Galaxy Nails Tutorial

I can hardly believe it! I just did nail art that was successful! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to post a tutorial on my galaxy nails!

From left to right, BG Cosmetics Methematician, BG Cosmetics Mushroom Madness, Milani's Quick Teal, Milani's Instant Pearl, and Revlon's Shiny Black. Basecoat is Seche Base, and Topcoat is by HK Girl. 

To start, I used Seche base for a ridge filling base coat to make sure my nails are a super smooth surface. I then added a generous coat of Revlon's shiny black. 

Look at how shiny that is! No top coat used. Perfect for a sparkly galaxy manicure!

Then, you need your sponge, and a white polish. I used Milani's Instant Pearl. I took some generous brush fulls and applied them directly onto the sponge, like so:

Then, pinch the tip of the sponge and dab it gently onto your nails.

A somewhat diagonal line down the nails is the most desired effect. Then, pick your blue. I used Milani's Quick Teal.

Here's a quick pic of what the teal looks like once applied on the sponge. Polishes differ, but with Milani, two generous brush-fulls of polish are enough to seal the deal.

For the teal, start from the opposite end of the nail, and kind of haphazardly dab diagonally up the nail again.

Now, take a purple-ish color. I went with a purple glitter, BG Cosmetics' Mushroom Madness, for a more bedazzled galaxy effect.

 Look at that glitter! Am I allowed to swoon over my own polish creation? Well I am.

Add just a couple splotchy dabs of the purple. Then, take up your white again, and get a very fine brush. I used an angled brush typically used to apply eyeliner.

What I love about this brush is that you don't have to draw a line, you just press down one way, and then another, to make a cross. Also, I should mention, that these brushes were MADE for clean up. Just dab them in some nail polish remover, and run along your ridges. Brilliant!

Finally, I added a thin coat of BG Cosmetics' Methematician to add that final blue and green glitter dazzle to complete the galaxy effect.

Voila! Now just add a topcoat; I use HK Girl Topcoat. It dries super fast and super shiny. Seche Vite is a good drug store alternative, if you can get past the fact that it gloops up after half a bottle.

Don't worry if it looks a little lumpy; my nails start to look wonky as they get longer.

They start to curve in for some odd reason. I'm going to have to see how I do on the filing. *sigh*


And that's it! What do you guys think? Have you tried galaxy nails yet? What color combos have you used?

F is for French Manicure

I spent forever trying to figure out what to do about today's manicure since I really wanted to try something other than just the name of the nail polish. I contemplated drawing fruit on my nails but really there's a reason I flunked art.

I apologize for the shoddy photos; my camera was super wonky and I ended up  using my iPhone for the last shot.  Anyway, the polish used was actually just three coats of Seche Base, with one coat of Diamonds in the Sky by my brand, BG Cosmetics, (that's allowed, right? ^_^) and a thin line of silver glitter dust.

I used circle tape and it was really thick and didn't evenly block out the holes, so I ultimately just had an approximate shape guide. Keeping that in mind, I wanted a thick polish for the tips because I didn't want it running down the tape. So I took a bottle of my blue and thickened it to where it was almost like a gel paste, and then dabbed it along the  line. I then took an angled brush, dipped it in some of my silver glitter dust, and ran it along the border of the colors.

I think my ring finger and pinkie turned out the best, but that's because they have the best natural shape to them. I have the hardest time filing the shape of my middle and index finger, so making the french tip turn out in that perfect shape is a freaking pain. Considering how long it's been since I've even attempted a french mani, I'm actually pretty pleased with the results. I just wish I had had a nude color to pair with the blue. The white base just showed up too stark in the photos.