Galaxy Nails - Affordable Polishes!

Okay, so I'm pretty much obsessed with everything galaxy (leggings, blouses, NAILS). Not sure if this is from my childhood obsession with Zenon, or because it's freaking awesome and who wouldn't want to be covered in galaxy print?! Zetus Lupetus!

Galaxy nails can seem a bit over whelming because there are quite a few polishes used, but the end result is totally worth it and it really is almost impossible to mess up. I usually do this to my nails when I want some type of nail art, but don't want to spend a lot of time doing it. Although it looks/seems to be time consuming, it really isn't.

I'm always getting a lot of compliments everytime I do this to my nails, so I thought I'd show you all MY way (there are a million) used with affordable, drugstore polishes.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Base Coat (I used Seche Vite Base Coat - $7.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)
2. Black or Black Sparkle Nail Polish (I used Finger Paints in Where Art Renoir? - $5 - Sally's)
3. Medium Blue Nail Polish (I used Finger Paints in Art You Blue? - $5 - Sally's)
4. Dark Blue Nail Polish (I used Finger Paints in Cerulean Seascape - $5 - Sally's)
5. Light Orange Nail Polish (I used Funky Fingers in Peach Punch - $2 - FiveBelow)
6. Darker Orange Nail Polish (I used L'Oreal in Orange You Jealous? - $6 - Drugstores)
7. Pale Yellow Nail Polish (I used Sinful Colors in Unicorn - $1.99 - Drugstores)
8. White Nail Polish (I used Sinful Colors in Snow Me White - $1.99 - Drugstores)
9. Multi-Glitter Nail Polish (I used Funky Fingers in Flashing Lights - $2 - FiveBelow)
10. Top Coat (I used Seche Vite Top Coat - $7.99 - Sally's)
11. Dotting Tool (I got a set of 5 for $5 from eBay)
12. Q-Tip or Make-Up Sponge



Step 1: Clean your nails and remove all nail polish using nail polish remover.

Step 2: Apply one coat of base coat, let dry.

Step 3: Apply two coats of black nail polish, let dry.

Step 4: Using a Q-Tip, smudge the dark blue first, then the light blue over top, in an oval shape. Make sure to leave some black still showing.

Step 5: Using a Q-Tip again, smudge the dark orange, then the light orange in the middle of the blue shape.

Step 6: Still using the Q-Tip, smudge the pale yellow over top of all the colors, making sure all of the other colors can still be seen.

Step 7: Using a small dotting tool, add a few white dots scattered randomly. Cover the whole nail in multi-sparkle polish.

Step 8: Apply one coat of top coat.

I hope you all try this one out! Protozoa would want you to. :)

Messy Curls - Day and Night

I love hair that's in messy curls. There's so much you can do with them and they give your hair a lot of body and bounce.

The best way to get that messy disheveled look, is to either curl your hair with a curling wand or a flat iron; curling irons give more of a defined, tight curl.

You can purchase a curling wand pretty much everywhere now. This Conair Infiniti Wand is from Ulta and costs $39.99.

If you're unsure how exactly to curl your hair with a flat iron, here's how:

Step 1: Start with a 1-inch section of hair. Place your flat iron about half way down.

Step 2: Turn the flat iron down and around, completing a full circle.

Halfway

Full Circle

Step 3: Pull the flat iron down. The faster you pull, the looser the curl will be. If you want a tighter curl, just pull down slowly.

When you're finished your whole head, you MUST run your fingers through your hair and rough it up a bit.

Daytime:

Look #1

All down and teased with a little hair spray.

You can also add a headband if you want a little something extra. 

Knotted head-wrap - Forever 21

Look #2

It's so easy to just throw your hair in a knit beanie. This is also perfect if your hair is from the night before.

Loose Knit Beanie - Forever 21

Night:

Look #1

Pinning your hair up literally takes no more than 5 minutes, and is perfect if you're going out and don't want your hair in the way.

Adding a few jeweled hair pins would be perfect if you want this for a more formal occasion.

