Red, White, and Blue Nail Polishes

Before I get into the manicure I did this year, I chose my favorite red and blue nail polishes that could be used for a red,white,and blue manicure. I don't have all of my polishes with me currently, so there are probably others I could have included, but these are really my favorites - that's why they're with me, after all!

L-R: China Glaze - Red Pearl, Revlon - Frankly Scarlet, China Glaze - Poinsettia

L-R: China Glaze - Frostbite, OPI - Swimsuit...Nailed it!, China Glaze - Dorothy Who?,
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pacific Blue

I didn't take a photo of it since I was sure you all have an idea of what a basic white cream nail polish looks like, but my favorite white is by far Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White. It goes on really opaquely in one or two coats, which makes it a lot nicer than sheerer or streakier whites, especially if you're using it as a base color and don't want to have a lot of drying time.

Of course, crackle or shatter polishes make really easy multi-colored manicures! I know there are red and blue ones available, I just don't have any of them. I do have white, though - and it's one of the polishes I used for my 4th of July themed manicure this year! I used China Glaze in Poinsettia for the red and Dorothy Who? for the blue glitter. The crackle polish I used was Sephora by OPI in White Blasted. I picked it up on clearance within the past few months. I also have the white crackle from China Glaze, which works too!

If you want to see another 4th of July themed manicure, the one I did last year is here! I used all China Glaze products - including the white crackle polish I mentioned.

Do you like doing themed manicures for holidays? I know I do - whether or not the holiday is something I really get into celebrating, it's hard to resist doing my nails for them!

"Decked for the Holidays" Collaboration: Snowman Manicure!

For this manicure, I started with a layer of Revlon's Quick Dry Base Coat. Then, I put three coats of China Glaze's Dorothy Who?. After letting that dry, I used a dotting tool (I found mine very cheaply in a set of five from eBay) and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Whirlwind White to do the snowman & flakes. I did the snowmen first, starting with the bottom circle of the snowman's body and then building up to the head. The largest dotting tool is still smaller than I wanted to start the snowman, so I put extra polish on it and swirled it around a bit more to make a wider circle. After the snowman's body was complete, I just used a smaller dotting tool to drag some of the white along the base of the nail. I used the same small tool to make the snow dots on all the other nails. Once they were dry, I put two coats of Seche Vite to make sure the surface was smooth and I couldn't feel the dots through it.

Before deciding on the manicure I ended up doing, I tried a few different designs and color combinations to see which I liked the best, although I always used the same white since it's the most opaque I've come across. In case you like any of these better, the one on the left has Essie's Coat Azure as the base color and China Glaze's Fairy Dust for the glitter. The one in the middle is Finger Paints' Laugh My Art Off with China Glaze's White Cap to add a glow and more glitter. 

Of course, if you're more artistic or have better tools than I do, you could add details to the snowman, like a face or buttons. I don't have that kind of ability, however, so I just left mine simple. 

If you do one of these or a variation of it, I'd love to see it! 

Definitely go check out the other participants in this holiday collaboration!!

Natalie:
Blog: Purplestar Makeup
Title: Beautifully Frozen
Link:
http://purplestarmakeup.blogspot.com/2011/12/decked-for-holidays-collaboration.html

Sarah:
Blog: LashGirl
Title: Soft and Sexy Look
Link: http://lashgirl.me/?p=2572

Wendy:
Blog: Luvlifebeauty
Title: 2 Looks, 1 Lipstick
Link: http://wp.me/p1HLFz-ut

Britney:
Blog: The Glam Goddness
Title: Vampy Candy Cane
Link:http://britters89.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-collab-look_10.html

Venessa:
Youtube Username: venessaesquer29
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dRn-qCVjUc&feature=youtu.be

Maria:
Youtube Username: fabulousblueyes
Title: Holiday Gift Wrap Eye Makeup
Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDIDuZHVIA&feature=g-u

Allie:
Blog: My crazy obsessions
Title: Dark Holiday Eyes:
Link:http://alliebabii.blogspot.com/2011/12/dark-holiday-eyes.html

Cinthia:
Youtube Username: MakeupWithCinthia
Title: Holiday Party Makeup
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b03cfCGZCg&feature=youtu.be  

Halloween Manicure - Candy Corn!

I started with the Revlon base coat, then a layer of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White on. After letting that dry, I did the yellow layer with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow. Then I used Maybelline Orange Blazes over that. I decided not to make a big deal out of trying to get all the sections evenly spaced or the lines perfectly straight because anyone who's ever eaten a bag of candy corn knows that there are a lot of weird ones in there! After the three colors were done I did a coat of China Glaze White Cap (This is seriously one of my favorite polishes - it looks awesome over pretty much everything) and then topped off everything with a coat of Seche Vite.

