All I Want - Lacquistry Rediculous, Kleancolor Nail to Toe Gold Dipped

I hope everyone is having lovely Christmas! Here's a silly themed manicure... which isn't even from this year, oops!

[Bottle to nail: Lacquistry Rediculous (2 coats); Striping: Kleancolor Gold Dipped]

The base is the always gorgeous Lacquistry Rediculous - the shimmery red version of the totes amazing Lacquistry Amazeballs. Gorgeous formula and amazing pigment, I used two coats for a deep, even shade.

[Base: Lacquistry Rediculous (2 coats); Striping: Kleancolor Gold Dipped]

I did a simple stripe lengthwise and crosswise over each nail with Kleancolor Nail to Toe in Gold Dipped, before adding a matching bow sticker over the top.

[Base: Lacquistry Rediculous (2 coats); Striping: Kleancolor Gold Dipped]

Add a generous layer of topcoat, and you're all set for the silly season! =)

String Art Manicure (complete with video!) - Essie, Elianto, LA Girl, Australis, Born Pretty nail art mat

Today, we have something a little different. I did an abstract art manicure using a silicone nail art mat and string art. Yes, string art. I'm bringing kindergarten level art into this.

[String nail art]

Today is an unusual post because I have a video tutorial! A first for myself, and a lot of learning to be had while making it, haha. You can watch the video here:

But if you still want to read a tutorial, here's a simple one:

1. First, paint ten patches of nail polish as the base for your decals. I just paint them wherever nowadays.

2. Get thin semi-glossy magazine papers and sandwich the silicone nail art mat between them. Paint the end of a sewing thread with nail polish and put it on the patches of nail polish. Close the paper over the thread and mat, press down with one hand gently, then pull out the thread from between the paper and the mat.

3. You got your first pattern, now! It'll look something like the pattern below. Now keep going with your choice of nail polish, and repeat step 2 several times over.

Here are some progress shots as I layered on string art patterns:

Unfortunately, one nail patch did come off and stuck to the underside of the paper. I peeled it off the paper, stuck it back on to the mat with application of nail polish beneath the patch and kept going. It worked fine up to the last round, then it came off again because I hadn't given the fix enough drying time. It was still salvageable to be used on my pinkie finger since that one's so much smaller.

Peel off all the nail patches from the mat, apply base polish to your nails and then press on these nail patches. Remove any excess bits of nail polish and then seal it with a clear top coat. Then you get the following!

[String nail art]

You can use any nail polish (although preferably, nothing quick dry for the string art parts). The nail polishes I used were:
- Essie Private Weekend
- Blue and green Elianto nail polishes
- LA Girl Hustle
- Australis Fairmont Fling
- Australis Pinot-Dah

Maybe I'm biased, but I love this string art manicure (stringnicure???). :D  It's just so bright and colourful and it looks so artistic. That's an achievement considering how un-artistic I am.

Anyway, hope you enjoy and let me know if you try this out!

Leather and Chrome - Gold Leather Effect transfer foil, LA Girl Blackout, 2mm square studs

Here's a follow-up to last week's post! I posted then about one of my favourite transfer foils - Gold Leather Effect. Well, here's what I did after to jazz it up a little...

[Black, gold and silver - gotta love it!]

Sorry I don't have step by step pics for this manicure!

[Base: China Glaze Millenium; Foil: Gold Leather Effect]

Quick reminder of what I started out with...

[Foil: Gold Leather Effect; Stripes: LA Girl Blackout; Studs: 2mm square studs]

I then used a plain black creme polish (LA Girl Blackout) and swiped a cross pattern over each nail. If you can manage to work fast enough, place square studs point-to-point down your nail while the black polish is still wet/tacky.

[Foil: Gold Leather Effect; Stripes: LA Girl Blackout; Studs: 2mm square studs]

If that's a bit too rushed for your taste, just use some clear polish and dab it on the spots where you want the studs to stick. I find a skewer with a bit of drying clear polish on the end works great to pick up studs/rhinestones to place on the nail.

[Foil: Gold Leather Effect; Stripes: LA Girl Blackout; Studs: 2mm square studs]

This doesn't take long at all! It's a very quick way to add some edge to your manicure! If you want it to last as long as possible, make sure to swipe a thick layer of topcoat to hold the studs on properly. These ones lie fairly flat so it definitely helps!

For reference, these are 2mm square studs. You can check out other types of studs and manicures we've done with them by clicking through our "studs" tag! Enjoy!

Clingy Jeans - Cling-wrap mani with Milani Antique, Essence Into The Dark, studs

Here's a fun manicure I tried out a year or so ago - a cling-wrap mani (or saran-wrap...) with stud embellishments!

[Additional bling]

I thought it would be pretty cool to use the cling-wrap technique to approximate denim, so here's my attempt!

