31DC2014 Day 30: Inspired by a tutorial

Hello!

Today is inspired by a tutorial and I'm not entirely happy with what I did. I really like how this abstract mani looks (though I understand it's probably not everyone's taste) but I wanted it to look more like this. So I think I'll retry it some day to see if I can recreate Pshiiit's design. I can't believe we're so close to the end of the challenge! I'm not sure how to do tomorrow's prompt. It's "honor nails you <3". I've seen so many amazing nail art designs by a lot of really creative girls and I'd like to honor each of them so I was thinking about maybe recreating several ones through the month of October and maybe even November. So I thought maybe I could do a link up tomorrow and then recreate those manicures in the weeks after that. Do you think that's a good idea?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 29: Inspired by the supernatural

Hi friends!

I really wasn't sure I could post this pic today because of some internet issues I've been having but I managed to. Today is inspired by the supernatural and I chose to do something inspired by beautiful mermaid scales. I had the perfect color! Then I just drew some scale-shapes with a white striper. What do you think?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 28: Inspired by a flag

Hello!

Today is inspired by a flag day and I chose to do Canada right away. I always loved maple trees because there were some in the school's courtyard so there were one of the first tree names I learned (in french it's "érable"). It was actually quite easy. I really like it. :) I've never been to Canada. How is it?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 27: Inspired by an artwork

Hi friends!

I was really excited when I realized that today was inspired by an artwork day! I just love seeing other people's art and I follow so many people on pinterest or tumblr. So today wasn't about finding inspiration, but about choosing. I decided to do something in honor of Fifi Lapin, because I just love that adorable bunny fashionista. I had trouble with the black lines smudging but I didn't want to do it again so I decided to show it to you anyways. This blog is about my passions and what I do and I don't feel like I should only post the perfect stuff. I like to post the real stuff. I kept yesterdays nails and just redid the ring finger nail. Even if the lines are smudged, I still love today's nail art because bunnies are one of my favorite things and Fifi Lapin is really cool! Do you like it?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 26: Inspired by a pattern

Hello!

For the inspired by a pattern prompt I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Maybe it's because English isn't my first language but I was a bit confused. To me, a pattern is a repetitive design. So that's what I did. Small hearts repeated lot's of times on my nails. I changed up the color on the pinkie to make it cuter. I really like how simple this was and how lovely it looks (in my opinion at least ^^). Do you like it?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 25: Inspired by fashion

Hi everyone!

Today's theme is inspired by fashion. I really didn't know what to do. As much as I like clothes, I'm not a big fan of trends. And I love looking at high fashion clothing in the magazines but nothing really stood out to me. And then I realized that I went to a fashion exhibit in Paris (the 50s in the musée Galliera, if you live near Paris, check it out! it's awesome) and that I could do  nail art on a dress I had seen there. I chose the "Antonia" by Pierre Balmain. It's a really gorgeous embroidered dress. If you want to see what it looks like, just type this in your search box. 

I'm not sure if I like this mani. I like the colors but I don't think I gave the dress justice. What do you think?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 24: Inspired by a book

Hello! How was your day?

Today is inspired by a book, and I didn't even have to think about that one. The first one that came to mind was Harry Potter. I know there's a lot of people saying that it's not a good book because the language used isn't good enough but it is a children/teenager's book. I started reading the series when I was 8 and finished when I was 11 and I didn't care one bit about the words used. I loved (and still love) the world, the magic, the friendships... And so I chose to honor this book that I love by painting my nails. I illustrated the 7th book more than the others because the symbol on my thumb is only mentioned in the last book but it does play an important role in the story, even if we don't know about it in the beginning. I drew a thunder on my ring finger to represent the character of Harry Potter. I chose the color black as a background because even though it starts as a very innocent magic story, it does become darker and more serious in the end. Have you read the books or seen the movies? Do you like them? I'd love to know more about you <3.

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 23: Inspired by a movie

Hi friends!

For my movie-inspired nail art I decided to illustrate The Devil Wears Prada. I know it's actually a book and I have read that book (and its sequel) and I like it but I love the movie more. In fact, it's one of my favorite movies and I have watched it so many times I've lost track! So I drew the very classic devil's pitchfork/heel and the title of the movie with that little thing on the V. Usually, the shoe and writing are red and the background is black but I wanted to change it a bit so I did black on red. The red polish is redder than in the picture, I'm not sure why it's looking so pale. Anyway, you get the idea. So, do you like that movie? What movie would you have chosen to illustrated/be inspired by?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 22: Inspired by a song

Hi!

Today's theme is inspired by a song. I was really looking forward to this day because I wanted to illustrate one of my favorite songs ever: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. Unfortunately, I tried several times and failed and I was running out of time so I decided to do Heart of Glass by Birdie instead. It is not a favorite song of mine at all but I do think it's a classic and I really wanted to do something with a heart. What do you think and which song would you have chosen?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 21: Inspired by a color

Hello!

