My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Hooficures (Fluttershy)

If you liked our Twilight Sparkle tutorial, check out our latest hooficure, this time starring everyone's favorite shy, little pegasus!

Tools:

Pale yellow polish (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow)
Turquoise Polish (L.A. Colors Art Deco Nail polish in Sea Foam Green)
Baby Pink Polish (Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Light Pink)
A nail art tool/brush, if necessary

Step 1:
Paint all of your nails yellow and wait for it to dry thoroughly.

Step 2:

If you only have regular polish, use your nail art tool with the pink color for this next step. If not, use your pen. Outline butterflies on your index, middle, and ring fingers, by connecting four teardrop shapes at their points.

Step 3:

Fill in the butterflies with the pink polish and let them dry.

Step 4:

The particular turquoise polish I used has a nifty thin brush for creating fun designs. If yours doesn't have this, use a nail art brush again. Paint a stripe in between the butterfly wings for the body.

Step 5:

Paint little antennae on your butterflies. When they're dry, apply top coat and enjoy!

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Hooficures (Twilight Sparkle)

I have to be honest with you guys: I am a total Brony. Say what you will about the fandom, but the show is just darn cute. So when they coined the term “hooficure” in the second season, I just knew I had to come up with some fun tutorials for MLP:FIM fans everywhere! And which character to better start with, than the show’s protagonist, Twilight Sparkle?

Tools you’ll need:

Purple Nail Polish (OPI Nail Lacquer in Funkey Dunkey)

Lavender Nail Polish (Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in Lacey Lilac)

White Nail Polish (Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in White Out)

Indigo Nail Polish (Essence Color and Go Polish in Just Rock It)

Hot Pink nail polish or nail art pen (Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Hot Pink)

Nail art brush (available at beauty supply stores)

Step 1:

Paint your nails with the lavender shade. You’ll want this to be a very pigmented type, like the Sally Hansen one, as you won’t want too many layers mucking the design up. Make sure it is perfectly dry before continuing.

Step 2:

Use the purple color to paint some thick stripes down the middle of your middle and ring finger nails. Go slowly, to keep these as even as possible. If you need to add a second layer, go ahead, but do so very carefully.

Step 3:

On your index finger, start drawing Twilight’s Cutie Mark. The key to this design is drawing little triangles to make the star shape, and then filling them in. Begin with a diamond shape and remember to take your time.

Step 4:

Apply the same technique in drawing the diagonal points of the star.

Step 5:

When your purple stripes dry, use the indigo color to paint a thinner stripe inside of them.

Step 6:

With a very fine nail art brush use the white polish to create the little rays between the points of the star. I don’t recommend using a nail art pen or French manicure pen for this part, as you want very skinny lines and those could be messy here.

Step 7:

Using the dotting tool on the other end of the nail brush, dab little white shapes (two above the star, three on the bottom.) Keep them loosely formed, so they resemble stars from far away, but don’t use too much polish at once to avoid messes. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect, though. They’ll be very tiny. I achieved these by using three little dots to mimic a star shape.

Step 8:

Paint a pink stripe within the indigo ones. Wait until everything is dry, then add a layer of top coat.

Enjoy your magical nails! 

The Gilded Lily Supports Gay Marriage- Rainbow Pride Gradient Manicure

Here at The Gilded Lily we believe that everyone should be free to love whomever they choose to do so. That’s why we believe in showing our support for gay marriage in the upcoming election and you can join in, by trying out our lovely rainbow gradient manicure.

Gradient manicures are artistic and fun, but very simple to recreate at home. The key is using very thick, pigmented nail polishes that don’t need more than one coat to be opaque. Stay away from metallics or anything with glitter. You’ll also need some cosmetic wedge sponges, base coat and top coat. Another way to make sure this manicure is successful is to start off with a thick white polish. You’re going to need a selection of twelve polishes that follow the colors of the rainbow in a gradient (start with a red, then a reddish orange, then a yellowish orange, then yellow and so on and so forth…) Here are the following shades used for this tutorial:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White Out

Essie nail polish in Silken Cord

Essence Colour and Go polish in Get The Fever

LA Girl Disco Brite Black Light Nail Polish in Retro

Essence Colour and Go polish in Sundancer

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Lickety Split Lime

Essence Colour and Go polish in Check Me Out

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Blue Streak

Sally Hansen Xtreme in Blue Me Away

Essence Colour and Go polish in Just Rock It!

OPI Nail Laquer in Funky Dunkey

Phewh! That’s a lot of polish, but they’ll really bring the look together. Remember, you don’t have to use these exact same shades, but make sure that any you use are similar in color and don’t need more than one coat of application. Let’s begin the tutorial!

Prep: Start by applying a base coat and letting it dry. Make sure you have a pair of scissors and your cosmetic wedges handy.

Step 1:

Apply a layer of opaque white polish. I would personally recommend doing this a day before, if possible, because you’ll want the white polish to be entirely and I mean entirely dry before moving on to the next step. If not, please make sure to use a fast drying formula.

Step 2:

Cut your cosmetic wedges into little rectangles. This will make the application more accurate.

