Asami is 23 and lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and cat. She enjoys painting watercolors, LOST, coffee and semicolons.
Yay, Valentine's Day Mix and Match! Several of you have asked me if I'd have any Valentine's Day nail art up before the 14th, so I'm glad to share with you today not one or two, but seven looks ranging in level of difficulty.
Sweet Ribbon, Valentine Rose, Polka Dot French Manicure, Antique Gem Deco, 3D White Acrylic Flower, 3D Acrylic Candy Hearts and Easy Confetti Hearts.
Like my previous "Mix and Match" posts, the point is that you can take a few of your favorites and wear them together, changing a background color or two to make them match. The general idea is that you'll keep most of your nails in plain color and apply just one or two of these designs to a ring or index finger to create a unique full manicure look of your own.
For instance, you could paint all of your nails in pink and apply the 3D Acrylic Candy Hearts onto one nail and the Easy Confetti Hearts onto a nail of your other hand. The hearts are placed similarly so they would go together well.
Alternatively, you could apply the Polka Dot French Manicure to all but one of your fingers, saving that one for a Sweet Ribbon on a background color the same as your tips. Using the same color will tie the looks together, helped along by the fact that both designs are done in white only.
This Sweet Ribbon is a cute and innocent design of medium difficulty. Placing a gemstone in the center gives it something to catch the light as well as a focal point. I used acrylic craft paint and a size one rounded paintbrush to draw out this ribbon, and the base is OPI's "Don't Think, Just Pink," a pink creme that's extremely flattering on cool skintones.
(Because it's Valentine's Day you may want to reach for a red base, but I don't recommend it for this particular look. A red background paired with a white ribbon will end up looking like a wrapped Christmas present, trust me.)
This Valentine Rose example was done in white, but you could certainly paint your rose petals in traditional red over a light-colored background instead. The base of my example is OPI's "Vodka and Caviar." This design is difficult but it helps to think of it as just painting a few random shapes around a center point; the end result should look like rose all by itself. If you have tiny gemstones, attach them here and there for a water-droplet effect and seal with a topcoat.
This Polka Dot French Manicure is one of my favorite looks for any time of the year; polka dots look great over any bright tip color. It's very cute and of moderate difficulty. For Valentine's Day, stick to bright pinks or pastels. (I do not recommend using red as your tip color because that always ends up looking very "Minnie Mouse.")
I used French manicure guideline stickers and OPI's "I'm Indi-a Mood for Love" for the tips. Use a dotting tool for the dots or draw them on with a nail art pen. The bullion beads lining the smile line are meant to resemble a string of pearls, which I like to wear for Valentine's Day dinners but the beads are of course optional when it comes to this look.
This Antique Gem Deco design is meant to have an antique jewelery feel to it, so I recommend sticking with a brown or bronze base. I used OPI DS "Jewel" in the above example.
This design is of easy difficulty; all you need to do is press on your gemstones and bullion beads while your nail polish is still wet, then seal with a topcoat. Try to keep the gemstones in somewhat of a diagonal stripe; if you place them haphazardly all over the nail the effect will not be the same.
Here is how I like to wear this particular look; leaving a few nails blank and on shorter nails. Pictured is OPI's "I'm Fondue of You" which is ideal for this look, as it's a lovely brown that has an "antique sheen" to it where light hits. Don't forget your topcoat or your gemstones will fall off.
This 3D White Acrylic Flower is my favorite design of the bunch. It's here to give ideas to those who already have experience with 3D acrylic nail art, as just showing a finished example to someone starting out would be of little use to them. This one is very difficult and 3D nail art is not something I'd recommend to a nail art beginner.
That said, the base is two coats of Orly's "Super Natural" with one coat of Zoya's "Soho Punch" on top for a touch of sheer glitter. I used acrylic powder from EzFlow's "Pastel Flower" collection to create this design.
If you have experience with 3D acrylic nail art then you know what you're doing; it's a simple layered flower with a gemstone placed before the final petal of acrylic compound is dry. I coated everything with a clear topcoat so the flower would be shiny, but that's optional.
3D Acrylic Candy Hearts! These are so cute and I like how they are layered. I coated mine with a clear topcoat to make them shiny, but if you skip the topcoat then they are more like the texture of real candy hearts.
