Sushi is Bae Nail Art

Sushi nail art by @chalkboardnails

Sushi is Bae Nail Art  || I love sushi and so does most of the rest of the world. It's fresh and delicious and actually gorgeous. Have you SEEN the color of raw tuna? I want to paint my LIFE in it!

Anyway, as with most things I love, I decided to try to put it on my nails. Because, naturally. I've seen a lot of gorgeous interpretations of sushi nails lately, but I did try to make mine "my own."

Sushi nail art by @chalkboardnails

On my thumb, I put my bae tuna. My pointer is tamagoyaki, which honestly I chose more for it's color than anything -- I have only eaten it once! My middle finger is salmon, my ring finger is rice, and my pinkie is intended to look like avocado with sesame seeds.

Quick sidebar about the rice nail that might give you some insight into my brain: in hindsight, if I were to do this all over again, I would paint individual white grains of rice over a negative space clear nail. I think that would read more like rice and look cooler than what I attempted here. The grey patterning is hard to read.

Sushi nail art by @chalkboardnails

I used gel polish for this, but won't be able to list out all of the materials I used. I did a lot of color mixing, layering, and blending, and beyond that, I wore this manicure a month or two ago and I don't remember the specifics. Oops! 😇

Are you a sushi fan? What's your favorite thing to order?

Simple Constellation Nail Art

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

Simple Constellation Nail Art || I was due for a fresh set of gel polish this week, and have been craving black and white lately. I don't usually gravitate towards dark nail colors, because I feel like they make my nails look small and (sometimes) weird. #truenailconfessions. BUT, I've been seeing black and white nails all over my feed lately, and it had me wanting it on my own fingers.

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails
Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

Since I try to ride out these gel polish sets as long as possible, I can't slack on the nail art for my right hand. I figured constellations would be easy enough that I could pull off something passable using my left hand.

I started with two coats of my new favorite black gel polish, Presto #060 Minaccioso. Next, I used Wildflower's Art Paints in Powder to paint on constellations and stars. Then, I used two coats of gel topcoat to seal the paint details in. Easy peasy!

Constellation Nail Art by @chalkboardnails

P.S. They're all based on real constellations! I wanted to do my zodiac sign, but who knew Sagittarius had so many stars in it?!?!?

10 Things Your Nails Can Tell You About Your Health

10 Things Your Nails Can Tell You About Your Health || Eyes may be the windows to the soul, but nails can offer an important glimpse into your overall health. It turns out, having strong, healthy nails isn’t just good news for your manicure - unpleasant nail symptoms could also indicate bigger health problems. We spoke with John Anthony, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Debra Jaliman, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist and author of Skin Rules about the nail symptoms you shouldn’t ignore (and which are totally normal).


The problem: Yellow nails
“This can happen naturally with age,” says Dr. Anthony. “But it’s also sometimes due to nail lacquers or acrylic nails.” If you often wear acrylic nails or paint your nails and are having this problem, try taking a break from the salon and give nails a chance to recover. Another possible cause: smoking, which can stain nails and give them a yellowish hue.

The problem: Dry, cracked, or brittle nails
This issue is a common one, and there are a few possible causes. “Soft, brittle nails can occur from dryness on the nail plate,” says Dr. Jaliman. “This could be from swimming, overuse of nail polish remover, frequent dishwashing without gloves, or just from living in a low-humidity environment.” Other possible causes include chemicals (such as if you’re frequently exposed to cleaning products) or aging. However, if brittle nails are an ongoing problem, speak to your doctor: sometimes hypothyroidism (a condition where the thyroid works too slowly) causes this side effect, too.


To soothe cracked nails, try slathering them with a super-moisturizing lotion. Like your skin, nails are absorbent, and lotion can prevent them from drying out in the future. Dr. Jaliman recommends choosing a product that contains hyaluronic acid, glycerin or Shea butter (we like SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter, $13 at amazon.com). If that doesn’t help, you can also try taking biotin, an over-the-counter nutritional supplement that promotes healthy nail growth.

