Christmas bows

This will be my christmas nailart this year (^__^). The base color is teal (N.236 by Art Deco), hard to see it in the pictures.
Merry christmas and happy holidays everyone!

Red glam nails for new year's eve!

I wanted to name this one "last minute nailart for NYE-few material/zero drawing skills required", but changed my mind and made it "red glam" instead..
I like red nails, and this polish (ColorClub 29- daydream) is simply a gorgeous creamy red, that would match most skintones.

Trying to get some good light here, but those of you who own this polish, probably know what I mean.

I used my striper from Art Club, 52 small rhinestone (for my length of nails that is) and 2 bigger ones for the center of the ringfinger's rhombus. Very easy, don't you think?

Christmas ornaments

Not the typical christmas design, but I already had this base color on my nails, and decided to add my nailart on it:) I prefer creamy colors for this one, so that there will be no need for sponging, and the design will show more "clean" and fun!

Christmas cupcakes

Oh, these were easy to make and fun to wear, although they look a little bit strange on long nails. I believe that most designs are better on shorter nails, and maybe this one belongs to them:))

Nail art foils

So, I have a few foils that I haven't even tried. They look amazing before top coat and start crinkling the minute you try to cover them :(  I tried using the special sealer on top, didn't work for me. I also tried a few top coats (Seche Vite, Good to Go, Super Shiney, Ibd for polish, Nubar diamond and others) but they all seemed to damage it. I also tried applying an extra coat of adhesive on top of the foil, so that there would be no immediate contact between topcoat and foil, the damage was much less. I heard that airbrush sealers work best, you mist it on the foil and let it dry. Then you top coat. I do not own any airbrush material, so I wouldn't know..  Soak off gel worked best for me, especially the CND Shellac one, you can see on the pinky, the damage is hardly noticeable :)

Topcoats that failed to pass the test:

What do you use to seal foils?

L'oreal crackle effect for Christmas

I still love crackle effect polishes, even though I feel bad that the nailart just.. happens, without me having to do anything special :)
Today I went to a beauty store near my house, and I found this new (I think..) L'oreal crackle polish. There were 3 more colors available, but I already had them from other brands, so I thought I should take the dark red one. I am so happy I did it! It is a beautiful color, with a wide brush for easy application. It cracks and dries fast, as all the polishes of this category do.
First, I put my base coat and a light gold color from the same brand, as a base. Sadly, it took me 4 coats, even though I removed all the excess transparent polish I could, before I shake the bottle. Then I let it dry, and added a coat of the red crackle.. It looked darker and kind of dull before the top coat, but when I added Seche Vite, it showed brilliant! Even the base color, it was so perfect for this!

Tip: You don't really have to do anything more, and I think it would match perfectly a black dress, but if you want to, you can make it on half nails, deviding the width, and keep the other half in a color similar to the crackle. Maybe add a few rhinestones where the two parts meet? Just sayin'...

Snowflakes in the dark

And an all time classic snowflakes' design for winter! The base color is a dark grey, OPI "I have a herring problem", lol, who thinks of these names? Beautiful polish by the way, with a discreet shimmer, 3 coats for a good coverage:) Here is the link for the tutorial on youtube: http://youtu.be/AJyb8j4TmXM

Peocock nails

Here are my peocock nails, under different light settings. Basecoat is by OPI, decorations made with waterbased acrylic paints. As always, there is a tutorial on youtube: http://youtu.be/d6WyyDCY1Ec

A few words about me..

My name is Elena, I am 38 years old, married and mother of 3 kids, ages 7 and 4... 

Here I will post photos and videos of my nailart designs and, possibly, some thoughts and reviews about products I have tried. 
Am I a professional? Hmm.. I got trained over gel and acrylic application, as well as classic manicure and pedicure, last year. I was lucky to have a teacher willing to show me again and again, until I got it right, never counting the hours. I still have a lot to learn, although I feel that I am done with theory, lol, youtube and many blogs have helped in this direction. Anyway, I think that training is not what makes the proffesional, no matter how good it was. It is experience and handling situations in the best way that make a proffesional.  

Thank you very much for visiting! Ihope you like my blog and enjoy my designs!

Elena