Dots Galore

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Dots Galore

So I had originally attempted to post this mani on Tuesday, but Blogger freaked out or something and deleted all the content in my post.  Since that happened, I am going to show you 2 of my recent manis.  As of you have seen, I have been on a dotting tool kick lately.  And these mani are perfect examples of why I love it so much.

For the 1st one I started with 2 coats of Savvy French Cafe.  I love the look of this nude, but I always question if its the best nude for me.  Anyways, next I added two rows of dots to my ring fingers and thumbs.  I used Ultra Mint Condition and China Glaze First Mate.  I truly loved the color combination and the overall look. 

Next, I did another mani inspired by Instagram.  The original was posted by @beejustice and I believe that it was inspired by a necklace that she owns.

Here is a screencap.  I'm not sure how to tag her on this. Sorry!

She used gold and a mint green, but I just recently picked up OPI Skull & Glossbones and I really wanted to test it out.  So I started with 2 coats of it, and I'm really loving the color.  Its a great neutral.  Next, I added dots on all of my fingers except for the ring fingers, on which I used my new Red Angel stamping plate.  I chose to use Ulta Chic Peek.  I also really loved the way that this turned out.  The only issue that I had was that the stamped image is significantly lighter than the dots.

So what do you think?  Do you love the dots as much as me?


~Nailed by Brittany~

Royal Snowcone

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Royal Snowcone

I've finally pulled off a manicure with the dotting tool that I really like :) Hooray!!
 I started off with Orly - Snowcone. I really love this color, although I haven't used it in a really long time (I just posted about it this week, but that mani was from this summer.) The application is great and it is opaque in one coat.

For my dots, I decided to use OPI - Alpine Snow Matte and Revlon Top Speed - Royal. This was a really good use for the Alpine Snow Matte. I don't love the application when using it as a base color. It is streaky and balds really easily (more reasons to add to list of why mattes are hard to deal with). However, as a dotting color, the matte worked wonderfully!
I was really happy with the outcome. I decided to go with the ring finger and the thumb since I loved the look once I did an accent nail and had to add another. I definitely surprised myself :)

Please excuse my ridiculously dry hands!

Outside by the snow

Taken with a flash outside

~ Nailed by Ericka ~

Blue La La with Dots

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Blue La La with Dots

I just quickly wanted to show you my nails from Tuesday.  As I had stated earlier, I'm slightly obsessed with Instagram and I found an mani design that I just had to try :)  The original was done with a nude and red polish  (rachell_rachell is who originally posted it and you can just search her screen name).  I wasn't in the mood for those colors and had recently gotten some new polishes that I wanted to test.

I started with 2 coats of Nina Ultra Pro Blue La La on all my fingers except my ring finger.  This color is a beautiful dusty cornflower blue.  I really liked this color and the formula was great.  I did 3 coats of Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver on my ring fingers.  Next I used my dotting tool and did 2 dots on each nail (alternate color of the base).  Overall, I was really happy with the way that this came out.  Of course, I ended up smearing my pinkie nail dots but other than that it looked nice.

Here is my Instagram pic.  My username is blw1605.

I've decided that I really love these simple...but not just a plain color manis.  They make me feel like I have some skills :)

~Nailed by Brittany~

Lion Pride

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Lion Pride

After browsing some nail blogs, I decided I would attempt the paw print design for my school's upcoming football game. I found this idea on Nail Polish Art Addiction. Since the school I teach at is home of the Lions, I thought this was a great idea. This was the first time I had attempted to use the dotting tool and actually left the design on. I usually struggle getting the dots to come out looking good.

I started off by painting all of my nails with Orly - Frostbite, except for my ring fingers. I decided to paint these two fingers with ColorClub - Almost Famous (from the Poptastic Collection). As you probably could have guessed, the school colors are blue and yellow. After the base color on the nails dried, I added a top coat (currently using Orly - Sec' N Dry). I used the Frostbite and Almost Famous to dot on the paws, alternating the color used for the base and paw print.

I think I did a better job on my right hand, which is really shocking since I'm right handed. I think by the time I had worked my way over there, I had a little better idea of what the paws should look like and how to curve the "toes" around the pad of the paw.

These pictures are not the best quality for two reasons: 1. I wore these all day at school, helped out at a tailgate party, worked a football game, and then photographed them the next day. 2. Ohio weather was showing it's true colors when I took photos and I had to sneak in photos during a brief intermission from downpours.

So what do you think? Have you ever tried mascot inspired manis?

~ Nailed by Ericka ~

Re-Freshing Little Dots

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Re-Freshing Little Dots

So last weekend Jen and I went to the new Sally's in our hometown, and I picked up China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint.  I have seen this polish on quite a few blogs, so naturally I decided that I also needed it.  I'm really happy that I picked it up because it is a beautiful pale mint green.  I'm always a little nervous with the color green, but this one is perfect.  I started my mani with a base coat of Seche Clear, and then did 2 coats of Re-Fresh Mint.  This polish is a beautiful creme that was almost completely opaque in one coat, but I did 2 for good measure.  I'm really liking China Glaze's creme formula.  They are very easy to apply and have great coverage.  This polish was also really shiny without a top coat.

To add a little something to this pretty color, I added 3 little dots to my ring fingers and thumbs.  I used my other new polish Finger Paints Vintage Velvet.  This is a mute blue green color.  I used the new dotting tool that my mom let me have (it was from her collection of scrapbooking supplies.)  I haven't done a lot with accent nails, but its really growing on me. I topped everything off with a coat of SV.

Both pictures were taken outside in the evening sun.

I really love this color combination together.  What do you think?

~Nailed by Brittany~