Step 3:

We’re going to begin with the end of the rainbow and work backwards. Start with the colors you selected for purple, purplish blue, and blue. Grab one of your sponge rectangles and apply a stripe of purple (Funky Dunkey) on it. Follow it with a stripe of purplish blue (Just Rock It!) and then blue (Blue Me Away.) You’ll want the stripes to overlap a little bit. Make sure that they look as if they’re fading into each other. 

Step 4:

Apply the polish on either your pinkie or your thumb (we started with the thumb.) Do this by pressing the sponge onto your nail and using a careful sideways dabbing motion wipe the polish on. Don’t worry if you get some on your cuticles or the sides of your fingers. You can clear up the messiness with a q-tip and nail polish remover once you’re done. 

Step 5:

Prepare your next rectangle. Use blue (Blue Me Away,) greenish blue (Blue Streak,) and bluish green (Mint Sorbet.) Apply the color on the next nail using the same procedure as above. 

Step 6:

On the next sponge, set up bluish green (Mint Sorbet,) followed by  green (Check Me Out) and then yellowish green (Lickety Split Lime.) Apply.

Step 7:

We’re getting there! Repeat the coloration process using yellowish green (Lickety Split Lime,) yellow (Sundancer,) and yellowish orange (Retro.) Go ahead and sponge it on.

Step 8:

Last one, I swear! This time we’ll be using yellowish orange (Retro,) orange (Get the Fever,) and red (Silken Cord.) Apply the colors. 

Step 9:

With a q-tip dipped in nail polish remover clear up the edges and cuticles. Careful not to remove any of the color. 

Step 10:

You’ll want to give your polish ample time to dry before you apply the top coat, otherwise all the colors will bleed together into a hot mess. Once you’re sure that won’t happen, go ahead and top your nails.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial, now go out there and show your support!

The Perfect (And Easy!) French Manicure

Who doesn’t love the classic, polished look of a French manicure? Sadly, they’re a little bit tricky to pull off at home and even if you could afford to go to the salon every week, who honestly wants to?! That’s why I’m so happy to have this simple little trick available to me, so that I can give my nails a pretty and elegant look whenever the mood strikes. 

You will need:

A base coat

A top coat

A sheer French manicure polish

French tip guides

Nail polish remover pads
(Or nail polish remover and cotton balls/rounds)

A nail care stick

A French tip pen, like Sally's Hansen's French Manicure White Tip Pen

Step 1:

Begin by making sure your nails are nicely filed (no jagged edges!) and buffed. I personally prefer French manicures on short nails, but you can make them a little longer if that’s what you’d like. Don’t forget to buff them. A simple buffing block from the drugstore will do and this step not only helps to give your nail a nice, smooth finish, but allows for the polish to stick to it better, leading to less chipping.

Step 2:

If you haven’t already done so, push cuticles back with the nail care stick.

Step 3:

Apply a layer of base coat to your nails. Never, never, never and I mean NEVER put polish on your nails without using a base coat first. Polishes weaken the nails, making them more likely to break. Not only that, but certain dark polishes (red is a common culprit) can sometimes stain your nails, leaving behind a gross yellow tint. Even polishes that proclaim to not need a base should be used with one. Also, never use a combination top/base coat. Just like combination shampoo/conditioners, these are two separate products and combining them into one makes it so that neither function is properly fulfilled. And if that’s not enough to convince you, base coat will also help keep your pretty manicure safe from chipping by helping the paint stick to the nail better.

Step 4:

Let the base coat dry entirely. If you skip this step, then the guides will likely rip it off after you use them. Use an at-home nail dryer or place them in a bowl of ice water for a few moments at a time, until it’s dried entirely. 

Step 5:

Take the nail guide and place it on your nail. It might be a little tricky to position it, as you want it to be perfectly in the middle and leave a straight edge for the white part of your manicure.  When you have it in place, use the nail care stick to gently nudge it down into the sides of your finger.

Step 6:

Follow the instructions on the package for your white tip pen. Once it’s ready, paint a line across the area you separated with your tip guide. Be careful, as some of these can be a little bit runny and you don’t want too much to drip onto your nail. 

Step 7:

Let the white polish dry. Once it’s done, carefully peel off the nail guides. This part might be a little frustrating if the polish isn’t perfectly dry or if you used too much and some of it leaked under the guide. For a quick fix (without having to start all over, wrap a nail polish remover pad on the pointiest end of a nail care stick and carefully wipe off any excess white. You can also use this trick to straighten or thin out the white line to your preference. Don’t forget to dab a little base coat on the areas you cleared off.

Step 8:

Use your sheer nail polish. Add a second coat once the first one dries if you like.

Step 9:

When the last coat you applied is no longer wet, finish the manicure off with a layer of clear top coat.

Step 10:

Sit back and relax while your nails dry completely! Also, if you have top coat on your cuticles like me, go ahead and gently scrape them off with the nail care stick and nail polish remover pad, but be careful not to smudge your actual nail. Go ahead and rub some luxurious hand cream on and don’t forget to keep your nails healthy by rubbing some cuticle cream or oil into them in the following days. 

Enjoy your fabulous nails!