Guest Post: ColorSutraa - Spring Flowers

Friday, April 11, 2014

**Hello Everyone and happy Friday! Today's guest post is by my really good blogger friend, Babi. She's the mind and nails behind ColorSutraa. She has such a fun personality and she has become really successful in just her first year of blogging. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did. Be sure to follow her on Facebook and Instagram!**

Hi there, my darlings...and Kat's darlings...all of our darling readers! So...recently Kat announced that she found her dream house and would be moving into it soon. I'm so excited for her because I know how long she's wanted this and there's not a nicer, more deserving person out there! She puts so much of her heart and friendship out there (remember ALL the work she put in helping me create the perfect, COLORFUL blog design?) that the Universe just HAD to reward her! And I'm also kinda excited for me because guess who now has a guest room if she ever travels to Florida? Yup, that would be yours truly! =D

Now, as most of us know, moving is HARD work--all that packing and organizing and labeling...I shudder just at the thought! So needless to say, Kat needed a little break to get things together for her big move and she asked me if I would write a guest post for her while she was away. OF COURSE, I agreed! Then, I decided to put my foot quite squarely in my mouth and asked her what kind of post she would like. Prompt came the answer : NAIL ART. As much as I love this girl, I must say this gave me pause...much like a deer in headlights! If you are familiar with my blog, you know that I am a swatcher, a reviewer, a lover of all things beauty related...but an artist? That I most assuredly am NOT! But, despite being artistically challenged, I couldn't turn her down...and here we are! Let this forever be a testament to how MUCH I love Kat! =P

After wracking my brain for what seemed like eons (but was actually a couple of weeks), I decided I'd like to "attempt" a Spring-inspired mani! I love Spring! The air is fresher, the temperatures warmer and there's new color everywhere you look! What better way to celebrate than to try a colorful Spring mani? And that's just what I did!

Now, it never even occurred to me to do a tutorial or anything of the sort because...come on! Me? And tutor on art? I don't think so! But when I showed a sneak peek of this mani on Instagram and Facebook, a lot of people shockingly seemed to love it. Go figure! For those of you who did, I'm going to try to be as detailed as possible in my description of how I did this!

First, let's start with the polishes! I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Wisp for the base, with 1 thin coat of Butter London Matte Finish Topcoat. I have heard that a matte finish helps the polish to adhere better and just provides a better surface for art. I can attest to the truth of this! The matte finish definitely helped! Then I decided I wanted to use some super bright colors to make flowers so I pulled out Zoya Charisma, Lolly, Talullah and Jo, plus Logan and Neely for the leaves/foliage.

Let's start with the tools! I used the larger end of a double-sided dotting tool and 2 nail art brushes--they were the medium and smallest thickness in a variety pack of 3. Take a look!

Once I had my matted, white base on, I prepared by placing several drops of all six Zoyas on a plastic sandwich bag--easy to find, disposable...or not and minimal mess! I used the medium brush to paint upward strokes from the tip of my nail towards the cuticle with Zoya Neely, then used the small brush to add accents in similar strokes with Zoya Logan. Once this dried completely, I used the fatter end of my double-sided dotting tool to make 3 dots in a flower pattern, alternating between Charisma, Lolly, Jo and Tallulah. I didn't try to make it at all precise because hey! Nature is chaotic and all over the place and absolutely beautiful! And here's the result!

A macro!

And then! I got a little carried away and used PicsArt on my phone to make a little fancy watermark and a sticker!

So there you have it, my darlings! My second ever attempt at nail art! I hope you like it...or at least, don't hate it! And I have to admit, I actually had a lot of fun creating this and really enjoyed all the feedback on my sneak peek! So, thanks Kat--maybe it's not so bad after all! =P <3

Hugs,
Babi
ColorSutraa

Kat D.

I love makeup just as much as the next girl! When I'm not working at my day job or swatching for the blog, I love spending time with my husband and my daughter. When I do get the occasional free time, I love to bake! Decorating cookies is my latest hobby. Feel free to chat with me on any of my social media accounts! ❤