Black and White for Halloween and a Nail Tip

As a Halloween Manicure, this is way past due, but I wanted to use this as a Nail Tip, so I'm sharing my Halloween Manicure as well!

This Nail Tip is more of an addition to water marbling, rather than an explanation or a How-To. Now I know there are a few preferences out there for how to prep for a water marble, but this was my first attempt at a water marble manicure, and I found the prep I did helped so I had none-to-a-little clean up, so I thought I should share it.




When I think of Halloween, my mind irrevocably goes to black and white Horror films. Forgetting the fact I've seen very few Horror films, I still connect the two. And thus the inspiration behind my Halloween manicure.

image from lauragrandefilm.blogspot.com

The 1922 black and white film Nosferatu is not only considered the "original" vampire movie, but also a classic horror film.


No bottle pictures here. Why? Because this isn't about the colors used specifically, it's about the manicure and how to achieve a similar look. So let's jump into Step 1!




To prep your nails for a water marble manicure, I definitely suggest laying down a base color. While I did just mention that the exact nail polishes don't matter, I do have a preference for layering, and it works well for me so I'll share it here, too. My choice: Alpine Snow Matte by OPI. The matte dries very quickly and you get great coverage in 1 - 2 coats without it being goopy or streaky (which is great for a white)!






Here is the step that you may or may not have read on other blogs. I've heard people recommending using different mediums to protect their fingers from getting covered in the nail polish left on the water's surface after dipping your nail in, and I've found using blue painter's tape to be quite helpful.

While being a tough sort of surface, the tape itself is papery and bends and flexes well, so it seems to mold better to the finger than other tapes I've used before (such as clear "Scotch" tape).



The best way to go about applying the tape would be to cut some medium-to-thin strips from your tape roll and then cut each of those strips into short segments so you have a bunch of small rectangles.

This part is important so that there is less clean-up at the end point. Taking those little rectangles, start at the side of your finger and line up the edge of the tape so it touches the edge of the bottom coat of nail polish. You'll want the tape to do this to cover your cuticle and sides of your finger where the nail polish can pool and trap, making clean-up harder than it has to be.

Going around the edge of the base color of nail polish (the matte white in the picture above), use your little rectangle strips to angle around the nail bed, until all edges are covered with tape. If you see any big gap where two strips have left an angle where the polish might stick to the skin, go in with a small strip of tape and cover that up.

Next, take one of the longer strips of tape and press it down under your nail, so it covers the underside of the nail along with the underside of your finger. It is okay if the tape strip surpasses the end of your nail and sticks out a bit, that will not interfere with your water marble effect on the nail.

Now, cut a few larger pieces of tape and wrap them around your finger so that your finger is covered up to the second joint/knuckle (or anatomically speaking, where your middle phalanx and proximal phalanx meet). Using larger pieces of tape at this part makes it faster and easier to put on and take off the tape.



Here you can see that the tape from Step 2 really did keep my middle finger clean. If for some reason you have a bit of excess nail polish from the water marble on your finger, this would be the step to clean off your finger.



Keeping with the Halloween theme, I added a dash of color to my nails by painting my ring finger a neon orange over the matte white (which helped so I needed less coats of the orange polish). (Also, the orange shade is Sinful Colors Summer Peach if you're wondering).



And add a top coat!




In terms of a water marble, I liked how this one turned out, and with how easy the clean up was with the blue tape, I'll definitely be doing this again! Have you tried water marbling before? Do you do prep beforehand to make clean-up easier? And if so, what? (I'd like to know if there are any good ideas that could also be incorporated into this Nail Tip to be helpful for everyone.)

While I'm certainly not a pro at water marbling, I searched YouTube and looked at water marbling videos there to get ideas. I also looked at a few videos on Colette's blog My Simple Little Pleasures. She has some great videos on how to water marble and shows how to swirl the colors around in the water so you can get a preferred design.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this Nail Tip/Halloween Manicure, and if you haven't tried water marbling, consider diving into it, it's really not as horribly detailed and messy as it first seems! Bye!

ND9: Mermaid Tails and Fish Scales

Nail Design Number Nine is Mermaid Tails and Fish Scales...or Mermaid Scales and Fish Tails...or even Tales. Either way this is a design reminiscent of both those scaly creatures.




The Little Mermaid Statue in Copenhagen.

image from womenandclimatechange.blogspot.com

And the players for this Nailish Masquerade:




China Glaze's Towel Boy Toy. A neon polish with a hint of shimmer. The perfect polish to layer over because it dries matte (and thus, you'll know exactly when it is dry).

Sinful Colors Rise and Shine. A green polish that is quite similar in nature to Towel Boy Toy, as it has a hint of shimmer to it and dries to a matte-like finish. This polish is a really great find, in my opinion, because at $2US you could wear this polish alone with two coats and have complete coverage with a finish similar to more expensive brands.

