Green Butterflies

Hello there!

                                        

This is a design that despite the simplicity of it, I really like it. This was made for one of my cousins, whom was inspired by the design I had on my nails at that time. 

She was very especific in what she wanted, thankfully. I really don't like when someone ask me to do her nails and doesn't have an idea of what they want and when I came up with something they don't like it at the end. That's why I prefer they tell me everything, from the colour they want to the placement of every design, to avoid disgusts. 

Este es un diseño que a pesar de la simplicidad del mismo, realmente me gustó. Fue hecho para una de mis primas la cual se inspiró en el diseño que yo tenía en las uñas en ese momento. 

Ella fue bastante específica con lo que ella quería, por suerte. No me gusta que cuando alguien me pide que les haga las uñas y no tienen idea de lo que quieren, luego de que yo me invento algo a ellas no les guste al final. Por eso prefiero que me digan todo, desde color hasta donde quieren que les ponga cada diseño, para evitar disgustos. 

For this design I used:

• A slate green polish. Mine has a very fine gold shimmer in it. It's really pretty. You'll also need a teal polish for the gradient. I used Boy oh Boy by Jordana. 
• A black polish for the stamping.
• Plates 39 and 40 from Pueen  Love Elements. You can purchase the set on amazon or directly from their page. 

I hope you like it. See you in the next post. 

Para este diseño usé:

• Un esmalte verde piedra. El mio tiene un fino brillo dorado. Es realmente bonito. También van a necesitar un esmalte verde azulado. Yo usé Boy oh Boy de Jordana.
• Un esmalte negro para estampar.
• Las placas 39 y 40 de la colección Love Elements de Pueen. Pueden comprar el set en amazon o directamente en su página. 

Espero les guste. Nos vemos en la siguiente entrada. 

Independence Day

Hello There!

I'm just going to laugh in shame at this one because this is one of the oldest designs that I didn't have the chance to post in due time. This was for the Domincian Independence Day in 2014. Yep, that far back. 

What you see here is the final result of an idea that was too messy and didn't end as I planned. But hopefully I could save the mani and create this cute design inspired in my flag. It's a little bit messy but at that time I didn't have the correct tools to create something more neat. 

Sólo voy a reir en vergüenza dado que este es uno de los diseños más antiguos que no tuve la oportunidad de publicar a su debido tiempo. Este fue para el Día de la Independencia Dominicana en el 2014. Síp, así de lejos.

Lo que ven aquí es el resultado final de una idea que era demasiado desastrosa y no terminó como lo planeé. Pero por suerte pude salvar la manicure y crear este lindo diseño inspirado en mi bandera. Es un poco desordenado pero en ese momento no tenía las herramientas correctas para crear algo más pulcro.

For this design I used:

• Apple Red, White and Royal Blue Polishes. 
• Tiny Rhinestones.
• Shiny Top Coat, also used as adhesive for the rhinestones.

Believe it or not, I did this only with the brush from the polishes. That's why the lines aren't that clear. I painted everything white first and then using the bottle brush I tried to create the squares of colour as similar in size as I could. 

That pinkish tint you see is from a "bed coat" I used. But you can easily leave it like that or use a sheer tint polish in red/pink if you want to.

Para este diseño usé:

• Esmaltes Rojo Manzana, Blanco y Azul Real. 
• Pedrería diminuta.
• Top Coat brilloso, también utilizado como adhesivo para la pedrería.

Aunque no lo crean (ha ha), hice este diseño usando solamente la brocha que viene con los esmaltes. Es por eso que las líneas no son tan claras. Pinté todo de blanco primero y luego usando esa brocha traté de crear los cuadrados de color tan similares en tamaño como podía.

Esa tonalidad rosada que ven es de un "bed coat" que usé. Pero ustedes pueden fácilmente dejarlo así o usar un esmalte transparentoso en todo rosado/rojizo si desean.  

This one is the version I did for one of my sisters. She wanted it matte with only the accent nail being shiny. Hers was more curved and with less rhinestones due to the size of her nails. I think it looks cute nonetheless.

Esta es la versión que hice para una de mis hermanas. Ella lo quería mate, sólo con el acento brillante. El suyo fue más curveado y con menos pedrería debido al tamaño de sus uñas. 

On The Road

Hello there again.

