Tag Archives: Nail Art

Beauty, DIY, Fashion, Nail Art, Nail Art Tutorial, Nail Polish Swatch, Nails, Nails How To, Style

Inside Shine and Sheen’s Urban Safari Kit

Trending brand alert! Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits are here and are packed with nail essentials every polish lover should have.

Offered in four different styles, the nail art kits ($30) come with three polishes and a top coat, two striper polishes, nail art tools like a file, cuticle stick or dotting pen, a nail art wheel and an array of nail decals. Not to mention, each package comes with an extensive how-to guide loaded with major nailspiration!

Here’s a look inside Shine and Sheen’s Urban Safari kit and bonus summer-ready looks you can execute with the products.

Kick off your summer on a wild side with these tribal nail stickers.

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Check out this video and find out how to easily apply the decals.

Add a pop of color to an animal print mani for a bold statement.

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If you’re in the mood to play, you can mix and match the goodies found inside the kit for a abstract and chic look.

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What do you think of the Safari Kit? Let me know in the comments below! 

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Beauty, DIY, Fashion, Nail Art, Nail Art Tutorial, Nail Polish Swatch, Nails, Nails How To, Style

Tips to Apply White Polish

A good white polish is a rare commodity. Aside finding one that doesn’t streak, qualities of a great white polish also include a highly pigmented formula so that multiple coats aren’t required.

I’m happy to report, Pure Ice’s Super Star! ($1.97) is not only extremely affordable, its creamy formula only requires two coats for a desired opacity.

A few helpful tips for applying a white polish:

1. Start off in the area right under the cuticle. White polish can be very unforgiving if there’s a messy application.

2. Wait for each coat to completely dry to avoid streaking.

3. Smooth off the entire look with a top coat that will help blend the polish. I use Sec ‘n Dry by Orly ($7.50).

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What do you think of this polish? Let me know in the comments below! 

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Beauty, DIY, Fashion, Nail Art, Nail Art Tutorial, Nail Polish Swatch, Nails, Nails How To, Style

Color Changing Nail Polish

A little thermal energy can transform your entire manicure. In a blink of an eye watch these nails change. Yeah, science!

This is Papaya to Mango, a thermal nail polish I got from Simply Spoiled Beauty. The nail polish changes color by playing with differnt temperatures.

The polish has a smooth, matte-like finish and has a quick dry time. I’m wearing two thin layers of it with no top coat. The unintentional ombre effect you get while the polish is on idle is definitely a bonus.

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Here’s a look at the Purple to Pink transition.

You don’t always need water to see the magic happen, the polish also changes with body temperature. I’m wearing two coats of Purple to Pink and paired with a high shine top coat.

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What do you think about color changing polish? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Beauty, DIY, Essie, Fashion, Nail Art, Nail Art Tutorial, Nail Polish Swatch, Nails, Nails How To, Orly

Pokemon Nail Art

With the recent release of Pokemon on Netflix, many 90s kids are reliving their childhood as they follow Ash Ketchum on his adventure to be the greatest Pokemon master. I proudly admit I can bust out the entire Pokerap, no problem.

To continue my walk down memory lane, I created two manicures inspired by one of my favorite cartoons.

1. Ash wants to “Catch them all,” but I will stick these cuties. Bonus points to those of you that remembers the Squirtle Squad.

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2. Grass, fire, water and electric, the core energy type of Pokemon will forever be the best.

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Here’s a Vine video showing a time lapse of the making of the Pokemon energy  symbols manicure. 

Are you a fan of Pokemon? Share in the comments below!

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Beauty, DIY, Essie, Fashion, Nail Art, Nail Art Tutorial, Nail Polish Swatch, Nails, Nails How To, Negative Space, Style

Nails of the Day: Negative Space Glitter Manicure

Glitter and negative space designs are two of my favorite things. I figured it’s time I combined the two again. Here are today’s nails of the day:

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I layered two coats of Essie’s Dive Bar ($8.50) on my nails and used a Q-tip dipped in polish remover to create a negative space line on the mysterious black blue nails. I filled in the negative space with Elf Cosmetics’ Midnight Mystery ($2) and applied three coats of the glitter polish on the accent.