[Bottle to nail: Milani Antique (2 coats)]

I started out with a base of Milani Antique, a lovely dusty blue creme. I think this was two coats. It dried nice and smooth but not quite opaque at two coats. I wasn't too fussed as I was going to layer the second shade over it.

[Base: Milani Antique (2 coats); Top shade: Essence Into The Dark]

I put Essence Into The Dark from the Vampire's Love trend edition over the top, and quickly pressed over the still-wet polish with some crumpled cling-wrap to make a mottled pattern. I then sealed it over with topcoat as it does dry a bit uneven from where parts have been lifted off.

[Base: Milani Antique (2 coats); Top shade: Essence Into The Dark]

I chose Into The Dark because it's a deeper dusty blue with flecks of silver. It's also amazingly opaque in just one coat. You can see here that I lifted some of the base polish while pressing down so don't press too firmly with your cling-wrap! I guess it could be ripped jeans....

[Base: Milani Antique, Essence Into The Dark; Stitches: Kleancolor Wedding Gown, Tuxedo Black]

I then used some nail art stripers, Kleancolor Wedding Gown and Tuxedo Black to paint on some stitch marks. I first laid a solid line in the black, before marking out the stitches in white. Unfortunately the polish needed a bit more thinning out so my lines weren't as neat as I would have liked!

[Base: Milani Antique, Essence Into The Dark; Stitches: Kleancolor Wedding Gown, Tuxedo Black]

I then dabbed on some clear polish and placed some studs here and there to complete the manicure! Not sure how denim-like the final result really looked, but I did find myself liking the cling-wrap effect - it's a really quick and easy way to make your mani more interesting!

RAWR!! A Smaug-inspired Manicure - Kleancolor Metallic Purple, Red, Yellow; China Glaze Orange Marmalade

The end (of the year) is nigh! As is my tradition, I go out to the movies with friends on new years eve, so it looks like that's what I'll be doing this year too!

[Testing out the concept...]

This is relevant because today's is a rather old manicure that I put together before watching The Hobbit LAST YEAR (even though Smaug was barely in it...). I was in such a rush but here's the excerpt I used for inspiration:

"There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep...  ...and his long pale belly crusted with gems and fragments of gold from his long lying on his costly bed."

[Draconic underbellies r' us]

So here's my Smaug-inspired manicure! I first created a sponge gradient using the same method used here. The shades used here are Kleancolor Metallic Purple, KC Metallic Red, China Glaze Orange Marmalade and KC Metallic Yellow.

[Glitz and sparkle!]

Using clear polish, I then stuck on various colours and sizes of rhinestones on the tips of my nails before filling in the tips with China Glaze Medallion and Milani Jewel FX Gems! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Smaug in the second movie... I doubt he'll be quite as tackily glitzy as this mani though..... =p

I guess I'll catch y'all in the new year!! =)

Happy Happy Joy Joy - Mode Vicious Venom, Color Club Wish List Red, Glam Polish Big Bang Theory

HAPPY HOLIDAY-OF-YOUR-CHOICE!! =) Here's a Christmas tree inspired manicure that I slapped together for the silly season.

[Bottle to nail: Glam Polish Big Bang Theory over Mode Vicious Venom, Color Club Wish List Red]

I won't say too much about it, but basically it's a base of 2 coats of Mode Vicious Venom (previously used here) and then Color Club Wish List Red (reviewed here) striped over the top using the tape method.
 

[Base: Mode Vicious Venom (2 coats); Stripes: Color Club Wish List Red (1 coat);
Ring finger: Glam Polish Big Bang Theory (1 coat)]

I then edged the red with LA (previously used here) before topping off the ring finger with a coat of Glam Polish Big Bang Theory! I thought the assortment of round glitters in BBT would look awesome as baubles on the "tree"!

[Base: Mode Vicious Venom (2 coats); Stripes: Color Club Wish List Red (1 coat);
Ring finger: Glam Polish Big Bang Theory (1 coat)]

Hope y'all are having a great time and filling up on yummy food and catch-up time with family and friends! Mwaahhh~!

Double Hearts - Epic Nail Foil Transfer: I Heart You

For my third foil transfer from the Epic Nail Essentials kit, I decided to change it up a little. I'm not quite sure if I succeeded or not though!

[Hearts on your nails, not in your mouth...]

Rather than doing a full manicure, I went with something a bit more cutesy to go with the heart design in I Heart You. Here's how I did it!

[Base: Revlon Powder Puff (1 coat); Topper: Color Club Pearl-spective, pa AA39]

I had a two-day-old manicure on which was a base of Revlon Powder Puff, a matte white polish with a blue sheen, topped with an iridescent topper (Color Club Pearl-spective) and tipped with flakies (pa AA39).

