Two-tone Studded Nails

So I finally took the time to do some nail art again! This was very simple and didn't take up too much time since I didn't bother using striping tape. All I did was painting a base with Zoya - Dree and then adding Essie - Lady Godiva on half of my nail using the brush from the bottle. To make it a bit more exact I used a striping brush and black nail polish for the centerline. On top of that I added some studs, which I received from bornprettystore some time ago. I then added one coat of Essence - BTGN High Gloss and I think something's wrong with this bottle. I used it once or twice, so I'm not sure what it is... it might be because I used it over Essie - Penny Talk? Anyway, please ignore the dust on top of the design. ;) 

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?

Studded Berry Gradient

Today's design started out with a gradient and ended up with golden studs. I used three beautiful colors to create a gradient: Essie - Bahama Mama, Essie - Sole Mate and Sally Hansen - Night Watch. This already looked different from what I expected and I probably wouldn't really have needed three colors, but nonetheless I liked the result. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to redo my fully covered studded nails from the Deadly Sins Challenge and this was it! With the golden round and square studs from Born Pretty Store I added the same pattern as before and finished with one coat of Essence - BTGN Top Sealer. 

Sunset Gradient with Essie Neons 2013

In the mood for something bright, I decided to paint my nails with a neon gradient using the perfect summer colors. Although I'm not a big fan of the Essie Neons 2013, they worked great for this gradient. I painted a white base with Flormar - M103 and then added Essie - DJ Play That Song, Saturday Disco Fever & Bottle Service. On top I added my square golden studs from Born Pretty Store and finished with one coat of BTGN Top Sealer.

Green Saran Wrap with Triangular Studs

I have another product from Born Pretty Store for today! Actually I mentioned in a mail to BPS, that selling triangular studs would be an awesome idea. Not without a self-interest of course! I've been looking for small triangular studs for months now and couldn't find them anywhere. Well, here they are, 3mm in gold and silver. How awesome is this? I ordered a bag of both as soon as I saw them online. I combined the silver studs with a Saran Wrap design that was inspired by Alice from One Nail To Rule Them All. I used Essie - Trophy Wife and Dive Bar to create the saran wrap and then added the studs and one coat of BTGN Top Sealer. 

You can use my coupon code to get 10% off your order at Born Pretty Store.

Double Gradient & Golden Studs

I used a total of ten Essie polishes for today's design! The reason I only used Essie is that because I have so many of them, it does make things easier when choosing colors for a gradient. And that's what I did, more precisely something like a double gradient. At first I created green and blue gradient skittle nails which seemed a bit boring to look at. So I added a red gradient onto the green one and a purple gradient onto the blue one. (That's more of a quadruple gradient now, to be more accurate.) Then I added round golden studs from Born Pretty Store and finished with one coat of Essence - BTGN Top Sealer. If you're interested, these are the names of all the colors I used:

Mesmerized, Avenue Maintain, Lapis Of Luxury / Flawless, Splash Of Grenadine

Mojito Madness, First Timer, Mint Candy Apple / Chubby Cheeks, Eternal Optimist

Deadly Sins Challenge - Day 7: Sloth (Studded Nails - Video Tutorial)

This weeks sin is Sloth and it really comes in handy for me, since the semester is soon to be over and I have a lot of stuff to do besides my nails. This means I shouldn't be painting my nails, but obviously won't stop doing so. :) You guys really liked my studded nails for Day 6, thanks so much for all the lovely comments! I decided to make a super short video tutorial on how I add studs to the nails, because today's theme says: Don't try too hard but explain everyone how to do something really easy... (Tutorial).

Illustrations by: dahlig

And because I'm so lazy, I once more added the studs to an already existing design, my Denim Nails. I used round 1.5mm silver studs which I bought on Ebay. They're also available at Born Pretty Store. 

Deadly Sins Challenge - Day 6: Greed (Studded Nails)

This is the second design for Greed in the Deadly Sins Challenge and today the theme said: Remember, More is More... Don't hold yourself back! 

Illustrations by: dahlig

I thought of Studded Nails right away, because I always wanted to do an almost fully covered studded manicure. The reason I didn't do it up to now is that I was always worried about the studs not covering the whole nail and me being disappointed by the result. Today's theme was perfect because I just decided not to care at all and go for it! I figured the golden studs (both round and square from Born Pretty Store) would match my golden Saran Wrap Nails from Day 5, so I simply added them on top of it. I'm really happy with the result and I'm definitely going to do this again! 

Deadly Sins Challenge - Day 2: Lust (English Rose & Studs)

Yay, we're already at Day 2 of the Deadly Sins Challenge! This week the sin we're supposed to display is Lust and this time the theme says: Let your body talk and feel free to do whatever you want.

Illustrations by: dahlig

Well, I was really at a loss at first, because for lust all that came to my mind was lips & hearts. But then I decided not to take it too literal and started to paint my nails with two coats of Essie - Smokin' Hot (okay, perfect choice anyway...). Then I added triangles with striping tape and Essie - Blanc. On top of Blanc I painted the glue for the transfer foil and added a foil called English Rose (sold out at the moment). I then used one coat of Star Nails - Nail Art Finishing Sealer and added the studs while the top coat was still wet. On top of it all is an additional coat of Essie - Good To Go.

