color block nail art so I did it again,

 but using different colors.

I also included photos that will show you

how I did my nails, one step (and color) at a time.

I included some instructions as well.

Enjoy!

—

Step 1: Choose your base color

I picked Avon Speed Dry in S105 Fusion Fusion.

It’s a nice contrast if you plan on using dark, intense, glittery/frosted

or even neon nail polish on top of it.

What you see above is about 3 coats, to make it streak free.

Not a hassle though, since it dries quickly.

—

Step 2: Pick a color that will stand out from your base color

and apply it diagonally.  I usually paint the diagonal slash first

before filling out the half part with nail polish.

This is a Limited Edition MAC Blue India.

I rarely use it because I really love the shade and I don’t want

to use it up so quickly. )

Oh, I’m still doing blackberry nails for this nail art.

(click on the link if you don’t know what it means )

—

Step 3 : Add another shade on the rest of your nails, this time

the diagonal line is in the opposite direction of the line in your

thumb and ring fingernail.  This optional, of course, if you want 

uniform looking nails, by all means, go ahead.

I used Skin Food BW701 for this.

It’s an intense black shade with teeny tiny silver glitters infused

in the formula for that subtle but vampy kind of black.

The glitters are so subtle it only shows when the light hits your nails.

The glitters gives your black nails a silvery glimmer.

—

Step 4 : Add another shade on top of the second color,

diagonally and again, towards the opposite direction.

Some bloggers do this with four colors but

my  nails aren’t long enough, and they tend to

break when I grow them too long, so I make do with 3.

My favorite purple polish, VI408 by Skinfood.

I am yet to find a purple polish that can top this one.

Even the swatches of purple Zoya and Deborah Lippman

that I’ve seen can’t beat this one.

VI408 is the most vibrant shade of frosted purple,

infused with really tiny multicolored glitters.

It’s nail polish orgasm inducing. )

—

Step 5: Add a lighter color that will pop out from black,

again, this should be diagonal in the opposite direction.

The last color is my favorite from Caronia, On The Go.

Such a nice color for a local brand.

I have an extra bottle with me just in case they suddenly

stop producing the pastel colors. )

—

Step 6 : Finish it off with a top coat!

I used my favorite top coat, Seche Vite, for this

because it has so many layers of polish and I

need it to dry quickly.

Seche Vite makes the drying process 5x faster.

—

tip: Always use top coats because it makes your nail polish

 last longer look like it’s freshly applied.

—

Here are the nail polish that I used:

(from L-R)

Skinfood VI408, MAC Blue India, Skinfood BW701, Caronia On The Go,

and Avon Speed Dry S105 in Fusion Fusion.

—

I hope you enjoyed this post.

If you have any requests on what nail art I should

post next, just drop me a comment.

Don’t worry, I don’t bite

xoxo

Erika

]]> http://r3daily.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/a-retrospective-on-my-nails/ Sun, 30 May 2010 13:13:00 +0000 r3daily http://r3daily.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/a-retrospective-on-my-nails/

As you all know I have a passion for doing my nails. When I look back over the last several years I am amazed at the changes I have made. I have always excelled at doing acrylics or gels. I would do all kinds of designs. I would only consider painting my entire nails with a polish when I was tired. Most of the time I had some type of design going on. Whether it was a funky french, painted designs, embedded flowers, ruffian, moon manicure…you name it, I did it. Then when we moved to FL I decided I was over it all. It just all seemed like too much work. I debated on starting to go back to a salon and having them do my nails for me. But the reason I didn’t go to salons to begin with is because they ruined my nails. I could never seem to find a well educated nail tech.  All that filing led to paper thin nails and getting a fill was painful from all the filing. At one point I woke up and realized they were damaging my nails and I just started doing my own nails. I realized that my nails were not being damaged when I did them myself. There was no pain and they looked a lot better. So after years (15+ years) of some type of enhancement I decided to quit wearing them. 


I stocked up on some restoring and strengthening products and I cut my nails down super short and went from there. Within weeks I had long and strong nails. Overall within 3 months my nails were so strong and I was so careful that I had some dagger length nails. At one point I was wondering how long I was going to let them get. I eventually broke one and cut them all. At first the thought of growing my nails long seemed to be the only goal – so I kept growing them long and then when one would break I would cut them all and start over. Well in recent months I have been swatching a lot and not being as careful and attentive as I used to be, so now I notice I have breaks more often. I also don’t really want them long anymore, except when I miss doing some funky designs that I feel look best on longer nails. I think I found my current length suits me best 99% of the time. It works with my lifestyle and they are easy to maintain. But part of me wants to have more fun with my nails and think that they should be a bit longer for that. I want to start wearing the funky frenches again and the ruffian and the half moon manicure.

So I decided to go to all you for your opinions. Which length do you think is best for me? Do you agree that my current length suits me better?


Here is how long they used to be when I first stopped wearing enhancements:

I’m wearing MAC Blue India here. 


So which length is your favorite? 

Så alle norske jenter og gutter som vil ha denne, på med løpeskoene og gjør deg klar, for denne blir det rift om. 15. april er datoen. Fargen er en nydelig dempet blåtone og konsistensen er perfekt! Blue India er en del av Liberty Of London kolleksjonen og innpakningen i seg selv er et lite kunstverk.