Quatrefoil Nails

One more blog post and I'm heading off to bed. During a BOGO sale, I picked up some nail vinyls from Miami Handjobs Vinyl Quickies. I ordered 2 sheets of quatrefoil vinyls and 2 sheets of tetris vinyls. Last week, I decided to use the quatrefoil vinyls, but it my surprise, the whole vinyl came off in a solid sheet. I had to punch out each little hole with a dotting tool and ended up ripping the vinyls at a couple places. I didn't feel like doing this ten times so I just used the same 2 vinyls for several nails. But I got through the design and even filmed a tutorial. So instead of walking you through the steps, you can watch that tutorial by clicking the link here.

If you're curious, the colors I used were Wet N Wild "Through The Grapevine" and OPI "My Favorite Ornament"

Later, I saw on Instagram that the creator was having some problems with old blades and let her customers know that if there were any problems, to shoot her an email. So I did. She responded quickly and sent out new quatrefoil sheets. I received them in the mail a couple day ago and I tried peeling them off the backing and they came off perfectly! Now I'm really excited to use them. I'm really happy with the customer service and can't wait to do more designs using these vinyls!

So now I'm off to bed! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas with your families! Much love! <3

HOLY HOLO

EVERYONE is loving Orly "Mirrorball" from their 2014 Sparkle Collection for the holidays. I broke down and bought it myself at Sally's during Black Friday and it took me until last week to finally use it. I applied 2 coats and the holographic-ness was super pretty! It actually wasn't as holo as I was expecting and definitely showed more plain silver, so I added a coat of China Glaze "Fairy Dust" for some extra sparkle. It was pretty but I just couldn't stop myself from adding some nail art, so I started away with China Glaze "Liquid Leather" and some striping tape. I did the ever-popular "X" striping tape design on my accent nail and some triangle tips and polka dots on the other nails. I definitely love the contrast of the stark black against the rainbow holo base.

Fair Isle Nails

The Christmas festivities are winding down at my house and we're sitting down to watch one of those lovely Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. So, I'm going to take the time to catch up on some blogging! Sometimes I completely forget to blog after posting a mani on Instagram. I apologize.
Anyways, I did the fair isle design for the Christmas family get-together with my dad's side and it's actually one of my all time favorite designs I've done to date. It was inspired by this sweater I got from Old Navy during Cyber Monday.

Instead of using a white polish for the design, I used white acrylic paint because I've seen a lot of nail artists prefer it. I'm glad I did because it was easier to use for the intricate details, after I got used to the feel of it, but I still like using polish better. I didn't take pictures of each step since I did it late at night after work, so I apologize again. I started with making 2 horizontal lines, creating 3 sections on each nail. Then I just picked some patterns and designs to go in each section, making a snowflakes on some nails and a reindeer on the accent nail. I know there's a lot of imperfections but they aren't too noticeable since the design is so busy. :)

Purple Snowflake Nails

So I decided to do my first nail art challenge this month! It's the #WNAC2014 (WNAC = weekly nail art challenge) run by a few very talented ladies over on Instagram. The first week's prompt was glitter, but I never posted it over here. This week's prompt is SNOW and I love what I did with it. If you'd like a tutorial on this design, read on!

Hot Chocolate Nail Art

How cute are these nails?! I did these little mugs of hot chocolate for my sister and I love how they came out! Today, I have the step-by-step tutorial for you.

Gingerbread Nails

Today I have a super cute design for you - one that looks good enough to eat! It's some little gingerbread cookie nails with a gingerbread house accent nail! I love them! Read on for the tutorial...

Burberry Nails

As I'm watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, today I have the final Thanksgiving mani for this year and then all turns Christmas! Anyways, about a month or so ago, I recreated a design done by Tori from her blog "nailstori" (IG: @nailstori) that had a burberry accent nail. I rarely ever do the same design twice, especially in the same colors, but I knew this would be perfect for Thanksgiving, and it perfectly matches the burgundy cardigan I plan on wearing! Anyways, let's get into the tutorial.

Cable Knit Sweater Nails

On to the second of three Thanksgiving designs for this year! Yes, I know it's not directly Thanksgiving related but it's what my sister is wearing for Thanksgiving. I'm OBSESSED with this look and I'll probably do it on my own nails sometime. Let's start the tutorial!

