Designer Tips

Hello, everyone!

I hope all of my American readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I finally have put down the leftovers long enough to post my latest manicure!

I went for something relatively simple since holiday weeks can just be so busy.  This is a base of Orly French Manicure in Sheer Nude.  I freehanded the tips in Wet n Wild Black Creme.  I used stamping plate QA24 for these cute "designer" tips.  It's hard to see the colors because of the cloudy weather, but I used Konad Special Polishes in Pastel Pink, Pastel Green, and Pastel Purple.

For an emphasis, I used a black nail pen to dot some lines on the nails of the thumb and ring finger.  I like the look and I got lots of compliments on this one!

I hope you are well!  I'm so thankful that I get to share my polish designs with you!

Fade to Plaid

Hello, everyone!

We're having sweater weather here!  Brrr....   To go along with my winter sweaters, I created this Fall plaid nail design.  My gradients still aren't perfect...argh...but here's what I used for this one.

This is a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Petal Pusher.  I made a gradient with that lovely and strange caramel, L'Oreal The Perfect Trench.  This is stamped with plate QA24 (from eBay), a unique, plaid french manicure design that I've been dying to try.  I used Revlon Top Speed in Espresso to stamp over the gradient.

So...here's my gradient problem (or at least one of them!) - I can't find a good sponge!  I bought the Konad sponging set - which was really expensive to get a few foam sponges.  The sponges worked like a champ, though.  I find I do better when I use eye shadow applicators, maybe because of the small area.  I just haven't had a chance to make it back to Sally's to resupply.  

Also, I figured I should be able to do this really cheaply, so I'm currently using pieces from a replacement mop head (!).  It works, I just can't quite get the color on where I want it.

     Sigh...

          Any suggestions, polish lovers?

Black Accented French Manicure

Today's post is actually from several weeks back.  I have mixed feelings about this one, but I'll put it out there anyway.  I really like the black accents in French manicures, but I can't decide what I don't like about this one.

This is simply a base of  Orly French Manicure Sheer Nude, tips polished with Wet n Wild Black Creme, stamped with Konad Special Polish in White using BM 218.  I figured it might be a good time to use the black rhinestones in the wheel I have (because when else will I use them?), so I stuck one on each nail.

Hmm...thoughts on this one?

Purple Accented French Manicure

Whoa - has it really been almost a week since my last post?  Where has this week gone?  Well, I guess I'll take a step out of the time warp to share today's colorful French mani.

This is a base of Kleancolor Pink Sleepers.  I couldn't find the nail guides so I freehanded the tips with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White.

I wanted a big, frilly design, so I took a look at my XL Plate I.  One of the nice things about the XL plates is that you'll find the same design in different sizes, so you can pick the size that works best for the look you're going for.  I chose the largest of this fan or leaf design.

For the stamping, I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Urgent Orchid and L'oreal Violet Vixen.  To finish, I added a rhinestone to the curlicue...and, there you have it!

I'll catch you soon, Konaddicts!  I hope you also aren't feeling stuck in a time warp!

Bright French Manicure

Sorry about the low lighting - it's chilly, cloudy day today.

We've got cloudy days, but I still wanted to get a shot of my colorful french manicure.I've been wanting to try out some of those awesome french manicure tips in the second Bundle Monster set.  Since the pattern has leaves room for your base color to show through, I wanted to experiment with a multi-colored base.

I started with a base of Insta Dri Petal Pusher.  I drew some lines with polishes and a nail pen to make a bright base over which to stamp. Here's my base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Snappy Sorbet,L'Oreal Violet Vixen, Milani Cherry Pie, and contrasting lines drawn with a teal colored nail pen.

Then, I stamped the tips using Konad Special polish in white using BM 217.  And voila!
Or, at least, mostly voila, as soon as I can do something about this dry fall skin!

Well, I'm off to enjoy a day of cool, fall weather!  Have a great day, Konaddicts!

Hello Kitty of the Month: Primary Kitty

Ooof - I'm not feeling well today, but I wanted take a moment to post my August Hello Kitty nails, so here goes!

