Art History & Nails: St. Mark's The Spot from the OPI Venice Collection

It is almost the weekend, are you ready?   This Thursday (night) brings the return of my Art History & Nails series! You may have seen the collection at your local Ulta, but in case you haven't, OPI has released a gorgeous new collection for Fall inspired by Venice.  I have picked up a few shades and plan on getting a few more, but the one I want to show you today is one of the limited edition shades. I am not sure exactly what that means in OPI world...but I did notice my Ulta display only had 3 each of the limited shades and 8 each of the other shades. They aren't more expensive or anything but if you want this shade, I suggest you hurry!   *(Update as of editing this post right before posting my Ulta sold out of this shade. RUN)*

This shade is very difficult to capture, so many of my pictures will have flash. This is OPI's St. Mark's The Spot ($9.50). It is a beautiful royal blue shimmer and it definitely needs two coats to get the perfect depth and richness. Dry time is average and I can get 6 days with minimum tip wear.  

  Now, having been to the Piazza San Marco (just the fancy Italian way of saying St. Mark's Square), I can say that this blue not only reminds me of the brilliant sky above the square but also of the water that floods in when the tide is high, and the beautiful lapis found in the church and the Doge's palace, which border the square.  

  This picture is from my Venice trip. Isn't the sky pretty? I spent a lot of time in this piazza and have many fond memories and stories, including eating some of the best gelato of my life while looking at this view.   

  This is a picture of the polish without flash. The shimmer isn't as apparent but it is still gorgeous! While not a complete Art History lesson with this particular post, Venice is a beautiful place full of art and culture and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to visit as well as glad that OPI has made a collection that is giving me such warm and fuzzy feelings while still being so on trend for Fall. What do you think of this color? Will you be picking up any of the shades from this collection?

Art History & Nails: Malevich

Hey everyone! 

I have something a little bit different for you today. Once upon a time long ago I started a nail blog called Impressionist Nails to coincide with PrettyPanda. I used to do my nails a lot more, but with grad school, I made PrettyPanda the priority when I could update. I've decided to do posts here on nail looks with the premise that I had planned for my nail blog: blog about nail looks and art history together. Having the seven million blogs I do is getting a bit much (exaggeration, but seriously though).

Art is something I am very passionate about. I just finished my Master's in Art Business and I look at my nails as mini-canvases when I have the time to paint them/wrap them/etc. So these posts will be a little mini art history lesson mixed with a nail look!

 My look this week is using nail wraps from SCRATCH. They started as a Kickstarter that turned into a cool nail biz and my brother introduced me to them because he is always on Kickstarter, so they are special to me.

This pattern is currently unavailable (okay, so I may hoard nail wraps until they are discontinued. It is an issue, I know), but easy to recreate with some striping tape and nail polish. Or you can pick up one of their other cool wraps! They often have sales and I like these wraps a lot! Instead of filing off the edges you can literally just pinch the excess off and it looks like the above. I think I did a decent job considering nail wraps are usually unbearable to apply. These took me all of ten minutes. Slap on a top coat and mine lasted for five days with no imperfections. 

 

After wearing these for a day, they began to remind me of cubist/abstract art, so I set about finding a bit of inspiration for this post. It didn't take long for Kazimir Malevich to pop into my mind. I saw an exhibit of his in London and the geometric shapes and minimalism stuck with me.

Suprematism with Blue Triangle and Black Square. Kazimir Malevich. 1915. Oil on canvas. 66.5 x 57 cm. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Above is a typical Suprematist work for Malevich. Simple shapes, lots of blue, black, and white. Although there is a bit of Mondrian in the design of the nail wraps, I am focusing on the blue/black motif. 

Suprematism is an art movement founded by Malevich that focuses on geometric shapes and a limited color palette that is supposed to represent the purity of how it feels to create art instead of the actual drawing of natural or man-made objects.

Bring that up in conversation and see how fancy you look.

And that, Pandas, is your very mini art history tid-bit and a peep at my nail look this week. Cheerio!

Guest Post: Amazing Nails by Brooke from prettyandpolisheddd

Hey everyone! Today is really special because I want to introduce you to an amazing nail artist! I've been so impressed with her work on Instagram that I wanted to feature her, so let me introduce you to Brooke! 

  Hi, my name is Brooke. I am a 20 year old college student who loves to paint nails! I started doing nails when I was young. I would take a paper plate and a toothpick and practice making flowers on it for hours. I would get my nails done and observe how nail professionals did their job. I started doing my own as well as my moms' and sisters' nails frequently and word spread quickly and soon, I had a lot of friends, and my moms' and sisters' friends coming over to get their nails done. I asked around and got all the tools to making nail art possible. As I did more nails, many people would ask if I had thought about doing nails in the future and many suggested I should start my own nail business. When I created my Instagram, it opened my eyes to the nail world and I saw all the creativeness and how far nailart can go. I have advertised, but it is hard with Instagram because not everyone is from the LA area, as I do nails from out of my home. Many of my designs are inspired by others, but all my nails are my own. I have a great ability to recreate almost any design. I am self taught so I don't do much cleaning before painting. I typically just cut and file, then get right into painting. I love doing nails, but as a college student, some extra money would be nice! I would do nails for cheap starting at 10$; the price would be based on the design and time it takes. My Instagram name is prettyandpolisheddd, so check out my nails!
The above design took 2 and a half hours!! For this design, I used regular nails polish, thin brushes and my dotting tools. I didn't do the acrylic nails however. I just painted over her acrylics. I had recreated nail decals from Etsy. 

Isn't she talented? Check out her Instagram! She's also a really awesome person in general! Thanks for showing us your skills, Brooke!  

Guest Post: Amazing Nails by Brooke from prettyandpolisheddd

Hey everyone! Today is really special because I want to introduce you to an amazing nail artist! I've been so impressed with her work on Instagram that I wanted to feature her, so let me introduce you to Brooke!  

    Hi, my name is Brooke. I am a 20 year old college student who loves to paint nails! I started doing nails when I was young. I would take a paper plate and a toothpick and practice making flowers on it for hours. I would get my nails done and observe how nail professionals did their job. I started doing my own as well as my moms' and sisters' nails frequently and word spread quickly and soon, I had a lot of friends, and my moms' and sisters' friends coming over to get their nails done. I asked around and got all the tools to making nail art possible. As I did more nails, many people would ask if I had thought about doing nails in the future and many suggested I should start my own nail business. When I created my Instagram, it opened my eyes to the nail world and I saw all the creativeness and how far nailart can go. I have advertised, but it is hard with Instagram because not everyone is from the LA area, as I do nails from out of my home. Many of my designs are inspired by others, but all my nails are my own. I have a great ability to recreate almost any design. I am self taught so I don't do much cleaning before painting. I typically just cut and file, then get right into painting. I love doing nails, but as a college student, some extra money would be nice! I would do nails for cheap starting at 10$; the price would be based on the design and time it takes. My Instagram name is prettyandpolisheddd, so check out my nails!
The above design took 2 and a half hours!! For this design, I used regular nails polish, thin brushes and my dotting tools. I didn't do the acrylic nails however. I just painted over her acrylics. I had recreated nail decals from Etsy.  

Isn't she talented? Check out her Instagram! She's also a really awesome person in general! Thanks for showing us your skills, Brooke!    

Polish, Pages, and Pretties: Zoya PixieDust in Godiva

Happy Polish, Pages, and Pretties Day Pandas! Whew, that was a lot of 'P' words!

 

I am so excited to show off the new PixieDust formula!

 

Here is two coats of the new Zoya PixieDust formula in Godiva holding an awesome book-- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.

 

I have been wanting to get my hands on one of these in a while and the best way I can describe it is like champagne bubbles! This is such a pretty beige/neutral with the PixieDust finish which basically looks like you are wearing sparkling very fine sand on your nails.

 

 

Do not put a top coat on this if you want to see the effect! However, it does look pretty with one as well. It may be counter-intuitive to not finish with a top coat, but trust me the results are worth it.

 

 

I like the PixieDust formula a little bit more than O.P.I's liquid sand because it has more sparkly and feels less rough on the fingers. This retails for $8 at Ulta and comes in a few more gorgeous shades.

