Neutral Shapes

Hey guys!

Today I have a pretty fancy manicure for you.

I got this idea from a dress I saw Marie Claire magazine.

I was so excited to recreate this dress on my nails!

Well, I don't have much to say about this mani other than its neutral and its pretty simple.

The colors I used were an OPI (no name) White, Zoya Avery (Get it here!), and a Milani Black striper polish.

I used tape to create the basic shape in the center, then I used the black polish to create a stripe along one side as well as dots along the other side.

Well, that's that!
Enjoy!

Thank you for reading!

Have a great day!

C'est fini!:)

Illegal Leopard

Hey everyone!

I hope your week is going well! I'm going to New York City this weekend! YAY! :D

I'm too excited for words.

Anyway, today I did a wild leopard manicure with red polish as a base.

I don't have much to say for this one other than I love how it turned out

and it is my favorite manicure I've done so far!

I hope you enjoy!

I used NYC Big Apple Red (interesting, haha), Zoya Avery, and a no name OPI black :P

 

 

 

Thank you for reading!

I'll be back Monday -- with a small polish haul!

 

 

C'est fini!

:)



Hand and Nail Care Routine

Hello!

As promised from my last posts, here is my hand and nail care routine.

A bit late I may add. I apologize for that, but I visited a friend I hadn't seen in awhile!
I had a fantastic time and it was great to catch up!

So, a day late... here is my hand and nail care routine.

I usually do this 2-4 times per week depending on how dry my hands/cuticles are.

I am a huuuuge fan of Mary Kay Satin Hands. It literally is the best hand mask and scrub out there.

As for the lotion. There is nothing spectacular about the Mary Kay one, so I use whatever is striking my fancy at the moment. I used it here for the simple fact that it was available and part of the set.

PS: I purchased this on my own and I am not affiliated with Mary Kay nor am I a Mary Kay consultant.

Just to be clear, I use lotion on my hands constantly - not just when I do this routine.

Okay...

Here is what my set looks like. I have the peach scented one... it is the BEST!

It is available here. Or you can get the unscented one here.

 

The very first thing I do is wet my hands to moisten my skin.

 

Next, I will use the Satin Hands Hand Softener (I leave this on for about 3 minutes)

 

 Then I squirt a pump of the Hand Scrub on to my hands and massage it into my palms, backs of my hands, fingers, and between fingers. The scrub has bead-like things in it as well as tiny micro-scrubbie things - yes, my descriptions ARE fantastic. :p

(This is my favorite part by far! It feels so good!)

 

 After that it is time to rinse with warm water. I make sure all of the scrub is washed off completely.

Then I pat my hands dry with a hand towel.

 

Finally, I moisturize my hands with lotion.

 For cuticle and nail care I use these two things. Yep! Only two things.

I use Cuccio Naturale Cuticle Conditioning Butter Stick and any nail file that I have lying around.

This is what the stick looks like. 

 

 I glide the stick over each cuticle on both hands then I gently rub it in with my fingers.

This makes my cuticles feel heavenly!

 

After that step, I file my nails in whichever shape I desire at the time (currently it is a square nail) then I use a nail hardener on them and that's it! :)

 

Thank you for reading!

Up next: A good-bye to summer mani

 

C'est fini!

:)

 



Strawberry Jelly

Hello!

Today I wore my first scarf of the season!

I love fall weather.. it is my favorite! So I finally got to break out my fall scarves!

Thought I would share that little piece of information.

If you would like to see more little glimpses of my life follow me on instagram!

bellecouturenails

Today, I created my first 'jelly sandwich'

Why haven't I done this before? Someone tell me!

It's amazingggg. I love the effect!

-runs to buy more jelly polishes-

It gives a muted glitter look and I love it!

The base color I used is OPI: Bubble Bath and the glitter is OPI: Gettin' Miss Piggy With It.

It reminds me of strawberries. I also wanted to add some black glitter, but I have none.

On to the nails!