The base I used is Love my Nails Angel, a pearly white.  I painted the tips with Love my Nails Pomegranate.    I stamped the plaid using MyOnlineShop's Yellow Special Polish and Konad M64.

To stamp kitty, I used Wet n Wild Black Creme and a Hello Kitty with paws from plate QA12.  I dotted in her bow with Kleancolor Metallic Pink.  I didn't like the pink, so I redid the bows with NYC Broadway Burgundy Frost.

Hope you like it!  Even upset tummies feel a little better when you have Hello Kitty nails!

Thanks for reading!

Fresh Watermelon Nails

Hello, everyone!  Apparently, I can not resist Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fuchsia Flare this summer.  When I look at my polishes, my hand is just drawn to this bottle.

This time, I found it to be a perfect base for a watermelon mani.  Fuchsia Flare is the base color.  I freehanded the tips in Pure Ice Siren (it took two coats to make sure the pink didn't peep out).  I stamped the "rind" with Kleancolor Green Grass using one of the French Tips on Konad M45. The "seeds" were stamped using the polka dots from my Hello Kitty plate QA-12.  I topped it with a topcoat with Spectraflair.

Who's ready for a picnic, Konaddicts?

Can-Can French Manicure

Hi, everyone!
I've opted for a simple mani today using a design from DRK-A.  For a base, I used two coats of  Orly French Manicure Sheer Nude.  On top of that, I used one coat of Bella Il Fiore - it's a blue-tinged sheer that came from an old French Manicure kit.  Milani Black Magic is my stamping polish.


The blue tint keeps the mani interesting, the pattern is simple and sweet, and, best of all, it was quick and easy! The result reminds me a bit of those leggy French Can Can dancers!


Don't be afraid to kick up your heels, Konddicts!

Valentine Hearts French Mani with Cheeky Plates

More hearts!

This time, I used my new Cheeky plates for the design.  I used Kleancolor Pink Sleepers as a sheer base, then freehanded the tips with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White.  I stamped the hearts using Cheeky plate CH22. I used Pure Ice Siren and Kleancolor Barbie Pink to add a little variety to the hearts.  Finally, I stamped my accent in Siren using Cheeky CH5.

So far, so good with the Cheeky plates (I bought them on Amazon here).  The stamper and scraper were awful, but the plates I've tried have worked well enough with my Konad scraper and stamper.

I chose the Cheeky plate over the Konad plate with a similar design because the Cheeky plate has smaller hearts - which comes in handy since my nails aren't very long.

Have a weekend filled with love, Konaddicts!

Christmas Stripe Nails

Today I'm wearing a simple and festive design.  I used Sally Hansen Inst Dri Racy Red as a base.  Over that, I used one very thin coat of Kleancolor Metallic White, a shimmery type of white.

I stamped the stripe in Konad Special Polish in White using Konad Plate M44.  Hope you like it; thanks for reading!

Autumn Leaves

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it's actually beginning to look like Fall outside.  Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe au Lait as the base.  I used Kleancolor Holo Orange to add a little sparkle.  I stamped the leaves in various browns, reds, and greens with Fauxnad M20.

Here are closeups:

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Speaking of Thanksgiving...I'd better put down the nail polish and get to cooking!

Light and Feathery French Manicure

To restore balance after all of the spooky nails in October, I've tried a flowery and feathery French Manicure using GCOCL plates.  

I started out with two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe Au Lait.  I cannot say how much I love this polish!  I searched long and hard to find a good base coat for French Manicures that fit my skin tone and had the right level of opacity.  After many tries across brands, I struck gold!   This is great polish!  One coat would probably have been enough to cover my nail line and I think I finally got the color right.  They have a number of color choices, so if you're looking for a good base polish for French Manicures, you should certainly take a look at them.

The design is from GCOCL plate A26.  One great thing about the GCOCL plates is that they usually feature mirror images of the designs so that you can easily get the same look on your right and left hands.

To complete the look, I added pink rhinestones for a dash of color. Presto!  Easy, quick, and very sweet!

Base color: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe Au Lait

Stamping color: Konad Special Polish in White
Plate: GCOCL A26