Subtle X's

I did this mani for a formal event- I knew I wanted black nails to go with my outfit, and something subtle but with a bit of visual interest. It actually turned out a little more subtle than I was planning, but I think it's cool that it looks like a solid color until you get closer. 

I started with a quick coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out. This is such a good black- thin but easy to work with, very opaque, and fast drying. After doing some work for about an hour, I went back in with striping tape and made an X on each nail going from the corners near the cuticles to the sides halfway to the tip. I went over that with Zoya Storm, an awesome black with a scattered holo, which also has a lovely formula. I peeled off the striping tape from each nail immediately after painting it, which seemed to work well for creating crisp lines. I left the mani without topcoat to maximize the texture, but it's longevity was fine for the 3 or 4 days I wore it  

This was a fun foray into striping tape for me- I think I want to try a classic vertical stripe soon! Let me know below what you think of this mani, if you'd like a tutorial, and if you have any requests or suggestions for future manis!

Blue Flowers

I was inspired by a post I saw on Instagram the other day to do a blue floral accent nail. I was also excited to try out my new nail art brushes.

I used three to four coats of Love & Beauty Peacock on my thumb, ring finger, and pinky. This is a pretty sheer polish that is probably most convenient to layer, but I love the depth that comes from using multiple coats of it by itself.

For the accent nails, I chose my pointer and middle fingers to try something new (I usually do accent nails on my thumb and ring finger). I did like this method, but I think I still prefer the classic. Anyway, I started with one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, which is super opaque but pretty thick. After letting that dry, I went in with Essie Bikini So Teeny and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away for the flowers and Essie First Timer for the leaves. I found the brushes really easy to use! They allowed me to make a much more detailed flower than I've been able to in the past using bobby pins and toothpicks. I finished with a generous coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dry. 

Overall I loved this mani and it was pretty easy and quick to do! I will definitely be trying it again with different colors :) Be sure to let me know what you think and if you'd like a tutorial!

Hello Blogopshere!

Greetings and welcome to my blog! I'm Jamie, a college student with too little time and too much nail polish. I absolutely love nail art as a type of artistic expression and stress relief. I adore being able to carry around little pieces of art with me and seeing cool colors and designs when I look at my nails makes me so happy, as does the excitement of getting new polishes or using old ones in fun new ways. 

Feel free to follow me on Instagram (sageandroses) for real time updates of what's happening on my nails, and sometimes in my belly thanks to the occasional foodporn post. Here I'll be showing pictures of my nail art, detailing the polishes, tools, and methods used, and possibly making some pictorials or even video tutorials. 

I look forward to joining the nail art community! Leave a comment if you have a blog I can check out or just saying hi :)

Sassy Studs

I recently ordered some fun nail art supplies from Amazon, including these cool square silver studs that I wanted to try out.

I started with two coats of Orly's Charged Up. It was a little thin and started out sheer, but turned out fine with a second coat. I used my Sally Hansen Insta Dry topcoat and a dotting tool to place dots of top coat, then put the studs down on the dots, pressing each for about 10 seconds once I was happy with its placement. I put two studs on each thumb and ring finger to create some fun accent nails. Most of the studs fell off after 1-3 days, although one lasted for 5 (I replaced the others over the course of the 5 days). 

I really liked the edgy look this mani had and liked how I could create a really cool effect with relatively little effort. Let me know what you think and if you'd like a step by step tutorial. 

Coral Tribal

I wanted to work on my freehand skills and create a fun, bright look for spring/summer, so I decided to draw inspiration from Chalkboard Nail's tribal print, but use a coral color scheme and do the patten in one color instead of three in order to give it a more simple and sleek look.

For the base, I used two easy coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Coral Reef, which dried quickly and was opaque and shiny. I freehanded the pattern with a brush and dotting tool and Essie Watermelon, which was perfect to work with because it's very opaque and just a little thick. Once I painted the pattern, I cleaned it up a little with Coral Reef to make the lines as sharp as possible, then finished up with Sally Hansen Insta Dry topcoat. 

I really love the finished look- it kind of reminds me of henna- and I got tons of compliments on it! Let me know in the comments below what you think and if you'd like a tutorial!

xo,

J