Rainbow nails

Some time ago I fell in love with rainbow nails. I wanted to try them out but somehow I didn't have patience to do them. So one day, when I was really really bored, I knew I had to give them a try. :P

It's all about gradient and with a perfect color combination you can make amazing rainbow nails. I wish I had a collection of neons, because you know how much I adore neons and rainbow neon manicure sounds awesome! :L

This is how my nails looked like more than a week. :$ 

Pinky: China Glaze - Spontaneous & Essence - Fall for me

Ring: Essence - Fall for me & China Glaze - For Audrey

Middle: China Glaze - For Audrey & Essence - Sunny Side Up

Index: Essence - Sunny side up & China Glaze - Peachy Keen

Thumb: China Glaze - Peachy Keen &; Essence - Very Berry 

Essence - Better than gel nails Top Sealer Fast Dry 

"Stop posing Ivana, scratch me!" xD

Did you ever try rainbow nails? :i

Xoxo,

Ivana :k

Connect the dots with Shocking pink

Hot Monday and I'm ready to post something here. :)

The biggest problem I have now is that I'm wearing just simple manicures all the times - mostly neon pink on my nails. I didn't stamp my nails for ages, only layering here and then. 

Few weeks ago I spent a week at aunt's place in Croatia. I was bored so I decided  to try a combo I had in my head for ages. Shocking Pink by China Glaze topped with black and white glitter Connect the dots from Lynnderella. I was absolutely happy with the final result. Enough talking, here are the pics. :i

Lately I'm sporting nubs all the time since I can't grow them out. They're weak and they're peeling all the time so I'm rather having nubs at the moment. 

Essence - Protecting Base coat 

China Glaze - Shocking Pink / 2 coats

Lynnderella - Connect the Dots / 1 coat

Essence - Better than gel nails Top Sealer Fast Dry 

My pics aren't best because neons are really hard to capture on photos but at least I tried. :$ 

What do you think? 

Xoxo, 

Ivana :k 

Video Tutorial: Chanel Fall 2012 Inspired Nail Tutorial

Another tutorial I wanted to make was Chanel Inspired nails I did a while ago. I decided to go with same colors as before, because I loved it and now I'm loving it even more, because my nails are longer now. :i

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This video was easy to film and edit and I hope you'll like it. :$

I feel so elegant with this mani. :D

Nail Tek Foundation 2
China Glaze - Cheers to You / 2 coats

OPI - Sparrow me the Drama / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Let me know if you have already tried it out and what color combo is your favorite. :)

I think I'm done with video tutorials for some time now, because I have no idea what to film next. If there's a video you would like to see, let me know. 

Xoxo,

Ivana :k

Video Tutorial: Harlequin Hardware Manicure

Since I got so many lovely comments on this manicure I showed you here and I didn't really know if I should continue with tutorials or not, I decided to try it again. Same steps like the first time, I just changed a pink polish I used before.

Harlequin Hardware Manicure :L :

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Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat
OPI - Sweet Heart / 2 coats

Sponging: OPI - Sweet Heart & Catrice - Princess for a Day

Essence - High Shine Top coat

Funky french: China Glaze - 2030 & Stripping Tape

Essie - Good to Go

You can also stop when you're done with sponging, I love how this kind of gradient looks like. :)

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Let me know if you like the tutorial. :$

I'll keep it short and simple for today, thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Video Tutorial: Gradient Nails

I wanted to film how I do gradients on my nails and since I loved my orange and pink gradient I did a while ago I decided to recreate them. Here's a video...

Same polishes used as before, just a bit different technique and reverse version. I prefer applying polish directly to the sponge, I find it way easier. Pictures...

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

Sponging: China Glaze - Peachy Keen & Orly - Fancy Fuchsia

Essence - High Shine Top coat

If you have any questions let me know! Do you love gradients? What's your favorite color combination??

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Video Tutorial: Funky French with Tickle my Triangle & Dionisio

The other day was really sunny and I needed a quick manicure so I picked one of my favorite polish I own. I got this polish from Kvacka (thank you :h) and I still can't believe I finally own it. I'm talking about Tickle my Triangle from Kaleidoscope collection. I'm so happy I own this one and How about a Tumble.

