Of all the amazing things I saw at New York Fashion Week, what I was most excited to come home and try is a look that never even appeared on the catwalk. It’s a new nail art technique that CND Co-Founder Jan Arnold discovered in Russia and I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you. It’s a technique for making your own nail art decals using nail polish that CND’s Russian Education Ambassadors created. Essentially you are designing your own version of Minx or Sally Hansen Salon Effects at home. It’s easy and fun and I just know you DIY peeps are going to love it.

This tutorial video shows you, step-by-step, how to create the decals.

For the look below, I cut out a portion of the River Rock design. In order to help it blend I applied a coat of CND Copper Shimmer over Chanel Blue Bloy though I probably should have used a second coat of Copper Shimmer. The decal stands out a bit more than I would like so if you plan to cut out only a portion of the design it’s probably best to use a clear base.

Here I applied the Desert Rock decal that uses CND Ice Blue Shimmer as a base with CND Desert Suede and CND Copper Shimmer over Peripera P017 (I’ve been on an eBay kick) and the Ice Blue Shimmer background really altered the base color.

One last look at the River Rock decal. This time over Chanel Blue Rebel. I placed the decal over the entire nail and the Copper Shimmer background really comes to life over such a dark base color.

CND Colour & Effects nail polishes are available at salons and spas nationwide including chains like Beauty Brands, Beauty First and Trade Secret. For more info visit CND.com. Online shoppers head to GoInduge.com or TransDesign.com. CND Colour nail polish retails for $9/ea and the Effects retail for $11/ea for a .33oz bottle.

What do you think of this DIY nail art technique? Is this something you would try at home? If you do, please tell us what type of designs you create and the polishes you use.

Disclosure: All Lacquered Up’s coverage of CND at NYFW is sponsored by CND. For more info, view my Disclosure Policy.

Happy Friday Fanatics! Things have been a bit slow this week because I suffered a massive tear on my ring finger and I’ve been been babying it.  However I do have a few fun things to show you that will go up later today.

In the meantime, I was reading a recent article on Glamour’s Girls In The Beauty Department blog about whether or not nails need to “breathe” (they don’t btw) and in it they mentioned “buffing is key” to getting your natural nails to look good.

I’ve talked to many a manicurist over the years and there are definitely two camps when it comes to buffing.  Those that feel that an occasional light buffing to smooth out ridges/imperfections is okay and others who consider a regular buffing part of a proper manicure.

Now let me clarify, when I say “occasional” I mean once every few months and by “regular” I mean once every week/two.  I doubt I could find a manicurist worth their salt that would advise to buffing your nails every few days as that would severely weaken the nail plate.

Personally, I stand firmly in the anti-buffing camp.  I rarely buff my nails because they are naturally weak.  When I do, I use a tip I received from Celebrity Manicurist Elle who told me to apply cuticle oil to the nail plate prior to buffing.  The oil provides slip that prevents you from removing too many layers from the plate.

So what’s your take?  Is a good buffing part of your regular manicure routine?  Are you in the no-buffing camp? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Much like wrapping the perfect present, a flawless, long lasting manicure requires a little wrapping of its own.  Wrapping the free edge of your nail with polish helps extend the wear of your manicure and should become an essential step in your routine. I’m sure most professional nail techs consider this part of their everyday manicure service but it’s not as well known in the consumer world.  Since we discussed this technique in the comments of my Quirius review, and there were multiple requests for details, I figured a quick tutorial was in order. Read on to see my step-by-step guide to wrapping your tips and get a look at one of American Apparel’s latest nail polish releases. It’s GREEN!

Apparently I can’t get enough of teal, turquoise and aqua at the moment.  As much as I try not to latch onto trends, you can only see so many gorg blue-green brights before getting sucked in.  There are so many in my office right now that you’d swear I’m adopting a Caribbean theme.  One of the shades I’ve been dying to try is from American Apparel’s Summer Collection called Malibu Green so I decided to use it for this tutorial.

Wrap Your Nail Edge

Step 1 – Apply base coat and first layer of nail polish as usual.  Allow the lacquer to dry.

