tutorials

COMME des GARÇONS INSPIRED MANI

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

As most of you know, New York Fashion Week is wrapping up, but that doesn’t mean it’s over– there’s still London, Milan, Paris, Tokyo, etc… To get into the spirit of Fashion Weeks around the globe, we’ll be sporting this COMME des GARÇONS inspired mani! Not only is COMME des GARÇONS a super-chic brand, but it also has the cutest/coolest little heart logo. This is a very simple mani and since the heart shape is not supposed to be perfect, even the most uncoordinated can do this! Here we go!

  1. Start with clean, bare nails.
  2. Using a rich red color, make a rounded diagonal stroke on one corner of the nail.
  3. Now repeat that on the other side of the nail and make sure they connect in the middle.
  4. Clean up around each nail.
  5. Throw a black heart in there for good measure!
  6. Use a bobbypin to make the whites of the eyes. Make a dot, then drag it out a little on each side. Remember: this shouldn’t look too perfect. If you google the COMME des GARÇONS heart, you’ll see that the lines aren’t perfect.
  7. Use a skinny hairpin (or U-pin) to make black dots in the center of the white.
  8. Give it a good topcoat!

Hope everyone enjoyed NY Fashion Week!

Special thanks to my awesome friend Leon for giving me this idea.

tutorials

THE TAPE TRICK

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

We get so many emails + comments regarding the tape mani. I’ve heard that many of you have trouble peeling the tape back without messing the mani. So here’s the simple trick!

  1. Paint your base coat and let it dry for a full hour. Remember– you never want to make the base coat too thick because the thicker it is, the longer it takes to dry.
  2. Take a piece of tape and blot the sticky side on your fingers and on the palm of your hand. When you do that, the oils from your hands stick to the tape making it significantly less sticky and easier to peel off the base coat.
  3. Paint your nail, wait about one minute and then peel. Personally I don’t like the polish to dry too much before I peel because it gets “stringy” when you peel it. On the other hand, you don’t want to do it right away because if it’s too fresh, it can run.

Another option is to use painter’s tape. It’s designed to be less stick and to not peel off the paint that you stick it to. This is just a DIY option! Good luck ladybugs!

UPDATE: Here are the colors used in this tutorial- silver is by Obessive Compulsive + licac is by Essie.

tutorials

NAILED IT!

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

It seems pastels and pops of color are the norm around here, but today we’re changing it up! Sometimes you just want a super chic black mani. I happen to love black more than any other color so this one’s for my girls who like to live on the dark side. Here we go: READ MORE…

tutorials

BEST NAIL POLISH SHADES

photos: Jen Gotch, post Kristin Ess

Seasons in between seasons are often the best. Pre-fall is great because you get a chance to mix the brightness of summer with the moody trend tones of fall. Today we’re showing you the majority of the colors we’ll be using in our upcoming mani tutorials. We always like to give you a lil preview so you can stock up and get your nail art kit ready to go. A couple of them might be a little hard to find, depending on where you are, but you can always get something similar at your local beauty supply…

 

tutorials

POINT à POINT

photos/post: Kristin Ess nail art: Kimberly Hong

It’s good to change things up every now and then. Today let’s have a some fun with the classic French mani, shall OUI!? We’re simply adding two rows of cute little dots below the classic French manicure line. Simple enough, right? Get out your dotting tool and let’s get started! READ MORE…