Quatrefoil Vinyls Mani

I love quatrefoil. Like, a lot. But I find doing it by hand with a dotting tool (which I've done a few times) just never looks as nice as I want it to, and it's also tedious as hell! So one of the very first stencils I designed was quatrefoil, of course. (I even made two different designs!). 

When I first designed the stencils, the lines were a little thin and tore pretty easily - I made them thicker and had to test them out! So I can say my vinyls are new AND improved, which I always laughed at as a marketing gimmick before. But it's totally true! They're a week old and already improved! And wow, am I in love. 

Products Used

Finger Paints Night Lights

OPI Love Angel Music Baby

My Nails Did Vinyls Quatrefoil 02 Stencils

essie Good To Go Top Coat

(code OPENING for 15% off and free decals with min. 2 sheet purchase - until the end of the week!)

I sponged the gold overtop my completely dry base. Shhh, I was able to use each stencil 2-3 times and my whole mani took only 4 stencils! Talk about value. Is it narcissistic to say I freakin love my own product? Hope you love it too!

xo Shawna

Braided Mani for TGIF

Oh hey guys! So my shop is open. Link is overhead or you can click right here--> My Nails Did Vinyls.  Use code "OPENING" to save 15% off your entire order, and if you order 2 sheets or more you'll get a free sheet of decals (TBD)! Prices are Canadian, so if you're from the States or international, the exchange is probably in your favour ;)

Today's nail art was literally done in a car. I didn't feel like joining my dad inside the chaos that is Costco, so I sat in the car with the windows down, enjoying the sunshine and painting my nails like the crazy nail lady that I truly am. The theme for week one of May's #TGIFnailartchallenge was Braid, which I've seen done so many times but never done myself! I decided on a pink monochromatic look.

Products Used

Finger Paints What a Night

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops

Color Club Miss Bliss

INM Out the Door Topcoat

I love this look! It's pretty simple to create but packs a lot of punch. 

Go check out the shop!

xo Shawna

zig zag stripes

I was on the fence about even sharing this manicure, as I really wasn't too fond of it. I started with a gorgeous base of Butter London that was in my stocking (thanks mom!) although the brush had a chunk out of it so it was a bit finicky to apply. (I emailed them and they're going to send me a new bottle!) I thought I would try this hand painted design, but my brush was just too thick to get the delicate variations I had seen and was attempting to emulate. 

Products Used

Butter London Stag Do

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

OPI Sheer Tints I Can Teal You Like Me

China Glaze Fast Forward

The white stripes seemed too stark, so I slicked on a coat of OPI's sheer tint. Unfortunately the top coat caused a few smears of the white paint - I had to get to bed! It definitely reduced my dislike of the mani, but not enough to keep it on more than 24 hours! Also - this bottle is really awkward to pose with, haha!

So- yay or nay?

xo Shawna

NYE black and gold

Well here it is folks, the last post of 2014. I am happy to say I am still just as in love with nail art as when I started this blog in August, and excited to bring you my final manicure of 2015! Ask any of my family members, and then will tell you I go through phases where I become obsessed with something only to move on from it in a few short months. I'm sure know they thought my nail art obsession was another one of those. Well, 5 months on at least I can justify my rapidly growing polish collection at least slightly! 

This manicure was inspired by So Nailicious. 

Products Used

Wet n' Wild Black Creme

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

China Glaze Matte Magic

This look was super easy to create with minimal or no tools and cleanup. (I love stamping, but it really makes a mess!) I highly recommend getting striper polishes in basic black and white if you're into nail art. It makes it much easier to create a lot of looks, and reduces the need to buy or dirty nail art brushes! I got my finger paints stripers from Sally Beauty, but you can also get Sally Hansen brand from any drugstore. 

I love this look! If I can transfer the larger file to my computer for upload to YouTube, I'll have a tutorial soon as well. 

Happy New Years to all of you lovely readers!! I thank you so much for your views and comments. I hope you'll continue to return to the blog in the new year! 

xo Shawna

Blue Plaid for Nail Art November

I am I love with today's mani. If I could get a bottle of nail polish for every time I said that...

Today is a combo of two challenges, nail art November (the theme is "plaid") and the twinkie nails art challenge, which the theme is "colour chosen by significant other". I knew without asking (but asked anyways!) that my fiancé would choose blue, and sure enough he did. I had a lot of fun creating this look, and while it was simple enough, it was a tad time consuming! Good thing I had the night off. 

Colours used:

Ciatè Chinchilla (base)

China Glaze Up All Night

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Sally Hansen Hi-Ho Silver

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

HK Girl Top Coat

Striping Brushes from eBay

I love the monochrome colour palette with the pops of white and silver. 

Please excuse the state of my cuticles, I did my clean-up in low lighting late last night and mistakenly thought I did a decent job. Oops!

Hope you love it!

xo Shawna

Walking on a Spiderweb

I love the look of all the spiderweb manis I've seen on Instagram! I have a China Glaze polish, Fortune Teller, that I only can wear for this time of year - it's a black base with loads of orange glitter - and I wanted to showcase it with some nail art that wouldn't obscure it. 

Polishes used:

China Glaze Fortune Teller

Finger Paints Striper Hip Hip Hue-Ray

Ciate Speed Pro Top Coat

The CG has amazing glitter payoff with loads of small and micro glitter and medium hexes. Full opacity reached in two coats. Unfortunately when I applied my top coat, the white polish smeared so the nail art is not as clean as I would like! I generally don't wear dark polish, and especially not black on it's own, but this is such a fun shade. 

Are you taking advantage of the holiday to wear dark polish or do you rock it year round?

xo Shawna

To-Do List Mani: Ikat Print

Today I've got another mani ticked off my "to do" list! I decided to tackle Ikat print, after hearing it was one that was actually a lot more simple than it looks. I followed this YouTube tutorial, the only difference being I made the diamond shapes smaller to fit more onto the nail. 

I am in love with this mani! The rumours were true, it's not too difficult because it is imperfect on purpose. My right hand looks just as good as the left... which almost never happens!

Polishes Used:

Polish My Life Nude Lace

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver

Finger Paints Hip-Hip-Hue-Ray!

Finger Paints Ch-Art-Coal Black

HK Girl Top Coat

What nail art techniques have you found are a lot easier than they look?

xo Shawna