Abstract Dreamcatcher Nails

Here is my companion piece to the dotted bow nails, a slightly less girly mix and match manicure in pink and aqua. I used a detail paintbrush, a cosmetic sponge and some rhinestones as far as tools needed for these nails.

Materials and methods, from right to left:
Thumb: Two coats of OPI's "Got a Date To-Knight," seal with matte topcoat, gold glitter gradient with Orly FX "Too Fab" on top 2/3 of nail.
Pinky and pointer: 2 coats of Sally Hansen "White On." Load up cosmetic sponge with Layla "Aqua Zen" and "Got a Date To-Knight." Blend onto nail with sponge so that the aqua is on the tip of the nail. Seal with regular fast drying top coat.
Middle Finger: 2 coats of Essie's "Mint Candy Apple." Painted design with small nail detail brush and OPI's "Black Onyx." Three rhinestones were randomly placed on design and sealed in with more top coat.
Ring: 2 coats of Ulta's "High Roller," 2 coats of "Too Fab."

All the colors worked quite nicely together, except Aqua Zen. I was originally going to use it for the center nail, but it was too dark to contrast with the black to make the design pop. It works well as an ombre color on the sponge painted nails because blending it with a light pink and a white is much less dramatic.

More pictures of the nail art:

(I made the bracelet too. The band is copper I sawed cutouts from and the stone in the middle is a piece of buffalo jasper).

Materials used: Ciate fast drying top coat, Sally Hansen "White On" Orly matte top coat, Julep base coat, tweezers for rhinestone placement, wedge sponge for ombre nails, Essie "Mint Candy Apple"
OPI "Black Onyx" little plastic card sleeve for painting/mixing, Ulta "High Roller" OPI "Got a Date To-Knight" Orly "Too Fab" Layla "Aqua Zen."

Zoya- Dot

I guess I was a bit tardy to the "natural" nail polish party, but I'm back, and now actually have a Zoya polish. I've had my nails done with it in salons before, but I guess other brands always seem to catch my attention first. No longer! I saw this lovely color and thought maybe, just maybe I'd get a ynbb out of this that wasn't streaky, sheer and awful.
I love this formula. It's incredibly opaque, no streaks, and the thick polish hardens to a very glossy texture, kind of similar to Butter London's finishes.
Anyways, Dot is is a lovely color, and I did just that, created some dots on my nails that I turned into rosebuds- the flower kind, not the Citizen Kane variety. Somehow, black and white toboggan nails were never high on my nail art priority list.
The base coat is some random NYC polish I have and the little black bits are from my black Sally Hansen nail art pen. Stripers and dotting tools just weren't going to happen today.

Essie- Mint Candy Apple

Essie claims that this color started a "revolution" when this shade was introduced in 2008. I was in high school and only buying cheap drugstore makeup at the time, so I only recently got into the mint/pastel trend about two years ago. This color is not seasonal, and can be purchased for about $8 USD wherever Essie is sold. It is a pale blue-green creme polish.
I love the color, but getting it on to the nail and making it stay on the nail is a bit of an issue. The formula is really sheer, so some nails required a third coat to look opaque. Also, chipping an tipwear is not as good as it could be for a supposedly "high end" polish. However, I like to wear this polish because it makes skin look more tan and because it is more blue than other similar "mint" polishes.
I went out for a friend's birthday last night, so I added some stripes to the polish so it would be more special. The other colors I used were Wet n' Wild in Plenty of Fish in the Sea and China Glaze in Modify Me.

Orly- Gumdrop

Gumdrop is one of the many pastel shades that came up in the aftermath of the so called "revolution" Essie's "Mint Candy Apple" started in 2008. Gumdrop is a lovely pale green creme, which is dark enough to be appropriate for seasons colder than spring and summer. It is part of Orly's permanent collection, which runs for about $8.50 USD each and feature an ergonomically designed rubber cap that gets updated every once in a while along with color and logo on the bottle. Mine happens to be the 2012 version.
This is one of my favorite polishes. I t applies evenly, is opaque in two coats and not sheer despite the fact that it is a pastel, and makes a great backdrop for any nail art design. Even without a topcoat, it is very difficult to chip. Of all the pastel greens and blues I own, this is my favorite because it is not too pale and not prone to dings and streaking.

The "Crackle" topcoat I put on a few accent nails here is Nabi's "Crack Nail" in Gray. I know this trend is a bit old, but this particular crackle effect topcoat is my absolute favorite at any price point I have ever had and occasionally I feel like wearing it.