Step 2 – Wipe off your brush really well leaving a minimal amount polish on the bristles.  Gently swipe the brush along the free edge of your nail getting a bit of polish just underneath the tip.  You can hold the brush at a lower angle than seen here but because I don’t have three arms that was impossible to show.

You will end up with a small bead of polish along your edge (mine is exaggerated) but we will cover that up in Step 3.

Step 3 – Apply a second coat of polish while the bead is still wet so that it all blends together leaving a smooth surface.  Some people may prefer to paint the free edge while the first layer is still wet but this is my preferred method.

If done correctly  you will see a bit of polish under your nail.  Again, mine is exaggerated in this example.  You want to paint a very fine line on the edge using as little polish as possible.

Step 4 – Wrap your tip with top coat.  Paint a thin line of top coat along the free edge first and then apply a layer to the entire nail.

Tip: When working with dark polishes, you should wrap your edge with base coat to prevent staining.

There you have it folks. A quick and easy trick you can add to your manicure routine to help extend polish wear.

Was this helpful? How many of you already wrap your nails? Do you even bother if you only plan to wear the color for a few days? Do you have any additional tips to add?

The American Apparel Summer colors are on sale now at AmericanApparel.com and I’ll be doing a full review of them soon.

Disclosure: A sample bottle of Malibu Green was furnished to me by American Apparel.  For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

I should really call this manicure “An Afternoon of Frustration” because that’s how trying to create a water marble manicure left me feeling; FRUSTRATED!  Those of you who have mastered the technique, I bow down to you.  I honestly have no desire to try this ever again but since I made the effort, I thought I’d share my experience  with you. A few years back when China Glaze introduced the OMG! holographic collection, they posted a tutorial for their “Color Swirl” manicure and I was intrigued but intimidated by the process.  Since then a whole mess of YouTubers have made countless water marble tutorials including lots of great tips and tricks to make the technique easier.  I found myself watching a few this morning and got inspired. Find out more about the water marble technique and my adventure trying to recreate the look after the jump!

The basic steps of the water marbling process sound easy enough; drop polish in water, create a pattern with a toothpick, dip nail, clean off excess. Simple right? For me, not so much. Here’s what you need to get started:

• Cup of room temperature water (filtered or distilled is preferable to tap)
• Toothpick or orange wood stick
• Cuticle oil
• 2-4 bottles of nail polish

STEP 1: Start with your nails painted and dry. Use a base color that will contrast the polishes you are using to create the marble effect. I chose to use a light base color, the minty green OPI Damone Roberts 1968.

The main issue with water marbling is that you are dipping your fingers into a pool of polish and it gets all over your skin and cuticle. You can take the time to clean it all off but I found a couple great tips on YouTube.  CND’s Kristina Baune Estabrooks suggests covering your skin with cuticle oil to prevent the polish from sticking to your skin and SimpleLittlePleasures uses tape to create a polish barrier. I chose to go the cuticle oil route. My skin can always benefit from some extra moisturizing.

STEP 2: Apply cuticle oil to your skin and cuticles all the way down to the top knuckle and don’t forget the underside of your nail.

STEP 3: Drop polish onto the surface of the water from about a half an inch away so the polish will disperse.  Continue adding drops in alternating colors to create rings of color.  Add drops until you achieve the depth of color you desire.

Tip: Not all polish will work well with water marbling so you have to test a few to see which ones disperse the best.  I tried OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui and it sank to the bottom of the cup.  After a little experimenting I ended up with Sally Hansen Emerald City and China Glaze 5 Golden Rings.

STEP 4: Use a toothpick or orange wood stick to create a pattern in the polish.  I’ve seen some people start from the outside but doing that just pulled all the polish into a clump so I started in the middle and worked from there.  Again, you have to play to find the method that works best for you.  Continue to swirl the polish until you create a pattern you like.  If you mess up, just start over.

Tip: To clean the water surface, add one drop of polish and spread it over the surface pulling the color to the edges with your stick. Let it dry for a few seconds and then “clean” the surface by removing the layer of polish with your stick.  It will pull up any floating bits of polish in the process.  I  picked up that trick from SimpleLittlePleasures.

