31 Day Nail Art Challenge! Day 1: Red Nails

Hi there! So, you can probably guess from the title what this post is about. I've been struggling with art-block for a little while now, unless it's some kind of event or movie I'm going to. So to challenge myself, I'm going to start the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge! It'll be fun, and I have plenty of designs to go with. Of course, I don't paint my nails every day, so it won't be a 31 consecutive day kind of thing. It'll probably span several months, and I'll have other designs in between if I'm going to some event or if inspiration strikes me suddenly. But anyway, here's the list:

So Day 1 is Red Nails! Honestly, I had something much more detailed in mind, but I had almost no time to paint my nails, so I had to go with something simple. Of course, I could always go back and do the detailed design now that I do have time, but I'm lazy and I don't really want to wear red for too much longer. So I'm sticking with this one.

See? It's pretty simple. I did two coats of China Glaze Surfin' For Boys (which is definitely a neon red in reality, but it kind of looks coral in photos) and then went over it with one coat of Orly Rockets Red Glare, which is one of my all time favorite glitters. It's so perfect. I was worried that the glitter, which is a basic red, wouldn't match the base color, but I think it works perfectly! It actually reminds me a lot of watermelon, for some reason. But it's both great for summer and it satisfies the first day of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge! :) 

As for the rest of the challenges, I have several designs planned out already, and the only one I'm worried about is the water marble. I am terrible at water marbling, and I've been practicing forever. So I will be attempting the water marble, because that's the very definition of a challenge... but I don't think I'll enjoy it. But I promise I'll have fun with the rest of it! So thank you for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Marina and the Diamonds Nails

Hey there! So a couple of days ago I got really bored and wanted to paint my nails, but I had no idea what to do, and I didn't feel like having anything too flashy or too plain, so it was a difficult choice. I was listening to Marina and the Diamonds' album Electra Heart and then I was struck with inspiration! Marina and the Diamonds nails. But not based on any of the nail art she wears (because she is known to wear some pretty unique designs in her music videos), it was just based on the colors I saw in some of her music videos and I just took creative license, basically. But it still looks Marina Diamandis inspired!

On my thumb, middle, and pinky fingers are two coats of Love & Beauty Baby Blue (one of the recurring colors in her videos as well as a color on the album cover). Then off to the right side, I painted a small black heart with acrylic paint like she wears as her character Electra Heart (the character she named the album after) on her face:

Then on my index finger, I painted a coat of Sally Hansen XTreme Wear Celeb City, one coat of Essie Set in Stone, and one coat of Pure Ice Dazzle Me. That's a lot of sparkle! But I needed the coverage of the Essie polish, and the holographic silver glitters of the Pure Ice polish. So it was necessary.

Then on my ring finger, I picked colors based on the lipstick she wore in her music video for Fear and Loathing:

I did two coats of China Glaze Life is Rosy and I sponged on the tip and up the center with China Glaze Thataway. 

And that's it! I don't know if it necessarily matches the blue and the silver, but it does add a touch of warmth to the look. So I hope you like it! And if you don't know who Marina and the Diamonds is, go look her up! She's absolutely fantastic. Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Neon Coral and Sparkly Blurple Nails

I honestly have no idea what I'm doing with my post titles anymore, guys. Sorry, haha. But I think it accurately describes these!

Unfortunately, the pictures just won't be accurate because the coral polish is too neon. It just turns a crazy orange color in photos! But it looked great in reality. On my index, middle, and pinky fingers I did three coats of China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, and on my thumb and ring finger, I did two coats of China Glaze Fancy Pants and one coat of Finger Paints Easel-y Entertained over that. Then I stamped with Flip Flop Fantasy and Pueen plate 48 over the blurple nails. 

I loved this a lot, and it was perfect for going to a blacklit mini-golf course where the neon polish glowed as I played! It was very motivating. So I hope you like these as much as I did! Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Turquoise and Teal Swirl Nails

TURQUOISE AGAIN! Yep, I love turquoise. It's lovely. So I did some teal stamping over it. Muahahahaha....

The base color is Finger Paints Art Dealer Teal-er, and I stamped over it with the swirly image from Pueen plate 26 using China Glaze For Audrey. You'll have to pardon the smears - it was stamped perfectly, but then I put top coat on, and it ruined it. My middle finger nail was the only one to escape the smudging. But regardless, it was one of the best manicures I've had in a while. At least, it was one of those designs that I wanted to last forever. So I hope you like it! Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Pink and Yellow "Snowfall" Nails

Hey there! Yeah, I don't know what I'm thinking. Snowfall nails? It's summer, and I live in the deep south. There isn't any snow. But I do happen to have a polish called Snowfall, and it seemed like a good idea. So this is what I came up with:

See, it's summery! But the glitter polish is Sonnetarium's Snowfall, which is great for a lot designs, not just for snow/winter. You could also recreate the look with a white polish and a dotter tool. Pretty simple! The gradient was done with Sinful Colors Unicorn and China Glaze Strawberry Fields. It was super pretty, but it was a little thick for my liking. I put too many coats of the gradient polishes on. But it was pretty and bright! So I hope you like it as much as I did. Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Neon Sunglasses Nails

Hey there! I'm finally getting into the summer spirit... now that it's almost over, anyway. Maybe it's because the weather has been awful here. In the month of June, we had more rain than we had in the entirety of 2012. That's ridiculous! But I guess it's never too late for some bright colors!

These practically scream SUMMER! The polishes from thumb to pinky are China Glaze Surfin' For Boys, Sun-Kissed, I'm With The Lifeguard, Towel Boy Toy, and Beach Cruise-r. I flipped it on my right hand, so that Beach Cruise-r was on my thumb and so on. Of course, you're welcome to put them in any order you want. :) The stamp is from Cheeky plate 37. I dabbled with the idea of doing something different on the accent nails, but I figured that would be too much with the different colors and I ultimately decided to keep the design consistent on all the nails, as you can see. So I hope you like it! I thought it came out pretty well, and I've even painted it on my friends' nails because she liked it so much. So let me know if you try them too! Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)

Neon Lightning and Drip Nails

Hello again! So for this post, I'm sharing my sister's nails again. She wanted something bright, but straight up neon isn't really her style. So we went with this:

I started with a base coat of Sally Hansen XTreme Wear Black Out on all the nails and then on the pinky, middle, and index fingers I created a paint drip effect with a dotter tool and Sally Hansen XTreme Wear White On. I then went over the drips with my neon yellow, China Glaze Sun-Kissed. And on her ring finger and thumb, I used scotch tape to make a lightning bolt and then I painted a quick layer of the white polish and gave it a few seconds to dry before I put on a coat of Sun-Kissed. Remove the tape and there it is! The pictures definitely don't do it justice, over that white polish it's incredibly, blindingly bright. Everyone stares at her nails because they're so freaking bright! And on top of that, she's been at band camp all week and they're out in the sun all day and I can't even imagine how she's getting anything done since these are so distracting. Anyway, I hope you like them! Thanks for reading, have a great day, and happy painting! :)