NOTD: My Floral Design for Refinery 29 Nail Art Nation

It’s already week 2 for Refinery 29 Nail Art Nation contest which I’m a finalist in and I can share my design now that its been posted! So week 2 challenge theme was to create a floral design using Revlon polishes they sent. I got my inspiration from a lovely vintage frame I saw with beautiful floral pattern when I was thrifting-which is another long time hobby of mine 🙂

For my floral design, I used the white from “Night & Degas” as a base to start off then hand painted flowers using “Pastel Pink”, the pink from “Pop Art”, “Ultra Violet”, and  the coral, “Pinkasso” accenting swirls and leaves with “Monet Monet” and the blue from “Pop Art” I dotted the bright yellow from “Monet Monet” and topped off with Revlon’s Matte top coat.

Check out all the week 2 designs here and I would appreciate any love- just click on the little heart next to my name 🙂 Thanks!

~xoxo B

NOTD: My Geometric Design for Refinery 29 Nail Art Nation

So as you know I was honored to be one of the 18 finalists for Refinery 29 Nail Art Nation contest sponsored about Revlon. Now that they contest has officially been launched in July, I can release more details about what I had to do.

So the contest required 5 design submissions for each of the 5 challenges below. Each week in July will present all the finalists designs. . . All the designs had to be done in a week time frame last month.

The Challenges required that we use ONLY Revlon nail polishes
(which they sent all the finalists) to complete these challenges, and no nail stickers, decals, or glued-on accessories.

CHALLENGE #1: Graphics Use Revlon polishes to create bold geometric shapes, technically complex patterns, and stunning abstract art.

CHALLENGE #2: Summer Florals Grab your Revlon polishes and go abstract, pointillist, or basically anything that delivers the unexpected. This shouldn’t be your grandma’s floral print.

CHALLENGE #3: White-Hot Neon For this round, create arresting, original day or night looks using only  white and Revlon’s Nail Art Neon polishes — no blacks, no darks, no earth tones, and no excuses.

CHALLENGE #4: Black Tie Use Revlon polish to create innovative looks appropriate for weddings, New Year’s Eve bashes, or other black-tie events.

I found out last night that week one challenge geometric theme has already begun, so we can reveal our challenge #1 designs!

For my abstract geometric design, I was inspired by the colors from my H&M dress. I used Revlon’s Post Modern  the nude pink as a base and Revlon’s Pinkasso the orange coral & Revlon’s Monet the teal light green for the alternating chevron style French tip and near base, topped off with accent triangles using Revlon’s Urban the dark royal blue. I decided to stick to something that showed off a nice geometric pattern that was also clean and visually pleasing to the eye.

Please go take a look at week one designs HERE and I would appreciate it if you could give my design some love! All you have to do is just click on that little heart for @bunniexoxo!

~xoxo B

18 Best Amateur Nail Artists Out There and I’m one!!

A little update on my nail art hips and haps. . . Sooooo yesterday I found out that I got selected as one of the “best 18 Amateur Nail Artists” by Refinery 29!! They featured my Comme des Garçons nail design I posted on my Instagram while back which I also shared here on my blog recently. . .

Anyways, it’s a huge honor to be picked out of so many people who do nail art out there and I am so elated and humbled! This only motivates me to keep stepping up my nail game and inspire others to do the same. . . Just keep painting!

~xoxo B

NOTD: Orchid Inspired Gradient

What girl doesn’t love flowers? Flowers have the power to brighten someone’s day. I have different favorite flowers for different moods but one of my favorite flowers is the Orchid. The simplicity of the flower itself combined with Mother Nature’s gradient of colors is just so beautiful! My husband always gets me flowers despite knowing full well I am not blessed with the “Green Thumb”. Recently, I’ve been trying to improve my plant growing skills because it is the most depressing thing to kill every plant like some sort of plant serial killer 😦 I was so happy to see that my orchid plant which I got from him back in Valentine’s Day is thriving!! I had 11 buds form and to my surprise they have begin opening up the last couple days! I am ridiculously overjoyed! This is monumental because it is the FIRST plant that has survived my wrath!!

So I came up with a simple and quick Orchid inspired mani to celebrate.

I achieved the  gradient or ombre using these colors:

• FlossGloss “Perf”: A pretty barbie pink which has quickly become my new favorite pink!

• Essie “Bottle Service”: One of my favorites from Essie’s Neon Collection this year, its a fun hot pink!

• Essie “DJ Play that Song”: A unique and vibrant neon purple also from Essie’s Neon Collection this year

I topped it off with a glitter polish I made that I am currently testing out.

Have you ever done a mani or nail art inspired from your favorite flowers? And random but look it also matches my pink glitter iphone case from JCrew!

~xoxo B

How Much is Too Much Polish?

Does Too Much Nail Polish or Frequent Change Damage Your Nails?

So I just wanted to share this great little article (click above for direct link to article) on Beautylish yesterday which only happily enables my nail polish & nail art addiction further. Apparently as long as you use a good base coat- your nails are safe to change up colors and designs as much as you want!

I probably change my mani every 2-3 days. If I’m really smitten with a design I did, I might keep it longer 5 days and 7 days MAX depending also on how fast it chips. However, Holiday theme manis- I can not wear longer than the day of the holiday-so less than 24 hrs. Recently, I had to come up with designs to meet challenge requirements so I was changing them 3-4 times in ONE DAY! My curiosity has led to me to make my first poll on my blog! Sooooo please answer and let’s see how often does the average nail art lover change up their nails?

