Studded Neon Graffiti Nails

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far. Things are pretty busy around here but I'm enjoying spending time with my family. I got around to doing my nails last night and couldn't wait to get up and take pictures of this! I'm sure most of you are expecting something with hearts.. I'll have those up this week, I promise! It's been a while since I've done a neon mani though and the mood struck me to come up with this:

I received these 2mm round neon studs from The Daily Charme a while ago. While re organizing my stash, I came across them again and knew that I wanted to use them for my next mani. The plate that I used for this manicure was right under these studs and I haven't used that yet either so I grabbed these and an arsenal of neon polishes and got to work. 

I began with 2 coats of Bettina Matte and 1 coat of Finger Paints Black Expressionism (FPBE). Matte is a basic white polish and was great for getting the neon colors to pop. Using a makeup sponge, I dipped the corners in various colors (Essie Bottle Service + multiple Island Girl neons) and applied the polish to my white canvases. Once that dried, I used FPBE to stamp on this image from Lily Anna 08 and sealed my nails with my oh-so-shiny HKGirl topcoat. I completed this manicure by adding the neon studs before the topcoat was completely dry.

I love how the studs pop against the black polish and the graffiti-ish vibe the image on this plate gives this manicure! You can find these awesome studs in The Daily Charme's Etsy shop for $3.50 & the Lily Anna 08 plate on Messy Mansion's website for $10.00. As always, I hope you all enjoyed this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

Wild Thing! (neon gradient + animal print)

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope everyone's week is off to a lovely start and that you guys are all okay. I have a fun post to share with you all today. It's another one that reminds me of my childhood and the awesomeness that is Lisa Frank. I was totally obsessed with the animal print folders and trapper keepers. The vibrant colors and images always captivated my interest. Sooo, you wanna see what's on my nails today?

L-R: Bettina Matte, China Glaze Celtic Sun, Color Club The Lime Starts Here,
Ruby Kisses Orange You Jealous, Ruby Kisses Pink Hot Pants

To begin my manicure, I chose four colors I thought would work well as gradients along with my favorite white base.

I applied one coat of Milani Smoothe Base Coat then 2 coats of Bettina Matte (white).

Once Matte dried, I took a makeup sponge (I found them at Target) and began my gradients. I put a bit of the yellow on the back of an old magazine, picked it up with a sponge and applied it to the top of my pinky, middle & thumb fingers. I took another sponge and applied the orange to my ring and index fingers. I repeated this process three times until the polish reached an opacity to my liking. Using the same sponges (the opposite sides that were polish-less) I applied the green and pink to the corresponding nails. Again, this was done three times.

Next I used my Konad Special Stamping Polish in black along with Konad's M57 image plate and stamped on the cheetah/leopard print on my pinky, middle and thumb fingers. I used the zebra print image for my ring and index fingers. This manicure was topped off with a coat of Color Club's top coat.

(not sure why this photo is sideways)

I absolutely adore this mani! It's so vibrant and playful and reminds me of the good ol' days! At one point I gave up on gradients because no matter what I did they were just not turning out right but I'm happy to say I got my mojo back (though, these aren't the best). I wish I could have this design on my toes but my belly is getting way too big for me to do a pedi right now lol! So, what do you think lovelies? Is this something you would wear or a bit too loud for your taste? As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica