Dotticure

Hey guys! I'm really in love with the colors I used in the last tutorial, so I just had to use them again. This time I used them for a fun dotticure!

You will need:

- Base coat

- Base color (here I used the pale purple)

- Three additional colors (I'll call them colors A, B, and C)

- dotting tool

- top coat

As usual, paint on your favorite base coat. Next, paint your nails two solid coats of your base color. The one I used really looks like a purple, but for some reason my camera wants it to be blue.

Essie - Lilacism

Place a drop of color A on an index card. Dip your dotting tool into it and place a dot on each nail. You can place the dot randomly, like I did, or place it in the same spot on each nail.

China Glaze - First Mate

Using the dotting tool and color B, place six dots around the first dot on each nail. You should now have what looks like a flower.

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters

Continue the pattern with another six dots, this time with color C.

China Glaze - Secret Peri-wink-le

You can fill up the nail with dots, or stay with what I think kind of looks like a snowflake.

And there you have it! Don't forget a top coat and cleanup.

Sally Hansen - Strengthening Top Coat

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it! This one may be a tad time-consuming but it's totally worth it when you feel the pride of completing it.

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Thanks for reading!

Argyle Nails

Hello, all! Today I'm going to do a tutorial for something I've been wanting to try out for a while. After multiple camera and painting issues, I'm not quite sure if I love how this one turned out, but it's still plenty of fun to do.

You will need:

- Base coat

- white polish

- three different polishes of your choice 

- a black striper

- top coat

Start out with a base coat. Then paint two coats of a solid white on all nails.

Sally Hansen - Hard to Get

Use your three colors to make little triangles on the tips of each nail. I used each of the colors in a random order on each hand. Try to get the point of each triangle in the very center of your nail. You can use two coats, but I used one just because for whatever reason, I really liked the splotchy paint look.

From L-R: China Glaze - Secret Peri-wink-le, First Mate, and Exotic Encounters

Now make a second triangle on each nail, again with the tip of it in the center. You should get a sort of hourglass shape.

Now use your striper to make diagonal lines across the hourglasses, like in the picture.

It's So Easy Stripe-Rite Black

Finish up by painting the rest of the lines. 

And then it's time for cleanup and a top coat!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. It's quick and easy and it even matches your favorite pair of argyle socks!

Don't forget to follow! The button is on the top right of the page. You can also 'like' Muffin Nails on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

Olympic Nails

Hey, guys! So the Olympics started on Friday, and it's time to celebrate that with some Olympic-themed nails. This design is easy, fun, and sure to draw attention. Keep reading to learn how to celebrate your country and the Olympics with pride!

You will need:

- Base coat

- White polish

- blue polish

- yellow polish

- black polish

- green polish

- red polish

- nail striper brush

- gold polish

- top coat

As usual, start of with a base coat. Next, paint your ring fingers and thumbs solid white, and the rest of your fingers with white french tips.

Sally Hansen - Timeless White

Now, place a small drop of the blue polish on a piece of paper. Dip the tip of the striper brush into it and use it to make a line on the nail, as shown. Do this for all french-tipped nails.

Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!

Repeat this with all five colors. Start each color from the same point and spread it out at the end, to get a fan-like look.
This design is meant to represent the colors of the five Olympic Rings.

Yellow: Sally Hansen - Lightening
Black: Sally Hansen - Black Heart
Green: Essie - Mojito Madness
Red: OPI - Cajun Shrimp

Now you'll move to the fully painted nails. Use the blue polish to make a  V-shape on the nail. You can do this with the actual brush or with a toothpick/striper if you feel like it. Then Take the gold polish and make a small semicircle on the tip of the nail, like shown. This is how you'll achieve the look of the Olympic gold medals.

Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!
China Glaze - Harvest Moon

And there you have it! Don't forget to finish with a top coat. 

So decorate your nails with a design that will take home the gold this year, and show off your Olympic pride! Let me know what you think about this tutorial by commenting below, and don't forget to follow my blog, 'like' Muffin Nails on Facebook, and follow on Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

Window Frame Nails

Hello all! So I know how late in the week it is, but I still wanted to post a tutorial for you all. Here goes!

