Mani Monday: Smiley Face Mani

 Hello Lovelies!

This Mani Monday I wanted to display a mani I have been pondering for a while now and finally got around to doing it. A mani that is sure to put a smile on your dial :) Firstly, thanks to Heather from Glitter & Gloss Blog for featuring my mani from last week as her favourite choice! Secondly, one of my manis was featured in the March 2013 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine (South Africa), I could have died with excitement, more about that below! Here is the Smiley Face Mani:

If you recall, I recently won a Revlon hamper to the value of R1000.00 packed with goodies for winning a weekly Mani Monday competition run by magazine giant Cosmopolitan (South Africa) in coalition with Revlon (South Africa). Cosmopolitan called me a few weeks ago wanting to feature my winning Girls of Summer Mani in their upcoming issue in a spread about Manicure Mondays, of course I could not say no :)

Now, that all that goodness is out of the way, let’s move on with todays Mani Monday shall we. For this Smiley Face Mani I highlighted the smiley face on plain yellow accent nails with pops of yellow lines peeking through black nail polish on all the other nails. I used striping tape to achieve the line detailing on the nails and used a stamping kit for the accent nails (needed some free hand touching up though). I used Revlon Nail Care Calcium Gel Nail Hardener as a basecoat, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow x3 coats as a base colour coat, Essence Nail Art Stampy Polish in Stamp Me! Black x1 coat for nail art and top colour coat and Revlon Nail Care ColorStay Gold Standard Top Coat as a top coat. 

You will need:

• Base coat nail polish
• Base colour coat nail polish (I chose yellow)
• Top coat colour nail polish & for nail art (I chose black)
• Top coat nail polish
• Stamping kit with smiley face stencil (or you can draw on the smiley face freehand with a toothpick)
• Toothpicks

Method:

1) Apply base coat nail polish to nails, wait for it to dry completely   

2) Apply base colour coat to all nails, wait for it to dry completely   

3) Apply striping tape to tips of all nails (except accent finger nails aka ring finger nails)…place the striping tape around where you would paint a french tip. Make sure you firmly press down the striping tape so that there are no air bubbles, this will ensure that there is a clean, neat line left when you pull the striping tape off later

4) Paint all nails (except ring finger nails) with x1 coat of black nail polish, you will paint the nail polish straight over the striping tape. The principle works the same as it would with painting on white french tips using french tip guides

5) Immediately after painting on the nail polish remove the striping tape from the nail. I find it best to work nail by nail, paint one nail and remove the striping tape immediately and then only move onto the next nail, I find this leaves a cleaner, neater line. Repeat steps 3-5 on all nails

6) Now you can start working on the smiley face nail art for the accent nails. I used an Essence stampy stencil for the smiley faces on the accent nails, however for some reason I had trouble getting the stampy design to transfer onto the stampy stamper. The Essence black stampy nail polish I was using was a matte effect nail polish, I'm not sure if that had a negative effect or not. The stampy design only very lightly transferred onto the nail and at that, some of the design didn’t transfer at all so I had to go over the design freehand. This is clearly apparent in the shaky smile of the smiley face! Like wise if you don’t own a stamping set you can apply the smiley face freehand with a toothpick. However, I do highly recommend the Essence stamping set, available at Dis-Chem (SA drugstore)…this has been the only time I've had a little trouble with it, most times it works a charm once you get the hang of it. More discussions on how to use a stamping set here

7) To apply the smiley face freehand, you could dot on the two eyes using a toothpick dipped into the black nail polish and slowly draw an upside down ‘C” shape for the smile…if you have a steady hand then your smile will look better than my shaky attempt! No shame though, I think it adds character haha :)

8) Once all the nail art is dry, apply top coat nail polish

9) Look down at your mani and totally feel a huge smile creeping up on you, ‘cos you can’t help but be cheery with a mani like this! This mani automatically made me start thinking of the childhood rhyming song ‘If you happy and you know it, clap your hands…' la la la…c’mon tell me I’m not the only one!

