I've Got a Bag on My Hands

Full list of polishes below!

For my second style-inspired manicure (see the first here), I decided to put my purse on my nails!

I was really looking forward to this manicure because there are so many designs to choose from! I ended up choosing just five for my right hand, and diving right in!

I realize I've got a bit of work to do on my steadying my hand, but I'm unbelievably proud of the way it came out! I love the bright colors of the purse, and I think the designs translated seamlessly into a mix & match mani. (Which you all know I love!)

There isn't much else to say! If you have questions, feel free to contact me on my Tumblr page! Enjoy the photos!

List of polishes:

China Glaze Nude

Revlon Empower

Nicole by OPI Candid Cameron

China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle

Wet 'N Wild Candylicious

Sally Hansen Sun Kissed

LA Colors Circuits

Pastel Sponging

Sally Hansen Lightening, Love & Beauty Sky Blue, NYC Times Square Tangerine Creme, Revlon Empower

I stand by what I said. The makeup sponge truly is a wonderful tool. I cannot stress how much I love manis that look complicated, but are extremely simple. There is also plenty of room for customization with looks such as this one. It's a great way to test out those unopened bottles, or to experiment with blend and formulas.

In my case, I knew I wanted to use these colors, but I didn't feel like creating any too involved. I also just wanted to see how these colors mix and play together. All I did was paint the colors in quadrants on the makeup sponge and stamp it, making sure to cover the nail. It helps to paint a single coat of the lightest color as a base, but if you'd like a more sheer look, simply sponge over a clear base or nude.

Read All About It

Base: China Glaze That's Shore Bright

Polishes: China Glaze Nude, Too Yacht to Handle (Please ignore those struggling cuticles)

I did it! I finally had a couple of successful attempts at newspaper nails, and I want to share the results. For both manis, I used pages from The Bowdoin Orient. After letting my base completely dry (topcoat optional), I cut small square shapes (about 15), and dipped them in rubbing alcohol. Holding the newspaper square with tweezers, I pressed it onto my nail and held it for 20 seconds. When removing the newspaper, be sure to peel it off (do NOT wipe, otherwise the ink will smear). Seal it in immediately with a thick top coat, and repeat!

Because newspaper is so thin, I found it worked best to find text that did not have much type or ink on the back side of the page. I made that mistake, and the ink from a cartoon bled through the words I was attempting to transfer.

I love how these manis came out, but it's clear I need more practice in orienting the words. I'm glad the effect remains the same even when the words are backward!

Dots + Chevron Tips

Wet 'N Wild Sugar Coat and Candylicious, Kiss striper in Soft Blue

This mani was pretty much directly inspired by this recent Chalkboard Nails post. All I did differently was opt for sharper, chevron tips, and a brighter color scheme. I needed to combat the constant grayness that is Maine winter.

I was surprised at how simple these nails were to complete. I thought it would be a process because the tips have about four coats of polish on them. But I was done within 35 minutes or so.

The dots were once again helpful with the grid pattern (see: Neon-Metallic Fusion Part II). The pattern helped me place the point of the chevron, and keep things even. If you don't want a dot pattern, and just chevron tips, try making a dot grid lightly with your base color, a nude, or even your base coat. Things will smooth out after a thick layer of top coat. :)

P.S. Follow me on Instagram @donithax for sneak peeks and manicures that don't make it to this blog!

It's my first Blogiversary!

Find a full list of polishes used at the end of this post!

That's right! Nails in D Major is a year old today!

I'm so thankful for all the support and encouragement that I've received over the past year. Without that extra push to create a "big girl blog," I likely would not be pushing myself to become a better artist every day.

On to the nails!

I wanted to do something cutesy and special, so I whipped up my favorite: a mix & match mani! Every design was created with a dotting tool. I love love love the little cupcake on my ring finger. I'm quite obsessed with it, so do not be surprised if you see a full cupcake mani soon! Because cupcakes are so simple to create (trust me, they're much easier than you think), there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube, and it shouldn't be hard to find one that works for your type of nail!

I'm not going to lie: the number 1 on my index finger was such a pain to get right. And it still did not turn out as clean as I would have liked it to be. Nevertheless, I am happy that my first foray into lettering was not a complete failure, and I'm so pumped to try again (and get better! ;))

It's been a wonderful year, and I look forward to many more!

Tumblr: nailsindmajor.tumblr.com

Instagram: @donithax

List of polishes:
Base: Wet 'N Wild En Voyage
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
China Glaze It's a Trap-eze
Wet 'N Wild Candylicious
Wet 'N Wild Tickled Pink
KleanColor Red Alert
Essie Devil's Advocate

Yay, super-saturation!

Back to Basics: Leopard Print

L.A. Colors Circuits, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and Maybelline Color Show Clearly Spotted

I absolutely adore simple black and white. It is so chic, and it can make the wildest of patterns (see leopard print above) appear elegant.

I should do black and white manicures more often! I could not stop staring at my nails when I wore these, and I was quite pleased with my 20 minute mani!

I painted the leopard print with a mid-size dotting tool, after two semi-dry medium coats of Circuits. I love that about dotting tools: I can begin working almost immediately after painting all 10 nails twice. As long as I'm dragging the polish lightly with the tool, I don't dig into the base coats. Then I slap on a coat of Seche Vite, binding all the layers of polish together quickly and without smearing. Done!

Neon-Metallic Fusion Part II

See part 1 here.

Essie Devil's Advocate with China Glaze Icicle, That's Shore Bright, Flip Flop Fantasy and Too Yacht to Handle

This color scheme may seem familiar, as these are the exact same colors I used in my Deconstructed Roses manicure. I was only allowed so many nail polishes in my carry-on, so I just grabbed my favorites, and that was that.

In a way, it was more challenging trying to think of something different to do with the same colors, but I just picked up a dotting tool and did whatever felt natural. Everything was done with a dotting tool (someday I'll graduate to brushes...), so it was super simple to create this funky mani. On my thumb and ring finger, I did the dots in straight rows, as normal. I was going to leave them as accent nails, but it was too tempting to just use the grid as a pattern for more chevrons! I'll be using that as a tool from now on!

Just Plain Sophisticated

Essie Devil's Advocate, China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle, and China Glaze Icicle

As you all know, I'm such a fan of manicures that look like they took forever, but they really didn't. That's exactly what this is! If you have a couple colors of polish, some Scotch tape lying around, and a dotting tool (or make your own, if you don't have one), you can recreate your own version of this manicure within a half hour.

Instead of using a nude polish as a base, as I did in this tape mani, I just put on a couple layers of base coat (I use OPI Matte Nail Envy), and let it dry completely before proceeding. Granted, this might not be the best option if you have staining from a previous manicure. If you do have staining, I would suggest buffing your clean dry nails just a little bit to see if you can buff away the surface stains. Too much buffing will weaken your nails, and if the stains do not readily come out, just swipe on a thin coat of a nude polish (for this look), or your favorite creme.

Once the base coat dried, I taped off the bottom half of my nails on a diagonal, and painted Devil's Advocate on my tips, enough for opacity. I recommend putting the tape on your hand before putting it on the nails, because Scotch tape will readily rip up your base coat! I loved the look with the plain plum tips, but I tested out the dots on my left hand, and loved it even more! The dots can also function to help cover up a crooked tape line, or other tiny mistakes. It's a win-win! I finished with a coat of Seche Vite, and boom! Done!

I hope you enjoy these nails! For more manicures that don't make my main blog, in addition to mani updates right after I complete them, follow me on Instagram @donithax!