You will need:
- Four different shades of blue polish
- Tape
- Top Coat

Start off by painting your nails as shown in the previous post.
Next, cut the tape into small strips and  cross them on your nails, like in the picture below.

China Glaze - First Mate

Paint each square a different shade of blue and quickly peel off the tape. 

Nicole by OPI - My Lifesaver, Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!,
Zoya - Cynthia

After this has dried, use the tape again to cover all of the nail but a line in the center, just like the picture.

Paint this white and quickly remove the tape.

Repeat the last step, this time placing the tape the other way.

Again, paint the open space white and take off the tape. 

This pattern can also be done with a striper, but I chose to use tape because it allows for cleaner lines. 

Cover with a top coat and you're done!

Sally Hansen - Strengthening Top Coat

Thanks for reading! Please give your questions and comments below and follow here/on Facebook!

How-To: Home Manicure

So your nails are terribly in need of a fancy manicure, but you just don't have the time or money to go out and have it done by a professional. Never fear; I've put together some tips and tricks here to give yourself your own manicure at home!

You will need:
- Nail Polish Remover
- Nail File
- Small bowl
- Lemon Juice
- Orange stick
- Vaseline
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Base coat
- Polish of your choice
- Top coat
- Small Brush

STEP ONE: REMOVE OLD NAIL POLISH

You can’t give yourself a manicure while still wearing your old polish, now can you? Use your favorite nail polish remover (acetone works, but I prefer to use a non-acetone one because it’s gentler) and get rid of that old polish on your nails.

STEP TWO: FILE YOUR NAILS

A square shape works best for longer nails because it is less likely to break, but choose whichever shape you most prefer. Cut your nails to a bit longer than the desired length and then file them into the shape you want. Try not to saw at your nails with the nail file because it can damage them; just file in one direction only until your nails are shaped perfectly.  

STEP THREE: SOAK IN WARM WATER

This softens up your cuticles. Take a small bowl, fill it with warm water, and soak your nails for around five minutes. If your nails are yellow from the previous polish, add some lemon juice to the water to help remove that color.

STEP FOUR: PUSH BACK YOUR CUTICLES (OPTIONAL)

I know that this is a big step in beautifying your nails, but I just don’t prefer pushing my cuticles back. I can be a little fidgety and so whenever I push back my cuticles, I end up picking at them until they look disgusting. If you do want to do this step, use an orange stick or even a popsicle stick and gently push back the cuticles.  

STEP FIVE: MOISTURIZE

I always make sure to keep my nails moisturized before covering them with polish. You can use fancy oils or whatever you want but I prefer to use Vaseline. It’s easy to use and almost everyone has it around the house. Just take a small amount and rub it into each nail and the cuticles.

STEP SIX: CLEAN THE NAILS

Put some rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle and spray it onto your nails. Use a towel or cotton ball to rub it around. It gets rid of all the icky oils built up on your nails and allows the polish to stick more easily.

STEP SEVEN: BASE COAT

Use a base coat to protect your nails and form a base for the color. Once you’ve applied it to all of the nails, let it dry for 10-30 minutes to prevent smudges and bubbles.

Beauty Secrets- Ridge Filler

STEP EIGHT: TIME FOR COLOR!

Now you can start with the color. If you want the best color to match your skin, check out this article to help you pick out the right nail polish. Paint your nails with two coats in thin layers. Again, let this dry for 10-30 minutes.

China Glaze - First Mate

STEP NINE: TOP COAT

It’s finally time to seal in the color and finish up your manicure. Grab your favorite top coat and gently paint each nail.

Sally Hansen - Strengthening Top Coat

STEP TEN: NAIL CLEAN UP

After your nails are fully dry, use a brush or cotton swab dipped in polish remover to clean up any stray nail polish that got on your skin.

And now you're done! Head out in confidence with your spiffy nails and prepare for all the compliments you're sure to receive. If you liked this post, please follow my blog and 'like' me on Facebook to see more of my tutorials!

Spiffy New Polishes

I happened to have an extremely lucky week in terms of nail polish haul and thought I would share what I found with you. 

First, I took a trip to Sally Beauty Supply to pick up a new top coat and a white striper. Here's what I ended up with! China Glaze's Hunger Games Polishes were all on sale, so I snatched three of them for just $3.29 each.