I know they're called "candy hearts" but I purposely chose to not write any messages on them, because I don't believe it could be done in a realistic way. Yes, we could fit a short message on, but I think it would be very obvious that it was painted and sort of ruin the effect.
The base is three coats of Zoya's "Erika." Make sure you choose acrylic powder colors that resemble the pastel shades of real candy hearts if you can. I used acrylic powder from EzFlow's "Pastel Flower" collection; a set of soft, pastel shades meant to resemble spring flowers.
Enough of the super difficult looks, right? Here is one that is extremely easy for anyone who wants to wear something cute for Valentine's Day but may be new to nail art. I would recommend applying this look to only a few nails at a time.
On the left is two coats of OPI's "Done Out in Deco," which I love, and on the right is a full three coats of Sephora by OPI's "A True Romantic," which is very sheer. Could you do a red background here? Absolutely. Pick whatever color says "Valentine's Day" to you.
All this look takes is placing two confetti hearts onto wet polish, and a final coat of topcoat. I like to use tiny tweezers to get these onto just the right spot. I know Nicole by OPI and a few other brands sell clear polishes with confetti hearts already mixed in, but I prefer loose confetti by far because then you can fully control the placement and orientation of the hearts. (I'm very persnickety, so upside-down hearts and too-many on one nail and none where you wanted some would really bother me. That's just me though.)
Will you be wearing any of these for Valentine's Day? Do you have a favorite design from the collection?
Categories:
Labels:
3D Acrylic,
Bows,
Candy,
Flowers,
French Manicures,
Mix and Match,
Polka Dots,
Valentine's Day
I love the 3D one with rose...
I probably won't be wearing any nail color since China Glaze entourage totally gave me yellow nails (I was lazy and skipped the base coat) and I had to chop them all off...
Anyway, I might be wearing some red because the 14th is also Chinese New Year!
Wow Asami! I am in LOVE with all those designs! I wasn't planning to do a Valentine's Day mani this year, but you have just inspired me! I really like the acrylic ones, but I don't have any experience with 3D nail art, etc. :( I think I'll either go with the sweet ribbon or the polka dot french mani! Thank you so much for the awesome post!<3<3<3
They're all so cute - I've just tried to pick a favourite and was like "oh..but I like that one..and that one...and...ok, I like them all!"
So cute !!!
YAY MIX AND MATCH :)
Asami the 3d rose looks amazing :) I love your little leaves. Did you mix your acrylic powder colours yourself? It all looks sooo pretty xx
Ugh, they're all so cute! I tried to pick my favourite but they are all really pretty! The Polka Dot French is really nice!
These are all so pretty! Your talent always amazes me :) My favorite is the antique gem deco one! I'd try it if I had the little gems... but since I'm snowed with more snow on the way today, I dunno if i'll be able to go out and get them before valentines day ! But I think they'd be cute for any time. My second favorite is the candy heart one, but i'd never even attempt it, it would end up as a major fail hahah
xx
I always look forward to seeing what designs u come up with next. I love all of them : D
They're all so beautiful, Asami! <3
I am a big fan of the simple confetti heart design, but I found a way to give them a bit of added depth...
Once you have finished the final layer of topcoat, you take an extra drop of topcoat, and drip it directly onto the confetti heart, so that it maintains its rounded shape, it will behave like the water droplet you mentioned in the Rose design.
It catches the light and magnifies the confetti almost like those old-fashioned dome glass paperweights and really adds a bit of dimension, in addition to protecting the edges from catching on anything.
Thanks for all the dainty designs! Now I have to choose one! <3
They are all lovely as always! I've had a few ideas running through my head to try. The polka dots one has me thinking of something that I may do for V-Day!
i was waiting for you to release vday inspired notds... you never disappoint... i was expecting 1 or 2 designs... 8 = wowwwwowoowowowow lol
i LOOOOVE the second and third designs!! my nails are at the perfect length right now... im gonna try out the polka dot french manicure tonight :D
<3
I really like the Valentine Rose and Polka Dot French Mani. The rose is so well drawn. It'll take me ages to perfect that! I didn't plan to do a Valentines mani this year as it falls on Chinese New Year. I've just completed a new set for Chinese New Year, it's an attempt to draw animals again using 3D gels.
