Rainbow Gradient Nails

Today, I have a recent popular nail trend, rainbow gradient!

What makes this trend unique is the vertical gradient and multitude of colors. I need to do more vertical gradients!

For this look, I started with a white polish as my base. I then used the sponge technique mentioned in my last post, but sponged on vertically instead. I topped it off with China Glaze Fairy Dust for a little extra sparkle. Try to stick with colors of the same shade (i.e. all neon, pastels, brights, etc.), so the rainbow looks consistent. This nail art literally popped and got lots of attention. 

Chevron Gradient Nail Art

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your year is great so far!

Today I have for you some easy nail art combining gradient, chevron, and studs!

The above was simple enough, but a little time consuming waiting for each coat to dry.

Here's how you can accomplish this look:

1. Start with your base polish on all fingers. Usually a lighter color is best for gradients. I used China Glaze Refresh mint.
2. Once dry, do the gradient on selected fingers. Pick polishes a few shades darker, but still in the same color family. I like to use a makeup sponge for my gradients.  I paint each color in a horizontal stripe on a piece of foil. Then I take my sponge, dip it in the polish and sponge it on my nail. You will have to do this 3-4 times in order to get the right coverage. Apply top coat once done.
3. While waiting on the top coat to dry, go ahead and apply your glitter or studs. I used both! The glitter on my pinkie is Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me.
4. Once your gradient is dry, take two pieces of striping tape to form a V shape with the top pointing toward your cuticle.
5. Paint the outer edges white.
6. Finish with top coat!

Instagram Giveaway

Hi Everyone!

I'm doing a giveaway on my Instagram and wanted to give everyone the chance to enter.

Here is what you can win: Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Shock, China Glaze Orange Cuticle Oil, Essie Butler Please, Fing'rs Nail Art Tattoos, Loose diamond shaped glitter pot, Maybelline Clearly Spotted, Sation Miss Pro-nup glitter polish, Revelon Girly, and Love & Beauty Dusty Blue.

Since this is an Instagram based giveaway, click here to see how to enter.

Giveaway ends Sept 15th, 11:59 pm central time.

Layla Polish and Caviar Beads

Hi Everyone!

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. I started a new job and have been very busy. If you don't already, follow my Instagram @the_beauty_b where I update more frequently!

I recently won a giveaway from NailIt magazine, which was very exciting because I never win anything!

I received some prety Layla polishes and caviar beads

I used a hot pink Layla polish as my base (it didn't have a name) and the caviar beads on my ring finger. I did put topcoat on because I feel without topcoat they fall off by the end of the day. The beads lasted through the week with topcoat! For my middle finger I used a dotting tool to make the dots. For the stripes I used good 'ole scotch tape. Fairly simple manicure, but an impactful end result!

China Glaze Swanky Silk

Hi Everyone!

Today I have a nail art look using China Glaze Swanky Silk which is a beautiful rose gold.

This mani was fairly simple; I used China Glaze Swanky Silk on each finger and China Glaze Razzle Me, Dazzle Me on my middle finger. I absolutely love this glitter! It's so unique and creates a cool look on the nail. For my black polish I used Sally Hansen Midnight in NY and striping tape to create the striped looks.

On my pinkie I have the 2mm gold square studs from the Born Pretty Store. I absolutely love these little studs and they are perfect for all kinds of nail art. If you haven't shopped here yet, I highly recommend it. They have tons of nail items at a great price. They were also generous enough to give my readers a 10% off coupon code. Use code TGL91 at check out to redeem!

Blue Nail Art

Hi Lovelies!

I was inspired to do a blue mani due to all the recent Spring rain we've been having here in Texas! Also, it happens to be Autism awareness month, so I've been seeing a lot of blue nails for Autism out there and thought I'd do one too!

Colors used were: Zoya Jo (medium blue), China Glaze Midnight Mission (dark blue), Essie Borrowed and Blue (light blue), and OPI Last Friday Night (glitter).

I really wanted to do a mix of designs here, so I thought ombre, striping, fishtail, and a glitter gradient would be fun! I have to say this is one of my favorite manis to date.

Let me know if anyone is interested in a post on a tutorial for any of the above techniques. I know there are probably a million out there already, but I'd be happy to post how I do it.

Easter Nails

Hi Everyone!

I know this is a day late, but I just had to share. Below are my nails I did for Easter.

I just loved how these turned out!

Colors used were Essie Neo Whimsical, Zoya Blu with Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air on top, China Glaze Lemon Fizz, and Zoya Neely. I used a doting tool for the flowers, dots, and part of the chick. 

If you haven't already follow me via Bloglovin' and check out my Instagram @the_beauty_b

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Springtime Half Moon Mani

Spring has finally sprung and I couldn't be any happier. 

To celebrate I did the below half moon mani.

Polishes used for pastels were China Glaze Refresh Mint, OPI Pink Friday, China Glaze Lemon Fizz, and Zoya Kennedy. I topped it all off with OPI My Vampire is Buff. 

This turned out really great! A fairly simple, yet fresh spring mani.

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I've been seeing things about Google reader going away, so if you haven't yet follow me on Blog Lovin'. Just click the below link to go to my page and follow. Thanks!! :)

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Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

The below mani was made using Zoya Ivanka and Orly Luxe. Hope everyone had a fun day!!