Indian Corn Dotticure

For the next three days, I have three THANKSGIVING nail designs prepared for you! (one for each of my two sisters and one for me) The first one is a super simple one that reminds me of Indian Corn (hence the title of this post). The only tool you need is a dotting tool or a similar object (ie: bobby pin, toothpick, hairbrush bristle) to make some polka dots. I chose a couple fall colors (OPI "Got The Blues For Red" - Sally Hansen "Clay" - Julep "Lexie") and layered dots on a nude base (OPI "Don't Bossanova Me Around") clustering them towards the tip and making them fewer and smaller towards the cuticle to make a gradient look. This is a good design if you're out of time, but still want some cute and festive nail art. :) Make sure you check back tomorrow for design number two!

@mrswhite8907 Giveaway Prizes

I don't enter too many giveaways but when I saw some of the prizes in Tiffany's (IG: @mrswhite8907) giveaway, I knew I had to enter. I even did a couple recreations of her designs for a couple more entries! When the giveaway ended and I saw the winners post when I was scrolling through my feed, I literally thought "aww, someone else won" then I scrolled down just a little farther and I see @polishandbeyond in the caption! I was shocked! There were close to 300 entries in this giveaway! I proceeded to jump around my house screaming for a bit (yeah, you could say I was excited). I actually received the prize yesterday, so this post will be going over what is included - also a little review about a couple items.

Ombré Flower Tutorial

Over on Instagram I participated in a Bestie Twin Nails with Rhianna (@rhis_nails) and I came up with a simple fall colored ombré design with a little flower. I actually filmed a tutorial for this and thought I'd share it over here too! So here's the link to the video, but I'll also include some short steps for you.

Here's the link to see the tutorial, or you can just go to my instagram to check it out! @polishandbeyond

1) Start off with a white base. It doesn't have to be opaque because its just to brighten up the colors of the ombré.

2) Next, use a red and yellow polish on a cosmetic sponge. I did two coats of ombré to make sure the colors showed up nicely. (the yellow I used is Julep "Lexie" and the red is Sally Hansen "Rhododendron")

3) Use a dotting tool in white polish to make a little flower in the corner of the nail, towards the tip. I started with a dot in the center, then did 5 dots surrounding it.

Hope you enjoyed!

Flamingo Nail Art

I'm so sorry for the sheet marks! D:
I did my nails at night and they got messed up before I got a daylight shot.

Hello friends! Today I have an adorable SUMMERY nail art design for you. How did I go from Christmas to Summer within a week? I'm strange. But regardless, I thought of this cute flamingo design and had to share it. I used a stamper for the flamingo, but you can do it freehand as well. Here's the tutorial!

INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY

YES! I'm having a giveaway! I posted a picture of some prizes on instagram and so far it's a smashing success!

Just kidding. I have 2 entries. LOL.

So I figured I'd open up the opportunity to those who haven't heard about it yet, YOU! I'm basically going to copy over from the instagram post so you can know all the prizes and how to win them!

"#PAB200GIVEAWAY

So after a terribly long and tiring day at work, I was so excited to see that I reached 200 followers when I got home! As a thankyou, I'm hosting a giveaway! This giveaway, since it's for TWO hundred followers,  will have TWO winners!

🎉Each Winner Will Receive🎉

▪Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

     (original formula of course)

▪Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow

     (original formula of course)

▪elf Concealer Brush

     (my favorite cleanup brush)

▪Sally Hansen Floral Nail File

❗Rules❗

1⃣ Must be following me!

2⃣ Repost this picture with #PAB200GIVEAWAY and @polishandbeyond in the caption! (no need to tag me in the picture itself)

3⃣ Your account must be public so I can seeeee!

4⃣ No giveaway accounts.

5⃣ You must be 18 years or older, or have permission from a parent.

6⃣ I apologize to my lovely international friends, but this giveaway is U.S. only. (I do want to do a big giveaway at 1K or some other milestone and maybe by then I can do international.)

7⃣ Finally, if you'd like a 2ND ENTRY, just recreate one of my manis and use the same #PAB200GIVEAWAY and @polishandbeyond but for these also use #PolishAndBeyond

🌟 This'll be a fairly short giveaway. I'll choose a winner on November  22nd. (Yes, because that's more 2s 😂)

💕💕💕💕

Thank you all again for each follow, like, and comment. I absolutely love being a part of the nail art community and making all these new friends! 💜

#PolishAndBeyond"

I think it's pretty straight forward! But if you do have any questions at all, leave a comment and I'll make sure to help out.

