Workplace Wednesday: Galaxy Nails

Get ready for a picture-heavy post! I thought I’d spruce up this week’s Workplace Wednesday with a bold look– on last week’s introduction to the Workplace Wednesdays series, a reader requested that I do a post on galaxy-inspired nails, perfect for the fashionistas in the working world who adore dark manicures :)

I began creating this look with a single thick coat of Fiore from Julep on each nail. Although Julep describes Fiore as an espresso shade, I think of it more as a deep grayish-purple:

After the polish dried completely, I took a makeup sponge and ripped it into several pieces. Then, I chose five different colored polishes. I used metallic ones so that they’d provide the mani with a shimmery glow, but they don’t have to be metallic!

Purple: Unnamed polish from L.A. Colors

Blue: Light Blue from Love & Beauty by Forever 21

Green: Lady Luck from H&M

Silver: You’re Too Good For Him from Craze by Wet ‘n Wild

Pink: Unnamed polish from L.A. Colors

Starting with the purple polish and ending with the pink, I used a piece of makeup sponge to lightly sponge each color diagonally across each nail. The best part about doing a galaxy design is that there’s no need for perfection– no matter how you sponge on each color, it’ll still turn out as a beautiful galaxy-inspired mani :) To complete this look, I took a toothpick to place a couple of glitter flecks on each nail. And voila!

What do you think, is this look appropriate for your workplace? If not, comment and let me know what look you want to create, or tweet me at @thisjenngirl!

Workplace Wednesday: Extreme Ruffian

I am so excited to introduce ‘Workplace Wednesdays’ to the blog– dedicated to a day that celebrates working women everywhere and our right to a fabulous manicure. These posts will feature simple do-it-yourself nail designs that both make a statement and are appropriate for the workplace. Today’s feature is the ‘extreme ruffian,’ introduced by the Ruffian team on their Spring 2014 runway.

This manicure features a nude (Khaki from Love & Beauty by Forever 21) paired with a pop of teal (Rise And Shine from Sinful Colors). I began by applying a medium coat of Rise And Shine to each nail and allowed the polish to dry fully. Using Khaki and its provided polish brush, I carefully applied a thin coat of the color to each nail, allowing about 1-2 mm of teal to remain visible around the nail. After applying a second coat of nude polish and allowing it to dry fully, I used a very thin acrylic paint brush to touch-up the curve, dipping it in the teal polish and using careful strokes to perfect the nude curve. I left one nail without the ruffian design to act as the accent nail:

What kind of design would you like to see next? It can be anything– from a simple swatch of a great nude, black or white to a galaxy nail design!