Independence Day Nails

To all my readers who live in the states: Happy Independence Day! Our beautiful country gained its independence on this day back in 1776. Whether you're barbecuing outside or staying in and eating apple pie like me, it's a great day to be celebrating. To get into the festive spirit I decided last night to try my hand at a 4th of July inspired nail design.

Manicure Monday: Easy Floral Nails by Janelle

In my last Manicure Monday post I shared with you all a Marimekko inspired nail design by Janelle. This week I decided to try my hand at another one of Janelle's designs, an Easy Floral Nails look that I thought would compliment my graduation dress rather nicely. It was a bit of a rush job so please excuse any imperfections.

Overall, I think it came out very well and I'm sure if I had taken some more time it would've been amazing. If you want to try out this design for yourself head on over to Janelle's Easy Floral Nails tutorial on YouTube, you don't need a lot of skill to do this look nor do you need any professional tools. I actually prefer the Marimekko inspired design over this one, but that's my personal preference. Which one do you like better?
See you all next time!
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Manicure Monday: Marimekko Inspired Nail Art by Janelle

I haven't done my nails in months! I've been alternating between au naturale and OPI Nail Envy in order to keep my nails healthy during the brutal winter we experienced in NYC. However, now that warmer weather is here (and hopefully here to stay), I've gotten bit by the nail art bug and decided to try out a nail design by Janelle of Elle & ish.

Inspired by Finnish designer Marimekko's signature floral prints, this nail design just screamed Spring. I used my own combination of nail polishes but kept the shades true to Janelle's original color palette. It wasn't as hard as it looked and I was incredibly satisfied with my handiwork once I saw the final product. I received tons of compliments on my nails from coworkers and friends over the past two weeks that I've been sporting this design. Seriously though, check out Janelle's tutorial on YouTube as well as her other designs because she is hands down my favorite nail art blogger!

Review: Models Own Velvet Goth (Sardonyx)

Models Own is a UK based beauty brand that has yet to make its way to the States, as far as I know. I first mentioned this product in my Boots & Superdrug Haul on YouTube, so if you haven't watched it already be sure to check it out to see my initial impression of the polish. It turns out that this polish isn't all too different from what I imagined it would be when I first picked it up and bought it.

This Models Own Nail Polish in the shade Sardonyx (£5.00) is part of their limited edition Velvet Goth collection. Velvet Goth features 5 different polish shades: Obsidian (black), Valerian (midnight blue), Amethyst (dark purple), Sardonyx (ruby red) and Absinthe (bluish green). Of the 5 shades, I picked up Sardonyx because it looked to be the most wearable for my skin tone and style.

All the Velvet Goth polishes have a matte base with chunks of micro glitter. Sardonyx happens to have a matte dark red base with ruby red and black micro glitter. In the photo the polish doesn't look like anything special but in real life I guarantee you it looks much better.
It also turns out that the polish is scented. I can't quite place a finger on it but it's definitely a berry scent, possibly strawberry. I thought it'd be cool to have a scented polish but now I'm getting kind of annoyed at smelling artificial berries every time I pass my hand by my face. I really hope the smell goes away in a day or two.
Overall, this polish is pretty much what I had expected it to be, the only twist is that it's scented. I must have missed the note about it being scented somewhere on the display. I'm pretty happy with this polish as it's really quite unlike anything I have in my collection but I'm certain that I won't be buying another shade from this collection. I think one of these polishes is enough for me as I can tell that I probably won't be wearing this too often.

♥

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Review: Essie Smooth Trick

I am so incredibly sorry that I haven't posted in over a week. Both my summer classes and internship were coming to a close so I was swamped with work during that time. But now I'm back and I won't be going back to class for a month so be prepared for a whole lot of activity on this blog. Now with that out of the way lets get on to the actual post.

Review: OPI Original Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

I'm going to keep this review short and sweet because I'm in the second to last week of both my internship and my summer classes so I have tons of work piling up that I need to get to ASAP! I've recently gotten really into nail care since I've noticed that my nails have been peeling and my cuticles have been drier than they usually are. I bought the OPI Original Nail Envy Nail Strengthener ($8.29) after watching videos of MakeupByTiffanyD and Elleandish talking about how they use the same line of polish to strengthen their nails.

Manicure Monday: Chevron Nails

Can you believe I've never done Chevron nail art before? It's probably one of the simplest nail designs to do but it has always eluded me. So this week I finally decided to give it a try and I wanted to put a spin on it by adding in an ombre look. I used Essie Blanc for the white, Essie Off the Shoulder for the hot pink at the base and Sephora by OPI I'm Wired for the Coral stripe. I'm thinking about filming nail tutorials as I practice my nail art!

Manicure Monday: Cherry Blossom French Manicure Nails

Happy Manicure Monday everyone! I recently discovered Elleandish's YouTube channel and was inspired to try nail stamping. I had always been interested in it before but I never had enough inspiration or courage to invest my money in a stamper, scraper and plate. Janelle made it seem so easy in her tutorials that I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I followed her Cherry Blossom French Manicure Nail Tutorial step by step and this was the result, not bad for a first time stamper right?

Review: L'Oreal Nail Color in Pistachio Dream

Growing up my entire nail polish collection consisted of 50 shades of Pink, I had baby pinks, hot pinks, Barbie pinks and the occasional red. Never would I have ever fathomed purchasing a polish that wasn't pink, especially not a light mint green! But now that I'm older and the trends have changed rather dramatically since the '90s, I now own a few colors other than Pink. Actually, I've found myself really enjoying different shades of blue and now I find myself developing an interest in greens.

I was heavily influenced by Makeup By Tiffany D to purchase this L'Oreal Nail Color ($4.99) in the shade Pistachio Dream. I had never tried a L'Oreal polish before and I really didn't know what to expect except for what Tiffany D had said about the polish in her videos. 

NOTD: Hot Pink + Gold Glitter Tips

I just uploaded this Nail of the Day on my Instagram (@lipstickndlace). This nail design was really quick and easy to do. I used Essie's Off the Shoulder all over the nails and brushed layers of Sephora by OPI's Only Gold for Me on the tips. Use a top coat to seal in the glitter and even out the nails and you're done!

XOXO,
Elle