Holy (Guaca)Moly

I, like pretty much everyone in the world in the past year or so, LOVE avocados. Seriously, they're delicious, and wonderful, and I could really go for some right now... Maybe some avocado toast... Okay, I'm getting off topic, but basically I love avocados so much, I had to paint some on my nails. These were inspired by Girl Next Door on Instagram.

The glittery base for these babies was Goldeneye from OPI. I then painted the lil' avocado halves and slices using a mix of L.O.L. from Essence, and Sassy from Revlon. I added in the details using brown, white, black, and pink acrylic.

Le close up.

So what about you guys? Are you part of the avocado lovers? Or do you hate them? Let me know in the comments below!

Tropical Watercolour

This design came about during the freezing cold (and what felt like never ending) winter here in Canada. I was missing summer like crazy, so I decided to bring the tropics to my nails. 

The gold nails are Golden Eye from OPI. My other three nails all started with a base of Sure Thing from Revlon. For my ring finger and pointer finger, I used blue, pink, and yellow sharpies diluted with rubbing alcohol compound to create the sunset effect. I then added on the palm trees and palm fronds using black acrylic.

I'm happy to say the weather is nice here now, but a couple months ago, these nails were the closest thing I had to warmth.

See ya later!

Mindsweep

 I went to see the band Enter Shikari, and, as always, I painted my nails after their album artwork.

All nails were a base of Black Leather from China Glaze.For my pinkies, pointer finger and thumb, I used blue, purple, pink and red acrylic to paint synapses, as well as a bit of Plum Seduction from Revlon for a brighter magenta in certain spots. On my ring finger, I sponged on some of Yoga-Ta Get This Blue from OPI, then painted the Enter Shikari logo and synapses with white and blue acrylic. Finally, I painted "Enter Shikari" on my middle finger using white acrylic.

I got a chance to meet Rou and Rory from the band, and they thought my nails were awesome!

They also posted them on Instagram!

Hope you guys enjoy! 

Hoppy Easter!

Hey guys! Here are some super quick Easter nails!

They're some little robin's egg nails. I started with a base of That's What I Mint from Essence, and then splattered on Suzi Loves Cowboys from OPI using a toothbrush. Finally, I put on Matte About You from Essence as a top coat.

And here's a bonus picture of my little Easter bunny. 

Happy Easter! Hope you guys enjoy!

Read Or Die

Over the years, I've come to realize, I'm a lot less "ride or die" and a lot more "read or die". I just really like books.

On my left hand pinkie and right hand ring finger, I painted the word "no" using a black and white striper. Next, on my left ring finger and right middle finger, I started with a base of French Quarter For Your Thoughts from OPI, then painted Blue Away from Sally Hansen, Baker Street from Nails Inc., Blazed from Wet 'N' Wild, Lightening from Sally Hansen, Surfing Paradise from Island Girl Hawaii, Khaki from Joe, and Suzi Loves Cowboys from OPI. Then I added on some black and white using stripers, and painted on "ride or die" using a black striper. Finally, I painted "read" using a white striper. My left middle finger and right pointer finger were a base of Sure Thing from Revlon, followed by 3 layers of hairspray water marbling using Black Leather from China Glaze, Finally, my left pointer finger and right pinkie were Baker Street.

Do you guys like to read too? What's your favourite book?

Hope you guys enjoy! 

Current Mood: No

This design came together because I was in one of those "no" moods. So that made me think of Grumpy Cat, which then inspired this.

My pinkie finger is Blue Away from Sally Hansen. On my ring finger, I started with a base of French Quarter For Your Thoughts from OPI, then painted Grumpy Cat using black, brown and white acrylic. My middle finger was a base of Marshmallow from Essie. I then added the flowers in using Blue Away, and white and black acrylic. I then painted the leaves using French Quarter For Your Thoughts and black acrylic. Finally, I finished off with putting fine silver glitter on my pointer finger.

