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Manicure Monday: Half Moon Manicure with Syl & Sam

LuLu*s — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 19:00:24 +0000

Oxblood, merlot, wine, burgundy, maroon… Whatever name you decide to call this deep red colour, it’s without a doubt it’s the colour of the season. From head to toe, we’re seeing these rich coloured clothes and accessories everywhere, and I still can’t get enough!

This week I’m going to combine the hottest colour with a classic manicure look– the half moon manicure. It looks glamourous, doesn’t require long nails and is SO easy to do with this one special trick! Check it out:

Here’s the look we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

-oxblood colour nail polish
-fast dry top coat
-paper reinforcement stickers

Start with some paper reinforcements– yes, those little stickers in your stationary kit that you use to fix ripped out punched holes!

Now stick a single sticker on each of your nails, carefully positioning them to how you want your half moons to appear. I went a bit higher than where my natural moons are.

Then using your nails (on your other hand) carefully press the stickers in at your cuticles so that they are sitting nice and flat on your nails.

Now that all your stickers are firmly in place, just paint your nails as usual with very thin coats of polish.

Allow each coat to dry completely in between, keeping the stickers in place the whole time.

Let your nails dry briefly and carefully peel off each sticker to reveal your perfect half moons!

Top coat and you’re done! You can also do the same but with a coat of colour as a base so that you have contrast colour moons, but I love the look of the oxblood contrasting my natural nails.

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Manicure Monday: Pumpkin Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:18:24 +0000

Since October rolled around, we could really feel the weather changing and the days shortening. The good news is that this means fall fashion is in full swing, but it also means we’re thinking about Halloween a lot more! This week we’re going to show you how to do some awesome pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns on your nails, which are an awesome themed manicure for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Here’s the look we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

white base colour
yellow nail polish
orange nail polish
striper brush

Start with a few coats of your base colour, letting each coat dry in between.

Then take a yellow polish and apply it to the tip of your nail in two strokes, forming the top part of a heart.

Then use your striper brush and dip into your orange colour. Apply the orange on top of the yellow in wedge-like shapes. Fill in the whole pumpkin shape, just leaving fine yellow stripes. (I did the yellow before the orange because my yellow is so sheer, it wouldn’t show up on top of the orange. If your yellow polish is more opaque, feel free to reverse the two steps above!)

Clean off your brush with some nail polish remover and then dip into the green polish. Apply a little stem on top of your pumpkin!

OPTIONAL: Apply little swirly vines on the tops of some pumpkins with the same green. or add jack-o-lantern faces to your pumpkins with a black nail art pen!

Top coat and you’re done!

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Manicure Monday: Black Cat Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:04:39 +0000

Hey ladies,

As soon as October rolls around, we get into a Hallowe’en mood. We’re already thinking up costumes and collecting new creepy decorations. This week we decided to do some cute black cat nails to get us in the mood, but this manicure can be done any time of year if you’re a kitty lover!

Here’s the look we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- base coat colours (we used a rainbow of colours)

- black nail polish

- red and white polishes and a striper brush

Start with a few coats of your base colour. You can definitely pick a single colour, but we went for a rainbow look for fun!

Then take a solid black colour and brush on a half circle shape at the tip of your nail. This will be your cat’s head! Do the same on all of your nails

Then taking your striper brush, draw pointed ears on each head.

Then take your red and apply a tiny dot for a nose using a thin striper brush. You can also use a toothpick or small dotting tool. Do the same with the white polish to make dotted eyes. We didn’t show the step but you can also add a curly little tail with your black polish using your striping brush!

Top coat and you’re done! MEOW!

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Manicure Monday: Tribal Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies,

This week we’re going to show you how to get the stylish modern “tribal” pattern nails. They look really intricate and detailed but when broken down to some easy steps, you can totally get the look in no time!

Here’s what we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- white base coat

- white striper

- three contrast colours, I used a teal, orange and yellow.

- a black nail art pen

Start with a few coats of your base colour and don’t worry if the coverage isn’t the greatest, it mostly gets covered anyway.

Next grab your contrast colours and do some random stripes across each nail.

Just keep the colours random and do a coouple of stripes per nail. Wait for these coats to dry completely before continuing!

Then take your nail art pen and draw outlines for each of your horizontal stripes that you drew.

And now the fun part! In between each set of lines, draw any repeated geometric pattern. Some patterns I drew were triangles, zig zags, polka dots and concentric circles. Continue with the rest of your nails and then top coat!