 

 

And just for the fun of it (and because I am obsessed with fall) I thought I would share my favorite fall candles with you! :)

These are from bath and body works, which in my opinion are the best candles!

Lucky for me, I made it to the 2 for $20 sale so I picked up Pumpkin Cupcake and Leaves.

I absolutely love Pumpkin Cupcake! It smells like a bakery with a mix of pumpkin carving. hahaha

I know, I'm so good with my descriptions!

And I'm sure everyone knows about the infamous Leaves.

I get it every fall because it just puts me in the fall spirit and I burn like 3 of these per year.

I need to go back and buy more scents!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Also, do you guys like when I add other little things (like candles and ellen) or no?

AND... can someone pleaseee, please help me with my layout or whatever? I'm begging you!

 

Thannnks!

Coming up next: Hand and Nail Care Routine

C'est fini!

:)

 

 

 



Owl Be Seeing You!

Bonjour!

How is everyone?

This design was inspired by my recent obsession with owls.

I have no idea where this came from.. oh well. I think they are cute!

Wait... I do know where I fell in love with them. I saw an owl Scentsy burner!

I thought it was adorable, so I wanted an owl on my nail. :)

The color you see on all other nails is Zoya Edyta. This color is probably going to be my favorite for fall.

Then on the "owl" finger. I used Zoya Avery for a base. Essie Set In Stones for the owl body.

Then I used little gold circle studs and beads that I got from a local beauty store for outlines.

I think it turned out cute. I'm not sure how much of an owl it really looks like though!

Just use your imagination. hahaha

Hey... I tried, okay? :)

Unfortunately, my top coat bubbled. Ugh.

Alright.. alright.. here it is!

Thanks for reading!

Coming up next: a funky blue design!

C'est fini

:)

Abstract Wine

Hi everyone! I've been spending my Sunday evening preparing for the week ahead.

I've got Breakfast at Tiffany's playing, candles lit, and nailart to post! :)

Since I'm going to New York City in a month I decided there was no better time to watch this movie.

Oh, I love New York.

Anywayyyyy... on to the nailart.

I painted my nails a really pretty gold-wine color.

I used: N.Y.C - Wing it Wine.

(Okay... I did NOT plan that! What a coincidence! haha)

I wanted to try doing a tape manicure. I really love doing this! It's so simple, yet gorgeous!

 I taped out triangle shapes on each nail and painted them in with a nude shade.

I used: Zoya - Avery.

I adore this color. It's very opaque so one coat is plenty! It makes it very easy when doing tape manicures since you have to remove the tape right away. :)

I think these colors look very nice together. I also added some gold accents!

Here is the masterpiece!

 

 

Thanks for visiting! :)



New Members

I know, I know...

it's been over a month since I've posted anything.

I've honestly just been getting my grown up life together.

I recently graduated from college so I was on the hunt for a big girl job.

Lucky for me, I landed an amazing job and I couldn't be happier!

But really, I have no excuse. I was lazy. Didn't post.

Don't worry! I didn't forget about ya'll.

Nail art is a huge passion of mine and it is very soothing to me.

That being said, I will never stop doing my own nails... Ever.

So.. I would like to come back with two new members of my little nail polish family!

I found these beautiful Zoya nail polishes at Ulta.

Honestly.. I can't believe I don't own more Zoya! They are SUPERB!

Anyway.. the colors I bought are Avery and Edyta.

They are so gorgeous and perfect fall (my favorite season) colors.

(actually, Rachel Zoe used Zoya Avery in her fall 2012 runway show!)

Avery is a cool, neutral beige that is creamy and very opaque!

 It's the perfect nude nail polish if you are on the hunt for a nude shade!

The second color, Edyta is indescribable!

That being said.. I will just give you the website's (www.zoya.com) description!

 "A complex mixture of gold, olive, blue-green and smoky grey with a sparkling metallic finish.

A dark shade balanced with sparkle for a dramatic look"

Perhaps now you see why it would be impossible for me to describe! :D

It is simply amazing!

 

(I don't have swatches because my next few posts will feature the colors! Stay tuned!)