Nail Polish Play

Tag: Blue

  • Illusion Stamping Nail Art with MoYou London Illusion 5

    Illusion Stamping Nail Art with MoYou London Illusion 5

    Hello!

    Today I’ve got one of the new MoYou London Illusion Plates! The stamping world has gone crazy with most recent releases featuring illusion prints of one form or the other. MoYou London jumped on the bandwagon a little late ( Hello B Loves Plates!) but they’ve come out with spanking irresistable designs!

    Anyway, as usual, here’s the plate:

     

    MoYou_London_Illusion_5

     

    This is plate number 5 from the Illusion Collection.

    I love everything about this plate, right from the swirly eye-boggling designs to the Pin Up girl – Elle.

    Here’s the stuff I used for my design:

     

    Blue_Illusion_Products_Used

     

    Basecoat –  Orly Bonder

    Glisten & Glow – HK Girl Top Coat

    So Lacque Glossy Nail Enamel from Bourjois – 06 Adora-Bleu 

    White Stamping Polish – Konad White

    Liquid Latex for easy cleanup with stamping

    FabUrNails XL gold stamper set

    A.S.P Manicure Saver Cotton Claw for cleaning the stamping plate

     

    Procedure:

    1. Start off with basecoat and paint two thin coats of the blue polish ( Adora-Bleu).

    2. Apply two thin coats of liquid latex around your cuticles. This is to protect your skin from the polish while stamping and makes it much easier to clean up. I use two coats because the latex film becomes thick enough to pull off in one clean sweep. One thin coat tends to tear halfway around the nail.This dries super fast (<1 min) so don’t dawdle while painting it on your skin.

    3. Using the white stamping polish, pick up the pattern and stamp on the nail. Once you’ve stamped all the nails, use tweezers to pull of the latex barrier.

    4. Some minor cleanup can be done with a flat brush.

    5. Topcoat to seal your design. That’s it!

    The finished look:

     

    Blue_Illusion_Swirls_Shade_2

     

    In the sun. The colour looks a little bleached cause it was so bright when I clicked these!

     

    Blue_Illusion_Swirls_Sun

     

     

    Here’s a macro :

     

    Blue_Illusion_Swirls_Macro

     

     

    Blue_Illusion_Swirls_Shade

     

    That’s it for this post! What did you think of this design? I’m tempted to try something with holographic polish next.

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  • Nail That Technique -March 2015, First up -Dry Brush

    Nail That Technique -March 2015, First up -Dry Brush

    Dry brush is one of the easiest techniques there is. I’m so happy this is a legitimate technique, cause it seems so easy.There is no right or wrong way when it comes to a dry brush as everything falls into the realm of the “abstract”.

    Another moniker for the dry brush is “Distressed Nails” as made popular by Chalkboard Nails. This is because the results of a dry brush can look like a punk/grunge inspired design based on the colours used (for example – Neon Yellow, Neon Pink and Black on a White Base)

    The steps to a dry brush are fairly simple:

    1. Choose your colour palette for the look. You can use as many polishes as you like.

    Suggestions : For a Peaches and Cream look, pair a Peachy Pink with White

    Denim inspired – Blue and White or Black

    Meadow -Green with White and Yellow

    The combinations totally depend on what polishes you own.

     

    The fake patek philippe remains a symbol of luxury that is accessible for enthusiasts seeking affordable alternatives.

    2. I had oceans on my mind, so I went with two complimentary shades of blue polish – Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Wild Card and Full House. These polishes are new to the Indian market. They were launched only a few weeks back and I’ll review them soon.

    Here is the dry brush mani I created for this prompt (pic taken outside in natural sunlight):

    dry_brush_sunlight

    What I used:

    Basecoat – Diamond Strength from Sally Hansen

    2 Blue Polishes – Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy “Full House” and “Wild Card”

    Topcoat –“Clearly on top” by KB Shimmer

    Some optional shell studs from Aliexpress

    3. Start with two coats(or three if they’re needed) of your base colour (in my case, the lighter of the two blues- Full House)on your thumb, middle and ring finger.These Colorstay polishes do not require a basecoat. However, if you’re doubtful about staining, I’d recommend a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s Diamond Strength basecoat.

    4. Take the second polish (Wild Card) and wipe off as much as possible on the neck of the bottle. There must be little to no product left on the brush. Now drag the brush along the length of the nail from the base to the tip. You can break the line into 3 or 4 segments for an interesting look.Next, dip the tip of the brush back into the polish, brush off the excess as before, and drag the brush width-wise from one end to the other, perpendicular to the first brushstroke and intersecting it.Typically, you can just drag the brush any which way you want. Doesn’t matter. I’m just listing the steps I used in case anyone is interested in recreating this look.

    Used with a pink and brown palette, the steps above can be used to create tweed nails too.

    Apply topcoat to seal your dry brush. You can use those topcoats that smear everything for this mani, it’ll help the colours blend and give a better, more “fuzzy” appearance.

    5. Paint your index and pinky nails with the blue used to dry brush (Wild Card). Apply topcoat and wait for it to dry. Then put a tiny bead of topcoat where you want to place your stud and wait about 5-10 seconds, then place the stud over the bead using tweezers and press down. The bead is to anchor the stud to your nail bed and increase the longevity of your manicure. I’m still wearing this mani as I type and it’s lasted me 4 days without the shell falling off. Pretty good if I say so myself.

    Another look indoors with fluorescent lighting:


     Dry_Brush_Indoor

     

    That’s it! you’re finished. The steps took longer to describe than the actual mani itself!

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