Water Marble Nail Art, Take #6!

(Click Images to Enlarge)

Here is the Christmas water marble art I have been wanting to sport ever since I got Zoya's "Ivanka" this past July. I made two different versions on each hand. On the left hand (my first attempt) I used "Ivanka" in conjunction with "Ruby Red", a bright matte red. And on the right hand (my second attempt) I went ahead and paired "Ivanka" with "Red Carpet", a glittery red.
Each came with different results which I will get discuss further.....

Refer back to my original Water Marble Nail Art post for steps and other pictures.

Nail polishes I used (I only used 2 on each nail):

Sinful Colors in “Ruby Red” (left hand nails)
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in “Red Carpet” (right hand nails)
Zoya in "Ivanka"

(L to R: “Ruby Red”, “Red Carpet”, “Ivanka”)

I would like to get this out of the way by saying that Zoya's "Ivanka" was NOT a good nail polish to water marble with. It's not impossible but its pretty difficult. I would not recommend for use if you are not an experienced water marbler.

In my first attempt of water marbling with "Ivanka" I decided to pair it with "Ruby Red" which is not glittery and therefore would make the glittery green "Ivanka" stand out more. Water marbling was a disaster. When I tried to use a pointed stick to make the design, the green went everywhere and would not stay in place for me to make a decent design for my nails. This explains why the edges of the colors on the close up shots look so muddied and not smooth. However, from afar, they look much better and I have actually received plenty of compliments from women while Christmas shopping.

(left hand; flash)

(right hand; flash)

Replacing "Ruby Red" with "Red Carpet" on my second attempt, on my right hand, fared a bit better while water marbling. My theory is that I used two glittery nail polishes instead of one and therefore balanced each other out better. And I have to say, I do like this pairing better. I especially love how both the colors sparkle in the sunlight. Absolutely gorgeous.

(left hand; sunlight)
(right hand; sunlight)

Have a Happy Holiday! Thanks for stopping by!

November 2011 Outings - LACMA & Getty Center (pic heavy)

(click any image to enlarge)

November was a busy school month for me. This included an Excursion Project for one of my art classes. This project, however, was a very enjoyable one as I was able to re-visit two of my favorite art museums here in Los Angeles, CA, the LACMA and the Getty Center.

LACMA

Being the procrastinator I am, I was only able to visit the LACMA at night for only an hour. The plus was that I attended on the second Tuesday of the month, in which admission all-day is free. Also, because I was there for only an hour, parking was free too!

The famous Urban Light by Chris Burden.

Views from the third floor of the Contemporary Arts Building.

I had to sneek in the following photos since photography is not allowed within the contemporary art exhibits. These are just SOME of the art.

Andy Warhol, Rorschach (Third Floor)

Robert Therrien, Blue Plastic Plates (Third Floor)

ASCO Exhibit (Second Floor)
This specific exhibit took up an entire floor and is comprised of the entire artwork collection of ASCO, a small group of Chicano artists, from the 70s and 80s.

_____________________________________________________________
THE GETTY CENTER

The next day was spent at the Getty Center, which is the bigger of the two Getty museums in Los Angeles. Admission is free but parking is $15. I recommend both Getty museums as great date locations. The art is beautiful, there is both a fancy and casual restaurant, there are PLENTY of views, and many sit-down areas to talk, eat or just take it all in.

By the way, if you ever have the chance, visit the Getty Villa in Malibu. That one specializes in more Greek and Roman classical artwork and is just as beautiful. Admission is also free.

Getty Center from the 405 freeway.

Of course I had to take a picture.

The exhibit I wanted to see, Narrative Interventions in Photography.
One of the MANY sit-down areas.
The Getty Center garden.

A finally, these next photos make up the entire skyline view of Los Angeles taken from the back of the West Pavillion Building.

Hollywood mountains. You can even see snow.

