ohmygoshpolish ..: freehand

Showing posts with label freehand. Show all posts

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.

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!

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, November 18, 2015

Tie dye your tips with this nail art tutorial and sneak peek from "Pretty Hands and Sweet Feet"!

china glaze favorite freehand nail art pretty hands and sweet feet rainbow tutorial

Tie dye nail art tutorial by @chalkboardnails

Hey friends! Today I have a sneak peek into one of the tutorials that I contributed to our new nail art book, Pretty Hands and Sweet Feet. This design, as well as 20+ additional designs, can be found within its beautiful, full color pages.

I first tackled tie-dye nails WAY back in 2013 with my Rodarte-inspired design, but figured it was time to do a classic rainbow version, too.

I suggest using neon polishes for this look (I used the China Glaze Electric Nights collection) because they usually have a semi-sheer consistency that helps blend all of the colors together nicely. Plus, who doesn't love a good neon?

Start with a white base, and then use a medium length striper brush to add dashes of color spiraling out from the center of your nail. I began with my yellow shade, and then continued to build out the colors on either side of it (sticking with rainbow order, of course!). Don't forget a layer of topcoat to smooth out and protect your design.

This look is pretty simple to achieve, and the less precise you are, the more tie dyed it will look! So just have fun with it!

If you want to pick up PH&SF for a nail art lover or young adult DIY-er in your life, it is available for purchase now wherever books are sold. Here are links to some of the places that you can nab it:

Quarto | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | !ndigo

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Wrought Iron Scrolls with the China Glaze Great Outdoors Collection

china glaze freehand green metallic nail art silver

Wrought iron scrolls by @chalkboardnails

I've always thought that wrought iron scrolls and leaves in gates were so pretty. Putting together one of those gates seems like so much work, no? I went for the same look in this nail art, but with significantly less effort and expertise required.

I used China Glaze - Check Out the Silver Fox as the silver base. It went on beautifully and covered fully at two coats. I love these kind of "gritty" metallics that don't have a totally smooth finish; they tend to sparkle more in the light.

Then, I added the leaves and scrolls using China Glaze - Take a Hike. It's a really nice muted deep green that I can see myself using for a lot of nail art in the future.

The Great Outdoors collection is available now at Ulta and Sally Beauty, as well as in select salons nationwide.

Products in this post were provided for review.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Simple Vintage Floral Inspired by Lacquerstyle

31DC2015 china glaze favorite floral flowers formula x for sephora freehand nail art

Vintage floral nails by @chalkboardnails

We are nearing the end of the challenge! Today's prompt is "inspired by a tutorial" and I've taken inspiration from the talented (and Queen of Florals), Lacquerstyle. For this particular look, I've followed her Simple Abstract Floral Tutorial, which not only features a fun and easy design, but has gorgeous cinematography and photography to boot.

I wont detail how to do this look -- if you want to visit the tutorial, just click on the link above!

I used Formula X Cloud Nine as my base. The flowers are painted with China Glaze Make an Entrance, while the blue blossom sprays were done in China Glaze First Mate. I created the leaf shade by mixing China Glaze Take a Hike and American Apparel Crescent Heights.

I love this look, though mine aren't quite as perfect as Kristin's! The smaller blue sprays really add a lot to the completed manicure.

Check out the other tutorials I've tried in the past:

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Crop Circle Inspired Nail Art

31DC2015 essie favorite freehand geometric green linework lvx nail art

Crop circle nail art by @chalkboardnails

"Inspired by the supernatural" is another one of the challenge prompts that I'm not usually too enthused about. I started out today attempting a manicure depicting the Galactic Entity from Futurama, but quickly changed my mind (looked too much like my galaxy nails!). I decided to do some crop circle nail art instead, and boy am I glad that I did! I'm super pleased with these and hope you enjoy them too.

I started out by applying two coats of Essie - Mojito Madness as my green base. Then, I used the dry brush technique to add some swipes of Duri - Shocking Twist. If you're unfamiliar, you just wipe most of the polish off of your brush, and then lightly swipe it over your nails.

Then, I used LVX - Avenal to handpaint my crop circle designs. Many of them have geometric elements to them, so I chose to focus on concentric circles as well as lines and triangles.

I finished the nail art with a matte topcoat. I liked the look of it glossy, but to be honest, the reflections of the lights that I use for my photos on my nails made my linework look distorted.

See more of my supernatural nail art:

Monday, September 28, 2015

Pizza Bunting Nail Art

31DC2015 food freehand half moon lvx nail art yellow

Today's prompt is "inspired by a flag," and it's arguably the worst prompt in the whole challenge. I was thinking about bunting and how that would be a cute idea to do for flag-day, but wanted to figure out a way to make it more unique. All of a sudden - I had it! At the beginning of the year, Rebecca of Rebecca Likes Nails had crocheted and then gifted me some pizza bunting, and I figured it'd be perfect to try to recreate on nails.

Though my nails aren't as cute as her crochet creation (could anything EVER be?), I think they're unique and fun and who doesn't like pizza, you know? My favorite toppings are pineapple and ham, though lately I've been gravitating towards banana peppers. Also - have you guys tried Pizza Hut's pretzel crust? Pretty sure they just put some butter and salt on it, but man that stuff is delicious.

Previous "inspired by a flag" manicures:

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Line Drawings Inspired by Zach Bootz

31DC2015 artwork blue freehand lvx nail art pop culture

Line drawing nail art by @chalkboardnails

Today's prompt is "inspired by artwork" and I've done some nails inspired by the artwork of my pal Zach Bootz. He does these really awesome black and white line drawings that combine surreal patterns, geometric lines, architecture and more. While my manicure isn't as intricately crafted as his pieces are, I've tried to draw inspiration from his style and general "feel."

Though Zach's signature style includes black and white, I knew I wanted mine to be in color. I chose LVX Viola and LVX Mineral. Mineral is a light grey, but when I topcoated the design, the blue base seeped through and turned it pale purple. It looks cool, like blueprints, but this is the second time I've had trouble with an LVX polish bleeding through. I'm wondering if maybe it's the combination of their formula with my topcoat?

Afterwards, I finished with matte topcoat as a kind of nod to ink on paper. Be sure to stop by Zach's website and check out more of his work! It's really compelling stuff.

Not too many challenge days left! I can't lie and say I'll be sad when it's over.

Previous nail art inspired by artwork: