How I Paint My Nails

I have also had several requests to know how I paint my nails. I have learned everything I know from watching videos myself and trial and error. This tutorial I made is the way that works best for me, and it's pretty simple.

Once upon I time I wasn't that great of a nail painter. After a lot of practicing and following certain steps, I have improved SO much. I still have moments where I am sloppy, but that's okay :)! It's so easy to just clean it up. I hope you watch this video and are inspired to paint your nails! You can go polished too! It just takes a little patience and practice.

Here is a picture of products I am currently enjoying, of coarse as I try out more products they can change.

Base Coat: ORLY Bonder is my favorite base coat right now. There are still others I want to try though. It has a rubbery consistency, which I think helps hold the polish to your nail.

Strengthener (optional): I use OPI Nail Envy as a base coat (instead of ORLY Bonder) if I feel like my nails are peeling more than usual. In that case I will use if for a few weeks at a time. Technically it is not a base coat, but it works great and gives my nails that extra boost they need sometimes. Amazon always has the best price for this, around $10 a bottle. In the store it is about $20 a bottle.

Nail Polish: OPI Miami Beet was my nail polish of choice for this tutorial. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time! It is a polish that has excellent formula and is a color that works for any season!
Pure Acetone: I use this for clean-up. You can also use nail polish remover, but I feel like this makes the process so much easier.

Clean-up Brush: I am sure you know by now that I love the Sonia Kashuk no 105 smudge brush for clean-up. I do want to try other brushes. Hopefully I can do that soon, but this one does the job and has a pretty good price tag. You can purchase this at Target.

Top Coat: I am testing out a bunch of top coats right now, but I have been using HK Girl Top Coat for months and I LOVE it!

CND Solar Oil: Because acetone is so drying I like to use this to replenish the oils around my nail bed. I apply this every time I paint my nails.

E.L.F. Angle Brush: Using this angled brush helps me to have control. When I apply the oil after I paint my nails, they usually aren't completely dry, so I like to use this angled brush for more control.

If you decide you like any of the items I list below you might want to drop a hint to your significant other ;). They would make great stocking stuffers. Or, you can do what I do and just stuff your own stocking! Ha!

Click on the link below for the tutorial:

Nail Tutorial: How I Paint My Nails

Please remember to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and give me a thumbs up if you found this tutorial helpful!

-Go Polished

Skeleton and Crossbones Manicure

Skeleton and Crossbones Nail Design

My last nail design for Halloween 2015! This is the manicure I will wear on Halloween Day. I love any black and white design because it can make anything look classic! Even a creepy skeleton and crossbones:). Right?!

Here are the supplies you will need (with links to each product I used):

Base Coat - OPI Nail Envy
Black polish- OPI Black Onyx
White polish -OPI Alpine Snow
Top Coat -HK Girl Fast Dry Top Coat
Nail striping tape -What's Up Nails vinyl regular straight tape
Detail brush -What's Up Nails #2
Pure Acetone
Clean-up brush -Sonia Kashuk no 105


-Click the link below for an easy to follow tutorial!!

Skeleton and Crossbones Nail Design

*If you recreate my design please use #gopolishednails in Instagram so I can see your designs!

-Go Polished

My #6 Favorite Fall Polish for 2015...

Butter London Lady Muck!

My favorite dusty blue shade for fall! I love this SO much because it is so unique. It is the perfect balance of gray and blue. The formula is a little sheer, but it builds up well with 3 coats. I applied 3 coats for the swatch below.

Lady Muck does have a slight silver shimmer to it, which is part of what makes it so unique. Sometimes when you have a polish with shimmer it doesn't translate to the nail, but the shimmer in Lady Muck does. And, it's just the right amount, it's not obnoxious at all. It's just SO fabulous for fall. I always wear brown when I wear it because they just make the perfect pair. :)

I couldn't find anything that came close to this color in all my searching. So I photographed it with these just to show you the color difference.

As you can see, compared to Essie Pedal Pusher, Pedal Pusher is much more blue and yellow. It also shows how mirky Lady Muck is compared to Essie Bikini So Teeny. Nothing quite like it! So, even though Butter London polishes are a little pricey, this one is definitely worth the money (in my opinion)!! You won't be disappointed if you get it. I promise! I really feel like it's a shade that would look good with any skin tone.

I decided to use my What's Up Nail stencils again for this look. This time the Moroccan stencil. I think it turned out so pretty!

Here is a short tutorial for this look. I didn't feel the need to make a full length tutorial because it was so similar to my Fall Leaves stencil tutorial-which you can find Here. You will see, the only difference is that I painted the top color on because it didn't sponge on very well.

So, what do you think about this color? Do you love it too?

-Go Polished  

#2 Favorite Fall Polish for 2015...

OPI Do You Have This Color In Stockholm?

 DYHTCIS-came out in the Fall 2014 Nordic Collection. It is a vibrant slightly blue toned purple. It has a crelly (cream/jelly) formula. Only two coats for full opacity. I love wearing white, gray or black  with this polish on my nails because it is a stand out! Gorgeous!

Comparisons from my collection. Compared to ORLY Saturated, you can tell Do You Have This Color in Stockholm has that slight blue tone. OPI Lost My Bikini in Molokini is more gray toned. Essie Suite Retreat is more blue and gray. OPI My Car Has Navy-gation is just as bright as DYHTCIS but is definitely Navy. No dupes in my collection. :)

Nail design using Do You Have This Color in Stockholm?- Fishtail design. Pretty simple, just takes some patience waiting for layers to dry. (Check out my Instagram for more nail designs-@gopolished) Have you ever tried doing a fishtail design? 

If you haven't tried it, click on the link below to watch on my YouTube Channel. :)

Fishtail Nail Tutorial

Stay tuned for my next Fall Favorite...

#1 Favorite Fall Polish for 2015...

China Glaze For Audrey

My most favorite China Glaze polish-Hand down! The most beautiful Tiffany blue polish-named after the elegant Audrey Hepburn. There is a reason this polish has been around since 2007! The flattering color and perfect formula make it hard to resist. It's opaque in two smooth creamy coats. Everyone should have this in their collection (in my opinion)!

I have four polishes in my collection to compare. Left to Right- China Glaze For Audrey, Essie Turquoise and Caicos, OPI My Dogsled is a Hybrid, and China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle. As you can see For Audrey is a turquoise which leans more blue (which is one reason I love it so much). It also has a subtle brightness/glow. Actually, I can't get enough of these turquoise shades. I like them all for different reasons (haha), but For Audrey is a stand out!

-Nail design for For Audrey- Polka Dots :). Simple. Love. Today was the first day it really felt like fall- perfect day to start showing off my fall favorites :).

Follow my Instagram account for more style integrated pictures of my nail designs-@gopolished.

My Spring 2015 Nail Polish Favorites

I am SO excited Spring is here! I love to pull out a few of my bright and pastel polishes this time of year. I went through my collection and pulled together 12 of my favorite spring-time colors. They are in no particular order. 

OPI-You're Such a Budapest. LOVE this gorgeous pastel purple the formula is a crelly (cream/jelly) with a subtle silver shimmer. It's my most favorite polish to date! It glides on your nail and applies very evenly. Swatch is 3 coats.

China Glaze-Wanderlust. This is from their Spring 2015 Road Trip collection. It's a cool toned pink crelly with a coppery shimmer (which was hard to pick up on camera). This is 3 coats.

Essie- Splash of Grenadine (my second favorite polish) is a crelly pinky purple and it applies like a dream! This isn't part of their permanent line, but I found mine on Amazon. 2 coats

OPI-Gargantuan Green Grape is a light blue/green cream polish. There are two versions of this polish. The other one leans more lime green. I prefer this one :). 3 coats 

Essie-Bikini So Teeny is a periwinkle that leans more blue than purple. I love the subtle silver shimmer in this polish, and I feel like it makes it last even longer on the nails. 2 coats, should have done 3 though.

Essie- Playdate is a bright cheery Purple cream. Love this one in the summer time as well! 2 coats

Essie-First Timer is a bright grass green. Love this shade so much. 2 coats

OPI-50 is the New Fabulous is a deeper bright pink. I think this particular shade is discontinued. Although, a shade like this is not hard to find, this just happens to be the one I have. I love it's crelly formula. Are you seeing a pattern here?! Can't get enough crellies!! 2 coats

Illamasqua-Noble is a sky blue polish. This brand is a little more pricey, but the formula gets an A+. 2 coats.

OPI-Lost My Bikini in Molokini is from OPI's 2015 Spring/Summer Hawaii Collection and I couldn't pass it up. I love me a good purple. 2 Coats

OPI-Cajun Shirmp is a cult favorite. It's a bright orange/red jelly polish. I find most orange polishes don't look great on my skin tone but, I feel like I can pull this one off. 2 coats

Sally Hansen- Pacific Blue is one of my most favorite polishes. This cobalt blue is stunning! And the formula is impeccable, and it's only $2! Too bad they recently reformulated it :(. If you can find the old one at the store (with this big uniform X) then snag it!

Hope you enjoyed seeing my favorites. 

What are some of your favorites for this time of year?