What do you think of this look? Let me know in the comments below! 

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Valentine’s Day Nail Art Inspired by Tom Bachik

Happy Valentine’s Day! When Zooey Deschanel graced the Golden Globes red carpet in a vintage and lux daisy manicure back in January, I knew right away I wanted to recreate the look. Fast forward to February 14 and I figured there was no better time than now to do it.

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Zooey Deschanel’s daisy manicure as seen at the 2014 Golden Globes red carpet. Photo credit: Instagram, @tombachik.

I wanted to give the spectacular manicure originally executed by celebrity manicurist, Tom Bachik, my own twist. To give the look a little Valentine’s Day flair, I used pink, white and purple polishes and a couple light pink pearl studs. I paired the design with cute negative space ribbon nail art on the middle finger, a heart-filled accent nail and was very generous with rhinestones. A whole lot of love went into this flirty and romantic look, can you feel it?

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What do you think of this manicure? Let me know in the comments below!

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Q&A with Shine and Sheen Founder, Krystyna Kao

New York and Shanghai based nail blogger, Krystyna Kao, is gearing up to launch some seriously fabulous nail art kits. Her company, Shine and Sheen, was created for DIY girls with a flair for fashion and creative streak.

Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits will be equipped with a mix of nail polish colors, accessories, decals, and detailed instructions to create over 10 designs.  When Krystyna was designing the kits, she said she centered the products around manicures that could be easily recreated at home.

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Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits will launch this Spring. Photo credit: ShineandSheen.com.

Here’s an example of the kind of look you can execute with Shine and Sheen’s nail art kits. This side French design is perfect for a Valentine’s Day manicure. Krystyna used Shine and Sheen’s Cherry pink polish, a white striper brush polish and a dotting tool.

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Photo credit: Instagram, @shineandsheen.

While we all anxiously wait for the release of Shine and Sheen’s gorgeously packaged nail art kits, here’s your chance to find out a little bit more about the face behind the nails. I chatted with Krystyna and here’s what she had to say:
BySig: Since you started to blog about nail art, what’s one of the most important and fun things you’ve learned about the craft? 
KK: Nail art really opens the door in terms of creativity. The most fun part for me is seeing contrast between really different and unexpected colors, textures, and designs on different nails that together make up a whole look. I love the juxtaposition. 
BySig: What’s your ideal manicure look like? 
KK: For daily activities, I like designs and colors that pop and are striking, but also can go with different outfits, and can fit for day and night. I tend to like reverse French or French moons or just something shiny and eye-catching. If it’s just for fun, and I take it off soon after, I like playing with 3D stuff, like baubles, pearls, etc. That’s always exciting, albeit not really practical!
BySig: Any predictions for spring/ summer nail art trends? 
KK: I think we’ll see more fashion-inspired designs, like what the talented MissLadyFinger does. Also even more negative space manicures – I have a feeling girls will start really taking care of their nails so they can play peekaboo with negative space! And definitely color, color, color for summer.
What do you think of Shine and Sheen? Let me know in the comments below!
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NYFW Inspired Nails from Alice and Olivia, Essie

It was an enchanting night for those in attendance at Alice + Olivia’s Fall 2014 fairy tale themed presentation at New York Fashion Week. The ethereal detail and sophistication of the designer’s collection was reflected on the nails.

New York based nail artist, Simcha Whitehill, also known as Miss Pop Nails, teamed up with Essie and executed this tiara French tip and bejeweled half moon beauty. The nail team used Licorice ($8.50) and Good as Gold ($8.50).

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Photo Credit: @misspopnails, Instagram

To recreate the girly yet mysterious design, I used China Glaze’s Liquid Leather ($5.99) as a base and Elf Cosmetic’s Pot of Gold ($2.00) and a dotting tool to apply the perfectly placed dots.

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What do you think of this manicure? Let me know in the comments below!

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