Zoya Charla. This is the polish that really makes this manicure design! Like a mermaid in a bottle, this polish is a beautiful combination of blue/green flakes that shine different shades of each color depending on the lighting. While I'd say you need to run and get this while you still can for its extraordinarily beautiful properties, if you cannot get your hands on this Zoya polish, OPI has one that is quite similar...as does Orly...and Essence.



Step 1 is simply laying down the first color of polish.



This is two coats of Towel Boy Toy by China Glaze. But don't be fooled - that shiny finish you see in the photo was not a result of fast photo taking before the polish dried, I added a coat of Seche Vite Top Coat before I started the next step.



And here is where the blue painter's tape comes in!



For each nail you will need to cut two relatively straight pieces of painter's tape. The width of each stripe does not matter, what matters is the angle of each cut. You need to be cautious when cutting each strip of tape that you don't inadvertently cut the strip of tape so that it is no longer parallel to the other edge.

With your two separate strips of tape, match them together at one end, where the two tape pieces will form a 90 degree angle. The corners of the tape will help you match up one edge to the other, because the lengthwise end of one strip of tape will back up to the other strip of tape where the first strip of tape will be cornered in by the second strip of tape (as seen in the photo above).



Now once you get the hang of step two, we can move on to Step 3. You will be using a total of 4 pieces of tape for this part.




What we are doing here is creating an arrow-point look with Charla, so you are going to begin this step by laying down first one strip of tape right where the green polish meets the blue polish (I started with the right side), and then on the other side of the chevron tip created by the green polish you are going to lay down another piece of tape that will section off that side (my left side shown in the picture above), so that on each side when we paint over the green it will just be barely touching the blue polish, and thus leave us with a more blended-type look between the three separate shades of polish.

Next, we will be repeating the same pattern as Step 2, where we will be creating a 90 degree angle with two strips of tape, and this will go at the bottom edge of the nail to create the other side of the arrow that we will fill in with our third color of polish.



And there we have the final look! Just add a top coat and you are good to go!

On another note, I consider the Zoya polish a glitter polish because it has glitter polish like qualities (such as the fact that it was a pain to remove), so be aware with one of these polishes with this type of finish, you may have to put some effort into completely removing this look - so feel free to wear it for a few days longer than normal!

Well, I hope you were inspired by this twist on a chevron-tip design. Have you tried something like this before? Do you adore the mermaid colored polish as much as I do? Let me know your thoughts....

ND1: Half and Half Purple

My favorite nail art design! This is the easiest nail art you will ever do, and it always gets the most complements. I usually choose to layer a deep, dark color over a bright, bold color, because it stands out more.

For this design you will need tape - I prefer painter's tape, so this is where the blue tape comes in! - but scotch tape or something similar will work. (Note: I use Painter's Tape/Blue Tape because it was made to be used for painting, so when you lift it off a surface, the surface won't come up with the tape.)




Now the name of this design, Half and Half, may bring to mind the following image...

Image from bonappetit.com

...But rather than a cream for coffee or baking, this design is simply laying one color over half your nail, thereby covering half of the original color put down before it.

The colors I chose to use for this manicure were OPI DS Mystery and Sinful Colors Dream On. The Sinful Colors shade is a bright, neon purple, and the OPI is a deep blackish-purple with tiny gold flakes.



Here's the simple 3 step process:


After applying a base coat, I painted two coats of Sinful Colors Dream On. With this type of manicure where you'll be layering colors, it's always best to go from lightest to darkest, so the Sinful polish went on first.



The other nice thing about using a neon as a base color is that they tend to dry matte, so you can tell when your nails are dry and you can start the next step. Though, if you are ever impatient or in a rush, you can use your favorite fast-dry top coat, just remember that each layer of top coat adds a layer of polish to your nails, and you don't want there to be too many layers in the end, otherwise the manicure becomes thick and is less likely to dry as quickly.



And here's where the magical blue tape comes in.




For this nail design, you don't have to cut each piece of tape the same length and width, you just want each piece to be able to cover the full length of your nail. So the longer the nails, the longer the piece of tape needs to be. This step should be done when the first polish put down is completely dry. You then press each strip down, making sure there are no gaps between the nail and the tape, where the second color might try to slide under when painting.



Step 3 is a follow up of step 2. After you have removed the tape (which is best done when the second color is still fresh and wet, so as not to get drag or pull), layer on the top coat, and you'll have a shiny, beautiful manicure!




Look (below) at those straight lines! My ring finger (the second finger from the right), came out with the straightest line, and you can see the reason painter's tape plays such a large roll in this manicure. You can't imagine how many people will ask you about your nails, how you got such straight lines, and if they're your real nails! (I had at least 10 people ask me about my nails while wearing this manicure.) Behold the magic of the painter's tape:





So, I hope you've enjoyed this short, simple, and sweet Nail Design.

Thanks for looking. Bye for now.