Neon Ombre/Gradient Nail Tutorial

I have been really wanting to try out ombre nails and since I'm on vacation and my manicure is going to last more than a day it's the perfect time. I chose neon yellow and orange because every time I flip on the Olympics inevitably someone is wearing those neon yellow Nike's. Guess the colors are stuck in my head.

If your inept at nail art like me this is a really easy way to spice up a manicure. It's a technique that can be easily done on short and long nails.

Fun & Simple 4th Of July Nails

First off I'm not the best at nail art, so when I find something that is easy to do even with my left hand I get excited and have to share. I thought this technique would be fun for a red whit and blue 4th of July look.

imPRESS Press-on Manicure Review

www.impressmanicure.com

Introducing imPress Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails, the revolutionary way to apply polish! Featuring advanced nail technology, you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds – simply peel off, press on, and you're done. There's no drying, a killer shine and a manicure that lasts up to a week! And, imPress is so easy to remove, you can change it up to match your mood as often as you want. Check out all 36 colors and patterns, including trendy brights, classic darks and animal prints. With imPress, your nails will always be your best accessory.
Description from Influenster.com


I received this product complimentary to test through Influenster’s VoxBox program and surprisingly  I am loving these! I can never manage to grow my nails and these are the perfect solution. It makes it look like I have long nails in minuets. They were really easy to use match the size and peel off the backing and press them on. I would recommend going for a size sightly smaller rather than slightly bigger if it's not a perfect match one was a bit bigger and looked and felt funny. you get 24 nails so it should be easy to find the right match. I also would recommend when sticking them down to slide along with the edge of the nail till you hit the cuticle then press down to get the perfect fit. I found them a bit rough on the ends so when I was done applying them I filed them a bit and added a top coat to the end to smooth them out. 

One thing I was really liking was the design. They had a cute animal print design with a glitter background, and glitter is so hard to remove but with these all you have to do is peel them off. There are lots of cute designs which is a plus for a nail inept like myself. 

I found they only lasted a few days. As a cake decorator I work with my hands a lot, and find myself with my hands in water doing dishes, so I think that played a big part in the longevity of the manicure. These would be great for short term use like a night out or the weekend. For the price it's a great deal $5.99- $7.99 considering a full set of acrylic nails at the salon can run $40-$50. 


I will defiantly be trying these again the next time I'm in the mood for long nails and a cute and easy manicure. 

Disclaimer: All of the products shown in this post were sent to me, but my opinions are not influenced in anyway and I am not being paid by showing these products. All reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

NOTD Pool Boy With Snowflakes

OCC Pool Boy

 So I recently got my order from OCC's black friday sale so I decided to try it out. Wow what a color! It will be a great color for summer by the pool but it's also a great winter baby blue. I had seen a tutorial on how to do snow flakes and wanted to try them out and they make the perfect combo. The polish is so opaque and would be fine with one thick coat. I think I found a new favorite color!

 Here is the video that inspired the snow flakes. Thanks Iris for such an easy nail art tutorial that even the nail art challenged (me) can do.

NOTD Acid Washed Jeans

I am not someone who is good at nail art or painting my nails neatly for that matter so when I come across an interesting and easy technique I can't wait to try it. Last night I came across a video on how to do an acid washed jeans look on nails.

What you'll need

• Base coat
• Clear Top Coat
• Dark Blue Nail Polish (I used N.Y.C 115A Skin tight Denim cream)
• Light grey polish (I used Essie's Absolutely Shore)
• An Opaque White Polish (I used Sally Hansen's 120 white tip nail-growth miracle)
• Q-Tips
• Nail polish remover

What to do

1. Paint nails with base coat
2. Paint nails with dark blue and let dry well.
3. Paint nails with light grey.
4. Paint nails with white.
5. Take Q-Tip and wet it with the nail polish remover
6. Wipe Q-Tip over painted nail in small sections until blue stats to show through, you will want to move around to different spots on the nail to give it that random patter. remember to not remove too much of the white.
   
7. Repeat for the rest of the nails.
8. Apply a clear topcoat and let dry.

NOTD Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Rare (part 2), with Barry M Crackle.

yes I am quite possibly the worlds worst manicurist.

So decided to try out the neon yellow Illamasqua with the black crackle. I added a maroony purple with silver crackle as an accent. I think it gives that 80's feel.

NOTD Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Rare

While In New Your City last week I picked up some things at Sephora. I had never tried anything from Illamasqua and then I saw this color and couldn't resist. I was immediately draw to the bright neon construction worker yellow. The color however looks best in white or daylight, it doesn't look as neon under incandescent light bulbs, but out in the sun light it is full neon day glow.

The finish of the polish is a satin finish, which i wasn't too much of a fan of so I just added a glossy topcoat. I have been wearing the polish for about 4 days now and it wears very well, with little peeling or chipping, and I am hard on my polish with my hands in dish water a lot at work, and home.

I tried the polish with an accent nail with white crackle over it but it only seemed to wash out the bright vibrancy of the yellow. I think next time I will try it with a black or deep blue crackle.