Retro Pink Wednesday......with OPI Pink Friday!

Hey guys!


Today I have the mani that I'll be wearing for Pink Wednesday.  This is OPI Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj collection.  I also decided to a black outline on my accent nail.  I first saw this technique on Tornado Calli's blog and thought it was really cute and had kind of a retro feel to it.

OPI Pink Friday w/flash

OPI Pink Friday
artificial light without flash

Pink Friday is a bubble gum pink creme.  I used 3 coats to cover up some streaks and bald spots.  Unfortunatly this didn't apply as well as the other cremes from this collection.  For the black outline, I used a nail art polish by Kiss and started by drawing a line down each side, then along the base of the nail as well as the tip of the nail to connect each side making a square.  Then I repeated the steps to thicken the lines and round out the edges.  Overall the outline was pretty easy, but next time I do it, I'll be sure to pick up a nail art pen to have a little more control over the lines. 


Teen Vogue has an awesome tutorial for this technique and includes a "Retro-Glam" mani.  I found this link after I did this mani, but I wish I had seen this first!  Check it out for a more indepth how-to.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Hello Kitty!

Hey guys!

Today I have a Hello Kitty mani I did tonight.  I got the idea from my sister, who had seen someone with a similar design.  This is the first time I've ever tried painting something so detailed, even though it's not really that detailed.  I used the following for this mani:

• 2 coats of OPI Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj collection
• Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Lavender Cloud for the face
• Sinful Black on Black for the outline, eyes, whiskers and polka dots
• Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Enamel in Electric for the nose
• China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic from the Electropop collection for the bow

(L-R) Revlon Electric, SH Lavender Cloud, Sinful Black on Black, OPI Pink Friday, CG Fuchsia Fanatic 

I wanted to take photos for a step by step tutorial, but I ended up remembering half way through. I plan on doing a tutorial after some more practice.  Here is what I came up with.

I was going to take some more pictures of her face, but I messed her up when I tried fixing the eyes.  I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to my nails.....but I ended up making it worse!  Overall I think it's a cute mani, but it's not really for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

First Pink Wednesday Post and Gradient Tutorial

Hey guys!

This is my first Pink Wednesday post, and I'm so excited!  If you haven't seen Mean Girls, I highly recommend it.  I wanted to do something fun in honor of Pink Wednesday, so I decided on a pink gradient mani.  I figured while I was at it, I would put together a little tutorial.  After looking at other tutorials, I noticed that I do gradients a little differently than others.  I start my gradients at the nail bed, while other people start at the tip.  My way is what works for me, but know that there are other methods out there that might work better for you. 

Let's get started!  I used the following for this manicure:

Left to right: Essie Billionails (nail treatment and base coat), OPI Bubble Bath, China Glaze Go Go Pink; OPI Teenage Dream; China Glaze Material Girl, Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat and upfront is Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream.

Gradient Mani Tutorial

Supplies you will need:
 -nail polish remover and polish thinner if needed
 -base coat
 -top coat,
 -2 cream/shimmer polishes, 2 glitter polishes (this is what I used....but don't be afraid to play with different finishes and colors!)
 -moisturizing cream, or cuticle oil
 -cotton balls or tissue for polish remover
 (-optional: make-up sponge for blending.  You can use a sponge to blend the colors together, for this manicure I chose not to do this because the glitter will help blend the colors and hide the seams.)

1.  Use nail polish remover to remove your old mani and any oils on the nail.  Wash hands or soak nails in warm water; dry nails thoroughly.

2.  Apply a base coat, followed by the lightest cream/shimmer polish over the entire nail.  I chose OPI Bubble Bath.

3.  Apply the darker cream/shimmer polish to the nail, covering the top 2/3 of the nail. I chose China Glaze Go Go Pink.  (Don't worry about making a clean line when you start your next color, the more jagged the line is, the better it will blend.)

Step #3

4.  Apply the darker glitter polish to the tip of the nail.  I chose China Glaze Material Girl.

Step #4

5.  Apply the lighter glitter polish to the entire nail, I chose OPI Teenage Dream, followed by the top coat.  And don't forget to moisturize!

Step #5

Final results after cuticle oil and moisturizer
w/flash

no flash with artificial light

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  It was fun to do, and I definitely plan on doing more tutorials.  If there's anything you'd like me to make a tutorial for, comment below or e-mail me and I will do my best to put one together.

Thanks for stopping by!

K