Nail Art: Peeping Black Cat

The final installment to my Halloween 2014 nail art series is somewhat personal ... again. As you have read in my previous posts, I am a recent furparent to a sweet cat named Floozie and her 4 adorable furbabies. So yes, this is another cat inspired Halloween nail art design. But this time, I would like to advocate the safety of cats, particularly black cats during this season of superstitious beliefs.

We all know that black cats is associated with bad luck and during Halloween there are (heartless) people who find it amusing to hunt and hurt cats. Experiencing first hand how wonderful cats are, I would like to contribute to the campaign through this nail art post and hopefully help spread the word to help safeguard cats during this superstitious time by keeping them indoors or simply by spreading the word.

Here's the nail art:

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Nail Art: The Return of Black Cats Galore

I was suppose to post this the other day, but a project came and had to put it on hold. It's my 6th Halloween nail art design for this year. This is a recreation I have been meaning to do that somehow didn't push through until this week.

Do you still remember Black Cats Galore Nail Art from my 2012 Halloween series? Well, this was also inspired by black cats with minor details added. I've only used cats as inspiration during Halloween. It has been (and still is) one of my nail designs often shared, recreated, and infringed. And this year, these cats inspired nail art became more personal. I simply cannot let the year pass without a recreation. More on this later. Let's take a look at the results first:

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Nail Art: Bats

Bats is the inspiration for the 4th installment of my 2014 Halloween nail art series. I have mixed feelings about this nail art and so I think this post will be short and quick with only a few pictures. I don't know how to put in words how I feel about the results. But it seems like it lacks something to be interesting enough.

Take a look:

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Nail Art Tutorial: Itsy Bitsy and Hairy Spiders

This is the first for my Halloween nail art design series of 2014. If you are a new subscriber, every year I come up with a series of freehand nail art in time for Halloween. I also do this for Valentine's and Christmas. But I missed the last season of hearts. So to make up for it, I'm starting the Halloween series a little early this year. It is actually a yearly challenge that I quite enjoy.

Let's kickoff the Halloween nail designs here at Simply Rins with a video nail art tutorial. But first, take a look at what I came up with:

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Nail Art: Peeping Panda

This will probably the shortest post in this entire blog. And, it will only have a single photo. Believe me, only 1 picture is needed.

So where to begin. I met a Traveling Panda a few months back in a blogging summit. He is a Pinoy travel blogger who believes he resembles a panda because of his eyes. When he found out I blog about nails, particularly nail art, he has since requested for one. I told him I already did a panda nail art when I was still starting and I was not really sure I wanted to remake it. I felt I've outgrown "cartoony" nail designs. But last night, I decided to challenge myself to paint a panda without looking so much like a cartoon. Let me leave the judging to you whether or not I achieved that.

I named this freehand nail design the "Peeping Panda".

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Nail Art: Puppy Love

If you're a dog lover like myself, I'll bet you'll love this Valentine's nail art. And knowing that I am not a pink girl, this nail design definitely shouts pink. I was aiming for cute and fun and hopefully I was able to achieve that.

Please forgive me for showering you with lots of hearts lately. These past few weeks has been all about love. Well, talk of it with friends is a more specific way to put it. And being single makes me want to keep painting my nails with hearts to remind me that perhaps, I'll find my one true love ... eventually. Okay, enough about that and onto the nails!

Here's the end result:


Puppy Love Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

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Nail Art: Black Cats Galore

It has been a tradition here in Simply Rins that I feature Halloween nail art ideas every October. Here's the first installment for 2012 to start the ball rolling.

My intention for this one is to come up with something attractive and crazy. Let me get to that in detail after I show you the nail art design that I named Black Cats Galore.


Black Cats Galore Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

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Nail Art: Little Pink Birds

Here's an irony. It's supposed to be summer here in the Philippines but it's raining. Just when I decided to paint little pink birds on my nails! How can they come out and play when it's pouring outside? Well, until the sun comes out, my small birds would stay indoors. Oh, and before they fly away, they will be quite a show-off in this post first. ;)


Little Pink Birds Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

This is a simple freehand nail art. I say simple because the design was created using simple shapes and lines. Not much detail was added but I still loved how it turned out regardless.



It was one of those nail art sessions wherein I decided on my base color first before I thought of a design. This is Color Club Overboard in 2 coatings. It's a dark pink polish that has a very shiny finish. Application is easy and opaque with 2 thin coats.