Check out all of the recent designs in this Challenge here:

Golden Studs feat. Essie - Angora Cardi + Born Pretty Store Giveaway

I fell in love with this stud arrangement by Pinpoint Polish as soon as I saw it on The Nailasaurus last December. It looks so pretty and makes the studs stand out even more! I didn't try it myself until today, because the square studs I had were to big for the arrangement on my nails. But I got a small bag of 2mm golden square studs from Born Pretty Store a few days ago and this design was the first thing I thought of. I used two coats of Essie - Angora Cardi as my base color and then added the square plus round golden studs. On top is one coat of Essie - Good To Go.

You can use my coupon code DEL91 to get 10% off at Born Pretty Store. Also Born Pretty Store offered to sponsor a giveaway for my blog. You can win a 20$ voucher for their online shop! I would like this to be a gift for my lovely readers, so please don't join if you're only here for the giveaway! There are two mandatory things to do: Tell me what you would buy with the voucher and why. Plus you have to like the Facebook page of Born Pretty Store. You can like my page for one optional entry. The giveaway is open for all international readers of Spektor's Nails and ends on Friday 26th of April 2013 at 12am (GMT+01:00). Various entries by the same person will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted via E-Mail and has one week to respond. Good Luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Year's Eve Silver Studded Nails No. 2

I decided to do a quick post on my NYE nails before tonight's scheduled post, because they are very similar to my other silver studded nails from last Sunday. I sticked to China Glaze - Tinsel Town in the end and then tried to add a gradient with Essence - Glitterastic. It didn't really show and I didn't  have time for a second coat so I just left it like that and added two studs from Chez Delaney. On top are two coats of BTNG Top Sealer.

I matched my nails with my clothes! Let me tell you, that doesn't happen more than once a year! :) I hope you had a great NYE and a good start in to 2013. Stay put for a tutorial later today!

New Year's Eve Silver Studded Nails

After seeing China Glaze - Tinsel Town on lackfein yesterday, I knew I had to grab my bottle out of my stash and paint it on my nails as well. It is such a pretty glitter, I have no idea why I didn't think of this one for NYE in the first place! I'm pretty sure that this one will be on my nails tomorrow in a similar way, maybe a glitter gradient? For now I added two coats with my silver studs from Ebay. They're like the ones from Born Pretty Store that I used here, but in silver. On top is one coat of BTGN Top Sealer.

I love that macro shot! Bling! 

New Year's Eve Golden Studded Nails

The festive days are not over yet! I hope you all had great Christmas days, I had a blast and am now back to blogging. This week with some ideas for New Year's Eve nail art. While Christmas nail art for me is more on the red and green side, for New Year's Eve I prefer glitter, silver and gold. Perfectly suited for this occasion are the 1.5 mm golden stud rhinestones that I got from Born Pretty Store to review. I used two coats of Essie - Beyond Cozy as my festive base color and then added the studs with a dotting tool. On top is one coat of BTNG Top Sealer. I did this design before with black and silver and it is originally done by The Nailasaurus. Last week I've seen a full coverage studded accent nail on Chalkboard Nails and I had something like that in mind as well. I think I might still do it, if I find the time and patience. 

You can use my coupon code for 10% off at Born Pretty Store!

Obama Nails

This post was actually scheduled for yesterday, but it was already dark outside when I finished my nails. So this is my contribution for the election day. Go Obama! 

I realise that my flag looks more like popcorn bags but let's call it artistic freedom. I used Essie - Blanc, Essie - Lapis Of Luxury and Essie - Mesmerized for my base and then added star shaped studs from Chez Delaney and red stripes with striping tape and OPI - Friday Devil. My Obama accent nail is inspired by the poster of Shepard Fairey and done with the plastic bag decal method. I added a picture at the end of this post to show you how I did it. I used Friday Devil, Mesmerized and China Glaze - Lemon Fizz to create Obama. On top is one coat of Essie - Good To Go.

Painting Obama on a plastic bag:

Día De Los Muertos / Day Of The Dead - Sugar Skull Nails

I hope you're not bored with Mexican themed nails, because there's more where that came from! I wanted to do Sugar Skull nails since I first saw them. They're so colorful and that's always a good reason for nail art. Sugar Skulls are part of the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, which is honoring the deceased. 

I originally planned to go for full Sugar Skull nails but that would have been a lot of work, especially with my weak hand. So I just went for an accent nail with one Sugar Skull while leaving my other nails with a simple, matching design. The accent nail is done with acrylic paint on one coat of Wet 'n' Wild - Black Creme. My other nails are done with two coats of H&M - All Eyes On Me. Then I added striping tape and filled out the triangle with Black Creme. On top of each triangle I placed a single stud. As always on top is one coat of Essie - Good To Go. 

Check out my Mexican tag, if you are interested in more Mexican related nail art! 

Thank you for reading!