Showing posts with label white. Show all posts

Swatched: Revlon Graffiti Top Coat

Mix-and-match black and white glitter has made it to the drugstore - Revlon's new releases include a Graffiti top coat! Perfect for layering, we used this black and white polish over nude for a fun effect.


Let us know if you've seen these polishes at your local Revlon retailer or if you've picked one up, we'd love to see how you wear it!

Disclaimer: Some of these products were provided to us by the company/PR for our honest consideration and review.

Spring Striped Mani


Spring has sprung! Or is that just our nails? Regardless, we're getting in to the season by sporting some bright and pastel stripes on our fingertips. For this look we used a variety of brands and colours, but the fun of this mani is mixing and matching! Gather a bunch of your favourite polishes and go with the flow. We used striping tape, available here, to create the straight edges for our lines - but you could just as easily use a thin paint brush available at your local craft store.


We started with OPI's Alpine Snow for our base, a classic white with great coverage. We used Seche Vite top coat and let that dry for about 10 minutes, to ensure the striping tape didn't strip the white polish. Then we applied striping tape at different intervals to achieve the bands of different thickness. We used a few of our favourite colours, examples above, to paint within the boundaries of the striping tape. Alternating the order of your colours on each nail makes this mani even more playful, we tried to keep each nail different! Then, after a few minutes drying time, we carefully peeled off the striping tape and finished with a second coat of top coat! Voila, stripes for spring!

Valentine's Day Nail Art

 With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we think it's the right time to get in the spirit and embrace the heart-filled nail art craze. To keep this mani fun and fresh, we used an OPI Liquid Sand Shade on the thumb and ring finger, and used a bold red with black and white accents on the remaining fingers. We love the results, and the added texture from OPI Liquid Sand makes this mani even more interesting to look at! If you can't get your hands on OPIs Liquid Sand collection, we recommend a glitter accent nail in a coordinating shade.

What you need:

  • Red nail polish (we used Nails Inc. St. James, available here)
  • White nail polish (we used China Glaze White on White, available here)
  • Red Liquid Sand nail polish/Glitter nail polish (we used OPI Liquid Sand The Impossible, available here)
  • Black nail polish (we used Essie Licorice, available here)
  • Nail art brush (available, as a set including a dotter, here)
  • Base coat and top coat (we used Essie First Base, available here, and Seche Vite top coat, available here)
What to do:
  1. Paint all nails with a base coat.
  2. Paint your accent nails (thumb and ring finger) with the red liquid sand (or glitter) polish, and all other fingers with a red polish. Do 2-3 coats as required.
  3. Pinky: Use black polish on half of the nail, and paint the top half of 'LOVE' using a nail art brush. After that dries, use the (clean) nail art brush and white polish to connect the bottom half of 'LOVE'.
  4. Middle Finger: Using the nail art brush and black polish, starting at the centre of the nail, make two dots and then drag the dots together, making a small heart. Repeat this until the nail is covered. Then, using a clean nail art brush, put white polish inside one of the hearts as an accent heart.
  5. Pointer Finger: Using white nail polish and a nail art brush, draw many xo's all over the nail, and then draw a larger white heart in the centre of the nail (following the procedure in step 4). Then, using a clean nail art brush, fill in the white heart with black  polish.
  6. Allow all to dry, and paint with a top coat! Note: for OPI Liquid Sand, do not topcoat, as the matte 'sand' effect will be lost.


Completed Valentine's Day Nails

Flower Pattern Nails

Flower Patterned Nails


Why we love these:

These nails are super simple, and classic! They don't require a high skill level or any specific tools, and the colours can be varied endlessly. For a simple, chic design that is easy to paint and wear - this is the answer!

What you need:

  • Black Polish (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
  • White Polish (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
  • Yellow Polish (we used Misa Hanging With the Girls, buy it here)
  • Silver Glitter Polish (we used China Glaze Glistening Snow, buy it here)
  • Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

  1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with a base coat.
  2. Paint two coats of a high shine black polish (navy blue works well too!) on each nail.
  3. Using the brush attached to your white nail polish lid (no separate brush required, although it may be helpful for smaller flowers) make 5 dots in a circle, and drag inward to the centre of your circle. Repeat these circles on each as many times as you can fit - we averaged about 3 flowers a nail. For a less uniform look, vary sizes of each circle. 
  4. On top of the white areas, use a sliver/white glitter. This step can be omitted for a more plain floral pattern.
  5. Using yellow polish, make a small dot in the center of your white 'petals', completing your flowers.
  6.  After ensuring your nails are dry, paint a layer of top coat (dont miss your tips!) and allow your nails to fully dry!


Nautical Heart Nails

Nautical Heart Nails

Completed Nautical Heart Nails.

Why we love them:

We love the look of these striped heart nails! If you like the look of striped nails why not play with it and add this fun little heart in the corner? :)

What you need:
  • Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
  • White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
  • Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
  • Red (we used Nails Inc. The Hurlingham, buy it here)
  • Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)


What to do:

  1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
  2. Paint all nails white. Two coats may be required.
  3. With the nail art brush, paint two or three thick black lines depending on how long your nail is. Two coats may be required.
  4. With the Dotter Pen, dot and shape a red heart on the bottom corner of your nail, left or right is up to you (opposite on either hand looks nice).
  5. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Single Nautical Heart Nail.

Burberry Nails

Burberry Nails

Full Burberry tape nails.
Why we love these nails:

These nails mirror the iconic pattern that is burberry. These nails look great as an accent nail or a full set, and are classy enough to wear everyday, or out at night! These are definitely a knailart favourite!


What you need:

  • Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
  • White (we used M.A.C. Vestral White, no longer sold)
  • Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
  • Nude (we used Nails Inc. Basil Street, buy it here)
  • Maroon (we used Chanel 18 Rouge Noir, view it here)
  • Scotch Tape (available at craft stores or dollar stores)
  • Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)


What to do:

  1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
  2. Paint all nails nude. Two coats may be required. Allow to dry.
  3. Paint nail polish onto long strips of tape.
  4. Cut the tape into the desired widths.
  5. Apply white strips, then black, and then red to all nails. Cut off the ends that stick out past the nail. Feel free to change where the whites meet to change up each nail a little bit!
  6. Touch anything up with your nail art brush (although the lines should be pretty straight).
  7. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry and the tape is completely stuck, and allow to dry!

The completed look.

The close-up Burberry Nail.

Tuxedo Nails

Tuxedo Nails

Finished Tuxedo Nail!

What you need:

  • Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
  • White (we used M.A.C. Vestral White, no longer sold)
  • Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
  • Small diamond (available at Michael's)
  • Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)


What to do:

  1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
  2. Paint all nails white. Two coats may be required.
  3. With the nail art brush, paint two black lines from the bottom corner of your nail to the middle on both side and then fill in with black polish once your lines are how you want them.
  4. With the nail art brush again, design your bow tie however big or small you want it.
  5. With the Dotter Pen, dot 2 black dots down the center of your nail.
  6. Once the bow tie is dry, put topcoat on the middle of the bow tie and place the diamond down to dry.
  7. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry and the diamond is stuck, and allow to dry!