Monday, January 13, 2014

Aztec Leggings Inspired Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope you all are doing well. I've been keeping busy with the help of my toddler (whew, how do they move so fast?!) but took some time out for myself last night and created a look that I've been wanting to try for some time now. I was inspired by my Aztec print leggings and came up with a trendy look that you'll be able to create as well!


I got these leggings from Ashley Stewart on cyber Monday and just love them! The color palette is so bright and fun and was right up my alley for what I love in nail art. I went through my stash and tried to pair the perfect shades of polish to my leggings and got busy! Here's what I ended up with:


Ok, seriously...this has got to be my favorite mani of all time! The colors and the print came out better than I could have ever expected. But, if you know me, you know that there is no way I freehanded this gorgeously intricate design onto my nails. 


This manicure started off a little backwards for me. I usually paint my nails then do art but this time around I did the opposite. I started by creating the stamping decal that you see in the pictorial above. Here are the steps to creating stamping decals:

1. Allow design to dry on rubber stamper (This image is from Pueen10 & is stamped with Finger Paints Black Expressionism).
2. Using a toothpick and your choice of colored polish, start filling in the empty spaces.
3. Continue filling in the spaces with your choice of colors. 
4. Once you have completely filled in the image, apply your favorite topcoat over it. Make sure you go a little off the edges so that you can pick it up off the stamper. 
5. After the topcoat is completely dry (I waited 20 minutes just to be sure), carefully pick up your image with tweezers and place it over your nail. I had Cult Tempest as my base to make the colors really pop! I used my clean up brush dipped in acetone to get rid of the excess decal on my finger and topped it with HKGirl topcoat to seal it all in.


My manicure began with one coat of Cult Nails Tempest and 3 coats of Essie Tart Deco. Tart Deco is a fabulous coral creme. The formula is nice and creamy which made application easy. After I topped that with HKGirl I used my studs from BornPrettyStore to add more dimension to this look. The other polishes used in this manicure are Bettina Sunrise, Sally Hansen Grass Slipper, & Nina Pro Cobalt.



The stamping decal technique is really the only way I could have ever achieved a look like this. I am so thankful to have found this trick and plan to get better at it this year. What do you all think of this look? Have you tried stamping decals? As always, I hope you all enjoyed this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

20 comments:

  1. Love love love. And I must try the nail stamping decal. Thanks for sharing

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  2. This is seriously so perfect and gorgeous! I'm so jealous your decals came out so amazing! I think the toothpick helped with the precision. I need to use that. You make me want to buy this plate to recreate this. Fantastic job!

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  3. These look amazing! I want to try this too!

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  4. OMG that's amazing, thanks for the helpful tips!

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  5. I love how this mani came out. Awesome!

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  6. OMG.....Jess, this is AMAZING!!!! I need to try this soon. Your tutorial made it really plain and clear. I feel empowered! Hopefully, mine can look 1/2 as good as yours! You go girl!

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  7. Perfect! I'm in love with your mani :D <3

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  8. I have difficulty getting the tips of the decal and my nails to be sharp/ well fitted. Filing messes up the decal and cutting is difficult to eyeball. Any tips or suggestions?

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  9. I have never tried decals. Mostly because I never think of it. But, I've seen this done in a similar fashion, but with the design stamped on plastic first. Have you done it this way? Which do you think is easier?

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  10. You already know how I feel about this...you're a freakin' genuis!! Love it! Love you!

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  11. This is a genius idea. Wow. mind blown!

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  12. Umm... this is amazing and brilliant and awesome and pretty much every other really good adjective in the known English language.

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  13. Awesome! I cannot wait to try this!

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  14. I love the decal, it matches the leggings perfectly. =)

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  15. You def nailed this one! I love it, and thestuds complete the mani! Tutorial is def on point, clear and simple

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  16. Thanks so much for the how to!!! I have been wanting to try this but wasn't quite sure how!!!

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  17. This is so beautiful. Can you please tell me how you did the template design on the rubber stamp? Where do you get stamps for nails? Thank you so much.

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  18. So...im back just for the tutorial! :-P

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  19. play bazaar

    Play bazaar
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    Oh Wow Look a monkey is sleeping Lets not disturb him
    Hindi medium School ke bacche DEKH TERA BAAP SO RAHA HAI PATTHAR MAAR SAALE KO

    ReplyDelete