I've been tossing up between Chinese New Year nails and Valentines nails and you've swayed me to do Valentines!
The designs are so sweet. I'm loving the polka dot french manicure and the sweet ribbon the most.
Always love seeing your designs!
Wow Asami! another great post! I really like all the designs! The 3-d acrylic hearts one looks like candy. Makes me want to pop them right into my mouth!
I'm going to do a mixture between the glittery french tips post you made a few posts ago with hearts...or something like that. :P Ee! I'm excited!
Asami, you're incredible!!
I really, really love the pink polka dot french - that could be worn anytime during the year - I LOVE it!!
My second favorite would be the rose with the rhinestone and leaves, then the double overlapped hearts.
You did such a great job. Thanks for sharing these amazingly beautiful designs with us!!
Such beautiful designs! I love the polka dot french and the antique gem deco one, so pretty with a hint of vintage!
Your designs are always so perfectly executed, great eye for detail! :)
xxx
Gorgeous designs! I especially love the one with the Valentine Rose.
I'm bowled over yet again by your creativity! :)
Beautiful designs again Asami! I love your "Mix and Match" nails! I agree with Witoxicity - your creativity astounds me too. I absolutley adore the Valentine's Rose and the 3D Rose. Stunning work and thank you for creating them xx
Beautiful handy work! =P The pink one with the white flower is my fave =)
Citrine, aw, stained nails! That sucks. I've been wanting to do a post on how I keep my nails white but I've been pushing it back, eek. Glad to hear you like the 3D rose, I hope to improve my 3D acrylic skills and post more 3D designs in the future since there isn't very much 3D acrylic nail art in the U.S. right now. :)
Wan, thank you! I always love your nails and I think the ribbon or polka dots would look so cute on you. You have the best pictures, so crisp and clear!
Lucy, aw, thank you! I appreciate that. :)
Lily nail, thank you!
Joyce, thank you! I love making little leaves, they're fun. I did not mix these shades myself, they're all from EzFlow's "Pastel Flower" collection. Thank you for drawing it to my attention that I didn't mention that in the post, I've added the information in case anyone wants to check out which products I used. Thanks again! :)
Michelle, thank you! I love wearing Polka Dot French tips, it's always pretty cute. :)
Caitlin, thank you! I think the Antique Gem Deco one could definitely be worn at any time of the year. You could even make it more spring-appropriate if you changed the colors. I'm originally from Wisconsin so I know what it's like to be snowed in; I hope the weather warms up for you soon!
blkprincess87, thank you! That really means a lot to me and I appreciate it. :)
wixology, thank you! That is an AMAZING tip and I'm totally going to add an extra drop of topcoat over my confetti deco from now on. I know just what you mean by the "water droplet effect" but I never would have thought to try that! I have a few confetti types, stars, hearts and round ones and I can't wait to put your advice in effect. It bugs me how sometimes the corners of confetti can catch on things or peel off so this will definitely be useful. Thanks again! :)
Ashley, thanks! I think the polka dots would look so cute on you. :)
LOLanne, thank you! Did you end up trying the polka dots? I think I'll wear it in a pastel blue this week just for fun.
Jin, oh my gosh, I would fail so badly at sculpting 3D animals! You're so good with 3D designs though, I bet it will be awesome. I always look forward to your posts. :)
'chelle, aw, thank you! :)
Alice, thank you! What did you end up wearing for Valentine's Day? You glittery tips with hearts idea sounded so cute!
Brooke, thank you very much! Your favorites are the same as my favorites. :)
tina_mbc, thanks you! That's a very sweet thing to say and I really appreciate it.
witoxicity, thank you! I always appreciate the comments you leave me, you're very nice. :)
Danielle, thank you! I really like the 3D Rose too. I can only do 3D acrylic on one of my hands though, I wish I could have one on each hand. :D
kimber doll, thanks! :)
I was wondering if you could stamp with konad on the candy hearts? Also you could do decoupage on them. Print something on the computer etc... If you wanted to make them look like real candy hearts.