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I've taken a recent obsession with nails! I'm a server at a restaurant, where I am constantly pointing at menus and using my hands, so I began to get my nails done. A basic french manicure, although professional, began to bore me so I got fun designs like strips and polka dots. Unfortunately, the more complicated the design was the more complicated it was trying to describe what I wanted at the nail salon. So I have literally taken things into my own hands. In this blog, I'd like to explore different brands of nail polish/nail care and share different designs.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Classy Checkerboard Nails



MATERIALS NEEDED (from left to right):


base coat (Nail Tek ridge-filling base coat), your choice of nail color (China Glaze-Diva Bride), black nail striper (Kiss-Black), black nail polish (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails- Black out), fast drying top coat (Seche Vite), and *an optional* anti-chip top coat (Sally Hansen Acrylic Top Coat)

Estimated time: 1 hour

**Feel free to mix it up and use your own colors!**

STEPS:
1. Paint your nails with 1-2 coats of a base coat. A base coat helps protect your nail from staining. It also gives your nail color something to hold onto, so it's not spilling over your cuticles. I love using this Nail Tek base coat because my nails are very thin from getting fake nails.
As you can see, it dries so that it looks like my natural nail.

2. Paint your nails with two coats of your choice of nail color. I used China Glaze's Diva Bride.  I like this color because it provides a softer and more elegant touch to the design.
**Make sure to paint the tips and sides of your nail!**

3. Use a black nail striper (picture on the left showing nail polish with a thin brush) and create a checkerboard pattern (picture on the right). Simply draw 2 vertical lines and 3 horizontal lines on all of your nails. Try to make the lines as evenly spaced as possible.

4. Put a glob of black nail polish on a piece of paper. You can also use and index card, paper plate, or sheet protector. I love using a sheet protector because it works as a convenient place mat to do your nails, so you don't make a mess. Fill in every other space using a dotting tool or small, square paint brush. Be very careful filling in the squares.















5. Once you are finished filling in the squares and your black polish is dry, use a fast drying top coat to finish your design! Seche Vite works amazingly fast, completely drying the nail in about 20 minutes, and adds an incredible shine!


**6. Lastly, and this is optional, add an acrylic anti-chip top coat. This adds a salon-finished shine to your nail. This is crucial for me because I am a server and my nail polish chips very easily if I do not add this step. This is also great for those who also use their hands often or for moms! No one likes chipped nail polish!!**


Enjoy your classy design!



Thursday, August 25, 2011

Inspired Designs

So here are some pictures of some designs that I've done so far...

Nail marble

Cute cheetah print 

Newspaper nails with a purple twist by Cutepolish  

4th of July

Sexy fishnet by GlamerousGabby 

Harry Potter nails by Cutepolish 

Fun french tip 

Lace by Meliney 

Watermelons by Cutepolish      

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Long or short? Round or square?

Growing up as a child, I always rounded my nail for a simple manicure. As I have grown and matured I have found that I tend to like a square-shaped nail, it makes me feel like a diva (a classy diva, not a dramatic diva) and it fits the shape of my hands better. I feel like a rounded nail looks better on a dainty hand with skinny fingers. Although I like my nails square, I do not like them long. I feel like shorter nails are easier to take care of and stay a little cleaner.

Nail trends are sometimes related to where you live. Let's take New Jersey, for example. Like many people, I am hooked to the Jersey craze- Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious, Real Housewives of New Jersey- you name it, I probably have it set on series recording for my DVR. Here are some nail trends on the show Jerseylicious. Look at the flared nail!   

Do you think the area you live in can influence whether you like your nails longer, shorter, round, square, or something else like these flare nails?