Red Nail Art

[#1]

I've been on a red kick lately, and I think I have the new four wheeled addition to the family to blame lol.  Here are a couple of manicures I came up with  that I'm also entering into Instagram contests.  I think I have an addiction lol.

Second Entry

I had to trim and file my nails back a bit since painted tips kind of look weird on long nails.  My boyfriend still has me as his back scratcher, though lol.  I used:

Sephora by OPI Strengthning Base Coat

China Glaze Ruby Pump on the tips

Color Club Ms. Hautie for the streak

Seche Vite Top coat

Cina Rhinestones

Third Entry and my current nails (not in a frame yet since I used my camera for these)

I went for a matte look for this one to try something different.  I used:

Bridge the Ridge Base coat

OPI An Affair in Red Square

Essie in some sort of burgundy color lol

NYC Matte Me Crazy Top coat (it's also quite a strong top coat, too!)

Cina Rhinestones

I decided to make it matte so the focus of sparkle was on the rhinestones.  I think it'd be cool for a night out.  Now, if I only had a "little black dress" lol.

[#2]

Wow Kimmi, you are soooo talented! I love that second red one. Its very unique. I love that its a matte/soft finish, I have never seen that before. Amazing

[#3]

Hi Kimmi115 - I really liked  the first set, thought it was really cute and also something a lot of people could wear, or wear a variation of it. So thumbs up, THen!! Holy Guacamole!!! you hit us with the other desigh! I freakin LOVED IT !!!! I thought that was stunning. Could easily wear just around if you wanted but would be great for a more formal occasion, and it's hard to do that with a red nail, but you did it. The crystals at the top were just like the icing on the cake. Not at all in your face or overdone so you could go somewhere a little Fancier. Simply Perfect! If you don't win a contest, then those judges have been sniffing a little too much polish or polish remover!!

If there was an award from Sephora, think you'd win it, hands down! (and naile up....Okay, come on, you all know you thought it.....you just were wise enough not to embarass yourselves like I just did. LOLAM  Anyhow- Loved it.

I know that you're in school and don't know what your schedule's like and if you work, I also don't know what manicurists make, but I would think for 'fancy' :specialty" mani/pedis, not to mention how time consuming they are. You could get a job doing this in the side, depending again on your school schedule, work? and the $$ you'd earn. I have no idea what a regular mani and/or pedi costs, so don't know what a high end one is. Cool if you could start your own little business on your own schedule. That 2nd mani especially got me.... gorgeous!!! Don't know what a regular mani/pedicurist makes? Guess depends on tips. Interesting,.....

BTW, did I mention that I liked the 2nd nails a little?

[#4]

Kimmi I always look forward to seeing your latest nail projects! They're both so pretty, but the second nail look is super unique. I agree with Diana it reminds me of the gothic era/vampires. So stunning. I'm really bad at nail art...even using nail decals never seem to go on straight for me.

Good luck with the contest! Hope you win .

[#5]

I like the 1st one and I LOVE the contrast of the satin red and the rhinestone for the 2nd one. However, I'm not sure about the sparkles around base of the nails, it looks a little weird to me..hmm....oh well, I might have to go get that NYC matte topcoat.

[#6]

SO pretty! 

I was in love with the first nail set.. but that matte satiny red is AMAZING! Your nails are so great, you are so creative! I used to be entirely into my nails and painting decorating them... lately I have no time! and I get bored so quickly it was a lot of effort to foil-remove every finger!

I'm going to have to pick up that China Glaze Ruby Pump and the NYC matte me top coat! I love how the gradient is so subtle from a dark burgundy to a light vibrant red, makes me think of vampires and some gothic fashion with cloaks and capes. Love these!!

[#7]

@dianabt  Thank you!  I hadn't thought of the gothic era and vampires!  I always look at the costumes around Halloween, and most are red/black or darkblue/black.  Now I want to look at Halloween costumes lol.     Ruby Pumps is probably my favorite red, no matter what time of year it is lol.

@beautytester  Thanks!  And I know what you're saying about the rhinestones.  I wasn't sure where to place them: near the cuticle, on the gradient line, at the tip, or diagonal on the ring finger for an accent nail.  I ended up just picking one and going with it lol.  I'm very surprised at how well the NYC matte topcoat works, especially since I hadn't used the brand in a long time.  It was the only matte topcoat I could find around here, too after a friend on Instagram told me about it.  It can't be beat for around two bucks!

@janinebt    Thank you!  The contest ends on Friday, so I got them in in time.  What kind of decals have you used?

