Tag Archives: Deborah Lippmann

Nail Art: Hallowe’en Spooky Eyes Nails

Halloween Nails Nail Art I wear glasses, so you can call me “Four Eyes”. But now I also wear Hallowe’en Spooky Eyes Nail Art with 6 extra pairs, so you can do the math before giving me a new nickname. 😉

“What big eyes you have!” “All the better to see you!” *Adjusts glasses* *Adjusts nails*

I was in the mood for an offbeat manicure, so I decided to go for googly eyes.

On my index and pinkie fingers, I used China Glaze Papaya Punch with one glitter coat of China Glaze Boo-Gie Down (from the Monsters Ball Collection). Then, for the other fingers, I used Nicole by OPI Fisher Queen (from the Carrie Underwood Collection). The eyes are made with China Glaze Snow and Deborah Lippmann Fade to Black.

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Nail Art Tutorial: Owl Nails

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Nail Art Tutorial Owl Nails It has been a long time since I did freehand nail art with eyes (hehe), and you know what? I missed it so much! (There’s something really fun about looking at your nails and having them look back at you. Or maybe that’s just me.)

As you know, I’m on Pinterest (it’s so addictive!), and the minute I saw these cute little owls, I knew I had to recreate them on my nails. It was exactly the inspiration I needed to get cracking! Release the Kraken! (Felt like saying that.)

Whether it’s nail art, lunch bags, necklaces, or artwork, I have a thing for owls!

So, for today’s post, I have an Owl Nail Art Tutorial for you with step-by-step written instructions and photos.

Although I used similar colours like in the original design I was inspired by, mine turned out slightly different because of my nail-painting style. Also, I have narrower nail beds. But, this just shows you that you can recreate any look, even if your nails are small. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! 😉

I think it’s important to remember that when recreating a look, it doesn’t have to be an exact replica of the original. It’s fun to keep the general vibe of the design, but to still be comfortable with putting your own spin on it.

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Nail Art Tutorial: Glitter Manicure…on a MAN!

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Glitter Manicure on a Man Pretty recently, I asked on Twitter if any of you had suggestions for nail-art designs to do on my friend.

I got a lot of great suggestions, but I settled on a simple gradient as well as dots.

Here’s the Glitter Manicure…on a MAN that I created!

Haha, originally, I was thinking about making this manicure more masculine, but as I started painting, it ended up being girly. 😉

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Nail Art: What I Wore on My Nails for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine's Day Nails Nail Art Swatch Valentine’s Day may be over, but I still wanted to show you what was on my fingertips.

My Valentine’s Day Nails included the traditional pink, red, and white, but I threw some black into the mix because I wanted it to have a bit of an anti-Valentine’s Day edge, too.

Initially, I was going to put hearts all over, but then opted for stripes for a different effect that was more sporty and unconventional for February 14. (Hehe, you know how I’m a little obsessed with vertical stripes on nails, right?)

This manicure is also symbolic because I believe everyone should ‘show their stripes’.

Although this striped skittle design is extremely simple, I ended up falling in love with it more than I thought I would. (I wore this manicure for 5 days!)

So, I’m single, and even though I didn’t get any flowers, chocolates, or stuffed toys, I still very much enjoy Valentine’s Day.

Last year, I went through an emotional split from a boyfriend a little before Valentine’s Day. From that horrible experience, a profound revelation arose. I realized that I had been in love with the man I thought he was, not the man he actually was. Huge difference!

This year, on February 14th, a guy who I just met recently professed his feelings for me! It was very sweet and genuine, so it made me feel like a million bucks! It also took me off-guard, which is a hard thing to do, because I’m pretty good at sensing these kind of things.

In a way, I considered this my Valentine’s Day gift because it put a huge smile on my face. (I know a lot of players who’ve just fed me lines that I can see through, but I think this guy is the real deal, so I took his words to heart.)

I’m still single, however. After having my heart stomped on in the past, I’m trying to be more discerning before going steady with anyone. For this reason, I’m casually dating some guys, and I’m honest about it.

Then, if I feel a spark with someone who I think is more long-lasting, I will go steady with one. If not, at least I’ve made new friends. In this way, I feel like I can keep my options open and avoid unnecessary heartbreaks from jumping in too soon and too fast. I believe that guys have to earn exclusivity by proving they’re in it for the long haul. Also, time is a great test because it lets you see how they’ll deal with problems that will eventually arise.

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Nail Art: Super Bowl Baltimore Ravens Nails

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Super Bowl Nails Nail Art Baltimore Ravens Will you be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday?

Despite not following football or being a huge fan of it, I’ll still catch the Super Bowl. Why? It’s such a glorified sports moment, and there’s an undeniable excitement surrounding it.

Are you rooting for the Baltimore Ravens or the San Francisco 49ers?

I’ll be happy for whichever team wins since I’m not enough of a fan of either to lean one way or the other.

However, I thought it would be fun to whip up a simple skittle manicure for some Super Bowl Baltimore Ravens Nails! The Baltimore Ravens’ team colours are right up my alley.

In this look, I used Deborah Lippmann Fade to Black, Topshop Glimmer (gold), and Topshop Late Show (purple).

If you want to create Baltimore Ravens nail art with a twist, you may want to add white to the mix in the form of dots. I think that would be a fun addition to this plain manicure.

Edit: For the San Francisco 49ers fans out there, I did a nail-art look with their team colours, too. Click here to see my San Francisco 49ers nail art.

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The Best of 2012

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The Best of 2012 Another year is coming to a close! Are you ready to see what 2013 brings?

What you probably didn’t know is that in 2012, I faced a lot of stressful issues in my personal life that caused me great emotional pain.

Blogging and interacting with you helped me push through it instead of giving up.

If you’ve been following Swatch And Learn for even a little while, I hope it’s evident that blogging and interacting with readers bring me a lot of happiness. Yes, it is hard work and very challenging to keep up, but I’m not the type of person who’s afraid of pulling up my sleeves to get things done.

Thank you for listening to what I think and for valuing my opinion, post after post and tweet after tweet. That is a big compliment!

Most of all, thank you, dear readers, for being encouraging and kind as well as for cracking the much-needed joke.

You remind me that genuinely good people are still out there. I needed that reminder, and you gave it to me in spades!

So, while in this post I list the best of 2012 in terms of nail polish, nail art, etc., I want you to know that Swatch And Learn readers are really the best of 2012!

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