In the distance you can see downtown Los Angeles.
The 405 freeway.
Palos Verdes (the mountain), Santa Monica, and Malibu.

To post my entire collection of photos from just the Getty Center would be insane so I hope that these photos gave a sweet little sneak peek into what the LACMA and the Getty Center have to offer.
Thanks for stopping by!

Nail Of The Day - Essie's "School Of Hard Rocks"

Click on any image to enlarge

(flash)

(natural light)

"School Of Hard Rocks" is apart of Essie's 2011 Winter Collection. This is a color reminds me of a military color that looks more green or blue depending on the lighting. Under flash photography, this polish shows up more green. But under natural lighting, the polish leans towards blue.

As for the formulation, "School Of Hard Rocks" is creamy and opaque. Like most nail polishes, it only takes two coats to achieve the color from the bottle. And I placed a coat of Seche Vite on top for a high gloss shine.

Out of the whole Essie Winter collection this year I feel this color was the most unique since the rest were similar to nail polish colors I already have in my collection. I especially love how it stands out against any of my black wardrobe.

Essie can be found online or in Target, Walmart, or RiteAid stores.
Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween Nails #3 - Harry Potter Nails Tutorials (pic heavy)

(Click any image to enlarge)

The final Halloween Nail Tutorial!
This time, as promised, I created a nail design involving my Halloween costume. This year, in honor of the final Harry Potter film, I did not 1, not 2, but 3 nail designs. As you can see from the photo above, I did three different base/background designs and made an appropriately colored lightning bolt for each. You can choose which ever design you want for your nails, I am just showing different options. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional nail artist and do not claim to be one. This is my first time doing this design. Given my experience with this design, I hope that those of you who don’t think you can do will be inspired to at least give it a try!

TIPS:
Practice drawing a lightening bolt on a separate sheet of paper before attempting on your nail.


For Design 1 (red & yellow water marble)
What you will need: - What I am using:

• red nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Ruby Red”
• yellow nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Pull Over”
• shimmery gold nail polish - Stripe Rite in “Gold”
• clear top coat polish - Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

For Design 2 (black & red water marble)
What you will need: - What I am using:

• red nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Ruby Red”
• black nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Black On Black”
• shimmery gold nail polish - Stripe Rite in “Gold Metallic”
• clear top coat polish - Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

For Design 3 (red & yellow checkered)
What you will need: - What I am using:

• red nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Ruby Red”
• yellow nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Pull Over”
• shimmery gold nail polish - Stripe Rite in “Gold”
• clear top coat polish - Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

(L to R: “Gold”, “Ruby Red”, “Pull Over”, “Black on Black”, “Gold Metallic”, “MegaShine”)

The colors red and yellow are meant to represent Gryffindor and the black is the color of the student's robes.

For Design 1 (red & yellow water marble)
Step 1:
I’ve already done a water marbling tutorial. To keep this post from being too long, here is the water marble tutorial. Follow the same steps but using the red and yellow nail polish instead. Here are some photos of how I did this design.

Step 2:
Using my Stripe Ride in “Gold” or any shimmery golden nail polish that will stand out against the water-marble background, I created a lightening bolt. Practice on a piece of paper before attempting on your nail. I started with the horizontal center of the lightening bolt. Then, I fee-handed the rest of the lightening bolt.
Step 3:
Wait until design is completely dry and use a top coat. Finished!


_________________________________
For Design 2 (black & red water marble)
Step 1:
I’ve already done a water marbling tutorial, click here for the tutorial. Follow the same steps but using the black and red nail polish instead.


Step 2:
Using my Stripe Ride in “Gold Metallic” or any shimmery golden nail polish that will stand out against the water-marble background, I created a lightening bolt. Practice on a piece of paper before attempting on your nail. Step 3:
Wait until design is completely dry and use a top coat. Finished!


