Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority Nails

This is an old manicure of mine from 2014, but I've never shared it on my blog until now.  I'm part of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a professional and social sorority composed of female engineers and technical scientists.  I'm attending convention next week and thought it a fitting time to share this manicure.

For this manicure I used OPI Angel with a Leadfoot and OPI Russian Navy Suede for the base.  I stamped the designs using Vivid Lacquer VL017, Bundle Monster BM-320, Bundle Monster BM-415, and Bundle Monster BM-323.

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Fourth of July Skittles Nail Art

 Today I have a 4th of July nail art idea to share with you.  This is a skittle manicure using some of my favorite Zoya polishes.  This design was super easy to do with a dotting tool and didn't take long at all.

For this manicure, I used Zoya America, Zoya Purity, and Zoya Sia.  I used the dotting tool for the dots on my accent nail and a silver metal star stud as another accent on my pinky.


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Summertime Nail Art

It's summertime!  Today I'm showing off a super cute summer nail art design that I saw from The Nail Lounge Miramar's Instagram.  I thought it was adorable and perfect for the summer weather that has finally made its way to Oregon.

For this look I used OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana, Zoya Tomoko, and Zoya Purity.  As usual, I made the daisies using dotting tools because it's the easiest way I know how to do nail art.

Coral Reef Nails

Now that we've passed the summer solstice and the calendar puts us in the summer season, it's time for some brighter colors on my fingertips.  More cute summer nail art that I created using dotting tools today.  I'm not very good with nail art brushes, but I can definitely play connect the dots until I've made something that looks like lines.

For this look I'm wearing OPI Suzi's Hungary Again, OPI What's with the Cattitude? and Zoya Purity.


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Dotted Flowers

Nail art with dotting tools is, in my opinion, the easiest nail art out there.  You can turn about anything into a dotting tool (bobby pin, toothpick, nail, etc.) but there are also a lot of cheap options on Amazon.  I have a set of five dotting tools but I find myself using the two smallest sizes over and over.

For the look I'm sharing today I'm using Zoya Zanna as my base with the flower petals created using Zoya Purity.  I put my topcoat over that pair, then added the center dots using Zoya Tomoko - a textured polish for an easy 3D look.

And voila!  Easy fast nail art.



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Top 5 Easy Summer Nail Art Ideas

Summer is having a hard time showing up in the Pacific Northwest. The weather is still rainy and cold.  As I'm not in much of a summer mood, I've compiled a list of my top five easy summer nail art ideas from summers past.

Check them out below with links back to the post from when I first created each design.  

1. Pink Holo Leopard

http://darlingnails.blogspot.com/2016/04/pink-holo-leopard.html

2. Daisies

http://darlingnails.blogspot.com/2016/07/daisies.html

3. UV Color-Changing Polish

http://darlingnails.blogspot.com/2013/09/del-sol-ruby-slipper.html

4. Holo Dots

http://darlingnails.blogspot.com/2013/08/holotastic-dots.html

5. Watermelons

http://darlingnails.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-21-fruit-manicure.html

Holly

I like how reverse stamping looks, but I don't always like how long it takes to create the images.

For this manicure I used I Love Nail Polish Juliette as my base.  I created the holly decals using the holly and ivy image from MoYou London's Festive Collection plate 03 using Mundo de Unas 1 White, Zoya Hunter, and China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Snowmageddon

Is your hometown currently suffering from this arctic blast?  Are you buried under an atypical amount of snow?  I was last week, and what better way to celebrate than with snowflake nails.

For this manicure I used OPI Can't Find My Czechbook as my base, topped with Essie Shine of the Times and Essie Matte About You top coat.  I then next stamped the snowflake image from MoYou London's Festive Collection plate 03 using Mundo de Unas 1 White.

Christmas Sweater Nails

Christmas sweater nails are my favorite nail art design to do in the winter.  They're seasonally appropriate even after Christmas is passed as winter sweater nails.