And a little close up on that "no" action.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Breathe... and Take Me Somewhere Warm

For those of you lucky enough to live somewhere warm, well... you're reaaaaaally lucky. The temperatures here have been around -20 Celsius, and lower, for a couple months now. Everything is frozen. I can't actually escape the cold right now, so I did the next best thing; I painted the tropics on my nails.

Bear with me guys; there were a lot of colours used for this design.

Pinkie: I started with a base of Sure Thing from Revlon, then sponged on Blue Away from Sally Hansen, Let's Get Lost from Essence and Yoga-Ta Get This Blue from OPI. I finished of the sponging with a little bit more of Sure Thing to create some clouds and highlights in the water. Finally, using green, black, white and yellow acrylic, I painted on the palm leaf. 

Ring Finger: I started this nail with a base of Sure Thing as well. Next, I sponged on Let's Get Lost, Plum Seduction from Revlon, Yoga-Ta Get This Blue and Blue Away for the sky. I also sponged on Electrified from Quo by Orly, Sun Kissed from Sally Hansen and Hot Tamale from Sally Hansen to create part of the sky and the setting sun. I added in some clouds using black acrylic, and Hot Tamale. Next, for the water, I painted on black acrylic, then sponged Let's Get Lost and Sure Thing on top. I also sponged a tiny bit of Hot Tamale on to be the reflection of the sun. Finally, I painted in the palm tree using black acrylic.

Middle Finger: Like the other nails, this was a base of Sure Thing. I started by painting the tree trunks using Surfing Paradise from Island Girl Hawaii, then added detail to them using black acrylic. I then added in some of Surfing Paradise for the ground. Next, I added the plants into the design using black, white, yellow, and green acrylic, as well as High Line Green from NYC. Using white acrylic, I painted the surf board, then added the details using black and blue acrylic. I touched up the leaves and this nail was done.

Index Finger: Sure Thing was the base for this nail as well. I then sponged on Yoga-Ta Get This Blue, Let's Get Lost, Plum Seduction, Blue Away and Electrified for the sky. I then used black acrylic to paint the silhouettes of the buildings and palm trees.

Now I can have a mini vacation on my nails.

I hope you guys enjoy!

Tribal Vibes

Hey guys! Here's a quick accent nail design I did base on nails that NinaNailedIt did!

I used a base of Blue Away from Sally Hansen, then hairspray water marbled (look this up if you haven't heard of it before, it's so cool!) using Black Leather from China Glaze and then again with Golden Eye from OPI. Finally, I thinly outlined the nail using a black striper and painted the tribal design using a white striper.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Vote Zod

Well, it's starting to look like January has become all about music nail art, with this being my second band inspired design. This design is inspired by the Billy Talent Hits album that came out last year.

As I'm sure you all know by now, I'm a huge Billy Talent fan. You can see my past Billy Talent inspired manicures here, here and here. I fell in love with all the artwork for this album, so it was time for another BT tribute. I started with a base of Black Taxi from Nails Inc. on all of my nails. Then, I sponged on Suzy Loves Cowboys from OPI, Surfing Paradise from Island Girl Hawaii and Sure Thing from Revlon on my ring finger. After that, I painted on the bird's skull and skeleton keys featured on the cover of Hits using black and white acrylic. On my pointer finger, I painted a tie using Revlon Red, which if the name didn't give it away, is from Revlon.  Finally, I added a "Vote Zod" button on the tie with red, blue and white acrylic, which was based off of art for the song Kingdom of Zod.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Happy (Very Belated) New Years

Yes, I realize New Years was almost two weeks ago. I'm a little behind... But hey, better late than never, right? So without further ado, I give you, my New Years nails.

To start it off, I painted my pinkie with Golden Eye from OPI. On my ring finger, I started with a base of Black Taxi from Nails Inc., then dry brushed on Frostbite from China Glaze, Plum Seduction from Revlon and Tomorrow Never Dies from OPI. Finally, I painted on "Happy New Year" with gold acrylic. My middle finger is also a base of Black Taxi, which I then painted fireworks on using Golden Eye, Frostbite and Tomorrow Never Dies. I created a gradient base of Plum Seduction and from Happy Hour from Sephora. Then, using black and white acrylic, I painted the Brooklyn Bridge. Finally, my thumb was a base of Black Taxi followed by painting "2015" using Golden Eye and white acrylic. 