Pastel Ombre

Hi Everyone!

Today I have for you a pastel ombré look I created using a variety of polishes.

This is my first time attempting ombré with a makeup sponge and it turned out pretty well!

I used OPI Alpine Snow as my white base. Then I sponged on the following colors from Charming Charlie: Lovely in Lilac, Such a doll, and Such a Peach for the pinkish  nail. Then used Charming Charlie What a Lime, as well as China Glaze Refresh Mint and OPI What's with the Cattitude for the greenish nail. I'm looking forward to trying another ombré!

OPI You're Such A Budapest

Hi Everyone!

Today I have for you You're Such a Budapest from the OPI Euro Centrale collection. This is my new favorite spring polish! At first I was unsure, but it is gorgeous on. It's a perfect spring lavender. It goes on a little thin, so you may need 3 coats depending on how thick your coats are. Is anyone else as in love with this as I am?

Don't forget to follow my new Instagram page @the_beauty_b

Follow Me on Instagram

Hi Everyone!

I know I have been gone for what seems like forever, but I am finally getting back to blogging!

I went ahead and created an Instagram account, which has been so much easier for me to keep up with. So follow me here http://instagram.com/the_beauty_b or @the_beauty_b.

Stay tuned for exciting newness :)

China Glaze How About A Tumble

Today I have for you another gorgeous polish from the China Glaze Kaleidoscope collection. How About A Tumble is a beautiful lilac holograph polish.

This is two coats and application was flawless. This is really a stunning polish. I wish China Glaze would re-release this collection! A girl can dream right? :)

4th of July Mani

Hello Everyone! Hope you all had a great 4th of July.

I always have to have festive nails for any holiday, so here are my Independence Day nails!

I used Zoya Sookie as my red, Orly Royal Navy as my blue and China Glaze Crackle in Lightening Bolt. This was a really simple, but fun mani!

Nail Fraud Wild Thing

Hello Everyone!

Long time no post...I'm sorry!

Anyway, today I have for you some really cute nail appliques by Nail Fraud. These are called Wild Thing.

These are so cute and were so easy to apply. They are stretchy which is great because they will fit any nail shape perfectly. The wear was great too. These lasted about a week. I have seen these sold at Ulta and definitely recommend giving them a try!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe July 4th!

Essie Borrowed & Blue

Just a quick polish swatch for you today.

Here is Borrowed & Blue from Essie's Spring 2011 collection.

This polish is a pale baby blue.

I absolutely love this polish. It's my favorite pale blue polish hands down. Application was great and this is two coats. I definitely recommend this to everyone who loves pale blue polishes.

OPI Steady As She Rose

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, but no worries, I'm still here!

Today I have for you Steady As She Rose from OPI's recent Pirates of the Caribbean collection.

This polish is a dusty pale purple and is so pretty!

I decided to add some pretty butterfly water decals from Viva La Nails to give it a little more oomph.

These are the water decals. I just love them! So easy to put on and super cute!

Steady As She Rose had great application! This was two easy coats. This is a really great understated polish and is perfect for when you need a quiet manicure. This is also a pretty unique color, so it's a definite must have!

Zoya Sunshine Collection

Hello everyone! Today I have for you one of my favorite collections of the summer - Zoya's Sunshine Collection.

This is a collection of six fabulous sparkle polishes all with similar hint of gold shimmer. Very pretty!!

Kimmy- A shimmering candy apple red with a touch of gold sparkle.

Faye - A bronzed purple with gold sparkle. Love Faye! This polish is very unique to my collection.

Tanzy- A juicy tangerine orange with glowing gold sparkle. This polish is perfect for summer -definitely a must have!

Apple- A glowing apple green with gold sparkle. This polish has been compared to Zoya Midori, but the two are very different. Apple has much more shimmer and is a brighter green. Yummy name and color!

Rica- A coral pink with gold sparkle. This is such a bright cherry polish. I just love it! One of my top favorites from the collection.

Reva- A raspberry red with gold sparkle.

All in all this is a wonderful collection. The colors are gorgeous and unique. They literally glow on your fingers which makes the Sunshine Collection perfect for summer.

Whats your favorite polish from this collection?

Apothica Gift Card Giveaway! *Closed*

Apothica Gift Card Giveaway

Hello everyone! The wonderful people over at Apothica are hosting a giveaway on my site for a $25 gift card to be used in any of their web-stores.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Apothica, they sell hundreds of amazing beauty brands all in one spot. One of my favorite brands they carry is Too Faced. I did a post about my favorite Too Faced product here a while ago. To see what other fabulous brands they have go check out their website atwww.apothica.com

Ok, so here are all the details of the giveaway!

Giveaway is open to all followers and ends June 3, 2011.

How To Enter:

Mandatory Entries (1 point each):

1. You must be a GFC follower of my blog - Please leave the name you follow me as and your email so I can contact you if you win.

2. Like Apothica on Facebook and write on their wall about what you think of Apothica. Leave your facebook name, so I can verify.

OR

3. Follow Apothica on Twitter and tweet about Apothica. Leave your twitter name, so I can verify.

Bonus Entries (3 points each):

1. Blog (sidebar counts) or tweet about my giveaway. Please leave link so I can verify.

2. Sign up for Apothica’s Newsletter

3. Retweet Apthica’s tweet about this giveaway.

Good luck!!