Gracen does nails. And blogs about it.

Hey guys! I entered a contest to win a chance to be featured in...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:34:21 -0500

Hey guys! I entered a contest to win a chance to be featured in People for nail art and it would be great if you could go and like my pictures on the site! (Unless you like someone else’s better, which is fine, but I think you can vote for multiple ones.)

But anyway, if you feel up to it, you can find them all here:

http://yourturn.people.com/1286433879/1241803459?fb_ref=m1241803459

http://yourturn.people.com/1286433879/681915446?fb_ref=m681915446

http://yourturn.people.com/1286433879/1313260162?fb_ref=m1313260162

http://yourturn.people.com/1286433879/981229296?fb_ref=m981229296

valentinaphotography: Illamasqua - Baptiste

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:28:49 -0500

valentinaphotography:

Illamasqua - Baptiste

Gradient with black accents! Done with Illamasqua - Obsess and...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:05:01 -0500

Gradient with black accents!

Done with Illamasqua - Obsess and Sinful Colors - Shock and Awe.

This may not work out because my black crackle is also matte,...

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:12:28 -0500

This may not work out because my black crackle is also matte, but for you, I will try.

Manicure shots for nail art book, part II. Dot gradient/regular...

Sat, 04 May 2013 11:02:11 -0500

Manicure shots for nail art book, part II.

Dot gradient/regular gradient/sponged crackle/double dot.

Manicure shots for nail art book, part I. Tiny...

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:01:00 -0500

Manicure shots for nail art book, part I.

Tiny hearts/spiderwebby spun sugar/leopard print/ruffian/watercolor.

gracensteffel: Sneak preview of the cover for my nail art...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:08:19 -0500

gracensteffel:

Sneak preview of the cover for my nail art book…

Nail-a-Mania is gonna run wild on you!

Playing with gold leaf and a new Illamasqua polish....

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:17 -0500

Playing with gold leaf and a new Illamasqua polish. Unfortunately the topcoat I put it in all turned green so I’m going to have to figure something else out.

I went to New York for spring break so I did my nails for the...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:05:59 -0500

I went to New York for spring break so I did my nails for the occasion! Didn’t have my lightbox setup with me so unfortunately it’s a cell phone picture. Gradients and negative space!

pastelbmob: h31r0fd00m: P S FUCKING A SEE THIS NAIL POLISH?...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:40:53 -0500

pastelbmob:

h31r0fd00m:

P S FUCKING A

SEE THIS NAIL POLISH? YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN IT IN HOT TOPIC.

STOP USING IT.

THIS SHIT CONTAINS LEAD

I’M PRETTY SURE THEY STOPPED SELLING IT (I CAN’T FIND IT ON THEIR SITE) BUT IN CASE YOU DO OWN SOME OF THIS STUFF (IT’S USUALLY CHEAP OR ON SALE).

DON’T USE IT.

LEAD

I WAS BITING MY NAILS WHEN I FOUND THIS OUT MONTHS AGO

JUST STOP

clefairyclefairyclefairy:

I HAVE THIS NAIL POLISH JESUS CHRIST

THAT’S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE NOW, THEY CHANGED THE PACKAGING BUT IT’S STILL THE SAME NAIL POLISH, IT STATES IT CONTAINS LEAD ON THE BLACKHEART SITE BUT NOT ON THE HOT TOPIC ONE

EVERYONE REBLOG THIS TO RAISE AWARENESS

brb throwing out all of my nail polish from high school

gracensteffel: More nail art book. Can’t decide if I want that...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:08:25 -0500

gracensteffel:

More nail art book. Can’t decide if I want that striped texture in the background or not. It’s coming along pretty well though!

Swatch & Review: OPI Lights of Emerald City

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:37:03 -0500

I have a polish from OPI’s Oz the Great and Powerful collection to show you all today! As soon as I saw the promo photos for this one I knew I had to have it.

The polish consists of large white square glitter and small iridescent square glitter in a clear base. Shown below is Lights of Emerald City with two coats over natural nail.

The polish applied all right, it’s got huge chunks of glitter so I found I had to either fish pieces out or move them around my nails a little on the second coat, but it wasn’t too big of a hassle.

I think this polish is pretty unique in terms of what we’ve seen from OPI and I’m happy to see them putting out something like this! I’m happy to add it to my collection, I don’t own anything like this.

OPI retails for $9. I bought this from Ulta, though they unfortunately no longer accept coupons for OPI items.

Working really hard on my nail art book, so I have little time...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:48:41 -0600

Working really hard on my nail art book, so I have little time to do personal nail designs. This one was from a few weeks ago, experimenting with color blocking.

(Please excuse the tip wear/general disheveledness…)

For my advanced graphic design class, I am going to write and...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:37:32 -0600

For my advanced graphic design class, I am going to write and design what I hope will be essentially be a nail polish bible. Covering finishes, 3D embellishments, filing technique, etc.

I am in the pages and pages of tiny note-taking stage right now, and was wondering if any of you had any specific things that you would like to see in it?

In case you guys haven’t heard, Orly has changed their...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:20:00 -0600

In case you guys haven’t heard, Orly has changed their bottle design.

I personally think that the new design for the nail polishes looks cheap and generic, but the redesign for the treatments looks pretty nice. The color variation helps with that I think.

First time trying a gradient! Couldn’t decide which color...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:02:40 -0600

First time trying a gradient! Couldn’t decide which color to use so I used them both.

Colors are Illamasqua - Cameo, Illamasqua - Lament, and Julep - Sienna.

ILLAMASQUA IS HAVING A HUGE SALE - MANY POLISHES ARE 5 POUNDS/ABOUT 8 DOLLARS

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:50:32 -0600

ILLAMASQUA IS HAVING A HUGE SALE - MANY POLISHES ARE 5 POUNDS/ABOUT 8 DOLLARS

These nails were inspired by a design I’ve drawn on...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:37:36 -0600

These nails were inspired by a design I’ve drawn on various notebooks since high school. I used a holographic polish and a lot of Illamasqua polishes to give it that extra “Gracen” feel. I loved this one, wore it until it chipped really badly because I didn’t want to take it off.

Colors used are Ozotic - 509, Illamasqua - Optimist, Illamasqua - Cameo, and Illamasqua - Lament.

Trying new things with galaxies and painter’s tape. The...

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:43:05 -0600

Trying new things with galaxies and painter’s tape. The nude base color is L’Oreal’s Park Ave Luncheon.

tartsntalons: Starting Monday, Zoya is having a sale. Get 3...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:37:21 -0600

tartsntalons:

Starting Monday, Zoya is having a sale. Get 3 Zoya polish FREE with $10 shipping.