@kssweetheart    Lol!  Thank you!!  My boyfriend and I are spending the day together tomorrow and going out to eat for supper, so my nails are already ready to go lol.  Around here, nail techs must be licensed with the state, and some have been busted for not being licensed.  There was one incident my boyfriend's mom (she's a licensed cosmetologist) told me about where the pedicure tubs had to be destroyed at a small nail salon due to how filthy and whatnot they were.  Apparently many clients ended up with infections and all that icky stuff.  I believe she said it turned out the owners and techs were not licensed.  Eventually, I want to get my nail tech license; probably after college and after a year or two of teaching.  I want to have something to do during the summers I'm off (unless I end up teaching summer school or something like that).

@melissabt    Thanks!!  I'm not too sure how long matte topcoats have been around.  I found out about them on Instagram lol. 

[#8]

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kimmi1115 wrote:

@dianabt  Thank you!  I hadn't thought of the gothic era and vampires!  I always look at the costumes around Halloween, and most are red/black or darkblue/black.  Now I want to look at Halloween costumes lol.     Ruby Pumps is probably my favorite red, no matter what time of year it is lol.

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Thats perfect cuz my Halloween costume this year is a sort of vintagey/can can dancer/Vampire with the same shades LOL!  I love looking at photos on instagram and I post all my nails up there too! So much fun  

[#9]

@dianabt  Instagram is addicting!  I check it more than my Facebook app lol.  Most of the people I follow post nail, makeup, cat, or dog pictures lol.

[#10]

Theyre really nice! I def can't pull that off.

[#11]

Hi kimmi1115 - after thinking about it a bit I realized that manicure #2 would need to be done immediatedly before any event, obviously if something special's coming you're not gonna do it 5 days beforehand. However, as the mani grows out, you're going to see where it's growing out. You could add another layer behind it I suppose. I don't think your mani's get to that point, you change them a lot so I don't think it would be a real issue for you. I was thinking that a diagonal line would be really nice, than just b4 I wrote this I saw beautytester said the same thing. If you try it, I know you'll post it for us. I really look forward to your posts.

What base do you use to keep your nail color from bleeding and making your nails discolored?  Thatt nail salon story is Nasty!!!  I don't think I could do somebody's feet, other than my nieces and maybe 1 or 2 other people. Everybody's different. My sister-in-law was in the hospital, in the 'extreme contamination' area because she got an infection in her toe and it went up her leg and throughout her body. She had the blood infection called Mercer (hope spelled correctly) which is severe and totally frightening, they traced it to a nail salon. I'm not sure what ended up happening to the salon. Luckily my sil was okay, could've ended badly.

Man, I remember when I told my hair stylist I'd used velcro rollers and didn't have the best result (i have a ton) So he went and got some from the back came out, opened the plastic container and they were so disgusting, then he picked one up and took a few, of the MANY stray hairs and schmutz off of them and I'm a weenie but I said, "Yeah, ya know, don't think I really wanna try that, those are pretty grody;" Didn't want to be rude and it takes a lot for me to say something. I'm not sure which was worse, the condition of the rollers or the fact that he was going to use them on me. I nearly barfed. Ick.

Well, on a happier note,  I hope you have a wonderful time with your boyfriend today, I know the weather here is cooling down a bit, so I hope you're cooler too and have a special day and a deliscious dinner.

[#12]

@kimmi. I think diagonal will look good. I also think horizontal in the middle would be pretty, sort of like a nail ring. lol, maybe you can make a little crown.

[#13]

@beautytester  Making a little crown sounds like a cute idea!!  I'll probably end up doing this look again in the future, so I'll make a note of that, along with the diagonal and horizontal ones.  I keep the pictures I take of my nails in an album on my laptop (and Facebook and Instagram so I have more than one way to get to them lol).

@kssweetheart  I do change my nails often lol.  I've been told by the dr. not to stress so much over things since that can trigger stomach problems, so doing my nails slows me down a bit and relaxes me.  Trying to stress less was one of my resolutions for the new year, and nail polish is here to help lol. 

I have a couple of different base coats I used.  I sometimes use the Sephora by OPI Nail Strengthner as a base to keep my nails strong.  I'm getting down to the bottom of it, though, and it's getting kind of gloopy.  I recently started using the Bridge the Ridge base coat I picked up at Sally's.  I had a couple of "dents" in my nails from some glitter that came off kind of rough, so I figured that base coat might help.  It dries fast, too!

I'm glad that your sister-in-law is alright now!  I bet that was a scary experience.  Whoever traced it back to the nail salon, did he/she find out if the people were licensed?   I think each state has their own rules for that (not sure), but surely all states would be tough about sanitation.  I would have bolted right out of that hair salon lol.  It sometimes amazes me, no matter what the job is, how some people forget or overlook important things, like sanitation.  Or even just in everyday life.  I saw one person in Sephora pick up a lipstick or lipgloss tester and applied it directly to her lips.  She didn't use the alcohal that was there to clean it or the little lip gloss tester things.  Ewww!!!! lol