Tag Archives: nails

Bronze-tipped glory

10 Replies

Last week, I shared pics of my new nail polish and manicure, and after a hard week, I noticed the tips were getting a bit worn down. So to extend my self-manicure a bit further, I added some bronze tips.

To refresh, here’s how my nails started out last week:

To start off, I used my circle snugs again (see here for more on that) to outline the tips, but this time, cut the circles in half to save on materials. I placed the half-circles quite low on the nail, so that the final effect would be more like a French manicure.

And is it just me, or do the half-circles add a bit of Art Deco coolness? No, just me? ;)

After applying two coats of bronze nail polish to the tips, I then peeled off the half-circles and added a clear top coat. Here’s the final result in all its bronze-tipped glory:

I ended up really liking the effect. The bronze color is actually quite subtle in real life. So subtle that when my husband returned home, he took a look at my hands — which were still splayed out in that still-drying-pose (you know the one) — and remarked, “I thought you were going to do something to your nails.” :)

Details?

  • Bronze nail polish:  Missha
  • Burgundy nail polish:  Elle, “Curtain Call”
  • Clear base & top coat:  Sally Hansen “Double Duty”
Related articles

Bronze sparkle

6 Replies

When? August 18, 2012

What for?  For fun, of course! :) I painted my toenails this bronze metallic shade a couple of days ago, and I will be painting my (very short) fingernails with the “glass pink” color (also seen here) this weekend before we leave. Metallic polish tends to last longer, so I figured these would be good while travelling, and both nail colors are quite neutral, so they’ll go with lots of different colors.

Details? 

  • Bronze metallic polish:  Missha
  • Pale pink metallic polish:  Sinful Colors in “Glass Pink”
Related articles

Silver moon manicure

29 Replies

This past weekend, I tried out a new self-manicure. The idea came from an article my husband read recently, about using ordinary household objects for different purposes. In this case, it was the idea of using those hole-punch stickers to help create shapes for a manicure. I tried out a half-moon manicure, using my silver and turquoise Missha nail colors. I’m happy with the end result, and you know how I love metallics. :)

So how I’d go about this silver moon manicure?

First step was to paint a base coat of silver. I did two thin coats, as this Missha silver metallic color is kind of sheer. It also dries quite quickly. I could have painted only half the nail, but I didn’t want any weird bumps underneath the bottom layer, so I went ahead and covered the whole nail.

And then came the circles. Or rather, the “hole reinforcements,” aka “self adhesive circle snugs” that I picked up at Target. Yes, that’s how the package describes this product. Circle snugs. Who knew?! I placed the circle snugs to try and mimic the natural moons of my fingernails.

Then I painted on two coats of the metallic turquoise color. And pretended my hand was some kind of monster when Sam took this pic:

And the end result again. Because I didn’t want to end this post on the picture above. ;) After everything had dried overnight, I put on a final coat of clear nail polish, which also helped smooth down the edges of the turquoise layer.

What do you think? Do you like the two-toned look, or have you tried something similar? Please leave a comment and let me know. :)

Related articles

Red rose ring

7 Replies

Yesterday at the Mississippi Street Fair, I picked up this beautiful (and affordable!) ring from the Lioness Works booth. A red rose made of recycled materials — so very Portland! :)

It goes really well with my easy 4th of July manicure, doesn’t it? And don’t worry, I’ll be changing up my manicure soon!

You can see more designs from Lioness Works over on their Facebook page.

Related articles

Easy 4th of July manicure

13 Replies

So glad to have figured out a way to do a simple yet patriotic manicure!

Date?  July 3, 2012

What for? Independence Day! My first try at a 4th of July manicure didn’t turn out so well… I initially tried a dotted effect with different shades of blue and red on a silver background. But it ended up all smeary and kind of clownish. This one is refreshingly simple, with a silver metallic shade on all the nails except for red and blue on the ring fingers. I brushed on a double coat of each color, plus a clear top coat.

Why the different colors on the ring fingers? I had been noticing the “ring finger manicure” trend for awhile now (the idea is to do a different color or design on the ring finger) but I had never really understood it. This post has a couple of theories on this trend:  that it’s for good luck, or to declare one’s independence — like you don’t need a ring on that finger, just different nail polish! Regardless of the reason, it was an easy and fun way to highlight the red and blue in this patriotic-inspired manicure!

Details?

  • Silver nail polish:  Missha, metallic silver (pulled off label awhile ago)
  • Red nail polish:  Revlon in “Frankly Scarlet”
  • Blue nail polish:  Finger Paints in “Artistic Azure”
Related articles