Ruffian Nails / OPI Nordic / Gwen Stefani Holiday 2014

Today's nail design combines two of the newest OPI shades in a fancy sideways Ruffian. I used My Dogsled is a Hybrid* from the OPI Nordic collection  as my base color with two coats. Then I added some very old french nail stickers from essence onto the dried base and created the Ruffian effect with Unfrost my Heart* from the OPI - Gwen Stefani Holiday collection. On top is one coat of Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri.

* PR Sample

This blog gives me the awesome opportunity to try a lot of new products and I decided I want to give something back to you ladies, because you're a big part of this blog! I'd love to make two of you very happy by giving away two new and unused OPI sets. Set Gwen Stefani consists of Unfrost my Heart, Rollin' in Cashmere and So Elegant. Set Nordic consists of  Can't aFjörd Not To, Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm? and OPI With A Nice Finn-Ish. This is open internationally and you have until the 30th of November 2014 midnight (Swiss time) to drop me an e-mail with the subject: "OPI is awesome". Please also let me know which set you would like to win and try to convince me that you're not some bot looking for free stuff (for example, say Hi and use my name, send me your blog link to look at or a picture of the nail design you've done! I'd love that :) ) I will draw two winners and contact you by e-mail for your address. Also obviously one entry per person, since duh. Thank you! You're awesome! 

EDIT: Ihr könnt mir natürlich auch auf Deutsch schreiben! Viel Glück!

Set Gwen Stefani: 

Set Nordic:

Valentine's Day Nails: Salted Watercolor Ruffian

I didn't really plan these nails and just started with two coats of Essie - Go Ginza. Then I added some pink acrylic paint and sugar (instead of salt) to create some salted watercolor nails. After that I outlined the upper part of my nails with black acrylic paint to create a ruffian effect and then added three small silver studs on each nail. On top is one coat of Essence - BTGN High Gloss. These remind me a lot of my Deadly Sin Challenge nails for Lust, don't you think so?

The New Black - Ombré Shades: Graffiti

In the review package that I received from The New Black, there were two Ombré Shades sets and today I will review the black one called Graffiti for you. If you read my last review, you know that I was a bit disappointed by their Typography set, mainly because of the price. And again, the Ombré set is sold for 29.95 Euro which is quite expensive since their bottles are tiny. In the Graffiti set there are 5 polishes which are supposed to be "carefully selected for perfectly gradated tones". Well, I think that is up for discussion: There is a plain black one, a black with silver glitter, a grey with blue shimmer, a chrome silver and finally a silver glitter in a clear base. I like all of these shades and the formula is great. I used two coats for each color, except for the silver glitter which looked better with three coats. If you follow me on my Instagram you might have seen the picture of the brush, which I added at the end of this post as well. The hair stuck out from the brush, I pulled it with tweezers and this is what happened. I've seen cheaper nail polish with better brushes! Of course this could just be "a lemon", the brushes in the Typography set were fine. The midi ring in the pictures is by H&M and (sadly) not included in the set ;) 

PS: I added a mouseover Pinterest button to my blog, now you can pin pictures by hovering over them and clicking the Pin Button, yay! 

Sandy Ruffian Nails feat. Dance Legend - White Noise & Essie - Maximillian Strasse Her

Ever since I used White Noise by Dance Legend I wanted to combine it in some kind of nail art design. I started small with a simple ruffian using pale color shades. As my base coat I used two coats of Essie - Maximillian Strasse Her (Madison Ave-hue  2013). Because a top coat would ruin the sandy look, I just used one coat after the grey base and then added White Noise on top. At first I planned to add some studs, but then I decided against more details. I think a thin neon pink outline of the ruffian could look cool.. maybe tomorrow! 

Grey & Neon Pink Ruffian Nails

Another pretty color that I picked up in the sale is Essie - Lights from the Poppy Razzi Collection. It is not as neon as I hopped it would be, but it's still a very bright pink. I didn't feel very inspired today and so I chose to do Ruffian Nails once again. I wanted the pink to be really flashy so I matched it with two coats of a light grey: Essence - Got A Secret. On top is one coat of BTGN Top Sealer.

Have a nice weekend! 

New Year's Eve Black & Silver Ruffian Nails

For today another festive idea for New Year's Eve. I'm back to a favorite of mine: Of course after the Halloween Ruffian Nails there had to be a festive version as well. I used one coat of p2 - eternal and then added two coats of China Glaze - Cheers To You. This is a real favorite of mine, the silver look just makes so much out of a simple design. First I planned on adding some silver studs, but then I thought Cheers To You alone was eye-catching enough. On top is one coat of BTGN Top Sealer. I hope I will be able to update my blog on Sunday noon and Monday afternoon/evening with two more designs for New Year's Eve. I'm not completely sure yet what's going to be on my nails on Monday, but I already have some ideas. 

Have a nice weekend! 

Blue & Golden Ruffian Nails feat. Gold Foil

I haven't used Nail Art Foil in a long time but I still had an unused golden one with black marble in my drawer. So I tried to combine it with my recently discovered Ruffian Nails which I like a lot. It didn't turn out quite as good as I hoped but I think with some practice it would look pretty cool. I used two coats of Essie - Mesmerized as a base coat. It is a bit darker in real and I used one coat of Good To Go on top. Then I added my foil adhesive in a bow shape, just like I would with Ruffian Nails. After letting the glue dry, I applied a piece of foil onto the nail and pressed it down a bit. If you're having problems with applying foil to your nails you may want to try to wait longer for the adhesive to dry. I've made best results with about 10 minutes. As always it looked better before applying the sealing top coat (I used Star Nail Art Sealer). Actually I'm not too sure about this but I think I bought this foil at Naildelights. Sorry about that!