So go enter!! (because I really don't want the current 2 entries to have zero suspense on whether they'll win or not)

Christmas Holly Nail Art

I'm not sure, but I think I dreamt about Christmas last night because I woke up completely in the Christmas spirit! I'm one of those people who has no problem at all listening to Christmas music at the start of November and getting the Christmas tree around Thanksgiving. Anyways, I spent some time today coming up with loads of Christmas nail art ideas (actually, I was excited for Christmas nail art even before fall nail art) one of them being this holly design! I think it's so cute and it was super simple, so I have the tutorial for you today.

Lime Crime Nail Polish Review

I don't even recall how it happened, but I stumbled upon a picture or video featuring Lime Crime nail polishes and I instantly fell in love with them. I love a good vibrant pastel creme polish and they have a whole rainbow of them! Today, I have a little review of these gorgeous polishes, along with some swatches!

Charlie Brown Nail Art

I came up with this design a while back but scheduled to do it in November. Little did I know that OPI would be releasing an entire Peanuts™ Collection in the meantime. I didn't actually use any of the polishes from that collection (nor do I own them), but this is my Charlie Brown nail art — featuring his chevron shirt, the infamous football, and his FACE. Here's the tutorial!

Thumb•Index•Pinky || CHEVRON SHIRT ||

Start off with a bright sunshine yellow base (I used Julep "Lexie"). Use a pair of pinking shears (zig zag scissors) to cut a piece of scotch tape into 2 sections. Place the 2 sections on the nail, leaving a horizontal zig zag open across the nail.

I know it's a crappy picture, but I think it gives you the general idea of what it should look like. Use a black polish to paint over. Remove the tape immediately, quickly and carefully. Finally, top coat to smooth out the design.

Middle || CHARLIE BROWN HEAD ||

Start off with a nude base that matches Charlie Brown's skin tone (I used Fresh Paint "Coconut"). I found a picture on Google of Charlie Brown to refresh my memory on his face. Then, I took a black nail art pen by Sally Hansen to sketch his face on my nail. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Granted, my design isn't perfect, but I think it turned out okay. Top coat to smooth the design out and add a nice shine.

Ring || FOOTBALL ||

Start off with a brown base (I used OPI "Suzi Loves Cowboys"). Take the same nude polish that you used for the base of Charlie Brown's face on a thin brush to draw the stitching on the football (the football in the Peanuts™ comics is black, but I tried this and you couldn't see it against the brown polish). I just drew the vertical line up my nail then added the little stitch lines across it. Again, top coat it to smooth it all out.

And that's it! I really love how this manicure turned out. If you decide to recreate this or any other of my designs, use the hashtag #PolishAndBeyond on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so I can see!! <3

Halloween Dotticure Nail Art

Today, I have another Halloween manicure for you guys! It's a super fun style of a dotticure (a manicure that consists of polka dots) that I like to call a "dot burst." I don't know if anyone else uses that name, but that's what comes to my mind with this look. Anyways, this style was actually the first I ever did with my dotting tools, which you can see back in that post. I just switched in some Halloween colors this time (OPI "Alpine Snow" - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Sun Kissed" - Rimmel London "Black Satin" - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Shoot The Moon"). I don't have a step by step tutorial for this because it's just so easy. Alternate colors and placement and sizes on each nail or do them all the same - it's up to you! Have fun and use #PolishAndBeyond if you recreate! <3

Creepy Bloody Nails

This manicure is so out of my comfort zone because I hate the sight of blood (even fake blood) but I'm super happy with how it turned out. It's a creepy looking blood drip manicure that's perfect for Halloween.

Fall Leaves Nail Art

Where have I been with my blog posts?! I have no idea. But I do have some fall nail art designs in store for you and I have the first one right now! This is a matte leaf nail art that I did using almost all Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes! Here's the tutorial!

Recent Nail Art (apologies)

I hate how long it's been since I last posted! I have done some nail art and posted pictures on Instagram (@polishandbeyond) but haven't been blogging any tutorials (sometimes because the nail art was a recreation of other girls' designs or sometimes because I wasn't 100% happy with how it turned out). I do apologize, so I'm throwing up this collage of some of the nail art I did during this lapse in posts. I do plan on doing tutorials for a couple of these designs once I perfect them. I also am in the midst of planning a bunch of fall nail art tutorials that I am super pumped for! So yes, this is just a little update that I figured was necessary due to my being MIA and to let you know that I will be posting much more regularly throughout this month. <3

Starbucks Nail Art Tutorial

As of this past Wednesday, Starbucks has a limited time deal where you get BOGO fall frappuccinos and I have taken full advantage of this. (the deal is from 2-6 PM on 9/17-21/2014) I've tried both the Pumpkin Spice and the Salted Caramel. Both of my sisters like the Pumpkin Spice better, but I prefer the Salted Caramel. Anyways, these delicious beverages inspired me to do STARBUCKS NAIL ART! So here's the tutorial for this adorable design.

|| super annoying / kinda gross update ||

You don't have to read this post if you don't want to but I thought I should let some of the curious bloggers know...

