Queen's Day 2012

Hello everyone, here's my belated Queen's Day post! On this national holiday everybody wears orange and sometimes with hints of the Dutch flag, so that's exactly what I did here. I started with the orange and then layered the red, white and blue on top, using tape for crisp lines. This mani took forever to make as I had to wait three times in between for my polish to dry before I could place the tape on my nails, but it was definitely worth it and I received many compliments on it that day. ^^

To show our country a little love on days like these, the Dutch brand Koh set up a little collection with 'Dutch' colors which I've used for my Queen's Day mani. Below are swatches of each polish.

Brilliant Red!. This is a classic red jelly with a hint of orange, it's very pretty and bright but not unique. It does have a great formula and application, like I'm used to from most jellies. This was two coats, and as you can see it still shows a tiny bit of VNL but strangely it doesn't bother me much in this case.

Crystal!. This was my second favorite polish from these four (and the only one I didn't include in my mani because it was too sheer). I honestly expected to hate it as it's a frosty white which looks very dated to me, but I ended up loving it! When you think of frosts, you think of brushstrokes, but fortunately Crystal! doesn't suffer from those with its easy application. :) It takes three coats to get full opacity, but it's totally worth it in my opinion. And I know it's not even summer yet, but Crystal! would be a great color for winter too, look at that pearly shimmer! I already start to feel Christmassy when I look at it haha.

Rock Chick!, my favorite from the bunch. ^^ This cobalt beauty is so bright that it looks like a neon in certain lighting, really gorgeous... And like Brilliant Red! this is a jelly with a perfect, rich formula. It covers perfectly in two smooth coats, love it!

And the last one is Dutch!. Like many other girls, I'm not a big orange fan when it comes to nail polish. But it is the perfect orange for Queen's Day or to show our team some support during the UEFA European Football Championship this summer! Pictured is three coats, once again the application was very nice.

Thanks for reading!

The products in this post were sent to me for review.

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Valentine's Day

Hi everybody, happy Valentine's Day! The boyfriend and I don't really celebrate it, but tonight we're going out for dinner together with some friends which should be really fun. :) But before that I wanted to share a few Valentine manis I made with you. I'd really wanted to post them earlier, but sometimes life just gets in the way. ;-) Let's see some nails then! I decided to keep the colors classic, using mainly red and black.

The first one up is this heart accent nail. I used China Glaze Phat Santa for my regular nails and went for OPI DS Reflection on my ringfinger for a bit of sparkle. Then I drew on the heart shape with a black creme and filled in the background. (I could've just drawn the hearts on top of the black since Reflection is actually quite opaque, but I discovered that after I'd already finished the first, big heart lol.)

Stripes go well with any occasion in my opinion, so Valentine's Day is no exception! :) I freehanded the random stripes with China Glaze Ink, as usual. Simple but I love it! ^^

I already did a lot of cloud manis lately, but I just had to include one in this post because it's so fitting for today and easy to do. :) Here I went for a single cloud layer which is even quicker to make. You can check out the tutorial for this design here.

I get a lot of my ideas by accident, that's why experimenting with nail art is so much fun. ^^ I noticed a heart shape in the cloud tips from the previous mani, so I outlined the shape with white (Essence Stampe Me! White) and drew a heart in it with black again. I find it pretty hard to draw thin lines sometimes, so by starting with the white and going over it with black, leaving a gap of white, it's easier to achieve the thin line I want. Like with the previous manis I used Phat Santa for the red.

In this post I'd also like to include a few older manis to inspire you (also to add some pink in here haha). You can view the complete post of each mani by clicking on the picture or the description.

Laced up

Vampy French

Guestpost for Ivana Thinks Pink

Cartoon hearts. (You can find the tutorial here).

China Glaze Designer Satin and Essence Blair

Nude with hearts

Cute funky French

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

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Shine like a star

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a merry Christmas with your loved ones. This year I'm rocking this star pattern that I made with a new image plate from Essence. It's only available in a set including a stamper and scraper, which I already have, but I really wanted the star design. The star shapes I have on other patterns are quite small which makes them harder to work with and less recognizable. (And besides, €3 for the whole set is a pretty good deal!) I used Color Club Where's The Soiree as my black, as usual, and the gold is China Glaze 2030. This look isn't very Christmassy per se, but I love it anyway. So much that I might even wear it again for New Year's Eve ^^ Happy Holidays!