I hand painted the little birds with acrylic paints, detailing nail art brush, and dotting tools.



I didn't want to overpower the color of the polish so I figured if I did a monochromatic sort of design, it could even enhance the playfulness of the color. So I brought out my darkest pink acrylic paint and white tube and started mixing 2 different shades of pink. I used a lighter pink hue for the body and a darker one for the wings. I just had to make sure the darker shade will still pop from the base color.

For the legs and beak, I used a very light brown color so as to make it more visible on a relatively dark background.



I think it's because it's summer here that I am into the bright color phase on my designs lately. They are cheerful to look at and makes any nail art more interesting. This probably means that you'd be seeing more colorful or cheery nail designs for awhile here at Simply Rins.

I wonder if I should name all 10 little pink birds. What do you think?




Disclosure: Color Club Overboard was sent as a gift from Beauty Lane Philippines. They carry a wide array of beauty products, including China Glaze and Color Club nail lacquers. Find them on Facebook -- beautylanephilippines -- for more details.

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Nail Art: Counting Sheep

There are reasons why it took this long for a new nail art design. A hectic work schedule is my primary excuse. But the real culprit is lack of inspiration. For more than a week, ideas for a nail design comes but never stays. So last night, I was trying to sleep early because I needed to wake up early the next morning. But I wasn't sleepy. What do you do when you want to get sleepy? As for me, I often play a game on my mobile phone or watch a movie until I fall asleep. But before I even started to play, I had an inspiration for a nail art -- counting sheep! I don't really do that to fall asleep but I thought it was funny I thought about it just when I wanted to sleep.


Counting Sheep Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Creating this nail art design is somewhat ironic. I wanted to fall asleep and I ended staying up late because I got excited to do this Sheep nail art. Initially, I wanted to paint 10 sheep but since I still need to wake up early, I decided to do accent nails instead. Nevertheless, I think this turned out well and I still smile whenever I look down on my nails as I remember how this design came to be.



There was no deliberation on what color I wanted as base for my Sheep nail art. I wanted a dark blue color that would mimic the color of the night. So I searched my stash and decided on Misa A Sin Worth Committing and I just loved it. This is 2 coats and there's no problem with the application. It has a glossy finish even without a top coat.

I hand painted the nail design using acrylic paints. I painted a sheep on each hand on my ring finger and painted numbers in random order on my other nails.



Perhaps I could try to stare on my nails tonight and see if it could help me fall asleep. But I feel I would be smiling instead. I found it amusing what prompted me to create this Sheep nail art design.

Do you count sheep when you want to fall asleep?




P.S. Did you know that sheep is singular and plural at the same time?

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Nail Art Tutorial - Bear of Pink and Blue

For my last Valentine's inspired nail art, I decided to go for something "cutesy". I chose to wear a deep brown polish for the weekend but I didn't know what design yet. But last night, my mom asked me to paint roses on her nails and she mentioned that pink would look good on my newly polished nails. So when I got back to my personal nail station, I started to think about pink. Surprisingly, bears came to mind. Then I got this idea of painting a bear couple!

Here's the result:


Bears of Pink and Blue Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Yes, I painted a pink bear and a blue bear, a girl and a boy represented by color. I patterned my teddy bears to the previous one that I did, that you can view here.



Base color is 2 coats of China Glaze Ingrid. Fabulous color and is a possible 1 coater polish. It's a deep chocolate brown that has a very shiny finish even without a top coat. Application is smooth and easy. I'd say it's a good choice to bring light colors to life like pink and light blue.



I decided that the pink bear belongs on my left hand and the blue one on my right. Initially, I wanted to paint them on 2 nails that are beside each other. But I wanted to paint big hearts on the others nails so I decided on having accent nails instead.

Here's a closer look at the pink bear:



I also was able to create a video tutorial on how I painted the teddy bears. Perhaps this video can address those who requested an actual footage of how I paint designs on my nails.



I also have some good news. I have been meaning to upload a video on how I paint with my non-dominant hand. I finally was able to come up with a decent recording and I'll be sharing it with you on my next post. I know that I have promised this a long time ago and I really had a hard time coming up with a good video. I hope it will be helpful to those who have asked me how I paint with my weaker hand. Stay tuned!

Don't miss any of the updates! Subscribe to Simply Rins and be notified of new nail designs and tutorials.