This took me quite awhile (2:45 including taking and editing the photos for this post) but not because it's hard - just because I was using small motions with little product on the brush to avoid making a mess (as you can see I had very little clean up) and because I was really careful in letting each color dry before adding to it so as not to smear them at all.  I'm happy with the outcome, though!

Green and Turquoise Polka Dot Manicure

This was a manicure I did at the beginning of August shortly after I got my dotting tools from eBay. I used all China Glaze products, starting with the Strong Adhesion base coat. I used two coats of White on White as the base color, then did large dots of Shower Together. I filled in the gaps with Entourage on a smaller dotting tool, then finished with a coat of Fast Forward top coat. 

Rainbow and White Crackle Manicure

This is probably my favorite manicure I’ve done to date. It’s so fun! And it lasted really well on my nails.

The top picture is me trying out different things on my nail wheel. I knew I wouldn’t be patient enough to try to get the lines straight and even enough to leave them alone, so crackle seemed like a good solution. I thought I would like the contrast of the black, but I ended up loving the look of the white.

I started with a base layer of China Glaze White On White. The pink is Covergirl Fuchsia Girl, blue is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away, the yellow is the Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow, and the orange is Maybelline Orange Blazes.

After the stripes were dried, I went over with China Glaze Lightning Bolt crackle polish.

I used the China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat and the Fast Forward top coat as well.

4th of July Look

For my eyes, I started with the Palladio eye primer, then put the NYX jumbo pencil in Milk on the lid and the one in Cherry on the crease. I used the white shadow from the Covergirl Drama Eyes quad on the lid and the NYX single eyeshadow in Cherry over the red. I used the Milani Infinite eyeliner in Infinite and Covergirl Lashblast waterproof mascara in Glam Black.

Tank Top: Express

Shorts: Target

Shoes: Payless

4th of July Manicure : All China Glaze

Since the colored polishes I was using were all China Glaze, I figured I may as well use the base and top coat from them as well.




The colors I used are Frostbite (regular collection), Ruby Deer (Holiday 2010), and Lightning Bolt (crackle).


After the basecoat, I did two coats of the red stripe followed by two coats of the blue stripe. I had very little waiting time because I was sitting in front of a fan while doing this. I didn't pay any attention to staying within the nail because I was more concerned about making the diagonal line straight without overlapping. I then topped it off with the crackle polish.



I gave the crackle a few minutes to finish crackling and dry, then topped it with two coats of the Fast Forward topcoat. Once that was dry I went around the edges with my $1 ELF eyeliner brush dipped in 100% acetone to clean them up. So much cleanup was needed that the acetone in the cup I was using was completely purple by the end - which goes to show that you don't have to have particularly steady hands to end up with a neat-looking manicure.

Outfit of the Day: July 2nd

Tank Top: Old Navy

Skirt: H&M

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Nails of the Day: Pink with White Crackle

Original manicure - Revlon nail polish in Oh My Magenta.
It's hard to tell but there is a very subtle blue undertone in the glitter.








After a day or two I got bored of it, but couldn't be bothered to take it off and start over, so I decided to do a crackle. I tried a few different ones on a swatch wheel to decide.
L-R: China Glaze - Crushed Candy, China Glaze - Lightning Bolt, OPI - Black Shatter
(I think China Glaze is better than OPI! Look at that crackle as an example!)



In the end I liked the white the best, although I would wear all three.

Sorry I got a little lazy and didn't clean up my nails at all before taking a picture!

Nails of the Day: Lavender and White Crackle

Base color: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Lacey Lilac
Crackle: China Glaze Crackle Glaze - Lightning Bolt

I was rushing through this because it was starting to get dark in my parent's house and they didn't have power so I needed to finish it! As a result I didn't wait long enough for the base color to dry. Because of that, when I put on the crackle it pulled the base coat with it in a few spots, exposing my nail color. It was only in a few spots and wasn't that noticeable since I had used such a light color, but they aren't kidding when they say crackles need to be applied to completely dry polish.

Konad - m60 plate

Here are some of the manicures I've done with the Konad m60 plate. The white is the Konad special polish.

Base: Maybelline - Orange Blazes

Base: China Glaze - Something Sweet
Stamp: Sparkly purple from Sonia Kashuk 'lend a hand' trio

Base: Revlon Top Speed - Violet

Sunglasses - H&M

Nails of the Day : White and Black Dots

Here are my current nails! The base is 2-3 coats of Sally Hansen "White On" with Claire's matte top coat. 

I did the dots using the pen part of a Claire's two way nail art pen and brush in black. I decided to leave the dots shiny for a bit of texture contrast as well as the color. 

This is the second time I have used the Claire's matte topcoat, and I'm really impressed with it. It mattifies better than the Orly Nails for Males, and it lasts a long time without chipping. I would definitely recommend it. 

I found Essie's Matte About You at my Marshall's this weekend for $3, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't compare it to the Orly or Claire's versions.