The problem: Clubbing
“Clubbing of the nails - when the ends of your fingers swell and the nail becomes curved and rounded - can sometimes be a sign of liver or kidney disease,” says Dr. Anthony. If you’re experiencing this, speak to your doctor.

The problem: White spots
Many people believe that white spots on nails indicate a calcium deficiency, but this isn’t typically the case: “Usually, those white spots are not very significant,” Dr. Anthony says. “They’re often the result of minor trauma, such as if you whack your finger against something, and aren’t generally to do with calcium.”

The problem: Horizontal ridges
“I sometimes see transverse (side to side) ridges on nails,” says Dr. Anthony. “This is typically the result of direct trauma to the nail or a more serious illness, in which case you’ll see it on more than one nail at a time.” The reason? When your body is working overtime to combat an illness, it saves its energy for the important stuff. “Your body is literally saying, ‘I’ve got better things to do than make nails’ and pauses their growth,” he explains.

Another possible cause for those side-to-side ridges? “Horizontal lines across the nail plate can also be caused by a drug reaction, for example if the patient recently had chemotherapy,” says Dr. Jaliman.


The problem: Vertical ridges
This is usually a normal sign of aging. “Just like wrinkles on your face, you also get lines on your nails as you age,” says Dr. Jaliman.

The problem: Severely bitten nails
Nail-biting is a common habit, but if it’s excessive - say, constant biting or picking at the skin around the nails - it could be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder. “Sometimes psychiatric medicine is required to treat OCD-related nail biting,” says Dr. Jaliman. “A bitter-tasting compound that’s polished onto the nails can help, too.”


The problem: “Spoon” nails
“Spoon” nails refer to a very thin nail which has become concave in shape. “This is usually a sign of iron deficiency anemia,” says Dr. Jaliman, who recommends speaking to your doctor if you’re experiencing this. “It can be treated with iron supplements.” Extremely pale nails could also be a sign of iron deficiency anemia.

The problem: Pitting
Speak to your doctor if your nails are covered with pits or dents, as this could be a sign that you have psoriasis, says Dr. Jaliman.

The problem: Dark stripes or a painful growth
If you have black discoloration on your nails (such as black streaks) or a painful growth on the nail, see your doctor immediately. “Melanoma that comes from the nail unit is serious, and can sometimes cause black lines or stripes to appear on the nail,” says Dr. Anthony. “So if you see those changes happening on your nails, it’s important to see a doctor.” And although melanoma is generally less common in Hispanic, Asian and black populations, Anthony says that those patients may actually be more likely to see dark stripes when the disease is present - making a trip to the doctor even more important.

Source : news.health.com

How to Do a Stripe Design with Tape - Nail Art Stencils

How to Do a Stripe Design with Tape - Nail Art Stencils || Yeah so an easy way to do a nail design if you don't have confidence in your hand. Painting skills is to use tape in the past year or so people have really gotten into this and it's because it's a very simple easy way to do very clean, intricate designs or something very
simple if you wanted number one rule.

When doing a tape design is to make sure that your base coat is completely dry it can't be tacky whatsoever, the tape you want to be able to push it down as hard as you can because if you. Don't do that, the paint that you put over it will go under the tape and it will leave a messy line and nobody wants that so make sure that your base coat is completely dry and then, i'm just gonna show you guys a really simple way to do like a nice striped look on your nail.


I use painters tape I find that's the best I'm sure you could use masking tape, I wouldn't suggest duct tape that would be too much scotch tape even would, probably work but we are just going to go ahead and cut some really thin lines with this tape and then set them aside, and try to make them as even as possible and i'm going to go in a diagonal fashion across my thumb ,so you just cut maybe seven or eight of these as straight as you can, and the great thing about using tape to do design is that if you're not good.

Enough it using your left hand when doing nail art when you put tape on it, you don't have to worry about that you just paint over it and the tape does the work for you, it's very lovely.

Ok so now just take your tape and just lay it over like I said I'm gonna do diagonal push, it down make sure that you get all the way to the edge of the nail and then, I just like to kind of squeeze in that crease right there, just make sure you have it on there as good as possible another one right next to it. 

