This was originally posted on June 3rd over at the brunette bibliophile:
I firmly believe being smart and being stylish are not mutually exclusive, and in addition to being a book addict, I'm also a bit of a beauty product junkie. I've had a subscription to Vogue for upwards of ten years, which I save and reread (much to the chagrin of my little brother, who has helped me move and on occasion schlepped those back-issues of Vogue up and down the stairs to my fourth floor walk-up)...
Recently, I've become a little obsessed with the blog The Beauty Department. My hand-eye coordination is not stellar, so I really appreciate their super-simple tutorials with easy-to-follow pictures and instructions.
Last night, after a Skinnygirl Margarita or two (I haven't had an opportunity to adequately express this yet, but Bethenny Frankel is my spirit animal), I decided to try to give myself a polka dot manicure. Nail art has been super trendy lately, but I've doubted my ability to produce comparable results without going to a nail salon...but the two margaritas said otherwise. Here's the result:
I was pleasantly surprised with my tipsy self! Maybe manicures are like pool...I'm more coordinated after a drink or two.
Let's get down to brass tacks: I started with a two coats of Essie's Pretty Edgy (2), a bright kelly green (also probably margarita inspired), and for the blue dots I used Essie's Bobbing for Baubles (1) and for the tiny white dots, Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pen in White.(3)
Once the green polish was completely dry, I started dotting. To make the blue dots, I put a dab of Bobbing for Baubles on an index card and used the blunt head of a straight pin as my dotting tool (5). Dab the blunt head of the pin in the blue polish, dab it lightly on the nail in whatever pattern you so choose. Clearly the margarita dictated mine...which was no discernible pattern ;) Once the blue polish was dry, I dabbed the tiny white dots in the spaces between the blue dots with the nail art pen. Once everything was dry (and make sure it's dry or the dots will bleed!!), I applied two coats of Sally Hansen's Dries Instantly Top Coat (4) which in my humble opinion, is the best top coat I've ever used in terms of the holy three criteria of top coats: 1) it was under $5, 2) it really does dry my nails quickly, and 3) it's kept my nails from chipping for days on end (and I am tough on my manicures).
Far more comprehensive directions can be found here at The Beauty Department. And trust me, if I can do it, you absolutely can!
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