That’s it! Once it’s broken down into a few easy steps, those really intricate nails aren’t actually that difficult to do! They’re a bit time consuming but it’s worth it for the compliments you’ll get!

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Manicure Monday: Straw Stamp Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies,

This Monday we’re going to share a really easy stamping technique with you that creates an abstract, colourful pattern. The only tool you’ll need is a drinking straw!

Here’s what we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- a straw

- white base coat

- other complimentary colours (we used a purple, teal, lime green and hot pink)

- a quick dry top coat

Start with a light base colour on your nails. We used a pearly white but you can use any light colour that constrasts the other colours you’ll be using.

Take one of your contrast colours and drop some onto a scrap piece of paper or some foil. Take your straw and dip it into the nail polish

Then using your straw as a stamp, simply stamp it a few times on each nail. You may have to re-dip the straw every few times you stamp it.

Continue by doing the same with another colour. You don’t have to worry about it being imperfect or messy because it’s an abstract look we’re going for!

Repeat with three or four different colours!

And there you go– an adorably colourful manicure that doesn’t take much effort. It looks so intricate that a few people have been asking if they’re actually nail appliques! Try it out!

The post Manicure Monday: Straw Stamp Nails with Syl and Sam appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Manicure Monday: Nautical Nails with Syl and Sam

Cara — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies,

Summer fashion always means flirty little dress, denim cutoffs and flowy tops… but another trend that always screams summer is nautical fashion. The sailor inspired stripes and seaside inspirations are just so perfect for those warm months & we’ve decided to capture it in a cute manicure this week. We took the classic stripes and anchors and threw it together in a crisp red, white, and blue.

Here’s what we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- blue base coat

- white striper

- red base coat

- quick dry top coat

- microbeads

- a toothpick

Start with a few coats of your base colour. We did blue nails with a red accent nail.

Then using your striper brush, apply thin horizontal stripes of white to your nails to get that cute sailor stripe look!

Do all of your nails with stripes but skip your accent nail

Apply a generous amount of top coat and then work quickly for the next step

Take your toothpick and just touch it to some clear polish. Then touch your toothpick to a single microbead to pick it up! You can read a bit more about microbeads in our studded nails tutorial.

Now that you’ve picked up a single microbead, you can touch it down onto your wet nail and it will stick right on! Work quickly and pick up beads one at a time and form a little anchor on your nail.

And there you have it! A cute manicure that has you ready for yachting… or maybe just a day on the docks

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Manicure Monday: Citrus Nails with Syl and Sam!

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies,

This week we wanted to continue along with the theme of summer inspired nail looks. We’re loving the tropical trends we’re seeing in the LuLu*s shop, especially the fruit prints! The Prada and Stella McCartney runways were full of these Carmen Miranda inspired prints last year & we’re still seeing the impact now!

Here’s the inspiration:

The gorgeous reflected citrus prints from Stella McCartney’s Spring 2011 collection…

& here’s what we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- white for your base colour

- some “citrus colours”, we used an orange, lemon and lime

- a leaf green colour

- a striper brush

Start with a few coats of your base colour. Make sure that it’s completely dry before continuing.

Then take your orange colour and paint half circle shapes at the base of your nail. If you get some onto your cuticles, don’t worry! You can wipe it off with some nail polish remover and q-tips.

Do the same with some lemon yellow & some lime green.

Layer the circles so that you have a bunch of fruits on each nail!

Once you have a few fruits, add some leaves by using your striper brush dipped into your green polish.

Try to make the fruits and leaves the same on both hands to replicate the mirrored print

Then take the striper brush and dip it in your white polish. We have a white nail polish that has a striper brush as the applicator, so we used that!

Outline each of the fruits with a white semi-circle outline and some bi-secting lines to make each circle look like a fruit cut in half.

Do the same to each of the fruits that you painted on and then top coat!

Make sure that both hands are mirror images of each other & you’ve got yourself some designer inspired tropical fruit nails

(Nail images courtesy of Lipgloss & Black, Stella McCartney via The Terrier & Lobster)

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Manicure Monday: Ice Cream Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies,

This week we’re going for a quirky and cute manicure that is sure to put a smile on your face! Nothing says summer like bright colours & cool treats, so I put together a simple manicure that’ll really put the cherry on top of your look

Here’s what we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- a base colour (we used turquoise)

- some “ice cream colours”, we chose a strawberry pink & a vanilla white

- two shades of brown for the “cone”

- a red for the cherry

- a striper brush

Start with a few coats of your base colour. Make sure that it’s completely dry before continuing.