Hope your New Years was fun! Here's to the best year yet!

Merry (Belated) Christmas

So I'm a little behind on this... but here are my Christmas manicures!

Okay, first off, my Rudolph manicure. 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the classic Christmas movie, and seeing as Rudolph was my favourite, I had to do a tribute. I started with a base of Dorothy Who? from China Glaze on all my nails. Then, using brown, white, red, and black acrylic, I painted Rudolph and Clarice. 

And then I had to pay tribute to another iconic Christmas movie: Home Alone. I started with a base of The Spy Who Loved Me from OPI, and then used white acrylic to paint "Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal" and the Christmas sweater designs. 

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a great time, and for those of you who don't, I hope you had (or are having) a great time celebrating whatever you do!

Hope you enjoy!

Egyptian Flare

I wanted to do a simple manicure, but one which hopefully still had a pretty big impact. I feel like this design was exactly what I needed. Everyone who saw my hieroglyphic manicure loved it, which was totally awesome!

I started with a base of French Quarter for Your Thoughts from OPI, then using black acrylic, painted on the hieroglyphs. They spell out, from left to right, 'SING', as music is something extremely important to me. I also happen to be in love with Ancient Egyptian history, so this manicure combined a lot of things I love. 

Hope you guys enjoy!

Frida

Today's Halloween themed nail design is inspired by the artwork of Kat Tatz. I stumbled across the gem that inspired this while scrolling through The Daily Nail's instagram. As someone who is a huge fan of sugar skulls, and art, it was awesome to see someone combine Frida Kahlo's famous self-portraits with intricate sugar skull makeup. I just had to replicate this on my nails.

I started with a base of French Quarter for Your Thoughts from OPI, then lightly dry brushed some white acrylic over my nail. The rest of the design was completely done in acrylic craft paint. I have no idea how many hours I spent on this, but it was worth it. I love how this turned out and how it gives a subtle Halloween vibe.

What do you guys think? Anything you want to see before Halloween??

Hope you guys enjoy!

*You can also see these nails on my instagram, as well as The Daily Nail's.

Rotting Away

I know. That's a morbid title, but hey, tis the season... The season for creepy, morbid and sometimes gross stuff. By that I mean, it's Halloween time!!

Anyways, some of you may remember my zombie nails from a couple years ago. As much as it was kind of disturbing to have that design on my nails, it was really fun to wear. And seeing as zombies seem to be here to stay for a while, I give you Zombie Nails, Version 2.0.

1. Paint your nails a flesh tone. When I say flesh tone, I mean use a colour that is very similar to your skin colour. For me, this was Sheer Nude from Orly. Also, using the same flesh colour, paint a couple layers of it on a plastic baggy to create your own nail stickers. Do this about an 1-2 hours before the rest of the manicure.

2. Once the polish on the plastic bag has dried for an hour or a bit more, start tearing off or cutting pieces and placing them onto your nails. Wrinkle, fold, and tear the peeled off polish to make it look like rotting flesh... just like a zombie. Kinda gross, but it makes a cool (and creepy) effect.

3. To make the skin look like it's rotting, you want to give it a grey tone, like there isn't blood getting to the surface. To achieve this look, I sponged on French Quarter for Your Thoughts from OPI. Then, I added a khaki green, Khaki from Joe, to give a sort of mossy, moldy look. If you'd like, you can also add a bit off a purple polish for bruising. Make sure if you use purple, you use a purple with a blue undertone (more indigo coloured), since this will look more like real bruising. I used Fig from Joe. Finally, sponge on (very lightly) some black polish, focusing on folds and the edges of tears. I used Black Taxi from Nails Inc. *At this point, you can sponge or dab on some clear matte polish as well to create more of a dead skin look. I used Sally Hansen's Big Matte Top Coat.