Sun

I added 3 thin coats, it dries super fast and it looks gorgeous! Of course you have to take blurry pictures to capture rainbow but it's still way too beautiful in person. :L

Sun - blurry

China Glaze - Tickle my Triangle / 3 coats

Then I decided to experiment with my phone again so I tried to film how I usually do a funky french. I change an angle of filming so I hope you can see better. I use striping tape for any kind of french manicure, because it gives reall precise line on tips.

Only problem now was editing text, because I didn't realize it doesn't show up great because of the too bright lightning and white text isn't really visible.I could change it but it took almost 8 hours to upload on YouTube and I don't have patience to wait again. :/

And a picture...

China Glaze - Tickle my Triangle / 3 coats

Funky French: Hits No Olimpo - Dionisio

Essie - Good to Go

Letme know what do you think about this video! As always, I would love to hear your feedback! :h Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :l

Video Tutorial: Saran Wrap Nail Technique

If you follow me on instagram you would know I made my first video tutorial. :$ I spent hours on basic editing and almost gave up when my lap top died in the middle of saving. It also took so long to upload on YouTube and the video is less than 2 minutes long.

This is my first video tutorial so be nice. ^_^ I'm not super satisfied but for the first time I did more than great. Main problem I have with this video is the angle of filming but I didn't want to rotate it, so I just left it like that and played with editing. Next time, if there will be next time, I know how to film. :i

This is one easy tutorial of Saran Wrap Technique I tried the other day and of course there's tons of tutorials around. :i

Saran/Cling Wrap with Love's a Beach
Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Piece of Saran/Cling Wrap & China Glaze - Snow

Essie - Good to Go

Enjoy! :$

Leave comments here or on YouTube, rate and subscribe if you would love to see more tutorials. I'd really love to hear your feedback. Is there a tutorial you would like to see? Please let me know and I'll do my best.:)

Thanks for watching and reading! :i

Xoxo, 

Ivana :k

Saran/Cling Wrap with Love's a Beach

I'm having problems with wrist again so I will probably post even less than before. Anyway August is almost over so I wanted to wear a neon again. :L

I already had this color on my toes and I loved it, so I knew I picked the perfect color. I'm talking about China Glaze's . Perfect name, perfect color. :i

It's part of China Glaze's Summer Neons 2012 collection and I'm so happy I own it with Hang-Ten Toes. It has really great formula, two easy coats and layer of top coat to make it shiny.  It looks way too orange as in person but this polish is pink.

Daylight

Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I was a bit scared because I thought this polish is like a shimmer version of Pool Party and I'm really not a fan of PP but they look close when you compare the bottles but once applied PP is orangey and this one isn't. :e

I spent a day at pool and it started chipping so I decided to try Saran Wrap / Cling Wrap technique I saw around. I don't know who came up with this technique but it's such an easy technique and it gives a lovely result. 

Daylight

Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Piece of Saran/Cling Wrap & China Glaze - Snow

Essie - Good to Go

You start with fully dry base color. Then you paint one coat of 2nd color over base color. When that layer is still wet, you take a piece of saran/cling wrap and tap it over that's how you get this effect. Now all you have to do is clean your cuticles and seal everything with coat of top coat and you're done. :)

Did you ever try Saran/Cling Wrap technique? :) Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Inspired by: Leopard Print by Chalkboard Nails

This time I was inspired by a fellow blogger Sarah at Chalkboard Nails, who definitely is one very talented lady. :h Her blog is just amazing and full of inspiration! I needed a quick manicure so I went with an easy Leopard print tutorial.

