Kat Von D’s at Sephora Adora Palette How-to (via sephora)

Kat Von D’s at Sephora Saint Look: Ludwig Palette How-to (via sephora)

Kat Von D’s at Sephora Sinner Look: Metal Orchestra Palette How-to (via sephora)

I love her

Lately, I’ve been lazy to do hand-drawn nail designs on myself like I used to. I only do them on clients who pay me. :P Shoo, I’ve even been lazy to paint my nails for the past two weeks. I’ve just been wearing nail strengtheners.
Well, I went to go to CVS today to pick up some cereal to snack on (Honey Nut Cherrios, if you’re curious) and the first thing I see are these boxes of nail polish strips. I’ve been wanting these so bad!!! There was like a halo over these boxes for me. Ahhhh. I didn’t hesitate. 


I got one houndstooth pattern (240 Check it Out), two lace ones (360 Laced Up) and two mesh looking ones (350 Misbehaved). If you keep up with Nail/Cosmetic fashion, Minx nails have been big for quite some time. Big time wearers are Katy Perry, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna. Well, there are cheaper ways of getting Minx like nails. So far, I’ve only seen Sephora/OPI making them and Sally Hansen. I shop at Sephora all the time. A couple of times, I’ve picked up a laced pattern of nail polish strips, but I end up putting them back. They’re $15 at Sephora. As you can see, their $10.49 at CVS. Still a bit pricey, but I just had to have them. 
I believe Minx is like a foil that needs to be heated up under UV lamps, then pressed and smoothed onto natural or artificial nails. Alot of work, so I’m guessing a service can be pricey. Also, with Minx, you need a pro to do it. If I had the supplies, I would hook people up. But the Sephora and S.Hansen brands are more like stickers that you press and smooth on. Pretty cool. 


Each package comes with 16 strips, a small wooden pusher, and a small file with three different textures on it (rough file, finer file, and buffing) Directions are simple. 


I saved the unused strips for another time. It’s not hard to remove the excess parts. Hmm..I could have cut that strip in half and used that part on my other thumb to save even more strips. 


I LOVE it. The package says it will last up to 10 days. That is, if you properly prepped them. Just make sure you rub your nails with rubbing alcohol, polish remover, or a dehydrator like OPI’s Bond Aid…then, I’m guessing you’d be fine. I haven’t even had this one for a day yet, but I can tell these will last for me. Tomorrow when I get to work, I’ll apply a coat of topcoat over my nails and on the tips to make sure they’re really sealed off. So far, I’ve taken a shower with them..opening body soap with my nails..and no chips or rips. :)
Besides the cool patterns, I love that you don’t have to wait for them to dry. Just peel, press, smooth, and file. 
There are other nail polish strips from S.Hansen that aren’t patterns. There are glittered and neon-colored ones, but with those, I figure just polish with regular polish instead of spending &10.49 where you can get a bottle of polish for cheaper. Lol. 
I can do lace and mesh designs on people freehanded, but they won’t be all the same, of course. And, I couldn’t draw lace on my other hand if I wanted it. If someone was to get their nails done by me and ask for a lace design on all ten fingers, I would charge around $20-30. So I think these pattern designs are worth the $10.49 + tax. Maybe even the Sephora ones too. I’ll have to try Sephora/OPI’s nail polish strips. 

Random: designs I did in the past week for clients. Nothing out of the ordinary for me.

I didn’t do this design or the blue crushed shell gel part. This is the before picture. Her nails were hit up. Lol.


Half way done. I gave her a pink arcylic fill. 


I wouldn’t wear this on myself. But this is her style. She tells me to do whatever I want on her, as long as its crazy. There’s a few rhinestones on there.


Picture of a little girl’s nails I did two days ago. She wanted zebra stripes. I did the best I could for her tiny nails. I can do better. She loved them though. ^^ 

 

hjstory:

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Victoria Beckham Smokey make-up tutorial (via pixiwoo)

cute icons

Detective.
I made this for a work project using A.Photoshop CS4. Most of it is done in vector. 

I used this link to help with the tweed pattern.  deviantart 

Here’s the original/sketch. Lol. I clearly do graphic work better than drawing.

80s Bright Yellow with defined crease tutorial. (IMATS) (via pixiwoo)

Love it.