Anthropologie

If you're unsure how to do it, here's my way:

Step 1: Starting in the middle, grab a section of hair and twist around once.

Step 2: Push all of the hair up and into a ball in the palm of your hand. Put 2 or 3 bobby pins in the middle of the ball. 

Step 3: Grab all of the hair from both sides that you want pinned back. and just pin them into the foundation you just created.

Sorry, I know that wasn't the best way to describe it, but try it out! There really is no wrong way of doing it.

Look #2

Adding a braid on each side of your head is an easy and quick way to do something a little different! Just bobby pin them back, hiding the bobby pins by pinning them under curls.

Thank you to Heather for being my model for the day! :) You're the best!

Tribal Nails

I've been seeing tribal-inspired nail art everywhere, so I figured I'd give it a try! :)

If you're someone who doesn't like spending a good amount of time and effort on your nails, then this might not be something you want to try. It is however, super fun and cute! (I think everything is super fun and cute, but really, this is!)

Here's how mine turned out:

Here's what you'll need:

This is totally something you can customize with whatever colors you want, but you'll need at least 2 colors, plus black and white.

1. Base Coat (I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

2. Two Colors (I used China Glaze in Shockingly Pink Neon - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply, and Funky Fingers in Volts - $2.00 - Five Below)

3. Black Nail Polish (I used Sinful Colors in Black on Black - $1.99 - Drugstores)

4. White Nail Polish (I used Sinful Colors in Snow Me White - $1.99 - Drugstores)

5. Any Nail-Art Pen or Brush (I used Art Club Nail Art Lacquer - $2.00 - Five Below)

6. Top Coat (I used China Glaze Fast Foward Top Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

7. Q-Tips (to clean around the edges)

Step 1: Clean your nails and remove all nail polish using nail polish remover.

Step 2: Apply one coat of base coat.

Step 3: Okay, so the easiest way to do this is to create lines on your nail (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, etc.) with the colors you chose. After, you can go back and outline/accent with the black and white.

Ring Finger: I always start with my ring finger for some reason, I don't know why.

As you can see, the lines don't have to be perfect.

Using your nail art brush, dip it in either your black or white. According to however you want your design to be, outline and add a bunch of lines & dots!

Middle Finger:

Pointer Finger:

Thumb and Pinky: I forgot to take pictures of them after, but just look up top! :)

Step 4: Apply one coat of top coat.

Have fun being tribal-y! ;)

Snowflake Nails

These snowflake nails are perfect if you don't want to have red or green nails for the holidays. Not only are they sparkly, but they're sparkly! In my eyes, nothing could be better;).

Here's what you'll need:

1. Base Coat (I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

2. Blue Sparkly Nail Polish (I used China Glaze in Dorothy Who? - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

3. White Nail Polish (I used Sinful Colors in Snow Me White - $1.99 - Drugstores)

4. Any Nail Art Pen (I used Art Club Nail Art Lacquer - $2.00 - FiveBelow)

5. Top Coat (I used China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

5. Q-Tip

Step 1: Clean your nails and remove all nail polish using nail polish remover.

Step 2: Apply one coat of base coat.

Step 3: Apply 2 coats of any blue sparkly nail polish.

Step 4: Dip your nail art pen into your white nail polish and start drawing lines on your ring finger to form a star-like shape wherever you'd like your snowflake to be.

Step 5: Let a small amount of white nail polish drip onto the end of a Q-tip. Lightly dab on the ends of each line, creating a dot.

Step 6: Add 2-3 more dots on the rest of your nail.

Step 7: Repeat steps on your thumb, or any other nails you'd like.

Step 8: Apply one coat of top coat.

Steep to Cheap - Coats & Jackets!

Now that it actually FEELS like Fall, I'm sure everyone is pulling out their coats & jackets! I know they can get a bit pricey, but I would suggest everyone have at least two (a fancier one for dressing up, and a more casual one for everyday). As always, I've provided you with designer examples along with more affordable ones.

There are a TON of styles out there, but these are just a few of the trends I noticed on the runways this year:). 