P.S. I think the video was too bright. :(

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Nail Art: Penguins and Snowflakes

Everyone is probably super busy right now, preparing for the celebration of Christmas Day! Here in the Philippines, we are now excited for noche buena, the night of Christmas eve. Family and friends gather together for a feast when the clock strikes midnight on the 25th to celebrate Christ's birthday.

It's the 24th here and I want to share my last Christmas nail design for the year before the lazy bug of the holidays bite me. I decided to wear a nail art that would remind me of the north pole. It was a choice between polar bears and penguins. The latter won.


Penguins and Snowflakes Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

This is a freehand nail design of penguins and snowflakes. I painted 4 penguins with scarves, 2 on each hand. I would have wanted to paint 10 penguins, but I was pressed for time. On the other nails, I painted snowflakes.



Base color for the penguins is Sally Hansen Black Out in 2 coats. This is my ultimate favorite black so far and my bottle is almost out. Have to buy a new one soon. For the snowflakes background, I used 2 coats of China Glaze Blue Sparrow. It's one of my favorite bright blues that I think is perfect for the holidays.

All designs were painted using acrylic paints, a detailing and striping nail art brush.



I painted the scarves for the penguins as nail tips of alternating red and green, to keep it simple. I also added pink blush on the cheeks for cuteness and I figured their cheeks are naturally rosy because of the cold weather from where they live.



And so yes, I'm wearing penguins and snowflakes for Christmas. It's a wonder I am not wearing something red, my ultimate favorite color and consequently, the color of the season. I guess I needed something different.

I'd like to end this post by greeting all of you, whom I consider my friends, a Blessed Christmas. :)

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Nail Art: Fun With Flamingos

A few hours ago, I had a dilemma. I wanted to paint a bird-inspired nail art design on my nails and I didn't know what kind of bird to choose. I literally stared at my 1 day old polished nails to get some ideas. Then it hit me that I want to paint pink birds! So I got my nail art tools ready only to realize that I still don't know what type of bird I really want to paint. Okay ... I know I want pink birds so I need just ask myself what's a popular pink bird? Of course, flamingos! Yes, this is a flamingo nail art and I think it goes really well with my chosen base color.


Fun With Flamingos Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Background polish is 2 coats of China Glaze For Audrey. I've seen this color in several nail blogs and I immediately fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I only got my hands on it a few weeks ago during one of my shopping days. I think the pink flamingos complement For Audrey perfectly.

This is a freehand nail art design and I used acrylic paints for drawing the flamingos.


A closer look at the flamingos.

I had quite a difficult time painting this magnificent bird with my non-dominant hand particularly because of the bird's long and curvy neck. You really need a good detailing nail art brush and the right acrylic paint consistency to make your strokes manageable. Otherwise, drawing curves will deem very difficult.



As I look into the photos of this flamingo nail art, I thought that a light yellow base color would also look great. That would definitely bring out the pink color. If you have lesser time to do your nails, I recommend painting at least 2 flamingos, facing each other. These birds are famous for creating that heart shape with their necks, right? For this nail design, I did a pair on each hand to help me keep the faith that LOVE is just around the corner.



I hope you liked this flamingo nail art design as much as I do. I may not be fond of pink, but I am definitely a fan of flamingos and I figured I'd have fun with them with this nail art.

Christmas will start early here on Simply Rins so I could accommodate as many requests as possible. I'll start next week, promise. :)

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Nail Art: Spider Tips

I found a neon orange nail polish in my stash that I was looking for another orange nail lacquer aside from the one that I used on the Haunted House and Black Cats nail art. I dared myself to wear it but I couldn't apply it on my entire nail. So I figured I could make a design that would allow me to wear this neon polish only on my nail tips! And so for my 5th Halloween nail art series for this year, I hand painted spiders on the tips of all my nails!


Spider Tips Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Nail tip color is China Glaze Orange Knockout (Neon) in 2 coats. It dries matte but is shiny in this nail design because of the top coat. No base color except for a layer of my favorite base coat.

I used black acrylic paint for the spider using detailing nail art brush. I suggest using a stripping brush for the legs. It is easier to create lines with such brush. Also, I painted the eyes using a dotting tool.



This is a freehand nail design that I think is suitable for nail art beginners. I have received requests for Halloween nail designs for beginners and I think this Spider Tips is applicable. If you can manage to paint an oval and lines, then you may find this nail design easy to recreate.



The spiders in this Halloween nail design is far from being spooky. I am still for cuteness for Halloween. I am easily scared and I would hate to wake up in the morning and have to look at spooky nails! Or perhaps it can be spooky and cute at the same time? They are black spiders in the first place, right?