Ombre Chevron Tape Nail Art

Lately I've been seeing tons of cool nail art tutorial videos on Instagram and I thought it'd be really fun to do! I had some extra time over the weekend and I thought I'd try it out! I posted the finished result on the Polish and Beyond Instagram and you can click HERE to watch it. :) I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! It was definitely time consuming but it was fun. If you want some more detailed instructions on this nail art look, I'll be doing a whole blog post tutorial on this technique soon! <3

Pacman Nail Art

As I was sitting, bored to death, in my statistics class yesterday, the idea of pacman nails popped into my head! So I immediately started planning the manicure out in the margins of my notes and am bringing you the tutorial now!

Cat Nail Art

In a particular September nail art challenge I saw on Instagram, there was the idea of cat nails. I wasn't into doing the whole challenge but I liked this idea and came up with a cute kitten design.

#NOTD

Nail Polish Rack Review + Super Special Announcement!!!

As you may know if you follow @polishandbeyond on Instagram (which you should), I recently bought a nail polish rack! I've been looking into many different nail polish racks for quite a while and now I finally have one that I feel is just what I need. So this post will include a review of the product along with some other information about the product - so let's go! {shh... there's a big announcement at the end!}

Pineapple Nail Art Tutorial

Recently I picked up this adorable Sally Hansen nail file from Walmart because for $0.97 why not? I seriously LOVE the pineapple print of it - so much so that I was inspired to do a matching pineapple manicure!

Navy And Mint Polka Dot Manicure

SECOND TUTORIAL OF THE NIGHT?!

This dotticure is super cute and simple and completely versatile. The color options are endless and can be changed depending on your personal preferences or style. I did this manicure on my sister to match a pair of shorts she got from Target.

Ombré Dotticure with Abstract Accent Nail

So yeah. The title is super long because I don't know a name for this manicure. Haha. This was what I did for my sister to match the shirt she's wearing to a family reunion tomorrow. I started out with the index fingers, and then decided to switch it up for the rest. The accent nail is an abstract floral design and the others are lines of polka dots with an ombré effect.

Fancy Half Moon Manicure

Today, I have a super easy nail art tutorial for you. I wasn't even planning on doing any sort of nail art today, but it just happened. It's a basic half moon mani but with some extra polka dots. Here we go!

Ikat Print Nails

Ohmygoodnessgracious. I start college tomorrow! So for the first day I wanted to have some awesome nail art! Here's the design I chose and a tutorial to go with!

Back To School Nail Art

Ahhhh the wonderful and long-awaited time of Back-to-School. The sound of pens clicking, backpacks zipping, and children groaning is in the air.

Yeah. I'm not excited either. I only have FOUR precious days of summer left until I start my first year of college. (When do you start school?) But what better way to make the ending of summer just a little more bearable than to do some fun Back-To-School nail art?!

Neon Beach Sunset Nails

Today, I have the third and final beach manicure for this summer. It is a super bright neon ombré sunset with beach-y silhouettes. Don't worry, this tutorial won't be as complicated as the last one. :)

Beach Themed Nails

I went to the beach this past weekend with my family and. of course, my sisters and I all had to have beach-y nails. So here is the second of the three beach manicures that will appear on Polish and Beyond this summer!

Nautical Nails

Happy Friday!! I leave for the beach tomorrow morning so today I have a nautical manicure that is perfect for a beach trip!

Funky Fingers Frostbitten Collection Review

Thanks to a suggestion from a new friend and fellow nail blogger (Nicole from www.mynailsmypolish7.blogspot.com) I purchased the Frozen-inspired nail polishes from Five Below. The collection includes 3 dazzling glitter polishes that are named after characters from the movie.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Reformulation

After months of rumors, rants, and the reality of the reformulation of some of Sally Hansen's most popular polishes, I decided to join the bandwagon and see for myself.

Big News!!