I'm not really a fan of freehand nail art, because I want everything to be perfect, so when I was done, I wasn't really liking it at first. :i

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

CH Nail - #14 / 2 coats

Leopard Print: Dotting tool + China Glaze - Snow & BPS  black stamping polish 

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

 

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Here you can read Sarah's post. I added her tutorial below if you haven't seen it already:



Very simple version of Leopard print if you prefer freehand nail art, all you need is a dotting tool and 3 colors of your choice. :D

Let me know what do you think! Thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Inspired by: Sophy Robson EEK Nails

Yap, another inspired by manicure. :) Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my last post, I was so happy when I saw you like it so much and I didn't expect a feedback like that. ^_^

I tried to find more manicures and when I saw this manicure, I had to try it out. It's simple but cute! :L

Here's a picture:

http://www.sophyrobson.com

This manicure was done by successful Sophy Robson, who paints the nails of celebrities. :) All the colors were made just for the Giles SS11 Show.

I tried to match the colors but I just couldn't find any similar blues in my stash. It looks like a blue with green undertones and I don't like them so I picked another one instead.

I made googly eyes with dotting tool and black and white polish. This manicure is so simple but it looks so cute. :)

 Nail Tek Foundation 2
Thumb: Orly - Pure Porcelain / 2 coats
Index: China Glaze - Sugar High / 2 coats

Middle finger: Essence - Sunny Side Up / 3 coats

Ring finger: Essence - Chuck / 2 coats

Pinkie: Essence - Replay! / 2 coats

Eyes: Dotting tool + Essence Stamp me! White & BPS  black stamping polish

Essie - Good to Go

Daylight

What do you think? :i Thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,

Ivana :k

Inspired by: Harlequin Hardware Manicure

Did you ever heard for Harlequin Hardware manicure? Well I haven't but I saw pictures on Tumblr all the time. :D Here's a picture...

http://makeupforlife.net

“Harlequin Hardware” manicures created by CND‘s Candice Manacchio at the Diego Binetti show. To create these gorgeous looks, Candice stained models' nails in CND Colour in Raspberry Parfait and Frosting Cream before capping them in gold and silver metal.

The gradient looks so perfect and airbrushed on pictures and I already knew I won't get same smooth effect but I really wanted to try it out. :D Tips are probably mirror gold stickers, as you can see on her pinkie it started lifting. :i

It looks much better from far away as on macro photos. :i

First I started with 2 coats of OPI Sweet Heart. Then I applied Sweet Heart and Hot or Not? on sponge and started sponging pink near the cuticles and blending pink with the lighter color. It's even messier than a normal gradient, because you need to be careful not to get pink in the middle of nails. I literally had pink fingers all around cuticles. :) Then I add just Sweet Heart on sponge and tapped it in the middle of nails in case there were pink spots. I added coat of top coat and left it for a day. Yesterday I made gold french tips with China Glaze 2030 and stripping tape and finished everything with another coat of top coat.

Without Golden Tips

I got so many compliments and lots of them were wondering if my nails are fake or how I did them. :)

Sun

OPI - Sweet Heart / 2 coats

Sponging: OPI - Sweet Heart & Catrice - Hot or Not?

 Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Funky french: China Glaze - 2030 & Stripping Tape

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Yup, gradient effect is grainy if you look closer but I don't care, it's still pretty. ^_^

This technique is a bit messy and time-consuming but when you're done, you have a pretty awesome manicure going on your nails. :L

Btw, follow me on instagram @ivanathinkspink, I joined a few days ago . :)

What do you think? Would you wear it? :i Thanks for reading! :h

Edit - 18th September 2012 ~ Adding video tutorial :)

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Inspired by: Chanel Fall 2012 Couture Nails

Few days ago I was spending my time on Tumblr checking nail art pictures, when I spotted this gorgeous manicure. Of course I googled more for details and after seeing more detailed pictures, I knew I had to try it myself. The manicure I'm talking about was done by Chanel and here's a picture.

http://www.vogue.co.uk

For the autumn/winter 2012-13 couture show, nails were painted in a limited-edition Silver shade from 2007, before spring 2012's May was applied in an oval shape.

Two colors that were used on Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2012 runway were Silver (2007, discontinued) and May (Spring 2012). 