The neon color looks great during the day. It attracted a lot of attention but since they were only painted on the nail tips, it was subtle enough to be wearable (for me, at least). I still have to wait for the day I could wear neon on full nails. Perhaps I could try on the actual day of Halloween.

I still have a few more Halloween nail art ideas to share with you for the remaining half of October. Be updated and join me on Facebook.

How do you feel about this Halloween Spider Tips nail art design? :)

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Nail Art: Haunted House and Black Cats

This is my 2nd hand painted Halloween nail art design for 2011 and I'm excited to do more for the whole month of October. I'll try my best to squeeze in all requests in time for Halloween.

After having fun with the Colorful Skulls Nail Art, I decided to create something out of the usual Halloween colors -- black and orange. This nail art is also a combination of 2 Halloween fixtures, the haunted house and black cats.


Haunted House and Black Cats Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Base color is 2 coats of OPI Chop Sticking To My Story. It's a dark orange shade. I wanted a basic orange as background but unfortunately, I don't have one in my stash. Boo! I'll be scouting for one on my next shopping day.

Everything else were painted using acrylic paints.



I decided to paint a haunted house on each of my ring finger to serve as accent nail. Actually, I wanted to attempt a design with a full moon as backdrop and I thought that a haunted house or a black cat would look great on the foreground. I decided to paint a spooky house with the moon for the accent nails and have black cats on all the other nails. This would give a twist to the overall Halloween nail art design.



I'm not quite sure that the base color complements my skin tone but I do love how this nail art turned out. The black cats didn't look that scary but I liked how their eyes were the only details that was needed to make it a little spooky for the theme.

I think my haunted houses need improvement but I really did enjoy painting the accent nails. The full moon broke the monotony of the cats while complementing the entire design.

I'll be uploading a video nail art tutorial for this design within the week. I'm inviting you to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and join us on Facebook!

So, how did you find my Haunted House and Black Cats Halloween nail design?

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Nail Art: Half White Butterflies ... and a note

Dear friends,

As I write this post, our country (Philippines) is experiencing another typhoon (named "Pedring") and has been causing physical and emotional damages. We are still recovering from super typhoon "Ondoy" that struck us exactly 2 years ago, and now we are facing another one. For more than 2 days now, affected areas, including where I live, have been experiencing power interruptions. This has been keeping me away. My family is safe, but I feel for those that have lost so much due to the storm. Kindly include us in your prayers.

nailartfully yours,
Rins

After 2 days of power interruption, the lights are back and hopefully it will stay on.

Amidst the storm, I did a simple butterfly nail art design during a blackout. Yes, my boredom can only be cured by painting my nails and a power interruption cannot stop me. I brought out my handy led light and got to work. I didn't want to strain my eyes with the nail design so I opted for something simple.


Half White Butterflies Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Base color is China Glaze Ruby Pumps in 2 coats. I used acrylic paints and a detailing nail art brush for the butterflies.

If there are 2 things I often (or sometimes) mention here in Simply Rins about me, they are: first, I love the color red and second, I adore butterflies. Hence, the idea for the nail design.



I didn't want to overpower the beauty of Ruby Pumps so I decided to paint half white butterflies on each nail. I had mixed feelings with this butterfly nail art but eventually, I liked its simplicity and how it makes other people curious on what is painted on my nails.

Here's a closer look:



The nail design is a silhouette of a butterfly ... well, half of it, and I painted them on alternating sides of each nail. The shape is not complicated and is quite easy to do on both hands. If you are a nail art beginner, I would recommend this design.



At first glance, they don't look butterflies. But a closer or longer look will help you decipher what they are. So far, they are keeping me sane with the frequent blackouts. What do you think about my half butterflies?

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Nail Art: Colorful Butterfly Tips

I have always been fascinated with butterflies. They are simply beautiful. It is disappointing that I haven't done a lot of butterfly inspired nail designs. I have one to share with you today and hopefully I'll be able to share more.


Colorful Butterfly Tips Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

If you browse my nail art designs, you'll probably notice my preference for creating designs on or near the free edge. I personally have short nail beds and nail art on tips gives an illusion of longer nails. This colorful butterfly nail art is no exception. I hand painted the butterflies on the tip of my nails for this design.



I used 2 coats of OPI Russian Navy as background color. Bottle color looks like a dark purple but finishes as midnight blue in actuality. I used acrylic paints for painting the butterflies.

