Fruit nails: Kooky Kiwi

So I entered this Sally "It's So Easy," nail art challenge! 

The theme was Summer, and the design had to convey summer, originality, and difficulty.
I chose to go with the Kiwi design, because of the fruits I tried, it hadn't been done this way, and it looked pretty good.

To give myself an even playing field, I put on long nails for the day. Haha I seriously CANT type in these things! they keep getting stuck in the keyboard!

My sister Jaemi took these for me. Thanks Jams!!

I did a full manicure, only to read the rules again and see that only one nail was allowed!

 So here's a couple of those shots.

I'll let you know what happens, but honestly, I'd be THRILLED to win one of the 20 fourth place prizes. Wouldn't that rock?!

Fruit Salad

This week I was trying to be semi-original, so I tried a new take on the classic summer fruit nails. Last year watermelon nails became the thing to do, so I tried out oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, and kiwis.

 It took forever, but is so much fun to look at, and I've gotten TONS of complements. Everyone thinks they are fun, bright, and very summery. Mission ACCOMPLISHED.

 Some of them definitely turned out better than others. Lime, lemon, and grapefruit, don't quite "pop" the way I meant them too.

 The orange turned out beyond my wildest hopes. It looks juicy and delicious, and I will do a full manicure of oranges some day. but it's been done before, and i'm still looking for "new" ideas.

While it doesn't look as juicy and edible as the orange, the kiwi looks pretty great. I plan to tweak it a little and do a full set on fake nails. I've seen full kiwi rounds done before, but never sections, so this is kinda new.

Photos of my kiwi mani should be up around Wednesday.

I think I've hit upon so good possibilities here. They just need a little refining. What do you think?

Cheetah Nails

I wanted to try something a little different, so I decided to give the cheetah nails trend a go.

I was inspired by my favorite cardigan. I wore them together and it was pretty epic.

I started with a white base, then added dots of china glaze "Unplugged" brown, and added gold highlights with Wet 'n Wilds chrome collection using a tooth pick. I then used a black nail art polish with a smaller brush around the edges to achieve that "cheetah" look.
As you will see, the black bleeds a little into the white, because I didn't use a fine tip brush. I think I will invest in one, as the results are worth the money.

If you have super short nails like me, I recommend this manicure, or any that involve light polishes and or white. The pale color elongates your nails, and in turn, your fingers, and looks flattering.

It took at least an hour, but I have had so much fun wearing and looking at my nails, that I feel it was worth it.

I really like it!

A fun update for a few days later is to add opal glitter.

First stop: Nail Blog

Rose Trellis. A rose design on pale mint. Perfect for Spring or Early Summer.

This is my brand spanking new nail blog. I follow so many, and am more than a little obsessed my nail polish, so I figured I might as well take pictures and write about it, instead of boring my male co-workers with talk about it. They call nail polish my "crack." I have so much nail polish it doesn't fit into one bag anymore. I need to get one of those organizers thingies for it.

Neon Sunset. Bright, bold stripes that make me feel like I'm on vacation when I'm working.

I'm not the most original nail blogger, but I've certainly got lots of enthusiasm. I have super short nails, as I'm a working violinist, and have to keep my nails short. but that has never stopped my love of fantastical polishes!
Hopefully my skills will progress along with this blog.
My next post will be on Sunday, where I will show my recent nail polish haul, and do a few reviews.

Hugs and kisses,
Suz