 

 

Now, about this book! I wanted to take pictures of this particular polish with this book because these nails are a edgy take on the classic neutral, just as this book came along and fought against the 50's housewife stigma. I think everyone should read it...but if you aren't interested, at least you have physically seen it so now you know what they are talking about in "Ten Things I Hate About You" haha :)

 

Hope you liked this weeks polish. Have you read the book? Let me know!

 

 

Polish, Pages, and Pretties: Zoya PixieDust in Godiva

Happy Polish, Pages, and Pretties Day Pandas! Whew, that was a lot of 'P' words!

 

I am so excited to show off the new PixieDust formula!

 

Here is two coats of the new Zoya PixieDust formula in Godiva holding an awesome book-- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.

 

I have been wanting to get my hands on one of these in a while and the best way I can describe it is like champagne bubbles! This is such a pretty beige/neutral with the PixieDust finish which basically looks like you are wearing sparkling very fine sand on your nails.

 

 

Do not put a top coat on this if you want to see the effect! However, it does look pretty with one as well. It may be counter-intuitive to not finish with a top coat, but trust me the results are worth it.

 

 

I like the PixieDust formula a little bit more than O.P.I's liquid sand because it has more sparkly and feels less rough on the fingers. This retails for $8 at Ulta and comes in a few more gorgeous shades.

 

 

Now, about this book! I wanted to take pictures of this particular polish with this book because these nails are a edgy take on the classic neutral, just as this book came along and fought against the 50's housewife stigma. I think everyone should read it...but if you aren't interested, at least you have physically seen it so now you know what they are talking about in "Ten Things I Hate About You" haha :)

 

Hope you liked this weeks polish. Have you read the book? Let me know!

 

 

Tuxedo Nails

Hello World!

To my old readers, my new readers, and everyone in-between: Welcome to my new blog! I was getting very annoyed with my other set-up and I hope this template is easier to follow, and more user friendly. Make sure to subscribe and follow me pretty please!

Now -- onto the inagural post! This nail art is inspired by Zooey Deschanels' Oscar mani. Yes, that was a while ago, but I still think it is relevant. Especially for graduaion and wedding season!

ToolBox:

Seche Vite Top Coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nails Color in "White Out", Kiss Nail Art Pen in Black, Sharpie marker


Steps:

1) Paint nails with one/two coats of "White Out" depending on your preference.

2) Once dry, dot on the buttons with the sharpie

3) Use the nail art pen (or sharpie if you have a steady hand) to draw the little bow-ties. Try making parallel lined and connecting them with an X. Then fill in the blanks.

4) Finish up with top coat. Viola! A manicure worthy of the "New Girl" herself.

So cute right??

Everyone is going to be singing "Who's That Girl?" when you walk around with these nails!

(With Flash) I am in love with these nails, what do you think? Cutsey? Cheesy? Would you rock it?

XoXo PrettyPanda

Tuxedo Nails

Hello World!

To my old readers, my new readers, and everyone in-between: Welcome to my new blog! I was getting very annoyed with my other set-up and I hope this template is easier to follow, and more user friendly. Make sure to subscribe and follow me pretty please!

Now -- onto the inagural post! This nail art is inspired by Zooey Deschanels' Oscar mani. Yes, that was a while ago, but I still think it is relevant. Especially for graduaion and wedding season!

ToolBox:

Seche Vite Top Coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nails Color in "White Out", Kiss Nail Art Pen in Black, Sharpie marker


Steps:

1) Paint nails with one/two coats of "White Out" depending on your preference.

2) Once dry, dot on the buttons with the sharpie

3) Use the nail art pen (or sharpie if you have a steady hand) to draw the little bow-ties. Try making parallel lined and connecting them with an X. Then fill in the blanks.

4) Finish up with top coat. Viola! A manicure worthy of the "New Girl" herself.

So cute right??

Everyone is going to be singing "Who's That Girl?" when you walk around with these nails!

(With Flash) I am in love with these nails, what do you think? Cutsey? Cheesy? Would you rock it?

XoXo PrettyPanda