What instantly brings a smile to your face?

 

As always, linking up to Mani Monday below, with the fabulous Heather and Heather! I will also be joining the ladies over at The Nail Files.   

Join the fun side of life and link up to Mani Monday and The Nail Files below :)

Mani Monday: I’m International {Polish Swap}

 Hi Beauties!

Today I am featuring a mani that I was able to put together from a package of amazingness that was sent to me by Emma, a dear blog friend who blogs over at the ever wonderful Subliminally Smitten! I participated in my very first international polish swap, from the shores of the USA to South Africa and it’s been an awesome experience!

Emma and I sent each other packages full of stunning nail polishes that we thought the other would like, favourite brands and country specific brands, all in all we aimed to totally spoil each other! I was completely spoilt by Emma and love everything that she sent me! We will both be featuring more of the nail polishes we sent each other over the next few weeks. Do mosey on over and check out Emma's stunning blog, Subliminally Smitten.

For my International Swap Mani, I used four colours that Emma sent to me. The four featured colours are Zoya in Harley, Barielle Shades in Now That’s Hot, China Glaze in For Audrey and Julep in Jordan – Boho Glam. I used Nail Care Calcium Gel Nail Hardener as a basecoat, Zoya in Harley as a base colour coat x3 coats, Barielle Shades in Now That’s Hot for half moon tips x1 coat, China Glaze in For Audrey on accent nail for added half moon nail art x1 coat, Julep in Jordan – Boho Glam for half moon nail art x1 coat and Revlon Nail Care ColorStay Gold Standard Top Coat as a top coat. 

You will need:

• Base coat nail polish
• Base colour coat nail polish (I chose silver)
• Coloured nail polish for half moon tips (I chose hot pink)
• Silver glitter nail polish for half moon nail art
• Coloured nail polish for added half moon nail art (I chose mint)
• Toothpick
• Reinforcement stickers
• Top coat nail polish

Method:

1) Apply base coat nail polish to nails, wait for it to dry completely  

2) Apply base colour coats to all nails, wait for it to dry completely  

3) Apply reinforcement stickers to all nails, apply each sticker so that half the sticker is on your nail and the other half on your finger. Basically you are placing the reinforcement stickers on all your nails in such a manner so that the curve of the sticker follows a half moon shape at the top of your nail. Ensure that the stickers are pressed down firmly and that there are no air bumps underneath the stickers…this will lead to messy half moon nail art

4) Apply pink nail polish to all nails excluding the ring finger nails, as these are the are accent nails, you will be painting the mint colour nail polish first. Apply the nail polish over the reinforcement stickers, don’t worry the reinforcement sticker will keep in tact the half moon shape underneath the pink nail polish. Carefully remove each reinforcement sticker from each nail, I prefer to do this immediately after the pink nail polish has been applied as I find it leaves a cleaner line

5) Apply mint nail polish to ring finger nails over the reinforcement stickers and carefully remove the stickers once the nail polish has been applied

Your nails should look like this before moving onto the next step!

6) While you are waiting for the half moon tips to dry you can start working on the glitter nail art in the half moon on your nails. I chose to paint the half moon design silver first as if there are any open spaces in between the glitter nail polish the half moon nail art will still look uniform as the silver nail polish blends in with the glitter nail polish

7) Pour a small pool of glitter nail polish onto a scrap piece of paper, then dip a toothpick into the glitter nail polish and dab, pat and drag the nail polish within the half moon detail on the nails. I found it was easiest using a toothpick than trying to use the nail polish brush. With the toothpick I was able to stay neatly within the half moon line. Complete this step on all nails including the accent nails

8) Once the mint nail polish on the accent nails is completely dry it’s time to apply the pink nail polish, this will provide uniformity as all the nails will have have pink half moon tips

9) Apply reinforcement stickers to ring finger nails. Place the stickers further down the nail so that two thirds of the sticker is on the nail and one third of the sticker is on the finger. You are ensuring that the band of mint nail polish will peek out below the silver half moon detailing by placing the reinforcement sticker in this way

10) Apply pink nail polish over the reinforcement sticker and carefully remove the sticker. The result will be a silver half moon, with a mint band below that and the pink half moon tip. Complete this step on other ring finger nail

11) Only the ring finger nails will have the band of mint nail polish in between the glitter half moon and the pink half moon tip. The ring finger nails and all other nails should resemble the following

12) Wait for nail art to dry completely, then apply top coat nail polish

13) Be stoked with this glittery, girly and feminine mani! 