 

Leopard Ruffian meets Denim Jacket / Nail Art inspired by Fashion

Usually I don't care much about fashion and I mostly wear black clothes anyway. I run free in my nail art and I think that is enough ;) But recently I stumbled upon this pretty jacket on Pinterest and it inspired me to do my nails. Sadly I don't know the original source and I couldn't find it with Google so if you know the owner, please let me know! I decided to wear the jacket as Ruffian Nails because it is the easy way. So I did a base color resembling the light denim cloth with China Glaze - Sea Spray, China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint and Essie Blanc, using the sponging technique. On top I created the ruffian with two coats of Essence - Iced Latte and then started to do the leopard design with China Glaze - Foie Gras and Wet 'n' Wild - Black Creme. On top is once coat of Essie - Good To Go, as well as between the denim base and the leopard design.

Don't forget to vote for my Essie Girls design, you can vote every day until Friday and I'm delighted about every single vote! I promise I will go easy on the begging after this contest, but this time it is really important and I know I can count on my readers ;) Thank you so much!

http://www.facebook.com/essieSwitzerland/app_260985374013280

Halloween Ruffian Nails feat. China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y

I guess I don't longer need to apologise for being early with Halloween designs, since it is approaching fast now. So here is a very simple and fast Halloween designs including the perfect Halloween nail polish by China Glaze. I've just realised I haven't used this since last Halloween, shame on me! But then again the polish is kind of difficult to combine with summer or spring, even winter themed designs. Anyway, it is still in perfect condition and I decided to use it in a Ruffian design. I started with two coats of Wet 'n' Wild - Black Creme and then did the bow with two coats of China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y. On top is one coat of Essie - Good To Go. I had the greatest idea and mixed my remaining drops of my old GTG bottle into my current bottle which is now coming to an end slowly. Then I added some drops of nail polish thinner (p2) and got an almost new Good To Go. I hope it won't influence the fast-drying formula, we'll see! 

As you can see I got into the spirit of bottle pictures with my Essie Girls Design! I really love the lighting with this hand position and I think I might keep it up in the future. Also, it is nice to see how the polish looks like in the bottle, I have actually no idea why I stopped doing that. 

By the way I am at the moment in the top ten of the Essie Girls contest! Thank you so much for voting and please vote some more if you can! 

Click here to vote for my nails:
http://www.facebook.com/essieSwitzerland/app_260985374013280

Have a nice weekend! 

Brown - Copper Ruffian Nails feat. Penny Talk

Time for some more Ruffian! I love those two colors together, they're perfect for fall. So I decided to combine them in an easy and fast way with some Ruffian Nails. 

I started with two coats of Essie - Penny Talk which was apparently not enough. I have to admit I'm not wearing a base coat this time, that's probably why you can see the ridges of my nails beneath Penny Talk. It was not really visible from afar though.

Then I added the bow with Catrice - Lost In Mud, long lost friend! ;) That was one of my first nail polishes in my collection. I used two coats for the bow to make it completely opaque. On top of it is one coat of Essie - Good To Go. 

Today I got a lot of nail mail! I ordered a bunch of China Glaze bottles the other day and they finally arrived. I chose Snow Globe, Sea Spray, Holly Day, Foie Gras and Dress Me Up. You might see some of these involved in some nail art soon! In addition I got some awesome 1$ glow in the dark polishes and I can't wait to show these off! 

Nude & Pink Ruffian Nails

Today's design is something very clean and simple. I haven't done a lot of Ruffian Nails up until now so this is something different from the usual. 

I used two coats of Essence - Iced Latte as a base color. I love this nail polish, it's the best nude one I have. The Ruffian is freehanded with H&M - All Eyes On Me, a very old but still great nail polish in bright pink. 

I thought about doing the curve with french manicure tape but I didn't have the patience to wait for Iced Latte to be tape-dry. So I just proceeded with the pink polish as with a normal manicure, just leaving out a small part on top of the nail. On top is one coat of Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat on which I'm now getting onto the bottom of the bottle. I really liked this top coat in regard to the drying time. The formula was not too thick but it was alright to work with. I'm not gonna re-buy it though because it is too expensive in Switzerland and I couldn't find a cheap seller on Ebay. I decided to give Essie - Good To Go another try. 

I love Ruffian Nails, since they're really chic and make a fast way to get a pretty manicure. You need a steady hand though to do the curves or use stencils to create the perfect line. 

Pretty Little Liars - Jenna Nail Art - Polka Dots & Ruffian

Are you a fan of Pretty Little Liars? On this week's episode I spotted some nail art on Jenna's nails, in the scene where she ate cherries in front of the school. I couldn't completely see her design but I figured it would look something like a pink ruffian with polka dots. I decided to recreate it for my blog, because it really caught my eye. 

I started with two coats of pastel rose China Glaze - Something Sweet. Then I freehanded the curve with one coat of Wet 'N' Wild - Black Crème which worked really good. After that, my most dreaded nail art technique, polka dots! I almost never succeed at dots with the same size on each nail. But at least I was able to place them in a regular pattern onto my nails. For the dots I used Essie - Blanc. 

On top there is one coat of Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat which smudged a tiny spot on my index finger nail. 

This was not the first time that I've seen something pretty on Pretty Little Liars and they do have some fancy nail art designs sometimes. So I'll keep my eyes open for the next one to come along, hopefully not on Jenna's nails since actually I can't stand her. 

What's your trick to create equal polka dots on each nail?