 |
| I've had quite a few people comment on my nails in the past ask what I was using or wish I'd done a close-up so they could see better, etc., etc., and had a realization: Why not do a feature on nail polish? It's not book-related (Unless you're wearing the new HUNGER GAMES-inspired line from China Glaze, but I'm not even going into how wrong that is...), but it's fun. Plus, if I do this feature, I'll be more likely to re-paint my nails this week and less likely to let them chip their way to the bare bones (which would mean that I could see my nails...and if I see them, I want to bite them!). |
Welcome back to another edition of Mad About Nails!
Earlier this month, to celebrate the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters, I decided to go all out with Avengers nail art!
Sorry it took so long to post! I actually filmed this the day BEFORE the movie came out and wanted to have it up so you guys could do nail art that weekend, but the video was in so many pieces that it took forever to put together.
I'm only getting the time now. Sorry!
*hangs head in shame*
BUUUUUUUUUUUUT we're all going to want to do this again during Captain America: Civil War anyway, right!?
I'm NOT an artist--and I'm not pretending to be!!!
I went searching on Pinterest for nail art ideas that were simple and would at least semi look like I wanted the design to.
Ultimately, I chose these images for references. These are NOT my original designs and I don't claim them as such!
S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo
Captain America + Iron Man + Hulk's Eye
(Iron Man is a little bit this one, too)
Thor
Here's a look at the materials used.
I also filmed after each step of the process,
so you can follow along and do these yourself!
Earlier this month, to celebrate the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters, I decided to go all out with Avengers nail art!
Sorry it took so long to post! I actually filmed this the day BEFORE the movie came out and wanted to have it up so you guys could do nail art that weekend, but the video was in so many pieces that it took forever to put together.
I'm only getting the time now. Sorry!
*hangs head in shame*
BUUUUUUUUUUUUT we're all going to want to do this again during Captain America: Civil War anyway, right!?
I'm NOT an artist--and I'm not pretending to be!!!
I went searching on Pinterest for nail art ideas that were simple and would at least semi look like I wanted the design to.
Ultimately, I chose these images for references. These are NOT my original designs and I don't claim them as such!
S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo
Captain America + Iron Man + Hulk's Eye
(Iron Man is a little bit this one, too)
Thor
Here's a look at the materials used.
I also filmed after each step of the process,
so you can follow along and do these yourself!
I started off with a basecoat of Essie "Millionails" and a coat of Essie "Grow Stronger."
My nails are breaking pretty frequently ATM, so I'm trying to strengthen them again! I picked up "Millionails" at Target to try, and saw on the back of the box that it said to pair this with "Grow Stronger."
So that's what I'm doing! (My Target, however, didn't sell GS, but ULTA does!)
My nails have gotten nice and long and strong, haven't they??
My nails are breaking pretty frequently ATM, so I'm trying to strengthen them again! I picked up "Millionails" at Target to try, and saw on the back of the box that it said to pair this with "Grow Stronger."
So that's what I'm doing! (My Target, however, didn't sell GS, but ULTA does!)
My nails have gotten nice and long and strong, haven't they??
For my base color:
***If you can, let your base dry overnight!
It will make it easier to get rid of mistakes
and colors won't run together or clump!***
THUMB: I used two coats of ORLY "Liquid Vinyl" from their permanent collection. This is my favorite black ever. It's so shiny!
INDEX FINGER: To create the fleshy tone of Captain America's skin, I used ZOYA "Cho" from the 2012 True collection. This polish is still easy to find/buy on the Zoya website!
MIDDLE FINGER: To begin creating Iron Man's armor, I used ORLY "Luxe." This originally came out in the 2010 Foil FX Collection, but it's now part of the permanent line. I bought this about a month ago at Sally's Beauty Supply during a BOGO. This has FANTASTIC coverage if you're looking for a good gold!
INDEX FINGER: To create the fleshy tone of Captain America's skin, I used ZOYA "Cho" from the 2012 True collection. This polish is still easy to find/buy on the Zoya website!
MIDDLE FINGER: To begin creating Iron Man's armor, I used ORLY "Luxe." This originally came out in the 2010 Foil FX Collection, but it's now part of the permanent line. I bought this about a month ago at Sally's Beauty Supply during a BOGO. This has FANTASTIC coverage if you're looking for a good gold!
RING FINGER: To create the fleshy tone of Thor's skin, I used Essie "Jazz." I think it's from the permanent collection, so you should be able to find it in stores as well!
PINKY FINGER: I used two different greens for this one. First, I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon "Loden Green," which I bought a year or two ago on clearance, so I'm pretty sure it's not being made anymore. Sorry! The color was a little too dark, so the next day, I put on a thin layer of Revlon ColorStay "Bonsai. This is from their permanent collection. I used a thin coat so that the "Loden Green" would still peep through and make the color multi-dimensional. I liked the texture and shimmer, because now the nail had more depth...and there is depth in the green of Hulk's skin. He's not one shade of green!
I started with the image references loaded on my Tablet. I also pre-prepped with any color I thought I might use and had way too much. But that's better than having not enough and smearing your design when you run to grab what you need!
