Fire Gradient Mani

Hey there readers! I've been meaning to post more often but obviously that's been working out well. Here is what my nails look like right now. I, like many others, have been obsessed with The Hunger Games recently and this was my attempt at 'fire nails' or I guess more accurately 'fire gradient nails'.

In those above I used 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener as a base coat, one coat Sinful Colors Let's Meet, one coat Pure Ice Hot Tamale (thin at the top and getting thicker toward the nail base), two more layers of Let's Meet (one starting in the middle and getting thicker toward the tip of the nail and another just covering the tip) and one coat Seche Vite Fast Dry Topcoat.

And then below I added a layer of Wet N Wild FastDry Orange and another coat of Seche Vite.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Tuxedo Mani and Another Award

I've got a Tuxedo Mani for you today. One really nice thing I noticed while I rocked this mani was that the black and white go with everything. I know it's not horrible if you wear neon pink nail polish with a red shirt but I just don't like to.

 In the pictures above I used 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener as a base coat, and 2 coats China Glaze Snow. I let those dry completely and then eyeballed the tips with NYC Black Creme (you can also use tape) and then I dabbed a bit of black polish on a piece of paper and used the tip of a bobby pin to make the dots. And of course, one coat Seche Vite Fast Dry Topcoat on top of everything.

Parisa over at The Nail Movement nominated me for another award. We like her here at heidischwartz.blogspot.com, we think she's awesome! Well, now that that weirdly worded sentence is over, the rules!

 Rules: 

1. Put the link to who gave you the award.
2. Put the award in your post.
3. Choose 5 blogs under 200 followers and give them the award.
4. Let them know that you have awarded them.

And the Talented Nominees:

Alayna's Art Blog

Butterfly in a Jar 

Mie's Illustrated Life 

Dandeliondog 

Glamo Nails 

Nail Noise 

Whoops did I put six? My bad! :D

Black & Periwinkle Half Moon Mani

Below is China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le. I really like how the color looks with my skin. It's pretty much opaque in one coat but this is two coats.

And here is what I tried when I got bored of just one color - it's called a half moon mani. It was a lot easier and turned out better than I expected. All you have to do is use one binder reinforcement on each nail (I also cut a slit in each of them so they would move around easier and therefore stick to the nail better) and then paint on top of the base color. Make sure the base color is completely dry first or the sticker might mess it up. The black is Wet n Wild Black Creme (one coat).

Once again I used two coats of Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener as a base coat, two coats Secret Peri-Wink-Le, one coat Black Creme, and one coat Seche Vite Fast Dry Topcoat.

First Nail Polish Post!

You may have noticed I reorganized my blog a bit. Under exaggeration. Let me know what you think of the new style. And today's post:

As someone who always wanted long nails but couldn't stop biting them, I've finally found that keeping them pretty stops me from biting them. So as you can imagine, I've been a little obsessed with painting my nails lately. Unfortunately since I typically play volleyball three times a week I still have to keep them shorter than I'd like so that they don't break off far enough down to make them bloody and painful (which has happened by the way, and damn, ow).  

Here are some of the ways I painted them for Halloween this year.

  Above: Blood drips. 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener, 1 coat Maybelline salon finish Go Currant Raisin Sauvage for the blood, and 1 coat Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

  Above: 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener, 2 coats of both green and purple (the green is China Glaze Paper Chasing (which stained my nails REALLY yellow even through the two base coats), the purple is Sinful Colors Let's Talk), and 1 coat Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

Above: Pokéballs to go with my Pikachu costume. 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength nail hardener, 2 coats China Glaze french bliss Ooh La La White, 2 coats Sally Hansen diamond strength Honeymoon Red, Sinful Colors nail art Time Off for the black and 1 coat Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

This was the first time I used something other than tape to make a design; the tip of a bobby pin for the circles. Could have been better, could have been worse. It'll take some practice to get better at that.