4. Now add blood. I used a mix of Revlon Red from Revlon and Black Taxi, and globbed this onto parts of the nail where I had created tears. Then, using either your finger or a sponge, dab, sponge and smudge more red polish onto the nails to look like smeared blood.

A few tips:

1. Use cream or matte polishes for this look. Metallic or glitter polishes will take away from the "real" look of this.

2. Use cool colours. Any colour with a warm look (pink, magenta, lime green) will make it look like healthy skin, instead of zombie skin.

3. Make sure you either use a dark red for the blood or mix it with black. This will give a more realistic look.

4. Don't make this look perfect. You're trying to make gross zombie nails. They should look some what messy. The "torn skin" should look torn. The "blood" should be smeared or splattered. They should look like they're dirty, just like rotting zombies.

And there you have it. Some gory zombie nails. If you plan on being a zombie for Halloween, this can take your look to the next level.

I hope you guys enjoy this slightly disgusting and disturbing Halloween look!

Hollerado

On Thursday night, I went to see Hollerado... again. Some of you guys may remember the nails I did for a Hollerado concert back in January. And of course, being me, I had to paint my nails again.

My pinkie and pointer finger are based off of the stained glass windows on the cover for the album White Paint. I started with a base of Black Taxi from Nails Inc. then added the stained glass using Gypsy Queen from Misa, Blue Away from Sally Hansen, Frostbite from China Glaze, High Line Green from NYC, Sure Thing from Revlon, Sun Kissed from Sally Hansen and Tomorrow Never Dies from OPI. On my ring finger, I started with a base of Sure Thing, then painted "Hollerado" with black acrylic and all the colours mentioned above for the stained glass. I painted the doodle of Lonesome George, the tortoise on my middle finger on a base of Sure Thing. The tortoiseis painted with black acrylic, then I used watered down acrylic to get the water colour effect around him. Finally, my thumb is the cover for Record in a Bag. I started with a base of Sure Thing, then painted the record with black acrylic. I painted the beginning of the Hollerado logo at the top with High Line Green. 

The band came out after to talk to everyone, and I got a chance to show them my nails again. They all remembered me as the girl with the crazy nail art. I also had quite a good chat with the singer, Menno, which might lead to an exciting opportunity for me, but more on that later! And I finally me and the drummer in the band, Jake, so I now have photos with him too!

It was another amazing concert!

Hope you guys enjoy!

O Captain! My Captain!

As I'm sure many of you now know, last week we lost a legend. I have to say, it's the first celebrity I've felt truly saddened about losing. I mean usually, when a celebrity you like dies, you're sad at first, but it passes quickly. You didn't actually know them, you just knew the characters they played on the big screen, but this time, it's different. Whether it was watching him as Genie, helping to turn Aladdin's life around, making us laugh as he masqueraded as Mrs. Doubtfire or encouraging us to "seize the day" as Mr. Keating in the Dead Poet's Society, Robin Williams will be missed greatly. And so, today's manicure, pays tribute to Robin Williams.

My pinkie is High Line Green from Sally Hansen, and represents the movie Flubber. On my ring finger, I used a base of Sure Thing from Revlon and then painted the quote "O Captain! My Captain!" in black acrylic, which is from the movie Dead Poets Society. My middle finger is a base of Sure Thing, followed by a gradient of Frostbite from China Glaze and Casino Royale from OPI, then the Genie from Aladdin painted in acrylic. My pointer finger is flowers painted in acrylic (representing Mrs. Doubtfire's floral print dress) on a base of Sure Thing. Finally, my thumb is a base of Sure Thing, then I sponged on Surfing Paradise from Island Girl Hawaii and Unplugged from China Glaze. Then, using acrylic, I painted on Hook.

As a second tribute to Robin Williams, I doodled with some Sharpie and created a fake tattoo.

So, Robin Williams, you will be greatly missed.

Hope you guys enjoy.