For today's challenge, we had to do a nail art "inspired by a color". Like a lot of other people, I was a little confused by what that meant. I decided to do something inspired by a polish's name, because I saw other bloggers do it last year and liked the idea. However, most of the polishes I own don't have names so I didn't have such a wide collection to choose from. Actually, that was probably a good thing because it probably would have been harder to decide. I chose H&M's "pink macaroon". However, I recently learned the difference between macaron and macaroon and I am pretty confident that they meant macaron, the french pastry. I started with a french manicure (see what I did: french manicure?) as a base and it was something I had never done because I just didn't find it that nice. But I now think it looks really elegant! This is a perfect example for the fact that you have to try things before deciding if you like them. Anyway, I then drew the two macaron shells with the H&M color and painted the lighter pink with "marshmallow" from Angelica. (I like that this also has the name of something sweet!) I outlined it all with 288 from Kiko mixed with a bit of white. To finish it off, I put on some top coat (HEMA) and voila!

Do you like french macarons? I love them and practiced making them this summer. But I didn't make any pink ones because I prefer chocolate over everything! ^^

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 20: Water Marble

Hi everyone!

I was really not looking forward to today because the few times I have tried water marbling were complete fails! But today is here and I couldn't hide. I couldn't even use the excuse to not have enough time since today is saturday. (I do have a lot of homework though :/ ). So I tried. The first attempt was terrible, but I tried again and it kinda worked! I then added small dots in the same color I used to make the water marble in order to make it look more finished. The dots also hide some previous mistakes :). Have you ever tried water marble nail art?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 19: Galaxies

Hi friends!

Today is galaxy nails and I was really excited for that day. I made a very simple design with black, purple, white and a bit of pink. I also added glitter for stars. I really like the result but still think I need a bit of practice to make it look really awesome. Anyway, galaxy nails are always pretty.

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 18: Half Moons

Hi!

Today is half moons. I had never ever done half moons nail art so I made something simple. A pink base (you should be able to guess by now!), a white half moon and a golden glitter border. All polishes are from Primark. They don't have names or number but the pink was from a 4 polishes pack with "P.S." written on it and the white and gold are stripers.

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 17: Glitter

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to make something simple but still sophisticated for the glitter themed day. I think I did a pretty good job at it. It's really easy to recreate it. Just apply a base color (and a base coat under it if you want) and then use a glitter striper and draw short and longer lines at the tip of your nail. And here you go! Will you try it out?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 16: Geometric

Hi friends!

Today's theme is geometric. I tried to recreate this beautiful nail art by Pshiit. She is a french nail artist and blogger that I admire. You should really check her blog out if you don't know it. It's written in French but there are beautiful nail art that you can enjoy even without understanding the text. I prefer her version of this nail art but I think mine is still cute. Do you like it?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 15: Delicate print

Hello!
Today is "delicate pattern" day and I wasn't sure what it really meant. But then I thought, let's just interpret it my way! To me butterflies are very delicate so I tried replicating their beautiful wings. I don't know if this nail art is really "delicate" but the idea of butterflies is to me, so I'll say it goes with the theme. To make this nail art, I used this tutorial by Caged Canary but just didn't put those white dots because I didn't think it would go well with that dark pink. What do you think? Are those delicate?
Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 14: Flowers

Hi everybody! How are you doing?

Today is flower themed and I was really looking forward to it but at the same time I didn't want to do the classic roses nail art. So I did roses, but outlined with black to make them a little cartoony, and with dots to do some pattern mixing. I really like these, they might be my favorites for this challenge (with the rainbow ones). Which ones are your faves ?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 13: Animal Print

Hi friends!

Today is animal print day. I was thinking about making some leopard nails but then I decided that little paws would be cuter. A few weeks ago I saw a video from The Nail Trail. The technique is really easy and I could have thought of it myself but since I didn't, I prefer giving credit. I did add little claws on one of them to change it up. Both polishes used are from HEMA.

Do you like these little paws?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 12: Stripes

Hi friends!

Today is stripes and if I'm gonna be honest, I didn't wanted to do anything but I really wanted to continue the challenge. Especially because I would be okay with skipping one day if I have too much homework but not because I'm feeling lazy. Anyway, I did the classic pink and black (well it's a classic for me at least!). The pink is " Pink Macaron" from H&M and the black is from HEMA.

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 11: Polka Dots

Hey! I hope your day has been great.

I can now say I have already achieved more than 10 days of the 31 day challenge! Which is pretty awesome. I really didn't think I would be able to do my nails everyday. Although I'll tell you a secret: most of the time I only did the left hand since it's the only one that gets photographed. I hope that's not cheating but oh well, now you now! So today is polka dots. I really love polka dots so I couldn't decide if I wanted to do small or big ones and finally decided to do both! I also love pink so what background color to choose wasn't such a hard question. My favorite dots are the tiny ones on the pinky. What are your favorites?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 10: Gradient

Hi everyone!

