NOTD: With Love, XOXO (Tutorial)

Hey all! Valentine's Day is right around the corner and I have been inspired to post some nail art. I like the whole "love letter" vibe you get from this nail design. I used newspaper to create the background text. then, a combination of nail stamping and freehand design completed the design. Keep reading for instructions on this look.

Review: Madam Glam Nail Polishes

Madam Glam polishes "Minty Canvas" and "Cashmere"

I was contacted by Mihaela from Madam Glam to review their nail polishes. I have never heard of Madam Glam before and I was excited to try out the polishes. They have polishes in so many different colors, including textures like glitters that it was hard to choose just two. I went for two very light colors that I felt aren't that easy to find in mainstream brands.

The nail polishes are packaged in slim and sleek-looking bottles with the Madam Glam logo. The colors I chose to review were "Cashmere" and "Minty Canvas". 

4th Of July Nail Art Ideas

Here's some designs that I created for Independence Day if you need some inspiration. Below the pictures are the names of some nail colors I reccomend as well as some tips on achieving the looks. Enjoy!

From left:
1. I painted the whole nail white and using dotting tools, I made blue and red dots varying in size. If you don't own dotting tools, you can use a toothpick. Just make some practice dots on a piece of paper beforehand.

2. I painted the whole nail red and then with a piece of tape, I covered one half of the nail diagnally and painted the other side blue. I drew stripes and using a nail stamper for the stars.

3. I painted the whole nail blue and used a nail rhinestone in the center and drew drew curved lines to make it look like fireworks. Then I used a nail polish with silver flecks as a top coat.

4. I painted the nail white and drew red and blue lines similar to those for a French manicure.

Reccomended Shades:
N.Y.C "Candy Apple Red"
Loreal "Jetset to Paris"
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "White On"
Milani Jewel FX "Silver"

Tutorial: Nude and Neon Half-Moon Manicure

Neon is a trend that is very big for the Spring and Summer for 2012. A great way to wear neon is to pair it with nude or neutral clothing. I decided to apply this to my nails. I've been wanting to do a half-moon design on my nails and by pairing a neon color with a nude, it would make the design stand out a lot.

What I used:

OPI Ridge Filler base coat, OPI "Did You Ear About Van Gogh", LA Girls Disco Brites "Disco Diva", Seche Vite top coat and reinforcements for looseleaf paper

The Process:

After applying my base coat, I applied "Disco Diva" (plus: this nail polish glows under a blacklight!) to my nails. Then I waited until my nails were COMPLETELY dry then I applied the reinforcements to my nails.

I painted "Did you hear about Van Gogh over the reinforcements and waited until the color was partially dry before carefully removing them. Then I applied my top coat and finito!

Tutorial: Newspaper Print Nails (UPDATED)

So I was browsing through Glamour magazine's June issue and I see them mention a nail kit from Sephora that will give you nespaper nail art for your nails. Then I saw the price advertised as sixteen dollars! Which is crazy since I have done newspaper print nails on myself for free practically.

I did this post last Summer and decided to give it an update. It's incredibly easy to do!



What You'll Need:

• vodka (You can also use rubbing alchohol)
• base coat
• nail color of your choice: I used L'oreal "Walk On The Beach" 
• top Coat 
• strips of newspaper (I only cut up two because I only did two accent fingers but you'll need one for each finger)
• something to dip your finger in (I used a shot glass)

How-To:
1. Paint nails in the color of your choice and let them dry completely.

2. Pour vodka in shot glass (enough to cover whole nail) and dip your finger in it.

3. Place a strip of newspaper big enough to cover the nail on the nail and press it for 30 seconds 
(do not move the newspaper strip).

4. Remove strip and seal with a top coat and Voila! Fab nails and you just saved yourself $16.00. Thank me later :P.

Simple Spring Mani

I bought two polishes from the Essie "Navigate Her" collection that I haven't gotten around to wearing. SO I decided to wear one finally. Yesterday I did a quick and fun mani using "A Crewed Interest" as the base coat. I love this peachy color, it's so pretty! I'm pretty picky about pastels but this one looks great on me. The first coat applies a little streaky but the second coat takes care of that.

I used a dotting tool to create the dots on my ring finger. I decided to do one accent finger. If you don't have a dotting tool, you can use a toothpick. Just requires a little more patience.

I used an OPI base coat, "A Crewed Interest" as the base color and "Haute as Hello" by Essie and "Gianna's Rocking Blue" by Brucci for the dots. Then I used my Seche Vite top coat. By the way Seche Vite is AMAZING. Dries your mani super fast and leaves your nails so glossy.

I forgot to take a picture of my dotting tools but this is the set I have. They are by M.A.S.H and I got them for about five dollars on Amazon you can go HERE to purchase them.