Shark Happens

Today, ladies and gentlemen, is a day that will make history. Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but another movie about sharks that get sucked into a tornado gets released today. Yup. It's time for Sharknado 2: The Second One. It's cinematic gold. And to mark this absolutely historic event, I painted my nails. Obviously. ;)

The base for all my nails is Black Taxi from Nails Inc. I then applied Yoga-Ta Get This Blue from OPI on top. Then, with very little polish on the brush, I randomly applied Frostbite from China Glaze and Dreamer from Revlon towards the tips of my nails. I painted the shark on my ring finger with red, black and white acrylic. The writing on my pointer finger is white acrylic.

I hope you guys enjoy. And also, beware of tornadoes filled with sharks, and remember guys; Shark Happens. ;)

Gotta Catch 'Em All!

If the title didn't give it away, this weeks manicure is Pokémon inspired. Now I don't know about you guys, but I was definitely a Pokémon fan when I was younger. I didn't actually know how to play with the cards, but I watched the show and played the video game on my brother's old Game Boy. 

On my pinkie, I painted Squirtle. I started with a base of Club Privé from L'Oréal, then added the detail with acrylics. My ring finger is a Pokéball. The base is Sure Thing and Revlon Red from Revlon. Then I painted the rest of the Pokéball with white and black acrylic. My middle finger is Charizard, with a base of Sunkissed from Sally Hansen and details in acrylic. Finally, my pointer finger is Bulbasaur, with a base of Mermaid's Tears from OPI and acrylic detail. My thumb was another Pokéball. 

I'm super happy with how this manicure turned out! Definitely brings me back to second grade when I was given my first Pokémon card. I was always a huge fan of Ponyta (mainly because I had a horse obsession). What was your favourite Pokémon? Let me know!

Hope you guys enjoy!

I'm Weird

On Friday I went to Warped Tour 2014. For those of you who don't know, Warped Tour is a huge music festival that is now international. There are over 100 bands and artists on the tour, so there's something for everyone to enjoy. It was my first time going to Warped Tour and it was an amazing experience. Here are my nails for the occasion.

My pinkie is a base of Black Taxi from Nails Inc. Then I sponged on Frostbite from China Glaze, Plum Seduction from Revlon, Back In My Gloria Days from Nicole By OPI and Let's Get Lost from Essence to create a galaxy. Finally, I added some stars with white acrylic. My ring finger is the Journeys logo, with a base of Black Taxi painted in white acrylic. My middle finger is part of the illustration for the Ghost Town song Monster. The base is High Line Green from NYC, and the rest is acrylic. On my pointer finger, I started with a base of Black Taxi, then sponged on French Quarter for Your Thoughts and Ski Slop Sweetie, both from OPI. I added stars and "I'm Weird" which is a new song from Ghost Town. Finally, my thumb is the Vans logo. The base is Black Taxi and the lettering is acrylic. 

Conor from Ice Nine Kills. 

And Bertrand from Chunk! No Captain Chunk! 

Warped Tour was definitely fun! And it was great to see some awesome bands! 

Hope you guys enjoy!

*UPDATE*

This is a tour vlog from Ghost Town. If you watch from about 1:05, you'll see me showing off my nails at the Toronto Warped Tour show!

Also, Warped Tour posted my nails on their Instagram!

This and That

Today's manicure is based on a design I saw somewhere on the internet (with my own twist), but I'm not really sure where... But, credit to whoever came up with this originally! Anyways, the design.

My pinkies and thumbs are a base of Flirt from Revlon. The daisies are white and yellow acrylic, and the smiley face is black and yellow acrylic. My left ring finger and right middle finger are a base of Mint Sorbet from Sally Hansen with gold hearts made of The Man With The Golden Gun 18k gold top coat from OPI. My middle finger (left hand) is a base of White Matter from Formula X. The yin-yang is completed with Black Satin from Rimmel. My left pointer finger and right ring finger are In True Stefani Fashion from OPI. And my right pointer finger is a peacock feather made with Frostbite from China Glaze, Deviantly Daring from China Glaze, Unplugged from China Glaze, and Show Me The Greens from Misa.

Hope you guys enjoy!