Aug 12, 2011
Visual Friend Friday: The art of the manicure
This week for Friend Friday, Kendra from Thrifty and Shameless is hosting a visual edition and we’re sharing our creative manicures–the things we’re doing to spice up our nails.
I’ll start with a confession: my nails are usually short, so my manicures are typically very straightforward. “Creative” is not the first word that springs to mind.
Where I do like to experiment is color. I’ve been loving the “greige” shades that have come out the last few seasons, as well as darker and more unusual colors.
And I love to shop for nailcolor. It’s the easiest beauty product in the world to try and to wear, and often is the least expensive as most drugstore brands are $10 or less.
At the same time, it’s one of the easiest beauty products to splurge on. There’s little chance that the color will look different on you than it does in the display.
One of my favorite indulgences is Chanel Le Vernis. Their colors and formula are unique and even at $25 a bottle, it’s still the least expensive Chanel you’ll ever own!
For this visual Friend Friday, I thought I’d aim to be a little more creative, so I combined two of my favorite Chanel shades, Peridot and Black Pearl. I used Peridot as the base shade, then swiped on Black Pearl on the half moons above the cuticle.
The result was fun, if a bit messy; you might be able to see some of the Black Pearl residue on my fingers in these photos–I should have cleaned up more before I shot them!
I was also inspired this week to dress around my two-tone nail color, so I’ve been wearing combinations of black and gold or tan.
Maybe I’ll have to try two-tone nails more often!
- What do you do for a creative manicure?
- Or do you prefer to keep your nails more classic?
- What’s your favorite nail polish brand–and shade?
[Edit 8.15: Corrected price of Chanel nail polish to $25 from $20.]
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I’m a big fan of both, creative and classic, it depends on my mood. I’ve been leaning towards creative lately because it’s fun. I’ve never attempted to paint just the moons like you did. I should!
:) f
The House in the Clouds
You know, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I know some people use stickers or tape to help with the shape.
Oh wow Chanel! I’ve never used their polishes but they always create quite the cult following every season. I enjoy the greige colors as well.
One tip if you ever do try a Chanel color: Don’t use base coat and don’t use a top coat. I’m not sure why, but their formulas work much better by themselves. Top coat completely destroys the manicure and the polish comes off in huge chips. Go figure!
hey, I am over here though The DIY Manicure post
love that you did the moons at the bottom of your nails.
am going to go peruse your blog now
fyi… had a hard time finding where to leave my comment.
brett
Thanks! Yes, I wish I knew enough CSS to move the comment link from the top of the post to the bottom; it’s confusing where it is.
“One of my favorite indulgences is Chanel Le Vernis. Their colors and formula are unique and even at $20 a bottle, it’s still the least expensive Chanel you’ll ever own!”
I LOVE THAT! Very true, though. I can’t pay thousands of dollars for a bag so nail polish is a good alternative :)!
Great nails!
Right? Plus it’s fun to saunter up to the Chanel beauty counter!
I’m guilty of buying Chanel nail polish too! It just feels good to paint your nails with Chanel, and if the color doesn’t work out you can let the bottle kick around your house.
Oops! Sorry I left my CHANEL on the coffee table. I’d have cleaned up if I knew you were coming over.
Oh gosh, my bathroom is a mess. Please excuse the CHANEL on the windowsill.
Where are you going, honey? Oh, I’m just popping down to the mall to pick up some CHANEL.