Tales From the Borderlands Nails, Part Two: Fiona

When I posted my first Tales from the Borderlands manicure a couple of months ago, I heard from a few folks that I should also do some nails for the game's other main character, Fiona. Well, I love Fiona a ton, and the only reason I shied away from doing a design for her the first time around was because I knew how much harder it would be, so... I really have no good reason for not doing it the first time around, is what I'm saying here.

It took me a little while to pull together my ideas—and supplies—to execute this look how I'd envisioned, but it turns out my timing is actually pretty good: the fifth and final episode of Tales from the Borderlands was released just a couple of weeks ago, making now a great time to get excited about the game and go check it out. I talked up TftB a bunch in my last post, so I won't repeat myself, but guys, seriously. Go play it. You won't regret it.

Anyway! On to the nails!

My Picture Polish!

*press samples*

Today is a special day: it's My Picture Polish day!

Playful Pink Floral Nail Art

I'm still here! Illness, work, and some other things have really been kicking my butt lately and eating up my blogging time, but I swear I'm still here. I have had a chance to do a bit of nail art, though, so that's something, right?

Today I have some freehand floral nails to share with you. I haven't done a great many floral patterns in my time as a nail blogger: not because I don't like them, but because I just don't have a lot of confidence that I can execute them well. I recently dug up some inspirational images that I'd saved, though, so I finally decided to take a shot at recreating one of them.

Blue and Brown Stamped Waterfall Nail Art

I didn't have a chance yesterday to share the nails I wore for Thanksgiving (I was rushing to get out the door for dinner), so I thought I'd go ahead and put them up today. Better late than never, right? They're really more of a general wintery look than Thanksgiving, anyway, so hopefully I can be forgiven.

Tan Flannel Stamped Nail Art

I wasn't planning on posting this manicure originally, but after some kind comments from my Instagram followers when I posted a preview over there, I decided to go ahead and go for it. I also found that the right camera angles can actually hide a LOT of flaws!

Woodland Waterfall

Whenever I'm lacking inspiration, I find myself gravitating toward the waterfall technique invented by The Nailasaurus because it's so fun and easy. Just pick out a few colors that strike your fancy and grab your striping brush, and that's it! There's very little stress or planning involved, so I always feel like it's one of the more relaxing manicures I can do.

A Galaxy Far, Far Away (From What I Intended)...

Yes, I went there with the Star Wars pun. Sorry, not sorry. :)

My galaxy nails never turn out how I expect them to. I don't know if it's something about my technique, or just a weird short circuit in my head somewhere between idea and execution, but I always start with a very specific vision for my galaxy manicures and then... end up with something completely different when I'm all finished. Today's look is no exception!

Michael Kors Resort 2014 Nails (Part 2)

Nail art inspired by fashion is one of my absolute favorite things—both to see others do, and to do myself. I did a fashion-inspired look once before, when my blog was still living exclusively on tumblr (and I was still learning how to take decent pictures, eep!), but as it turns out, I guess I wasn't quite finished exploring the possibilities of the Michael Kors Resort 2014 collection. I still might not be, to tell the truth!

All the color blocking, clean lines, and excellent use of patterns in this collection really inspire me and make me want to recreate every single look on my nails. I also adore the colors in this particular look: so smart and classic, but fresh and interesting at the same time. I thought about recreating the whole dress on each nail, but I ultimately decided things would look too cramped and cluttered that way—not at all in the spirit of the collection.

Creating this look was pretty straightforward: I started with a base of Zoya Purity on my pointer and middle fingers, and a base of FNUG Cashmere Sweater on the rest of my fingers. Then I used a dotting tool and Cashmere Sweater & Essie Licorice to add the leopard print pattern to the white nails, as demonstrated in this Chalkboard Nails tutorial. Finally, I taped off the remaining nails and added Licorice to the tips. Everything is finished with a couple coats of topcoat.

I wore these nails for several days, but I still wish I could have worn them longer. I guess that just means I really do need to do another manicure inspired by this collection in the future!

What do you think of nails inspired by fashion? Do you have a favorite designer whose looks you like to see recreated?

Thanks for looking!

Nail Art: FNUG Color Blocking Trio

I have a lot of neutral polish colors, but I always seem to get distracted by other, brighter colors and forget to use them! So I decided to use multiple neutrals all at once and really make an effort to feature them in this manicure.