Holiday Underside Mani

Nail Polish Canada’s Holiday Nail Art Challenge is happening right now!!  I did Snowbunny Nails for WEEK 1 and I got a lot of votes… so THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me!!!!!  Although I didn’t secure 1st place I received a lot of sweet comments on my skiing bunnies, so it was still a WIN.  🙂

I just finished my second design for the holiday challenge since it’s week 2 right now.  The theme for this week is DECORATIONS.  Since I love DECORATING the underside of my nails- I went with a holiday UNDERSIDE MANI, as I like to call them! 🙂 

Underside manis are easy to do as long as your nails have some length to them. Just use a polish that has a skinny or small brush so you don’t bump your skin too much.  I like to wipe most of the paint off my brush so it doesn’t drip all over.  A few thin coats underneath are better than thick ones.  I painted it carefully and I didn’t need to do any cleanup at all.  I used a gold foil polish called Golden-I by Sally Hansen.  Then I placed some tiny blue rhinestones for extra appeal.

To keep in line with the DECORATIONS theme- I naturally wanted to add designs to the top of my nails too.  I pulled inspiration from some traditional-type holiday decor; snow flakes, candy canes, a trimmed Christmas tree and a string of holiday lights.  The snowflakes and candy cane designs were stamped using MoYou London Festive 03 stamping plate.  Then I hand-painted the Christmas tree and lights.

Because it’s half stamped and half-hand painted it has a very mix-matched feel… but I think the studded undersides bring it all together!  I hope you like them!

Here’s the URL if you’d like to vote for me or your other favorite nails: NAIL POLISH CANADA WEEK 2 DECORATIONS.  Votes can be placed on the bottom of that page…just pick me (CRAFTYNAIL) from the list of bloggers.  You have to enter your name and email to vote, but don’t worry- they will not spam you. 🙂  Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!

Black and White Underside Mani

Today I’ve got a funky manicure for you- I like to call it my ‘underside mani’ where I paint the underside of my nails.  I’ve done this look before with studs and Louboutin-style… but never with hand-painted nail art!  Today’s the day to try that!

For this look I started with a couple coats of L.A. Girl Black Illusion on top and underneath my nail tip.  This encapsulated my nails so they looked black from every direction. 🙂   Then I painted some whites stripes in a bold pattern on the underside of my nails.  My nails are very curved so it was difficult to make the lines look perfect, or maybe I just need some practice.  I also added some tiny red rhinestones to spice it up a little….and some seche vite topcoat to help it all dry quickly.  I think this is so funky and fun!  What do you think of my underside mani?  Crazy cool, or just crazy?

Studded Underside Mani

Day 28 of the nail art challenge is upon us!  The theme for today is ‘inspired by fashion’.  I’m pulling my inspiration from Christian Louboutin and the trendy ‘Louboutin manicure’.  Last time I did a Louboutin manicure on myself I absolutely loved it!  You can view my louboutin mani here.   That’s when I fell in love with the idea of painting the underside of my nail with a pretty color!  That makes sense when you think about it- especially for ladies with very long nails. We work hard to grow our nails this length- why not show them off?  We make the top all nice and pretty but then the non-painted underside looks so blah?  Well, I don’t think so!!!  This underside mani is dedicated to all the fashionistas out there that want pretty nails from top to bottom!  It’s a 360 degree manicure and I love it!  I haven’t really seen too much of it online so here’s my version of a studded underside mani!

To create this look I did a quick coat of Orly Ridge Filler on top and under my nails.  After that was dry I applied 2 coats of Elephantistic Pink from OPI.  When I painted, I did the underside first… then the top of the nails.  But I don’t think the order really matters, especially if you’re using the same color on top and bottom.  Then I applied a topcoat of seche vite (on top and underneath my nail) and waited for that to dry.  Lastly, I dotted some clear polish and applied black studs from Claire’s Cosmetics.  I’m glad I was able to fit exactly two studs on the underside of each nail so it looks symmetrical.

The idea of painting the underside of my nail is not really new to me.  When I apply nail strengthener as my basecoat- I apply it under the free edge of my nail (the underside) and I also make sure to wrap my tip well.  I do this each time I start a new mani.  I think this is a great way to protect your nails and help them grow nice and long.  If I go through all that then I might as well paint them pink and add studs too, right?  So what do you think of my pink underside mani?