What’s your fav girly mani ? Have your participated in an international project or swap of any kind before ?

As always, linking up to Mani Monday below, with the fabulous Heather and Heather! I will also be joining the ladies over at The Nail Files. 

Join the fun side of life and link up to Mani Monday and The Nail Files below :)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Getting into the spirit of this love-filled day with my V-day mani! May your Valentine’s Day be filled with love, joy & happiness whether you are celebrating with your significant other or going out on the town with friends!

Mani Monday: Cherry Hearts Mani

Hi all!

This Mani Monday I had to indulge in the theme of love as this week welcomes Valentine’s Day. The colour scheme of this mani was inspired by some of my favourite Valentine’s day chocolate treats, maraschino cherry chocolates, yum! 

The inspiration:

I used a dark pink and light pink to contrast the similar colours of the inside of the chocolate. I added cute accent finger nails in light pink with two dancing hearts (with faces) holding hands! The finishing girly touches to this mani was a glitter top coat. I kept this mani fairly understated as I found the glitter top coat paired with the accent nail to be just enough nail art. With a glitter top coat I prefer not to go too crazy on the nail art. This look is still wearable for day to day use while counting down to Valentine’s Day. I used Revlon Nail Care Calcium Gel Nail Hardener as a basecoat, Bella Cosmetics nail polish in light pink (my description) on ring finger nails (accent nails) x3 coats, Bella Cosmetics nail polish in dark pink (my description) on all remaining finger nails x3 coats & x1 coat for nail art, Rimmel 60 Seconds in Black Out x1 coat for nail art and Essence Glitter Topcoat x1 coat.

You will need

• Base coat nail polish
  
• 2 Base colour nail polishes (I chose dark pink & light pink)
  
• Black nail polish for nail art
  
• Toothpicks
  
• Glitter Top Coat nail polish

Method:

1) Apply base coat nail polish to nails, wait for it to dry completely  

2) Apply x3 coats of light pink nail polish to ring nails and x3 coats of dark pink nail polish to the remaining nails, wait for it to dry completely   

3) Start working on the dancing heart details on the ring finger (accent) nails. Pour a small pool of dark pink nail polish on a scrap piece of paper. Dip the toothpick into the pool of dark pink nail polish and dot on 3 dots in an upside down triangle shape onto your nail, you are making three dots at each corner of the triangle. Now join and pull in each dot to each other, the design will now resemble a heart shape. Repeat this step so that you have 2 hearts on the ring finger nail (and repeat on other ring finger nail as well). The technique to drawing a heart is discussed here (point 15-16) and here (point 7-8) with pictures describing each step

4) While waiting for the heart designs to dry completely you can apply the glitter top coat to all nails (except the ring finger nails, you are still working on the dancing heart details)

5) Once the heart designs have dried completely, pour a small pool of black nail polish onto a scrap piece of paper. Dip the toothpick into the black nail polish and dot onto the hearts two eyes and a smiling mouth. Once you have completed dotting on the eyes, if you wish, you may draw 3 small eyelashes coming out of the eyes on one of the hearts.  Lastly, draw two small lines coming out of the side of each heart and join the lines in the middle of the nail, these small lines are to resemble hands. My intention was to make it look as if the hearts are holding hands

6) Once the nail art is completely dry, apply glitter top coat to ring finger nails as well

7) Be totally kitsch with your Valentine’s Day themed manicure, it’s only one day of the year where you can be completely kitsch, cheesy and mushy! Go out and party with your girlfriends or enjoy a romantic evening with your significant other! Love & Light to all on Valentine's Day! :)

Are you pro or anti Valentine’s Day ?

As always, linking up to Mani Monday below, with the fabulous Heather and Heather! I will also be joining the ladies over at The Nail Files.  

Join the fun side of life and link up to Mani Monday and The Nail Files below :)

Mani Monday: Floral Loving Mani

G’day my lovelies!

I have been lusting after the rose petal mani for a while now and I finally decided to pluck up the courage and attempt this cute floral design on my nails. I added a fun twist with index finger accent nails paired with roses french tips. I love the results!

I used Revlon Nail Care Calcium Gel Nail Hardener as a basecoat, Revlon Scented Nail Polish in Apricot Peachy x5 coats (unfortunately it needs so many coats to build up opacity but I love the almost candy like scent) on all nails, Revlon in Red Hot Tamale x1 coat for nail art, Colours Nail Enamel in Red x 1 coat for nail art, Colours Xtreme Nail Colour in Jungle Fever x1 coat for nail art, Revlon in Garden x1 coat for nail art and Revlon Nail Care ColorStay Gold Standard Top Coat as a top coat. 

You will need

• Base coat nail polish
• Base colour coat nail polish (I chose a muted nude peach colour)
• 2 nail polish colours for the rose petals design (I chose red & a lighter coral-red colour. If you don’t have two shades from the same colour family, you can use red/pink and then use a white nail polish as a substitute to contrast)
• 2 nail polish colours for the rose leaf design (I chose a dark green & a light green…if you only have one green nail polish, it will suffice)
• Toothpicks
• Earbuds
• Top coat nail polish

Method:

1) Apply base coat nail polish to nails, wait for it to dry completely 

2) Apply base colour coats to all nails, wait for it to dry completely 

3) Start working on the rose designs by pouring a small pool of light coral-red nail polish on a scrap piece of paper, dip one end of the earbud into the pool of coral-red nail polish and dot the colour onto the piece of paper…you want to get rid of any excess nail polish first. Now, dot the nail polish onto your index finger nails in a haphazard design. You want to place dots all over your index finger nails so that the rose design will cover the entire index finger nails

4) Dot the coral-red nail polish using the earbud onto the french tips of all other nails…about 3 rose designs can fit per french tip per nail 

5) The rose petal design can be done in 4 simple steps 

6) To add depth and create the illusion of a rose design, you will need to add a darker (or lighter) colour of nail polish onto the big rose dot on the nails. This will help create the rose design. Pour a small pool of red nail polish onto a scrap piece of paper and dip a toothpick into the pool of red nail polish. Carefully draw two interlocking C’s in the middle of the big rose dots 

7) Now add two bigger C’s on opposite sides of each big rose dot. You are creating the illusion of the petals of the rose from an aerial view

8) Continue step 6-7 on all nails by completing the petal design on all the big rose dots, all that is left to do now is the leaf designs 

9) Pour a small pool of dark green nail polish onto a scrap piece of paper and dip a toothpick into the nail polish, drag the toothpick from the edge of the rose design outwards into the shape of a small triangle. Two triangle leaves must be drawn on either side of each rose design and these small triangles must be drawn so that they are touching each rose design. This will ensure that it looks like the leaves are coming out from the rose

10) Complete step 9 on all nails ensuring that all rose designs have leaves 

11) To add detail and depth to the leaves, pour a small pool of light green nail polish on a scrap piece of paper and dip a toothpick into the nail polish. Dot and drag a small amount of light green nail polish in a line in the middle of all the dark green leaves. This adds depth to the leaves 

12) Wait for all nail art to dry and apply top coat 

13) I know, be stunned that the nail art you were busy doing all along, that you thought just looked like random splodges now actually looks like intricately drawn roses! Totally be on trend with your floral manicure! :)

What's your favourite trend at the moment? 

 

As always, linking up to Mani Monday below, with the fabulous Heather and Heather! I will also be joining the ladies over at The Nail Files. 

Join the fun side of life and link up to Mani Monday and The Nail Files below :)