For this manicure I used Zoya Kristen as my base then stamped the sweater image from MoYou London's Festive Collection plate 03 on top using Mundo de Unas 1 White.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had a very shiny nose!  It's all holiday nails all the time now and this week's flashback Friday is no exception.

For this manicure I used OPI My Vampire is Buff as my base, then used Zoya Sookie and Orly Lucky Duck to create the red and green chevrons.  My reindeer was created using Zoya Chanelle, Sally Hansen Black Out, Zoya White Out, and China Glaze Ruby Slippers.

Candy Canes

These candy cane nails are a simple but fun Christmas nail art manicure.  For this manicure I used two coats of Zoya Purity as my base, then stamped the candy cane image from MoYou London's Festive Collection plate 03 on top using Mundo de Unas 32 Reddish.  

Pour Me Another Cup

If your Monday is anything like mine, it's starting with a very large cup of coffee.  Or if your weekend was anything like mine, it was spent getting caught up on the lives of the residents in Star's Hollow with the new Gilmore Girls.  In any event, coffee is life and should be celebrated with coffee themed nail art.

For this manicure I used Zoya Emilia and stamped coffee images from MoYou London's The Cookbook Collection plate 04 using Mundo de Unas 19 Bronze.

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!  This year the only turkey I made are the ones on my nails.  I followed a design from Painted Polish by Lexi and I'm pretty happy with how my turkeys turned out.  For this manicure I used the following colors: Zoya Emilia, Zoya Chanelle, Zoya Sookie, Zoya Purity, OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana, OPI Where Did Suzi's Man-Go?, SoFlaJo Freaky & Fabulous, and Sally Hansen Black Out.  

Election Day, 2016

Freehand nail art is hard.  Deciding who to vote for in this election is decidedly less so.  

Colors used: Zoya America, Zoya Purity, Zoya Sia, and Zoya Robyn.  

Holo Spider Webs

One last Halloween manicure to finish out this year.  :)

This time I chose to do some spider web nails using linear holographic polishes.  For this manicure I used Color Club Harp On It, Zoya Sia, and Color Club Beyond using vinyls from What's Up Nails.

Since there's no sun in the Pacific Northwest today I took a photo with flash so you can get an idea of how gorgeous the holo is.

Spooky Pumpkins

Manicures from years past.  :)

Today I'm sharing a manicure that I Instagrammed and Facebooked, but never shared here on the blog.

The gradient is Zoya Darcy, Zoya Thandie, Zoya Yana, and Zoya Storm stamped with Bundle Monster BM-224.

Spiders and Webs

Manicures from years past.  :)

Today I'm sharing a manicure that I Instagrammed and Facebooked, but never shared here on the blog. 

This is two coats of OPI Just Spotted the Lizard stamped with DRK-A and BM13 plates.

Black and Orange

Manicures from years past.  :)

Today I'm sharing a manicure that I Instagrammed and Facebooked, but never shared here on the blog.

Zoya Arizona for my base, nail vinyls with Sally Hansen Black Out, accent stamping with Bundle Monster BM-222. 

Sunset Graveyard

I really liked the graveyard nails I did on my friend last week so I gave myself a similar manicure.  I used two coats of Zoya Purity as my base, then sponged on a gradient using Zoya Darcy, Zoya Thandie, and Zoya Yana.  To make clean up easier I used the Liquid Latex from Vibrant Vinyls. To create the graveyard I used vinyls from What's Up Nails.  I love how easy vinyls make everything!

Fall Leaves

I love how this manicure turned out.  I used Zoya Dhara as my primary color with OPI My Vampire is Buff, Zoya Destiny, Zoya Solange, Zoya Chyna, and Zoya Dhara as the colors of the leaves on my nails.  I used the leaves vinyl from What's Up Nails for the pattern, and it was my least fun vinyl to ever work with (the leaves didn't separate nicely from the stencil).  Let's just say that I'm very glad I did the leaves as accent nails instead of on every nail.