STEP 5: Dip your nail in the polish right after you finish creating your pattern.  If you wait too long the polish will dry.  While the nail is submerged, use your stick to pull the excess polish away from your skin.  Remove nail from water and shake off excess moisture.

STEP 6: Clean up the cuticle and skin.  Thanks to the cuticle oil, the majority of the polish will easily come off using a cotton pad.  I used a clean orange wood stick to push the polish off my cuticles, no remover needed.  For stubborn bits of polish dip a cotton swab in acetone.

The Finished Product

So why don’t I plan to water marble again? Let me give you my list of frustrations/cons

• It’s a master at the art of time suckage. Much like Troy Dyer in Reality Bites, I spent way too much time on this to end up with ho-hum results.
• It’s a MAJOR waste of product.  I trashed so much polish trying to get a good pattern, to get the polish to disperse well and to find brands that don’t sink.
• You have to keep cleaning the surface of the water or else little bits floating on the surface prevent the polish from spreading out.
• While the cuticle oil helps with cleanup, it was still a major pain removing up all that excess polish.  I went through so many cotton pads and ended up getting polish on my other fingers.  I seriously don’t know how people do a full manicure on all 10 nails without losing their shit!
• Trying to draw a pattern that looks good is not easy and as you can tell, I did NOT succeed at it for the most part.
• It’s very easy to accidentally pull the pattern or ding it during cleanup and being a naturally clumsy person, I biffed two nails and had to start over.  I even made mistakes on the finished manicure but couldn’t bother to try again.

Now before you call me out for whining, I know that any new skill takes time and practice and I’m sure that the process becomes easier the more you do it.  Though in all honesty, with the amount of waste I created just marbling three nails, I have no desire to master this art.  I’ll be content with admiring the YouTubers from now on.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on water marble manicures.  Who’s tried it?  Do you love it? Hate it?  Do you have any tips to share?  Any insight that might make me change my mind?

A few weeks ago, I unofficially polled you all about my nail length.  Whether I should keep the slightly longer shape I showed in my Zoya Sparkle review or go back to my usual short tips.  Ultimately I decided that a filing was in order for two reasons: 1. Being an accident prone klutz, I’m certain to break a nail as soon as it gets more than a few millimeters past my fingertip. 2. I just prefer the look of my nails when they are short. My ring fingernail tends to get a little wonky as it gets longer. The problem with keeping my nails “active length” is that I’m saddled with short, wide nail beds that look more stubby than chic.  So what’s a girl to do when she doesn’t want the hassle of long nails but desires a slim, elongated look? That’s the exact I asked CND’s Roxanne Valinoti backstage during Fashion Week.  Roxanne shared a great application tip she dubbed “The Slimline Technique.”  It’s very simple and really does thin the shape of the nail. Check out my example above using OPI Funkey Dunkey and then find out more about it after the jump!

Simply put, The Slimline Technique is the equivalent of “The Gap” that a lot of us create at the base of the nail between the cuticle and nail bed.  Instead of filling in the nail all the way to the sides, you leave a space to create the illusion of a slimmer nail.  An additional benefit of this application technique is  that it keeps your skin free from polish and remover.

Now I’m sure you’re thinking that people will be able to tell that you didn’t polish the entire nail.  Well, I overly exaggerated my gap in the pics above and as you can see below, from the top (which is how most people see your nails) it looks great.  The flesh tone of your nail bed blends in with your skin, making it seamless.

Tip: To create a clean line, use my favorite polish cleanup technique.  Dip a natural hair eyeliner brush in remover and swipe it around the nail.

l: CND Dark Ruby applied with The Slimline Technique r: CND Dark Ruby applied traditionally

What do you think Fanatics?  Do you agree that my nails look thinner and more elongated using The Slimline Technique?  Do any of you already practice this style of application?  What are your tips for slenderizing short nails?