Steep: Izzy Lane for Topshop Tweed Fur Collar Coat - $495 - Topshop

          Burberry Black Double-Breasted Coat - $1,810 - Burberry

Cheap: Boucle Faux Fur Stole Coat - $190 - Topshop

            Twill Double-Breasted Coat - $49.50 - Delia*s

Steep: Preen Pink Tapered Coat - $1,939 - My-Wardrobe

          Vivienne Westwood Anglomania - Swing Peacoat - $778 - American Rag

Cheap: Saucy Saffron Coat - $65 - Modcloth

            Green Grosgrain Tie Coat - $150 - Topshop

Steep: Alexander McQueen Laced Leather Jacket - $4,970 - My Theresa

          Balenciaga Motercycle Jacket - $2,865 - Barneys

Cheap: Sparkle & Fade Faux Leatherette Bomber Jacket - $69 - Urban Outfitters

            Snap Collar Pleather Jacket - $44.99 - Charlotte Russe

Steep: MOSCHINO C&C Black Jersey Jacket - $980 - STYLEBOP

          Rachel Zoe Lauren Military Jacket - $649 - My Theresa

Cheap: Military Belted Coat - $178 - Top Shop

           Double-Breasted Military Coat - $37.80 - Forever21

Steep: Rag & Bone Varsity Wool-Blend Jacket - $348 - Net-A-Porter

          See by Chloé Wool-Blend Felt Varsity-Style Jacket - $298 - Net-A-Porter

Cheap: Wool Varsity Jacket - $59.50 - Delia*s

            Wool-Blend Varsity Jacket - $37.80 - Forever21

Steep: Milly Belted Marissa Maxi Coat - $745 - Shopbop

          Sb Belted Maxi - $325 - DKNY

Cheap: Miss Sixty Black Wool Double Breasted Belted Maxi - $142 - Bluefly

            Black Wool Maxi Coat - $149 - Debenhams

Steep: SANDRO Black Duffle Coat - $570 - Stylebop

           Burberry Brit Hooded Wool Coat - $895 - Bloomingdale's

Cheap: Emma Hooded Toggle Coat - $69.50 - Delia*s

            Fleece Toggle Jacket - $42.50 - Forever21

Add a cable knit headband, a scarf, and a pair of gloves to bundle up in style:)

Cable Knit Headband - $5.80 - Forever21

Christmas Candy Cane Nails

It's Christmas time! Which means I'll be posting a few Christmas themed nail designs throughout the month because I think they're the cutest and I love being festive! :)

I decided to start off with Candy Cane nails because they're my favorite Christmas candy (only the original) and I thought they were simple yet super cute.

Here's the end result:

Here's what you'll need:

1. Base Coat (I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

2. White Nail Polish (I used Essie in Blanc - $8.99 - Drugstores or Essie)

3. Red Nail Polish (I used Essie in Lollipop - $8.99 - Drugstores or Essie)

4. Top Coat (I used China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat - $5.99 - Sally's Beauty Supply)

5. Scotch Tape

Step 1: Clean your nails and remove all nail polish using nail polish remover.

Step 2: Apply one coat of base coat.

Step 3: Apply 2 coats of white nail polish. LET DRY COMPLETELY.

Step 4: Cut off a piece of scotch tape about one inch long. Cut in half length-wise.

Step 5: Place the tape diagonal on the top and bottom of your ring finger nail until you have a diagonal stripe in the middle.

Step 6: Apply two coats of red nail polish. LET COMPLETELY DRY.

Step 7: Remove tape.

Step 8: Cut off another piece of tape about one inch long. Cut in half length-wise.

Step 9: Place one piece of tape on a diagonal in the top corner, and one at the bottom corner. Apply two coats of red nail polish and let dry completely.

Step 10: Remove tape.

Step 11: If your lines aren't completely straight, you can clean it up with a small white or red nail art brush.

Step 12: Continue these steps on your thumb, or whichever other nails you choose.

Step 13: Apply one coat of top coat.

Enjoy and I hope everyone is enjoying their wonderful month of December! :) :)