Here I come with another old design that I didn't had the chance to share with you. This one wasn't what I was expecting it to be and I have to admit that I didn't like it at the end. The problem was that it took me too long and too much effort to actually stamp the images. And you can clearly see that the stamp it's not perfect at all. Not the fault of the plate but of the stamper.

Aquí vengo con otro diseño viejo que no tuve oportunidad de compartir con ustedes. Este no era lo que estaba esperando que fuera y tengo que admitir que no me gustó al final. El problema fue que me tomó demasiado tiempo y esfuerzo estampar las imagenes. Y ustedes pueden ver claramente que no fue un trabajo perfecto. No fue culpa de la placa sino del estampador.

For this design I used:

• A light/pigeon grey polish. You can also use a darker grey to resemble better the colour of the asphalt. This one is Valencia from Miss Marion.
• A black polish for the stamping.
• The stamping plate is Pueen42 from the Love Elements Collection from Pueen. You can purchase it from amazon or directly from their page. 

I used two different stampers, a squishy firm I got from Born Pretty Store and finally my trusthworthy but extremely firm Konad Double-Sided. I only used it for the little finger and pointer and you can see the difference in the images. That one is much crisp and dark than the other ones. And it also doesn't have any bald spots. 

All in all, I hope you like it more than I did. 

                                                                      

Para este diseño utilicé:

• Un esmalte gris claro o gris paloma. Pueden también utilizar un gris más oscuro que se parezca al color del asfalto. Este es Valencia de Miss Marion.
• Un esmalte negro para estampar.
• La placa es Pueen42 de la colección Love Elements de Pueen. Pueden comprar el set en amazon o directamente desde su página web. 

Utilicé dos estampadores diferentes, un "squishy firm" (lo que vendría siendo "blando pero firme" en español) que compré en Born Pretty Store y finalmente mi confiable pero extremadamente duro Konad doble cara. Sólo lo usé para el meñique e índice y ustedes pueden ver la diferencia en las imágenes. Esa es mucho más nítida y oscura que las demás. Y esa tampoco tiene espacios vacíos.

A pesar de todo, espero que les guste. 

See you in the next post! 

Fall Nail Art # 1

Hello there, girls.

I have so many designs from last year that I haven't posted that is not funny. That's the reason why you are going to find some out-of-season nailart posted randomly here until I get on track. Sorry for that. 

This one was made on auttum last year and even when the gradient wasn't how I wanted it to be, I really like how the stamping looks. 

Tengo tantos diseños del año pasado año que todavía no he publicado que no es gracioso. Esa es la razón por la que van a encontrar muchos diseños fuera de temporada publicados esporadicamente aquí hasta que encuentre el ritmo. Siento mucho eso. 

Este fue hecho antes en otoño del año pasado y aún cuando el gradiente no quedó como me hubiera gustado, realmente me gustó como quedó el estampado. 

For this design I used:

• Cooper polish. Mine is from Amuse Cosmetics. Sadly, it doesn't have a name. 
• Metallic Green polish. The one I used is "Carribean Frost" from Wet 'n Wild. 
• Matte Top Coat. I used Super Matte Suface Oil from Born Pretty Store.
• Black polish for the stamping. 
• BM-H11 from the Holiday Collection from Bundlemonster. You can also find the same image, larger, on BPL-026 from Born Pretty Store. 

I hope you like it. I'll see you in the next post.

Para este diseño utilicé:

Esmalte bronce. El que utilicé es de Amuse Cosmetics. Lamentablemente, no tiene nombre. 

Esmalte verde metálico. El que usé es "Caribbean Frost" de Wet 'n Wild.

Top Coat Mate. Usé "Super Matte Suface Oil" de Born Pretty Store.

Esmalte negro para estampar.

Placa BM-H11 de la colección Holiday de Bundle Monster. Pueden también encontrar esa misma imagen pero más grande, en la placa BPL-026 de Born Pretty Store. 

Espero que les guste. Los veré en el siguiente post. 

Abstract Rainbow Flowers

Hello, there!

I had this blog abandoned for far too long, and since I'm dedicating myself to my nailart blogging more seriously, I decided to go back to this place. There are things that you can't talk about freely on Instagram or Facebook so this place is idoneous for that.

I'm planing on doing it both in english and spanish, to cover both languages.

This design was made when I was still trying to get the hung of stamping. At that time, I only had my double-sided Konad stamper, that's why the stamping isn't perfectly aligned. But I think I did ok despite that.

Also, sorry for the blurred lines. My "top coat" (that wasn't actually a top coat per se) smudged it a little bit despite my efforts.

Tuve este blog abandonado por demasiado tiempo, y dado el hecho de que he estado dedicándome más seriamente a mi bloggeo de nailart, decidó volver a este lugar. Hay cosas de las cuales no puedes hablar libremente en instagram o facebook así que este lugar me parece idóneo para eso.

Estoy planeando hacerlo en inglés y español para cumplir ambos idiomas.

Este diseño fue hecho cuando aún trataba de cogerle el truquito a estampar. En ese entonces, sólo tenía mi estampador doble de Konad; es por eso que el estampado no está perfectamente alineado. Pero creo que lo hice bien a pesar de todo.

También, siento lo de las líneas borrosas. Mi "top coat" (que no era exactamente eso), lo arrastró un poco a pesar de mis esfuerzos.

For this design I used:

• An assortment of rainbow polishes. 
• A white polish for the base of the gradient.
• A black polish for the stamping. Since this was one of my first stampings, I used a regular black polish instead of a speacial one. 
• Pueen49 stamping plate from the Love Elements Collection. You can purchase it on amazon or directly from their page.
• Top coat. Please use a good one and remember to "float" the brush on top of the nail to avoid smudging the design. 
• Synthetic brush/toothpick with a little bit of cotton twisted on the tip and some nail polish remover/acetone for clean up.
• 
  

Para este diseño usé:

• Una variedad de esmaltes en tonos del arcoiris.
• Un esmalte blanco para la base del gradiente. 
• Un esmalte negro para estampar. Dado que este es uno de mis primeros estampados, usé un negro regular en vez de uno especial.
• La placa Pueen49 de la colección Love Elements. Pueden comprar en amazon o directamente en su página. 
• Top coat. Por favor usen uno bueno y recuerden "flotar" la brocha sobre la uña para evitar arrastrar el diseño.
• Pincel sintético/palillo con un poquito de algodón envuelto en la punta y un poco de removedor de esmalte o acetona para la limpieza. 

Of Flowers and Swirls - Stamping Month Week #2

Hi, hi~~

I'm so far behind with my posts that this stamping month thing is so... outdated alreadt. I think this was from April... lol I've started this self-impossed challenge because I didn't had much experience stamping my own nails by that time and I really wanted to practice. So I made up that excuse xD 

This mani is from the second week of that month and I had to try a lot to be able to get this polish as close to reality as it is.

This is Santee Plus "Flower Pink", a very bright hot pink. The formula was good and the application was very smooth. My only problem with this brand is that the smell of some of their polishes is really strong; stronger than Kleancolors, in my opinion. But they have so many beautiful shades that I forgot about how much I dislike it everytime.

This particular polish looks neon by itself, without any design or topcoat on top, and if it weren't for the fact that they have an actual neon pink, I would say this is one too.

This is two coats without any topcoat. The colour in the bottle looks ligher than it looks on the nails. Now, onto the design. 

This flower pattern is from plate #38 from Pueen Love Elements Collection. I'm so dissapointed in the fact that my stamper (the original konad double sided one) didn't picked up the image well. You can see some missing parts on every nail. I'll try next time with my new stampers and see if I can get a better result. 

As you can see, the base colour look a little bit more subdued after the stamping and the top coat. But it was a really nice shade of pink anyway. Still very bright, but not neon.

Despite everything, and that I'm not really a fan of wearing pink in my nails, I liked this design and the colour. It was eye-catchy and it looked really cute. Everyone that saw it, loved it and complimented me a lot, which was a bonus xD.

Well, this is everything for now. I'll be posting all the designs I've made after this one on later dates. 

Hugs and cookies from me. 

Bye bye~!

Born Pretty Store Stamping Plates - Promo Discount and Giveaway

(I'm still alive y'all!)

Hello, there!

I know I've been away for a long time but don't think I have forgotten about this blog or my passion for nail art. On the contrary. I have so many things to share (and so little time to do so) and all of them are really interesting and cool.

The first thing on agenda would be this:

If you didn't know, Born Pretty Store is launching their own set of stamping plates, and for the occasion, they are making this amazing giveaway and a "24 hours time-limited discount" with 20% off on your purchase, where you can get some extra goodies (click on the link to see some of the plates).

