Jamberry Nail Shields - Chalkboard Hearts

Hello everyone! Today's post is another Jamberry Nail Shields manicure (you can view my previous one here). This design is called Chalkboard Hearts ... so obviously I couldn't resist it! It's too close to my blog name! Make sure you read to the end of the post for a special surprise...

I applied the wraps as per the Jamberry instructions, and did an accent nail of white with a row of black rhinestones down the middle. The reversed colors look awesome with the wraps, if I do say so myself.

Here's the cool part. Melanie, the Jamberry consultant I have been working with, has agreed to donate a set of these very wraps for me to use in a giveaway for you all!

BUT THERE'S MORE! I am also contributing the rest of the pieces you need to recreate this manicure. In addition to the wraps, the winner will receive a 7ml decant of Essie Blanc, and a baggie of black rhinestones. Fun!

Giveaway ends Monday June 11, 2012.  I will then draw a winner, who will have 48 hours to respond once notified. If they do not reply in time, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open internationally.

There are two available entries. One for just reading my blog, and another for liking Melanie's Jamberry Facebook fan page. If you'd like to purchase Jamberry Nail Shields, they are available here for $15/sheet.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Some of the products in this post were provided to me for review.

Ruffle Manicure Tutorial

Hey guys! Today I have a tutorial for you that I wrote a really long time ago for a collaborative nail art guide that I was asked to be a part of. That kind of fell apart I think, so I'm posting it now!

The tutorial is for the ruffle nails that you may have seen on here way back when. I called it the "Carmen Miranda" manicure back then. Maybe we should call this a Carmen Mirandicure? Today's version uses shades of blue and green for a bit of a different look.

You will need: 

• a large number of polish colors (this example uses 9)
• a large-ended dotting tool or other dotting tool substitute (like the large plastic end of a sewing pin stuck into a pencil)

1. Start by painting your nails a base color.

2. Select your first ruffle color, and using the large end of a dotting tool, add on a row of connected dots that goes all the way across the nail.

3. Select your second color. After you have cleaned your first color off of your dotting tool, add on another row of dots that overlaps slightly with the first row that you did.

4. Continue on in this fashion with the rest of your colors until your whole nail is filled up with fabulous ruffles that would make Carmen Miranda proud. Your last color should go off the edges of your nails to cleanly finish the look.

That’s it! You have now competed a fabulous and eye-catching ruffle manicure.  Finish it with topcoat and go show it off to all of your friends!

As always, I'd love to see if you give this manicure a try! You can easily share with me by email or on the Chalkboard Nails Facebook.

Blackheart Bright Night (Skull Bottle!)

Today's polish is just...cool. Plain and simple.

This is Bright Night, a glow-in-the-dark blue polish from a brand called Blackheart Beauty.

Besides being glow in the dark, one of my favorite qualities in a polish, it also comes in a skull shaped bottle. A. SKULL. SHAPED. BOTTLE.

The only drawback is that this particular polish is pretty sheer. I have four coats on in these swatches and you can still see a tiny bit of nail line. No big deal though, it's awesome enough to overcome that.

Another awesome thing about this polish? The glow isn't the standard "glow in the dark green" that you normally see in glow polishes. This glow is still greenish, yeah, but it's cleaner and definitely more blue toned.

As with most glow polishes, it needs to be charged up to glow, and even then it still won't last forever. I found though that sitting at my lit computer in the dark was enough to charge it, and it does seem to last longer than the other glow-in-the-dark polishes I've tried.

Application was normal (besides the sheerness), I had no issues with the brush, the formula was nice and flowed onto the nail well.

Blackheart Beauty polishes can be found in Hot Topic stores or on HotTopic.com. There are a number of other colors, including more glow-in-the-dark polish, black light polish, and shatter. The bottles sell for $5.00 each.

Candy Warrior - Makeup and Nail Collaboration with Daynasaur of Light and Sugar

Today's manicure is silly and outlandish in the best of ways. Many of you will recall my "I'm a polish ninja" collaboration with my roommate, Dayna of Light and Sugar. Dayna and I met in photography school, and she is currently working on a project where she does a portrait a week, incorporating her makeup skills into the mix, too. Whenever I am the portrait subject, obviously I do nails to match the theme!

Dayna had the idea to make this portrait's theme "candy" and I was all over it. Some of you may not know this, but I am a total candy fiend. It's kind of problematic. Dayna actually had the idea for this manicure, and I freaking LOVE the way it turned out.

SPRINKLES CAVIAR MANI!

So yeah, I attached actual sprinkles to my nails! And they were surprisingly secure! I'll get into that in a bit, but first, here's the actual portrait that Dayna made of me. In case anyone was wondering what I look like, heres a super clear photo, haha. As my makeup was being done, it went in a sort of candy warrior direction, so that's what we started calling the theme!

You guys know I don't hold bottles in my nail photos, but I couldn't resist doing a "bottle shot" for this manicure...

Let's get into the technique. It's the same as a caviar manicure, but with sprinkles!

I filled a shot glass with real sprinkles and painted my nails with one coat of Zoya Kennedy (a nude) to start. Then, one nail at a time, I painted another thickish coat of Kennedy on my nails and dunked them into the sprinkles glass. I pulled out the nail, and would lightly press the sprinkles into the base coat to ensure a good stick. You may need to push them together a bit or fill in empty spaces with spare sprinkles. Let it dry and that's it!

I didn't topcoat these because I wasn't going for longevity. Plus, I think it could have ruined the sprinkles anyway. I did actually wear these out to dinner though and they were totally fine! They felt really secure on the nail once they had dried.

I just love this manicure so much. It's so silly and ostentatious and perfect. I had so much fun wearing it for the brief time that I did.

Make sure you check out Light and Sugar for more portrait goodness!