Purse Inspired...

I broke a few nails and so I am down to shorties right now and not feeling too artsy, but that finally gives me the chance to show you a manicure that I did a while back and didn't get a chance to post. This was inspired by a photo of a purse that I somehow stumbled across online...

(source for purse image)

To create this manicure, I started out with a base of OPI A-Piers to be Tan on all nails except for the pinkie where I used OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I stamped the pinkie using Gals plate GA8 and A-Piers to be Tan. For the flower on the ring finger I used OPI First Date at the Golden Gate and acrylic paint....

Yeah, my freehand could really use some help and practice, but I'm really proud of myself for trying more of it. Someday my lines will hopefully be cleaner and smoother, but I'm happy with this for now. I really like how the flower turned out...

Let me know what you think of this manicure! I love reading your thoughts on it!

P.S. You can also come say hello to me on Instagram and tell me what you think of my manis... @wackylaki

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Wish Nail Art Challenge!

A little while ago I received and invitation to participate in a nail art contest for Wish. It is a clothing boutique that asked nail bloggers to create a manicure inspired by their collection. Although I didn't intend to participate because I don't particularly like popularity style contests, I still thought it would be fun to try my hand at interpreting one of their looks from the Butterfly Effect collection...

A few things in this outfit caught my eye, the sheer stringy mesh at the top and the contrast in finish between the top and skirt. I'm not sure I captured them well enough, but the idea was there. I used acrylic paint and a small detail brush to draw the stringy detail at the base of the nail. Then, using Zoya Dovima, a matte black, I painted about two thirds of the nail. I ran a stripe of top coat across the tip to create a slight contrast in the black....

What do you think, did I manage to capture the outfit inspiration in my manicure?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Inspired by Fashion Contest Winners!

It is finally time to announce the winners of the Inspired by Fashion Nail Art Contest!

I want to thank everyone who took the time to come vote and support your favorites! I wish I could award a prize to each of these ladies and I thank them so much for participating! Here is a reminder of all the beautiful manicures...

Without further delay here are the winners...

Prize 1 winner chosen by your votes:

ENTRY #9: Natalie (Israel) - http://nailzcraze.blogspot.com

Natalie received 43 votes or roughly one third of the total votes for her gorgeous geometric gradient design. Congratulations Natalie!

Prize 2 winner was picked by my boyfriend who originally suggested the theme for this challenge and so I decided it was only appropriate that he choose the winner. His pick and definitely one of my favorites is:
ENTRY #7: Diana (The Netherlands) - http://dutch-diana.blogspot.nl

Congratulations Diana! By the way, I think it is really funny that Diana's boyfriend picked the dress for her inspiration and my boyfriend picked her as a winner. They must be on the same wavelength... ;)

Prize 3 which is yet to be determined, since I didn't anticipate having a 3rd prize, goes to the manicure which blew me away for the complexity, style and perfectly capturing the inspiration:
ENTRY #4: Marta (Canada) - http://www.chitchatnails.com
Congratulations Marta!

A big thank you to all the ladies who participated! I hope you had fun creating fashion inspired manicures. All of your gorgeous manicures have inspired me to start thinking of my next fashion inspired manicure!

Thank you to everyone who voted! I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful response and support you have shown these ladies. Some of you had a hard time choosing and I can definitely sympathize with that! So many wonderful manicures to choose from!

There is one more winner today and that is of the Zoya Toni and Natty Giveaway.
Congratulations Kate of Fishing4Beauty! And if anyone was wondering the answer to the bonus questions... my favorite Zoya polish is Kelly. Lots of you got it right! :D

Until next time! Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Inspired by Fashion Nail Art Contest - Time to Vote!

Voting is now closed! Winners will be announced soon!

I have been anxiously waiting for the day that I finally get to show you all the beautiful manicures submitted into the Inspired by Fashion Nail Art Contest. The challenge was to create a manicure inspired by fashion and these ladies met that challenge with full force! I have been inspired with each entry to start dreaming up my next fashion inspired look and I know you will be too!

I'm excited and honored that so many joined the contest, so without further ado, here are all the gorgeous entries (in the order that they were submitted)...

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ENTRY #1

Charlotte (USA)

http://nailsactually.blogspot.com

I love edgy fashion and knew this concept by Altuzarra would create some very cool nails!

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ENTRY #2
Saima (Scotland)

http://saimassalon.blogspot.co.uk

Here is my first entry to a contest, 

I do so hope you judge it the best, 

I'm oft inspired by all I see, 

In clothes, in nature, the deep blue sea, 

My monochrome mani is from a carpet red, 

From frocks worn by two ladies drop dead, 

Their glamour was something to behold, 

I hope my mani is similarly extolled.

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ENTRY #3
Loz (Australia)

http://polishpatterns.blogspot.com.au/

Miley Cyrus Oscars dress, I think she made some worst dressed lists, but I kinda think it's pretty!

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ENTRY #4
Marta (Canada)
http://www.chitchatnails.com

While I collect nail polish and costume jewelry, I'm quite the plain-Jane when it comes to purses. I only own two... So when this great Fashion-Inspired contest started I thought "why not wear a purse-inspired look ON my nails ;)"

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ENTRY #5
Maria (Romania)
http://konadnails.blogspot.com

I really love glittered dresses and this one made me want to dress my nails in it, too :)

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ENTRY #6
Yarden (Israel)
http://onlypassingby.blogspot.co.il/

I searched for a while until I saw this dress and I just had the design in my mind.