The promo will start on september 20, so stay tuned!

The plates are absolutely gorgeous and if they are still on stock by the time this promo starts and I got the chance to get online, you can be sure that I'll buy at least ten of them. I'll share some pictures of them so you'll see what they will have in stock in a couple of days. 

So, that was for the promo. Now, this is about the giveaway. 

You need to share the banner I posted at the begining of the post on more than 3 social websites (instagram/blogspot/facebook/twitter...), then send your post links or screenshots to bpsnicole@gmail.com. You will surely get a BORN PRETTY stamping plate for free! Please have in mind that you have to tell them on the e-mail which plate you want and your shipping address. 

This giveaway will be available from september 17 to september 21.

EDIT: I just received a confirmation mail from Nicole, saying that she'll send my new plate (#10) with my new order (as per requested by me, since I'll be making a purchase when the plates are released). I just wanted to add this note because some of you probably don't believe in this kind of stuff or think you won't win. You'll surely get a plate, guys.

Purple Power! - Stamping Month Week 1

Hi, hi~

Since I haven't stamped my nails that much (probably just two times. I tend to stamp other people's nails more than mine) I decided to make April an "stamping month", that way I'll be wearing only stamping designs on my nails these 4 weeks. I know I did the Captain America Design this month, also, but that was just for one day so it doesn't count.

I also know the month is almost finishing, and that I took my time updating this blog, but the up side is that I made every single design for the month so it is just a matter of updating the blog.

Shall we begin?

I started painting my nails two coats with this duo chromatic purple polish from The Face Shop. This one is PP409. Looking for it online I found that TFS have another polish (purple as well) with this name, but that one is a glitter polish. Just wanted to point that out if you wanted to buy this one in particular.

It is actually a little bit lighter than it looks in the pictures. 

The day after I painted my nails (I like to stamp my nails the next day to give them a chance to be completely dry and to show my base colour around a little bit xD), I stamped the design on top with a black polish (I don't know if you can get K.M.X. Polishes on your country, but their black is amazing for stamping. it's even better than Wet 'n Wild's Black Creme). 

That particular plate is from the "Love Elements 24E" 2013 collection from Pueen. If you want to see every desing of this collection, just click here.

This is the result:

It disappointed me a little bit that the base colour looked darker when I stamped the design over it. But it looked pretty nonetheless.

That's everything for this post. The next (probably) is going to be about me getting crazy about the new stamping set from Pueen.

Thanks for reading!

Inspired Art #1 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Hello, hello~

Despite of what the title says, this is my second Movie Inspired nail art. The first one was for Thor: The Dark World. I'm such a hardcore fan of Marvel...

Anyway, there's not much to say about this one. It's simple, easy and I really liked how it turned out.

Starting with the thumb, we have Steve Roger's Shield. It was supposed to be a rendition to his new suit, the dark blue one he was using at the beginning of the movie, but things happened with the nail polish I used as a base and then I decided to do the shield instead.

Next is Sam Wilsons suit. This is the comic/cartoon version, not the one he used in the movie, since I like this one better.I painted a bright red base and then using scotch tape I coved half of the nail forming a V shape. Then, with stripping tape I created another thing V shape a couple of milimeters on top. Applied a coat on white polish on top, removed the tape and that's it.

In the middle finger we have the Winter Soldier's arm.This one is really simple. A silver base with a red star on top. This is the easiest way to draw a star. If you mess up a little, you just have to keep redoing the lines to correct it.

In the ring finger we have Nick Fury, because he is a very important part of the movie. I could have done Shield's logo, which I love by the way, but I thought Fury's eyepatch would be a more... suitable desing to make.

And finally, Natasha Romanoff's logo. The easiest way to do it would be doing an X shape and then conecting the lines, but at the end it won't look like her logo. So you have to do two trianged joined by the tips. If you start doing the horizontal lines first and then the diagonal ones, it's going to be easier.

 Here's a close up of the thumb. It looks terrible, especially the star, but at least reminds me of the shield so it's ok.

All in all, I really like the desing and I'm sad I couldn't wear it for the premiere of the movie.

Spoiler Alert: Next Marvel Inspired Design will be for A) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 or B) X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Until next time~