31 Day Nail Art Challenge, Day 1 - Red

Hello!

So here we go. I don't know where and when this challenge started, but I've been vaguely aware of it through the nail blogosphere for about a year. I don't know why I decided to start. I guess because I noticed it on day one and realized I wasn't behind yet!

I will be out of town for a few days to attend a wedding this month, so I already know I won't have the time to complete all the challenges - but I figure I can at least give it a go while I'm in the country.

Day 1 - Roses are Red

A classic interpretation (and hey, this was started on a whim).

I was hoping the contrast in textures would be more obvious, but nothing wrong with a little subtlety from time to time (I guess, ha).
I used a base of bondi nyc Horny Mistress (still lovin' that name!), with a-England Rose Bower on my pinky. I stamped the roses from Pueen Encore 03A and carefully filled them in with Rose Bower. I was quite pleased that I didn't have to reverse stamp these roses to get that same effect!

I don't wear red nails very often, but I really did enjoy the classic 'femme fatale' look.

Anyway, wish me luck as I try my best to keep up with all the amazingly talented participants in this years 31 Day Nail Art Challenge (which will referred to as #31dc2014 henceforth).

-L

More holo! More floral!

Hello!

If you follow the canvaslacquer Instagram account you may have seen this a few days ago. I'm kind of new to this whole nail social media thing, so I'm happy to report this has so far been my most 'liked' look.

I started with 2 coats of a-England Her Rose Adagio. Not sure why the pink doesn't really come through in photos, but it's a beautiful shade (and I'm not typically big on soft pink). For added interest I dabbed on a bit of a-England Dancing with Nureyev. The blue seems to read a bit better than the pink, but overall it comes off sorta silvery.

For the branches I used a-England Briarwood, an amazing brown holo that also stamps beautifully. I used Vivid Lacquer plate 014. Next for the leaves I used Pueen 33 with my usual OPI Amazon...Amazoff, the only non-holo polish for this look, I have plenty of green holos that probably do stamp well, I just thought it might clash too much with all the other holo going on so I opted for a creme. Finally, with a dotting tool for the flowers I used Colors by Llarowe OABTRAD. The little centers are Color Club Kismet.

passiflora

I've been trying to incorporate more visual interest in my nail pics, but I find holding an item and positioning my hand for the photo at the same time incredibly awkward! So here's a rando photo of me trying to pose with one of my passionflower vines.

Do you guys prefer JUST the nails or do like seeing someone posing with something?

-L

Holographic Mix with Floral Accents

Hello!

I haven't featured holos in awhile (which is odd since I LOVE holos), so here we go!

So I could utilize many shades, I decided to try the dry brush method to get this cool mix of holographic goodness.

I started with 2 coats of A-England Fonteyn. Then with very little polish on the brush, I randomly splotched on the following: Layla Emerald Divine (green), Color Club Eternal Beauty (purple), Colors by Llarowe OABTRAD (deep pink), and Liquid Sky Lacquer Swerve (blue).

I added the floral image from Pueen 72 using Konad Gold Black. The image was a bit lost at first, so to highlight it a bit I filled the flowers in, using a very light hand and a small brush, with Gosh 24HR Holographic. The difference is subtle but I love effect.

It's so hard not to stare at this mani when it's sparkling in the sun!

-L

Spongey Coloured Floral, Nails of the Day

Hello!

I thought about continuing with my monochrome theme, but the weather has been too nice not to do something more bright and summery.

I started with a base of a-England Encore Margot, a gorgeous silvery holo that has not been justice by my photos. I really wanted to see how cremes and a holo base would play together so I grabbed bondi nyc The Limelight (bright green), Essie Come Here (coral) and a blue Misa I can never remember the name of!

before the stamping

I quite like the look of this before the stamping. I really wish the holo translated better, it looks SO COOL in the sun, but I didn't get a chance for a photo.
I used a Pueen plate and Konad Gold Black for the flowers and dots.

I did my best to offset the stamping so I wouldn't cover up too much of the holo base and the sponged colours. I like the final result, and it matched my mood and the weather! I feel like there's got to be a dress or two out there that this would pair up perfectly with.

-L

From the vault...

I really started getting into nail art only about a year ago. I think I've come a long way since then, but it's also nice to reflect on my first few mani's; to see the evolution of my style and skills.
From time to time I (or Alana) will post something 'from the vault'... kind of like a Throwback Thursdays, only for nails, and on whatever day of the week we feel like!

my first fully stamped mani

I used 3 A-england polishes for the gradient, stamped the snake-like pattern from 2 different images, and then added the gold accents with another A-england.

I'm now sporting more squoval shaped nails, only for the last couple months - but seeing those roundies seems so foreign already!

-L