[Base: Revlon Powder Puff (1 coat); Topper: Color Club Pearl-spective, pa AA39]

I thought the shimmery white would make a great base to show off the deep pink and holo in I Heart You, so that's what I went with~

[Epic Nail: I Heart You]

Here's a shot of I Heart You - a dark pink background with shiny holo hearts. So adorable!

[Foil transfer: Epic Nail I Heart You]

I carefully cut out three heart shapes freehand, and then one rectangle for my ring finger. I applied glue all over the nail for all except my pinky, where I did a french tip in glue. Once that was dry, I placed one heart on each of my nails, with a full nail on my ring finger. For my pinky, I used leftover scrap edges and transferred them onto the glue-tacky french tip.

[Foil transfer: Epic Nail I Heart You]

It worked pretty well, not as great as I hoped! The full nail looks great and I'm looking forward to doing a full manicure with this design. The hearts did not transfer as well as I had hoped, simply because when you cut out a specific design, it's hard lifting the transparent plastic away from the transfer as there aren't any free unglued edges to grasp.

I think some great alternatives would be to paint on designs (or even stamp them on!) in glue, somewhat like the french tip I did on my pinky. It's so fun to get creative with nail art and foil transfers are such a great way to get fancy looking patterns on your nails with minimal effort~ ;)

Stay tuned for Jme's reviews of the remaining three designs in this set! If these foils interest you, head on over to Epic Nail to check out what other goodies they have available! Don't forget to use our coupon code BLOGPLISHERIFFIC to get free shipping on all orders with a product total of $30 or over, up to the 31st of December!

SquaRED - Nail Art + Born Pretty Square Nail Studs (2mm) Review

I've been experimenting a bit with nail art lately - mostly with the aim of seeing what I can get away with SUPER QUICK while still being a bit fancy. =)

[Shiny Studly Goodness...]

The Plisherrific girls were recently provided with a sample product from Born Pretty to test out and we picked out some 2mm silver square studs to play around with.

[In the bag: Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Studs]

They arrived super quick, in about 10 days to Australia. The studs were packaged in a tough ziplock bag and you get a fair amount in each bag! It may not look like much at first, but remember, they're tiny and tend to bunch up. I reckon there's upwards of 200 studs (maybe even 300?) per bag.

[Up close: Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Studs]

They are super shiny on the top, and a duller concave bottom. I think the 2mm size is the most versatile, especially with narrower nails like mine. In addition, the larger the nail stud, the more likely it is to stick out off curved nails and drop off.

So... here's what I did with them! =)

[Bottle to nail: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia (1 coat)]

I started with a base of Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia. This one's a fairly old bottle, made in Australia but the colour is still vibrant and creamy. This was just one coat! +1 to speedy nail art~ =)

[1 coat: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia]

I wouldn't really call this fuchsia? It's more of a dusty berry shade to me, but hey, who knows what we're flashbacking too...

[Base: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia (1 coat); Stripe: LA Girl Blackout;
Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Stud]

After the base was dry, I painted a stripe of black just slightly off-centre using LA Girl Blackout, my go-to black creme one-coater. While this was fresh, I used a skewer and gently placed three studs in a row down the wet black polish. They stuck really well too!

[Base: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia (1 coat); Stripe: LA Girl Blackout;
Studs: Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Stud]

I then repeated this with all nails and briefly contemplated leaving it the way it was... but decided, a bit more pizzazz was required!

[Base: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia (1 coat); Stripe: LA Girl Blackout, LA Colors 24K Glitter;
Studs: Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Stud]

So I broke out the nail art striping polish in 24K Glitter by LA Colors Art Deco and painted some gold stripes overlapping the black and red.

[Base: Ulta3 Flashback Fuchsia (1 coat); Stripe: LA Girl Blackout, LA Colors 24K Glitter;
Studs: Born Pretty 2mm Silver Square Nail Stud]

I didn't even bother with topcoat initially and the studs stayed on fairly well as they are small enough to lay close to the nail surface and the edges are slightly rounded off so they don't catch on things as much. It also helps to press them firmly into wet polish so they are slightly embedded in the polish layer for extra grip.

I did end up testing what topcoat would do the the shiny studs and am happy to report that they still remain as shiny (unlike diamantes which lose facets and thus sparkle - curses!).

[GO FORTH AND SHOP... LIKE A BOSS]

These studs were provided to Plisherrific for review by Born Pretty and if you like the look of them, head over there and check them out (they are the 2mm silver square studs)! Born Pretty also stocks tons of nail art supplies and offers free shipping.

In addition, just stick in the code above to get 10% off your purchases! =) BARGAIN!

Hope you enjoyed my mini review + nail art tutorial! I'm hoping to have plenty more coming up in the next month. =)