Then take your ice cream colour and paint a “scoop at the tip of your nail. You should be able to just swoop over the tip of the nail and get a good circle shape. This might require a couple of coats. Just be sure to let the polish dry between coats.

I decided to alternate ice cream colours

Take some of your cherry red polish & drop it onto some scrap paper or foil. Using the back end of your paint brush, dip it into the paint.

Then take the dipped paintbrush end and dab it onto the top of the ice cream scoops.

This part is optional, but you can take a toothpick and dip into any colour of nail polish. Then dab the toothpink on an angle onto the ice cream to create sprinkles!

I used some hot pink, purple and blue to make rainbow sprinkles

Then take your lighter brown and make triangular shapes on the tips of your nails on your OTHER hand. They don’t have to be perfect.

Then using your striper brush, grab some of your darker brown and outline the triangles. Then draw a criss-cross pattern on the cone so that it look like a yummy waffle cone!

Just top coat both hands & you’re done! Show your friends your weird triangle nails & watch their faces light up when you plop the ice cream scoops on top

The post Manicure Monday: Ice Cream Nails with Syl and Sam appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Manicure Monday: Splatter Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hey ladies, happy Monday! One thing we love about nail art is that there are so many new techniques to learn all the time. If you stop thinking of nail polish in those little applicator bottles and start thinking of it as “paint” there’s endless ways to put it on! This week we test out using drinking straws to get a splattered look. The fun part is that it’s different looking every time & it’s really easy to do. So check it out & learn how to make your own Jackson Pollock on your nails this week

Here’s the look we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- a base colour (we used grey)

- two splatter colours (we used neon pink and green)

- a top coat

- a straw

- some tape

Start with a few coats of your base colour. Make sure that it’s completely dry before continuing.

Snip your straws into a more manageable length. You’ll need one per colour that you’ll be splattering.

Then take three individual pieces of tape and cover your finger, taping as close as possible to the nail edges.

Do the same to all of your nails!

Now, drop some nail polish onto a flat surface covered with some scrap paper. Then dip in your straw!

Put the straw to your mouth & blow quickly to “splash” some colour onto your nail.

Dip your straw & repeat with all fingers until you get enough coverage.

Do the same with your next colour! Drop & dip & blow!

Repeat on all nails again until you’re happy with the distribution of colours

Then carefully peel off all of the tape. This should have protected your fingers from all the excess nail polish flinging around!

Just top coat & you’re done! Choose your own summer colours & splash them on!

The post Manicure Monday: Splatter Nails with Syl and Sam appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Manicure Monday: Sunset Nails with Syl and Sam

LuLu*s ! — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:00:00 +0000

It’s #manicuremonday again & we’re back to show you guys another fun nail-do. Summer’s just starting for us up in the northern hemisphere, so we’ve really been trying to make the most of the warm weather. We’ve been dressing in bright colours, wearing lots of sheer layers & doing our nails to match! This week we’re going to show you how we put a tropical sunset onto our nails.

Here’s the look we’re going for:

What you’ll need:

- a pink nail polish

- an orange nail polish

- a yellow nail polish

- a black nail art pen

- a makeup sponge

- quick dry top coat

Start with a couple of coats of your base colour– pink!

Let your base dry completely and then prepare your tools for applying the other colours. Tear a couple pieces off of an old makeup sponge to use as an applicator.

Now apply some of your orange nail polish to the sponge. Then dab the colour onto the tip of your nails, covering about 2/3′s of the nail bed.

Do the same to all your nails. If the nail polish is dabbing on thin, you can build more layers but be sure to let it dry completely before applying more.

Once the orange coat is dry, do the same using the yellow polish. Apply some to a piece of makeup sponge and dab it onto the tip of your nail. This time apply to only the top 1/3 of the nail.

Do the same to all your nails & you’ll have a pretty ombre effect! Don’t worry too much about the textured polish from the dabbing, the top coat will cover it up.

Next, grab your nail art pen. The one we are using is by Sally Hansen and it applies like a paint marker, so it’s very easy to control. Draw a little “island” and then add a palm tree silhouette for that tropical sunset vibe

Do the same to all your nails.

And to cover up the texture from all the nail polish dabbing, just add a couple of coats of quick dry top coat, making sure to let your nails dry completely between each coat… and you’re done!

This manicure is the perfect finishing touch for a beach outfit or for holding those yummy summer cocktails! Let us know if you try this one out!

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