I don't own any of those, well I actually don't have any Chanel's nail polishes, because they're too expensive, so I decided to make something similar. :i

Two colors I decided to use were China Glaze Cheers to You and OPI Sparrow me the Drama. This is some kind of ruffian manicure but a lot easier version, because there is more free edge on sides of nails and with a flat brush like OPI has, you're done in 3 brush strokes. :) 

I made lines even cleaner with brush soaked in remover. I gently removed the pink where needed without ruining the silver foil underneath, because foils really stick on nails. Of course you can always apply top coat over silver and before pink. to be really sure you won't ruin the base color with brush and remover.

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

China Glaze - Cheers to You / 2 coats

OPI - Sparrow me the Drama / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I'm very excited to post this manicure today and I hope you'll like it too. :i I did my best to show you my both hands, but nothing can't compare to the original though... So, all you need is a metallic or foil silver and bubblegum pink and you can rock these as models did. ^_^

Let me know what do you think about Chanel's nails, would you wear them? :) Thanks for reading! :h

Edit - 20h September 2012 ~ Adding video tutorial :)

Xoxo,

Ivana :k

Hang-Ten Toes

I told you I'm wearing bright colors almost all the time right now and this is one I wore for almost a whole week. I won it in giveaway at Canadian Nail Fanatic and I simply love it. I got so many compliments while wearing this beauty - always make me feel even better. :i

Hang-Ten Toes is part of China Glaze's Summer Neons collection. It's a blue based pink with shimmer. I wasn't really sure about shimmer but once it was applied, I was loving it. I'm wearing this color on my toes too, really compliments my tanned skin. :D

Formula is great, 2 easy coats and a layer of top coat. :L Pictures aren't fully glossy, because they're taken in front of bathroom window, which isn't clear. :)

Daylight

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I'm in love with neon pink trend and I already had a top but I wanted neon jeans too. I wasn't really wearing colored jeans before but these were love at first sight. :i It's funny how my addiction to pink nail polish spreads to clothes and random stuff. I used to think pink just when it came to nail polish but now... ^_^ Oh well, I need pink things to match my pink nails more often, right? :D These jeans reminds me of my all time favorite polish Fancy Fuchsia. <3

 Tally Weijl Neon Pink Skinny Jeans

Do you like this super bright neon trend? Or are neons out of your comfort zone? :)

Thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Pink Glittery Leopard Print

My nails are in bad condition atm, so I'm not really into making something special, mostly I'm wearing just bright and neon pinks. :i That's why I'm not posting really often. Week ago I got another parcel with goodies for review purposes from Born Pretty Store and I decided to bring my nails to life. :D

Final result...

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I got BK Nail Polish in #8850 (that's the number from the bottle, on BPS page you can find it here under #08). It's pretty bubblegum pink with not really matte but more like satin finish. Brush is wide and flat, formula is superb and it dries fast.

Daylight

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

BK Nail Polish - #8850 / 2 coats

Then I decided to use my new goodies I got from Canadian Nail Fanatic that I won in her giveaway - Cheeky Plates and China Glaze - Full Spectrum. <3 I also tested BPS Black Nail Art Stamping Polish. You get 3 ml of thick black polish, which works great with stamping. I think once you pick the pattern with stamper, you have to work fast or it can dry before you manage to transfer the pattern on the nail. Or maybe it's just me out of practice, because I lately rarely stamp my manicures. :i

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

BK Nail Polish - #8850 / 2 coats

Stamping: BPS Black Nail Art Stamping Polish  + Cheeky CH2

Dots:  China Glaze - Full Spectrum

Ring finger

BK Nail Polish - #8850 / 2 coats

China Glaze - Full Spectrum / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

What do you think? Are you already tired of animal prints here on my blog? :i

Don't forget to use code J10X31 to get 10% off on your order. ;)

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

*Some of the products in this post were sent to me by Born Pretty Store! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Aquadelic Fancy Fuchsia

Huh, can you read me now? xo This malware problem almost made me stop blogging. But it should be fine now. If you're still having problems please let me know. If you have this malware problem, try to remove your blogroll, ads, favicon,..., check Google Webmaster Tool and ask for another check from Google and it should be fixed in a day if you removed everything you should.. :) I also extended a BPS $18 Giftacard Giveaway for two days and added a Google form instead of Rafflecopter, because I'm not really sure how safe Rafflecopter is.

