Thursday, March 3, 2016

Simple Constellation Nail Art

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

I was due for a fresh set of gel polish this week, and have been craving black and white lately. I don't usually gravitate towards dark nail colors, because I feel like they make my nails look small and (sometimes) weird. #truenailconfessions. BUT, I've been seeing black and white nails all over my feed lately, and it had me wanting it on my own fingers.

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails
Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

Since I try to ride out these gel polish sets as long as possible, I can't slack on the nail art for my right hand. I figured constellations would be easy enough that I could pull off something passable using my left hand.

I started with two coats of my new favorite black gel polish, Presto #060 Minaccioso. Next, I used Wildflower's Art Paints in Powder to paint on constellations and stars. Then, I used two coats of gel topcoat to seal the paint details in. Easy peasy!

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

P.S. They're all based on real constellations! I wanted to do my zodiac sign, but who knew Sagittarius had so many stars in it?!?!?

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Mid Century Modern Nail Art

Mid century modern nail art by @chalkboardnails

Hello friends! It's been a while since I posted here (thanks to everyone that reached out to make sure I was ok), but I'm back with a couple of snazzy new things to show you! First off, don't miss my new blog header! I wanted something fresh, lighter, and more fun, and so I made it mahself. Second, I'm shooting my photos on a light background! The black background looked too heavy with the blog refresh, so I'm giving this a go.

Now, on to the nail art. This simple look was created by saying "yes, and..." You know that rule of improv where you're supposed to take what your partner says and say "yes, and..."? It accepts what's already put into play and then adds more to the scene. Well in this manicure, I just kept adding pieces! It looked nice at several stages throughout the process, but I decided not to stop and to keep adding elements.

Mid century modern nail art by @chalkboardnails

I used the following polishes for this look:
LVX Militaire (base)
LVX Monarch (gold)
Salon Perfect Oil Slick (black)
Formula X Push the Limits (red-orange)

Can we take a second to marvel at the beauty that is LVX Militaire, by the way? It's such a great gorgeous grey with just a twinge of green, and it covered perfectly in two coats.

After applying the base, I used the polish brush of Monarch to dab some random gold shapes on top of it. Next, I grabbed my new Tati Chou Chou detail brush (splurge!) to add the thin black linework. The last step before topcoat was to apply the red and black dots; use a dotting tool for the smaller ones and a pencil eraser for the large ones.

Mid century modern nail art by @chalkboardnails

I hope you enjoyed this look, and here's crossing my fingers that the next post won't be another month out! :)