Today's theme is gradient. I used 5 different colors: a medium blue, a very light blue (442 from HEMA), a very light purple (444 from HEMA), a mauve, a darker purple (291 from Kiko). I thought about doing some black nail art over the gradient but then I decided to use a bit of glitter (from the french brand Reserve Naturelle) a put a bit more at the tip. That way, I have two types of gradients! The glitter one is very subtle but it adds so much to the manicure. I hope you like it and wish you an awesome day!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 9: Rainbow

Hi! I hope your having an awesome day.

Today we had to do rainbow-themed nails today for the challenge. I thought about making "rainbows and unicorns" because I love unicorns (who doesn't?). But then I decided to use lots of colors and make something more abstract instead. First, I mixed a drop of each polish mixed with some nail polish remover to make it thinner. Then I just painted random colors where I wanted them to be and finished it of with some colored dots. I really like this one, in fact I think it's my favorite of all the ones I did for the challenge. Would you be interested in a tutorial?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 8: Metallic

Hi everyone!

Today is metallic. I had a very clear image of what I wanted to do before doing it and I am happy with the results. I used a gorgeous metallic glue which is one of my favorite polishes that I own. I also used a striper from Primark in silver and outlined the star-like shapes with white (also from Primark). I think those two metallic polishes go really well together! What do you think?

Love, Elsa

Ps: Sorry for the light in the picture, I did my nails at night

31DC2014 Day 7: B&W

Hi friends!

I made houndstooth nails for black & white day! They're not completely regular and perfect but I like them. Plus, it's only if you watch closely that you see the imperfections so from a normal distance it looks really cool. I kept yesterday's purple nails and just did an accent nail because houndstooth does take time! I hope you like it and I wish you an awesome day!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 6: Violet

Hi everyone!

Today's theme is violet. I'm not sure if purple and violet are the same color because English isn't my native language. In French, the word for "purple" is "violet" so it's a bit confusing for me but I think there's actually a difference. Anyway, I just pretended the theme was purple and stopped worrying about it! When I think of purple nail art, I automatically think of this beautiful orchid by Chalkboard Nails. Isn't it the most beautiful mani you've ever seen? I tried to replicate it and Sarah's version is much more beautiful but I still like the result! I hope you like it too and wish you an awesome day!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 5: Blue

Today is blue nails day in the 31 day nail art challenge! I decided to make a gradient but only pressed the sponge once because I didn't want something completely flat and uniform. I think this effect is really cool and pretty! I thought about doing a gradient because I have quite a lot of different blues. I usually use cheap indie polishes so I don't list them but don't be afraid to ask!!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 4: Green

Hi friends!

When I saw today's theme was green, I really didn't know what to do. But I just took out my green polishes and when saw these two pastel ones I thought a paisley pattern would look really cute. And I quite like the result! I had a bit of trouble with the lightest color for the thin lines since this polish is kinda thick. But overall I'm pretty pleased with it. I was even thinking about making a tutorial on how to make these. Do you like them?

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 3: Yellow

Hi everyone!

Today's theme is yellow! I couldn't hold it any longer and drew flowers! It seems to me like I do flowers all the time but flowers are so different each time. So to have something yellow, I used yellow as a base and for the flowers on my index finger and as pops of colors on the two blue ones. I really like these little flowers, there so cute and simple... Plus, I think yellow is a great color for today since the sun was shining really bright today in France! During the last weeks of my holidays, the weather wasn't that great and now that I start school again it's super warm. Too bad... But anyway, school doesn't keep me from enjoying the sun and wearing my summer dresses!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 2: Orange

Hi friends!

Today is the second day of the 31 day nail art challenge and the theme is orange. So I decided to do ikat nails! I usually reverse the colors so there's a turquoise background with touches of orange but since these had to be orange, I figured I should have a lot of orange. I always love mixing orange with blue because they are complimentary colors. If you'd like to learn how to make these I have a tutorial right here. I hope you like these and I wish you a great day!

Love, Elsa

31DC2014 Day 1: Red

Hi everybody!

Okay guys, I'll admit this isn't very well done. At all... But I didn't want to bail on you for the first day of the challenge! Today's theme is red and I'd love to have made roses but I thought it was just not original enough. This is supposed to be a challenge and I decided to do something a bit challenging. I guess you can see I found it challenging since it didn't turned out so well. But that leaves room for improvement. I hope that in 31 days I'll compare this and my last mani and it will be much better. Wish me luck! If you decide to participate in this challenge please link me your blog in the comments. I'd love to see your work!

Love, Elsa