When you do a design that takes a long time like this one, may I suggest catching up on a TV show or watching a movie? Guess what I watched? The Avengers, of course!
THUMB: I started with my thumb. I used a white striping polish, Finger Paints "Hip Hip Hue-Ray,"
which I purchased from Sally's Beauty Supply. I know it's not the best
rendition of the logo (And in fact, the logo on my right hand somehow
looked better, when usually that hand looks worse!) Whenever I made a mistake or needed to clean up, I used a black striping polish, Finger Paints "Ch-Art-Coal," also from Sally's!
INDEX FINGER: I made a French Tip using ZOYA "Ling" from the Summer 2014 Tickled Collection, which is still available on Zoya's website. I borrowed this from my mom, because it was just the right shade of blue! I brought the tip down and to the sides to create Cap's mask. I let that dry.
MIDDLE FINGER: I finished out Iron Man's armor using striping polish Nail Art by Diamond Cosmetics/Cover Girl "Red," which I found at Dollar General. I was able to create small areas of red at the sides and control the amount of paint I was using by doing it this way.
PINKY FINGER: I used two different greens for this one. First, I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon "Loden Green," which I bought a year or two ago on clearance, so I'm pretty sure it's not being made anymore. Sorry! The color was a little too dark, so the next day, I put on a thin layer of Revlon ColorStay "Bonsai. This is from their permanent collection. I used a thin coat so that the "Loden Green" would still peep through and make the color multi-dimensional. I liked the texture and shimmer, because now the nail had more depth...and there is depth in the green of Hulk's skin. He's not one shade of green!
For my design:
I started with the image references loaded on my Tablet. I also pre-prepped with any color I thought I might use and had way too much. But that's better than having not enough and smearing your design when you run to grab what you need!
When you do a design that takes a long time like this one, may I suggest catching up on a TV show or watching a movie? Guess what I watched? The Avengers, of course!
Then I moved onto the first stage of each nail.
 |
| This is how your nails will look after completing Stage 1! |
INDEX FINGER: I made a French Tip using ZOYA "Ling" from the Summer 2014 Tickled Collection, which is still available on Zoya's website. I borrowed this from my mom, because it was just the right shade of blue! I brought the tip down and to the sides to create Cap's mask. I let that dry.
MIDDLE FINGER: I finished out Iron Man's armor using striping polish Nail Art by Diamond Cosmetics/Cover Girl "Red," which I found at Dollar General. I was able to create small areas of red at the sides and control the amount of paint I was using by doing it this way.
RING FINGER: I made a French Tip using ORLY "Dazzle" from the permanent collection, which I purchased at Sally's during a BOGO. I could have used a flat silver, but armor has a little shine to it, and I wanted to replicate that!
PINKY FINGER: I created the Hulk's eye using white striping polish Finger Paints "Hip Hip Hue-Ray." This is the nail that worries me the most. I'm no artist, but I'm drawing an eye!?
Stage 2
...This is when you go in and create the detail that finishes your design!
THUMB: See above. Completed in previous stage!
INDEX FINGER: I used white striping polish Finger Paints "Hip Hip Hue-Ray" to make the A and used a dotting tool I picked up at Claire's along with ORLY "Liquid Vinyl" to make the eyes and mouth!
MIDDLE FINGER: The black of the eyes and mouth are striping polish Finger Paints "Ch-Art-Coal," while the white of the eyes were created with white striping polish Finger Paints "Hip Hip Hue-Ray." I used a dotting tool to get better shape than the striping brush would have given me.
PINKY FINGER: I made the pupil of Hulk's eye using ZOYA "Hunter" from the Fall 2013 Cashmeres and Satins Collection, which you can still buy from their website. The smaller pupil was used striping polish Finger Paints "Ch-Art-Coal." I used striping brush Art Deco "Intense Pink" from Dollar General to create rage, then went over the color with a sheerish green from OPI, "Bikini Envy" from the Beach Party Collection, which is long-discontinued and apparently "black bottle" polish from before OPI went green. Ooops, I've had it a long time, I guess! I also used "Bikini Envy" on its own on the green skin around Hulk's eye to add a little dimension. I finished the design with the eyebrow. I began by mixing together ZOYA "Louise" from the Fall 2013 Cashmeres and Satins Collection, which you can still buy from their website with ZOYA "Hunter" from the same collection, as well as Sally Hansen Complete Salon "Loden Green." The eyebrow faded a little too much into the Hulk's skin since my original basecoat was "Loden Green." So I decided to use an unnamed striping brush from an Urban Decay gift set, but it was too bright, so I topped THAT off with a light coat of my previous mixture to get a good color on the eyebrow.
Top Coat
I topped everything off with HK GIRL "Glisten & Glow." You can easily buy this online from HK Girl. I bought this online because I'd heard it was the best top coat to use with nail art. It doesn't smear or streak your art, dries fast, and lasts a long time. I've been very happy with it!
While it's not perfect, overall, I think this is a good salute to the movie, don't you?
Is anyone else obsessed with nail polish? What are you wearing right now?
If you do a similar design, I'd love to see! ❤
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to stop and comment! I appreciate it more than I can say. I try to respond to each one!