Penguins

Penguins are pretty easy.  On my left hand I liked the penguin on the pinkie and thumb.  On my right hand I liked the ring finger penguin.  I thought the polar bear and the peeking penguin were also sort of cute.  I used the nail polish brushes themselves to do almost all of the black penguins and white belly parts.  I used this Youtube tutorial to do the dancing penguin.  Surprise, it is cuter dancing on youtube. 

Sunset nails

This is another manicure that everyone who does nail art tries at least once.  I started out with a base of Wet 'n Wild French White cream so the yellow show up better.  I painted on two coats of Spoiled Mind Your Own Beeswax to the bottom half and one coat of Wet 'n Wild Dream Poppy to the top.  Then I sponged Essie Brazilliant onto the center section to blend the two colors together.  Frankly, I could have done a better job with the gradient.  I used the Salon Express stamping kit for the palm trees.  The palm tree stamp worked really well from that kit.  Designs from that kit are hit and miss. The thumb only needed one palm tree.   I used a dotting tool and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme for the "land" at the bottom of the nail.  I liked them, and I'll do this again. 

Mint with Orange Dots

This is Wet 'n Wild Megalast Garden Hose as a base.  I used a dotting tool to add three rows of Essie Brazilliant dots.  I wanted it to look like three off set rows of dots.  Instead it looks like half a nail of dots.  That is good too, but not what I was aiming for. 

Candy Corn Nails

First I added a layer of Wet 'n Wild French White Creme on the whole nail, two coats.  Then I added two coats of Wet 'n Wild Spoiled Mind Your Own Beeswax just shy of 2/3 of the way up my nails.  Next, I added Essie Brazilliant to the center.  I finished with a coat of Essie Pure Pearlfection followed by a coat of Pro FX Quick Dry Top Coat.  I should have used tape to get straighter lines, but I went with freehand and it isn't too terrible.  I really like the Pure Pearlfection over the top for a subtle shimmer effect.  Happy Halloween! 

Essie Braziliant with a Gold Glitter Gradient

This is Essie Braziliant with a gold glitter gradient on top.  This is the prefect orange for me.  For the gold glitter gradient, add some glitter about 1/8 inch down the nail.  Apply a second coat of glitter about 1/4 inch down the nail.  Wipe your brush off.  Apply what is left on the brush an additional 1/8 inch inch down the nail (3/8).  Apply a little further down the nail (4/8 or 1/2 inch) in the center of the nail .  Apply a top coat.  Glitter gradients are hard to photograph.  It looks better in real life. 

Essie Braziliant

Essie Braziliant is one of the four pack of clearance Essie minis I found recently.  This orange is much brighter in person then in the picture.  It is another polish that is so bright it glows.  Since it is so bright, I think it is better suited for summer.  I really like this color.  It is the prefect orange for me (if it was less bright).  I was going to pony up for the big bottle.  But, since I only plan to wear this color in the summer and we only have 2 months of summer here, I'll stick with the small bottle.  Sorry, I can't remember how many coats this was.