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ENTRY #7
Diana (The Netherlands)
http://dutch-diana.blogspot.nl/


It was actually my boyfriend who really liked this dress and said I should use this one :)
The gradient effect was the main reason for me and I don't do a animal print often so it was a great way to do that again too.

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ENTRY #8
Yulia (Russia)
http://vicerimus.blogspot.com

I went through spring 2013 trends and was glad to learn that seafoam/mint green is going to be fashionable :) For my nails, I drew inspiration from the striped skirt the second from the right model is wearing.

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ENTRY #9
Natalie (Israel)
http://nailzcraze.blogspot.com

I just liked the simple yet modern and sophisticated look of the dress and I think that this designs supports it

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ENTRY #10
Tina (USA)
http://lightofthemoonnails.blogspot.com


The inspiration for this came from my beautiful new Vera Wang purse (found at Kohls). I am in love with this purse, so just had to recreate it on my nails!

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ENTRY #11
Amanda (USA)

The dress is by Alexa Adams and Flora Gill and was on the Ohne Titel RTW fall 2012 runway. I especially liked the rich colors and they way they mingled. I feel it is simple, but interesting to look at.

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ENTRY #12
Mary Helen (USA)
http://dailyenail.blogspot.com

I love stars. So Dolce & Gabbana's Fall 2011 runway was one of my favorite things ever. I picked my four favorite runway looks and tried to recreate them with a variety of techniques on my nails.

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ENTRY #13
Hannah (USA)
http://thedalailamasnails.wordpress.com


Fashion is about expression, and I've always loved colors and patterns (something I love about nail art, too!). I was inspired by this dress from 1922 - I love the ombre, luxe fabric and the beautiful gold detailing. I knew right away when I saw this dress that it would make a gorgeous manicure!

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ENTRY #14
Jackie (Canada)
http://www.jamegackie.com

As you'll see through my nail art inspiration, I'm going through a Victoria Secret obsession at the moment. I know weird right? But ever since the VS fashion show, I've just been really into the idea of strong beautiful independent women.

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ENTRY #15
Stephanie (Canada)
http://www.sincerelystephanienails.com

These Victoria Beckham inspired nails were done freehand with my medium length striping brush.

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ENTRY #16
Lydia (USA)
http://lydiasnails.blogspot.com/

My Entry is based of the LWren Scott Ready To Wear Spring dress in black, grey and white. My ring finger is the shoe and the rest of my nails are the dress.

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ENTRY #17
Kaitlyn (USA)
http://musicisluv89.blogspot.com/

Mani inspired by Loriblu. They're adorable & way too expensive for me to even consider, but I thought it would make a cute mani.

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You've seen all the gorgeous manicures and the things that inspired them. Now comes the hard part of voting! Leave a comment below telling me who created your favorite fashion inspired look. You can vote by name or entry number.

To make it easier, here is a recap of all the manicures and entry numbers...

Voting ends December 20th and the winner will be announced December 21st!

Wishing lots of luck to all these tallented ladies!

Thanks for looking and voting!
Anutka :)

Fashion Friday: Coral Summer Wish

After last week's fashion inspired manicure, I seem to have gotten the message via everyone's sweet comments that you would like to see more of such fashion inspired posts. So, in response to that, I present you with another fashion inspired look. As usual, I stumbled upon this on Pinterest and the colors really caught my eye. With Fall so close on the horizon, this summery dress is just what I wish to hang onto...

source

When I first saw this dress I was pretty certain I would try it as a tape manicure, but the more I looked at it, it just didn't seem to fit. The strict lines of the tape wouldn't quite portray the movement of the dress. Instead I decided to try the "cloud" technique to hopefully capture some of the waves in the dress...

If you are not familiar with the cloud manicure, it was created by Jane for her blog Nailside which has swept through the nail blogging community like wildfire. I have been meaning to try it since she first posted it, but as most things I want to try, it just sat on the "to try" list. In a complete coincidence, when I pulled up Jane's tutorial to link in this post, I realized how close the color combination that she use is to this one...

For the colors I used e.l.f. Mango Madness for the base. Mango Madness is a bit more coral than orange as it appears in the photos. It more closely matches the color of the dress in real life than it does here. Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet and Colorama Missao Azul were used for the waves...

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Fashion Friday! I'd love to know what you think :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Fashion Friday: Fall Into Red...

I've got a fashion inspired manicure for you today. This is inspired by a Jenny Packham dress right of the Fall/Winter 2012 runway. Please don't be fooled, I have no idea what I'm talking about. I am really not someone who keeps up with current fashion or what's hot on the runways. This dress just caught my eye on Pinterest and I turned to trusty Google to clue me in on the designer. I figured it was perfect to go along with a shade from Zoya's runway Diva collection...

dress image source

For the base of the manicure I started out with Zoya Anne, which I really should have reswatched while I was at it, but I got too caught up. It is a nice nude shade with a hint of shimmer. I stamped using Wet 'n Wild Black Cream and Bundle Monster plate BM-201 for the little curls. Leaving a few areas exposed, I painted the rest with Zoya Elisa*, a gorgeous crimson red.

I hope you like it! Let me know what you think of it :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes marked with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **