Day Ten (delayed) - Inspired by a Fellow Participant

I'm finally finishing the very fun Valentine Challenge thought up by Dahlia over at datyorkLOVES. I postponed the final days challenge to give it the love and dedication it deserved. The manicure that inspired me was Dahlia's lace manicure. 

Dahlia's Lace Manicure

I loved everything about this manicure. The colors were beautiful, the design looked exactly like lace and the overall delicate and romantic feel of the manicure. I just hope I do this lovely manicure the justice it deserves.

I had never tried a lace manicure, and am happy with how it turned out. I love that i started this challenge. It got me motivated the really start this blog and try new techniques and do more nail art. I look forward to the next challenge!

Colors Used
Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
Wet n' Wild - Tickled Pink
Pure Ice - Gossip!

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Day Nine - Ombre or Gradient

I'm slowly approaching the final days of the Valentine nail challenge. I'm a huge fan of ombre and gradients. I have ombre hair and always drag my boyfriend to the window to point out the beautiful gradient sunsets. So day nine was a fun one for me.

I love the final look of this manicure. However I'm bummed with how discolored my nails look in the pictures. When looking at my nails in normal light I saw no dis-colorization. Then, in the lighting when I took the photos the yellowing showed up. *sad face* So please over look this ladies.

Tomorrow is the final day of the challenge. I'm sad it's coming to an end, but look forward to a new challenge.

Colors Used
Orly - Bare Rose
Pure Ice - Gossip!
Wet n' Wild - Tickled Pink
OPI - Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot!
Goldie - Unknown Pink
Glitter Hearts - Martha Stewart (painted to match the nail color)

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Day Eight - Splatter Manicure

I hate starting out posts showing you my epic fail of a manicure. Especially when a splatter manicure should be easy. I wanted to do a little more than just throw paint on my nails, and in my head this idea looked much better. So here it is, please no pointing and laughing. ;)

I am actually really happy with how the pinkie and middle nails turned out. I think they look like adorable Valentine sweaters. While the other two nails fall into the ugly Valentine sweater category. Since I am a few days behind I decided to just leave the manicure like this and move on to happier and prettier nails for the next days challenge. Check out the other non fail manicures in the links below!

Colors Used
Sally Hansen - Hard to Get
JLB Nail Lacquer - Cherry Pop
Heart Glitter - Martha Stewart

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Day Seven - Tape Manicure

Hi all! Day seven and today's theme is a tape design. I love using tape or striping tape for manicures. It allows you to do fun designs with awesome precision.One of my all time favorite tape designs was done by Sophie over at My Awesome Beauty. I really wish I had the brain power to come up with this design on my own, but it's all Sophie. Even her color choices are perfect for this Valentine themed challenge.

Such a great design. I hope Sophie would approve. Be sure to check out the other girls' wonder tape designs!


Colors Used
Julep - Lauren
Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
Wet n' Wild - Tickled Pink
Orly - Glitz and Glamour

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Day Six - Doticure

I've worked the early shift the last two days which lead to me getting a little behind on the Valentine challenge. As promised, I'm gonna complete this challenge. The sixth day was dots. I liked this theme because who doesn't love a nice dot manicure?

I love this simple elegance of this look. Even when using black, you still know it's a Valentine manicure. I'm so glad I'm doing this challenge and am looking forward to catching back up with the rest of the girls. Be sure to check out their hard work!


Colors Used
Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
Wet n Wild - Black Creme
Kleancolor - Light Red (79)

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Day Five - Lace or Fabric

I had so much fun doing today's challenge. I was able to complete this manicure on my very first attempt. Unlike the last two days. I had never used flocking powder before. It was easy to work with and super fun trying something new.

I painted all my nails white and let that dry. Working with one nail at a time, I then applied a base coat and applied the flocking powder while the base coat was wet. I firmly pressed the flocking powder down and let it sit on the nail for about ten minutes before sweeping the loose flocking powder off my nail with a dry crafting paint brush. For the accent nail I took a thin tipped sharpie pen and drew the heart shape. I then applied a matching pink polish from Kleancolor called Barbie Pink and filled in the heart outline. I then sprinkled the flocking power over the pink heart. I didn't press the heart as firmly as the other nail since I didn't want to lose the shape of the heart. 

I just love this manicure. It's so fun and flirty and very Valentine's Day. Have you used flocking powder? Be sure to check out the other Valentine manicures!

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Day Four - Love Letters

Once again I'm pushing this challenge right to the end of the day. I searched everywhere online for ideas. I found lots of great ones, but never liked the end result. So semi happy with this I decided to call it a day.
Here is my love letter idea.

I hope tomorrows design works out on the first try. Also, be sure to check out what the other nail blog girls have come up with!

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Day Three - Kisses

I'm really bummed about getting this post up so late. I was running low on ideas for kisses. So in a pinch this is what I came up with.

As a kid I always thought it was neat that hugs and kisses was represented by X's and O's. A manicure on the simple side but still qualifies. My thumb nail needed love to, so I added the cartoon heart, and found it cute and appropriate. 

Colors Used
Sinful Colors - Snow me White
OPI - Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot!
Color Club - In Bloom

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Day Two - Hearts

Day two of the Valentine Nail Challenge is hearts. I really wanted to do candy conversation hearts but decided not to. I think I may save those for my actually Valentines Day manicure.

I goggled heart patterns and after lots of browsing found this pattern and thought it was really cute. Up close I'm not the biggest fan of this pattern but from arms length away I love it. My hand wasn't that steady and I think that is why I like this pattern from a distance. Cant wait for tomorrows challenge! Have you joined the challenge yet?

Colors Used:
Pure Ice - Gossip!
Orly - Gumdrop
Zoya - Minka
Sinful Colors- Snow Me White

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Day One - Red or Pink

I'm very excited to take part in datyorkLOVES Valentine Nail Art Challenge. I've started one challenge before, but sadly never finished it. This time is different and I will be completing this challenge! 

Red or pink? Heck lets do both! So I did. Right away I thought of doing roses after seeing Chelsea's amazing post on Get Nailed. I haven't done nail art in awhile since I've happily been swatching my new a-england and Zoya polishes, so it was really great to change things up.

Here are all the colors I used for this manicure:

I'm so pleased with how this turned out. This look is so feminine and delicate. It's a great way to start out a fun challenge. I'd like to thank datyorkLOVES for sharing this and I can't wait to see what others come up with. Will you be participating?

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