easy and quick polka dot nails.

i feel like i have bought every "neon" nail polish from every brand that claims theirs is the most vibrant. puh-lease. i am dissapointed every time. well, my friends, the search is over. i FINALLY found nail polishes that give the effect as if they are glowing. the camera does not do justice for this yellow nailpolish at all. the nail polish is from the orly summer 2012 collection called "feel the vibe" in the color glowstick. i must have been at ulta the day they came out because i went the next day to get the other colors and they were all sold out!
i searched amazon and found the blue one from the collection: purchase here
i have been to what seems like every ulta in a 25 mile radius from me and they are no where to be found- if you find an ulta that still has them in stock let me know!
i wanted to do something bright and fun, so i created polkda dots on my nails. i don't like the look that a toothpick gives- the dots are too small. i didn't want to go through the trouble of finding a dotting tool online then waiting for it to arrive, so i looked for an alternative. i have tried various things and have discovered that the rubber tip of a bobby pin gives me the best polka dots! it really is SO simple and requires absolutely no skill.

if you prefer a dotting tool, you can purchase one here.

what you will need:
-nail polishes of choice
-topcoat
-bobby pin

first, pain your base color. if you're using a highlighter yellow color like i am, it might take a few coats to become opaque. you could also apply a white nail polish first to make it even more vibrant.

next, take the tip of your bobby pin and press it againts the brush. another option is you could put nailpolish on a plastic plate and dip the bobby pin into that.

after you have the nail polish on the rubber tip of your bobby pin, gently press it onto your nails creating a pattern of dots. REMEMBER: you need to reapply more nailpolish after every 4 dots.

this look is so simple and only took me about 10 minutes. you could create more dots with different colors or even leave it like this:

i applied more dots with two other colors, then applied a top coat: 

 i hope you like this look! thanks for reading!

-leah

no wand, no worries.

i purchased a styling wand from hot tools about a year ago. i was watching an episode of teen mom (sue me, sue me...i know) and fell absolutely in LOVE with chelsea houska's hair. her curls weren't the type you see in the pantene commercials,

( <---- i mean really, who does this?)
 and her hair wasn't "scrunched". i couldn't figure out exactly how she did it. after doing my "research", i found out she used a styling wand. i was getting ready when i could NOT find my styling wand. i looked everywhere and had called all my friends to make sure i didn't leave it at their house. it was no where to be found. then, i realized, "my styling wand, my holy grail...was left at the hotel." there was nothing i could do about it, seeing as the hotel was 15 hours away. i needed to do something-i was completely over the look that a curling iron gave. i. needed. my. wand. so, i improvised. i used my curling iron. i was hesitant because i worried that it would leave a crease in my hair, but it didn't. that's why i'm here to prove to you...

no wand? no worries!


all you'll need:

-1 inch curling iron
(your curling iron barrel needs to be 1 inch. if it's larger than that, there will be too much wand and not enough hair. therefore you're not going to get the look you want unless you have really long hair.)
-hairspray of choice
(they all work the same to me)
-dry shampoo
(hair curls easier when it's dirty and it also holds longer. so, go a day without washing your hair then spray this in your roots. it also adds texture if you want to create a side braid, etc.)
-a teasing comb
(this is optional, but i highly suggest it.)
-brush

click here to purchase the curling iron i used. it's 6 dollars cheaper online.

first, you'll want to section your hair off. if your hair is thin with hardly any layers, you could just section it into two halves. if your hair is thick or you have multiple layers i would divide it into 3 sections.

the next part is tricky if it's your first time. be careful not to burn your fingers- you can purchase special gloves for this that way it's easier to wrap your hair around the barrel of the curling iron.

 click here to order a heat resistant curling iron glove.

wrap your hair around the barrel. you want to get every inch of your hair around it. if you don't, all the ends will be straight.

in the picture above, i don't have the end of the hair wrapped around the barrel just yet. since there is more hair at the top of the barrel, i leave it for about 15 seconds, then wrap the end of the hair slowly and carefully around the barrel and hold it for about 10 seconds.

after 25 seconds, DO NOT pull the curling iron away from the hair. release the hair by just letting go of the end. the results look immensely better if you let the hair fall from the curling iron in a downwards spiral direction.

it's that easy. the results:
(my beautiful friend torri liening)

some people may already do this, or have figured out that you don't need to waste your money on a styling wand when you can use your current curling iron. if not, i hope this helped! another option is to remove the clamp from the curling iron- i don't like to do this because i enjoy having 2 products in 1 :)

thanks for reading!
-leah

to create this look, you will need: 
-micro beads
-nail polish of choice
-two bowls (one to mix the beads in and one to catch the remaining ones)
-a flat makeup brush for setting the beads

i purchased 2 larger containers of beads (one white and one black) and a set of smaller ones consisting of  light blue, dark blue, green, pink, red, and purple beads.


where: michaels
brand: recollections (martha stewart makes these as well but for 3 times the price)
price: $1.99 for the the black and white micro beads each and $4 for the 6 pack of multi colored micro beads. michaels is having a 50% off sale on this brand, so don't waste any time.

Click here to get a 20 count set of micro beads! :)

before painting your nails, prepare a mixture of what beads you want. you can do this or just use one color:

after you prepare your color choice of beads, paint your nails one coat of nail polish.  i'm using "beach cruiser" by orly from their new summer collection.

where: ulta
brand: beach cruiser by orly in their 2012 summer collection called "feel-the-vibe"
price: $8.50 each

it's VERY vibrant in person, it appears dull on camera.

this color may be sold out since the collection is new: 

Click here to buy this nail polish for $2 cheaper :)


the next part is the most important- paint your second coat of nail polish more thick than you usually would. this holds the beads in place:

since the nail needs to be wet when you sprinkle on the beads, you have to do one nail at a time.

slowly sprinkle the beads onto the wet nail- they cling flawlessly:

after the beads cling to your nail, take a flat makeup brush and gently (let me stress that...
G-E-N-T-L-Y) pat the beads. this will set them into the polish:

the brush i'm using:

where: target
brand: elf
price: $1

to store the excess beads, i used an old lotion bottle from a hotel.

believe it or not, after that you are FINISHED! dry time is quick, and a top coat is optional. not only is this look cheap, but it is far more simple than it looks. it only took me a total of about ten minutes even though it looks as if it requires time and skill.

completed look:

If you sprinkle your nails, tweet me a picture here! :)

thanks for reading!
-leah