Mani-Monday: Back-to-School

 

**Excuse the broken pinky nail L** School is right around the corner. School may have even started for some of you. So, I decided to create a fun back-to-school mani. I used to love to doodle in my notebook during school and I’m sure a lot of you do it too. That’s what inspired my nails. And for the accent nail, I create a chalkboard, because what is school without a chalkboard filled with notes to copy. To get this look:

 

You will need:

Base coat

White nail polish

Black nail polish

Top coat

Matte top coat

Striping tape

Striping brush or toothpick

Black acrylic and white acrylic (optional)

 

Step 1: First, apply your base coat. Then apply two coats of your white polish, I used ‘Porcelain Party’ by Maybelline, to all your fingers except your ring finger. Then on your ring finger apply two coats of your black polish, I used ‘Onyx Rush’ by Maybelline. Wait for your nails to dry.

 

Step 2: For your ring finger, using your striping brush or toothpick, dip it in the white acrylic or white polish and create the equation (as shown in the picture above). Then for the rest of your fingers, apply your light blue striping tape horizontally on your finger making sure to space them out evenly. Then apply one piece of red striping tape vertically towards the beginning of your nail over the blue striping tape to create a notebook paper look. (If you do not have striping tape, you can draw the lines instead). Then using your striping brush or toothpick, dip it in the black acrylic or black polish and start creating doodles on your nails. I wrote XO on my pinky, I    U on my middle finger, a flower on my pointer, and a smiley face on my thumb. Wait a few minutes for the design to dry.

 

Step 3: Lastly, on your ring finger apply the matte top coat and a regular shine top coat on the rest of your fingers and you are done! These nails just scream back-to-school and you can change them up and create your own doodles.

Mani-Monday: Starry Sky

 

I bought two new blue nail polish colors and a silver glittery top coat. One was a dark blue and another was a light blue polish. So I really wanted to create a look with them. After playing around with them and trying to create a look I came up with this. And unexpectedly when I finished doing my nails I thought that they looked like a starry sky. The more and more I look at my nails now, the more I fall in love with them. And the glitters in the top coat have a sort of blue undertone to them which pulls the nail design together. To get this look:

Mani-Monday: Pink Splatter

 

When I started getting into nail art a few years ago, I used to love creating splatter on my nails. I haven’t created this design in about two years so I thought ‘why not do it again’. This nail look is very versatile and so much fun to play around with using different colors. To get this look:

 

You will need:

Base coat

Bright pink nail polish

Black nail polish

White nail polish

Light pink nail polish

Top coat

Toothpick

 

Step 1: First, apply your base coat. Then apply two coats of your bright pink polish. I used ‘Warhol’ by Color Club. Wait for your nails to dry a few minutes.

 

Step 2: Next, using your black nail polish, I used ‘Onyx Rush’ by Maybelline, create a dot in the spot you want the splatter to be. Then, using your toothpick, drag out lines from the black dot to create a splatter effect. Also, create a few dots around the splatter. Then, using your white nail polish, I used ‘Porcelain Party’ by Maybelline, use the same technique to create another splatter. Lastly, using your pink nail polish, I used ‘Pink Blink’ by Sally Hansen, use the same technique to create your last splatter. Wait for the splatter to dry a few minutes so the color doesn’t drag when you apply the top coat.

 

Step 3: Lastly, apply a generous amount of top coat and you are done! These splatter nails are so fun and creative and can be recreated with many different colors.

Mani-Monday: Dots, Dots, Dots

I got this new nail polish and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! I am in love with the color. It’s such a bright and summery color, it’s like a bright coraly color. When I put this nail polish on I just thought ‘how could I cover up such a gorgeous color with nail art?’ BUT, I obviously can’t go with plain nail polish (haven’t worn just plain nail polish without nail art in about 2+ years). So I created a simple design with a few dots which lets the polish still be the center on attention. To get this look:

 

You will need:

Base coat

Coral nail polish

Black acrylic or nail polish

White acrylic or nail polish

Silver nail polish

Top coat

Dotting tool or toothpick

 

Step 1: First, apply your base coat. Then apply two coats of your bright coral polish. I used ‘East Austin’ by Color Club. Wait for your nails to dry a few minutes.

 

Step 2: Next, using a dotting tool or toothpick, dip it in the black acrylic or nail polish and create the first line of dots vertically at the end of your nail. Then, dip your dotting tool or toothpick in the silver nail polish, I used ‘Give me the 1^st Dance’ by Nicole by OPI, and create the second line of dots. Lastly, dip your dotting tool or toothpick in the white acrylic or nail polish and create the last line of dots vertically in the center of the nail. All the dots should have about the same spacing between. Wait for the dots to dry a few minutes so the color doesn’t drag when you apply the top coat.

 

Step 3: Lastly, apply a generous amount of top coat and voila! I love this simple mani this week! This is also such a versatile look and you can change up the colors and have fun with it.