Orange Konad Nails

 Here is a finished look at a manicure I did using my Konad stamping kit. I chose a butterfly and flower design for my thumbs and ring fingers.

 After a base coat, I applied Wet n Wild Wild Shine polish in Blazed. In the above photo, I had to apply two coats so that the polish wouldn't be so opaque.

 Here are the basic supplies you would need to do a stamping manicure. All of my items as mentioned are from Konad. From left to right, top to bottom: paint scraper, stamper, and two design plates. The plates I used are m53 (butterfly) and m25 (flower).

 First, you will need to apply a covering of paint to whichever design you choose. The special Konad paints are best for this because many other polishes are too opaque to stamp; the Konad ones are more pigmented than others.

 Next, you will use your scraper to remove all of the excess polish. You should just be left with you design covered in paint, just like the picture above.

 Take your stamper to pick up the design. Tip: try to stamp up the design as quickly as possible since the thin layer of polish dries fairly quickly; don't worry though, your timing will improve with practice.

 After picking up the design, your stamper should look something like this. If you see other spots or streaks of color that are not part of your design, clean the stamper and plates with polish remover and try again.

 Now simply stamp the design onto your nail. The best method I have found is to start at the edge of your nail, and firmly roll the stamp over the center of the nail.

And these are my finished nails! I did apply top coat, however, with stamped designs, it is best to quickly and gently apply a thin top coat. Going over and over the design too many times will actually create streaks on it.

Happy stamping!

xoxo Trendy Tips xoxo

Dralion Toes

 Last night I got the opportunity to see the Cirque Du Soleil show, Dralion. The name is a blend of Dragon (representing the east) and Lion (representing the west). Since it's a circus though, I decided to do a pedicure to suit the theme.

For my big toes, I wanted to do red and white stripes as a representation of a big top tent. So, I started with a red polish coat, and once it dried, I used tape strips to create the stripes. This technique is the same as I did here with the Ladybug Toes.

 After the stripes thoroughly dried, I used a toothpick to paint the name Dralion on my two toes.

One of the major themes of the show was the idea of being in harmony with nature. The "main characters" in the show represented the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. And the colors, blue (for air), green (for water), red (for fire), and ochre (for earth) are symbolic of the elements; that's why I painted my other toes in these colors. I didn't really have a good ochre color, so I used an orangey-peach polish.

Colors used:

• Big Toes- Revlon Love That Red, Wet n Wild French White Creme, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
• Blue- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue It
• Green- OPI Gargantuan Green Grape
• Red- Revlon Love That Read
• Peach/Ochre- Revlon Creme Sheer in Sheerly Coral

After this, I finished with top coat.

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Icy Ombre

 So this summer, I've been seeing a lot of ombre manicures on the computer and in magazines, and I finally decided to give it a try. I'm pretty happy with the results, and it wasn't that hard, however, I feel it could be better with practice. I do really love the colors of it though; it reminds me of clear, sparkly ocean water. And that's something great to be reminded of with the end of summer coming in a few weeks. :O

 First, you will have to choose your colors. You can do two or more, but I'd recommend just two paints for your first time. You also need to make sure that the colors are VERY different shades. If they are even remotely similar, they will end up looking the same. I picked any icy blue and an "American Flag Blue." Then you will paint the lighter color on all of your nails.

 Once your base color dries, you have to have some type of sponge. I used a cosmetic sponge, but any one with fairly small "pores" will work just fine. To create the ombre effect, paint a light and dark stripe slightly overlapping on your sponge.

 Now simply apply the paint with the sponge onto your nails. Keep doing these steps over and over until you are satisfied with the results. Add dark then light until you get the blended design.

Colors used: Base- Pure Ice in Frosted Ice Sky; Dark Color- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue It

Have fun and happy sponging!

;) Trendy Tips ;)

Ladybug Toes

 To first create the ladybug toes, you will need to apply base coat, and then a color coat. Since the big toes will be for the ladybug design (see last picture), you will need to paint those red. The other toes can be red, black, or alternating like I did in the above photo.