L-R: China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes,
Electrify, Foie Gras

I also found a gorgeous navy polish by China Glaze, which I had to get because I don't find many blues that I like. It's much lighter than it appears in the picture. I also found my new top coat, along with the striper. I forgot to take a picture of it, but I also got a ridge sealer to help fix up my poor nails.

L-R: China Glaze - First Mate, Northern Lights Hologram
Top Coat Silver,  It's so Easy Stripe Rite - White

I was also finally able to get my hands on some nail glue. I am already in love with this kit, and the once-chipped tips of my nails are now perfectly smooth thanks to this. 

Orly Nail Rescue Kit

And yesterday, you'd never guess what I recieved! More polish! This was all from a family friend who had some extras she didn't need. First are some amazing pale pink-purple colors.

L-R: OPI - Steady as She Rose,
Sparrow Me the Drama

 I also got some new shatter polishes:

L-R: OPI - Silver Shatter, Red Shatter

 This package happened to come with another top coat, so I have a bunch of different ones to use now! The other polish in the picture is a spiffy pearly white that I am DYING to try out.

L-R: Sally Hansen Strengthening Top Coat,
Pure Ice - Platinum

So all in all, I think I've had a pretty good week nail polish-wise. A bunch of these are going to be included in my upcoming tutorials, and I'm excited to try them all out. Are there any of these you'd like to see in my next tutorial? Tell me below! And don't forget to follow!

Verticle Stripes

Hello, all! 

I really loved my new colors from last week, so I just had to use them again. So I used both Essie's Navigate Her and my black striper in this design. Enjoy!

You will need:

- Base coat

- Light Green polish

- Gold polish

- A Black striper

- Top coat

First paint your nails with the base coat. Next, paint it two solid coats of the green. 

Essie - Navigate Her

Now use the gold nail polish to create a vertical stripe down each nail.

China Glaze - Harvest Moon

Take the black striper to outline the edges of each gold stripe.

It's So Easy Stripe Rite - Black

Cover with a top coat and that's it!

Sally Hansen - Super Shine

This design is quick, professional, and easy. I hope you all have a great week, and please leave your comments below!

- Muffin

Green Leaves

Happy monday! I happened to come across some new nail polish this weekend, and I decided to use it in a design. I hope you like it!

You will need:

- Base coat

- A light green nail polish (I used Essie's Navigate Her, one of my new finds)

- Makeup sponges/art sponge brush/etc.

- A dark green nail polish (Here is China Glaze's Agro, one of the colors in the Hunger Games themed line)

- A yellow nail polish

- Black striper

- Top coat

First, paint on a base coat to protect your nails. Next, paint two coats of the lighter green.

Take the sponge and dab a bit of the darker green polish onto it. Using the sponge, lightly press nail polish onto the top one third of each nail. Place more polish onto the sponge as necessary.

Your nails should end up looking somewhat like this. This method is naturally messy, so save the cleanup of your cuticles and skin for the very end. 

Using the same sponging method, dab on the yellow nail polish onto the top third of each nail. Your fingers should now look like this. 

Using the black striper, draw a line straight down the center of each nail.

Next, use the striper to paint diagonal lines branching out from the center line. 

Cover your nails with a clear coat and use a cotton swab and nail polish remover to clean up any unwanted polish.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please post your questions and comments below- I'd love to hear what you think!

- Muffin

Black French Tip Mani

Hey, readers! So for this week's design, I decided to stick with a simple french tip. But instead of using the typical boring white french tip, I mixed it up a little with some darker colors. 

You will need:

- Base coat/ Top coat

- Any matte black polish (I'm using a more glittery polish, China Glaze's Stone cold, but any color that's matte will work)

- A shinier black polish

- Clear Tape

First use a base coat to protect your nails. Next, paint them two coats of the matte black polish.

Doing these next steps one at a time, place a piece of tape horizontally across the nail. Make sure the first polish has dried completely to prevent the tape from pulling it up.

Next, paint the showing tips in the second black nail polish. Quickly pull the tape off.

Repeat for the rest of your nails, and  you're finished! Cover with a top coat to give them a nice shine.

I hope you enjoyed this simple design! Thanks for reading!

- Muffin