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Sweet Snowman

Hi guys! For this post I've made this chubby little snowman design by Rins from Simply Rins. I saw it on her blog just a little while ago and fell madly in love... I couldn't stop looking at all ten of them on her nails, because they're just too cute! So many, many thanks to Rins for this adorable design! Seriously, don't you want to hug it? ^^ I used acrylic paint to draw the snowman and the base color is Essence Viva La Green. I love the color because it's not that typical mint green that we've come across many times in the past few years. It's a bit darker and quite vibrant, although it doesn't really show in the pictures (where I'm holding OPI Spark The Triomphe as decoration heehee). Rins also made a tutorial for this design which you can find in the orignal post here. Make sure to check it out, as well as the rest of her blog, she's created plenty of other amazing (freehand!) looks, very inspiring.
Thanks for reading and see you soon :)

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Abstract Christmas tree

Here's a little bonus post that shows the design from today's tutorial "in action" :)

The green is China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses on top of OPI Jade Is The New Black and the gold is China Glaze 2030. Good night everyone!

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Tutorial: Abstract Christmas tree design

Hello everyone! Recently I posted my second Holiday tutorial, which shows you how to make a traditional Christmas tree shape. But for this tutorial I have an abstract take on the Christmas tree, for the more modern nail art fans who are looking for something different. All you need is two polishes, tape and something to act like your tree topper. I used a rhinestone, but you could also use one larger (star shaped) glitter, a sticker, a stamping design and so on. Be creative ;-)

First apply your base color (with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry completely. If needed use a fastdrying topcoat to quicken the drying.
I used a fine glitter as my base color to make it more festive, but you can also use a regular cream, a subtle shimmer polish or one with a foil finish etc. Just make sure it's not too dominating, because you want to keep the Christmas tree the center of attention.

Cut off two regular tape strips which you'll use in step 3, and a few small ones to make the garland in step 4. The best way for me to cut (fine) tape strips, is by cutting off a little piece of the tape roll first which I then stick on the scissorblade, like shown in the picture. I let it stick out on one side (right in de picture), depending on how big I want the strip to be. This allows me to make very thin but also straight strips with relatively little effort.
A tip: to keep multiple small strips the same size, use the thickness of the scissorblade as standard.

When the base color is entirely dry, place the two regular tape strips on your nail, forming a chevron shape.

Then place the small strips randomly accross the chevron to form the garland. Important is to remember the order in which you've placed them, for a quick removal and neat result afterwards. With opaque tape this shouldn't be a problem, clear tape on the other hand... To make it easier with the latter, you can place the tape strips per direction. So first apply the ones going in one direction (upper left for instance), then the strips going in a second direction (upper right). All you have to remember now are the ones lying on top.
When all strips are in the right position, press them down firmly and apply your layering color.

Then right away, carefully peel of all the pieces of tape. Try to remove them individually if you can, because this will create crisper lines. When you're done, give your design a little time to dry.

At last, finish your design with a sparkly tree topper and seal your work with a layer of topcoat. Tada!

Finally some useful tips:

