Hi!!

I originally posted about these Mondrian-inspired nails on the blog's Instagram, captioned "up on the blog tonight!". Well, that was a big lie, because it's been TWO WEEKS and I'm just now sitting down to write this blog post. It's also been FIVE MONTHS (to the day!) since I last posted, but oh boy! do I have a big life update for the few of you that hang on through my long hiatuses.

That big life update is that I made it through the college applications process and now know that I'll be attending the University of Pennsylvania next year! I'm in the Wharton School within Penn, which means that I'll be majoring in economics. I'm so happy to be done with the college applications process and super excited to be in Philly/at Penn for the next four years. The downside of all of this, of course, is that Ivies are expensive; Penn's cost of attendance is $70k/year and that's going to be painful to cough up... I have so much more to say about the cost of higher education in the U.S., but I'll save it for another day ;-) 

***I also wrote one of the essays I sent to Penn about nail art, so this blog and its readers played a pretty unexpectedly large part in this whole thing!!

But I digress. the nails!! I was inspired to create these by my friend, who was attempting to freehand a Mondrian-esque painting because he didn't have tape. I did have tape, so I figured I should do some Mondrian-inspired nails.

I know I'm not the first to do this type of design and certainly not the best! but at least it was fun :)

For those wondering, Piet Mondrian was a late-19th/early-20th century Dutch painter. He called this (black lines + primary colors + white background) "neoplasticism". And he looked like this:

Pretty debonair, I guess. 

I hope you guys liked these nails enough to make up for the last five months. 

Either way, thanks SO much for reading and for sticking with the Nail Snail through all of this!!!

Lucy xx

Election Day Nail Art

Hi!

If you exist in the real world, you will probably have heard about the 2016 presidential election by now. Though I can't vote, I've been following along pretty avidly.

In honor of the big day, I had to do nail art in support of my candidate.

My lines are kinda shaky...oops :(

I'm a bit apprehensive about tonight's results but I guess it's time to let the people decide. 

Have you guys been following this election? Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading!!

Lucy xx

Dry Brush Nails

Hi!

Once again, I've gotten caught in a "no-post" rut :( I think I'm going to aim for a couple posts a month and let life do what it wants with me in between. I'm currently in my senior year of high school, and it's been significantly more work between college apps/research/running clubs/getting good grades (I'm actually writing a college essay about nail art; I'm not sure if I'm going to submit it, but it exists and it's kind of crazy).

Another [better] excuse for not posting: I've been painting nails at my local Ronald McDonald House (provides long term housing/care for people with children in the hospital), and while I wouldn't say I'm creating especially 'blog-worthy' designs it has been a wonderful experience. A lot of parents have designs done that remind them of their children, and the kids generally just go crazy with bright colors and glitter! Nail art blogging has often felt pretty self-centered to me, but it feels worth it when I know I can use my nail art ability to give back to my community.

Anyways. Here's today's design! Dry brush nail art with a color scheme similar to the one I used in my last post.

I wasn't 100% sure about posting these because they're really just a rushed design that I did for kicks, but then I realized that we're all going to die in the end anyways so I might as well. 

And I've even gone to the lengths of queueing up another post for a week from today, I hope you'll be hearing more from me in the next few months at least.

Thanks for reading!!
Lucy

Landscape Nail Art & Tutorial

Hi!

After a long hiatus, I'm back with some quick landscape nail art!

These were really fast to do -- just a simple sponge gradient as a base, then I painted the details on top.

Because it's summer and I was feeling extra motivated, I also put together a quick tutorial. The video quality isn't that great because I filmed it with my iPhone, but you get the general idea! 

Also, I'm looking for more great nail artists to follow. Any suggestions? Please comment below!!

Thanks for reading!

Lucy

Messy Floral

Hi everyone!

Once again, I've taken an unexpectedly long break between blog posts :( I just finished up my junior year of high school, which was pretty crazy -- but now that I'm on summer break I should have more time for nail art!

These nails were a simple and fun exercise in freehanding inspired by Nina Nailed It's tutorial. To be honest, I wanted to recreate her look exactly (it's gorgeous!), but my freehanding skills weren't up to par.

Either way, it was really nice to have the time to do my nails again!

Hopefully I'll have time in the next few weeks to post more and catch up on all of your blog posts that I've missed!

Thanks for reading!

Lucy xx

Nails Inc. St James Swatches

Hi!!

Wow, it's been awhile. Junior year of high school has been just as hectic as everyone says! Unfortunately, school & extracurriculars always have to come first so my nails haven't been a priority. 

I do try to keep them painted, though! Here's a quick swatch of Nails Inc. St James, which I picked up for half price at my local Sephora (I know, I was so excited!!). It's a classic bright red shade, on my laptop screen it looks a little more orange than it really is.

This polish is one of the "gel effects" polishes. It applied really smoothly, and unlike most reds it didn't stain my cuticles at all! It was also super glossy once dry. These photos are with top coat, but it looked the same without it. 

And, like real gel polish, it's stood up pretty well. I'm writing this a week and a few days later, and although there's a bit of tip wear it's minimal enough that it's not really noticeable. All these photos were actually taken 2 days after I did my nails, to give you a bit of an idea of how it wears (really well).

This polish is a little on the expensive side -- I think it's $16 usually, and I probably wouldn't have sprung for it at full price. However, a classic red is always in style, so depending on your budget this might be a good choice for you!

I hope the beginning of spring is going well for all of you guys :)

Thanks for reading!!

Lucy xx

SNAILS Washable Nail Polish Review

*samples provided for honest review

Hi!

I was recently contacted by a representative from SNAILS to review their water-based nail polish for kids!

I received two polishes to review, a holo-y hot pink and a similarly holo-y vibrant purple. 

Here's the purple:

And the pink: 

Both of the colors are so sparkly and fun! I usually stay away from pinks and purples, but these were unexpectedly cute. And the best part is that they're low commitment because they're water-based, which is what makes SNAILS really unique.

To remove the polish, all you need is warmish water and soap (or if you're on-the-go, you can order special wipes from SNAILS). They're 6-free, AND they won't even stain carpet! I love regular nail polish, but we all gotta admit -- it's pretty toxic. I wouldn't let my future children mess around with real nail polish, but SNAILS is a safe and fun alternative. SNAILS also dries really quickly, which is perfect for impatient kids like myself (just kidding... kind of).

Of course, there are trade-offs to the water-based formula: the polish applies a little bit streakier than most high quality polishes do, and of course it will only last until the next time you need to wash your hands, so most of the people reading this prooobably won't be interested in purchasing this polish for themselves. But as a gift for the little girl or boy in your life? Absolutely!!

I'm an upperclassman in high school and I have to admit, I had a lot of fun playing around with these polishes. I encourage you and your children friends to give them a try!

Thanks for reading!!

Lucy xx

P.S. Update: Safe n' Beautiful has just informed me that you can use their topcoat to seal in the polish (to the extent that it won't wash off with soap and water)!