Foray into Lacquer

So I've gotten really into painting my nails. It's always been an activity that I enjoy, but it has gone from a downtime boredom reliever, to a full blown obsession.  I'm going to start posting my favorite manicures and trial and errors on here as a way to keep track of my favorites. Let's start with the earliest.

Sorry this first picture below is so small. I took them with my phone, then hosted to imgur, deleted from phone, then had to download from imgur to put them on here. All that transitioning really pixelated the image. In the future I'm going to stick with better quality photos from my Canon.

Here we have my first attempt at, well a whole lot. Stamping tools, free hand dotting with a toothpick, applying pearls, and water marbling. I really got carried away. After finding r/RedditLaqueristas I wanted to immediately try out all the cool techniques the ladies over there were showing tutorials for. I was happiest with the matte polka dotted pink pinky nail. Simple is sometimes best.

Purple "Jelly" Daisies

Here I mixed a creme lavender shade with a cheap clear coat to create a jelly polish. Jellies can be layered and layered. Translucent enough to let a design underneath show through. I was really happy with the color and impressed at how long my nails were getting since I started paying attention to them.

 Neon Studs

Probably one of my favorites. Did this one for a fashion show where my outfits were really bright. The studs complemented the "street" vibe of the show. Three coats of Seche Vite to hold the gold studs and dots in place made for a super high shine finish. I kept these on for quite a while. 

 Rainbow Clouds and Flowers

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I did jelly clouds for these so it looks like some of the clouds are far off in the distance. I really liked the effect. The middle nail has grass with tiny flowers and a sun shining. The rainbow on the thumb was fun and not that bad for freehanding with a toothpick instead of a brush.

 Rainbow Leopard Print and Center Strip

These are my favorite manicure thus far. I first made a rainbow gradient on every nail. Then using electrical tape, cut thin stripes placed down the center and painted over with black. The tape was removed immediately and set to dry while I worked on the leopard print using a toothpick. Few coats of Seche Vite and BAM! hot ass nails. I got crazy compliments on these, which always makes me happy.

I just cut my nails down all the way to the quick over the weekend. I was going disc golfing and had a hang nail. I knew if I went and just "dealt with it" I would have wound up breaking it in a painful way, so I just snipped them all down. To be honest it was a good idea since they weren't all even anyway and trying to file down nails that long beyond mere shaping, is quite a chore. I ordered a bunch of supplies online and they've just come in, so it's like a fresh start with a clean canvas and the right tools for the job!