favorite go to nail design. Easy to do, with a lot of impact.

Scroll down for photos and detailed tutorial.

DIY Ombre Nails

1. Paint all your nails the lighter color polish. This will be the color at the base of your nail in when finished.
2. On wax paper, place a short line of each polish next to each other. Using an extended paperclip, mix them together, just where the touch. Note: you will want a decent amount of polish on the wax paper, but not a runny pond. This will last 2-3 nails.
3. Like a stamp, press the sponge into the polish. I found it easiest to align the top of the sponge with the top of the lighter color (see photo).
4. Press sponge onto nail multiple times, sponging as you roll the nail from side to side to cover the whole nail. (I align the top of the sponge with my nail bed.)
5. Clean up the fingers using nail polish remover or acetone, with a q-tip or small paint brush.
6. After drying apply 1-2 layers of top coat.

Tips for choosing colors for your ombre design:
I found that if the colors were too close to each other there wasn't much impact, so look for two with some contrast. Also, I had bad results with nail polish that wasn't very opaque, so if you aren't sure do a test on one nail first.

Tips for using the right sponge:
Look for a sponge that is fairly porous (ie: the sponge holes aren't too small). One site online suggested using a makeup sponge. I found it too too dense though, and was disappointed in the results. I also used some older sponges that started falling apart on me, woops, so don't do that.

Colors used
Yellow: SinFulColors, Pull Over
Orangy Red: SinFulColors, Big Daddy

Any questions? Just post them in the comment section.

Tried this? Take a photo and share in the comments.

Purple + Green Ombre Nail Art

After a bit of trial and error, I've gotten the hang of gradient / ombre nails. I've been trying a bunch of different color combinations, some work better than others. For details on how I did the ombre check out the tutorial I put together.

Green: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Ivy League
Purple: Julep, Kylie

Teal Leopard Print - Nail Stamp Art

Leopard print nail stamp

Teal: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Mint Sorbet
Chrome: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Gunmetal

Nail Whitening Tutorial

As most of you probably know, nails tend to turn yellow when you've worn nail polish for too long. Boo:( So what is a girl to do? Whiten your nails. Super simple, takes ingredients you probably have laying around the house, and takes less than 10 minutes.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Mix together:

1 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide

2 1/4 Tbsp baking soda

Let the paste sit on your nails for 5 minutes. Rinse and you're done!

summer polka dots manicure

I haven't been that happy so far with the results of my dotting tool, but I think this one is a success. I found this tutorial had good advice on how to place the dots.

The top coat is matte, and I think I should have waited longer for the color to dry, since it made some of the dots streak a little.

Turquoise: Sinful Colors, Rise and Shine
Yellow: Sinful Colors, Pull Over
Lime: Sinful Colors, Innocent
Red: L.A. Colors Color Craze

tri-color V nail art

I was inspired to try this design from a pinterest post I saw. I tried using a nail brush, which didn't work well, but the brush that comes in the polish worked great.

Peach: Wet n Wild, Private Viewing

Purple: Sally Hansen, No Hard Feelings

Mint: Sally Hansen, Mint Sorbet

easy tape manicure

If you are looking for an easy to do manicure, this is it. I simple painted all my nails pink. After that was dried, I used scotch tape (painters tape works well also) to mark off where I don't want turquoise. I then added two layers of turquoise, removing the tape before it dried. Top with a top coat and you are done!

Pink: Cover Girl, Ice Blue Pink

Turquoise: Sinful Colors, Mint Apple

tri-color tape manicure

My sister asked me to do her nails, and I thought I'd try a simple scotch tape manicure, with some fun summer colors. She loved it, I loved it, hope you love it too!

Base coat colors.

Teal: Sinful Colors, Mint Apple
Yellow: Sinful Colors, Pull Over
Red: L.A. Colors Color Craze

purple on pink zebra nail stamp

Konad nail stamp: m57
Purple: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Color, No Hard Feelings
Pink: OPI (in photo, no name on the bottle)

How to patch a broken nail

The other day I broke a nail, ouch, and remembered a Pinterest post about using a tea bag to patch the tear. So I tried it out, and it worked pretty well, so I thought I'd put together a short tutorial for you.

How to patch a broken nail using a tea bag:
1: Cut open the tea bag, empty out the tea.
2: Cut a small square or rectangle out of the bag material, large enough to fit over the broken area.
3: Cover the entire nail with a layer of clear polish.
4: While still wet, place tea bag onto nail, covering broken area.
5: Cover with a layer of clear polish.
6: Add one or two additional layers if necessary.

Ta-da!

pink and glitter gradient

A quick and dirty glitter gradient. Easy to do but elegant.

Glitter: Julep, Oscar
Pink: Cover Girl Nail Slicks, Ice Blue Pink

my experiment with nail striping tape

The other day I discovered nail striping tape. I am sure many of you already knew about this, but I found it amazing! And, since it's pretty inexpensive I ordered some right away. And, it came with some brushes, which will come in handy in the future.

While these may not be perfect, they were super easy to do. They come in a huge assortment of colors and you can either use them to block the polish, as I did, or to use in the final design. I'm looking forward to making many more designs with these.

Check out my pinterest page for a ton of ideas of how to use the tape.

Purple: Julep Nail Color, Kylie
Gold: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear, Golden-I

white dots

Simple white dots on turquoise. I've been doing more dots lately, trying to improve on them a little. These are ok:)

Turquoise: Sinful Colors, Mint Apple
White: Essie, Marshmallow
Dotting tool

Purple and Glitter Half Moons

I love the simplicity of half moons, but wanted to add a little excitement with some glitter.

Purple: Wet N Wild Wild Shine Nail Color, Eggplant Frost
Glitter (love this brand!): Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, Rockstar Pink

favorite top coat - Seche Vite

Looking for a great, dry fast top coat? Seche Vite is it!

This product is amazing. I originally discovered it when reading other nail blogs and I'm so glad I bought some. It dries fast, and my favorite part is the nice, smooth sheen it create. Makes your nails look like glossy candy, and rock hard. It is also super helpful to smooth out a textured or bumpy nail design.

sparkly half moons

A simple and easy way to add a little flare to your nails. A tutorial can be found on The Glitter Guide.

I used one of my favorite multicolor glitter polishes from Sally Hansen, Rockstar Pink.

my recent pins

Favorite Buys - Sally Hansen Celeb City

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in Celeb City is the perfect combination of glittery and silver! It has great coverage with just two coats and at less than $5 a bottle it's a steal! Get your's today!

Great for a night out or for the base case before adding a stamped design.

gradient dots - nail stamp

Fun, bold and elegant.

Products used:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color - Celeb City
Julep Nail Polish - Marisa
Nail Art Plates Bundle
Konad Nail Art Double Ended Stamper And Scraper