Eeeeep! I'm very excited to share that Polish and Beyond is the proud new owner of a Facebook account, Twitter account, Instagram account, and an email. Ahhhh! So exciting! If any of you are interested in liking, following, etc. here's all the info and links! :)

Polish and Beyond Facebook Account
Polish and Beyond Twitter Account
Polish and Beyond Instagram Account

Finally, if you ever have any questions, comments, suggestions, or anything the official Polish and Beyond email address is polishandbeyond@gmail.com

Now. With all these brand new social media sites I encourage each of you to use the hashtag #polishandbeyond whenever you try a recreation of one of my tutorials or fall in love with one of the products I mention. I'm truly so excited to be able to interact with you all in these wonderful forms of communication. I love you! <3

PS: I don't mean this to be rude, but I do prefer to keep my private accounts separate from my blog accounts. So if you somehow happen upon my personal accounts I will most likely not accept any friend or follow requests. But the blog accounts will perfectly suffice us being able to communicate and share our love of nail polish! :)

Neon Hibiscus Summer Nail Art

Two days later and I'm already back?! YES! I've been on an even more extreme nail polish kick lately and I'm already back to give you another tutorial. This time, with a super bright and summery manicure featuring neon hibiscus flowers. Enjoy!

Mix-and-Match Nail Art

Hey guys! I'm back! After nearly 3 months of being MIA. So much has happened in these past few months but that's still no excuse to neglect my blog. So without further ado, here's a long-awaited tutorial!

Neon on Black

In my last post (the haul one), I bought a black Rimmel nail polish from Kmart. I tried it out this week and really loved it. Black nail polish really isn't my style and contradicts the weather I've been enjoying recently so I decided to change it up a bit.

HAUL TIME!

Yesterday I had a half day at school since it was the end of third quarter -- WOOHOO! It was also my mom's birthday, so we and my two sisters spent the afternoon shopping. We started by getting lunch at Chick-fil-A -- YUM! Then we headed out to some stores to shop.

Simple Strike Down Nail Art

School has been crazy busy recently with my senior portfolio due on friday so I've really been slacking on my blog So lately I've been stuck on just solid colors for my nails. BUT, I found an easy little design that I'd like to share with you that only took an additional 30 seconds on top of a solid color.

I started with a cool dark blue polish by Pure Ice (sold at Walmart for only $1.97) in the shade Teal Appeal. I was kinda frustrated that the true color wasn't getting picked up by my camera but this shot showed it best. Since I was getting bored with solid nails, I took a gold nail striper and made a little pointed strike running off the tip of each nail. And that's it! Super quick and easy way to spruce up an solid manicure. Have fun creating different color combinations and adding your own flair.

<3 Valentine's Day Nail Art <3

Firstly, I just want to apologize for being so late in putting this up. I really do feel so bad about it and will try to do better. And just a reminder, if you ever have any requests for nail art for specific events or just in general, leave a comment! I'd love to come up with something. And sometimes I could use the inspiration.

To get along with the tutorials, I have a few designs you could wear for Valentine's Day. Again, sorry for the short notice, but at least you won't have to worry about chipping!

Pinky Pink

This is a really simple design. I used white polish on my thumb and ring finger and pink polish on the rest. Then, on the ring finger, I used a small dotting tool dipped in the pink polish to make teeny little polka dots. I used the same dotting tool dipped in the same pink polish to make a teeny little heart in the corner of the thumb nail. As you can see it's a really cute, easy, and QUICK design.

Neutral V-Day Nails

For this design, I started with a light grey base and then used a dotting tool dipped in light pink polish to draw two hearts on the ring finger and different sized dots on the rest of the nails. This is another pretty easy and quick design.

Girls Hearts

The first step of this design is to paint all your nails pink with a white accent nail. Then, use a small dotting tool to draw tiny hearts on the ring finger, using light and dark pink polish (the picture doesn't show the difference very well). Also, the picture doesn't show, but I did a little white heart in the corner of the thumb nail, similar to that from the "Pinky Pink" design.

Candy Hearts

(a.k.a. Conversation Hearts)

This is probably one of my favorite designs, but unfortunately it takes a while to do (so you might have to wait until next Valentine's Day). I picked out some pastel colors that matched closest to the typical Conversation Heart candies. Then, I used a red nail striper to right the little messages on each nail.

Note: I did come up with this design on my own, but days before I did it, my sister tells me she just watched a MissJenFabulous video that is virtually the same but I decided to still do it in case some of you haven't seen that.

Box of Chocolates

Alright I have to admit, this is not the best quality design I've come up with. In fact I wasn't even going to include it in this blog post, but I figured some of you would be able to do a neater job of it. I started with all red nails with a big silver heart on my ring finger. Then using a dotting tool dipped in brown polish, I drew various shapes in the silver heart to represent chocolates. I'm sorry for the sloppy execution of this design but I was rushing and hopefully you'll still have a fun time recreating it.

-------------------------------------

I hope you all have a

<3 Happy Valentine's Day! <3