Mid Century Modern Nail Art

Mid Century Modern Nail Art

abstract formula x for sephora grey linework lvx red

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.

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.

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

Crop Circle Inspired Nail Art

Crop Circle Inspired Nail Art

31DC2015 essie favorite freehand geometric green linework lvx nail art

"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:

• Glow in the dark ghosties
• Glittering Edward nail art
• Phoenix feather nail art
• Raava and Vaatu nail art (Legend of Korra)

Pizza Bunting Nail Art

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:

• Racing checkered flag
• Arizona state flag nail art
• Textured American flag nail art
• National flags of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Line Drawings Inspired by Zach Bootz

Line Drawings Inspired by Zach Bootz

31DC2015 artwork blue freehand lvx nail art pop culture

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:

• Jackson Pollock's One: Number 31
• Warhol drip nail art
• Kaws' Kawsbob
• Barbara Kruger - Nail Art Is Dead

Pinstripe and Damask Nail Art Inspired by Tory Burch

Pinstripe and Damask Nail Art Inspired by Tory Burch

31DC2015 blue favorite floral flowers formula x for sephora freehand lvx nail art red stripes

Ladies that are also attempting the challenge with me... Are you getting tired of this yet? I've hit my yearly breaking point, but as always, I will push through and prevail. Today's prompt is "inspired by fashion," and I've drawn inspiration from a Tory Burch look that was just shown off at New York Fashion Week.

View image | gettyimages.com

I love these patterns and colors together, they're very textile-meets-Hamptons. Bold meets soft. Rigid meets organic.

I used Polish My Life - Saint as the base, and then mixed together Formula X - Glorious and LVX - Paraiso for the pinstripe color. I added the floral designs on with Formula X - Push the Limits and finished with topcoat.

Previously, on "Inspired by Fashion" day:

• Max Azria spring look
• Betsey Johnson bright gradient with "silly string"
• McQueen textured skull scarf
• Donna Karan inky negative space

Bejeweled Galaxy Nail Art

Bejeweled Galaxy Nail Art

31DC2015 black china glaze color club galaxy girly bits glitter lvx sponging

IT HAS ARRIVED! Galaxy day of the 31 Day Challenge! I love this day because I never do galaxies, even though I should, and they're so easy to do, and they always turn out lovely, and the sparkles are overwhelming, and yeah. Galaxies are the best.

As with all my galaxy manicures, I started with a base of black polish.

Then, I tore off tiny pieces of a makeup sponge, and used it to create layers of the following shades:
LVX Cameo
LVX Viola
Girly Bits Hoop There It Is
Color Club Peace Love and Polish

Next I added the bitty stars! I always use China Glaze Fairy Dust for my stars. The key is to swipe it on randomly, instead of covering the entire nail!

The final step was to add the individual stars. I used a pinpoint dotting tool and Polish My Life's Saint, then added some lensflares on a couple of the stars.

I totally love how these came out and honestly they took me maybe 30 minutes to do. A win all around!



Check out my galaxy nails from years before:

• Maroon and yellow galaxy nails
• Hyperspace jump nail art
• The Pleiades Star Cluster galaxy nails
• The Pelican Nebula galaxy nails

Electric Carnival Half Moons

Electric Carnival Half Moons

31DC2015 blue deborah lippmann green half moon jinsoon lvx nail vinyls pink stripes

Half moon day! I love half moons and every year during the challenge, I say that I'm going to wear them more often and then I never do. So here's my look for this year -- it started out in a different place than it ended up, which is some kind of mix of "electric carnival," "60s mod," and "old wallpaper." I dig it, but had one main issue, which we'll talk about below.

The base of this manicure is LVX Midori, this gorgeous yellow-green shade that I adore. Like, ADORE it.

However.

Midori has this tendency to seep through and discolor any other shades that are used on top of it (even if there's a coat of topcoat between them). It's worse with light colors, but Midori even altered the deep cobalt blue that I used in my stripes. I didn't remember this when I reached for it, and by the time I realized, it was too late. In this case it was okay, because the color palette ended up looking kinda cool and retro, but this was not originally what I had in mind.

The process for these is pretty easy. I put down two coats of Midori plus a coat of quick dry topcoat. Once it was set, I used half moon nail vinyls to block off the moon area, then painted freehand stripes with JINsoon Cool Blue and Deborah Lippmann Whip It. As you can see, Midori turned Cool Blue into "Cool Teal" and Whip It into coral. Oh well!

Next, I removed the vinyls, and added the arcing stripes in the open moon space. The final step, of course, is to finish with topcoat. Carnival chic!

Here are my half moon manis from the past four years of the challenge:

• Sweet and girly leopard half moons
• Retro striped half moons
• Delicate lace half moons
• Autumnal gilded half moon stamping