NOTD: Gradient Fading Dots

Arden here: Aren't these nails super cute?  This might be one of my favorite manicures I've done so far!

It is also by far the most extensive dotting project I've ever taken on.  Previously, any time I saw a design that required an even distribution of dots, I shied away because I just didn't think I could ever possibly make dots that neatly.  But when I saw a similar fading dot design on My Nail Polish Online I fell so in love with it that I knew had to try.  (I also thought that the larger dots might've been easier to pull off than smaller dotting patterns.)

I started with two coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  Then I sponged a 3 color gradient on each nail (white, light color, slightly darker color).  This was not a super easy process-- it took a couple tries to get each nail right, and that usually involved sponging on some extra white at the base of the nail.

Colors Used (thumb to pinky):
Essie Mint Candy Apple
Zoya Wednesday
Revlon Dreamer
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Essie Jangle Bangle
Zoya Mira
Essie Navigate Her
Sinful Colors Rise and Shine
Revlon Timeless
Maybelline Color Show Impeccable Greys

Whew!  That was a lot of colors!

Then I used my dotting tool to make even dots across my nails.

I Can't Afford That: Valentino Ricamato Daisy Cap Sleeve Dress

'Sup, it's Lisl. Welcome back to "I Can't Afford That", my sporadically appearing feature where I paint my nails in the style of expensive clothing that I want so bad, but will never own.  Today I've got a manicure inspired by this beautiful white floral Valentino dress, which, should you have an extra 5,000 dollars lying around, is yours to buy and keep and probably spill ketchup on.  Huzzah!

As Seen on Pinterest: Glitter Sandwich

Arden here: Oh my goodness, I had wanted to do a manicure like this for MONTHS and I'm so glad I finally was able to!  I spotted this manicure on A Girl and Her Polish a while back, and instantly pinned it to my Pinterest board because I wanted to try it some time.

From http://www.agirlandherpolish.com/2013/01/new-31-day-challenge-day-26-inspired-by.html

Doesn't that look so cool?  I hadn't been able to try it earlier because I didn't have a good sheer polish to use as the "bread" in my "glitter sandwich," but I finally scored one and was so excited to try it out!

I started out with a coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu then I added a coat of Lush Lacquer's Clowning Around.  (For more swatches of Clowning Around, see our Lush Lacquer post.)  To complete the sandwich, I added another coat of Don't Touch My Tutu.

Then, to finish off the look, I added a bunch of brightly colored dots like confetti at the tips.  Initially I was only going to do a few colors, but then I got really excited about it and used a bunch of different ones to match all the colors of glitter in Clowning Around.

Review: Essie Matte About You Top Coat

Arden: I did it guys!  I finally invested in a matte top coat.  I did a little bit of internet research, and it looked like most people's favorite matte top coat was the one made by Essie, so I decided to check it out.

For my first time out, I decided to just try a simple reverse triangle manicure.  I started by painting my nails Essie Navigate Her with L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented on my ring finger as an accent nail.  Then I used Scotch tape to tape of little triangles at the base of my nails and painted those in the opposite color.

Nail Polish Swatches: Mod Lacquer Southwest Spring Collection

Hey guys, it's Lisl! I am so excited to share the Southwest Spring collection from a relatively new indie nail polish brand: Mod Lacquer.  These collection as a whole is just wonderful: they're all packed with glitter in jelly bases, very easy to apply and super beautiful.  Ok! On to the first swatch, Salida del Sol.

NOTD: Skittle Saran Wrap Manicure

Arden here: For today's nail of the day, we're going to learn some new nail art vocabulary!  Here are three nail art techniques that are often confused:

1. Gradient: when one color gradually gives way to the next on an individual nail.  Check out our gradient tutorial here.

from http://blog.julep.com/fan-nail-of-the-day-ombre/

2. Ombre: when each nail is a different shade of the same color (often going from darkest to lightest).  We haven't posted one of these yet on Casa de Polish, but maybe we should!

Eagle-eyed readers will notice this is both a Skittle AND a gradient.

3. Skittle: when each nail is a different color--- like a bag of Skittles!  We've shown a couple of these, most notably right after Easter.

On the Dot: Peacock Nails!

When I first saw a version of this design online, I thought, "That looks so cool, but there's no way I could ever make dots that perfect!"  Then I looked at it again, and decided that maybe I could!

Full disclosure: The original version of this design DEFINITELY had better dots than mine that were actually in a pattern of perfect concentric circles, not weird concentric oval-ish shapes like mine, but I still really like how mine came out!

I started with two coats of Essie Midnight Cami. (Aside: Why do navy polishes ALWAYS photograph black?  It took a lot of finger contorting to get these to even look a little blue.)

Then I dotted a little flower pattern of 6 dots on each nail using Essie Good as Gold.  I used a dotting tool to make these dots, but they easily could've been made with a wall nail, toothpick, or basically any other household object with a tapered end.