Yeah and you know if you mess up you can always just take it off and put it back on again, simple as that you know I've also seen a lot of people, use i'm not exactly sure what you would. 

Call them but when you have a lot of papers in a binder and you want to reinforce the holes on the paper and those little stickers you can use those and put them on your nails, you can use any kind of sticker I guess stars, we won't have some fun with it get creative I mean go to not just an art, supply store but an office supply store you can find lots of stuff to use on, your nails. Ok.

So we have our tape down in our diagonal fashion go over it again, make sure that it's down as much as possible so that no paint will get under there should just wear it like that huh.

So I'm going to use black to put over this because we're going for a tease clam here, then just go ahead and cover the nail liberally, yeah sometimes you have to dab the paint on, there to get in all the creases extensively, we go that looks pretty good and I wouldn't suggest waiting for it to dry, just go ahead and peel these off one by
One and voila cover it with a nice top coat and you have a wonderful little stripe. Design using tape as easy as that

Watercolor Wash with Splattered Accents

Watercolor marbled nails by @chalkboardnails

Watercolor Wash with Splattered Accents || Recently, I had the very exciting opportunity to do an interview with our local CW station here in Phoenix, CW6! I knew they would be filming an up-close view of me doing some nail art, so I knew I had to do something jazzy on my own nails, too. I adapted this look from a Neiru lesson called "Fuchsia Swirl" by Mariko Shida.

Watercolor marbled nails by @chalkboardnails

It's super easy to get this look, especially if you're working with gel. I'm sure many of you guys have seen the drag marble looks with nail polish, right? Well this is the same, but in gel, you aren't working against the evaporating solvents and drying nail polish!

After prepping and applying your base coat, start with one coat of your main base color and cure. I'm using Presto Sordino.

Apply a second coat of your base color, but don't cure just yet! Add some swipes of your additional colors, as well as some thin lines of black gel. Clean off a striper brush, and use it to drag through the wet gel. This look is more of a "long, swoopy lines" type of marble, but you can draw whatever pattern you want. Cure your marbling.

Finally, add some splattered details. I actually used Gelish Pinch of Pepper for this particular manicure, but you could hand paint on some black and white as well.

Watercolor marbled nails by @chalkboardnails

Full product list:
Gelish Foundation and Top It Off
Presto Sordino (grey)
Presto Bis (mustard)
Presto Garante (blue)
Presto Con Amore (neon yellow)
Gelish Carnaval Hangover (purple)
Gelish Pinch of Pepper (black and white glitter)
Gelish Matte Top It Off

Watercolor marbled nails by @chalkboardnails

If you're curious, you can also check out my interview with the CW! Here is the manicure I was working on for the segment (shoutout to my friend Kristi for stepping up as a last minute model).

The Collector - Golden Decals for Your Odder Side

The Collector - Gel manicure with decals by @chalkboardnails

The Collector - Golden Decals for Your Odder Side || I titled these nails "The Collector."

Doesn't it seem like an amalgamation of weird items that you'd find in some spooky antique shop, owned by a weird dude that probably does a little spellcasting on the side?

These golden Wrap Artist decals pair with the soft, pink base in a really cool way. It's a sort of girly-meets-peculiar juxtaposition that I really enjoy!

The Collector - Gel manicure with decals by @chalkboardnails

I began by applying Presto Secco as my gel polish base. It's a really pretty soft pink that I actually bought for bridal season, but that works great year round as a more "natural" look!

Then, I applied the Wrap Artist decals. These are water slide decals, which is my preferred method of application for decals. They just work better! I used decals from both the "Bone Structure" and "Oddities" sheets for this look, but you should really just go look around the Wrap Artist site, 'cause there are so many awesome options.

After blotting off any excess water, I applied my gel topcoat to seal everything in and cured. The decals are very thin - I only needed one coat of gel top to smooth everything away.

The Collector - Gel manicure with decals by @chalkboardnails

I had a few people at work questioning the weirdness of this manicure (though just as many thought it was awesome, too). A client was like, "Um, did you know you have bugs on your nails?"

Yeah, I'm aware, and I love it!