Wednesday, September 11, 2013

31DC2013 Day 11: Punchy Dots

Dotted manicures are easy, quick, and often impressive despite requiring minimal effort! I was excited to do this day of the challenge because I knew I would be able to knock something out in an hour or so maximum, but it would still look neato.


I started with a base of China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around. It's not the most opaque shade, needing three coats, but it has a lovely soft quality and a beautiful shimmer.

Then, using three sizes of dotting tools and a rhinestone picker (more on this at the end of the post), I applied four different types of dots to the surface of the nail for a sort of pointilist/mosaic effect. I used three different colors for the dots: China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle, Sally Hansen All Fired Up, and Sally Hansen Black Out.


There's something so wonderful about red and teal together, isn't there? It's one of my favorite color combinations.



This is the rhinestone picker that I used to create the largest dots. I got it in an Amazing Shine nail art kit a long time ago. I didn't like using it as a picker because it is too big and imprecise, but it does make a wonderful stamp for big circles.

If you don't have one of these, I'd try using a pencil eraser for a similar effect! I can't guarantee it will work because I haven't tried it myself, but in theory it would work the same.


More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My polka dot nails from 2012!
My polka dot nails from 2011!
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35 comments

  1. Superb colour choices! I love it

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  2. Great color combo it looks like one of the Aussie indies :)

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  3. I am going to try your suggestion of using a pencil eraser and I will get back to you on if it works :)

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  4. Beautiful! Teal and red are just perfect together

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  5. Gorgeous! These (in this colourway) remind me of retro fabric.. I think I had some curtains like this when I was a little girl!!... xXx

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  6. Oh yeah. Almost forgot to ask.. what's the base colour? xXx

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  7. Aha! I also did large dots, I used a pen cap :)

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  8. It's China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around :)

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  9. Wow. Love this dotted mani. I am definitely going to try this one out :)

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  10. These look awesome! The color combo works perfectly :)

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  11. This dotticure is awesome and different from others i have seen. Inspiring!

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  12. Holy crap! These are so sweet! So good they look like nail wraps (I think that's a good thing...?)

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  13. Soo pretty! The color combination is great,. <3

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  14. This is awesome! The colors, the dots, all of it!

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  15. This is so punchy and vibrant, very cool!

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  16. Awesome! I love how vibrant the colors are, and the large dots are such an unusual touch. :-)

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  17. I LOVE this color combo!

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  18. great color combo! i may have to "borrow" this palette! also - an eraser DOES work good for bigger dots, as does the opposite end of a paintbrush.

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  19. I love the retro feel of this! Very awesome!

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  20. Kelsey @ Polished PrescriptionSeptember 12, 2013 at 2:09 PM

    Whoa this is AWESOME!!! I love the huge polka dots and the color combo! What a unique polka dot mani. Yayyy =D

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  21. Thanx Sarah! GxXx

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  22. My goodness this is HOT!

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  23. Woah, I looooove the large dots! So cool!

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  24. awesome!!!!!!!!!!! love them <3

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  25. Ha! I like how you said "neato". I say that and my kids make fun of me! The nails are gorgeous and I love how you found an everyday item to create the dots. Makes it easy for those of us on a budge to create fun looks like this!

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  26. AMAZING!! i love the colors you picked

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