Since I decided on a dark base color, I thought pastel colors for the butterflies would make them stand out. I also chose to just paint a silhouette instead of adding details to the butterfly. I know, I was a little lazy. But honestly, I figured a silhouette would look classy.



I used the same color pattern for the butterflies on both hands. If you would like to try this nail design, you may want to attempt to use different colors for every nail.

Oh, and I hope you liked that chunky butterfly ring I wore for the photos. :)

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Nail Art: Keroppi Wannabes

This is an almost Keroppi nail art design. It might look like the famous frog from Sanrio, but really, it is not. And so, I declare my frogs Keroppi wannabes!

I am not really fond of wearing greens but when I saw a few unused nail polishes of that shade in my stash, I decided to create a nail design with that background color. I was deliberating on whether to create an alligator or frog nail design. I thought the first was harder to paint so I went on and painted the latter.


Keroppi or Frogs Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

Base color is 2 coats of Orly Enchanted Forest. If I remember it correctly, I bought this earlier this year as I think it was one of the greens that I found I want to wear. Shame on me for not using this sooner. I personally see this as a gorgeous green.

All the frogs were painted using acrylic.



This frog nail art is another addition to my portfolio of animal tips nail design. Ever since I did my Nail Art: Little Pink Pigs, wherein I painted piglets on my nail tips, I found it really amusing to wear. Since then, I planned to come up with more animal tips nail art design. This is my 3rd installment.

So how are these frogs similar or different from Keroppi? Well, for starters, Keroppi has bigger eyes than my frogs. The former also has a v-shaped mouth and doesn't have a nose! I painted 2 random and short black vertical lines near the free edge to serve as nose. I thought Keroppi's pink blush on his cheeks was cute so I added the same blush on my frogs.



I will be posting a nail art tutorial for these frogs on a separate post. Don't forget to subscribe or join us on Facebook so as not to miss updates!

I do hope you found this frog nail art design amusing. Let me know what you think! :)

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Nail Art: Owls In Love

Earlier this month, I asked you on Facebook what animal I should hand paint on my next nail design. There were a few choices and the one that garnered the most votes is owls ! And so when I finally had time to do my nails, I doodled a few owl inspired nail art designs before I decided to do a couple version!

Friends, please welcome Oliver and Olivia, the owls!


Owls In Love Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

My first male and female version were penguins. I didn't think of naming them back then. But when I did my whales nail art, I figured it would be really cute to name them. I decided to do so ever since. :)


Oliver the Owl

I wanted a dark blue base color for this design and I was deliberating between 2 polishes and decided to wear 2 coats of China Glaze Midnight Passion simply because it has the word "midnight" on it! What could be more appropriate for these nocturnal animals, right? I had no problem with the application and I think the subtle shimmer is perfect as background for this nail design.

All designs were painted using acrylic paint.


Olivia the Owl

I painted the owls identical to each other except that I added a pink ribbon on the female one. Perhaps a few eyelashes would look good as well. And to denote that they are a couple, I freehand red hearts on the rest of my nails.



I hope you liked Oliver and Olivia. I'm having a blast doing animal designs. I think they're adorable and would make nails really interesting to see.

If you have nail art ideas that you would like me to feature here, you may leave a comment below or join us on Facebook.

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Nail Art: Must Love Dogs

Still inspired from my Little Pink Pigs, I decided to create another nail design of the same concept. This time, I painted dogs! I still went crazy and hand painted dogs on all my nails. Must love dogs, right?


Must Love Dogs Nail Art Design by Simply Rins

I chose Orly Goth as base color because I intended to make white dogs. Snoopy is my inspiration for these doggies. Come to think of it, they do look like Snoopy! All dogs were painted using acrylic.



I honestly had mixed feelings with how this dog nail design came out. I really wanted them to look adorable but I think I didn't achieve that. Looking at it after I took pictures, perhaps I should have painted the eyes with more details. They look sad, noh?



Maybe I was sad when I was doing this nail design. I really can't remember. I guess there will be times that no matter how we want things to result a certain way, our emotions can get in the way of things.

Here's a closer look of the dogs:



I know that along side my nail art posts, I tell you stories about how I came up with it and other personal tidbits. I want to share bits and pieces of myself with all of you. Looking at nail art photos is one thing, but perhaps knowing about the nail artist will give you an understanding of how I create my designs.



I know these dogs can be cuter. But like I keep saying, nail art is a statement. This says I need to cheer up! What do think this dog nail design is saying?

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