Hello chickadees!
I personally find the Emmy's to be one of the most boring awards ceremonies of the lot. The Emmy's doesn't have the amazing performances of the Tony's (though fingers crossed given the return of Neil Patrick Harris as the host) or the prestige and glamour of the Academy Awards. I usually just watch the red carpet and then watch part of the telecast and turn it off sometime in the middle.
But this year I decided to make things a little more interesting for myself by doing a nail art look in tribute to some of my favorite shows. No, there will be no Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, or Game of Thrones themed looks. I always intend to watch shows like that but I'm not paying for HBO or Showtime and my DVR is full of old movies that air on TCM so I mainly watch whatever is available on hulu.
So what shows will I be celebrating? Gossip Girl, Smash, Glee, and Nashville, of course. ;)
I used two brushes to complete all of these looks. I used my regular nail art brush which I picked up at my local art supply store as well as a new brush that I cut into a striper brush for detail work. I used the striper brush for all of the text.
By the way, if you want to know any more about the polishes I used, except for Revlon Vixen, all of the polishes have been reviewed on my blog. You can of course substitute any colors you'd like if you're going for a different look or if you have different but similar colors in your collection.
Of course, I started with a rough sketch of the design. I had planned to also do the Emmy statue but there was no way I was going to fit it on my pinky.
Gossip Girl Nail
This is going to be the easiest look to execute as long as you can manage the writing. You are going to be mimicking the logo of the show with the NYC skyline at night and the name of the show.
Polishes used: Confetti Black Tie, Zoya Trixie, L'Oreal Because You're Worth It, Zoya Purity, Zoya Pippa, Essie Avenue Maintain, Essie Jelly Apple
1. Start by painting a black nail polish over your nail as a base. I used two coats of Confetti Black Tie.
2. Dot a pattern of the city lights at night over your nail. I used the first image that came up when I searched "Gossip Girl logo" in google image search as a reference. You can go in whatever order you want, but I started with white dots using Zoya Purity. I then added yellow dots using Zoya Pippa. I then added some blue dots with Essie Avenue Maintain. And I finished with some red dots using Essie Jelly Apple. You are going to want the yellow and white dots to dominate as the red and blue will be quite bright. If you use too many blue and red dots they will overwhelm the design. Try and keep the design fairly sparse. Remember, you have to write the name of the show over this design and you want a lot of negative space so the letters will pop.
3. Write gossip girl. I used Zoya Trixie for this as it is one of my brightest polishes and it has a lot of sparkle. If you don't have a polish like this you could use a pigmented pastel polish but you'll have to be careful about which color you choose because it could very easily blend into the white dots. Try to use very short strokes when you are writing the letters. Remember, you're using a detail brush, not a pencil. You don't have a lot of control over the brush, especially if you're using a brush with softer bristles. Also remember to elongate the vertical line on the "p" like in the logo. Be sure to turn your nail when you are writing and use the entire surface of your nail. Unlike a piece of paper, your nail is curved. By starting at the edge of your nail, you'll be able to fit all of the letters more easily.
4. If you have space on the nail, you can write in XOXO. I used L'Oreal Because You're Worth It.
5. Seal your design with a quick-drying top coat. I used Seche Vite.
I personally find the Emmy's to be one of the most boring awards ceremonies of the lot. The Emmy's doesn't have the amazing performances of the Tony's (though fingers crossed given the return of Neil Patrick Harris as the host) or the prestige and glamour of the Academy Awards. I usually just watch the red carpet and then watch part of the telecast and turn it off sometime in the middle.
But this year I decided to make things a little more interesting for myself by doing a nail art look in tribute to some of my favorite shows. No, there will be no Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, or Game of Thrones themed looks. I always intend to watch shows like that but I'm not paying for HBO or Showtime and my DVR is full of old movies that air on TCM so I mainly watch whatever is available on hulu.
So what shows will I be celebrating? Gossip Girl, Smash, Glee, and Nashville, of course. ;)
I used two brushes to complete all of these looks. I used my regular nail art brush which I picked up at my local art supply store as well as a new brush that I cut into a striper brush for detail work. I used the striper brush for all of the text.
By the way, if you want to know any more about the polishes I used, except for Revlon Vixen, all of the polishes have been reviewed on my blog. You can of course substitute any colors you'd like if you're going for a different look or if you have different but similar colors in your collection.
Of course, I started with a rough sketch of the design. I had planned to also do the Emmy statue but there was no way I was going to fit it on my pinky.
sunlight/afternoon
Polishes used: Confetti Black Tie, Zoya Trixie, L'Oreal Because You're Worth It, Zoya Purity, Zoya Pippa, Essie Avenue Maintain, Essie Jelly Apple
photo tutorial
2. Dot a pattern of the city lights at night over your nail. I used the first image that came up when I searched "Gossip Girl logo" in google image search as a reference. You can go in whatever order you want, but I started with white dots using Zoya Purity. I then added yellow dots using Zoya Pippa. I then added some blue dots with Essie Avenue Maintain. And I finished with some red dots using Essie Jelly Apple. You are going to want the yellow and white dots to dominate as the red and blue will be quite bright. If you use too many blue and red dots they will overwhelm the design. Try and keep the design fairly sparse. Remember, you have to write the name of the show over this design and you want a lot of negative space so the letters will pop.
3. Write gossip girl. I used Zoya Trixie for this as it is one of my brightest polishes and it has a lot of sparkle. If you don't have a polish like this you could use a pigmented pastel polish but you'll have to be careful about which color you choose because it could very easily blend into the white dots. Try to use very short strokes when you are writing the letters. Remember, you're using a detail brush, not a pencil. You don't have a lot of control over the brush, especially if you're using a brush with softer bristles. Also remember to elongate the vertical line on the "p" like in the logo. Be sure to turn your nail when you are writing and use the entire surface of your nail. Unlike a piece of paper, your nail is curved. By starting at the edge of your nail, you'll be able to fit all of the letters more easily.
4. If you have space on the nail, you can write in XOXO. I used L'Oreal Because You're Worth It.
5. Seal your design with a quick-drying top coat. I used Seche Vite.
shade/early morning light