Luckily, as much as I do my nails I don’t have any problems with staining or yellowing with my nails. I completely stand by my rigorous use of base coats and the fact I do not use acetone nail polish remover. I religiously avoid harsh acetone removers even though I know they are faster at removing nail polish than the acetone-free ones. But I rather have healthy looking nails then discolored yellow ones any day. A good base coat is everything though! I never apply nail polish without using one. I have several I personally prefer- Essie, Opi, and Seche Vite- what are your favorite nail polish bases?

~xoxo B

One Lovely Blog Award

Being that my blog is relatively new, I’m very honored to receive this One Lovely Blog Award. A very special thanks to Intraordinary who was sweet enough to nominate me!

So this award requires that I share 7 things about myself and I will take it as an opportunity to share some things which I hope gives you a little more insight about me the little person behind this blog.

I’m also going to nominate 7 others* which I will do later 🙂

So here are 7 things about me:

1: They call me Bunnie. B for short. My best friend dubbed this nickname and it has stuck forever now! I used to be a creature of the night- but motherhood changed has that. My schedule now rotates around the lil love of my life. I still get my best ideas at night and often have a hard time sleeping when I should be. . .that’s where caffeine comes in and Netflix!

2: I’m quite simply a total sap- I tear up easily at the thought of someone or an animal being wronged or harmed.  I tear up when I watch a sad scene in a movie, read a sad story, even catching horrible news on TV, or reading a heartbreaking article. At the same time, I am very blunt and honest.

3: I used to be very confused and felt lost about my mixed heritage when I was younger. I had a hard time identifying myself with one race or another. But I am very proud of my mixed heritage today- I am ¾ Korean and ¼ Scottish-Irish.

My father was a very proud man who always emphasized his mixed heritage. He passed away suddenly completely blindsiding me in February of 2005. It forever will be the saddest day of my life.

4: My mom’s side of the family is quite artistic. I get all my artistic and creativity from that side. My brother is also very artistic and talented. We are very close.

I think I get my perverted humor and wit from my father. I relish in the company of funny people. My husband makes me laugh daily!

I actually sold my first painting when I was 13 yrs old. I still paint here and there- watercolors are my favorite medium. I like to make things. I like to take pictures.  I’m naturally drawn to people with creativity. I can’t deal with boring. I also played piano all the way up until college. I miss it sometimes my beautiful piano.

5: I LOVE to cook and bake. I actually cook for my family every day except for the weekends or times we go out. It’s something I enjoy doing and was lucky enough to have inherited cooking skills from my mother. My mother has owned 4 restaurants and still always found the time to cook for us at home.

6: I’m a bonafide speed reader. I only utilize this skill when I want to. If I want to relish and enjoy a favorite book I will purposely read it slower. You can follow me on goodreads if you are interested in reading too.

7: I’m ambidextrous. This comes in reaaaalllly handy for nail art J I loved nail art for the longest because a close family friend ’s aunt owned a nail salon and she used to do cute fruit designs for me and I was so amazed and started experimenting back then! I really enjoy nail polish and actually anything beauty related.

*Rules of the OLB Award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Add the “One Lovely Blog Award” image to your post.

3. Share seven things about yourself.

4. Nominate seven other bloggers.

5. Inform the nominees by posting on their blog.

~xoxo B

 

Exciting news for my next nail art adventure!

So from time to time, I enjoy entering contests ranging from photography to nail art when time allows, because I think these type of contests encourage creativity and inspiration. I have actually won a few here and there- and its really the greatest feeling to even be picked for a finalist much less a winner!

So recently, at the encouragement of my friend Dianna I entered my galaxy nail art for Refinery 29’s nail art contest on Instagram sponsored by Revlon called #R29NailArtNation. I didn’t give much thought because honestly I didn’t think I would even have a shot.

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I got an email congratulating me as being picked amongst 20 finalists! This a huge honor and I am beyond excited. If you look here where people posted entries there are thousands of people who entered and I can not believe that I have been picked amongst these!

So I just got my Revlon polishes from them today and they came all jumbled up in a cute bag. . . I had to sort them and organize immediately because its overwhelming but at the same time so exciting! I just wanted to share all these awesome colors!

From L-R the Moon Candy line: Moon Dust, Milky Way, Galactic, Meteor, Satellite, Cosmic, Eclipse, Universe, Orbit, Supernova

From L-R the NEON line: High voltage, Neon Light, Hot Flash, Florescent, Amped Up, Killer Wait, Ultra Violet, Laser Beam, Pink Glow, Atomic Pink

From L-R Expressionist line: Pinkasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Post Modern, Pastel Pink, Night & Degas, Silhouette, Ulterior Motive, Jackson Polish, Popart, Monet Monet

From L-R from the regular Revlon line: Ritzy, Iconic, Eclectic, Trendy, Urban, Sheer Surprise, Matte Top coat

I wish I could do swatches for every single one but I don’t think because of the contest deadline I even have time for all that! I really love the Expressionist names! So I have to complete 4 challenges and submit my designs by the 7th so I will be quite busy. I hope I don’t break any nails! Unfortunately, I wont be able to post pics on my blog or Instagram until after Refinery 29 has received them and posted them for contest purposes so wish me luck! I will definitely keep you guys posted! Oh the possibilities. . .

~xoxo B