 Once your polish dries, you will need to rip two pieces of painter's tape in half. Lay the tape on your big toes so that there are two pieces on each toe that leave a small red stripe showing in the center of the nail; it is very important that the tape cover all but this thin strip. Now, take black polish and paint over the tape as well as the red strip to make the center stripe. Allow this to THOROUGHLY dry before you do the next step, or, as I found out, you may have to do this over. While the polish is still wet though, you may remove the tape.

 Since your center stripe is now done and dry, you will need one more piece of tape torn in two. Place these so that only the very tip of your nails are showing. Paint these black as well, remove the tape, and allow your nails to dry. Add top coat/clear paint, and you are done!

Colors Used: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out and Revlon in Love That Red.

You can also try doing the ladybug design on your fingers. Another idea is to make different colored ladybugs like yellow, green, purple, and blue. Have fun!!


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Mix n Match Manicure Designs

 These patterns are great to mix and match together. You might choose just one or two designs, or you could try all 5 of them like I did in the above photo. They were fairly easy to do and turned out really neat. What do you think?

 The first step to painting any nail is applying a base coat as I did in the picture above; by doing this, you will protect your nail as over time it may yellow due to the dying effects of nail polish. Another bonus is that it can help extend the life of your manicure. Any base coat, nail strengthener/protector, or clear polish will work just fine, but I chose this one by Revlon because as the name implies, it dries fast. And who wants to wait 20 minutes just to start painting?

 Then, you will apply a few coats of any color to your nails. You can alternate, do all one color, or apply a different color to each hand as I did. I chose NYC Long Wearing polish in Times Square Tangerine Cream (orange) and Fuchsia Shock Creme (pink). After letting these coats dry, you will need to choose a color/colors to create the designs with. In order for the patterns to pop, pick a polish that will stand out as different from your base color/s. I chose Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out (see below for finished nails).

How to replicate these designs:

• Thumb- apply small dots of paint with a fine brush, nail art pen/paint, or toothpick
• First finger- paint a small triangle at the tip of your nail facing down with the point in the center of the nail; then paint another triangle at the base whose tip will touch the other tip in the center of your nail
• Middle finger- with your accent color, brush from the center of the nail to the tip and move from side to side in order to cover the whole upper half of the nail
• Ring finger- for this one, you will need to paint one of the upper corners of your nail; then remove excess paint from the brush, but leave a little bit on; you will use that brush to "blot" on small "blobs" of paint at the edge of your painted area; this is what creates that splattered edge look
• Pinky- using your brush, draw thin stripes along your nail; I did vertical ones, but you could also try horizontal stripes as well

After you have finished the designs and allowed your nails to dry, you should add a top coat or a coat of clear polish to further protect and add shine to your mani.

Good luck and enjoy!

xoxo Trendy Tips xoxo

Neon Splash Toe Nail Design

 This is a great, simple, and fun design that is perfect for summer! First, I applied two coats of Color Fever Petites in Raspberry Ice (shown below). You can use any bright color that you own, but metallic paints look great for this. Then, I used Sinful Colors Nail Art in Sour Apple  (shown below) and Bad Chick (white) to add streaks to each nail; after, I applied a large blue dot with Sinful Colors Nail Art, Hey Dear! (shown below). The idea behind this nail is not to worry about being perfect, but rather to have fun with your paints and to make a cute abstract pattern. And the great thing is, with this manicure, no two nails will be exactly the same!

To apply the designs, you do not have to have special nail art paint, however, the Sinful Colors Nail Art paints came with very fine brushes which create great detail; they were also very inexpensive at my local pharmacy. If you choose to work with regular polish, I would recommend using a fine tip brush or even a toothpick/skewer to make the designs.

Shown here from left to right are: Sour Apple (Sinful Colors Nail Art), Raspberry Ice (Color Fever Petites), and Hey Dear! (Sinful Colors Nail Art)    [Note: The Sinful Colors Bad Chick was not shown.]

Happy painting!
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Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to Polished: A Nail Design Blog! I'm Trendy Tips, and my goal is to give you cute, fun, and easy ideas that you can try on your own nails at home. No more spending a fortune at nail salons, and hopefully, you will never have plain nails again!

And here's the best news: you don't need any fancy equipment to get started! So grab some nail polish and check back often. Happy polishing!

:) Trendy Tips :)