_________________________________
For Design 3 (red & yellow checkered)
Step 1:
This checkered design is supposed to mimic the Gryffindor crest, with the checkered background. Start by penciling in the 4 squares on your nail. Then, start with either the red or yellow nail polish and fill in the appropriate squares, as seen in the first photo. As you can tell, I did mine free hand.


Finally, use the other nail polish color and fill in the appropriate squares.
Step 2:
Finally, it is time to draw on the lightening bolt. After having practiced on a separate piece of paper, I used the “Gold” Stripe Rite nail polish to draw a lightening bolt, starting with the horizontal center of the lightening bolt. Then, I fee-handed the rest of the lightening bolt.
Step 3:
Wait until design is completely dry and use a top coat. Finished!

Here is a photo of my nails before drawing the lightening bolts. They still look great without the extra detail, so I guess this would count as my Water Marble Art, Take 5?

I hope you enjoyed my final nail tutorial this year and will try this design on your own.
Thanks for stopping by & Happy Halloween!

Halloween Nails #2 - Hello Kitty Frankenstein Nails Tutorial (pic heavy)

(Click any image to enlarge)

Time for another Halloween Nail Tutorial!
This time, I wanted to involve a character that I am sure many of you love, Hello Kitty! This is a French Manicure style of design, to make it a little more chic I guess you could say, either way it looks feminine and adorable. My roommate could not stop complimenting me on a job well done. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional nail artist and do not claim to be one. This is my first time doing such a detailed design so don't be too harsh on me >.< Given my experience with this design, I hope that those of you who don't think you can do it will be inspired to at least give it a try!

TIPS:
Take your time with this, especially when using the nail art pen for the small designs.
Practice, Practice, Practice, on a sheet of paper before drawing the design on your nail.


What you will need: - What I am using:

• green nail polish - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in “Green With Envy”
  
• light purple nail polish - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in “ Lacey Lilac”
  
• yellow nail polish - Sinful Colors in “Pull Over”
  
• small, pointed brush - A double sided lip brush from a lip palette
  
• a nail art pen - Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in “Black”
  
• piece of paper
• Q-tips
• clear top coat polish - Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

(L to R: “Green With Envy”, “Lacey Lilac”, “Pull Over”, “MegaShine”)

Step 1:
Apply the green nail polish half way on all your fingers. Wait until completely dry. This will be the color of Hello Kitty’s face.



Step 2:
Use a Q-tip and dip one side into some nail polish remover. Use wet Q-tip to wipe away excess nail polish and create a straight line on each nail. Note: Give yourself some room For the design and let the green nail polish take up a third of each of your nails.


Step 3:
Using the nail art pen, lightly dab onto your nail, both of Hello Kitty’s eyes. Note: If you are using a nail art pen for the first time, practice the design on the piece of paper first so you are less likely to make a mistake.



Step 4:
Using nail art pen again, create a small bow for Hello Kitty. This will be an outline for the purple nail polish and will be mostly covered. Don’t worry if it looks messy for now.

Now, use your pointed brush and take a bit of purple nail polish onto the brush tip. Color in Hello Kitty’s bow. Wait until completely dry.



Step 5:
Using the pointed brush, dip the tip into the yellow nail polish and create Hello Kitty’s nose. This usually only take a light dab to do, probably the easiest step.



Step 6:
Almost done! Now, for the last part of the design, you will need the nail art pen. Using the pen, outline the outside of the dry purple nail polish to create a complete and neat bow for Hello Kitty. Also with the pen, draw on some stitches on each side of Hello Kitty’s face to make the design truly Frankenstein- looking. Wait until completely dry.



Step 7:
STOP! Have you waited until the design is completely DRY? You do not want to see all your hard work smeared away with one swipe of top coat.

Once DRY, gently add on a layer of any top coat of your choice to protect the design and you are done!

(flash)

(natural light)

(artificial light)

I hope you enjoyed my nail tutorial and will try this design on your own! I may just come back next week with a different Hello Kitty Halloween design.
Thanks for stopping by!