I’ve been reading your comments about the glitters from the OPI Alice In Wonderland collection and see that quite a few of you have been experiencing major chipping issues. I thought I would share the results of my unintentional wear test with Mad As A Hatter.

You see I wore MAAH for NYE and because I can be extremely lazy AND I hate removing glitters (the soak off process is arduous) I ended up leaving the polish on my right (non-photographed) hand for NINE DAYS. Yes, I walked around for almost a week with a blinged out right hand and random skittles on the left. No, I really don’t care about the stares I undoubtedly received.  Don’t judge!

Anywhoodle, when I finally went to remove MAAH, I thought I should document how well it lasted on me. Which is why your comments about chipping are so surprising. I used one coat of Nubar Foundation Base Coat, 3 layers of MAAH and 2 coats of Olan Labs Quick & Slick Top Coat.  Now I did get a chip on my left thumb on NYE but that was a Wii related accident.  You have to admit, for nine days, the polish looks pretty good.

That makes me curious… those of you that have experienced chipping and poor wear from your Alice in Wonderland glitters, what products are you using and how many layers of each? Remember, the thicker the coats and the more coats you use, the more prone you are to chipping. So my first suggestion, not knowing your technique, is to apply thin coats of everything and see if that helps.

I’m sure you remember seeing these amazing lace nails created by Celebrity Manicurist Elle.  I posted about the lace nail trend back in September when Blake Lively and Jennifer Lopez were spotted wearing the look.  Scratch Magazine loved it so much, they featured it on their December cover. Since then I’ve seen various tutorials pop up on YouTube but none of them have looked as good or been as detailed as this one by LovelyInstinct so I thought I’d share. She uses a different method than Elle in that she applies a base coat of color underneath the lace and a lot more products. Those of you that aren’t a fan of seeing your natural nail through the lace, this is a great alternative. To recap, these are Elle’s instructions: 1. Start with a clean nail  2. Brush on Gel Resin  3. Pick a thin Parisian piece of lace and attach   4. Spray with Glue Dry  5. Cut and shape using an embroidery scissor   6. Re-Resin  7. To remove, soak in acetone

Have any of you tried lace nails yet? Do you have any application tricks or tips? If you’re not a DIY gal, would you request this look from your manicurist?

Has opening a bottle of nail polish ever made you feel like the weakest person on the planet?  Have you struggled with a stuck-on cap that’s even more air-tight than a jar of pickles?  I know I have!  This morning in fact.  It’s like they’re sealed by body builders or something.

While OPI seems to be the worst in terms of new bottles, I want to kick myself when a bottle cap is stuck due to my own laziness.  I don’t always take the time to clean excess polish from the rim of my bottles and when that stuff dries, it’s like glue!

Sure you can get all muscleman on the bottle but if you’re too rough, it can break.  I don’t know what’s worse, staring at the lacquer you can’t apply in a stuck bottle or a broken mess of spilled polish on the floor.  So what’s the trick?

1. If it’s simply that the bottle cap is too slippery for you to grip, try wrapping a rubber band around the neck or using a rubberized jar opener (pictured above) but don’t force it.

2. Dip the bottle in hot water for a couple minutes. The heat from the water will liquefy the dried polish so you can easily unscrew the cap.  Just don’t submerge the bottle.  Extreme heat can ruin the formula plus you can lose the label if that gets wet.  Oh and don’t forget to clean up the excess polish from the rim.

Even though I get excited when fall comes and I break out my favorite deep, dark polishes, there’s always one caveat to wearing them… staining. Whether it’s during application or removal we’ve all experienced the irritation of polish stains on the skin. If you’ve ever worn a deep blue, you KNOW what I’m talking about. OPI DS Fantasy, I’m looking at you! Smurf hands aren’t cute except maybe on Halloween and even then blue skin isn’t exactly the hotness. So one of my missions while backstage during New York Fashion Week was to get some tips from the pros working behind the scenes. I’ve combined their best advice with a couple of my own ideas and a quick tutorial video to help you wear your vampies with ease.