It's finally super hot here and because I love neons atm so much I decided to wear my new neon top. <3 I usually don't mach my nails with my outfit, that's why I decided to wear another fun combo with neon pink and turquoise. I think I finally found a way to wear turquoise and green shades more often :)

I played with taking pictures to catch my nails and my outfit in the background. :)

H&M Top

Tally Weijl Shorts

New Yorker Bracelet

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OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Thumb, Ring finger: China Glaze - Aquadelic / 2 coats
Orly - Fancy Fuchsia / 2 coats 

What do you think? :) Do you like this combo?

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Framed Nails

Few days ago I got another awesome package from Born Pretty Store, so I had to try the goodies right away. :) 

I'm really loving framed nails and I already did them once, you can see them here, where I used just plain black and holographic silver glitter. So now I decided to do them again but this time with gold glitter. This method is kind of time-consuming, but it definitely looks good. :)

The pictures aren't the best, because the weather here is nothing like June should be. xo

I got this cute container full of gold hexagonal holographic glitter (you can find it here, also available in different colors and shapes). It looks like a treasure when you open the container. :L To easily pick the glitter on toothpick, I drop some of the glitter into the lid.

I love this kind of glitter because it's flat and it doesn't bother me as much as rhinestones. So when you add a layer of top coat, the surface is almost smooth.

I started with 2 coats of China Glaze - Traffic Jam. I picked it because it has a really great formula and I already tried it with gold glitter and it looked gorgeous, so I decided to use it again. :L I did one nail at a time. When the second layer was still wet, I simply picked one by one glitter and placed it on the nail. If I was too slow and the surface was already dry, I added a top coat and made the surface wet and sticky again.

 OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

China Glaze - Traffic Jam / 2 coats

Gold Holographic Hexagonal Glitter

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

They do start falling off eventually, I'd suggest you to add 2 coats of top coat to really seal them on the nails, but even when a few of them are missing, it doesn't bothering me, it still looks as great as before. Unless you're really trying to find where they're missing. xD

Here's a closer look of the glitter! <3 I told you it looks like a treasure! :L

The container looks small but I'm not even sure if I'll ever hit the bottom of this container. :D Don't forget to use code J10X31 to get 10% off on your order. ;)

It looks like I'm having just a plain berry on my nails but there's still something going on my nails. :P 

Flash

Let me know if you like framed nails and my combination. :) I'm really in love with them, I just need to practice how to make perfect framed nails with a creme nail polish. I already tried it once and it looked great but I choose a horrible color combination. :D And I only did my left hand, because I'm not really sure if I'm able to hold the striping brush in my left hand and make some perfect lines. ^_^

Have a lovely week and thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

*Some of the products in this post were sent to me by Born Pretty Store! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Step by Step: Candy Water Marble

Because we're having such a horrible boring weather these days, I decided to do a step by step water marbling tutorial. I know you can find them everywhere, but I did one in case someone would love to read mine. :D

This is one really picture heavy post, so click read more to see all the details. :) I only did one nail for this tutorial, but I used the same colors as in my candy water marble I showed you the other day.

Candy Water Marble

It's such a grey rainy lazy day today and because I really didn't know what to do with myself, I decided to try water marbling. I used to do more of them in the past and I can't believe I didn't try any since I started this blog. :D So here's my first water marble featured on this blog...

I used some of the colors from my favorite China Glaze collection Up & Away and the final results reminds me of candies. :) It's absolutely not perfect but I'm happy with the final result... 

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Base:

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

OPI - Sweet Heart / 1 coat

Water Marble: 

China Glaze - Something Sweet

China Glaze - Heli-Yum

China Glaze - Sugar High

Beauty Secrets Top Coat Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I'd definitely try water marbling more often, because it really looks cute but I'm too lazy for that. :D What do you think about my manicure? Do you practice water marbling often?

If you want to see tons of amazing tutorials, check Colette and her blog My Simple Little Pleasures and her YouTube channel, because she's definitely a water marble queen. :) 

Have a lovely day and thanks for reading! :)

Xoxo,
Ivana :k