• For my tape manis, all I use is regular stationery tape. (For this particular tutorial I used painters tape for better visibility.) But you might prefer something else, so just experiment with different sorts of tape to figure out what works best for you.
• For your base color you can use any polish you like, however one-coaters will allow you to place the tape much sooner because those are usually fast drying. Of course you can also quicken the drying of polishes that require several coats to cover, by applying a fast drying topcoat. (I use Seche Vite). 
• Your layering color(s) can be either a one- or two-coater. Because you've already applied a base color, most polishes that usually take two coats to cover now will do with one.
• Though I mention cutting the tape strips as step 2, I admit it is safer to cut before applying the base color. However, if you've learned how to cut the tape without having it touch your polished nails, it can save you a lot of time.
• You might want to leave the cut strips somewhere else than the edge of your desk/table, to prevent them from getting stuck to the surface while you're busy. You do not want to have to peel them off with your freshly painted claws!
• Apply your top color in one thin (but opaque) coat, this will create crisper lines.
• When you're removing the tape strips, try to remove them individually, if you can, because most of the time your design will come out neater this way
• Using tweezers to remove the tape strips can prevent your freshly painted nails from getting smudged.
• It's not always necessary to start all over if you've messed up your design, often a little touch-up with a nailart brush can solve the problem.
• If you want to use a matt topcoat, use a regular one underneath. My experience with matt topcoats is that they smudge the design very easily, even when it's completely dry. Applying a normal topcoat first will prevent that.
• Moisterize your cuticles afterwards, because the tape can really dry out your skin!
• You can practice this tutorial on your old mani that you applied a day (or more) before. That way it's certain that the base color is dry.
• Have fun and practice makes perfect ;)

I would absolutely love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Polishes I used in this post are China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses and 2030.

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Christmas Fever

Hello everyone :) For today I have the mani I made after finishing the tutorial for the Christmas tree design with tape. The tutorial already received many comments, so thanks a lot for that! :) The beautiful red base color is P2's Fever. I love how elegant Fever is, the shimmer's just gorgeous and the finish is especially great for this month of the year. In the pictures you can see that the bottle has a golden glow, however that's not the case in real life, just a plain and perfect red shimmer! For a higher party-factor, I added a coat of Milani Gems. It looked fine with the glossy finish, but I mattified it anyway, so I could see all the different colors better ^^ Thanks for reading!

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Tutorial: Tape Christmas tree design

Hi everybody, welcome to my second Holiday design tutorial! In this tutorial I'll be showing you how to make the classic Christmas tree shape, with the help of tape for perfectly crisp lines. The design isn't too difficult to achieve, but you do need to cut and place many tape strips, so you may want to use it for accent nails only if you'd like to save yourself a lot of work ;-) Let's give it a try, shall we?

First apply your base color (with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry completely, if needed use a fastdrying topcoat to speed up the process.
With more detailed designs, I usually recommend using a plain base color to keep the focus on the design, but because that typical, zigzag shape of a Christmas tree is so simple and easy to recognize, we can go for something bolder this time. How about a (duo)chrome, a holographic polish or a sparkly glitter? Or perhaps just a simple but elegant shimmer?

Cut off two regular tape strips which you'll use in step 3, and four triangles for the rest in step 4. The way I cut the triangles is by first cutting off a little piece of the tape roll which I then cut in half diagonally, like shown in the picture.
Of course you can do the cutting before step 1, I personally like to cut the strips while I let my base color dry. But I have to be careful then, otherwise the tape might get stuck to my nails and ruin the polish. So admittedly, it is safer to start with cutting before applying the base color. However, if you've learned how to cut the tape without having it touch your polished nails, it can save you a lot of time.

When the base color is entirely dry, place the two rectangular tape strips on your nail, forming a chevron shape.

Then one by one, place two triangle shaped tape strips on each side of the chevron, with the points towards the center of the Christmas tree to be.
When you feel like all the tape strips are in the right position, press them down firmly so that they stay put on the surface. Then apply your layering color with a thin but opaque coat...

...and carefully peel off all the pieces of tape right away. And there it is, your classic Christmas tree design! Seal your design with a layer of (glitter) topcoat or add a rhinestone tree topper as a finishing touch. Merry Christmas!

Finally some useful tips:

• For my tape manis, all I use is regular stationery tape. (For this particular tutorial I used painters tape for better visibility.) But you might prefer something else, so just experiment with different sorts of tape to figure out what works best for you.
• For your base color you can use any polish you like, however one-coaters will allow you to place the tape much sooner because those are usually fast drying. Of course you can also quicken the drying of polishes that require several coats to cover, by applying a fast drying topcoat. (I use Seche Vite). 
• Your layering color(s) can be either a one- or two-coater. Because you've already applied a base color, most polishes that usually take two coats to cover now will do with one.
• Though I mention cutting the tape strips as step 2, I admit it is safer to cut before applying the base color. However, if you've learned how to cut the tape without having it touch your polished nails, it can save you a lot of time.
• You might want to leave the cut strips somewhere else than the edge of your desk/table, to prevent them from getting stuck to the surface while you're busy. You do not want to have to peel them off with your freshly painted claws!
• Apply your top color in one thin (but opaque) coat, this will create crisper lines.
• When you're removing the tape strips, try to remove them individually, if you can, because most of the time your design will come out neater this way
• Using tweezers to remove the tape strips can prevent your freshly painted nails from getting smudged.
• It's not always necessary to start all over if you've messed up your design, often a little touch-up with a nailart brush can solve the problem.
• If you want to use a matt topcoat, use a regular one underneath. My experience with matt topcoats is that they smudge the design very easily, even when it's completely dry. Applying a normal topcoat first will prevent that.
• Moisterize your cuticles afterwards, because the tape can really dry out your skin!
• You can practice this tutorial on your old mani that you applied a day (or more) before. That way it's certain that the base color is dry, plus this design is great for covering up tipwear!
• Have fun and practice makes perfect ;)

I would absolutely love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Polishes I used in this post are P2 Fever and China Glaze Millenium.

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China Glaze - Mistletoe Kisses

Aaah... China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses ♥ When I first saw this sparkly, green beauty from the 2010 holiday collection online, I knew I needed it! Mistletoe Kisses is pretty opaque, it covers in two coats. But since I was already wearing OPI Jade Is The New Black, I just applied one coat of it on top. The tiny silver glitters add so much glamour, without hiding the emerald green base. Perfect for the december holidays ^^ Do you own Mistletoe Kisses? And what do you think about it?

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Christmas scene

Hi everyone :) For this post I have another Christmas mani. Since I haven't made any Halloween looks this fall, I'm planning on catching up some holiday manis with this year's Christmas ;-) Anyway, this week's been terribly busy, so I've been wearing Essie Your Hut Or Mine for the last three days. But today's weekend, yay! So I finally had time to update my mani. I added a Christmas tree for my accent nail, using tape. You know, if you think about it, a Christmas tree isn't that different from a lightning bolt! I mainly used tape triangles which I placed underneath each other on each side of the tree to create the zigzag lines. For a little sparkle I added silver glitter on top and a larger piece of glitter as my tree topper. On the rest of my nails I made "funky clouds", representing a snow scenery and later I added the "snow" with a dotting tool. In retrospect, I think the dots are a bit too much, so I doubt if I'm going to keep this mani longer than a day. But oh well, that means I can do my nails again tomorrow ^^ Thanks for reading!

Polishes I used:
Essie - Your Hut Or Mine
Essie - Lion Around
Orly - Pure Porcelain
H&M - Confetti Kisses

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Tutorial: Snowflake

Hello everybody, welcome to my snowflake tutorial! Snowflakes have such beautiful and delicate shapes that instantly make a cute winter mani. In this tutorial I'll show you how to make a detailed but fairly simple snowflake. All you need is a small nail art brush and two matching polishes, let's start!


Begin with your base color (if necessary with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry. Because the snowflake will be quite detailed, I'd recommend using a plain base color like a cream or subtle shimmer polish, to keep the focus on your design.

Use your nail art brush and a contrasting polish/acrylic paint to draw three lines that cross each other in the middle.

Then add two small, slanted lines to each end of the lines you just drew. It's already starting to look like a snowflake now...

...but a little more detail will complete the design. So add two bigger, slanted lines to just three of the six 'legs', like highlighted in the picture.

Finally seal everything with a topcoat, clean up and you're done!

Use this design as a pattern on all nails or as an accent nail if you want to keep your mani simple.

Tip: Clean your nail art brush in between if you're using it for a long time. Because after a while polish will build up on it which can result in thick, goopy lines. Clean the brush by pouring a little bit of nail polish remover in a small dish (or the cap of the remover bottle), let your brush soak in it for a few seconds and dab it on a cotton pad a few times. Repeat this until your brush is clean.

I would absolutely love to see your attempt on this design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Polishes I used in this post are China Glaze First Mate and Essence Romeo (shimmer version).

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