Application
Avoid polishes containing toluene. Even pale/sheer polishes will stain nails yellow if they contain toluene. – Elle, Celebrity Manicurist

When applying base coat allow it to touch the cuticle. Apply polish just inside the cuticle line and should it touch the skin, the base coat will prevent staining. - CND’s Angi Wingle

Remove polish mistakes by applying a bit of top coat to each spot. The top coat will help loosen the polish so you can easily remove it with an orange stick. - Elle, Celebrity Manicurist

Removal
Apply CND Solar Oil on, around and under the nail prior to removal. If there are chunky looking bits of polish post-removal, it’s probably dead cuticle stuck on the nail. Use CND Cuticle Eraser and a cuticle pusher to free it. - CND’s Angi Wingle

Move your removal pad in one direction pulling from the cuticle to the tip. Do not go back and forth or push back down towards the cuticle. This causes chunks of polish to get stuck under the nail in addition to staining the skin. - All Lacquered Up

Apply a layer of polish/top coat (not quick drying) over old polish to soften/liquefy, making a one swipe removal easier. - All Lacquered Up

One thing all the manicurists I spoke with agreed on is saturating the cotton and not reusing the same piece. Elle, Angi, Sheril Bailey and Deborah Lippmann all stressed this point. For that reason I suggest buying rolled cotton (as demonstrated in the video below) so you can tear off a nail sized piece rather than waste an entire cotton ball/pad on each finger.

I saw Deb backstage at the Julie Haus show during NYFW and as you’ll see below, when asked for her polish removal tip she did a quick tutorial for me to share with all of you.

What you might not have heard as she turns from the camera, is that she saturates a second piece of cotton to remove the piece she left soaking on the nail.

You can see more of Deb’s manicure tips and tricks in the video on her site, DeborahLippmann.com.

My thanks to Elle, Angi Wingle, Sheril Bailey and Deborah Lippmann for imparting their wisdom on us.

Do you have a great tip to avoid polish stains? Or stain removal advice for when all else fails? Let’s hear what works best for you.

I’ve told you about my DDS (Danny Devito Syndrome) in the past and it reared its ugly head just before my trip to Vegas. You see, my thumb nail split and peeled which fed into my tendency to pick at things. So of course I peeled back the split layer and made things worse. Even with a ridge filling base coat I could see the unevenness in my thumb nail. Not to mention the fact that one wrong move would have just torn that piece off. That’s when Orly Nail Rescue came into my life. I met with a rep from Orly at Cosmoprof and we were discussing treatment products. She told me of her love for Tough Cookie (I’ll be testing it soon) and I told her about my nail issue. She immediately grabbed for a Nail Rescue kit, saying it would literally save my nail. Considering that I get these kinds of splits often, I figured it was worth a shot. See the results, after the jump!

As you can see in the “before” pic (left), the tear was pretty big and left me with a flimsy piece of nail that was barely hanging on. I know a lot of people use nail glue and patches or pieces of tea bag to fix breaks but Orly Nail Rescue seems much simpler to me. It’s an easy 3 step system that left my nail with a flawless surface. Included in the kit is a bottle of Nail Glue, Nail Repair Powder and a Buffer. As demonstrated in the image below you just Brush, Dip and Smooth!

Step 1: Clean the nail bed and brush the nail glue over the entire nail, avoiding cuticles. Tip - If you are fixing an uneven area, like I did, you’ll want to repeat this process using the glue on the lower section ONLY to even the nail surface.

Step 2: Immediately dip your nail into the Nail Repair Powder.
Make sure you brush off the excess powder.
Step 3: Buff the nail surface smooth. This was my first attempt and I did repeat the steps to even out the broken layer. As you can see, it’s not a beautiful look but it’s smooth, even and ready for polish while you grow out the breakage.
You can’t even tell my nail is broken!
Removal: Soaking in acetone will remove the hardened powder which means you MUST use a non-acetone remover when taking off your polish.

Orly’s Nail Rescue Kit is available online at OrlyBeauty.com ($9) or Head2ToeBeauty.com ($4.95) and in stores at Sally Beauty Supply ($6.99).

What’s your favorite method for repairing broken nails? Have you tried Nail Rescue? Share!